CH 79

The calls to Si Di went unanswered, and Si Chu frowned, saying, “Looks like my brother is facing trouble too.”

Perhaps their situation was even more dire than here…

Xiao Zhenyun remained silent, his eyes fixed on the pitch-black mountain road ahead, illuminated only by the headlights that seemed to take in the entire world. He narrowly swerved the wheel countless times, navigating each dangerous hairpin turn, risking reeling off the cliff at any moment.

The pursuing car stayed close behind but never managed to catch up, and after a series of bends, it fell behind by a significant distance.

Xiao Zhenyun’s lower body was paralyzed, both outwardly disguised and internally true, epitomizing his lazy and indifferent demeanor. He always relied on the safe automated driving technology, to the point where even Si Di naturally assumed his driving skills were poor.

No one expected him to have this trick up his sleeve.

Si Chu, securely belted in the passenger seat, was relatively unfazed, simply swaying back and forth in his seat. Meanwhile, Xiao Jiali in the back, without a seatbelt, tumbled about wildly, a textbook example of improper vehicle safety. His leg injury only worsened the situation, turning him into a prime example of how not to ride in a vehicle safely.

“It seems we’re nearing the mountaintop,” Si Chu remarked. “Is there another road down the mountain?”

“No,” Xiao Zhenyun replied nonchalantly.

Si Chu and Xiao Jiali exchanged bewildered glances.

“So, what’s the plan once we reach the mountaintop…?” Si Chu’s attempt to adjust the jammed bullets in his arsenal went awry. “Just sit around and wait to die?”

“I can buy us some time!” Xiao Jiali’s self-destructive tendencies were alarmingly strong, once again proposing sacrificing himself to save others. Si Chu promptly and firmly rejected him, “You shouldn’t always think of sacrificing yourself like this. I won’t abandon any of our companions, Xiao Jiali. We’re going to make it through together!”

“But…”

“Say another word and I’ll throw you off,” Xiao Zhenyun suddenly said casually, delivering the most menacing words in the calmest tone possible.

His smoke-blue eyes glanced at the lone rearview mirror on the left. Xiao Jiali, caught off guard, found himself meeting Xiao Zhenyun’s gaze reflected in the mirror. It felt like staring at a frozen lake in winter, freezing him into silence.

Xiao Zhenyun freed his left hand, which should have been on the brake, pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and took one, flicking the rest out the window. Then he retrieved a lighter, tossing it onto Si Chu’s lap. “Light it for me.”

Si Chu sparked the lighter and leaned over to light Xiao Zhenyun’s cigarette.

The smoke masked the equally pungent smell of blood. Si Chu took a couple of breaths, feeling his lungs burn. Xiao Jiali coughed violently in the backseat, but this time, Xiao Zhenyun paid no heed to the sentinel’s discomfort, calmly puffing away on his cigarette.

“Uncle, I never expected you to smoke…” Si Chu rolled down the window, the biting cold wind cutting through his skin like blades. Unable to stand the noise, he hesitated before closing the window again. “At a time like this, can you just tell me the truth? What have you been up to these days?”

“Si Chu, we’re at a dead end.” Xiao Zhenyun abruptly exclaimed, using the same exaggerated and crazy tone as before in the basement encounter. “I don’t want to hand you over to them. I won’t allow you to live where I can’t reach… Ah Chu, Ah Chu!”

Xiao Jiali and Si Chu exchanged puzzled looks.

Xiao Zhenyun burst into laughter, but since he still had to control the vehicle, his laughter seemed somewhat forced, similar to the awkward laughs of new voice actors just stepping into the online scene.

Si Chu and Xiao Jiali remained utterly confused.

“I will never let go, Si Chu. Even in death, you will die with me!”

With no road ahead at the mountaintop, Xiao Jiali caught glimpses of warning signs flashing by the window, red exclamation marks reflected in his pupils. “Teacher Xiao! Teacher Xiao, snap out of it! There’s no road ahead!”

“Split personality? Possession?!” Si Chu wanted to lunge for the steering wheel, but in their high-speed state, such an action would only worsen things.

Suddenly, Xiao Zhenyun’s face turned cold. He slammed on the brakes, causing Xiao Jiali to almost fly out. If Xiao Jiali hadn’t learned his lesson and buckled up during the earlier turbulence, he might have crashed into the windshield.

The screeching brakes echoed like a heartbreaking scream as all four tires strained against the road, leaving behind black skid marks.

Xiao Zhenyun couldn’t help but tightly shut his eyes as the cliff edge loomed dangerously close… Ultimately, he was just an ordinary person, following the conventional path of education. His grades were decent; he attended a prestigious high school and then smoothly transitioned into a respected university. He even had grand ambitions of earning a million a month after joining the workforce through campus recruitment… Yet in reality, he ended up with a mere six thousand. He might sound somewhat accomplished, but the truth was, there were countless others like him on Earth. He was just slightly unlucky, and perhaps a bit fortunate, to have had an exceptionally unique experience after death.

Whether he would survive, he wasn’t sure.

As the entire front of the car teetered on the edge of the cliff, in a critical moment, the vehicle finally came to a precarious stop… Xiao Zhenyun was drenched in cold sweat, feeling like the scene could be plucked straight out of a movie… His chest heaved heavily, breathing heavily, the cold air aggressively seeping into his airways, sharpening his mind and chilling him to the bone.

Si Chu and Xiao Jiali were both stunned, leaning back in their seats, eyes wide, displaying a look of having narrowly escaped death.

“Get out of the car,” Xiao Zhenyun quickly instructed. “Jiali, pull me out.”

The sentries, though rattled, weren’t completely incapacitated. In the next moment, they sprang into action, opening the car doors and leaping out. The vehicle swayed slightly as chunks of dirt and gravel rolled downhill, causing the front end to lurch downward. Xiao Jiali reached out, “Teacher, grab my hand!”

Xiao Zhenyun pushed open the door, extending his arm as far as he could. Xiao Jiali’s injured foot couldn’t exert force, and he was barely standing on willpower alone. His upper body was almost dangling outside the vehicle, but he finally grasped Xiao Zhenyun’s hand tightly.

Si Chu hurried over to help, but before he could reach Xiao Jiali, a series of gunshots rang out. The persistent MP experimental subjects caught up, completely blocking their escape route.

Xiao Jiali attempted to pull Xiao Zhenyun towards himself, but encountered tremendous resistance. Xiao Zhenyun turned to look and realized his leg was trapped under the car seat.

He quickly pulled his numb leg out of its trapped position with one hand. Suddenly, Xiao Zhenyun felt a warm liquid splatter on his arm and hair. The grip in his hand lightened, and as he looked up, he saw blood staining Xiao Jiali’s chest as he collapsed limply outward.

Tian Lu and the wolfdog appeared instantly, the wolfdog gripping Xiao Jiali’s pants and dragging him back while Tian Lu struggled to lift Xiao Jiali up using the cliff wall as support.

Si Chu didn’t hesitate to rush over, grabbing Xiao Jiali’s waist and pulling him upward.

Bullets pierced his body, causing his muscles to tremble in pain, but Si Chu gritted his teeth and continued to hold on, refusing to let go.

Xiao Zhenyun finally freed himself from the car seat. Meanwhile, the rear wheels of the vehicle had already slid to the edge of the cliff, about to tip over completely. Xiao Zhenyun glanced at Si Chu, smiled faintly, displaying a look of ‘desperation’ and ‘resignation.’

He grabbed Si Chu’s sleeve and exerted a sudden force. As the vehicle teetered over the edge, he dragged Xiao Jiali and Si Chu down the cliff together.

With the situation dire, he had no time to look at the markings on the edge of the cliff. He could only pray that his memory was accurate enough. Xiao Zhenyun rolled downward along the cliff, bullets raining from above, indicating that even if they voluntarily jumped off the cliff, these deranged operatives had no intention of relenting.

After the intense feeling of weightlessness, Xiao Zhenyun landed heavily on the platform. Despite the three layers of cushioning, he felt like his spine was about to shatter, the pain momentarily robbing him of his voice. Xiao Jiali landed beside him, and Xiao Zhenyun wasn’t even sure if he was still breathing.

Si Chu landed a bit further away, not in a good position, seemingly hitting his head on impact, lying motionless and silent.

Xiao Zhenyun hoped the little dog had only passed out, and the wolfdog plummeting into the depths of the cliff confirmed this. Si Chu wasn’t dead, just unconscious; otherwise, his spiritual form would have vanished instantly.

Next was another creature falling before him—his own spiritual form, Tian Lu, the stag, with its four hooves moving wildly in the air. Its horns were too big, its head heavy, and its limbs light, causing the deer to lie flat on its back as it fell downward. Xiao Zhenyun lay motionless, but he managed to muster some strength to help the foolish stag return to its spiritual domain.

He hoped the wolfdog would be smarter and hurry back into the mental landscape on its own…

There was a faint sound of impact, followed by the noise of the vehicle crashing and exploding. The gunfire gradually faded, and Xiao Zhenyun assumed the special operatives thought they were dead and gave up the meaningless barrage. His throat moved slightly as he considered contacting Si Di to scold the ‘incompetent’ sentinel, but he didn’t want to move. He just wanted to sleep soundly for a while.

At that moment, an incredibly unbelievable scene unfolded before him—he saw a face with eyes wide open, bloodshot, and a grim smile falling rapidly.

One of the experimental sentries had followed them down!

These… completely irrational lunatics!!

The sentinel didn’t land on the platform but swiftly passed by Xiao Zhenyun, seemingly falling off the cliff. But before he could exhale in relief, he saw a veined hand suddenly appear at the edge of the platform, tightly gripping the cliff face, even causing it to crack.

Then another hand appeared, both hands exerting force. The terrifying face gradually emerged from below the platform, staring fixedly at the only one still conscious—Xiao Zhenyun.

Xiao Zhenyun didn’t hesitate, scrambling over with his arms in difficulty and delivering a punch to the disgusting face, then angrily hitting the fingers clinging to the platform.

In his nervousness, he forgot a very important thing… these experimental subjects didn’t care about their lives at all, just like this sentinel. His goal wasn’t to climb onto the platform and survive, but to complete the mission at all costs.

Xiao Zhenyun’s wrist was suddenly seized, and he had no time to react or ability to break free. He saw the excitement in the sentinel’s eyes as he tilted backward, and Xiao Zhenyun felt his body lighten, completely powerless to resist as he plummeted downwards…

Below was thick darkness, nothing visible…

His mind was filled with nothing but darkness, not even the strength to review the flickering of his life.

In a daze, he seemed to hear the sound of an engine, someone calling to him—a familiar voice so reminiscent that it seemed like hallucinations before his death…

He also seemed to hear the cry of an eagle, ethereal and distant, as if coming from a faraway dream.

The whistling wind gradually softened until he gently landed in a sturdy, warm embrace.

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