Page 445

Gu Xiaoxi was taken out of the city by Kang Di, the car driving roughly three or four hours.

They arrived at an unfamiliar small town.

In the suburbs of the small town, there was a district of two-story villas.

That must be Kang Di’s home.

Gu Xiaoxi was guarded by ten people and locked in an underground warehouse.

During this time, she remained neither arrogant nor rash, just waiting for Kang Di’s answer.

As long as he agreed to cooperate with her.

Using their lives as leverage to coerce Dongqi Country and Liuli Country into withdrawing their garrisons, she and Kang Di would become allies.

Then, she would be able to meet Yun Xiao and the others, ensuring everyone was safe.

She would collaborate with the military on the inside and take down Kang Di and his subordinates all at once.

After a day passed, the door to the dark basement finally opened.

A man in a black shirt walked in and said to Gu Xiaoxi ferociously, "Our boss wants to see you."

Gu Xiaoxi followed him out of the basement and into the villa’s living room.

Kang Di was sitting on the sofa, accompanied by a garishly dressed woman; their relationship seemed quite intimate.

Upon seeing Gu Xiaoxi’s arrival, he pointed to the sofa opposite him and said, "Sit!"

Gu Xiaoxi, expressionless, strode over and sat down, showing no fear from beginning to end.

"My companions?" She slightly lifted her chin, asking in a cold voice.

"Don’t worry, they are all doing well. Now, let’s talk about our matter." Kang Di waved his hand, and the obedient woman sitting next to him stood up, bowed respectfully, and then left.

After the woman had left, Kang Di pointed at the tea on the table with a smile on his face, "I think we can cooperate. And I have already sent a letter to the base in Liuli Country. I’ve made a demand, too.

If Liuli Country and Dongqi Country immediately rescind their alliance, I will spare you. Otherwise..."

Kang Di looked at Gu Xiaoxi with a malicious grin, "If they don’t give up the alliance, it means they have given up on you. And you would be the ones abandoned... Better to follow me; I’ll let you enjoy wealth and honor."

Gu Xiaoxi’s lips curled into a smile, her admiration for Kang Di’s ambition growing.

His plan was indeed killing two birds with one stone.

If Dongqi Country didn’t withdraw the Qiwei Troops, they weren’t prepared to save them. Thus, he would step in as a savior and embrace them.

He had extended the olive branch too early, though.

If Dongqi Country did withdraw the Qiwei Troops, he would release them.

The goal would still be met, and everyone would be pleased.

Either way, he had planned it all.

But, even though he could predict human behavior, he would never be able to predict human hearts.

Even if Liuli Country abandoned them, they would not abandon their motherland. After all, they still had relatives alive in this world.

Gu Xiaoxi just chuckled lightly, her heart clear as a mirror. "I can agree to this since I am an orphan. But my other comrades might not. You will have to let me see them."

"Miss Gu is known to be intelligent. You’re even more reasonable than I expected. I will have someone take you to your comrades right away. I hope they’ll be as open-minded as you. Otherwise, it’s still best to kill them. Although I do value talent, I don’t want to be harmed by it."

"You trust me that much?" Gu Xiaoxi raised an eyebrow!

"As long as you can get all your comrades to submit to me, that’s when I’ll trust you."

"And if they don’t submit?"

"You’ll kill them by your own hand!"

Gu Xiaoxi felt a pang in her chest; this guy was truly not easy to fool.

Afterward, Kang Di treated Gu Xiaoxi exceptionally well, tending to her with good food and drink.

Gu Xiaoxi dared not eat too much, as the Positioning Capsule was still inside her body, and she needed to keep this thing in her stomach for a while longer.

In the afternoon, Kang Di’s subordinate took Gu Xiaoxi to find Yun Xiao and the others.

*

In the basement of a villa, Yun Xiao and the rest were all locked up inside.

Before Gu Xiaoxi’s arrival, Kang Di’s subordinates had brought them to the villa’s living room.

The four of them sat on the sofa with expressionless faces, obviously only just returned to a state of freedom.

They were still somewhat in disbelief over their current imprisonment.

"What do we do now?" Duruo looked at Zhao Zilong with hateful eyes.

"How would I know? Aren’t the people from Department L very capable? Why come asking me now?" Zhao Zilong snorted coldly, not giving him any pleasant looks.

Duruo, vexed to a ghastly pale, said "Little bitch, I wasn’t talking to you."

"Little bitch, who are you talking to then?" Zhao Zilong hit back without hesitation.

Enraged, Duruo snorted coldly, "The little bitch is talking to Che Junqing."

Sitting on the side, Yun Xiao couldn’t help it and burst out laughing with a ’pfft’.

It was then that Duruo was taken aback, finally realizing, damn! He had cursed himself.

So, his cheeks flickering from pale to flush, he glared at Zhao Zilong, wishing he could devour him whole.

Zhao Zilong, with his arms crossed, teased Duruo with a delighted expression, clearly gloating over the situation.

This guy had punched him a few times on the plane; that, he had not forgotten.

"Stop it. Save your grudges for when we get back to the troops. Right now, we’re captives of the enemy; we need to unite and face the enemy together," Che Junqing interjected to halt the verbal battle raging between the two.

Zhao Zilong and Duruo both turned their heads to glare at each other, their gazes sparking with anger. Although the atmosphere was still charged with hostility, they stopped their direct confrontation.

"These people kidnapped us; they don’t kill us nor let us go, they must be plotting something," said Yun Xiao, glancing around the room. It looked ordinary, but it was filled with surveillance everywhere, especially since they were surrounded by people outside.

Escape wouldn’t be easy.

"Let’s make one attempt to escape; how can we know we can’t get out if we don’t try?" Che Junqing said. As the captain of the L department, he naturally had a leader’s air about him.

Yun Xiao nodded. Despite some complications between them, those were nothing compared to the enemy.

The four of them quickly devised a plan, deciding to create a diversion and find a way to break the encirclement.

"Given the situation, there’s no need to hide anymore. I am a Thunder and Lightning Ability User. I’ll draw their attention away while you guys find a way to escape first," Che Junqing said earnestly. As long as the others got away, it would be easier for him to handle things alone.

"I’m of the Ice System; I can help you. Let those two escape first," Yun Xiao also stood up, volunteering to join Che Junqing.

She felt that someone willing to sacrifice themselves for their teammates can’t be all that bad.

After all, they were in the same boat now, so they couldn’t just run off on their own.

Che Junqing gave Yun Xiao a once-over and nodded, "We’ll make our move during lunch when everyone is eating."

At noon, the guards outside began to eat.

They had just picked up their lunch boxes and taken a few bites when two figures darted out the door with such speed that it caught them off-guard.

But they were not to be trifled with; immediately dropping their lunch boxes, about thirty or forty people chased after the two escapees.

At the same time, they reached for their phones to call for backup.

Running, Yun Xiao and Che Junqing dodged bullets while increasing their speed to the maximum.

Inside the villa, having drawn the enemies away, Zhao Zilong and Duruo escaped into the woods in the opposite direction.

They thought nobody would chase after them and that they had successfully gotten away.

Little did they know that their clothes had been fitted with trackers by Kang Di much earlier.

As for their escape plan, Kang Di had eavesdropped on it from the beginning and had made meticulous preparations.

He was just waiting for them to fall into the trap!

Outside the villa, Yun Xiao and Che Junqing reached a crossroads, only to be instantly surrounded by fifty or sixty people blocking their escape.

Suddenly, they were encircled by over a hundred people.

"Damn! They really are determined to keep us here," Che Junqing griped, his fingers tensing as he faced over a hundred guns pointed at him. Even as a Special Ability User, he dared not make a rash move.

"What now? Zhao Zilong and the others must have escaped by now," Yun Xiao hoped that as long as they had gotten away, their efforts wouldn’t have been in vain.

"We fight! Staying also means a dead end," Che Junqing clenched his fist, a ball of thunder and lightning already brewing in his palm.

Yun Xiao didn’t hesitate either; she immediately gathered ice and attacked at the weakest point of their encirclement.

Wherever her Ice Needles passed, the people were frightened and hastily retreated.

"If you surrender now, you still have a chance to live, otherwise the boss has ordered us to kill you all," said one of Kang Di’s men emotionlessly at the forefront of the troops.

"Come at us if you have the guts. We’re not afraid of you," Che Junqing retorted, and with a sudden push of his hands, he unleashed a burst of thunder and lightning onto the enemies. Several people immediately fell to the ground, their hair smoking and mouths emitting green smoke.

"Special Ability User! Alert the boss, they’ve got another Ability User," one of Kang Di’s men quickly reported over the phone.

By then, Yun Xiao had already begun her counterattack, with Ice Needles flying around, striking many of those who surrounded them, leaving them either dead or severely injured.

Despite being outnumbered, the standoff between the two and the hundred soldiers persisted.

Kang Di had instructed them not to kill the escapees unless absolutely necessary.

After all, they were his bargaining chip to force the retreat of Liuli Country.

The more Ability Users they had, the greater their chances of winning.

Upon receiving the report, Kang Di’s eyes gleamed with a glint of shrewdness.

And now, Gu Xiaoxi was on her way.