Chapter 80: 80, Experiment subject

The dense gunfire in front of the forest gradually ceased, as if the Qingshi Consortium had completed their outer purge, driving away all beasts that might pose a threat.

Xun Xianchu whispered to Ren Xiaosu: "This is the time the Qingshi Consortium would set up their outer hidden sentries. Their manpower may not be enough—even if they had hundreds of people, they couldn't seal off such a vast secret barrier."

"How many people does a Qingshi Consortium combat brigade have?" Ren Xiaosu asked.

Xun Xianchu hesitated: "About 4,000 to 5,000, but they wouldn't deploy all of them. After all, they still need to consider the stability of the barriers."

"No, that's not right," Ren Xiaosu shook his head: "I feel the barrier side isn't a big problem. Would a barrier dare to rebel in just a few days? Impossible. So we must prepare for them to deploy fully—they'll have at least a thousand people."

"Okay," Xun Xianchu understood this logic, though he had been clinging to a sliver of hope. He pondered and said: "But they wouldn't deploy fully either. The supplies stored at each barrier aren't enough to sustain thousands of people deep in the Secret Mountain for so long—not because of lack of supplies, but considering transportation, logistics personnel, etc. Their soldiers carry heavy weapons, so considering all factors, their first batch into the mountains probably numbered around a thousand."

Ren Xiaosu considered this; perhaps Xun Xianchu was more professional when it came to military operations. He said: "I trust your judgment, but I still say—if their hidden sentries are extremely tight, I'll take a detour through the 112th Barrier direction to leave the mountain. No hesitation at all."

"Fine," Xun Xianchu nodded. He knew Ren Xiaosu's decision was right. After all, if he, Ren Xiaosu, and Yang Xiaojin faced thousands of pursuers, they'd die without a proper burial. At this moment, Xun Xianchu's face showed determination: "If guerrilla warfare is needed later, we must abandon the other three. They can't keep up with our pace..." Wait a minute!

He froze, scanning the surroundings: "Where's Yang Xiaojin?"

Ren Xiaosu was also stunned. He looked into the woods and asked Liu Bu and the others at the back of the group: "Have you seen Yang Xiaojin?"

"No, I didn't notice," Liu Bu replied blankly.

Only then did everyone realize that during their advance, Yang Xiaojin had vanished without a trace!

If Liu Bu had gone missing, Ren Xiaosu might have thought he was carried off by some creature, but if it was Yang Xiaojin, that couldn't be the case!

Originally, Ren Xiaosu and Xun Xianchu considered Liu Bu and the others as their burden, but now they suddenly felt that Yang Xiaojin might see all five of them as burdens...

But what was Yang Xiaojin's purpose here? At this moment, Ren Xiaosu realized Yang Xiaojin's purpose might not be the secret of the Secret Mountain itself!

Yang Xiaojin carried a greater secret on her person!

Ren Xiaosu and Xun Xianchu exchanged glances, as if making a silent decision.

"Well," Ren Xiaosu said earnestly: "Yang Xiaojin might have fallen behind. As teammates, we should split up to find her. It's too dangerous for her to be alone."

With that, Ren Xiaosu and Xun Xianchu walked off in two directions. Liu Bu and the others watched their backs, unable to figure out how Yang Xiaojin had disappeared so silently. Liu Bu asked: "Do you feel Yang Xiaojin was strange? She paid to join the team, clearly with her own agenda..."

At that moment, Liu Bu looked toward Ren Xiaosu and Xun Xianchu's direction—and found they had vanished too!

What the hell!

They said they'd split up to find her, but they clearly just ran away!

At the moment closest to the Secret Mountain's interior, Ren Xiaosu, Xun Xianchu, and Yang Xiaojin all made the decision to abandon their burdens.

After all, knowing the Qingshi Consortium's combat forces were formidable, whether they sneaked in or took a detour, they couldn't bring Liu Bu and the others along.

They weren't close anyway, and owed no one any favors. Abandoning them was no pressure at all.

But Ren Xiaosu was truly regretful. Over the past few days, he had been trying to find ways to earn their gratitude, and finally managed to get 93 thank-you coins. Now that he was acting alone, earning more would be difficult.

Liu Bu and the others panicked immediately. They had wanted to join the Qingshi Consortium, but later found out the consortium might silence them. Then they thought staying with Ren Xiaosu and the others was a good idea, but now all three had fled!

But just as they were at a loss, Liu Bu, Luo Xinyu, and the others suddenly heard the sound of chains dragging on the ground behind them!

The three of them went numb instantly. Weren't those monsters supposed to be inactive during the day? How had it been following them all along?!

Thinking of Xu Xia's broken body, of the beasts that had fled the forest the night before, Liu Bu even remembered the sound of the creature's saliva dripping onto the leaves the previous night.

The next moment, Liu Bu suddenly turned and ran. He no longer cared if the Qingshi Consortium would silence him—he just didn't want to die!

When Liu Bu ran, the other two followed, but Liu Bu suddenly realized he wasn't as fast as Wang Lei and Luo Xinyu.

Though Wang Lei had been wounded, he had to admit the miraculous effects of the black medicine—he had recovered in just over two days. He was terrified of the mysterious monster behind him, but the moment he overtook Liu Bu, Wang Lei saw Liu Bu stretch out his foot to trip him!

With a thud, Wang Lei fell heavily to the ground. Liu Bu thought, "Sorry, but for the others to survive, someone has to sacrifice!"

Liu Bu ran desperately, and before he had gone far, he heard Wang Lei's scream and the wet sound of being torn apart!

Wang Lei's piercing cry seemed to transform into a vengeful ghost tearing Liu Bu apart, but the scream didn't last long before it abruptly stopped.

The chain sounds returned, and the monster chased after him again!

Liu Bu despaired. He wanted to pull Luo Xinyu back as a shield, but found Luo Xinyu had already left him far behind.

"Who's there?" someone called out from the front of the woods. Liu Bu focused and saw the other party wearing a pure black combat uniform, holding a firearm.

Liu Bu shouted: "Monster! There's a monster behind me!"

The consortium operative made several tactical gestures, and over twenty operatives slowly approached from behind the trees. This was a complete combat squad!

The leader said: "Kneel, hands over your head!"

Liu Bu immediately knelt. He knew if he didn't comply, these operatives would shoot him dead. Now he could only entrust his fate to destiny!

The chain sounds grew closer. When the chain's owner entered everyone's view, the operatives suddenly shouted through their helmet communication devices: "Found an escaped experimental subject, requesting support! Fire!"

Gunfire! Thunderous roars!

...

Thanks to dadamiku for becoming the book's new ally, thanks to the book lover classmate's 11 red packets, becoming the book's new ally.