Chapter 70: Pursuit

I stared in utter shock at Researcher An lying lifeless on the ground.

"You're insane!"

I hurried over with large strides to take a look. Researcher An's eyes were wide open, and she was no longer breathing, a single bullet squarely planted between her brows. She was dead.

I had once hijacked her to save my own skin, but I had never intended to actually kill her!

The person who had been alive just moments ago was now turning into a chilling corpse. With reddened eyes, I turned my head and yelled, "Why! We could have just left her behind! Why did you have to shoot her!"

Yao Yumen pulled back her gun, cast a faint glance at me, and said, "She could no longer walk, and she had already heard our plan. Rather than letting her be captured and dragged back to suffer, it's better to give her a swift release. Besides, if you insist on saving her, there would only be one outcome."

"In the end, it would drag all of us down."

"You're considered lucky, kid. The moment you entered this trade, your mentor was Boss Wang. If you had gone to work with that gang from the south, they would have double-crossed you and buried you in the dirt long ago."

"What? Are you planning to stay here and keep this corpse company, or are you getting ready to keep moving with us?"

"Let's go, Yunfeng," Sister Hong sighed.

I knew the logic in what she was saying was correct, but I just...

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up right away."

"Fine, suit yourself."

"Dead is dead, Yunfeng, hurry up." After saying that, they turned and walked straight ahead.

I laid Researcher An flat, reached out, and gently closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry. You guys shouldn't have come to Shunde. Well, I suppose you're now reunited with Lao Xu and Li Zheng. You came together, and now you leave together." I straightened out her legs, hoping to let her leave with as much dignity as possible.

Right at that moment, a small blue glass bottle rolled out from her pants pocket. It didn't break, and after rolling twice, it stopped right at my feet.

Looking at Researcher An's closed eyes, for some inexplicable reason, a stray thought flashed through my mind like a bolt from the blue.

"Will... will this actually work...?"

Unscrewing the cap, I held it against Researcher An's lips, lifted my hand, and fed her about a third of it.

Nervously, I stepped back two paces.

Yet, strangely enough, the reaction we had witnessed with Lao Xu did not happen. Researcher An remained just as she was, her eyes closed without the slightest change.

"Yunfeng! Hurry up! What are you dilly-dallying for!" Sister Hong's voice came from ahead.

"Coming, coming! Right here." I tucked the glass bottle into my pants pocket.

I originally wanted to dig a pit and bury her, but we were fleeing for our lives and simply didn't have the time.

I cast one last deep look at Researcher An, then broke into a jog to catch up with Sister Hong.

Noticing my glum mood, Sister Hong furrowed her brow and asked, "What's the matter? Could it be that you've actually fallen for that woman just now?"

"No, no, nothing like that," I hurriedly waved my hands. "We just happened to cross paths, but after living together for a few days, having some attachment is only natural."

"You don't have to lie. I can tell, you kid still care about that woman. If I had been in your shoes, I would have done the exact same thing. Indecisiveness brings trouble; Yao Yumen didn't do anything wrong."

Feeling a hollow emptiness inside, I lowered my head and said, "I know, Sister Hong. Don't worry, I can tell what's important and urgent."

"As long as you know," Sister Hong patted me on the back.

I apologized to Yao Yumen, telling her I shouldn't have shouted at her like that just now.

Yao Yumen nodded and didn't say much. I saw her bring two fingers together and let out a whistle, upon which those two hill-goblins bounded off to carry out their orders.

"Their ears are sharp; they can pick up the slightest disturbance within a kilometer. I've sent them to take the rear and keep watch."

We continued walking for over an hour until a mountain rock more than a meter high blocked the middle of the path. Yao Yumen said we should rest behind the rock for ten minutes before pressing on, and take the opportunity to eat something to replenish our stamina.

Hiding behind the large boulder, we shared some compressed biscuits. Sister Hong took a couple of sips of water and handed the bottle to me.

Gulping down the water and swallowing the dry rations, I wiped my mouth and asked, "Sister Yu, I had no idea you carried a gun, and that you were such a good shot. Can you let me take a look? I've never seen the real thing before."

"Heh, forget it. I wouldn't dare hand it to you. What if it accidentally goes off?"

"Normally, people in our line of work are reluctant to use this kind of thing. My aim is only average, still quite a bit behind my brother's. My uncle gave me this for self-defense; after all, you can never be too careful against other people."

She spoke with a calm expression and a relaxed tone. I couldn't help but click my tongue inwardly—anyone daring to harbor malicious intentions toward her had a death wish. Even when executing someone with a bullet to the head, she wore a completely deadpan expression. You should just thank your lucky stars if she didn't initiate trouble for you.

As for the flat-topped Yao Wence she mentioned, my only impression of him was that he spoke very little. He gave the distinct impression of someone concealing his true depths.

Just then, one of the hill-goblins acting as a lookout suddenly sprinted over to us, gesturing wildly.

Yao Yumen's expression shifted drastically.

"Let's go! Move! That gang has caught up to us, and much faster than I anticipated!"

"No, if we keep going like this, we'll be discovered sooner or later," she said, looking at the hill-g goblin before her. "Lead us to a nearby hiding spot—a rock crevice, an underground cavern, or a mountain cave will do. Hurry!"

The beast seemed to understand human speech; it spun around and bolted.

"Move, keep up!"

Thanks to this creature guiding the way, it wasn't long before we spotted a mountain fissure. The crevice was narrow yet deep, its width just enough to accommodate a single person. All three of us squeezed inside.

A short while later, human voices drifted in from outside.

"Brother Jian, these people are moving way too fast! We've been pushing so hard, and yet we haven't even caught a glimpse of their shadows!"

Another man chimed in, "Yeah, Brother Jian, those bastards can really run like hell! Did you see that giant four-legged lizard that got its head blown open earlier? There was still plenty of blood on the ground; I smelled it, and it's human blood! Someone among them is definitely hurt, we'll catch up to them sooner or later!"

Hiding in the crevice, Sister Hong and I exchanged a quiet glance.

"Just blood? They didn't see anything else?"

"What about Researcher An's body?"

"Could it be..." I swallowed hard, not daring to voice the thought aloud.

"Let's go, keep moving forward. Those people aren't getting away."

...

Watching those men leave, I let out an inward sigh of relief. That was too close; thankfully, we hadn't been discovered.

Sister Hong murmured, "Just now was a prime opportunity, a chance to strike. Why didn't you fire? With your marksmanship, it shouldn't have been that difficult, right?"

Yao Yumen shook her head. "It's no surprise you don't know the one they call Brother Jian. In recent years, this man has stayed close to the petty-thief leaders, rarely showing his face in the underworld. Not only is he formidable in hand-to-hand combat, but he also has a sworn godfather within the Changchun Society. Boss Wang warned us to avoid offending him if possible because it would spell endless trouble, which is why I didn't dare kill him."

"Oh? Who is his godfather? To make Boss Wang exercise such caution, tell me his name so I can see if I recognize it."

Yao Yumen looked at Sister Hong and spoke with a serious expression:

"His godfather is currently locked up in a psychiatric hospital. His surname is Xie."

Sister Hong's pupils constricted. "Xie... Xie Qirong?"

"This man is actually still alive!"