Xiao Lou had a premonition that his and Yu Hanjiang's guesses about the rules of Card World were getting closer and closer to the truth.
Back when Hunter followed Xiao Lou into the tomb at the Weekly Secret Chamber of Sun City's " Tomb of the Headless General," he had already speculated that there must be someone in the Hunter Organization who knew them very well.
Tang Ci also said that the Intelligence Bureau's data had likely been leaked, which was why Hunter had such precise information about their 12-person team's cards. At that time, Xiao Lou hadn't realized that the Hunter Organization was actually composed of humans; he still thought that some humans had betrayed them and joined the Hunter Alliance.
In retrospect, Ye Qi's idea was the most reasonable. Ye Qi had once guessed that Card World was like a massively multiplayer online game, divided into two camps from the beginning. Challengers needed to clear secret rooms and draw cards, while Hunters needed to find ways to kill Challengers and obtain the cards they carried.
They were both trying to survive, but their goals were completely different.
As Challengers, they still adhere to the rules and uphold their principles, never killing innocent people indiscriminately. Hunters, on the other hand, have long lost their humanity in their long missions. They have become cold-blooded and numb, killing as easily as chopping vegetables, without any regard for the feelings of their victims. They can go to great lengths to impersonate your relatives or friends, and then stab you in the back when you are least expecting it.
Xiao Lou wasn't vigilant enough, which is why Liu Qiao stabbed him to death.
Thinking of this, Yu Hanjiang couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "You never suspected Liu Qiao?"
Xiao Lou shook his head: " Liu Qiao could not be Hunter. We've known each other for so long. Although I don't know her 100%, I trust Xiao Liu's character. She would never kill me to survive."
Yu Hanjiang said, "It seems that Liu Qiao, the one who killed you, was Hunter in disguise?"
Xiao Lou also leans towards this explanation, saying, "Xiao Liu has a [ Twin ] card that can copy anyone seen within half an hour. At that time, there must have been a Hunter hiding in the maze who pulled Liu Qiao and Ye Qi away at the same time. Then, the Hunter managed to control Liu Qiao, took her [ Twin ] card, impersonated her, and then went back to the corridor to attack me."
Yu Hanjiang said, " Hunter's ambush was obviously planned long ago. You are always cautious. If you suddenly met Liu Qiao, you would definitely exchange passwords with her or use some questions to confirm her identity. Therefore, they seized the opportunity in the maze and switched the objects in just a few seconds, leaving you no time to think."
It took Liu Qiao less than 10 seconds from disappearing to reappearing in front of Xiao Lou.
Xiao Lou was genuinely surprised that Liu Qiao had changed so much in such a short time. He frowned and said, " Hunter has always been aware of our movements. I suspect that they were the ones who released the rats to bite you, deliberately leading us to the oasis to find medicine, and then creating a fake hospital to lure me in. Liu Qiao is a time bomb they planted in the team. She will definitely continue to kill the other teammates."
Xiao Lou's face paled slightly as he said this: "At the time, there were only three of us in the maze: me, Liu Qiao, and Ye Qi. Ye Qi wasn't with me when Liu Qiao killed me. Next, Liu Qiao will definitely kill Ye Qi, then take Streptomycin back to rescue Long Sen, gain everyone's trust, and then find an opportunity to attack everyone..."
Yu Hanjiang grew increasingly alarmed. If Liu Qiao could really infiltrate the team, she might kill her teammates one by one, wiping them out in the Twin Kings Secret Room!
Based on the order of the contract book signatures, the new captain should have been handed over to Shao Qingge. I wonder if CEO Shao and his team can see through Hunter's conspiracy?
Both were very worried about their teammates' safety, but unfortunately, they were now in dire straits themselves.
The Invisibility Cloak time had come, and Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang appeared one after the other. Just then, a rustling sound came from afar, as if something was crawling in the sand. The two immediately stood back to back, staring at the ground alertly.
Suddenly, several sharp, sword-like spikes emerged one after another from the sand!
Yu Hanjiang's eyes sharpened, and he suddenly tackled Xiao Lou to the sand, rolling him around a dozen times. Xiao Lou rolled on the ground until he was dizzy and swallowed a lot of sand. He quickly determined that the sharp spines were the tails of venomous scorpions that live in the desert.
The scorpion's tail is as sharp as a sword and contains deadly venom; if either of them were stung, they would definitely not survive the day.
Xiao Lou asked in a trembling voice, "Another swarm of scorpions?"
Yu Hanjiang tightened his grip on her arm, his voice low and hoarse: "Yes, there are more scorpions here than in the Twin Kings secret room, and they can burrow into the sand; they are very agile."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a huge scorpion tail suddenly shot out from the ground. Yu Hanjiang reacted quickly, pulling Xiao Lou aside and rolling to the side. The stinger almost grazed Xiao Lou's ear as it pierced the sand. Xiao Lou's heart nearly stopped, and he hurriedly hugged Yu Hanjiang tightly.
While Yu Hanjiang rolled and dodged in the sand, he raised his submachine gun. Several ear-piercing gunshots rang out in succession—countless bullets shot out like a rainstorm, and a large amount of blood quickly stained the sand red!
Yu Hanjiang used fierce firepower to suppress the scorpion swarm, forcing it back several meters. However, Xiao Lou knew that this was not a long-term solution; if things continued like this, they would soon be overwhelmed by the scorpion swarm.
Xiao Lou took a deep breath and said, " Hanjiang, let me try a card."
Yu Hanjiang nodded, helping Xiao Lou to his feet from the sand. Xiao Lou then promptly summoned the Historic Figure Summon.
When will the bright moon appear? I raise my cup to ask the heavens.
Historical Figure Summon unleashes a limited-time ultimate move, allowing...
The current scene changes to "Night of the Full Moon," lasting for 8 hours, and all targets within a 500-meter radius are rendered inactive for 1 minute. Simultaneously, the Historical Figure Summon refreshes the skills of all character cards and creates a dongpo pork.
Xiao Lou unleashed three skills in quick succession, and then the [ Historical Figure Summon ] card shattered into fragments in his hand.
He put the dongpo pork into the Mineral Water bottle and looked up at the sky, which had turned into a full moon night. For some reason, when the sky, which had been divided in two, was replaced by the "full moon night" created by the Historical Figure Summon, not only did the scorpion swarm disappear, but the desert also suddenly became extremely quiet. Even the sound of the wind and sand disappeared. In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, it seemed that only the breathing of two people remained.
The eerie silence made Xiao Lou very uneasy. He looked at the sky and whispered, "The sun representing the Great King has been obscured, and the crescent moon representing the Lesser King has also disappeared. The 'Night of the Full Moon' created by the Historical Figure Summon can last for 8 hours. Will we be safe during these 8 hours?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "We should still be careful. The Nightmare Secret Room probably won't give us much time to rest."
The two waited in place for a moment, and when no more animals attacked them, Xiao Lou asked, "Should we move forward?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "Let's go. Let's wait where we are. Those people in the maze might chase after us."
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, he heard familiar footsteps behind him.
Yu Hanjiang's relatives and colleagues, as expected, chased after him with batons, guns, and other weapons.
Yu Hanjiang's face darkened, and he hurriedly pulled Xiao Lou away to escape—luckily, he had copied a [ Light as a Swallow ] card using CEO Shao's Rich and Willful card. At this moment, his submachine gun was out of bullets, so he threw the gun into the air as a landing point, nimbly stepped on the gun with both feet, picked up Xiao Lou, and flew away like an arrow released from a bow!
Although those "relatives" were very powerful in combat, they did not possess the Lightness Skill to fly. In no time, Yu Hanjiang had left them far behind.
They didn't know how far they had flown, but beneath their feet lay an endless desert, devoid of any trace of small animals. Only then did Yu Hanjiang land back on the sand with a sense of relief. The two of them breathed a slight sigh of relief, and Xiao Lou suggested, "Why don't we eat something first to replenish our energy?"
He could tell that Yu Hanjiang had just been dealing with his family and colleagues in the maze, and then encountered a poisonous scorpion after leaving the maze. He was exhausted and his face was pale. He was clearly holding on by sheer willpower to stay upright.
Yu Hanjiang was indeed exhausted. Not daring to be careless, he nodded and said, "I still have a supply card on me. Have you run out of supplies? We need to be careful with our food."
Xiao Lou's card had already been used in the Twin Kings Secret Room, and when Yu Hanjiang had a high fever, he fed him the remaining Mineral Water, though he still had a pack of biscuits left in his pocket.
Xiao Lou took out the cookies and handed them to Yu Hanjiang: "Here, you eat them."
Yu Hanjiang readily opened the packaging bag and gave him half: "Half for each of us, you need to replenish your energy too."
Meeting his deep eyes, Xiao Lou stopped hesitating, took the biscuit, and said, "Okay. Should we share the braised pork too?"
Yu Hanjiang shook his head: "Let's keep it, it might come in handy."
The fragrant meat was a great temptation for the hungry, but they couldn't bear to eat it. The braised pork had another purpose besides being eaten: it could attract a large number of animals to gather around it, which might save their lives should they encounter wild beasts again in the future.
The two sat on the sand and shared a bag of cookies.
Keep Yu Hanjiang's supply card for now, because Xiao Lou doesn't know how long they'll have to survive in this harsh environment...
Just as they finished eating the cookies, a figure suddenly appeared in the distance.
The man was covered in yellow sand, almost blending into the surrounding desert, looking utterly wretched. He was walking slowly forward, his gait unsteady, as if he were injured.
Xiao Lou immediately stood up alertly, and Yu Hanjiang even narrowed his eyes and gripped his pistol tightly in his pocket.
The other person stopped about ten meters away from the two, their voice trembling slightly: " Professor Xiao, Captain Yu? Is that you?"
Xiao Lou was stunned: "... Ye Qi?"
The boy's face was obscured by yellow sand, and his clothes were the same color as the sand, making it impossible to see his features. But the voice was unmistakably Ye Qi's. Just as Xiao Lou was about to take a step forward, Yu Hanjiang suddenly gently pulled Xiao Lou's hand.
Xiao Lou understood and stopped, asking warily, "What are you doing here?"
Ye Qi's voice was filled with dejection: "I was killed by Liu Qiao."
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a glance, their expressions growing increasingly solemn.
***
Inside the Twin Kings' secret room.
Shao Qingge's face was extremely grim.
Because, out of nowhere, he suddenly had a [team contract book ].
With Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang both dead, he, the third to sign the team, inexplicably became the new captain. He simply couldn't believe it— how could someone as strong as Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang suddenly die?!
Before he could think, Chu Huaying's voice came through his earpiece: " CEO Shao, quickly gather your teammates!"
Shao Qingge took a deep breath and placed Li Qingzhao's marker next to the vineyard.
Li Qingzhao's mark can be modified 5 times, and this is the last time. The card will be invalid after it is used up.
The marker indicated that teammates could only be summoned after 5 minutes. Shao Qingge used this time to quickly sneak into the vineyard, pick a large number of grapes, and put them into his backpack.
Five minutes passed quickly, and one by one, the teammates appeared before them.
Everyone's face
Both were in terrible condition. Lu Jiuchuan was furious, his clenched fists bulging with veins, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Shao Qingge and demanded, "What happened? How could Xiao Lou and Hanjiang be dead?!"
Tang Ci gently squeezed his hand and whispered, "Ninth Brother, calm down."
Lu Jiuchuan took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to punch someone, and looked at Shao Qingge: " CEO Shao, you explain."
Shao Qingge frowned. "I don't know either. We split into teams. Hua Ying and I were on the left and right, while Xiao Lou took Liu Qiao and Ye Qi to the front." He looked around, then suddenly paused. " Where's Ye Qi?!"
The teammates looked at each other and quickly realized that Ye Qi wasn't there either.
Qu Wanyue said in a trembling voice, " CEO Shao, you're the new team leader! Quickly check the contract book; is Xiao Ye's name still there?"
Shao Qingge glanced at the contract book and his face immediately turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
He was always smiling; no one had ever seen him look so grim. The Insect King's transformation wasn't over yet. Shao Qingge's crimson eyes were terrifying, like those of an enraged beast. For a moment, everyone fell silent, watching him anxiously, afraid of hearing the worst possible outcome.
After a moment, Shao Qingge closed his eyes, his expression pained: " Ye Qi is gone too."
Everyone: "..."
He opened his eyes and looked at Liu Qiao, his gaze sharp as a sword: "Xiao Liu, you tell me, what exactly happened?"
Liu Qiao's face was ashen, her shoulders trembling slightly. She forced back a sob and whispered, "We went to the hospital to get medicine, but we ended up in a mirror maze. The maze had mirrors on both sides, and it showed hallucinations of many relatives. Ye Qi and I were pulled into a secret room filled with mirrors. Professor Xiao told us how to get out, but..."
She paused, looked up at Shao Qingge, and said with red eyes, "When I returned to the corridor, I found Professor Xiao lying in a pool of blood, stabbed in the chest. There must be a Hunter in the maze! I sensed something was wrong and quickly turned around and went back to the mirrored chamber. I didn't see Ye Qi. I don't know if he also encountered the Hunter."
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiuchuan frowned deeply: " Xiao Lou is always cautious. How did Hunter get close to him and kill him in one blow? He was connected to me via Telepathic Connection, but I didn't sense any danger signals from him just now."
Tang Ci glanced at Liu Qiao, then at Lu Jiuchuan, and calmly said, " Xiao Lou was probably killed by a card similar to 'one-hit kill.' Otherwise, since death takes a few seconds, he could have easily used a team resurrection card to give himself another life. Obviously, the incident happened too suddenly, and Xiao Lou didn't have time to activate the resurrection card."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over his teammates, and said, "What we can confirm now is that, firstly, the Hunter who killed Xiao Lou had a powerful card that could instantly kill someone; secondly, that Hunter used some unknown means to approach and kill Xiao Lou without him noticing or being on guard."
"Completely unaware" and "completely unprepared" are two completely different phrases.
Lu Jiuchuan understood quickly.
If it happened "without noticing," the opponent might have used a card like "invisibility" to approach Xiao Lou. But if they attacked when Xiao Lou was "completely unprepared," the most likely explanation is that the opponent impersonated a teammate Xiao Lou trusted deeply.
Lu Jiuchuan abruptly turned to look at Liu Qiao, his gaze sharp. But Liu Qiao showed no sign of guilt. She took a deep breath, met Lu Jiuchuan's gaze, and took out a bottle of medicine from her pocket, saying, "This is the Streptomycin I found in the maze. In the mirrored chamber I was in, behind one of the mirrors was the hospital's pharmacy. I stumbled into the pharmacy by accident and found this bottle of medicine. Later, I got lost too, and it was CEO Shao's team that summoned me and brought me out. If you don't believe me, you can go and investigate again."
The teammates looked at each other in bewilderment.
Liu Qiao paused, then choked up as she said, " I'm also very saddened that Professor Xiao was assassinated. I understand how you all feel. If you suspect me, you can leave me alone in the desert, or simply kill me and make me go to the Nightmare Secret Room to find him!"
Seeing her trembling shoulders, Qu Wanyue's heart softened, and she said softly, "Xiaoqiao, how could we abandon you? It's just that Professor Xiao, Captain Yu, and Ye Qi were assassinated one after another, and it's hard for everyone to accept it. Of course, we're very happy that you survived, but it's normal for everyone to have doubts since you're the only one who survived. Don't mind it..."
Liu Qiao nodded: "I know, I don't blame everyone, but I really don't know what happened in the maze. I don't know if this bottle of Streptomycin is real or fake. Brother Long Sen's condition is getting worse, should we try to save him?"
Qu Wanyue looked at Shao Qingge and Ninth Brother with questioning eyes.
Lu Jiuchuan frowned and remained silent.
Shao Qingge calmly said, "Let's save Long Sen first. We only have half the time left to clear the level, and we can't afford to lose any more people. Although Xiao Lou and the others were ambushed, I believe they will definitely be able to return from the Nightmare Secret Room."
Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci exchanged a glance, and the latter shook his head slightly. Lu Jiuchuan stopped targeting Liu Qiao, turned his head, and said in a low voice, " The Nightmare Secret Room of the Two Kings must be even more difficult than what we encountered before. I hope they can survive."