Hospital.
Xu Muran swirled the coffee cup in his hand, his brows furrowing slightly: "Still haven't found Shao Qingge?"
Gui Yuanzhang sat opposite him and said, "I just led a group of people to search all over Oasis Town, but we couldn't find any trace of him. He's currently in his Insect King transformation state, and nothing can kill him except fire. And in his Insect King form, Shao Qingge isn't afraid of suffocation and can burrow underground. We can't exactly have our people turn the entire desert upside down, can we?"
Xu Muran asked with a grim expression, "How much longer until the transformation ends?"
Two hours.
"Fine, we've waited this long, two more hours won't make a difference. The time flow in the Nightmare Secret Room is 24 times that of a normal secret room. Two hours here is equivalent to two days in the Nightmare Secret Room." Xu Muran narrowed his eyes, a sneer playing on his lips. " Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang are probably already ashes in the Nightmare Secret Room. Shao Qingge will never get his teammates' support."
Gui Yuanzhang nodded: "That's right. Once Shao Qingge finishes his transformation, he'll be a worm that can be easily manipulated. As for Chu Huaying, she prefers to be alone, but she also hates evil. Seeing that I personally killed Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci, she will definitely come to the oasis to seek revenge. We just need to wait here for her to come to us."
Xu Muran leaned back lazily in his chair and chuckled, "As expected of a senior, you think things through much more thoroughly than I do."
Gui Yuanzhang said, "By the way, besides the two of us who got the immortality cards, have you kept track of how much survival time the other Hunters who came in with you received after the mission ended?"
Xu Muran said, " Cheng Ziyang has always been in charge of the reward distribution. He will arrange it properly, so we don't need to worry about it."
Gui Yuanzhang nodded.
Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside, followed by a knock on the door. Xu Muran raised an eyebrow and said, "Come in!"
It was Cheng Ziyang who entered, looking anxious: " Brother Xu, Liu Qiao is missing!"
Xu Muran suddenly narrowed his eyes: "What?"
Cheng Ziyang's face paled slightly: "Just now, didn't you ask me to open the teleportation array? I went to the entrance of the hospital to open the teleportation array and left a few people in the corridor to guard the sisters Liu Ying and Liu Qiao. When I came back, I found that Liu Qiao had been kidnapped, and Liu Ying and the people guarding them had been knocked unconscious."
Xu Muran smashed the chair next to him with a slap and shouted angrily, "A bunch of good-for-nothings! You can't even keep an eye on two little girls?!"
Gui Yuanzhang calmly said, "We can't entirely blame them. It must have been Shao Qingge who took Liu Qiao away. He was able to climb the wall into the hospital and avoid our spies. Don't worry too much. Liu Qiao has already used up her Ice and Snow limited skill. The remaining cards don't have much fighting power. Besides... her sister is still in our hands. We might as well use Liu Ying to force her out."
Upon hearing this, Xu Muran's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he said with a half-smile, " Old Gui, do you think Liu Qiao would risk his life for your sister?"
Gui Yuanzhang nodded: "The first time I met Liu Qiao at the Distant Place Association, I could tell that this young girl was brave, intelligent, calm, and loyal. Liu Ying is her older sister, who grew up with her since childhood. She would never stand by and watch her sister die in front of her."
"you mean?"
"We can use Liu Ying to set a trap to lure Liu Qiao into a trap, and it would be best to lure Shao Qingge and Chu Huaying out as well."
This was exactly what Xu Muran wanted to hear. He smiled and said, "Alright. Then I'll trouble Old Gui to find a way to pass on a few words to Liu Qiao. As long as Liu Qiao is willing to switch sides to our Hunter camp, we can not only keep her and her sister alive, but also take them to enjoy a life of luxury and wealth."
He paused, his fingers lightly tracing the coffee cup, and said casually, "Also, tell her one more thing: if I don't see her within ten minutes, I'll cut off her sister's head and hang it at the hospital entrance for everyone to see."
Gui Yuanzhang nodded: "Understood."
He turned and left the office. Only then did Cheng Ziyang look up and ask in a low voice, " Brother Xu, this Old Gui has been following Xiao Lou and his team all along. Can he be trusted?"
He himself
" It's the Hunter. If he doesn't obtain the [Survival Time Card] according to the Hunter faction's rules, he'll be completely wiped out by Card World." Xu Muran picked up two cups, placed them on the table, and said with a smile, "On one side is immense wealth, enjoying all the riches and honors, and achieving immortality in Card World; on the other side is utter death. If you were in his shoes, which would you choose?"
Cheng Ziyang paused for a moment, then quickly pointed obsequiously to the cup on the left and said with a smile, "Of course I'll choose the first one."
Xu Muran handed him the cup full of coffee on the left: "So, Old Gui has no reason not to cooperate with us."
Cheng Ziyang nodded: "That's true. I heard he just killed Lu Jiuchuan, Tang Ci and Mo Xuemin. He did it so decisively, getting a triple kill in one go. He's really awesome."
Xu Muran waved his hand: "Go, follow him. If anything goes wrong, report to me immediately."
**
Operating room on the first floor.
Liu Ying fainted next to the operating table. Gui Yuanzhang went over and splashed her with a basin of cold water to wake her up.
The girl choked on some water. When she came to her senses, her chin was gripped tightly by a pair of old hands. Liu Ying stared in horror at the gray-haired old man in front of her. The old man was holding an earphone and said in a low voice, " Liu Ying, come and say a few words to your sister."
Liu Ying's face was as pale as a corpse: "Who...who are you..."
Gui Yuanzhang said calmly, "My surname is Gui. I am a friend of Xu Muran. I am the one who passed on Liu Qiao's message to the Eternal Kingdom. You should persuade your sister to join the Hunter Alliance. We will guarantee that you two sisters will enjoy wealth and honor in the future and make Liu Qiao stop being so deluded."
Liu Ying was stunned: "My sister, was she rescued by her teammates?"
Gui Yuanzhang tightened his grip on his fingers and whispered, " If Liu Qiao doesn't come within ten minutes, Old Xu will chop your head off and hang it at the hospital entrance for everyone to see. Understand?"
Liu Ying's jaw was almost crushed by his grip. Hearing his words, tears welled up in her eyes. She nodded forcefully, and Old Gui then pressed the microphone to her lips and said, "Speak."
Liu Ying's voice trembled uncontrollably as she stammered, "Xiaoqiao, I'm your sister. Brother Xu said he'd let you join the Hunter Organization, and he'd guarantee we'd all live! If you don't show up in ten minutes, he... he'll chop my head off... Xiaoqiao, you need to think this through! Challenger is the only way to beat the game. Joining the Hunter Organization is the best decision you can make! We'll never get out of Card World. Why don't you come live with me?"
As she spoke, she broke down in tears.
In Peach Blossom Spring, Liu Qiao clenched her fists tightly upon hearing all of this.
Long Sen whispered, "What should we do?"
Liu Qiao shook her head vigorously: "It's definitely a trap, I can't go..."
The next moment, a deep voice sounded in my ear: "I'll be waiting for you at the hospital in ten minutes, or your sister will die... Did you hear me?"
Upon hearing Old Gui's voice, Liu Qiao's face immediately turned extremely ugly, and she said stiffly, "I heard you."
Tang Ci, Shao Qingge, and Chu Huaying also heard these words through the team's earpieces.
The three stopped and looked at each other.
Tang Ci also had a letter from Old Gui, the contents of which were the same as those written to Lu Jiuchuan. Old Gui's letters could be sent to multiple people; when he killed Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci, he casually slipped the letter to the two of them.
Even without that letter, Tang Ci understood everything the moment he survived being thrown into the fire.
Only by truly becoming a Hunter can one uncover the Hunter Organization's secrets. Although Brother Nine went undercover for a period of time, because he wasn't a real Hunter, he could only investigate from the outside and could never get close to the Hunter Organization's core secrets.
When Old Gui asked, "Did you hear everything clearly?" he wasn't referring to Liu Qiao, but rather to Tang Ci.
— Half an hour later, at the hospital entrance.
Tang Ci said, "Let's go, Old Gui should have his own plans."
Chu Huaying asked, "Will Hunter only be able to completely lower their guard if both CEO Shao and I die?"
Tang Ci nodded: "On the surface, the only ones still alive are Hua Ying, CEO Shao, and Liu Qiao."
Chu Huaying frowned thoughtfully: "Could it be that Hunter didn't know we have two team-limited cards, [Resurrection] and [ Time Reversal ]?"
Tang Ci nodded: " Old Gui may have deliberately kept these two team cards hidden from us, which are the only trump cards he left us. I guess he wants to put on a good show, personally kill CEO Shao and Hua Ying, and then subdue Liu Qiao, so that Hunter will think that the mission is complete and completely lower his guard."
Shao Qingge laughed and said, "Then we'll cooperate with him and finish this last scene."