*Cunning brat!* Sister Hua sighed inwardly, but she had no choice but to reply, “I've already asked you twice. Name your price!”
Yet Wu Youren's train of thought leaped elsewhere—or rather, he insisted on dictating the pace of the conversation.
He stated placidly, “If you die fighting on the Guizu frontline, no one will find it unacceptable, and the pensions are generous.
“Fleeing on my own right now, I have a fair chance. Bringing three more along, I'm afraid, exceeds my strength.”
“What guts, kid,” the uniformed knight's expression shifted immediately upon hearing this. “Trying to incite internal strife among us?”
Those most sensitive to such matters had always been the military, not the Intelligence Bureau.
As a soldier, he had long looked past life and death; in his ingrained worldview, sacrificing some people for victory was completely standard.
Precisely because of this, instigating internal strife was something he was thoroughly familiar with—*I've seen this episode before!*
“Don't make wild guesses!” Sister Hua gave him a sidelong glare. “Little Wu has an aristocratic heritage!”
He *had* to have it—even if he didn't, he had to! “Do you mean that if you take two, the chances would be better?”
“Sister Hua, you...” The motorcycle rider's words cut off halfway.
He wanted to warn Sister Hua not to fall for it.
If one of the three had to die, it could only be the soldier; there was no second option—the two of them were partners!
Yet, if he could think of that, wouldn't the military knight think of it too?
So with certain words, he had to be cautious when speaking.
Without realizing it, the three who had been standing back-to-back actually drew slightly apart!
“Two might not work either,” Wu Youren remarked in a calm, lazy tone. “Still, I'm very disappointed in my senior schoolmate!”
Among the three knights, the one he hated most was the motorcycle rider.
To prevent the Guizu aura from leaking out, the soldier had thrown himself into danger as well; regardless of whether it was out of fear of severe military discipline, Wu Youren bore him no ill will.
Twelve years ago, the Jin army had lost to the Liang army, but that was war; at present, he had no capacity to pass judgment on it, so he didn't factor it in.
Sister Hua... had never truly wronged him much, and given their differing stances, he could understand her.
Only this senior schoolmate from Red Pine rankled him deeply: *Where is the trust between people?*
Furthermore, in the subsequent series of reactions, this fellow had acted not only immaturely, but also with vicious ruthlessness.
Wu Youren was positive that the first person to shoot at him had been the motorcycle rider, firing three shots in a row.
Across two lifetimes, he had never experienced being shot at with a gun.
With grievance piled upon grievance, how could he endure it?
The motorcycle rider took fright upon hearing that. He had never expected the boy to point the finger straight at him!
“Sister Hua, it's not like that! He's deliberately... You!”
The next instant, he turned his head in shock to look at the woman beside him.
A blade had plunged into his ribs and was pulled out in a flash!
On the battlefield, a puncture wound was fatal, but had the blade not been pulled out, he could have held out for a bit longer.
With the blade ripped out, blood spurted. Even more fatal, all his bodily strength gushed out along with the torrent of blood.
Disbelief plastered the motorcycle rider's face. He truly could not fathom that he would suffer a backstab from a senior colleague!
Ever since he had entered the Intelligence Bureau, so much had been taught and guided by Sister Hua!
“If you don't die, everyone dies!” Sister Hua said calmly, her face devoid of emotion. “Do you remember what I told you on the first day I mentored you?
“‘In our line of work, you may act on emotion, but you must never act *only* on emotion!’”
Just as the motorcycle rider was about to speak, he felt his body sink violently, his line of sight plummeting by half.
He looked down, but at that exact instant, his vision began to darken.
The final thought in his mind was: *The military knight... struck too?*
The soldier had sliced him in two at the waist. Looking at Sister Hua, he spoke without expression, “Now there are only two!”
As he said this, his entire body was on high alert, visibly braced for a fight to the death.
He would not trust a Jin person, nor would he trust the Intelligence Bureau, but he wanted to live.
“Don't be so tense,” Sister Hua looked at him with a smile. “You know the Intelligence Bureau's rules, right?”
“Don't know,” the soldier shook his head bluntly, his face resolute. “What Intelligence Bureau? I've heard other countries have one, but does our Great Liang have one too?”
“Sensible,” Sister Hua nodded approvingly. “So regarding today's matter, it was handled internally by our Intelligence Bureau... understand?”
The soldier wore a look of utter bewilderment. “What Intelligence Bureau?”
“Mm,” Sister Hua nodded in praise, then said in a deep voice, “Didn't you want a pledge of loyalty? Now you have it!”
“Heh, interesting,” Wu Youren said amidst the Guizu aura, though not a trace of a smile showed on his face.
The ruthlessness and utter decisiveness of his counterparts sent a slight chill down his spine.
Originally, he had only tossed out those words to sow a bit of distrust among them.
Who would have thought that not only did they see through his intent, but they went even further, taking an even more extreme reaction!
The plan had to be adjusted. After a moment's thought, Wu Youren called out, “Hold on for five more minutes...”
The soldier and Sister Hua stood back-to-back, continuing to fend off the Guizu, but this time, a gap existed between them.
Once certain things happened, there truly was no going back to how they were before.
Five minutes later, Wu Youren's voice carried over. “Here are two ghost-destroying mines. Pick a direction, throw them, and then move toward me.”
Immediately following his words, two black dots dropped from the sky.
He had no choice but to declare it beforehand; otherwise, if they mistook it for an attack, it would be disastrous.
Could the Guizu overhear? He truly had no alternative, but he hoped the two over there were clever enough.
Their reactions were indeed swift. After catching the ghost-destroying mines and conferring in low voices for a sentence or two, they raised their arms and hurled out three black dots.
Sister Hua also carried ghost-destroying mines herself, but she had brought few; unless pushed to the brink of despair, she dared not gamble with them lightly.
Throwing three ghost-destroying mines involved careful calculation as well. Sister Hua could pinpoint Wu Youren's approximate direction.
The direction the two chose deviated by about sixty degrees from the Jin youth's position, and they had taken very little time to decide.
Had they thrown them in the opposite direction, Wu Youren's location would have been hit by a massive surge of fleeing Guizu aura, dealing him quite an impact.
And had they taken any longer to decide, the Guizu might have adjusted their formations accordingly.
Such rapid reactions showed they had resolved to gamble that the Jin hostage wasn't lying.
Three explosions rang out in rapid succession. Taking advantage of the turmoil in the Guizu aura, two figures darted forward in several swift flashes and caught sight of the youth.
Just as the two secretly breathed a sigh of relief, Wu Youren turned and walked away, murmuring, “Follow me.”
Guizu aura surged and fled frantically around them, yet his pace remained unhurried.
Yet strangely enough, several powerful streams of Guizu aura swerved right around the three of them, narrowly missing them on two occasions by a hair's breadth.
The two knights couldn't help exchanging a glance, both seeing deep astonishment in each other's eyes: *How is he doing this?*
Sister Hua was somewhat better off; she had held high expectations for Wu Youren from the start and knew his perception was astonishing.
Soon, she noticed another peculiar detail and muttered in a low voice, “The Guizu aura doesn't go near him.”
The soldier went silent for two seconds, then rolled his eyes at her. “Can't you keep your mouth shut?”
Even if one understood certain things, they shouldn't be said aloud. Coming from the Intelligence Bureau, didn't she even have that basic sense of caution?
Yet Wu Youren took the initiative to answer in a very casual tone, “My biguijue is of better quality.”
Sister Hua paused in surprise, then chuckled softly. “Aren't you afraid we might snatch it?”
The Jin youth didn't take offense, only letting out a soft sigh. “Tsk, there you go again. Aside from threats, don't you know how to converse like normal people?”
“Seems he has nothing to fear,” the soldier remarked. Hearing their dialogue, he had caught onto the technique of communicating between the two of them.
He simply joined in. “I just hope we can get out safely!”
Wu Youren didn't reply, but Sister Hua said calmly, “The chances are high.”
The two knights could indeed keep their composure; they obediently followed behind him without making any underhanded moves.
Seven or eight minutes later, Wu Youren led the two to several colossal boulders and pointed at a crevice between the rocks. “You two, hide in there.”
It was a fissure between two massive rocks, three to four meters tall, and less than a meter wide at its broadest point below.
The two knights exchanged a glance, both seeing hesitation in each other's eyes.
Once again, Sister Hua was the first to speak. “What about you?”
Wu Youren pointed at some rocks about ten meters away. “There's another small stone cave over there.”
“Hear me out,” the soldier spoke up. “Stone cannot completely block Guizu aura.”
Guizu aura was formless and bodiless; it could not be treated as ordinary gas. Thick walls could block a large portion of it, but not all.
Guizu aura capable of penetrating walls was usually quite formidable; those lacking in strength weren't up to the task.
Moreover... with a rock crevice, both sides might have openings. What if Guizu aura entered from the other side?
Wu Youren replied casually, “I sprinkled ghost-dispelling powder inside!”
“Damn,” the army knight said in astonishment upon hearing that. “That simple?”
Throw a few ghost-destroying mines, duck into a cave, sprinkle a handful of ghost-dispelling powder, and they could survive.
“Simple?” Sister Hua smiled dismissively. “First off, you have to be rich, don't you?”
Ghost-dispelling powder was genuinely expensive, and ghost-destroying mines were even pricier. The former cost one hundred silver dollars a dose, while the latter could sell for two hundred silver dollars each.
An ordinary grenade was merely a few silver dollars, but ghost-destroying mines were completely different.
And don't complain about the price; ordinary people had no channels to buy them even if they wanted to. Only the military didn't lack such things, but the military restricted their use here.
Buying them at the Martial Academy was relatively easier, but purchasing them in large quantities was also difficult.
For Wu Youren, a mere Martial Academy student, to acquire so many ghost-destroying mines, a portion of them must have been bought at inflated prices.
Add to that the exorbitant ghost-dispelling powder, and an ordinary person wouldn't possess such wealth at all!
The method was indeed simple, but it was purely the tactic of a pay-to-win player. Even if others knew the method, could they replicate it?
Hearing this, the soldier couldn't help baring his teeth. “As expected of a hostage. Truly filthy rich.”
Hearing that remark, Wu Youren shook his head slightly, speechlessly: *I'm far poorer than you. In the past, I couldn't even dare dream of this.*
It was only because he had earned a lot last time and genuinely wanted to farm Guizu here; otherwise, why would he ever have bought so much?
Chapter 99