Ambush

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At midnight, two expensive, high-performance Destroyers sped down the open expressway, one after the other. Once they passed around the upper hub, they would enter the Cross-Sea Expressway. Yi Lin Manor already seemed within sight.

Wei Wei was still sulking, but Ronan sensed that something was wrong.

This sense of danger had begun the moment he entered the banquet.

It was as if someone were watching him from somewhere beyond.

It was an extraordinary instinct, perhaps related to his years in prison—without this instinctive warning of danger in Crescent Prison, Ronan would have died ten thousand times over.

This time, that sense of crisis was more intense than ever before.

He suddenly looked up. In an instant, all the streetlights along both sides of the Cross-Sea Expressway went out!

The driver slowed down. Although the Destroyer's headlights could illuminate a great distance, without bright lighting, continuing at such high speed would be suicide.

Then they saw a tiny flame light up on a distant hillside!

The driver, said to have come from a military background, reacted without hesitation. He roared, "Ambush!"

As he spoke, he yanked the steering wheel hard, forcibly slamming the Destroyer into the guardrail on the left!

Boom!

The Destroyer's bumper shattered the guardrail, and the vehicle lurched into a patch of muddy ground.

Before the people in the car had recovered from the shock, a fire dragon streaked past them.

Bang!

A tremendous explosion rang out. The driver's keen instincts had saved Wei Wei and Ronan's lives, but the second Destroyer was not so fortunate.

Four bodyguards said to be highly skilled were struck head-on by that fire dragon, and the entire vehicle was blasted to pieces!

Flames and smoke rose into the air, dazzlingly conspicuous against the pitch-black Cross-Sea Expressway.

Wei Wei trembled as she asked, "W-What's going on?"

Thanks to their seat belts, the young master and young lady from Yi Lin Manor in the back seat had not been seriously hurt. Wei Wei had only suffered a scrape on her forehead, while Ronan had assumed a strange posture at the moment of impact, dispersing the immense collision force without a trace.

But in such chaos, no one noticed Ronan's abnormality.

The driver gritted his teeth. "Anti-armor weaponry. At least a third-generation Red Copper Dragon Grenade!"

Then he frantically pressed a button in the car. "Calling Yi Lin Manor. This is RX03. The young lady has come under attack. Location: Cross-Sea Expressway. The enemy has heavy weapons..."

Bang!

Before he could finish, a high-explosive armor-piercing round pierced the windshield and struck the driver squarely between the brows.

His neck twisted to one side, and his body slumped limply.

Wei Wei screamed at the top of her lungs!

Ronan instantly released his seat belt and vaulted from the back seat into the front!

Wei Wei cried out, "What are you doing?"

Ronan dragged the driver's corpse into the passenger seat and sat down behind the wheel himself.

"I don't like waiting to die," he said quickly.

Wei Wei anxiously asked, "Can you drive?"

As Ronan started the rx Destroyer, he muttered,

"I can even pilot a starship!"

Unfortunately, Wei Wei did not hear his mutter, because a powerful off-road vehicle came charging out of the woods nearby!

Four rows of searchlights locked tightly onto the rx Destroyer. Ronan vaguely saw a masked man lying prone on the roof of the vehicle, gripping a sniper rifle.

It was that deadly weapon that had taken the driver's life.

Ignoring Wei Wei's screams, Ronan made a snap decision and shoved the Destroyer's power to its maximum!

Driven by high-quality Primal Stone, the Destroyer was like a ferocious beast released from its cage, leaping out of the mud in an instant!

Sparks flew as the tires scraped against the rocks, but Ronan could no longer worry about that.

He did not turn around and head for the Cross-Sea Expressway, even though that route appeared to be the fastest way back to Yi Lin Manor.

He had not forgotten how the second Destroyer had been destroyed.

Who knew whether the man at the end of the road holding a shoulder-fired rocket launcher was still waiting for him?

Their only route to survival lay within this mountain!

The off-road vehicle's driver clearly had not expected the Destroyer to keep moving after its driver died. Moreover, Ronan's decisiveness far exceeded that of ordinary people. In barely two breaths, the Destroyer had charged savagely into the dense forest.

"Chase!"

Although the information intercepted from the encrypted channel proved that Yi Lin Manor had received the distress signal the driver sent before his death, and Earl Will's rescue force should arrive soon, the leader of the assassination team still made his decision without hesitation.

The assassin on the roof swiftly put away his weapon, climbed into the vehicle, and said calmly, "With my next shot, I'll take out that boy driving."

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

In the drowsy midnight, two luxury vehicles began a chase through the muddy, tangled woodland!

The night was pitch-black, yet the Destroyer had switched off its bright headlights.

Ronan felt the blood throughout his body begin to boil.

He narrowed his eyes at the woods ahead. The Destroyer lurched along with remarkable steadiness, weaving around ancient trees with tangled roots as it drove deeper into the forest.

Wei Wei's heart pounded. Sitting in the back seat, she could see nothing—because Ronan had cut off every source of light. She was smart and naturally understood his intentions. Without lights, even if the car behind them had radar or other detection equipment, locking onto their vehicle would be much more difficult.

At the very least, their sniper would not be able to take them out with one shot.

But she was very curious. How could Ronan ensure the Destroyer would not crash into a tree?

He was not driving particularly fast, but how could he see the way in this pitch-black night where one could not even see one's own hand?

For a moment, that detestable country bumpkin seemed to be shrouded in an aura of mystery in Wei Wei's eyes.

Could this man truly be the secret weapon her father had prepared to deal with the Li Family?

But judging from everything he had done since entering the manor, he really seemed like an ordinary boy who had grown up entirely in the countryside!

Just as Wei Wei was lost in these complicated thoughts, Ronan suddenly stomped on the brakes.

"Ow!"

Thrown forward by inertia in the back seat, the young lady was thankfully held back by her seat belt, though she still nearly crashed into the driver's corpse!

Wei Wei went pale with fright, shocked and terrified. "What exactly are you doing?"

Ronan glanced back and judged calmly, "There's no road ahead."

A valley lay before them. It was not very deep, reaching its end after roughly a hundred meters.

Driving the Destroyer inside would undoubtedly be a dead end.

"Then what do we do?" This was not the first time Wei Wei had encountered an assassination attempt, but it was the first time she had faced something this serious.

Everyone was dead. Only she and this boy she had known for just a few days remained.

Nominally, she had to call him cousin; yet everyone said he was her fiancé.

The pressure from the mysterious assassins and the eerie atmosphere of this extreme situation made it hard for her to breathe.

In the darkness, she felt utterly helpless.

But at that moment, a hand gently took hers.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Ronan's tone was as calm as ever.

Wei Wei felt her cheeks burn.

How could he be so frivolous? Even if the circumstances were special, he could not just grab her hand without permission!

The girl's thoughts were in a mess, and for a moment, she actually forgot about the pursuers behind them.

She only remembered secretly resenting Ronan's rudeness, yet what unsettled her even more was that Ronan's voice had truly calmed her from her panicked state.

His voice seemed to possess a kind of magic that made people feel safe.

She had a thousand things to say, but in the end, they became only a soft, bashful murmur.

"Mm."

Ronan had no idea what the young lady was thinking.

He needed to calm Wei Wei down now, because he needed her help!

There isn't much magic power left... Last time, to avoid that tiger's detection, Noah sealed nearly all of my sorcery.

Although Danger Perception and Night Vision are permanent spells, they still consume energy. Once the pursuers catch up, it'll probably be difficult to fight them.

Ronan was anxious as well.

Today's ambushers were definitely no ordinary opponents. They would likely find this place very soon!

Alone, he might not be their match!

Because he had no weapons.

If he had even the most outdated mech, he was confident he could take out the assassins behind them. Unfortunately, he had nothing. Under the current circumstances, they could only hide until Yi Lin Manor's rescue force arrived.

Thinking this, he could only grit his teeth and ask,

"What's this car's extraction password?"

"Huh?" Wei Wei found it strange that Ronan would ask such a question.

"Hurry. We don't have much time."

"We have to abandon this car and hide it, because they'll follow the radiation traces of the Primal Stone—if they have enough radiation detectors. I need you to give me the Destroyer's extraction password so I can remove the Primal Stone inside."

Ronan spoke quickly, with a trace of urgency in his voice.

Wei Wei stammered, "The password... the password is my birthday..."

Ronan nearly collapsed!

What exactly was inside this woman's head?!

Who cared about her birthday?!

He needed the password!

Fortunately, Wei Wei seemed to realize that Ronan could not possibly know her birthday.

"1030."

Beep, beep, beep!

As the mechanical sounds of the password entry rang out, a green crystal slowly rose from the power compartment. Judging by its color, about one-third of the Primal Power within had already been extracted.

This was a top-grade Primal Stone. The Earl's family truly deserved to be one of the foremost mining groups in the Emerald Star Region. A Primal Stone like this was enough to equip a mech, yet it was currently being used to power a private car.

But to Ronan, the better the Primal Stone, the better!

He started the Destroyer again, drove it into the woods to one side, and stopped in a spot thick with bushes.

Then he grabbed the Primal Stone and said rapidly to Wei Wei, "Get out!"

His voice allowed no argument!

The two hurried out of the car, and Ronan pointed toward the other side of the woods.

"Hide over there!"

Wei Wei froze at once!

Ronan waved the Primal Stone in his hand and explained, "They'll follow me."

"The manor's rescue team will arrive within three minutes at most. You'll be safe by then."

Wei Wei's heart was in turmoil. She did not want to walk alone through the darkness, and she wanted even less for Ronan to sacrifice himself for her.

At this moment, she suddenly realized how laughable her previous tantrums had been.

Ever since Ronan entered Yi Lin Manor, he had not done anything to offend her.

Everything had been rumors from outside.

Other people's looks and her friends' teasing had made her angry out of embarrassment.

Deep down, she had already decided that Ronan was a bastard, a country bumpkin, a toad dreaming of swan meat.

Yet this very man was prepared to sacrifice himself at the critical moment!

She was so moved that she nearly cried.

Ronan did not have so many emotions. He merely said coldly,

"I won't die. Don't overthink it. Hurry up and find a place to hide over there."

With that, he ignored Wei Wei, took the Primal Stone, and ran straight toward the depths of the valley.

Not far away, the rumbling engine noise arrived in an instant.

Wei Wei had no time to think. She could only follow the direction Ronan had pointed and hide deeper in the woods.

Thanks to reader Daoist UC for the 10,000-point reward!

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