Escape from the Mountains

The two cooked a bowl of egg noodles and prepared some hot water for Wang Meng.

When the cameraman saw them finally come out, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Ding, ding, ding."

A phone notification sounded.

A text notification.

Congratulations to Lu Xingchen and Huo Chuyun for completing Task Two and rescuing Wang Xiuli. Both team members' final acceleration coin totals will be doubled.

Before the final five minutes of game time.

Everyone must choose the correct plan to successfully rescue Wang Xiuli and the others. If you choose incorrectly, your location will be tracked and you will be captured.

"Three more people have been caught. Now it's just us, Zhao Zhiyan and her husband, Su Tianle, Zhu Wei, and Jiang Jingyi."

Lu Xingchen checked the time. "There are twenty minutes left until Task Three ends. Brother Chu, what do you think about the final task?"

Holding his phone, Huo Chuyun analyzed the wording line by line. "The task means we have to decide how to get Wang Xiuli and the others safely out of Tuanjie Village."

"Call the police?" That was the safest approach Lu Xingchen could think of at first.

Huo Chuyun shook his head. "Let's ask Wang Meng first and see what she says. We can't be sure the police aren't in league with Tuanjie Village."

Lu Xingchen nodded in understanding. He waited at the bedroom door until Wang Meng had settled Wang Xiuli before stepping forward to ask.

"Wang Meng, where's the nearest police station to Tuanjie Village?"

Wang Meng realized what they intended to do. As though she had recalled a nightmare, her face instantly went deathly pale. "No! You can't call the police!"

Lu Xingchen and Huo Chuyun exchanged a glance. There really was something fishy going on.

"Someone in the village had something stolen once and called the police. I'd only just been trafficked here then, and I wanted to seize that one chance to get the police to take us out of here..."

"But after being taken to the police station, terrified and uneasy, I was eventually brought back by that officer, whose surname was also Li. That was the time Li Tao beat me half to death. After that, I learned my lesson, because I knew I couldn't escape..."

As though a possibility had occurred to her, Wang Meng looked at the two uneasily. "You're here to save us, right? You're not with them, are you?"

Tears filled Wang Meng's eyes. As though grasping her only lifeline, she clung tightly to one of Lu Xingchen's arms.

Lu Xingchen patted Wang Meng's shoulder and soothed her softly.

"Don't be afraid, Wang Meng. We'll definitely get you out. If we really were working with Li Tao and the others, we wouldn't have beaten him up and tied him up, would we?"

Wang Meng nodded as though she had finally understood and spoke through her sobs.

"Yes... yes. If you were with them, you wouldn't dare treat that animal like that. The reason Li Tao's family is richer than the other families in the village is that his father, Li Qiang, led the villagers into making money this way."

Huo Chuyun's eyes darkened. "Which other women in the village were trafficked here?"

Wang Meng shook her head in distress.

"Some were brought here years ago and have been completely assimilated by them. The older woman at the village shop was trafficked here too. When I found that out, I asked her for help, but she told Li Tao the very next moment."

"Later, I learned to act obedient and found out some inside information. That woman even helps them lure girls away."

"Most of the time, she serves as a kind of obedience test. They deliberately let slip that she was trafficked here too, then watch to see whether anyone asks her for help, before shattering the girls' hopes of escaping."

"Some died from difficult childbirths, and others were tormented to death by having to give birth over and over."

"They treat the trafficked girls as breeding tools. They aren't allowed any postpartum recovery time. They can only keep giving birth, over and over... until they've had enough sons."

"My aunt always resisted. She only managed to survive this long because Li Qiang died early."

"And I only managed to survive this long because my aunt intervened on my behalf..."

Lu Xingchen's nose stung, and he pressed his lips together in sympathy. Unable to help himself, he stepped forward and hugged Wang Meng. "I'm sorry, Wang Meng. We came too late."

"What are you apologizing for, child?" Wang Meng chided. "The fact that you came means all the time we held on wasn't for nothing. You're our hope."

"Don't cry anymore."

Huo Chuyun tenderly wiped the tears from the corners of Lu Xingchen's eyes. "If calling the police won't work, we'll take you out of these mountains ourselves."

Lu Xingchen gave instructions. "Isn't there a car parked in the courtyard? Brother Chu, go get the keys from Li Tao. I'll avoid the hunters and buy supplies."

"Wang Meng, help Auntie Wang and your daughter pack their clothes. We'll meet in ten minutes and drive out of here."

"All right." Wang Meng nodded and briskly went to pack.

Looking at Lu Xingchen, Huo Chuyun first silently mouthed, "Baby," then reminded him, "Be careful. We have to make it to the end together."

Lu Xingchen hugged Huo Chuyun. "Yeah. Wait for me to come back."

[Help, why am I crying? My heart really aches for Wang Meng and Auntie Wang.]

[How can Xingxing be so sweet? His eyes went rabbit-red listening to Wang Meng talk about what happened to her.]

[This really strips away the mystique around the police. I was wondering why the production team's final task was so strange.]

[So that's it. Calling the police doesn't necessarily mean you'll be rescued. You might just be stepping into another abyss.]

[Xingxing, you have to come back safely. You all have to escape these mountains together.]

Ten minutes later.

Huo Chuyun had helped Wang Meng pack their luggage and put it in the trunk. Wang Meng sat in the back with Wang Xiuli and her daughter. All that remained was to wait for Lu Xingchen to return.

Lu Xingchen hurried back with two large bags of food and water. Huo Chuyun took the heavy supplies from him, frowning at the wound on Lu Xingchen's knee.

The wound was covered in brown dirt and small stones and looked bloody.

Huo Chuyun asked in a low voice, "How did that happen?"

Lu Xingchen waved a hand dismissively. "I accidentally fell while avoiding a hunter. It's nothing serious. We can deal with it later. Let's get in first."

Holding back his anger, Huo Chuyun said nothing.

The two were just about to get into the car when Wei Wenxu, who still had no idea what had happened, interrupted them. "Where are you taking them? What are you doing instead of calling the police?"

Ignoring Wei Wenxu, Lu Xingchen opened the car door and got in, completely unaffected.

Su Tianle and the others hurried to Li Tao's house. Seeing that Lu Xingchen and Huo Chuyun were taking Wang Xiuli and the others away, they also stepped forward to stop them.

"We've already asked the production team to call the police. Where are you taking Wang Xiuli?"

Lu Xingchen glanced at the remaining time.

14:38

There were fewer than ten minutes left until Task Three ended. With no time to explain so much, Lu Xingchen said sharply.

"The police station isn't safe at all. There's not much time left. We have to get Wang Meng and the others out of Tuanjie Village ourselves! Move!"

Seeing that Su Tianle and the other two remained unmoved, blocking the front of the car, Lu Xingchen narrowed his foxlike eyes. A sharp glint flashed through them as he said coldly.

"Brother Chu, drive!"