Qin Xun was puzzled.
He had never met this young man, yet the young man knew his name.
And the clothes he wore belonged to neither the patrol team nor the guard team. It was just an ordinary black jacket.
Then who was he?
"Hm? You're hurt?" The young man's gaze fell on Qin Xun's shot left arm. "Looks like a gunshot wound, too... Kid, you're pretty tough!"
Qin Xun studied the young man's face closely, but still couldn't remember where he had seen him.
He looked down at the black dog, which had been vicious and menacing just moments ago.
Now it had obediently rolled over and was rubbing its head against the young man's shoes.
"Who are you?"
"My name's Xu Chao. I'm here to take you away!"
"Take me away?"
"I work for your brother."
"My brother?"
Qin Xun's expression turned dazed.
"Qin Ashui is your brother, right?"
"Qin Ashui?"
Qin Xun froze.
Qin Ashui was indeed his older brother.
He was his eldest uncle's son.
But he had disappeared six years ago. Just like A-Liang, everyone thought he was dead, his body lost without a trace.
Was he still alive?
"What, you don't recognize the name? Qin Ashui, your eldest uncle's son. He left Zone 108 six years ago."
"Brother Shui is still alive?"
For a moment, Qin Xun was so excited that he even forgot the pain of his gunshot wound.
His parents had died when he was young, and Brother Shui had raised him and his sister.
When Brother Shui was still in Zone 108, nobody had even dared to bully the two of them.
"Yes, he's alive. He's somewhere safe now. Something came up and he couldn't come, so he sent us to Zone 108 to bring you and your sister to him!"
"Us?"
"That's right. There are four others besides me. Three of them have already taken your sister ahead. You weren't home, so Dazhuang and I stayed behind to look for you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man named Dazhuang appeared.
A burly man came running out from deeper in the alley and stopped beside Xu Chao. He braced one hand against the wall, so exhausted he could barely catch his breath.
"Next time... could you and your dog please run a little slower next time..." When he finished, his gaze landed on Qin Xun, and he was overjoyed. "You found him? Good, let's go!"
"Wait!"
Coming back to his senses, Qin Xun took a wary step back.
Having grown up in a fallen zone and raised his younger sister there, he had learned not to trust anyone easily.
"Why should I believe you?"
Xu Chao took something else out of his pocket and tossed it to Qin Xun.
Qin Xun caught it with the hand holding his dagger.
It was a purple stone.
He searched his memory.
At last, he remembered that he had given Brother Shui this stone for his eighteenth birthday.
Brother Shui had loved the stone and carried it with him wherever he went.
He had said it was a wonderful birthday present that could bring him good luck and keep him safe!
Then Xu Chao handed him a photograph.
It was a picture of him and Brother Shui together.
He had been little then, not even tall enough to reach Brother Shui's shoulder.
"Brother Shui really is still alive..."
"No kidding. He's alive and well, eating and drinking the best of everything. He sent us to bring you over to enjoy the good life with him."
"Where's my sister?"
"Didn't I tell you? Our people already took her out of the city. You weren't home, so Dazhuang and I stayed behind especially to find you!"
Dazhuang's voice was as rough as his build. "Qin Xun, hurry up and come with us. We won't hurt you. With our strength, if we really wanted to catch you, we'd only need two seconds to knock you out. The guard team is already heading to your house. If we drag this out until the whole city is locked down, getting out will be difficult."
Qin Xun believed the burly man wasn't boasting.
They really could knock him out.
He could sense a special aura about them.
Quite a few people in Zone 108 had that same aura.
Those people were psychics, a special group!
Even He Laowu had to be polite to them!
They could deal with monsters that ordinary people couldn't!
"Why would the guard team go to my house?" Qin Xun's heart clenched.
"Come with us. We'll tell you on the way. We really don't have much time." Judging by Xu Chao's expression, time really was tight.
Qin Xun hesitated for a moment, then made his decision. "All right, I'll go with you. I hope you're not lying to me!"
If Qin Ling had already been taken away by them, and if they really were taking the two of them to Brother Shui...
Then it really was a good thing for him and his sister right now.
Qin Xun was willing to take the gamble!
All because of that stone he had given Brother Shui.
"Come on, this way!" Xu Chao turned and headed deeper into the alley.
Qin Xun said, "That's not the way out of the city."
"No kidding. The city gates might already be locked down. You planning to force your way through? I'll take you by a safe route!"
The three men and the dog hurried through the alleys.
Under the dark night sky, Xu Chao and Dazhuang moved quickly.
Even running at full speed, Qin Xun could barely keep up with them.
The fastest of them was the black dog scouting ahead. It moved swiftly, its nose twitching constantly as it ran, sniffing for who knew what.
Before long, the three men and the dog ran out of the residential area and came to a street riddled with potholes.
"Someone's coming!"
Qin Xun couldn't see anyone, but Xu Chao said it anyway.
He grabbed Qin Xun's left arm, making Qin Xun hurt so badly he nearly cursed.
The three men and the dog hid behind a flower bed by the roadside.
Ten seconds passed, and Qin Xun still couldn't see anyone.
He began to doubt Xu Chao, until another ten seconds passed and someone really did come...
It was a passing patrol team of eight, dressed in specially made black clothes and carrying flashlights.
Xu Chao made a gesture for silence, signaling Qin Xun not to make a sound.
Soon, the eight patrol members had gone far away.
"How did you know someone was coming?" Qin Xun asked curiously.
"I didn't, but Mengmeng did..." Xu Chao stroked the black dog's head.
"That smells so good. What is it?"
A faint, refreshing fragrance filled the air.
The scent even made Qin Xun forget the pain in his arm for a moment.
Xu Chao reached out and snapped off a flower in full bloom in the flower bed. "This is a Bewitching Flower from the Misty Forest. The scent is pleasant, but don't breathe too much of it. It can easily cause hallucinations..."
"Who was wicked enough to plant a Bewitching Flower here?" Dazhuang muttered.
"Exactly. That's wicked!"
Hm?
A huge question mark appeared over Qin Xun's head as he slowly turned to look at the black dog that had spoken.
The black dog was squatting behind Xu Chao, panting with its tongue out.
Qin Xun sucked in a sharp breath. "Your dog can talk?"
"Huh?" Xu Chao stared at Qin Xun in utter confusion, then looked at his black dog. "You heard it speak?"
Qin Xun looked at the black dog, wondering if he had misheard.
But then the black dog suddenly spoke again. "Haha, shocked, aren't you?"
"It really can talk!"
Qin Xun pointed at the black dog in disbelief!
Were monsters these days all this awesome?
It could even speak human language!