Xu Chao looked bewildered. He studied Qin Xun from head to toe, then looked down at the broken Bewitching Flower on the ground.
Qin Xun looked even more bewildered!
Not only had the black dog spoken, but he had now stood up and was dancing at him.
The next second, a wave of agonizing pain swept through his entire body!
It hurt so much that Qin Xun nearly cursed again!
Xu Chao had pinched his gunshot wound!
He sucked in a sharp breath, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He looked again. There was no dancing dog.
The black dog had been sitting on the ground the whole time, panting with his tongue out.
Glancing at the Bewitching Flower on the ground, Qin Xun understood why the dog had spoken human words and danced.
Xu Chao couldn't help praising him again. "Kid, you really can take a lot!"
Qin Xun couldn't help complaining, "Next time, could you not pinch me there? What if I cry out?"
"Sure!" Xu Chao patted Mengmeng on the head. "Go!"
Whoosh!
Mengmeng shot forward like an arrow to scout the way.
The three had only run a few steps when Xu Chao suddenly stopped again. He crouched beside Qin Xun and rubbed the blood that had dripped onto the ground.
"Dazhuang, stop his bleeding first!"
Xu Chao stood up, and a blue light suddenly flashed between his brows.
Mengmeng, who had already run ahead, quickly turned back and peed on the bloodstained ground, as if covering the scent.
Dazhuang, meanwhile, had Qin Xun bare his arm and grabbed the injured area.
Soon, Qin Xun's injured left arm was enveloped in golden light.
When the golden light faded, the area around the gunshot wound had actually turned to stone!
"Psionic Power users..."
Qin Xun stared at the stone covering part of his left arm.
His guess had been right. Those two were Psionic Power users!
"Let's go!"
Xu Chao waved his hand.
Mengmeng ran ahead to scout again, and the three followed close behind him into the next residential area.
The residential area was full of old buildings, all in a state of disrepair.
The people who lived here were all civilians.
It was one in the morning.
Everyone was asleep.
Mengmeng ran at the front, a blue light glowing on his forehead.
Every now and then, he would suddenly stop, then continue once he had made sure it was safe.
Qin Xun followed at the rear, watching Xu Chao and Dazhuang.
He was surprised to discover that although they were running at the same speed as he was, Xu Chao and Dazhuang's footsteps were barely audible.
He could understand it with Xu Chao, who was thinner, after all.
But even Dazhuang, with his powerful build, could run without making so much as a sound.
Qin Xun could also walk without making a sound.
But that was walking!
When running at full speed, he still made the usual sounds.
Psionic Power users really were far stronger than ordinary people.
As they threaded through the alleys of the residential area, Qin Xun could clearly hear the roar of trucks on the street outside.
And there was more than one!
There was almost only one reason for trucks to be roaring through the streets in the middle of the night.
They were transporting members of the Guard Team!
Qin Xun caught up to Xu Chao, his heart burning with anxiety. "What on earth happened?"
Xu Chao answered calmly, "All you need to know is that your sister is fine. Stay close!"
The residential area was enormous, the largest and most populous in Zone 108.
It also had the highest crime rate.
It took the three men and the dog nearly half an hour to reach the other side of the residential area.
When they were only a few dozen meters from leaving it, Xu Chao suddenly stopped and said quietly, "Don't move. Wait here for me."
After running nonstop for half an hour while injured, Qin Xun was already out of breath and pale as snow.
Xu Chao walked softly with Mengmeng to the mouth of the alley ahead.
His body was hidden in the darkness.
After a while, he crept back and shook his head at Dazhuang. "The way's blocked!"
"What? It's blocked?"
"There's no time to find another way out of the city. They're searching the whole city now. If we keep running around, we'll definitely be discovered. Let's find somewhere to hide first, then figure out how to get out after tonight!"
When Xu Chao finished, he looked at Qin Xun. "Do you know Zone 108 well? Do you know anywhere we can hide that the Guard Team won't find anytime soon?"
"There are plenty of places to hide people, but I can't guarantee the Guard Team won't find us." At a time like this, Qin Xun didn't dare speak with too much certainty. That would only harm them.
"Take us somewhere you think will be safe for now."
"Okay, follow me!"
Qin Xun led them out of the residential area in another direction.
He then took them down a road without surveillance cameras, around a foul-smelling old street and past patrols conducting searches, until they reached a weed-covered wasteland.
In the middle of the wasteland, Qin Xun pushed aside the weeds and, with Xu Chao's help, lifted a wooden board.
A hole in the ground appeared before them.
"Nice. How did you know there was a hole here?"
Xu Chao smacked his lips. This place was definitely safer than hiding in an unoccupied house.
"This used to be a secret base for A-Liang and me. Only the two of us know about it."
"What about this A-Liang? Would he sell us out?" Xu Chao asked.
"He's dead. Just yesterday, he died by my hand..."
Xu Chao fell silent, and so did Dazhuang.
The hole was quite large, with enough room for eight or nine people without any trouble.
But they couldn't stand inside. They could only bend over or crouch.
After they climbed down, Xu Chao covered the opening with the wooden board.
Qin Xun took out the flashlight he carried with him and switched it on, illuminating the hole.
There was a wooden box in the hole, its surface covered in dust. Since it was empty, Xu Chao used it as a stool.
There was also a filthy, stiff quilt.
Before A-Liang's father died, he liked to drink, and every time he did, he beat A-Liang. Gradually, A-Liang learned better: whenever he knew in advance that his father had been drinking, he would come here to spend the night.
Qin Xun and Dazhuang sat on the quilt, which was more comfortable than sitting on the ground.
Dazhuang looked around the hole. "You know, this place should be safe enough for now!"
Qin Xun also looked around the hole. Memories of the days when he and A-Liang had gone around stealing chickens and snatching dogs came to mind, and his heart ached.
Coming back to his senses, Qin Xun asked, "Can we escape?"
Xu Chao stroked Mengmeng's head, then took a biscuit from his pocket and fed it to him. "Hard to say. We might get caught."
"What happens if we're caught?"
"Death!"
After saying that while looking at Qin Xun, Xu Chao paused, because he hadn't seen the slightest trace of fear in Qin Xun's eyes.
That wasn't the look a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy should have after hearing about death.
"I'm not afraid of dying... I'm only worried about Xiao Ling..."
"How many times have I told you? Your sister is fine. She's already out of the city!"
"Do me a favor..."
"Go ahead."
Qin Xun took the special medicine from his schoolbag and held it out to Xu Chao. "If I don't make it out, take this bottle of special medicine to my sister."
Xu Chao stared at the special medicine in Qin Xun's hand for three seconds, then knocked his hand aside.
"Keep it safe yourself! We promised Brother Shui we'd bring you both to him safely! If anything happens to you, we won't have the face to go back and see him alive!"
Qin Xun also stared blankly for three seconds.
He seemed to understand a little about the relationship between Xu Chao and the others and Brother Shui.
It seemed they weren't merely Brother Shui's subordinates.