Human Radar

Could Chūjiu have been one of the raiders who had blown up the railway tracks before?

Why was she injured?

That wound clearly hadn't been caused by the Keeper of Secrets.

Ji Xun had seen her white-haired state before. Even when she had still been a Card Master Apprentice, she had been able to stand against a First Rank A-class Fallen Witch through her own strength. Given suitable materials, she should have already advanced into a full-fledged Spell Card Master by now. Her combat power should have increased at least tenfold.

Then who had injured her?

Ji Xun had previously guessed that the raiders had set up this ambush to assassinate the Governor, but seeing Chūjiu here immediately made him feel that something was wrong.

The monsters in the maze targeted everyone. If they wanted to assassinate the Governor, there had been no need for them to enter themselves.

So, he felt that this old friend of his had also been caught up in the mess by accident.

And the wound was on her back. Had she been stabbed in the back by someone she trusted?

This plot was a little complicated.

The moment Ji Xun saw this old acquaintance, he had obtained a great deal of information.

But he was no longer completely ignorant of this world. Back in 407, when he had seen her unleash that demonic manifestation, he had known that this old friend of his had never had a simple background.

The more special someone's identity was, the less likely coincidence became.

Still, Ji Xun had no interest in prying into other people's private affairs.

Most importantly, seeing this old friend had sparked a flash of inspiration in his mind.

Ji Xun suddenly saw a reliable way to break the deadlock.

Previously, because he had lacked several crucial clues, he hadn't been confident on his own and would inevitably have had to gamble on luck.

But now he had them!

Thinking that, Ji Xun stood up and called out to the two people fleeing ahead, "Miss Chūjiu!"

Someone was calling out?

That shout made the two Cloaked Figures, who had been fleeing for their lives, freeze in surprise.

The silver-haired one glanced back. Behind her goggles, her eyes were equally filled with disbelief. How was this guy here?

Clearly, she had recognized Ji Xun at once as well.

Aside from his vaguely familiar voice, what truly allowed her to recognize him was that an unforgettable sense of familiarity instantly surged into her mind.

Back in the 407 space, there had been someone who always faced situations that would have meant certain death for others with an incomprehensible calm.

Wasn't this exactly the same?

Could anyone believe it? That guy was now standing amid a pile of skeletons, calmly waving at them?

Chūjiu could barely accept this bizarre sight because she had recognized Ji Xun, but the companion beside her definitely could not. Her widened eyes seemed to be saying: Was that a living person? Then... why weren't the skeleton monsters attacking him?

Only Chūjiu could understand this man's inhuman calmness.

Forget these skeletons—back in the 407 space, even when facing those terrifying A-class anomalies, his expression had never changed.

What was this little scene in comparison?

This guy simply couldn't be judged by ordinary standards.

The skeletons didn't attack Ji Xun, but that didn't mean they wouldn't attack the two of them.

After confirming that it was Chūjiu, Ji Xun jogged over and met up with them while following the skeleton horde.

In the blink of an eye, the three of them were running side by side.

Although Chūjiu wasn't in the best mood, she still asked in surprise, "How are you here?"

"We can talk about that later."

The situation was urgent, and Ji Xun had no intention of wasting time. He quickly added, "Stop running for now. The Governor's Mansion people just passed through ahead, and there's also a group of Keepers of Secrets. If you keep going, you'll most likely run into them."

Clearly, these two had intended to follow the path the Governor's Mansion had bulldozed through, reducing their chances of encountering monsters.

But that might not remain true if they kept running.

At those words, not only Chūjiu but also her companion froze and shot him doubtful looks. If they didn't run now, what else could they do? Fight the skeleton horde head-on?

Ji Xun knew what they were wondering and didn't explain much. He simply said, "Those skeleton monsters detect fluctuations in emotions tied to sanity. Fear, excitement, courage—any of them can draw their aggro."

"..."

Hearing that, Chūjiu seemed thoughtful.

A moment later, she chose to believe him and looked at him questioningly. "So?"

Their experience in 407 had given her a deep understanding of this former teammate.

At the very least, when it came to escaping an Alternate Dimension, no one had left a deeper impression on her than this guy.

Anyone in this maze could be an enemy, but Ji Xun alone would not be.

But Chūjiu's companion was clearly not so friendly.

Nan Jing looked at Ji Xun's motives with suspicion.

They had just been stabbed in the back by the companion they trusted most. Now, neither of them could trust anyone.

Seeing a stranger run over, she instinctively became wary, and her hand quietly moved to her card slot.

Chūjiu hurriedly introduced him. "Xiao Nan, he's my friend."

Hearing that, the spirit medium's wariness didn't lessen, but she no longer showed any intention of attacking.

Ji Xun ignored the inexplicable hostility.

In his eyes, only his old friend was worth paying attention to.

Everyone else was merely extra baggage.

He didn't beat around the bush and directly stated the method he had thought of. "If you want to shake off the skeleton horde, you need to block off your senses and control your emotional fluctuations. If you can't do that, I can knock you out and carry you away."

These two couldn't die.

At least, Chūjiu couldn't.

But it looked like saving only one of them was impossible, so he could only find a way to save both.

The moment those words came out, the spirit medium named Nan Jing frowned deeply.

Block off their senses? In this situation, wasn't that courting death?

And knock them out? Wouldn't that leave them at someone else's mercy?

Besides, appearing at this moment, with such a suspicious background and motive...

Nan Jing had just wanted to warn Chūjiu to be careful of strangers when she never expected Chūjiu to agree without a second thought. "Alright!"

What? She had agreed just like that?

Nan Jing's eyes widened as she tried to argue and warn her, "Chūjiu, you...!"

But before she could finish, Chūjiu reached out and touched the back of her neck. A strand of Mental Power pierced into her mind, and Nan Jing instantly fainted.

How could Chūjiu fail to see the situation clearly?

This was absolutely not the time to hesitate.

If they delayed any longer and rushed ahead into the Governor's Mansion group or the Keepers of Secrets, there would be no chance for regret.

From what they had seen so far, relying on themselves alone, they simply couldn't see any hope of escaping this predicament anytime soon.

And there was another point.

They had worked together before. There was a foundation of trust.

That guy's composure gave people an inexplicable confidence, as though any dangerous situation could be resolved at once.

Seeing Chūjiu act so decisively, Ji Xun smiled faintly.

Aside from being a little too kind, this old friend of his was quite decisive when it mattered.

That saved him a great deal of explanation.

At a moment like this, the more they ran around blindly, the more dangerous it became.

Chūjiu already understood Ji Xun's meaning. As long as she shut off her visual and auditory senses, she could naturally control the fluctuations in her sanity.

Speaking quickly and clearly, she said, "I can block off my senses, but once I do, my movements will be severely restricted."

Before she could finish, Ji Xun had no intention of wasting words. He suddenly ran in front of her and crouched down, then slung both Chūjiu and the unconscious spirit medium she had been carrying over his shoulders. "I'll carry you."

"???"

Chūjiu's expression instantly turned stunned.

She had caught Ji Xun's movement in advance and guessed what he intended to do, yet she still found it unbelievable.

In that brief moment of hesitation, she realized that she had already been scooped up around the waist.

Ji Xun offered no further explanation and took off running with both of them over his shoulders.

Chūjiu's expression became slightly strange.

She remembered that after leaving the space back then, he had nearly fallen just jumping across a pipe a few meters away. Had his body become this strong now?

Oh, it must have been that Epic Source Card he got in 407.

With that thought, Chūjiu immediately understood.

She didn't make any fuss. She closed her eyes and shut off her hearing and other unnecessary senses at the same time.

Unable to see the monsters or receive the oppressive environmental cues, and with the crackling sounds of the monster tide gone from beside her ears, her state of mind gradually calmed.

When Ji Xun saw the skeleton tide behind them gradually lose its target, he knew that his old friend had entered the right state.

Tsk, an expert really was an expert.

He carried the two of them through the maze passages at full speed.

Before long, the sounds of the skeleton monsters moving behind them could no longer be heard at all.

The nearby skeleton monsters had also completely lost their aggro targets and began wandering aimlessly through the corridors.

But although Chūjiu had blocked her sight and hearing, she wasn't completely unaware. As they moved along, she suddenly said, "Go left. There are powerful monster fluctuations at two o'clock on the right."

Hearing that, Ji Xun's lips curled slightly. Just as expected.

The reason he had chosen to save them was for Chūjiu's ability—Human Radar!

And this teammate of his was smart. She had tacitly understood her purpose at this moment.

Back in 407, Ji Xun had discovered that Chūjiu could sense the presence of monsters from a great distance away. This was likely an extraordinary ability granted by the Demon Mark. Even ordinary high-level Spell Card Masters might not possess senses stronger than hers.

In this maze, that ability became even more important.

If Ji Xun had been alone, he had some confidence in escaping the maze.

But because someone had triggered the Hidden Scenario in advance and disrupted the order of the puzzle, several crucial clues were now clearly missing.

To search for clues in the maze while avoiding the Keepers of Secrets would require gambling on luck.

But now that Chūjiu had appeared, the situation was completely different.

This created another way to break the deadlock.

Chūjiu could sense monsters from far away, allowing them to avoid many unnecessary dangers.

Even if Chūjiu's sensing range was somewhat smaller than that of the Keepers of Secrets, she could at least detect danger from a considerable distance in advance.

They would still have a chance to escape.

From Ji Xun's earlier observations, the Keepers of Secrets weren't absurdly fast in pursuit. As long as they discovered them early and fled at full speed while prepared, there was a very high chance of avoiding them.

Combined with Ji Xun's photographic memory, it was nearly impossible for him to make a low-level mistake like walking into a dead end himself.

That way, as long as they didn't encounter the Keepers of Secrets, the maze predicament that had originally meant a near-certain death would instantly become eighty percent less dangerous.

With the remaining time, they could focus entirely on solving the maze.