Chapter 72
Just as Tang Rui finished speaking, a cold sea breeze blew past them, carrying a foul, bloody stench. Goosebumps immediately broke out on their arms, and Jiang He subconsciously shivered.
The two young men on the other side had, at some point, finished their conversation and were striding towards them. The man in the lead handed Jiang Liu several packets of instant noodles that had already been mixed, the box still warm to the touch.
“You guys probably haven’t eaten yet, have you?” The young man Tang Rui had mentioned sat down casually next to Jiang Liu, his dark eyes thoughtfully fixed on her.
Jiang Liu said her thanks, took the noodles, and set them aside without starting to eat. Instead, she shifted backward, shielding the sleeping Xiao Ya behind her.
Perhaps due to the instance’s settings, Xiao Ya had started yawning as soon as she arrived on the island. The tragic scene of the Mermaids earlier hadn’t affected her sleepiness in the slightest.
The young man noticed her movement and grinned. “No need to be so vigilant. We used clean water.”
As if afraid Jiang Liu wouldn’t believe him, he casually picked up a bowl himself and began to eat heartily, giving her a thumbs-up. “The taste is not bad. At least it’s something hot.”
Jiang Liu didn’t say a word.
Besides seafood, there were plenty of instant foods on the boat Yang Caisi had left them. They weren’t too hungry at the moment.
Seeing this, the young man wasn’t annoyed. He waved his hand, sending the person behind him to patrol the area, while his own eyes darted around as he threw out an unexpected question.
“You’ve also noticed there’s something strange about Zhang Zhong, haven’t you?”
This single sentence immediately made Tang Rui restless. Jiang He frowned sharply, and the atmosphere grew tense. Only Tang Ruo and Jiang Liu remained relatively calm, though they watched him cautiously.
The young man slurped his noodles and shook his head, his words muffled. “Don’t be rash. I saw how you two got ashore. I can’t beat you.”
He gestured towards Jiang Liu with his chin and introduced himself. “My name is Li Feiyang. I want to discuss a partnership with you.”
From the moment he appeared, Jiang Liu had been sitting still, seemingly listening with a relaxed posture. In reality, she was intently focused on Li Feiyang’s every move. If he said a single wrong word, she could subdue him in an instant.
After hearing the word “partnership,” she gave him a half-smiling, appraising look and spoke with a subtle tone, “Aren’t you and Zhang Zhong partners?”
If that was the case, why would he avoid the others and approach them?
Li Feiyang sneered contemptuously, his gaze drifting vaguely in a certain direction.
Following his gaze, Jiang Liu saw that the man who had been sent to patrol hadn’t gone far. Instead, he was loitering around them, glancing their way from time to time as if on guard against something.
This wariness didn’t seem to be entirely directed at Jiang Liu, but rather at Li Feiyang.
“See? This group of people, just like Uncle Zhang, are about to go crazy,” Li Feiyang said, continuing to eat his noodles. He spoke quickly, his voice soon scattered by the sea breeze.
Jiang Liu found this slightly amusing and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. She casually picked up the bowl of noodles and stirred them randomly, her voice low but carrying an indescribable chill. “You’re being watched?”
Li Feiyang grunted in affirmation, his peripheral vision constantly tracking the patrolling man’s figure.
Who would have thought that in the next second, a dagger gleaming with a cold light would appear in Jiang Liu’s fingertips? Hidden by the side of the noodle bowl, where no one but Li Feiyang himself would notice, it was pressed nonchalantly against his thigh.
“In that case, why don’t we just capture you to win Zhang Zhong’s trust?”
Jiang Liu’s voice was smiling, but Li Feiyang’s body stiffened abruptly. A bone-chilling cold spread through him, and the hand holding the bowl and chopsticks even trembled slightly.
“Wait, sis, don’t be rash! Let me finish first!”
Although he could tell Jiang Liu wasn’t as delicate as she looked, he hadn’t expected her to be the type to draw a blade at the drop of a hat!
“I’m not patient. Get to the point,” Jiang Liu said with a smile, her tone brimming with authority.
Ever since she entered this damn game, she had been dealing with nothing but riddlers who only spoke in half-sentences, leaving her hanging. Her patience was about to run out.
Li Feiyang swallowed hard, feeling the cold blade move on his thigh. A cold sweat had already broken out on his forehead.
Unlike a mere bluff, this woman was really prepared to make a move!
He finally stopped being mysterious, took a deep breath, and spoke rapidly. “You saw those cages. Hunting Sea Demons gives you extra points. Zhang Zhong discovered this and has been leading people to hunt here. He’s almost gone completely insane.”
Their mission was clearly to help Xiao Ya cross the sea, but Zhang Zhong had no intention of going out to find her. He kept the Mermaids in cages to bleed them, attracting more of their kind for a large-scale hunt.
Li Feiyang had expressed his disapproval but was rebuffed by Zhang Zhong, who argued that with countless players in the Points Arena, someone would eventually find Xiao Ya and pass by this island. They could just sit back and reap the rewards.
“He just didn’t expect you all to arrive so quickly,” Li Feiyang said, not even taking a breath. By the end, his face was red, and his voice trembled slightly. “Can you take the knife away now? I’m scared.”
The information revealed in his words was exceptionally surprising to everyone. Jiang Liu stared intently at Li Feiyang’s expression, her hand holding the knife not moving. “What was the partnership you mentioned earlier?”
Li Feiyang cursed inwardly, thinking he had really messed with the wrong person this time. Damn it, if he had known Jiang Liu was this fierce, he would have stayed far away.
But this was his only chance to leave. Li Feiyang composed himself and spoke without hesitation. “That idiot Zhang Zhong has already gone mad. Not only is he on a killing spree, but he won’t let me leave, afraid I’ll leak this method of gaining points.”
At this point, a deep resentment finally appeared on his face. “There must be something wrong with points gained this way. All I want now is to complete the mission and leave. I’ll tell you everything, you have to take me with you!”
From the moment he started speaking until now, Li Feiyang’s true emotions were finally revealed. He rarely swore, but now he looked at Jiang Liu with excitement, as if desperately trying to grasp onto the only person who could save him.
After he finished, he realized his voice had gotten uncontrollably loud. He quickly looked back at the patrolling man, but after looking left and right, he couldn’t find him.
Turning back, he saw that Tang Ruo, who had been sitting to the side, had stood up at some point and was now looking at him coolly, a slingshot in her right hand.
Behind Tang Ruo, a person had already fallen to the ground, looking as if they were asleep.
Li Feiyang broke out in another cold sweat, thinking he must be seeing things. How was it that each of these girls was fiercer than the last? Had he just escaped the wolf’s den only to enter the tiger’s lair?
Fortunately, his words seemed to have successfully gained Jiang Liu’s trust. The dagger that had been menacingly poised at his leg was finally put away. Li Feiyang let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
He threw his hands up, his demeanor finally losing its initial ease. “I’ve said everything I need to say. Do we have a deal?”
These people were dead tired from the day’s work and would easily let their guard down at night. If Jiang Liu took him and left on the speedboat now, Zhang Zhong might not be able to catch up.
However, Jiang Liu didn’t answer immediately, merely stroking her chin as she lowered her eyes in thought.
Seeing this, Li Feiyang grew anxious. “This team is well-trained. In another half hour, someone will wake up for their shift. We can’t hesitate any longer.”
If Zhang Zhong found out that Jiang Liu’s group knew the situation, he would definitely be in for a world of hurt.
Tang Rui looked at Jiang Liu, hesitating. “Should we just leave?”
If what he said was true, then perhaps this was the right choice.
As the saying goes, you can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved. Since Li Feiyang had already tried to persuade Zhang Zhong to no avail, there was no need for them to care about this group.
Jiang He also nodded cautiously. “I heard from Chen Ping that there are many ways to get props and points in instances, but abnormal methods can easily lead to trouble. Not everyone can get through them safely.”
Li Feiyang quickly added, “That’s right. Although that uncle is usually arrogant and impulsive, he’s not the type to be greedy for small advantages. There must be a reason he’s become like this.”
After all, the two had been partners for some time, so he had a better say in the matter. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tried to dissuade him at the beginning. But who knew that after killing the Mermaids, Zhang Zhong’s temper would become more and more volatile, and he would scowl at anyone who tried to stop him.
Tang Ruo snorted coldly. “You’ve been partners for a long time. You knew something was wrong, yet you’re just going to abandon him and leave by yourself?”
Her words made Li Feiyang’s face turn ugly, and he remained silent.
Partnership or not, he had long been fed up with Zhang Zhong’s attitude of ordering people around based on his age and experience. Now that he had a rare opportunity to shake him off, he had to seize it.
The atmosphere fell silent again. Jiang Liu finally raised her eyes slowly. “How many Mermaids are locked up here?”
Li Feiyang was stunned, not understanding the purpose of her question, but he thought for a moment and answered, “At least twenty or thirty. Why?”
Jiang Liu stood up and stretched her muscles. “Where are the keys?”
“With Zhang Zhong.” Li Feiyang answered subconsciously, then shot up and stared at her with wide eyes. “You’re not planning to save them, are you?”
Although he couldn’t stand Zhang Zhong’s actions, it didn’t mean he had any affection for the Mermaids. To put it bluntly, these things were just monsters in an instance. If they died, they died.
“You have a problem with that?” Jiang Liu sneered, a single sentence leaving Li Feiyang speechless. He hesitated, looking at their figures, his dark eyes darting around twice before he finally made up his mind.
“I’ll take you there.”
With that, he strode forward, occasionally glancing back to see if Jiang Liu and the others were following.
Jiang He poked Jiang Liu and whispered a reminder, “There’s something off about this kid.”
Zhang Zhong had been his partner for so long, yet he was ready to run at a moment’s notice. Even if they saved Li Feiyang, he might just bite the hand that fed him, bringing trouble upon themselves.
Jiang Liu shrugged, her tone calm. “Don’t worry about him.”
As they spoke, Li Feiyang had already reached Zhang Zhong’s side. He turned back and gestured for them to be quiet, then tiptoed over to beckon them closer.
The people nearby were fast asleep, their snores thunderous, completely unaware of the group’s unusual activity. Li Feiyang scratched his head and communicated with Jiang Liu almost in a whisper. “He’s very alert. I don’t dare get close.”
Jiang Liu clicked her tongue, then crouched down and delivered a rough punch. Zhang Zhong seemed to sense something and his eyes flew open, only to be knocked out by the swift fist. His eyes rolled back and he fainted.
Li Feiyang stared at Jiang Liu’s composed expression, momentarily lost in a long silence.