Chapter 9: Unconsciousness

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After swimming out of the underground river beneath the Sand City experimental base, they finally found a moment to rest, evading their relentless pursuers. Yet, their location had already been compromised the moment they rescued that girl.

When this realization dawned, Chen Yu’s expression immediately grew tense.

Suddenly, in the pitch-black night, a clammy, sinister fog crept along the riverbank, the water flowing silently.

“Take cover.”

Lu Yunzhou swept his gaze over the dark riverside, his eyes cold and severe beneath the night, lips parting slightly as he issued a quiet, restrained command to his team.

“Yes, Captain.”

The girl’s appearance seemed calculated, almost as if it had all been premeditated. To this day, no one knew her true identity. But one thing was clear: she was no mere victim of the Sand City experimental base. She belonged to the W Group of Sand City.

All her time at their side had been nothing but a careful masquerade. Now, their position had been exposed. The next threat they faced would surely be the hunt of W Group’s forces.

Once the secrets of the Sand City experimental base were discovered, the notorious and ruthless W Group would never let them escape alive.

Shen Zhaoxi was dragged by the boy into the wetlands along the riverbank, deep into a vast field of reeds.

Night had fallen deep and thick, the heavy fog blanketing the black river completely. As soon as they scattered and concealed themselves, a faint rustling mingled with the chill wind.

River ghosts surfaced.

From the once placid river, dozens of men in black emerged, guns raised, wading silently toward the shore.

“Captain, they’re coming.”

“Mm.”

The man’s deep voice rang out in the darkness, calm and steady. Crouched among the reeds, faces grave, they watched and listened intently for any sign of movement outside.

The reeds towered nearly two meters high in endless darkness. When the wind stirred, it was as if an army charged through, shrouding the air with unease.

“Hush. Not a sound,” Chen Yu whispered gently.

He hid with Shen Zhaoxi in the reeds. Turning, he saw the girl beside him squeeze her eyes shut in pain, her face ashen as paper, cold sweat soaking her tangled black hair.

Shen Zhaoxi met his gaze, her eyes rimmed red, streaked with bloodshot veins.

“You…” Chen Yu hesitated. “You’ve got a fever?”

Her body was in dire straits. Eyes half-closed, her mind was burning and weak, every muscle drained of strength. Her consciousness began to blur.

Her skin was searing to the touch, her exposed arm fever-hot in the night. Chen Yu frowned, his gaze drifting to the bandaged wound on her chest, the white gauze now soaked crimson.

A gunshot wound had pierced her chest; it had only been roughly treated before. After soaking so long in the cold water of the underground river, infection was almost certain.

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The high fever was a natural consequence.

“Captain?” Chen Yu’s concern was plain.

Lu Yunzhou turned, his cold, chiseled features and ink-black eyes all the more icy and impassive in the darkness. But at that moment, the group of armed men in black neared, not far away now.

The night was deep and oppressive. Even though the reed bed seemed empty and still, a systematic, step-by-step search would eventually expose their hiding places.

Lu Yunzhou and his men concealed themselves within, holding their breath, nerves taut. Suddenly, one of the black-clad gunmen seemed to notice something.

His eyes widened in alarm, finger tightening on the trigger—only for a pair of hands to shoot out from the reeds behind him, clamping over his mouth.

Someone seized his gun hand. In the next moment, before he could make a sound, a combat knife slashed silently across his throat, dragging him back into the reeds.

The blade gleamed red with blood.

Shen Zhaoxi, weak, looked up at the man’s ruthless efficiency. The others followed suit, dispatching enemies in silence.

With skills honed by countless dangers, they knew better than to engage the pursuers head-on, not for lack of strength, but to avoid risking the team’s safety. If they fought openly, even dozens more enemies would pose no real threat, but the noise would only attract more trouble.

Instead, they lay in wait, striking from the shadows, silently slitting throats and disposing of the bodies in the reeds—killing without a trace of blood in the night.

This was why their special forces unit was so formidable.

Chen Yu stayed behind to guard Shen Zhaoxi, keeping close rather than joining the silent battle outside. They didn’t guard against her because they thought she couldn’t escape, but because the pursuers might not be there to rescue her either.

In fact, she seemed to be a target herself.

Shen Zhaoxi was no fool. At the Sand City experimental base, the person she’d seen outside the old building was Gong Xiali, her rival of three years, always locked in open and covert struggle.

As the second daughter of W Group, Gong Xiali never missed a chance to oppose her, and would rather see her dead.

If not, Shen Zhaoxi wouldn’t have left that derelict building with these people the moment Gong Xiali’s men opened fire on her.

The thought made Shen Zhaoxi lower her lashes, a chill settling in her expression.

Perhaps these pursuers were never after the special forces team at all. Gong Xiali cared nothing for them. Her target from the beginning had always been Shen Zhaoxi alone.

The others were simply caught in her wake.

While her mind drifted with these thoughts, Shen Zhaoxi suddenly sensed danger, her gaze sharpening as she looked up.

Reflected in her cold, clear eyes was a black-clad man suddenly appearing before her, gun raised, gaze locked on her as he prepared to fire.

He meant to kill her.

“Watch out.”

Bang!

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The gunshot rang out.

Chen Yu shouted in alarm, but to his surprise, the girl at his side pulled him down by the waist, pressing him to the ground. Shen Zhaoxi gripped his back, flattening them both as the bullet whistled past. When she looked up, she saw a man standing not far away, long-range rifle trained on the black-clad gunman.

A killing just finished.

The black-clad attacker crumpled to the ground.

Faint moonlight spilled over the man’s handsome features—sharp, clean lines, a hint of wild, icy pride. Beneath his long lashes, his dark eyes glinted with a cold light unseen by others.

Those eyes were the coldest, darkest she had ever known, devoid of all emotion.

He stood tall, collecting his rifle, his imposing form in black tactical gear cutting a figure as commanding as a king on the battlefield.

“Retreat!”

Lu Yunzhou’s voice was crisp and icy as he issued the order—a single word, utterly indifferent.

They covered their teammates, withdrawing southwest, guns at the ready, firing back as they went. Amid the man-high reeds wreathed in thick fog, gunfire erupted chaotically.

“Take her.”

Lu Yunzhou turned, casting a glance at the gravely wounded, feverish Shen Zhaoxi before instructing Qin Hu and Chen Yu to get her out first.

“The rest of you stay and cover the rear with me.”

“Yes, Captain!”

The chaos of gunfire faded behind them.

Only three men remained with Lu Yunzhou, covering the others’ escape.

A few kilometers away, vehicles they had prepared in advance waited.

To cross this war-torn region of Dongzhou, a car was essential—on foot, they would never make it far.

When Shen Zhaoxi was helped into the car, the wound on her chest had soaked the bandages, blood flowing faster, seeping through her fingers. Her mind grew clouded.

Slumped in the back seat, she drifted into a feverish sleep.

Chen Yu, busy tending to another wounded comrade, ended up in a different vehicle. By chance, Qin Hu was the one in the car with Shen Zhaoxi.

He glanced at the girl in the back seat, fury burning in his eyes, his grip on the steering wheel tightening as he suddenly made a sharp turn.

The teammate in the passenger seat asked, “Hey? Qin Hu, where are you going?”

Qin Hu said nothing.

What he was about to do to Shen Zhaoxi would, in truth, make him no different than those men from W Group.