Chapter 275

The further he went, the more blinding the light became, and he could smell the scent of grass and trees outside, mixed with the chill of the night.

The last stretch of the path was so low he could only crawl.

The cave entrance was so narrow it was constricting.

Xu Xiaochuan grabbed a resilient bush outside, his palms stinging, and used all his strength to pull himself out of that black hole.

The view suddenly opened up.

The soreness in his body went numb for a moment.

A massive domed building stood alone on a small hill.

The deathly pale moonlight poured down, plating it with a cold, hard edge.

The observatory.

The place they were looking for.

Most of the surrounding wall had collapsed, revealing the gray, dusty main structure inside, which was still relatively intact.

The massive observation window on top was a dark, gaping hole facing the sky.

Xu Xiaochuan crouched in the waist-high bushes, holding his breath.

On the muddy ground at the observatory entrance, there were fresh footprints and several clear tire tracks.

Someone had been here recently.

Even more jarring was a brand-new surveillance camera above the main gate, its red light blinking, completely out of place in this dilapidated area.

Need to find a dog hole to crawl through.

He hunched over, pressing against the cold outer wall of the observatory, circling around, trying his best to avoid the camera's direction.

Turning to the north side of the building, under the corner of the wall, was a small, pitch-black ventilation duct.

The iron grating outside was rusted beyond recognition, hanging loosely, with a gap wide enough for him to crawl through.

Just as he hunched his body to pull at the grating, the shielding box in his tattered school uniform pocket suddenly vibrated!

It was so hot it made him hiss.

Immediately after, beneath the skin on his back, a heat flow darted around, stinging like needles and burning like fire.

An indescribable force tugged at his body, uncontrollably moving him toward the observatory; the feeling was sticky, yet carried a sharp, piercing call.

"You're inside, right?" Xu Xiaochuan's throat went dry, his voice pressed extremely low, his fingers subconsciously clutching the scorching metal box in his pocket.

"I'm here to save you, Xiao Ya."

The surroundings were deathly silent, with only the night wind whistling through the observatory dome, emitting a hollow sob.

He gripped the dagger Lin Yu had shoved into his hand, the cold metal handle digging into his palm.

He walked step by step toward that rusted ventilation duct.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps…

The burning pain on his back became increasingly clear; it wasn't just simple pain, but more like a resonance of some frequency, drilling into his bones and crawling up his spine.

The shielding box in his pocket had completely failed, and a ghostly blue light leaked from the gap in the lid, casting a small, eerie halo in the night.

——

Lin Yu slammed the throttle, the motorcycle carving a long mark on the muddy path.

Xuanyuan Qing gripped his waist tightly, her severed arm leaning against his back; every jolt was a silent torture.

"Behind us!" Xuanyuan Qing turned her head, her voice laced with splitting pain. "Three of them, black, no headlights."

Lin Yu gritted his teeth, sweeping a quick glance in the rearview mirror.

Three military off-road vehicles, headlights all off, driving solely on night-vision systems, their dark silhouettes approaching in the moonlight like three beasts preparing to pounce.

"Cliffs on both sides, a fork two kilometers ahead." Lin Yu's voice was bone-dry but terrifyingly steady. "Hold on, it's going to get bumpy."

He slammed the throttle to the limit, the engine emitting a deathly scream, the bike frame shaking violently.

Xuanyuan Qing let out a muffled groan, biting her lips until they bled, but she didn't let go.

In the rearview mirror, the three off-road vehicles also accelerated, the roar of their engines growing closer.

"Military?" Xuanyuan Qing squeezed a few words through her teeth.

"Not entirely." Lin Yu's voice sank. "The Ouroboros is a mad dog; it bites whoever it catches."

The motorcycle skidded violently at a sharp turn, the frame tilting, on the verge of flipping.

Lin Yu's reaction was superhuman; he slammed a foot against the ground, forcing the bike back upright.

Xuanyuan Qing's severed arm slammed hard against his back, making her gasp, her vision going black.

"Look at that collapsed section ahead." Lin Yu suddenly spoke. "Can you hit it?"

Xuanyuan Qing followed his gaze.

A hundred meters ahead, a small section of the mountain road had collapsed, the area below pitch-black and bottomless.

Detonating that spot would cut off the pursuers' path.

"Gun." Her voice was terrifyingly calm.

Lin Yu pulled the handgun from his waist and handed it to her.

Xuanyuan Qing took it with one hand, the gun cold and heavy.

She adjusted her breathing, steadied her arm, and aimed at the crumbling roadbed.

"Ready—"

The instant her fingertip was about to press the trigger, a piercing sound of something breaking the air came from overhead!

A drone!

A cold, metallic searchlight beam descended from the sky, pinning them in the light, with nowhere to escape.

"Fuck!" Lin Yu let out a low roar, pushing the speed to the limit.

Xuanyuan Qing wasn't distracted, maintaining her aim.

She counted silently in her heart: one, two, three—

Bang!

The gunshot exploded in the valley.

The bullet precisely drilled into the weak point of the collapse.

A moment of deathly silence.

Immediately after, the entire roadbed collapsed with a roar!

Rubble and mud surged down like a waterfall, smashing a massive gap into the mountain road!

"Nice shot!" Lin Yu's voice rarely carried emotion.

The three off-road vehicles were forced to slam on the brakes, the tires screeching harshly against the ground.

One of them braked slightly late, its two front wheels already hanging over the edge of the gap, the vehicle swaying dangerously.

Lin Yu had no time to watch the spectacle; the motorcycle had already charged onto another, even more rugged mountain path.

The drone in the sky was still in relentless pursuit, its searchlight like a cold, cruel eye, constantly locked onto them.

"Can't shake it!" Xuanyuan Qing shouted, her voice laced with weakness.

Lin Yu didn't answer, instead suddenly slowing down.

"What are you doing?" Xuanyuan Qing's voice tightened.

"It's not just chasing us," Lin Yu's voice was cold as ice shards. "It's scanning the surroundings, looking for the signal source."

"Xiaochuan over there—"

"Found the cave entrance!" Lin Yu suddenly shouted, swerving violently toward a cave entrance almost completely obscured by bushes.

The motorcycle tires scraped sparks against the stones at the entrance, the engine roar exploding inside the cave, making their ears numb.

The drone's searchlight beam was blocked by the cave entrance, unable to shine into the depths.

Lin Yu held the handlebars with one hand, pulled a small, pitch-black ball from his waist with the other, and tossed it behind him without looking back.

Boom!

The small ball exploded at the cave entrance, and dense smoke instantly filled the entire tunnel entrance.

"Smoke grenade?"

"Thermal smoke," Lin Yu's voice was calm. "Interferes with thermal imaging."

The motorcycle continued forward in the dark tunnel, the tires crushing rubble, emitting a creaking sound.

Xuanyuan Qing leaned against Lin Yu's back, her breathing growing shallower.

Blood loss and intense pain made her consciousness begin to drift.

"Hey, don't sleep." Lin Yu noticed her state, his voice suddenly deepening. "Think about that kid; he's still counting on us to rendezvous."

Xuanyuan Qing struggled to open her eyes, her vision blurred: "Are you sure you can shake them?"

Lin Yu didn't answer directly: "I used to be in the special forces."

"I thought you were just an ordinary retired soldier."