Chapter 338: Hive Appears

Xu Xiaochuan clutched his stomach, blood seeping out between his fingers, his face deathly pale.

"Uncle Lin, what do we do?"

Lin Yu looked at Xuanyuan Qing in his arms; the rise and fall of her chest was almost invisible, her face so gray and defeated that there was no sign of life, and she could stop breathing at any moment.

"Can the car still move?"

Pangzi was slumped over the steering wheel, having taken a bullet to the shoulder, grimacing in pain, shaking his head.

"The engine is trashed!"

There was gunfire in front and behind, firelight flickering constantly, a dead end; a flashbang exploded not far away, a vast whiteness, stinging his eyes.

"Get in their car." Lin Yu made a decision, "She needs immediate treatment, I'll do it."

The scarred man gestured, and two of his subordinates immediately opened fire, suppressing the firepower at both ends of the tunnel.

"Should have done that sooner." He reached out and patted Lin Yu's shoulder, the action carrying an indescribable strangeness, "It's not like everyone is hoping for her to die."

Lin Yu ignored him, carefully picking up Xuanyuan Qing; the girl was frighteningly light, leaning softly against him, as if she would shatter at a touch.

"Go!"

Several people, braving the flying bullets, bent over and rushed toward the black off-road vehicle at the other end.

Bullets flew past their scalps, splashing sparks on the ground; A Gui pulled open the car door, and Lin Yu climbed in holding Xuanyuan Qing.

Xu Xiaochuan scrambled to follow, collapsing into the seat, his whole body trembling.

The car door "banged" shut, and the engine let out a low roar.

The off-road vehicle started violently, tires rubbing against the ground, leaving a charred mark.

The car had been modified, the back seat like a small first-aid station; the scarred man threw a medical kit over from the front row.

"Something on her is very hot." Lin Yu tore open the clothes near Xuanyuan Qing's neck, his fingers resting on her weak pulse.

Below her collarbone, a small metal piece was embedded in her skin, glowing with a faint blue light.

Almost at the same time, Xu Xiaochuan twitched violently, the skin on his back suddenly becoming scalding hot!

He gritted his teeth hard, a suppressed groan escaping his throat.

"What's wrong?" Lin Yu immediately sensed something was wrong.

"Hot! My back! It's like it's burning!" Xu Xiaochuan's face twisted, cold sweat dripping down in large beads.

Lin Yu quickly pulled open his clothes.

That strange mark was also glowing blue at this moment, echoing the chip under Xuanyuan Qing's collarbone, the frequency identical!

"Resonance..." The scarred man leaned closer, staring fixedly at the two blue lights, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"The key... it really is part of the key."

The vehicle jolted violently, and the driver turned his head and shouted: "Captain! Five cars are following behind! They aren't Ouroboros!"

The scarred man looked back, his face instantly turning extremely ugly.

"Hive! Damn! Why did these lunatics come too?"

"Hive?" Lin Yu's heart sank.

"Even more troublesome than those Ouroboros scumbags." The scarred man's mouth twitched, "They never leave anyone alive."

The car speed suddenly hit the limit, the engine letting out an unbearable roar.

The cars behind were in hot pursuit; on the black car bodies, a honeycomb-shaped dark pattern could be vaguely seen.

Xuanyuan Qing suddenly trembled violently, a trace of blood foam spilling from the corner of her mouth.

The burning pain on Xu Xiaochuan's back also reached its peak; he grabbed the seat, his knuckles turning white, his bones creaking.

"The key is repelling..." the scarred man said in a low voice, "They are too close."

Lin Yu quickly pulled a sedative from the medical kit.

"Separate them!"

The vehicle jerked the steering wheel, the tires letting out a shrill scream, the car body swinging out in a dangerous arc.

The pursuers behind showed no sign of slowing down, instead closing in even faster!

Bang!

A dull sound came from the roof of the car! The car body shook violently!

"Sniper!" the driver roared.

Bang! Another sound! The side window glass shattered with a clatter, glass shards flying everywhere.

The scarred man suddenly pulled out his gun.

"They're here for the key! Give me the chip!"

Lin Yu didn't move, the silver needles between his fingers sliding out silently; just at this moment, Xuanyuan Qing suddenly opened her eyes, her pupils already beginning to dilate.

She used her last bit of strength to grab Lin Yu's wrist, her lips moving, her voice so thin it was almost inaudible.

"Not... Peregrine Falcon... they... are all... Hive..."

The scarred man's face changed drastically! The gun in his hand instantly turned, aiming at Lin Yu!

A hair's breadth away!

Screech—!!!

The off-road vehicle slammed on the brakes! The huge inertia threw everyone forward!

In front of the car, a squad of soldiers had appeared at some point! Fully armed, the pitch-black gun barrels locked tightly onto this car!

Lin Yu's silver needle struck, piercing straight toward the scarred man's wrist! The needle tip had just touched the skin!

Boom—!!!

A deafening roar came from behind the car!

The entire car body was flipped over by an irresistible force!

The world spun!

The screeching of metal twisting and tearing filled his eardrums; Lin Yu instinctively protected Xuanyuan Qing in his arms, Xu Xiaochuan's screams completely swallowed by the roar of the explosion.

Before losing consciousness completely, the last thing Lin Yu saw was the scarred man's face, twisted in the firelight, and his silently opening and closing lips.

"Hive... has awakened..."

When Lin Yu woke up, the smell of blood mixed with disinfectant drilled into his nose, making Lin Yu's temples throb.

The cold concrete floor, the chill seeping into his bones along his knees.

This temporarily partitioned ghost place, the smell of rust, the smell of machine oil, and this indelible smell of blood, mixed together, made his chest feel stuffy just smelling it.

The emergency light in the corner, the light was deathly pale, making people's faces look bloodless.

Xu Xiaochuan leaned against the opposite wall, breathing a bit heavily, his face paler than the light. The blood seeping from his arms and legs stained the haphazardly wrapped cloth strips a large red. He gritted his teeth hard, the skin on his back starting to act up again, not the life-threatening heat from before, just a dull, continuous heat, sticking to his bones, grinding at one's heart.

"Uh... balance..."

A groan like a cat's meow came from the stretcher.

Xuanyuan Qing's eyelids fluttered, she didn't wake up, but her lips moved subconsciously.

"Key... he... hurts..."

The voice was intermittent, as light as a hallucination.

Lin Yu's hand movements stiffened.

Balance? Key? He?

He turned his head to look at Xu Xiaochuan.

Xu Xiaochuan had also heard it, his body tensing up, that warm feeling on his back seeming even more obvious.

"Hive..." the manager's voice drifted out from the shadows, steady enough to be chilling, "This name, even the Liu family has only heard of it slightly. Deep-rooted, methods extraordinary, rarely coming to the surface, but every time they show their heads, it means something big has happened."

He paused, as if recalling something.

"Who they are here for this time, it's hard to say. Ouroboros? Miss Xuanyuan? Or... that 'key'?" ===== CHAPTER 339 =====