Chapter 706

Over a hundred people.

Ning Chen let out a breath of relief; fortunately, this number was not too large, nor was it beyond his ability to handle.

The next question: "How were you captured?"

Hearing this question, the old man's expression flared with agitation for an instant; his facial features took on a hint of anger, and even his voice carried a tremor: "I came into the forest to find something... and then, and then I was captured."

The old man spoke very slowly, pausing to catch his breath in between; he seemed extremely agitated. Ning Chen was startled by him, fearing the old man might faint from the excitement.

Fortunately, the old man's physical constitution must have been stronger than he had imagined.

Ning Chen quickly changed the subject: "How did the wounds on those people's wrists happen?"

Upon hearing this question, the old man answered quickly: "They cut themselves... even the guards didn't notice. They were all young people who wanted to die. I, an old man, just want to survive, so I knew someone would come to save us."

Ning Chen's expression softened slightly; if this old man had cut his wrists like the others, he certainly wouldn't have lasted until now. By the time Ning Chen and the others arrived, he might have been a cold, lifeless corpse.

Ning Chen sighed and said soothingly: "Rest assured, we will get you out."

Hearing this, the old man shook his head, his eyes showing a hint of fear: "Those people are not easy to deal with... you may not have a chance of winning."

Ning Chen smiled: "There will be a way."

After saying this, he helped the old man to his feet. The old man, supported by Ning Chen, walked out unsteadily. Although his steps were not entirely steady, most of his weight leaned on Ning Chen, so he wouldn't fall.

Ning Chen helped the old man outside. The four injured people on the ground were still unconscious, but the wounds on their wrists had stopped bleeding. After helping the old man, Ning Chen turned back once more, touched the skin of those four, and found their body temperatures were very low.

Finally, Ning Chen took a tablecloth and covered the body of the person among the four who appeared to be in worse condition, then walked out.

He ordered a few people to keep watch over them to prevent any accidents.

After that, Ning Chen gathered the main force and said with a serious expression: "Let's go. There should be more people inside; they are probably hiding now. The old man told me there are quite a few people inside."

"How many is 'quite a few'?" someone asked.

Ning Chen thought for a moment: "Three digits, I suppose."

"Do they have weapons?" another asked.

Ning Chen didn't know the answer to this question either, so he just said: "Perhaps, but probably not many. Be careful and assess the situation; they can't defeat us."

Ning Chen's words held absolute authority among them; therefore, after he spoke, most people breathed a sigh of relief.

Ning Chen led a few dozen people inside, naturally taking the lead himself. In his hand, he held a new-style pistol, more powerful and easier to use than the guns held by Uncle and the others.

Ning Chen raised his hand to signal a halt to the people behind him. Although they had only coordinated for half a day, the rapport between teammates was already very high; almost no words were needed, just a gesture to understand each other's meaning.

Ning Chen moved forward using low tree stumps for cover. During this time, there was no obstruction, so any situation could be easily observed. As Ning Chen walked, his eyes suddenly spotted another tent.

This tent was much larger than the previous one, evidently requiring considerable effort to build. Ning Chen approached it cautiously, using his divine sense to perceive; he could feel that there should be dozens of people inside.

Without knowing whether the people inside had weapons, Ning Chen dared not act rashly. There were no guards outside the tent, so Ning Chen carefully circled around to the back.

615 acts alone.

He crept forward, daring not to make a sound, and carefully circled to the back of the tent. However, he could see nothing from behind the tent because that area was completely enclosed.

There was no design that allowed Ning Chen to see inside, so Ning Chen chose to do it himself and make his own provisions.

He took out the small knife dagger from before, controlled the angle, and sliced a line into the tent fabric.

The knife tip pierced the cloth, producing an extremely faint sound. Ning Chen's movement paused for a moment as he tilted his head to listen for any reaction from the people inside.

There was no movement, so Ning Chen continued his action.

The knife tip moved down bit by bit, slowly cutting through the fabric. With his other hand, he held the fabric above, gently spreading it into an arc so he could observe the situation inside the tent.

The arc Ning Chen spread was just about the size of one of his eyes—not too small, yet very inconspicuous.

Only after confirming there was no danger within this opening did Ning Chen slowly bring his eye close to it.

Once his eye was at the opening, Ning Chen clearly saw the situation inside the tent.

Many people were sitting inside; they almost filled the tent completely, shoulder to shoulder, with their backs facing Ning Chen.

But from Ning Chen's angle, he could see what they were holding in their hands.

They were all guns.

Ning Chen frowned; he hadn't expected so many weapons in these people's hands. He had thought there might only be one or two pistols, but now it seemed each person had one.

This was not good news; he must inform the people outside immediately. At first, Ning Chen wasn't sure if calling his teammates outside into the tent would count as suicide, but now he understood.

They would be committing suicide.

Whether in terms of numbers or the quantity of weapons, Ning Chen's side was completely defeated. If he were to use a skill, but if Ning Chen truly used a skill in front of so many people, the consequences were also imaginable.

For some reason, the people inside the tent, even after hearing the commotion outside, showed no reaction; they seemed to be obeying someone and were currently holding their positions.

But the commotion just caused outside was definitely not small; the people inside couldn't have failed to hear it. There was only one possibility: these people were waiting for them to walk into a trap.

After all, there were so many tents in this small area. If this tent weren't the largest and most distinctive, Ning Chen wouldn't have chosen to slash it open to observe the situation inside.

Moreover, there wasn't just this one tent; there were even more tents in front of it. Ning Chen couldn't possibly check them one by one, so he had to temporarily abandon the idea of investigating and withdraw.

Ning Chen made a retreat gesture; the people would retreat the same way they came. These people, following Ning Chen's command, heard him say this and all moved backward until they reached a safe position.

Ning Chen looked at the team members staring at him expectantly and sighed. He had to admit that what he was about to say would hit them hard, but if they wanted to bring the injured out of here, a frontal confrontation was an indispensable step.

So Ning Chen said uniformly in English: "The situation is worse than we anticipated. Those people have weapons, and everyone has one... I didn't expect them to have this backup plan. If we fight head-on, it will be very difficult for us to win."

Hearing Ning Chen say this, those people became dissatisfied again. Especially a group led by the man in sunglasses, who frowned and said: "What do you mean? Didn't you say before that we couldn't lose?"

Hearing this highly aggressive statement, Ning Chen turned his head to look and said slowly: "I never said we wouldn't lose. Whether we lose or win is a matter of probability. It's just that before this, I didn't expect them to have a gun per person. To defeat them will be very difficult."

"Then what do we do?" Uncle asked. "There are still four injured people in there! I remember now; I did see them somewhere, probably on the news. Two of them were reported in the news as missing persons."

Hearing this, Ning Chen's eyes narrowed: "I shouldn't have gotten involved in this matter. Since that's the case, you take those four people and the old man and leave first. I will handle the rest."

"Just you?" someone sneered. "You aren't going to commit suicide, are you?"

Ning Chen's face remained calm, showing no sign of panic; he even said decisively: "I will win. Take them and leave first; I will cover the rear."

After Ning Chen said these few words, hardly anyone believed him. Even Uncle, who had always looked out for him, shook his head. Uncle walked over to Ning Chen and patted his shoulder: "Don't play the hero. At a time like this, fighting alone is useless, and besides, you can't defeat them at all... Let's go together."

Ning Chen knew this would be the result; no one believed he had such capability. Ning Chen helplessly sighed: "If we all go together, the result will only be total annihilation. But if I try alone, perhaps the total annihilation will be theirs."

Ning Chen's tone was too confident, making the person nearby unable to help but click his tongue: "Where does your confidence come from, kid? Your leadership ability is strong, but you alone against so many people?" That person clicked his tongue again. "Forget it; don't go commit suicide."

Ning Chen sighed, offered no further explanation, looked at the uncle, and said, "Perhaps only you can believe me... Regardless, my staying behind to hold the rear is buying you time. Getting four injured people out creates too much commotion. If no one stays to hold them off, you cannot possibly escape. Once I get out, I will rendezvous with you."

The uncle's expression seemed to loosen slightly, a hint of hesitation appearing in his eyes; whether he believed Ning Chen's words remained unclear.

Ning Chen looked at him with a sincere gaze. Among these teams, few could be trusted. Ning Chen knew they did not trust him because he was too young.

But as long as those people could retreat, it would be convenient for Ning Chen to make his move.

The uncle seemed to hesitate repeatedly, his gaze on Ning Chen carrying a touch of doubt, but finally he gritted his back teeth and made his decision: "Everyone leave! Do not stay here to drag us down."

Having spoken, he joined forces with a teammate to carefully lift an injured person and walked steadily outward.

With the first person leading the way, those who did not wish to enter lifted the remaining injured and followed in succession.

Yet more than a dozen death-defying souls remained in place. Ning Chen glanced at their faces and said, "Still not leaving?"

"Why should we leave?" someone said. "You kid want to monopolize the credit? We absolutely do not agree with that."

616 The dispute escalated into chaos.

Hearing these words, Ning Chen could not help but frown.

He was not someone who easily lost his temper, but these words were truly excessive; even Ning Chen could not help but cool his expression.

Nevertheless, Ning Chen spoke calmly: "I have no need to steal your credit. You were already unable to handle this. I told you not to go to your deaths, and now I have become the villain?"

Ning Chen stood face-to-face with the speaker, arms crossed. The speaker was a stranger, likely a member of another team, and behind this member stood dozens of others.

Ning Chen stood face-to-face with more than a dozen people, his momentum not diminished in the slightest. Ning Chen held to his own view, while those dozen-plus people were all death-defying; no matter what Ning Chen said, they refused to back down.

Waiting and waiting, Ning Chen grew tired of it. He impatiently stepped back one pace, glanced at the dozen-plus people before him, and used a look bordering on contempt: "... You say you can handle it. Fine, then I will not make a move. After all of you are dead, I will come back to hold the rear."

Having spoken these words, Ning Chen did not linger on the spot; he turned and left with decisive clarity, brushing past those dozen-plus people.

Perhaps because Ning Chen had left so decisively, when Ning Chen reached the side of one person, he heard that person say a sentence in their native language.

Ning Chen abruptly stopped his steps.

The speaker, seeing Ning Chen stop, froze for a second. He looked up at Ning Chen with disbelief, seemingly unable to believe Ning Chen had actually understood the sentence he had just spoken.

Ning Chen stopped before that person, expressionless, his voice betraying neither joy nor anger: "Do you have an objection?"

Others might not have noticed, but Ning Chen had the help of Xitongde Gang, capable of understanding and speaking hundreds of languages. Naturally, he trusted Xitongde Gang's practical ability. Upon hearing that curse, he no longer wished to endure.

For these strangers met by chance, there was originally no need for restraint. Moreover, since those people did not even treat him as a human, there was no need to deal with them in a good-tempered manner.

Ning Chen stood there, and the pressure he exerted was already so intense that the speaker was frightened into not daring to lift his head for a moment.

But perhaps because Ning Chen looked far too young, everyone there was older than him by a full cycle. The speaker merely lowered his head, then felt he could not save face, immediately straightened his chest, and said: "You are just a cowardly, life-fearing villain. Just say it straight. If you are truly afraid, bow your head a few times and I will take you out. Why are you being difficult and driving us away here?"

This time, Ning Chen did not speak, but his response was direct and decisive.

Ning Chen took two steps to the person's front, his right hand suddenly shot out, grasped that person's wrist, and at the same time raised his knee, smashing it hard into the speaker's abdomen.

A muffled groan sounded; the speaker was already kneeling on the ground, his expression pained.

Ning Chen's strike was but an instant; no one present had time to react, and the speaker was already kneeling on the ground in pain. Yet that person was someone with considerable authority in the team. Ning Chen had felled him in three or four moves, demonstrating the terrifying nature of his strength.

With this little interlude, no one dared speak again. Those holding opposing opinions all shut their mouths, and Ning Chen gained a brief respite.