Chapter 1498: On the Eve of the Detonation

"Lord Ling An!"

He couldn't bear the sorrow.

As the strongest fighter among the children, Anduyin couldn't even care about his whole body trembling from qi, even trembling from fear; he roared and was about to rush up to help Lin An block this kick.

He knew Lin An's physique was weak; this kick might cost him half his life!

Considering Lin An his hope, he would rather suffer injury himself than let Lin An come to harm!

Meanwhile, Lin An, holding a staff, appeared to the fire wolves and others as if frightened stupid, motionless.

Watching the kick coming at him, Lin An's gaze turned cold; straining his muscles to the limit, he fixed his eyes on the trajectory of the kick.

In his view, the kick was utterly without pattern; even without heightened perception, he had countless ways to dodge it, even to cripple the opponent!

But the precondition is that he at least have the speed and strength of a normal person!

Even a skilled cook cannot make a meal without ingredients.

With his strength weakened to the extreme, his combat instincts could react, but his body couldn't keep up!

If he were given even a bit of strength, even just Anduyin's physical fitness, he would be confident he could kill the fire wolves bare-handed in a short time!

Straining to mobilize every trace of strength within, Lin An drew a deep breath and, with effort, thrust the staff forward in an instant.

Although the motion was slow, hardly any force to speak of, yet with his combat skill that could be called the peak of humanity, this staff actually managed to stab the fire wolf's leg with difficulty.

"Damn!"

His calf instantly went numb.

His body swayed.

He had thought that with this kick he could cripple Lin An, knock him down and make him kneel.

But in an instant, the fire wolf felt that Lin An's slowly thrust staff happened to strike his most fragile joint, and his calf instantly lost strength as if cramped.

He just thought it was a coincidence.

The next second, the enraged fire wolf simply drew his knife with a backhand, intending to chop this trash to death in one strike.

Damn it, he's a proud Awakened One, yet he got injured by a piece of trash!?

"Clang!"

As the knife was drawn, Anduyin, who had just lunged in front of Lin An, instantly turned deathly pale, instinctively screaming and wanting to raise his hand to block the blade.

If this blade falls, whereas before Lord Lin An would merely be injured, now he would die!

Seeing the blade raised high, Lin An, who had already exhausted his last bit of strength, felt his heart sink even more.

Given his combat experience, he could see there was no way to dodge the fire wolf's incoming strike.

A rare killing rage welled up in his heart, and Lin An couldn't help but feel bitter.

He had imagined that if he lost all his power, any random Awakened One could kill him; but when this moment arrived, a long‑absent feeling of unwillingness flooded his mind.

He suddenly realized more deeply what it feels like to be an ordinary person with no power at all, not even a shred of resistance.

Even in his past life, when he wasn't an Awakened One and relied only on the limits of a normal human's physique, he had never felt this powerless!

"Fire Wolf! Get out!"

"Bang!"

Just as Lin An resolutely prepared to block the knife with his own arm, doing everything possible to gain a chance to breathe.

A somewhat muffled angry shout suddenly came from behind the fire wolf.

All that could be seen was a light sphere flashing past, instantly striking the knife blade in the fire wolf's hand, after which a middle‑aged man reeking of alcohol slowly lowered his hand behind them.

"This place is under my protection!"

"You want to fight? I, Laozi, will accompany you!"

The voice fell; the middle‑aged man reeking of alcohol turned out to be an Awakened One as well.

Ten minutes later.

Holding a bottle of industrial alcohol, the middle‑aged man with a bristly beard coldly watched the fire wolf cursing and swearing, threw down a threat, and left.

A few seconds later, he finally let out a long sigh and coldly gazed at the still‑startled Anduyin.

"Kid, this time I've intervened."

"Canned goods, you need to give me three more cans!"

While speaking, the man, full of impatience, glanced at Lin An again, snorted coldly, and prepared to leave.

He is precisely the Awakened One hired by Anduyin, Hong En.

"Little swindler, I advise you to run away quickly."

"You've already been targeted; with your pitiful strength, still trying to scam others—you're practically begging to die..."

"These people have been following you all along!"

Having said that, the man grabbed a few packets of food from the ground, staggered out of the tent, and didn't even bother to attend to Anduyin, who had come to his senses and kept thanking him.

Once he takes action, he demands extra pay. Although he sometimes feels sympathy for these kids, if there's no money, there's nothing to discuss.

Alcohol is very expensive.

A moment later.

Seeing that the alcohol‑reeking middle‑aged man seemed to look down on him, Lin An felt no anger, merely silently noting the man's appearance.

He could tell that although the middle‑aged man hired by Anduyin spoke harshly, he was essentially a good person.

That man saved his life.

"Lord Ling An! That man is Hong En, the Awakened One we hired!"

"I... I... sorry... sorry..."

Holding his brother whose fate was unknown, Anduyin suddenly seemed to have an emotional breakdown and couldn't help but cry.

He too is just a child. Faced with such a life‑or‑death crisis, and realizing the danger seemed to have been brought by himself, whether his brother came to harm or he had nearly gotten everyone killed.

Overcome by fear and regret, he suddenly couldn't help but burst into tears.

"I've already... been very careful... sob... sorry... sorry..."

"I really did follow what you said... every time I... took a detour..."

"Just... just... Aodaili really can't hold on..."

In the midst of his emotional breakdown, Anduyin kept wiping his tears, feeling as if the sky were collapsing.

He had never felt hope; these past days he had thought everything would improve, but he never imagined that simply because he couldn't resist buying something, everything would seem to be doomed.

Those Fire Wolves will definitely not let them get away.

Uncle Hong En's earlier remark seemed to indicate he no longer wanted to look after them either!

Watching the children wailing loudly and others who couldn't help but cry, Lin An remained silent, inwardly letting out a sigh.

After a moment, he spoke gently to comfort them, not intending to blame Anduyin.

He knew Anduyin had already been very careful.

In fact, he clearly knew deep down that they would sooner or later attract attention.

Fanatics, Faith Power, converted Awakened Ones...

Perhaps I shouldn't wait any longer... without taking the risk of mutation, it's impossible.

Suppressing the thought of changing his plans, Lin An let out a soft sigh and then spoke quietly:

"Anduyin, what do you mean by saying Aodaili can't hold on?"

"Is it because of her that you went to buy things?"

Unwilling to blame Anduyin any further, he knew these kids had been trying hard to help him.

However, regarding the reason Anduyin knowingly took a risk to go buy things, he intended to ask.

Inside, there seemed to be another hidden matter.