Chapter 1973: Ghost Skull Mystery 34

Papapa—

The building burned, and the scorching firelight shrouded Qing Kai's face in shadow.

As Qing Kai's question rang out, everyone present was stunned, and Xiong Hanzi even leapt to his feet, shouting:

"Old thing! If you don't accept it, let's fight! Fuck your mother! Get it straight—your people almost got us killed! That guy being eaten by the monster was his own fault!"

"Qing Kai! Calm down! Why go to such lengths?"

One scolding, one persuading, Jin Niu played the peacemaker, rushing to stand between Zhang Tie and Qing Kai, fearing a clash.

"Those things could appear at any moment! Qing Kai, Lord Lin An! Our internal strife now is courting death—don't act rashly!"

"Acting rashly? Hah, Jin Niu, you still haven't figured it out? This kid definitely has a problem—are you really willing to bow your head to a mere Fourth Rank?"

Without heeding Jin Niu's obstruction, Qing Kai stared fixedly at Lin An, like a mortal enemy:

"Kid, do you think I can't guess what you have in your hand? I tell you, everything on your planet belongs to me! It's a relic left by our civilization!"

"You've known all along what's in here, right?"

"I should have realized that Andre could enter here and leave alive—he must have gotten something! After the mission changed, you came back in, yet that monkey disappeared...! Back in the room, you were the first to flee early!"

He shoved Jin Niu aside, Qing Kai gave a cold laugh, and his eyes gradually grew mad.

Since Shen She died, he's felt something off. And when Lin An's identity was exposed, he suddenly realized this mission must be problematic!

"That's right, I'm indeed not as strong as you in this mission. But since you're up to no good, I'm dead either way—why not give it a shot?"

"You don't dare let me die too quickly, do you?"

"Let me guess: this mission requires meeting a minimum cognition, and even if you, a Fourth Rank, got something, you couldn't fulfill the cognition!"

Qing Kai pointed angrily:

"So you deliberately concealed your identity, mingling with us! First, to use our abilities to fulfill the cognition; second, to use us as sacrificial pawns to avoid being directly targeted by that thing!"

"Why are all the dead my people!? Because I recognize you! You know I'm your biggest threat!"

While speaking, Qing Kai roared at everyone, intending only to unveil Lin An's true face:

"Everyone! Don't you see yet!? How can a Fourth Rank like him react faster than us, and how could he save you and the giant demon?!"

"Because you pose no danger to him and can still help him fulfill the cognition! At the final moment, you're all expendable!"

As his words fell, the giant demon and Hai Yao and others all felt a jolt in their hearts, their expressions slightly changing as they looked at Lin An.

Although Qing Kai is raving, his words aren't without reason! Indeed, Lin An's performance is truly strange, and the ones he saved are all the most useless members of the giant demon clan.

However, this went against Qing Kai's expectations.

Under everyone's gaze, Lin An didn't defend himself at all, instead standing there dumbfounded. Meanwhile, Zhang Tie and the others beside him also felt somewhat guilty; Lin An remained silent, and they didn't know what to do.

The atmosphere grew even more eerie; faced with Lin An's seemingly acquiescent expression, even Jin Niu unconsciously moved a bit closer to Qing Kai.

"Lin An? Do you... really know something?"

With a dry swallow, Jin Niu took a deep breath and couldn't help but speak tentatively:

"If you really know something, or if you deliberately came for this mission... I, Jin Niu, can promise you that as long as you speak up, we'll let us return alive. We'll agree to any terms!"

"Lin An! You've never encountered a Fifth-Stage mission! Hear me out—this mission's difficulty is far from as simple as you imagine! Really, if there really is something, you must absolutely not conceal it!"

Jin Niu spoke tactfully, while doubt rose in his heart.

Unlike Qing Kai's bluntness, in his view, even if Lin An had issues, as long as he could bring them out alive, it didn't matter if Lin An took a bit more.

The rewards are tempting, but our lives come first!

He feared that, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant, Lin An knew important information but, as Qing Kai said, only planned to swallow the rewards himself and doom them! The mission isn't that simple; if Lin An does this, he might doom everyone!

Yet again, this went against Jin Niu's expectations.

Only seen in the crackling firelight, Lin An slowly raised his head after a long while, looking at Qing Kai:

"So what do you want to do? Do you think I can't kill you?"

As his words fell, Qing Kai's expression changed; he had already seen the steel bar Lin An gripped in reverse hand. But soon, Qing Kai, as if backed by some confidence, met his gaze without fear:

"Kill me? I certainly believe you can kill me! But do you dare? Lin An!"

"If I die, see who here would still dare to help you fulfill the cognition!? One, either you hand over the thing and tell us what you knew in the last mission—I'll let bygones be bygones and we'll clear it together! Two, if you want to hog the rewards, fine! Then I'll lead people away! Let's see who ends up laughing last!"

Having said that, Qing Kai didn't waste more words, merely gripping his weapon tightly as well.

His words might sound foolish, and he's even using his own 'life' to threaten Lin An.

But inside, he is extremely calm!

If Lin An kills him, he'll risk everyone's self-preservation! A mere Fourth Rank unable to fulfill cognition will surely die! Lin An surely knows this—otherwise why bother saving the giant demon?

Moreover, Qing Kai doesn't believe a monkey from a primitive civilization truly has absolute confidence to clear the mission!

The system makes it clear: as long as someone completes the mission, everyone will be revived! If this kid is just taking a gamble, anyone with a bit of sense would realize letting him go also leaves himself an escape route!

What if, what if it's Qing Kai who makes it out alive?

Papapa—

The burning building emitted waves of heat, making people agitated.

During the standoff between Lin An and Qing Kai, aside from Gusman hesitating, Jin Niu and Hai Yao both remained silent, having understood Qing Kai's implication. Although everything was Qing Kai's own judgment, they also wanted to see how Lin An would respond.

Either way, the outcome would be favorable to them!

Time seemed both long and short, but just as Qing Kai could hardly contain himself, Gao Tian, who had always wanted to speak, could no longer hold back:

Captain Lin! We can't let him go!

We obtained an important piece of information at the art gallery! The mission's cognition fulfillment likely requires many people to leave the mission together! At the very least, we need to bring corpses out!

One dies, all die! One lives, all live!!