Chapter 439: A New Discovery

Ding Ding Xiaoyu explored forward along a winding little stream.

The stream gurgled, the trickling water flowing past her feet and washing away some of her nervous tension.

She couldn't help but pick up a leaf from the water, watching the current carry it away, her heart filled with deep emotion.

The night grew deeper, and the forest became increasingly dark.

Chu Tian suddenly heard Chen Chen Zihao’s voice coming through his earpiece: "I’ve discovered a hiding place to the northeast; it looks like it has been lived in.

Come over quickly, and we’ll investigate together."

Chu Tian and Ding Ding Xiaoyu immediately changed direction, rushing toward Chen Chen Zihao’s location.

A moment later, the three of them converged at the northeast corner of the forest.

Chen Chen Zihao pointed to a small wooden cabin in front of them and said: "I discovered this just now; it feels a bit unusual.

Let’s look around first to see if there are any clues."

The three approached the cabin cautiously; it looked like it had been there for some years, the wooden planks faded and dilapidated.

The surroundings were overgrown with weeds, clearly having not been visited for a long time.

Chu Tian took out his flashlight and carefully examined the surroundings, trying to find suspicious signs.

Ding Ding Xiaoyu walked to the cabin window to peek at the situation inside.

The room contained some worn-out furniture, with newspapers and bottles and jars scattered on the floor, and a musty smell assailed their nostrils.

Chen Chen Zihao walked to the other side of the cabin and discovered a small, half-hidden door.

He signaled for Chu Tian and Ding Ding Xiaoyu to come over, and the three gathered their courage, carefully pushed the door open, and went inside.

The space behind the door was not large; it was clearly a small, makeshift room.

Besides a dilapidated bed, there was a table in the room, and on the table sat a radio and some miscellaneous items.

In the corner, there was also a crude shelf holding some food and water.

The air was filled with a stale scent that made one’s skin crawl.

Chu Tian frowned and said: "It seems this place was indeed lived in.

However, we still need more evidence to confirm that this person is the mastermind we are looking for."

Ding Ding Xiaoyu picked up a piece of paper on the table, which had some complex patterns and symbols drawn on it with a pen.

She asked in confusion: "What do these mean? Should we take them? They might be useful."

Chen Chen Zihao looked at the contents of the paper and said: "Perhaps these are the methods that guy uses to control people. Let’s take them; we might find a way to break the control."

The three packed up these items, preparing to leave the small cabin.

Just as they intended to push the door open and leave, they discovered that the door was actually locked.

And the other side of the lock was inside the room.

Chu Tian frowned and said: "What’s going on? It was clearly open when we came in just now."

Chen Chen Zihao also felt surprised: "Could it be that someone was secretly following us, discovered we were here, and locked the door?"

Ding Ding Xiaoyu looked around fearfully: "What should we do? Are we just going to be trapped here?"

Chu Tian looked at the locked door, pondered for a moment, and said: "Let’s not panic; the key now is to find a way to open this door.

Perhaps we can look around the room to see if there are any tools we can use to pick the lock."

The three began searching the room for tools to pick the lock, but the room was truly too cramped, and there were not many usable things.

Chen Chen Zihao found an iron rod in a corner... CHAPTER 947

He tried to use it to pry the lock, but the iron rod was too thick and could not be inserted into the keyhole at all.

Ding Ding Xiaoyu picked up a pair of scissors from the table and suggested: "How about we try this? Although the chances are slim, it’s better than doing nothing."

Chu Tian nodded: "Let’s try it then; we don’t have any other options anyway."

Ding Ding Xiaoyu carefully inserted the tip of the scissors into the keyhole, trying to twist it.

The tip of the scissors was too fragile, and it snapped after a few twists.

She shook her head in disappointment: "It seems this won't work either."

At this moment, Chen Chen Zihao suddenly thought of something; he took a thin piece of wire out of his pocket and said: "I picked this up earlier; perhaps we can use it to pick the lock."

Chu Tian said happily: "Good idea, try it quickly."

Chen Chen Zihao bent the wire into a hook shape and carefully inserted it into the keyhole.

He turned the wire with force while holding the doorknob, trying to twist it.

After a while, they heard a crisp "click" sound, and the lock opened.

Chu Tian patted Chen Chen Zihao on the shoulder: "Well done, we can finally leave this place."

They walked out of the small cabin, carefully looking around, fearing that someone might be watching in secret.

As soon as they stepped out of the cabin, they saw the driver’s ferocious face; he was holding a sharp kitchen knife and charging over crazily, seemingly wanting to kill them.

Chu Tian shouted: "Run!"

Chen Chen Zihao and Ding Ding Xiaoyu also panicked and scattered, trying to get away from the crazy driver.

The forest was filled with an atmosphere of terror, and the pitch-black night made it impossible to distinguish directions.

They used all their strength, running along the winding path, wanting to escape the terrifying pursuer.

Chen Chen Zihao ran while panting, saying to Chu Tian: "We have to find a way to shake him off, otherwise we’ll be caught by him sooner or later."

Chu Tian replied with a bitter smile: "I want to shake him off too, but he’s chasing us too closely. We have to think of a way to lose him."

Just then, Ding Ding Xiaoyu shouted from ahead: "I see a small hillside in front; we can try running along the hillside, maybe we can lose him."

The three wove through the dense forest and finally found the small hillside.

They unanimously decided to run up the hillside, hoping to use the terrain to lose the terrifying driver.

They ran up the hillside, their pace becoming increasingly difficult.

The hillside was covered with dead branches, fallen leaves, and soft soil; they had to be extra careful with every step.

Although the driver was still behind them, the distance seemed to be slowly widening.

Ding Ding Xiaoyu panted and said: "We’ve been running for a long time; we should be able to hide for a while now and think about our next plan."

Chu Tian nodded: "Let’s find a place to hide and see if he can still find us."

The three found a relatively hidden spot and hid, evading the driver’s pursuit.

They held their breath in the woods, worried about being discovered by the other party.

After a while, they discovered that the driver indeed did not approach them again; he seemed to have lost his target for the moment.

Chen Chen Zihao wiped his sweat and said: "What should we do now? We can’t just keep hiding here."

Chu Tian pondered for a moment and said: "We must find a way to break the control over the driver as soon as possible. The materials we found in the cabin earlier might provide some clues." CHAPTER 948