novelraw Chapter 256 - 247: Abandoned Pawn
Chapter 256 - 247: Abandoned Pawn
For some reason, the out-of-control SUV barreled straight in her direction.
At the same time, someone leaned out of the vehicle’s window, gesturing frantically and yelling, "Get out of the way!"
The scene unfolded before Tian Tian’s eyes as if in slow motion. She knew she should move, but her legs refused to obey.
Watching the SUV get closer and closer, Tian Tian’s mind went completely blank.
"Fuck!"
Not far away, two members of the Special Service Team who had passed by and overheard the entire exchange couldn’t help but curse as they witnessed the scene.
As they lunged to save her, they couldn’t help but think, ’That Miss Qi really is uncanny.’
Tian Tian was pulled to safety. Another team member sent the out-of-control SUV flying with a single kick. It crashed onto its side in the mud with a ROAR, drenching them all in a spray of muddy water.
"Miss Tian, are you all right?" a member of the Special Service Team asked.
Tian Tian numbly shook her head, her eyes glued to the still-spinning wheels of the overturned SUV.
She was safe for now, but Qi Xiang’s words from moments ago... Tian Tian shivered violently. ’I think... I think I’ve been exposed!’
’Then those coordinates I secretly sent out during the chaos...’
Before this moment, Tian Tian had never imagined that the coordinates Ye Junhan had shared with everyone—the ones Gu Xi had circled—would be fake!
After all, in a situation like that, no one could guarantee the convoy would remain intact. To prevent anyone from falling behind, it was perfectly normal for Ye Junhan to announce a public destination for everyone to regroup.
But now...
The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was bait.
Bait that the enemy had dangled, turning the tables on them, waiting for them to fall into the trap and be led astray!
"Are you okay?" The person climbing out of the overturned SUV saw her trembling violently, her face a deathly, bloodless pale, and hurried over to ask.
Tian Tian instinctively shook her head. "I’m fine, just a little cold. Sorry, I’d like to go back and change into some dry clothes." ’I have to contact my superiors immediately. The address I sent was wrong.’
’That wasn’t the target’s location at all!’
The aftershocks gradually subsided. Around them, members of the Special Service Team had already set up a temporary defensive perimeter, and others had started campfires.
Tian Tian returned to her vehicle and subtly indicated to the others inside that she wanted to change into some clean clothes.
Once everyone else was out of the vehicle, she used a few articles of clothing to cover the shattered window. Then, she took a matchbox-sized metal box from a case and tinkered with it for a moment.
Soon, the indicator light on the box flashed twice.
’I’m actually a bit lucky,’ she thought. ’Good thing the convoy was scattered and Zhao Qingxiao isn’t here. It wouldn’t be so easy to contact my superiors under the nose of a high-level spiritual power user like him.’
Once the indicator light on the box stabilized, Tian Tian was about to open her personal terminal to send the message, but she suddenly froze.
A sudden realization struck her—the fake address was no longer important. The urgent priority now was to get the *correct* target address.
’It’s the only way I might survive.’
Tian Tian’s parents were part of the organization. Growing up, she had seen and heard too much. She knew their methods all too well.
’I’m not the only "eye" in this convoy, and I didn’t try to hide my conversation with Qi Xiang from anyone. Maybe my superiors already know I’ve been exposed.’
’In that case, if I can’t get the correct address, if I have no leverage to keep myself alive, they’ll just treat me as a sacrificial pawn.’
’When that happens, the only thing waiting for me is a dead end.’
’No.’
Tian Tian snapped the terminal shut and extinguished the signal light on the metal box.
’I’m still so young, and I’ve mastered the key techniques for plant reverse evolution. I have a bright future ahead of me... I don’t want to die!’
「Just then.」
BANG—
"Get down!"
The two sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
Tian Tian instinctively dove under the seat. A moment later, she heard the sound of a bullet striking something, followed by it ricocheting off the side of the SUV right next to her ear.
Hearing two impacts in a row, Tian Tian’s heart skipped a beat.
Someone had tried to assassinate her.
’It’s the organization. They’re trying to silence me.’
She realized it almost instantly. Her heart, which had just skipped a beat, now began to pound faster and faster.
Far away, perched on a tall, mutated tree in the dense forest, the shooter saw that their shot had missed. They instantly retreated, vanishing into the woods.
At the same time, two members of the Special Service Team shot off in that direction.
But two minutes later, there was still no word from the pursuing team members.
Wei Heng, who had remained to guard the camp, gave Tian Tian, still hiding in the car, an impassive glance. He raised his walkie-talkie to his mouth. "Shanzi? Gao?"
But there was no response from their walkie-talkies, only ragged breaths and the sounds of a fight cutting through the static from time to time.
In the pre-dawn wilderness, the sound carried an eerie, chilling sense of danger.
"Mr. Wei, I’ll go check it out!"
Just as another team member prepared to give chase, Wang Yang, who had already leaped onto a vehicle’s roof, spotted something. "Wait!"
Everyone looked up at the sky over the dense forest. Tian Tian saw it too. An unidentifiable mutated tree suddenly shot up from the surrounding woods, instantly towering hundreds of feet over the others. From its high canopy, a figure was suddenly flung backward.
It was Gao Lin.
At the same time, Qian Shan’s urgent, ragged voice crackled over Wei Heng’s walkie-talkie. "Go! All the goddamn plants in this forest have turned malignant..."
"Fuck!"
Hearing this, everyone remaining at the camp broke out in curses.
Dammit, it was out of the frying pan and into the fire!
Behind the crowd, Wei Heng and Shen Yue exchanged an imperceptible glance.
Shen Yue pushed Qi Xiang into Wei Heng’s vehicle, then shot off toward the malignant forest himself.
Once everyone was aboard, the drivers immediately slammed on the gas, frantically spinning their steering wheels to turn the vehicles around.
Wei Heng’s vehicle took up the rear, covering their retreat.
No one questioned this arrangement.
Tian Tian hid in her vehicle, trembling as she watched the scenery fly past the window.
But soon, she noticed something was wrong.
’This direction...’
"Mr. Zhang, it seems like we’re heading away from the destination Mr. Ye sent out..."
The driver, Zhang Xin, floored the accelerator. Without looking back, he said, "The priority is to escape with our lives! We’ll sort everything else out once we’re out of this hellhole."
Meanwhile, the other Special Service Team member in the passenger seat had finished reloading his weapon and was preparing to get out.
The next moment, Tian Tian saw him kick the door open and disappear into the adjacent woods with a few quick tumbles.
Tian Tian realized it wasn’t just from their vehicle; members of the Special Service Team were jumping out of several nearby cars as well.
A large swath of malignant plants had appeared nearby, and the Special Service Team was engaging them on the spot. Everything seemed as normal as could be.
But a faint sense of unease pricked at Tian Tian’s heart.
Soon, she discovered that of those still left in the convoy, apart from the Special Service Team members at the wheel, the only ones remaining were members of the research team and... the people various factions had forced into Gu Xi’s group.
’This isn’t right.’
Tian Tian exchanged a look with another person in the car. Just as they were trying to figure out how to get out and follow, a shrill, sharp cry suddenly echoed from the forest behind them.
She instinctively looked back and saw that the mutated tree that had shot into the clouds had suddenly sprouted countless extremely thin, willow-like branches!
The branches whipped violently in their direction.
"Danger!" Zhang Xin violently spun the steering wheel, not forgetting to yell at the people in the car, "Get down!"