Chapter 151: Thank Goodness, Thank Goodness—We’re Not Too Late

“...Not now,” Lin Jingyue rolled her eyes.

“Up ahead!” The pursuers were closing in.

“This way!” Li Chengqiang grabbed Lin Jingyue and pulled her forward. “Run this way.”

But he veered off in the opposite direction.

Without hesitation, Lin Jingyue buried her head and sprinted ahead, the sound of the wind rushing past her ears.

Suddenly—

*Bang!*

She glanced toward the direction Li Chengqiang had run, her expression turning cold.

He had set off a trap on his own!

Her feelings were mixed, but she didn’t slow down. Yet, exceptions always existed. A few minutes later, she abruptly stopped.

“Where do you think you’re running?” The man before her was filled with malice, the dark muzzle of his firearm pointed straight at Lin Jingyue.

He was one of the men she had encountered when she went to the city to rescue Gu Yizhi.

Clearly, not someone to be trifled with.

“Heh, as you say in your country, a woman can be as formidable as a man,” the man said coldly, his eyes sharp and filled with deadly intent. “Where is the item that woman took?”

Faced with the dark muzzle, Lin Jingyue felt her blood freeze. Her mind raced, calculating whether she could slip into a spatial refuge the moment the gun went off.

“Raise your hands,” the man ordered, noticing her hands were behind her back. He stepped closer, voice urgent, “Now, or I’ll shoot.”

Lin Jingyue took a deep breath, withdrew the firearm into her spatial pocket, then slowly raised her hands. “No, please don’t kill me. I—I’ll take you to—”

Tears welled in her eyes, her face pale.

Damn this bastard.

“Enough nonsense! Turn around!” The man was unmoved, his gaze fierce, leaving no room for her to move. “Wait, drop your basket.”

“...” Damn it.

Lin Jingyue cursed silently, then slowly set down the basket. Of course, the axe inside had long been stowed away.

“Which way did that woman go? Lead the way!” The man kicked the basket aside.

You’re seriously kicking my basket?!

Lin Jingyue’s eyes flashed with fury. Seizing the moment he stepped forward, she lunged forward, recalling Jiang Xun’s taught move. In a breathtaking twist, she turned, a gun appearing in her hand in an instant, and she pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The man’s eyes flickered sharply. He fired the moment Lin Jingyue dove forward.

*Bang! Bang!*

Two gunshots rang almost simultaneously. To be honest, Lin Jingyue felt the whoosh of bullets flying just above her head.

---

“Ah!” The man groaned, clutching his thigh where he had been shot.

He hadn’t expected Lin Jingyue to be armed.

Just as he was about to fire again, Lin Jingyue vanished from sight.

Shock surged through him.

What’s happening?!

“Don’t move!” The next moment, the cold barrel pressed against the back of his head.

“!!”

A dark gleam flashed in the man’s eyes. He refused to believe he’d be beaten by a woman. Instinctively, he spun around, striking fiercely.

But he faced Lin Jingyue, whose strength was her greatest defense.

The moment he turned, Lin Jingyue grabbed his shoulder blade and squeezed hard.

*Crack!*

The sharp sound echoed. The man groaned again, his pupils dilated with terror.

She crushed his shoulder blade barehanded.

“Who exactly are you?!” he gasped.

Lin Jingyue snatched the gun from his hand, pressing it against his temple. “You really have some nerve, kicking my basket!”

*Smack!*

She slapped him swiftly, like lightning.

Humiliation flooded the man’s eyes.

“Jingyue!” Li Chengqiang called out just as Lin Jingyue was about to pull the trigger. He burst out from the dense forest.

At the same moment, three other men appeared, all armed and pointing guns at Lin Jingyue and Li Chengqiang.

They had been drawn by the gunshots.

They arrived fast, indeed.

Cold sweat broke out on Lin Jingyue’s back. No matter how brave, this was her first time facing such a situation.

If not for her mental resilience, she wouldn’t have lasted.

“Let her go. I have what you want,” Li Chengqiang said, aiming his gun at the leader.

“Ridiculous. None of you leave today!” The leader’s eyes looked at Lin Jingyue and Li Chengqiang as if staring at the dead.

“Then there’s no negotiation.” Li Chengqiang spoke, then ripped open his shirt.

Damn—

Lin Jingyue’s pupils contracted. A bomb—

---

“Then let’s die together.” Li Chengqiang’s lips curled, about to pull the fuse.

No one stays calm when their life is at stake.

The men’s eyes showed panic. “Wait—”

At that moment—

Suddenly, *Bang!*

A gunshot rang unexpectedly. The man pointing his gun at Lin Jingyue suddenly had a blood hole appear between his eyes. His eyes widened in shock as he fell into a pool of blood.

Chaos erupted.

Li Chengqiang and Lin Jingyue acted almost simultaneously. Lin Jingyue released the man she held, firing toward the left-front.

Li Chengqiang and the leader fired their guns simultaneously.

Gunshots echoed one after another.

*Bang!*

The last man flew back, defeated.

Lin Jingyue was drenched in sweat, staring wide-eyed at the man she had shot in the chest. Blood welled up, his face growing paler by the second.

“Ugh—” She couldn’t help but gag, clutching her chest.

“Jingyue...”

“Jingyue!” Three voices called out at once. The next moment, Lin Jingyue fell into an embrace tinged with chill.

“Jiang Xun...” Hearing the worried voice, Lin Jingyue smiled faintly.

“Sorry I’m late.” Jiang Xun’s eyes glistened with red.

He held everyone tight. Only he knew how scared he had been, how unbearable it would be if he could no longer see her lively eyes. Thankfully, he arrived just in time.

“Jingyue.” He hugged the girl tightly, a tear of relief rolling down his nose and falling silently into the cold earth.

Song Shiyun withdrew his hand and patted Li Chengqiang’s shoulder, who had been a step too slow. “Your injury.”

Only one survivor remained on the scene—the man Lin Jingyue had first encountered.

Li Chengqiang’s wound was inflicted by the leader. They fired almost simultaneously; the leader was shot in the chest and killed instantly, but Li Chengqiang was wounded in the left shoulder.

Fortunately, Lin Jingyue was unharmed.

At the critical moment, Jiang Xun’s timely arrival saved the day, the man aiming at Lin Jingyue dying by his hand.

Li Chengqiang looked deeply at the tearful Jiang Xun, his heart filled with unprecedented complexity.

This was the first time he had seen Jiang Xun like this.

He glanced at Lin Jingyue again, a bitter yet grateful smile spreading across his lips.

A smile tinged with relief, gratitude, and the joy of survival.

Well, as long as she was safe, that was all that mattered.