Chapter 88: Setting the Trap, Waiting for You to Fall In

This place was close to the wild woods—not exactly an ideal spot for a camp, but at least it was quiet.

When Bian Changxi entered the tent, she immediately found several wounded who were beyond saving, and a few others whose high fevers had put them in critical condition.

The weather was brutal: scorching hot during the day, freezing cold at night. With the seasons changing, hundreds died every day.

But she couldn’t just watch people die in front of her. With a sigh, she began treating them. As usual, she didn’t try to bring anyone back to full health—just stabilized them enough so they wouldn’t die right away. There were plenty of plant-type and medical ability users around; surely, they could figure out the rest.

After treating seven or eight people in a row, she’d used up half her energy and was sweating lightly. “They’ll be fine for now,” she said.

As she spoke, she suddenly noticed the lamp’s shadow flicker, and a faint, almost imperceptible gust of wind sounded behind her.

Alarmed, she dodged to the side just in time to hear a fierce growl. Turning, she saw Milk (her pet) latching onto someone’s face, only to be knocked aside. The man cried out in pain, six bloody claw marks streaking his face. In his hand was a device identical to Zhang Yuwen’s stun gun, and he’d been standing right behind her.

Bian Changxi froze for a second—she recognized him. He was the elite guy always by Boss Zhang’s side.

A flurry of thoughts raced through her mind. Zhang Yuwen must have been sent by Boss Zhang. Then she’d been lured here—was this all a setup? Or did they improvise after Zhang Yuwen failed?

She glanced at Milk, who had landed on the ground. “Milk!”

Milk twitched a few times on the ground, fur on his belly singed—he’d taken quite a shock.

The elite man was clearly trained. Though he’d lost the initiative, he hesitated for only a split second. As Bian Changxi bent to pick up Milk, he lunged at her.

He was fast and fierce. Bian Changxi knew she couldn’t handle him the same way she had Zhang Yuwen. She quickly pulled back from Milk, jumped back, and drew her straight blade. Behind her, the doctor who’d been giving an IV suddenly tossed aside his needle and grabbed her from behind.

Bian Changxi kicked him away. The elite man closed in. She turned her head just in time to narrowly avoid the arc of electricity, and swung her blade at his hand.

He quickly withdrew, dropping the stun gun into his left hand, and stabbed at her abdomen. Suddenly, a thick vine appeared out of nowhere, twisting itself into a knot in front of her, then wrapping tightly around the man’s hand. He yelped and staggered back.

At the same moment, the doctor cried out and charged at her, now wielding a scalpel.

It was as if Bian Changxi had eyes in the back of her head. With a flick of her left hand, a slender vine shot out, hooking a heavy bottle of saline from the table behind the doctor and smashing it into the back of his head.

With a crash, blood and saline splattered everywhere, and the doctor collapsed.

Bian Changxi scooped up Milk and dashed out of the tent.

Outside, the soldiers and squad members on night patrol were smoking and chatting. The fight inside had lasted only seconds, and aside from the shouts from the elite man and the doctor, there’d been no warning. Before anyone could react, Bian Changxi burst out.

She radiated murderous intent. Her delicate, refined face was icy cold, her brows slanted sharply, her eyes blazing. Without waiting for them to react, she lashed out with two vines.

The vines struck several men in the face, sending them sprawling, coughing up blood and teeth, red welts instantly swelling on their cheeks.

But two men were exceptions.

One vine was sliced clean by a flurry of golden blades; the other was frozen solid by a layer of ice, the chill biting into Bian Changxi’s hand until she had to let go. The vine fell heavily to the ground.

She looked up and recognized them both. The metal-type user was the one who’d killed a mutating man at the train station with acrobatic skill—rumor had it he’d been a SWAT team captain. He was originally with Xiao Jing’s faction, and since Boss Zhang was also with Xiao Jing, his presence here wasn’t surprising. But the other man was worth noting: it was A-Gang, who usually stuck close to Qu Nan.

“Miss Bian, I advise you not to struggle. With the two of us and all these people, you’re not getting away,” said the metal-type man.

More people quietly appeared around the camp—some ability users, some in military uniforms, some thuggish types. Boss Zhang ran an internet café; of course he had plenty of men, and his connections were clearly not simple. It wasn’t surprising he could gather such a force.

Bian Changxi checked on Milk in her arms. He was still breathing, his little belly heaving with difficulty. She asked A-Gang, “Whose idea was it for you to be here?”

A-Gang snorted. “Because of you, Qu Nan made me drive and run errands. What a joke! Who does he think he is? A spoiled rich kid with nothing to his name. I’ll make him regret it!”

As he spoke, two icicles shot toward Bian Changxi.

She slung Milk over her shoulder, summoned four wooden spikes to block one icicle, and shattered the other with her blade. Ice shards sprayed her face and slipped down her collar, stabbing her skin with cold.

The force pushed her back two steps.

A-Gang grinned smugly. Did she really think her flimsy wooden spikes could match his ice?

But he hadn’t expected the four spikes to move as if alive, scraping along the icicle and forcing its trajectory to curve, striking one of his own men. The spikes didn’t stop, whizzing toward his head.

He conjured an ice shield in front of him.

But he wasn’t skilled enough. Those two icicles had taken a long time to charge—he couldn’t fire them off as quickly as Bian Changxi could, like instant-cast magic. The ice shield he conjured in haste was flimsy and shattered instantly. Fortunately, his special forces training let him dodge the spikes by leaning back.

Still, he was drenched in his own icy water.

The metal-type man’s expression darkened. He’d thought he was the trump card, and that dealing with a plant-type girl—especially since they needed her alive—wouldn’t even require his intervention. But just one look told him: in this woman’s hands, the usually fragile plant-type powers could be deadly.

“All of you, get her!” he ordered.

Bian Changxi drew her pistol, flicked off the safety, and fired at the attackers without hesitation.

People dropped instantly.

“Damn it!” the metal-type man cursed. This woman was ruthless! Facing so many, she didn’t hesitate to shoot. Was this really the same college girl from just a couple weeks ago? And the gunshots would only cause more trouble.

Many of the fallen were his old subordinates. He was furious, face black with rage, and strode forward, hands raised. Suddenly, someone shouted, “We need her alive! Don’t kill her!”

A car pulled up, and Boss Zhang stuck his head out the window.

Bian Changxi glanced up at the sound, just as the metal-type man prepared to go all out.

Metal abilities were the sharpest of all powers. Though he wasn’t as strong as she was, his blades were no joke—she couldn’t withstand them.

Retreat!

They had blocked the main exit, so her only option was to flee into the wild woods.

She’d barely moved when a vine suddenly wrapped around her. A woman shouted excitedly, “Look, I caught her!”

Bian Changxi twisted her waist, slicing a circle with her blade. Before she even saw the woman’s face, the head went flying. With a flex of her arms, she snapped the vine. Its toughness was nothing compared to hers—like tofu. But the next moment, a rain of yellow sand fell from above, and a water-type user on the outskirts, seeing an opening, prepared to douse her with mud.

Milk, perched on Bian Changxi’s shoulder, finally seemed to recover. Eyes flashing, he leapt forward, bounding over a few people and landing in front of the water-type, clawing and biting until the man screamed.

Bian Changxi whipped out several vines, lashing them in all directions to force people back. She wiped her face, got her bearings, slung the headless corpse over her back, and sprinted for the woods, calling to Milk, “Come on!”

Milk quickly caught up, but instead of jumping into her arms, he dashed ahead to lead the way.

Anyone who tried to block her got a bullet for their trouble, while all attacks from behind landed on the corpse she carried.

Reaching the edge of the wild woods, she tossed the body aside and slipped into the darkness.

“Catch her!” Boss Zhang shouted furiously from behind.

The woods were pitch black, the ground tangled with thorns, vines, weeds, and rocks. But Bian Changxi reasoned that since they’d set up camp here, the forest must have been checked for danger.

She ran for her life, debating whether to use her space ability to hide. But inside, she couldn’t see outside, and if she stayed too long, her sudden reappearance would be suspicious.

So she decided to avoid using it unless absolutely necessary.

She searched for a path, hoping to circle around and escape. Boss Zhang wasn’t all-powerful—if she could reach a crowded area, they wouldn’t dare act recklessly.

The gunshots earlier must have already drawn attention.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded behind her. Bian Changxi dropped to her knees and dove forward as two golden blades whizzed past, embedding themselves in a tree trunk.

In an instant, four men emerged from the woods.

They were dressed identically: bulletproof vests, SWAT pants, gun holsters at their waists, batons in hand, helmets on their heads—fully armed.

Unlike the previous attackers, these four were organized and efficient, clearly seasoned veterans.

Bian Changxi pressed her hands into the cold earth and pushed herself up. Four wooden spikes shot toward the four men, while, moments earlier, four slender vines had already snaked through the undergrowth, wrapping around their legs, ready to tighten. With a flick of her wrists, she drew two submachine pistols, switched them to full-auto, and unleashed a torrent of bullets straight at them."