Phoenix turned around and climbed down the mountain peak. She walked alone on the wasteland until there was less than 10 meters between her and the Thunderstorm Tank. Then, she heard the other party said, “That’s enough, stand right there.”
Phoenix spread out both her hands to indicate that she was not a threat before giving a faint smile. She said, “When did the people from Thorned Flower Guild begin to like joking around?”
Chen Xiaolian regarded the young woman; his eyes were hidden behind the visor of his helmet. However, he was not afraid of having Phoenix notice the smile in his eyes. He then deliberately said in a heavy voice, “Oh? How did you surmise that I am joking?”
“There is the Thorned Flower Guild’s prestigious name. This esteemed one must be the Thorned Flower team leader for this instance dungeon. Would you do something like robbing people and snatching women? Naturally, those words must be a joke.”
Chen Xiaolian laughed and released his grip of the rapid-fire cannon. He looked at Phoenix and said, “Oh? In that case, what do you think my real intentions are?”
Phoenix sighed and said, “We are all in a miserable state. Since we are forced to participate in a punishment instance dungeon, it is only natural that we have to face difficulties… if esteemed one agrees, then there is no need for us to become enemies.”
After she said that, Phoenix turned her head and pointed toward the peak. “Up there on the rocky platform, there are others as well. Since esteemed one is a member of Thorned Flower Guild, naturally, you would not be so inexperienced as to not have heard of the name ‘Shogunate’ Guild. The Shogunate Generalissimo, Sawakita Mitsuo is presently on top of the mountain. My name is Phoenix, also a Guild Leader. Considering my abilities, I believe I would have the qualifications to form an alliance with Thorned Flower Guild, right?”
Chen Xiaolian was silent. He simply observed the young woman.
Seeing how the other party was silent, Phoenix frowned slightly and said, “Enemy or friend, the decision lies in esteemed one’s hands.”
Chen Xiaolian suddenly shook his head. He purposely said in a gruff voice, “Forming alliance or whatever… I am not interested. What other suggestions do you have that could interest me?”
Phoenix looked at Chen Xiaolian with curiosity in her eyes. She asked, “What do you want?”
After saying that, Phoenix’s eyes turned serious and she said in a grave voice, “However, I hope that your request is not too outrageous. Although the name Thorned Flower Guild is powerful, if the request is too much, then I cannot simply accept it!”
Chen Xiaolian deliberately stayed silent for a few seconds before saying, “Since you have so many people, I believe you would have covered quite some ground, right? I want the chart of the mapped terrain.”
Phoenix looked at Chen Xiaolian dubiously: Each time Thorned Flower Guild took action, there would be teamwork. They will never face a shortage of members. To acquire the terrain in one night… considering Thorned Flower Guild’s strength and the high number of members, why would they need others to provide a map for them?
After reaching that line of thought however, Phoenix suddenly thought of something: Right! This is a punishment instance dungeon! This is not an ordinary instance dungeon!
Thorned Flower Guild possessed many experts and masters. In ordinary instance dungeons, they would never face a shortage of members’ problem.
However, this was a punishment instance dungeon. It was common knowledge that those participating in this instance dungeon were those who had failed to complete their previous instance dungeon.
Perhaps, the number of Thorned Flower Guild members participating in this punishment instance dungeon might not be that much – even if they wanted to send more, since punishment instance dungeons only allowed those who failed their previous instance to enter, the guild would be unable to send more.
Thus… perhaps the members of Thorned Flower Guild here were only the fellow on the Thunderstorm Tank… perhaps there might be some others inside the tank. However, they cannot possibly have more!
When she thought about that, Phoenix suddenly had an impulsive thought: Even though the other party is the infamous Thorned Flower Guild, their number is small. We might be able to take advantage of this difference in numbers. There is also the support from the Shogunate Generalissimo… can we eliminate these fellows?
However, after considering it through, she realized that killing off members of Thorned Flower Guild would bring too much trouble! If there was no such need, then they should not rush to their deaths by provoking an immensely powerful guild. That was not a wise move.
Phoenix forced the thought down and endured the desire to take action. Then, she raised her head at Chen Xiaolian and said, “ A chart of the mapped terrain? I have that. However, do you have any other requirements? Why not say it all at once?”
Chen Xiaolian tilted his head and thought about it before saying, “At the moment, I can’t think of any other. If you can provide me the chart, then we can temporarily cooperate.”
“An alliance?”
Chen Xiaolian laughed.
He thought to himself: Both Roddy and I entered this instance dungeon through the use of a backdoor. If they were someone else, then maybe. But Phoenix knows that I had just successfully completed the London instance dungeon.
How could I end up inside a punishment instance dungeon? Once we form an alliance, my identity would be exposed.
There is no good way for me to explain myself to Phoenix.
Chen Xiaolian shook his head and said, “Forget the alliance. A cooperation will do. Our Thorned Flower Guild have always acted independently, why would we need to form an alliance?”
Phoenix sighed and secretly used the alliance channel to communicate with Sawakita Mitsuo.
The old man gave a very simple answer: Give it to him!
Phoenix then accessed her personal system and copied out the mapped terrain into something that looked like a radar watch and tossed it to Chen Xiaolian.
Chen Xiaolian accepted the item. Although he had never seen the item before, with Roddy who had the Mechanical Heart skill beside him, there was no need for him to inquire about it. He accepted it and glanced at Phoenix before saying, “Very good, I can feel your sincerity.”
After saying that, Chen Xiaolian produced a walkie-talkie and tossed it to Phoenix. He said, “Take this. If there is anything else, I will contact you. It is as you said, enemy or friend, that decision lies in my hands.”
Pausing for a moment, Chen Xiaolian then said in a cold voice, “Remember… our friends all live a good life while our enemies have already paid the price for doing so.”
Chen Xiaolian’s words were broadcasted through the tank’s broadcast system.
The other people atop the mountain peak also heard those words but did not dwell too deeply into them.
However, somewhere on the red coloured rocky mountain peak, Han Bi who was hiding inside the Chameleon Tent became startled after hearing those words. He stared at the Thunderstorm Tank with a peculiar expression…
“My friends all live a good life while my enemies have already paid the price for doing so?”
Han Bi silently mumbled those words.
He became shocked. It’s him?! 1
…
Phoenix was surprised by the man’s actions. After accepting the walkie-talkie, she looked at Chen Xiaolian.
She then asked loudly, “You are killing those beasts in such a casual manner. Are you not afraid that the level of difficulty will rise?”
Chen Xiaolian’s voice resonated out from the tank, “We are Thorned Flower Guild, and we fear nothing!”
As his laughter filled the air, the Thunderstorm Tank turned around and moved to the west.
Phoenix gripped the walkie-talkie in her hands and watched the tank that was already far away with a complicated look on her face.
…
Inside the Thunderstorm Tank, Roddy watched as Chen Xiaolian took off the helmet. He smiled and asked, “What? You’re not going to snatch her?”
“Don’t joke around. If we get into a fight, this woman’s strength is unfathomable. Besides, if our identity gets exposed, we’ll be in deep trouble.”
After saying that, Chen Xiaolian handed the radar watch to Roddy. “This is the area that they’ve covered. Since we only have 24 hours to prepare, this item will help us quit a bit.”
Roddy took the radar watch. He quickly figured out how to use it. Opening it, he saw the mapped area.
He laughed and said, “We’ve bagged quite a nice loot. We haven’t mapped out the south and east terrain yet. Now that we have this, we can spare ourselves the effort.”
Chen Xiaolian replied, “We still have time. Let’s go to the west side and check it out.”
Pausing, he then whispered, “Our objective is that fellow we encountered in London, the one who is a dead ringer for Qiu Yun!”
…
“How is it?”
After Phoenix got back up to the rocky platform, Monster was quick to hurry over to her side. Sawakita Mitsuo stood to the side while looking at the Thunderstorm Tank that was moving even further away with a complicated expression on his face.
“It’s very strange. They only wanted a map of the terrain we covered. They did not ask for anything excessive – normally, when one encounters the people from Thorned Flower Guild, it is either be absorbed or killed by them.” Phoenix shook her head and continued, “This time’s encounter is very strange… however, they are indeed very overbearing, just like how Thorned Flower Guild members would normally behave.”
Phoenix was silent for a moment before abruptly raising her head to look at Sawakita Mitsuo. “Sir Generalissimo, I think… since the pack of wolves beneath the mountain have been cleared, why don’t we take this opportunity to leave this place? This place had been noted by the people from Thorned Flower Guild. Although we do not know how strong they are… I believe that this place is no longer safe. It would be better for us to leave this place.”
Sawakita Mitsuo fanned himself and smiled. “I agree with Guild Leader Phoenix’s idea.”
Phoenix nodded and said, “Let’s not delay any further. Let’s move out.”
She glanced at Monster and shouted loudly, “Head down the mountain!”
At the same time, Phoenix sent a strange signal to him.
Monster understood it and deliberately shouted back loudly, “All right! Let’s move! This place is open to winds all the time. I’ve long since grown weary of this place!”
After saying that, he quickly turned around and climbed down the rocky cliff.
Phoenix followed beside Monster while Sawakita Mitsuo smiled and moved down through the other side. Once again, his body was parallel to the ground as he walked down the mountain peak, his feet seemingly rooting him to the surface of the rocky cliff.
Monster and Phoenix deliberately slowed down. When the distance between them and the ground was less than three meters, they glanced at each other.
Monster moved slightly to the left and… he suddenly reached out with his hand and smash heavily on a certain spot on the rocky cliff!
A booming sound erupted but the surface of the cliff did not crack under the impact!
However, a ripple appeared on that part of the cliff. After a flash of light, its colour changed into something resembling that of animal hide!
Monster snorted loudly. “Smart fellow! As expected, we have a mouse hiding here! Are you not going to roll out right now?”
Phoenix had one hand holding onto the rocky cliff while the other held onto a wand. She looked at the animal hide and said, “Chameleon Tent? Humph, since we’ve found it, then will this fellow associate please come out?”
Inside the Chameleon Tent, Han Bi’s face sank terribly!
The sounds of Monster’s fist smashing the tent could be heard coming from the outside. After hearing two booming sounds, cold sweat trickled down Han Bi’s forehead.
He was aware that the Chameleon Tent’s defence was insufficient to keep them at bay… additionally, being stubborn here will not help him.
He then gave a bitter smile before shouting, “All right, I am coming out!”
Phoenix exchanged glances with Monster and the two of them jumped down the ground. One on the left and one on the right.
Sawakita Mitsuo and the others had also reached the ground. They then looked at the animal hide on the rocky cliff.
Soon, Han Bi climbed out from inside the tent. Under the gaze of all the people there, he moved about on the rocky cliff, kept the Chameleon Tent before slowly climbing down.
Han Bi had deliberately moved slowly to give off the impression that he was slow-witted.
Since he would likely become these people’s captive, putting on such an act might lower their guard. That way, he might still have a chance to do something.
To his disappointment, when he jumped down and reached the ground, he found that the young woman who was smiling at him had not relaxed in the slightest. Both she and the one called Monster were standing to the left and right, a clear indication that they were blocking off his escape routes.
Most importantly, the young woman had her wand out. As for Monster, there was a blade and an iron hammer in his hands.
“Oh, well.” Han Bi sighed and raised up both his hands. He let out a bitter smile and said, “I won’t resist.”
Monster stared coldly at Han Bi and said in a harsh tone, “You were hiding up there to secretly spy on us?”
Han Bi frowned and turned to face Monster. He said, “Can’t you speak rationally? I was obviously here first while you people came later. In this dangerous instance dungeon, when some stranger approached, I had to hide myself for the sake of self-preservation. How could you say I am spying on you on purpose?”
Monster glanced at Phoenix who nodded her head. “That does sound logical. Who are you?”
Han Bi shook his head before replying, “My name is Han Bi. I am just a minor solitary character.”
Hearing that name, Phoenix mumbled the name to herself before determining that she had never heard of the name before. She then regarded Han Bi’s appearance. She considered his noticeable features and compared it with the known personages in her memories and found no such person. She then nodded her head.
She turned around and looked at Sawakita Mitsuo.
He smiled coolly and said, “About how to deal with this… Guild Leader Phoenix should be the one to decide.”
Phoenix hesitated before glancing at the weapon that Han Bi was holding. She recognized it with a glance, a [B] class Snow Edge.
It was really nothing great.
It would appear that he was some hapless average Awakened who had been sent into this punishment instance dungeon.
“We’ll tie him up first. Monster, you keep an eye on him,” Phoenix casually said.
Monster kept his weapons and walked until he was before Han Bi. Han Bi regarded Monster’s muscular and thickset body before sighing. He did not resist. Keeping Snow Edge, he then spread out both his hands forward and asked, “Do you want to tie me up?”
Monster chuckled and pulled out a roll of white coloured strings of silk, which he used to tie up Han Bi’s hands.
Looking at the strings of silk, Han Bi could not help but widen his eyes.
Black Widow’s spider silk?
Next, the middle-aged man brought out their dune buggy from their storage equipment.
Phoenix signalled to Monster who nodded. He too, brought out a dune buggy from their storage equipment.
The two teams got on their respective vehicles while Han Bi was held by Monster.
After starting up their vehicles, they then moved toward the south.
Phoenix’s dune buggy was at the front while Sawakita Mitsuo’s dune buggy was at the back.
As their dune buggies travelled forward bumpily, Nagase Komi’s expression, who was seated beside Sawakita Mitsuo, flickered. A thoughtful expression appeared on that icy cold face of hers.
She hesitated for a bit before turning to the side to look at the old man. She said, “Great Teacher…”
“Mm?”
“The name Han Bi… I think I’ve heard that name before.”
…