Su Wan and Lu Shiyan were both startled.
All their attention had been focused on saving Xiao Han and Xiao Lei just now, and for a moment, they had forgotten that Scorpion had also captured Li Kui and Li Xinhu, two important companions.
Lu Shiyan glanced in the rearview mirror; Lei Laohu's men had not pursued them in large numbers, clearly, the massive chaos within Area A had already left them overwhelmed and in a desperate state.
"Where are they?"
Xiao Han gritted his teeth, trying to recall the details of being ambushed and imprisoned earlier:
"We… we were ambushed by Scorpion's men and then locked in an abandoned warehouse on the west side of Area A! We must rescue Li Kui and Li Xinhu as soon as possible!"
A cold killing intent emanated from Lu Shiyan.
"Su Wan, weapons," Lu Shiyan said concisely.
Su Wan immediately pulled out several submachine guns and grenades from her space and handed them to everyone.
...
The abandoned warehouse was located on the relatively remote western edge of Area A, surrounded by crumbling walls and overgrown weeds, appearing exceptionally desolate.
At this moment, several of Scorpion's underlings were patrolling outside the warehouse as lookouts, but clearly, due to the massive chaos in the central area of Area A, their vigilance had dropped significantly.
Lu Shiyan parked the car behind a collapsed building in the distance, and the four of them quietly got out of the car.
Xiao Lei's body had been temporarily stored in Su Wan's space; she promised Xiao Han that after everything was over, she would find a beautiful, scenic place to properly bury him.
"Xiao Han, you and A Mo deal with the outer sentries, and finish it quickly," Lu Shiyan said in a low voice.
"Su Wan, you follow me; be ready to assist.
The situation inside the warehouse is unknown, so be careful."
"Understood!" Xiao Han responded.
Although his time with Xiao Lei was short, the image of the child sacrificing himself to save him, intertwined with the helplessness of his forced betrayal, filled his heart with mixed emotions.
Xiao Lei was pitiful, and even more so, tragic… If he could find his sister, Mo Yao, it would resolve a lingering concern.
A Mo remained silent, nodding his head.
The four of them quietly approached the warehouse.
Xiao Han and A Mo's cooperation was seamless.
Xiao Han used his Wind Ability to create subtle sounds to attract the sentries' attention.
A Mo, like a shadow, would flash out and cleanly snap the opponent's neck or precisely headshot them with a silenced pistol.
The entire process was silent, alarming no one.
Soon, all the outer sentries were eliminated.
Lu Shiyan made a gesture, and the four of them, providing alternating cover, infiltrated the warehouse.
The light inside the warehouse was dim, and the air was filled with an unpleasant smell of rust mixed with dust.
Through a glimmer of moonlight filtering through a hole in the roof, they saw Li Kui and Li Xinhu tied separately to two rusty iron pillars in the center of the warehouse; both were unconscious and bore obvious wounds.
Not far from them, there were seven or eight of Scorpion's men, some talking in low voices, some wiping their weapons, appearing somewhat bored.
Clearly, they had not expected Lu Shiyan and the others to show up so quickly.
"Move!" Lu Shiyan uttered a low command.
Before his voice faded, he had already charged out, lightning flashing in his hands, striking directly at the two closest enemies.
Su Wan followed closely, her submachine gun spitting angry flames, accurately riddling those who tried to retaliate.
Her marksmanship had become increasingly precise and ruthless through repeated combat.
A Mo and Xiao Han also simultaneously flanked from both sides; A Mo's shooting was still steady and lethal, while Xiao Han wielded his Wind Blades with flair.
The sharp Wind Blades, like the scythe of death, silently sliced through the air, taking one vivid life after another.
The enemies inside the warehouse had not expected such a swift assault and were caught off guard, their formation thrown into disarray.
Although they had a numerical advantage, they could not organize effective resistance against these formidable individuals, Lu Shiyan and his team.
The battle ended quickly, lasting only a few minutes.
Bodies lay scattered across the warehouse floor, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.
"Li Kui! Li Xinhu!" Xiao Han rushed over, untying the ropes binding the two men.
Lu Shiyan and Su Wan also stepped forward to check on their condition.
Li Kui and Li Xinhu only had some superficial wounds and were unconscious due to sedatives.
Su Wan took out two invigorating agents from her space and injected a little into each of them.
Soon, Li Kui and Li Xinhu slowly regained consciousness.
"Cough cough… Brother Lu? Sister Su Wan? Xiao Han?" Li Kui shook his still groggy head, looking at the people in front of him with a mix of surprise and confusion.
"We… where are we?"
Li Xinhu also rubbed his aching neck, looking at the surrounding corpses in confusion: "Weren't we… captured by Scorpion's men?"
Xiao Han, seeing that they were fine, finally relaxed his tense nerves.
"It's okay, we came to rescue you.
It's just… Xiao Lei, he…"
Upon hearing this, Li Kui and Li Xinhu's expressions changed.
They vaguely remembered that when they were ambushed, something seemed to have happened to Xiao Lei.
Back in the car, the atmosphere remained heavy.
Under the persistent questioning of Li Kui and Li Xinhu, Xiao Han intermittently recounted Xiao Lei's sacrifice and how they had been ambushed.
It turned out that on that day, the four of them, as per Lu Shiyan's instructions, were responsible for providing support and clearing out any stragglers outside the canyon.
Everything should have gone smoothly; after the explosion in the canyon, they were preparing to withdraw as planned.
Who knew that Scorpion, who was supposed to be fighting Lei Laohu inside the canyon, appeared before them with a small elite squad, completely unharmed!
"We were all stunned!" Li Kui's voice trembled slightly with lingering fear.
"Scorpion directly surrounded us.
We wanted to resist, but they outnumbered us, and then there was Xiao Lei…"
Xiao Han took a deep breath, his eyes bloodshot: "Xiao Lei… Xiao Lei suddenly attacked, using a powerful mental force I had never seen before to control me… That power had already exceeded the scope of his original ability."
"I couldn't move at all, watching helplessly as Li Kui and Li Xinhu were knocked down by them," he said, lowering his head, his voice filled with pain.
"From the very beginning, his joining our team and attracting our attention on the arena were all arranged by Scorpion.
His purpose was to infiltrate our ranks and deliver a fatal blow at a critical moment."
Li Kui and Li Xinhu also wore expressions of disbelief and anger.
"Xiao Lei… why did he do that?" Li Xinhu asked, puzzled.
In his impression, Xiao Lei, though a bit timid, was not bad at heart.
"He said… Scorpion had captured his sister, Mo Yao, and threatened him," Xiao Han said, lowering his head, his voice filled with pain.
"From the very beginning, his joining our team and attracting our attention on the arena were all arranged by Scorpion.
His purpose was to infiltrate our ranks and deliver a fatal blow at a critical moment."
Su Wan and Lu Shiyan exchanged glances; this Scorpion was indeed insidious and cunning, having set up such a profound trap.
"He also said… he was sorry for me…" Xiao Han's voice grew lower and lower.
"I remember, when Scorpion's men were escorting us away, Xiao Lei was coughing violently, and even blood was seeping from the corners of his mouth… At the time, I thought he was scared or injured, but now that I think about it… he probably already knew something was wrong with his body…"
Su Wan looked at Xiao Han and asked, puzzled: "I remember Xiao Lei's ability seemed to lean towards mental interference, but that day he was able to completely control you, even suppressing your ability to resist.
This already exceeded the scope of mere 'influence', didn't it?
How did he do it?"
Xiao Han also had the same question; he shook his head painfully: "I've been thinking about this too.
The power he unleashed at the end… I'm afraid… I'm afraid he paid an unimaginable price."
"For him to be so weak, even coughing blood… perhaps, he used some forbidden method, forcibly stimulating his potential, and the price… might have been his life."