Meng Chao sneered coldly. “So, are my dad and I supposed to apologize to you, Mr. Hu?”
Qin Hu pretended as if he did not hear the mocking tone in Meng Chao’s voice. He swung his hand and said, “Forget it. I’m a generous person. I won’t bother arguing with someone younger than I am. What happened is now in the past, and whoever mentions it is a twat. What is the most important thing right now is that we have to get out of this stupid place!”
He ate the last mouthful of the high-calorie compressed food and patted his stomach as if he had not had his fill just yet. He thought about it and beckoned Meng Chao over. “Come here, brat.”
Meng Chao instantly looked wary.
His chain sabers moved soundlessly like venomous snakes.
Qin Hu’s lips curled up, and he mumbled, “Aren’t you wary, brat?”
He removed his tactical watch and tossed it at Meng Chao while saying, “The map my team drew as we explored the place is inside. It includes a few of the cracks I found leading to the surface. If we crawl up along these cracks, we can escape.
“Transfer that data into your tactical map. If anything happens, we will have a few paths we can use to survive.”
Tactical watches were the most loyal companions of superhumans in the wild.
Not only did they show the time, they also showed various information like humidity, air pressure, height, depth, density of spirit energy, intensity of the spirit energy ripples, and other stuff.
They could also store a lot of data regarding monster weaknesses and the ways to fight them.
The watches were also carefully made using the sturdiest crystals and superbeast materials. They could endure powerful tremors, corrosion, and spirit energy magnetic field interference. It could be said that they were the most valuable equipment a superhuman owned.
Regardless of whether it was Lu Siya or Shen Yulong, they had thrown much of their money into the mine exploration, and both sides prepared the most advanced tactical watches for their team members.
Despite the fierce fight earlier, the tactical watches were undamaged.
Meng Chao pulled out the cable from Qin Hu’s tactical watch and connected it to his own watch. After he brought out the map and looked at it, he quirked his eyebrows. “So, you didn’t come here through the subsurface stream!”
“Yeah. This region has just gone through a major geographical change. The Red Radiance Jade mine rose from deep underground. The powerful spirit energy impact tore through the sturdy rock stratum and created countless cracks. Naturally, there isn’t just one path leading underground.”
Qin Hu told Meng Chao that there was a geologist in Shen Yulong’s mine exploration team as well. He brought them to the edge of Raging Waves and used a secret technique to locate a cave leading to the ore bed.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of superbeasts that were infected by Blood Flowers deep in the cave.
After a fierce fight, most of the superbeasts turned into the undead.
While they fought, they retreated and fled deeper underground. Then, they exploded the wall behind them and sealed that cave shut so that the undead were blocked outside.
This meant that there was no way for them to return up the same road. Even if they located the Red Radiance Jade mine, they could only find another exit.
Hence, Shen Yulong’s team spent an extra twenty-four hours to explore the cracks above them. They used ultrasound to test the flow of air and discovered a few paths they could use to escape.
“But unless it’s absolutely necessary, it’s better if we don’t crawl through them. I’d rather go to the subsurface stream you mentioned and face that raging Lion Dragon Fish,” Qin Hu said.
“Why?” Meng Chao did not understand.
“Because we’re already under Raging Waves. If we crawl up along the cracks above us, even if we get to the surface, we’ll be in Raging Waves,” Qin Hu said.
“And what do you think Raging Waves is? It’s the nest of an Apocalyptic Beast! The Deity Realm elites are currently fighting an earth-shattering battle against that Apocalyptic Beast right now, and if we’re unlucky, we’ll walk straight into our deaths. We’re just in Earth Realm, you know? The Apocalyptic Beast can kill us with a single kick!”
Meng Chao thought about it and agreed with Qin Hu.
Even if they managed to climb to Raging Waves, they would just be climbing from the eighteenth level of Hell to the seventeenth. There was no difference.
But when he thought further about it, he found that there was something off!
He had overlooked something really important.
Qin Hu was alive.
In the memories from his past life, when his father was injured and they sued Prosperous, then looked for Qin Hu for money after they won the lawsuit, Qin Hu was always the boss of Prosperous. It meant that he had lived for another five years at the least.
‘My God, that means that without me, the variable, Qin Hu had actually been lucky enough to escape this!’
Meng Chao’s eyes instantly lit up, and he thanked his lucky stars that he did not watch Qin Hu die just now.
This idiot was actually lucky enough to become one of the few survivors in this strange scheme. In fact, he might even be the only survivor!
But…
Meng Chao narrowed his eyes and endured the pain from the depths of his mind to recall more things.
In his previous life, after he became a harvester with his father, he seemed to recall meeting Qin Hu once.
At that time, Qin Hu was really temperamental and ruthless. Every single one of his pores released bloodthirst, and he looked like a monster in human skin. He left behind a really bad impression on Meng Chao.
After he returned to the past, during the few times they ran into each other, while Meng Chao still thought that Qin Hu was domineering, he did not seem to be as ruthless as he was in his past life.
Did his experience in the underground cause the drastic change in his personality?
‘That’s right. Right now, Qin Hu is the vice captain of Frenzied Saber. But based on what I remember, Qin Hu was a solo hunter in my previous life.
‘He handed the daily affairs of Prosperous to Shen Rongfa while he stayed in the wild all the time to chase some powerful monster.
‘After we won the lawsuit, we tried going to Qin Hu for the money a few times, but he never showed up. He was either in isolated training or hunting in the wild.
‘Back then, my sister and I thought that Qin Hu didn’t want to give us the money, which is why he intentionally hid himself from us.
‘But now that I think about it, with Qin Hu’s power, there was no reason for him to hide from the two of us, because we’re just normal people.
‘This matter became an important reason behind why Jiacao turned into the Dark Witch.’
Even now, Meng Chao could still remember Bai Jiacao’s indignant words at that time.
“He went to the wild to hunt that White Spirit again?! What a joke! Qin Hu is just a five-star superhuman! He hasn’t even reached the peak of Heaven Realm! But the White Spirit is one of the Nine Great Supernatural Entities. Even those in Deity Realm might not be able to handle it, so how can he possibly kill the White Spirit?
“Excuses! They’re all lousy excuses! He’s actually using such ridiculous lies to send us away?
“The law only protects powerful people like Qin Hu, the rich, and those who stand at the top. It does not protect our interests! I swear that from this moment on, I won’t believe in those stupid laws anymore. I’ll rely on my own power to take back what belongs to us!”
Meng Chao widened his eyes.
He was shocked by the memory fragments that rose to the forefront of his mind.
Then, he sank into puzzlement.
‘What’s this White Spirit? What are the Nine Great Supernatural Entities? Even the Deity Realm fighters might not be able to win against them? Wouldn’t that mean that they’re even stronger than Apocalyptic Beasts?!
‘Why did Qin Hu insist on hunting one of the Nine Great Supernatural Entities when they’re even stronger than Apocalyptic Beasts?
‘Also, right now, Qin Hu is just a three-star superhuman. He’s already a middle-aged man, so after fighting for so many years in the wild, he has a lot of hidden injuries accumulating in his body. His spirit meridians have already stagnated, and his cultivation base has stopped progressing.
‘How could then he get to Heaven Realm in just a few short years and reach Spirit Gaze Realm?
‘Did he run into some sort of fortuitous event?’
Meng Chao’s thoughts raced as quickly as lightning.
“Brat, what’s wrong with you?” Qin Hu asked in puzzlement.
“It’s nothing.” Meng Chao sucked in a deep breath and decided to bet everything. He threw his backpack to Qin Hu and said, “You aren’t full yet, right? Your stamina and spirit energy haven’t recovered to their peak. There’s still some food and medicine here. Do whatever you want with them.”
“You’re giving them to me?” Qin Hu widened his eyes. “Then what’s going to happen to you?”
“I… can’t last anymore.”
Meng Chao decided to bet everything on Qin Hu, but he was still worried that he would turn his back on him, so he wanted to test him one more time.
So, he activated Walking Corpse and reduced his body functions. He slowed down his heartbeat, breathing, and movements of organs so that his face turned pale and he looked really weak.
“I’m suffering from internal injuries. The Slit-mouthed Anacondas just now crashed into me really violently, and they tore my organs, so I’m bleeding internally right now,” Meng Chao said weakly. “I give you everything since you’re at the peak of Earth Realm, so recover your strength as much as possible and save me.”
At the same time, he discreetly circulated his spirit energy and created a spirit energy magnetic field. He also adjusted his muscle fibers.
If Qin Hu put on a savage face the moment he got the backpack, Meng Chao would attack and strike a fatal hit.
But Qin Hu did not betray him. In fact, he did not even take the backpack.
Instead, he scratched his moustache for a long time and pursed his lips before he said, “Your acting sucks.”
“Huh?”
“Brat, you just fell off a really high cliff and jumped around like some cockroach. Yet you’re saying that your organs are bleeding badly because of a few knocks from the Slit-mouthed Anacondas? Who’d believe that?”
“Um…”
Qin Hu continued, “Besides, aren’t you practicing that Ultimate Style? It claims that it can clear 1,024 branch meridians, provide great protection to your organs, and give you great endurance?”
“Well…”
Qin Hu continued yet again, “Also, I read an article in the official website of Agricultural University’s martial arts course. It’s called Records of the Birth of the Ultimate Style. It has a statement about a unique talent you have. It states that you have incredibly great healing abilities, which is why you could handle the initial stages of the Ultimate Style. Even if the wrong medicine formula caused major tears in the body, you could still go through more than ten incredibly painful experiments every day.
“After a night’s worth of sleep, all your pain was gone. You’re practically a monster, which is why you’re the number one contributor to the birth of the Ultimate Style. Gu Jianbo wrote it, and I think he’s your personal tutor. He wasn’t lying, was he?”
“No…”
“One more thing, I saw you using your pinky to hook on your chain saber.”
“Oh…”
Qin Hu then went for the final blow. “So, what’s the meaning of this? You don’t trust me and are testing me? If you don’t trust me, you can just say it. We can split up right now. There’s no need for you to beat around the bush like that. You can’t even act well and I saw through it with one look. I feel embarrassed for you!”
Meng Chao could only apologize after that. “Mr. Hu, I was wrong. My thoughts are too dark, and I suspected a good man who values relationships such as yourself. From now on, I will definitely trust you. Let’s work together and break this scheme so that we can get out of this stupid place!”