Card Room (Rebirth)

The Peach Blossom Spring was an independent space that could exist for three hours. No one could enter without Xiao Lou’s permission and this space was absolutely safe. However, it also had shortcomings. It would disappear after three hours. If they hid here for three hours until the Peach Blossom Spring disappeared, they would return to the basement again.

Xiao Lou saw Yu Hanjiang come in and hurried up to him in a worried manner. “Are you okay? I heard gunshots…”

Yu Hanjiang waved his hand. “I’m fine. They had machine guns in their hands but you pulled me away in time.”

The two of them were chatting when they saw that Shao Qingge also entered the Peach Blossom Spring. Xiao Lou was taken aback as he looked at Shao Qingge. “Chief Shao, why are you here?”

Yu Hanjiang frowned. “You shouldn’t have come in. Didn’t I tell you that the exit of the underground labyrinth is blocked? After entering the Peach Blossom Spring, you can only go out from the entrance of the Peach Blossom Spring. The entrance is in the basement and no one can leave the basement until the wall is opened.”

Shao Qingge glanced at Ye Qi sleeping beside a tree and walked quickly to Ye Qi’s side. “I couldn’t feel reassured so I came to see if I could help. I had Liu Qiao, Qu Wanyue and Long Sen stay outside. If it really isn’t possible, the three of them can find a way to break the door from the outside.” He bent over and gently grasped Ye Qi’s hand. “Why hasn’t Ye Qi woken up yet?”

“The dose of anesthetic used was probably too much. The dose for children is different from that of adults. Xiao Lou and Old Mo have woken up but the effect of the anesthetic probably hasn’t passed for Ye Qi.” Yu Hanjiang paused before questioning Shao Qingge, “The four of you abandoned the car and ran?”

“Yes, after receiving your message, I asked everyone to wear invisibility cloaks and run away. I pressed the accelerator and the car should’ve exploded in the forest.” Shao Qingge turned back. “They don’t know that the Yu Hanjiang in the car is just an imposter.”

“Very good,” Yu Hanjiang praised.

“When will Xiao Ye wake up?” Shao Qingge gently touched Ye Qi’s head in a worried manner.

“……” Ye Qi woke up in a daze. He heard Shao Qingge’s anxious and concerned voice and blinked. “Chief Shao? Where am I?”

“You’re awake!” Shao Qingge’s eyes brightened and he gently supported Ye Qi to sit up. “We are in the Peach Blossom Spring.”

“Oh, no wonder the environment felt so familiar.” He rubbed his aching temples and only saw Yu Hanjiang, Xiao Lou, Old Mo and Chief Shao in the Peach Blossom Spring. The others weren’t around.

Xiao Lou saw Ye Qi’s confusion and quickly explained the current situation.

Yu Hanjiang instructed them, “The four of you should stay in the Peach Blossom Spring. I will destroy the surveillance cameras. The duration of the invisibility cloak is only 30 minutes. Before it expires, I must destroy all the surveillance cameras in the basement so they can’t accurately locate us.”

“I’m going with Group Leader Yu.” Ye Qi was completely awake now. His eyes were as bright as stars and full of seriousness.

“Are you going to add chaos?” Shao Qingge patted Ye Qi’s head. “Do you know how to use a gun?”

“I can’t use a gun but I have the Bug King card!” Ye Qi raised his head to look at Shao Qingge. “Chief Shao, did you forget? You gave me this card. The bug king transformation can only be used once per instance. Yours has been used but I still have one. After I transform, I will have the physical strength of the bug king and can provide cover for Group Leader Yu.”

“……” Shao Qingge heard him utter a lot of great truths and couldn’t help being stunned.

“Chief Shao gave me such a powerful card. I want to make a contribution too.” Ye Qi smiled.

“Okay.” Yu Hanjiang simply nodded. “Ye Qi will come with me.”

Shao Qingge’s Bug King card had previously been used to heal everyone’s injuries then he used Rich and Willful to make a copy and handed it to Ye Qi. It just happened to come in handy now.

Ye Qi received Group Leader Yu’s consent and immediately activated the Bug King card. The 7 year old boy’s eyes turned blood red and they were as beautiful as crystal clear rubies. Shao Qingge saw the 7 year old Ye Qi with red eyes and couldn’t help chuckling. “You are like a little boss.”

Ye Qi scratched his head. “I am using this card for the first time and I’m not quite used to it. The world in front of me is also red?”

Shao Qingge earnestly taught Ye Qi what he learnt from his own experience. “In the eyes of the bug king, the same type is white while human beings are red. You have inherited the abilities of the bug king including climbing, jumping and healing. There is a layer of armor under the skin and severed limbs will regenerate immediately. You are only afraid of fire. However, the infection ability isn’t inherited. Scratching the opponent won’t change them into bugs.”

If the infection ability was inherited then the Bug King card could directly infect all the surrounding humans into bugs. Then this instance would become a copy of 9 of Spades and they could easily pass.

Ye Qi nodded. “I understand. I’ll climb the walls later to cover Group Leader Yu. I can also lead them away to make it more convenient for Group Leader Yu to destroy the surveillance.”

Shao Qingge warned him, “Be careful. It doesn’t matter if bullets hit the body. Your armor can’t be pierced by bullets. Just don’t get caught by fire. Bugs are completely melted by fire, remember?”

Ye Qi nodded vigorously. “Yes, I know.”

Yu Hanjiang looked at this little boy whose height only went up to his waist and said in a low voice, “Xiao Ye did a good job this time.”

Ye Qi was confused. “What?”

Yu Hanjiang handed him the bug and Ye Qi suddenly realized. “This was released before I fell unconscious. I thought that Group Leader Yu would be able to find the car that kidnapped us and perhaps you would find the card. Then you could follow the bug to find us. The situation was urgent and I didn’t have time to use other cards. My consciousness was already blurred and I was afraid I couldn’t control other cards, so I might as well leave you some clues.”

It was Ye Qi’s rational choice at a critical moment that made Yu Hanjiang lock onto their location. If Ye Qi had ran away in a panic at that time while the anesthetic had already taken effect, it was likely he would faint after running for two seconds.

Ye Qi’s cleverness made Yu Hanjiang feel very pleased. Now Ye Qi used the second Bug King card and their chances of escaping the labyrinth increased. Yu Hanjiang patted Ye Qi on the shoulder and praised him. “Good job.”

Ye Qi wasn’t too embarrassed about being praised and smiled. “I followed Group Leader Yu for so long and only learned a bit about investigating.”

Yu Hanjiang looked back at Xiao Lou and spoke in a soft voice, “Xiao Lou, continue to stay in the rear. The Peach Blossom Spring is our transit station. Once Xiao Ye or I are in danger, immediately pull us here.”

During the time when the Peach Blossom Spring existed, team members could come in and out of it repeatedly. This technique was used as early as 2 of Spades when Xiao Lou faced the zombies alone. No matter where Yu Hanjiang and Ye Qi were in the maze, they could instantly return to the Peach Blossom Spring under Xiao Lou’s call. It was just that they would walk out of the Peach Blossom Spring at the entrance which was near the metal wall where Yu Hanjiang had destroyed the surveillance just now.

The repeated teleportations meant Yu Hanjiang and Ye Qi could move freely among the killers and make it impossible for the killers to lock onto their specific locations. They had to destroy all the surveillance in the labyrinth as soon as possible and make full preparations for everyone’s escape.

Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang were connected to each other. If there was a need to be teleported then Xiao Lou could sense it even without Yu Hanjiang saying anything. Just now, he sensed Yu Hanjiang’s crisis and forcibly pulled him into the Peach Blossom Spring.

Still, even if there was the Peach Blossom Spring as a safe transit station, the opponent had many dangerous weapons and Yu Hanjiang had the body of a mortal. It wasn’t a joke to be shot by a bullet.

Xiao Lou watched Yu Hanjiang with worry. “Pay attention to safety. I will also give this to you.”

He handed the Light Feather Coat card to Yu Hanjiang. Thinking about it carefully, this was an S-grade defense card drawn from an early secret room. It could resist a fatal injury when worn on the body. Regardless of whether it was a knife or bullet, as long as it threatened the owner’s life then this card would offset the attack. It was equivalent to an extra life.

Yu Hanjiang smiled slightly and he pushed the card back to Xiao Lou. “I don’t need it. You keep this card.”

Xiao Lou frowned. “No, you must wear it.”

Regardless of Yu Hanjiang’s objection, Xiao Lou forcibly activated the card and put it on Yu Hanjiang’s body. This meant that even if Yu Hanjiang was shot by a bullet, the damage could be offset and Xiao Lou could rescue him in time.

Xiao Lou believed in Yu Hanjiang’s marksmanship and actual combat level but… he couldn’t afford to gamble. He didn’t want to gamble on Yu Hanjiang’s life.

This piece of clothing was as light as a feather and there was no sense of awareness when worn on the body. Yu Hanjiang had it forcibly put on him and felt warm. He gently shook Xiao Lou’s hand and took Ye Qi to leave the Peach Blossom Spring.

In the Peach Blossom Spring, Shao Qingge stood under a tree, his eyes narrowed slightly and his face thoughtful.

Xiao Lou walked up to him. “Chief Shao, did you really come in when I opened the Peach Blossom Spring because you were worried about Xiao Ye?”

At that time, Yu Hanjiang had told Shao Qingge about the danger of the basement and had him stay outside. Shao Qingge might be worried that Ye Qi hadn’t woken up but it shouldn’t be to the extent of wanting to take a look. After all, he might not be able to help even if he came in. It was because in this secret room, he had a serious heart problem and his strongest card, the Bug King had already been used by him at the beginning.

Shao Qingge’s personality meant he wouldn’t do such impulsive things.

Shao Qingge smiled slightly at Xiao Lou. “Sure enough, nothing can be concealed from Professor Xiao’s eyes.”

Xiao Lou was concerned. “What’s going on?”

Shao Qingge was silent for a moment. “Just now when I drove the car into the forest, I found there were plum blossoms in a radius of at least one kilometer. Then some childhood memories flashed in my mind.”

“As a child, I used to play in the plum blossom forest. The mountains were filled with the fragrance of plum blossoms.” The man squinted as he leaned against the tree and spoke. “I was born in Qinghe Village. Yes, this should be my hometown.”

Xiao Lou was shocked. “You mean…”

“My mother was weak and infertile. When I was 4 years old, I was adopted by the Shao family from Qinghe Village. In addition, the car I took today is actually my father Shao Zhengyang’s car.”

A cold light flashed in Shao Qingge’s eyes. He didn’t want to believe it but he still expressed his speculation. “This car was monitored by those people and they guided me all the way to Qinghe Village. I suspect that a tracker was installed in the car and the only one who knows about this is… my father.”

Xiao Lou and Old Mo heard this and exchanged looks.

Proofreader: Fictional Reality & Paranoid Kitten