Rendezvous

Cheng Shuili did not rush to act; instead, she opened the map to plan her route first.

The hostage remained nervously behind her, opening the group chat from time to time to check on the movements of Fengyun Tianxia and the others. It was safe to say he was terrified of violating the contract.

Cheng Shuili quickly found a path that could be called perfect. She waved her hand toward Master of Slacking, and the two moved one after the other, both working hard to suppress the sound of their footsteps.

The monsters seemed to sense something along the way, and the sound of their wriggling grew louder, scaring Master of Slacking so much he nearly froze in place.

But Cheng Shuili, who was leading, kept moving. If he stopped now, the distance would increase, and his safety would no longer be guaranteed.

Although, there wasn't much of a guarantee as it was...

Why did things turn out like this?

Master of Slacking was on the verge of tears. Not wanting to die so miserably here, he had no choice but to follow Cheng Shuili closely, step by step.

Fortunately, there were no mishaps. The two successfully bypassed two monsters and continued their journey according to the map.

Cheng Shuili turned her head to glance at the hostage. Seeing him drenched in cold sweat, his face as pale as if he had been soaked in acid rain, and his legs trembling slightly, she couldn't help but frown.

His mental fortitude was even worse than she had imagined. Bringing him along was indeed a burden, but that contract was still somewhat useful for now.

"Keep up. Don't fall behind."

Her voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.

"If you fall behind, I won't come back to look for you."

These words were more effective than any comfort.

Master of Slacking jolted, immediately forcing down the fear in his heart. He followed closely, using his hands and feet, fearing that if he were even a step too slow, he would be abandoned in this hellish place infested with monsters.

He wouldn't be afraid if he had a weapon, of course, but now his cold weapons were scrapped, his pistol was scrapped, and the submachine gun he kept as a trump card had been confiscated.

It would be strange if he weren't afraid.

The two moved quickly along the route Cheng Shuili had planned.

Although this path bypassed some obvious open areas and potential monster gathering spots, it was by no means a smooth journey.

Sometimes they needed to climb tilted, rusted steel frames, and sometimes they had to crawl through low, narrow pipes filled with murky, acidic water.

Cheng Shuili moved with agility and grace, always finding the most stable points for leverage.

Master of Slacking was slightly clumsy, nearly slipping several times and making quite a bit of noise, which drew a cold glare from Cheng Shuili that scared the soul out of him.

The acid rain showed no signs of letting up; instead, it became increasingly urgent.

The gray-yellow threads of rain merged into a sheet, lowering visibility even further, while the pungent smell of sulfur and rusted metal in the air was thick and inescapable.

After crawling out of a section of pipe, the view suddenly opened up.

They seemed to have arrived inside a relatively intact factory building.

Although the roof had many holes, and the acid rain fell from everywhere like beads with broken strings, forming murky puddles on the ground, most of the area finally provided some shelter.

The pervasive, pungent odor in the air seemed to have been slightly diluted by the heavier smell of machine oil and metal dust inside the factory.

In the center of the factory, a massive mechanical device that had long since stopped functioning stood silently, casting a large shadow.

And near a relatively dry room against the inner wall with less damage to the ceiling, three figures stood!

That was the control room.

Cheng Shuili frowned slightly. There was no other reason; this place was really not very safe. The windows were almost floor-to-ceiling, unimaginably large. Although the glass was intact, how much attack could a piece of glass withstand?

However, they would be leaving here soon, so there was no need to be picky about the environment.

Speaking of which... Cheng Shuili's gaze moved back to those few figures.

One of them had an upright posture, and even wearing a wide raincoat, one could see the sharp lines beneath it—it was Qi Wanyi. She held a long sword with a simple, ancient design, its tip pointing diagonally at the ground. There was no telling where she had gotten it.

Another person was holding a hammer—it was Ailin. Her weapon was the long-handled hammer she had obtained earlier; clearly, she liked this weapon very much.

The last person seemed a bit restless. Liang Shanbo, who was Jiang Tang, was standing on tiptoes, looking around. When she saw Cheng Shuili and the others emerge, she waved excitedly.

She was also holding a short blade, but after being influenced by Su Rui for some time, Cheng Shuili could tell at a glance that her posture in holding the blade suggested she was clearly more skilled at something else.

"Boss!"

Jiang Tang whispered, her face filled with undisguisable joy and relief. Seeing the two, she immediately pulled the door open, eager to welcome them.

Qi Wanyi's gaze also shifted over. Seeing that Cheng Shuili was unharmed, a hint of imperceptible relief flashed in her eyes, and then her gaze landed on the particularly disheveled and cowering Master of Slacking behind Cheng Shuili.

She frowned almost imperceptibly, but did not ask further, merely nodding slightly: "Boss."

Ailin said nothing; her gaze met Cheng Shuili's for a moment as a greeting. She huddled in a corner, using a tissue to wipe the raindrops off her weapon.

She really cherished that weapon.

Cheng Shuili walked quickly into the room, and Master of Slacking hurried after her, as if he would be swallowed by the darkness if he stayed more than three steps away from her.

"How is the situation?"

Cheng Shuili asked directly, her eyes sweeping over the three of them to confirm they had no obvious injuries.

"Ailin and I came together, we just arrived not long ago," Qi Wanyi said concisely. "It's safe here for now. We checked, and there are no monsters lurking. But Xinxue hasn't arrived yet."

Ailin added, "We saw several waves of those mud monsters on the way. Fortunately, Boss, you sent the message, and we all avoided them."

Cheng Shuili nodded and opened the squad channel.

【Crow Takes Flight】: @Xinxue Chu Ji, report your location and situation. We have arrived at the rendezvous point.

Just as the message was sent, a soft clatter suddenly came from a ventilation duct on the other side of the factory. Shortly after, a petite figure stumbled out—it was Xinxue.

Her raincoat was covered in stains, and there were even slight signs of corrosion at the cuffs. Her face was pale with lingering fear, but upon seeing Cheng Shuili and the others, she immediately wore an expression of having been saved.

"Boss! Sister Wanyi! Tangtang! Sister Ailin!" She ran over, nearly charging at them. "I almost got lost, wuwu... I ran into a dead end just to avoid a monster, and it took so much effort to find my way out!"

Cheng Shuili patted her shoulder: "It's good that you're here."

The child wasn't of the fighting type, so what else could she say besides comforting her?

Cheng Shuili's requirements for her subordinates were quite low; having a skill was enough, and she didn't require them to be omniscient and omnipotent. If they truly had that kind of power, they wouldn't be willing to be Cheng Shuili's subordinates anyway.

Cheng Shuili was very open-minded about this; it was already a good result.