They wore monk robes, emaciated and seated before the Buddha, so small they had not moved from their positions even in death.
Their heads were bowed, appearing neither dead nor alive.
Xu Qian came to her senses, re-locked the temple door, and opened the living map again.
The base in R Province was still very far from here.
With a loud "bang."
Then came the dense sound of footsteps.
They were coming up!
"Xiao Lu, let's hide down here."
Xu Qian pointed to the large table beneath the Buddha. The Buddha was large, and so was the table beneath it, making it perfect for hiding.
There was no other choice, Xu Lu was afraid of water; if she wasn't, she could have jumped into the sea to hide for a while.
She wouldn't enter her space and waste points unless absolutely necessary.
Xu Qian bent down and lifted the red cloth, and suddenly, she froze in place.
Two people were already hiding beneath the table, familiar faces.
Sister Ya Yun and Yi Chun...
Their clothes were stained with dirt, clearly indicating they had fled for their lives.
Xie Ya Yun was greatly shocked to see Xu Qian and raised her hand as if to pull her under the table.
Xu Lu thought she was going to attack Xu Qian, and white light was about to overflow from her hands.
Xu Qian yanked his hand down, dragging him under the table with her.
"Sister..."
"Friend, don't be afraid."
The space under the table was indeed large, and there were many杂物 (zawa - miscellaneous items) that could conceal their figures.
The four of them sat down cross-legged.
Xie Ya Yun hadn't expected to run into Xu Qian so soon after coming out, and they had been wondering how to find her.
"Xiao Qian, you..."
"Shh."
Xu Qian's eyes narrowed, and the living map unfurled in her mind.
A line of small green figures rushed in, patrolling everywhere.
"Cough cough cough..."
"Lian Shao, are you alright?"
The D-country people were insidious and cunning, and they shot Lian Shao in the chest when he was unprepared. Fortunately, Lian Du reacted quickly, and the bullet hit his shoulder.
Lian Du shook his head, his eyes filled with darkness. What did those D-country people want by chasing Xu Qian?
He had searched their clothes, but they revealed no clues...
"Lian Shao, we've searched everywhere, no one."
Lian Du's face was pale, and he turned to face the endless black sea.
"This time, I lost."
"Disband."
Xu Qian's heart trembled slightly, and for a moment, she didn't know how to describe her feelings.
A little sour, a little painful.
Lian Du had helped her more than harmed her.
After they had gone far away, Xie Ya Yun exclaimed excitedly, "Xiao Qian, we ran into you right after we came out to find you!"
Xu Qian's brow relaxed, and she smiled, "Let's talk about it outside."
The smell in the temple was unbearable after staying for so long.
As the four of them stepped out of the temple, they finally felt like they could breathe.
Xu Qian's brow furrowed, and she asked, "Sister Ya Yun, why did you come out? What about the base?"
Both of them were part of the base's management, so if they both came out at the same time...
Xie Ya Yun smiled and said, "It's fine, our base has many people, and we can go for ten days to half a month. The most important thing is you."
Yi Chun's eyes were filled with worry, her usually pretty face looking even more pitiable.
"Strategist, the bounty has been raised to 10,000 crystal cores. They're going crazy for the crystal cores!"
People from the larger bases still had some sense, but the smaller bases were almost entirely mobilized.
On their way to R Province, they had encountered large groups robbing people, and their car was lost this way.
They hid in the temple because they heard fighting.
Xu Qian's eyes were cold. Didn't the X Group just want to stop her from destroying the base?
She would do the opposite.
"Did you come out specifically to find me this time?"
Both of them nodded in unison.
Xie Ya Yun's brow furrowed, and she said in a deep voice, "I wanted to find you before they did."
"That's right, Strategist, we're all worried about you. Why don't we go back to Hope Base and hide for a while? They definitely wouldn't guess you'd show up openly at the base."