Chapter 43

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Perhaps it was her extraordinary luck, her light weight, or her agility, but she managed to avoid the traps scattered around and even found a blade, which she used to cut the ropes and regain her freedom. However, those few men continued to pursue her relentlessly.

Lin Qing and Li Meilin found another batch of explosives. This type of explosive was clearly not the high-concentration C4 of the future, but rather a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal in a certain ratio. Compared to C4, its explosive power was weaker. However, it was unknown how long Cheng Kun had spent to pack these explosives into large jars, one after another, placed under the support pillars of the secret passage. Once ignited, they could completely destroy the structure of the secret passage, causing the entire summit of Bright Peak to collapse.

"We are on the right path," Lin Qing panted, carefully wrapping the climbing rope around the explosive jars and sprinkling saltpeter and sulfur repeatedly along the rope to ensure that the long rope was thoroughly coated.

"Why are you using the rope to connect each batch of explosives?" Li Meilin was puzzled. She had seen Lin Qing do this 23 times, and the rope he laid out was over ten thousand meters long. Fortunately, the ropes from this city were professional equipment, and they were long enough to be pulled out.

Lin Qing smiled, "In this maze-like secret passage, we need to leave some marks. If there's an emergency, we can run back and find our way."

Li Meilin nodded, admiring Lin Qing's thoroughness. No one's success comes easily; everyone has their own way to succeed. Lin Qing was cautious and methodical, even in exploring the maze, he was meticulous and prepared for a retreat.

Lin Qing didn't tell Li Meilin that he had a more important idea. He wanted to put the explosives set by Cheng Kun to good use! He had already tested it; the long climbing rope, after being treated with saltpeter and sulfur, could serve as a delayed fuse. He was just worried that the secret passage was too long, and the rope might not be long enough to ignite all the explosives.

Back then, Cheng Kun had only moved the explosives up and hadn't immediately connected the fuses. It seemed this villain planned to run through the tunnel and light the explosives one by one.

This task was to be completed by Lin Qing. He wanted to ensure that even if he wasn't in the secret passage or if only Li Meilin was there, they could easily accomplish the feat of blowing up Bright Peak.

"Let's go!" Lin Qing found another trap and disabled it.

"Can't find any more explosives..." Lin Qing was somewhat disappointed. They had searched for 20 minutes, covering 100 meters, and the explosives shouldn't be so far apart.

"Expand the search area, keep looking!" Lin Qing gritted his teeth. "If we can't find the explosives, we won't find the correct path to the upper level of Bright Peak."

Lin Qing and Li Meilin had to risk their lives to expand the search area. But he wasn't omnipotent. His Level 4 Archaeology Knowledge was not the same as Level 4 Thief Knowledge, and Lin Qing finally made a mistake.

While climbing a slope, Lin Qing suddenly heard a series of mechanical sounds. Realizing something was wrong, he immediately led Li Meilin in a frantic escape.

As they ran, they heard a loud rumbling behind them. The ground began to tremble. Lin Qing immediately realized he had triggered the most terrifying trap: rolling boulders in a narrow space. Running was futile; the faster they ran, the closer the boulders would get. He saw a shallow depression ahead and pushed Li Meilin into it.

"Hide well!" He continued running. The boulders roared closer. Just as he was about to be caught, he stepped on a bed of iron spikes. Two long spikes pierced his feet, causing excruciating pain. His health points began to drop sharply. If he didn't remove the spikes quickly, he would suffer from tearing wounds and tetanus infection.

Lin Qing finally reached a corner, feeling the wind from behind. The boulders were right behind him. He lunged forward, and the boulders rolled past him. They had narrowly escaped death, and Lin Qing and Li Meilin looked at each other, panting heavily. If they had been just 0.1 seconds slower, they would have been crushed to death.

Lin Qing's feet ached, and he bent down to check. But at that moment, the floor beneath him started to rotate backward. It turned out to be a series of traps. The boulders were used to drive intruders into a visible hiding spot, which would then transport them elsewhere. Lin Qing watched helplessly as he was separated from Li Meilin. Li Meilin tried to reach him but could only watch as the mechanism refused to budge.

Li Meilin was at a loss. Without Lin Qing, she couldn't move an inch, let alone find her daughter. She wanted to cry. But at that moment, the little yellow bird on her shoulder, which had been silent, suddenly tilted its head and chirped. Li Meilin's eyes lit up. She had seen her daughter and the bird form a deep bond, almost as if they were one. The bird's chirping suggested that her daughter might be nearby. The bird suddenly flew off in a certain direction, and Li Meilin, despite the danger, followed it into the darkness.

Lin Qing was transported to an unfamiliar scene. He had completely lost his sense of direction. The rope in his hand could still be pulled, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't make the mechanism work again. He could hear Li Meilin's cries from the other side of the mechanism and knew she was scared. He needed to find a way back quickly. He tried to pull the rope and move forward, but he couldn't find any explosives. This was expected, as the explosives were placed on the correct path, and Cheng Kun wouldn't risk his life by entering a dead end. Lin Qing had fallen into a trap and was now on a dead-end path.

Lin Qing had many questions, but he knew too little about this副本 (dungeon). He sat down, ate some food and drank water to recover his strength. As he rested, his stamina gradually recovered. It seemed that 30 points of stamina could be fully restored with some rest. He stood up and continued deeper into the passage.

Suddenly, he heard a loud noise. Li Meilin finally saw her daughter, who was fleeing in a panic, not even noticing the traps under her feet. Yanran was covered in injuries, mostly from the traps. Her incredible luck had kept her alive until now. She heard the bird's chirping and her face changed. She knew her mother was coming, but behind her were the relentless Hong Gang, a group of psychopathic killers and perverts.

Yanran stopped, and the bird came into her line of sight. She suddenly turned and ran in another direction, tears streaming down her face. Although she knew her mother was nearby and about to meet her, she couldn't... bring the Hong Gang to her mother.

But it was too late. Li Meilin saw her daughter from a distance, recognizing her silhouette. "Yanran!" Li Meilin rushed forward without hesitation. "There's a trap!" Yanran shouted in alarm. Li Meilin stopped just in time, seeing a trap door with deadly blue spikes in the darkness. Behind Yanran, several tall, cold figures appeared. The Hong Gang team.

After hours of pursuit, they had encountered numerous deadly traps. Thanks to a professional thief with a reflex value of 8 and specialized trap-disarming skills and tools, they had avoided casualties. However, one of their long-range members had been impaled by a spike trap, bleeding profusely and in critical condition, forcing them to carry him. Gang leader Steel, Hook, Iron Rod, and Sandal, among others, were all injured to varying degrees.

Hook, the glasses-wearing man, glared at Yanran, his anger boiling. He licked his lips and sneered, "Little girl, you've made us search so hard. Where do you think you can run now?"

The leader, Steel, glanced at Yanran indifferently. To him, the girl was insignificant except for her identity as Yang Buhui. Killing her would solve all problems. But the figure in the distance made his pupils constrict. "There's someone else!"

Steel was both shocked and angry. This secret passage of Bright Peak was crucial for the 5% exploration of the Inner World and hidden treasures. He had thought they and Yanran were the only ones, allowing them to explore at their leisure and minimize the cost of completing this high-difficulty dungeon. But now, there was someone else!

Could it be Cheng Kun? Steel was suspicious and hesitant to approach.

Li Meilin also stopped. The damned Hong Gang had appeared and caught Yanran. Yanran looked at her mother with a sad expression, knowing that despite the short distance, they might never see each other again.

Hook and the others also noticed the figure in the distance, treating it as a serious threat. They immediately shouted, "Who's there?"

Sandal, being more impulsive, wanted to charge forward, "I'll catch him."

"Stop!" Steel coldly ordered, "It could be Cheng Kun. Do you want to die?"

Li Meilin heard this and an idea formed in her mind. Lin Qing was still wandering in the darkness, unable to find a way out. "Damn, looks like I'm going to die here," he muttered, sitting on the ground. He had nothing to light or illuminate his way.

Suddenly, he remembered the distress flare from the Ming Jiao captain in his pocket.