Chapter 45

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Lin Qing retracted his gaze and was about to follow the guidance of the little yellow oriole to meet up with Li Meilin.

But at that moment, he suddenly turned his head sharply!

He noticed a detail.

This discovery made Lin Qing stroke his wound and grin.

The severe injuries he had sustained were not in vain.

With his sharp eyes and knowledge of archaeology, Lin Qing had uncovered a secret.

A secret related to the ultimate mission of the "Bright Peak Secret Passage"!

A secret that could even defeat the powerful Hong Gang team!

At this moment, Li Meilin had already been exposed.

She had been facing off against the Hong Gang team for a full 15 minutes.

The doubts in Steel Boss's mind gradually dissipated.

If it were the Thunderclap Hand Cheng Kun, he would have already pounced. Although the seven of them were formidable, they would only have the fate of fleeing in disarray before a top-notch expert like Cheng Kun.

With his approval, the reckless and brave Slippers strode forward.

Li Meilin could only retreat.

This emboldened Steel Boss even more, and he immediately ordered a full attack.

Li Meilin didn't manage to escape very far.

As an ordinary woman who hadn't undergone any enhancements, she couldn't possibly escape from these experienced Hong Gang team adventurers who had faced life and death.

She ran for another ten minutes before being captured by Slippers.

Slippers looked smug as he threw Li Meilin to the ground.

Steel Boss's expression changed!

Because he recognized that this woman was an adventurer who had entered the world with Yan Ran.

They had entered together with a man.

The question was, how did they know about the entrance to the secret passage? And how did they get past the guards at the bottom of the mountain?

He could see that this woman was weak and couldn't possibly fight off the guards.

"How did you get up here? Do you have any accomplices?" Steel Boss asked sternly.

Li Meilin protected Yan Ran behind her, her face cold, staring at Steel Boss.

"It seems you do," Steel Boss smiled coldly. "You're quite capable, to have made it into this hidden instance as mere newcomers. Where is that man?"

Li Meilin didn't answer.

"Unwilling to speak?" Hook laughed evilly. "Steel Boss, hand these two women over to me, and I'll make them talk."

"Hmph!" Steel Boss said coldly. "We don't have time for your disgusting show. Woman! I'll give you three seconds to either reveal the man's whereabouts or be entertained by my brothers. Think about it."

He didn't give her any time to think, his cold gaze sweeping over Li Meilin's face.

Li Meilin felt as if a large stone had struck her heart.

Steel Boss's authority was terrifying.

His gaze lacked the lecherousness of Hook or the brutality of Slippers. It was just cold.

A coldness that didn't care about human life or dignity.

She knew that Steel Boss was a true killer, willing to do anything to achieve his goals.

This guy must be a chief-level adventurer in the space!

She had only seen a similar aura on Brother Xiong. Compared to him, Fang Lingcheng was far inferior.

"Three! Two! One!" Iron Rod counted triumphantly.

Since these newcomers had also reached the Bright Peak secret passage, they couldn't be allowed to leave alive.

Because the gang's secrets must not be leaked.

If they were encountered, they had to be eliminated!

Li Meilin still didn't speak.

She just quietly hugged Yan Ran.

Mother and daughter, facing a great calamity, looked at each other with despair.

"Oh? You're not going to speak?" Iron Rod laughed. "What kind of pretty boy is worth such a sacrifice? Besides, even if you don't speak, he's dead anyway!"

"Stop!" A clear and cheerful voice came from a distance.

Lin Qing appeared 30 meters away.

Li Meilin and Yan Ran looked at him in disbelief.

How could Lin Qing dare to come out?

Even if one member of the Hong Gang team was severely injured, the remaining six were all stronger than him.

The strength gap was insurmountable and terrifying.

If given enough time, Li Meilin believed Lin Qing would grow into a powerful adventurer. But now, a scholar facing soldiers, he was no match for these bloodthirsty killers.

Lin Qing, however, remained calm.

He walked straight toward the Hong Gang team.

Steel Boss frowned when he saw Lin Qing.

In his subconscious, any newcomer would be terrified and flee in panic when encountering a team like his, killing to cover their tracks in a hidden instance.

He had seen it many times.

But this newcomer was neither humble nor arrogant, and had come forward on his own.

What was going on?

Iron Rod, the deputy tank Slippers, and the thief Dagger surrounded Lin Qing, a knife, a bow, and a dagger all aimed at him.

Lin Qing had no way to escape.

Steel Boss's cold gaze watched Lin Qing with interest.

Slippers said, "Why come out to die? It's better to live, isn't it?"

Lin Qing pointed at Li Meilin and Yan Ran calmly. "No choice. My two companions have been captured by you. I can't just stand by and watch them be killed, so I have to come out."

Slippers laughed maniacally, rubbing his belly. "You're quite loyal! What a good man. But..."

He said with malicious amusement, "The outcome will be the same."

Lin Qing said calmly, "I don't think so."

"Oh? What can you do to stop us from killing you?" Iron Hook lecherously touched Yan Ran's face. Yan Ran bit his finger, and he slapped her hard.

Yan Ran's face swelled up. Li Meilin quickly protected Yan Ran.

Lin Qing said coldly, "If you want to die here, feel free to act. We three can't resist you, but I don't think you'll live much longer either."

"What do you mean?" Iron Hook stared at Lin Qing.

Lin Qing remained calm. "Nothing. Please act immediately and kill us three."

The more he said this, the more the Hong Gang members looked at each other.

"Are you tired of living?" Slippers, who looked like a fat pig, swaggered over and slapped Lin Qing.

Lin Qing could have used the "White Eyebrow Eagle Claw Technique" to counter him, but he didn't move, allowing the slap to land hard on his face.

Lin Qing fell to the ground.

Slippers stepped on Lin Qing's chest, gradually increasing the pressure.

Lin Qing's ribs creaked under the strain, seemingly about to break at any moment.

But Lin Qing didn't beg for mercy. He just looked at Slippers coldly, as if the one about to step into the gates of hell was the other, not him.

Steel Boss waved his hand.

Slippers reluctantly released Lin Qing.

"What do you mean? Speak your mind, and we can discuss it," Steel Boss took out a white dagger from the space and flicked the metal in his hand.

The metal, which had been lazy, suddenly leaped like a hyena seeing food, wrapping around the dagger.

Then, the dagger gradually melted...

Lin Qing's eyes turned cold.

This liquid metal was extraordinary, possibly a precious treasure from some world.

A white dagger, which cost 5 points in the space, wasn't cheap, and Steel Boss used it to feed this metal.

"Speak," Steel Boss said coldly. "Don't play games, or I'll put Little Guan into your trachea and let you suffocate without dying."

His voice was unchanged but had a mesmerizing power.

"Because I can help you solve the hidden instance's mission," Lin Qing smiled faintly. "Can this condition save our three lives?"

"Can you solve the instance mission?"

Iron Hook's eyes widened.

Although they had entered this instance world, their main goal was to escape the pursuit on Bright Peak and chase Yan Ran. Initially, they were quite confident, but after entering the secret passage and facing numerous highly dangerous traps and the terrifying difficulty, they had suffered losses and no longer had high hopes.

They didn't expect this person to claim he could solve the world's secret.

"What makes you think you can?"

"I studied archaeology," Lin Qing smiled. "My ability to get here should speak for itself, right?"

Steel Boss and Dagger exchanged glances.

Their team had a professional thief, yet someone was still knocked unconscious by a trap. This newcomer had arrived here unscathed, which showed he had some skills.

"That doesn't prove anything," Hook sneered. "We have all the time in the world. Without you, we'll still find a way. We can always come back and explore. The instance map is in our hands, and the secret passage isn't going anywhere."

Lin Qing said calmly, "True. The secret passage isn't going anywhere, but it might be leaked. You know that the entrance to the secret passage isn't just known to you. Cheng Kun, Xiao Zhao, and Zhang Wujie all know. The six major sects are about to launch a major attack, and the secret of the passage might leak. Cheng Kun might deliberately leak it to the six major sects to retaliate against the Ming Sect. If the Ming Sect is defeated, Zhang Wujie might also leak the secret passage to the Ming Sect as an escape route. Are you not afraid of delays?"

Hook didn't care, but Steel Boss's expression turned thoughtful.

He had worked hard to get this secret passage and didn't want any setbacks to make the cooked duck fly away. He had heard of hidden realms disappearing or being replaced before. Moreover, the team leader had ordered them to complete the exploration of the hidden realm this time.

"Do you have a suggestion?" Steel Boss asked coldly.

Lin Qing held up three fingers. "I have three conditions. If any of them are not met, please act."

"First, promise to spare us three." Lin Qing put down one finger.

Steel Boss and the others exchanged cold glances, their eyes flashing with amusement.

Indeed, a rookie.

"Agreed!"

"Second, find me a C-level antidote," Lin Qing said, stretching out his leg, which was already rotting and swollen. "Otherwise, I'll die in a few hours."

Steel Boss pulled Lin Qing's leg and looked at the severely rotten flesh, coldly humming. "How did this happen?"

"Poison trap!" Lin Qing grinned bitterly.

He was lying.

But with traps everywhere, getting poisoned was common.

Steel Boss stared at Lin Qing for a long time, his cold gaze making Lin Qing feel uneasy.

Iron Hook sneered, "Are you here to help us or to seek help? You want the medicine first?"

Steel Boss nodded.