Chapter 230: You Don’t Want Me to Pursue You? Then Why Were You Just Burrowing Into My Arms?

Chapter 230: Chapter 230: You Don’t Want Me to Pursue You? Then Why Were You Just Burrowing Into My Arms?

Xing Che carried Yun Sheng, rushing toward the central area. The further they went, the thicker the foul, rotting stench in the air became.

The ground here hadn’t collapsed, but it was swarming with clusters of pollutants.

Each one had crimson eyes and emanated an extremely violent aura. Just their presence was enough to make one’s skin crawl, making it difficult to get close.

Xing Che was an SSS-level Sentinel with superb physical conditioning, so he was relatively fine. His expression remained unchanged, and he didn’t slow his pace.

Yun Sheng, however, felt a tightness in her chest. Her breathing grew increasingly difficult, as if something was pressing down on her lungs.

She instinctively pressed her face closer to Xing Che’s chest, trying to escape the pungent odor. Her cheek brushed against his cool fabric as she leaned limply into his embrace.

Xing Che glanced down at her, a hint of amusement flickering in his amber-gold eyes. His voice was lazy, laced with a teasing edge.

"What’s this? A moment ago, you didn’t want me to carry you. Now you know to burrow into my arms?"

Yun Sheng looked up and glared at him, the rims of her eyes slightly red from her strained breathing. Her lips moved as she was about to say something.

Suddenly, Xing Che reached out and covered her mouth.

His hand was large, covering almost half her face. His palm was cool and calloused, pressing against her lips with an indescribable intimacy.

Yun Sheng’s pupils contracted slightly. Before she could react, she saw Xing Che narrow his eyes, his gaze fixed icily on the dense, fog-shrouded forest ahead.

A moment later, two people in grey clothes emerged from the woods.

The rotting stench from them was even heavier, as if seeping from the cracks in their very bones. The smell alone was enough to make one’s stomach churn.

Yun Sheng felt an intense, oppressive pressure from them, like two mountains bearing down on her, heavy and suffocating.

If she weren’t currently held in Xing Che’s arms, the pressure and the stench alone would have likely made her knees go weak, making it difficult to even stand.

’Are they the ones behind all this?’

The two grey-clad men walked to the edge of the forest and stopped, conversing in low voices. Their words weren’t loud, but they carried clearly to Yun Sheng’s ears.

"How many have we caught so far?"

"Only about twenty-something, here and there."

"Too few!" The other grey-clad man’s tone was clearly impatient. "What about that Yun Sheng the President specifically asked for? Have you found her?"

"Not yet. Someone was watching the area she was in before the collapse, but it’s been too chaotic since. We don’t know what corner she’s hiding in. Our people have searched several zones without finding her."

"Useless!" the first man cursed under his breath, then lowered his voice again. "By the way, we got word from above that someone ran into Si Jin near the central area. The President’s orders are to use the induction agent on him immediately if he’s seen again. He’s an SSS-level Dark Sentinel. We can’t beat him with our own abilities. The best way is to make him lose his mind and go berserk. He’ll just wear himself out then."

The other man nodded. Just as he was about to speak, a rushed voice suddenly came from their walkie-talkie.

"There’s a guide nearby! Coordinates have been sent. Get over there and grab them, quick!"

The two exchanged a look and, without another word, turned and rushed in the indicated direction, their figures quickly vanishing into the dense fog.

Yun Sheng’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach.

’Induction agent?’

She had heard Si Jin say that someone had ambushed him on Capital Star and used an induction agent on him. That was why he had fled before going berserk, ending up here in this abandoned mine.

’So these people really are with the group that ambushed Si Jin before.’

’Now they’re even targeting me and rounding up other guides. What on earth are they trying to do?!’

Thinking this, she subconsciously tightened her grip on Xing Che’s collar, her knuckles turning white.

Xing Che glanced down at her reassuringly, the corner of his lip twitching into a slight smile. "Don’t worry. Let’s follow them and see what’s going on."

As he spoke, he released his spiritual power, forming a thin barrier that gently enveloped Yun Sheng.

Yun Sheng instantly felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her chest. The foul odor vanished, and her whole body relaxed, her breathing becoming much smoother.

She looked up at Xing Che, her eyes filled with a hint of gratitude.

Xing Che reached out and gently ruffled her hair. He smiled lazily, a soft light rippling in his amber-gold eyes.

"No need to thank me. I’m still pursuing you, after all. This is just what a suitor should do."

The tips of Yun Sheng’s ears grew warm. She averted her gaze, avoiding his all-too-handsome face.

She lowered her eyes, her voice muffled. "Who asked you to pursue me?"

Xing Che chuckled lowly. The sound rumbled from his chest, carrying a hint of amusement and an indefinable tenderness.

"If you don’t want me to pursue you, then why were you burrowing into my arms just now?"

He kept his voice very low, almost a whisper in her ear. His warm breath tickled her as it washed over her earlobe.

The tips of Yun Sheng’s ears turned even redder. She pushed him, her voice both rushed and annoyed. "Shut up!"

Xing Che didn’t say anything more. He just smiled, tightened his arms around her, and gave chase in the direction the two grey-clad men had disappeared.

However, they hadn’t gotten far when a dozen or so grey figures suddenly emerged from the shadows of the surrounding trees, forming a circle around them.

The two men from before stood at the front. They looked at Xing Che and Yun Sheng and sneered.

"Just as we thought. You took the bait."

Xing Che stopped short. His gaze sharpened, and he pulled Yun Sheng behind him.

Yun Sheng’s heart plummeted. She clutched the corner of Xing Che’s clothes, warily eyeing the grey-clad men surrounding them.

The leader brandished a palm-sized device. Lights flashed on its screen as he scoffed, "We have equipment that can detect paranormal energy. The immense power of an SSS-level Sentinel is impossible to hide."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Xing Che, his eyes filled with smug satisfaction.

"We detected your presence the moment we stepped out of the woods. We said those things on purpose to lure you over."

The other grey-clad man said nothing, but with a slight flick of his wrist, a faint, eerie blue light flashed from within his sleeve.

The light was very faint, almost imperceptible, but it carried an unsettling, bizarre quality.

After her recent training, Yun Sheng’s senses were much sharper than before. Moreover, her spiritual power was unique, allowing her to perceive things others could not.

The moment the grey-clad man flicked his wrist, she got a strange feeling.

Her spiritual power surged out instinctively, erecting a thin barrier around them that enveloped both her and Xing Che.

The smug look on the grey-clad man’s face vanished the instant Yun Sheng’s barrier went up.

His expression changed abruptly. He stared at Yun Sheng with a cold, harsh gaze, his voice laced with disbelief.

"What did you do!"

If Yun Sheng’s earlier action had been purely instinctual, then seeing the grey-clad man’s sudden change in expression confirmed her suspicion: he had definitely done something.

Yun Sheng met his harsh gaze and retorted, "The induction agent! You just used the induction agent, didn’t you?"

She had heard from Si Jin that he’d been hit with that stuff silently, without even having time to react!

The grey-clad man let out a cold laugh, his smile tinged with malevolence. "Heh, so what if I did? Just because you dodged it once doesn’t mean you can dodge it again!"

He whipped his head around to face the other grey-clad men, his voice suddenly rising, sharp and ruthless.

"Move! Capture the guide alive. As for the Sentinel... just let him go berserk until he dies!"