Ye Lan narrowed her eyes, clearly not believing the story.
She leaned over, sniffed the pillow lightly, and then slowly straightened up.
A meaningful smile played on her lips.
“Your drool smells so sweet, and it has a very special scent.”
“No, I…” Mu Xi was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a hole.
Her cheeks burned with heat, and she completely forgot about the Fool’s Pill.
Ye Lan reached out and pinched her equally hot cheek and said, “This reaction is actually quite cute.”
Mu Xi stood there dazed, her mind a total blank, unsure of how to respond.
Ye Lan chuckled and stopped teasing her.
Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed, her expression turning serious as she contemplated something.
As night fell, the lights inside the RV grew dim.
She sat by the bed, stroking Mu Xi’s silver hair, a sly glint dancing in her eyes.
“When it gets completely dark, go and lure Luoyuan over,” Ye Lan said softly.
Mu Xi tilted her small face up and blinked her clear eyes, “How do I lure her?”
“Tell her that I plan to steal the RV keys and prepare to take you away from the Base.”
“Why do we have to do that?” Mu Xi frowned slightly.
The corners of Ye Lan’s mouth curled into a mysterious smile, and her finger gently tilted Mu Xi’s chin up, “Just trust me.”
Mu Xi nodded, her silver hair swaying slightly with her movement, “I trust you.”
Once the sky had turned pitch black, Ye Lan left first.
Mu Xi took a deep breath to calm her racing heart, then walked toward the window.
“I have urgent business with her!” Mu Xi told the patrolling soldier outside, “I am the Princess, notify Luoyuan immediately!”
In less than 10 minutes, Luoyuan appeared at the door of the RV.
“What’s so urgent?” Luoyuan asked, her azure eyes fixed on Mu Xi.
Mu Xi bit her lower lip, a trace of unease showing in her eyes, “Sister, I… I have to tell you something… Ye Lan… she’s planning to steal the RV keys and take me away! She just went out for that reason.”
Luoyuan’s eyes widened slightly, and her expression changed instantly.
But then, thinking it over, she narrowed her eyes.
Her eyes suddenly underwent a change — her pupils dilated, the color shifted from deep blue to pink, and the shape twisted into hearts.
“Tell me the truth, Mu Xi. Is this Ye Lan’s plan?” The power of domination enveloped Mu Xi.
Mu Xi, unable to resist this power, looked straight into those distorted eyes and said, “Yes, Ye Lan told me to tell you that… but I don’t know her true objective…”
Luoyuan furrowed her brows, falling into deep thought for a moment.
She quickly analyzed the situation in her mind, ‘What on earth is that woman plotting?’
Suddenly, it was as if she had just woken from a dream, and she turned around abruptly.
“Dammit!”
She ran out the door while shouting to the people outside, “Split up and find Ye Lan! Also, someone go to my bedroom immediately and guard the RV keys! Do not let her get her hands on them!”
Luoyuan’s figure vanished into the night, leaving Mu Xi standing alone in the RV, her heart pounding like a drum.
Outside, several soldiers stood guard around the RV with rifles, alertly scanning the surroundings.
Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed by, fast as a ghost.
“Over there — ” Before a soldier could finish his sentence, his throat had been slashed by a sharp blade, and warm blood spurted out.
The remaining soldiers didn’t even have time to react before they collapsed one by one into the silent darkness.
The RV door was shoved open, and Ye Lan appeared at the entrance.
Her black hair fluttered in the night wind, and her eyes sparkled with the light of victory.
Mu Xi was startled and nearly screamed.
“Ye… Ye Lan?” Mu Xi looked at the RV keys dangling in her hand in shock.
“How did you… so fast…”
Ye Lan chuckled, quickly hopped into the driver’s seat, and inserted the key.
“Even on a rocket, it shouldn’t be possible to be this fast, right?”
Mu Xi climbed into the passenger seat after her and asked, “What exactly happened?”
As Ye Lan started the RV, she explained, “I got the keys a long time ago. I just had you tell Luoyuan on purpose so she would think I hadn’t succeeded yet.”
A proud smile appeared on her face as she said, “Psychological warfare, understand? Make the enemy believe you haven’t moved yet, when in fact, you’ve already completed the objective.”
The RV engine roared and suddenly charged toward the depths of the Desert.
Mu Xi didn’t have a firm footing and stumbled onto the back sofa, completely dazed.
“Hold on tight, Little Xi!” Ye Lan laughed loudly as she stepped on the gas, her speed soaring.
“From now on, our lives truly begin!”
Mu Xi crawled up from the sofa and leaned on the back of Ye Lan’s seat.
Watching the lights of the Base rapidly recede outside the window, a sense of freedom she had never felt before welled up in her heart.
She couldn’t help but smile, her silver hair shimmering with a soft glow under the dim lights of the vehicle.
“You had this planned all along?”
Looking at Ye Lan’s profile as she focused on driving, a surge of warmth filled Mu Xi’s heart.
In this moment, she felt as if she had truly come alive.
***
The RV was like an out-of-control steel beast, racing madly across the rugged terrain of the Desert.
The sound of sand and stones hitting the vehicle’s body joined the roar of the engine, forming a rhapsody of escape.
Mu Xi gripped the edge of the sofa with both hands.
Every bump of the RV made her heart skip a beat, and her silver hair became a messy tangle in the sudden shaking.
She bit her lower lip, trying hard to suppress the urge to scream from deep within her throat.
“Ye… Ye Lan…” Mu Xi’s voice trembled, “Will we be caught and brought back?”
Ye Lan controlled the steering wheel with one hand while quickly adjusting the off-road mode on the control panel with the other.
Her gaze shifted back and forth between the road ahead and the rearview mirror.
Her deep, phoenix-like eyes flickered with a cold light.
“Don’t worry, Little Xi.” The corners of Ye Lan’s mouth curled into a confident smile, “Those people of Luoyuan’s aren’t qualified to catch us.”
Despite her relaxed tone, Ye Lan was clear about the current situation.
Although this RV was sturdy, it was massive.
In terms of speed, it definitely couldn’t compete with the light off-road vehicles from the Base.
Their only advantages were the armored protection and the self-sufficient survival system.
Mu Xi slid down from the sofa and knelt behind the passenger seat, holding onto the seatback to keep her balance.
Through the rear window, the lights of the Base in the Desert gradually grew smaller, but new bright spots soon appeared.
Several piercing headlights, like the eyes of nocturnal beasts, were rapidly closing in.
Just as the words left her mouth, the first gunshot pierced the night sky.
A bullet struck the rear armor of the RV, producing a sharp metallic clank.
Mu Xi instinctively curled her body, covering her head with her hands, as her silver hair scattered to hide her terrified small face.
“Get down!” Ye Lan ordered sharply, while simultaneously jerking the steering wheel to make the RV perform an irregular maneuver.
“Hide under the bed!”
More bullets struck various parts of the vehicle like raindrops.
Even though the windows were bulletproof glass, every impact made a hair-raising sound, as if they could be pierced at any moment.
Mu Xi crawled toward the bedroom in the back, the sound of her heartbeat almost drowning out the gunfire outside.
Ye Lan clenched her teeth and pushed the accelerator to the limit.
The RV jolted even more violently over the uneven ground, and the warning lights on the dashboard flashed continuously.
“Dammit!” Ye Lan cursed under her breath, quickly calculating an escape route in her mind.
Mu Xi hid under the bed, covering her ears with her hands, yet she still couldn’t block out the sound of the gunshots and the engine’s roar.
She was suddenly worried about Ye Lan’s safety; the person who was currently taking risks for her could be hit by a bullet at any moment.
The thought felt like a knife twisting in her heart.
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