Although she encountered Lin Xue’er during her first attempt to gather supplies, it wasn’t necessarily bad luck—it actually helped her understand Lin Xue’er’s patterns of movement.
As the saying goes, plans never keep up with changes.
Now that she knew Lin Xue’er was searching for her throughout the underground prison, she had to adjust her previous strategy.
Initially, she had planned to gather supplies and find a hideout that was both defensible and easy to escape from.
But now, that was unnecessary because she couldn’t afford a prolonged standoff.
So her top priority now was to head to the iron gate at the prison’s exit and confirm how Lin Xue’er was ensuring she couldn’t escape.
Only then could she decide her next move based on the situation.
“Alright, it’s settled!”
After eating a little and resting to recover her stamina, Xia Mengxi quickly returned from the ventilation ducts to the storage room below.
She acted so swiftly because her supply-gathering activity had already been discovered by Lin Xue’er.
Generally speaking, once a hunter knows their prey has food and water, the immediate thought is that the prey will hide until supplies run low before venturing out again.
At that point, as the hunter, one would naturally tamper with the surrounding resources—either taking everything away or setting traps to wait for the prey to take the bait.
Of course, Lin Xue’er wasn’t an ordinary person and might not think so conventionally.
It was possible she wouldn’t do any of that and would instead simply guard the prison’s exit.
But that didn’t matter at all.
If that were the case, Xia Mengxi could resume gathering supplies without worrying about Lin Xue’er suddenly appearing.
Adaptability was key. If she had stubbornly stuck to one approach, she would’ve been done for long ago.
“That said, I still hope Lin Xue’er isn’t guarding the iron gate…”
Lin Xue’er’s actions would determine her own position in this standoff. If Lin Xue’er was indeed guarding the gate, Xia Mengxi would have no choice but to passively gather supplies and hide.
But if Lin Xue’er was tampering with resources or still searching for her, she could use the state of the exit gate to shift to the offensive.
In a balanced confrontation, offense and defense didn’t make much difference.
But if she was already at a disadvantage and forced into a passive position, it would be no different from waiting for death.
So, after stretching her limbs, Xia Mengxi cautiously opened the storage room door, confirming the hallway was clear of Lin Xue’er before stepping out and heading toward the iron gate.
This time, she was just as careful as when she had ventured out earlier to retrieve supplies.
After all, two consecutive trips outside under the uncertainty of Lin Xue’er’s movements meant a single mistake could erase all her efforts up to this point.
But there was one difference—she was now carrying out her plan with anticipation.
The closer she got to the iron gate in the dim light and eerie silence, the faster her heart raced.
By the time she was just two turns away from the hallway leading to the gate, her breathing had grown ragged, and her hands gripping the wooden stick were slick with sweat.
‘Please, please…’
Turning the second-to-last corner, Xia Mengxi’s footsteps unconsciously slowed down.
She pricked up her ears, carefully listening to every sound around her.
But all she could hear was the faint buzzing of the old, dimly lit lamp above her head and the distant hum of the ventilation system.
The absence of footsteps or voices didn’t necessarily mean Lin Xue’er wasn’t near the iron gate.
Like a spy infiltrating some secret base, Xia Mengxi pressed her back against the wall, inching forward bit by bit until she reached the corner.
She closed her eyes, steadying her breathing.
Only when she had fully calmed down did she open her eyes again and cautiously peek around the corner.
The corridor leading to the iron gate was completely empty. At last, Xia Mengxi let out a genuine sigh of relief.
“Great, she’s not here!”
Having confirmed Lin Xue’er’s absence, Xia Mengxi didn’t waste time reveling in her relief.
She quickly jogged to the iron gate and pulled out her key, eager to see if it would work.
However, she found that her key wouldn’t fit into the lock.
Puzzled, she crouched down for a closer look—and immediately grimaced.
“Well, no wonder Lin Xue’er isn’t guarding this place. She just shoved the key in and broke it off!”
But that wasn’t all.
Xia Mengxi could see some transparent, hardened substance inside the lock.
She tried scraping at it with her finger, but it wouldn’t budge.
Was this glue?
No-something stronger, like industrial adhesive.
Damn it! Lin Xue’er wasn’t just trying to trap her she was trapping herself too!
“Truly the act of someone who’s lost their mind, willing to throw away their own life…”
But… did Lin Xue’er really not want to live anymore?
Based on what Xia Mengxi knew, Lin Xue’er just wanted to keep her by her side forever -not reach the point of mutual destruction.
Which meant… there had to be another hidden exit in this underground prison, didn’t there?
It wasn’t impossible, but given the uncertainty, searching for a second exit wasn’t as urgent as dealing with the iron gate.
Even though the lock was sealed shut, Xia Mengxi didn’t spiral into despair.
Discovering the problem meant she could solve it. If she hadn’t even noticed the issue, how could she fix it?
That would have been truly hopeless.
“Industrial adhesive… I think hot water and scrubbing can remove it, right?”
After a moment’s thought, Xia Mengxi came up with a solution.
She wasn’t sure if it would work, but it was worth a try.
“Alright, next goal-find something to scrub off the adhesive and get some hot water.”
With a new objective in mind, Xia Mengxi was ready to act immediately.
But just as she turned to leave the iron gate, she spotted a ‘lovely’ figure stepping into view at the far end of the corridor.
“Xia Mengxi~ We meet again.”
Damn it!
Why did this woman always show up at the worst possible moments?
Did she have some kind of radar for her?
The moment she saw Lin Xue’er, Xia Mengxi reacted swiftly this time.
She bolted for the branching corridor without even bothering to curse just straight-up fled.
But this time was different from the previous two.
She realized she couldn’t shake off Lin Xue’er immediately—in fact, Lin Xue’er had been maintaining a steady distance behind her the whole time.
“Still playing hide-and-seek, Xia Mengxi? But I don’t feel like playing anymore. What should we do?”
What should we do?
Tough luck!