Hatred, like weeds, spread wildly in Mu Xi’s heart.
Ye Lan had destroyed everything—her home, her parents, her dignity. Now, even this last shred of meager freedom was being taken away.
Mu Xi violently twisted the steering wheel, trying to use a cluster of protruding rocks to execute a drift and shake off pursuit.
Tires screeched sharply on the sand, kicking up even higher curtains of dust.
However, the Escort Team’s driving skills far exceeded her imagination. The three armored vehicles moved with almost no hesitation, like precisely calculated programs, instantly adjusting their formation and continuing to cling to her tail.
After nine futile attempts, Mu Xi’s heart sank. The absolute difference in speed made all her struggles seem laughable. She could only drive forward, aimlessly rushing into deeper darkness. Hope was as faint as the starlight in the desert.
Inside the armored vehicle, Ye Lan watched the off-road vehicle ahead zigzagging like a trapped beast. A complex look flickered in her phoenix eyes—annoyance, impatience, and even an admiration she was unwilling to admit.
This seemingly delicate Golden Canary held such resilience in her bones.
But admiration aside, the prey had to return to its cage.
“Slow her down,” Ye Lan said into the communicator, her tone flat but carrying irresistible authority.
“Yes, ma’am.”
But Ye Lan raised a hand to stop them. The heavy machine gun on top of one flanking armored vehicle slowly rotated.
“I’ll do it myself.”
She took a sleek, specially-made rifle with a cold metallic sheen from the weapon rack beside her seat. This gun was more precise and more powerful than the Escort Team’s standard issue. Ye Lan opened the window, and the cold night wind poured in, stirring her jet-black hair.
She raised the rifle, and through the scope, locked onto the rear tire of the off-road vehicle. The desert wind was strong, and the vehicle bounced at high speed, but her hand was steady as a rock.
She remembered Mu Xi’s hands gripping the steering wheel, turning white from the force. She remembered the stubborn expression on her pale little face.
That twisted love and possessiveness churned inside her again.
‘Little Xi, you can only be mine.’
She pulled the trigger.
The muffled gunshot was diluted by the wind, but the bullet precisely tore through the off-road vehicle’s right rear tire.
Mu Xi felt the vehicle lurch violently, and the steering wheel nearly flew out of her hands. The sound of air hissing from the tire was piercing, and her speed dropped sharply. She fought to straighten the wheel, but the car began to slide uncontrollably.
Despair, like ice water, instantly drenched her heart.
However, at that moment, a sharp whistling sound suddenly pierced the night sky!
Several red lights flickered in the darkness, like ghost fire, rapidly approaching.
“What’s that?!” warned an Escort Team member.
Ye Lan frowned. Seven or eight small, oddly shaped metal drones, like bloodthirsty swarms of mosquitoes, encircled them from different directions.
They were extremely fast, with small weapons hanging beneath their fuselages, flashing with dangerous light.
“Unknown attack! Evade!” Ye Lan immediately ordered.
Almost at the same moment, the drones opened fire!
Rat-tat-tat-tat—!
A hail of bullets, like hailstones, slammed into Mu Xi’s off-road vehicle and Ye Lan’s armored convoy. Mu Xi’s vehicle, already on the verge of losing control, shuddered violently under the sudden strafing. Sparks flew from its metal skin. The windshield instantly spider-webbed with cracks.
Boom! One of the bullets seemed to hit part of the engine. The off-road vehicle let out a pained groan, completely stalled, and skidded to a stop.
‘It’s over.’
Mu Xi’s mind went blank.
At the same time, Ye Lan’s armored convoy also came under attack. The bullets pinged off the thick armor, making crisp sounds, not penetrating but still jarring.
“Return fire!” Ye Lan’s voice was cold with offended authority.
The heavy machine guns on top of the three armored vehicles immediately roared, spitting tongues of fire, weaving a dense network of fire that swept toward the drones in the air.
For a moment, the desert night sky was illuminated by tracer rounds and the flash of explosions. The sounds of gunfire, explosions, and tearing metal mingled together like a symphony of the apocalypse.
Mu Xi was trapped in the driver’s seat, watching the fierce exchange outside, her heart pounding.
She instinctively tried to push the door open, but found it had been deformed by the impact and strafing, jammed shut. She kicked it hard a few times, but the door didn’t budge.
Fear seized her again. She was trapped in this tin can.
The battle outside continued. The Escort Team’s firepower was impressive; the heavy machine guns suppressed the drones’ attack, but the small flyers were numerous and extremely agile, like buzzing metal flies, constantly changing their attack angles, making them hard to defend against.
Shards of glass fell in a shower, cutting Mu Xi’s cheek, leaving thin trails of blood. Ignoring the pain, she pounded on the door frantically, scraping the skin off her knuckles, but still couldn’t move the deformed metal.
Despair drowned her like cold tide.
‘Was she really going to be trapped here to die?’
No, she couldn’t give up!
The will to survive erupted with astonishing power in this desperate situation, like stubborn weeds growing in the desert.
Mu Xi gritted her teeth and forced herself to calm down. She remembered the gun tucked into her waist. She had “borrowed” it from an Escort Team member, intending to use it to intimidate Ye Lan and create a chance to escape, but she never thought she’d need it so soon.
The cold touch of metal seemed to give her a sliver of illusory security.
With trembling hands, Mu Xi pulled the pistol from her waist. The dark muzzle aimed at the door lock. This cold weapon felt heavy as a thousand pounds in her hand.
But now, she had no choice.
Taking a deep breath, Mu Xi closed her eyes.
A sharp gunshot rang out, insignificant in the chaotic battlefield, but deafening inside the cramped cabin.
Mu Xi’s body jolted violently, her palm stinging from the recoil. She opened her eyes and nervously looked at the door lock.
No reaction.
Her first shot failed.
Her hands trembled more. Fear, tension, and unprecedented resolve—all sorts of emotions intertwined, almost engulfing her.
‘No, she couldn’t panic!’
Mu Xi took another deep breath, forcing herself to concentrate. She adjusted her grip, aiming the muzzle at a more precise spot—the gap of the door lock.
Bang! Another shot. This time, something seemed to break. A faint click came from the door lock.
A glimmer of hope rose in Mu Xi’s heart. It worked!
Ignoring the ache in her arms, she pulled the trigger again, firing continuously at the same spot.
The shots grew more frequent, buzzing in her eardrums. The door lock finally completely deformed, the sound of twisting metal setting her teeth on edge.
Mu Xi held her breath, summoned all her strength, and wrenched the door open!
Creak—!
The deformed door let out a harsh scraping sound, finally opening a crack. That was enough!
Without hesitation, Mu Xi squeezed through the gap, tumbling awkwardly onto the sand.
Glass shards and metal fragments cut her skin, bringing sharp stings, but she ignored them, scrambling to hide behind a fallen rock.
No sooner had she hidden than a few stray bullets whizzed past where she had just been, hitting the off-road vehicle and sending sparks flying.
That was close!
Mu Xi panted, still in shock, her heart almost leaping out of her chest.
She looked up at the battlefield. Ye Lan’s armored convoy had already taken advantageous positions, exchanging fire with the drones using the vehicles as cover.