Ye Lan looked at her stubborn profile, the tight line of her jaw, and the slightly trembling long lashes, all revealing her inner struggle.
Suddenly, Ye Lan let out a low laugh.
The laughter was very light, carrying a strange penetrating power, echoing in the cramped carriage.
Ye Lan’s voice regained its usual laziness and a hint of wickedness. She leaned forward slightly, close to Mu Xi, her warm breath brushing Mu Xi’s earlobe as she whispered, “It’s fine. I didn’t expect you to be grateful to me right now.”
Mu Xi’s body stiffened. Subconsciously, she tried to pull away, but the car wall blocked her path. Ye Lan, in a voice only the two of them could hear, said word by word, “You hate me, Little Xi.”
Ye Lan’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, like a lazy and dangerous cat. Her fingertips brushed faintly across the small wound on Mu Xi’s arm, bringing a strange tingling sensation.
“Hate me as much as you want.”
“The more you hate, the better.”
Ye Lan’s lips curled into an almost cruel arc, yet her eyes surged with intense, almost paranoid possessiveness.
“Because your hatred, to me… is the ultimate love.”
After the words fell, Mu Xi abruptly turned her head, looking at Ye Lan in disbelief.
‘She… what did she say? Hatred is love? What kind of absurd logic is this!’
Anger and absurdity instantly overwhelmed shame and embarrassment. Mu Xi was almost amused.
She tightened her grip on the gun hidden in her sleeve. The cold touch of metal calmed her a bit. This woman could always use the most unimaginable ways to twist everything and rationalize her plunder and control!
“You’re absolutely impossible!” Mu Xi’s voice trembled with anger.
Ye Lan, however, seemed satisfied with her reaction. She withdrew her hand, leaned back against the seat, and looked out the window again, but the smile on her lips didn’t fade. She asked lightly, with a tone of knowing everything, “When you stop hating me, that’s when it’ll be boring.”
Mu Xi was fuming, her chest heaving violently, but she couldn’t say a word. Reasoning with Ye Lan was like talking to a brick wall. This woman was immersed in her own constructed logic, stubborn and insane.
The carriage fell silent again.
But this time, the nature of the silence had changed. It was no longer awkwardness and unspoken ambiguity, but filled with anger, absurdity, and a sense of helplessness after being thoroughly provoked.
Mu Xi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down. The only thing she could do now was stay alert and wait for an opportunity. She couldn’t be provoked by her, couldn’t be led by the nose.
Ye Lan’s fingers on the communicator moved as she issued another command:
“All units, attention. We are about to enter a sandstorm area. Maintain formation. The reduced visibility is our chance!”
“Roger!”
“Understood!”
The Escort Team members’ responses were concise and forceful.
The wind outside grew sharp, mixed with the pattering sound of sand hitting the vehicle. Through the narrow observation window, the sky outside had turned a murky yellow, and visibility plummeted. The armored vehicle began to slow down, but drove more smoothly—clearly the driver was experienced.
Ye Lan’s attention was completely focused on the external battle situation. She stared at the constantly jumping data and blurry images, her brow furrowed, occasionally issuing concise commands. The wound on her back seemed temporarily forgotten. Only her pale complexion and the fine beads of sweat on her forehead revealed that she wasn’t truly indifferent.
Mu Xi secretly observed her.
This woman, when commanding a battle, exuded a startling charm. That aura of focus, calm, and total control was completely different from the stubbornness and arrogance she showed toward her on a normal day.
Hatred still existed, but in the depths of Mu Xi’s heart, a strange feeling involuntarily arose. She shook her head to dispel the untimely thought.
No matter how powerful and charming Ye Lan appeared, it didn’t change the fact that she was the enemy.
She quietly touched the gun in her sleeve. The cold touch was her only support at this moment.
The armored vehicle traveled through the sandstorm like a ghost. The pursuing fire seemed to have weakened slightly, probably affected by the bad weather.
“Report position. How long until we reach the rendezvous point outside Stone City?” Ye Lan asked.
“Reporting, Lady. We have entered the planned route. If all goes well, we are expected to arrive at Rendezvous Point A in forty minutes,” the driver’s voice came.
“Notify Nan Qiao’s people. Act according to plan,” Ye Lan’s voice was low and powerful.
“Yes!”
‘Nan Qiao… Stone City…’
Mu Xi caught those two keywords.
Ye Lan was indeed using the power of Stone City. Was her ultimate goal truly to help her retake Wu City? Or was this just another lie she had spun, another means to control her?
Mu Xi’s heart was in turmoil again.
Just then, a slightly anxious voice came from the communicator:
“Lady! The left track of Vehicle Three is severely damaged! Speed dropping! We are under—Ah!”
After a short scream, the communication cut off.
Ye Lan’s face instantly darkened.
“Vehicle Three! Respond!!” she shouted sharply.
In the communication channel, there was only the crackling of static.
“Damn it!” Ye Lan cursed under her breath, slamming the console. “Vehicle Two, immediately return to assist Vehicle Three! At all costs!”
“Roger!”
“Vehicle One, maintain maximum speed! Keep moving! Shake them off!”
Ye Lan’s orders came one after another. Her voice was cold without a trace of warmth, as if the ones who had just lost contact were not Escort Team members who had risked their lives with her.
Mu Xi’s heart also sank. The cruelty of war was laid bare before her at this moment.
The armored vehicle suddenly accelerated, charging wildly through the sandstorm, leaving any potential danger far behind.
Ye Lan leaned back in her seat, closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling slightly. Under the pale light, the lines of her profile were tight, with a nearly cold resolve.
Mu Xi looked at her and suddenly felt that this arrogant woman who always controlled everything seemed not omnipotent. She too could be tired, she too could lose.
In the carriage, only the roar of the engine and the howl of the wind and sand remained.
After who knows how long, Ye Lan opened her eyes again and looked at Mu Xi. In those phoenix eyes, a flash of heavy fatigue and pain passed by so quickly it could be mistaken for an illusion.
She moved her lips as if to say something, but in the end it turned into a low command: “Hold tight.”
The armored vehicle seemed to plunge into the throat of a roaring giant beast.
The core area of the sandstorm was even more violent than Ye Lan had imagined. The vehicle was no longer driving; it was being tossed up and slammed down by an invisible force, shaking and bumping violently, as if it would be torn apart and devoured any second.
The emergency lights fixed to the walls flickered wildly, the light going on and off, reflecting everything in the carriage shaking violently. Metal friction produced a teeth-grinding screech, as if the skeleton of this steel fortress was groaning.
Fine sand penetrated every gap, seeping in from the vents and the joints of the armor, filling the air with a choking earthy smell.
Mu Xi felt the world spinning, her internal organs out of place. She tightly gripped the armrest of the seat, but this bit of support was laughably insignificant against the world-destroying power.
An especially violent jolt, like an invisible giant hand, threw her up hard and then slammed her down. The fear from the weightlessness instantly seized her.
Almost out of pure instinct, she released the armrest and lunged toward the only “object” nearby that seemed stable—Ye Lan.