Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 513 - 506: Deep into Enemy Territory

Chapter 513: Chapter 506: Deep into Enemy Territory

"What on earth are you two up to, bickering right in front of an enemy?" Cheng Ziang wiped the blood off the tip of his knife, then asked with a frown.

"You, how did you get here?" Luoya, her eyes wide in surprise, asked.

Cheng Ziang glanced at her, then shook his head, apparently disappointed with Luoya’s attitude. Luo’er got up from the ground, his face still covered in dust, looking rather disheveled.

"You okay?" Ignoring Luoya, Cheng Ziang walked straight to Luo’er, helping him dust off his face with a frown. His action was so natural and comfortable as if to him, this was completely normal.

"How did you guys get here?" Luo’er dusted off his nose, then asked him.

"Old Hu got diarrhea, so he’s been dragging along." Cheng Ziang glanced at the shrubs in the distance, then shook his head.

Seeing their interactions, Luoya walked over to Luo’er, her head down and in an inner struggle. Luo’er’s face may have been mostly clean, but remnants of dirt were still visible. Looking at his ragged state, Luoya frowned and asked softly, "Does your face and knee hurt?"

"I’m fine!" Facing Luoya’s gaze, Luo’er also felt a bit embarrassed. Gaining disgrace in front of his own sister made him feel awkward.

"Honestly, why did you have to kneel for me? You looked terrible." Luoya grumbled with a frown.

"You’re my sister; isn’t it normal for me to kneel for your sake?" Luo’er tried to justify himself, though his gaze ever dared to meet hers.

Hearing his words, Luoya lapsed into silence. After hesitating for a while, she finally couldn’t help but ask, "Do you treat all girls this well?"

"Of course." Luo’er answered without hesitation.

Hearing his words, Luoya’s frown deepened, she pouted, and glared at him. Realizing her sharp gaze, Luo’er raised his head, and asked with unease, "Did I say something wrong?"

"I’m your sister! Can’t you treat me specially?" Luoya puffed out her cheeks and argued.

"What?" Luo’er was taken back, then stared at her.

"What ’what’! Blockhead!" Annoyed, Luoya threw these words out before turning and leaving.

"Seems like you two have made some progress!" Watching Luoya’s retreating figure, Cheng Ziang peered at Luo’er, his tone carrying a faint smile.

"We just had another argument." Luo’er let out a sigh.

"Weren’t you two supposed to be in town? What are you doing out here? And who’s this bastard?" Cheng Ziang asked before kicking the slowly stiffening corpse on the ground.

"It’s a long story. Never thought that these mercenaries aren’t worth relying upon." Luo’er shook his head.

"Mercenaries?" Cheng Ziang blinked, then inspected the corpse closer, realizing that the man indeed had a Blaiqi face.

"The ones that came with us?" Cheng Ziang asked while looking at him.

"Yeah!" Luo’er nodded.

"Don’t tell me all these guys have defected?" Cheng Ziang frowned and asked.

"Well, probably not all of them. Perhaps it was just him." Luo’er took a moment before replying.

"As I suspected, these mercenaries are never reliable!" Cheng Ziang said gravely.

"Anyway, for now, we still need their strength, so let’s leave it at that." Luo’er gestured unconcernedly.

"Ugh, that stinks!" Luoya’s voice of surprise resonated from a distance.

"Sorry, feeling a bit ill..." Hu Daoke sheepishly followed up.

As the four of them walked together, Luo’er mentioned to Cheng Ziang and the others about the Weird Talk Forest. Once Luo’er finished his explanation, Cheng Ziang lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "So you think that there’s something spooky going on in Weird Talk Forest?"

"Boss, we’re twenty-first century people. We can’t believe in this superstitious nonsense!" Hu Daoke said flippantly.

"I don’t believe in ghosts and gods either, but what caught my interest about the Weird Talk Forest is that it only appeared after the secret base was established, so I think..." Luo’er said.

"So you think there’s a connection between the appearance of Weird Talk Forest and the secret base?" Cheng Ziang asked, completing Luo’er’s thought.

"Regardless, my gut is telling me we should go take a look. We might find something unexpected," Luo’er suggested.

"Alright then, it’s convenient for the four of us to move together anyway, saves us the back-and-forth journey," Cheng Ziang agreed, nodding.

"But, boss, where exactly is Weird Talk Forest?" Hu Daoke leaned forward and asked the crucial question.

"Um," Luo’er blinked, thought for quite some time, and then said, "I think it was said to be near the secret base, but I didn’t ask for specific directions."

"Maybe we should ask someone on the street?" Hu Daoke suggested.

"Absolutely not," Luo’er immediately vetoed his suggestion, shaking his head, "The townspeople mentioned that Theron has put the entire secret base on lockdown. The further we go, the less likely we are to encounter any locals — it’ll mostly be Theron’s personnel. According to the people in town, if these individuals see anyone trying to break in, they won’t hesitate to kill the intruder. I conducted some reconnaissance in town, the people there fear mentioning the secret base, presumably because many people have met their demise there."

"What if we accidentally walk in and get startled?" Hu Daoke anxiously asked.

"I thought you didn’t believe in supernatural stuff?" Cheng Ziang scoffed.

"Even if I don’t believe, it can still catch me off guard and make my heart race," Hu Daoke defended.

"Don’t worry. According to those people, Theron set up some sort of signposts outside of Weird Talk Forest, so if we’re observant, we should be able to notice them," Luo’er reassured.

Twenty kilometers wasn’t a great distance, though they had to navigate through the thick forest, the crew managed to reach the outskirts of the base in the afternoon.

Just as the townspeople had said, the area was completely locked down by Theron’s men. Fortunately, they hadn’t taken the main road. There were guards posted every ten steps and sentries every five. The further they ventured, the more guards they encountered, both hidden and visible. It was purely due to Cheng Ziang’s keen eye that their presence wasn’t discovered.

At that moment, they were hidden in the dense jungle which seemed deserted, yet occasionally a guard would pass by. To avoid stirring up trouble, they decided to move deeper into the jungle while keeping a safe distance.

To perform reconnaissance on the secret base, it was best to find a high point. However, as the surrounding area was mostly flat, the only elevated points were hills less than a hundred meters high. Those were most likely guarded by hidden sentries. Given that Theron’s group had learned Earth’s tactics, they surely must have also figured out how to counter reconnaissance.

After wandering in the forest for half a day until it was completely dark, they finally found a vantage point which was a hill from where they could barely see inside the base. After observing the area, Cheng Ziang confirmed there were no hidden sentries.

Luo’er found this suspicious. If there were sentries everywhere, why would there be none here? Was it a trap?

With this thought, they scoured the area to ensure there were no hidden threats. Although Luo’er was puzzled, he still directed his crew to set up camp there for the night.

Because they were deep in enemy territory, they didn’t dare to make a fire. They tied their sleeping bags to tree trunks to improvise hammocks and planned to spend the night like that. Thankfully, they had packed enough emergency rations for the journey and wouldn’t have to starve.

As night fell, Luo’er didn’t assign anyone to keep watch. The ground was teeming with snakes and insects at night, so doing so would be no less than an invitation for trouble. They turned their sleeping bags into hammocks, climbed in, and prepared to spend the night inside.

Just when Luo’er was closing his eyes, he heard a youthful female laughter echoing from afar. The distant, soft sound was eerie and chilling. Luo’er shivered, instantly recalling the rumors about the Weird Talk Forest.

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