134: Chapter 134 The Cicada Sheds Its Shell

Boom!

A violent explosion resounded through the jungle.

Red flames instantly engulfed an area of several dozen meters in radius.

Terrifying energy fluctuations snapped all the surrounding trees.

Billowing smoke and dust obscured all lines of sight.

Lin Fan, at the center of the explosion, was currently maintaining a defensive stance.

Golden light swirled around his body.

His Indestructible Golden Body was already pushed to its limit.

He had even covered his body surface with his S-Rank Talent, Divine Ember Flame.

This formed a thick flame shield.

He was prepared to tank Shadow Circle's self-detonation head-on.

However.

The anticipated destructive impact did not come; that seemingly violent energy, upon contacting his protective golden light...

...actually popped like a soap bubble with a "pop" sound.

It shattered.

Only a violent wave of air blew past, kicking up dust that filled the sky.

Other than that, it did not cause any substantial damage; it didn't even hurt a single hair on his head.

Lin Fan was stunned.

He slowly lowered the arms he had held in front of him.

His brows furrowed tightly; something was wrong.

Much noise, little substance.

"Cough, cough..."

A round of coughing came from not far away.

Lei Zhan waved his large hand, dispelling the smoke and dust in front of him, and rushed in with a team of fully armed special forces soldiers.

His face was filled with anxiety and rage.

"Lin Fan!"

"Are you okay?"

Lei Zhan rushed up to Lin Fan and looked him up and down, fearing that this national treasure-level genius might have lost a single hair.

Just now, seeing that sky-high blaze, his heart had almost stopped.

If something had happened to Lin Fan right under his nose, he would be unable to shirk responsibility even if he died ten thousand times.

"I'm fine."

Lin Fan shook his head.

His expression, however, was terrifyingly gloomy as he walked to the spot where Wang Chenguang had just self-detonated.

Only a shallow pit remained there.

At the bottom of the pit lay a charred piece of wood.

The wood was covered in strange runes and had now broken into two pieces, emitting a faint scent of cherry blossoms.

"This is..."

Lei Zhan saw this piece of wood.

His pupils constricted violently, and his complexion instantly turned ashen.

"Damn it!"

"It's Sakura Country's S-Rank Ninjutsu, Shadow Clone Technique!"

Lei Zhan punched the nearby tree hard.

The tree snapped in response.

He finally understood why the earlier explosion had been all noise and little substance.

That cunning Shadow Circle hadn't self-detonated at all.

The moment he saw Lei Zhan appear with people, he knew the situation was lost.

So he decisively used this Ninjutsu that consumed an immense amount of spiritual energy.

He created a lifelike energy clone and detonated the spiritual energy within the clone, fabricating the illusion of a self-detonation to deceive Lin Fan and Lei Zhan.

As for his real body, he had likely already taken advantage of the cover provided by the explosion to escape.

"Bastard!"

"He actually managed to run away!"

Lei Zhan was trembling with rage; as a dignified instructor of Tianjiao Camp, he had been played by a spy.

This was simply a great humiliation.

"Lock down the entire island!"

"Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find him for me!" Lei Zhan roared into the communicator.

Lin Fan crouched down.

He picked up the charred piece of wood and weighed it in his hand.

A flash of heartache crossed his eyes.

"What a waste."

"Such good S-Rank material."

"To think it was just blown up like this."

What he felt heartache over wasn't that Wang Chenguang had escaped, but this piece of wood.

This was excellent material for making substitute blind boxes; if it were intact, it could sell for at least tens of millions.

Now that it was charred, it was worthless.

"Lin Fan, now is not the time to be heartbroken over wood."

Lei Zhan looked at Lin Fan's money-grubbing expression, feeling a bit amused and exasperated.

"That Shadow Circle is a top-tier spy from Sakura Country."

"Since he has run away,"

"he must have a backup plan."

"There must be other secrets hidden on this island."

Lin Fan casually threw away the charcoal.

He brushed the dust off his hands and stood up.

A cold sneer curled the corner of his mouth.

"Run?"

"He took my stuff."

"Where could he possibly run to?"

In Lin Fan's eyes, Wang Chenguang was no longer a person, but a walking point package, plus a pile of rare blind box materials.

The duck that had reached his mouth had flown away; this did not fit his, Lin Fan's, style.

"You have a way?"

Lei Zhan's eyes lit up; he knew Lin Fan had endless tricks up his sleeve and could always surprise people.

Lin Fan did not speak, but directly opened the system interface.

His gaze locked onto that blind box radiating seven-colored light.

He had never had the chance to bear using it.

He had originally intended to save it for a critical moment to save his life.

Now, it seemed he had no choice but to use it.

"System."

"Open the blind box."

Following a flash of brilliant light, an ancient-looking compass appeared in Lin Fan's hand.

The compass was only the size of a palm, polished from the bones of an unknown beast, covered in dense runes, and the pointer was a red bone needle that was spinning crazily.

[Item: Ten-Thousand-Mile Soul Chasing Disk (A-Rank · Consumable)]

[Description: As long as you input a trace of the target's aura, you can precisely lock onto their location no matter where they flee to the ends of the earth. Duration: 3 hours.]

"Good stuff."

Lin Fan nodded with satisfaction.

Although it was a one-time consumable, as long as he could catch Wang Chenguang, he would definitely break even, or even make a huge profit.

He walked to the spot where Wang Chenguang had spat blood earlier and used his finger to dip a bit of the blood that hadn't dried yet.

He smeared it onto the center of the compass.

Hum!

The compass shook violently.

The pointer, which had been spinning crazily, stopped instantly.

It pointed dead-on toward the center of the island.

There, it was a huge dormant volcano.

It was also the place on Ghost Island where magnetic field interference was strongest.

"Found him."

Lin Fan looked at the direction of the pointer.

His eyes flashed with the light of a hunter.

"Where is he?"

Lei Zhan asked eagerly.

Lin Fan pointed to the distant volcano.

"The center of the island."

"That dormant volcanic crater."

Lei Zhan's expression changed.

"That is the restricted area of Ghost Island."

"The magnetic field is extremely chaotic."

"Even Grandmaster Level experts will lose their way if they enter."

"What is he doing going there?"

Lin Fan put away the compass and looked back at the four "newbie" teammates still in a daze behind him: Zhang Mengmeng, Liu Sisi, Wang Xiaoming, and Sun Yu.

The four of them were still in a state of extreme shock.

Everything that had just happened was completely beyond their comprehension.

Lin Fan's power, the enemy's cunning, and this sudden turn of events had left their minds blank.

"Hey."

"Wake up, everyone."

Lin Fan snapped his fingers.

The four of them shivered and snapped back to reality.

"We are going to catch a mouse now."

"Those who are afraid of death,"

"can apply to withdraw now."

Lin Fan's voice was very flat, with no discernible emotion.

The four looked at each other, a trace of struggle flashing across their eyes.

The earlier battle had made them deeply realize their own weakness.

If they continued to follow Lin Fan, they would certainly encounter more dangerous situations.

However, if they withdrew now, they would forever lose the opportunity to become strong, and they would also lose Lin Fan's approval.

"I'm not withdrawing!"

Wang Xiaoming was the first to step forward.

He was still tightly gripping the blood-stained combat knife in his hand.

Although his body was still trembling slightly, his eyes were exceptionally firm.

The moment he had killed that enemy with his own hands earlier, he felt something inside him awaken.

That was a man's mettle.

"I... I'm not withdrawing either,"

Sun Yu also said, gritting his teeth.

"Wherever Brother Fan goes, I go."

Although Liu Sisi and Zhang Mengmeng were afraid, they also nodded.

They did not choose to retreat.

Lin Fan looked at them.

Although they were still four newbies, at least they had this spirit.

"Very good."

"Since none of you are afraid of death,"

"then keep up closely."

Lin Fan turned around and walked towards the depths of the jungle.

Lei Zhan watched Lin Fan's back, then looked at the four students with firm eyes, and an inexplicable sense of emotion welled up in his heart.

This was the youth of China.

This was the future of China.

"First Squad!"

"Fully armed!"

"Follow them!"

"Protect them well!"

Lei Zhan ordered loudly.

Although Lin Fan was very strong, he was still a student after all.

As an instructor, he had to ensure everything was foolproof.

"Yes!"

The special forces soldiers replied in unison and quickly followed in Lin Fan's footsteps.

A hunt targeting the Sakura Country spy had officially begun.

And in the depths of that dormant volcano, an even greater conspiracy was quietly brewing.