15: collaborators

Seeing that no one was chasing them, Lin Jiang finally set Lin He down and panted heavily.

"Brother! Why did we run?" Lin He said unwillingly.

Lin Jiang said crossly, "If we didn't run, what then? Stay there and risk our lives against them?"

"Brother, you're not scared, are you? There's no way he can use that ability a second time in such a short period! If we go back now, it's not too late..."

Before Lin He could finish, Lin Jiang grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. "Can you guarantee that kid doesn't have any other tricks up his sleeve? Huh?! If you can, I'll go back with you!"

"Don't forget that our most important task today is the exam, not helping you get revenge! Your grades affect both of our futures; we can't afford to gamble!"

Not long ago, after Lin Jiang learned that Lin He had lost the quenching thought bead issued by the school in a bet, he decisively gave his own promotion quenching thought bead to his younger brother.

However, Lin Jiang wasn't completely selfless. A military-grade quenching thought bead could allow Lin He to break through to a higher level, enabling him to achieve better results in the Beast Taming College Entrance Examination.

As long as one made it into the top ten, the lowest reward would be a high-quality quenching thought bead, which was even better than the military-grade ones.

So, he had actually made an exchange with Lin He: using his own quenching thought bead to help him level up and secure the reward, then taking that reward for himself to successfully break through Level 20 and join the Great Xia Spirit Guards.

But if they continued to waste time with Su Ze, everything might go to waste.

Seeing Lin He fall silent, Lin Jiang comforted him, "Brother, you must understand that the Beast Taming College Entrance Examination is the most important thing right now. You can wait until you become a powerful Beast Tamer to find that kid and cause him trouble."

But in his own heart, he was constantly feeling uneasy.

Since Su Ze could advance to a Level 16 Beast Tamer in such a short time, he might surpass him before long.

If they missed this opportunity today, would they really have a chance to retaliate later?

He feared that by then, it would be Su Ze coming for revenge against them.

Just as Lin Jiang was lost in thought, the sound of soft footsteps came from behind him.

"Who is it?"

Thinking it was Su Ze catching up, he spun around quickly.

But what appeared before his eyes was a group of mysterious figures wearing black hooded trench coats.

Lin Jiang froze for a moment, then realized their identity. He hurriedly pulled a signal flare from his chest, preparing to fire it.

However, he was swiftly subdued by a Man in Black, who also snatched away the signal flare.

This was partly because he had been injured by Su Ze's 'Full Return' earlier; otherwise, he should have had enough time to release the signal flare before being subdued.

Lin He was also easily subdued. Upon hearing the name of the Fusang Dark Guards, his legs had already turned weak with fear.

Lin Jiang was pinned to the ground, his right cheek pressed against the soil, yet he still tried to remain calm as he said, "You... you are the Fusang Dark Guards? Let me go! All of the Beishan City Great Xia Spirit Guards are currently within the formation, just waiting for you to walk into the trap. Surrender now!"

"Heh, blustering Great Xia person. Your life is in our hands, yet you think you're in a position to threaten us?" The Fusang Dark Guard holding Lin Jiang mocked him in heavily accented Great Xia speech.

The captain of this group of Fusang Dark Guards crouched down in front of Lin Jiang to confirm something. "You just said all of the Beishan City Great Xia Spirit Guards are here. Is that true or false?"

"Of course it's true! Are you scared?" Lin Jiang thought he saw a glimmer of hope for survival and spoke with false bravado.

But the captain laughed very happily. "Good, very good! It seems the lure we set beforehand worked. They really concentrated all their defensive forces here for this exam. The mission is already half-successful; the next step is to keep them here!"

Lin Jiang's expression changed instantly. He realized he had just said the wrong thing.

"Great Xia brat, let me ask you: what is your defensive layout? How can we bypass you to reach the volcano?"

But this time, Lin Jiang had learned his lesson and kept his mouth tightly shut, saying nothing.

"Captain, since this brat is unwilling to talk, let's just kill him! Even if we have to force our way through, we will definitely use our lives to get you to the volcanic crater!"

The Fusang Dark Guard addressed as Captain sighed. "I suppose it must be so. I've long heard that the Great Xia Spirit Guards are strictly disciplined and are the first to die for the people. It seems the rumors are true..."

As he spoke, he gestured to his subordinates to kill Lin Jiang and Lin He.

At that moment, Lin He's cries rang out. "Please, I beg you, let me go! I can help you convince him!"

Then he turned to Lin Jiang. "Brother, just tell them. I don't want to die, I really don't want to die..."

"Anyway... anyway, you're not a Great Xia Spirit Guard yet, just a reserve member. It doesn't matter if you haven't taken the oath."

"And... and I am also a citizen of Great Xia! I am one of the people the Great Xia Spirit Guards are supposed to protect. Just consider it protecting me and tell them..."

Seeing that there might be a turn of events, the Fusang Dark Guard captain immediately signaled his subordinates to pause.

Lin Jiang had already been hesitating in the face of death, his resolve wavering.

He had only been grit his teeth out of a burst of stubbornness to get it over with.

Now, amidst Lin He's sobbing, his fear of death gradually gained the upper hand.

Finally, he chose to speak. "To... to prevent our defensive line from being discovered or someone being bribed, the defense of the Tianyun Volcano Area this time is dynamic."

"Every so often, we receive a message to gather at a meeting point. If anyone is missing, the exam is immediately terminated, and a high-alert search begins."

"If everyone is present, we receive our new defensive sectors, or we can choose them ourselves."

It was after Lin Jiang had discovered the direction Su Ze's trio was heading that he chose the defensive sector ahead of them during the next gathering, catching them exactly where he expected.

"In other words, if I don't let you go, a search will begin as soon as they find you missing at the gathering?"

"Exactly. If you want to approach the volcano without triggering an alarm, you absolutely cannot kill me!"

The Dark Guard captain immediately signaled his subordinates to let go. In that case, Lin Jiang indeed could not die.

But then he added, "Since your defense is completely irregular and you don't know how to bypass the others to reach the volcano, what use is there in keeping you?"

Lin Jiang replied immediately, "But I know when the gathering will happen and the location of the meeting point."

"As soon as I receive the message, it means the others are also rushing toward the meeting point. At that time, you just need to bypass the meeting point and run straight for the volcano."

The Dark Guard captain patted Lin Jiang's shoulder happily. "Good, very good! Once you receive the message and tell us where the meeting point is, we will let you go immediately!"

Before Lin Jiang could feel relieved, he heard the captain continue, "But to prevent you from playing tricks, I have to keep him here!"

The captain then grabbed Lin He and pulled him close. Lin Jiang reached out a hand but ultimately gave up.

“Captain, since my brother and I are being so cooperative, could you... fulfill a small request of mine?” After Lin Jiang confessed everything, Lin He appeared less terrified and spoke brazenly to the Fusang Dark Guard captain.

"You are prisoners, yet you want to negotiate terms with us?"

A Fusang Dark Guard was about to scold him, but the captain waved him back.

He asked with great interest, "Tell me, what are your terms?"

Lin He said tentatively, "I want... you to help me kill someone. Not anyone important, just an ordinary examinee in this exam."

The captain immediately clapped and laughed. "Interesting, truly interesting. No problem, I promise you, we will kill one examinee."

What he didn't say was that if the plan went smoothly, every single examinee here would have to die!