255: Chapter 255 Celebration, Unexpected Change

Lin Chuqiao and the others put on a joint act to scare away Mike's team accomplices stationed outside to provide backup.

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Afterwards, Bailing used her transformation ability once again to disguise herself as one of the shorter foreigners.

She stood nonchalantly in place, staring unblinkingly at the entrance of the manor, waiting for the target to appear.

At the same time, she silently prayed in her heart:

"Mike, oh Mike, may God bless you to come out safely and quickly, you are the protagonist of this show after all..."

Inside the manor at this moment, the air was thick with gunpowder smoke, and gunshots and shouts rose one after another.

Mike was running frantically for his life.

His figure was in an extremely wretched state; his originally crisp and exquisite jacket was torn to shreds, and his face was covered in dirt mixed with blood and sweat.

Firefights were still ongoing in many areas, with flashes of gunfire illuminating the figures engaged in frantic combat.

Mike had thought that relying on the natural cover of the fog and night, coupled with the chaotic situation around him, he could sneak outside without anyone noticing.

Unexpectedly, just as he ran to an open area, with a whoosh, a flare fell from the sky, instantly illuminating the surroundings as bright as day.

The dazzling light made him instinctively raise his hand to shield his eyes, while also exposing his hidden figure completely.

The group behind him instantly discovered his whereabouts, their eyes gleaming like starved wolves seeing their prey, and they chased after him with loud shouts.

"Catch that foreigner, the golden bumpa bottle is in his hands!"

"Hurry up and chase, don't let him get away!"

The shouts of battle were deafening, and Mike's heart thumped wildly, as if it was about to burst out of his chest.

He could only bite the bullet, dodging back and forth through the hail of bullets, and run wildly toward the position where his accomplices were waiting to receive him.

Bullets whizzed past his ears; a slight mistake could mean losing his life on the spot.

The pursuers behind him gathered in greater numbers, clinging to him like maggots on rotting bones, impossible to shake off.

Seeing that they were about to reach the perimeter wall, Mike seized the opportunity, sprinted with all his might, and kicked fiercely against the wall twice.

Just as he was holding the golden bumpa bottle in one hand and grabbing the top of the wall with the other, preparing to vault over using the momentum.

A bullet whizzed past his cheek, startling his body into a shudder and almost making him lose his grip and fall.

In the split second between life and death, he used all his strength and climbed up the wall in a wretched state.

At this moment, a familiar voice rang out as expected.

"Mike, I'm over here!"

Mike hurriedly jumped to the ground, looking shakenly at the accomplice standing at the edge of the woods, and asked while panting heavily:

"How is it just you alone, where is Tom?"

Bailing imitated Jerry's tone of voice from earlier and urged with an anxious look:

"He's providing backup ahead, hurry up and hand the stuff over to me, if we dawdle any longer we'll both be doomed!"

Not only was her accent spot-on, but her facial expressions and demeanor were also at a movie-star level, making it very difficult to spot any flaws under the current urgent environmental conditions.

The sound of footsteps thumped heavily behind them, and the shouts of battle grew closer and closer.

Other treasure hunters followed closely behind, and seeing that they were about to vault over the wall and catch up right to them.

Mike nodded in panic, clutching the bundle wrapped around the golden bumpa bottle with both hands, hurled it forcefully toward Jerry, and shouted:

"Catch it, you must protect it well!"

"Don't worry, see you later!"

Bailing steadily caught the golden bumpa bottle, a trace of imperceptible craftiness hooking the corners of her mouth, and she turned around without hesitation to dive into the heavily fog-shrouded woods.

At this time, agile treasure hunters had already leaped across the wall and saw this scene.

Gritting his teeth, Mike immediately ran wildly in another direction.

He did not dare to pause his steps in the slightest, hoping to lead the other treasure hunters away.

At the same time, he prayed in his heart that Jerry could successfully deceive the pursuers and rendezvous according to plan, escaping with the treasure.

But these treasure hunters were clearly no pushovers.

Every single one of them was a veteran who had rolled around in Jianghu for many years, and they saw through Mike and the others' ruse at a glance.

Exchanging glances with each other, they quickly split into two groups.

One group closely pursued the direction of Mike's escape, vowing to capture him alive and retrieve the treasure.

The other group chased into the depths of the dense forest, attempting to intercept the backup personnel and cut off any contingency plans Mike might have prepared.

A few minutes later, three figures shuttled rapidly through the fog-filled woods.

Their footsteps were light yet tinged with urgency and excitement.

They were none other than Lin Chuqiao, Bailing, and Dachui, who had completed the ruse and successfully taken over the golden bumpa bottle.

While marching swiftly, Lin Chuqiao reported the situation in the mental channel:

"Professor, the item is already in our hands, we are heading to Wangjia Village outside Miwu Mountain."

"However, the fog seems to have gotten thicker now, our vision is restricted, we can't speed up, and there are still some persistent pursuers lingering behind."

Her tone was slightly urgent, somewhat worried about the treasure hunters tracking them from behind.

"It's fine, everyone has already done very well."

The professor's calm voice subsequently rang out in everyone's minds:

"Xiaochu, Bailing, you two retreat according to plan; Dachui, stay behind to cover our rear, make use of the terrain as much as possible to create obstacles for the pursuers."

"Monkey, wait for the signal to act and block the pursuers' route."

"Understood!"

All team members responded in unison, each executing their assigned tasks.

The three people in the woods did not pause their steps in the least, continuing to run toward the established direction.

Lin Chuqiao ran at the very front, relying on her sharp perception to dispel the darkness and fog, carefully scouting out the retreat path.

Bailing tightly cradled the golden bumpa bottle in her arms, following closely step by step right behind her.

Her expression was both nervous and filled with Focus, fearing that a single careless slip would drop this incomparably precious item.

Dachui was slightly further away from them, occasionally throwing stones around.

The stones flew into the depths of the fog with a howling wind sound, attempting to mislead the pursuers behind them and make those people chase in the wrong direction.

Or else he would wave his heavy iron hammer, smashing through bowl-thick trees and creating cluttered roadblocks to delay the pursuers' steps.

After running only a few hundred meters in the woods, Lin Chuqiao was already panting slightly, her chest heaving violently.

The hair on her forehead was soaked with sweat, strands of it clinging tightly to her fair cheeks.

She glanced back behind her; Bailing's face was likewise flushed and her steps were unsteady, obviously having consumed a tremendous amount of physical strength along this fleeing journey.

Not far away, those pursuers were like hounds with a sharp sense of smell, still biting closely and refusing to let go.

The faint, chaotic footsteps and shouts were like a death warrant that made one's heart skip a beat.

What Lin Chuqiao worried about most right now was that her and Bailing's physical fitness would drag down the entire operation.

In case they were caught by those treasure hunters, the two women had no strength to truss a chicken and basically had little power to resist.

Only Dachui, relying on his strong physique, might be able to hold them off for a while.

Thinking of this, Lin Chuqiao could not help clenching her teeth in secret, a flash of determination passing through her eyes, and she forced herself to endure the lead-like fatigue in her legs as she picked up her pace once more.

Her gaze abruptly pierced through the fog, quickly searching for the correct direction forward.

Then, the three of them ran intermittently for another distance.

Finally, Lin Chuqiao saw a red cloth tied to a tree branch, looming vaguely in the fog.

That was a marker representing the safe route. According to the plan, as long as they saw the red cloth, it meant they were not far from escaping danger.

Lin Chuqiao's heart relaxed, and she quickly reported the situation via the mental connection:

"Professor, we have arrived at the target location."

On the other end of the channel, the professor's voice quickly came through:

"Very good, as soon as you issue the signal, Monkey will immediately activate the switch."

"Wait!"

Bailing suddenly chimed in: "Dachui is still left behind, he hasn't come over yet!"

Afterwards, she turned around, cupped her hands around her mouth toward the direction where Dachui was, and shouted loudly:

"Dachui, hurry over here!"

At this moment, Dachui was brandishing his hammer, fiercely entangling in close combat with two treasure hunters who had already caught up.

The opponents were agile with clear intentions, attempting several times to circle behind Dachui to chase after the two women who might be carrying the golden bumpa bottle.

Hearing Bailing's shout, Dachui's eyes widened like copper bells as he erupted instantly.

The large iron hammer in his hand was swung high, sweeping across with the force of a thousand jun, fierce winds howling, and wherever it passed, branches snapped and leaves flew.

Then it smashed down fiercely with a loud bang of "clang," shaking the surrounding air to a buzz and causing the ground to tremble violently as if a minor earthquake had occurred.

This fierce Aura capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks frightened the two men into retreating repeatedly, a trace of dread showing in their eyes, obviously not expecting this big guy to possess such brute strength.

Taking advantage of the opponents' panic, Dachui did not delay in the least, kicked off with both legs, and strode in large steps toward his companions.

Just as he crossed the area marked by the red cloth.

The other treasure hunters also arrived upon hearing the news, numerous figures piercing through the fog and clearly appearing in view.

Each and every one of them had ferocious faces, with greedy lights flashing in their eyes, especially the two guys who ran the fastest, looking like they would never give up.

Lin Chuqiao's pupils suddenly constricted, and she shouted in the mental channel:

"Get down!"

At the same time, her body quickly dropped prone into a pit ahead, her movements as agile as a rabbit.

Bailing and Dachui also moved upon hearing the sound, rolling into the pit without hesitation.

The signal was sent. On a certain hilltop two kilometers away, Monkey pressed the remote detonation device he had prepared long ago.

In a split second, a series of earth-shaking explosions came from outside the pit.

Flames soared into the sky, instantly illuminating this dark forest.

The shockwave raised by the explosion blew the surrounding trees askew, and soil and stones splashed everywhere, pattering down like rain.

Under the immense impact force, those pursuers bearing the brunt had their heads broken and bleeding, and their limbs fractured.

Some were even blown several meters away by the shockwave, slamming heavily onto the ground, vomiting blood, and struggling unable to get up.

The other treasure hunters who escaped unharmed were also so frightened that they hastily stopped in their tracks, hugging their heads and lying prone on the ground.

When the aftermath of the explosion subsided, these people tremblingly raised their heads, their gazes searching the surroundings.

Billowing thick smoke spread out, forming a dense dust fog that blinded their eyes and choked everyone into continuous coughing.

It also completely blocked their vision, making it impossible to tell east, west, south, or north.

Let alone finding the three accomplices of Mike's team hiding God knows where amidst this chaos.

At this very moment, the three of Lin Chuqiao had long since used the excellent cover created by the explosion to disappear into the depths of the fog, rapidly retreating toward the established direction.

"Well done!"

After learning of the situation on-site, the professor's voice came through the mental connection, his tone unable to hide a sense of gratification:

"Everyone has made indispensable contributions this time, especially the three of you—Xiaochu, Bailing, and Dachui—who managed to hold back the pursuers at great risk and deserve the highest credit."

"Haha, absolutely, just look at our coordination, it was simply flawless!"

Dachui laughed in a muffled voice, waving his iron hammer which was still stained with soil while striding forward.

Sweat mixed with dust on his face, although dirty, he looked just like a general who had just won a victory, continuously boasting:

"With me as the vanguard pioneer here, those guys shouldn't even think about coming within a step of the treasure."

"You guys didn't see, that ferocious smashing of mine just now directly scared those two guys shitless, not even daring to crowd forward anymore!"

Bailing hugged the golden bumpa bottle, carefully shielding it in her arms, and cast a sidelong glance at Dachui:

"You, you only know how to use brute strength. If Sister Xiaochu hadn't led us away in our run, with that hammer of yours, let alone achieving anything, you probably would have been surrounded and wiped out by them."

Although she chided him a few words, her eyes were filled with smiles; she knew very well that in this team operation, no one could be spared.

Lin Chuqiao smiled softly and nodded, saying while running:

"Everyone has their merits. After we go back, we'll celebrate properly. Now that the golden bumpa bottle is in hand, our busy work hasn't been in vain."

In the mental channel, everyone chimed in one after another, making the atmosphere appear quite lively.

"That's right!"

The professor picked up the thread of the conversation and made a concluding statement:

"Successfully seizing the golden bumpa bottle this time is of extraordinary significance. With it, the strength of everyone in our team will receive a qualitative improvement, and in the future, we can attract more like-minded talents to join us and expand our ranks."

Speaking up to here, he paused, and his tone turned serious:

"Now, Xiaochu, you guys get in the car first, take the golden bumpa bottle and evacuate quickly. Monkey will temporarily stay at the observation point to closely report the changes in the situation inside the manor."

"Remember, safety first, see you at the base!"

"Understood, Professor!"

Everyone responded in unison, their footsteps growing increasingly brisk.

The sense of exhaustion brought by the fierce raid just now seemed to vanish into thin air instantly, and their hearts were filled with longing for the future.

Inside Lu Family Manor, it was dead silent at this moment.

Only the sound of the wind whistled and shuttled through the empty courtyard, whipping up fallen leaves on the ground and rustling.

Fang Cheng, the professor, and Li Dingjian had already arrived at the iron gate of the manor.

The figures of the three people were somewhat hazy under the dim moonlight, and the sound of footsteps echoed somewhat emptily.

Because the treasure hunters were almost entirely attracted away by Mike carrying the treasure, the clamor of fleeing and fighting around them gradually faded into the distance.

The remaining guards were also hiding in the shadows, not rashly pursuing them.

Suddenly, the manor that had originally been reduced to a battlefield became incomparably quiet.

Fang Cheng made contact with Black Wolf and the others via the walkie-talkie to communicate the situation.

When he turned back, however, he keenly sensed that the expressions of the two people beside him revealed a hint of unconcealable abnormality.

That was a deliberately suppressed excitement; although the corners of their mouths were not upturned, the light in their eyes betrayed them.

Especially the mysterious man, who had always had a calm, wave-less expression before, but now unexpectedly showed faint signs of joy.

Seeing this, Fang Cheng suddenly opened his mouth and asked:

"Is the plan progressing very smoothly?"

Hearing this, the professor's figure paused slightly, as if he was suddenly yanked back to reality, his gaze instantly regaining clarity.

He pushed up his glasses by way of concealment, only to find that he wasn't wearing glasses at all, so he gave a light cough and replied with feigned composure:

"Um, from the looks of it currently, it's considered smooth."

Just as the two were talking, the wind grew more violent, blowing their clothes to flutter loudly.

The scenery around the manor underwent an abnormality without any warning.

The originally tranquil night sky seemed to be stirred by an invisible giant hand, dark clouds gathered rapidly, heavily overlapping with the dense fog permeating inside and outside the manor, completely swallowing that last shred of moonlight.

The earth began to tremble slightly, faintly emitting low rumblings, as if an ancient giant beast was roaring.

Fang Cheng, the professor, and Li Dingjian all couldn't help their expressions changing abruptly, looking at each other with eyes full of shock and vigilance.