Chapter 109
Song Ye and He Qing hid behind two ice trees that were close together, looking down from behind the frozen branches and icicles.
A group of people was walking up from the distant slope below. There were about a dozen of them. Some she didn’t recognize, but the one at the head, they not only recognized but also had a grudge against.
It was someone from the Chen family, the third in line, Chen Cheng.
He had once led people to hunt down He Qing. His ancient martial arts skills were no match for hers, but he was cunning and good at scheming. Although He Qing was also smart, she was a straightforward person.
She had been set up once. If it weren’t for Song Ye hearing the news and rushing over in time, she would have really fallen for it.
Now that they had met their enemy, He Qing’s eyes narrowed.
Song Ye undoubtedly understood her. Even without turning her head, she could feel the person next to her, her breathing becoming slightly rapid.
She reached out and grasped He Qing’s wrist, which was clenched into a fist, and squeezed it, telling her to calm down and not be impulsive.
He Qing glanced at Song Ye and didn’t say anything, but she understood her meaning. After a few seconds, she took a deep breath and managed to suppress the urge to go out and wring his neck.
But why were the Chen family here?
Hadn’t they already retreated? Had they not given up on the spiritual energy source?
Or did they have some other purpose?!
Song Ye’s hand, still holding He Qing’s wrist, didn’t let go. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her, but that she was so lost in thought she hadn’t realized.
Since she didn’t let go, He Qing didn’t find it strange. After all, being held by her, she had always accepted it quite naturally.
This only further showed how good their relationship was, that they were the best of friends and partners.
As they got closer, the low voices of the Chen family became gradually clearer in their increasingly keen hearing, from intermittent to a clear picture.
“…Third Brother, is there any point in us coming here? Didn’t Second Brother say the spiritual energy source was taken?”
“You believe that?”
The young male Beta was puzzled, but he understood. “You mean Second Brother…”
“Who knows.”
The disappearance of the spiritual energy source was too sudden, too strange.
The base, the Chen family, and the Zhang family, the three parties had together broken through the mutated tree forest, but they hadn’t found a single trace of the spiritual energy source. They had even spent a lot of time searching the entire mountain several times without finding it.
It had vanished without a trace.
How could this not be suspicious?
Of course, Chen Cheng suspected that the spiritual energy source had been taken by his second brother.
The extreme cold wind was too cold, especially in the mountain forest. Even with the dense ice trees as a barrier, it still made everyone shiver from time to time.
The people who had come this time were all Chen Cheng’s confidants, who had followed him for many years. Not to mention anything else, at least they could speak a few words.
“But Third Brother, although the mutated tree forest was destroyed by them, and the other ice trees haven’t mutated, this mountain forest is a bit too strange. I’m afraid there’s some danger. We came out on our own, without any large weapons. If we run into…”
“Fuck, Old Feng, are you scared? Coward.”
Before the male Alpha named Old Feng could finish, he was interrupted by the person in front of him. That person was also a male Beta, with a sturdy build that could compete with Shi Tou. But his sneering, mocking expression was a far cry from the honest and simple Shi Tou.
“What are you afraid of with Third Brother here? And besides, do you think we’re all freeloaders? Coward. If you’re afraid of dying, you should just go back and wash up and go to sleep.”
Old Feng frowned. “That’s not what I meant. I just meant…”
“Shut up.”
Chen Cheng was holding a black instrument made of some unknown material. It was about the size of two palms, with a section that extended like an antenna.
Song Ye guessed it was probably similar to the detector Zhao Yuan had used at the base hospital.
Behind Chen Cheng were a female Alpha and a male Alpha, also holding two identical detectors. The three of them were testing different directions, as if they were adjusting something.
“What’s all the noise? Are you afraid there are no mutated animals here?”
Chen Cheng didn’t look up or turn his head. The expression on his face was not very good. He also knew that coming here was a risk, but the temptation of the spiritual energy source was too great. No matter what, even if he returned empty-handed, he had to come and confirm it.
A spiritual energy source was too rare. For anyone, even for mutated animals and plants, it was extremely important. If he could get it, his ability would reach a new level, even surpassing ancient martial arts.
Not to mention, if he could integrate his ability with ancient martial arts, he would become even stronger. At that time, among the younger generation of the Chen family’s successors, he would definitely surpass his older and second brothers, and make his grandfather look at him with new eyes.
So he absolutely didn’t believe that the spiritual energy source was really gone. He would rather believe that his second brother hadn’t found it or that it had been hidden.
That was why he had secretly brought his men here.
If the spiritual energy source was really not here, he would have to go find his second brother. And if his second brother didn’t have it either, then he would have to go and test the waters with the Zhang family and the base.
In short, he just didn’t believe that the spiritual energy source would just disappear for no reason.
Either it was completely hidden and had not been discovered by anyone, or it had been obtained by someone present.
But no matter which, he would not give up.
Hearing this, Song Ye and He Qing also understood the purpose of this group. So they really couldn’t bear to part with the spiritual energy source.
According to Guan He, the three forces had swept through Ning Mountain over and over again but had not found any trace of the spiritual energy source. In the end, they had had to retreat in frustration.
She had thought the matter had ended there, but she hadn’t expected this Chen Cheng to be so persistent.
But this was good…
He Qing moved her wrist, which was being held by Song Ye. Under her hat and scarf, her exposed eyes flashed with undisguised mockery and killing intent.
“Isn’t that just like him?”
Selfish, arrogant, and self-righteous, thinking that with a little bit of cleverness, he could look down on everyone.
“But this is a good opportunity.”
Song Ye’s tongue pressed against the root of her teeth, and she also smiled, a cold smile.
“Since you dared to come, don’t think about leaving.”
In reality, she hadn’t planned on touching Chen Cheng. The others were nothing. Even if she touched them, it wouldn’t hurt the Chen family. But Chen Cheng was different. After all, he was a direct descendant.
Remembering these two words, even Song Ye couldn’t help but find it funny. Only these old fogeys would be so feudal.
What era was this? And they were still playing this game.
If the Chen family knew he was here, and if something happened to him here, they would definitely send people. For now, they couldn’t compete with the Chen family, so although she really wanted to, she didn’t plan on causing any extra trouble.
But now it was different.
If Chen Cheng had really come here on his own, and the Chen family didn’t know, especially since he was here, then even if he died here, the Chen family would have no way of finding out.
This was just… too good.
Song Ye pulled He Qing and quietly left. “Let’s go. We’ll go and make some arrangements.”
After getting a little farther away, Song Ye thought for a moment and then took out her walkie-talkie, tuned to the right channel, and called the others over.
The other party had 11 people. Although no one was a match for the two of them in a one-on-one fight, they were all martial artists and had abilities. And without knowing what their abilities were, to avoid letting anyone slip away, and just in case…
Song Ye decided to call everyone over to discuss it together, to take them down as quickly as possible.
Song Xun’s group was a little farther away. By the time they arrived, Chang Fei, Chang Wan, and Shi Tou had already arrived.
The group squatted on a protrusion of the ice mountain, hiding their figures, and looked into the distance with their binoculars. Song Xun turned her head and could still see the small black dots in her field of vision gradually moving up.
She was a little puzzled. “Is someone going up the mountain?”
But if it were just someone going up the mountain, Song Ye probably wouldn’t have called them all over. So there was only one result…
“Who are they?”
Song Ye put down her binoculars. “The Chen family.”
Song Xun immediately understood, and then laughed. “Oh, so they haven’t given up yet.”
Song Ye nodded. “The leader is named Chen Cheng. He has a grudge.”
Anyone who dared to attack He Qing was her enemy.
In the past, she couldn’t do anything. After all, she was serving the country, and as a captain, she had a responsibility to her men. She couldn’t put them in a difficult position.
And besides, Chen Cheng was a coward who was afraid of death. She couldn’t just break into the Chen family’s home. Now that she was free of her responsibilities, and with such a good opportunity in front of her, if she didn’t seize it and kill him…
Song Ye felt she might as well just wring her own neck.
Song Xun snorted and didn’t say anything.
The Chen family was clearly He Qing’s enemy. But although He Qing’s eyes were red and filled with killing intent, at least her face was calm. But her own sister, on the other hand, looked even angrier than He Qing.
She didn’t know when she would be able to bring her wife home.
Seeming to sense Song Xun’s strange gaze, both Song Ye and He Qing turned to look at her.
One was bewildered, her gaze questioning.
The other glared at her, telling her to be more discreet.
Song Xun shrugged. If she couldn’t look, then she wouldn’t. Why threaten her?
In the end, after some discussion, the group decided to strike first. They would have the dogs pretend to be mutated animals and attack first. Although the Chen family was an ancient martial arts family, they also had abilities and firearms.
If they didn’t want any casualties, they had to be more careful.
But speaking of this, Chang Fei suddenly remembered. “Since we’re going to do it, why don’t we do it big? Even if they have guns, the more we can wear them down, the better.”
“Do you know where there are mutated animals here?”
“Yes. We went west just now and saw a group of mutated wild cats over there, about 40 of them.”
Chang Fei had always been very cautious. And besides, with just the three of them, they couldn’t fight this group of mutated wild cats head-on. So as soon as he discovered them, he immediately chose to retreat and didn’t alert them.
After retreating a certain distance, he was about to use the walkie-talkie to notify Song Xun and the others when Song Ye’s voice came first.
“Mutated wild cats. Those guys are much more agile.”
Song Xun smiled and patted the heads of the two dogs next to her. “It’s up to you guys. Lure them over, and then run. Don’t get entangled, and be careful not to get hurt.”
The dogs let out a low, human-like whimper of acknowledgement and then darted off in the direction Chang Fei had pointed, quickly disappearing from sight.
Afraid of an accident, Song Xun sent Ji Tang and the cubs back to her space. Chang Wan, on the other hand, stayed behind. She was quite enthusiastic.
After waiting for about ten minutes, seeing that the Chen family was about to reach the predetermined position, the dogs also brought back a group of screaming and screeching mutated wild cats.
The mutated wild cats were a real group. Each one was the size of two basketballs, their sharp teeth bared. They were clearly enraged by the dogs.
They rushed towards the Chen family with a fierce momentum…
