Pretending To Be A Boss

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But now, this team of six was wounded all over, and even Gong Kun's famed blade "Four-Leaf Sea" had developed cracks.

The group was frantically running for their lives.

"Gong... we're not going to make it. Just ahead is the Red Zone's Forest Sea!"

The speaker looked to be in his fifties, gasping for air, with a horrific wound on his back.

The others weren't faring much better, each bearing injuries.

Gong Kun spoke through gritted teeth:

"No one stop! Those Sky Guardian bastards targeted us from the start. We might not survive in the Forest Sea, but if we stop, we're surely dead!"

"But we... we just can't shake them off!"

Feeling the ghostly shadows behind them they just couldn't shake off, the youngest member of the team panicked.

Even out of the corner of his eye, Gong Kun could see that they had been running for nearly three hours, yet the Sky Guardian pursuers were relentless.

The gap wasn't shrinking, instead, it was slowly but surely closing in.

They were already becoming weary, while the Sky Guardian hunters seemed to have energy to spare.

"Faster! Even if we fail and die here, by dragging these monsters into the Red Zone, we've bought time for other hunters!"

In full stride, Gong Kun made a decision.

His resoluteness communicated to every Swordsman in the team.

There was reluctance in their eyes, but they ultimately gritted their teeth and accepted the decision.

...

...

It was three hours ago when Gong Kun's team encountered the team from Sky Guardian Fortress.

In the world of hunters, there is an old saying—there are no coincidences on the battlefield.

The people of Sky Guardian Fortress indeed came prepared.

Their alloy armor was impressive at first glance, just as the swords in the hands of Gong Kun and his team could not be underestimated.

There has always been the clash between the strongest spear and the strongest shield.

There were still many days left in the hunt, and the Samurai from Dongying decided to seek some pleasure first.

Their target was a young man named Jin Jiro, who possessed a special ability to hear the sound of metal, distinguishing even the faintest vibration sounds clearly.

In reality, this ability wasn't of much significance in combat, and there were even stronger "eyes" among the reserve members of the Sky Guardian Fortress.

But they still chose Jin Jiro.

The aim was to steal the equipment of Gong Kun's team.

When two powers meet, a battle is inevitable.

However, the outcome of the fight was beyond what Gong Kun had expected. The people from Sky Guardian Fortress were almost entirely covered in battle armor.

Calling them half-mechanical would not be an exaggeration.

The sword techniques that landed on them caused absolutely no harm whatsoever.

The alloy that covered their bodies seemed to have become their skin.

The duel between Swordsman and Samurai was over in an instant.

The strongest sword lost to the strongest armor, but Gong Kun could feel that the difference between his team and the group from Sky Guardian Fortress—

Wasn't just about the weaponry.

They were like a pack of monsters, with cruel smiles on their faces, constantly hunting them from behind.

As if playing a game of cat and mouse.

The vast Hundred-Handed Wood forest was vaguely visible, with the edge of the Forest Sea already appearing in everyone's line of sight.

And the distance between the team and the Samurais and Ninjas behind them was getting closer and closer.

Gong Kun's breath was rapid; his gaze sharp as a sword, reflecting a sight in the depths of his pupils that shouldn't have belonged in the mining area.

Gong Kun suddenly picked up speed and said:

"Keep your spirits up, faster!"

About twenty meters behind Gong Kun was the leader of the Sky Guardian Fortress team.

This team of hunters was ranked ninth on the Federation's Hunter Chart.

The team leader was named Rensheng Yeyi, the strongest Samurai of the Sky Guardian Fortress.

Like Gong Kun, he too saw the sight at the end of their vision that shouldn't have been there in the mining area.

...

...

Things in the world can be strangely coincidental.

While Tang Xian was pondering whether to plant eggplants or cucumbers first in the limited land—

Li Xiaoyu appeared.

Why Li Xiaoyu suddenly arrived at the cabin in the Forest Sea through a portable teleport rift, Tang Xian figured the answer out in two seconds.

He couldn't help but curse Qiao Shanshan and Dong Ran inside.

One with brains but no brawn, the other lacking both, they couldn't even look after their own stuff.

But it wasn't entirely their fault.

After all, even the residence was provided by Li Xiaoyu, so it was easy for her to take whatever she wanted.

This was Li Xiaoyu's first time dealing with Tang Xian in the mining area.

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Li Xiaoyu sized up Tang Xian's small courtyard without a word.

Tang Xian also didn't know what to say for the moment.

He had calculated many possibilities but never considered that Li Xiaoyu would steal Dong Ran and their group's transmission equipment to come here.

After scrutinizing for quite a while, Li Xiaoyu was sure she still didn't like it here.

She believed Tang Xian would find living in this place very comfortable, but she herself preferred highly mechanized and modern housing.

But she didn't hate it either.

"Sit."

With a simple greeting, Tang Xian continued to bend over to work on the agriculture in the mining area.

Li Xiaoyu moved closer and saw Tang Xiaojiu, whose belly was round and plump, lying on a cool bench, fast asleep.

She was stunned, staring at Tang Xiaojiu without blinking.

Tang Xian hadn't noticed this scene yet.

The dilemma of whether stir-fried cucumbers were tastier than stir-fried eggplants troubled him.

It wasn't until he smelled the scent of blood in the air, a smell that was rapidly approaching the treehouse, that he straightened up and turned around, preparing to call Li Xiaoyu into the treehouse to hide.

That's when he saw Li Xiaoyu gazing at Tang Xiaojiu with a contemplative look. Discover hidden content at empire

"Someone will be here in a few minutes, go hide in the house up in the tree for a while," Tang Xian said as he came to the pond and washed his hands.

"I remember your parents went missing in the mining area."

"Yes."

"I also remember you're an only child."

"You've checked everything on my household registration; if you have something to say, say it."

Tang Xian felt it was necessary to remind Li Xiaoyu that two groups of people were racing towards this place.

"This can't possibly be your sister."

"Indeed, she's not my sister."

Tang Xiaojiu was still sound asleep, her small belly clearly still round, but the corners of her mouth were already drooling, smacking her lips from time to time.

"I know every woman in the thirty-ninth fortress," Li Xiaoyu's tone grew colder.

"Watch your language, what do you mean by 'my women?' I don't have any women," Tang Xian said.

Li Xiaoyu said,

"She doesn't resemble you, nor does she look like any of those women who follow you. So, she is neither your sister nor your daughter!"

Tang Xian was beginning to understand Li Xiaoyu's logic.

He said irritably,

"I remind you, don't get jealous over a six-year-old child."

"What does being six have to do with anything? The year I met you, I was only twelve. If you dial back six years, I, too, was six! Give her another six years, and she'll also be twelve!"

"Idiot, I'll explain it to you later."

Tang Xian picked up the deeply sleeping Tang Xiaojiu and walked towards the wooden house.

Li Xiaoyu followed Tang Xian.

Pushing open the door of the wooden house, Tang Xian placed Tang Xiaojiu on a bench inside the house.

Tang Xiaojiu turned over, and with a plop, she fell to the floor.

"Ouch, the lamb leg fell to the ground!"

The little girl woke up abruptly.

Li Xiaoyu, who was still feeling jealous, couldn't help but laugh at this scene.

But as she shifted her gaze, her smile froze.

Because there was another little girl in the house.

This one wasn't six years old!

She was clearly about fifteen or sixteen!

She was even older than when Li Xiaoyu first met Tang Xian!

Who on earth was this person? Luckily, she had come to the mining area, otherwise, she wouldn't have known that this man was hiding not one, but two jewels in his house!

Bang!

Tang Xian ignored Li Xiaoyu's questioning gaze and closed the door of the wooden house.

"Someone is coming, don't make a sound."

Li Xiaoyu kept quiet.

Being in the mining area, even with only dual talents, she could sense the extraordinary momentum of the approaching people.

She was somewhat panicked.

Tang Xian may have strength, but after all, he didn't have any extraordinary abilities.

Those people in the mining area are not like those in the Pyramid.

Tang Xian went outside the courtyard, ready to pack up his few belongings.

About ten meters away from the courtyard, there was Gong Kun, exhausted and nearly spent.

Gong Kun didn't know why he had run here, perhaps it was a reflex in a life-or-death situation.

Holding his freshly cleaned clothes, Tang Xian thought for a moment and said,

"I recall the hunting area is to the south; you should head back, there's no way through here."