Chapter 156 - 156: Escaping From the Forest

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation      Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

He had felt this sense of familiarity with Song Fan from the moment they first met. There was always something about her that felt strangely familiar, and it drew him toward her like a magnet.

As he drifted in thought, Song Fan’s hand waved in front of his eyes. Her hand was undeniably beautiful, with fair skin and slender fingers. Even the minor calluses from gripping a gun couldn’t be considered flaws in her otherwise delicate hand.

It was as if the hand before him belonged to the person in his dream, the one who had whispered, “Please don’t die.”

The lines between reality and his dream began to blur, prompting him to ask the question.

However, Song Fan thought that Gu Chen might have been disoriented due to the pain. She pushed his hand away and responded, “You can’t even remember yourself, yet you’re asking me?”

Gu Chen wanted to say more, but before he could utter a word, Song Fan covered his mouth. She cocked her head, listening attentively for a moment before whispering, “Someone’s approaching.”

Gu Chen spoke softly, “If it were Su Yang, he’d signal us.”

“What kind of signal?”

“A specially made whistle for the Gu Family.”

But even after listening carefully, Song Fan didn’t hear the whistle. She tugged

Gu Chen’s arm and said, “We’re both injured now and can’t afford to take chances. We need to leave this place quickly.”

If the approaching individuals were those mercenaries, the odds were stacked against them. It would be wiser to relocate and await Su Yang’s arrival.

Gu Chen grasped the wisdom of this decision. With the worst of the drug’s effects having subsided, his head was no longer pounding. He promptly got to his feet and hurriedly distanced them from their current location.

Song Fan grabbed a few sturdy tree branches and made them into makeshift crutches and secured them to her legs, then began limping alongside Gu Chen. Gu Chen, however, scooped her up into his arms. Song Fan protested, “You’re not much better than me. Let me walk on my own. You can conserve your strength.”

Gu Chen had no intention of letting her down; instead, he held her even tighter. He quipped, “I still have enough strength to carry you.”

Song Fan resigned herself to being held by him. After all, not having to walk was a small luxury.

The two of them made a swift exit from their current location. It didn’t take long before the mercenaries arrived. Mercenary A examined the footprints on the ground and remarked, “They must still be close. We can only get our pay by eliminating Gu Chen. Otherwise, the deaths of our comrades would have been in vain.”

Mercenaries weren’t in the business of charity. Their work revolved around financial gain, and the motto “work for money” was ingrained in their nature. With so many of their comrades having perished, failing to secure their payment would indeed be a significant loss.

Hence, they persisted in their pursuit, even if only a few of them remained. Eliminating Gu Chen’s group was the only way they could recoup their losses from the day’s events.

Song Fan understood their line of thinking well, which was precisely why she had proposed fleeing. She recognized that, in their shoes, she would also take a final gamble.

A City, as the trade hub of Hua Country, boasted a vast forested area, intentionally preserved by the government to maintain a natural ambiance amidst the bustling urban landscape of steel and concrete.

It was these woods that provided Gu Chen and Song Fan with the cover they needed. They skillfully maneuvered through the forest, occasionally taking measures to conceal their tracks and buy time to outpace their pursuers.

After a considerable distance, Song Fan urged, “Gu Chen, set me down. If you exhaust your strength, I won’t be able to carry you.”

Gu Chen surveyed the area and located a substantial tree. He gently placed Song Fan beneath it and replied, “Your feather-light weight won’t strain my endurance.”

Song Fan chuckled, “My puny muscles can’t bear to hear these words.”

She retrieved her firearm and contemplated, “I’m unsure how many are still tailing us, but if there aren’t too many, we can easily handle them.”

Gu Chen unexpectedly uttered, “I apologize.”

Song Fan stood upright, puzzled, “Where did that come from?”

“If I hadn’t brought you here, you wouldn’t have been injured,” Gu Chen sighed, “I underestimated their resolve to eliminate me.”

Song Fan, however, didn’t take the matter to heart at all. She waved her hand dismissively, “This is nothing. I agreed to come because of your promise.”

In her view, locating the Tango Fruit was a far more challenging task than today’s ordeal. She hadn’t suffered any setbacks at all.

Gu Chen, unaware of her thoughts, felt that Song Fan was consoling him. He was suddenly touched, gazing at her with a gentle expression.

Nonetheless, Song Fan remained oblivious to this. She was scanning their surroundings for potential hiding spots. As she did, Gu Chen reached over to remove a leaf from her hair. At that very moment, she swiftly fired at a mercenary approaching from behind.

The mercenary crumpled to the ground, and Song Fan gravely stated, “This place is no longer safe..”