The off-road vehicle drove into the city walls.
After only a few hundred meters, another vehicle followed behind them at a steady distance—not too close, not too far.
Pang Cancan leaned against the rear car window, staring for a long while before recognizing the occupants. “That pair of twin siblings is in that car. Are they monitoring us?”
Hearing this, Su Su freed one hand and pointed at the roof of their vehicle.
Instinctively, Pang Cancan glanced out the window and finally noticed the half-burned Eagle King circling above their off-road vehicle.
“They really are watching us!”
Su Su’s peripheral vision swept across the streets on both sides of the road. Some ordinary people, who were sun-drying seafood at their doorsteps, cast curious yet wary glances at their vehicle.
“We’re passing through their city—it’s only natural for them to be cautious.”
But this road was a shortcut. If they sped up a little, they could completely leave this small coastal base in just over half an hour.
Since the other party had already allowed them through, they might as well let them watch.
The Eagle King circled above for a long time, its sharp eagle eyes never ceasing their surveillance of the vehicle below. If the off-road vehicle made any unusual movements, it could dive down in an instant—its razor-sharp talons piercing the roof and forcibly tearing it open.
Inside the car behind.
Sun Zhixia silently watched the outsiders ahead. “Are they really just passing through?”
Having been hurt once before, she harbored a deep distrust of any unfamiliar outsiders.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, Sun Zhichun responded, “No matter what their purpose is, it’s always better for us to remain cautious.”
Sun Zhixia fell silent.
Her gaze shifted to the Eagle King hovering in midair.
Its eagle eyes were locked onto the front passenger seat of the off-road vehicle, where a massive python—capable of altering its size at will—was curled up.
Having suffered an injury at the hands of a creature lower on the food chain, Hei Bao was undoubtedly unwilling to accept such a loss.
Just then, her younger brother suddenly spoke. “It’s possible they really are heading for the Northern Base.”
“?”
“That python is a Tier 5 battle pet. Only the Northern Base has so many powerful battle pets. Either they are from the Northern Base themselves, or they’ve heard the rumors about battle pets transforming into human form and are heading there.”
Sun Zhixia was momentarily stunned. “Then… didn’t I attack the wrong people?”
Catching the trace of regret that flickered across her sister’s brows, Sun Zhichun quickly reassured her, “Sis, you can’t distinguish good people from bad ones just by looking at them. You were right to keep them outside.”
They had been too naive before—taking in a severely injured but good-looking man from outside the base.
After suffering harm once, they had now become overly vigilant and reactive.
Sun Zhixia fell silent again.
Just as Sun Zhichun was about to say more, another familiar vehicle rushed up from behind.
Something urgent must have happened—the ability user driving the car rolled down the window and shouted from the front:
“Brother Zhichun! Sister Zhixia! Another huge convoy has arrived outside the base!”
What?!
Sun Zhichun slammed on the brakes.
The car behind finally caught up and pulled up alongside them.
“What’s going on?”
“Brother hichun, dozens of vehicles have stopped outside the base. Leading them are more than ten ability users. They’re demanding that we open the city gates, claiming they’re just passing through!”
For the past ten days or even half a month, there hadn’t been a single outsider. Why were there suddenly two groups today insisting on passing through?
Sun Zhichun and Sun Zhixia exchanged a glance.
The alarm bells in their minds rang wildly.
Sun Zhixia immediately grew suspicious. “Are they working together?”
One group opening the way ahead, and the moment they entered the base, the second group would conveniently arrive outside the city walls—setting up a perfect case of collusion from within and attack from outside!
Just moments ago, Sun Zhichun had set aside his suspicions, but now he reacted instantly: “Stop that car in front! No matter if they’re connected or not, we can’t let them go anywhere for now!”
The approaching vehicles accelerated, immediately blocking the off-road vehicle and forcing it to a halt.
“Sis, you go keep an eye on them. I’ll head up the city walls to see what’s going on!”
“Alright.”
After Sun Zhixia got out of the car, Sun Zhichun quickly turned his vehicle around and drove back toward the city walls.
With such a major commotion, Su Su and Pang Cancan found themselves forcibly detained in the middle of the main street. Ability users surrounded them from all sides, sealing off every exit, while above them, the half-bald giant eagle hovered menacingly.
A moment ago, they had merely been monitored—now, they were completely trapped.
Pang Cancan was livid. She flung open the car door, ready to demand an explanation. “What’s the meaning of this? You already agreed to let us through, and now you’re going back on your word?”
No one answered her, but neither did anyone retreat. Instead, they maintained their vigilant stance, completely sealing off the off-road vehicle in an impenetrable circle.
“Hey!” Pang Cancan, furious, rolled up her sleeves. “You want to fight again, is that it? Come on then! Who’s afraid of who?”
“We don’t want to fight.”
Sun Zhixia stepped forward, pushing past the crowd. Her gaze was sharp and unwelcoming as she looked at Pang Cancan. “But you came with ill intentions, and we were foolish enough to believe your lies!”
By this time, Su Su had also gotten out of the car. “What lies?”
The vehicles earlier had been too far away for them to hear any reports. All they had caught were distant shouts of “Brother Zhichun” and “Sister Zhixia.”
“Another convoy of dozens of vehicles just arrived outside. They’re also claiming they want to pass through!”
As soon as those words fell, Su Su and Pang Cancan exchanged shocked glances.
How could that be such a coincidence?
They had come here purely because their route had deviated too much, making it difficult to turn back or switch paths.
How could there suddenly be another group tailing right behind them, arriving at this remote coastal city?
Su Su frowned slightly. “Do they have any distinguishing features?”
But to Sun Zhixia, this question was pure pretense.
“Don’t act like you don’t know!” she snapped. “You’ve been working with them from the start! You’re trying to coordinate an inside-outside ambush!”
As soon as she said this, the atmosphere instantly turned dangerously tense, on the verge of breaking into conflict.
Pang Cancan was in utter disbelief. “There are only two of us and a snake in our team—how could we possibly be working with them?”
“And to put it bluntly, what does your little base even have that’s worth us scheming over?!”
A coastal city they had assumed to be long overrun, where they thought passing through would be effortless—who would have expected so many complications? If their strength had been even slightly weaker, they would have already been torn to bloody shreds in midair by that eagle!
Pang Cancan had reached her breaking point.
“If you really want an explanation, then let’s reason this out!”
“Do you own all the roads in this country? Sure, it’s understandable that you’re cautious, but weren’t we negotiating properly from the start?”
“You were the ones who attacked us the moment things didn’t go your way. When we fought back, only then were you willing to compromise. And now, here we are again, trapped by you, accused of colluding with some other group to take over your base. Do you even hear how ridiculous that sounds?”
Sun Zhixia listened with a stiff face, her tone just as hard when she replied, “That convoy is already blocked outside the base. Say whatever you want—this absolutely isn’t a coincidence.”
Pang Cancan was about to argue further when Su Su suddenly pulled her back, her expression grave as she looked at Sun Zhixia. “I know you’re suspicious of us, but I still need to ask—what are the distinguishing features of the convoy outside?”
Maybe it was Su Su’s serious demeanor that made them hesitate, or maybe her appearance earned her some goodwill. Either way, one of the ability users hesitated before answering in a low voice, “The lead vehicle is also an off-road car, followed by a mix of business vans, buses, and small trucks—it’s a huge convoy.”
Hearing this, Su Su’s heart sank.
She turned to look at Pang Cancan, who was equally speechless.
They had seen this convoy just a few days ago. In fact, they had even rejected their offer to trade for a map.
But that convoy had clearly left first. So why were they now trailing behind them?
Could it be that they were secretly following their route?
If that was the case… then this base wasn’t wrong in suspecting them. The convoy outside had indeed been drawn here because of them.
For a moment, guilt flooded Pang Cancan’s heart.
“Sister…” She opened her mouth, speaking with difficulty. “Should I go out and help you drive them away?”
Sun Zhixia’s expression turned ice cold. “You’re not going anywhere!”
She was treating them as accomplices—choosing to keep them locked down rather than risk them slipping away.
Su Su’s gaze shifted toward the distant city wall.
They hadn’t driven far, so they could still vaguely see the outline of the wall from where they stood.
In the sky above it, colorful bursts of ability energy exploded.
Clearly, the people outside and inside the base had already engaged in battle.
Su Su took a deep breath and took two steps forward. At once, the surrounding ability users tensed, unleashing their abilities, ready to attack at the slightest provocation.
She exhaled sharply and spoke earnestly, “On our way north, we ran into that convoy. They didn’t have a map, so maybe they followed us to find a route. That was our mistake. If you’re still willing to trust us, we’ll help you drive them away.”
However, Sun Zhixia only heard the crucial part of her statement. Her expression changed dramatically.
“So you are working together!”
Pang Cancan raised four fingers. “I swear, we are absolutely not with them!”
But such a casual oath wasn’t enough to convince anyone.
All the ability users’ expressions turned increasingly hostile.
As the standoff dragged on, a sudden, piercing wail echoed from the city wall.
Sun Zhixia quickly turned her head, just in time to see a bird of prey cleaved in half by a razor-sharp wind blade.
The Eagle King circling above let out a furious, grief-stricken cry!
It wheeled around and dove toward the city wall at full speed.
Sun Zhixia did not stop it—she was already drowning in sheer panic!
That wind blade—! A Tier 6 ability!
Her younger brother, who was guarding the city wall—!
Just as she was about to climb into her car, a slender hand suddenly gripped her arm tightly.
Sun Zhixia violently shook her arm free and turned her head with an aggressive glare—only to meet a pair of calm, pitch-black eyes.
“That’s a Tier 6 ability user. Even if you rush over, you won’t be able to handle them.” Su Su did her best to appear as sincere as possible—the most sincere she had ever been in her life. “If we go together, at least there’s a slim chance.”
She didn’t know what this base had been through to make them so deeply distrust outsiders.
Of course, in this extreme situation, she and Cancan could have simply charged to the city wall and proved their innocence through action.
But Su Su still hoped to avoid an outright conflict if possible.
She tightened her grip on Sun Zhixia’s hand and declared with certainty, “We have three Tier 5s on our side. With you and your brother, even a Tier 6 ability user won’t be unbeatable!”