Lin Sanjiu looked up in shock at the figure of a person standing on the second floor of the building nearby. Seeing the person's large, fluffy beard, she sighed in relief.
During that confusion, she couldn't hear that person clearly but found the voice very familiar, so she was surprised. However, when she looked properly, she saw a man packed with bulky muscles and popping veins from head to toe. Staring at her with his large, fierce eyes, he looked like an outlaw who had just walked out from Water Margin.
"You ladies down below, let my bro go!" the burly man roared.
Since they viewed them as enemies, Lin Sanjiu's expression turned cold, and she grabbed the back of Green Melon's neck, pulled him from the ground, and lifted him directly. Even though Green Melon was almost the same height as Lin Sanjiu, she suddenly strangled him. He couldn't breathe as his feet dangled above the ground.
At the same time, the ground gradually stopped shaking. Hui Chuyan quickly rushed toward Lin Sanjiu. Meanwhile, another head peeked from the second floor. It was an average young man with a forgettable appearance. He observed the situation and spoke carefully, "Let Little Melon go, and we will return the three people to you."
From the sound of his voice, he was the first person to respond previously, Error 517.
"You need to prove to me that they're still alive first," Lin Sanjiu said icily.
Considering the circumstances, her companions were buried alive; if so, how long more could they last underground? Lin Sanjiu didn't dare to waste a single second.
Despite his beefy image, the muscular man was clever. He spat, "Do you think we're idiots? What can we do if you stab Little Melon to death once your companions are free?"
'That means they are still in the same place.' Hui Chuyan instantly caught this detail; she exchanged glances with Lin Sanjiu and gasped quietly. She ran to where the people had fallen and started to dig as if her life depended on it. With her posthuman strength, a large hole appeared in a few minutes. However, no matter how deep the hole was, she didn't see a single strand of hair.
"It's useless... Unless Brother Little Snow lets them go, you guys won't be able to dig them out," Green Melon said with a hoarse voice once he managed to snatch a breath.
'Little Snow, is that the bearded man?' Lin Sanjiu thought.
"If you expect me to let him go first, that will never happen," Lin Sanjiu calmed herself down and looked up, shouting, "Come down! We'll exchange our hostages at the same time!"
This was something that both sides could reluctantly compromise on. Error 517 and Little Snow exchanged looks and finally walked down from the building. When both men were over ten meters away from the women, they stopped.
"When you let my brother walk to that stone, I will break the ground and release your people." Upon a closer look, the burly, bearded man looked even larger. He stood like a tower, casting a huge shadow. "This should be fair enough!"
"Chuyan, keep your eyes on the ground," Lin Sanjiu ordered while she stared hard at the two men before her, "I will let the teenager go now, so you can go get our companions from the ground."
After she said that, she pushed Green Melon forward. He staggered, finally regaining his freedom. As he sprinted away from them with large strides, Hui Chuyan yelled to Lin Sanjiu, "Ah, the ground opened!"
Lin Sanjiu felt a large burden off her shoulders, but she did not dare to lower her guard. She held the card tightly and slowly retreated a few steps backward. She saw the same three holes as before. When the man released the hostages from the ground, there was certainly less ground activity. The black soil and rotten vegetation shifted downward, revealing three heads.
Xueqin's natural hair color was different from the two others. The hole revealed two heads with black hair and one with a bead of brown hair. They were probably Bai Xiaoke and the others.
"You didn't have to do that," seeing that she could rescue her companions soon, Lin Sanjiu's tone relaxed slightly. She was still a little angry that these people were so untactful, but she suppressed her anger and said, "I already told you, I don't intend to hurt any of you. I just want to see Yo Daddy—"
Before she could finish her sentence, she heard Hui Chuyan's alarmed cry. A sudden attack from behind followed. As Lin Sanjiu did not let down her guard fully, this immediately put her on full alert. With a swoosh, she threw her body away from the trajectory of the sneak attack.
'Where is the enemy?' Just as this thought surfaced in Lin Sanjiu's head, she twisted her body to look at the three holes in the ground. She immediately comprehended the situation. Within the three holes were two black-haired women she didn't know. They had activated their ability and were now surrounding Hui Chuyan. At the same time, the brown fluff that Lin Sanjiu mistook for Xueqin now became a small furry ball heading toward her at high speed.
Lin Sanjiu suddenly stopped her retaliation and pulled back her arm. She froze and stared with her mouth wide open. When the brown furry ball was about to hit her face, it suddenly changed direction. It fell to the ground with a thud and reverted to its original form.
Lin Sanjiu stared wide-eyed at the twitching pair of long ears. Her heart pounded, "B. Ra... B. Rabbit!
The little furry ball was indeed B. Rabbit.
B. Rabbit's fur seemed silkier than before. He still had the same goth outfit, but the tiny pink carrots on his body had disappeared.
He stared at Lin Sanjiu with the same disbelief. It took some time before he suddenly said, "Xiao Jiu!"
Green Melon and the others were stunned by his words. As if remembering something, B. Rabbit turned around and shouted, "Stop fighting! These are our people. You better stop!"
The two black-haired women suddenly jumped out of the hole. Their movements and physiques were the same. When they stood still, Lin Sanjiu and Hui Chuyan realized that they were twins with ear-length hair.
As if he could not believe his eyes, B. Rabbit took two steps forward and sniffed Lin Sanjiu. He quickly leaped on her pants and climbed up to her shoulders. He shook his fur and exclaimed, "It's you..."
Lin Sanjiu suddenly realized why "meeting an old friend in a foreign land" is considered one of the "Four Joys of Life" [1]. Even though she tried her best to look for her companions, she knew deep down that the probability was very small. Yet, among the countless universes, she reunited with B. Rabbit. This was a gift from God!
Lin Sanjiu let out a soft sob, and her eyes felt a little moist. She held B. Rabbit by its ears and scolded him angrily, "So, you're their boss! You even call yourself 'Yo Daddy' so that people will call you Daddy! How would I know it was you, you Henan Rabbit?"
B. Rabbit immediately struggled in midair. "My underlings are still watching, so let go."
The pair had many questions for each other. After a very quick, messy exchange of words, they finally realized they could enter the building to continue their conversation. The burly man quickly understood the situation; he opened another hole and returned Xueqin and Bai Xiaoke. The people fighting with each other seconds before looked at each other blankly. Like actors caught in a scene that changed too quickly, they could still not get into their roles.
"Xiao Jiu, let me give you an introduction," B. Rabbit said after inviting the women into the elementary school. He ignored his underlings' pale faces as he patted them each excitedly with his paw. "This is my army! My rabbit charms have bowled them over! How's that? I'm pretty cool, right?"
Other than Green Melon, each of them quickly introduced themselves. The twin sisters were called Metaphysics and Empiricism, respectively. Supposedly, their parents drew their names together, so at least their names seemed related. The name that made them brood the most was the burly bearded man's name; he was called Springsakura Snow.
"No one else has had this name before?" Xueqin said in disbelief. "It's such a waste..."
Springsakura Snow was also very dissatisfied with his name. He pretended he didn't hear Xueqin and focused on B. Rabbit and Lin Sanjiu, standing before him. Then he turned back to look at Error 517 now and then before sighing. "Boss speaks with such an imposing aura. I tried but just can't imitate it."
While the eight people behind them chatted, Lin Sanjiu couldn't resist blurting out the question that had been on her mind for a long time, "Where are Hai Tianqing and Hu Changzai? Did they come with you?"
-
[1] A famous saying from a Chinese poem