Bai Youwei had been taken captive by Ye Chong and dragged all the way to the northern forest.

Her body was bound with rope, her hands pressed flat against her back—the Predator Key left her unable to mount any attack. It was only the hierarchy of the food chain that had stopped Ye Chong from harming her further.

Behind her, thick smoke billowed from the southern forest as the fire slowly spread. Bai Youwei hoped that Yu Chaohui and A’Long were unharmed—and that they wouldn’t come to rescue her. Better for them to be clever about it: first get Tan Xiao and Shen Mo out of the trap and somewhere safe…

They crossed the wide open meadow, and Ye Chong brought Bai Youwei into the northern forest.

The forest was dense, its massive roots coiling and tangling across the ground. Bai Youwei stumbled, and he yanked her along by the rope. She asked, “Where are you taking me?”

Ye Chong glanced back and gave her a cold smile. “…To the trap, of course.”

A bear could not prey upon an elephant. For now, the only way to eliminate Bai Youwei was to send her into a trap.

Bai Youwei smiled with contempt and followed behind him, walking slowly forward.

They passed through the trees, through the undergrowth, through vast stretches of meadow blooming with flowers. Bai Youwei stopped and asked, “Aren’t you tired?”

Ye Chong had been pushing himself the whole time. His knees were going soft, his pace growing slower and slower. The moment Bai Youwei abruptly stopped, the rope he was holding snapped taut, nearly sending him sprawling.

Then Bai Youwei gave the rope a sharp tug—and Ye Chong truly did fall.

“Can you still stand…?” Bai Youwei walked slowly to his side. The rope between them grew shorter and shorter, and for a moment it was impossible to tell who, exactly, had captured whom.

Ye Chong could feel his strength draining away rapidly. Though he had felt this way throughout the past few days, no moment had ever been as intense as this one.

He should have been able to get up. It was just that his body was so exhausted—every cell crying out for rest, urging him to lie down a little longer, to take a break, and then rise again… Even his eyelids kept falling shut, and he had to force them open with great effort. It was agony.

Ye Chong turned over and found that the rope had slipped from his grip. Bai Youwei stood before him, hands still bound behind her back, smiling brightly, not looking disheveled in the least.

“What did you do?” Ye Chong stared at her, realizing he had perhaps fallen into another “scheme”—but he couldn’t figure out when it had happened…

“Could it be… that you swapped out the food from the drone?” he asked.

“Nope~” Bai Youwei looked down at him with a smile. “I was lying to you. The food from the drone was just ordinary food.”

“Then why…” Ye Chong struggled, trying to push himself up.

Bai Youwei planted one foot on his right hand, the corner of her mouth curling. “Oh~ You want your gloves? Not a chance!”

She stomped on the other hand too, grinding down hard!

“Why else?” She glared at him with cold menace, pressing her foot down with force. “Because those damned white gloves forced me to take a risk and use a tool I absolutely did not want to use—scattering flower seeds throughout the northern forest… Haven’t you noticed? The northern forest has particularly beautiful scenery. Look at all these flowers—aren’t they lovely…”

【Improved Flower Seeds: Upon contact with the ground, they grow into a sea of flowers within 8 hours, regardless of season or environment, with a bloom period of 24 hours. If life force is absorbed, the bloom period can be extended indefinitely.】

“Do you have any idea how troublesome it was?” Bai Youwei furrowed her brow in frustration. “The bloom period depends on the life force absorbed. The forest is so vast—in places no one passes through, the flowers wither quickly. That would have made you suspicious, so I had no choice but to adjust the sowing range every night, making the flowers grow along your necessary paths without being too obvious!”

“That’s impossible…” Ye Chong gasped, his breathing failing. “I had people patrol every night… every night. There’s no way you could have had an opportunity to sow seeds…”

“I have my methods, of course.” Bai Youwei bent down, staring into Ye Chong’s face as death crept over it. Her eyes—dark as black gemstones—glinted with light. “I’ve said enough. Now… would you kindly go ahead and die?”

—