Someone wanted to object to this arrangement, but was stopped by a look from Lin Beichen.
"After all, a trench is a mercenary leader, they're bound to be better than you.
Besides, we can't rescue people for free."
Upon saying this, Lin Beichen turned to Dr. Zhou, "No offense meant to you." Dr. Zhou slightly twitched his mouth to indicate understanding.
Following that, Lin Beichen took out a Talisman Paper and a brush from thin air and began drawing a talisman to track the position of that team leader.
Once the talisman was finished, he shouted softly, "Which of the kidnappers participating in Dr. Zhou's abduction have I not encountered yet—"
The talisman floated into the air, shook twice, then flew in one direction. Lin Beichen swiftly pursued it along with Xia Luyao and the trench, while Flying Eagle and others followed Lin Beichen's instructions to meet up with Barney.
During the tracking process, Lin Beichen couldn't help but sigh inwardly, hoping things wouldn't be as complicated as he imagined. Meanwhile, Xia Luyao silently recited in her heart, "I'm definitely not falling for him..."
Suddenly, a gunshot shattered the jungle's silence, but Xia Luyao was prepared and rolled to dodge the bullet. She shouted gracefully, "Your clumsy ambush tactics are so obvious, I don't even need to be serious to spot them!"
However, the ambusher in the tree fired again, and Xia Luyao narrowly bowed her head to dodge a disaster. Lin Beichen calmly drew his gun to retaliate, swiftly dealing with the ambusher in the bushes, but the enemy in the tree cleverly escaped. Lin Beichen's expression completely darkened, realizing this mission wasn't as simple as he imagined.
The trench and Xia Luyao showed puzzled expressions, and Lin Beichen explained, "This mission has been too smooth; not a single ambush along the way, which makes me uneasy."
He began to cautiously search the surroundings, simultaneously reminding the trench and Xia Luyao to stay alert. Xia Luyao looked at the trench, who turned back to look at her with a puzzled expression, "If you don't trust me, why bring me along?" Xia Luyao had the same doubt, but she chose to trust Lin Beichen's judgment.
Lin Beichen started examining the defeated ambusher, hoping to find more clues.
He parted the bushes, cautiously observing the surroundings, while letting the Defensive Talisman float nearby to protect himself.
He began inspecting the deceased's clothing and body, hoping to find some useful information to unravel this mystery.
Throughout the process, the three maintained a high level of alertness and coordinated teamwork, facing unknown dangers fearlessly.
Xia Luyao wasn't sure if Lin Beichen was interested in men, although the possibility existed, his seriousness and reliability during the mission made her deeply convinced.
"Captain, look." Lin Beichen's gaze fell on the person's exceptionally developed muscles, "This person is clearly in a different league than the one who escaped earlier."
Xia Luyao recalled the two well-timed gunshots, coupled with Lin Beichen's observations, feeling tense inside, "You mean?"
Lin Beichen stretched his muscles, expression serious, "I suspect this is a trap targeting everyone rescuing Dr. Zhou."
"A group capable of kidnapping someone from China, why are they so lax in guarding? Why do they seem so foolish in dealing with us?" He asked again and again, brows furrowed, "Moreover, why kidnap Dr. Zhou and keep him there? We arrived two days late, yet they haven't conducted any exchanges, what's going on?"
Listening to Lin Beichen's analysis, Xia Luyao's unease grew stronger, "We must immediately find Flying Eagle and Barney."
Seeing Xia Luyao's anxious expression, Lin Beichen smiled slightly, "Don't worry, I already have a countermeasure." His gaze turned sharp, "Regardless of their purpose, now that they've encountered me, their plan is doomed to fail."
A hint of admiration flashed in Xia Luyao's eyes, though she quickly hid it, Lin Beichen still caught it keenly.
"I didn't expect your reasoning to be so strong." She sincerely praised.
Lin Beichen felt a bit embarrassed and scratched his head, "Actually, I just did a divination and found things weren't simple." Mentioning Divination and Daoist Art, just finished with China's cultural course, deepened the trench's reverence and curiosity toward Daoist Art.
"Now, let's see what these people intend to do." Lin Beichen said while drawing another Tracking Talisman. They set out again, but this time, everyone wore an expression of caution and seriousness, their pace inevitably slowing.
Meanwhile, Wild Ox was complaining, "Why would he rather bring the trench and not me? Does he trust the trench that much? What's the use of personal strength without collaboration?" The old Daoist consoled him, mentioning Lin Beichen's bizarre deeds, Dr. Zhou listened with a twitching mouth, gaining deeper admiration for the team's combat power.
Thunder didn't join his companions' quarrel, exhausted from travel, while Flame remained alert, hand never leaving the Talisman Paper. Knowing Lin Beichen's warning was no hollow threat.
Suddenly, a team appeared before them. Flame scanned the area, realizing it was where they'd been intercepted earlier.
Fortunately, there were no hiding spots nearby. But when they prepared for defense, a Yellow Talisman swayed in the sky, the enemy's bullets unable to advance.
It was their third time seeing such a scene, Dr. Zhou took a deep breath, feeling shaken in his faith in science.
Just as they felt relieved, Flame recalled the warning in the Sound Transmission Talisman, threw an identical talisman behind him, seeing a bullet suspended in mid-air.
Flying Eagle turned around, pupils constricted. If this bullet had landed, it would have hit him.
While everyone felt anxious about the sniper on the opposite side, a sudden loud bang echoed. Under everyone's gaze, the building exploded.
It turned out Lin Beichen hadn't told the whole truth for some reason, his divination was actually negative.
Thus, he proposed an absurd answer: the mercenaries hunting rescue doctor might have a sniper. Despite this, they weren't distracted by the subsequent explosion but swiftly counterattacked those people.
At this moment, a thought arose among them: they're a mercenary group randomly assigned by the nation; it's unlikely enemies would plan to kill them, but Barney and his team aren't spared.
Now, as a daredevil team, one wounded soldier was probably unaware danger had arrived! Or perhaps they had already begun facing the threat.
Seeing about ten people in front of him, Barney's expression turned gloomy.
Both sides had been locked in a standoff for a long time. Although Barney felt confident facing any enemy alone, their number was an advantage, and they had to protect an injured comrade, leaving them in a predicament.
But at that moment, someone in the enemy crowd seemed to receive a message, suddenly firing, and Barney's team realized that person was the leader. As an experienced mercenary, Barney swiftly awarded the attacker a bullet, a flash of red light — headshot! A fierce battle erupted!
After intense fighting, Barney lay on the ground panting, his arm pierced by two bullets while the shock on his bulletproof vest left him feeling numb. Those around him, like Christmas, were also in poor condition; some even worse than Barney. Billy, recently injured but unaffected by the battle, was in the best state.
If Lin Beichen were present, he'd surely sense something wrong: clearly designed against Barney's team, why'd they leave a chance for survival?