Mutual Calculation

"Rustle, rustle..."

Ye Feng twisted his body, trying to adjust his position so he could lean against the wall and stand up. Even though the handcuffs on his wrists could be unlocked with a master key, the ropes coiled tightly around his waist were impossible to break free from. That left him with only one option...

To use the jagged rocks in the cave, relying on their sharp edges to cut through the ropes binding him.

With this plan in mind, Ye Feng wasted no time putting it into action. If he didn’t act now, Xie Yuyan would return soon, and once she did, no amount of tools would help him escape her grasp.

After some fumbling, Ye Feng finally found a relatively smooth section of the cave wall. Sticking to the principle of saving his trump card for later, he didn’t immediately use the master key. Instead, he focused on rubbing the sturdy ropes against the rock to fray them.

"Scratch, scratch..."

As his strength gradually returned, Ye Feng put more force into cutting the ropes. Finally, the thick hemp cords snapped under the sharp rock, and with one last effort, he collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.

"Haah... Hah... Haah..."

Finally... finally, he’d done it! But this was only the first step. He couldn’t afford to relax just yet.

Taking a few steady breaths to clear his lungs, Ye Feng turned his attention to the solid shackles still locked around his wrists.

"Clink."

With a metallic clatter, the shackles fell to the ground. Ye Feng scanned his surroundings, his gaze hardening with determination.

Good! So far, so good. There were no unusual movements outside the cave. All he needed to do now was disable the alarm at the entrance, and he’d be free.

But... how was he supposed to deactivate it?

As Ye Feng pondered this, a memory surfaced—a reward from a past mission, something called an "electronic jammer."

"That’s it!"

The words burst from his lips before he could stop them. Without hesitation, he summoned the signal jammer from his system interface.

A small black box materialized in his hand. He examined it closely, noting its cube-like shape and the thirty-minute countdown displayed on one side.

Realizing that the timer had started the moment he took hold of the jammer, Ye Feng understood—he now had only thirty minutes to escape.

"I have to hurry. Thirty minutes should be enough."

Just as he muttered this to himself, the infrared detector at the cave entrance flickered and went silent, as if deactivated.

"The jammer’s working. Time to take the healing pill and get out of here."

But the moment a golden pill appeared in his palm, a sharp, crackling noise erupted from his chest.

"Huh? Wh-what was that?!"

Before he could even step out of the cave, Ye Feng clearly heard the piercing buzz of electricity coming from his own chest. A jolt of current surged through him, startling him so much that he nearly dropped the pill.

"What the hell is this?! Why is there an electric sound coming from my chest?!"

Following the stinging pain, Ye Feng looked down and spotted a faint scar on his chest—one so subtle he wouldn’t have noticed it if not for the sudden shock.

"This... this is a wound?! When did I get hurt here? And it looks like it’s already healing, meaning it’s been here for a while... but I never felt anything before..."

The unexpected electric interference threw his carefully laid plans into chaos. A growing sense of unease told him that if he didn’t figure out what was happening with his chest, it could jeopardize his entire escape.

What now? The jammer was already active—he couldn’t stay in the cave. If he wanted to investigate this, he’d have to find a safer place first. For now, he had to leave.

Gripping the black box tightly, Ye Feng hurried out of the cave and made his way down the mountain...

"L-Lady! Something’s happened!"

Just as Li Mucheng and Su Yuxin were following the trail of blood up the mountain, a scout rushed toward them in a panic.

"What is it?"

Li Mucheng kept her voice steady, though the tension in her furrowed brows betrayed her concern—any unexpected development was bad news right now.

The scout gasped for breath. "Our team was scouting ahead when suddenly, a black figure darted through the woods. Before we could react, huge boulders came crashing down out of nowhere! They’ve completely blocked the path up the mountain. Thankfully, no one was hurt."

"Xie Yuyan knows the terrain this well?"

Listening to the report, Li Mucheng grew more convinced that Ye Feng was somewhere on this mountain. Xie Yuyan’s desperate measures only proved she was running out of options.

"Yuxin, has Xie Yuyan ever been to this mountain before?"

She turned to Su Yuxin, whose face had gone pale with worry.

"Huh? N-no! Xie Yuyan has never come here! Ever since she fled to me, she’s been hiding in the basement."

"Then she must’ve just prepared some countermeasures. But if she’s doing this, it means she doesn’t plan to stay and fight. This could be a diversion!"

"A diversion?"

Su Yuxin caught on quickly, her expression shifting as she considered the possibility.

"Mu Cheng, are you saying Xie Yuyan is using the rocks to make us think she’s making a last stand at the summit, when really, she’s trying to sneak Ye Feng out from another route?"

"Exactly. Given her actions, that’s the most likely scenario. After all, moving alone with the professor wouldn’t be easy for her."

"Then I’ll send people to cut her off on the other side!"

"No—Yuxin, wait. There’s another way."