After Picking Up the Rival Boss, It Smells Really Good - Chapter 18

Ellis hurried through the passageway, his steps somewhat disordered, likely due to his haste.

Two thugs happened to be patrolling the area and saw Ellis almost jogging toward them: “Ellis! What’s the rush? Is a ghost chasing you?”

“Shut up.” Ellis quickly cut them off. “Where’s the person we just locked up?”

“Huh?” One of the thugs scratched his head. “He must still be inside.”

“Take me there immediately.” Ellis said in a low voice.

“Oh, right away.”

The group arrived before a heavy wooden door. Though made of wood, the door was exceptionally sturdy, secured by an enormous padlock that remained completely intact.

“See? I told you everything was fine. This lock has never failed,” the thug said with a relieved sigh as he began unlocking it. The massive steel key turned in the heavy lock, and the large wooden door creaked open as it was pushed inward.

All three of them peered into the room behind the door.

There was nothing there.

“Where is he?” The thug couldn’t believe his eyes.

The lock hadn’t been tampered with, how did he get out? Ellis fell into deep thought.

“You, go inside and check,” Ellis ordered one of the thugs.

The thug tightened his grip on the key, swallowed hard, and stepped inside.

The room was surrounded by bare gray walls, without even a skylight to let in a sliver of light. Almost no obstacles obstructed the space, and clearly, there was no trace of anyone.

The thug turned back with a puzzled look, exchanging a glance with Ellis. The air froze for a moment before Ellis and the thug suddenly looked up at the ceiling simultaneously.

Still, nothing but emptiness.

Ellis released the dagger at his waist, waiting for the thug to come out. “The lock isn’t broken, and there’s no exit in the room. Could he have mastered bone-shrinking techniques?”

He stared intently at the two thugs, and his eyes fell on the key ring in their hands. Suddenly, he asked, “Don’t you usually hang your keys on your right belt?”

The questioned thug froze for a moment upon hearing this he had indeed taken the key from his left side earlier.

“Huh? Maybe, or maybe I just hung it randomly today.”

“No, Lao San,” the other thug widened his eyes. “You hung it on the right this morning too!”

“Really? Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

Ellis pondered. “Were both of you together just now?”

“Yes!” they answered in unison.

“There’s only one possibility,” Ellis paused, his voice trembling slightly when he spoke again. “You’ve been controlled by the Mental Sea.”

For most people, a high-level Mental Sea can directly suppress those of lower levels or ordinary individuals. Excessive mental strain can overwhelm their own spirits, causing them to fall unconscious.

However, there are rumors that if one can achieve extreme control over the Mental Sea, it’s possible to cause a momentary stagnation in the Mental Sea of lower-level individuals.

If the former is like turbulent seawater violently breaching another’s mental defenses, the latter is like an even more immense and terrifying Mental Sea completely enveloping the opponent’s, skillfully stilling the surging waves and turning the sea into stagnant water.

Stagnation of the Mental Sea results in a momentary mental blankness for the affected person.

For them, it was as if time had stopped but only they were frozen, while everyone else could move normally. At this moment, they could only resign themselves to their fate.

Such a terrifying ability was almost supernatural in this era. For the vast majority of people, this kind of phenomenon existed only in legends.

But how many could actually achieve it remained unknown.

“H-How is this possible?” Despite the cool weather, the thug holding the keys felt a drop of sweat trickle down his cheek.

“Should we report this to the boss immediately?” another thug reacted.

“No!” Ellis quickly stopped them. “If Caberry finds out about this, he won’t spare us! Besides, our base is full of traps there’s no way he can escape alone! You two stay here. I’ll go catch him myself!”

“Uh… alright.”

After speaking, Ellis turned and left. No one noticed him secretly clenching his fist.

Perhaps this was an opportunity one he had been waiting for a long time.

Lu Lian effortlessly escaped from the detention room and was now walking through the base as if no one was around. But he soon realized a problem: he seemed to be going in circles.

He frowned. He had to admit that old fox Caberry had some tricks up his sleeve. Whether it was biotechnology or mechanical traps, he handled them perfectly.

That was also why he had managed to evade capture since the experiment.

It would be easier to just grab two people and ask for directions.

Lu Lian somewhat regretted not tying up those two thugs earlier to force them to show him the way.

Footsteps approached.

Lu Lian quickly hid to the side. Ellis hurried over, gripping a dagger tightly, clearly searching for something dangerous.

“The dangerous thing,” Lu Lian observed quietly for a moment. Ellis was heading in his direction. As the distance between them narrowed, they ended up separated only by a wooden container. The moment Ellis turned his head, Lu Lian abruptly reached out, moving too fast for Ellis to react. One hand clamped around his neck, while the other twisted his arms behind his back.

The knife in Ellis’s hand fell to the ground like a toy.

“Hey, handsome.” Choked, Ellis swallowed hard and spoke in a strained voice, “Don’t be so hasty. I know what you want.”

Lu Lian gave him a cold glance.

“I preferred the gentle version of you,” Ellis said, appearing much more vulnerable now. “I like gentlemen, so I’m willing to show you the way.”

“I can always find a more valuable hostage.”

“Alright,” Ellis added, “I’m definitely the most valuable one.”

“I know where the Red Apple Serum is.”

The heavy wooden door was kicked open with a violent crash. Lu Lian strode inside without hesitation. Ellis glanced at him and said, “Aren’t you afraid there might be traps? Caberry is an expert at setting them.”

Lu Lian scanned the room as he walked. “Caberry wouldn’t set any traps in his own room. He probably never told you his eyes were blinded by one of his own mechanisms.”

“Is that so?” Ellis replied. “Of course he wouldn’t tell me. I’m just a tool to him.”

“So you should believe in my sincerity. As long as you can completely eliminate Caberry, I will help you obtain the Red Apple Potion.”

Lu Lian naturally wouldn’t take his words to heart. Clearly, Ellis held a grudge against Caberry, but at the same time, Caberry had leverage over him, forcing him to eliminate his enemy through a proxy. If the situation reversed, he could just as easily betray Lu Lian.

“He’s been staying here these past few days. There’s a safe under the bed in the bottom right corner. He hasn’t told us what’s inside, but I can guess. it’s what you’re looking for.”

Lu Lian glanced over and signaled for Ellis to go lift the bedding.

“Alright, alright.” Ellis pursed his lips and walked over, yanking aside the floor-length bedsheet. Under the bed was empty, covered in dust, except for a distinct square area in the bottom right corner where the dust was noticeably lighter, as if something had been placed there.

It was clear that something had indeed been stored there, but it had since been removed.

“See, I didn’t lie to you. But it seems the old man took off with the thing ahead of time. Damn it, how did he find out?”

Lu Lian remained noncommittal. He scanned the room, then stepped forward and touched the leather chair it was still warm, indicating Caberry had left not long ago.

“Is there another way out of here?” Lu Lian asked.

“There is.” Ellis paused before continuing, “Follow me.”

He walked to the innermost part of the room and moved aside an antique vase, revealing a brand-new passageway. “Go through here.”

Lu Lian glanced at him.

Ellis waved his hand dismissively. “Fine, I’ll go first.”

Upon entering, it became apparent that the passage had numerous branching paths, clearly connecting to various parts of the base.

The fact that Ellis knew about this passage indicated he was likely one of Caberry’s trusted aides. Yet, his dislike for Caberry was genuine, when he thought Lu Lian was unconscious, his grievances had been overheard plainly. Ironically, this now became his bargaining chip to gain trust.

“Take this passage.” Ellis headed down the leftmost branch.

Lu Lian glanced at it and followed.

The moment Lu Lian stepped into the branching path, a heavy iron gate slammed shut behind them. Almost simultaneously, Ellis and Lu Lian both sprang into action!

Ellis, clearly prepared, tried to make a quick escape, but in an instant, Lu Lian’s Mental Sea surged forward. The agony of enduring the Mental Sea caused Ellis to freeze for a split second, and in that moment, Lu Lian closed the distance, grabbed him by the collar, and hurled him forcefully.

Thud! Ellis slammed into the wall.

“Hah… impressive.” Ellis spat out a mouthful of blood. “But can you handle the traps?”

The next second, the floor beneath them shifted, abruptly splitting open into a massive gap. Lu Lian reacted swiftly, driving his dagger into the wall and barely managing to hang on. But then, the wall itself began to tilt.

Lu Lian clung tightly to the dagger. Below him yawned a chasm, and the sound of grinding gears echoed unmistakably falling would mean being crushed to pulp. He glanced at Ellis, who was struggling on the opposite wall, clearly in no better shape than he was.

Suddenly, a massive steel pipe came rolling from the other side of the wall, its thunderous sound chilling to the bone. Everything in its path was flattened, and the two men stood frozen, unable to move, forced to watch helplessly as the pipe rolled toward them.

Ellis clung desperately to the wall, already envisioning the outcome mere seconds away. He recalled the moment under the bed, searching for the safe, when the hidden micro-camera transmitted Caberry’s voice.

“Ellis, you’ve grown bold. But your brother hasn’t.”

“…”

“He’s in my hands. Lure Lu Lian over. You know what to do.”

Even in death, it seemed, he could never escape this person’s control.

Ellis closed his eyes.

Lu Lian gauged the distance from the wall to the safe floor a gap no ordinary person could leap. Yet, his expression remained calm as he pushed off the wall with his foot, loosened his grip on the dagger, and prepared to use the momentum to attempt the jump.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Three rapid, decisive gunshots rang out, striking three hidden joints on the steel pipe with precision. With a deafening crash, the pipe disintegrated and plummeted into the abyss.

“This mechanism is nothing special. If this welding were used on Weeds’ newly developed equipment, I’d never let it pass inspection,” Qin Gou remarked, holstering his gun and tossing a rope over, which Lu Lian caught firmly.

Lu Lian wrapped the rope twice around his wrist, tightened his grip, and swung across effortlessly.

Qin Gou pulled the rope taut with one hand and reached out with the other to steady Lu Lian.

Their hands clasped firmly together.

Qin Gou glanced at Lu Lian and suddenly asked, “Where’s that red-haired woman who’s got you so bewitched?”

Lu Lian: “…”

He turned to look.

Nearby, Ellis, still dangling in mid-air, froze like a statue.