The Beautiful Top Being Pursued Relentlessly [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 19

About half an hour had passed since Xie Cheng and Jiang Yi descended into the dried-up well to enter the Black Market. Looking out from the well’s opening, the sky remained a heavy, oppressive black, like a lightless net pressing down on the world.

Jiang Yi had a friend in the Black Market who ran a small stall. This friend was incredibly well-informed and went by the nickname “Little Link.”

Entering the main territory of the Black Market required a fee of ten crystal cores. Jiang Yi, prepared as always, handed them over briskly. Xie Cheng followed behind him, his puppy-patterned cotton hat pulled low. Combined with the matching puppy mask on his face, the features from the bounty poster were completely concealed.

As soon as the two unfamiliar faces passed the iron inspection gates, a wave of curious and malicious gazes rushed toward them. The stalls were filled with all sorts of chaotic items; Xie Cheng even spotted several boxes of “Size XXX” contraceptives among the wares. The surrounding noise was deafening, making Xie Cheng instinctively frown.

He tugged at the hem of Jiang Yi’s coat and leaned in, whispering, “What does your friend sell?”

“Pots.”

Jiang Yi loved being this close. He tilted his head toward Xie Cheng, intimately nuzzling against his shoulder.

“Mushrooms?”

Xie Cheng pondered. Although the post-apocalyptic world wasn’t suitable for most plants, fungi didn’t seem to be as affected.

“No, pots. Iron pots.”

Xie Cheng toyed with a puppy ear on his hat. “I heard you. Mushrooms. What kind of varieties does he have?”

Jiang Yi fell into a rare silence.

“What is it?” Xie Cheng asked.

“Pots. Made of iron. For cooking.”

Xie Cheng looked confused. “Sweet mushrooms?”

Jiang Yi’s gaze drifted up to that thick puppy hat for a few seconds. He raised his voice slightly. “No, Xie Cheng. The guy sells pots.”

Pots. Not mushrooms.

How bizarre, Xie Cheng thought. He shot Jiang Yi a look, thinking the man was being a bit dim for repeating the same word over and over. He picked up his pace toward the direction Jiang Yi had mentioned earlier.

“Did the Immortal not hear me clearly?” Jiang Yi stood there for a few seconds. “He doesn’t sell mushrooms. Does he want to eat mushrooms? But where on earth would I find mushrooms right now?”

Both of them were deeply preoccupied with their own thoughts.

Little Link’s stall was tucked away in a quiet corner. He wore the grey robes of a pre-apocalypse Taoist priest, leaning back against a cloth-covered wooden crate with his legs crossed, eyes closed as he rested.

Not many people passed through this area, but those who did came specifically for Little Link. They would either speak in cryptic riddles or simply drop off a small slip of paper. Selling pots was just a front; his primary business was selling sensitive intelligence from various bases.

Jiang Yi led Xie Cheng to a clean chair and walked over to Little Link, giving him a light slap to wake him up. “Wake up, brother. I need a small favor.”

“Who is it?!” Little Link shouted, snapping his eyes open. When he saw Jiang Yi’s cheeky face, he grit his teeth. “Why is it always you? Are you really that bored every single day?”

“I need your help.”

“With what?”

Jiang Yi pulled him up and shoved him into another chair. “First, tell me what interesting news is going around lately.”

“Old rules. One bag of crystal cores,” Little Link said, holding out his hand.

“I’m not going to stiff you. Talk first.”

Little Link didn’t quite trust Jiang Yi’s character. His eyes darted around and accidentally caught sight of Xie Cheng’s deep, slightly upturned eyes. He blurted out, “A beauty.”

Xie Cheng’s gaze focused—it was his usual flat, cold look, like a still pond that sent a shiver down one’s spine.

Beside him, Jiang Yi was also glaring fiercely. Little Link, being quick-witted, immediately slapped his own mouth. “What region’s news do you two want to hear?”

Xie Cheng tapped the table. “Rising Sun Base.”

“Rising Sun Base…” Little Link was of average height and build, a common-looking man, but his eyes were exceptionally sharp. He thought for a moment. “It’s been unstable lately.”

“What happened?”

Xie Cheng was familiar with the plot; he knew something would go wrong at Rising Sun Base around now. Likely, the protagonists’ relationship had hit a snag, and one of the lovers, feeling sorry for the lead, had caused a lot of trouble for the Protagonist Gong. If he remembered correctly, it involved a problem with food storage… which warehouse was it again?

“Rising Sun Base is about to change hands.”

“What?” Xie Cheng was slightly surprised.

He couldn’t even hold onto a warehouse and now his position is unstable? This Protagonist Gong is a bit useless.

“I don’t know the specifics. If you’re interested, why don’t you sneak in and see for yourselves?”

As soon as he said it, both men looked at him in unison. Little Link squeezed his fingers nervously. “Wait, why are you both looking at me?”

“We can’t get in. We need your help.”

“What? How could you not get in?”

Little Link suddenly remembered something. He jumped up as if his seat were on fire, swallowing hard. “I can’t. I won’t.  I’m afraid of dying. I don’t dare.”

He had almost forgotten—the man in front of him was the former squad leader of Rising Sun Base, now a wanted fugitive. Nothing good ever came from him.

Jiang Yi held up five fingers. “Five bags of crystal cores. We won’t involve you.”

“Even so”

Xie Cheng said flatly, “Ten bags.”

Little Link grit his teeth hard. “Deal!”

The sun rose quickly. In the time it took to sit and chat, several ability users in uniform arrived with guns. Xie Cheng and Jiang Yi were shoved into the back of a cargo truck.

The space was airtight and pitch-black. Their hands and feet were bound with thick ropes, and cloth gags were stuffed into their mouths before they were tossed into a corner. Soon, the truck began to rumble.

There were many other people in the truck. Xie Cheng scanned the room—men, women, old, and young. Most were ordinary people, though he could sense faint ability fluctuations from a few.

Once the guards left, Jiang Yi—who had been faking unconsciousness—used his core strength to sit up. He skillfully spat out the gag and began gnawing on the thick rope around his ankles.

“How does he handle things?!”

Jiang Yi was fuming, his mouth full of shredded rope fibers. He spat a few times and whispered, “When I get out of here, I’m definitely going to give him a piece of my mind.”

“Entering this way means the people at Rising Sun Base won’t look too closely into our identities,” Xie Cheng said calmly.

“That may be true, but he should have given us a heads-up! He called these people over without a word and they just snatched us onto the truck.”

Xie Cheng leaned against the wall. “He is indeed annoying.”

“What kind of truck is this, anyway?”

“A cargo truck.”

“I know it’s a cargo truck.”

Xie Cheng lowered his eyes. “I’m talking about the ‘cargo’ itself.”

The cargo.

People!

Jiang Yi’s scalp prickled. Hearing the soft whimpers of a child in the truck, he took a savage bite out of the rope and cursed through gritted teeth, “A bunch of lunatics.”

Xie Cheng gave a soft “mm” in response.

“So that means we’re going to be taken to that guy Ming’s lab soon.”

“I suspect there’s an even more hidden laboratory.”

“Ah.  I’m not familiar with that. What if we can’t find an exit?”

Jiang Yi resumed gnawing on the rope frantically. His words were muffled. “Xie Cheng… don’t be afraid. before we reach the lab. we’ll escape.  I’ll protect you.”

“No need. Just protect yourself.”

“I’m being serious.”

As he finished speaking, Jiang Yi snapped the rope with his teeth. He kicked his legs, and the rope fell to the floor. After freeing himself, he crawled over to Xie Cheng’s feet and began gnawing on the ropes around Xie Cheng’s ankles, huffing and puffing as he worked.

Xie Cheng watched the bobbing head for a moment, then exerted some force with his hands, snapping the thick ropes instantly.

Jiang Yi: “!”

“These are just ropes meant for ordinary people,” Xie Cheng said, freeing his feet the same way. He stood up elegantly and brushed the dust off his clothes.

A faint smile touched his lips. “Dummy.”

“Dummy Jiang Yi.”

Jiang Yi’s cheeks turned red. He stood up, snapping his own remaining ropes to mimic Xie Cheng, and tugged at his ears. “I was just in a hurry; I didn’t think of it. I’m not a dummy.”

“You looked pretty dumb to me.”

Jiang Yi puffed out his cheeks slightly and stepped close to Xie Cheng. He reached out and gently pinched Xie Cheng’s.  puppy mask. He nuzzled his head against Xie Cheng’s neck. “You’re so mean.”

“Hmm?”

“You didn’t say anything for so long. Mean Xie Cheng.”

Xie Cheng arched an eyebrow. “I didn’t want to interrupt when you were gnawing so diligently.”

“You have to compensate me.”

“Tell me how.”

“You still owe me a hug and a kiss. Since we’re going back, it has to be two hugs and two kisses”

Jiang Yi started counting on his fingers. With all his excuses added up, it had become ten hugs and ten kisses. He suddenly turned and wrapped his arms around Xie Cheng’s waist, planting a kiss on his cheek through the fuzzy mask.

“Now, I’ll take one in advance.”

“Don’t move, don’t look around! If you work well in there, your families will get plenty of crystal cores.”

The truck stopped in a clearing. A cold, blinding white light shone down from above. The ability users held guns, their voices heavy with intimidation.

This “cargo” didn’t have the strength to resist. The guards loaded them onto gurneys that looked like hospital trolleys.

Jiang Yi shot a look at Xie Cheng.

These people came ‘voluntarily’?

Xie Cheng remained expressionless. He picked up the broken ropes and loosely draped them around his wrists and ankles. When a guard reached out roughly, he dodged the hand and, with agile movements, lay down on a new gurney himself.

Jiang Yi’s eyes widened.

Wait, weren’t we going to take the chance to escape?

He.he never said we were actually going in!

Fearing he’d be left behind, Jiang Yi quickly grabbed the ropes and threw them over his hands and feet, following suit. He lay down on Xie Cheng’s gurney, pressing right against his Immortal.

Perhaps because there was too much “cargo,” the guards didn’t notice. Once they confirmed the count, they moved to the next one. They didn’t even notice that the gags were missing from their mouths.

“Xie Cheng, what are you doing?”

Jiang Yi rolled onto his side to hug Xie Cheng. He nipped at Xie Cheng’s earlobe and licked it with the tip of his tongue. The gurneys were connected by iron chains and pulled by a guard at the very front; no one was standing directly beside their trolley.

Jiang Yi’s actions became increasingly bold. Secret and thrilling!

The gurney was too small; the two were squeezed together. Xie Cheng couldn’t dodge, so he could only threaten him with a glare.

“What? What is it?”

Xie Cheng endured it. “I suddenly want to go in and take a look.”

“We definitely should take a look.”

Jiang Yi quickly convinced himself. He cautiously lifted his head to look ahead. There was a sensor door at the entrance of the hidden lab.

“As soon as we’re inside, we jump off.”

Xie Cheng didn’t refuse. “Mm.”

“By the way, Xie Cheng, we”

Whoosh!

A stream of water as thick as an arm sprayed over their bodies, carrying the heavy scent of medicinal chemicals and disinfectant. Jiang Yi didn’t have time to close his mouth and swallowed a large gulp.

Support The Beautiful Top Being Pursued Relentlessly [Quick Transmigration]