The Rift Between Cities: The Uprisers

"Is that clear? Do I need to repeat myself?" Lin Chuan said coldly.

"No need." Cheng Bin licked his lips. "I promise to keep my mouth shut."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Sponsor." Lin Chuan withdrew his knife.

Wang Ye loosened his grip.

But the tense atmosphere in the car barely eased.

Hui Zi started the engine immediately.

Ning Fan lowered his head, pondering over what Cheng Bin had just told him.

Those words must have contained crucial information.

Otherwise, Lin Chuan and Wang Ye wouldn't have resorted to such a direct warning.

Are they wary of me?

What exactly are they hiding?

Strength!

Ning Fan quickly arrived at the answer.

Cheng Bin had said that with this team's strength, killing the Hound shouldn't have been so troublesome.

Recalling how easily these people had dealt with the Hound, as if they were slicing through butter, Ning Fan couldn't sense any of the trouble Cheng Bin had mentioned.

This wasn't even their full strength?

What was the true capability of these teammates from the Stray Dog Pack?

Why were they hiding it?

Carrying these doubts, the car advanced a few more kilometers.

Ning Fan had already adapted to the darkness. The glow emitted by the luminescent plants was enough for him to see objects within about ten meters, albeit not very clearly.

"Brother Chuan, should we go through Snake Cave or bypass it?" Hui Zi's voice broke the silence.

Lin Chuan considered for a moment. "Let's bypass it, to be safe."

"Alright."

Hui Zi turned the steering wheel, veering to the left.

"The left path will take us past the Mist Swamp. If we encounter any Rotten-faced Frogs, Qiao Fei, you go down and deal with them."

"Got it." The woman in the black leather jacket nodded slightly, without objection.

On missions, payment was based on contribution.

The more one did, the more they earned in the end.

Sure enough, not long after, Ning Fan heard an unpleasant croaking sound from outside.

Croak... Croak...

"I'm on it," Qiao Fei opened the car door and leaped from the moving vehicle. "Don't wait for me."

Ning Fan saw her disappear into the darkness the moment she jumped off.

Hui Zi didn't even glance at her, maintaining the same speed as before.

Soon after, the croaking stopped.

A dark figure emerged from the darkness.

Long hair flowing, curves accentuated.

Qiao Fei was faster than the car. She grabbed the door, ready to jump back in.

Only then did Ning Fan clearly see that her hands were bloody, clutching a fist-sized spherical object.

"Rotten-faced Frog's bile crystal. Anyone want it?" Qiao Fei returned to the car, raising her hand to display the spherical object. "Internal consumption, one thousand."

Cheng Bin quickly said, "I want it! My right hand is killing me! This thing is perfect for pain relief and stopping bleeding!"

"You don't count as internal consumption. Two thousand."

"Fine!"

Cheng Bin was nearly grinding his teeth, but still took out two thousand Solas from his pocket and bought the bile crystal from Qiao Fei.

Without any processing, Cheng Bin swallowed the still-bloody bile crystal in a few bites.

Just as Qiao Fei finished counting the money and tucked the two thousand Solas into her cleavage, that irritating sound came from outside again.

Croak...

Croak...

Croak...

Originally, Qiao Fei was about to jump down again, but she quickly furrowed her brow.

Not just her, everyone in the car except Ning Fan had a change in expression.

"Brother Ye, how many?" Hui Zi asked in a low voice.

In the passenger seat, Wang Ye's gaze was sharp as he looked into the pitch-black ahead, his ears twitching slightly.

Soon, his expression became grave.

"Damn! Why are there so many?"

Wang Ye turned to Lin Chuan and said, "More than ten!"

Lin Chuan also cursed in dissatisfaction, "Can we bypass them?"

"It's difficult!" Wang Ye pointed outside. "They're coming in a fan formation. If we want to bypass them, we'd have to go through Snake Cave!"

"Forget it! Snake Cave is even more troublesome!"

Saying this, Lin Chuan patted Hui Zi's shoulder. "Stop the car!"

Although the car stopped, Hui Zi involuntarily glanced at Ning Fan first before addressing Lin Chuan, "Brother Chuan, more than ten Rotten-faced Frogs... that's not going to be easy..."

"Let's try first!"

Lin Chuan was the first to get out of the car.

At this moment, Ning Fan also saw the Rotten-faced Frogs they were talking about.

He had seen this Aberrant Beast in the guidebook before.

But when he saw it with his own eyes, he was still shocked.

No, to be precise, he felt nauseous.

True to its name, the frog's face was completely rotten, its skin looking as if it had been splashed with strong acid, the flesh constantly writhing.

Thinking about how the bile crystal had been extracted from its body, yet Cheng Bin could swallow it without flinching, Ning Fan felt a bit of admiration.

This was the life of those who had survived in the wild for years.

To stay alive, their tolerance for the unpleasant was very high.

These Rotten-faced Frogs were about as tall as a person, hopping forward.

When they saw the group by the car, they obviously started jumping faster.

"Hui Zi, Da Zhuang! Distract them!" Lin Chuan no longer let everyone act freely this time, but gave clear instructions. "Qiao Fei, with me for the main attack! Let's focus on killing one at a time!"

"Wang Ye, Old Duan, and... that Mr. Sponsor, you provide covering fire!"

No one responded to him.

But everyone knew what they should do.

Including the sponsor, Cheng Bin, who had been mentioned.

As for Ning Fan, he seemed to have been naturally overlooked.

"Brother Chuan, what about me?"

The first time, Hui Zi had said it was a newbie benefit.

But now, Ning Fan felt he should do something.

Otherwise, just sitting in the car like this, when the mission was over and payment was distributed based on contribution, he might not get even a penny!

I'm here to make money, not for sightseeing.

Lin Chuan didn't answer him, but instead said to Qiao Fei beside him, "Let's go!"

The two moved in sync, charging forward at an extremely fast pace.

One of the Rotten-faced Frogs, seeing the two rushing towards it, became visibly more excited, jumping higher and higher.

Clang!

Qiao Fei drew the Tang sword at her waist. Just before colliding with the Rotten-faced Frog, she bent low, sliding under it.

The Tang sword struck out, aiming for the frog's abdomen.

The Rotten-faced Frog seemed to sense the danger and tried to leap upwards in mid-air, attempting to distance itself from the sword's edge!

But Lin Chuan had somehow already leaped high, arriving above the Rotten-faced Frog.

"Where the hell do you think you're jumping?!"

Lin Chuan roared, slashing down on its rotten face.

This slash didn't do much damage to the Rotten-faced Frog, but it knocked it down from the air.

Qiao Fei raised her Tang sword!

Splash...

A large amount of foul-smelling blood gushed from the gash in the Rotten-faced Frog's abdomen.

Qiao Fei twisted her waist on the ground, gracefully avoiding the filthy substance.

Ning Fan's eyes were filled with amazement.

What incredible teamwork!

There were no superfluous movements at all.

Lin Chuan's instructions earlier, which he had heard, were simple, without any detailed communication.

Yet the two knew exactly what the other was going to do!

At this moment, Ning Fan realized that although he had joined the Stray Dog Pack, to the others, he was still so out of place.

Perhaps when he developed such tacit understanding with the others, he would truly be considered a puppy of this family?

However, just as Lin Chuan landed, his eyes suddenly changed in alarm!

"Qiao Fei! Behind you!"

Qiao Fei reacted quickly. Hearing Lin Chuan's warning, she didn't even look back, immediately rushing forward!

She didn't know what was behind her, but she could be sure it was dangerous!

But from Ning Fan's perspective, he clearly saw a serrated tongue shoot out from the Rotten-faced Frog's mouth!

"Damn it!" Lin Chuan's face tensed.

What happened next made Ning Fan's whole body tremble.

He saw Lin Chuan's blade emit a red glow.

From within the glow came Lin Chuan's low shout!

"Soul Servant: Butcher!"

""")