MTLNOVEL Chapter 157: Chapter157
Though their words were in jest, Zhu Xiao, now being controlled to open the door, felt even more desolate upon hearing this. If he were killed by these two, he could only say 'the winner takes all,' but if his own people killed him, it would be truly unfortunate.
The people outside finally saw the door open. Elder Chen, leading the group, anxiously peered inside. Seeing Zhu Xiao at the door, they breathed a sigh of relief, but they soon noticed something was off. Zhu Xiao seemed stiff, and the two behind him didn't look like they were under his control. Elder Chen furrowed his brows in concern, "What happened to you? What's going on?"
Before Zhu Xiao could slowly open his mouth to speak, Xu Nuo, standing behind him, took over, "He's fine, just got injured when the vine went wild. He was protecting the two of us, and some toxin might have entered his body, which is why he's like this."
Elder Chen was very worried about Zhu Xiao's condition, considering he had dedicated his life to science, never married, and after being saved by Zhu Xiao, had come to see him as a son. He worked for Zhu Xiao willingly and wholeheartedly. As for Zhu Xiao's theories, Elder Chen agreed with them; they had been bullied by ability user teams before and now had a chance for revenge, so why not take it?
Hearing that Zhu Xiao was injured, Elder Chen naturally ignored any previous suspicions. He hurried forward to check on Zhu Xiao, "Even if you wanted to save others, you should look after yourself first. Let me see where you're hurt."
As he reached to lift Zhu Xiao's shirt, Xu Nuo quickly stepped in to stop him, "Elder Chen, stripping him in front of everyone isn't appropriate, especially since my partner and I are together; it's not convenient for us to see him like that.
Since he was injured by the vine and you make serums from its toxin, do you have an antidote? Could you give him some? We'll take him to get bandaged; most are just minor wounds, they mostly missed him.
Moreover, we've reached an agreement with him, so we're sort of part of your base now. If it's convenient, could you also help us with the toxin?"
Elder Chen, though he found the explanation plausible, was still cautious, looking at Zhu Xiao's face for confirmation. Zhu Xiao's face was too stiff to show any expression, but his head nodded involuntarily. Seeing this, Elder Chen seemed reassured and turned to fetch the antidote.
Watching Elder Chen's retreating back, Zhu Xiao felt like crying but could only utter one syllable before Xu Nuo's hand gripped his shoulder, stopping him. Then he heard Xu Nuo's cold, deadly whisper from behind, "Think carefully about whether you want them to live or if you want me to take everyone out.
Killing them would be as easy as cutting tofu for me. It's no big deal to me, but I see they care about you. Consider if you want to say anything you shouldn't."
Xu Nuo hit his sore spot. Zhu Xiao didn't care much about being threatened, but he knew how Elder Chen had treated him over time. He was reluctant to cause trouble for him because of his own situation.
Zhu Xiao could only shrink back and stay silent; his slow speech couldn't keep up with the rapid changes in the situation. By the time he tried to speak, they had already moved on to the next topic. They probably wouldn't kill him immediately, so he decided to take it one step at a time. After all, he knew from Xu Nuo's speed in handling the vine that taking out everyone was not just a threat.
Elder Chen soon returned with three vials of serum. Park Su and Xu Nuo gave Zhu Xiao half of one vial, keeping the other two untouched.
Xu Nuo turned to Elder Chen, "I'll take him back to his room to rest; don't worry, I'll look after him." Elder Chen was still concerned but, seeing that they gave the antidote to Zhu Xiao first, felt they might not be as bad as he thought. He relaxed and went back to his research, though not without a parting word of caution, "Be careful with him, move gently, don't let him move around too much. Let him rest, and I'll check on his injuries later tonight."
Xu Nuo nodded obediently, then led Zhu Xiao outside. Once out, he tossed him aside and continued to control him to walk away. Although Zhu Xiao's movements were slow due to his stiffness, his expression seemed merely stern, not too different from usual, so those around only greeted them without suspicion, thinking their boss had tamed these two and was showing them around.
As time passed, Park Su and Xu Nuo found their abilities recovering more, the serum's effect diminishing. By the time they reached the village entrance, Xu Nuo's control ability was fully operational, making handling Zhu Xiao effortless.
When the villagers saw their leader bringing the two previously captured individuals to the village gate, they were curious but approached respectfully, asking, "Boss, where are you taking them?"
After taking the antidote, Zhu Xiao was surprised to find his body less stiff, his joints less painful when walking, but when he opened his mouth to speak, the words weren't his own.
"These two have agreed to join us. I'm taking them to their team to meet their leader, discuss leaving some of their resources, don't worry, just wait here."
The villagers, seeing their leader speak with such authority, thought he was exuding regal dominance, believing he was about to single-handedly negotiate with another ability user team.
Only Zhu Xiao knew how much he wanted to seal his own mouth; he had no desire to go to that team at all. He felt like he was being led to his doom, and he wanted to scream for help, but all he could show was a mysterious, inscrutable expression.
Park Su, observing Zhu Xiao's face, couldn't help but marvel at how Xu Nuo not only mastered the art of looking cool but could also make others look cool too.
After hearing his words, the guards stepped aside, their eyes full of admiration for their leader. Xu Nuo thought to himself that blind worship indeed had its downsides.
However, one among them had a bit of sense and asked with concern, "Boss, isn't it risky for you to go alone?"
"Although you've subdued these two, there were two others earlier who seemed to be at least peak second-tier or even tri-element ability users. I'm worried something might happen to you when you go there. Who knows if they might suddenly turn on you? Maybe I should go with you, so if there's danger, I can come back and report."
Zhu Xiao's heart certainly hoped for this company, even if it wouldn't be of much use, just to not feel so pitiful. Unfortunately, when he spoke, the words were of refusal.
So, with a face that looked profound but felt wretched inside, he watched the villager he had just rejected step aside silently, then followed the two with his stiff movements towards the convoy!
After watching their leader walk away, the villager who was refused spoke with some confusion, "I don't know why, but I felt the boss looked a bit stiff. But those two's abilities should have been suppressed by us, so they shouldn't be able to control him, right?"
His comment left the others in silence for a while until someone gave a hollow laugh, "Yeah, it shouldn't be possible..." Then, for some reason, an unease began to spread among them.
Meanwhile, Xu Nuo's team was waiting anxiously outside, having been explicitly told by Ge Qing and Lu Shang not to rush in for a rescue to avoid greater losses. This left them no choice but to wait.
Over the days, their interactions with Park Su and Xu Nuo had garnered respect and concern for their safety. After all, these two had been quite protective during their journey. Now, going into the lion's den, even though they knew both were strong, Ge Qing and Lu Shang had fallen into a trap before.
Moreover, while they were formidable against zombies, humans could be scheming. Who knew what tricks these villagers had up their sleeves? Being so young, could they outmaneuver the villagers' traps?
Furthermore, according to Ge Qing and Lu Shang, these villagers had some secret weapon against ability users, making everyone even more anxious.
Everyone was now staring intently at the village, waiting for their return. Suddenly, someone shouted, "Look, look, isn't that our team leader coming back?"
Everyone gathered at the call, indeed seeing three figures approaching, though the one in front was unfamiliar, the two behind, even from a distance, were unmistakably their leaders.
Ge Qing and Lu Shang hurried over to greet them; without these two, they might still be trapped. If anyone was worried, it was them. Seeing them return, they rushed over. Ge Qing, always more expressive, immediately surrounded Park Su, checking him over.
His actions made Park Su feel a bit embarrassed, pushing him away with a helpless tone, "Okay, okay, stop looking. I'm not injured, and neither is Xu Nuo. Can't you have some faith in us?"