The one who stopped his companions and acted indecently towards Murong Mingyuan was their small leader, Brent.
"What's wrong, Brent?"
The man who was reprimanded asked unhappily, "The brothers haven't touched any fresh goods for many days. And this is top-tier stuff!"
"You know she's top-tier?"
Brent strode over, grabbed Murong Mingyuan's hat with his gloved right hand, then seized her hair from the back of her head and lifted it up.
Murong Mingyuan, stunned on the spot, instinctively lowered her head, revealing her fair, slender neck.
"If you could read, you would understand the meaning of these four characters."
Brent spoke slowly, looking at the back of Murong Mingyuan's neck.
The men surrounding him also looked.
Ghost Fire—
Four green characters, appearing to burn under the cold moon, were so clearly visible, and even more glaring!
Qianfan, exclusively for him!!
"This is a woman who bears the brand of the Young Master of Dragon Ruins himself."
Brent released Murong Mingyuan's hair, put her hat back on, and then asked his subordinates coldly, "Which of you do you think is qualified, or rather, who has the guts! To touch the daughter-in-law of the Lord of Dragon Ruins?"
With a rustle.
The men who were taming horses shivered collectively.
A scene quickly flashed before their eyes—
The man, revered as the Lord of Dragon Ruins, had, with a single punch, turned the head of Luna, Rod's deputy, into a烂西瓜 (splattered watermelon)!
Brent added, "There's a saying in the East: A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated. Killing her, perhaps Dragon Ruins wouldn't say much, after all, she voluntarily stepped into the forbidden zone. But to humiliate her is to humiliate the entire Dragon Ruins! Who among you dares to humiliate Dragon Ruins?"
Who dared to humiliate Dragon Ruins!?
No one did.
Not even the Rod family behind Rod dared to!
Let alone these insignificant figures.
All the men who had been looking at Murong Mingyuan now had "crystal clear" gazes, devoid of any lust.
"To have captured alive a woman stamped by the Young Master of Dragon Ruins. This is an immense merit for us."
Brent's tone softened, and he smiled, "Brothers, just wait for your rewards."
The surrounding brothers were immediately invigorated.
Someone couldn't help but ask, "Brent, how did you know the Young Master of Dragon Ruins had stamped her neck?"
"Heh, I know many things you don't."
Brent played coy.
To his more than a dozen subordinates—
"Respected lady."
Brent placed his right hand over his chest, bowed to the stunned Murong Mingyuan, and said respectfully, "Please allow me to inform you that you have become our captive. And you have become an important bargaining chip on our negotiation table."
Murong Mingyuan's lips moved, but she couldn't say anything.
"Respected lady."
Brent looked up. "According to our knowledge, Mr. Li, the Young Master of Dragon Ruins, followed you to the Inner Defense Zone. May I ask, where is he now?"
Indeed.
Where had Li Qianfan gone?
Murong Mingyuan blinked her eyes, subconsciously shook her head, and said with a dry voice, "I, I don't know where he went either."
"Alas."
Brent sighed, looked back to the east, and said, "Unfortunately, we are only responsible for the Inner Defense Zone. Until we receive a distress signal from Tostaf, we cannot arbitrarily step into the Outer Defense Zone."
He said this not out of affectation.
The merit of capturing the Young Master of Dragon Ruins alive was too great!
Rod was afraid that his subordinates would disrupt the entire plan due to competition for merit, and thus give the enemy an opportunity.
Therefore—
Rod had precisely divided the zones of responsibility for his more than ten confidantes.
Brent was only responsible for the Inner Defense Zone in this direction.
If Murong Mingyuan had escaped twice as fast, and run a hundred meters further east, it would have been Tostaf's Outer Defense Zone.
This was the only reason they had pursued and intercepted Murong Mingyuan at full speed after their sudden move.
If Murong Mingyuan had escaped into the Outer Defense Zone, they could only watch from the "border."
If they dared to trespass into Tostaf's territory, conflict would surely arise.
They might even exchange gunfire and trigger a serious internal conflict.
"It seems that our long-awaited Young Master Li, realizing the danger, decisively abandoned chasing his woman and retreated promptly."
Brent looked at the lonely footprints and chuckled coldly, "Unfortunately, no matter how fast Young Master Li's legs are! They can't be faster than Tostaf, who is flanking along the outer perimeter of the Outer Defense Zone."
Before his words had even finished—
Murong Mingyuan saw from afar to the east, in both the north and south directions, four or five bright beams of light rapidly converging towards the center!
To allow Li Qianfan to venture deep into the Outer Defense Zone, Tostaf, who was in charge here, had specifically led his troops to retreat to a distant location.
Just waiting for Rod's order—
Once it was confirmed that Li Qianfan had entered the Outer Defense Zone, Tostaf, who had been impatient, led more than ten subordinates and several drones, riding snowmobiles, to quickly flank from the north and south sides.
Besides them, there were several mysterious experts!!
"The great merit of capturing Young Master Li alive is no longer our concern. Alas."
Brent sighed heavily, but then became happy again.
Although he didn't have the chance to contend with Tostaf for the merit of capturing Young Master Li, he had easily captured Murong Mingyuan.
This was undoubtedly the second greatest merit, second only to the initial capture!
It was much better than his brothers defending other areas.
"Respected lady, please get in the car."
Brent bowed and gestured, inviting Murong Mingyuan into the car. "Please refrain from any unnecessary resistance. Because if you do, it will only give us an opportunity to act indecently towards you."
He was not wrong.
"Li Qianfan, where did you go? I've been captured, can you see it?"
Murong Mingyuan, who had been dazed for too long, murmured in a low voice and mechanically got into the car.
Roar!
Brent personally drove, escorted by three cars and six subordinates, and sped towards the command post.
The remaining seven or eight subordinates, holding guns in their hands, watched with envious eyes as Tostaf and his men scoured the Outer Defense Zone in search of Li Qianfan.
How they wished—
That Li Qianfan would suddenly rush out of the Outer Defense Zone and into the Inner Defense Zone they were responsible for.
Although they were well aware that Young Master Li was unmatched in martial arts!
Even if he had three heads and six arms, he couldn't escape the drones that were constantly hovering in the sky, ready to fire (all tranquilizer darts).
The search equipment carried by these drones was of the highest pixel count in the world.
Especially the thermal imaging ones!
Let alone under the current bright moon, even in a blizzard, not a single mouse could hide from thermal imaging search!!
Therefore, they were not afraid of Li Qianfan suddenly appearing.
They only wished he would appear.
Li Qianfan disappointed them—
As he furiously pursued Murong Mingyuan, he had been calculating how many meters he had chased.
He already knew that the Outer Defense Zone of Blackwater Forest was one kilometer wide, or a thousand meters.
Murong Mingyuan, running forward, did not notice that Li Qianfan had been stepping in her footprints throughout the chase.
This was why Li Qianfan was not wearing shoes.
Because his shoe size was larger than Murong Mingyuan's size 38.
But with only cotton socks on after taking off his shoes, he could perfectly match Murong Mingyuan's footprints.
This way—
His enemies, who were painstakingly searching for him, would only see Murong Mingyuan's footprints!
Just as Li Qianfan was about to rush out of the Outer Defense Zone and into the Inner Defense Zone, he, like a white weasel, pounced to the north with all his might.
A leap of seven meters—
After landing, Li Qianfan immediately took off his thermal underwear and cotton socks at the fastest speed.
Then, from the jacket he had seemingly casually taken when he rushed out of the tent to chase Murong Mingyuan, he took out a bottle.
The bottle contained a medicinal paste.
It was concocted from the herbs brought by Li Xingtang when he had a "fever" of forty degrees in Las Town.
This medicinal paste had the effect of evading thermal imaging search equipment.
Li Qianfan had already suffered from thermal imaging in the suicide forest in the East.
Having come prepared this time, he naturally wouldn't overlook this most crucial point.
After smearing the medicinal paste all over his body, including his hair, he put on his thermal underwear again and took out a light, thin white robe from his jacket (a robe-like sun protection garment, effective against wind and more suitable for playing the mystic).
Once everything was done, Li Qianfan glanced at Murong Mingyuan, who had stopped and was shouting in his direction, and whispered, "I'm sorry."
Then.
Before the enemies appeared, he slowly rolled to the side.
As he rolled, he used his jacket to clear away the traces of his movement.
By the time Brent and his men surrounded Murong Mingyuan, Li Qianfan had already rolled nearly a hundred meters.
Then, like a scorpion in the desert, he burrowed himself entirely into the thick snow, whose surface was frozen hard.
It was a little cold.
But only a little.
The most crucial point was that Li Qianfan could be sure that as he became absolutely still, his blood flow and heartbeat slowed, and the sub-zero temperature of tens of degrees below zero became increasingly apparent, he gradually stopped feeling that slight chill.
Twenty years ago—
A woman named Ji Ya had been to Antarctica during the frequent activities of 209.
In the icy wasteland of Antarctica, she felt no cold at all, even without wearing any clothes.
What Ji Ya could do, Li Wujiang could also do.
Li Qianfan could also do it!
Because not being controlled by temperature is the biggest characteristic of the primal 209!!
(Explanation: Dai Paipai, who is highly integrated with 209, can also achieve this, but Jiao Yin and others cannot. Similarly, very few people know that Li Qianfan's primal 209 has been activated, and temperatures of tens of degrees below zero will cause him almost no harm.)
"I'll have a good sleep first, to get through this boring waiting period."
Li Qianfan, lying on his back under the snow, thought to himself and slowly fell asleep.