I Run Away with the Earth to Save the World [Unlimited Flow] - Chapter 83

Chapter 83: The Knight of Heart exudes the scent of ink and books

Jing Qizhen glanced at the maid. “Does the March Hare always come looking for you when it visits?”

The maid’s face showed fear again as she frantically shook her head.

However, everyone now understood that her head-shaking did not mean denial but that she couldn’t say anything.

Jing Qizhen calmly reassured her, “Relax, relax, I know you can’t reveal the information you’ve gathered. But the rules of this erosion area are quite interesting. As long as you play your role well, the rest is someone else’s problem.”

Manman suddenly understood. “Based on the March Hare’s usual behavior, if this Knight of Heart operates the same way, he should first find the Maid and say something before proceeding.”

Angelina said nervously, “So this is the Day Eight death event?”

Looking back at her own actions, Angelina became increasingly fearful.

She staged her disappearance in the blood-covered room. If she hadn’t managed to deceive them, she might have ended up dying without even knowing how.

Jing Qizhen reassured her, “There’s no need to panic too much. If you can mislead them, it’s not a big problem. Besides, if the March Hare hadn’t met with an accident, it should have been the one knocking on the door on the eighth day. Following the rabbit sequence 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, the days after the eighth should be relatively safe.”

The Earth muttered quietly, “I get the logic but the erosion area is expanding, expanding, expanding! Procrastination is definitely not a good plan! Argh, those damn balls, those wretched balls—I’m going to smash them to bits!”

Jing Qizhen, both amused and exasperated, tried to calm the Earth which was on the verge of another outburst. “Relax. I’m just trying to comfort the maid and Angelina.”

After exchanging a few words with the planet, Jing Qizhen suddenly froze, and then immediately dismissed his earlier thought. “Wait, something’s not right. I just thought of something!”

Everyone instinctively looked at Jing Qizhen.

He furrowed his brows slightly. “The rabbit sequence should only apply to your group; the ones trapped in the villa first. The situation we’re facing seems to be different from yours.”

Wilcox chimed in, “Is it still because of the time we spent unconscious in the villa? Our incident happened on the seventh day.”

Jing Qizhen said, “We still can’t be sure if we are also bound by the rabbit sequence. But if we are, then for us, this would be the first day of the sequence after entering the erosion area.”

Everyone gasped in shock.

Old Xiao, who was highly sensitive to numbers, muttered, “Two rabbit sequences can coexist. Our first day begins based on their seventh day. This means, according to their timeline, their eighth day coincides with our second day. Their safe ninth day coincides with our third, their safe eleventh day with our fifth, their thirteenth day with our seventh, and then their safe fourteenth-day overlaps with our eighth day.”

Jing Qizhen, recalling how agitated the Earth had been earlier, grew serious and said cautiously, “The erosion area will continue to expand. Now that we’re inside, Tang Song can still maintain some control over the situation from the outside. However, this is Massachusetts, not our home country, and Tang Song’s influence is limited here. If we can’t resolve this erosion area quickly and allow it to keep expanding, even Tang Song won’t be able to suppress the local authorities here indefinitely. New people will inevitably enter this erosion area.”

Cold sweat formed on Old Xiao’s forehead again. “The rabbit sequence grows larger as it progresses. While it may seem safe later on, if new sequences keep overlapping, the most likely scenario is that no day will truly be safe!”

Angelina’s face turned pale. “The idea that the larger gaps between safe days later on would give us more time to find the truth is completely misleading…”

A flash of concern appeared in Jing Qizhen’s eyes but it was fleeting. He remained calm as he said, “Instead of dwelling on that, we should focus on how to deal with the Knight of Heart.”

Lu Lingxi spoke gravely, “The March Hare is just a rabbit in formalwear without any weapons. If we use its strength as a baseline, the Knight of Heart, who was fully armored and wielding a lance, will likely be far stronger in combat.”

Gu Leshan, fiddling with the gun in his hand, added, “In that case, close combat might not work. This could be tricky…”

Yan Hong, who was well aware of Gu Leshan and Lu Lingxi’s combat capabilities, grew visibly tense when even they showed concern.

But the next moment, Yan Hong heard Gu Leshan tentatively suggesting to Jing Qizhen, “What if we just eliminate the enemy remotely before they can act?”

Lu Lingxi, in sync, pulled a weapon out of his backpack.

Jing Qizhen: “…” He was at a loss for words.

Yan Hong, who had just been worrying along with them: “…”

Jing Qizhen glanced at the surveillance footage, showing the Knight of Heart who just now emerging from his confusion and starting to explore the ruins of the villa. Then he looked back at the very determined Lu Lingxi and Gu Leshan. After a pause, he asked earnestly, “…Are you planning to shoot the Knight of Heart in the leg?”

Gu Leshan immediately turned to Lu Lingxi. “It’s all on Little Lu. Little Lu’s the sniper here. Though at this range, I could do it too.”

As he loaded bullets into his gun, Lu Lingxi replied calmly, “We’ll see. The Knight of Heart probably isn’t the same as a normal human. I’ll fire a couple of shots to test the effects. I’ll aim to disable, not kill. That’s a rule. I can figure things out as I go.”

Jing Qizhen: “…”

The trembling foreigner group: “…”

To be fair, the well-off foreigners were mostly members of shooting clubs and had some experience handling guns at shooting ranges. In a country where gun ownership is legal, it wasn’t unusual for them to own firearms. McCain, for instance, always carried one.

But even so, casually drawing a gun was one thing. Calmly discussing how many shots it would take to incapacitate someone without killing them was clearly not a topic for amateurs.

Even Jing Qizhen hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Well… actually, my plan was to wait until the Knight of Heart found the Maid and talked to her, and then we’d figure out a way to subdue him and get some information.”

Gu Leshan suddenly understood. “Oh, right. The Knight of Heart can communicate with the Maid. I was just thinking about taking him down first, then questioning him!”

The maid, now fully realizing her role as a tool: “…”

While they were talking, the Knight of Heart had already begun to gradually move away from the villa ruins. Jing Qizhen had attached a pinhole camera near the rabbit hole, but as the Knight of Heart walked a few steps further, it quickly left the camera’s range.

Lu Lingxi and Gu Leshan immediately took out infrared binoculars and leaned against the window to peek through the curtain’s gap.

Earlier, when watching the surveillance footage, Jing Qizhen had turned off all the villa’s lights, which contributed to the eerie horror movie vibe.

The Knight of Heart cautiously explored the perimeter of the villa. When it began heading toward the neighboring villa, many people held their breath, nervous and tense.

Jing Qizhen glanced at them and simply pointed upstairs. “Why don’t you all wait up there?”

The foreigners didn’t hesitate and quietly moved into action.

Joyce grabbed Wilcox. “Cousin?”

Wilcox replied, “You go ahead. I’ll observe the situation a bit longer.”

Joyce hesitated briefly but chose to stay close to his cousin. Among the group, his original companions didn’t earn his trust; only Wilcox, bound by blood, did.

The maid, pale-faced and trembling, stammered, “I-I’ll go to the kitchen…”

Jing Qizhen nodded slightly. “Sure, go ahead!”

Si Jiayang, standing behind the maid, discreetly made an ‘OK’ gesture to Jing Qizhen.

Inspired by Jing Qizhen, Si Jiayang had made multiple trips to the kitchen earlier and had already set up surveillance cameras connected to his phone via Bluetooth.

Lu Lingxi studied the Knight of Heart’s path through the window for a while before glancing at the kitchen’s location. He then took his gun and headed upstairs, muttering, “I need to find a sniping point with a clear view.”

Gu Leshan, still crouching by the window, signaled back with a ‘stay in touch and act accordingly’ gesture.

Now only the group members remained, along with Wilcox and his tag-along cousin, Joyce.

Jing Qizhen didn’t pay much attention to the others. Speaking in Mandarin for efficiency, he said, “Let’s also find a safe spot to hide.”

Si Jiayang whispered, “The scent of baked goods is strong in the kitchen and I left the oven running. The Knight of Heart will likely head there first.”

Since the Knight of Heart’s intentions were unclear and the group was worried about facing a strong, impulsive NPC, they opted to avoid direct conflict for now.

Hearing this, Wilcox glanced at Si Jiayang with surprise. While he was aware of Jing Qizhen’s meticulous nature, he hadn’t expected that Si Jiayang, a skilled chef, had also planned this in advance.

Si Jiayang, looking innocent, explained, “I really did want to cook something for you all; mainly for Manman.”

Wilcox: “…”

Joyce, unable to understand their conversation, noticed Wilcox’s expression and tugged at him, asking softly, “Cousin?”

Wilcox affectionately tousled his little cousin’s hair, deciding not to explain what tricks the seemingly kind-hearted chef had likely pulled earlier.

Jing Qizhen blinked thoughtfully. He was already thinking further ahead than Wilcox. He even suspected that Si Jiayang might have poisoned the freshly baked goods, ones specifically prepared for the Knight of Heart.

The group soon dispersed into rooms upstairs, holding their breath and closely watching the maid, who was nervously fumbling in the kitchen, as well as the Knight of Heart steadily approaching.

When the Knight of Heart finally followed the scent into the kitchen and found the Maid, Jing Qizhen suddenly detected a distinct odor amidst the baked goods’ aroma.

In the villa, which had been filled with the scent of baking, there was now a clear and sharp smell of ink.

It was the familiar scent found in every book, emanating from a printing press, a smell often described poetically as ‘the fragrance of printed pages.’

Upstairs, the villa had a study and the books there carried a faintly similar scent, though much weaker.

Angelina, Caroline, Professor Jones, and other foreign members of the group were hiding in the study. They seemed to believe that a character like the Knight of Heart wouldn’t be interested in books.

Jing Qizhen exchanged a glance with his companions. It was clear that everyone else had also noticed the sudden scent of ink and shared the same confusion in their eyes.

The only change in the last few moments was the Knight of Heart entering the kitchen. The sharp ink smell could only be coming from the Knight of Heart itself.