I Run Away with the Earth to Save the World [Unlimited Flow] - Chapter 91

Once all the foreigners, whether injured or not, were taken to the hospital by concerned family members for a full-body examination, the earlier chaos finally began to subside.

David gently embraced Caroline again and signaled her to rest easy.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Caroline directly shoved her phone into David’s hand.

David’s expression shifted momentarily and he gave Caroline a barely perceptible nod.

Manman happened to catch their small exchange and teased quietly, “Those two seem closer than just casual acquaintances.”

After Caroline temporarily stepped away, the bodyguards David had brought roughly pushed aside the other rescue team members. Soon, only Jing Qizhen’s group and David remained.

David’s gaze swept between Tang Song and Jing Qizhen.

Since they’d interacted earlier, David knew that Tang Song was the leader of the rescue experts for the erosion area. However, the presence of Jing Qizhen, subtly standing at the forefront, also piqued his interest.

After a long pause, David finally asked, “Are you planning to enter that villa?”

Tang Song smiled. “I was just saying we need to submit a comprehensive report for this rescue mission.”

David nodded. “Follow me, then.”

However, instead of leading them inside, he stopped at the entrance and said bluntly, “You can search on your own. I have no desire to enter.”

Given that his villa had just experienced a confinement incident, David still had a strong sense of caution.

Jing Qizhen: “…”

Unexpectedly encountering someone so resolutely self-preserving left Jing Qizhen momentarily at a loss for words.

The Earth’s voice chimed in with a slightly exasperated tone, muttering to Jing Qizhen, “Honestly, this place is probably safer than anywhere else on Earth!”

Jing Qizhen replied, “Because we just destroyed an erosion area here, making accidents unlikely. Meanwhile, other places on Earth might randomly become erosion areas, right?”

The Earth: “Exactly! I even knocked another ball away from this vicinity earlier. Plus, within the former erosion area, there’s still some residual energy that repels balls from parallel universes. For now, no new balls will come here.”

Regardless of what David thought, as long as he allowed them to proceed, it was fine.

With David’s permission, the group entered the villa smoothly and got to work, with some taking photos while others recording video.

Jing Qizhen headed straight to the study on the upper floor of the villa. With the Earth assisting remotely, he eventually found a heavily dust-covered ‘Fairy Tale Anthology’ in a hidden corner at the bottom of a bookshelf.

Back when they were inside the erosion area, the group had joked that if the area weren’t isolated from the outside world, they could have determined the edition and year of the ‘Fairy Tale Anthology’ based on its selected stories.

Now that he finally held the book, Jing Qizhen realized it was printed in the early 1970s, much earlier than he had expected.

The cover featured a familiar March Hare, though the faded printing showed signs of its age.

When he opened the book and saw a dark red-black stain on the title page, his pupils contracted sharply.

The patch of dark red-black resembled blood that had once dripped onto the pages and dried over time.

Even the Earth was surprised. “The book has bloodstains!?”

Jing Qizhen quipped, “A book with a story to tell.”

Just then, a shout of excitement came from nearby. “Found it!” cried Si Jiayang.

Jing Qizhen turned to see Si Jiayang holding another ‘Fairy Tale Anthology’ identical to the one in his own hands. However, the other copy was in much better condition, with no signs of bloodstains or similar marks.

Standing next to Si Jiayang, Manman naturally noticed the book in Jing Qizhen’s hands. Raising an eyebrow, she remarked, “Two identical ‘Fairy Tale Anthologys’?”

Jing Qizhen’s gaze swept across the study again. “Could there be a third?”

At that point, he couldn’t help but feel fortunate. Back in the erosion area, they had decided to burn the house down first. Whether there was a specific fairy tale book or not, everything had been turned to ashes in the fire.

If they had searched the study first and found a matching book, only to destroy it and realize it didn’t end the erosion area, Jing Qizhen admitted that even he might have been misled, thinking the core of the erosion area had nothing to do with the fairy tale book.

Shaking his head, Jing Qizhen thought to himself that, if not for pure luck, the erosion area’s misleading details might have led them astray.

Jing Qizhen and Si Jiayang quickly compared the publication details of the two books. The bloodstained book was from an earlier print run, while the one Si Jiayang found was from the third printing.

Si Jiayang speculated, “Could it be that the bloodstained book made the owner uncomfortable, so they acquired another copy?”

Manman, concise and clear in thought, said, “Ask David.”

Si Jiayang nodded. “Makes sense!”

Jing Qizhen couldn’t help but chuckle. Taking the other book from Si Jiayang, he left the study to find David.

Though David refused to enter his villa, he had been quietly waiting outside in the yard. Someone, perhaps a bodyguard or assistant, had even brought him a chair.

When he saw Jing Qizhen emerge with two books in hand, David looked surprised. Rising politely from his chair, he asked, “What’s going on?”

Jing Qizhen smiled. “Tell me the story behind these two books.”

David’s gaze fell on the books in Jing Qizhen’s hands. When he spotted the bloodstained, older copy, his expression changed drastically. “How is that book here?”

Jing Qizhen immediately realized that there was a significant issue.

However, before David could explain, the Earth’s panicked voice suddenly echoed in Jing Qizhen’s mind. “Little Jing, get down! There’s a sniper ahead!”

Jing Qizhen’s pupils shrank instantly.

The sniper was so far away that Jing Qizhen had noticed nothing.

In a split second, relying solely on the Earth’s warning, he dove to the side, taking cover under a nearby chair and pulling David down with him.

Despite their size difference, with David being taller and bulkier, Jing Qizhen managed to drag him to the ground unexpectedly.

David cried out in confusion, “What are you doing—”

Before he could finish, the sound of a sniper bullet hitting the spot where Jing Qizhen had been standing cut him off. David’s face turned pale and his struggle stopped abruptly. Scrambling, he crawled closer to Jing Qizhen.

The Earth shouted urgently in Jing Qizhen’s mind, “The sniper is on the left! On the left!”

Jing Qizhen had already activated his earpiece. While pulling David toward the right for cover, he calmly informed Tang Song and the others still inside the villa, “There’s a sniper attack outside!”

David, utterly baffled, couldn’t understand how Jing Qizhen could still spare the effort to communicate with others during such a crisis. Even more puzzling, Jing Qizhen dodged the sniper’s bullets without even looking up, as if he instinctively knew the right moves.

David thought, <em>‘This must be what makes him an expert!’</em>

Though confused, David prioritized his own safety and followed Jing Qizhen closely, fully cooperating with his instructions.

The Earth’s voice remained urgent, shouting directions, “Go around the garden! Head into the villa! Right, right—move one meter to the right! That bastard is in a dead angle. Little Jing, charge now!”

Jing Qizhen followed the instructions without hesitation.

In the critical moment, David was more obedient than anyone else. As soon as he saw Jing Qizhen move, he immediately dashed toward the designated direction, almost outrunning Jing Qizhen, as though he were being chased by a thousand lawyers demanding compensation.

Once they reached the villa, with the gunfire still echoing behind them, Jing Qizhen finally allowed himself a slight sigh of relief!

Panting heavily, David still couldn’t understand what was going on and asked, “Why is there gunfire here?!”

But no one had time to answer him.

After hearing Jing Qizhen’s warning, Tang Song, Lu Lingxi, Gu Leshan and Yan Hong quickly locked the doors and windows, sought cover and gestured for the others to crouch and hide in the safest positions.

Lu Lingxi hadn’t brought his sniper rifle from the car; all he had was his sidearm. Compared to the attackers, his range was simply insufficient.

For the sake of caution, although Lu Lingxi kept himself concealed, he carefully observed the direction of the windows with his handgun. Unfortunately, the situation was overwhelming and he couldn’t risk exposing himself.

The Earth’s voice, full of anger, shouted, “Little Lu’s nine o’clock! The sniper’s over there! About twelve hundred meters! I’ve got him in my sights!”

Jing Qizhen responded, “Babyball, calm down.”

The Earth replied, “I’m not calm!!”

Jing Qizhen sighed, “…But my eardrums are about to burst.”

The enemy’s bullets hadn’t taken him out but the furious shouts from the Babyball were almost making him dizzy. Jing Qizhen felt like his ears were ringing, the sound filling his head like the buzzing of cicadas in summer.

The Earth: “Ahh…0.0… Um… Should I speak more quietly?”

Jing Qizhen: “Yes, focus on the attacker.”

The Earth: “Mm-hmm!”

Jing Qizhen immediately relayed the coordinates the Earth had just reported to Tang Song.

Tang Song didn’t hesitate. Although they were pinned down inside the villa by the attackers’ fire, there were still other forces outside.

Especially since they weren’t in an isolated erosion area with limited visibility, the Earth’s surface surveillance was effectively 360° without any blind spots.

No matter how far or hidden the sniper was, once the Earth decided to track him, it was futile for the sniper to try to hide.

The Earth: “The sniper moved to the roof of that glass building to the left! Ah! He has accomplices! Dressed like plumbers! Like Super Mario!”

Jing Qizhen: “…” <em>Why is there a Super Mario here?</em>

Jing Qizhen quickly relayed to Tang Song, “The attacker’s on the glass building’s roof and there’s a group of people dressed as plumbers.”

Tang Song passed this on first, then added, “Give the order directly in the channel. They’ll follow your instructions.”

Since only Jing Qizhen could communicate with the Earth, Tang Song transferred command to him for efficiency.

Jing Qizhen nodded and, following the Earth’s reminder in his mind, added, “There’s a suspicious truck 1,000 meters in the opposite direction. It’s likely the attackers’ backup. Be cautious.”

The Earth yelled, “Ahhh! From their current angle, you can shoot out the tires! Take the shot!”

Jing Qizhen’s calm, clear voice barely stopped transmitting on the channel.

Since the Earth had a god-like perspective when tracking the attackers, it provided information that was sometimes disjointed but always precise.

David, caught off guard by the sudden attack, was initially panicked. However, as time went on, he seemed to grow numb to it.

Although Jing Qizhen and his group were technically trapped in the villa, it didn’t feel like professionals under siege swiftly retaliating. It felt more like they had activated a cheat code and were counterattacking with overwhelming force, pinning the enemy down at their respawn point.

With the help of the Earth, essentially a ‘cheat code,’ Jing Qizhen continued to command the battle. Meanwhile, Tang Song, temporarily freed up, seized the chance to question David about the two fairy tale books.

David frowned. “That fairy tale book was part of my father’s childhood collection. Later, it accidentally got bloodstained, so we threw it away. Afterward, I found another well-preserved copy from elsewhere but I hadn’t given it to him yet.”

Tang Song asked, “About the bloodstain on the book, how did it get there accidentally?”

David shook his head. “I don’t know. All I know is that the book was supposed to have been thrown away. It shouldn’t be here.”

A few minutes later, a voice came through the earpiece, “We’ve captured three of them. What should we do next?”

Jing Qizhen didn’t respond immediately but instead looked at Tang Song.

Tang Song glanced at David. It wasn’t their home turf. While they were clearly the victims of the attack, taking the assailants away outright could still lead to complications.

David, however, quickly caught on. “I’ll handle the police. By the time they arrive, everything you need to deal with will already be sorted out, right?”

Tang Song smiled but didn’t reply, making it clear he wouldn’t say anything that could be used against them.

However, Jing Qizhen noticed Tang Song discreetly pulling out his phone and sending a WeChat message, [Hide the captured ones. Make sure no one finds them.]

The other side didn’t reply through the earpiece either but silently responded with two words, [Got it.]

Then, Jing Qizhen watched as Tang Song smoothly retracted the previous WeChat message.

Jing Qizhen: “…”

Tang Song’s expertise in this area felt almost too polished.