trap

Hearing this, Milo was stunned.

Elion stood facing the light, and only then could he finally see the person in front of him clearly. After a slight surprise, he quickly composed himself, and a hint of a smile appeared in his gray-blue eyes.

“I’ve mistaken you for someone else. I’m so sorry, I hope I didn’t scare you.” Elion half-squatted down. “You look strangely familiar. Ah, I remember now, you’re that kid from the Green family, right? You really didn’t die.”

As he spoke, Elion surveyed the rainforest: "I heard that my uncle and nephew died one after the other, and it was a murder case. Not only that, someone even took over our family's land. So, you're playing a game of annihilation? You want to swallow up the Thornton family's assets in Wudong Port, don't you?"

Elion said with a headache, "You should have hidden yourself better, otherwise I would have caught you."

Milo walked past Elion and saw a group of heavily armed mercenaries behind him. Milo calmed himself down and said, "This little bit of property isn't enough to warrant such a large-scale arrest, Uncle. I know I'm not your target."

Arian's smile deepened: "Really? Then tell me, who is my target?"

Such a large entourage must have flown in from Frostraven. Traveling such a long distance, it must be for a huge deal. Either a drug lord from the mountains, or a Sigour from the valley below. But Arian's crude remark convinced Milo that his target wasn't either of those.

"You came here because of Aoita?"

Ariel gave a half-smile: "As expected, he really did come looking for you. He's got some nerve. Little Theo, tell me, are you two dating?"

"Of course not." Milo could sense the murderous intent behind the teasing.

When he was little, he had met this uncle a few times and witnessed him pinning the arrogant Steven down in the pool, nearly drowning him, simply because Steven had snatched the seat he wanted first. Afterwards, the haughty Steven just hung his head and claimed it was an accident, while this uncle, only four years older than them, precociously mingled and chatted with the adults.

At that time, his father told him that Elion was of very high birth and had an oligarchic maternal clan as his backing. He was bound to rise to a position of great power and influence, and would become either a hero or a tyrant. Therefore, he should never associate with this person unless absolutely necessary.

Milo had imagined countless possibilities of meeting Elion in his mind, but when they actually met, the memories of the past weighed on him, making him subconsciously apprehensive.

"What's there to be nervous about? I'm not going to eat you." Elion said softly, "Tell me, what does he want from you? Make it clear first, don't lie to me."

Milo recounted the whole story of how he met Aoi Tai to Elion.

After listening, Elion suddenly became interested: "He's with the Natawa family now, huh? That's interesting. You just said that Natawa was planning to arrest him?"

Milo looked at Elion: "Otherwise, why would he take Kuita away? This is their territory. If you want to save Kuita, you'll have to negotiate with them."

"But I heard that the boy from the Natawa family really likes you. What, has he changed his mind and stopped pursuing you?"

Milo remained silent.

Elion was still smiling, but there was no joy in his eyes: "Little Theo, you've set me up. Did you trick Kui Tai into coming with you all along? You knew I wanted to capture him, and you were planning to use him to make a deal with me?"

Having his thoughts exposed, Milo didn't try to hide anything and simply admitted, "It's not a transaction, it's mutual help."

Back in Sule, when Gary said they couldn't find out Kui Tai's identity, Milo had a vague suspicion. In Frostraven, someone who could control everything so easily couldn't be just Glenn. At first, Milo suspected Oscar Baker. But he quickly ruled him out. He discovered that Kui Tai's arrival in Frostraven coincided perfectly with Arien's landing time.

Therefore, Milo was basically certain that his cousin's presence in Frostraven wasn't solely for business; he was also involved in a romantic entanglement. To avoid Elion, Kui Tai had been forced to ingratiate himself with Glenn. Now that Glenn had fallen, Elion would undoubtedly be drawn to Kui Tai and try to capture him. In that case, why not use Kui Tai to set a trap? It was better than being threatened by Elion one day.

Despite all his calculations, Milo never expected that Aoita would be Yuuma's friend, nor did he expect that while he was setting a trap for Aoita, Aoita was only with him to protect him.

Upon learning Kui Tai's identity, Milo initially intended to take his time and perhaps devise another plan, but Elion's actions surprised him far too quickly. He was willing to disregard the political risks of parachuting into the Gan Valley Rainforest in order to intercept Kui Tai.

Faced with a major crisis, Milo could only follow the path he had preordained: treating people as less than human, like weights on a scale, weighing them on the balance of power.

“Theo Green, don’t try to be clever with me. You should know that we are not related by blood. Even if we were, I should teach you a lesson for what you just said today.”

“Uncle Elion, if you want Kuita, I can give you his exact location and ensure he arrives at your designated spot unharmed in the shortest possible time, without your men even needing to venture deep into the rainforest. In exchange, you only need to do me a small favor. Isn't it a good deal to get the person you want immediately and securely for such a small favor?”

Seeing Milo's calm expression, Arian raised an eyebrow: "What do you want?"

“One that can keep its promise.” Milo’s voice was soft. “Of course, for you, what I’m asking for is just a small favor.”

“A promise?” Elion laughed. “You want me to play house with you?”

“Since I’ve brought it up, I certainly have a way to make Uncle Elion keep his promise when that day comes.” Milo lowered his eyes. “Of course, that will only be under unavoidable circumstances.”

“Little Theo, you’re definitely more interesting than that silly Steven.” Elion easily grabbed Milo’s hand, twisted it slightly, and reached into his pocket with his other hand, pulling out the hidden folding knife. “I’m confiscating this little thing. If you get hurt anywhere, you won’t be able to find anyone to help you.”

"Get up, little nephew." Elion grabbed Milo's arm with one hand, patted the dust off him, and pushed him forward with a smile. "Hey, lead the way."

*

Deep in the rainforest.

Aoi Tai carried Blaze with difficulty, taking small steps forward. Suddenly, he sensed something was wrong; even breathing came near his ear, and it seemed something was about to happen. Aoi Tai reacted quickly, immediately throwing Blaze to the ground. Looking closely, he saw that the man who had been half-dead was now fully awake, his eyes clear and bright.

Kui was startled and took a step back warily: "Are you pretending to be dead?!"

Blaze ignored him, put two fingers to his lips, and whistled a very loud and long whistle, startling a flock of birds into flight.

"What are you doing!" Aoi Tai warily pulled the life-saving kit in front of him. "Let me tell you, I only saved you because of him. If you move again, I'll stab you to death." As he spoke, he pulled out a dagger from his pocket.

Blaze stared at Aoi in silence.

The antibiotic injection took effect, and he gradually regained some strength. He slowly stood up against the tree trunk and, to Aoi's astonishment, used the tree trunk to set his dislocated arm back in place.

Aoi frowned as he watched. The piece of scalp that Blaze had shaved off had only been hastily stopped bleeding, and now, with the slightest movement, the wound reopened, and bloodstains streamed down his face, looking particularly gruesome.

Blaze reached out to Aoi, her gaze falling on the life bag.

Meeting his cold, piercing eyes, Aoi felt a chill run down his spine.

He had probably been traveling with Milo the whole way, so the Blaise he saw was the Blaise in front of Milo, with his claws outstretched, which made him confused and subconsciously forget what kind of person the person in front of him really was.

Aoi looked around; there was no one there.

Blaze grew up in the rainforest; only he had the ability to get out. Besides, those drug dealers were still lurking in the shadows. Rather than turning against each other, it was better to go along with Blaze's wishes. Besides, it was just some dry food and trifles; they posed no real threat.

With this in mind, Aoi reluctantly handed over the bag.

Blaze crouched down and pulled out a jumble of broken parts from the bag. Aoi leaned over for a closer look and discovered that Blaze was actually assembling a makeshift firearm, and he did so incredibly quickly. The last firing pin was inserted into the recoil spring, the Glock parts gleaming coldly. Blaze tore off his shoelaces, wrapped them around the barrel, and applied grease to seal the joints.

"You—" Aoi Tai blurted out instinctively, but didn't know what to say. He had heard that top mercenaries not only knew how to fire guns, but also how to assemble specially made firearms. They would often disassemble various weapons into pieces and carry them with them, so that even if they were unconscious, the weapons would not fall into the hands of the enemy. Now, seeing a living example, Aoi Tai was simply shocked.

With a crisp "click," the assembly was complete. Blaise took two bullets from the inside of his boot, loaded them into the chamber, glanced around, squinted slightly, and fixed the muzzle on the spot where Aoi was standing.

Kui was so shocked that she took a step back and exclaimed, "What are you doing!"

Blaise pulled the trigger.

Aoi kept his eyes tightly shut, and it took him a long time to open them. Still shaken, he looked in the direction of the sound, scanning his surroundings. Finally, he spotted a drug dealer hiding in the bushes in the far distance, with a bloody hole between his eyebrows and wide-open eyes.

Kui was utterly shocked; this was the first time he had witnessed Blaise's abilities firsthand. Humans naturally admire the strong, and his initial contempt for Blaise subtly faded. To be injured to this extent, and deaf to this degree, yet still possess such accuracy—it was clear the rumors about rye weren't unfounded.

Blaze tossed the assembled gun to Aoi.

"You're giving me the gun?" Aoi was stunned. "Why?"

Blaze watched his mouth move and deduced that this man was probably not a particularly cunning person. He had noticed during the emergency landing that Aoi Tai had some skills; at the very least, he possessed counter-tracking abilities and was unlikely to be unfamiliar with firearms. He might have had professional training, but not mastered it; he wouldn't be a liability.

Blaise ignored Aoi and walked forward, leaving Aoi to follow behind him.

A figure flashed through the bushes ahead, and Aoi immediately fired his gun, but the other person was clearly familiar with the terrain and dodged it.

Aoi Tai's vision blurred, and the next second Blaze had vanished without a trace.

In the vast rainforest, he was the only one there, holding a gun and on high alert.

The drug dealer suddenly darted out from some direction and appeared in front of Aoi.

Aoi Tai was momentarily distracted and didn't have time to fire his gun when he saw a person suddenly hanging upside down from the banyan tree.

Blaze wrapped his arms around the man's neck and then grabbed his jaw. With a "snap," the man's throat was severed before he could even make a sound, and the sharp blade instantly severed his head.

Blood splattered out, and Blaze pushed the other person into the bushes, wiping his hands with the hem of his clothes.

Aoi felt a chill run down his spine.

After taking down three drug dealers in a row, Blaze suddenly turned around and stared at Aoi.

Aoi Tai became alert and gripped his gun tightly.

Blaise remained silent for a long time. Then he picked up a twig and wrote crooked letters on the ground.

“MILO… Oh, Milo.” Aoi struggled to understand Blaze’s meaning for a long time before squatting down to draw an arrow. “He went south. If you want to find him, we have to go a little further ahead.”

Blaze glanced at the sky; the treetops were undulating, clearly indicating a helicopter was landing. He looked at Aoi, drew an airplane with an arrow pointing in Aoi's direction, and added a question mark.

Aoi frowned. Blaise seemed to be implying that the new helicopter was related to him.

Before he could finish saying "You're talking nonsense," Aoi suddenly realized something and frowned deeply: "I'm doomed."

Seeing Aoi's expression, Blaise frowned.