Chapter 93 Martial Arts Instruction: "Give it to Teacher Qin."

"Scene 8, Shot 3 of Star Trek, action!"

After the two divided the equipment, You Long realized that Lin Nan had truly come to rescue her with the intention of breaking her out of prison. She had prepared two sets of basic equipment, as well as a considerable amount of medical supplies, probably in case Lin Nan was seriously injured while incarcerated...

With mixed feelings, she took the ring, put it on, activated the virtual screen, and awkwardly swiped it a couple of times.

The colonel glanced at her: "Do you still know how to use it?"

"Just kidding, nobody knows more about digital devices than me, okay?" Yu Long muttered, entering the system to change the firewall.

Lin Nan checked the time and direction, and the two silently headed into the depths of the dense forest.

Information about this dense forest is scarce. What impressed Lin Nan the most was its nickname "Land of Death," as legend has it that people who approach it will mysteriously disappear.

There are also rumors that this is the experimental field of the Light Wheel Alliance, and that some people have seen officers and researchers enter it, but whether they came out or not is unknown.

The plants in the forest were incredibly primitive; walking through them felt like entering a prehistoric world. Lin Nan even felt that he might see dinosaurs squeezing past among the tangled tree trunks at any moment. Even the most advanced signal equipment was helpless against this environment, so the map the colonel pulled up only showed a pure, unblemished gray.

You Long clicked his tongue: "Such a big forest, and we don't have enough energy. How long will it take us to get there?"

The colonel frowned: "The most pressing issue right now isn't the distance. You've been infiltrating the Light Wheel for so many years, haven't you heard a single rumor about this place?"

You Long said nonchalantly, "You know I don't believe in those mystical things. As for mysterious disappearances, they're probably just lost in the vast forest and died from exhaustion."

Lin Nan was not convinced: "Someone saw the 'deceased' three months after she disappeared. And that person quickly returned to the forest as soon as she was discovered, and wouldn't show up again no matter how much they called her."

You Long is a staunch atheist, and normally Lin Nan would definitely argue with her, but she is getting weaker and weaker, so she clutches her chest and shuts her mouth.

This person was so unassuming, she seemed perfectly normal. If it weren't for her action, You Long would have almost forgotten that she had been hit twice hard.

"Hey, you!" She took two steps forward and called out, a little worried, "Are you alright?!"

Lin Nan didn't even turn her head. "Stop your ineffective concern and leave immediately."

Yu Long: "..."

The familiar AI flavor.

The deeper you go into the woods, the more secluded and dark it becomes. The space seems to be folded in multiple ways, with no end in sight.

The colonel felt a wave of dizziness and had to stop to lean against a nearby tree, calling out, "...Yutaki."

Her voice was too soft; the people in front of her didn't hear her at all.

Lin Nan took a deep breath, coughed twice, and looked pale from blood loss: "You Long... wait a minute."

This time, the other person heard them and, noticing the colonel's unusual behavior, quickly stepped over the broken bushes and turned back: "What's going on?"

Lin Nan looked up weakly: "Don't you feel like something's off around us? It looks like there's fog."

Yu Long turned his head as instructed and stared at the trees for a long time. The trees here were extremely tall, mostly providing shade and blocking out the sky, with little sunlight falling, naturally creating a sense of deep wabi-sabi and misty atmosphere.

"There's nothing special about it. Aren't all the larger forests like this?"

Lin Nan: "...Where's the odor?"

Yu Long sniffed and said, "I can't smell anything either. What, are you hallucinating from blood loss?"

The way the man just twitched his nose reminded Lin Nan of some kind of large, furry beast, and she couldn't help but chuckle: "Ah, maybe, I feel a little dizzy."

That's what she said, but she clearly couldn't even focus her gaze.

Yu Long cautiously spread his shoulders and asked, "What else do you want to say?"

Lin Nan's fingers, which were gripping the tree, turned pale: "Mild visual dizziness, and some difficulty breathing."

She whispered again, "I can't quite hear you."

Yu Long was stunned for a moment.

A thin toxic fog permeated the forest, almost imperceptible to healthy individuals. Lin Nan had been directly and closely exposed to two explosions; being severely injured and weak, he experienced dizziness for a shorter period after inhaling the toxic fog compared to healthy people.

You Long put on the nasal plugs and thought that Lin Nan was not in good condition, so he wanted to rest for a while.

The colonel tightened his hair: "We can't stay. Leave immediately."

You Long looked at her disapprovingly: "I'm not just concerned about you, but out of camaraderie, I'm reminding you that your current physical condition doesn't allow you to overexert yourself."

Lin Nan dragged his unsteady steps in another direction: "If we don't leave now, we'll be surrounded. The fog here doesn't seem to be naturally generated. Considering the legends about the 'Land of Death,' it must have been deliberately placed there. We're prey who have strayed into the forest and inhaled the drug. At a normal pace, we should collapse and be dragged away in a little while."

"But you—"

You Long suddenly stopped mid-sentence. She seemed to see Lin Nan's left eye flicker strangely, and the color inside lightened.

You Long looked closely and saw that Lin Nan had very slightly fluttered her eyelashes. When she lifted them again, her eyes were as deep as ever, with two faint points of light gleaming with an eerie silver light in the darkness.

"What's wrong?" the colonel asked in a low, ordinary voice.

Yu Long wondered if he was seeing things: "No, I..."

Lin Nan continued walking forward.

"Hey, no, you can't leave anymore..."

"I know my own body best. It's far from being at the threshold that would affect my tactical judgment. I don't need you to tell me what to do," Lin Nan said impatiently, pushing aside the hanging vines.

Yu Long also got angry: "No, I meant you—"

It's a little late.

Lin Nan, who was turning her head towards You Long but whose body was still moving, tripped over a tree root hanging on the ground and fell stiffly into it.

Yulong looked away, unable to bear the sight, and murmured, "There's an obstacle ahead."

Presumably due to the poisonous fog, no other living creatures or carcasses have appeared in the deep forest so far.

Lin Nan, her head spinning, walked forward, while You Long walked ahead, cautiously holding the pistol at his waist.

"How far have we gone?" Youlong asked.

"Twelve kilometers, which translates to a star distance of approximately three units."

Just as Yu Long was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed: "Something's coming!"

Lin Nan, whose senses were still hazy, hadn't heard any sounds yet, but sensed something was wrong and immediately said, "Take cover!"

Yu Long looked around and quickly said, "It's probably not safe down there, let's climb a tree!"

She climbed very quickly, like a leopard crouching on the tree trunk, and leaped up in two quick movements.

"Hurry up!" Youlong shouted from above.

Lin Nan gritted her teeth, hanging on a tree branch with one hand, maliciously wondering if this person was seeking revenge.

"Hurry up!" You Long's voice, half-complaining, rang out from above. Then a hand drooped down, grabbed her arm, and lifted her up: "We're almost late."

Lin Nan trembled with immense pain, tears welling up in her eyes uncontrollably: "You pulled on my broken arm—"

You Long didn't turn his head: "I'm really sorry, I didn't see clearly. Besides, you were gripping the branch tightly with your other hand, so I had nowhere else to pull on."

Lin Nan: "......"

She'd rather have fallen.

A pang of resentment welled up inside her. You Long seemed to have changed; he no longer loved her. Before, he would be frantic with worry over even the slightest injury, but just now, when she was in so much pain, You Long hadn't reacted at all...

Both men were military academy graduates, and they skillfully wiped away the mud and leaves before lying down on the tree.

After things quieted down, a strange group of people appeared.

What makes them peculiar is that these weapons-wielding, bipedal beings hardly resemble humans. They all raise the same leg and lower it with the same amplitude. Their arms swing gently like humans, but it always feels like they're being remotely controlled.

She didn't notice the serious expression on Yu Long's face beside her.

You Long turned his head slightly and signaled to Lin Nan with his eyes—something was wrong.

The colonel nodded and fumbled around in his waistband. You Long, who had initially intended to continue observing, turned back at the colonel's actions, staring at Lin Nan in utter horror: "What are you trying to do?!"

First of all, we are being hunted down!

Secondly, even without this group of people, the two of us would be lying in the tree!

Third, we're exes! Are you sure this is appropriate?!

Lin Nan rolled her eyes with difficulty, finally finding what she wanted. With a gentle flick of her finger, she pulled a lens from the lining of her belt; it had a magnifying function. Given her current mental state, Colonel Lin handed the lens to You Long, asking her to take a closer look.

Yu Long breathed a sigh of relief, his mind uncontrollably sensing the "temperature of his ex's belt" on his fingertips, and he brought the glasses to his eyes with a strange expression.

In his field of vision was a bizarre group magnified several times over. Yu Long moved his hand away uncomfortably, and suddenly his whole body stiffened as he moved.

Lin Nan could feel the person's body temperature drop by two degrees even from a distance, and frowned as she looked at her.

Yu Long's glasses framed an enlarged human face. It was expressionless, devoid of any spirit, like a machine.

Upon closer inspection, Yu Long indeed noticed a faint bulge behind the ears of those strange people.

Those were experimental subjects...

Yu Long felt a chill run down her spine. The next moment, she saw the person in the lead holding an instrument. Although the panel was a bit blurry, the patterns on it were very familiar to her.

"Damn it," You Long thought to himself, and reached out to pull Lin Nan: "Infrared, run!"

Those strange people had extremely sharp senses, and after noticing something moving, they quickly rushed towards the two of them.

Lin Nan stared at the dark muzzle of the gun, thinking to herself, "Why have I only encountered bad luck since we reunited?" She kicked her leg miserably and jumped up.

The instant she left the branch, a dense barrage of fire swept over, turning the entire tree into dust.

The upper part of the tree began to break, and the branches that were not shattered fell down haphazardly.

"This is an antimatter bullet!" the colonel shouted.

You Long cursed and stumbled.

Lin Nan grabbed a branch from the opposite tree and tumbled down. You Long was much more agile; like a large, ferocious beast, he kicked the tree beneath his feet, grabbed a vine, and swung for about twenty meters. Just as he was about to reach the end, You Long released his grip, twisted his waist, drew his gun, and fired two shots behind him.

She had no support; her curly hair flew in the air and was blown away by the wind, revealing her three-dimensional facial features.

Using the recoil from the pistol, You Long propelled himself a considerable distance, successfully landing on a tree some distance away.

Lin Nan had lost an arm and could only move on the ground. She remembered there was a river ahead, so she ran as fast as she could towards the sound of water.

The bullet grazed her hair as it struck, but Lin Nan didn't stop, striding across the layers of shadows.

Suddenly, a deep pit appeared directly in front of them. The colonel stepped onto the ledge and leaped over it, then pulled out his stun baton and fired an electric current, forcefully pressing down and knocking the two most pursuing monsters into the pit.

These people, seemingly unfazed by the pain, climbed up and quickly grabbed the pit walls with both hands, rising a considerable distance in an instant.

Lin Nan's eyes darkened; the confirmed guess made her very unhappy.

These "weirdos" can no longer be called "humans." No weaknesses have been found yet. They are fast, fearless of pain, and can use firearms.

The closest one had already run up to Lin Nan and swiftly raised the muzzle of its gun.

The colonel's pupils contracted slightly.

Trapped in a cage, facing the enemy's gun, she wasn't entirely confident that she could win if...

The strange men behind her suddenly started chattering and raised their guns, aiming them at Lin Nan. A whistling line of fire grazed Lin Nan's hair and pierced their chests. A sudden gust of wind made the colonel's heart and the silver hair tied high in a ponytail leap into her throat. She reached out instinctively, and the next second she was grabbed, lifted up, and thrown into the air...

She saw a sliver of pale blue sky through the dark branches.

You Long grabbed Lin Nan, put his feet together, and kicked the nearest strange man hard in the chest.

Behind them were countless gun barrels.

The strange man has fallen, but Lin Nan, who was taken out of the cage, is still in a daze.

She arrived so timely and so bravely that Lin Nan even had the illusion that she and You Long had been comrades-in-arms for many years.

The antimatter bullet was incredibly powerful, blasting his head off, which Yu Long caught and tucked under his arm.

Using the force of her kicking the enemy, she dragged Lin Nan backwards, and suddenly let go when she reached the end of the leap.

Fires erupted simultaneously, exploding in the air. You Long and Lin Nan plummeted rapidly, the swift currents instantly propelling them dozens of meters away.

For some reason, the strange people didn't jump into the river with them; instead, they stood neatly on the bank to "see them off" as they left.

The underwater scene took half a day to film, but Xue Wumi was still not satisfied, so he simply let the two of them come up to warm up for a while.

Jiang Yan was submerged at the bottom of the water, while Qin Lan was positioned higher up, giving them ample reason to pull her out.

She dived into the water and hugged Jiang Yan's waist.

Jiang Yan opened her eyes, her gaze appearing heavily misty underwater.

Qin Lan stared at her blankly for two seconds, and surprisingly felt that it wouldn't be so bad to stay like this forever.

A string of bubbles came out of Jiang Yan's mouth, and the hand holding hers began to tremble, clearly she had reached her limit.

Qin Lan snapped out of his daze and quickly pulled her up to float to the surface.

Jiang Yan didn't struggle and obediently hugged her waist as before.

Qin Lan's heart softened, and he helped her climb ashore. Xiao Qing and Jiang Yan's assistant were already waiting nearby with blankets and towels.

It was still quite cold in November. Qin Lan shivered, put on a towel, and started warming up on the spot.

Jiang Yan shivered slightly as she looked at him. Her assistant brought her a thermos, and she sipped the ginger tea.

Qin Lan warmed up quickly, and the moment she took off the towel, her whole body was steaming with heat, and her face was rosy. She looked much healthier than Jiang Yan, who was still wrapped in a blanket and looked pale.

Jiang Yan pressed her stomach uncomfortably, feeling a slight pain from the cold.

"Teacher Qin's skills are amazing." The martial arts instructor was genuinely surprised this time. She felt there was no need for her to stay in the crew any longer: "Director Xue, I can't accept something for nothing. Why don't you fire me?"

Xue Wumi came running at the sound: "Why do you suddenly want to quit? Wasn't the lead actor performing very well?"

"That's too good." The martial arts instructor sighed. "I feel like they don't really need me here. Teacher Qin, you study Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, right? Have you had any formal training?"

"Yes," Qin Lan said casually, "I learned it from Ye Wei."

"Also?" The martial arts instructor's head darted back and forth between her and Jiang Yan. "Haha, I didn't expect that both of you teachers had studied under the same master. What a coincidence! It seems that this Teacher Ye Wei must be very powerful..."

Qin Lan "accidentally" said a few more words: "It's not a coincidence. Ye Wei used to be my bodyguard, but later she went to work for Teacher Jiang."

"Oh, I see." The martial arts instructor wiped his sweat, his laughter trembling. "Haha, that's great..."

Jiang Yan: "..."

Xue Wumi looked left and right, then smiled meaningfully: "It seems that the two teachers have quite a deep connection."

“Yes, Teacher Qin’s bodyguards are very useful,” Jiang Yan suddenly said, startling Ye Wei who had just entered.

"Hey, Ye Wei." Qin Lan smiled at her.

Ye Wei felt all eyes around her were on her, which startled her so much that she pulled out a mask and put it on.

She walked towards Jiang Yan with feigned composure, but actually felt a chill run down her spine from all the stares: "Sister, here's a hot water bottle for you."

Qin Lan wouldn't let her off the hook: "What about mine?"

Ye Wei looked at her in shock, then at Xiao Qing and Yu Shan.

Sister, don't you have your own assistant and bodyguards?

Qin Lan glanced at Xiao Qing and said, "Look at Ye Wei, she's so good at getting things done now that she's with Teacher Jiang."

Xiaoqing: "???"

Sister Qin, look at your healthy complexion, are you pretending to be sick?

I feel like you're hot even in a tank top.

Jiang Yan sighed and handed the hot water bottle she had just received to Ye Wei: "Give it to Teacher Qin."

Ye Wei walked over with a blank expression and handed the hot water bottle to Qin Lan.

Qin Lan took it, rubbed it in her hands with satisfaction, and then called to Ye Wei, who was about to leave, "Take it back."

Ye Wei: "???"

She really wants a raise.

Doing the work of a dog, being tossed around all day as part of a play.