The Beauty CEO's Personal Expert

However, Ling Chen didn't dare to take it lightly, carefully stepping on the branches as he moved forward, leaping from one tree to another.

Because it was nighttime, the light in the forest was too dim, and nothing could be seen clearly, so Ling Chen walked very cautiously with each step.

After a few minutes had passed, Ling Chen suddenly felt his footing soften; because he couldn't see clearly, he had stepped on a fragile branch. In an instant, he heard a 'crack', and the branch broke instantly, causing Ling Chen's body to plummet down.

Bam!

Falling from a height of seven or eight meters, Ling Chen's back landed heavily on the ground with a dull thud.

Damn! Feeling the pain in his back, Ling Chen cursed under his breath, hurriedly climbing up from the ground and running quickly forward. At this moment, he couldn't afford any delay. Once those three people caught up, he would be in trouble.

As he thought about it, the sound of footsteps behind him came again. Ling Chen gritted his teeth, enduring the pain in his back, and rushed forward swiftly.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out not far ahead: "Who? Come out!"

Upon hearing that sudden voice, Ling Chen was slightly startled. He had unexpectedly encountered another person. Without time to think, Ling Chen leapt into the nearby bushes and instantly disappeared.

Ling Chen had just hidden himself when he heard the footsteps of those three people approaching.

"Stop!" A soft shout rang out, Wu Yue voiced coldly: "Let's see where you think you can escape to now."

"Who are you?" The man replying had a voice full of vigor, showing no intention of fleeing.

"It's me." When that old voice sounded, there was immediately a gasp from the opposite side: "Gong Xiong, is it you?"

As the words fell, the other party didn't even think and turned to flee. Clearly, the man was well aware of Gong Xiong's prowess. Judging from his panicked behavior, it was clear he had a great deal of fear toward Gong Xiong.

"Hmph! Still want to run?" Gong Xiong sneered, his foot slipped, and his body vanished like a phantom.

In just a few breaths, a 'bang' sounded from ahead. Following closely, the man's pleading voice was heard: "Old Gong, I have no grievance with you, please let me go."

"Let you go? Don't forget, we are opponents now, why should I let you go?"

Upon hearing this, the man said unwillingly: "If that's the case, then I'll concede."

"It's not up to you." Gong Xiong replied with a sneer.

"Gong Xiong, what do you want? Do you intend to kill me? Don't forget, the organizers have rules, you can't take someone's life."

"Shut up! Stop using the organizers' rules against me. I don't follow them." After a pause, Gong Xiong continued: "If you want to survive, I can give you a chance. Follow me and when I win, I'll set you free. At that time, I won't skimp on your benefits. How about it?"

"This..."

"What, unwilling?" Gong Xiong's tone carried a hint of coldness.

"Alright then, I'll help you this once. But I hope you keep your word."

"Very good. A wise man knows when to give in. You're a smart one. So now, take this thing."

"What is it?"

"Don't worry, this won't take your life, it's just an additional guarantee. Although you promised to help me, how do I know you won't run away halfway? I don't have time to build trust with you now, so it's better to use unorthodox means."

Because Gong Xiong and the others were quite far away, plus the light was too dim, Ling Chen couldn't see anything, he could only hear their conversation. The man obviously followed Gong Xiong's suggestion, and before long, Gong Xiong said: "Alright, let's go."

Listening to the footsteps gradually fade away, Ling Chen secretly let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, due to the sudden appearance of that person, he hadn't been discovered. However, after this incident, Ling Chen realized that the competition between the Earthly List masters was even more cruel than he had imagined.

Actually using unorthodox means to compel someone to work for them.

Yet, Ling Chen clearly remembered that before entering Lin Zi, the organizer's representative had said that as long as you don't harm someone's life, any means could be used.

Indeed!

If they could recruit others to join, it would surely be much more convenient.

It's just that among the Earthly List masters in this competition, he didn't know anyone besides Wang Hao. And even for Wang Hao, he didn't have any trust at all, so how could he collaborate with them?

After pondering for a while, Ling Chen shook his head. Forget it! Let's not think about it now, better find a safe place to rest for a while, and wait until daylight.

The next morning.

Ling Chen was awakened by the chirping of birds in the forest. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Ling Chen stretched out, and jumped down from the branch.

After finding a few wild fruits nearby to fill his stomach, Ling Chen began searching for the items hidden by the organizers. Yesterday, he spent most of the day drawing a rough map of Lin Zi. Today, he would investigate area by area.

Looking at the map he had drawn, Ling Chen locked onto one of the areas. That place was not too far from him, only a half-hour walk away.

Worried that someone might suddenly appear around him, Ling Chen moved very cautiously, stepping lightly to avoid making any noise.

After forty minutes, Ling Chen finally reached the area. Looking around, it was surrounded by lush trees, one after another, a thick layer of branches and leaves covered the ground, creaking underfoot.

Surveying the surroundings, Ling Chen suddenly noticed a very sturdy tree not far away, the trunk diameter was nearly a meter, even two of him couldn't wrap around it.

Once beside the tree, Ling Chen scrutinized it for a few moments. Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to a crack at the top of the tree.

The crack was about a meter long, with the midpoint being half a meter wide.

Apart from this, Ling Chen also found some fine scratches on the bark surface.

This is...

Ling Chen squinted his eyes, a glimmer of light flashed in them. These traces left on the bark were very new, likely made within the last two days. Moreover, those marks seemed to have been ground out by something.

Could it be such a coincidence?

At that thought, Ling Chen embraced the tree trunk and rapidly climbed upwards. Soon, he reached the vicinity of the crack. Looking inside from the outside, Ling Chen's gaze brightened instantly.

Within the crack, there was a yellow cloth package, half a meter high.

Haha!

Ling Chen couldn't help but laugh with delight; he truly found what he was seeking effortlessly, never expecting that the item was hidden right here.

Coincidence!

Such a stroke of luck.

The others spent so much effort searching, but he obtained it without lifting a finger.

Wasting no time, Ling Chen promptly retrieved the yellow cloth package from the crack.