Chapter 261: Catching the Traitor, a Shocked Li Ruxue, the Threads of Fate
Yun Zhenyue and the others carefully stepped past, avoiding the oil.
Then, they saw Tian Shu trigger the trap in the next section.
The ground in this part of the alley was glowing red-hot.
It was as if lava was flowing across the ground.
A hazy wave of heat swept through the entire alley.
They could all feel the sudden spike in temperature.
Meanwhile, Tian Shu, slick with grease, couldn’t keep her footing.
She was constantly "dancing" in the scorching alley.
"So hot, so hot!!!"
"Why would I set a trap like this?!"
Tian Shu was in agony, her movements utterly comical.
The moment she lifted her left foot,
her right foot was seared by the scorching ground!
She had no choice but to lift her right foot again, putting her left foot back down.
And so she alternated between her two feet,
performing an elegant waltz.
"Is this what ’roast mouse’ looks like?" Xiao Jiu was dumbfounded.
"Serves her right," Li Ruxue said, her gaze cold.
Xiao Ba nodded. "Good thing she stepped in it herself. Otherwise, we’d be the ones suffering."
Just as they were marveling at the sight,
Tian Shu slid again, right into the next section.
With her departure, the trap here vanished.
It seemed the Bewitching Array had determined that the trespasser had received her due punishment.
The group followed after her with ease.
Then they saw Tian Shu bathing in hot pot soup base.
The trap in this section was a boiling hot pot.
Even more outrageous than the scorching ground from before!
The whole ground was covered in bright red chili peppers.
Tian Shu was swimming in the hot pot soup base.
But the oil still wouldn’t come off, clinging stubbornly to her body.
You could see that Tian Shu was practically being cooked alive.
Her cheeks were flushed red from the heat!
She was covered in slices of green onion, ginger, and garlic.
Sichuan peppercorns were even being forced into her mouth.
"GLUG GLUG GLUG~"
The group could hear her being forced to gulp down mouthfuls of chili oil.
"She really is becoming a roast mouse," Xiao Jiu gulped. "First brushed with oil, then heated and baked, and finally boiled in a hot pot..."
"Is her luck really that bad?" Xiao Ba asked.
"Three punishments in a row?"
Even Yun Zhenyue felt a little sorry for her seeing this.
Of course.
Just a tiny, tiny bit.
’Serves you right for being so cocky!’
’Now you’ve fallen into your own trap.’
’—Feels great, doesn’t it?’
Before they could finish watching,
Tian Shu scrambled out of the hot pot.
But the oil on the soles of her feet was still there!
She slid once more into the next section!
"How is this oil so ridiculous!"
"I knew I shouldn’t have used this stuff! Aaaah!"
They all heard her cries of despair.
And just like that,
Tian Shu seemed to have become their pathfinder.
Yun Zhenyue and the others didn’t even have time to catch her.
Tian Shu was already rushing headlong into the next section!
And she always managed to precisely trigger the traps!
The traps that followed grew more and more outrageous!
A hail of bullets, poisonous snakes and centipedes, a giant hammer for a game of whack-a-mole...
Tian Shu didn’t manage to dodge a single one.
Her clothes were in tatters, her body was bruised black and blue, and her spirit was on the verge of collapse!
"She seems to be having a lot of fun," Xiao Jiu commented.
"Does this mean we misjudged her?"
"Does she really think these traps are fun, and she just wanted to entertain us from the start?"
"Sheesh, are there really people with such strange hobbies?" Xiao Ba wondered.
"She’s probably just extremely unlucky," said Li Ruxue.
"I hope she has a bit more fun," Yun Zhenyue said.
...
「In the 20th alley.」
A giant boulder came rolling from the end of the alley!
If she got hit,
she’d probably be flattened into a mouse pancake.
Tian Shu broke down!
"I’m done playing!!!"
BUZZ!
She voluntarily dispelled the Bewitching Array.
With a SMACK, she fell to the ground.
Her whole body went limp, her limbs too exhausted to move.
Although it was over now,
the scenes from the traps were deeply seared into Tian Shu’s mind.
She was like a little mouse that had been baked under the scorching sun for ten hours.
Weak, numb, and dazed.
A few drops of drool even trickled from the corner of her mouth.
It was simply worse than torture!
...
The Dragon Country audience couldn’t bear to watch.
That unlucky brat!
[Damn, first time I’ve ever seen someone torture themselves this badly.]
[Can someone really trigger traps a dozen times in a row?]
[Where did that oil come from? I want some.]
[Yeesh~ Is this what happens when you mess with Yun Zhenyue?]
[Why have all the foreign viewers gone quiet?]
...
「Meanwhile.」
The foreign audience couldn’t take it anymore either.
’This is her skill level?’
’This is the traitor that over a dozen people couldn’t catch?’
’The Factory must have made a mistake!’
She was just like a clown from the circus.
[Is this woman a lunatic?]
[What did Yun Zhenyue do this time? This is unscientific!]
[If I’d known this mission was so easy, it would’ve been better to send Miss Sumi.]
...
「At that moment.」
CLICK~
Xiao Jiu took out a pair of handcuffs.
She swiftly cuffed Tian Shu, who was lying limp on the ground.
"Tsk tsk~"
Xiao Jiu couldn’t help but sigh.
"Turns out she’s just an idiot. No wonder no one else wanted to take this mission."
Hearing this, Tian Shu’s neck flushed red.
She said in a weak voice, "I... I’m not an idiot."
"There’s something wrong. There’s definitely something wrong with you guys."
"—Especially you!" She looked at Yun Zhenyue, feeling utterly wronged.
"I’ve never fallen for my own traps before..."
’It was all too much of a coincidence!!’
’It was as if an invisible hand was manipulating everything.’
’Pushing her toward the side of misfortune!’
’Just the cold wind, the soda can, and the caterpillar were ridiculous enough!’
’How could three coincidences all happen at once?’
’Just to push me into a trap?’
BANG!
Seeing this, Xiao Ba took her small axe and knocked the indignant Tian Shu unconscious with the wooden handle.
"Enough chatter."
"I’ve had it with this stupid mouse," Xiao Ba grumbled.
At that, Li Ruxue subconsciously glanced at Yun Zhenyue.
’It’s true!’
’Tian Shu has a point.’
’If it weren’t for that series of coincidences,’
’not only would they have failed to catch Tian Shu, they would have been thoroughly toyed with instead!’
’So the key is what Yun Zhenyue did!’
If Yun Zhenyue had used brute force to foil Tian Shu’s plans,
Li Ruxue could have accepted that.
But she hadn’t seen Yun Zhenyue do a single thing.
Everything had happened so naturally.
The sisters, Xiao Ba and Xiao Jiu, hadn’t noticed anything,
but Li Ruxue could sense it.
It was all like an arrangement of fate.
As if countless invisible threads were pulling at the strings of destiny ahead.
The entire world was paving the way to "make Tian Shu unlucky."
’The only thing that could make all this happen...’
’...is a Great Evil!’
’Even an ordinary Great Evil would have trouble pulling this off!’
’Yun Zhenyue is truly something else.’
Li Ruxue took a deep breath.
’Could it be that I was wrong?’
’Is Yun Zhenyue actually extremely loyal to the organization?’
’Did she only pretend to leak information earlier to lull Tian Shu into a false sense of security?’
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been exposed so quickly.
"Can we go back and turn in the mission now?" Xiao Jiu asked.
"Mm..."
Yun Zhenyue looked at the unconscious Tian Shu with a headache.
It seemed Tian Shu’s bad luck wasn’t over yet.
Just then, a strange bird flew overhead, paused above Tian Shu, and with a SPLAT, a dropping landed right on her head.
Seeing Tian Shu’s wretched, unlucky state,
Yun Zhenyue’s own frustration faded away.
It’s just...
’I really didn’t want to catch Tian Shu!’