Save him/her!!!

With her light, agile form, Mu Qingcheng leapt onto an ancient tree. Hidden behind dense layers of leaves, and further shielded by her night suit, she vanished from sight with ease. Thankfully, her movements were swift, for just as she settled into concealment, a large group of men dressed in black surged into the very spot she had stood moments before.

By the faint moonlight, she could only make out that these people were thin and not particularly tall, and the language they spoke... was not Chinese.

“Are they... foreigners?”

Yet before she could listen more closely for any clues, the equipment in their hands made a cold sweat break out across her skin.

“They’re using thermal detectors!”

Mu Qingcheng gripped the tree trunk tightly, held her breath, and slowly readied her body, gathering all her strength in preparation for a fierce fight.

But just as she raised herself slightly, ready to leap down and confront them, a shadow suddenly darted through the bushes opposite her.

“Him?!”

It was the leader of Shadow.

Mu Qingcheng had thought he was following her all along, but somehow, he too had hidden himself here. However, to reveal himself now was nothing short of perilous.

She hadn’t yet figured out his true intentions, but there was a vague suspicion brewing within her—a suspicion she dared not fully believe.

At that moment, the group of black-clad men below the tree also spotted the figure.

Immediately, they stowed away their equipment and rushed forward, engaging him in a tangled fight. The dull thuds of combat echoed incessantly.

Mu Qingcheng remained concealed above, gently parting the leaves for a clear view of the scene.

It truly was the man from that night.

Every punch and kick he delivered was powerful and swift, his movements fierce and wild—like a beast unleashed. He faced his opponents with such ease that he seemed not to struggle at all.

His fighting style was unmistakable: heavy yet rapid, just as she remembered from their encounter at the club. In a heartbeat, she recognized him.

Should she go down and help him? Would he be able to hold out much longer?

Though she knew that staying hidden was the wisest course, Mu Qingcheng’s heart wavered at the sight of her former adversary fighting on her behalf.

No matter what, at least half his reason for intervening was because of her. The other half was likely to prevent the exact location of the Shadow headquarters from being exposed.

After quickly weighing the situation, she made up her mind to assist the leader of Shadow.

Yet, just as her resolve solidified, the situation suddenly changed.

The strong, tall man seemed to be struck by some hidden weapon. He staggered back two steps and ended up leaning right beneath the tree where she was concealed.

The entire trunk shook violently with the impact.

Mu Qingcheng instinctively pressed herself lower, but just as she was about to jump down, she heard a low, warning voice from below:

“Don’t move.”

She wasn’t sure whom those words were meant for—for her, or for the group of black-clad men still watching like wolves.

Yet instinctively, she knew the warning was meant for her.

Sure enough, two or three seconds later, after steadying his breath, the man struck the trunk twice with his arm, then gathered his strength again and dashed off in another direction.

The black-clad men followed at once, as relentless as hyenas tracking their prey.

“No, I have to save him!”

As soon as the last of the group vanished into the distance, Mu Qingcheng leapt down without a second thought and pursued them.

When she had been hiding above, she had already seen clearly the direction in which the man fled.

It was toward the waterfall.