<h4>Chapter 1042: Chapter 1049: Perilous Situation (6)</h4>


    "Ling Chen, do you think you can stop me?" Zhu Hong sneered disdainfully, "Do you know what the biggest difference between you and me is? Sometimes he’s too sentimental and cares too much about others’ safety, all of which will be your fatal weaknesses. But I’m different, I don’t have so many scruples. As long as I can survive and achieve my goals, I dare do anything, including abandoning my own sister."


    Upon hearing this, the faces of Ling Chen and Zhu Xiaozhu changed suddenly.


    "Zhu Hong, what are you trying to do?" Ling Chen asked in a low voice.


    Zhu Hong walked over to Song Mingzhe and ced one of the explosives on Zhu Xiaozhu. Then he pulled out a lighter from his pocket and positioned it under the fuse of the explosive.


    Seeing Zhu Hong’s actions, Ling Chen was taken aback and hurriedly shouted, "Zhu Hong, are you crazy? She’s your own sister."


    Zhu Hong smirked, seemingly ignoring Ling Chen’s admonishment, and directly led Zhu Xiaozhu aside. Not far away was a two to three-meter deep concrete pit, which should have been a storage pool for the underground pipeline. Because it had been abandoned for a long time, there was no water in it.


    Zhu Hong led Zhu Xiaozhu to the concrete pit, tied her hands with a rope, and then lit the fuse of the explosive with a lighter. Once the fuse started burning, Zhu Hong pushed her without hesitation, directly into the concrete pit.


    "No!"


    Ling Chen roared loudly.


    Ah!


    Hearing Zhu Xiaozhu’s scream from below the concrete pit, Ling Chen didn’t have time to think and rushed over, jumping into the concrete pit.


    "Uncle Song, let’s go." Zhu Hong called Song Mingzhe and walked away without looking back.


    Song Mingzhe nced at the concrete pit, followed Zhu Hong’s steps, and asked, "Mr. Zhu, you’re really leaving your sister alone?"


    Zhu Hong chuckled and said, "Don’t worry, with Ling Chen there, he won’t let anything happen to my sister. Besides, if my sister gets hurt, it’ll slow Ling Chen down, preventing him froming after us. Uncle Song, it’s just the two of us now, and your pets aren’t here. If it really came to a fight, do you think we could take him on?"


    "What if the explosive..."


    Zhu Hong waved a hand, interrupting Song Mingzhe, "Rx, if it really explodes, it would take care of Ling Chen. Sacrificing my sister to kill Ling Chen is a worthwhile trade. Uncle Song, let’s not worry about it and move quickly; I don’t want Ling Chen tracking us down again."


    At this moment, in the concrete pit, Ling Chen grabbed the fuse of the explosive, pulling it out directly and tossing it aside, then stomped on it until the fuse waspletely extinguished.


    "Xiaozhu, are you okay?" Ling Chen picked up Zhu Xiaozhu, helping her lean against the wall.


    "It hurts!" Zhu Xiaozhu gritted her teeth, her body involuntarily twitching from the pain.


    "Where does it hurt?" Ling Chen asked with concern.


    Zhu Xiaozhu pointed to her ankle. Besides the sprain of her right ankle, her entire left arm was dislocated, causing tears to nearly flow from the pain.


    Ling Chen, without hesitating much, rolled up Zhu Xiaozhu’s pant leg, removed her shoe, and gently lifted her right foot. Seeing the swollen ankle, Ling Chen pressed down on it lightly, and when Zhu Xiaozhu’s face showed pain, he immediately let go and said, "It’s okay, the bone isn’t broken, just sprained. You’ll be fine after some rest. Let me fix your arm first."


    Zhu Xiaozhu gently nodded, biting her lip, closing her eyes, not daring to watch Ling Chen.


    "Don’t be afraid, it’s okay. By the way! Did you eat today?"


    "I didn’t... ah!"


    Before Zhu Xiaozhu could finish her sentence, a scream of pain interrupted her. Seeing Ling Chen’s smiling face, Zhu Xiaozhu couldn’t help but re at him with a hint of me, "Why didn’t you warn me first?"


    Ling Chen smiled and replied, "I saw you were scared, so I wanted to distract you." After a pause, he teased, "Aren’t you a doctor? Do you also fear pain? Alright, alright, I won’t joke with you anymore." With that, Ling Chen stood up, looked towards the top of the concrete pit, and said, "I’ll climb up and see if there’s a rope. Stay here and don’t move."


    Zhu Xiaozhu gently nodded, advising, "Be careful."


    Ling Chen acknowledged her, then jumped powerfully, using the walls of the pit for leverage to propel himself upward. In the blink of an eye, he climbed to the top of the concrete pit.


    Once out of the pit, Ling Chen looked around, found several broken hemp ropes, tied them together, and lowered them down.


    Once Zhu Xiaozhu wrapped the hemp rope around herself, Ling Chen immediately began pulling it from above. Before long, Zhu Xiaozhu was pulled out of the concrete pit.


    "Let me carry you." Ling Chen squatted in front of Zhu Xiaozhu, gesturing for her to climb on.


    Seeing Ling Chen’s gesture, Zhu Xiaozhu’s face blushed slightly. She gently wrapped her arms around Ling Chen’s neck and rested her face on his back.


    Holding Zhu Xiaozhu, Ling Chen surveyed the surroundings, frowning slightly. There were two paths nearby, and just now he had been so focused on rescuing Zhu Xiaozhu that he hadn’t noticed which way Zhu Hong and Song Mingzhe went.


    "Go that way, that’s probably the way they went." Zhu Xiaozhu pointed to one of the paths.


    Ling Chen asked curiously, "How do you know?"


    "He’s my brother; I think no one knows him better than I do."


    "Your brother is not the same as he used to be."


    "I know. From the moment he pushed me down, I didn’t intend to acknowledge him as my brother anymore. Ling Chen, you’re right, my brother haspletely changed—detached, ruthless, and indifferent to kinship or his own family." With a pause, Zhu Xiaozhu continued, "However, no matter how much his character changes, his habits won’t. He has a habit of choosing the right side. Whenever he needs to make a decision, he’ll stick to it."


    "Alright, I’ll trust your word." With that, Ling Chen carried Zhu Xiaozhu and headed straight down the left path.


    "Wait!" Zhu Xiaozhu hurriedly called out, "You’re going the wrong way."


    Ling Chen smiled and said, "Don’t worry, I’m not going the wrong way. Your brother didn’t hear an explosion, so he knows we’re fine. Since you’re so familiar with your brother, how could he not be familiar with you? So if his habit is to choose right, then choosing left must be the right move." With those words, Ling Chen quickened his pace, carrying Zhu Xiaozhu forward.


    A few minutester, walking through the passage, Ling Chen suddenly heard a loud ’bang’ ahead. Immediately following, the ground and walls began to shake violently, dust rose, and stones asionally fell from the top.