Fueled by the sea breeze, the fire grew larger.

Kujo Yua stopped in her tracks, she also saw Uesugi Shion. She ordered to open fire, the mobile squad sprayed bullets at the wall of flames, their view blocked, essentially shooting at nothing.

The harsh sound of metal scraping came from behind the wall of fire, and the silhouette of Uesugi Shion faintly appeared amidst the distorted heat waves.

"Don't waste bullets, Director Kujo!"

Her laughter mixed with the rumble of collapsing trees, like a venomous snake hissing: "Fushimi Roku, I know you're listening—surrender and come to me! Otherwise, my companions will kill the hostage!"

Fushimi Roku raised his voice in interruption: "Let's put the chips on the table first, shall we? Where's Miss Moriki? Want me to walk into the fire without even seeing if the hostage is alive or dead?"

"She's in an absolutely safe place."

Uesugi Shion warned, "Don't think about killing me first. Every three minutes, I'll send a specific signal to my companions. Once the signal is interrupted, he'll immediately kill the hostage."

Kujo Yua navigated with the mobile squad, trying to cross into the isolated area once the flames had burned out. The life of the hostage was completely out of her concern.

As long as she can catch Uesugi Shion, she could award Moriyama Yasurou as many medals as she wants afterwards!

Uesugi Shion was not lying, as her two other team members were carrying Moriyama Yasurou, running frantically in the opposite direction to get as far away as possible.

Moriyama Yasurou's wound on her forehead had stopped bleeding, the platelets had done their job, forming large scabs on her face.

Her vision was all red, seeing everything in hues of crimson, her head was a bit dizzy, she wanted to struggle but had no strength, and her hands were cuffed behind her.

"Let's... take a break..."

One of them said through heavy panting, "I can...can't run...can't run anymore..."

Moriyama Yasurou recognized it was Yakou Shichi's voice; she always remembered that guy's arrogant demeanor. This time, she followed Fushimi Roku and the others back to Cat Island, secretly hoping to give Yakou Shichi a heavy punch—not the love-hate kind, but the kind that beats the annoying person senseless.

Now the opportunity had arisen, yet she was powerless.

Yakou Shichi was also exhausted. He had been carrying a living person all this way, and his stamina had reached its limit. Without waiting for his companion's reply, he sat down on the grass with a thud.

The companion was someone Moriyama Yasurou hadn't seen before; he was bald, with dark skin, resembling an African American at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it was just suntanned.

"Get up, let's keep going for a while."

The bald man grabbed Yakou Shichi's arm, forcing him to continue forward: "Quickly, don't let that guy catch up, the further away the better."

... That guy?

Moriyama Yasurou felt a jolt, guessing the bald man was referring to Fushimi Roku. It seemed Fushimi Roku was chasing them and was closer than expected, or else they wouldn't be rushing like this.

"I re-really can't walk anymore."

It was apparent that Yakou Shichi was physically weak, lying on the ground like a spread-eagle, letting the bald man tug on him without getting up.

"No need for you to carry, just walk behind me. Can you at least do that?" The bald man backed off a bit.

"Let me catch my breath..." Yakou Shichi said.

"You've breathed enough. Don't let your body cool down; if you rest too long, you'll become completely weak." The bald man understood more than Yakou Shichi.

Yakou Shichi had no choice but to grudgingly stand up. He picked up a stick, using it as support, and limped forward.

The bald man walked ahead, carrying Moriyama Yasurou, his steps brisk and showing no signs of fatigue.

Moriyama Yasurou lifted her head, just enough to see Yakou Shichi's weak figure. It was her first time seeing Yakou Shichi's face clearly; objectively, he was somewhat handsome, but subjectively, he was a despicable and lecherous guy.

"Useless."

She spat at Yakou Shichi, trying to provoke the kidnappers and delay their movement.

Even if she got hit, it didn't matter; hitting her would take time, and each second delayed would increase the hope of rescue.

Yakou Shichi wanted to dodge but lacked the strength, stumbling, failing to adjust his balance, and fell to his knees, narrowly missing the spittle flying over his head.

The bald man turned around, seeing Yakou Shichi on his knees, hands supporting the muddy ground, just short of shouting 'Kuyashi!'

"Honestly can't go on, just five minutes, five minutes!" Yakou Shichi spread his fingers.

His actual job was a designer, a mental worker who ideally should be in air-conditioned rooms, sipping coffee while tapping away at a computer, adjusting parameters or designing blueprints. Even lovemaking involved the female partner doing the moving, while he lay back and enjoyed; unless necessary, he wouldn't do high-intensity aerobic activity like this for his entire life.

The bald man finally stopped, saying, "Alright then."

The three took a five-minute break in situ, with Moriyama Yasurou remaining silent throughout, until the bald man pulled Yakou Shichi up and began to resume the journey, when Moriyama Yasurou spoke up, "I need to use the bathroom."

The bald man pretended not to hear, Yakou Shichi seized the chance to rest and echoed: "Should we let her use the bathroom?"

"No, it'll leave a scent, and she'll make marks," the bald man uncompromisingly replied.

"No problem, we'll keep an eye on her, and once she's done, we'll shovel the excretion away," Yakou Shichi was desperate for a rest.

The bald man indicated there was no room for negotiation. Moriyama Yasurou interjected, "If you don't let me down, I'll pee on you."

"..."

The bald man was silent for just two seconds: "Do as you please."

Moriyama Yasurou had just about regained her strength, but still, she feigned weakness, sprawling feebly on the bald man's shoulder, pleading weakly, "I really need to use the bathroom, please... useless man, can you say something?"

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