Chapter 279: Stimulating Energy

"Gu Yang, take a rest."

Before they knew it, it was the latter half of the night; even Ma Chulong felt a hint of fatigue.

Compared to the fatigue, the fact that they still hadn't found a single clue was even more despairing.

From start to finish, the lines of Gu Yang's face were drawn tight, like a fully wound spring that simply could not stop.

At this moment, the streets were empty save for them.

"Have you found anything strange in this area?"

Ma Chulong and Ma Chulan glanced at each other, both seeing helplessness in the other's face.

"No. I suspect the other party used some method to conceal all traces of their presence."

This was Ma Chulong's conclusion. After all, Kong Xiang was extremely certain that Kong Nian and the others were definitely hidden in this very area.

Gu Yang's heart sank to the bottom. Things were far more troublesome than imagined.

And now, two days had passed since Su Yan's disappearance; her fate was unknown.

Although the Ma siblings were also very worried, no news was good news for now.

"Let's go join Captain Du and the others first. Maybe they've found some clues."

Actually, Ma Chulong said this on purpose. They couldn't afford to collapse from exhaustion before Su Yan was found.

Exhaustion that couldn't be concealed filled Gu Yang's brows and eyes. Though he knew this in his heart, he could only agree.

The prison cell.

A needle-like pain came from Kong Nian's wrists; her originally fair wrists were already swollen red. Yet even so, the ropes binding her hands showed no sign of loosening.

She didn't want to give up, but reason told her it was utterly useless.

A long time had passed. Gan Hua still hadn't been brought back, and she had already made the worst psychological preparations.

"Didn't you say Uncle Kong has a tracking talisman? Why haven't they found us yet?" Kong Yue's resentful voice rang out from the side.

Kong Nian froze all movement. Already irritable, her anger, which she could no longer suppress, flared up further at the questioning.

In truth, they all knew in their hearts that since Kong Xiang still hadn't arrived, the tracking talisman must have malfunctioned. That was why Kong Nian was sparing no effort to try and save herself.

"Kong Nian, I'm talking to you. Are you deaf? Or mute?"

Now it was a matter of life and death; perhaps none of them would live to see the sun outside. The jealousy and resentment Kong Yue had suppressed deep in her heart for so long erupted completely at this moment.

"Kong Yue, can you shut up? If you're so capable, why don't you just walk out of here yourself?" Kong Nian's voice was incomparably low.

If she hadn't startled the snake, how would they have ended up in this predicament?

"I certainly don't have that ability, but aren't you always so amazing? You're the heir of our Kong family generation; all the elders' hopes and efforts are pinned on you. Turns out you're nothing special after all."

Having said this, Kong Yue actually burst into loud laughter. Her laughter woke Ruan Tao and Kong Yueling.

The two of them really couldn't understand. Things had already come to this—why couldn't they unite and think of a way to escape, instead of infighting?!

"How I am is none of your business." Kong Nian retorted domineeringly.

Kong Yue struggled to her feet. By now, she had no scruples left.

"Kong Nian, do you know what I hate most about you? It's your lofty superiority! Just because you got lucky at birth, you get to stand above everyone else's efforts. If it weren't for your heaven-defying talent, you wouldn't even measure up to me!"

These were years of pent-up hatred, now shrieked out in all their ugliness.

And these words happened to strike Kong Nian's bottom line.

She had always known there were people in the clan who harbored reservations about her.

They believed it was only because of the energy in her dual pupils that the clan placed such high hopes on her. So from childhood to adulthood, the effort she put in far exceeded that of her peers by ten or a hundred times. Yet in the face of so-called talent, all that effort and sacrifice seemed worthless.

No one saw how much sweat and toil she poured in to live up to the clan's expectations. They attributed everything she had achieved solely to that power.

But that massive energy—envied, feared, even hated by everyone—was not innately hers from birth.

She wished every moment that even without that power, she could still be the most outstanding talent of the Kong family.

But it seemed she was wrong, and outrageously so.

"Yes, I am gifted. From the day I was born, I stood at heights you can never reach. I've said it before: if you have the ability, pull me down, instead of acting like a weakling who only knows how to vent anger at a time like this!"

Flames burned in Kong Nian's eyes. Since everyone had already decided this, she would fulfill their wishes!

Kong Yue was driven mad with rage. She completely lost her mind and lunged at Kong Nian.

Kong Nian wasn't one to back down either. Both were bound and unable to use their abilities; they could only clash and brawl in the most primitive, crude way.

Ruan Tao and Kong Yueling were dumbfounded, unable to comprehend why things had turned out like this.

But the cell was only so big. With two people in a fierce conflict, they naturally couldn't stay out of it.

Movement was inconvenient, and they couldn't see; the scene was absolutely indescribable by the word "chaos."

Su Yan lay not far away, originally wanting to rest and conserve energy, but this commotion directly disturbed her rest.

Since she couldn't sleep, she might as well watch the show.

Originally just a war between Kong Yue and Kong Nian, with the "addition" of Ruan Tao and Kong Yueling, it became impossible to tell who was attacking whom, or who had bumped into whom.

Kong Nian suddenly lost her footing and fell.

At that exact moment, Ruan Tao turned impatiently, his hands bound behind his back. The instant Kong Nian fell, the black cloth covering her eyes brushed against Ruan Tao's fingers.

Ruan Tao seemed to understand instinctively in that split second; he actually grabbed the black cloth directly.

The moment Kong Nian hit the ground, the black cloth over her eyes was torn off.

At that same instant, Su Yan's gaze met Kong Nian's eyes.

A severe, explosive pain erupted in Su Yan's mind.

It felt as if an extremely important image flashed by in an instant.

This situation was completely unexpected by Su Yan, and she couldn't understand why she would have such a feeling.

Kong Nian's eyes gave her a sense of déjà vu, and the energy surging within them was incredibly familiar—so much so that the blood in her body instantly boiled.

That energy was exactly the same as the energy in her own dual pupils!

At this moment, the energy she had suppressed so well began to surge wildly, as if it wanted to destroy heaven and earth...

(End of Chapter)