Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!-Chapter 84: Mission, Ambush II

The more I think about it, the more suffocated I feel. How could my small arms and legs possibly stand a chance against anyone!

The damn countdown, with every second ticking away, now shockingly appears like a phantom hovering in mid-air, right in front of her eyes.

Mission countdown 71:50:12

Mission countdown 71:50:11

Mission countdown 71:50:10

Constantly reminding her that her life countdown only has 71:50:09 left?

Cheng Xiaoxiao wanted to cry but had no tears!

On the short road to the town, there were actually two groups of bandit refugees robbing people. One of their old tricks involved a woman holding a baby only a few months old, kneeling with difficulty in front of Cheng Xiaoxiao, begging her for food. They hadn’t eaten anything for several days, and their pitiful appearance was truly moving.

Little did they know, the system had long seen through their schemes.

Her inner frustration made Cheng Xiaoxiao’s temper quite bad.

She vigorously shook off the woman’s hand that was gripping her pant leg, leaving a few dirty fingerprints. "I’ll give you five breaths to get out of my sight, or else, I’ll kill you!"

Cheng Xiaoxiao’s icy voice interrupted the woman’s act of misery, stunning her with disbelief that such words could come from the girl’s mouth, causing her face to twitch awkwardly as if she couldn’t control her facial muscles.

As the last breath approached, Leng Qi drew his sword, ready to strike. Seeing the situation go south, the woman quickly scrambled up and ran away in a hurry, confused about why their usually foolproof tactic had failed.

The speed of her escape amazed Leng Qi, thinking, is this truly the stamina of a woman who hasn’t eaten for several days?

At the same time, he admired Cheng Xiaoxiao, as she seemed to distinguish good from bad people at a glance. The more strange things that happened around her, the more his resistance to fear improved.

Now he could even maintain his composure calmly facing the situation.

They passed through a patch of desolate woods and finally reached a small hill outside the town.

From afar, they could see the dilapidated main gate, haphazardly reinforced with wooden materials. The gates were tightly shut, with eight burly men patrolling outside, each wielding a big knife and pacing back and forth.

Cheng Xiaoxiao circumvented the gate’s line of sight and reached the base of a side wall.

Following the wall inwards until they could go no further, she stopped.

Although puzzled, Leng Qi did not question anything until Cheng Xiaoxiao halted.

"Do you want me to go and have a look around?" Leng Qi asked.

"No need!"

The system was currently scanning and reporting the personnel deployment in the town; her position was centrally located, just perfect to cover the entire town.

Leng Qi felt that since Cheng Xiaoxiao uttered that life-or-death statement, she had become more serious, as if suddenly growing up.

The sparkle in her eyes had shed a touch of innocence, gaining a weightiness and oppression. She didn’t tell him what had happened, but he guessed it wasn’t simple.

Cheng Xiaoxiao took out a pen and paper from her bundle, which Leng Qi had never seen before.

Not minding Leng Qi’s curious gaze, she sketched the layout of the town on A4 paper with a pencil.

According to the system’s narration, she marked where the troops were concentrated, their various functions, the armory, food storage areas, kitchen, living areas, and captivity zones—all labeled in the local script.

After half an hour, Cheng Xiaoxiao finished, her sheet full—a scaled-down version of Qishan Town.

Leng Qi was astonished, realizing that even a simple black-and-white contrast could produce such vivid drawings—simply amazing.

His perception of Cheng Xiaoxiao changed yet again; this young woman always managed to surprise others.

Rubbing her aching wrist, Cheng Xiaoxiao looked at the dense numbers; the number of bandits was about 3,000, with around five to six thousand captives. Adding the bandits together didn’t even total ten thousand. Damn it, for a massacre of ten thousand, at least 90% must be achieved, meaning saving nine thousand people. What international joke is this!

Cheng Xiaoxiao felt the sinister malice of the ultimate mission.

"Host, don’t be discouraged! Isn’t there still three days left? Maybe something will change?" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Let’s hope so!"

"Host, if you give up, both of us are done for," the system said, sounding pitiful.

"Who wants to die if they can live? I’ve tried my best. Life just loves to play jokes," Cheng Xiaoxiao mocked herself with a laugh.

Her clear eyes suddenly burst with intense unwillingness as the undercurrents surged in her gaze, leaving only profound contemplation and blazing courage. From now on, she didn’t need to lament the passing of spring and autumn, to succeed or die trying.

Resolving her inner belief, Cheng Xiaoxiao sighed inwardly, fearing she would have to wager everything this time.

A while later...

Cheng Xiaoxiao’s consciousness entered the System Mall, looking at the 900 number beneath the smallest 6x telescope, her heart aching. The 8x was 1200, the 10x was 1500; she could only afford the lowest telescope—truly pitiful.

She didn’t rush to purchase, lifting her head to look at Leng Qi, "I want to make a deal with your Pavilion Master, offering something good for him. Could he lend me 10 experts for a day? Isn’t it quite worth it?"

Leng Qi was puzzled, "Miss Cheng, what do you need people for?"

"What do you say we take down this bandit nest?"

Leng Qi’s eyes widened in disbelief, "Are you kidding? Even if the Pavilion Master lends you 10 people, it’s impossible to take this town. If it’s truly like what you drew, with over three thousand bandits inside, going there is just sending them to their deaths."

"What if I’m determined to take it down?" Cheng Xiaoxiao said resolutely.

Leng Qi looked at Cheng Xiaoxiao’s bright eyes, unsure of what to say. Previously she also mentioned wanting to take down a gang of mountain bandits, yet back then, she wasn’t so impulsive and resolute. Why here, knowing it’s impossible, does she insist?

"What if I said, if I don’t do it, I’ll die?"

She’d already revealed enough, not minding exposing a bit more. Rather than leaving others to guess randomly, it was better she revealed her trump card.

Of course, this trump card wasn’t the system or her transmigrator identity, just an excuse to make her uniqueness plausible.

Amidst Leng Qi’s shock, Cheng Xiaoxiao continued, "You know I have some special abilities, but they’re not free or unlimited. They require some price to be paid."

"This ability imprinted itself in my mind after I drowned. Everyone calls it a prophetic dream. In reality, prophetic dreams are just one aspect of the ability; they can foresee future disasters. The downside is, once I dream of the disaster, I must change the outcome it brings. If I can’t, there’s... only death."

Saying this, Cheng Xiaoxiao wore a look of desolate sorrow, as if the whole world didn’t understand her or know how hard she had it. Such grievance and powerlessness convinced Leng Qi.

Even if it seemed incredulous, the multitude of facts laid bare couldn’t be ignored.

What he couldn’t understand before was now clear as day.

"I’ll relay your message; as for whether the Pavilion Master agrees..." Leng Qi couldn’t guarantee what arrangements the Pavilion Master would make.

Cheng Xiaoxiao nodded, "I understand!"

"But... even with borrowed manpower, the disparity in strength..." Leng Qi didn’t believe that this would suffice to rival the bandits inside; after all, they not only had formidable bandit leaders but also possibly many powerful subordinates.