Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 305 Severance (Seeking monthly votes!)
The reason he was able to plan things in the team was largely because he was resilient and not easily influenced by external factors. Therefore, many things could not easily affect his state of mind.

Those who offer advice and strategies need to have a mindset that is not easily swayed by external influences, like a backbone. It is precisely because those who offer advice and strategies possess such unwavering determination that they can do things more reliably and are less easily affected by external factors.

A team needs not only a leader, but also someone with a sharp mind who can offer advice and make far-sighted plans for the team.

A person who can consider the overall situation of the team and think from the perspective of their teammates is considered a core figure in the team.

Such core figures within a team are often of paramount importance to the team.

Sometimes, his opinion can directly determine an individual's life or death, or even the survival of the entire team.

Such people are often those who can control their emotions and behavior.

Therefore, looking at the core of the group, when he and Fang Yi walked up to Xiao Lu before his boss died, the painful struggle he saw on Xiao Lu's face, his uncontrollable behavior and the emotions he inadvertently revealed, actually reflected his true feelings deep inside.

That was a part of him that he suppressed in his heart, a part that he couldn't usually show.

He stopped using his legs and simply sat down on the ground.

Since he no longer needed to exert effort to stabilize his squatting posture, his core relaxed instantly.

His expression and posture were relaxed.

He seemed to have forgotten that there were three other people waiting for his answer, and he couldn't see that several people were watching him intently from a short distance away.

Feeling relaxed, he gently patted a rather robust middle-aged man beside the path twice, as if to say something, or perhaps just to test the man's reaction.

But his gaze wasn't on the middle-aged man at all; instead, he was staring intently at Xiaolu's expression.

This action was witnessed by his teammate Zhu Zi, who was pinned to the ground by the short knife, and also by Jiang Xian and the other two.

Jiang Xian didn't find anything strange about it.

Jiang Xian had no idea about their team, so he couldn't know who he was closer to.

Even so, Jiang Xian still vaguely felt that there was some problem between the core leader and the four people lying on the ground.

Jiang Xian was the most observant. Although the teammate named Zhu Zi, who was the backbone of the team, also saw the backbone's behavior, he did not notice the backbone's gaze. Jiang Xian, on the other hand, was different.

Jiang Xian noticed that although the main character was patting the robust middle-aged man, his eyes kept glancing at the youngest and fairest-skinned man next to him.

Zhu Zi didn't notice any of these things; he could only continue reading.

Jiang Xian's position was very advantageous, as he could see both the location of the key player and the location of his teammate, Zhu Zi.

Therefore, Jiang Xian seemed to be able to see all of Zhu Zi's actions.

The face beneath the hood remained expressionless. She glanced at the pillar, then turned to look at the location of the leader and the four team members lying on the ground, continuing to closely observe the leader's every move, afraid of missing even the slightest clue.

Even after being slapped by the leader, the burly middle-aged man's expression of pain and struggle remained unchanged and unpredictable. He simply repeated the extremely painful expression in waves, still looking ferocious.

The robust middle-aged man did not change in the slightest despite the few pats from the backbone; his face remained unchanged, and his body showed no change.

The leader didn't know if the middle-aged man could feel pain. He just glanced at the middle-aged man casually, then turned his gaze back to Xiao Lu as if he had no feelings at all.

Throughout the entire process, he never openly focused his gaze on Xiaolu's face or stared at her.

Later, after he noticed that the middle-aged man's expression hadn't changed after he patted the burly man, he then patted the remaining three men one by one without any emotion, still without any specific target.

This action was mainly used to confuse Jiang Xian and his two companions.

Zhu Zi knew about his relationship with Xiao Lu. Even if he didn't know the specifics of their relationship, he could guess a lot from his observations of them in the team.

Furthermore, when the core member of the team was embroiled in rumors, Xiao Lu stood up and earnestly defended him, arguing with others. From this point alone, Zhu Zi clearly saw the relationship between Xiao Lu and the core member.

Zhu Zi didn't think that much about it. He didn't realize that the main character's act of patting the burly middle-aged man, and then patting each of the three men one by one after that, was a cover-up.

Because the first person he patted was the most robust of the four, and also the closest to him, in the outermost position, Zhu Zi believed that the leader was choosing the strongest and most capable henchman to help him carry out his mission.

Zhu Zi believed that the core leader had a firm grasp of the situation and a meticulous plan, so he proceeded with the next steps.

Zhu Zi also knew that the core leader might prefer to choose Xiao Lu, but now was the time to save his life. Even if it were someone else, they would most likely choose the one who could help him succeed, rather than the one with the best relationship.

If we're talking about personal feelings, the leader would definitely prefer to choose Xiaolu and want Xiaolu to live with him; there's no doubt about that.

But now is not the time to be loyal. He also believes that the leader is not the kind of person who is loyal, otherwise the leader would not have personally eliminated his own boss.

While Zhu Zi didn't agree with his actions of killing the boss, he could understand them.

The leader didn't pat Xiao Lu again. He waited quietly for a while, and after patting each of the four people, including Xiao Lu, he stopped moving and squatted back down in his original spot next to the burly middle-aged man.

He quietly observed the changes in the faces and bodies of the four people, only to find that their pain was fully exposed on their faces, and their expressions of struggle remained unchanged.

Suddenly, something seemed to change in the heart of the pillar of the group. Something in his eyes dimmed, as if all hope had been lost. Things did not go as planned.

Things weren't going in the direction he expected. As someone who had seen many situations and partings, although he was well-prepared and could accept the outcome, he was still a living, breathing person with his own feelings.

Xiao Lu was his only friend after his boss, and he didn't want Xiao Lu to end up like this. He remained silent for a long time, his mind blank for a moment.

He sat there quietly for a long time, but the situation remained unchanged. This time, he still didn't say a word.

Suddenly, he stood up and, without any hesitation, walked straight towards the team member who had lost an arm.

The leader's state of mind was unclear, and the others present did not quite understand what he was thinking at this moment. In fact, even the leader himself could not understand himself.

He knows clearly what he is doing, what he should and shouldn't do, but he still doesn't understand himself.

His various behaviors and actions seemed strange to outsiders.

The teammate Zhu Zi, who was keeping a close eye on him, was also very surprised by his leader's actions and couldn't understand what he was doing at all.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xian, who was closely watching him, couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

Although she could tell that the leader's actions were to cover up something, she really didn't expect him to not say a word, or even make any attempt to wake the four people up.

Just a few pats? Just a few pats!

No one could understand the leader's feelings at this moment. Jiang Xian didn't know if he hoped the four people would wake up or if he just wanted to confirm that the four people had lost their ability to move.

She wasn't sure if the leader's visit to the four was to wake them up or simply to confirm something. The leader naturally had his reasons, and those reasons were difficult for others to fully understand.

For Jiang Xian, all he could do was keep watching.

She looked up and saw the team leader walk to the teammate who only had one arm, and then squat down to observe him for a while.

This time, the leader didn't hesitate. He picked up the ball of cloth that his teammate, who had lost an arm, had previously rolled into, and pressed it back onto his teammate's shocking wound, stopping the slow bleeding.

Then, he slapped the teammate's face hard a few times, a completely different manner from when he slapped the other four teammates earlier.

The team leader is now patting his teammate who lost an arm with considerable force, seemingly without any emotion.

His state of mind seemed very disjointed.

The scene of someone being so violent and unemotional towards their teammate who had lost an arm, yet trying so hard to save him, is truly perplexing.

He didn't have this attitude at all when he was dealing with his four teammates who were lying on the ground after being drugged.

He didn't try his best to wake up his four teammates, and his expression was so dejected that it puzzled anyone who saw it.

As the only person in the know on the field, Zhu Zi felt that the backbone was emanating a strange aura.

"Isn't he close to Xiaolu? Why didn't he go to save Xiaolu or the strongest one, but instead went to save that... wait... were they really close before? Was what I saw just an act? How can he be so good at pretending?" Zhu Zi couldn't help but ask himself three questions.

If we're talking about the most divisive player on the field, besides the core player, it would undoubtedly be Zhu Zi.

His boss told him to pay attention and observe carefully, but now that he's been trying his best to observe, he's becoming more and more confused and unable to understand things.

The hollows between Zhu Zi's brows deepened, and he was nearly driven mad by his pillar of support and his own mental state.

Helpless, he could only continue to observe the leader's movements, hoping to find some answers from his next actions.

The key person located the philtrum below the nose of the teammate. He found the right spot and pressed hard on the philtrum, trying to wake the teammate up.

Repeating this again and again, the core leader showed no sign of wanting to give up.

That teammate was also very determined. Finally, with the backbone of the team repeatedly trying, the teammate actually woke up.

The man slowly opened his eyes, struggling against his heavy eyelids. He saw the figure in front of him and tried to make out the outline of the person.

The man blinked several times, trying to raise his arm to rub his eyes, but found that his usual arm was no longer there.

It was this subconscious action that made the teammate laugh at himself.

A slight smile appeared on his lips, and he gave a cold snort, which could be considered his response to himself.

When one arm is useless and cannot help him with his tasks, he instinctively tries to raise his other arm.

He looked extremely weak, with pale lips, a bloodless face, and even his eyes were somewhat unfocused.

But he still had some strength left, enough to move his arm.

However, just as his arm was unconsciously raised into the air, he lowered it again, blinked, and slowly said to his pillar of support, "You actually saved me?"

Upon hearing this, the leader knew that the person in front of him was still somewhat conscious and could still use his eyes.

Although the man's eyesight recovered somewhat quickly after waking up, and was no longer as blurry as it had been at the moment he first woke up, he still could not clearly see the person in front of him.

Even if one cannot see clearly, based on their past daily interactions and the fact that they almost always meet with their key person, they naturally know who that familiar feeling comes from and still recognize the person in front of them.

After the man finished speaking, he seemed to be waiting for the leader's answer, but the leader still ignored the man's words. Instead, he grabbed his sleeve and gently rubbed the man's eyelids with his wide sleeve.

Repeating this action once more relieved both eyes. When the person opened their eyes again, they could clearly see the blurry outline of the main figure that had appeared before them earlier.

(End of this chapter)