A taut hemp rope lay across her path, about 10 centimeters above the ground.

In the darkness, it was nearly impossible to see.

One end of the rope was tied to a hidden bush, while the other disappeared into the dirt near a large rock.

It was a tripwire mine.

Although crudely made, it was a genuine landmine.

Cold sweat instantly covered Chen Xiaomeng's forehead.

No wonder the village chief and the others didn't need to arrange for anyone to keep watch at night; they had buried a landmine on the only road leading out of the village.

That was close...

The two carefully stepped over the rope and thoroughly inspected the surrounding area.

Thankfully, there was only this one.

Just as Chen Xiaomeng was trying to determine the direction to Anping Town along the mountain path, she suddenly realized that Jiang Cheng was gone.

Turning back, she was surprised to see Jiang Cheng lying on the ground, crawling along the rope, carefully digging away some dirt.

Then, he took something out of his pocket.

His movements were very professional.

After working there for a few minutes, Jiang Cheng stood up, holding a dark, grimy object in his hand.

Chen Xiaomeng stared at Jiang Cheng as if he were an alien.

He actually went back and disarmed the landmine?!

Putting aside the professional skill of mine disposal, what she found even more difficult to understand was Jiang Cheng's motive for doing so.

But then, she understood.

She watched as Jiang Cheng carefully cradled the landmine like a treasure, then jogged back to the village, buried the landmine at the entrance, arranged it, and covered the rope with weeds.

After doing all this, Jiang Cheng cheerfully ran back. "Let's go."

Chen Xiaomeng's throat involuntarily bobbed; she seemed to want to say something, but after hesitating for a while, she remained silent.

The two moved forward in the direction Chen Xiaomeng had chosen.

As they entered the forest, they began to speed up. After all, wild rabbits, foxes, and other wildlife frequented the area, so the villagers wouldn't plant mines in such places.

Their physical fitness was much stronger than that of ordinary people, comparable to the villagers who traveled the mountain roads year-round. At this speed, they would be able to reach Anping Town before dawn.

Strange sounds occasionally came from the forest, as if animals were passing by, or as if someone was following them.

"What exactly do you do?" Chen Xiaomeng asked in a low voice.

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment and replied, "I have many professions, mainly depending on which one the client likes that night. I personally prefer the doctor role." He said excitedly, "Because the white coat is loose, making it easy to hide tips from the manager."

Chen Xiaomeng: "......Why didn't you get blown up when you were disarming the mine earlier?"

"Tsk," Jiang Cheng made a dissatisfied humming sound.

"Even if you're a top-tier escort, how do you explain disarming and planting mines?" Chen Xiaomeng stared at him warily. "I don't believe they teach that in your training."

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment, then said mysteriously, "You mean this? I learned it myself. I bought a second-hand video course online. It cost 15 yuan to learn how to plant mines, and if my financial situation allowed, I could have added another 10 yuan to learn how to disarm them as well."

Chen Xiaomeng felt her head ache just listening to Jiang Cheng, so she closed her mouth and ignored him.

"It's really simple," Jiang Cheng said. "It's good to have more skills. I recommend you take a look too. Or, you can give me your WeChat ID, and I'll send it to you."

Chen Xiaomeng sneered, "Are you sure it's not to use my WeChat ID to lock down my identity and then bring people to arrest me?"

"Why would I arrest you?" Jiang Cheng spread his hands innocently. "With your looks and figure, the 200 yuan group probably wouldn't even want you."

Chen Xiaomeng was so angry that her face turned red. Her blood churned, and she no longer felt cold.

The two walked for several hours and finally left the forest.

They stood at the foot of the mountain, looking at Anping Town not far away.

It was now about 2 or 3 in the morning, and the town was very quiet.

Red and white lanterns, large and small, hung outside some of the houses.

The lanterns swayed slightly in the night breeze, giving a strange feeling.

Chen Xiaomeng stared at the lanterns, a strange look flashing in her eyes.

"Could these lanterns be related to ghosts?" she whispered.

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes, his gaze slowly sweeping over the town. After a long while, he nodded and said, "Possibly."

They had seen people in the town keeping dogs before, so they gave up the idea of sneaking into Anping Town under the cover of darkness, to avoid arousing suspicion.

The two found a wind-sheltered depression at the edge of the forest.

The terrain was low-lying, and there were rocks and a few trees to block the wind, making it a perfect place to hide and rest.

Next, they would wait for dawn to return to the town, find the sealed file, and extract the female ghost's name to complete the clues.

Depending on the situation on the ground, they would decide whether to go directly to the Anping Inn and catch Qian Jianxiu, who was hiding there.

Currently, all the clues pointed to the Anping Inn. As the last and most important point in the mission, it must be hiding dangers that they were not yet aware of.

"I have a premonition," Chen Xiaomeng, huddled in the crevice between the rocks and trees, suddenly said, "tomorrow is the last day, and after the sun sets, it will never rise again."

Jiang Cheng thought for a while and said, "How scary."

Chen Xiaomeng stared at Jiang Cheng, who clearly wasn't afraid at all, and her curiosity about the latter reached its peak.

What kind of person was he, what was his upbringing, and... what kind of profession did he do?

She couldn't completely guess what was going on in the man's head.

But there was one thing she was clear about and recognized.

That was his ability.

He seemed carefree and didn't care about anything, but in reality, he was meticulous, methodical, and decisive when dealing with tricky matters. Afterwards, he didn't seem to experience any guilt or similar emotions.

Rather than saying he was like a person, it was more accurate to say he was like a precise machine.

He had no extra emotions, and other than the occasional flirtatious remark, he showed almost no emotional fluctuations.

So far, Chen Xiaomeng could only guess that he seemed to have a strange obsession with a certain profession in KTVs. In both missions, he patiently introduced his profession to everyone.

When he introduced it, his face glowed with pride, as if he were talking about something glorious.

Chen Xiaomeng guessed that this might be related to his childhood experiences.

For example, one or even several of his relatives were engaged in similar work.

While these family members influenced him, their professions would also subtly influence him.

A person's childhood is an important period for personality development, and this personality development is almost irreversible.

People with emotionless personality disorders mostly experienced long-term violence or emotional abuse from within the family or from the outside during their childhoods. Frequent negative stimuli caused the victim's psyche to gradually become numb, and over time, they would become cold and twisted.