Chapter 40 Ambushed! The Star Deceived by a Scoundrel…

Chapter 40 Ambushed! Yu Xing Deceived by a Jerk...

A light rain had just stopped, leaving the streets wet and slippery.

Pedestrians hurried along. Ever since the New Era began, rain had always carried danger. People who'd taken shelter in restaurants, teahouses, or shopping centers finally emerged, stepping back onto the streets.

The C District amusement park was one of the busiest areas. As soon as the rain ceased, crowds swarmed in and out of the park once more.

In a quiet corner of the amusement park, a woman in a white dress stood perfectly still under an umbrella.

She remained motionless before the damp, grimy wall, silently observing the bustling crowd. Suddenly, her umbrella slipped from her hand, revealing her heavily pregnant belly.

"Ah—"

A piercing scream tore through the air as the woman clutched her stomach and collapsed onto the wet ground, writhing in agony.

Soon, a crowd gathered around her, peering down at the wailing woman. Her once-white dress was now stained with mud and blood, her hands gripping her swollen belly tightly.

"Is she going into labor?" a bystander said. "What's she doing out here so close to her due date?"

"Someone call an ambulance!"

"Huh? My terminal has no signal!"

"Mine too!"

"Look! The baby's head is coming out—"

...

"Next stop, please exit from the rear door..."

Yu Xing and her four companions stood at the bus stop, watching the bus drive away. The recent rain had left everything damp. Miao Yuanjin covered her nose with one hand, frowning as she glanced around. "I hate weather like this," she grumbled.

Yu Xing, wearing her glittery skirt, was checking her terminal, messaging Mei Hexuan to inform him she had arrived at the C District amusement park.

After a moment, she looked up and pointed ahead with a smile. "My boyfriend's waiting for me over there. I'll take you to him."

The group of friends chatted animatedly as they followed Yu Xing with light steps.

Miao Yuanjin sniffed disapprovingly. "How inconsiderate of him not to come meet you. I really don’t get what you see in him."

Yu Xing just smiled. Her feelings for Mei Hexuan weren’t something Miao Yuanjin could undermine. She calmed her friend down, "Alright, alright, we’re almost there."

"It’s been so long since I last visited an amusement park," Da Ya said, holding Zhao Lan’s hand as she gazed at the massive amusement rides ahead. "I really want to try them."

Zhao Lan nodded. "I haven’t been here since my mom left Seven Cities for work."

Ke Yuan hesitated before pushing aside his insecurity. "The last time I came was for my eighth birthday."

Listening to them, Miao Yuanjin’s gaze unconsciously drifted to Yu Xing. Last night’s conversation echoed in her mind—Yu Xing had never been to an amusement park in her life.

Biting her lip, Miao Yuanjin spoke in a carefully casual tone, "Since we’re all here, let’s have some fun. We should try every ride."

"But some of them aren’t fun," Da Ya remarked as they followed Yu Xing into a narrow side alley beside the amusement park.

"Huh?" Da Ya looked confused. "I thought we were going to the amusement park. Where are we headed?"

Yu Xing checked the navigation on her terminal. "This is the right way. Hexuan gave me these directions."

Following the route, they soon arrived at the spot Mei Hexuan had specified—a tight, shadowy alley.

Surrounded by towering walls, the damp, oppressive space made Miao Yuanjin, the spoiled rich girl, squirm uncomfortably.

"What kind of place is this?" she complained loudly, glaring at Yu Xing. "I didn’t come out today to ruin my shoes in some dirty alleyway!"

Truthfully, Yu Xing was also puzzled. Mei Hexuan’s choice for their first date location seemed strangely thoughtless—far from romantic. If not for their genuine love, she might have walked away annoyed.

Just as the five of them stood bewildered, hurried footsteps echoed from behind.

Thinking it was Mei Hexuan, Yu Xing spun around eagerly—only to be met with a blast of searing fire.

The flames came too quickly. The alley was too narrow, and her teammates were too close. There was no way to dodge.

The others stood frozen in shock. At the critical moment, someone suddenly jumped in front of Yu Xing, arms outstretched, shielding her from the flames.

It was Miao Yuanjin!

A bit shorter than Yu Xing, Miao Yuanjin was dressed casually today, her ponytail swaying before Yu Xing’s eyes. As she stood protectively, a soft glow enveloped her body. The next second, the raging flames engulfed her whole.

Before anyone could scream, the fire disappeared as fast as it came, as if meeting its natural counter.

When the flames dissipated, Miao Yuanjin remained standing, arms still spread wide.

Only then did the group snap back to reality and look ahead. A middle-aged man blocked the narrow alley, his hands raised in the aftermath of his attack.

His eyes widened in disbelief. "Holy shit—a Moon God Chosen?!"

Yu Xing realized the man was a Beloved of the God of Fire. He had attacked them deliberately. Though she didn’t know why, she needed to act.

She wasn’t alone—her beloved friends were with her. She had to protect them!

Acting fast, she crouched, grabbed handfuls of gravel, and flung them at the man.

Still stunned by the unexpected presence of a Moon God Chosen, the man was hit by the flying gravel, momentarily blinded.

He staggered backward but failed to evade most of the stones. Not that he cared.

The girl throwing rocks was their target. Just as Mei Hexuan had said, she was a newly awakened, inexperienced Divine Chosen.

Instead of using her Divine Skill, she was throwing rocks.

The man thought smugly. A rookie with poor combat instincts. She'd be easy to take down.

As Yu Xing tossed the gravel, relieved to see it hit its mark, Zhao Lan suddenly shouted, "Behind us!"

Yu Xing spun around in alarm and yelled, "Get down!"

Her four friends knew all too well the power of her Divine Skill. Without hesitation, they hit the ground.

Out of the corner of her eye, Yu Xing glimpsed more than one or two figures approaching from behind. She flung the remaining gravel in their direction.

The stones rained down, revealing three more men.

The one in the middle was tall, wielding a whip-like object that gleamed silver under the light. The man on the left was muscular with cold eyes, his demeanor eerily familiar to Yu Xing. The one on the right had long hair and a perpetual smirk.

The tall man struck first, lashing out with his whip.

Da Ya could have dodged, but with her friends on either side and behind her, evading would mean the whip would strike one of them instead.

After a moment of rapid thought, Da Ya gritted her teeth and decided not to dodge.

Just as she braced herself for the whip's strike, Miao Yuanjin rushed forward again. The whip cracked against Miao Yuanjin's body with a sharp *snap*, making her cry out in pain.

Da Ya stared wide-eyed in disbelief as she looked at the person before her. "Miao—"

Miao Yuanjin bared her teeth in pain, but the whip wasn’t the real attack.

As the whip struck her, a bolt of electricity shot from the wielder’s hand, racing down the length of the whip toward Miao Yuanjin.

Tears welled up in Miao Yuanjin’s eyes, yet she stubbornly grabbed the whip.

The moment the current reached her hand, it vanished without a trace, like a stone sinking into the ocean.

The Thunder God's Chosen with the whip gaped in shock. "Moon God Chosen?"

Earlier, Yu Xing's group had stood between them, so the God of Fire Follower’s exclamation hadn’t reached the others. Now, realizing Miao Yuanjin was a Moon God Chosen, they were all stunned.

Before they could recover, a man gleaming with a metallic sheen charged at them, screaming.

"AAAAHHHH, I’LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!!!!" Ke Yuan activated his Divine Skill, his entire body turning metal as he charged at the three like a maddened bull.

The trio was shocked once more. "Follower of the God of Steel?"

"What the fuck?! Weren’t we told there was only one Divine Chosen?!"

The alley was narrow, and the three dared not let Ke Yuan crash into them, scattering to avoid him. In his panic, the Thunder God's Chosen forgot to release his whip, and Miao Yuanjin yanked it hard. The next second, Ke Yuan rammed into him like a freight train, making him feel like his guts might come out his mouth.

Ke Yuan, too, was electrocuted upon contact and collapsed, unable to get up for a while.

The other two, who'd dodged, had no time to help their companion. They steadied themselves and unleashed their Divine Skills toward Yu Xing and the others.

Just as they raised their hands, sudden heavy raindrops began pelting them, drenching them instantly.

Rain?

The two exchanged bewildered glances—why weren’t the five youths in front of them getting wet?

Looking up, they saw a small dark cloud hovering diligently above their heads, pouring rain on them alone.

It dawned on them—another Divine Chosen. Among those five, there were already four Divine Chosen.

But a Rain God Chosen was useless. Aside from soaking them, the rain did no harm. The two soaked men smirked and taunted Da Ya, who was straining to maintain the rain. "Little girl, this light rain won't hurt us, you know?"

Da Ya clenched her jaw and kept concentrating. The two men moved—one raised his hand, and a violent gust of wind whipped up through the alley.

The wind was so strong that Yu Xing and her friends staggered, unable to keep their footing or open their eyes, forced to cling to the walls to avoid falling.

Meanwhile, the other man—tall and heavily built—dropped to the ground as his body began transforming into a beast.

A Wind God Chosen and a Beast God Chosen. With the Wind God Chosen’s assistance, once the Beast God Chosen completed his transformation, the five of them would be doomed.

But sometimes, luck was just that cruel. Just as the two soaked men were about to unleash their assault, a sudden bone-chilling cold seized them, locking them in place. Not only could they not move, but their thoughts also turned sluggish in the piercing cold, rendering them unable to think.

As the wind subsided, Yu Xing and the others steadied themselves against the wall. Before them stood their three opponents—two now frozen into ice sculptures.

Zhao Lan’s excited voice rang out. "Success! With the rain’s help, I froze two at once!"

The God of Fire Follower behind them: "..."

The Thunder God's Chosen, who had just regained consciousness after being knocked down: "..."

Moon God's mercy! All five of them were Divine Chosen!

At that moment, they were cursing Mei Hexuan's name vehemently in their hearts. They had been promised four against one, but now it was four against five.

And these five used their Divine Skills in bizarre ways—the refined Moon God Chosen tanking hits, the Rain God Chosen, normally just useful for agriculture, collaborating with the Frost God Chosen to achieve unexpected results.

In an instant, their four were reduced to two, one of whom was badly injured.

Seeing the battle turn against him, the remaining God of Fire Follower turned to flee—but the wet ground was slippery. The alley’s poor sanitation had left it covered in a moss-like slime.

His bad luck struck as his foot slipped the moment he turned, sending him crashing headfirst into the wall.

The impact was brutal. He slid down the wall, stunned for several seconds. When he finally recovered and pushed himself up, the first thing he saw was the face of a beautiful girl.

She grinned—then slammed her fist into his face.

"AHHH!"

His screams echoed through the alley as Yu Xing pummeled him over a dozen times until he was beaten unconscious.

Zhao Lan helped Ke Yuan, who was still recovering from the electric shock, to his feet and praised, "Not bad! You were really brave just now."

Blushing at the unexpected praise, Ke Yuan stammered, "N-no... I-I just... acted without thinking..."

"You were amazing," Da Ya said gratefully, giving his shoulder a grateful pat. "If you hadn’t injured one of them and bought us time, I wouldn’t have had the chance to use my skill."

Ke Yuan’s face turned even redder, though he couldn’t suppress a grin.

Then, without warning, Da Ya spun around and slapped Miao Yuanjin on the shoulder.

"What are you doing?!" Miao Yuanjin yelped, jumping back. "Your hands are disgusting! Filthy with alley grime—you ruined my clothes!"

Da Ya laughed it off. "Heh. Still, thanks. If you hadn’t blocked that Divine Skill for me, I’d be seriously hurt right now."

Miao Yuanjin’s angry expression wavered. She turned her face away, mumbled, trying to sound indifferent, "Well... we agreed on it, didn’t we? I’m the tank..."

"I think we worked well together," Zhao Lan said excitedly. "Even when ambushed, we counterattacked fast. It proves our idea was right—our Divine Skills synergize perfectly for Team One."

Yu Xing, prodding the unconscious fire-wielder with her toe, sighed. "This isn’t the time for chatting. We need to figure out why they ambushed us."

Only the Thunder God's Chosen remained now. He sat on the ground, leaning against the wall, watching fearfully as the five advanced.

He wanted to fight back, but taking on five was suicide—especially while injured.

"P-please..." he stammered. "Killing is illegal!"

"Tch! You know that now?" Zhao Lan glared down at him, unmoved. "Talk. Why did you attack us?"

The man quickly answered, "Not all of you—just her..."

Though he didn’t name names, his gaze darted to Yu Xing, making it clear.

"Me?" Yu Xing pointed at herself, completely confused. "Why? I don’t even know you! What did I do to you?"

The man hesitated before admitting, "It wasn’t us... someone paid us to target you..."

He didn't get to finish, as rapid footsteps sounded from a nearby alley.

Everyone's gaze turned towards the source of the sound, where a handsome young man in a dark hoodie was running towards them.

"Hexuan!" Yu Xing waved excitedly at him.

Zhao Lan and the other three blinked—was this Yu Xing's boyfriend, Mei Hexuan? He was indeed quite handsome, with a good aura.

Mei Hexuan stopped in front of Yu Xing, slightly out of breath. "Sorry for making you wait. I got delayed."

"It's fine, I didn't wait long," Yu Xing replied cheerfully. "Oh, I forgot to tell you—I brought some church friends to hang out today."

Mei Hexuan: "..."

His lips twitched, and he felt bitter. Because Yu Xing had forgotten to mention it, his four accomplices ended up in such a pitiful condition.

"Oh," Mei Hexuan replied flatly, glancing at Zhao Lan and the others before nodding in a seemingly friendly manner.

Yu Xing didn’t notice his subtle expression. She pointed at the four beaten-up Divine Chosen and said to Mei Hexuan, "I might not be able to hang out with you today. These four ambushed me, and we're questioning them."

At this, Mei Hexuan’s eye twitched. He turned slightly and exchanged a hidden look at the Thunder God's Chosen.

The Thunder God's Chosen immediately understood—they weren’t just some people Mei Hexuan had found on the spot. They had long been on the Mei family's payroll. Naturally, they knew that ratting out Mei Hexuan would only make things worse, so they might as well stay silent.

"Did you find anything out?" Mei Hexuan asked, pretending to care.

"Not yet," Yu Xing said, turning to glare at the Thunder God's Chosen. "Speak up! Or I’ll pummel you!"

The Thunder God's Chosen exchanged a barely noticeable look with Mei Hexuan before replying, "I don’t know. The person never showed their face. We don’t know who it was."

None of the five possessed a Divine Skill for mind-reading, and being young and inexperienced, they weren’t sure how to proceed in this situation.

Mei Hexuan then suggested, "Let’s call the police. The authorities have a special unit for dealing with cases involving Divine Chosen. Attacking a Divine Chosen is a serious crime—once they’re in custody, they’ll confess everything."

He forced a smile and added to Yu Xing, "Besides, we rarely get to go out together. Don’t let this mess up our date. Don’t you want to go to the amusement park with me?"

Yu Xing thought he made sense. She shouldn’t let these nobodies distract her from those who truly cared for her. "Alright, let’s call the police then," she agreed.

Once the call was made, Mei Hexuan secretly sighed in relief. This was his hastily devised solution. Given his family’s influence in District 7, using his connections to get these four out of custody wouldn’t be a problem. As long as they were taken away and Yu Xing couldn’t press them further, his involvement would remain hidden.

He'd miscalculated today. He never expected Yu Xing to bring four Divine Chosen with her to District C. He had planned for surprises by hiring four Divine Chosen himself—Yu Xing, after all, was just a novice. No matter how skilled she was, she couldn’t possibly take on four seasoned Divine Chosen alone.

But he never imagined she would bring four Divine Chosen with her.

How could a nobody like her have such good connections?

As Mei Hexuan pondered his next move while making small talk with Yu Xing, he failed to notice the side-eye Zhao Lan and the others were giving him.

The police arrived swiftly, hauling the four Divine Chosen away within five minutes.

They initially wanted Yu Xing and the others to come in for statements, but Mei Hexuan explained they were on their way to the park, so they wouldn’t be able to go.

Normally, the police wouldn’t be so lenient, but Divine Chosen were a different matter. They reluctantly took down their identities before leaving with the four detainees.

Only after watching the police take them away did Mei Hexuan truly relax.

With the danger past, he could find another opportunity to deal with Yu Xing.

For now, he had to play along. Suppressing the malice in his eyes, he smiled at Yu Xing. "Let’s go—off to the amusement park."

Yu Xing and Mei Hexuan walked ahead, chatting and laughing, while Zhao Lan and the others hung back, whispering among themselves.

"Something’s off. Mei Hexuan is really suspicious," Zhao Lan murmured, shaking her head slowly. "He was the one who arranged to meet Yu Xing here, and then we got ambushed—targeting her specifically. And just as we were interrogating them, he suddenly shows up? That’s way too coincidental."

"Exactly!" Da Ya agreed. "There are so many warning signs, yet Star doesn’t suspect him at all."

"Love has clouded her judgment," Ke Yuan sighed. "A woman blinded by love is like this."

Da Ya hesitated. "But if we question Mei Hexuan, won’t it hurt Star’s feelings?"

"Then we can’t just question him—we need proof," Zhao Lan said, frowning. "Mei Hexuan insisted on calling the police. Does he have a backup plan?"

Miao Yuanjin scoffed. "With the Mei family’s influence, calling in favors to get those four out of custody is nothing."

"What?!" Da Ya gasped. "Then why didn’t you say anything earlier? Why didn’t you stop him?"

"What's the big deal?" Miao Yuanjin lifted her chin confidently. "With my family’s influence, transferring those four to District A’s police station is no problem either."

Her words put them at ease. Now, the real dilemma was how to expose Mei Hexuan without breaking Yu Xing’s heart.

"She’s so naive," Miao Yuanjin muttered, staring resentfully at Yu Xing’s back. "The moment someone shows her the slightest kindness, she trusts them completely. What an idiot!"

"Star is so pitiful," Da Ya said sadly. "She’s been deceived by a scumbag."

"But don’t you think it’s strange?" Ke Yuan frowned in confusion. "According to Yu—our leader, this Mei Hexuan supposedly loves her deeply, even ended up in the hospital defending her. Why would he treat her like this?"