Chapter 233: The Plan to Ambush Capricorn
In the blink of an eye, Hummingbird and Tom had exchanged dozens of blows. Ultimately, Hummingbird was no match for Tom and gradually fell into a disadvantage.
Seeing this, Fang Xiaocao decided the time was right—sparring should stop before things got too serious. There was no need to determine a clear winner.
“Hummingbird, Tom—stop!” she shouted.
At her command, the two kicked off each other and retreated, creating distance.
They obeyed her without question.
“We’re all on the same side!”
Fang Xiaocao walked over with a smile.
“Hummingbird, this is Tom.”
“Tom, this is Hummingbird.”
She introduced them to each other.
“Hello,” Tom greeted with a grin.
Hearing Fang Xiaocao’s words, he immediately understood that Hummingbird had been hypnotized.
She was now one of their own.
“Hello,” Hummingbird replied, sheathing her katana.
“Tom, should we keep moving forward or go back to find Taotie?”
After the brief exchange, Fang Xiaocao turned to Tom for his opinion.
“Princess, let’s continue forward,” Tom said firmly.
Fang Xiaocao nodded.
Tom was experienced—she trusted his judgment.
The three quickly agreed and resumed their journey.
Hummingbird scouted ahead while Fang Xiaocao and Tom followed, sticking to their planned route.
______
Meanwhile, on another part of the mountain, Taotie encountered a formidable opponent—an old acquaintance of theirs.
The madwoman—Capricorn.
“Taotie? What are you doing here?”
Capricorn stared coldly at him, her voice low and guarded.
“Crazy bitch, can’t I come here to kill people?”
With that, Taotie snapped the neck of the Ragnarok mercenary in his grip and tossed the body aside like trash.
“You have nothing better to do?”
Capricorn eyed him suspiciously, clearly unconvinced.
“None of your damn business!”
Taotie rolled his eyes.
He and Capricorn had never gotten along.
Taotie wasn’t the type to play nice—if he suddenly acted friendly to cover his tracks, it would only make her more suspicious.
“Then why are you here, psycho?”
He shot her a sidelong glance, his tone icy.
He was genuinely curious.
There was no known alliance between Blacklist and Ragnarok, so she shouldn’t be here for them.
“Orders from above,” Capricorn shrugged.
“Intel suggests Nemesis and Ragnarok have teamed up to search for something in these mountains.”
“The higher-ups wanted to investigate. They tried sending you, but you were unreachable—so they sent me instead.”
Unlike Taotie, Capricorn was relatively cooperative—at least when she wasn’t having one of her episodes.
Most of the time, she was rational.
The problem was, her “episodes” happened far more often than her lucid moments.
“Ah, so that’s it.”
“Well, since I’m here now, you can head back.”
Taotie grinned, trying to shoo her away.
Fang Xiaocao was still in these mountains.
If Capricorn stumbled upon her, all hell would break loose.
After all, Gemini had died by Fang Xiaocao’s hand—and Gemini and Capricorn had been close.
Nothing would stop Capricorn from seeking revenge.
The only way Taotie could stop her was by killing her—words alone wouldn’t work.
But silently eliminating someone of Capricorn’s skill?
Extremely difficult.
One misstep, and Capricorn would escape—exposing Taotie’s betrayal.
“Why should I leave?”
Capricorn scoffed.
“You go back if you want. I’m staying.”
Her tone was already edging toward instability.
Taotie’s head throbbed.
This lunatic was trouble.
One wrong move, and the princess would be in grave danger.
“Why do you look so tense?”
Capricorn narrowed her eyes.
Something about Taotie today felt… off.
Weird.
Indescribably strange.
“Huh?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Gotta piss. Later!”
Not wanting to drag this out, Taotie decided on the ancient art of escape by bladder emergency.
With that, he bolted.
Capricorn watched his retreating figure, baffled.
“Did Taotie… take the wrong meds today?”
Her instincts told her something was up.
After a moment’s hesitation, she made a fatal decision—to follow him.
Curiosity kills the cat.
And sometimes, the cat’s handler too.
______
Taotie sprinted through the forest, cutting down any Ragnarok mercenaries in his path.
Before long, he sensed a presence tailing him.
He didn’t need to look to know who it was.
That damn psycho Capricorn.
As he ran, he pulled out his terminal and sent a message to Fang Xiaocao’s group:
“Capricorn’s here. She’s following me. Princess, what’s the plan?”
He needed to know—fight or retreat?
There was no coexistence with Capricorn.
Only those two options.
_______
When Fang Xiaocao and Tom read the message, their expressions darkened simultaneously.
“Tom, if you and Taotie team up, can you kill Capricorn?”
Fang Xiaocao knew Capricorn was powerful—and her hatred for her was absolute.
If Capricorn found her, she’d stop at nothing to kill her.
Leaving her alive was too dangerous.
Tom nodded.
“We can kill her.”
“Capricorn’s strong, but she’s on the same level as me and Taotie.”
“Two against one? Easy win.”
“But I don’t recommend involving Taotie. If the ambush exposes his allegiance, the cost outweighs the gain.”
“Let Hummingbird and me handle it.”
“I’ll take the lead; she’ll assist. We should succeed.”
After a moment’s thought, Fang Xiaocao agreed.
She trusted Tom completely.
If he proposed the plan, he could pull it off.
(End of Chapter 233)
