Wu Lili rushed ashore, grabbed Sun Wei, and blurted out everything in one breath: “There’s no safe base at all! Zhao Jiantáo has been lying to us! Everyone sent to West Mountain Island is dead! This damned old man killed them all! Zhang Qi is also dead!!!”
Sun Wei froze, his face changing drastically. “Lili, what… what are you saying? What happened to Zhang Qi?” He then looked at Zhao Jiantáo: “Uncle Zhao, is what Lili said true?”
Zhao Jiantáo’s expression remained calm and unchanged. “Sun Wei, go gather everyone. I have something to tell them.”
“You still have the nerve to give orders here?!” Wu Lili cursed. “Even if you kowtow and apologize, no one will forgive you!”
Sun Wei frowned. “…Fine, I’ll go call everyone.” He turned and left.
Wu Lili stamped her foot in anger and anxiety. “Sun Wei! Why are you still listening to him?! Are you deaf?! Zhao Jiantáo killed everyone! He’ll kill us all sooner or later!!!”
Sun Wei didn’t stop, walking further and further away. Wu Lili bit her lip and chased after him, both anxious and furious.
Bai Youwei glanced indifferently at Zhao Jiantáo and smiled. “Not bad, Uncle Zhao. No wonder you’ve been so calm and collected along the way. It turns out you’ve already trained everyone well.”
Zhao Jiantáo straightened his clothes, brushed the dust off his trousers, his face creased with deep wrinkles, but revealing no emotion. “I wouldn’t say trained or taught. It’s just that I know a little more, so I’m leading everyone on a slightly longer journey.” he said calmly.
Bai Youwei was amused. “Have you been lying for so long that you’ve started to believe your own lies? You really think you’re a savior, hahaha!”
Irritation flickered in Zhao Jiantáo’s eyes. However, wary of the two, he suppressed his anger, dusted his clothes, and walked away. Bai Youwei giggled behind him.
Shen Mo watched Zhao Jiantáo walk away, his eyes dark. After a moment, he gripped the armrests of his wheelchair and said, “Let’s go too.”
…
When they returned to the hotel, everyone was bustling about, heading outside. Tan Xiao and Cheng Wei were among the crowd. Seeing Shen Mo and Bai Youwei return, they were both surprised.
“You’re back so soon?” Tan Xiao exclaimed. Shen Mo and Bai Youwei had said they were going to check out the safe base and would return later by boat. Tan Xiao thought it would take at least half a day, but they were back in the afternoon.
“Brother Mo, Sun Wei just came to tell us to go to Uncle Zhao…” Tan Xiao said.
“Let’s go back to the room first,” Shen Mo said softly, pushing Bai Youwei towards their room.
Tan Xiao was confused and exchanged a look with Cheng Wei, who also looked bewildered. Tan Xiao glanced at the crowd moving outside, scratched his head, and hurried to catch up. He leaned closer to Bai Youwei and asked, “Weiwei, what happened?”
Bai Youwei: “Call me Sister.”
“Okay~” Tan Xiao readily complied. “Sister Weiwei, what did you and Brother Mo encounter?”
Bai Youwei narrowed her eyes at him. “Two words.”
Tan Xiao: “Huh?”
Bai Youwei: “So exciting~”
Tan Xiao: “…”
While he was still stunned, Shen Mo had already pushed Bai Youwei past him. Tan Xiao snapped back to reality and called out in confusion, “Aren’t those three words?”
Bai Youwei didn’t turn back. “Aren’t you bad at counting?!”
“…” Tan Xiao muttered under his breath, “I’m not that bad at counting. I can still count to ten.”
“Let’s go,” Cheng Wei patted his shoulder. “Let’s hear what they have to say. Something must have happened.”
…