Temperature: 24 degrees.
The thirty-odd people lurking by the shore were just like today’s weather, sullen beyond words.
Only half a day remained before the end of the Cat and Mouse Game, but there was still no word from Team Q.
Everyone was teetering on the edge of anxious frustration.
Some people wouldn’t give up and continued to search for Team Q’s whereabouts.
Others had given up and were ready to do whatever they should be doing.
Then there were those who turned their attention to others, thinking of creating a little chaos and then taking the opportunity to reap some benefits.
Shang Shaojing, seeing Gu Yu’s points continually decreasing on the leaderboard yet without a trace, eventually hesitated and approached Pei Ye.
Pei Ye was very wary, and the moment he saw him walking towards him, his gaze shifted from the lake to him.
"If you’re here to ask about the young master’s whereabouts, then sorry, I have nothing to tell you, because I don’t know where the young master is now either."
Listening to this response full of holes, Shang Shaojing laughed, "Logically speaking, isn’t it your duty to protect Gu Yu every step of the way? How could you possibly not know where he is?"
"Then why are you so concerned about the young master’s whereabouts?"
Shang Shaojing froze for a moment, then gritted his teeth and squeezed out, "Can’t I be concerned about my cousin?"
"Oh," Pei Ye said indifferently as he withdrew his gaze, "I have nothing to tell you."
Shang Shaojing: "...."
[Hahaha I’m dying of laughter, Brother Pei really is a loyal hound.]
[Ah, his young master doesn’t care whether he lives or dies, yet he’s still like a dutiful wife waiting for her husband, it’s too pitiful.]
[I mean, Shang Shaojing, your family is about to go bankrupt, do you know that? You’re still here worrying about where others are, unbelievable.]
[???? What’s going on, how is the Shang family going bankrupt??]
[Isn’t it trending? Can’t you guys see? It’s all because Shang Shaojing recklessly stole the Jiang Family goods that he got his comeuppance. You guys better go check it out.]
[Oh my, this is so thrilling, I need to go grab some popcorn!!!]
Shang Shaojing wanted to ask more, but suddenly a scream erupted from one of the nearby tents.
"Everyone, quick, look at the forum, Team Q has revealed their location!" fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"I can’t believe it, Team Q is so arrogant?? That’s too much!"
"Damn it, I knew something was up that they hadn’t shown up for days; turns out they were hiding out on the lake!"
Instantly, everyone opened the forum, and nearly everyone’s face darkened at the glimpse of the post.
The post was sent by Jiang Li, under his real name, with a simple message of just four words - "Welcome to play".
And it was accompanied by a group photo of six people making the victory sign.
Even without a hint of aggressive language or demeanor, they had maxed out the hatred meter.
They had been frantic by the shore for almost three days, consuming a large amount of manpower and resources, and were Team Q’s folks actually enjoying themselves on the lake?
And to top it off, in the last half of the day, they sent out an invitation to them!
Wasn’t this a blatant provocation?!
"They’re so damn arrogant, grab your weapons, let’s go!"
"Yeah, let’s show these guys some color!"
"There are ten thousand points at stake! I’d go even if it meant death!"
[Jesus, are Jiang Li and his team that arrogant to actually reveal their location?]
[Ahhh so exciting, it’s totally Sister Li’s style!]
[Help, this plot is better than a movie, so curious to see who will win in the end!]
The crowd immediately boiled over with excitement. Su Yinwan watched the content on the forum, the smoldering fire within her ignited.
Was she really being played around by this Jiang Li?
Her face changed colors as she looked towards Shang Shaojing.
"Brother Shaojing, shall we go over too?"
Shang Shaojing didn’t respond, his attention caught by a glimpse of platinum color in the background of the photo.
Such a striking color, if that wasn’t Gu Yu, then who was it?
He was actually with Jiang Li and the others?!
Recalling the incidents at the bar and the auction, Shang Shaojing felt that something was not so simple.
Seeing that Shang Shaojing ignored her, Su Yinwan cautiously asked again.
Shang Shaojing lifted his head and looked towards the lake.
Su Yinwan heaved a sigh of relief.
Zhuola behind her also relaxed.
She had always been suspicious that the commotion from yesterday was related to Jiang Li, and the message on the forum confirmed her guess.
And the mystery from earlier was also more or less solved.
—There must be something wrong with this lake!
Maybe the thing that Master mentioned before was hidden here, and if she found it, would she still need to worry about her livelihood for life?
Maybe she could even use the Gu Family to help her escape the control of the mercenary group.
She had wanted to secretly sneak into the lake, but the cameras made it impossible to find an opportunity, and now, Shang Shaojing had decided to go, so she could find any excuse on the way.
Zhuola meticulously calculated in her mind when suddenly a sarcastic voice reached her ears—
"So you really plan on going to find Team Q’s people ? Looking at their location, they’re likely deep in the middle of the lake. Not to mention how you’ll get there, what if they’ve already slipped away?"
Captain Ji’s words successfully calmed down the restless crowd.
If Team Q people were cunning enough to hide on the lake surface, they definitely wouldn’t just sit there and wait for them.
"What should we do then?" a man stood up and looked to Captain Ji, "We can’t just stand here and wait for the game to end, can we?"
"Of course not." Captain Ji leaned against the tent, "If you want to minimize your losses, then listen to me. We, the ’cats’, should band together, right?"
[Fuck! Captain Ji is so scheming!]
[But that’s indeed their only way out, if they don’t band together and keep fighting internally, they wouldn’t catch Team Q even in ten days.]
Shang Shaojing laughed and said, "What bright idea does Captain Ji have then?"
"It’s simple, split into two groups. One group continues to wait by the shore, and the other goes on the lake to encircle them. We all chip in some points to exchange for inflatable boats. If we wish to comb through the lake within half a day, it’s still doable."
The others also thought Captain Ji’s suggestion made sense and nodded in agreement.
But when it came to assigning people, there was a mishap.
Most people wanted to head to the lake, unwilling to stay and wait.
After all, the first one to catch Team Q would get a chance at ten thousand points, and those staying on shore were practically wasting their chances away.
Seeing the crowd getting rowdy again, Captain Ji frowned and stopped the impending chaos.
"How about this, we’ll add another boat. Those who are willing to go on the lake to encircle Team Q go, and I will stay with three of our team members. How does that sound?"