Chapter 50: White Mist in the Woods 15
Jiajia was sitting at the top of the stairs, hugging her drawing board and drawing. Suddenly, with a “thud,” a small leather ball landed in front of her. The little girl was startled and looked up in a daze, only to see Yi Ke standing opposite her, holding a motorcycle helmet.
“Want to try it on?” Yi Ke invited.
Jiajia understood his meaning, and her eyes instantly lit up. Yi Ke chuckled, walked up the stairs, and knelt down to carefully put the helmet on for her. The adult size was a bit big for the little girl. Jiajia held it carefully with both hands and ran to her room to look in the mirror, then happily ran back. Yi Ke caught her in his arms, lifted her high, and spun her around. Jiajia giggled, her skirt fluttering in the air.
She had no friends, so she rarely had the chance to play happily. She was like a little animal full of desire for human society, and a little teasing would make her laugh endlessly. The laughter reached the courtyard, and the nanny immediately became alert. She dropped the bean shells in her hand and was about to go upstairs to check, but was stopped by Zhuang Ningyu. He raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of warning in his eyes, and said coldly, “Sit down.”
The nanny took two steps back. After a moment, she actually sat back down obediently.
Qing Gang, who had been ready to fight, was stunned. He asked in the group chat, what was the principle behind this? Was she also afraid of having her action points deducted?
Colleague A: What, you only listen to Captain Zhuang because you’re afraid of having your action points deducted?
Colleague B: I thought you were like us, because you were convinced by his noble character, low-key style, and outstanding talent.
Qing Gang: The leader is not in this group, stop pretending.
Colleague C actively answered the question. It’s nothing that you, a monster, are just obedient. Once, oh, you probably hadn’t been transferred over yet, we followed Captain Zhuang into a rule zone, and there was a monster inside that kowtowed as soon as it saw Captain Zhuang. Its mental state was too advanced, it scared the hell out of us.
Qing Gang was greatly puzzled: “Why did he kowtow?”
A colleague replied with a voice message, “Who knows? Maybe in their world, there’s another set of behavioral logic to digest Captain Zhuang’s beauty. Anyway, we couldn’t stop him. A few days later, Captain Zhuang started getting headaches and coughs. Medicine didn’t help. We asked Xiao Feng, the great immortal from Team Two, to do a remote divination. He said it was because of the kowtowing, it had kowtowed away all of Captain Zhuang’s merits.”
Qing Gang asked, “And then?”
The colleague replied, “Then every time that monster wanted to kowtow again, we would quickly place a statue of the God of Wealth in front of him, so he could kowtow to something proper.”
Qing Gang: “…” The things I missed when I hadn’t been transferred to Team One.
The small leather ball was thrown to the end of the corridor. Jiajia chased after it with a “thump thump thump,” competing with Yi Ke to see who could get the ball first. The innocent laughter filled the entire corridor. Although her voice sounded a little strange due to her vocal cord development, it was still so tender and pure that you could squeeze water out of it. To the ears of some with ulterior motives, it could make their dirty blood burn in an instant. After a while, the doorknob of 304 finally couldn’t hold back and slowly began to turn.
Yi Ke steadied Jiajia’s stumbling body and gently poked her shoulder socket with his finger. “Shh.”
The little girl, with her big eyes, obediently covered her mouth.
With a “click,” the door of 304 opened, revealing a pair of cloudy pupils. Although he had been mentally prepared, Yi Ke’s brow still jumped imperceptibly. It was a bizarre face that was hard to describe with words. Just as He Yu had described, it was as if a white-haired old man had forcibly put on a young man’s mask, trying to show a kind demeanor, but it was counterproductive. His skin was stretched taut and full, his teeth were white, his lips were bright red. Although his features were somewhat similar to Li Maosheng’s in the data, they had clearly undergone multiple mutations. The him now was a pseudo-human who was unwilling to grow old, tightly clinging to the tender body of a child like a gray-black withered vine.
Even more conspicuous was the metal puzzle piece that was firmly stuck to his face, with no gaps around it, almost becoming a part of his skin. Li Maosheng rolled his eyes a couple of times, his gaze landing on Jiajia in the corridor. Perhaps not expecting to see a stranger, his expression turned from greedy to vigilant. Yi Ke nodded slightly, his attitude good. “Hello, I’m a guest here for Jiajia’s birthday party. May I ask who you are?”
“Bang,” the door was rudely slammed shut.
Yi Ke patted Jiajia’s head and carried her downstairs. He had been right before. The reason Li Maosheng didn’t come downstairs was not because of “poor health” as Jiajia thought in the rules, but because he disliked, or rather, was afraid of seeing the little girl’s rider friends.
The other three members of the Order Maintenance Department had watched the entire scene in the corridor through the camera on Yi Ke’s collar. Zhong Mu showed a look of disgust. “Are we going to have to pry that puzzle piece off?”
“Pry it off, pry it off. We can still use it after washing it,” Qing Gang asked. “Captain Zhuang, shall we do it?”
According to the drawing in the rules, the key elements of Jiajia’s happy birthday party were only the blue and white dress, the cake, and the puzzle. The grandpa and the nanny were not necessary options, so Zhuang Ningyu had not originally planned for Li Maosheng to appear at the child’s birthday party. However, one point had to be considered in advance: an enraged monster was likely to mutate.
Zhong Mu said, “But I don’t think he’ll voluntarily tear off his face and give it to us, so we still have to provoke him.”
“Let me and Brother Qing take him out. As long as we don’t let the monster back into the small building, Jiajia’s birthday party won’t be ruined,” Yi Ke said. “Outside, he can mutate however he wants.”
Zhuang Ningyu frowned slightly, seeming to still be hesitating. Yi Ke’s proposal was theoretically feasible, but it was not 100% safe. First, no one could say to what extent the monster would mutate, which meant its attack power was a mystery, and the action team members might not be able to 1v1. Second, there was still a nanny in the small building. If the “master” the nanny served disappeared, she might mutate along with him.
Yi Ke said decisively, “Then we’ll take the nanny out too.”
Qing Gang agreed, “Me and Xiao Yi against two monsters, no problem.”
Zhuang Ningyu glanced at the two of them. Yi Ke obediently pursed his lips, listening to the leader. Qing Gang, on the other hand, was much less sensitive in this regard and was still asking, “Captain Zhuang, what do you think?”
“First, how do we get the nanny and Li Maosheng out of the small building? Second, even if we can, it’s too dangerous for the two of you. Third, the duration of the birthday party is the duration the monster is held back. Although according to the rules, as long as Jiajia wears the blue and white dress, eats the cake, and gets the puzzle, the mission is considered successfully completed, but this is a birthday party she has been waiting for for ten years.”
A little girl growing up in an unhealthy environment, the best birthday she could think of was just these things. She might not care about the length of the party and would be satisfied with just three to five minutes, but… Zhuang Ningyu said, “I want to give her a real birthday.”
Qing Gang put his arm around Yi Ke’s shoulder. “Okay, Captain Zhuang. You guys can rest assured and celebrate the child’s birthday. Me and Xiao Yi will definitely be good door gods.”
Yi Ke was swayed back and forth by him, his eyes innocently meeting Zhuang Ningyu’s. I didn’t say it, he did.
Zhuang Ningyu asked again, “You really can’t think of a way?”
The three people in the room heard the unspoken meaning in his words and all looked at him. Is there another way?
Zhuang Ningyu said with regret, “You have collectively missed an opportunity to get bonus points in my summary report.”
It was about assessment points. Zhong Mu decisively raised her hand. “Wait a minute, boss. Don’t say it yet. I think I can still think about it.”
Qing Gang urgently sought help from the audience. “Xiao Yi, do you have any ideas?”
Yi Ke: “…”
Five minutes later, none of the three had successfully added any points. Zhuang Ningyu had to give a further hint. “The reason the rules chose seven riders is because Jiajia thought she only had seven friends.”
Yi Ke’s heart moved. This time, he reacted quickly. “You mean, as long as we make Jiajia think she has many, many more friends, the rule zone will open again?”
Zhuang Ningyu nodded. “She probably won’t refuse.”
Outside the rule zone, after a brief communication with Zhuang Ningyu, Ye Jiaoyue agreed without hesitation. “Give me some time. By nine o’clock tomorrow morning, we’ll have everything ready!”
“Good,” Zhuang Ningyu said. “See you tomorrow then.”
That night, the lights of the shuttling cars illuminated the entire Qingquan Mountain.
Inside the rule zone, Li Hao and Chu Feifei finally vaguely knew a little about the truth of that year, and their moods were complicated. Zhou Huanchang said, “Xiao He is quite pitiful. After we get out, I don’t know if she can keep her job. She didn’t maliciously hide it, so please be more understanding.”
“Of course, it’s only human nature. Killing someone is not something you can just talk about, not to mention she’s also a victim,” Li Hao said, then, a little puzzled, he lowered his voice and continued to discuss, “But since something like that happened to her, why did she still take the exam to come to Jincheng after graduating from university? Logically, shouldn’t she be afraid and stay as far away from here as possible?”
“Could she still be hiding something?” Chu Feifei was a little nervous. “We’re not trying to pry into her privacy, but… Boss Zhou, what does Captain Zhuang think?”
“Captain Zhuang said time is tight. The top priority is to leave the rule zone first,” Zhou Huanchang exhaled a puff of smoke and stubbed out the cigarette butt heavily. “We’ll talk about other things after we get out.”
In room 202, Yi Ke, after taking a shower, kicked off his slippers and climbed onto the bed. Just like last night, he only occupied a small edge of the bed. Zhuang Ningyu glanced at him and, while typing, said, “Sleep closer to the inside, don’t fall off again… hey!”
Yi Ke pounced over, hugged his waist tightly, and buried his head in the pillow. Come when called, go when dismissed. Whatever, you told me to come over.
The heavy sword has no edge, the great skill is unadorned. Compared to other suitors who racked their brains but couldn’t even get a glance, Yi Ke’s unskilled hug actually held on for a good half hour. As for why he couldn’t hold on for longer, it was because after half an hour, Zhuang Ningyu had finished writing his report and was ready to sleep. He closed his laptop and put it on the bedside table, then reached out and patted the head of the person next to him. “Let go!”
Yi Ke lifted his nose from his warm and fragrant waist and ran down to turn off the lights with satisfaction. Good, I’ll hug him again next time!
Zhuang Ningyu looked at his flushed neck and ears, raised his arm to cover his own eyes, wanting to express his speechlessness. But the next moment, Yi Ke grabbed his wrist and stuffed it back under the blanket. “There’s a breeze outside.”
The night was both long and short.
It seemed that not even a single dream was finished before the alarm clock on the bedside table rang.
The nanny, as usual, was the first to wake up. She dragged her heavy feet downstairs to prepare breakfast for the guests. In room 302, Jiajia also woke up very early. Perhaps because her birthday party was approaching, she had been exceptionally excited these past few days. After putting on her little dress and going out, she looked up and saw Zhuang Ningyu standing at the top of the stairs.
She immediately bounced over.
Zhuang Ningyu opened his arms to catch her and knelt down to ask, “Jiajia, do you want more friends to come to your birthday party?”
Jiajia’s eyes widened, as if she didn’t understand his meaning.
Zhuang Ningyu picked her up and leaned against the railing together, looking at the winding mountain road in the distance. “There are many people who also like Jiajia very much. If Jiajia agrees, they will ride their motorcycles from there, bringing many beautiful gifts to the party.”
Jiajia’s originally pale face turned red. She looked at Zhuang Ningyu, as if she couldn’t believe what he was saying.
Zhuang Ningyu smiled at her. “Do you want to? If so, just nod.”
Jiajia nodded vigorously.
The white fog instantly filled the mountains. The roar of engines, nearly a hundred motorcycles started at the same time! Not only were there members of the Order Maintenance Department, but also the seven riders from the Jiangcheng club. They had bought plane tickets overnight and flew in from all over the country for this ten-year-old promise. Many of the cars had a gift bag hanging from them, filled with dresses, plush dolls, candies, building blocks… everything everyone could think of that a little girl would like.
Zhuang Ningyu stared at the computer screen. The green coordinate points were now appearing on the map every second, without interruption. Each coordinate point represented the entry of a new team member. Countless doors were opened on the entire Qingquan Mountain, welcoming every friend who wanted to attend Jiajia’s tenth birthday party.
The nanny, who was working, sensed something unusual and flung open the courtyard door—
In the distance, dust and smoke billowed, as if a hurricane was blowing. And it was not hard to see that the “hurricane” was approaching the small courtyard at an extremely fast speed.
A terrible sound came from her throat. She turned to take Jiajia and leave, but the next moment, she was hit hard on the back of the head! The nanny instantly lost her balance. Her huge body staggered two steps before barely standing firm. She turned around angrily. Qing Gang dropped the weapon and held up his hands innocently. He still couldn’t determine whether the person in front of him was friend or foe. In fact, logically speaking, in He Yu’s story, she had single-handedly killed the old pervert, so she should… forget it!
Qing Gang nimbly dodged a huge sandbag punch that came at him. It was hard to say if she was a friend or foe ten years ago, but now it seemed there was no way to be “friends.” So he flew up and kicked her, sending her out the door before the monster could mutate. The next moment, a lasso tightened around the nanny’s chest. Pulling it tight, Qing Gang mounted his motorcycle, revved the engine, and dragged the huge monster, crashing through trees and rocks, into the depths of the dense forest!
Jiajia in room 202 heard the noise and cowered in fear. Zhuang Ningyu patted her head and said gently, “It’s okay, the little rabbit is still waiting for your carrot. Go feed it.”
Yi Ke kicked open the door of 304, not giving Li Maosheng any time to react. He punched him squarely in the face, sending him flying out the window. “Bang!” The body, dressed in expensive clothes, fell straight to the ground. Zhong Mu stepped on his chest and reached out to tear off the puzzle piece. Flesh and blood stuck to the metal, and a foul-smelling liquid flowed out. Li Maosheng screamed in pain, covering his precious, well-maintained face with his hands, and pressed the puzzle piece back on. He knew this was the little girl’s most cherished thing, so he naturally regarded it as his own property. He was indeed no longer young, so he had to use some other means to successfully get close to those tender, flower-bud-like faces.
Zhong Mu watched as the flesh on his face grew like vines, intertwining, and finally sealed the puzzle piece again.
The picture was disgusting enough.
Li Maosheng got up, but didn’t look at her much. Instead, he looked over her shoulder at Yi Ke, who had just jumped down from the third floor. His eyes were full of jealousy, jealous of this young, handsome, and tall man. His gaze even had a hint of unconcealed envy. He moved it down, but the next moment, he was forced to “fly” up again.
Yi Ke pulled the trigger of the laser gun, directly burning a hole through his dirtiest part. The huge impact made Li Maosheng almost fold in half, and he fell on his buttocks outside the courtyard.
The sound of the engines grew louder. The man, writhing on the ground like a maggot, turned his head in disarray. The motorcycles covering the mountain clearly awakened some very bad memories. So Li Maosheng opened his hands to try and stop them, but it was clear that no one would pay any attention to this gloomy clown.
Li Maosheng turned around, his face ferocious as he looked at Yi Ke and Zhong Mu.
At the same time, the muscles on his face seemed to have a life of their own. In an instant, they completely devoured the entire puzzle piece. Sensing the panic in Zhong Mu’s eyes, Li Maosheng let out a sinister chuckle, a hint of malicious triumph in it.
However, he soon couldn’t laugh anymore.
Because Yi Ke was pinching a puzzle piece between his fingers, exactly the same as the one on his face, but it was brand new, clean, without any flaws.
A newly arrived action team member said, “Xiao Yi, don’t worry. It’s made according to the model, guaranteed to fit perfectly.”
Yi Ke looked up at Li Maosheng.
Li Maosheng was clearly at a loss.
However, what frightened him even more was yet to come. One after another, motorcycles screeched to a halt in the open space. The number of people who came to the birthday party was beyond his imagination. Almost everyone brought a gift.
Jiajia suddenly had many, many friends, and also many, many gifts.
The former would protect her, while the latter would make her no longer be deceived by a piece of candy, a drawing, or a doll. She would have lots and lots of love and become a normal child.
Li Maosheng cried out in alarm.
Two more motorcycles arrived, wrapped in the wind. The female rider who got off glanced at his empty part, then: “Tsk, impotent.”
Li Maosheng felt greatly humiliated. He frantically tried to crawl away but was dragged back by Zhong Mu. A sharp dagger pierced through his cheek with a “puchi.” Yi Ke put on gloves and, from the pile of sticky flesh and blood, pried out the puzzle piece that had not yet been “digested.”
After prying it out, he said, “I think Jiajia might like the new one better.”
Zhong Mu dodged the suddenly violent Li Maosheng. “Just in case.”
Yi Ke threw the bloody puzzle piece to Zhong Mu. He and another newly arrived colleague worked together to restrain Li Maosheng, dragged him onto a motorcycle, twisted the throttle, and drove far away from the small building.
In No. 129 Nanping Road, only the big friends who were willing to sincerely bless Jiajia were left.
