Chapter 319

Clearly, he had grasped Su Bei’s personality traits, making it so Su Bei “had to” choose to help. What Jiang Tianming didn’t know, however, was that this was exactly what Su Bei wanted. He loved having teammates who were proactive and gave him a good excuse to help.

“Don’t worry,” Su Bei said with a faint smile. “You guys will definitely get on the island.”

After Jiang Tianming made his decision, Wu Mingbai began digging a tunnel. But it wasn’t long before he discovered a problem. “It’s no good. I can’t keep the lake water calm while digging the tunnel right now.”

Wu Mingbai frowned, a hint of frustration in his eyes. Ever since obtaining the Guardian Deity’s power, he had become unprecedentedly confident in his strength. Yet, not long after, he had already run into a difficult situation.

The lake surrounding the island was deep, and digging a tunnel underneath it was no easy task. Moreover, he couldn’t dig too deep, or he might hit the facilities below, which would get them discovered all the same.

Seeing the slight ripples on the water’s surface, everyone immediately realized the severity of the problem. The guards here weren’t blind; if an unusual disturbance appeared on the water, they would surely notice, even in the dark of night. They would inevitably guess that someone was up to something.

“Then what should we do? A different method?” Qi Huang raised an eyebrow and glanced at the time. “There’s still half an hour until the next boat arrives. Should we use this time to figure out how to get aboard?”

Mu Tieren looked at Su Bei. “Didn’t Su Bei just say this method wouldn’t work?”

“Su Bei probably meant our original plan wouldn’t work, right?” Qi Huang also looked to Su Bei, seeking his opinion.

Seeing their luck was still terrible, Su Bei spread his hands. “None of them will work. Let’s find a new method.”

After a moment’s thought, he added, “If you can’t think of anything, I suggest you use the old method. Although it will fail, with things like luck, when you hit rock bottom, things are bound to get better.”

With their current luck, anything they did would fail. Unless Jiang Tianming could come up with a foolproof plan, the best course of action was to fail once first. By using up this bad luck, their fortune would naturally return to normal.

Of course, there was a simpler way: he could directly adjust their luck back. But Su Bei naturally wouldn’t do something that pointlessly consumed his Mental Energy.

Hearing his answer, Jiang Tianming showed a thoughtful expression and decided to let things take their course. “Let’s split into two groups. Mingbai, you continue digging the tunnel. The rest of us will go and distract them.”

It was already dark, so the ripples in the lake weren’t very obvious. As long as they could draw all the guards’ attention, they could create enough space for Wu Mingbai to work.

Su Bei timely raised his hand. “I’ll stay here. I’ll give a warning if there’s any danger.”

His warning, of course, was for Wu Mingbai. Wu Mingbai needed to be fully focused while digging the tunnel, and with Su Bei there to alert him, many risks could be avoided. Jiang Tianming nodded, agreeing with his suggestion.

The two groups went their separate ways. On Su Bei’s side, all was calm and peaceful, while Jiang Tianming’s side could only be described as chaotic. They were highly efficient; not even ten minutes after they split up, the pier was in an uproar.

Even from a great distance, Su Bei could vaguely hear someone shouting, “Get them!”

The protagonist group’s unparalleled ability to stir up trouble was finally being put to good use, perfectly capturing all of the enemy’s attention.

It was unclear how long Wu Mingbai would need to dig the tunnel, but it probably wouldn’t be a short time. Su Bei took out a small stool and a fishing rod from his storage space and started fishing right there on the lake shore.

Wu Mingbai, taking a moment to look up from his digging to survey the surroundings: “…”

He looked Su Bei and the fishing rod up and down in disbelief. “Why would you bring a fishing rod with you on a mission?”

“That’s not all.” Su Bei casually set the fishing rod aside and pulled out a deck of cards, a chessboard, and several comic books from his storage space…

Under Wu Mingbai’s dumbfounded gaze, Su Bei gestured to the small mountain of recreational items in front of him and said with a proud grin, “You know, I get bored easily.”

This wasn’t a matter of getting bored easily; this was just having way too much free time! Wu Mingbai wore a speechless expression. I’m too lazy to be sarcastic, I’ll just say it straight. “If you’re so bored, then get more involved! Wouldn’t it be less boring if you went to cause trouble with them?”

To this, Su Bei had his own logic. “I like watching the show, not acting in it.”

It was impossible to persuade him. Wu Mingbai decisively turned his attention back to digging the tunnel. Su Bei continued fishing, keeping a constant eye on the Destiny Compass above Wu Mingbai’s head, just in case.

“Stop, now!” Suddenly, Su Bei quickly reeled in his fishing rod and warned Wu Mingbai beside him. The pointer above his head had abruptly skewed to the right, a clear sign that something bad was about to happen.

Logically, he should have just slapped an Invisibility Talisman on him and called it a day, but Su Bei couldn’t risk touching him rashly at that moment. A single flinch could cause the tunnel Wu Mingbai had just painstakingly created to collapse.

In such a dangerous place, even with a strong and reliable classmate nearby, Wu Mingbai couldn’t completely immerse himself in his task. He reacted instantly, retracting his ability and standing still. “What’s going on?”

Su Bei shook his head to indicate he didn’t know either, then casually slapped an Invisibility Talisman on him. Seeing the pointer above Wu Mingbai’s head return to the left, he said lazily, “Don’t say I didn’t help. This thing is worth a fortune.”

Before Wu Mingbai could say anything, two men appeared nearby as if they had teleported. One of them said in confusion, “I definitely sensed someone here just now. Where did they go?”

“They ran off, obviously!” the other said irritably. “Let’s go. They must be long gone by now.”

With that, he pulled his companion along and vanished in a flash.

Su Bei and Wu Mingbai exchanged a glance and, with perfect tacit understanding, remained completely still, standing there and counting the stars. When the Invisibility Talisman was about to expire, Su Bei applied another one to both himself and Wu Mingbai.

Ten minutes later, the two men reappeared at the same spot they had vanished from. The one with the teleportation ability shook his head. “Looks like they’ve really left. Let’s not waste any more time here.”

The other man nodded, and this time, the two of them walked away towards the pier.

Su Bei and Wu Mingbai waited another five minutes, confirming they showed no signs of returning, before deactivating their invisibility. Wu Mingbai was a bit hesitant. “I didn’t expect them to have a skill like that. Should we move to another spot and continue?”

“No need. If they could keep checking this spot, they wouldn’t have left just now,” Su Bei shook his head. “Whether their skill has a cooldown or they can’t continuously scan one area, staying here is the best choice.”

His analysis was very logical. Wu Mingbai wasted no more time and quickly constructed the underground passage. Perhaps because his luck had recovered, they encountered no further incidents. Once the tunnel was complete, Wu Mingbai took out a device shaped like a rooster’s comb and pressed it hard. The next second, a rooster’s crow suddenly echoed from a great distance away.

Su Bei: “…”

Was this item really that amazing? The device was right here with them, but the sound it made seemed to come from far away. Still, he had to admit it was very practical. Even if someone found the crowing suspicious, the sound would lead them further away instead of directly to their hiding spot.

Before long, Jiang Tianming and the others shook off their pursuers and arrived one by one. Once everyone was gathered, Wu Mingbai tapped the entrance of the hole with his toe. “This is it. Let’s go.”

He was the first to jump in. The others followed closely behind, leaping into the hole without hesitation. With an Earth Element ability user present, they had a way out even if the tunnel collapsed mid-way.

“‘Let there be light,’” Lan Subing said, using her Word Spirit to illuminate the dark and bottomless tunnel, allowing them to move a bit faster.

After traversing the long tunnel, just as they were about to reach the end, Jiang Tianming suddenly asked, “Do you know where the exit leads?”

Everyone froze. The air was dead silent. A moment later, Wu Mingbai coughed. “I didn’t open up the other side, so no matter where it is, we won’t be exposed for now. We just need to pick a time when no one’s around to go up.”

He had almost forgotten about that. Luckily, he had taken precautions while digging and hadn’t broken through directly.

Hearing this, Su Bei released his Mental Energy to sense what was above. He quickly reported, “There’s one person up there. It seems this tunnel leads to someone’s bedroom. Also, a reminder: the person above is already asleep.”

Since the person was asleep, they couldn’t expect him to leave anytime soon, but they couldn’t stay here for too long either. If they could avoid skipping class, it was best not to. For now, the group still harbored the fantasy of a quick resolution.

Mu Tieren suggested, “Can we dig a bit further? Extend the tunnel somewhere else?”

“Not really,” Wu Mingbai sighed. “Many of the underground spaces on this island are already occupied. This was the only path I could find. An exit leading to the surface might be safer; one leading further underground is likely to be defended.”

Lan Subing quickly came up with a plan. “If it’s just one person, let’s go up quietly, and I’ll use Word Spirit to control him.”

“Just keep him in a deep sleep,” Jiang Tianming nodded.

Wu Mingbai manipulated the soil above, silently dissolving it into a large opening. Lan Subing went up first and used her ability: “‘Deep Sleep.’”

After she confirmed everything was fine, the rest of the group followed, finally getting a clear view of their surroundings. It was a bedroom, and sleeping on the bed was a man in his thirties. With his slicked-back pink hair, Su Bei knew without thinking that he had to be a relative of Li Shu. At this age, he couldn’t be his father, so he was most likely an uncle or something similar.

“How do we find Li Shu now? Have you guys checked which room he’s in?” Qi Huang asked with her arms crossed.

Jiang Tianming shook his head. “We couldn’t find out. Let’s split up. I, Ah Bing, and Mingbai will be one team. The remaining three of you will be another. Whoever finds Li Shu, send a message in the group chat.”

Although no one questioned it, he still explained the reasoning for the groups. “If someone discovers us, Ah Bing and I can use our abilities to temporarily control them, and Mingbai can lead us to escape underground. As for you three, Su Bei has Invisibility Talismans, and Qi Huang can fly people away. Because the talismans are safer, Class President, you’re in this group too.”

To be honest, Su Bei had a slight issue with this grouping. One group consisted of the original three protagonists, which already implicitly decided that the upcoming allocation of screen time would be unfair. Jiang Tianming’s side would definitely get far more screen time than his.

Of course, that wasn’t what Su Bei cared about. When had he ever cared about the amount of screen time? As long as it was effective screen time, it was fine.

That’s right. With this grouping, it was clear that their side wouldn’t get much effective screen time either. The intel and Li Shu were most likely not on their route. Su Bei estimated that for at least half of this trip, they would just be playing a side role. What was the point of that?

For a plot that didn’t involve the main storyline, having no effective screen time was fine. Although Su Bei cared a bit more about his popularity now, he had no intention of forcing himself. Missing one or two events was nothing to him. How could his popularity plummet just because of that?

What truly dissatisfied him was that on top of playing a side role, it wouldn’t even be an easy one. Both Qi Huang and Mu Tieren were characters who had been powered up in earlier plots but hadn’t really shown off their strength. So, if nothing unexpected happened, their side would likely face a lot of combat scenes.

No effective screen time and no chance to slack off. It was like they had stepped on every landmine Su Bei wanted to avoid.

However, he had no reason to refuse. He lowered his eyes, quickly figuring out his next move. Since he didn’t want to be in Qi Huang’s group and couldn’t join Jiang Tianming’s, he would just form a new group by himself.

This wasn’t their first mission. The group proficiently pushed open the door, left the room, and split up. As a precaution, Su Bei stuffed an Invisibility Talisman into both Qi Huang’s and Mu Tieren’s hands. “One talisman lasts for ten minutes. Please use them at a critical moment.”

Only after the two had carefully put away the talismans did he pretend to rub his eyes, rub his fingers together, and make a gesture for money. “I’ve spared no expense to watch this show. Have you considered helping me recover some of my losses?”

Qi Huang promised domineeringly without a second thought, “If you’re really willing to sell, I’ll buy as many as you have.”

Su Bei’s Invisibility Talismans were widely acknowledged as excellent. Although no one knew where he got so many powerful talismans, the fact that they always allowed him to go completely undetected was proof enough of their effectiveness.

And Qi Huang certainly didn’t lack money. If Su Bei was willing to sell, it would be nothing but beneficial for her. Not just her, but even her family would surely be very willing for her to buy more to bring back.

“You’ll have better luck dreaming,” Su Bei refused without hesitation. Although this was a virtually zero-cost, high-profit business, as one of the few trump cards he possessed, it naturally had to maintain a certain mystique.

Hearing his words, Mu Tieren couldn’t help but laugh. “Weren’t you just trying to get us to pay? Why are you refusing now that we’re actually offering?”

Su Bei’s logic was clear, completely unfazed by his attempt to twist the concept. Though his voice remained lazy, the meaning behind his words hit the nail on the head. “I just want to cover my losses, I don’t intend to invest any more.”

“You’re right.” Mu Tieren frankly admitted his oversight, then smoothly changed the topic. “Where should we go next?”

That was indeed a problem. Su Bei looked up at the villa, which seemed to have a somewhat complex layout. “They went downstairs, so let’s go upstairs. After we’re done with this villa, we can check out the others.”

Wu Mingbai had mentioned earlier that the island had many underground facilities. Su Bei figured that, if things went as expected, the Li family’s secret lay within them. Going upstairs probably wouldn’t reveal much, and the author likely wouldn’t let them find Li Shu right at the start.

As expected, after a full tour, they found nothing and were almost spotted by someone who got up for a drink of water in the middle of the night. The three of them then left the villa.

Looking around from inside the island was completely different from observing it from the outside. From within, it was clear that the area was not prosperous. There were no shops, no landscaping, and not even many streetlights.

But there were patrol teams. Each team had five people in uniform, tirelessly patrolling the island along a fixed route.

After observing for a while and familiarizing themselves with their route, the three emerged from the shadows behind a house.

“Why such tight security? Are they hiding some kind of secret?” Qi Huang frowned sarcastically, unaware that her casual remark was actually the truth.

Mu Tieren shook his head. “For an island this big, having patrol teams seems pretty normal, right? Besides, we just caused all that trouble outside the island…”

Not wanting to say more, he pointed to one of the villas. “That one looks the most magnificent. If Li Shu has a high status on the island, he should be living there, right?”

“Probably. Let’s go check…” Before she could finish, Qi Huang’s eyes suddenly widened.

Following her gaze, they saw a group of fifty to sixty children, led by a man, filing out of a house. All these children had pink hair, clearly members of the Li family. The oldest looked about thirteen or fourteen, while the youngest was only four or five.

Qi Huang muttered in shock, “Are they crazy? Why are there so many?”

Although they had learned from the intel that the Li family was very prolific, having over fifty children in the same generation was just too much! Moreover, all these children had pink hair. The Li family’s genes were so strong that all the children inherited their dominant gene.

Of course, it was also possible that those who didn’t inherit it weren’t on this island. But if that were the case, it would mean there were even more children in this generation than they were currently seeing, which would only shock Qi Huang even more.

Mu Tieren was also stunned, but his focus was on something else. “How did so many kids come out of that one single-story house? A spatial ability?”

“There’s probably a basement,” Su Bei said casually, his gaze fixed thoughtfully on the group of children.

He had felt something was off when he first learned that the Li family was exceptionally prolific. Such a peculiar setting must have a purpose in a manga event. And now, it seemed his guess was correct. Either there was something wrong with these children, or there was something wrong with the people having them.

But regardless of which it was, there was only one way to find out. “How about we go check out that single-story house?”

Neither Qi Huang nor Mu Tieren had any objections. They also wanted to go in and explore to see what kind of room required this crowd of children to visit collectively in the middle of the night.

However, despite making the decision, the three of them didn’t move immediately. They all instinctively stopped where they were, watching as the dozens of pink-haired children returned to their own rooms.

They were uniformly sent to a two-story factory-like building. The building looked extremely crude, like the kind of factory dormitory used to house workers next to a factory. But unlike a factory dormitory, this probably wasn’t made up of individual rooms, but was instead a large, open-plan sleeping area with all the rooms knocked through.

In other words, it was even cruder than a factory dormitory.

Fifty to sixty children living in a two-story open dormitory meant nearly thirty kids sleeping on a single large platform, possibly without any partitions in between.

This is insane!

While it would be difficult to give each child a private room, making them live in this kind of collective open dormitory was definitely wrong! Shouldn’t children live with their parents? Even if they were being raised collectively, the environment could be a bit better, couldn’t it? It wasn’t like the Li family was short on money. They wouldn’t have been so surprised if fifty-plus people lived on three floors, but fifty-plus people on two floors was just too much.

Qi Huang frowned. She had never even lived in a tenement building, let alone something like this. Her eyes were filled with confusion. “I know children in large families often don’t get much attention, but these living conditions…”

“It’s because the number is a bit too excessive,” Su Bei said, looking at Mu Tieren. “Your uncle can create so many intelligent parts, so he probably doesn’t value them very much, right?”

That was true. Mu Tieren nodded but retorted, “How can children with blood ties be the same as parts that are artificially given life?”

“They seem pretty similar. They’re intelligent and created by them. Children and parts are the same,” unexpectedly, Qi Huang actually sided with Su Bei. “In that case, I’m afraid they don’t see these children as their own flesh and blood at all, but as items that can be replaced at any time, just like parts.”

Su Bei offered a more fitting analogy: “Like an ant kingdom.”

“Ah! That’s it!” Mu Tieren and Qi Huang nodded vigorously in unison, feeling that Su Bei’s example was spot on.

If the Li family had always been like this, producing countless offspring in one go, weren’t they just like a queen ant? Children born in such an environment would be like worker ants, unimportant, and it would be normal to let them fend for themselves.

But Mu Tieren soon thought of an inappropriate aspect of this example. “No, that’s not right. Ants require almost no cost to raise after birth, but human children are different. It takes a lot of energy and resources to raise them. But with this kind of crude upbringing, making children live in such a crowded place, their food and clothing must also be simple, and education is out of the question…”

As he spoke, he looked at the building with concern. “Can children living here really grow up normally?”