The young kid became silent and recalled how Commander tore them a new one in the chat group last night, and how he was willing and yet unwilling to let them urgently retreat from where they had to retreat lest they encounter firepower. As he recalled it, it felt exceptionally good and fun.
In the history of the First Terrorist Organization, this was the largest military operation that had the most effect on them. The anti-terrorist groups were raring to act and almost intervened and arrested people on Death Island. With Country R now threatened, and how Country R had very good ties with the South American and European states, the anti-terrorist groups naturally had to intervene. The disbanding of the coalition forces was most likely to happen.
If they got themselves involved, they could end up perishing with their opponents. The best way to save Country R and preserve the peace was to disband the government forces and purely phrase this conflict as a personal vendetta between Chu Li and Prince William who became jealous of each other for the want of a woman.
Peace was only possible if the situation was resolved.
“Based on how the situation is going, it will at least take half a month. Things could speed up if Commander pulled strings to intimidate the Mafia.” The young kid smiled sinisterly as he stroked his chin. He wanted to reap some gains from the conflict.
While Commander’s quick temper was just a quick temper, manipulating him was not a straightforward affair.
Eleven agreed. She said, “If you want Commander to help you, you have to offer something equivalent in return to him, telling him about the people on his most-wanted list or a case that he wants to solve. If we can’t offer him something equivalent, we won’t be able to get him to pull strings.”
“Commander is indeed preoccupied. Do we have to resort to such stunts to get his attention? If we do require any information, you can just ask Ning Ning for help.” Ye Wei smiled. She said, “Chu Li had better be able to get his woman. Otherwise, we will be caught off guard if the Mafia attacks us whilst this fiasco drags on. Ning Ning, are you able to get any information on the Mafia?”
The young kid touched his nose and smiled. He said, “I estimate a few more days.”
Ye Wei nodded, and the young kid broke into a teasing smile with bright yet cunning eyes. He said, “Auntie, do you want information on Marshmallow Brother-In-Law?”
“I’m awaiting information on him so that I can quickly act.” Ye Wei smiled gorgeously as she played with the fluorescent cup in her hands. She did not seem to care. It was as though Mo Jue/Marshmallow did not have the slightest effect on her.
Cheng Anya laughed and said, “Wei Wei, stop flaunting your strengths. You won’t be able to beat him.”
This was a fact. She was walloped by him and only recently recovered. While it was afraid that she wanted to properly dismember Mo Jue, their abilities were as clear as the day and she had to admit that Mo Jue was too strong.
Ye Wei raised her eyebrows and smiled beautifully like a rose. She put a hand on Eleven’s shoulder and said, “I still have a partner, you know? If I can’t beat him by fighting alone, he will definitely lose if he’s up against two people. If fighting one-on-one does not work, then a group scuffle would work too. Is that right, Eleven?”
Eleven looked on coldly and shook her head. She said, “Well, that works too. I’ll tag team with you next time.”
When Cheng Anya smiled, everyone felt as though spring had come. She was like a lily that blossomed, innocent and pure, with a smile in her bright eyes. She innocently asked, “Wei Wei, don’t you have a gun on you? Why did you have to use your hands?”
The young kid tucked his lips and smiled. ‘Mommy, bingo! You are so awesome!’ His mommy never failed to ask armor-piercing questions while smiling harmlessly.
Eleven could not help but look at Ye Wei from the side. Anya made a lot of sense. Ye Wei was a sharpshooter who could fire with both her left and right hands with extreme dexterity, and even so when she was in a gunfight. Mo Jue had neither concealable weapons nor guns with him that day. It was child’s play for Ye Wei to kill him if she wanted to.
She personally saw Ye Wei’s hands on the grip of the gun that day, but she did not even take it out. While she did that extremely quickly, the unwritten understanding and cooperation with her over many years were accurate. She had a perfect idea of Ye Wei’s every subsequent move in a fight.
If she could be beaten up into such a state and never drew her gun to kill, what else could it mean?
The Ye Wei they knew would rather dismember somebody than allow herself to take a punch. As a result, Mo Jue battered her to half-life.
Ye Wei’s face remained unchanged as she smiled alluringly. “Third sister-in-law, I’m afraid that you don’t understand this. I prefer to keep my joints active, and close-quarters combat is the quickest way to identify the enemy’s weaknesses. This is called ‘tactics’.”
The young kid fell silent. ‘Auntie, to think that you could even say that. In what way could you, beaten to half-life, claim that you understand the other person’s tactics?’
Cheng Anya nodded in understanding and said, “That’s correct. When you came to kill Ah Chen some time ago, you should not have fired from the top. Instead, you should have probed his weaknesses from up-close. Am I right?”
“Third sister-in-law, that’s very mean of you. If third brother and I are to get into a fight, I can promise you that you won’t be able to recognize his face,” Ye Wei said amidst laughter and pretended to be extremely innocent.
Cheng Anya laughed and did not ask any other questions.
Ye Wei looked down at the fluorescent cup she was shaking in her hands, the grape wine in the cup rocking about. From the side, it seemed like a beautiful light shone into the alcohol. A fluorescent cup that was used to contain wine was definitely a huge luxury.
So, all that Mo Jue and Marshmallow could simply f*** off from her point of view.
A pair of calm eyes was reflected in the clear alcohol.
“Are there really no signs of third brother waking up?” Ye Wei suddenly asked. She had not been to the research lab in the past few days since she was recuperating, let alone step out of her room. Cheng Anya also did not go to the lab since Su Man said that he became vexed in the presence of women and would work inefficiently. Whether Su Man was telling the truth, and however worried she was, Cheng Anya was indeed waiting for news and did not go to the lab to disturb them.
But she knew that Third Young Master Ye had yet to wake up.
This virus was too powerful.
“Not yet. Su Man said that he will have to remain like this until there is an antidote. He will be sustained via nutritional agents, sedatives, and a mumble jumble of experimental agents I do not know of.” Cheng Anya smiled. Her worry calmed.
“Third brother has definitely met with many mishaps.” Ye Wei’s heart ached. The person whom she doted on the most in the world was definitely not Marshmallow or Mo Jue. It was Third Young Master Ye.
The same could be said for Cheng Anya, and everybody could understand how Third Young Master Ye’s life slowly ebbed away with each passing day. A good chunk of the seven-day deadline had passed, and Third Young Master Ye had to rely on medicines to keep him alive. While her heart indeed ached, she was helpless. Why was she just fine when Third Young Master Ye’s life hung in the balance?
“Mommy, auntie, I believe that Daddy will be fine.” The young kid smiled elegantly. “Mommy and I are still alive. Daddy will not bear to leave us. If that happens, Mommy will bring me along and remarry, and Daddy, even if he were a ghost, would jump out of his coffin.”
Ye Wei and Cheng Anya could not help but laugh and Eleven broke into a very slight smile. This was indeed in-line with Third Young Master Ye’s style.
Cheng Anya was certain that Eleven and Ye Wei had many things to see to, so she suggested they leave Riyadh for now. But Ye Wei insisted on staying. However chaotic and tumultuous the outside world was, all was still calm in Riyadh. Since it was unsuitable for too many to guard this place, the two of them took on the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the Ye family.
Their negligence previously led to this string of incidents happening. This time around, it was impossible for Ye Wei and Eleven to leave and history would not repeat itself.
Eleven suddenly asked, “Anya, you mentioned that Louis could touch you. Does that mean that his blood may be able to neutralize the virus?”
“Bai Ye had also asked the same question. If we are able to analyze his blood sample, things could speed up a little. But Louis would have definitely considered this. His disappearance means that it’s impossible to get our hands on a sample of his blood,” Cheng Anya said. When she mentioned Louis, she felt her goose bumps tingle. “Where the hell is he? I always feel that this is the calm before the storm, and something is about to happen.”
“Mommy, stop overthinking. What previously happened will not repeat. Relax.” While few people were here, Su Man’s residence was impregnable and even Mo Ye could only watch from outside, not being able to come close. Even Mo Ye couldn’t come close, let alone anybody else.
The place was like a fortified garden which only allowed people to exit. It was extremely safe.
“I’m not worried about this. I can’t quite describe it clearly as well.”
“Third sister-in-law, I am curious about something. Why hasn’t the virus in you acted up?” Ye Wei asked with squinted eyes. “After some quick calculation, there are only a few more days left to the one month you have to live. The virus should have long acted up.”
“That I do not know.” Cheng Anya felt stifled too. While everything in the past few days was normal, Su Man and Bai Ye were devoted to saving Third Young Master Ye and did not bother about her for now.
If the virus had acted up, she would be like Third Young Master Ye, lying on the operating table, either awaiting death or an awakening.
“I am actually as stifled too.” The young kid smiled and raised his index finger. “Of course, Mommy, I do not want the virus in you to act up.”
“Third sister-in-law, you must be a mutant.”
Everybody laughed. As they were laughing, they heard footsteps. Bai Ye and Su Man came out. Both of them had been in the research lab for two days and they seemed tired. When they came out, Cheng Anya and company immediately crowded around them.
Su Man did not look good. Although he seemed extremely tired, his cheeks were slightly red and there seemed to be a fire dancing in his cold eyes. Ye Wei could not help but pinch her own arm.
Was she dreaming?
Even Beautiful Su could have a slightly reddened face? Hmm, what’s going on? She somehow felt that she had missed a wonderful show.
“Beautiful Su, is there a cure yet?”
“Bai Ye, how’s Ah Chen?”
“Tomorrow,” Su Man cleanly replied.
Bai Ye waved his hands and sat down. He took a mouthful of tea and said, “We are just short of the final medicine. Whether we make it or not, tomorrow will tell.”
Cheng Anya’s heart, which was at her throat, descended. When she initially saw their faces, she felt that there was only that shimmer of hope and they had to wait until God knows when. Little did she expect good news.
Her pale face and eyes slightly reddened. While she was not particularly different in front of the young kid for the past few days, she was the only person to know that she was so worried each night that she could not fall asleep and kept looking in the direction of the research lab.
She prayed to heavens many, many times for him to tide through this.
“That’s perfect!” The young kid looked rejoiced. His tense emotions were defused.
Su Man gently kneaded his head and relaxed his countenance. He sounded less harsh as he said, “Were you worried stiff?”
Ye Wei could not help but feel conflicted. He sure took a liking to kids! Beautiful Su had never spoken to her this way. Ye Wei despised the young kid, and this made her feel extremely conflicted.
“We were all worried.” The young kid smiled as he looked at Su Man and then at the extremely calm Bai Ye. He keenly sensed that something was a little off and asked, “Su Man, Bai Ye, since it’s good news, why did you have such a scary look when you came out earlier?”
Something was wrong.
When Bai Ye was about to say something, Su Man slapped him and Bai Ye raised his hand and smiled. He made a ‘shush’ gesture and continued drinking his tea.
Everybody felt that it was weird. Ye Wei’s eyes were focused on Bai Ye and Su Man’s faces. Everybody, including the young kid, ignored the palm mark on Bai Ye’s face.
There was a deathly silence in the great hall.
Beautiful Su coldly harrumphed and his intricate brows and cold presence were intimidating. Bai Ye smiled and everybody thought Bai Ye was about to be killed by Su Man. Little did they expect his cold gaze to sweep past and he left.
Everybody looked at his silhouette and then at each other, speechless.
What had happened?
The young kid leaped into Bai Ye’s embrace and put his small palm against the palm mark. He blinked his pitch-black eyes and asked, “Bai Ye, what’s with your face?”
“Mosquito-swatting. There are too many mosquitoes in Riyadh in summer.” Bai Ye calmly smiled and put down his tea. He gently kneaded the young kid’s head and the young kid was feeling exceptionally bored. Why did people just love to touch his head?
Ye Wei squinted and hummed a tune as the young kid compared his fingers against the finger marks to verify the facts. “Bai Ye, your fingers are not that slender.”
Everybody nodded, and a few pairs of eyes landed on Bai Ye’s face.
They had the exaggerated ‘Bai Ye, come clean with us’ expression.
Knowing that there would soon be an antidote to the virus, Cheng Anya was much more relaxed and could not help but become concerned about the beautiful palm mark on Bai Ye’s face. It was a forceful and apt slap.
One look was all that was needed to know that the owner of the hand had beautiful and slender fingers.
“Stop acting. Did Su Man slap you?” Ye Wei smiled dangerously. Her expression, which seemed like she was gritting her teeth, was extremely conflicted.
“Why did he slap you?”
“Bai Ye, what did you do?”
“You couldn’t have molested him, right?”
Everybody expressed their doubts together.
Bai Ye calmly put down the cup of tea and said, “Gee, I’m tired. I’m going back to get some sleep.”
As everybody saw Bai Ye’s tall silhouette and recalled how stunning Su Man was, they could smell that whiff of adultery.
Ye Wei was angry and sad. She clenched her fist and said, “Bai Ye, could you stop being so ‘bent’…”