Chapter 951: Chapter 898: Full of Vigor 007
After coming out of the instance, 007 found herself not back in the familiar environment.
The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was the dim sunlight shining through the yellowish oil paper, with a humid and hot atmosphere in the air.
She hadn’t figured out where she was, when she heard someone speaking around her.
"He’s back! Mr. Gu is back!"
Mr. Gu? 007 immediately thought of Gu Mian mentioning in the group chat the fourth group of Chess Players, acquaintances of Gu Mian, named "Energetic Guiguzi"
And the chess piece of the fourth group "Hao Laoshi" called Guiguzi "Mr. Gu"
Hao Laoshi said they lived in a large base with dozens of people, and Guigu was the leader among them.
Just as 007 was still thinking, she heard more and more footsteps, as if many people were rushing towards her.
"It’s great, Mr. Gu was mysteriously pulled into a special instance, and I was worried he couldn’t come back."
"Eh? Weren’t there three people pulled into the instance this time, Mr. Gu, Hao Laoshi, and Bafang Lafu? Where’s the woman? Why are there two people coming back, one of whom is a woman?"
"Old Hao! Old Hao! Has my Old Hao come back?"
The noisy voices poured into her ears, making one feel irritated.
Listening to the voices rushing from all directions, 007 almost immediately understood. She hadn’t returned to the apartment; she was probably transferred to Guigu and Hao Laoshi’s base due to some error when the instance transported them out.
And the other person who came here with her...
looked to the side and saw Iron Pot Stewed Chicken sitting on the ground with a bewildered expression on his face, not Guigu.
She looked around again and found that this was a simple greenhouse covered with transparent tarpaulin, the ground beneath them cultivated, with some half-dead crops growing.
Right under Iron Pot Stewed Chicken’s seat was a wilted sapling, almost dead already, crushed even further by his seat, with no chance of growing again.
By now, the person rushing ahead had already noticed something was wrong.
"No! Among these two people, neither is Mr. Gu; they are two strangers!" shouted the person at the front.
This shout made the people following behind panic, and they quickly rushed over to confirm whether the person at the front was telling the truth.
This group soon arrived in front of 007 and Iron Pot Stewed Chicken. After examining them, they displayed slightly panicked expressions on their faces.
"Who are you, where’s our Mr. Gu, when will he be back?" someone asked.
"Mr. Gu went into the instance, but two strangers came out, will Mr. Gu not come back? If he doesn’t come back, what will we do?"
"Everyone, don’t panic, Mr. Gu definitely won’t abandon us; he will surely come back. Let’s wait a bit longer; maybe he’ll come out soon."
"Let’s ask these two people first to see what’s going on."
"Old Hao, did my Old Hao not come out either?"
A middle-aged man with a pale face and sharp chin stepped forward first, looking unkindly at 007 and Iron Pot Stewed Chicken: "Who are you, where are you from, and where’s our Mr. Gu?"
looked at the people surrounding them.
These were people from the Guigu base. 007 had heard from Gu Mian in the group about Guigu’s identity, knowing that these people largely depended on Guigu for survival.
She looked at these faces.
Those faces showed fear, doubt, and anger. But none showed concern; they seemed not to have any real affection with Guigu, just fearing the fall of the big tree that sheltered them from the wind and rain.
had seen such faces before.
Before her family went bankrupt, her father would generously aid relatives and friends in difficulty or distress, helping whenever he could.
Later, when the family went bankrupt, those helped came to show concern, but most showed faint, unnoticeable regret on their faces.
They felt her father was no longer useful, could no longer provide any help, and might even become a burden later.
The faces of those relatives and friends overlapped with the group in front of her.
For a moment, 007 felt herself transported to the past. What happened to those relatives and friends later? They vanished, seemingly wishing they’d never known her father, disappearing cleanly and completely from their lives.
looked at the faces waiting for her reply.
She knew that since she arrived on Guigu’s side, Guigu must have been transported elsewhere, likely having a hard time returning.
Will this group of people quietly disperse like her relatives and friends after Guigu disappears?
No, she firmly decided in her heart.
Unlike a peaceful society where, when the supportive wall crumbles, life continues even if the living standards drop a bit.
But here, Guigu is the lifeline for these people, their survival depends on Guigu. Without that security, they are likely to go insane, and it’s a collective madness.
And then, she and Iron Pot Stewed Chicken, who caused Guigu’s disappearance, would become the first targets of these madmen’s fury. She knows clearly that she can’t control where Guigu gets teleported, but enraged people don’t listen to explanations—they need a target to channel their anger.
When she was young, she watched Animal Planet, and saw how the pride structure changes when the lion king is defeated by another invading male lion. The new lion takes over as the leader, and the former lion king is driven away.
Then she asked her father puzzledly: "Why does the pride so easily accept the new lion king? Don’t they have feelings for the old lion king? Why don’t they band together to drive off the new king?"
Her father told her because the wild Caoyuan is a world of life and death where the foremost instinct for all animals is survival. If the new leader can defeat the old one, it proves it is more capable of leading the pride forward. Survival is the primary need in a perilous world.
At that time, she didn’t understand.
But now she understood.
suddenly laughed, she didn’t answer the man’s questioning but instead asked back: "Are you talking about that trash I trampled underfoot?"
"She claims to have strategized astutely, and calculated ways to clear several squares, defeating Mr. Gu thoroughly, controlling the pieces almost leading to storming our initial room and ending your foolish life. But unexpectedly, the instance malfunctioned at the crucial moment and teleported everyone out, scattering them to different places. She said looking at Gourd Valley seemed not bad, and she might mercifully reside there to help those poor souls..." Hao Laoshi animatedly narrated the information he received, though his description was more lively than 007’s original words.
"Initially, people in our base didn’t quite believe what she said, thinking how could such a young girl be more capable and ruthless than Mr. Gu? But the one who got teleported out with her, called Iron Pot Stewed Chicken, was scared to death upon seeing her—like a mouse seeing a cat—saying ’don’t saw my leg, don’t saw my leg,’ leading everyone to feel she might really be capable, believing her seven or eight points. Many even messaged me, asking if it was true."
Gu Mian: "..."
Guigu: "..."
Gu Mian found it hard to imagine herself storming into Guigu’s room sending him to doom.
Guigu also found it hard to imagine the scene of himself being beaten thoroughly by a girl he never met.
Actually, Guigu is about the same age as 007; it’s just the heavy burden on him makes him appear much older in both appearance and temperament.
However, Liu Ruyan was quite interested: "That Iron Pot Stewed Chicken, who got his leg sawed by 007, was teleported with her to Gourd Valley, which inadvertently enhances 007’s commercial image."
Fatty breathed a sigh of relief: "I was really worried the people there would vent their anger on Miss 007 after replacing Guigu. But Miss 007 is really smart, temporarily replacing Guigu like this prevents the Gourd Valley people from going mad."
"Did you reply?" Gu Mian looked at Hao Laoshi.
Hao Laoshi shook his head: "Not yet."
"Reply as 007 said, tell your family the same." Gu Mian went behind Hao Laoshi, instructing him to open the friend panel and watch as he replied.
"Say you and Guigu were teleported elsewhere, Guigu was sweating coldly almost unable to stand when exiting the instance, you asked what happened, he said a Chess Player from group one was so formidable, he nearly died at her hands. Mention you’re now teleported far from Gourd Valley, most likely unable to return."
Not daring to disobey, Hao Laoshi obediently replied as Gu Mian directed.
Guigu wiped his forehead, clearing away the cold sweat mentioned by Gu Mian.
"Base people asked why Mr. Gu doesn’t reply messages." After replying, new messages immediately came from the base, and Hao Laoshi relayed them to Gu Mian as they were.
"Say he’s still disturbed, hasn’t recovered from the near-death experience, it’s getting dark; you’re going to find a place to stay and won’t reply for now."
Hao Laoshi sent the message according to Gu Mian’s suggestion.
"Knowing Guigu likely won’t return, Gourd Valley realizes Miss 007 is even more precious, so they won’t do anything to Miss 007." Fatty patted his chest.
"Remember, keep saying this to anyone who asks, your family too." Gu Mian eyed Hao Laoshi.
Hao Laoshi nodded, then hesitantly spoke: "Will you go to Gourd Valley to bring her back... can I come along when you go?"
"Of course," Fatty immediately stood up with a snap, "that place is too perilous, look how sunny a boy Guigu used to be, now he’s tormented like this. If we’re late in going, Miss 007 might lose a hand."
"Have you considered she might not want to come back?" Suddenly, Lu Yi, silent for a while, spoke.
Guigu turned his gaze to the man with pale skin. He’d noticed this man since entering the room; his appearance was unique and even the player panel wouldn’t open.
Though those around Gu Mian might have abnormalities, Guigu didn’t ask much.
But hearing the man’s words now, Guigu was a bit dazed; would someone be willing to stay there, bearing everyone’s hope alone? At Gourd Valley Base, he felt suffocated daily, often waking up in the night panicked.
He never met 007, but from Gu Mian’s accounts, 007 seemed a young girl, quite intelligent judging by the chess game—a lively, intelligent person willing to stay in such a place?
Lu Yi whispered: "She’s a Beast Tamer; there are many qualified ’beasts’ there, I think she might be willing to stay."
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