Free Web NovelChapter 133: Your Fault
"Pei Luo?" Wenzhi asked in surprise, pulling the lollipop from his mouth.
Xinyuan nodded carefully as he flipped the food on the stove, making their breakfast. Wenzhi was leaning back against the counter behind him, his hair a messy morning bird’s nest. His dull grey eyes widened, the last remnants of sleep immediately wiped from his face.
"Yeah," Xinyuan replied.
Wenzhi scoffed, popping the lollipop back into his mouth. "Why the hell would Pei Luo abduct Duan Ze and Ru Yi? They’re friends. Besides, we haven’t seen or heard from him since the Pei estate got blown sky-high, which was your fault, by the way."
Xinyuan turned around to look at him, holding a spatula. "It..."
"Don’t fucking deny it," Wenzhi cut him off, pointing a finger at him. "Maybe he’s furious. It definitely explains the texts, but what I don’t get is why he’s being so damn ominous about it. Abducting them... yeah, he’s pissed. You are the reason he lost everything, after all."
Xinyuan raised his hands in immediate surrender. "Fine, yes, it’s my fault."
Wenzhi rolled his eyes, pulling his phone from his sweatpants pocket and opening the message thread.
"What are you doing?" Xinyuan asked, instantly stepping toward him.
Wenzhi pressed his palm flat against Xinyuan’s chest, stopping him in his tracks. "Go concentrate on the food. I’m replying to him. I want to find out what the hell is going on and what exactly he wants to tell me."
Xinyuan frowned, clearly not on board with the idea. "And if he still demands to meet you alone?"
"Then I’ll go. But you’ll come with me in secret, completely hiding your presence just in case he suddenly pulls a crazy Esper out of his sleeve," Wenzhi added.
The compromise seemed to relax Xinyuan just a bit. He smiled, his deep dimples showing.
"What is this about Pei Luo?" Duan Ze’s voice suddenly cut in as he and Kaiwen walked into the kitchen. Kaiwen was pressed close, his side brushing against Duan Ze’s side as they moved.
"He’s the one who abducted you guys," Wenzhi threw out casually.
"What?" Duan Ze blinked in utter disbelief.
Kaiwen, on the other hand, didn’t look surprised at all. He had obviously been eavesdropping on their conversation down the hall. He leaned his back against the kitchen counter while Duan Ze stood there, trying to wrap his brain around the fact that their own friend had thrown them into captivity. They hadn’t been wounded or tortured, just locked away in separate cells inside some nameless building.
"What I really want to know," Kaiwen said, a sharp, knowing look in his eyes, "is if this ties back to Jiang Zhaohe stabbing Wenzhi and handing him over to the Old Blood in the first place. Which means she was probably the catalyst for the explosion that killed so many of our people... and the whole thing about Shao Jingxin actually being alive? You two are keeping a ridiculous amount of secrets."
Wenzhi raised a cold eyebrow at him. "Are you trying to be another Jiang Zhaohe?"
"Ah... please. I could never be the badass, double-agent, SSS-rank Commander Jiang Zhaohe working for those Old Blood bastards," Kaiwen said, sounding entirely jolly and devious as the words slipped effortlessly out of his mouth. He casually wrapped his arm around Duan Ze’s waist, pulling him close. "I am strictly here for the love of the game, for stability, and for the freedom to do whatever the fuck I want, not to kiss the boots of those high-family pricks."
Kaiwen’s gaze shifted, locking right onto Xinyuan. "Are you going to kill her?"
"Yes," Xinyuan answered without a second of hesitation, his voice deadpan as he went right back to plating the breakfast.
Wenzhi just shrugged, leaning his head back. He honestly wanted to put a bullet through Zhaohe himself, but taking down an SSS-rank commander wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.
Turning his attention to Kaiwen, he asked, "Did you get in touch with Chenxi?"
"Yeah, they’re with him down in the underground city," Kaiwen said, his casual demeanor shifting into something more strategic. "You guys do realize we have to head back sooner or later, right? We don’t know what kind of move the old blood or CEA are going to pull next, but hiding out here isn’t a permanent solution. We have to go back."
Kaiwen leaned forward, a sharp glint in his eyes. "And honestly, regardless of how much the Old Blood act like immortal roaches, Xinyuan did massive, structural damage to them. Everyone’s talking about it. Factions are actively stepping back, and even the CEA has gone completely radio silent. They’re getting incredibly wary of the Sovereign, all thanks to our resident monster here. We need to keep capitalizing on that leverage."
Wenzhi let out a slow sigh, processing the macro layout. "What are your scouts saying about Doctor Bai?"
Kaiwen shook his head, his expression flattening. "Nothing yet. It’s going to take time to confirm if she’s actually dead. But either way, the loss over there is severe. The birth rate in the Old Blood territories is basically sitting at zero percent right now because the planetary mutation is heavily restricting childbirth. Besides, people aren’t stupid enough to bring kids into this environment anyway. The majority of their population is military, and the remaining civilians are just brainwashed middle families who worship the high families. There’s no great loss to cry about."
Wenzhi nodded slowly, his fingers tapping against his phone. "We go back, then."
Xinyuan froze, his hand stopping over the stove as he turned a heavy, silent gaze toward Wenzhi. But Wenzhi didn’t look back at him.
They both knew that staying in this house was a temporary dream, regardless of how safe it felt. But acknowledging it out loud still left a bitter taste. They couldn’t run forever. No matter how much they wanted to just disappear.
"But first," Wenzhi said, his grey eyes sharpening as he looked at the screen of his phone, "we have to pay a little visit to an old friend."
"I’m coming with you," Duan Ze insisted immediately, stepping forward.
"Duan Ze," Wenzhi said, shaking his head.
