The crowd dispersed.
Tang Ke Ke looked at Ye Zi Xiao.
“What’s wrong?”
“Boss, call the army!”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m a businessman, and you’re not a soldier. There’s no need to do this yourself. Moreover, you’re married. For your safety, you should inform the military about the situation!”
“That won’t do!”
Ye Zi Xiao sat up straight and said sternly, “The information might not be accurate. We can’t have the army involved. Besides, military actions are hard to conceal. If we alert them, the consequences would be unimaginable!”
“Are you determined to go?”
“Ke Ke, you don’t have to go. You’re right. You’re a businesswoman, and you shouldn’t have come here at all. Moreover, you’re a woman and shouldn’t be in danger.”
“If you go, I go.”
Tang Ke Ke said with a resolute smile.
Ye Zi Xiao didn’t insist further…
After another day of preparation, the secret operation team set off. Ye Zi Xiao, Tang Ke Ke, Leng Shao, and Shan Ge, along with the young beggar leading the way, departed in one car, five people in total. They absolutely refused to bring anyone else.
Bai Ling’er stayed in Da Wu City.
Lin Bin was also forcibly kept behind.
Ye Zi Xiao believed that in such an operation, more people would be useless and more likely to expose them. The five of them were enough. They could inform the military after finding the laboratory.
Others didn’t understand why Ye Zi Xiao was fighting so hard.
Was it worth it for him to risk so much?
But Ye Zi Xiao had to go. His surname was Ye!
Half a day later, an ordinary-looking SUV crossed the royal city of the Wu Kingdom. They encountered no trouble along the way, nor were they detected or intercepted by the Mountain Cat Regiment.
The SUV headed north.
They still had to travel three hundred kilometers.
They had enough gasoline and plenty of food and water. The only difficulty was that the roads heading north became increasingly dilapidated, eventually turning into dirt tracks. The closer they got to the snow-capped mountains, the harder the journey became.
The three hundred-kilometer journey
took nearly two days.
On the third day, as they could already see the snow-capped mountains, their last spare tire blew out. With no other options, no one got out of the car. They shouldered their weapons and food and began to trek towards the snow-capped mountains.
“Tired?”
Ye Zi Xiao asked Tang Ke Ke.
“Piece of cake!”
Tang Ke Ke replied with a casual smile.
“Little Leng, Little Shan, tired?”
“We’re fine, Brother Xiao.”
“This little bit of hardship is nothing!”
Leng Shao and Shan Ge were unfazed. They were young and energetic, and they had recently leveled up. Although they still looked rough, these two were now both at the Martial King level.
“Little beggar, are you hungry?”
Ye Zi Xiao called out towards the front of the car.
This young beggar didn’t even have a name. He had been a beggar since birth. Now fifteen years old, he had never eaten a full meal. He could be considered a truly unfortunate soul.
“I, I’m not hungry!”
The young beggar continued to walk with his head down.
“Here, have a roast chicken.”
Ye Zi Xiao smiled and actually took out a roast chicken wrapped in oiled paper from his bag. He had prepared it specifically to reward the young beggar.
“Ah? Roast chicken?!”
The young beggar turned around, stunned.
The fifteen-year-old boy, trembling, took the roast chicken. After opening it and looking at the glistening chicken skin, his first reaction wasn’t to devour it but to feel a sting in his nose, and tears began to fall.
“What’s wrong?”
Ye Zi Xiao was completely bewildered.
“Little brother, don’t cry!”
Tang Ke Ke also seemed at a loss.
“Damn, what are you crying for?”
“What, never eaten roast chicken before?”
Leng Shao and Shan Ge joked casually.
“I have!”
The young beggar said, staring intently at the roast chicken.
“Then you’ve eaten it! Stop crying and eat!”
Leng Shao and Shan Ge seemed indifferent. They also came from humble backgrounds, but they wouldn’t cry at the sight of roast chicken, especially after following Ye Zi Xiao, both of them had become wealthy.
“I remember very clearly, on my tenth birthday, my dad brought back an oiled paper package from somewhere. It was like this, and when I opened it, there was a pile of roast chicken bones inside.”
The young beggar murmured with tears streaming down his face.
Ye Zi Xiao and the other three fell silent.
“That was my birthday gift, and the first time I ate roast chicken in my life, and also the only time. Those chicken bones were so fragrant, though a bit hard, I chewed them all up!”
Ye Zi Xiao and the other three were speechless.
“Later I found out, those chicken bones were picked by my dad from a garbage heap. Several people snatched them from him, but my dad beat them away. But, but… sob sob sob…”
Saying this, the young beggar cried even harder!
No one tried to comfort the young beggar.
No one knew how to comfort him!
“Boss Ye, you have no idea, because of that pile of chicken bones, the people my dad beat up brought revenge that night. Right in front of me, they broke both of my dad’s legs!”
The young beggar cried out the truth.
“This damned world!”
“This tragic human existence!”
Ye Zi Xiao and Tang Ke Ke murmured.
“Alright, little beggar.”
“Stop crying, eat it quickly!”
Leng Shao and Shan Ge were no longer joking.
“I, can I not eat it?”
The young beggar wiped his tears with his sleeve.
“Why?”
Ye Zi Xiao asked curiously.
“I want to save it for my dad!”
“Sigh!!!”
Ye Zi Xiao sighed, stepped forward, and patted the young beggar’s head, saying, “You eat yours. Eat with confidence. When we get back, I’ll buy your dad another one. Besides, this chicken will be spoiled by then.”
“I, I can’t bear to eat it!”
The young beggar was almost drooling.
But he truly wanted to save it for his father.
“Here, let’s eat together.”
Ye Zi Xiao grabbed the roast chicken, tore off a chicken wing, and threw it to Tang Ke Ke, smiling and saying, “You have some too. We’re about to enter the snow mountains, and you need to replenish your energy.”
“Okay!”
Tang Ke Ke also tore off a chicken wing.
Then she threw it to Leng Shao.
Leng Shao broke off the chicken head.
Shan Ge tore off the chicken rump.
After the four of them divided it, the roast chicken was no longer whole, but the legs and meat were still there. This meant that the four of them were just making a gesture, with the purpose of encouraging the young beggar to eat.
“This, it’s all mine?”
The young beggar acted as if he had won the lottery.
“It’s all yours, eat it!”
Ye Zi Xiao nodded with a firm smile.
The young beggar, trembling, tore off a chicken leg. He first closed his eyes and smelled it, then cautiously took a bite. As he chewed the meat in his mouth, his tears fell again.
“It’s so delicious, sob, so delicious!”
At this moment, the young beggar was incredibly happy.
Thus, the five of them sat on the dry grass at the edge of the snow-covered land, eating a roast chicken that ordinary people didn’t pay much attention to. Of course, at first, five people were eating, but later, four people watched one person eat.
The young beggar ate with extreme meticulousness.
He didn’t miss a single bone.
“This is much better than watching a food blogger!”
“Damn, I want to tip him!”
Leng Shao and Shan Ge started to banter again.
An hour later, the young beggar carefully wrapped the remaining half of the roast chicken, put it inside his clothes, wiped his mouth with satisfaction, and said with a smile, “I’m full, let’s go into the snow mountains!”
Bang—
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out?
The five of them were startled and immediately looked towards the snow-covered area.
A flock of birds took flight from within the snow mountains.
Bang—
Another gunshot!
Faintly, they heard a woman’s cry?
“Is there a village there?”
Ye Zi Xiao asked the young beggar.
“There seems to be a small tribe!”
The young beggar replied uncertainly.