Chapter 121, Chapter Twenty-Two: The Lost Manor
Cheng Yuzhou declined the position of central control, but Dean, whose major was a perfect match, was chosen as the navigator.
Li Yufei's arrow strike demonstrated her fighting prowess, leading everyone to earnestly hope that she would remain on the front lines. Cheng Yuzhou, however, cited his superior faith and the greater importance of reinforcing the barrier as reasons for staying behind.
The decision to arrange the schedule rested with Song Xiaona, and she immediately and without hesitation separated the two people—separately, one at the 12 o'clock position and the other at the 6 o'clock position, with the castle, the town square, and another church in between, so that neither of them could see the other.
She herself went to the small church closest to Li Yufei.
The manor has two highest points: the attic of the chapel and the rooftop of the castle.
These two locations were set up as lookout points, each equipped with a telescope.
As a developed tourist attraction, the manor is equipped with a broadcasting system, but the broadcasting station is located some distance from the two lookout points. Therefore, the group also organized two "scouts" to relay information from the lookout points to the broadcasting station.
There were no cars on the estate, but a few bicycles, which weren't of much help.
Platforms and steps are everywhere on the internal roads, making it difficult for wheels to cross. Fortunately, they have horses.
There are three large horses in the horse farm next to the castle, and some of the tourists can ride horses.
In the first holy war, everyone was forced into it and hastily stepped up despite their reluctance.
The manor is divided into 12 defense points based on time, with each defense point consisting of two groups of four people who take turns guarding it.
Besides standing in front of the barrier and filling it with faith, people also used various other means to resist the demons outside the barrier.
Objects that have passed through the hands of believers will be imbued with their faith.
They then wiped their weapons clean, tied strings to the ends of their arrows, and shot them at the demons outside the barrier; some stabbed the demons with swords, spears, and halberds; others poured oil outside, threw out burning paper balls and matches; or simply threw out lit bottles of wine.
As a goddess born from the ocean, fire is extremely harmful to Aphrodite's followers.
Thanks to the combined power of faith and the fire, as well as the command of Song Xiaona, Dean, and others on the watchtower, they managed to get through the night peacefully.
Li Yufei stood in front of the barrier, separated by a pale red and transparent screen. The scallop in front of her was wildly flicking its tongue at her, and the stench was so strong that it was pungent even through the barrier.
Three days ago, she was so frightened by this thing that she couldn't move, but now she thrust her sword out expressionlessly.
puff.
The power of faith traveled from the hilt to the tip of the sword, flames ignited on the shell's tongue, and a salty, savory aroma filled the air.
puff.
She drew her sword again, and on the way back, she also brushed aside the poppies next to her, letting the faith power on the sword burn away the poisonous plants.
Li Yufei had been squatting at the 6 o'clock defense point for six hours. All the scallops she had ever eaten in her life were killed in this one day, leaving her without a sense of smell, without any of her five senses, and her mind numb.
Who is she? What is she doing? Is the slaughterhouse the mastermind behind this? Are they trapping them here to kill fish and birds for free?
No wonder Cheng Yuzhou kept telling her not to be afraid or nervous. This wasn't some battle against a demon; she was just working on the assembly line at a seafood factory.
There are 24 hours a day, and the two shifts make up exactly 12 hours, which is exactly the same as the working hours in the factory. They don't even provide labor protection here.
"Sister Feifei, would you like some water?" The girl in her group was a petite girl who was less than 1.5 meters tall.
When scheduling shifts, Song Xiaona took into full consideration the allocation of various abilities, assigning children under the age of fifteen, the elderly over the age of fifty, and particularly thin girls to burly men.
Xiaowen was one of the particularly thin girls, and she was paired with Li Yufei.
As for Cheng Yuzhou, Song Xiaona arranged for him to be in a group by himself.
For the first three hours, Xiaowen tried his best to hold the arrow and poke it outwards, but after half an hour, the speed gradually slowed down.
Her arms were almost broken and she couldn't lift them, so she could only stand aside and replenish the barrier with faith power.
Xiaowen was not annoying. Seeing that she couldn't help, she kept wiping Li Yufei's sweat, feeding her water, and doing whatever she could to help. She was very proactive.
"It's almost six o'clock in the morning." After feeding Li Yufei some water, Xiaowen told her the time, "Sister Song said that we take turns every six hours. Sister Feifei, just hang in there a little longer, you can get some rest in ten more minutes."
Li Yufei wasn't sure if she could rest well under the dark flock of birds and poppies, so she nodded indifferently.
The second shift arrived early, and clearly, no one could lie down comfortably under these circumstances.
As soon as the clock struck six, the whistles sounded at the twelve defense points to change personnel, and Li Yufei and the other group of guards dragged their tired bodies toward the castle.
She could no longer lift her arm, and the stench of rotting seafood permeated her fingernails and hair.
Another round of this battle is about to begin.
Who designed this battle?! What kind of bastard is this, with no morals whatsoever?! They didn't even provide a single pair of plastic gloves, aprons, or masks. Are they out of their mind?!
As she walked to the town square, she saw someone running towards her against the flow of people in the distance.
“Sister Feifei,” Xiaowen laughed and said mischievously, “your boyfriend is here to pick you up.”
Li Yufei wearily raised her eyes and saw Cheng Yuzhou running towards her through the crowd in the shadows of birds and poppies, his brows furrowed with anxiety.
They were separated by a castle, a small town, and a church, a distance of four kilometers in diameter. Li Yufei had only walked a quarter of the way when she met him.
"Feifei... excuse me." Cheng Yuzhou stepped aside to avoid the crowd, his eyes fixed on her, just like every time they met before, his eyes always caught her first, filled with starlight of joy for her.
Li Yufei's nose suddenly stung with tears. Just ten minutes ago, she was coldly and ruthlessly poking at the seafood, but the moment she saw Cheng Yuzhou, her numb mind and heart suddenly welled up with tears.
She had never killed a live fish for herself in her life, but now she had to work for Psyche, pulling flowers and weeding and being a free fish-killing girl, doing hard labor for six hours straight.
Why...
Overwhelmed with resentment, Li Yufei quickened her pace, her arms hanging limply at her sides, and ran towards Cheng Yuzhou, crashing headfirst into his arms and bursting into tears: "Cheng... Zheng Jianbin, my arms are so sore—"
Cheng Yuzhou took the sword from her, placed it on Li Yufei's arm, and massaged it for her. "How is it now? Are you feeling better?"
A thin black mist seeped from his fingertips, and the soreness in the place he had pinched instantly subsided. Li Yufei pressed against his chest and choked out, "It's not better yet, it still hurts."
Cheng Yuzhou increased the amount of black mist with surprise and doubt. "How about this?"
"It's so sour, so incredibly sour." Li Yufei turned her head back and forth on his clothes, half wiping away tears and sweat, and half venting her emotions by nudging him. "It's sour and I'm sleepy, and my mouth tastes bitter and fishy."
Cheng Yuzhou stroked her disheveled hair with heartache and self-reproach, "I'm sorry, Feifei, I'll take you back to rest right away."
His attempts to comfort her only made things worse. She sobbed and complained, her voice trailing off, "I can't walk—"
"I'll carry you on my back."
"I already told you my arms are sore! I can't hook my arms around your neck!"
"Then... shall I carry you?" Recalling the last time he carried Li Yufei, Cheng Yuzhou's gaze wandered, and a blush rose to the tips of his ears.
The feeling she had when she sat on his face is still vivid in my mind.
"Mmm," Li Yufei nodded reluctantly in response.
She waited a while and saw that Cheng Yuzhou was quite embarrassed, as if he didn't know where to start, so she urged him impatiently, "Hurry up and hug me."
The voice was listless, weak, soft, and hoarse. The fox's eyes were filled with tears as she scolded him, and Cheng Yuzhou was momentarily speechless.
He stiffly passed through her back and the back of her knees.
The soreness in Li Yufei's arms had subsided, but the mental fatigue remained. She was unwilling to exert any effort to hook her arms around Cheng Yuzhou's neck, and instead lay sprawled out in his arms, relying entirely on his strength.
This position requires far more physical exertion than a regular princess carry.
Normally, Li Yufei is willing to be considerate of her male partner, but now she's exhausted enough on her own. If Cheng Yuzhou can't carry her and drops her, he can forget about being her boyfriend anymore.
Fortunately, that didn't happen.
Cheng Yuzhou carried her back steadily and stiffly, and walked for a full three kilometers without uttering a sound.
Li Yufei snorted, "No ordinary human has that kind of physique. His acting is terrible too; there are clues everywhere."
Even Song Xiaona hadn't noticed the trap; luckily, she was incredibly clever and remembered Psyche's plot.
He doesn't even pay attention to things himself. What would happen if he were so careless without her around?
The castle is filled with tourists who are unable to participate in the holy war due to physical reasons; they are mostly children under eight years old and elderly people with mobility issues.
Yesterday, during preparations, the first thing Cheng Yuzhou mentioned was to gather people with physical disabilities together; today, when Song Xiaona was compiling the list, he also suggested that several medical professionals stay near the castle as much as possible to facilitate the care of vulnerable groups.
The first group of defenders returned one after another and gathered in the lobby on the first floor to rest; the two men passed them and went back to their room on the seventh floor.
In six hours, another group would be on duty, but Li Yufei couldn't wait to take a shower, unable to bear the slightest fishy smell.
As she came out drying her hair, she saw Cheng Yuzhou sitting in a chair, deep in thought, holding the baptismal tablet.
"What are you looking at?" She walked over and sat down. Cheng Yuzhou immediately snapped out of his reverie, put down the cards, and helped her plug in the hairdryer.
He took her wet hair. "I'll do it."
Li Yufei didn't want to lift her arm at all, but he was happy to blow on it anyway. "Did you wash your hands?"
"Yes, they've been washed." Cheng Yuzhou opened the drawer where the mouthpieces were stored. "Which one?"
He didn't ask, and Li Yufei didn't think about it either; she could just let either of them dry her hair.
He asked, and Li Yufei couldn't help but glance at the diffuser.
This type of blow dryer helps maintain the curl of permed hair. Of course, it's also more troublesome to blow-dry; you have to curl each section individually and blow-dry it.
There was a battle raging outside, and Cheng Yuzhou had only held out for six hours, carrying her all the way back. It was impossible for him not to be exhausted.
Li Yufei hesitated for only two or three seconds before Cheng Yuzhou picked out the diffuser nozzle and attached the hair dryer.
"No need, just use the anti-flip-out one." How considerate she was, "It'll save you time."
“It will be quick,” Cheng Yuzhou said with a smile, “it will be ready soon.”
He picked out a strand of her long hair, rolled it up, and put it into the mouthpiece.
The high-speed wind, which had been reduced to noise, hummed between the two of them.
Li Yufei pursed her lips, hesitating to speak.
After a long pause, amidst the constant sound of the wind, she suddenly spoke: "Am I... being hypocritical?"
Cheng Yuzhou was taken aback. "What?"
“Well…” Li Yufei pouted, “Do you think I’m being hypocritical?”
Like on her first day at the manor, she cried her eyes out and told Zheng Jianbin not to worry about her.
At that moment, Li Yufei genuinely felt that Zheng Jianbin had finally finished the game, and his teammates were waiting for him, so there was no need for him to stay in the room to comfort her.
But she was understanding, and he left without saying a word, which made Li Yufei really angry.
She always seems to have these kinds of conflicts with her boyfriends; at least seven out of ten arguments are for similar reasons.
Is this just saying one thing and meaning another?
“I’m not testing you or making you guess what I’m thinking.” Li Yufei rolled up a strand of her hair so he could easily put it into the mouthpiece, and awkwardly added, “I won’t be upset if you use a different mouthpiece.”
Okay, maybe there might be just a tiny bit of discomfort.
She frowned, clearly unwilling, but secretly glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
She was observing his expression.
Cheng Yuzhou took a deep breath, and the black, sticky mist churned for two breaths in the shadows beneath his feet.
He didn't know the details of her relationships with her other exes, but he had seen Zheng Jianbin's reaction.
“I know, I know, Feifei.” Looking at the hair in the mouthpiece, he lowered his eyelids to hide his churning emotions. “Politeness and respect are mutual. Anyone who greets you in a friendly manner and doesn’t get a response will get angry. This is not hypocrisy, nor is it your fault.”
Li Yufei glanced at him, "Is that what you're thinking?"
“Of course. Even if it’s charity, the recipient shouldn’t take it for granted; they should at least be grateful.” His tone was slightly cold, and his eyes were filled with icy intent. “Who said such a thing to you? If that person had even a shred of conscience, they should have done everything in their power to reciprocate your kindness and consideration.”
He knew that Li Yufei was never as arrogant and domineering as others described; she was a very polite girl.
When she was seven or eight years old, at the age when she was most willful and unruly, she would refuse the nanny's service when she came to his home, do things herself, and say thank you to the servants.
Her so-called willfulness was not retaliation, but simply her way of being affectionate with those close to her.
Those men were ungrateful and shameless, turning around and blaming her—why was she with those men? What methods did they use to bewitch her?
Cheng Yuzhou was completely baffled, but his resolve only strengthened.
He became increasingly convinced that his decision to stay by her side was absolutely right; at least after Zheng Jianbin's death, Li Yufei was no longer heartbroken alone.
Li Yufei remained silent and did not speak again.
The atmosphere was quiet, with only the sound of the wind remaining constant.
Does she love him...?
She thought of this question again.
Not necessarily, but she always thinks about him and misses him.
He was the second person to consistently and firmly tell her that she had not done anything wrong.
The first person to say such things to her was Li Yufei herself.
"Alright." The wind had stopped at some point. Cheng Yuzhou brushed aside his newly styled curls and asked softly, "Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?"
He realized once again how much grievance and suffering Li Yufei had endured alone. After six years apart, she had even learned to read people's expressions.
He must be more careful and gentle with her, allowing her to relax and heal here.
"Anything is fine," Li Yufei said, then immediately added, "but not anything from the water."
She will never eat seafood again in her life.
"How about pasta?" Cheng Yuzhou said, somewhat embarrassed, "My cooking skills are just so-so."
"It's okay, I'm just an average cook."
She thought Cheng Yuzhou was omnipotent, but it seems they are no different when it comes to housework, since they were both used to being waited on hand and foot since childhood.
Damn.
He did a better job than her!
Why should she?! She's at least a part-time fitness meal blogger, while Cheng Yuzhou is just an office worker! Why should she?!
Li Yufei crossed her arms and nitpicked sarcastically, "You must have put in a lot of oil."
"Around 8 grams."
"Then you must have added sugar and cheese!"
“Yes, it contains cheese,” Cheng Yuzhou said. “There’s no sugar, but I used a little bit of milk powder.”
"Baby powder?" Li Yufei exclaimed in astonishment. "No wonder it smells so milky... Who would put baby powder in pasta! That's ridiculous!"
“I’ve seen a lot of people add milk. Cheese is extracted from milk, so it’s probably similar to milk powder.” Cheng Yuzhou hesitated. “Don’t you like it, Feifei?”
He looked at her with uneasy and anxious eyes, and Li Yufei, no matter how unwilling she was, couldn't say a word.
Li Yufei put down her fork and said, feeling aggrieved, "No, I like it. Then you can be in charge of cooking from now on."
Cheng Yuzhou was immediately relieved and smiled, "Okay."
That obedient smile made Li Yufei even more annoyed.
Cheng Yuzhou is nothing. He had better hair and fairer skin than her when they were kids, but how come he can cook now that he's grown up? What is he trying to do? Select the top ten Japanese girls?
How annoying! He always says he's not good at something, then shocks everyone. Only she took him seriously.
Li Yufei glanced at the Eros card on the table and, finding fault from a different angle, asked, "What were you looking at that for? Did you figure anything out?"
“There’s no trigger yet.” Cheng Yuzhou got up to tidy the table. “Maybe, like faith power, it needs to detect a demon to trigger. I’ll try it during the second round this afternoon.”
The difficulty of the Holy War follows the level of faith, and the number of demons always fluctuates around 95% of the total faith level.
This keeps the public on edge without making them feel too hopeless.
The moment a ghost story is born, all established rules become unchangeable, and this ratio of friend to foe will continue indefinitely.
Considering that the first round was the first meeting, Cheng Yuzhou mobilized his internal energy and forcibly reduced the difficulty of the first half of the day to 70%, giving both groups an adaptation period.
Starting in the afternoon, the difficulty will gradually return to normal.
Although it was slightly more dangerous, it also avoided the mechanical use of primitive weapons in combat as it had in the first half of the day.
Overall, it was actually a bit easier.
Cheng Yuzhou put the bowls and chopsticks into the dishwasher.
This room on the seventh floor originally didn't have a kitchen, only a built-in refrigerator. He was grateful for WV's renovation, which turned this large room into a fully equipped suite, making it easier for him to take care of Li Yufei.
With a few hours left, the two went to bed to catch up on sleep.
The thought of having to kill fish and weed again as soon as she opened her eyes made Li Yufei feel terrible.
Worse still, in such a dangerous place, she couldn't even see Cheng Yuzhou; they had to fight separately. If he died again, she wouldn't even know.
"That piece of shit Song Xiaona, she must have done it on purpose." She muttered to Cheng Yuzhou as she lay on her side, "It's just such a coincidence that we're the furthest apart."
In a safe and law-abiding society, she would feel anxious if she didn't receive a report from her boyfriend for an hour, let alone in a situation like this.
Even if Cheng Yuzhou is already dead, who knows if he might die again? It's really worrying.
Cheng Yuzhou smiled; he liked it when they lay together, heads close together.
Her long, beautiful, and fragrant hair spread out behind her, and as she mumbled to herself, her breath occasionally brushed against his chin and cheek.
They were deskmates a few times during elementary and middle school.
During nap time, the classroom was quiet and everyone was asleep, so he could lie on the desk and watch Li Yufei.
That was Cheng Yuzhou's only chance to openly look at Li Yufei.
Now, they are lying together again, even closer than before.
Cheng Yuzhou's eyes were full of smiles, and he whispered, "Then let's secretly switch teams."
“That won’t do,” Li Yufei said. “If we secretly switch, others will follow suit, and then everything will be in chaos.”
"Then go and apply to Miss Song."
"It's a complete waste of my breath, and I still got a sarcastic scolding from her."
When she talks about serious matters, he always smiles broadly, beaming with joy, as if he's admiring something.
Li Yufei tugged at his hair to bring him back to his senses and make him listen to her seriously. "In short, don't get involved, and be sure to protect yourself, okay?"
"Mm." Cheng Yuzhou nodded.
They won't be apart for long.
After that afternoon, they would be completely together, and no one would object—not even Song Xiaona, who would have to support them.
Li Yufei was satisfied with his obedience, but dissatisfied with his face.
Looking at Zheng Jianbin's face, she always felt that he would dismissively refute her, saying things like "I'm a grown man" or "Don't worry about things that aren't your business."
It wasn't realistic to keep his true identity a secret forever. Li Yufei thought that it would be revealed sooner or later.
But not today.
Today is too special. After this holy war ends, she will subtly inquire whether there are any rules binding him, and whether he will disappear like Eros if she exposes his true identity.
To ask questions that avoid the core issues while still getting answers requires considerable skill; she needs to think about it carefully.
Six hours of physical labor helped Li Yufei fall asleep quickly.
The fluttering of birds attacking the barrier could be heard overhead. Under the siege of demons, her sleep was not peaceful; several times, in a half-dreaming, half-awake state, she noticed that Cheng Yuzhou seemed to be watching her the whole time.
Why are you sneaking peeks at her again... Aren't you tired? Go to sleep.
Li Yufei turned over and went to sleep on the other side.
Her eyes were closed, and a strand of curly hair was picked up by the person behind her and twirled between their fingers.
Li Yufei waited for a while, but Cheng Yuzhou's hand remained motionless, not moving an inch, always staying on that strand of hair.
She knew it.
For so many years, this person has remained exactly the same as when he was in elementary school.
Li Yufei was too lazy to care anymore; even if Cheng Yuzhou really wanted to do something, she would let him be.
Unable to resist her sleepiness, Li Yufei fell asleep again. Before falling asleep, she thought that if Cheng Yuzhou really dared to do something while she was asleep, she would have to look at him in a new light.
Li Yufei had no idea what happened next. When she regained consciousness, all she remembered was Cheng Yuzhou constantly calling her to get up, and how she annoyed him so much that she pushed him away and cursed at him.
When Li Yufei was fully awake, what was above her head was no longer the gorgeous bed curtains, but a black sky, a red barrier, and countless pigeons, sparrows, and swans.
"Feifei, are you awake?"
With her cheek pressed against a warm chest, Li Yufei looked up in a daze and saw Cheng Yuzhou's chin.
He couldn't wake her, so he simply wrapped her in clothes and carried her to the defense point.
How could anyone do this?! His girlfriend was so tired, he should have asked her for a day off, not carried her to her workstation! Is he her boyfriend or her boss?!
Li Yufei, still grumpy from waking up, felt annoyed but had no legitimate reason to scold him, so she wriggled and squirmed in his arms in frustration.
Relying on her good back, she leaped and thrashed about like a big carp that had been fished out of the water, full of resentment and stubbornness.
Cheng Yuzhou couldn't hold her up, afraid of dropping her, so he quickly looked down at her, only to be unexpectedly bumped by the top of her head—
Thump.
His vision went black.
Li Yufei was shocked and jumped down to touch his chin, asking, "Are you alright?"
The impact was quite solid. Cheng Yuzhou covered his mouth and shook his head repeatedly, his mouth full of blood, unable to speak for the time being.
"Really, you woke me up, I could have just gone there myself." She turned the tables completely unreasonably, anxiously standing on tiptoe to look around, "Open your mouth, let me see if you bit your tongue."
"It's nothing, it's nothing." Cheng Yuzhou shook his head, his voice muffled.
"You said you were fine, but now you're all red. How could you be so careless?"
Xiao Wen, who was also on her way to relieve the shift, happened to pass by and witnessed Li Yufei forcefully prying open Cheng Yuzhou's mouth.
The woman's beautiful rose-shaped nail polish got stuck on the corner of the man's lips, and Xiaowen exclaimed in embarrassment, blushing.
Li Yufei turned to look at her, and she waved her hands repeatedly, taking small steps back, "Hehe, then I'll go over first, Sister Feifei."
Hehe, what hehe?
"Thank goodness you didn't bite off your tongue." After checking, Li Yufei said, "I'll go the rest of the way myself. You go back to your seat. Remember, safety comes first, don't make me worry."
Cheng Yuzhou nodded, rubbing his chin where he had been bumped, his eyes still slightly red. "I'll come pick you up when it's over. If anything unexpected happens, come back to the castle."
"Mhm."
She didn't seem to listen, so Cheng Yuzhou reminded her again, "Feifei, if things turn out badly, run immediately. Don't be reckless."
"Okay, okay." Li Yufei waved her hand. "Go ahead."
Cheng Yuzhou checked the black smoke remaining on her ring finger again.
With this safeguard in place, there shouldn't be any problems.
At noon, it was time for Group Two to rest, and Group One switched shifts with them.
If all goes well, Li Yufei will be free after another six hours of cleaning seafood.
Once they were at their positions, Xiaowen winked at her teasingly, "Sister Feifei, you look so sophisticated."
"Desire?" Li Yufei flicked a strand of curly hair from her chest. "I'm alright today."
She wore canvas shoes for easy movement.
Xiao Wen gave a thumbs-up in affirmation, “Absolutely, master-level.”
Even in comics, you rarely see a queen grabbing a man's chin in public and sticking her manicured nails inside to play with him.
Although it was a bit strange, Li Yufei smiled because she had been praised.
A meter away, a giant scallop was licking wildly from a distance, its mucus hissing as it corroded the ground.
The smile vanished, and Li Yufei rolled up her sleeves and sighed, "Even the master has to work."
"I've rested enough, I'm ready again." Xiaowen chimed in, "If we can get through these six hours, our mission will be complete."
She abandoned the arrows she had taken in the morning and brought a 1.5-meter-long plastic clothes drying pole instead.
Xiaowen gripped the end of the clothesline pole, enchanted it with her palm, and then plunged it into the poppy clump.
The power of faith extended outwards from the clothesline she held, and clusters of flames rose from the emerald green stem.
As the fire grew larger and burned to a certain extent, Xiaowen twisted the clothesline pole, rolling the flowers and stems together and pulling them down from the end of the pole.
Li Yufei exclaimed in surprise, "Not bad!"
"Hehe, we just went back and thought about it. Anyway, the key is faith, so it doesn't matter what tools we use," Xiaowen said shyly. "Compared to metal and solid wood, plastic suits me better. Sister Feifei, do you want to go ask someone to get a fork?"
I can't get anyone to come now, so I'll say, "Maybe next time."
Li Yufei drew her sword, expecting another six hours of monotonous and boring mechanical labor. However, half an hour later, the atmosphere began to change, with frequent announcements from the radio station.
"He Yunchao, He Yunchao, please go to the nine o'clock position and help with the defense."
"Wang Jun, please go to point three immediately to help with the defense."
The people in the manor all looked up, listening intently to the new instructions.
This kind of support instruction did not appear in the first half.
Less than half an hour after the original command was issued, another command appeared:
"Yang Fanglin and Mo Yi, please proceed to 8:30 immediately to take up defensive positions."
"Qin Wen and Li Qing, please proceed to 4:30 immediately to take up defensive positions."
"Did you hear that, Sister Feifei?" Xiaowen asked nervously. "Aren't there only 12 locations in total? How come there are 8:30 and 4:30?"
Li Yufei pulled her sword out of the tangled poppy clumps and turned to look at the small church behind her.
Song Xiaona was in the attic; she must have given some of these instructions.
What happened at the other locations? Why is she in such a hurry?
As they were speaking, the loudspeaker announced again: "Chen Suya and Wang Xiao, please proceed to 7:30 immediately to take up defensive positions!"
"7:30!" Xiaowen exclaimed. "Isn't it right next to us?"
Their location was at 6 o'clock, and 7:30 was less than 1.5 kilometers away from them.
She gripped the clothesline pole, filled with anxiety, "Did something happen over there at 7:30?"
Li Yufei panicked too; she wanted to ask as well.
But Xiao Wen is only 19 years old. Li Yufei can act crazy in front of Zheng Jianbin, Cheng Yuzhou, and Song Xiaona, but she can't do that in front of Xiao Wen.
"Don't panic," she swallowed, trying to reassure the girl, "maybe it's just the people in control giving wrong instructions."
Bang--!
With a loud thud, the two men turned around abruptly.
The scallop crashed into the barrier once again.
They collided tirelessly from morning till night, and the two had long since grown tired of it. But just now, the vibration had penetrated the barrier, as if the ground beneath their feet had trembled.
Is it just my imagination...?
"Sister Feifei..." Xiaowen's weak and strained voice came through, "These poppies seem to have gotten thicker and more numerous?"
A sharp, frantic bird cry rang out overhead. The two looked up and saw birds flapping their wings high in the sky, pecking at the barrier even faster and more frantically.
Bang--!
Another scallop bounced up and crashed into the barrier. Xiaowen swayed, and Li Yufei grabbed her.
It wasn't an illusion; the ground beneath their feet really did shake when they were hit!
"Attention all members of Group Two! Attention all members of Group Two!" The broadcast suddenly blared, its tone more urgent than ever before. "All members of Group Two, please take turns to fill in at the half-point positions."
"The second group, originally at point 1, will now proceed to point 1:30 for defense; the second group, originally at point 2, will now proceed to point 2:30."
"Immediate notice: All members of Group Two are to immediately reposition at the half-point! Please be in position within fifteen minutes!"
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A note from the author:
In the earliest angst-filled novels, the second female lead was truly an absolute gem.
They come from similar family backgrounds to the male lead, possess top-tier looks and professional skills, have the wisdom and ability to manipulate people's hearts, are decisive to the point of being cold-blooded, and are also multi-talented. Generally speaking, their emotional intelligence far surpasses that of the idiot male lead who can only say, "Are you playing hard to get?"
Therefore, the essence of this ghost story is a showdown between Song Xiaona, the supporting female character in an old-fashioned tragic novel, and Cheng Yuzhou (?), the female protagonist in an old-fashioned tragic novel.
It is a text about female competition (×)
Career-obsessed female supporting character: Everyone obeys my commands.
Stupid male protagonist: This woman is so annoying.
The lovestruck heroine: Hmm, then let's not listen to her and secretly switch seats. (OS: Oh my god... she's so beautiful, even the way she swears is so perfect. I can't believe that someone as ordinary as me is actually with the princess of No. 3 Middle School Affiliated Elementary School. Is all of this real? I'm so lucky.)
Song Xiaona: ? I'll kill you two crazy people sooner or later -皿-#
(What a disservice to the writing style!)
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