Chapter 96 Chapter 96 This is so un-Liang Zhao

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The third floor is a good floor, far away from noise sources such as engines, and has a suitable height, a wide view, and the best viewing platform. Therefore, in addition to basic facilities, the third floor is basically the presidential suite, executive suite, and luxury suite.

In short, there are only a very small number of villagers living on the third floor, so of course the good places are reserved for their own people. This floor can be said to be the base camp of the younger brothers.

As time was short and the mission was important, Zhou Jing did not rashly lead people into the third floor for rescue. Instead, he chose to go around the side open deck to the safe passage and climb the stairs directly to the fourth floor.

Two groups of people had gone downstairs earlier, and the entire third floor was unusually quiet.

The steps are wide and the stairs are gentle, making them easier to navigate than the stairs in ordinary houses. Perhaps because the light is too dim and the surroundings are dead silent, the atmosphere has inexplicably become heavy and depressing.

A large group of twenty or thirty people were climbing up the stairs. Their footsteps were so light that even the voice-activated lights in the stairwell were not lit. There was only the sound of increasingly rapid and heavy breathing that came one after another, spreading with the breeze.

"cough!"

A light, restrained cough was heard, which was obviously held back for a long time. Everyone in the stairwell paused and turned to look at the person who made the sound.

The lady blushed when being stared at by so many people. She felt embarrassed and ashamed. She buried her head in her chest and wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Obviously sensing that the atmosphere was too tense, Zhou Jing, who was walking in the front, turned around, raised the corners of his mouth and chuckled, and said in a low voice: "Don't be so nervous, and don't be too tense, just move a little more gently--"

“—Squeak!”

It seemed that the security door was opened by someone, and a long and slightly dull sound came from above the head.

Everyone pricked up their ears to listen, still wondering what the sound was, when a burst of chaotic footsteps sounded again.

It wasn't just one or two people. Although they deliberately made their movements light, they were very close and one could tell from the sound that there were at least a dozen or twenty people's footsteps overlapping each other.

Zhou Jing's first reaction was to retreat, but when he remembered that there was a third floor below the stairs, he immediately changed his mind, raised his machete and waved at everyone, silently signaling: Get ready for a fight!

The killer oil saw was still in Gu Mengran's hand. He held the starting rope with one hand and decisively went up the step and stood beside Zhou Jing. As long as that group of people showed up, he would kill them in seconds!

The sound was getting closer and closer. Dozens of people were staying in the stairwell, but the voice-activated light above their heads didn't light up for even a second.

Thick darkness enveloped everyone. In less than thirty seconds, a tall figure stepped out from the shadows around the corner. Gu Mengran immediately withdrew his gaze and started the oil saw, but the next second, his fingertips paused slightly and he looked up at the figure almost eagerly.

Gu Mengran's eyes, which had adapted to the darkness, gradually saw who was coming, and his pupils lit up instantly. Just during this brief moment of distraction, a cool breeze blew beside him, and Zhou Jing suddenly rushed up with a machete in his hand.

The action is too fast...

Gu Mengran was startled and quickly reminded him, "No, we are one family!"

The lights above my head suddenly brightened, and the dim stairwell turned into daylight in an instant.

The machete, shining with silver light, stopped in mid-air. Zhou Jing, who saw who was coming, stopped abruptly, and the villagers behind him who were about to try were also stunned. The expressions on their faces changed from vigilance to surprise, and then to joy at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Xiao Zhou? Xiao Dong?"

"Fang, Sister Fang!"

"Uncle Zhou! Aunt Li!"

"Mom!"

The battlefield with swords pointing at each other instantly turned into a family reunion scene, and the tense and depressing atmosphere suddenly became extremely relaxed.

The villagers came forward one after another, but Gu Mengran stood still. He stared at the tallest man who was the most conspicuous in the crowd, and his eyes felt inexplicably hot.

In the blink of an eye, Liang Zhao had walked past the villagers and reached Gu Mengran's side.

He smelled of blood, had bruises on the corners of his mouth, and had multiple scratches on his arms. He was wearing black clothes so it was hard to tell where he was bleeding, so as soon as Liang Zhao stood in front of him, Gu Mengran immediately reached out and lifted the hem of his clothes.

"What's going on? Did you guys fight with others? Are you injured elsewhere? Why is there such a strong smell of blood?" Gu Mengran hurriedly lifted up his clothes and carefully examined Liang Zhao's waist and abdomen.

In front of everyone, he almost pulled off the man's clothes. Liang Zhao grabbed his hand and comforted him softly, "I'm fine. It's just a minor injury."

"Can--"

"What's going on here? Who hit you?" Liang Zhao grabbed Gu Mengran's wrist, his eyes fixed on his slightly red and swollen arm, and his eyes darkened instantly.

"It's okay, it's just a minor injury. The person who hit me is probably dead."

Gu Mengran glimpsed Liang Zhao's increasingly solemn expression and quickly changed the subject: "Okay, okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's talk about you guys, what's going on upstairs?"

We are still in enemy territory, so it is not the time to talk about the past.

Liang Zhao calmed his breathing, held Gu Mengran's hand tightly, and explained the situation in general.

Just like the second floor, the villagers on the upper floors helped each other and escaped one after another. During this period, they also encountered the patrol team in the cabin and had a head-on conflict with them.

Later, they met the people who had left the village before, namely Zhou Zhiqi's people. After learning about their plan and that the driving room was on the fourth floor, Sister Fang did not act in a hurry, but chose to take people to the lower floors to help.

The final goal is still the cockpit on the fourth floor, but the fourth floor is heavily guarded, all cabin doors are closed, and the emergency passage is also locked.

They didn't know the specific situation inside and didn't know how many people were inside, so they planned to meet up with others first in case of a shortage of manpower. They were also worried that the villagers on the lower floors might encounter unexpected accidents.

At first glance, it seemed fine, but the more Gu Mengran thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He looked at Liang Zhao with a hint of suspicion in his eyes, "Isn't that right? Weren't you assigned to the fourth floor at the time? How did you get out when the defense was so tight?"

"Cough." Liang Zhao coughed lightly with his fist, and seemed to have accidentally misaligned his sight. "I...at that time..."

"Don't hesitate, just speak quickly." Gu Mengran glared at him.

It is easier to lie than to cover it up. Liang Zhao touched his nose guiltily and confessed honestly, "In fact, I didn't go to the fourth floor at all. There were only a few people who sent us upstairs, and we dealt with them in the stairwell. Later, I followed Sister Fang and the others to the fifth and sixth floors and released the villagers who were imprisoned before us."

As he was talking, Liang Zhao suddenly held Gu Mengran's hand tightly, his eyes slightly lowered with a look of guilt, "I'm sorry, Mengran, I didn't go back to find you in time, causing you to get hurt."

"Hey, I have to say something about this." Sister Fang, who was talking to Xiaodong nearby, heard the voice and quickly walked in front of Gu Mengran and said, "Xiao Liang has been thinking about you. He wanted to go to the second floor to find you the first time, but I stopped him."

Sister Fang patted Gu Mengran on the shoulder and sighed heavily, "You know, this is someone else's territory. If he acts alone, it's no different from committing suicide. I talked him to death and repeatedly promised that I would go to the second floor to find you as soon as I rescued the villagers. Only then did he agree to act with us. Xiao Gu, don't blame him."

Before he could even open his mouth, someone spoke up. Gu Mengran laughed and looked at Sister Fang and said, "Sister, what do you mean by that? Am I an unreasonable person? I should thank you. He is so impetuous, thanks to you for persuading him."

Gu Mengran was not being polite. He was glad that Liang Zhao did not act rashly. They had made too much noise on the second floor and had already alerted the enemy. If Liang Zhao went downstairs alone at this time, it would be dangerous if he encountered reinforcements on the way.

Fang Jie only said one sentence and obviously breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled Xiao Dong back to their original position.

As soon as the person left, Gu Mengran, who was still smiling a second ago, immediately fell down and glared at Liang Zhao unhappily, "What are you thinking? Acting alone in someone else's territory, are you going to die?"

"Also, don't change the subject. You stayed with me the whole time before boarding the ship, and you had no chance to communicate with Sister Fang and the others. You fought in the stairwell without any hesitation. Was it because of a tacit understanding? Or did you know their plan a long time ago?"

Liang Zhao stopped dodging his gaze and looked at Gu Mengran, nodding his head honestly, "Yes, I knew their plan a long time ago."

"When?" Gu Mengran's anger soared.

"In the evening, when Xiaodong came to see us." Liang Zhaozhi said everything.

At first he was just wondering why Liang Zhao kept it a secret from him, and when Liang Zhao had gotten in touch with Sister Fang. But when he heard this, Gu Mengran immediately understood. What Liang Zhao had clearly said at night was: give him some advice.

The plan of pretending to have an internal conflict in the relationship, getting on board first and then seizing the boat——

Liang Zhaozhi’s trick?

Gu Mengran said nothing, but his stern eyes said it all.

Seeing her face change, Liang Zhao didn't dare to hide anything anymore, and lowered his voice to tell the truth: "Sister Fang realized the danger and knew that this group of people would not let the village go. She originally planned to abandon some of the supplies and take the villagers into the mountains overnight, and then come out after they left."

"Her idea is very conservative. As long as people are alive, there is hope. But now is the end of the world. How long people can survive depends entirely on how much supplies they have. The rain is still falling and the water level continues to rise. They need a lot of supplies to survive and have a chance to find a new place to live before the village is flooded."

"I didn't give you any blind advice. I just helped analyze the pros and cons and explained that there are both dangers and opportunities. It's hard to find a boat that can carry a whole village. What they need, the other side just has it."

As if he was worried about being blamed by Gu Mengran, Liang Zhao became less and less confident as he spoke.

Living a new life and getting to know each other again, after more than a year of getting along, Gu Mengran has already realized that Liang Zhao is not as kind-hearted and philanthropic as he thought, in fact, quite the opposite.

He is very sincere to his own people and is willing to risk his life for them; but he lacks empathy and is almost ruthlessly indifferent to unimportant people or things, and can just stand by and watch.

After more than a year of getting along, the nearby Heng Rongsheng could not even occupy a place in Liang Zhao's heart. Would he make plans for the distant neighbor Shijin Village? This was not Liang Zhao at all, unless he had some ulterior motive.

In the dispute between Shijin Village and the cruise ship, they were always outsiders who were unintentionally involved. No matter who won or lost, the outcome would have nothing to do with them.

After thinking so much, Gu Mengran actually already had the answer in his mind.

Liang Zhao wanted Shi Jincun to win, he wanted Dong Hongbo to die, he wanted—

To avenge Gu Mengran from the previous life.