Yaming Arc - The Process of Deception

The wandering youth looked up at the blazing sun and sighed, "My god, I'm so bored. I should go somewhere far away to have some fun. Yeah, that's decided—I'll head over there."

Half an hour later, at a certain location, the youth watched a large group of men in black suits gathering together. He felt a surge of excitement; he had clearly chosen the right place.

However, even after arriving at his destination, the youth continued to wander aimlessly. The events he had anticipated simply didn't happen. Perhaps from walking too much, he found a small shack, crawled inside, and hid in a crate to fall asleep...

He didn't know how much time had passed before the youth heard voices outside. A middle-aged man was shouting frantically in various languages. The youth could only catch the gist of it, but he knew one thing for certain: he absolutely could not go out, nor could he let the man know he was inside the crate. Fortunately, there was nothing else in the crate but him, and the middle-aged man likely wouldn't come over to open it. Through a crack in the crate, the youth observed the situation outside...

Across from the crate, a girl was tied to a chair, unable to move. She was about the same age as the youth, yet her fate was vastly different. She was stripped of her clothes, being loudly berated by the middle-aged man.

"I underestimated you, Miss Lin. I never imagined you'd have such perseverance. Huff, it seems I need to re-evaluate your score." The middle-aged man's words were clear this time, and the youth heard them perfectly. The girl tied to the chair was addressed as "Miss Lin." It seemed the youth had indeed stumbled upon the adventure he had hoped for, but he was currently helpless. Forget saving the girl—he could barely ensure his own survival.

The girl's face was drowned in her own tears. She spoke as if using her final ounce of strength, "Ah, Ou Luo, what is wrong with you? Even though it hurts, is this all you've got? Huff, remember our promise..." After saying this, the girl seemed to lose consciousness.

The man called Ou Luo was furious, yet strangely excited. In all his years of doing this, he had never encountered someone so resilient. His experience taught him how to torture someone to the brink of agony without killing them, but this time, his old methods seemed ineffective. He didn't intend to wake the girl immediately; he wanted to continue his perverted activities...

The youth felt a surge of rage. He felt his own powerlessness and the girl's pain, as if he had endured those same torments himself...

Ou Luo left, perhaps only temporarily. Once the youth confirmed the man had truly exited the shack, he quickly crawled out of the crate. The girl named Lin might have been unconscious, but the youth didn't have the time to check. First, he tried to undo the chains binding her, but it was clear he couldn't do it without a key. He began to observe his surroundings and identified something he could manipulate with his own strength.

On a shelf not far from the girl were many glass cups filled with liquids of various colors, each labeled with a small note. The youth nodded quickly and pulled a bottle of water from his backpack...

The youth replaced the liquids in all the glass cups. This might solve some problems, but not all. Although he wanted to do more, Ou Luo was already on his way back. He hid in the crate five minutes before the man returned; he had completely abandoned the idea of leaving...

Everything the youth did was witnessed by the semi-conscious girl.

Ou Luo returned to the shack, carrying a few branches and a box. He smiled as he looked at the girl, whose eyes were now open. He set his items down and laughed excitedly, "Now, let's begin the second round!"

At the same time, at location V.

Several boys and girls stepped off a black van, followed by a few adults in black suits.

One of them asked the person behind him, "Is the target confirmed to be inside? Gather the others and get ready to move in!"

"Yes, please follow me," replied the adult walking in the rear.

Five minutes later, the boys and girls reached the designated assembly point at location V, but they found it strange that there were so many people there.

Suddenly, the adult behind them drew a pistol and shouted, "Alright, kids, game over!"

They didn't panic; they simply turned around and gave the adult a cold, collective stare.

A woman in a light red cheongsam stepped out from the crowd and said, "Oh my, how curious. What are all these young masters and misses from the various families doing gathered together? Who was in charge just now? Quite capable, aren't you? Haha, haha, what a bunch of fools. You're still too green to go up against the adults!" After the woman finished, another middle-aged man stepped out. He chuckled at the boys and girls, "Very good. Team Two, clear location F, then head to location K. Haha, you're killing me, haha. You do have some skill, haha, but that's all it amounts to!"

At this, a youth stepped into the center. He had kept his hands in his pockets since getting off the vehicle. Once he stood steady, he pulled his hands out, and in each hand was a grenade. He smiled at the man and woman who had just stepped out, "Don't think you're the only ones who can do this. If you dare to act recklessly, we'll all go together."

Everyone except the youth's companions was shocked. They hadn't expected this situation at all. The man suddenly said, "Don't be afraid, it's just two grenades. There are so many of us, it won't be a problem!" As soon as he said this, the youth's companions laughed. One of them tossed his backpack next to the youth in the center, and the items that rolled out were unmistakable: grenades identical to the ones in the youth's hands.

Everyone fell silent. They all knew what would happen if the youth let go. Suddenly, someone outside the crowd shouted, "Captain, they're over here!"

In an instant, countless people in green camouflage, armed with automatic rifles, appeared from all directions. There were hundreds of them...

A girl said, "Ou Le, Ye Caihe, the moment you appeared, you declared your own defeat. Now, all of you, throw your weapons behind you and kneel on the ground, or you will be executed without mercy! You have five seconds to decide!" The girl's voice, initially gentle, suddenly turned exceptionally stern and fierce, enough to rattle even the adults.

The girl continued, "One, two, three, very good, put—" She stopped at three. Everyone except the man and woman knelt on the ground.

The youth holding the grenades said, "How foolish. Alright, take the others away first, and tie this man and woman up properly!"

Fifteen minutes later, in a room at location V, Ou Le and Ye Caihe were hung from the ceiling. Watching them were a youth and a girl.

The youth held a syringe and said, "Didn't expect this, did you, Ye Caihe? Actually, Ye Zi gave you that information on purpose because we knew you were in league with this trash, Ou Le. Clearly, we were right. You followed the intel provided by Ye Zi and completed the task we had already calculated, perfectly—not a bit more, not a bit less. So, who should we give the itching injection to first?"

The two hanging figures shook their heads desperately, but they couldn't speak.

The youth smiled and injected them both. The girl watched with a chuckle and whispered, "If either of you is willing to tell us where Ou Luo is, I'll give you the antidote. How about it? Tell me where Ou Luo is, and you can go back safely and continue your lives. We won't bother you again!"

Both of them continued to shake their heads frantically; clearly, they weren't willing to say a word.

The youth tossed the syringe aside and said, "It's fine if you don't talk now. In five minutes, whoever wants to talk, just shake your feet hard. See you then!" With that, the youth and the girl walked out of the room.

Outside, the others were waiting anxiously. Seeing the pair emerge, they immediately crowded around. The youth shook his head in disappointment, "They don't know, and neither do those guys. Damn it, everything except the location was calculated perfectly."

Just then, Ye Zi ran in, panting, "Ou Luo's car is at his home. I deduce he is currently near the Lin Family, or perhaps even inside the Lin residence. Our surveillance shows that this trash Ou Le was just a distraction; we never saw Ou Luo. That means he has no transport and must be carrying Lin on foot. He can't go anywhere crowded. Yeah, he probably went up the mountain. I've already sent people to search the hills. Should we go and interrogate the two stewards at the Lin residence?"

The youth sighed, "Not yet. Ye Zi, do as you said. Gather everyone from the other locations. Even if we have to turn over every mountain in the vicinity, we must find Lin!"