Chapter 1172: Many Dead Gates?

Chapter 1172: Numerous Dead Ends?

Amidst the massive chaos, the Ji Dao members began to smoothly infiltrate the crowd.

The organization, which had over a hundred members, had already lost most of its forces during the earlier mission to destroy the giant bell, and the remaining members were mostly injured.

Fortunately, the eight team leaders designated by Yan Zhichun were still intact, so the Ji Dao group split into eight teams and started moving in different directions.

Yan Zhichun, still shaken from the experience, led the seven or eight people behind her, pretending to be rioters as they pressed forward. They finally reached their destination without any mishaps just before dusk.

The place she arrived at was a bookstore, with a strange Bai Hua She hanging at the door.

The people behind Yan Zhichun frowned at the sight and stopped in their tracks, frightened, but Yan Zhichun said nothing and simply walked around the white snake into the bookstore, as if she hadn't seen a thing.

"Uh uh uh..."

The Bai Hua She waved its hands at Yan Zhichun, seemingly trying to stop her, but the rope around its neck from being hanged made it impossible to speak for the moment.

"Everyone, come in and rest for a bit!" Yan Zhichun turned back and said to the many Ji Dao members behind her. "We've been on the move all this way and must be tired. We've arrived."

Although the group hesitated for a moment after hearing this, remembering that Yan Zhichun was the Ji Dao leader, they quickly felt reassured and entered the bookstore to sit down.

Seeing Yan Zhichun treat the bookstore like her own home, the Bai Hua She became displeased.

It hurriedly reached up to untie the rope around its neck, but since it had just been hanged, the rope was tightly constricted, and after trying for a while without success, the people inside could only see a bizarre Shengxiao figure dangling outside, flailing its arms through the glass, though they had no idea what it was doing.

"Uh... Sister," one of the Ji Dao members said to Yan Zhichun, "do we really not need to help that Shengxiao? It looks like it's about to die."

"No need." Yan Zhichun shook her head, then raised her voice and shouted toward the door, "Bai She, don't be in such a rush. Take your time hanging there—we're not in a hurry to leave."

Bai She kept kicking its legs in the air, looking extremely anxious.

"Uh uh uh..."

Regardless of whether they were in a hurry or not, the bookstore was Bai She's own "playground," after all. How could it allow the participants to just come in and sit around as they pleased?

After finally managing to untie the rope around its neck, Bai She stumbled to the ground, coughed violently a few times, then stood up with a look of disgust and entered the bookstore.

"You little brat, what the hell are you up to?" Bai She rubbed its neck and grumbled, "Who just barges in while someone's hanging themselves? All of you, get out and come back in properly."

"Ah, sorry, it's just that it's really too dangerous outside." Yan Zhichun smiled and said, "It's safer for us to come in early."

"That's still way out of line." Bai She replied, "This is a proper venue of mine, not some shelter. If you came alone, fine, but bringing so many people? No way—I'll have to charge an entry fee."

"Entry fee?" Yan Zhichun paused. "I don't think that's necessary, right? Especially now that things have reached this point."

"This point?" Bai She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'this point'? You little brat, don't try to take advantage. One thing at a time—these people need to pay the fee if they're coming in, or they can join up. I'm short on hands anyway."

After hearing Bai She's words, Yan Zhichun hesitated slightly. She felt that Bai She's attitude was oddly strange.

It was as if... he had no idea about the plan at all.

"Bai She..." Yan Zhichun slowly stood up, walked over to Bai She, and asked softly, "You don't know why we're here?"

"Why?" Bai She asked, puzzled. "Are you, you little brat, needing some guidance again? I'll say this upfront— I gave you free advice last time, but this time, if you want guidance, you'll have to join."

Yan Zhichun furrowed her brow, sensing that something wasn't right.

How could Bai She not know what was going on?

It seemed the plan had a gap here. Even the Ji Dao members knew that after damaging the giant bell, they needed to evacuate at the eight Shengxiao locations, but the one they were evacuating to was completely unaware...

Was Bai She not part of the rebellion plan at all?

A sense of unease spread through Yan Zhichun's heart. She vaguely felt that she might have chosen a "dead end."

...

"What are you playing at?" Jiang Ruoxue stood with her hands on her hips, staring at the plump Di Hou in front of her, looking utterly confused.

She had led the group to this casino, expecting some protection, but Di Hou seemed completely indifferent to their situation and even puzzled by their arrival.

Moreover, her team was already larger than the others, with over a dozen people.

"Where am I playing at anything?" Di Hou sat behind the casino counter, legs propped up on the table, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, looking utterly laid-back. "I really don't know why you've all come here. If you're here to cause destruction or rob, I'd suggest you go elsewhere. Robbing my casino is basically a one-way ticket to doom."

"You!" Jiang Ruoxue stepped forward, her expression furious. "I don't know what kind of person you are, but making jokes like this at a time like this is just too much... We risked our lives to get here!"

"Risked your lives?" Di Hou lazily lifted his eyes. "With all due respect... even if you all lost your lives, what does that have to do with a law-abiding Shengxiao like me?"

"You heartless old fatty..." Jiang Ruoxue muttered.

"Hey...?" Di Hou clearly got angry at that. "What kind of talk is that? I'm just minding my own business here— what did I do to you?"

Jiang Ruoxue stepped closer and whispered to Di Hou, "The people behind me are all 'our own,' so there's no need to keep up the act!"

"What nonsense..." Di Hou frowned, took the cigarette from his mouth, and tossed it into a bowl of instant noodles. "Who the hell is 'our own' with you people... Can't you see I'm just a monkey?"

"This is bad..." Jiang Ruoxue murmured to herself. "What kind of 'karma' is this... Is the spot I'm at a 'dead end'?"

"You're really weird." Di Hou slowly stood up. "You've been spouting nonsense since you walked in. If you're not here to gamble, don't waste my time. The casino just opened today, so there's an entry fee for tea—good luck to you all, may fortune follow wherever you go."

Jiang Ruoxue's face turned ashen, and she began to ponder the situation, but unfortunately, Zhou Mo hadn't contacted her yet, so she couldn't initiate any "transmission."

...

Lao Sun led the five people behind him to the location marked on the map for "Chen Long," only to be stunned on the spot.

The place was just an ordinary empty lot—there was no Shengxiao there at all.

"Lao Sun... why did you bring us here?"

Lao Sun stood in the empty space, looking around in bewilderment, feeling that something had gone wrong with the plan.