Chapter 401: The Plan

At this time, Di Yang sat down somewhat absent-mindedly.

Now it seemed that he had long been drawn into Bai Yang's elaborate scheme within a scheme.

"That means..." Di Yang said in a low voice, "Ge Yang even anticipated that he wouldn't be promoted to 'Tian'... He knew that as long as he reverted to being a 'participant,' no matter how much time passed, he would definitely encounter me or you. At that point, the path he had laid out in advance would come into play."

"That's exactly what I mean," Di Hu nodded. "I always thought you were smarter than me, but why did it take you so long to figure this out?"

At that moment, Di Yang stared absent-mindedly at the ground.

This feeling was strange; he had been keeping Bai Yang's secret all along, only to discover in the end that he had been played. How helpless did that make him feel?

"If your plan is this grand..." Di Gou slowly stood up, "then the three of us won't be enough."

"Indeed..." Di Hu nodded, "We need helpers... We need more 'Shengxiao'..."

"You must be joking," Di Gou glanced at him, his eyelids drooping. "With your terrible social skills, what kind of help could you find?"

"What about you? Can you do it?" Di Hu retorted.

"At least better than you," Di Gou slowly walked toward the door. "After so many years in the workplace, the one thing I've learned is that 'getting along with colleagues is more important than sucking up to the boss.' I have a few solid candidates in mind—they're all waiting for promotion to 'Tian.' It's just that the 'leader' hasn't moved on, so there's no opportunity for them to advance."

"You're comparing this place to a workplace... Isn't that underestimating the 'Lieche' too much?" Di Yang said. "In what workplace do you get to kill your own superior?"

"I don't care what you think this place is, but in my eyes, it's just a workplace," Di Gou turned back to the two of them again. "I've been holding back for so long, acting like I'm no threat to anyone, all just to climb the ladder. If I realize there's no hope for promotion, I'll completely change my tune. Now, give me a few days—I'll go mobilize the other 'hidden ones.'"

As soon as he finished speaking, Di Yang's expression turned very grave.

What on earth was going on with this bizarre development?

Even if everything was as Di Hu said, part of Bai Yang's prior arrangement, wasn't that even stranger when you thought about it carefully?

This was clearly using him and Di Hu as pawns.

What good end could a rebellion bring?

Once Di Hu stirred things up here and turned everything upside down, anyone connected to him would be in extreme danger. Even if Bai Yang's true "plan" succeeded, the three people in this room would undoubtedly be doomed.

Di Yang slowly closed his eyes, feeling that this matter needed more careful consideration. If he rashly followed Di Hu's actions, the final outcome would surely be falling into the abyss.

"Ge Yang, I respect you from the bottom of my heart... Don't let me down..."

Di Gou opened the door and walked out, and Di Yang slowly stood up.

"That's it for today," Di Yang said. "I'm not getting involved in any of you two's actions for now... I need to observe."

"Suit yourself," Di Hu muttered gruffly. "When you leave, call my students in—those kids must be starving."

...

The long night of the third day descended.

Everyone who had retained their memories seemed to sense that the place had become even stranger.

The murky and rotten feeling in the air grew heavier, with rustling sounds crawling all over the walls outside the houses.

Occasionally, a night wind would blow, making the dried-up branches rustle, carrying waves of decay before rushing desperately toward the even darker distance.

Whether it was the people in the prison, the school, or those forced to spend the night outdoors, they all gazed at the pitch-black scene outside the windows, vaguely feeling that something major was about to happen. The air was filled with an oppressive and somber atmosphere.

When the sun of the fourth day rose, the survivors here painfully dragged themselves up to embrace it.

Zhang Chenze quickly got up to check on the condition of the people in the room.

After all, apart from herself, the other three had various injuries, and after a night, their situations could have worsened.

She walked over to Lin Geng and looked at her broken leg; by now, the area below the knee was completely swollen and probably needed splint treatment right away. Unfortunately, they were in a glass shop and didn't have the right tools.

"Lin Geng, are you okay?" Zhang Chenze reached out to take Lin Geng's hand and noticed that her hands were entirely red, like frostbite.

"I'm fine..." Lin Geng gave a bitter smile. "I'm in pain all over... but it's not life-threatening. You should check on Lao Qin instead."

Zhang Chenze nodded at that and went over to Qin Dingdong. Qin Dingdong hadn't woken up yet, so she could only reach out and touch her forehead.

"Good... no fever... should be okay..." Zhang Chenze gently shook her. "Dingdong, are you alright?"

After hearing that, Qin Dingdong slowly opened her eyes, but then she suddenly started coughing violently, spitting out a large mouthful of bloody phlegm a few seconds later.

"Oh, heavens... You saved me, and that's one thing, but now you're waking me up in the morning..." Qin Dingdong wiped her mouth and looked at Zhang Chenze. "Do you know there's an idiom that goes, 'Early rising ruins the day'?"

Zhang Chenze gave a bitter smile. "What kind of idiom is that? I was just worried about you..."

"Ah... Alright, alright... Don't be so nice to your sister; she gets soft-hearted..." Qin Dingdong waved her hand and struggled to sit up, then glanced toward Su Shan. "How's Xiao Shan doing?"

"I'll go check."

Zhang Chenze rolled up her sleeves and went to Su Shan's side, finding that Su Shan was still asleep.

"Su Shan?" Zhang Chenze shook her, thinking that Su Shan's condition should be better than the others', but no matter how long she shook, Su Shan didn't wake up.

"What's going on?"

Zhang Chenze frowned in confusion, then shook her harder. "Su Shan, can you hear me?"

Seeing no response from Su Shan, Zhang Chenze reached out to touch her forehead and found it burning hot.

"What's wrong with her?" Qin Dingdong asked.

"I don't know..." Zhang Chenze furrowed her brow. "She has a severe fever..."

The two of them moved their battered bodies closer to Su Shan and saw that she had no injuries, but her cheeks were flushed red, clearly from a high fever.

As they were worrying about Su Shan, they noticed her eyes slowly opening.

The whites of her eyes were completely bloodshot, and her pupils were starting to scatter like those of someone long dead.

"Hmm...?" She paused slightly, turning to look at the others. She glanced at Zhang Chenze in front of her and, after a moment, furrowed her brow. "You all..."

"Su Shan, are you okay?" Zhang Chenze asked.

"I..." Su Shan forced a smile after hearing that. "What could be wrong with me?"

Lin Geng, who hadn't interacted much with Su Shan before and didn't know what was happening, could only turn to look at Qin Dingdong.

Qin Dingdong sighed, stepped forward, extended her hand into a fist, and said:

"Xiao Shan, tell me, how many fingers am I holding up?"