Lu Shiyan’s gaze swept over the woman’s paper-white face, confirming that her condition was irreversible, before his sight locked back onto Xiao Lei.
“What exactly are your abilities capable of? How many people are affected? How long does it last? What are the effects on you after using it?”
The barrage of questions left Xiao Lei a bit dazed, but he still tried to recall.
Xiao Lei trembled and stammered, “There were many people in the square, I only used it on him.” He pointed to Xiao Han, whose face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
“After using it… I’m very tired, dizzy. How long… I haven’t tried.”
Lu Shiyan nodded slightly, seemingly evaluating something.
“We cannot take your mother out of here for now,” Lu Shiyan finally spoke. “Her current condition means any movement could accelerate her death. Moreover, we don’t have the ability to treat her.”
Xiao Lei’s eyes instantly dimmed.
“However,” Lu Shiyan’s tone shifted, “if you come with us, we will leave your mother enough food and water. How long she can last depends on fate.”
Although these words were cruel, they were the most realistic arrangement at the moment.
Upon hearing this, a deep pain flashed in the woman’s eyes, followed by a sigh of relief. She grabbed Xiao Lei’s hand and said urgently, “Xiao Lei, quickly agree! Mother is fine! You go with them, survive, you must survive!”
Xiao Lei looked at his mother’s expectant eyes, then at Lu Shiyan’s cold gaze, and tears rolled down. He knew this was the only choice.
He suddenly kowtowed, his forehead hitting the ground: “I’ll go with you! Please… please…”
“She doesn’t need us to take care of her,” Lu Shiyan interrupted. “Supplies will be left. You, from now on, only need to obey orders.”
Su Wan looked at the mother and son. She took out some clean water, some bread, biscuits, and instant noodles from her spatial storage.
“Take these first,” Su Wan handed the items to Xiao Lei, her voice as gentle as possible.
Xiao Lei took them with red eyes, carefully placing them beside his mother.
Xiao Han, watching from the side, felt stifled, and most of his resentment towards Xiao Lei dissipated. This kid had indeed messed with him, but in the end, it was all for his mother.
“So… what do we do now?” Xiao Han looked at Lu Shiyan, unconsciously having grown accustomed to following Lu Shiyan’s arrangements.
Lu Shiyan stood up: “You stay and help him settle the ‘old person’ you mentioned. Su Wan and I will go out for a bit.”
“Me?” Xiao Han was astonished.
Lu Shiyan didn’t explain further, only giving Xiao Lei a deep look: “Remember your promise.”
With that, he walked out of the tent first. Su Wan nodded to Xiao Lei’s mother and followed Lu Shiyan out.
Inside the tent, only Xiao Han, Xiao Lei, and his dying mother remained.
Xiao Han scratched his head, looking at the little brat whose eyes were red and swollen from crying, and sighed: “Alright, stop crying. Your mother isn’t dead yet, are you mourning? Quickly settle your mother, and put away those food and drinks, don’t let anyone steal them.”
Xiao Lei sniffled, nodded vigorously, and began clumsily caring for his mother.
Outside the tent, Su Wan caught up to Lu Shiyan’s steps and softly asked, “Where are we going?”
Lu Shiyan’s tone returned to its usual coldness, “To see how Li Xinhu and the others handled things.”
Pushing open the door, Li Xinhu and Li Kui were talking to A Mo. Seeing them return, they immediately stood up. By the table, A Mo was still writing something.
“Brother Lu, Miss Su.” Li Xinhu grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
A Mo stood up and handed the perfected paper to Lu Shiyan: “Captain, this is the defense layout and shift patterns of Scorpion and Lei Laohu’s camps, which I compiled based on my observations over the past few days and some information obtained by Brother Li and his team through risky infiltration. This is how they’ve been operating for the past three days, and there won’t be much change.”
Lu Shiyan took it and spread it out on the wooden table. The flickering firelight illuminated the dense annotations.
Su Wan leaned over to look. Although she didn’t understand military layouts, she could tell how astonishingly detailed this map was. A Mo, truly a hidden talent!
“On Lei Laohu’s side, there are three outer guard posts, a combination of overt and covert, with firepower concentrated in the southeast corner. Scorpion has more personnel, and their patrol teams are almost continuous,” A Mo’s voice was not loud, but every word was clear. “This is their routine for the past three days, and there shouldn’t be any major changes.”
Lu Shiyan’s fingertips moved slowly across the map, “Personnel, weapon configuration?”
“Lei Laohu’s main force is about fifty people, with two modified machine guns as heavy firepower. Scorpion has at least eighty people, with more varied weapons, but they have a few sniper rifles, and I’ve marked their positions,” A Mo answered one by one, clearly and logically.
Li Kui added from the side: “Boss, these two guys seem to have had a small friction recently, probably guarding against each other.”
Lu Shiyan nodded, his eyes deepening.
Su Wan listened to them discuss firepower points and breakthroughs, enduring for a moment, confirming that she couldn’t help, and then a wave of exhaustion washed over her. She gestured to Lu Shiyan, quietly returned to the bedroom, and collapsed into sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, Su Wan was gently nudged awake. She groggily opened her eyes and saw Lu Shiyan’s face, clearly outlined by the firelight.
“Get up and eat something,” his voice was still cold.
Su Wan sat up, rubbing her eyes. The discussion outside had stopped. Li Xinhu was serving food to everyone.
“Brother Han is back!” Li Kui shouted, seeing the person entering the doorway.
Xiao Han walked in with a disgruntled expression, throwing his backpack onto the ground with a dull thud. “Finally back, if I stayed any longer, that little brat would have annoyed me to death.”
As soon as Xiao Han entered, that indescribable smell rushed in first.
Su Wan was holding her bowl, preparing to eat, when she unexpectedly inhaled a mouthful. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she subconsciously raised a hand to fan gently in front of her nose.
“It smells awful,” she looked towards the doorway. Xiao Han stood there, dusty from travel, with unknown stains on his face and clothes.
Li Kui had already exaggeratedly pinched his nose, “My goodness, Brother Han, why don’t you go wash up first? You’re suffocating us!”
Su Wan suppressed a laugh and took out a clean towel and a small, almost unused bar of soap from her spatial storage, handing them over.
Xiao Han snatched the towel and soap and rushed towards the bathroom. “Got it, got it, combat shower, done in two minutes.”
Soon, the sound of rushing water came from inside, lasting only about two or three minutes before stopping.
Xiao Han emerged with wet hair, changed into relatively clean old clothes. He picked up a piece of dried meat, took a big bite, and mumbled, “Mo Lei insists on staying with his mother, not willing to leave even a step. All the food and drink were left for him, and I warned the people around not to get any ideas. His mother’s condition… she’s still hanging on by a thread for now.”
He paused, as if remembering something, and his tone softened a bit: “That kid, his eyes are all swollen from crying, looks quite pitiful. I think his mother’s condition won’t last more than three days… but, he’s tough, didn’t cause any more trouble.”
Su Wan silently took the warm water Lu Shiyan handed her and took a sip. This result wasn’t bad. It was good that Xiao Lei could pull himself together.
Li Kui leaned over, “Brother Han, that kid didn’t play any more tricks to mess with you, did he?”
Xiao Han rolled his eyes at him, annoyed: “Get lost! Can I, your dad, be messed with by a little brat every day? He wouldn’t dare!”
The atmosphere in the room lightened slightly due to the aroma of food and Xiao Han’s return.
The few of them gathered around the table, eating cheerfully.
However, a knock came from outside the door.
Thump, thump, thump.
The three exchanged glances. At this hour, who could it be?