As the various forces in C City scrambled to send help, over in Dufeng Mountain Resort Villa, Gu Nianzhi and Mei Xiawen had just gotten into Little Mirror Lake. They quickly swam towards Mingyue Court.
Gu Nianzhi and Mei Xiawen clung to the steps leading to Mingyue Court’s back door as they peered at the lights moving about in the courtyard.
The two Big Circle Boys had searched high and low through all six rooms with their flashlights. They had worked up a sweat, but still hadn’t found the three students they were looking for.
“F*cking sh*t! Are they even here?!”
As soon as the words were out, the two men looked towards Qingfeng Garden.
If they weren’t here, then they could only be in one other place – Qingfeng Garden!
Two classes had come to the resort villa, after all!
The two gangsters grinned nastily. They immediately raised their walkie-talkies to report to their leader, Yang Dawei. “Boss! They’re not here!”
…
Gu Nianzhi’s heart sank. She knew things had taken a turn for the worse. She hurriedly swam back to Qingfeng Garden, pulling Mei Xiawen behind her.
They managed to return to Qingfeng Garden ahead of the two gangsters.
Gu Nianzhi was now anxiously pleading with her classmates. “We can’t stay here any longer. They’ve realized the students they want aren’t in Mingyue Court. They’ll be here any minute now!”
“There’s twenty of us, and only two of them. What’s there to be afraid of?!” A male student raised his fist and slammed it down on a table, hard.
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes were as bright as stars in the dark. She calmly said, “I’m not afraid of them. I’m just saying that we shouldn’t make unnecessary sacrifices. They have guns. That alone is good enough reason for us to keep our distance. We cannot go up against them.”
“Nianzhi is right.” Mei Xiawen was the first to agree. “We don’t have any weapons. There’s no way we can fight them off.”
“If these were just regular thugs armed with knives, we may have a chance of overpowering them. But they have top-of-the-line rifles. What are we going to do, jump them bare-handed and hope they run out of bullets?” Gu Nianzhi held her phone tight in her hand. “This is my plan: we’ll get into the lake and swim to the other side.”
Four or five of her classmates cried out: “What? But I can’t swim!”
Gu Nianzhi turned to look at Mei Xiawen. “Class Rep, let’s have the swimmers help tow those who can’t swim. We need to get into the water, now!”
The nightmarish situation he had just been in flashed through Mei Xiawen’s mind. He did not hesitate. “Everyone get in the lake, stat! Don’t delay – or you’ll have to face the consequences!”
Gu Nianzhi pulled the non-swimmer nearest to her, one of her female classmates. “Follow me.”
The other classmates saw that Gu Nianzhi, the youngest among them, had not hesitated to offer her help to a non-swimmer. Their courage swelled at this sight. They quickly divided themselves into groups, spreading the non-swimmers among them, and silently walked out the back door of Qingfeng Garden and onto the terrace. There, they descended the steps leading into the lake.
Rain was still pouring relentlessly, spattering the surface of the lake like beads upon a plate – the noise was loud enough to cover the sound of the students getting into the lake.
The last student from Class One to get off the terrace had just disappeared into the water when a deafening clang sounded from the main gate in the front yard.
“They’re here…”
All the students were immediately struck with the exact same thought.
Gu Nianzhi hugged her non-swimmer classmate from behind, and whispered, “Don’t panic. Don’t struggle. I won’t let go of you.”
Her classmate was touched by her words. She eagerly responded, “I know! I’ve got this! I won’t drag you down!”
Gu Nianzhi was an exceptionally good swimmer.
The other non-swimmers had to be towed by two other male students. But Gu Nianzhi, treading water with her arms wrapped around her classmate, was actually moving through the water faster than those who were swimming alone.
Everyone automatically thought of Gu Nianzhi as their leader. They followed behind her as they made their way across Little Mirror Lake.
Little Mirror Lake was enormous; it was almost two kilometers across. It was no easy feat swimming from one end of the lake to the other.
But they had to swim, it was the only way forward. Everyone knew that there was only a dead-end behind them; that knowledge alone was enough to propel them beyond their usual capabilities. Everyone swam smoothly and quickly.
It was a good thing Gu Nianzhi had destroyed the main circuit breakers for the entire resort in advance. The darkness surrounding them was so complete they could not see past their noses. With the storm raging about them, it was impossible for anyone to spot them swimming in the lake.
…
Back in Qingfeng Garden, two Big Circle Boys kicked open the front door. They rushed in with rifles and flashlights raised.
They were expecting to see college students lying all over the place, unconscious, just like in Mingyue Court. But they searched all six rooms, and there wasn’t a single student to be found!
“What the f*ck? Where’d they go?! What, did they sprout wings and fly off or somethin’?!”
One of the Big Circle Boys furiously slammed the butt of his gun into the door.
His partner wasn’t as quick to lose his temper. He looked around, and said, “There’s a real smart one among them. He or she gathered everyone else and escaped.”
“Escaped?! It’s a crazy storm out there, where would they go?! And we’re not talking about one or two students here – there’s twenty of ’em! Tell me, how did they all escape?!”
“How would I know?! Look, their luggage’s still here. Maybe they’re hiding somewhere…” The level-headed gangster shone a flashlight around Qingfeng Garden. “Maybe we should ask the staff if there are secret rooms around here?”
“You call the boss… I ain’t got the balls to call again…” The hot-headed gangster blew his nose, and added sulkily, “The boss gave me a good tongue lashin’ just now…”
The level-headed gangster thought for a moment. He raised his walkie-talkie and said, in a voice that was positively oozing with sincerity, “Boss, we have trouble.”
“Yeah?” Yang Dawei’s exasperated voice sounded over the speaker. “What is it this time? Geez!”
“…There’s no one in Qingfeng Garden. Do you want to get the director of the resort, ask him if there are hiding places in the buildings? We think the students have holed up somewhere…”
Yang Dawei was sitting in the dark, inside the director’s office. He watched the lashing rain and howling rain beyond the window. He was seething with rage.
“Bring me the director!”
One of the Big Circle Boys hurried to drag Director Fu – who was already close to his breaking point – out from the storage room.
Yang Dawei shoved his gun right under Director Fu’s jaw. “Are there secret hiding places in Qingfeng Garden? Answer me!”
Director Fu was scared witless; his heart constricted in fear, and his breath caught in his throat. He fainted.
A faint stench quickly enveloped the room.
One of the Big Circle Boys kicked Director Fu, who was out cold. “He pissed himself…”
Yang Dawei was furious. He savagely boxed Director Fu’s ears, before grabbing his gun and standing up. His eyes were grim and sinister. “Let’s go! Get your guns, we’re going to Qingfeng Garden!”
The five remaining members of the Eight Mighty Warriors rushed out with their guns.
When they arrived at Qingfeng Garden, they searched every nook and cranny, but did not find anything that looked like a trapdoor or hiding room.
Yang Dawei walked to the back door of Qingfeng Garden, his gun at the ready. He squinted at Little Mirror Lake through the rain and mist, then spat, through gritted teeth, “…Those little sh*ts! Shoot ’em!” Having said that, he raised his gun and began shooting haphazardly at the lake.
