Chapter 50: Chaotic Flowing Snake
Translator: Tim Editor: Tehrn / Carolin
After Ye Mo had knocked the last opponent out, he turned to the driver and said, “Come over and help me out with a small favor; drag these scum with me.”
“I’ll help you.” Xiao Lei rushed up, her face still red; apparently, her excitement hadn’t died down. It was as though she met the legendary “prince-on-a-white-stallion” that suddenly came down to rescue her. It was like a dream, and things happened too fast.
Zhuo Aiguo had already calmed down, he silently rejoiced about his correct decision and further made up his mind that he was to establish a good connection with Ye Mo no matter what; he might be the student of some legendary Ancient Martial Arts Master for all he knew. Although he heard that there were some ancient martial arts families in Beijing, these families were usually very mysterious and wouldn’t come out into the normal world, nor would they become athletes either.
However, from what he knew, some families would select a few elite members to go into the special departments of the country. These departments only served the country, and even some leaders couldn’t have the privilege of being protected by these people.
Ye Mo looked curiously at Xiao Lei who ran over excitedly and shook his head speechlessly: “This woman’s mood changed so fast!” He didn’t talk to her and just carried two unconscious thugs into the forest.
The chauffeur Xiao Yu also dragged two people and followed him. Ye Mo dumped the two in the woods and carried over another two. Xiao Lei saw that Ye Mo ignored her and was a bit annoyed, but even when she used all her might, she couldn’t keep up with Ye Mo while dragging someone. At last, Xiao Yu helped her pull that one away. Seeing that all seven of them had been brought here, Ye Mo told Xiao Yu, “You guys go in the car and wait for me a bit, I’ll come over soon.”
After Xiao Yu had left, Ye Mo kicked one of them awake. These people, mostly from Yue, were blocking the roads and robbing its passersby. After he had kicked all of them awake, Ye Mo asked where their base was and found out that it was actually in a private manor not far away from Flowing Snake town. Also, it was pretty much as Xiao Yu said; there were indeed 13 people before, but now, there was just 7 of them remaining.
At first, Ye Mo had planned to destroy their base when he would reach to Flowing Snake as he didn’t like to leave things unfinished, but since there was no one left, he didn’t plan on going anymore. Ye Mo dumped all of their bodies into the mountain stream. He had only found some Yue currency on these people, but Ye Mo didn’t take a single one; to him, this money was worth as much as money for the dead, perhaps even less.
He didn’t understand how these people would be so poor when they robbed all day; maybe they just didn’t carry the valuable things with them and left everything at their hideout.
When Ye Mo returned to the mountain road, Xiao Yu and Zhuo Aiguo had cleared out the obstacles. The three had already got into the car and were waiting for him. Unexpectedly, no one asked about where the thugs went after he got inside the car.
“I can’t take this money, you drove off the thugs, so you keep it.” Xiao Lei gave the 50,000 dollars Zhuo Aiguo had offered her to Ye Mo.
Ye Mo pushed it aside and said, “No need, you can keep the money. I’m hired by boss Zhuo, and he’s already paying for my salary. Besides, your friend ditched you, so take that as his compensation.”
“Hmph, I don’t know him, that animal…” Xiao Lei still wanted to say something, but Ye Mo just told Xiao Yu to start driving.
“Mr. Ye, we are really lucky to have you with us this time. If it weren’t for you, we would’ve really been in trouble this time,” Zhuo Aiguo hurriedly expressed his gratitude to Ye Mo. Zhuo Aiguo was telling the truth, if he hadn’t met Xiao Lei, he would’ve only lost tens of thousands of dollars. However, after meeting her, Zhuo Aiguo’s character wouldn’t allow him to be a bystander as she was taken away, and if any conflict had occurred, the results would have been disastrous.
Ye Mo waved his hands and said, “Boss Zhuo, you are too polite, this was nothing. Besides, this is what we agreed upon at the beginning; otherwise, what would be the point of hiring me?”
Hearing Ye Mo’s words, Zhuo Aiguo’s was in a good mood and said, “I’m a few years older, if you don’t mind, Mr. Ye, just call me Brother Zhuo, and I’ll just call you Brother Ye.”
“This sounds great,” Ye Mo nodded in approval. Zhuo Aiguo was not a bad person, someone who was worth connecting to. When Xiao Lei asked for Ye Mo’s name from Zhuo Aiguo, she felt this name was a bit familiar, as though she heard it somewhere before, but just couldn’t recall it for the moment.
“Journalist Xiao, although Flowing Snake is a borderline town, it is one of the most chaotic places in the region, and it’s even the boundary between three countries. Why would you come here?” Zhuo Aiguo turned his head and asked.
Xiao Lei’s thought process was interrupted and could only respond helplessly: “It’s because I heard that the tourists who come to Gui Lin would disappear near the famous tourist spots, so I wanted to come here and interview a few people. After coming here, I found out that most people had gone missing after going to Flowing Snake so now, I wanted to go there to see for myself. If I didn’t encounter you guys, I really don’t know what would’ve happened. I’m really grateful.”
Ye Mo was laughing to himself. This female journalist was too naïve; she was too used to living in big cities that she thought if she just took out her journalist license, those thugs would just surrender. He was literally speechless.
Zhuo Aiguo also had no idea what to say. He knew Xiao Lei, she was a famous journalist that just rose to fame over the past couple of years. However, he wasn’t familiar with her so he couldn’t point fingers in front of her face. Xiao Lei saw these people’s complexions and understood how they thought, but she couldn’t really rebuke them as she realized how naïve she was. When she first wanted to come to Gui Lin, Wang Qianjun wanted to go with her no matter what, so he accompanied her all the way to Gui Lin and even got a BMW in Gui Lin city to drive her to Flowing Snake.
Wang Qianjun’s handsome appearance did transmit people a good feeling, and she had a good feeling towards him as well; it was probably not long before she would have agreed to become his girlfriend. However, in a time of crisis, Xiao Lei understood that a handsome appearance was completely irrelevant to other things.
Ye Mo didn’t talk anymore, he only looked around and enjoyed the sight. There were wild forests everywhere and very little people which was perfect for his cultivation, and even if the Song Family chased him here, he would have a way to escape. Ye Mo didn’t think he was an invincible being right now, and he knew that there were a lot of people stronger than him right now. Besides, even modern firearms weren’t something he could defend against with his current powers.
Zhuo Aiguo and Xiao Lei meanwhile, were engaged in a heated conversation; however, Xiao Lei glanced at Ye Mo from time to time, yet, seeing that Ye Mo didn’t have the urge to talk and seemed to be meditating, she dismissed the thought of talking to him.
Half an hour later, the Audi drove into a town, of which half was heavily fortified and had the appearance of a fortresse.
“This is Flowing Snake, we have to do a few things first, so we can only leave tomorrow. Journalist Xiao, how about you? Are you coming with us or moving on your own?” after the car had gone into Flowing Snake, Zhuo Aiguo looked at Xiao Lei and asked.
Before Xiao Lei could even answer, she saw two groups of people fighting in front of them. They were all holding weapons such as sticks, knives, and so on.
In a short moment, a few people who were bleeding all over, fell to the ground, moaning and screaming. However, after a long time, a group of individuals who looked like the police came over, and these people who were madly fighting just left while carrying the injured away. Surprisingly, the police didn’t follow them and just went straight back to what they were doing.
Xiao Lei’s heart was beating rapidly as she looked on. She didn’t think that things like this would occur in public which gave her a shocking awakening from her previously naive thoughts.
“Flowing Snake is basically a place of anarchy, which was originally covered by the wilderness. However, after the 70’s, due to the war, there were asylum seekers who gathered here. They came from the different countries around here and formed a fort-like town in the region. The police you saw previously were impromptu; therefore, there is hardly any place more chaotic than here,” as if he had seen Ye Mo and Xiao Lei’s shock, Zhuo Aiguo took the initiative to explain. Although this was the first time he came to Flowing Snake, he had already gathered a lot of information before.
“I... think I’ll stay with Uncle Zhuo...” Xiao Lei no longer dared to be that lone heroic journalist and chose to stay with them without hesitation.