120. The Sun Always Shines Behind the Clouds

Bai Haonan did not believe in doing things by halves. When he found someone, that was his objective achieved; he would never come back for a rescue mission later. God knows what these pyramid scheme cells—constantly shifting and rearranging themselves—would turn into. He now had a profound understanding of how difficult it was to find one person among hundreds of buildings across dozens of residential complexes.

He didn't show his emotions on his face like Qianniu did. He simply reached out, lifted the hem of his shirt, wiped his brother's face vigorously, and whispered, "Pretend you're unconscious. We're going home now!"

Then, with an expression of disdain, he carried Qianniu out horizontally. Only when they reached the outside did he notice that one of Qianniu's lower legs was indeed wrapped in splints and bandages—perhaps that was what had prevented him from escaping on his own. Bai Haonan used this as leverage: "Why keep a useless piece of trash like this? He's no help at all, and we aren't a charity!"

The "parent manager" here was as eager to get rid of him as if he were a plague: "Then please, feel free to dispose of him..."

Bai Haonan kept his expression under control, let out a couple of grunts, and dragged Qianniu out to the elevator quite unceremoniously. The two young women followed quickly, their expressions complex. When they got out into the residential compound, they were stopped by someone asking questions. Bai Haonan stood his ground, acting indignant: "Don't you recognize me? Damn it, they actually kept a wounded guy who can't do anything, and they wanted me to lead this group with him tagging along. Isn't that just a burden? Don't worry about it, just pretend you don't know I'm taking him to deal with him!"

Looking at the "unconscious" casualty, the others couldn't help but shudder at what this bearded man might mean by "deal with him." Thanks to his habit of roaming around the area with the women, Bai Haonan had become a very familiar face. The night patrol guards immediately steered clear, understanding the situation. If a pyramid scheme member is caught, the worst that happens is deportation; but if it's murder and body disposal, heads will roll.

Once they reached the street, they walked in silence for a long time, passing two or three more roaming patrols. At a fork in the road, Xiaowan noticed the direction Bai Haonan was heading and hurried a few steps to catch up, surprised: "We're not... going back to where we're staying?"

Since they were preparing to jump ship and go solo, Xiaowan had just rented a new two-bedroom apartment that morning, intending for the dozen or so women to live there with Bai Haonan. It was a true emperor's luxury!

Until this very moment, Bai Haonan hadn't told these women that his sole purpose was to find his brother, and that as soon as he did, he would leave immediately—to hell with their "health project."

So, without a shred of attachment to those tools of deception, he took a deep breath and said, "I..."

Unexpectedly, Qianniu, who had been keeping his eyes closed, whispered, "I want to find Xiaoting!"

"What?"

Bai Haonan, stunned, set him down on a roadside flower bed: "Why find her?"

Qianniu was stubborn: "You came to find me, and I will go find her. Even if I leave this place, once my injuries are healed, I'm coming back for her! She's still here!"

Bai Haonan paused, though he could instantly understand. Qianniu meant as much to him as he did to Qianniu, and regardless of what the woman looked like in his own eyes, her weight in Qianniu's heart was the same. But: "Do you know how many people are in this place? I, for the sake of finding you..." Bai Haonan had to lower his voice to whisper into Qianniu's ear: "I'm about to reach my limit!"

Why did that sound so damn hilarious?

Qianniu stayed silent. Even if he didn't know how much of his own lifeblood and energy Old Nan had spent, he knew that getting him out successfully over these past two months hadn't been simple. But looking at the stubborn look on his friend's face, he knew he would definitely come back; he just wouldn't give up.

Bai Haonan rubbed his temples hard, then turned back to look at Xiaowan and the woman who had helped him jump ship. Gritting his teeth, he hoisted Qianniu back onto his shoulder and turned around: "Xiaowan, call the others and tell them to come over. We're having a meeting. We have an extra person, so we need to rethink how to proceed with our work..."

In truth, it was like those old eras; here, even speaking required following a set, rigid pattern. If you spoke like a normal human being, you were easily seen as not having integrated into the collective.

Usually, a group or a "family" had one or two phones. Although Bai Haonan didn't have the status to carry one, he acted as if he already had a secretary.

Sure enough, by the time Bai Haonan carried Qianniu back to the new two-bedroom apartment, the dozen or so women had arrived one after another. They had unknowingly shifted into the same group over the past month, making them quite covert. Seeing Bai Haonan arrive, they shared some knowing, sly smiles.

They weren't here to learn English, that was for sure!

Bai Haonan had to guard against them trying to strip his clothes off. He set his brother down in the corner: "This guy is a stubborn fool. I need to find him to work with me, but he insists on finding the girlfriend who brought him here. So we have to wait for him to recover, plus that..."

At this moment, Xiaowan had already silently brought over a hot towel. Bai Haonan didn't know if it was for him to wipe his sweat or what, but he started by wiping Qianniu's face and asking who could find some of their own clothes so he could bathe and change. Just then, there was a knock at the door, and a woman who caught a glimpse of Qianniu's face gasped: "The girlfriend you're talking about, is it Gao Xiaoting? The one with a mole right here on her face..."

Qianniu nodded excitedly!

Bai Haonan, who had been prepared to resign himself to staying longer, was overjoyed: "You know where she is?" His eyes, however, vigilantly scanned the door. The knocking didn't sound particularly urgent, so he wasn't too tense.

Xiaowan hopped over to the door, peeked through the peephole, and opened it: "Sister Chen...?"

It was indeed Chen Meijuan, and standing behind her was Li Lin—the girl Bai Haonan had only seen once, the beautiful one who loved to smile with her mouth wide open!

Several of the women stared, unable to look away, because as soon as this girl walked in, she flashed that innocent, harmless smile again. It was as if she had brought a splash of color into the bleak, fluorescent-lit room, making it suddenly warm and bright!

Bai Haonan actually had a high tolerance; he was worldly-wise, after all. He glanced at the girl's face, confirmed she truly looked naive, and looked at Chen Meijuan: "No wonder you were the last to arrive. Perfect, let's talk about it together..."

Before Chen Meijuan could boast, Li Lin, facing a large group of young women—most of whom were sitting on the floor and were quite attractive—seemed even less guarded. At over 1.7 meters tall, she sat with her hands clasped between her knees, shoulders hunched, smiling: "Hello everyone, I'm new here. My name is Li Lin. I'm a sophomore in college. I came out during winter break to get some internship experience with a classmate. This place is great! Who's in charge here? ...Oh my god, what is that thing he's got? What's going on?"

Only a few hours ago, Bai Haonan had only seen this girl from afar and hadn't spoken to her. Now, being hit head-on by a long string of thick Northeast dialect, he felt a bit dizzy!

The first half was fine, but when she saw Qianniu—filthy, stinking, and wounded—she had instinctively blurted out that string of comical Northeast slang. The other women were stunned for a moment, then burst into collective laughter, swaying with amusement.

Perhaps the combination of pure beauty and the blunt, rustic accent created an extra comical effect.

Bai Haonan had dealt with plenty of Northeast players on professional teams and couldn't help but chuckle. His previously anxious mood eased significantly: "Alright, alright, little sister, have a seat first. We'll chat later, okay?"

Li Lin was pleasantly surprised: "You're from the Northeast too? Which part?"

Bai Haonan didn't want to waste any more breath on this naive child. He turned to the woman who had spoken earlier: "Do you know where Gao Xiaoting is?"

The woman gave Bai Haonan a flirtatious wink: "Go! Last week, didn't I bring a girl over? You didn't even talk to her, so I had to take her back..."

The others burst into laughter again.

Damn it, Bai Haonan was glad he had good taste and had almost ended up with his brother's girl. He quickly cut to the chase: "Do you know which group she's in? We'll go find her right now and try to pull her in to join our meeting."

The woman stood up with a smile: "Of course I know, but if we go right now... hmph."

Bai Haonan stood up, not having analyzed what her "hmph" meant, but the other women had all stood up as well. It was clear they were all planning to go together. Even Li Lin, who had just sat down, stood up like a ditz. Mind you, it was almost ten o'clock at night; for a college sophomore in such an unfamiliar environment to have zero vigilance, Bai Haonan found her thick-headedness truly breathtaking.

But having a dozen people go over was clearly too eye-catching. Bai Haonan made a decision: "Xiaowan, take everyone to the fast-food restaurant outside the Qianjia Yi Supermarket to have a late-night snack. In thirty minutes at most, we'll bring Gao Xiaoting to meet you, okay?" As he said this, he squeezed Xiaowan's shoulder firmly. Sensing something, the woman looked deeply at Bai Haonan and nodded.

Some say one woman equals five hundred ducks, but these female pyramid schemers were an exception; they nodded in agreement with almost no noise. Only Chen Meijuan—whether out of her previous competitive spirit or because she noticed Bai Haonan's hand on Xiaowan's shoulder—insisted on coming along, saying she knew the area too.

So, when Bai Haonan headed out, carrying Qianniu—who hadn't even had time to bathe and was just clutching his clothes—Li Lin followed as well. A moment later, the others split into small groups and headed toward the fast-food restaurant.

Everything about this place was constantly bizarre.

As the three women and two men walked toward another residential area, Li Lin excitedly explained that this was her first time working during a break. A classmate had invited her here, saying she could earn tens of thousands in a single winter break. She had been doing promotional modeling for an airline for the past two days and had secretly bought a plane ticket here without telling her family!

She arrived yesterday, spent the whole day wandering around with her classmate, and thought it was incredibly fun. Today, hearing about such a grand engineering project, she found it very interesting!

*What an idiot!*

That was Bai Haonan's only thought, yet he couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. Perhaps living in such a state of idiocy was a form of happiness.

But this kind of happiness, once it truly encounters the darkness, gets smashed to pieces, only to fall into an infinite abyss. Bai Haonan had seen this play out countless times in nightlife venues.

Perhaps in the past, all Bai Haonan saw were the cynical, jaded results. It was rare to see a clean face that hadn't been torn or stained, and for the first time in his life, he felt a strange urge to reach out.

Mostly, it was because she was pretty.

As Li Lin excitedly talked about how she had already decided to become a manager, how she would call her mom tomorrow to have a good talk and try to get her parents to come and join in, so they could finally enjoy their golden years after working hard their whole lives...

Carrying his brother, Bai Haonan naturally kept his head down. On the face of the dark-sided Bai Haonan, there was only a mocking smile. There was nothing to say to a naive kid like this; being blunt was best. He had made up his mind: he would just knock them out and carry them off!

Chen Meijuan and the other women remained silent. He didn't know if they felt any pangs of conscience.

But women might just be jealous.

Because when they were going upstairs, the other woman suggested that Li Lin didn't need to come up.

Bai Haonan realized instantly that this was because they were afraid of letting Li Lin see the scene of a dozen or twenty people crammed into one room, pale-faced and studying like madmen. She would fall from heaven to earth in an instant and back out right before paying. He sighed inwardly and said in a low voice, "Let her come along. Don't let any information leak."

With just that one sentence, Chen Meijuan and the other woman instinctively stood on either side of Li Lin, fearing she might reach for her phone or try to escape.

This was the darkness of human nature: when you have fallen into the abyss for too long, you can't wait to drag the light down with you.

Li Lin giggled, saying how warm and welcoming they were.

Qianniu was truly single-minded; even facing such a beautiful girl, he had no reaction, only showing excitement about the numbers rising on the elevator, his breathing becoming shallow.

Bai Haonan calmly told the woman leading the way to go knock first. It was the rule; outsiders had to call inside to confirm before the door would be opened. The new room earlier had just been an exception because they hadn't implemented the rules yet.

The woman dialed on her phone, but after a while, no one answered. She pressed her ear against the door and gave a strange smile: "Someone's inside, but..."

Bai Haonan had reached the limit of his patience; he desperately wanted to leave this place. Think about it: two months of effort—it started as enjoyment, but later felt like torture. More importantly, it was the suffocating nature of this secret, cult-like behavior. To be surrounded by a group of psychologically twisted people, to be so close to stepping out into freedom only to be held back and forced to linger for a few more days... and now, it felt like it was right in front of him. As soon as he found this damn Gao Xiaoting, he could leave.

So, without another word, he pushed the woman aside, strode forward, and delivered a fierce kick to the door!

In these new residential complexes in some third-tier city, the so-called security doors were basically made of thin sheet metal filled with paper cores. Having spent years kicking doors at the stadium, Bai Haonan knew exactly how to strike the lock cylinder.

With a deafening *bang*, the thin metal door buckled and swung open. All the sound-activated lights in the hallway flickered on, and the five people standing in the doorway stared in shock at what was inside.

A massive, pale expanse—it looked like a pile of maggots crawling all over the floor!

Even a shameless guy like Bai Haonan felt completely disgusted.