Chapter 407: Chapter 407

And those vegetables that had undergone radiation, the mutated vegetables, were indeed not good things. No wonder Eiffel had been constantly bleeding from his nose lately. No wonder the fat chicken found the vegetables inside repulsive. No wonder Jing Shu always heard crying sound waves coming from those mutated vegetables. This eerie castle was a wall built by a virus, constantly absorbing harmful substances. It was a wonder these people hadn’t even noticed.

And the food only gave them the fleeting illusion of becoming stronger.

All of this is nothing but a deception, Jing Shu thought. There had to be a reason I hadn’t heard of such miraculous materials in my previous life. It’s likely these two aren’t really time-travelers at all. Just as they said, they’re nothing but a group of swindlers.

As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. So, if everyone is after Austin’s assets, is it possible to collaborate? Each could get what they desire. Wouldn’t that make accomplishing the mission much easier? Especially since everyone is stuck, unable to leave Austin. It’s really difficult to forcibly take anything from Austin Castle. But if we use deception, perhaps it would be easier. Letting the enemy actively and eagerly deliver these supplies into our hands is the best approach.

Jing Shu’s mind started to whirl feverishly.

At this moment, Dr. Bo said, "You must believe in human greed and desire. Humans are never really tricked by others; they deceive themselves, living within their own lies. Nobody can awaken them from the beliefs they hold dear. Given the situation with the wall, they’ll believe us first. After a series of verifications, they will end up indulging in the sweet dream of getting rich every day."

"Then what? How do we transport the items out? And how do we escape?"

Dr. Bo paced back and forth, saying, "My plan is to move the entire operation outside to be completed. Then we can surreptitiously switch the supplies, and we can also escape from the outside... Unfortunately, we have to proceed step by step, slowly. We even have to make them beg us to carry out this ritual outside. In that case, perhaps we’ll have to manipulate the materials. This precious Water of Life must be scarce, and its method of acquisition must be unheard of. Come, let me think carefully... How should I direct this play?..."

"Bit, besides the three of us, maybe we should find some powerful, trustworthy allies. After all, escaping won’t be easy for us."

"Are you mad? There’s no one in Austin City you can trust! They’re all his lackeys, lost in their own hedonistic stupor. If anyone finds out this is all a plot, we’ll die a terrible death!"

CLAP. CLAP. CLAP. Jing Shu applauded as she walked out from the shadows. She had to admit, Dr. Bo’s plan was very much to her liking. This is a man who has mastered the essence of deception, she thought.

"Who is it! Who’s there!"

"Damn it, how did she get in here!"

Jing Shu’s figure was revealed under the dim light. In her panic, Ms. C immediately drew her gun and aimed it at Jing Shu, about to shoot. To be able to carry a gun in this supposedly gun-free castle, Dr. Bo and his associates must have considerable authority. Their deception is very successful; even I was initially fooled by that, Jing Shu mused. Content orıginally comes from 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁

"Ma’am, don’t be agitated, or else..." Jing Shu said, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. With a gesture, a dozen or so snakes had already quietly wrapped around Dr. Bo’s and Ms. C’s ankles, then swiftly climbed up to their necks, flicking their tongues.

Ms. C’s gun-holding posture stiffened. She looked at the snakes on her body in terror, not daring to move. Though these snakes are only a few dozen centimeters long, they’re definitely venomous! I don’t have any serum or Detoxification Medicine! she thought frantically.

Dr. Bo raised his hands, saying calmly, "Don’t be agitated, my dear, beautiful young lady. I just wonder, how can I help you?"

Jing Shu walked slowly, wearing her large cotton-padded jacket, and sat on the sofa. Little Black, acting as her attendant, translated the conversation between them.

"Bit, it’s her! This Chinese woman! She’s the one who cultivated the medicinal herbs!" Ms. C exclaimed.

Dr. Bo squinted, rubbed his red nose, and shrugged. "Well, well, this clever young lady must have discovered something. You must have heard something, right?"

Jing Shu patted her dusty clothes and said, "Climbing in through your chimney wasn’t easy. I heard everything you said, and I’ve more or less figured out the secret of the Concentrating Stone."

"Oh? That really is bad news then," Dr. Bo remarked, seemingly not at all nervous. He exuded the profound confidence of a master swindler. "So, beautiful young lady, what do you plan to do now? Threaten us? Or perhaps report us? However, both of those possibilities seem rather unlikely."

Jing Shu nodded. "Actually, I want to cooperate with you."

"You want supplies as well?" Ms. C asked warily.

Jing Shu shook her head. Most of the food here has been irradiated; eating it again would be unsafe, she thought. "To be honest," she said, "I came to Austin City for the complete set of vegetable dehydration equipment and, of course, all the Seeds from the rich seed bank. It would also be nice if I could get some more minerals."

Dr. Bo gave a playful smile, seemingly unconvinced.

Ms. C was even more blunt, looking at Jing Shu as if she were a fool. "Forget Huaxia; food supplies are definitely scarce there. Are you putting in so much effort just for these few things? Or are you trying to pull that Huaxia ’Immortal Jump’ trick on us?"

"A very wealthy Slave Master recently came to Austin, offering a lot of money to find a group of Asians. You know about this, right?" Jing Shu asked.

Dr. Bo nodded, then raised an eyebrow. "Could it be that the group he wants to capture is... you? But how did you manage to get past so many checkpoints and successfully enter the castle?"

Jing Shu smiled faintly. "There’s naturally a way to enter the castle. Do you know why he’s offering such a high reward for us? Because we stole twenty of their cargo ships’ worth of food supplies. So, in the short term, we don’t need food; we need to produce and process dehydrated vegetables."

Dr. Bo’s face showed sudden understanding, and then he laughed heartily. "It seems we’re all on the same side then! In that case... beautiful young lady, could you please call off your adorable Little Snakes? We can then have a proper discussion about our next steps."

With a wave of Jing Shu’s hand, the Little Snakes retreated like an ebbing tide until they vanished completely. Only then did Ms. C let out a sigh of relief. She curled her lips and snapped her fingers. After a long moment, nothing happened.

Ms. C snapped her fingers several more times, but the house remained eerily quiet.

Just then, Jing Shu lightly snapped her fingers. From the darkness, a figure emerged—half-human, half-ghost, completely wrapped in bandages. Jing Shu asked teasingly, "Are you looking for this person?"