Chapter 105: The Script, Impossible to Arrange

The binding cage made of thought alloy was quickly completed in a state of hallucination.

Alpha Princess’s method of hallucination was straightforward, crude, and utterly unreasonable.

Although the issue of binding was resolved, Ye Chao was still unconscious. Calculating Princess had originally wanted to talk to him about some experiences regarding the spacetime bubble, but she would have to wait until he was free.

Looking around, the place felt even more cramped than home, so Alpha Princess decided to step outside for some fresh air.

But that fresh air only infuriated her...

While inside, she thought this was just a kidnapping gang; stepping outside, she realized it was actually a massive human trafficking organization!

A rough count showed that in the five-story building alone, there were nearly three hundred people detained, all barely having enough to eat, and hardly any clothes to cover themselves. The two adjacent smaller buildings were also packed with people...

Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of people—before the calamity, this would have been a world-shaking case! After the disaster, in Jiangcheng with a total population of less than two hundred thousand, it was still earth-shattering.

Alpha Princess floated along, observing and recording with her camera, her righteous indignation (▼ヘ▼#) and fury (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻ growing with each step. Suddenly, she saw Green Hair, Third Brother, and a few of Old Qian’s men hurriedly passing by, as if something had happened.

What was going on?

Curious, Alpha Princess followed them as they turned left and right, eventually returning to Ye Chao’s prison.

“Hurry! Untie this guy and get him out!”

“Quick, the police are arriving soon...”

A group of them fumbled with the keys, unfastening Ye Chao, though he remained tightly bound. In an instant, someone lifted his arms, another lifted his legs, and they began moving him out.

At first, Alpha Princess was puzzled, but after a moment, she realized: damn it, this is corruption! The police hadn’t arrived yet, but the news had already leaked...

She thought corruption was rampant only before the disaster, even to the point of brazenness, but surprisingly, it was the same after the disaster.

Her heart ached, making it hard to breathe.

(￣┰￣*)

“What’s that sound?” Green Hair suddenly stopped, suspicious.

The air fell silent for a few seconds. Third Brother asked, “Did you hear something?”

“Maybe I was mistaken. Let’s go, hurry up!” They resumed carrying the ‘dead pig.’

Alpha Princess waited a long while, calming her emotions before quickly catching up.

Alas, plans cannot keep up with changes!

She had originally imagined that if the other side tried to use Ye Chao as a hostage, she could descend from the sky, wave her hand, and the firmly secured cross would vanish into thin air, freeing Ye Chao... what a stylish, imaginative, and image-enhancing scene that would have been!

The script was perfectly arranged, but unfortunately, useless!

---

The massive human trafficking group began evacuating. Although busy, the process was far from chaotic; it was actually quite orderly.

This puzzled Alpha Princess...

Keep in mind, this evacuation involved not just one or two people, nor a dozen or twenty, but several hundred, possibly over a thousand, all from such a cramped and narrow place.

Even a speedy moving company wouldn’t manage this efficiently, right?

She wanted to observe more, but worried Ye Chao might be taken too far ahead and lose track.

Knowing Ye Chao was a communicator, any tracking method might be unsafe, so she had to follow step by step.

==========

Human trafficking group’s base.

Front alley: Guan Junyuan and Ling Du led the police and teacher-parents, gradually forming inner and outer layers of encirclement.

Back alley: Ximen Qiong, along with the stationed troops, did the same.

Essentially, every combat force connected to Alpha Princess and the virtual space was present.

Before the disaster, cutting off someone’s financial resources was like killing their parents; after the disaster, cutting off one’s upgrades was equally unforgivable. A parent’s grudge must be avenged!

Although the lower city’s design was old, its security was decent, with only one street’s entrances and exits at both ends, blocking any escape route.

In the pre-disaster era, amid rampant viruses, bacteria, and epidemics, this design maximized safety; in the post-disaster era, it made supervision easier—except... it smelled terrible!

Within seconds of gathering, everyone pinched their noses.

But pinching noses didn’t help much.

People need to breathe—through mouth, ears, and eyes—and the stench seeped in. Soon, their throats felt like they’d smoked hundreds of years of dry tobacco, and their eyes burned as if chopped with tons of onions...

But the mission went on despite the stench.

“You can’t go in? Need orders first?” After a brief discussion with the police, Guan Junyuan decided, “Then guard the entrance, no one gets out. I’ll take the teachers and parents inside to find people!”

“Everyone’s heard of Old Qian’s reputation. Once inside, ignore everything else and find the people first!”

“Got it!”

“No problem!”

Everyone responded enthusiastically; some even shouted out the honest truth: “For the helmets!”

Ye Chao had become a disciple of that man. If they could rescue him, wouldn’t they be rewarded with ten or eight sets of holographic helmets?

“Exactly, exactly!”

---

For a moment, their morale surged like a tidal wave as they rushed in, and the stench seemed less unbearable—especially to the students’ parents who had come upon hearing the news.

“Hey, you shouldn’t...” The police tried to stop Ling Du, reaching out, but where could they hold back such a crowd?

Damn! Seeing this scene, Old Qian hiding in the alley turned pale.

He had already gone pale the moment he saw the crowd. He cursed the police mole inside: “Did you call a few people? This is clearly a lot—over a hundred! This could easily become a mass incident...”

“That kid’s just an ordinary student, right? Maybe a bit better at studying, but surely not enough to cause such a scene? Could there be some powerful backing I don’t know about?”

He crouched inside, planning carefully: don’t show up immediately, stall for a few minutes; then appear, stall again.

Of course, the path had to be cleared—there were just too many people!

The key was how to yield without seeming weak or suspicious, yet remain reasonable.

He even rehearsed his lines: “Teacher Guan, are you looking for someone? Go ahead, I’m a legitimate businessman, never involved in illegal trade. Feel free to search.”

“Teacher Guan, you don’t know me, but I know you. By the way, my nephew will be entering high school in two months, probably the Third Middle School. I’ve always wanted to meet you but never had the chance...”

Such a reasonable withdrawal, such down-to-earth lines. Even if he had no nephew, he could just make one up.

But the scripted plan, again, was useless!

Though panicked inside, relying on his beard for courage, he finally came out: “Commander Ling, officers, and Teacher Guan...”

But Guan Junyuan didn’t even acknowledge him.

Suddenly, a holographic helmet in Guan Junyuan’s hand vibrated. He put it on and checked briefly, then spun around: “This way, this way!” Leading everyone in a swift change of direction.

The series of actions was so strange, like a feint on a soccer field—well, except for the national team’s usual poor play—leaving Old Qian utterly confused.

Until a certain signal came through, and he suddenly realized: they were heading straight toward where Ye Chao was held.

That kid seemed to have woken up... and clearly had a way to send a distress signal.

How could it happen so fast? It made no sense!

They absolutely could not let him be found!

Old Qian pulled out a walkie-talkie from his waist, eyes dark and cold: “Everyone, listen up! When the police inspect, cooperate fully. Clean every corner meticulously!”