sjar Chapter 422 - 407: A Cunning Rabbit Has Three Burrows
Chapter 422 - 407: A Cunning Rabbit Has Three Burrows
Nearby, Qin Yi, who was organizing data on the residents of the disaster relief point with Qin Shi, looked up at the light screen and frowned slightly.
"This Gu Shen is clearly a cunning old fox. He won’t necessarily be willing..."
"Tsk!"
Before Qin Yi could finish, Qi Xiang, who was sitting across from them, scoffed softly. Lazily raising her eyes, she looked at the man on the light screen and said with casual, cold sarcasm, "Does it matter whether he’s willing or not?"
It really didn’t matter.
Once Gu Xi was done asking her questions, she couldn’t be bothered to listen to any more of his story. She used her Spiritual Skill to take control of Gu Shen directly and, after a few consecutive Space Jumps, had him lead her back to the Gu Family’s main stronghold.
However, she was still a step too late.
The vast underground manor was now completely empty, without a single soul in sight.
Seeing this, most people’s first reaction would probably be that there was a mole in Gu Xi’s circle who had tipped off the Gu Family and allowed them to escape.
But after blanketing the entire underground manor with her spiritual power, Gu Xi knew this was unlikely.
—From the moment she intercepted Gu Shen to her arrival at the Gu Family’s stronghold, barely two hours had passed.
Of course, two hours was more than enough time for a family powerful enough to have access to a private jet, even in the post-apocalyptic world, to flee a thousand miles away.
Yet, as her spiritual power swept through the area, she saw that the entire, vast underground manor had been cleared out. Nearly everything that could be taken was gone, yet there wasn’t a single spot in the entire underground space that was out of place.
Clearly, this was no hasty departure.
What’s more, the underground manor covered a vast area. According to Gu Shen, it was home to several thousand permanent residents, and the amount of supplies stored here was staggering.
Evacuating that many people, along with moving such a vast amount of supplies, would have been impossible—even with the help of someone with a Space Ability, and no matter how well-trained the Gu Family’s people were.
There wasn’t enough time.
Unless...
Gu Xi retracted her spiritual power and turned to look at the man beside her. He was still in a daze, his eyes vacant and numb. ’It seems the Gu Family’s eldest direct heir has also been abandoned, then?’
Or perhaps he’d been a sacrificial pawn from the moment he decided to leave the manor for A City Base.
...’The Gu Family must have been prepared for the possibility of him falling into my hands. The moment he left, they began their grand relocation.’
Gu Xi raised an eyebrow slightly.
’As expected,’ she thought. ’There’s a reason I’m naturally cold-blooded.’
At the same time, the vacant numbness in Gu Shen’s eyes was replaced by confusion and bewilderment.
But as he took in the familiar surroundings, his bewilderment was quickly replaced by shock and terror.
It only took a few seconds, but he had obviously put the pieces together.
—Gu Xi had controlled him and brought him back to the Gu family estate.
But strangely, the estate was too quiet.
So quiet, it was as if they were the only living souls there.
A horrifying chill washed over him, making his scalp tingle. His gaze subconsciously swept to the distance.
"Don’t bother looking."
Just then, the woman’s calm voice came from nearby. "They’ve already left."
"And from the looks of things, they left a long time ago."
’This is impossible.’
Gu Shen subconsciously wanted to deny it, but as far as he could see, there wasn’t a single person.
He glanced at Gu Xi and saw she had no intention of stopping him. He then turned and strode toward a small garden, pushing open the doors to one underground bunker after another.
No one. No one. And still no one.
Darting through the passages carved into the mountain, Gu Shen checked several of the Gu Family’s most critical underground bunkers. With each empty one he found, his heart sank lower and lower.
Finally, he glanced back at Gu Xi, who had been trailing slowly behind him without doing a thing. Gritting his teeth, he headed for a secret study that only a few core members of the Gu Family could enter. He sat down at the surveillance station, intending to pull up the security footage.
The result was predictable.
There was nothing.
Gu Shen couldn’t help but wonder if Gu Xi had already dealt with everyone here. After all, with her abilities, she was certainly capable of killing everyone in an instant and leaving no trace.
But the air held no scent of blood.
Besides, he didn’t think a powerhouse like Gu Xi would see any need to lie about something like this.
Furthermore, as much as he hated to believe it, deep down he knew better than anyone that given the way the old man and his uncles operated, abandoning him—the eldest heir of the main branch—was not out of the question...
He just didn’t want to admit it.
Just then, Gu Xi gracefully drifted forward. Her eyes swept around the secret study before finally landing on Gu Shen.
"Where do you think they went?" she asked Gu Shen.
’Even a sly rabbit has three burrows.’
’A great clan like the Gu Family, one that has survived for centuries and can still pull strings from the shadows after the apocalypse, surely isn’t less prepared than a rabbit, right?’
Still, she had only asked him on a whim. She didn’t have high hopes for an answer.
’After all, since they’d already abandoned him as a sacrificial pawn, why would they flee to any place he knew about?’
’The head of the Gu Family couldn’t be that foolish, could he?’
Apparently, Gu Shen understood this as well.
Perhaps out of anger and frustration at being abandoned by his family, he adopted a ’nothing left to lose’ attitude. He scoffed coldly and looked up at Gu Xi. "And you think I would know?"
Gu Xi simply watched him calmly. "Are the Gu Family’s meticulously groomed heirs... well, one of them, at least... as emotionally unstable as you are?"
’His mental fortitude is surprisingly weak.’
’It doesn’t fit the profile of an heir-apparent who’s been carefully groomed by the Gu Family for years.’
Gu Shen was surprised. He hadn’t expected this younger cousin of his—who, according to rumor, was a cold and unfeeling person who only knew how to fight and kill, with little understanding of social graces—to see through his little act at a glance. It seemed pointless to keep it up.
The expression on his face instantly smoothed back into calmness.
"It seems they all underestimated you."
He stared at Gu Xi, his tone returning to its usual calm and collected nature. "Then again, you were personally trained by Li Ming. How could you only know how to fight and kill?"
Gu Xi looked at him, her expression noncommittal.
’She’d always hated convoluted plots and schemes, but that didn’t mean she was an idiot.’
’If she were really that stupid, she never would have survived the brutal apocalypse, no matter how extraordinary her powers were.’
’No one who survived the great filter of the apocalypse was a true fool.’
’In the past... she simply couldn’t be bothered to think so much because she had Li Ming and her other trusted comrades watching her back.’
’After all, division of labor is crucial in a squad. The captain couldn’t possibly do everything, right?’
’How exhausting would that be?’