GBT Chapter 88

Jiao Bai woke up in a pitch-black space, his nostrils filled with a heavy, earthy stench, which was also in his mouth. He felt as if he were deeply mired in a swamp, every breath filled with muddy water.

His entire body was weak, a sensation similar to the drugs Yu Xiang had given him.

It relaxed his muscles, making normal movement impossible.

Jiao Bai curled up and coughed a few times, his body covered in hardened mud, which clung tightly and wrinkled to his skin, leaving him utterly filthy.

Fortunately, it was early September. Two months later, and he would freeze to death.

Jiao Bai didn’t immediately try to get up, explore his surroundings, or attract the attention of his captor by shouting. He chose to conserve his strength by lying still, first checking his account information.

The number of friends on his list had decreased from six to four. Li Jue and Zhang Zhen were no longer among them. They had actually reached 100 and joined the group while he was unconscious.

Jiao Bai was stunned. How long had he been out? He moved his fingers and with difficulty reached into his pants pocket, pulling out his phone. He pressed the power button, but it wouldn’t turn on. The case was covered in mud.

He didn’t know the time, or even if it was day or night.

Jiao Bai put the phone back in his pocket, his mud-caked eyelashes blinked, and he continued to check the progress of his missions.

His account switched to the grouping panel according to his will.

Originally it was:

→ Fate in this Life 0/0

→ Never Betray in this Life 0/0

→ Guardianship for Generations 0/0

→ Unforgettable Lifetime [The Most Familiar Stranger] 0/2

Now it was:

→ Fate in this Life 0/0

→ Never Betray in this Life [Dearest Family and Friends] 0/1

→ Guardianship for Generations 0/0

→ Unforgettable Lifetime [The Most Familiar Stranger] 0/3

Li Jue was newly added to the “Unforgettable Lifetime” group.

Jiao Bai looked at Li Jue’s avatar, a gray “Hundred” character. When he came online, the “Hundred” character might turn into the blue background color of Shen Er An’s ID photo, and the edges of his avatar would be designed with some part of Shen Er An’s facial features.

The most familiar stranger…

They had grown up together and could fit into the “most familiar” shell.

Jiao Bai’s gaze moved upwards, stopping on the second group. Zhang Zhen’s avatar was also a gray “Hundred” character.

To Zhang Zhen, he was dearest family.

Jiao Bai could basically guess who else would enter this “Dearest Family and Friends” group. He didn’t have the energy to think about his friends joining the group, his mind was clear but also in chaos.

He only remembered Zhang Zhen pushing him into the car. He wanted to get out and find Li Jue, but Zhang Zhen locked the car door.

And then what?

Then the other car door suddenly opened, and before he could turn his head, he felt a pain in his neck, like a shot. After that, he lost consciousness and knew nothing. When he opened his eyes, he was lying here.

It was a tranquilizer gun.

Those who accompanied him on the trip to Sha Shui Village were all experienced veterans from the Qi family. They had checked the surrounding area where they parked and found no ambush.

So, there was only one possibility: someone familiar had done it.

Many large families had informants from other factions, and the Qi family was no exception.

The Qi family thugs involved in this scheme had been planted many years ago. Qi Yi Liao had never noticed.

Jiao Bai didn’t know what had happened after he lost consciousness. Zhang Zhen must be blaming himself for not protecting him properly after discovering he was missing.

Zhang Zhen had even personally pushed him into the car and locked him inside, leading to his disappearance. This was a heavy blow. He didn’t know how worried and anxious Zhang Zhen was right now trying to find him.

Full of guilt and self-loathing.

This was the reason Zhang Zhen’s activity level broke 50, allowing him to directly join the group.

As for Li Jue…

Jiao Bai was basically certain that Li Jue was also one of the pawns in this scheme, and in the center position.

One of the mandatory mission objectives was for Jiao Bai to obtain Li Jue’s forgiveness. Since the mission was successful, it meant that he had forgiven him and held no resentment.

Li Jue was an insider. He either hid all his emotions and didn’t reveal a trace, or he told everything.

Then why did he repeatedly call his name Xiao Qiu-gege, but never say anything more?

Forgetting was impossible, he remembered clearly, he was just struggling.

The schemer had offered him certain conditions, and his kindness, these two things were placed on opposite sides of the scale.

Simply put, it was choosing between himself and others.

Every call from Li Jue was his struggle. He finally chose not to say the following words, not to tell the truth, he chose himself.

After that thought, he felt guilty because of his own character attributes, namely his personality, and wanted to commit suicide.

His activity level exceeding 50 was his repentance and atonement.

——I’m a sinner, I harmed Xiao Qiu-gege. I don’t want to be a bad person. I don’t want to live in the shadow of condemnation for the rest of my life. Living is too painful, I might as well go and be with Grandma.

Jiao Bai guessed this mental transformation. No one knew Li Jue’s specific thoughts. He was an overly emotional person, and even he himself might not know what he would do in the next second.

Li Jue only insisted on one thing in his life: loving Shen Er An.

Jiao Bai’s limbs were weak. He entered Zhang Zhen’s profile, which was filled with personal information.

Zhang Zhen’s life trajectory was very simple. He had no emotional experiences, and his social circle was the Qi family, centered on his third brother and expanding outwards.

His personality was: stern and straightforward on the outside, but with kindness in his heart.

Jiao Bai quickly scanned Zhang Zhen’s information, and under the guidance of the transparent round arrow, he entered Zhang Zhen’s world room.

The background was the sky after the rain.

An arc dropped from one end of the sky, drawing a colorful arc.

The clouds were moving.

Zhang Zhen’s “Childhood Treasures” was empty. “Childhood Memories” were all related to Jiao Bai, or rather, the original Wang Chu Qiu, the Wang Chu Qiu of his childhood.

A pair of puppy eyes filled with innocence and radiance, giggling and running after a boy who was slightly taller than him.

That boy was Zhang Zhen in the past.

“Youth Achievements” was the current stage, but it was blank.

There was also an “Updated” exclamation mark.

Jiao Bai asked in his heart: “What does this mean? Was there originally something inside, but now it’s suddenly updated and it’s all gone?”

[Yes.]

Jiao Bai frowned. If he was missing, Zhang Zhen would be frustrated, but it wouldn’t make him so disappointed in himself at this stage, that even his original pride and honor had disappeared completely.

Could it be that he thought I was dead?

Jiao Bai thought of this possibility, a wave of stuffiness rising in his throat. The answer would have to wait until the schemer showed up.

“Middle-Aged Blunders” only had one recording.

The background was raining, and he seemed to be sitting under the eaves, talking to himself.

-Tomorrow is another day to see Third Brother.

Under that section, “Dreams of Old Age” was Zhang Zhen’s self-description. There were no pictures, no video recordings, just a few lines of text.

-If life could be relived, I hope I can do two things.

1: Bravely introduce a partner to Third Brother so that he wouldn’t be so lonely.

2: Search for missing memories and find the piece that I can never forget.

At the end of the self-description was Zhang Zhen’s prayer at the end of his life’s trajectory. Those words suddenly rushed into Jiao Bai’s eyes, like a falling meteor, so dazzling that his eyes flashed and he experienced a short period of tinnitus.

Zhang Zhen’s prayer was,

——If life could be relived.

Jiao Bai immediately sat up, his muscles extremely sore and weak, his limbs cramping. He fell back down again.

The third one.

Before Jiao Bai could think much, the original novel of “Broken Wings” appeared before him.

Supporting character Zhang Zhen: The standard loyal servant found in any theme throughout history, top 20 among straight men.

Guide: Sincerity.

Obsessive attributes: 40.

Jiao Bai rolled his eyes, looking at Zhang Zhen’s evaluation of his decades of busyness.

——Competent, but also negligent.

Jiao Bai looked back at Zhang Zhen’s “Middle-Aged Blunders,” combined it with his life summary, and thought of Qi Yi Liao’s family hereditary disease and lifespan issues.

At that time, Qi Yi Liao should be…

Jiao Bai lay on the cold ground for a long time, long enough that he shivered several times, before continuing to look at Li Jue’s profile.

He skipped the relevant information and directly entered the world room.

Of Li Jue’s five sections, the first two were “None,” and the third “Youth Achievements” had very rich content.

How rich was it? The combined content of all the sections of the few friends Jiao Bai had seen so far didn’t amount to even a fifth of this section.

Videos, photos, and recordings were all available, and were released daily.

It was all the daily life of him and Shen Er An living together, the world where he was immersed in loving Shen Er An.

These were all things from the comic. Since there was no update prompt, Jiao Bai didn’t need to look again and ignored it. He scanned Li Jue’s “Middle-Aged Blunders,” which was still densely packed with content.

Jiao Bai extracted the essence, which was roughly “This year Er An didn’t spend the New Year with me again,” “How many Valentine’s Days have passed, and I’m home alone,” “It’s been over ten years, and Er An still hasn’t included me in his circle of friends,” “I’m such a failure,” and so on.

They were all drawn in “Broken Wings.”

Jiao Bai saw Li Jue’s “Dreams of Old Age,” which was finally concise, with just one regret.

-If life could be relived, I wouldn’t have drugged Er An. Then the start of our relationship might not have been so ugly.

Jiao Bai recalled the plot. Li Jue’s ending with Shen Er An was that Li Jue left South City, left the Shen family, and went to a remote town with his hopeless love, guarding his love for the rest of his life.

So, how Li Jue was in his dying moments, whether there was anyone by his side, was not explained in the comic, and Jiao Bai didn’t know. At this moment, the same thoughts that his first three friends had before their deaths stirred up a strange expectation, and his heart beat faster.

-In the next life, I still want to meet Shen Er An.

This was Li Jue’s final thought.

The breath Jiao Bai had been holding in instantly deflated. Li Jue wasn’t the fourth one.

Li Jue recalled the past in his later years, regretting drugging Shen Er An when he was young, but what he thought of before his life passed away was not hoping that life could be relived, but hoping to meet Shen Er An again in the next life.

Jiao Bai slowly straightened his stiff legs. There were still four friends who hadn’t joined the group, so he would wait. If more than half of them hoped that life could be relived, then he would be laughing.

The “Broken Wings” comic reappeared.

Main character Li Jue: The typical early, exquisite, pure, weak, virgin, saintly white flower, top 1 among cheap shou.

Guide: Domineering, forced love.

Obsessive attributes: 100+.

Li Jue’s life summary was,

——I love Shen Er An, I am his shackle, he is my god, I love him.

Jiao Bai asked: “Little Assistant, what will happen to the avatar of a friend who has joined the group and died?”

[The entire avatar will turn into a flower.]

Jiao Bai chuckled. Good, Li Jue was still alive. He went from curling up to lying flat, and the phone in his pocket fell out a bit. He picked it up and threw it aside, and his index finger hooked into the keychain.

Before leaving, Jiao Bai took the small key down and placed it in the study on the second basement floor.

The white cat pendant that originally came with the keychain was also taken down by him and placed with the small key.

Now, the keychain was empty.

Jiao Bai lay there hooking the keychain for who knew how long. He propped himself up little by little, using his hands and feet to understand his situation.

It was pitch black all around, and the air was filled only with the smell of mud, which was too strong, covering up other smells. Jiao Bai couldn’t find information through his sense of smell and could only rely on his own body, which was as soft as noodles under the effects of the drug, to explore.

Jiao Bai crawled on the ground on all fours. His feet touched something, and he crawled over to it and touched it with his hands.

It was metal, very rough.

Jiao Bai’s nose pressed hard against it, and he smelled the fishy smell of rust, as well as a hint of something like swill. A guess popped into his mind, and he grabbed the metal and touched it. It was long.

There were also some next to it.

Jiao Bai quickly confirmed that he was in a cage. Still a rusty, dirty, broken cage.

Damn it.

Jiao Bai was panting and out of breath. Last year at Shangming Garden, he was imprisoned, and this time he had entered the legendary black room.

Was it because he liked dog-blood comics too much that all the cute points he enjoyed while reading the comics had to be experienced by him personally? The malice was too damn great!

Jiao Bai’s panting stopped. Someone was coming. It was the schemer.

Imprisoning him in a dirty, broken cage was blatant humiliation and venting of anger. The other party’s identity could only be…

No longer having online prompts, but having an avatar that lights up when online, Shen Ji, Old Shen Dog.

Jiao Bai lay on the ground, tilting his head to look in the direction of the footsteps. A beam of light appeared in his vision, aimed directly at his eyes, and he closed his eyes uncomfortably.

The series of footsteps stopped in front of him, looking down at him from a height through the rusty bars.

Jiao Bai’s breathing included a scent of sandalwood, very fresh and strong. Shen Ji must have burned incense before coming and stayed in the burning incense for a while. He estimated that he was saying in front of the Old Lady’s portrait: Mom, your enemy has been caught by me, you can rest in peace underground.

“A dirty dog lives in a dirty cage,” Shen Ji said indifferently. “A good match.”

Jiao Bai didn’t say anything.

The canary’s cage was a big gold cage, covered with thick, soft, luxurious carpets, all revealing exquisiteness.

Dogs could just be casual.

“If it wasn’t for those two slaps you gave me,” Shen Ji held up the flashlight. Under the light was a face full of dirty mud, his mouth and nose were gray, and his ears were stuffed with mud. Such an ugly and disgusting person had actually bewitched him. His thin and sharp lips twitched. “I wouldn’t have woken up.”

“I only realized how stupid I was after I woke up,” Shen Ji said in a flat tone.

Jiao Bai didn’t have time to listen to Shen Ji’s self-directed and acted performance. He opened his mouth: “How did you get me here?”

“This is thanks to your little brother next door,” Shen Ji said. “I asked him to meet you in his hometown. If you didn’t go, he would take on business that others wouldn’t dare to take at ‘Di Ye’ and rot to death. If you went, he would cooperate to complete the plan and get what he wanted.”

“He asked you, and you actually went,” Shen Ji no longer had even sarcasm, only the contempt for treating ants.

Jiao Bai thought, I didn’t go for Li Jue, I went for myself.

“What did you promise him?” Jiao Bai asked.

“The thirty-year contract he signed has become one year,” Shen Ji said.

Jiao Bai “ha”ed, no wonder.

He had told Li Jue everything about Wang Chu Qiu, how dictatorial and cruel the Shen family and Shen Ji were, and how much suffering he had suffered at the hands of this family. Li Jue still completed the role of the pawn.

Li Jue couldn’t possibly not know what he would face if the plan succeeded.

Jiao Bai rubbed his face, but he was only making the gesture, he couldn’t muster any strength.

“That Li Jue said you wouldn’t go,” Shen Ji said, “Even he thought you wouldn’t go to the appointment. How does it feel to be betrayed by someone you care about?”

Jiao Bai didn’t answer, but asked: “Was his suicide also part of the plan?”

Shen Ji: “Yes.”

“If you don’t care about him, then he hasn’t completed the task, and a few homeless people are waiting for him.”

Jiao Bai sneered. Okay, his previous speculation about Li Jue was wrong, almost completely wrong.

Li Jue didn’t know that he was a player and could see so many changes in information through the avatar.

So,

Li Jue’s repeated calls were not damn struggle, but were reminding him: I’m so abnormal because I’m going to do something foolish, you must turn around and look at me.

Crashing into a tombstone or something wouldn’t kill him immediately, he was waiting there.

However, it was impossible for Jiao Bai to turn around, Zhang Zhen wouldn’t allow it.

Zhang Zhen’s character and style of doing things were also used by Shen Ji. He was just a traditional old father who thought he owed his child too much and wanted to dig his heart out.

After listening to Jiao Bai’s confession in front of the grave, Zhang Zhen would never let him go and contact Li Jue, who was both a scammer and someone he had liked.

So, Zhang Zhen wouldn’t agree to him going up the mountain when he saw Jiao Bai was so anxious and nervous. Zhang Zhen asked Jiao Bai to stay in the car and not come down. He went up the mountain to check, wanting to go quickly and return quickly.

Shen Ji had known Zhang Zhen for many years and couldn’t possibly not know that he still retained… the kindness that had not been eliminated by Qi Yi Liao.

Jiao Bai’s thoughts slightly returned, taking a step back, even if Zhang Zhen had entered the car with him and let others go up the mountain, they would be waiting in the car. Then they would definitely be hit by a tranquilizer gun.

The situation reaching this point proved that the mole was definitely not one person, the number must be 2 or more, and they would cooperate with each other. And Zhang Zhen was only concerned about feeling sorry for his brother’s past suffering, the situation was not good.

Jiao Bai thought, as long as he went to that Sha Shui Village that even birds didn’t bother to shit on, Shen Ji’s plan could be implemented no matter what.

But he couldn’t not go.

“Did you dig a tunnel in Sha Shui Village to transport me away?” Jiao Bai suddenly asked.

Shen Ji’s facial muscles hidden in the dark tightened.

The few people Shen Ji had arranged in the Qi family had been dormant for decades, only as a guarantee, and had never been used once, so they had never revealed the slightest flaw, had avoided layers of review, and had become the Qi family’s old-timers.

Shen Ji waited for several months just to wait for this day. He sent Li Jue’s grandmother on her way ahead of time, asked Li Jue to return to his hometown to handle the funeral, and then made an appointment with Jiao Bai who was about to report to the university.

And Qi Yi Liao entered the research institute because of his physical hidden illness, and Zhang Zhen protected Jiao Bai like his eyeballs, not daring to be careless, and would definitely choose the Qi family’s old-timers to follow.

This time, the few people from the Shen family were among them.

Shen Ji sent people to dig the tunnel in advance, and the task of those few informants was: to hide it from others, drag Jiao Bai into the tunnel, and detonate the car.

Someone was waiting at the entrance of the tunnel. After it was safe, Jiao Bai was transported to him here.

It happened to be raining that day, covering up the traces.

This time, even God was on his side, how could it not succeed.

As for the few people from the Shen family,

The Qi family’s review was strict. No matter which family’s informants were placed in it, they were all one-time use and would inevitably be exposed once used.

In order to take away this dog, it was worth it to use the precious chess pieces that had been hidden for many years, Shen Ji thought.

This lowly dog was his inner demon and had to be tied up by him, locked up, and even die in his hands.

Jiao Bai noticed the change in Shen Ji’s aura, which was the joy of a successful person. His mud-stained eyelashes trembled, and he suddenly opened his eyes to meet the light that was particularly dazzling in the dark.

His eyes were stimulated and tears flowed out, but he didn’t close them, and kept them open, his eye muscles spasming.

Shen Ji looked at him indifferently: “The car you were sitting in exploded. Zhang Zhen personally locked the car door for you. The car was burning in front of him. My people and his brothers used their greatest strength to hold him down, so he watched the car burn away, pathetically firing blankly, kneeling and crying at the wreckage of the car.”

“Zhang Zhen collapsed and went crazy. When Qi Yi Liao wakes up, he’ll have to suffer too, you little dog, you’re really capable,” Shen Ji shone the flashlight on his embarrassment.

Jiao Bai lay in the cage without moving.

Shen Ji was expressionless. Every tear that flowed from this dog’s eyes was caused by the light, not sadness. He had no heart.

“Is the Buddha Card comfortable to wear?” Shen Ji suddenly said.

Jiao Bai was stunned. He immediately touched his neck and grabbed the Buddha Card.

His entire body was covered with mud and he had no feeling. He hadn’t noticed the Buddha Card around his neck all along. It was still there.

Qi Yi Liao said it was not peaceful and wanted him to wear the Buddha Card.

Even if Qi Yi Liao entered the research institute, he should have told Zhang Zhen how to check the tracker on the Buddha Card before going in to determine his location.

But looking at Shen Ji’s reaction…

Jiao Bai rubbed the fine mud on the Buddha Card. There was a jammer here.

Shen Ji took in the cage man’s reaction through the light, and a sneer floated on his face. Not smart, not agile, how could he be fooled around and around.

“This is all equipment to shield and interfere with signals. It was specially built for you to take care of the ‘Tian Xing’ A accessories,” Shen Ji said coldly, “The tracker on Qi Yi Liao’s Buddha Card is not as good as ‘Tian Xing’ A. My equipment is more than enough to deal with it.”

Jiao Bai stuffed the Buddha Card into his dirty black collar. Shen Ji didn’t take the Buddha Card off and throw it away, but let him wear it and reminded him of its existence, to laugh at Qi Yi Liao’s complete defeat.

It also made Jiao Bai realize that he was wearing a joke.

Shen Ji’s knife didn’t wound Jiao Bai. At sea that time, he had stayed on the cargo ship for so many days, and Qi Yi Liao had looked for him in the vast sea for so many days, and finally found him, which gave him an indescribable sense of security.

This led him to instinctively believe that Qi Yi Liao would find his tracks again this time.

As long as he was like on the cargo ship, persevering, trying to persevere a little longer.

“Waiting for him to save you?” Shen Ji’s leather shoes were about to kick the cage, but he seemed to dislike it again. He put his feet back and flicked the nonexistent dust on his suit pants, “Then you’re probably going to have to wait a week before he can wake up.”

“Do you think you can last a week?” Shen Ji looked at the dog in the cage like trash.

Jiao Bai didn’t respond a word.

“I’ll see how long you can last.” Shen Ji turned and left.

The dark colors enveloped the area again.

After a while,

The silence was broken by a curse.

“Damn it!”

Jiao Bai had seen many black room plots in comics. He wasn’t a cheap shou, so Shen Ji didn’t appear quickly like those scum-gong and abuse and vent on him.

Trapped here, Jiao Bai could also sort out that the current situation was unfavorable to Shen Ji. Cen Jingmo, who was attacked by Shen Ji, Zhang Zhen, who represented the Qi family, and the most remarkable assisting talent in the whole comic were all dealing with him.

Shen Ji was one against three.

Other families were watching from across the shore. Once the Shen family showed a slight tendency to decline, they would definitely pounce on it and bite back some fat.

When Jiao Bai discovered that he had a cold, Shen Ji came, carrying a dog chain and a bucket for excretion.

Shen Ji chained Jiao Bai and called him a cheap dog.

Jiao Bai couldn’t say a word. When he opened his mouth, he coughed, and he almost coughed his lungs out. He didn’t need the bucket at all, because he was pressed to the ground by Shen Ji to dig out his throat, and he vomited out all the food accumulated in his stomach.

It was the breakfast Jiao Bai had at Lanmo Mansion before the accident, and all kinds of snacks he had stuffed into his mouth on the way to Sha Shui Village because he was afraid of being a starving ghost.

It was all spread out in the cage.

Jiao Bai was shrouded in a pungent stench, and he couldn’t tell whether it came from the vomit or from his own body. He hadn’t used a bit of food or water, and couldn’t feel the passage of time.

He didn’t know if it was a day, or two days, or even if a day hadn’t passed, Shen Ji came again, bringing a portrait, a chair, and a very heavy smell of smoke and sandalwood.

He had come again after burning incense.

“If you had followed me well last year, there wouldn’t have been so many things later,” Shen Ji’s voice was hoarse, and there were bloodshot eyes in his eyes, “I shouldn’t have tolerated giving you special privileges, bringing you back to the Shen family, even holding a wedding banquet for you, and having a conflict with my mother, accidentally hurting her, and even letting her die because of you, you don’t deserve it.”

“Jiao Bai, you are a cheap goods,” Shen Ji was full of disgust, “And now you stink.”

“Like this, even the garbage collectors on the side of the road would be nauseous.” Shen Ji chuckled.

Seeing the person in the cage closing his eyes, motionless, with vomit coagulating on his chin and in his neck, his whole body exuding a stench like a corpse buzzed by flies.

The rise and fall of Shen Ji’s chest under his shirt slowed down a bit, then quickened again, and he opened the cage and went in.

Jiao Bai was kicked by a hard leather shoe, but he still didn’t give Shen Ji the reaction he wanted. He was too tired. He didn’t even have the strength to swear. If he could not die without breathing, then he didn’t even want to breathe.

Shen Ji placed the portrait on the chair and pulled up Jiao Bai.

The old iron chain, which he didn’t know where he found in a trash pile, danced in the air, rattling.

Jiao Bai didn’t want to pay attention at first, but he smelled the smell of food, and all his senses came alive at that moment.

He could smell the aroma of rice in such a smelly environment.

While admiring himself, he propped open his heavy and dirty eyelids and saw a light.

In the light was a bowl of rice with some vegetables.

Jiao Bai’s mixed eyes gradually became clear, and he stared straight at it.

When he felt uncomfortable, he grabbed the Buddha Card and bit it to his mouth, grinding his teeth against it. He didn’t know when his neck had been strangled red by the rope, and he had broken a few pieces of skin. There was one on his Adam’s apple.

At this moment, his Adam’s apple rolled hard, and the broken places lost all feeling.

Shen Ji held up the bowl of rice with dignity, his expression cold-blooded and aloof: “Do you want to eat it?”

Jiao Bai didn’t look at Shen Ji or answer. He just stared at the rice.

“If you want to eat it,”

Shen Ji pointed to the portrait, “Kneel down and kowtow until I’m satisfied.”