Chapter 554: Way To Solve The Problem

A'Ji and Su Mulian looked at each other, and the light of hope shone in their eyes again.

When they looked at Meng Chao, their gazes were filled with surprise.

It seemed like they did not expect that Meng Chao would be able to figure out a method like this when he was in a chaotic situation that would cause normal people to break down.

But after a moment of thought, Meng Chao's expression changed drastically, and he said, “This is bad. If we look at things based on the newest information, we fell into a trap.”

“Big Brother Chao, what do you mean? What trap?” A'Ji asked.

Meng Chao looked at him with a serious face. “Just now, when Rattlesnake Xiang Wei brought his squad to capture me, there was something weird.

“In the beginning, our guess was that the abnormal beast would not allow me to leave Leprosy Village alive nor get into contact with the gangs so that I'd spread the truth of the village around. That's why it was doing everything it can to stop me.

“But the premise for this deduction was that we didn't know that the abnormal beast had the ability to disguise as me and had already destroyed the world's trust toward me.

“The real situation is that the abnormal beast isn't afraid of me appearing in the outside world, because there is concrete proof to my crime, and even if I try to defend myself, I won't be able to.

“On the contrary, when I appear in the outside world, I will even divert the gangs' attention, making it easier for the abnormal beast to carry out its tricks.

“If that's the case, the motive behind the abnormal beast's act of getting the gangs to kill me is very strange.”

A thought struck A'Ji's mind. “Big Brother Chao, how did you know that the abnormal beast urged the gangs to kill you and it's not the gangs really trying to kill you, considering you're the 'monsters' puppet'?”

“It's simple. If Saber Jin Wanhao and the other gang leaders personally gave the command, it wouldn't be Rattlesnake Xiang Wei taking command, since he's heavily wounded. Instead, aside from Xiang Wei, they would bring other elites who are more powerful than the average superhuman, but there were none like that around.

“That's why I was able to easily move through the squads alone and even captured someone alive,” Meng Chao said. “In the beginning, I thought that the gangs suffered major losses during the explosion of the Deification Capsule pharmacy and couldn't send any proper elites, but now that I think about it, this seems to be a trap set by the abnormal beast. It intentionally sent these mooks for them to die so that I could get out of the encirclement!”

“That's…” Su Mulian said in shock. “Why did the abnormal beast do that?”

“To create chaos,” Meng Chao replied. “Didn't you notice? The series of schemes the abnormal beast carefully set up are all to create chaos in the lair.

“In the beginning, it placed its hopes on Wild Wolf and Leprosy Village, but by the looks of it now, Wild Wolf and the others will needtwelve hours before they would charge out.

“Having no other choice, the abnormal beast decided to take the wheel. But the power it has isn't enough to cause complete chaos in the lair. That's why it needs a scapegoat that would divert the gangs' attention, and that's me.

“Let me ask you a question. If I had flown into a rage during the fight against the gangs just now, acted more violently, killed Rattlesnake Xiang Wei and the other gang members, and this news got to Saber Jin Wanhao, Man-eating Shark Zhou Chong and the others, what would they think?

“Of course, it would be just as Ms. Mulian said. I would have proved that I'm the monsters' puppet.

“And when the first squad who came after my life suffered heavy casualties and returned disappointed, the gangs would get angry and send a second and third squad after my life. This time, the people who came would be stronger.

“To prevent a repeat of what happened to Rattlesnake Xiang Wei, all the elites in the gangs would join the hunt.

“And if a large number of forces was used to hunt me, the important facilities in the lair would become unguarded. The abnormal beast would then be able to do whatever it wants to them.

“Just like that, when the gangs finally cut me to pieces, the lair would be in a disastrous state because of the abnormal beast, and the situation in Leprosy Village would go completely out of control. At that time, when Wild Wolf led the people out, there would be disasters all over the lair, and the abnormal beast's scheme would have gotten back on track!”

“How sinister…” A'Ji patted his chest in fear. “Thank goodness you're calm now, Big Brother Chao. You didn't kill a single gang member just now. So, the abnormal beast should be out of tricks at the moment, right?”

“No way. Don't forget that the abnormal beast can perfectly disguise itself as me,” Meng Chao said coldly. “The abnormal beast won't place all its hopes on me. It will definitely send a puppet to observe the situation in the dark. If I were calm and didn't kill Rattlesnake Xiang and the other gang members, the puppet would do it for me.

“Think. If Rattlesnake Xiang Wei brought the group underground to chase after me, suddenly ran into an ambush by a large group of wanted criminals and former Reaper Squad members, are got nearly wiped out, while the one person who was lucky enough to escape saw me beheading Rattlesnake Xiang Wei while laughing like a maniac, how big of a ruckus would it cause when he sends this news back to the gangs?”

A'Ji and Su Mulian both sucked in sharp breaths.

“T-Then, aren't we doomed?!” A'Ji cried out in surprise.

“Don't panic. Since we already predicted the abnormal beast's scheme, it means that we have a chance to launch a counterattack.”

Meng Chao narrowed his eyes and said clearly, “When they talk about the existence of a foolproof strategy in chess, they're talking about a chess game that has not started yet, so none of its pieces have moved. Once a single piece moves, it will definitely reveal ways to break the strategy behind its move.

“Besides, this scheme against me is something the abnormal beast spontaneously came up with. It is naturally filled with loads of loopholes and flaws.

“Right now, I've thought of two flaws.

“First, as long as I can capture the person who disguised as me, I will naturally be able to prove my innocence.

“Second, even if that cunning b.a.s.t.a.r.d sneaks away, who gave the order for Rattlesnake Xiang Wei and the rest to come and kill me?

“I mentioned it just now. Rattlesnake Xiang Wei was affected by the explosion. His arm suffered a comminuted fracture, and his vitality magnetic field isn't stable. The mooks that he brought aren't my opponents either. They're all sent to get an early death.

“A gang leader with a clear head and one that sides with humans like any other normal person wouldn't give such a ridiculous order.

“So, whoever sent Rattlesnake Xiang Wei to die is the one who's problematic!

“As long as we can find this problematic person, we can use the clues he provides to find the mastermind controlling him and turn the tables!”

A'Ji clapped his hands and said, “Big Brother Chao, you're too amazing. It's no wonder why so many people on the forums call you Ace Chao!”

“The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it. Who is the mastermind and who will have the last laugh? We'll see it at the end!”

Meng Chao cast A'Ji a deep glance and picked up the unconscious Song Jinbo. He said to the duo, “Ms. Mulian, please come with me. A'Ji, stay here and wait for us to come back.”

“Huh?” A'Ji's eyes went wide. “Where are you going?”

“Don't ever do the things the enemy wants you to do. Right now, the abnormal beast wants us to fight against Rattlesnake Xiang Wei and his group, or at least, run away in panic so that it will have the chance to frame me. Then, we will go back. Perhaps I will be able to find the person who disguised himself as me and capture him.”

Meng Chao shoved open the door to the shelter.

The tunnel was silent, but if they held their breaths and listened, they could hear faint gunshots in the distance.

When Meng Chao placed his palm on the wall, he could also sense slight tremors.

“The people in Rattlesnake Xiang Wei's squad are firing fiercely,” Meng Chao mumbled. “Looks like they're already under the abnormal beast's attack. Otherwise, if they were just chasing after the person, there would be no need for them to waste their bullets. We must hurry.”

“Wait! Big Brother Chao, I'm going too!” A'Ji cried out, all worked up.

Meng Chao cast him a glance and said, “I'm bringing Song Jinbo over so that he can be my witness and so I can obtain his trust. I'm bringing Ms. Mulian because her amazing healing powers might be able to save Xiang Wei and the others and prove my innocence. Why should I take you along?”

“I… I can do stealth missions!” A'Ji quickly thought about it. “I can hide in corners and hear a lot of secrets. I might even be able to get really important items during the chaos, such as your fingerprints, blood, and hair samples to prove that someone is trying to frame you.

“In any case, if you have one more person with you, you'll have another helper. Big Brother Chao, take me along! I can take care of myself, I won't cause trouble!”

Meng Chao thought about it for a while before he actually agreed to it.

“Fine. Then enough with the nonsense, and let's go!”

The three of them carried the unconscious Song Jinbo in the direction of gunshots and tremors.

Sounds could be heard especially clearly in the narrow tunnels underground, and the direction where they came from was also very clear.

The trio returned to the path they had taken earlier, and soon, the gunshots became louder. They could even hear the sounds of weapons clas.h.i.+ng. They also heard angry shouts and pained screams, along with the sounds of spirit energy ripples and shockwaves clas.h.i.+ng with each other.

The entire underground s.p.a.ce looked like it had experienced an earthquake. Dust and cracked paint kept falling on their heads, which made it look like the place was filled with smoke.

“Ms. Mulian, I know that you aren't fond of outsiders, especially gang members, and whenever you heal people, it's painful for you,” Meng Chao said gravely. “But for the safety of Leprosy Village, I still have to beg you that you do your best to heal the injured gang members later. This is the best way to get rid of misunderstandings and mend rifts. Could you do that?”

“I only see patients. I don't see any difference between the villagers and gang members,” Su Mulian said airily. “We're all struggling to live in this brutal world. Be it the villagers, the gang members, the normal citizens outside, or even the superior peerless elites, we all have to suffer and struggle to survive.

“I once swore that I would use the abilities given to me by G.o.d to relieve all people of their pain until the day the world ends.

“Compared to the deformed villagers who are plagued by all sorts of complicated diseases, the gang members' injuries won't put a lot of burden on me. Don't worry, I'll do my best.”

Meng Chao thought that Su Mulian's oath was a little strange, but they were pressed for time, so he did not have the time to ponder over it.

He grabbed a fistful of stimulative monster bone powder and flicked it into Song Jinbo's nostrils to wake the “military adviser” of Golden Tooth.