DTTM 30

Chapter 30: Smokescreen Strategy

“What the Sun God team can give you, we can give you too, and even more. Everyone is saying that Zong Yanlei will retire next year. Instead of wasting your time and talent trying to get to know newcomers, why don’t you become my navigator?”

Seeing that I hesitated to take the business card, Leander chuckled, stuffed the card into my breast pocket, and then patted it suggestively.

“What Zong Yanlei can give you, I can give you too. My skills are very good, want to try?” He seemed to be talking about what racing, but also suggested something else.

He definitely misunderstood my relationship with Zong Yanlei…

Oh no. The memory of that absurd movie night flashed through my mind, and I realized he hadn’t misunderstood.

“I appreciate your kind offer, but I’d better not,” I politely declined.

Leander withdrew his hand, his face showing no anger: “What a pity, but it doesn’t matter. Feel free to contact me anytime if you change your mind. Whether it’s about transferring or something else.”

As I watched his figure recede into the distance, I looked away, gently straightened the dopamine brooch on my chest that he had accidentally knocked askew, and walked back to the banquet hall.

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The slums of Xuanpu were about a three-hour drive from Chu Luo’s manor, so far that I once wondered if I had already left Xuanpu.

After finally arriving at our destination, as soon as we got off the car, our shoes fell into the muddy water.

The road was full of potholes and muddy dirt. The low, tin-roofed house was crooked and barely provided a place to live. The air was filled with an unpleasant smell, as if it were a mixture of excrement and decay.

The Wo people, dressed in shabby clothes and looking wary, gathered around us when they saw us, but were all kept five meters away by the bodyguards.

“It’s really far.” With Han Zhe’s help, Chu Luo carefully stepped onto the ground.

Today, she had her long hair tied up, wore a white mesh hat to cover her face, and dressed in ordinary trousers. She didn’t want to reveal her true identity.

After we got off the car, the two mobile food trucks that were at the back of the convoy also came to a stop. The servants on board quickly opened the doors and turned on the power. Before long, bread and hot soup were placed on the counter.

“Don’t be afraid, come and get your food.” Chu Luo called out to the Wo people in the distance, but they seemed very afraid of us and hesitated to come closer.

Chu Luo sighed and suddenly pushed me, saying, “Hurry up and bring them over.”

I stumbled, then suddenly realized why she had brought me along. Compared to the silver-haired, blue-eyed Penglai people, perhaps a brown-haired, red-eyed compatriot would inspire more trust.

“What are you afraid of? We won’t eat people. Aren’t you hungry? Go and get some food.” I walked up to the group and gently persuaded them.

Most of them were elderly people and children, all of them thin and pale. With just one glance, I could tell that each of them suffered from severe malnutrition.

“I know you!” A loud child’s voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.

He was a boy of only twelve or thirteen years old, with messy hair like a bird’s nest and a face so dirty that his original skin color was not visible. However, his fiery eyes were bright and spirited.

“It’s him, the guy on the billboard, the big star!” He pointed to the sky and excitedly told his slightly older companion beside him, “A super amazing navigator, he just won the championship in Xuanpu yesterday!”

I looked in the direction he was pointing, and through the crisscrossing power lines overhead, I could see a towering billboard in the distance.

In the giant billboard, I wore a red and white racing suit, holding an energy drink, and smiling. I just finished filming this commercial last week; I couldn’t believe it was already broadcast.

Whispers began to circulate among the crowd. The boy tried to come over, but was pulled back by the boy next to him. The boy said it was okay, broke free, and ran towards me.

“Are you really a Wo?” He looked up and scrutinized me.

I bent down so he could see into my eyes: “The real deal.”

“You swear you won’t harm us.”

I raised my hand: “I swear, I will never harm my fellow countrymen.”

The boy observed me for a while, seemingly believing me, then turned around and waved his arms vigorously at the crowd: “The food is edible, everyone go and get some! Line up, let the elderly get it first!”

The elderly and children, who had been eagerly anticipating the food, couldn’t wait to line up after hearing his words.

The boy with the bird’s nest hair was the last to collect his food. After receiving two pieces of bread and a bowl of hot soup, he glanced at the extra bread in the counter and said with a slightly embarrassed expression, “Um… could I take another one? My grandfather is sick and can’t come to get food by himself.”

Before I could say anything, he continued, “If you don’t believe me, you can come back with me!”

I remained noncommittal, telling him to wait a moment, and turned to Chu Luo with a look of inquiry. She had heard me too, and silently nodded at me, not caring about who got one or two loaves of bread.

The hot soup was served in small disposable bowls, and the boy’s hands were already full of his own portion. He tried several times but couldn’t carry any more. I couldn’t bear to see this, so I offered to help him carry the soup and deliver it to his home.

The boy readily agreed and led me through various narrow and dimly lit alleys, finally stopping in front of a dilapidated blue tin house.

The door wasn’t locked, and he just pushed it open: “My grandfather used to be a teacher in the Kingdom of Wo. He was very cultured, so everyone loved listening to him.”

The boy talked a lot along the way, including his name, age, and family members.

His name was A-Qi. He was thirteen years old. His parents died when he was young, and he had lived in the slums of Xuanpu with his grandfather and sister since he was a child.

“Grandpa, I’m back!”

There was no electricity in the house; the only light source was a makeshift “water bottle lamp,” made from a transparent plastic bottle filled with water, embedded between the iron plates in the roof.

Sunlight refracted into the water and was then scattered into more beams that shine evenly into the room.

When I saw the state of the house, only one word came to mind—destitute.

The house had almost no decent furniture. A-Qi’s grandfather slept on an old mattress full of holes, covered with various things for warmth: clothes, straw, and various unknown fabrics.

“A-Qi, has your sister… Xiaomin, returned?”

A-Qi helped a gaunt old man up from the pile of rags. The man’s eyes were cloudy, and he was barely breathing; he was on his deathbed.

“Soon, my sister will be back soon.” A-Qi blew on the soup in the bowl and held it to his grandfather’s lips. “Drink this soup, take a nap, and she’ll be back soon.”

The old man took two sips from his hand, then turned his face away, refusing to drink any more. It seemed that even though A-Qi had brought him food, his digestive system was no longer functioning properly.

A hint of sadness flashed in A-Qi’s eyes. He put the bowl aside and helped the old man lie down again.

He was worried I wouldn’t be able to find my way back, and offered to take me home, but I politely declined. So, he walked me to the door.

“Thank you.”

“Where did your sister go?” I couldn’t help but ask him before leaving.

“My sister…she’s gone missing.” A-Qi bit his lip and explained what had happened.

A year ago, a group of well-dressed people from Penglai came to this place to distribute porridge. Before leaving, they said that their employer wanted to find a few clever young children to do chores, and each of them would receive a reward of five thousand coins if they did well. They asked if anyone was interested.

Those people were willing to pay a portion of the commission upfront, and their manner of speaking and acting didn’t seem like that of bad people. A-Qi’s sister and six other teenagers immediately raised their hands to sign up, indicating their willingness to go.

“My sister and the others were taken away that night, and we haven’t heard from them since.” A-Qi’s eyes dimmed as he said this. “We went to the police station to report it, but the police kicked us out, saying we were making false accusations. After that, Grandpa fell ill. In this world, nobody values Wo people’s lives…”

No wonder they were so vigilant today; they had learned from past mistakes.

“Do you know which family those people belong to?”

A-Qi nodded emphatically: “I know, it’s from the Wuxi family.”

It was the Wuxi family again… The average age of the missing children in the slums was thirteen or fourteen, which fitted Wuxi Chen’s criteria. Those people distributing porridge were probably looking for “prey” for him.

Thinking of this possibility, I left my contact information with A-Qi, telling him to be careful and to call me immediately if those people reappeared.

“You’re really amazing, even more amazing than those Penglai people. If… if I can grow up, I want to be like you. Keep it up!” After walking a short distance, A-Qi suddenly called out to me. He smiled as he gave me a thumbs up.

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On the way back, I didn’t mention the missing boys and girls to Chu Luo; it wouldn’t change anything. At this point, she still couldn’t shake the colossal beast that was the Wuxi family.

“Why don’t you reveal your identity? That way they won’t be afraid of you,” I asked curiously on the way.

“If I distribute food as a princess, it will definitely attract a lot of media attention, and I don’t want that,” Chu Luo said softly, gazing at the scenery outside the car window. “Besides, my father doesn’t like me helping the people.”

Her bluntness surprised me.

“So, this is our secret.” With that, she turned around, put her index finger to her lips, and made a “shush” gesture.

I said it was fine, but I thought: she’s not that old, but she has a lot of secrets.

It was evening when I returned to the manor. After saying goodbye to the princess, I walked alone toward the building where I slept, and bumped into Xu Chengye in the corridor.

“Ancestor, you’ve finally returned!”

I raised an eyebrow slightly, guessing from his suffocating expression that things were not simple.

“Have you seen today’s trending search terms?”

As I suspected, things were indeed quite complicated.

“According to reliable sources, Navigator Jiang Man has begun contacting a new team and is very likely to transfer to Western Fantasy next season. Demon King may lose his navigator again…” I read the report from the trending search and gradually fell silent.

Below was even a candid photo of me and Leander whispering together; the dim lighting and ambiguous pose made it seem like an exposé of our affair.

What is all this nonsense? I only spoke two words to Leander last night, and now there are rumors of a transfer…

“It’s a smokescreen tactic,” I said.

During GTC racing, psychological warfare between teams was very common. Manipulating the media, releasing false information, and confusing competitors can all be part of the racing strategy.

Since I joined Sun God, I’d never heard of them using such a strategy, to the point that I’d forgotten that GTC could really get dirty if they want to.

“I knew it.” Xu Chengye breathed a sigh of relief. “I called you but you didn’t answer. You have no idea how worried I was.”

“With the princess around, I’ve put it on Do Not Disturb.” I took out my phone and checked it. Apart from Xu Chengye, I didn’t see any other calls coming in. After a moment of silence, I asked, “Does Mr. Zong know?”

“He’s been in video conferences all day, eating in his study, and I still haven’t seen him,” Xu Chengye said. He added that he panicked because he couldn’t reach me, and that Zong Yanlei wouldn’t fall for such a simple and low-level trick. Moreover, he had already contacted Melanie to remove the trending topic.

I thought about it and it made sense. This trending topic had already sunk to the twenties and would probably disappear from the list completely before midnight. Zong Yanlei might not even see it.

Therefore, when I received Zong Yanlei’s call while I was still half asleep and heard him coldly utter the word “explain,” I didn’t react.

“…Huh?” I rubbed my face, sat up, and glanced at the time. It was 12:45. I had only slept for two hours.

“Go to the balcony outside.”

Before I could say anything more, he slammed the phone down.

I didn’t turn on the light. I groped my way through the dark, pulled back the curtains, and opened the balcony door to go outside.

The cold outdoor air hit me in the face, and I couldn’t help but shiver, instantly becoming much more awake.

The bright moonlight, combined with the streetlights in the manor, illuminated the lawn below the balcony. I looked around but didn’t see anyone, which made me even more confused.

I thought Zong Yanlei was going to show me something.

Just as I was about to go back inside, I turned around and saw a black figure release the eaves above with one hand and land lightly and silently in front of me.

I opened my eyes wide and reflexively took a step back, my lower back slamming against the guardrail.

Before I could even feel the pain, my arm was grabbed and pulled forward.

“What are you afraid of?” Zong Yanlei put his arm around my waist and asked without any self-awareness.