Mutated Tao

Chapter 725: Unfinished Building

Wu Qi’s RV headed deeper into Orange Isle. Li Huowang bent over and looked out the window at the dark, unfinished buildings surrounding them.

Puddles and randomly placed construction materials on the road slowed the RV, and its headlights cast a white glow on the road ahead.

Li Huowang thought he saw a figure flash past one of the unfinished buildings, but he didn’t sense anyone watching him.

After about five minutes, the rolling tires gradually came to a stop.

“Look at the place you found. It’s a nightmare to drive through. My car’s paint is all scratched up,” Wu Qi complained as she opened the driver’s door.

“Sister Wu, how many times has this RV changed hands? Does it even have any paint left to scratch?” Qing Wanglai joked, sidestepping Wu Qi’s kick when he got out.

Li Huowang also got out of the RV with the support of Yang Na.

He looked up at the unfinished building in front of them and asked Qing Wanglai, “Which floor?”

Before he could respond, a flashlight flashed towards them from the sixth floor. Li Huowang walked towards the unfinished building and started walking up the stairs, which were missing their railings.

What’s going on? There was just light here. Did I get the wrong floor?

He moved towards the window to count the floors. Suddenly, a pale man’s face appeared before him, and he shouted, “Wake up! It’s all fake!”

“...”

Li Huowang saw a young man with dyed yellow hair. He used a flashlight to illuminate his own face in a mock ghost impression. Li Huowang had never seen any ghost wearing a tongue stud before

“Is it just you? Shouldn’t Qian Fu and Chen Hongyu be here too?” he asked.

“I told you this wouldn’t scare him. Eh, Li Huowang, what happened to your head?” Chen Hongyu’s voice came from the darkness.

Chen Hongyu and Qian Fu emerged. Under the flashlight, they were sharing a bag of spicy strips, and their mouths were smeared with red oil.

The young man laughed nervously and set the flashlight on the ground as a makeshift light source.

As Qing Wanglai and Wu Qi arrived, the abandoned building began to feel more lively.

“What happened to your head?” Qian Fu asked Li Huowang.

“It’s a long story. Something happened on the way here. I’ll explain later,” Li Huowang said while he looked at the young man who had tried to scare him.

The man wore heavy black eye makeup and strange leather clothing. His exceptionally pale face suggested a lack of sunlight.

Perhaps because of Sun Xiaoqin’s teachings, Li Huowang felt an inexplicable aversion to his appearance.

Qing Wanglai cleared his throat and introduced the young man. “This is Zhao Lei. Zhao Lei, this is Li Huowang, the one I told you about.”

“You can call me Steven,” Zhao Lei said, extending his hand with a black ring on it.

Li Huowang shook his hand. “Hello, Zhao Lei. I’m Li Huowang.”

Zhao Lei rocked back and forth. “Hehe, I said my English name, but you still followed the standard process.”

What’s with him? He’s so odd.

Li Huowang frowned. He had almost thought there wouldn’t be any more eccentrics in this group.

He had assumed that others would step out of the darkness. To his surprise, he realized that no one else was coming.

“Weren’t there supposed to be eight people? Why are there only six?” Li Huowang asked Qing Wanglai.

“Maybe something came up and they couldn’t make it,” Qing Wanglai replied.

“Do you have their numbers? Call them and check.” Li Huowang felt somewhat uneasy. They had an accident, and it was too coincidental for two people not to show up.

If their luck hadn’t been good earlier, wouldn’t four people be missing from this meeting now?

Qing Wanglai said seriously, “They don’t use phones. They’re afraid of being monitored.”

He clapped to get everyone’s attention. “Have any of you contacted Brother Bone or Aunt Yan recently? Or met them?”

Qing Wanglai knew something was wrong when he saw their confused reactions. “I brought you all here to announce something. We might have a problem with the projection side. Brother Bone and Aunt Yan are late and possibly in trouble. Do you guys see Li Huowang’s injury? Our previous encounter is proof of this.”

“We can’t handle this alone. We need to work together to stay safe and deal with any threats, no matter what their projections are.”

Everyone stood silently and absorbed his words instead of questioning them. It was unclear if they already suspected something or simply didn’t care.

Li Huowang coughed and broke the silence. “What’s your plan in this situation?”

Qing Wanglai replied, “From the truck incident, it seems that you are very sensitive to their presence?”

“No, it’s not sensitivity. I can feel them watching me. When they watch me, I can feel it!” Li Huowang said firmly.

“Can you sense them now?”

Li Huowang closed his eyes and breathed deeply. After five minutes, he shook his head. “No, this place is safe. They can’t find us here.”

Before Qing Wanglai could respond, Qian Fu stood up. “Listen to me! Everyone, listen to me!”

He continued excitedly, “The two are not just missing, but they’re dead! If not, they’re imprisoned like I was! It’s all a conspiracy by the Leotians! We must thwart their plans!”

He grabbed Li Huowang’s arm. “I have a plan! The Leotians are interested in his genes. We can use him as bait to capture their UFO!”

The others turned to Qian Fu as they listened to his outlandish claims.