Xia Yu, who was sleeping soundly, was awakened by a knock on the door.
He sat up, fumbled for the light switch, got out of bed, and opened the door.
Outside stood a maid.
Glancing at the blushing maid, Xia Yu wondered what she was about to do.
His question was quickly answered as the maid said, “Mr. Xia Yu, the young mistress has requested your presence in her room.”
An Siyao wanted him to come to her room in the middle of the night?
How exciting.
“What happened?” Xia Yu asked quietly.
“A few people are acting suspiciously on the mountain path. The butler has already gone there, and I just came up to report,” the maid replied.
The two entered An Siyao’s bedroom. An Siyao was sitting on the bed with her hair down, speaking on the phone with the butler.
The young girl looked visibly distressed.
Seeing Xia Yu, An Siyao smiled happily and handed him the phone.
“What’s going on?” Xia Yu asked the butler after taking the phone.
“It’s a local underground group. They say someone ran onto the beach here and wants to check things out,” the female butler calmly explained.
“Refuse them,” Xia Yu said without hesitation.
“If we refuse, it would be better if you came in person. I’m from District 26; they might not listen to me,” the butler explained.
Would someone from District 26 not work, but someone from District 1 suffice?
Was there a difference in status because of the districts?
“Fine, I’ll be right there,” Xia Yu said before hanging up and returning the phone to An Siyao.
“I’m coming too,” An Siyao said as she began to dress.
Xia Yu stopped her, “You stay here; we don’t know what’s out there.”
“Okay,” the obedient girl put her clothes back down.
“Also, wake up Liu Manman and the others, along with the bodyguards, and have them wait in the living room,” Xia Yu added.
This was just in case.
At the same time, Xia Yu opened his phone contacts and dialed a number that Yu Ningmeng had previously given him, telling him to call if he encountered any difficulties.
A man answered the phone politely, likely a secretary. Xia Yu explained the situation, and the man said he would handle it immediately.
With all precautions taken, Xia Yu and the maid drove toward the mountain.
On the mountain road, there was a barrier gate guarded by two security guards. The butler was already there, along with a maid and three armed guards, facing off against three men.
Beside the gate was a security booth with a large spotlight illuminating the area.
After getting out of the car, Xia Yu approached the butler and asked, “What’s going on?”
He looked at the three men in front of him. Except for the thin leader, the other two were bald, wearing beach shorts and T-shirts. Judging from their waists, they didn’t seem to be carrying guns.
As long as they didn’t have guns, it wasn’t a big deal. Whether it was three or thirty, it wouldn’t be a problem in terms of maneuvering.
Upon hearing Xia Yu’s standard Mandarin, the three men immediately lowered their stance. The thin leader smiled ingratiatingly and explained in accented Mandarin:
“You see, we noticed someone running into your territory, so we came specially to warn you. That person might be dangerous; she hit one of our companions on the head. If it’s convenient for you, we could help you search. Don’t worry, we won’t cause any trouble.”
Seeing their posture, Xia Yu felt more at ease. The identity of a private landowner and someone from District 1 seemed to have a strong deterrent effect.
After all, the barrier gate could only block the road. If someone really wanted to sneak in, they could just go through the nearby woods. The fact that the opposing side had not chosen to sneak in showed that they were afraid of the consequences, afraid enough not to dare take the risk.
“No need, my guards will conduct the search,” Xia Yu declined.
The thin man’s smile was not affected by the refusal at all. He continued, “Then, could we ask you to hand the person over to us once she’s caught? One of our brothers was hit on the head by her.”
“We’ll see when we catch her. What kind of person is she?” Xia Yu asked.
“A woman, quite pretty, wearing a long-sleeved nightgown. It’s already unusual to wear a nightgown outside, let alone a long-sleeved one,” the thin man replied.
Xia Yu nodded and turned to the female butler, “Have the guards in the villa conduct the search.”
There were originally three guards in the villa, the three who were present now. After Xia Yu’s arrival, another three were added, who were inside the villa.
“Should we send them all out?” the female butler hesitated slightly.
“I brought two bodyguards with me when I came,” Xia Yu indicated that sending out all three guards would not be a problem.
The female butler picked up her phone and began giving instructions.
After finishing what needed to be said, the female butler led Xia Yu into the security booth. Although Hai Ming City was hot, the night breeze was somewhat cool.
Drinking tea in the booth, Xia Yu waited for news.
The three men from Gray Reef Company also stood on the road anxiously waiting.
Before they could get an answer, the thin man’s phone rang.
After answering the call, the thin man’s tone became respectful: “Boss! She ran into a private territory, and we are waiting…”
The thin man thought the boss was calling to ask why they hadn’t caught the person yet and hurriedly explained.
“Come back!” his boss interrupted him.
“What? Boss, I’ve already communicated with the other party and asked them to hand her over to us once they catch her.”
“Are you deaf! Do you know how important that place is? The navy called me directly, do you know that!”
“Yes!” the thin man immediately replied.
After being scolded a few more times by his boss, the thin man hung up the phone and sighed in relief.
Glancing at the direction of the security booth, the thin man had always known that someone who could own a private territory must be extraordinary, but he hadn’t expected the other party’s influence to be so great.
Indeed, people from District 1 were not to be trifled with.
Fortunately, he had been cautious and hadn’t done anything bad.
His face once again showed a flattering smile, and his posture lowered even further.
Not daring to approach Xia Yu to speak, he told the guard in front of him, “Just now my elder brother scolded me. How to deal with that woman is entirely up to the mood of that gentleman. Our previous request was impudent, and I hope that gentleman can forgive us.”
After saying that, the thin man bowed toward the direction of the security booth and hurriedly left with his two subordinates.
At that moment, Xia Yu also received a call informing him that the matter had been resolved.
After thanking the other party, Xia Yu got into the car and returned to the villa.
In the second-floor living room, An Siyao and the others, along with the maid and bodyguards, were all together. Seeing Xia Yu return, they asked about the situation.
Xia Yu recounted the events to them.
Kong Hanyue was somewhat disappointed, “Didn’t you say it was an underground force? They were too timid!”
Liu Manman echoed, “Right, when it comes to underground forces, shouldn’t they call in tanks and planes and just flatten this place?”
“???”
“You’re not talking about an underground force, you’re talking about terrorists, no, not even terrorists could do that!” Xia Yu tapped their heads and commented.
“It wasn’t me who said it; I was just saying they were timid!” Kong Hanyue, who was affected, angrily stood up to hit Xia Yu, and the two chased each other around the living room.
After running three circles, Kong Hanyue gave up and sat on the sofa catching her breath.
“They definitely won’t catch her, so why take it so seriously?” Liu Manman said to Kong Hanyue.
“This is about attitude!” Kong Hanyue replied.
“I think quietly holding a grudge and looking for an opportunity to retaliate is better,” Hu Lianglu also joined the discussion.
The atmosphere in the living room became lively. After the discussion, everyone watched a movie together.
The movie had just started when the three guards returned, reporting that no intruder had been found.
“She might have left,” the female butler said.
“Still, be careful,” Xia Yu looked at his phone; it was already 4 a.m., “Divide into two groups and keep watch near the villa.”
“Yes,” the three guards and two bodyguards agreed.
“Okay, let’s go back to sleep!” Xia Yu drove the girls back to their rooms.
After making sure they couldn’t hear the conversation, Xia Yu asked the butler, “Have you figured out who came in?”
“The few from Gray Reef Company who came to chase her don’t know much, only that it’s a girl with no weapons,” the butler replied.
Xia Yu nodded, “Keep an eye on things.”
“Yes.”
Xia Yu also returned to his room and continued sleeping.
Not knowing how long had passed, Xia Yu opened his eyes, picked up his phone, and saw that it was already 8 a.m.
Getting out of bed, Xia Yu washed up and went downstairs to see You Xue and An Siyao, who were playing the dizi together.
Other than them, the other girls were still asleep.
After eating bread and ham for breakfast, Xia Yu looked outside.
The sky was overcast, the sunlight dim; the weather looked bad.
“I hope it just stays cloudy. If it rains, it will probably rain all day,” the maid by the window said to Xia Yu.
Xia Yu nodded and stood up, “I’m going out for a walk.”
“I’ll go too,” An Siyao stood up.
“You and You Xue stay in the villa and play. I want to walk alone,” Xia Yu stopped her.
Although he claimed to want to walk alone, in reality, Xia Yu couldn’t wait to be with An Siyao somewhere secluded to do something else. However, there was still an intruder who hadn’t been caught outside. If anything happened to An Siyao while she was with him, it would be a problem.
Before Xia Yu left, the guard said to him, “We’ve searched the area nine times in this period. Although if she were still here, she couldn’t have avoided our search, just in case, I’ll follow you.”
“No need,” Xia Yu disliked being followed. He also didn’t think a woman with no weapons could hurt him.
Not to mention his psychometric ability to sense danger in advance, his skills in agility LV5, endurance LV4, strength LV3, combat LV3, and intimidation LV2 were enough for self-defense.
However, he was still cautious and asked the guard for a handgun.
Putting the gun in his waistband, Xia Yu left the villa.
The reason he came out was not only to take a walk but also to search the area again himself.
This was the result of watching too many movies, always thinking that if others couldn’t find someone, he could.
An Tianfeng’s private territory wasn’t very large. It was a small corner protruding from the mainland into the sea, triangular in shape, with two sides facing the sea.
One side was rocky, and the other was a beach.
Xia Yu reached the other side in ten minutes and didn’t see anyone.
There were only a few tall coconut trees here, nowhere to hide.
Feeling somewhat disappointed, Xia Yu started to head back. Halfway, he remembered something.
The guards had only searched the land, but what about the sea?
There was no place to stand on the sea surface. The kayaks and other equipment were locked in the shed and couldn’t be stolen. Without equipment, one could hide in the sea for a while but definitely not for long… Wait, there was one place where someone could hide for a long time.
Xia Yu thought of the artificial cave that An Tianfeng had excavated, which he had previously visited with the maid.
The guards might not know about that place and probably hadn’t checked it.
That location was not far to his left. Xia Yu came to the cliff and looked down, but from the shore, he couldn’t see the cave.
He decided to go back and have two guards check it.
Just as Xia Yu was about to pull his head back in, he suddenly felt a sense of malice.
The source of this malice was the cave below.
So the intruder was indeed in the cave!
Should he go down and catch her or go back and call the guards? Xia Yu hesitated.
From a safety perspective, going back for the guards was better, but from a fun perspective, doing it himself was better.
Safety was important, but so was fun. Xia Yu was in a dilemma.
But soon, he found a balance.
Safety came first; after all, he only had one life. Although his psychometric ability didn’t sense any danger, he still shouldn’t go down. Instead, he could tease the person below from up here.
So he squatted down and said, “I found you.”
There was no response. Anyone with a little experience wouldn’t answer, to prevent it being a trick.
“You’re in the cave below, right? If you don’t speak up, I’ll call the guards to come and get you,” Xia Yu continued.
He wasn’t afraid the person below would be provoked into jumping into the sea and fleeing. The gun in his hand and his shooting LV4 skill weren’t for show.
After two seconds, a voice came from below, “Are you a tourist?”
Xia Yu then remembered he was speaking in Mandarin. Because the three from Gray Reef Company could understand Mandarin, he had forgotten to switch to the District 26 language.
But that wasn’t the point. Xia Yu frowned, feeling that this voice was somewhat familiar.
“What’s your name?” Xia Yu asked.
Three seconds later, the answer came, “Meizhu.”
Xia Yu frowned even more. Although this voice was a bit hoarse, it was indeed very similar to Meimei’s voice.
“Explain why you are being chased,” Xia Yu asked, not really wanting an explanation but wanting to listen more carefully to the voice below.
“My younger brother hit a leader of Gray Reef Company, and they…” before she could finish, Xia Yu had already confirmed that it was Meimei’s voice.
“Knock on the ground at the very back of the cave. You’ll find a board. Lift it up and throw out whatever is inside,” Xia Yu lied casually.
Zhu Meimei, whose experience was not yet sufficient, was deceived by Xia Yu. While wondering what that thing was, she followed Xia Yu’s instructions and came to the very back of the cave.
She knocked on the ground but saw no abnormalities. Just as she was puzzled, she saw a figure drop from above.
If she had been at the cave entrance, she could have attacked while the person was off balance, but now she was inside the cave and couldn’t react in time.
She had been tricked! Zhu Meimei felt sorrowful.
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