WS - Chapter 113
Chapter 113
The notice didn't have many words. Viewers quickly finished reading it once, and then their hands, poised to close it and return to the livestream, hesitated and could not press down.
So...
The Yaoxing Storm near Wilderness Planet was real.
This new livestream page had no connection to the Mu Group or The Wilderness Journey production team.
Mu Xingzhou is the illegitimate son of the Mu Group's current head.
Zhao Da was not a bodyguard; he was there to kill Mu Xingzhou.
The notice didn't have many words, yet every sentence was a bombshell. The viewers who had clicked it read it over and over from beginning to end. Aside from the first part confirming the Yaoxing Storm was real, the things that followed left everyone somewhat dizzy.
No, to be precise, not dizzy because they couldn't understand, but exactly because they did understand. A bone-chilling fear rose, and they were nearly scared unconscious.
Although the program's notice did not explicitly state that the Yaoxing Storm near Wilderness Planet, undetected by the Mingtan Aerospace Bureau, was connected to the Mu Group, looking at the connections between these points, it was hard for viewers not to mentally piece together a grand drama.
Setting aside who was behind this new livestream page, it was clearly no friend of the Mu Group.
And the Mu Group, which rose in the Mingtan System through real estate and now had investments in many industries — though its growth momentum had slowed somewhat in recent years, its overall trajectory was still upward. It could be counted among the top three or five in the Mingtan System.
Anyone living in or frequently traveling through the Mingtan System had a rough idea of the Mu Group's standing. Many immediately used examples of conglomerates from other star systems in the Danmaku to thoroughly explain the Mu Group's situation to viewers from elsewhere who weren't as familiar.
And the point about Mu Xingzhou being the illegitimate son of the Mu Group's current head — if it had surfaced normally, anywhere else, it would have been a stone cast into water, raising a thousand waves so fierce they'd swallow and shatter the stone instantly, leaving not even debris.
Mu Xingzhou, a star so popular that aerospace bureaus across systems arranged extra spaceship routes and dedicated flight lanes for his concerts — his fan base was obvious. Little Stars likely outnumbered even Yu Nianbing's Little Ice Buckets by quite a bit. And most could be categorized as girlfriend fans. Such fans, if nothing else, had absolute combat power. A comment like "Mu Xingzhou is an illegitimate son" wouldn't stand a chance; normally, even someone saying "Mu Xingzhou's clothes have a wrinkle" on StarNet would be piled on with countless retorts.
But now...
The entity issuing this notice, speaking these words, was an unknown organization with the capability to break through the residual power of a Yaoxing Storm, turning the impossible into the possible, once again bringing the situation on Wilderness Planet before the public eye.
For over sixty years, research into Yaoxing Storms across the star systems had never ceased. Yet this was the first time a device had appeared that could continue transmitting signals through a Yaoxing Storm's residual power.
An organization like this, possessing such capability — would they really fabricate a story about Mu Xingzhou? Or rather... could the source of this information really be wrong?
If there was only the line "Mu Xingzhou is an illegitimate son," even if most people could think this far, there would certainly still be a minority of diehard fans who would attack regardless.
But, as it happened, it was followed by the line "Zhao Da was there to kill Mu Xingzhou"...
On one side, a statement that, if false, could quickly be clarified.
On the other, their idol's life.
Even the most brainless fan knew where to direct their attention and rage.
Zhao Da was a bodyguard hired by the production team, and the production team was hired by the Mu Group...
And there was Zhao Er. If the older brother came to kill someone, could the younger brother genuinely be there as a bodyguard?
Not just them — weren't everyone else currently on Wilderness Planet also invited by the production team and the Mu Group?
Then... who else!
Status is always the key element determining the power to speak.
The people behind the new livestream page demonstrated their strength with technology that broke through the Yaoxing Storm, so the contents of the notice, after the first flash of shock, did not provoke sneers but thought, which then turned into questions and investigation.
Very quickly, in the six follow-camera videos that went online simultaneously with the notice, within the one belonging to Zhao Da, someone found crucial evidence.
Danmaku flew.
StarNet exploded.
After the quake, Zhao Da picked up a stone from the ground, hid his hand behind his back, the moment he encountered Mu Xingzhou, Guan Yongyi's cry for help rang out, Mu Xingzhou turned and ran quickly toward the sound, Zhao Da somewhat regretfully loosening his grip on the stone in his hand.
A sharp, rather weighty stone.
This clipped video segment quickly rocketed to a boil, to an explosion, on StarNet.
Concrete evidence, murder... in progress...
Ye Liu sat in a chair in the underground shelter, watching the video that had almost matched the Yaoxing Storm in trending heat on StarNet. A trace of satisfaction finally showed on her taut face.
Yet... this was only the beginning.
Very soon, without Ye Liu needing to push much, people on StarNet had started digging into the Mu Group, the Mu brothers, and even The Wilderness Journey production team...
This became a massive public evidence-gathering. Matters connected to the Mu Group, Mu Xingzhou, Wilderness Planet, and The Wilderness Journey — one matter after another, some true and some false, some useful and some not — jostled and piled up onto StarNet.
A pool of water, stirred murkier and murkier.
And looking back at the earlier news — Yao Yuxi being taken away by the Government Troops, suspected of connection to the Yaoxing Storm — its trending heat had long since faded to who knows where.
If they wanted to use this program to achieve their own ends, let's see who could use this program more thoroughly.
Under Ye Liu's operation, records she and Yao Yuxi had previously uncovered at great cost — about Mu Xingzhou, about the Mu Group, about Wilderness Planet — were dispatched to technical personnel also in the shelter.
Encrypted, routed through special Signal Channels, bit by bit, they were blended into the enthusiastic public's various pieces of evidence and speculations, and uploaded to StarNet.
Into a pot of boiling oil, a little cold water added drop by drop — far from lowering the temperature, it only made everything more and more violent.
While outside, a notice and a few videos were stirring up tempests and whirling up sand, the people in that cave on Wilderness Planet were also diligently... stirring sand.
"Step left one pace. The stones on the left look more solid." Song Shiyue rubbed her brow, focused her mind, and spoke again. "Then go straight up. Up two steps, then one step left. Don't be afraid. You'll be there soon."
And on the pile of stones a few steps ahead, Ni Jinghe was trembling and shaking, hands and feet quivering, climbing upward according to Song Shiyue's directions.
When Ni Jinghe first started climbing the rock pile, perhaps because she was too scared, she paused too long in one spot. This rock pile inherently couldn't bear sustained force in one place; lingering long easily loosened the stones. Once the stone underfoot shifted, Ni Jinghe grew even more frightened, her pause lengthened unconsciously, and before she'd climbed many more steps, she quickly fell into a vicious cycle.
It was after Song Shiyue began "teaching" her step by step how to move, urging her on, that the situation slowly improved.
Luck was decent. Ni Jinghe finally made it to the top, and the rock pile didn't undergo any major shifts.
After Ni Jinghe, her face pale, climbed over the top of the rock pile, Zhuang Jiachuan's voice promptly took over from the other side.
But he didn't have Song Shiyue's ability to discern which stones were tight and easier to step on. He could only mimic Song Shiyue's soothing and urging words, nudging Ni Jinghe step by step downwards.
Thankfully, having climbed up once, Ni Jinghe had finally accumulated a bit of experience, and the descent went fairly smoothly.
Next was Ning Chuyang. The gauze on Ning Chuyang's head had seeped a little red, making her look somewhat worse off than Ni Jinghe. But both her physical and psychological fortitude were considerably stronger, and without needing much attention from Song Shiyue, she followed the route Ni Jinghe had just taken up and climbed over.
For safety, only one person could be on the rock pile at a time.
Now both women were over, and to increase their success rate and speed, their two packs had been left behind on this side.
Mu Xingzhou and Zhuang Jiachuan had already discarded their packs halfway along the path. Now, each could carry one.
Five people, each with one backpack.
But the biggest problem now was Feng Qianqian, lying on the ground.
Earlier, several of them had taken off their jackets and linked them into a simple stretcher. Zhao Da and Zhao Er had carried Feng Qianqian from the large stone over to here.
But she couldn't be carried over the rock pile.
Normally, Song Shiyue would have carried her on her back without a second thought.
But now...
If, before the Yaoxing Storm, while in the cave, Song Shiyue's strength had been leaking like a fully inflated balloon pricked with a pinhole, then after the Yaoxing Storm, it had been pricked at least twice more... And just now, Song Shiyue had used strength exceeding her current limit to lift the large stone a little higher — that had torn the two pinholes straight into two gaping holes.
The beef tallow and jerky she'd eaten earlier couldn't replenish energy as fast as it was leaking. If she continued to use Zhao Da and Zhao Er as a benchmark, Song Shiyue felt she had already fallen far behind.
Especially now, with the frequency of dizziness and lightheadedness increasing, and her mind periodically going blank, Song Shiyue felt terrible.
And in this situation, food couldn't keep up with the energy drain. Continuing to eat had little value left.
Song Shiyue felt that forcing herself to carry Feng Qianqian on her back would not be a good idea for either of them.
"In a moment, Zhao Er can help Zhao Da carry his pack. Zhao Da, can you carry Feng Qianqian on your back across? We can use this stretcher to make a support and tie her to your back." Song Shiyue looked at Zhao Da and Zhao Er and asked amicably.
These were all the people present. Song Shiyue's proposal was exactly what the two of them had been thinking of.
Zhao Da wanted to use this chance to probe the relationship between Mu Xingzhou and Feng Qianqian. But time was too tight; asking such a question now would seem too deliberate.
The two exchanged a glance and quickly nodded.
Very naturally, Song Shiyue offered thanks on Feng Qianqian's behalf.
Mu Xingzhou, however, upon hearing Song Shiyue's thanks, instinctively wanted to thank the two as well. But then, as if remembering something, he only pursed his lips and swallowed his words.
Mu Xingzhou thought it was just a fleeting impulse, not knowing that Zhao Da had taken in every one of his small movements.
Zhao Da only found it amusing. If, when Mu Xingzhou had first demanded to climb over the rock pile to the large stone, Zhao Da had merely sensed a connection between them — then later, with those reddened eyes, the restless hands that didn't know where to go, the repeated insistence on hurrying to save her...
I'm afraid it wasn't just a simple connection.
What was interesting was that, clearly having a relationship, and now with the livestream stopped, just these few people here, Mu Xingzhou was still being so careful and guarded.
If Feng Qianqian was really in love with someone like this, this underground romance must be exhausting.
Zhao Da felt he had seen through everything, that it was all under his control, yet he didn't know that while he was seeing through Mu Xingzhou, he himself was being observed by someone else.
Having gotten Zhao Da and Zhao Er's nod, Song Shiyue wasted no time. She called Zhuang Jiachuan over to help lift Feng Qianqian and tie her onto Zhao Da's back.
The simple stretcher made of jackets soon bound Feng Qianqian and Zhao Da together.
"Climb with confidence. It's tied very securely. Just be a little careful when flipping over the top." Song Shiyue said this to Zhao Da, piling the last spare piece of clothing over Feng Qianqian's head.
Conditions were limited; makeshift protection, entirely up to luck...
The figure bearing Feng Qianqian climbed not slowly. Song Shiyue watched from below, her face as composed as ever, but her heart was even more suspended in anxiety than when Ni Jinghe had been climbing earlier.
She had to know: earlier, when they had joined forces to lift the large stone, Song Shiyue had already sensed the insufficiency of these people's exerted strength. Because at the time, they only needed to lift the part of the large stone pressing on Feng Qianqian, so their positions had been: Song Shiyue as the main force, Zhao Er and Zhao Da on either side, and Zhuang Jiachuan beyond Zhao Er, Mu Xingzhou beyond Zhao Da.
Initially, consumed with saving someone, Song Shiyue hadn't had the mental bandwidth to assess where the shortfall in lifting the stone was coming from. But when she had them release their hands before setting the stone down at the end, the sudden drop in weight on the large stone let Song Shiyue, whose attention could now be partially freed after the person was rescued, quickly pinpoint where the problem lay.
Zhuang Jiachuan's physical strength was always average, so his output was normal.
Mu Xingzhou was younger, physically stronger, but the strength he'd exerted this time was about the same as Zhuang Jiachuan. Though, accounting for his injured arm, it was actually a normal performance.
The problem... was with Zhao Da and Zhao Er.
At most, they'd put in fifty percent effort. Maybe not even that.
A bodyguard contract signed in peacetime — under such abnormal circumstances, not turning against their employer due to the power disparity was already good. If they truly risked their lives and fulfilled their protective duties to perfection, then they would truly be priceless gems.
Clearly, Zhao Da and Zhao Er were not priceless gems.
A situation like this, Song Shiyue, having lived through the apocalypse, could understand.
Self-preservation.
Under a genuine disaster, even friends and family might not do things perfectly; expecting bodyguards bound only by money to do so was a bit naive.
But understanding aside, once she'd clarified Zhao Da and Zhao Er's stance, Song Shiyue was still disappointed.
As the two people with the highest combat strength in the group, their stance could very well determine the team's future development and direction.
And now, this direction worried Song Shiyue.
Lifting a stone — no mortal danger, just expending some extra energy, maybe tiring a bit more — and they were already holding back so much.
If danger arose later...
Right now, Zhao Da and Zhao Er were only secretly pulling their punches. When directly called upon to help, as just now, they were still willing. But in the eyes of Song Shiyue, who had discerned certain things, this willingness was always discounted. That was why she felt so worried watching Zhao Da climb now.
Would they... really still protect the others...
Song Shiyue had turned back to save people, but more so, she had turned back for Yu Nianbing's survival.
But now, reality had slapped her coldly across the heart.
Regardless, the group still made it over the inner rock pile without serious mishap, aside from a few scares.
At the outer rock pile, Song Shiyue went first to check. Those wooden stakes, though slightly deformed, still seemed capable of providing support.
After exiting, Song Shiyue turned and called back: "Come on over, no problem. Just be careful not to knock the slanted wood sections loose." Then she urgently looked toward where Yu Nianbing was.
The moment she looked, Song Shiyue's eagerly extended foot paused mid-step.
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