novelraw Chapter 144 Locator
Chapter 144 Locator
Lu Xiran suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Xin Mubai paused for a moment, then followed her gaze—at the end of the corridor stood a tall, slender figure.
—Gu Yanxu.
What is he doing here?
As if sensing something, Gu Yanxu suddenly turned around and glanced in their direction.
Xin Mubai reacted quickly, grabbing Lu Xiran and darting around the corner.
The wall was cold, pressed against her back. Lu Xiran held her breath, listening to her heart pounding like a drum in the silence.
The footsteps paused for a few seconds.
And then it continues, getting farther and farther away.
Xin Mubai turned slightly to the side and glanced at the departing figure.
"You're here to catch Qiqi cheating?" He raised an eyebrow, his tone slightly amusement.
Lu Xiran looked at him speechlessly: "What?"
"Why would someone come to the island alone? The reason is self-evident." Xin Mubai shrugged. "Either to catch someone cheating, or to do something that would get them caught cheating."
Lu Xiran ignored him.
But she remembered Jin Qiqi's worried expression, and the disappointment in her eyes when she said, "He's starting to have secrets about me." Now was definitely not the time to go to Li Fengche's place—she had to help Qiqi find out what Gu Yanxu was doing on the island.
After all, it was Qiqi who gave them the right to go to the island.
"And what about you?" she asked, looking at Xin Mubai.
Xin Mubai proudly patted the hand that was around her: "I have you."
Lu Xiran: "..."
Can this person always be this inconsiderate?
"If you want to be with him," Xin Mubai said, dropping his nonchalant expression and pointing to her feet, "you'll have to take off your high heels."
Lu Xiran bent down and took off her shoes without hesitation.
Xin Mubai reached out and took it.
"You still need to hold my hand." He raised his arm, gesturing for her to take it.
The two of them secretly followed Gu Yanxu through two corridors.
At a dimly lit corner, Gu Yanxu suddenly stopped.
He leaned against the wall, as if waiting for someone.
Xin Mubai pulled Lu Xiran to hide not far from the corner, holding their breath and waiting.
A few minutes later, a door opened gently.
"You were looking for me?"
The moment that voice came out, Lu Xiran froze.
—It was Aunt Yun's voice.
Gu Yanxu's voice rang out, tinged with a hint of probing: "You... don't recognize me?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
"I heard you have a..."
Before he could finish speaking, the door was suddenly pushed open.
A woman swaggered in, wearing a tight-fitting dress and heavy makeup, her face radiating the excitement of having caught someone red-handed. She rushed up to Aunt Yun, raising her hand to slap her—
Gu Yanxu grabbed her wrist.
The woman paused, her gaze sweeping over Gu Yanxu—the custom-made suit, the sophisticated mask. Her tone immediately changed, becoming a mixture of ingratiation and threat:
"Sir, she was slacking off during work hours and was secretly talking to a customer. This is a serious offense on the island."
Gu Yanxu looked at the gloating expression on her face, then looked at Aunt Yun—those once gentle eyes were now filled with terror.
He took out a gold bar from his pocket.
"Could you make an exception for me?"
The woman shook her head and pushed the gold bar back: "Don't get me into trouble! If they find out, I'll be punished along with her!"
She opened her mouth to shout—
Gu Yanxu's hand chopped down, precisely striking the side of her neck.
The woman collapsed to the ground.
Aunt Yun was too late to stop her; her face turned deathly pale: "You...you've caused a huge disaster!"
Gu Yanxu was stunned.
"Everyone here must clock in with their face every half hour," Aunt Yun's voice trembled. "If someone doesn't clock in, the alarm will be triggered."
"Then let's quickly hide her..."
"No." Aunt Yun raised her hand, revealing a small scar near her wrist. "We implanted a locator under her skin. No matter where you hide her, they can find her."
She looked at the mask on Gu Yanxu's face.
"Locators have also been installed in your masks."
Xin Mubai noticed that Lu Xiran's face had turned pale, so he gently touched her, raised his hand to point at his mask, then pointed to himself and gave her an OK sign.
—This means he handled it well.
Gu Yanxu's expression changed.
He hadn't expected that Li Fengche controlled everyone on the island in this way. Each person was a walking data point, nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape. That's why he was able to grasp so many secrets and act with such impunity.
"How many minutes?" he asked.
"What?"
"Check-in time".
Aunt Yun glanced at the time clock on her wrist, her voice tense: "Fifteen minutes."
"I have to go." Lu Xiran turned to look at Xin Mubai. "You need to leave immediately."
Xin Mubai frowned.
"I'll go with you."
"No!" Lu Xiran looked at him seriously. "You help us think of a solution. If we're really discovered, we'll need you to provide backup outside. If you come with us, no one will be able to help us."
Xin Mubai raised an eyebrow.
He took a small metal piece out of his pocket and put it into Lu Xiran's hand.
"What is this?"
"My locator." His tone was unusually serious. "I need to make sure I know where you are."
"How did you bring this in?"
"Of course I have my own way."
Lu Xiran didn't have time to ask any more questions. She put away the locator and turned to run towards Gu Yanxu.
"Yan Xu!"
Gu Yanxu turned around abruptly, and his pupils contracted the instant he saw Lu Xiran.
"How could you...?"
"Aunt Yun!" Lu Xiran looked at the old figure.
Aunt Yun looked at her, her eyes filled with unfamiliarity, without a trace of familiarity.
She didn't recognize her.
Suppressing the bitterness in her heart, Lu Xiran turned to Gu Yanxu: "What are you going to do?"
"Take her away." Gu Yanxu's voice was deep. "My yacht is waiting on the shore. I came here to take Aunt Yun away—she followed Grandma her whole life and was good to us all."
Lu Xiran looked at him.
"Walk."
She turned and pointed back the way she came.
"We have to go back the way we came. You and I will pretend to be the female companions who came to the island together, and Aunt Yun will be a waitress, following us around."
She reached out and pulled open Aunt Yun's watch.
"There's no time left. Only twelve minutes."
The three people were running down the corridor.
Lu Xiran held Aunt Yun's hand and could feel that hand trembling—she didn't know if it was from fear or because it had been too long since someone had held her hand like that.
Aunt Yun exited through the employee entrance first.
Lu Xiran and Gu Yanxu waited for a moment to make sure no one was around before they slipped out.
Pass through the second floor.
no one.
My heart was pounding in my throat.
Pass through the first floor.
The crowd was bustling, and glasses were clinking.
They kept their heads down, quickened their pace, and walked past the men and women wearing masks.
The gate is just ahead.
step.
Two steps.
Three steps —
"stop!"