Chapter 169 - Caught (1)
There was nothing in the room except for the cages, so Bei Nuan hastily hid in a corner.
There were no lights in the room; the only sources of light came from the illumination from the gas lamps in the tunnel. The corner that Bei Nuan hid in was dark and blocked from view by a large metal cage. It would be hard to notice her there.
A group of people came. Through the light in the tunnel, Bei Nuan saw a familiar face. It was the fat man from this morning that had eaten Xiao Shao's sparrows for free, Uncle Shi. He was walking in front. He opened the metal gate and respectfully stepped aside to let the other two people go in first.
Of the two people, one was a young man. He was wearing a military shirt with shoulder straps and breast pockets, but he didn't properly button up his shirt all the way, and he had his hand in his pocket. He had beautiful almond-shaped eyes with an upward sweep at the temple end. His smile didn't look sincere, and he didn't look like a decent person. He was talking with the other middle-aged man.
In contrast, the middle-aged man looked very solemn. He looked to be in his 40's and was very tanned. He stood ramrod straight like a soldier. Even though he wasn't frowning, there were still wrinkles on his forehead. He had the sternness of someone used to giving orders. He wore the same type of military shirt and pants as the young man, but his uniform had been neatly ironed, and he buttoned it all the way.
Without carefully looking, she wouldn't even notice that they were wearing the same type of uniform.
"I've persuaded you so many times," the middle-aged man said, "that it's too dangerous to bring zombies onto the island."
The young man smiled. "Big Bro, look at these metal cages. They're so sturdy! It's really not an issue. These zombies are securely locked up."
Bei Nuan, who had just secured a zombie cage, wanted to laugh.
The middle-aged man stood at the entrance, far away from the zombies. He seemed disgusted by the sight of so many zombies in the room.
In contrast, the young man walked to the cages. He surveyed the outermost metal cages and turned to ask Uncle Shi, "How is it this time? I've said many times that the zombies have to be fierce, but not too fierce. It's too hard to control them during cage fights when they're too fierce."
Uncle Shi quickly nodded. "Of course, I had them pay special attention when they caught these zombies. They were all carefully chosen."
The young man glanced at him with a smile. "Uncle Shu, the more money I make with the casino, the bigger your cut is. Don't just say whatever to brush me off."
Uncle Shi scoffed, "Of course not. I wouldn't do that to Big Bro Ji."
Big Bro Ji?
Bei Nuan immediately knew who this person was. It had been mentioned in the novel that the bandits on the island were originally a local armed force. They turned to banditry due to local disputes.
The leader of the older generation no longer came out to manage things. The person who was in charge of the island was a middle-aged man called Qiu Zhengxun. He made swift and decisive decisions.
Qiu Zhengxun had a half-brother called Qiu Ji, who more or less fooled around. So if the young man was Qiu Ji, then the middle-aged man he called brother should be Qiu Zhengxun. These two brothers seemed to have a good relationship.
More importantly, shouldn't Qiu Ji have died around the same time the team came to the island. It had been mentioned in the novel that the team heard guns being fired off in mourning when they arrived on the island.
The problem was, Qiu Ji was still alive. With his hand in his pocket, he was checking over the zombies in the cages. He got so close to the cages that the zombies started rattling the cage doors.
After a while, Qiu Zhengxun's voice came from the entrance, "Haven't you seen enough? You insist on bringing the zombies on the island. Anyways, I can't control you. Let's go?"
Qiu Ji gladly nodded.
Uncle Shi hastily stepped forward and opened the metal gate for them.
Qiu Zhengxun suddenly turned around and looked over at Bei Nuan's hiding spot. He seemed to be able to see through the darkness and find her.
Bei Nuan trembled in fright and hastily pulled her head back. She didn't dare to peek out again.
"Stop hiding, I know you're there." Qiu Zhengxun's voice traveled over.
Bei Nuan thought; don't try to trick me. It's so dark over here. There's no way you can see me.
Qiu Zhengxun continued to coldly say, "Come out yourself, or I'll have you dragged out."
T/N: Next update at 11:30 PM EST on Wed, Feb 2nd.