Chapter 271: Monitored Without Blind Spots
Every plate of food was wiped clean, with nothing left over. If anyone dared to be wasteful, Frank O’Malley would have been the first to object!
When they finished the hot pot, it was nearly eight-thirty, and Lily Hart decided it was time to close up.
By the time everyone had redeemed their prizes, scratched off their last tickets, and she had wrapped everything up to close for the night, it was already nine o’clock.
There were only a few customers left outside the RV. Lily Hart closed up the vehicle, switched off the lights inside, changed into a set of inconspicuous clothes, and slipped out.
She hugged the corner of the wall, skulking over to the left side of the hotel. Frost Shaw, dressed in a black cloak he hadn’t worn in a long time, was already waiting for her.
The two successfully rendezvoused. Frost Shaw looked a little worried. "Why don’t I go by myself? You can go back and wait for me."
He asked tentatively, only to be flatly rejected by Lily Hart, just as he’d expected.
"No. I came up with this plan. If you’re not going to cooperate, then you can go back. I’ll go by myself!"
With a haughty toss of her head, Lily Hart strode ahead. Frost Shaw scrambled to catch up.
He looked like he wanted to say something, stopping himself several times, but in the end, he just kept his mouth shut.
’This stupid mouth of mine... I should talk less and do more.’
Following the navigation route provided by the system, Lily Hart and Frost Shaw headed toward the southern part of Central Command.
After walking for just a few miles, Lily Hart was already getting tired. Spending all day in the RV had left her quite out of shape.
Frost Shaw walked silently beside her. Hearing her increasingly heavy breathing, he couldn’t help but ask, "Should we slow down?"
After a moment’s pause, he worked up his courage. "Or... I could carry you?"
With that, he took a few quick steps to get in front of her, bent over slightly, and braced his hands on his knees.
Lily Hart stopped in her tracks to look at him. He was wearing the black cloak today, with the hood down.
It accentuated his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and strong back. He looked like he could offer a great sense of security.
Lily Hart took a couple of steps and hopped on. Frost Shaw caught her steadily, his hands, clenched into fists, hooking under her thighs to support her.
"Am I too cold?" Frost Shaw asked.
"It’s fine. I was getting hot from walking anyway. This cools me down nicely." Lily Hart shook her head and swung her legs a couple of times.
’He’s incredibly steady, not swaying at all. You can tell his stance is solid.’ Lily Hart felt reassured and wrapped her arms around his neck.
She patted his shoulder lightly. "Onward."
To Frost Shaw’s ears, it inexplicably sounded like, ’Giddyup...’ He felt like he was being commanded by his master...
Frost Shaw quickly snapped out of it and started walking, his pace much faster now that he didn’t have to deliberately wait for her.
Perched on his back, Lily Hart felt like she was sitting in a chair, not needing to exert the slightest bit of effort.
’This is... kind of nice,’ she thought. ’Even though I could just buy a vehicle from the mall.’
’But... this is a different kind of feeling.’
’A much better feeling.’
As he walked, Lily Hart almost fell asleep. It was just too comfortable—the gentle swaying, the soft breeze.
Lily Hart’s head rested sideways on Frost Shaw’s shoulder, and she’d switch sides whenever she started to feel pins and needles.
Just as she was about to doze off, Frost Shaw said, "There’s a mountain up ahead."
Lily Hart lifted her head to look. ’Wow, that’s a tall mountain.’ But the system’s map showed their destination was within it.
She said, "Just head straight up. Are you tired?" ’If he is, I can always get down and walk,’ she thought.
Frost Shaw shook his head and began the ascent. ’What’s there to be tired about? She’s not heavy at all.’
’Besides... he was more than happy to do it.’
The mountain path was in good condition—suspiciously so. There were no mutated plants or animals. After just three minutes, Frost Shaw sensed that something was wrong.
He stopped in his tracks. "What is it?" Lily Hart asked immediately, glancing at her navigation display.
’The destination is halfway up, but we’ve only just started climbing.’
"It’s strange. There are no signs of mutated plants. On a mountain this big, there should be..."
Frost Shaw didn’t need to finish his sentence. Lily Hart understood. In this post-apocalyptic world teeming with mutated flora...
...the complete absence of them was deeply unnatural.
But... Lily Hart said, "It’s fine. Keep going. If there aren’t any mutated creatures, there’ll be something else waiting for us."
Frost Shaw obeyed instinctively. But they had only gone another hundred meters uphill when he heard Lily Hart’s deliberately hushed voice in his ear.
"Stop."
She pulled a rock out of her storage space. "Take two steps to the side. The second I throw this, hit the deck."
Frost Shaw obediently shuffled a few steps to the side. Lily Hart took the rock and tossed it to a spot about a foot in front of where he had just been standing.
The instant the rock left her hand, he threw his body over Lily Hart, covering her with his black cloak. He landed prone, pressing close against her side, their arms touching through the fabric.
BOOM—
A massive explosion erupted.
"Go," Lily Hart commanded sharply.
Frost Shaw scrambled to his feet, hoisted her onto his back, and snatched up his black cloak.
He raced upward in the direction she indicated, precisely avoiding every dangerous spot.
And Lily Hart triggered every single one of these traps as they passed—landmines, or sudden volleys of arrows from all directions.
She left the mountain forest in a state of smoky chaos, neutralizing every single trap laid out on the path.
They reached the halfway point of the mountain in under five minutes. An ancient residence came into view.
The plaque above the entrance bore the words "The Rivers Residence" in flamboyant, masterful calligraphy, leaving no doubt in their minds.
This was the home of one of The Mysterious Clans: The Rivers Family.
The area was deserted, but looking down the mountain, they could see the scattered pinpoints of torchlight.
The torches were converging on the traps Lily Hart had just triggered. In the shadowy forest, the line of burning lights looked like a winding dragon.
Frost Shaw set Lily Hart down. "What’s your plan?"
Lily Hart let out a mischievous chuckle. "Nothing much. Just teaching them a little lesson."
She took out a camera she had bought from the mall and installed it on the bottom-right corner of the plaque. Then she had Frost Shaw take her inside.
Strangely, despite the mountain path being riddled with traps, the residence itself was completely unprotected, allowing anyone to enter.
’They must be overconfident, thinking no one could possibly make it this far.’
But Lily Hart had always been an exception. She began installing cameras in every corner.
On trees, on rooftops, under the eaves, at the head and foot of beds, by windows, and near the lake.
The installation was fast; she just had to stick them in the desired locations. Simple and easy.
The whole circuit took no more than ten minutes. Frost Shaw knew the situation was urgent, so he moved at his top speed.
Once they were done, the two made a clean getaway, just in time to see people returning with torches.
They were cursing and grumbling as they extinguished their flames.
Frost Shaw carried Lily Hart back into the forest. She said, "Let’s go. On to the next one."
It was an obviously dangerous task, but for some reason, Frost Shaw found it thrilling. No matter what it was, he was happy as long as he was doing it with her.
...
「The next day.」
「The Rivers Residence.」
"Who?! Who did this?!" the Second Elder of The Rivers Family roared, his gaze sweeping over every servant.
But the servants had no idea. They had been busy trying to catch the intruders last night, and had failed.
It was dark when they returned, and the Family Head forbade them from keeping their torches lit, so they had all gone to bed in a rush.
Who would have known they’d wake up the next day to find the residence filled with so many cameras they couldn’t even count them all!
There had to be hundreds of them. You’d look up and see one, then turn your head and see another.
They were being monitored from every conceivable angle, with no blind spots.
A few elders gathered hastily to discuss the suspicious event.
The Second Elder voiced his suspicion. "I believe the incident last night and the person who installed these cameras are one and the same."