SLLBTT Chapter 69
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
⋇⊶⊰Chapter 69⊱⊷⋇
The Snow Wolf King frowned, realizing things were not simple.
Xiao Xiezi, however, waved its pincers and said, "This place is not suitable for a long stay. Let's leave quickly!"
Liu Jiao, on the other hand, had a reluctant expression. "But I haven't completed the game yet..."
The Snow Wolf King asked, "How did you get in?"
Xiao Xiezi replied, "After you all were captured by Lord Bai, I had to stay alone in the archive room. While organizing documents, I discovered a secret passage. I walked through the passage and ended up inside Lord Bai's mansion."
The Snow Wolf King then said, "There's such a secret passage?"
"Indeed, indeed," Xiao Xiezi said, "At first glance, it does seem strange, but upon closer thought, it's not that peculiar."
"Why?" The Snow Wolf King was surprised.
Xiao Xiezi answered, "There's a rumor in our circles that the reason Poisonous Me could rise to the top locally is because Master Kongque is our boss' superior. And Master Kongque happens to be a close friend of Lord Bai. Therefore, Lord Bai has always been the protective umbrella for our criminal activities!"
"How is that possible!" Liu Jiao was the first to disagree. "I think Lord Bai must be a good person!"
However, Xiao Xiezi retorted, "Exactly, we're good people too, so we're all in this together... we're all a group of good people."
Liu Jiao frowned. "But how can criminal forces be considered good people?"
Xiao Xiezi, with its tiny pincers on its hips, angrily said, "I won't allow you to speak ill of yourself like that!"
The Snow Wolf King, closing the laptop, said, "Alright, let's go with what Xiao Xiezi suggested. Let's take a walk through the secret passage. I'm curious about what this passage is all about."
Xiao Xiezi then led the Snow Wolf King and Liu Jiao from the dungeon to an underground storage for wine. In the wine cellar, a sign on a wine cabinet read, "This row of wine is very expensive. Do not touch it. Ruin your family and fortune, and we won't be responsible."
Xiao Xiezi tapped the wine cabinet, swiped an employee card on a sensor, and the wall slowly opened, revealing a pitch-black passage.
"This is the secret passage," Xiao Xiezi said.
The Snow Wolf King had a realization: perhaps the mysteriously appearing cat carrier and assassin in Lord Bai's manor were connected to this secret passage.
The Snow Wolf King and Liu Jiao trailed behind Xiao Xiezi as they entered the passage. The wine cellar door shut quietly behind them, enveloping the passage in darkness. Nonetheless, the trio navigated effortlessly, undeterred by the lack of light.
Xiao Xiezi climbed quickly and said, "I'm so tired. I can't go on!"
Liu Jiao thought that since Xiao Xiezi had run all the way from Poisonous Me Company, he must be exhausted. So, Liu Jiao said, "Then don't move." After saying that, Liu Jiao reached out to lift Xiao Xiezi.
However, Xiao Xiezi suddenly curled its tail and unexpectedly stung Liu Jiao.
"Ahh!" Liu Jiao, stung on the finger, cried out in pain and fell to the ground.
The Snow Wolf King hurriedly reached out to hold Liu Jiao, but Xiao Xiezi swiftly slipped into a dark corner. Meanwhile, the General Manager slowly approached from not far away.
The Snow Wolf King understood. "Xiao Xiezi was sent by you!"
"You're realizing it now, but it's too late."
The Snow Wolf King didn't respond, only inspecting Liu Jiao's wound. He noticed bite marks on Liu Jiao's finger, and black blood was oozing out. The Snow Wolf King took out a potion and applied it to Liu Jiao.
The General Manager only said, "This is the exclusive antidote of Poisonous Me. Ordinary detoxifying agents won't help."
The Snow Wolf King questioned, "We have no grudge against each other. Why did you hurt my wife?"
The General Manager replied, "Your intentions are suspicious. I suspect you are an undercover agent sent by the government. Now, I am certain that you are an undercover agent!"
"Why do you say that?"
"I checked your identities and found that your ID cards are genuine. However, when my people checked the places where your household registration should be, they found no traces of your existence. That means your documents are forged, but the government helped you with it. This proves that you are government agents," the General Manager said, "And, from my deduction, you are not just an undercover agent. You are an undercover agent sent by the government to investigate the assassination attempt on the Snow Wolf King. So, your rank in the government should be quite high!"
The Snow Wolf King retorted, "How do you know I'm here to investigate the Snow Wolf King assassination case?"
"If not, why would you inquire about the whereabouts of A Very Long Snake? Enough talk, I'll send you both on your way now!"
The Snow Wolf King sneered, "Just you?"
However, the General Manager said, "Of course, not just me." The General Manager, with a sense of self-awareness, continued, "Come out."
As he spoke, slowly emerging from the darkness was a black bear demon. Indeed, it was the notorious debtor who refused to repay his debts.
The General Manager said, "I know I'm just a small snake, and I understand that you might be a wolf. I can't harm you, so I brought in some help." Addressing the black bear demon, the General Manager said, "Take care of these two, and not only will your debts be forgiven, but I'll also give you one million!"
The Snow Wolf King countered, "I'll give you ten million if you catch this snake!"
The General Manager, taken aback, hadn't expected the Snow Wolf King to have such a move. "Twenty million!"
"Thirty million!"
The General Manager, caught up in the competitive spirit, exclaimed, "Forty million!"
The Snow Wolf King, unwilling to back down, boldly displayed his kingly demeanor, "One billion!"
"*!" the General Manager, infuriated, cursed, "Nonsense! You don't have that much money!"
The Snow Wolf King had previously collected debts from the black bear demon and noted the account details. So, the Snow Wolf King picked up his phone, made a few taps, and said to the black bear demon, "Check your bank balance."
The black bear demon looked at his phone and immediately smiled, "Aiya, Big Brother Xiao Bai, you're truly a generous demon!"
The General Manager immediately transformed into a snake and tried to escape. Seeing this, the black bear demon stepped on the snake's tail, seized the General Manager effortlessly, and held him up.
The General Manager, with an air of resentment, said, "Just kill me! I won't give you the antidote! If I die, I can still drag your wife into this mess, it's worth it!"
The Snow Wolf King, however, spoke in a gentle tone, "Are you and A Very Long Snake brothers?"
The General Manager's expression changed abruptly. "What are you saying?"
"If you can investigate Xiao Jiao's and my identities, I can do the same for yours," the Snow Wolf King said. "I think A Very Long Snake isn't crazy at all. If he seems crazy, it's your doing. You assigned him tasks, set him up for repeated failures, then he cooperated with you to act out this abnormal behavior. You reported to your superiors, had people evaluate him, all to convince Master Kongque that A Very Long Snake has gone mad."
The General Manager shook his head. "Why would I do that?"
"Because..." the Snow Wolf King said, "You don't want him to take on the task of assassinating the Snow Wolf King. That task is a one-way street, whether successful or not, it leads to death."
The General Manager fell into a momentary silence.
"Unfortunately, you didn't succeed. Although A Very Long Snake deceived the superiors, he couldn't fool Master Kongque. Later, Master Kongque had a private conversation with A Very Long Snake. Perhaps during this talk, Master Kongque noticed the flaws and realized that A Very Long Snake wasn't mentally disturbed."
Tears welled up in the General Manager's eyes. "He did manage to deceive Master Kongque. However, when he heard Master Kongque say to someone else, 'If A Very Long Snake can't handle it, then give this task to the General Manager.' He stepped forward to protect me and took on the task of assassinating the Snow Wolf King."
"It's truly touching," the Snow Wolf King said. "But ultimately, he wasn't driven to death by the Snow Wolf King but by Master Kongque. Don't you want to seek revenge on Master Kongque?"
"No, I don't want to," the General Manager said. "In this kind of world, one has no control over their destiny. Once you choose this path, you can't blame anyone. Even if something happens, you can only blame your own bad luck."
As he spoke, the General Manager's gaze gradually dulled, and his body stiffened.
The Snow Wolf King exclaimed in alarm, wanting to intervene, but it was too late. The General Manager had committed suicide. The poison he used was the same type A Very Long Snake used for his own suicide.
With the General Manager dead, obtaining the antidote from him was now impossible. The Snow Wolf King immediately lifted Liu Jiao and rushed out. The black bear demon, confused, followed suit.
The Snow Wolf King thought, perhaps the Poisonous Me Company might have the antidote. So, he sprinted to the end of the secret passage, about to push the door, only to hear a female voice on the door saying, "Please swipe your card."
The Snow Wolf King remembered that when entering the secret passage, it was Xiao Xiezi who used an employee card to open the door. Now, to exit, he probably needed an employee card.
However, the Snow Wolf King didn't have the card. He asked the black bear demon, "Do you have a card?"
The black bear demon said, "Are you kidding? Bears open doors with their feet!" With that, the black bear demon kicked the door open.