AMBTMS Chapter 186

On his way, Gu Lin had thought about many things, but none of them matched the current situation. He hadn’t expected these two to act like ordinary friends. No, Ye Chengran clearly had ulterior motives toward Li Shu.

He had just been careless for a moment, and this person took advantage of it. Gu Lin thought darkly, he should never have left Li Shu alone outside for other matters.

Without any ability to defend himself, it was too easy for others to do whatever they wanted. He shouldn’t have been so careless. This time, Ye Chengran didn’t harm Li Shu, but what about next time? You can never count on the mercy of the enemy in these matters.

He had confidently sworn that he wouldn’t let Li Shu get hurt. Was this his promise? Leaving Li Shu alone on the street? What had he been thinking at that time?

Gu Lin’s face darkened, and his eyes were filled with boundless gloom. Li Shu could guess that he was blaming himself again, and if left unchecked, who knows what else he might imagine.

He gave Ye Chengran an apologetic smile, then stood up and walked toward Gu Lin.

No matter what happened, his choice would always be Gu Lin.

Before Li Shu could get close, Gu Lin had already stepped forward and pulled Li Shu into his arms. Seeing that Li Shu was really unharmed, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After confirming Li Shu was fine, Gu Lin finally turned his attention to Ye Chengran. “I wonder what General Ye wants with my person?”

The emphasis on “my person” was unmistakable.

Ye Chengran had always had complicated feelings toward Gu Lin. After all, he had once truly admired this man. As a young man who revered strength, he was certain that during that time, no one didn’t look up to Gu Lin. But time changes everything. He didn’t know when it started, perhaps after tasting the pleasure of power, but some things could never go back to the way they were.

“I’m just curious about the person you brought back. After all, you refused to bring him out for us to see,” Ye Chengran said half-jokingly and half-complaining, his tone familiar, as if confirming what he had said to Li Shu earlier.

How had he lowered Li Shu’s guard? Wasn’t it by saying that he and Gu Lin were close? He thought Li Shu believed him, and Li Shu let him think so, but whether he really did or not was something only Li Shu knew.

“His health isn’t good. The doctor said he needs plenty of rest and should avoid crowded places,” Gu Lin used the same excuse as before.

Ye Chengran had initially thought this was just a pretext, but since Gu Lin was still saying the same thing, especially in front of Li Shu, it was highly likely that this wasn’t just an excuse but that Li Shu’s health really wasn’t good.

Ye Chengran restrained his expression and asked with concern, “Is Xiao Shu alright? You see, this is where you’re wrong. If there’s anything you need, feel free to ask me—whether it’s doctors, medicine, or anything else.”

“Thank you.” Seeing that Ye Chengran’s concern for Li Shu didn’t seem fake, Gu Lin’s tone became a little more sincere.

Li Shu had agreed to spend time alone with Ye Chengran to see what he was up to, but unexpectedly, he seemed to be genuinely concerned about him and even talked about some things from their university days. Back then, the relationship between Ye Chengran and Gu Lin wasn’t as tense as it was now.

Apart from confirming that the people rescued from the lab were still alive, this meeting yielded no other significant results.

Since they were already here, Gu Lin didn’t rush to leave. He ordered more dishes, and he and Li Shu enjoyed a proper meal together. Even though there was Ye Chengran, who was extremely thick-skinned and insisted on being a light bulb despite both hints and direct signals, it was still a fairly pleasant dining experience.

With Li Shu present, Gu Lin and Ye Chengran weren’t as tense as they usually were when they met. Ye Chengran seemed intent on maintaining the illusion that his relationship with Gu Lin was still decent, and Gu Lin, not wanting to worry Li Shu, and curious about what Ye Chengran was up to, didn’t expose the lie.

On the way back, Li Shu sorted through what he had bought from the outing, and Gu Lin looked through with him. Every time Li Shu picked something up, he would tell Gu Lin where he had bought it and what had happened when he got it.

Gu Lin enjoyed these moments. Even though they were hurrying back to the capital, they had plenty of time to spend together along the way. Often, it would be like this, though in the past, Gu Lin did most of the talking.

Li Shu was an ordinary person so he was always kept safe at the rear. Whenever there was time, Gu Lin would hold him in his arms and tell him about what was happening outside. On one hand, Gu Lin was worried that Li Shu might get bored, and on the other, he himself enjoyed these moments very much.

After returning to the capital, Gu Lin had been caught up in all kinds of things. Although Li Shu hadn’t complained and his safety had been ensured, some things, once overlooked, were simply neglected.

Gu Lin cupped Li Shu’s face and interrupted him mid-sentence. Li Shu stopped and looked at him in confusion.

“I was negligent. From now on, I’ll make more time to be with you,” Gu Lin said in a hoarse voice.

Sometimes Li Shu really couldn’t keep up with Gu Lin’s train of thought. For example, right now, he had no idea how Gu Lin had come to this conclusion.

He didn’t say anything, just looked at Gu Lin. Gu Lin thought he had hit the nail on the head. After all, people around Li Shu’s age were supposed to be the most energetic. Li Shu was so quiet and could remain home alone for long periods. He must have felt lonely when he wasn’t around.

If Li Shu knew what Gu Lin was thinking, he would have laughed. To be honest, none of what Gu Lin worried about had ever crossed Li Shu’s mind. He wasn’t really someone in his twenties anyway, and anyone pursuing the path of cultivation could definitely endure loneliness. Besides, Gu Lin’s idea of spending too little time together simply didn’t exist.

What Gu Lin called “too little time together” only meant not being with him every moment of the day. If he had really spent too little time with Li Shu, Li Shu wouldn’t have had so few chances to sneak out to see those people.

Since he had brought those people out, he certainly wouldn’t just ignore them. The people from the lab wouldn’t let things go easily. If they wanted to stay alive, they had to avoid the constant threat of being hunted. There was also the issue of their identities.

To ensure there would be no further complications, those who were sent to the lab had all been declared dead or missing in various ways, most of them dead. What did it mean for someone who was supposed to be dead to suddenly appear again?

They had escaped, and to keep the lab’s secrets from being exposed, those people wouldn’t let them go. After all, they were already “dead”, so the best course of action would be to return them to their original state.

Since they were “dead”, they shouldn’t continue living in this world.

Li Shu wanted to protect these people, but he had his own ulterior motives. Professor Fang’s ties to the upper echelons of the capital were too deep. If he wanted to take down that man and expose all his deeds, the people he had saved could be of great help.

However, these people couldn’t appear in the capital for the time being. There were too many eyes there. Before he left, he had instructed them to go to a small city near the capital, hide their identities, and stay alive for now.

They should have left by now. Otherwise, the capital wouldn’t have remained so calm. So why had Zhao Feng appeared at the trading market? He would have to find an opportunity to check it out.

After returning that day, Gu Lin pushed aside many matters and stayed by Li Shu’s side, taking him out to have fun. During this time, Li Shu gained a general understanding of the distribution of power in the capital and the current state of affairs.

Though the capital appeared peaceful and prosperous on the surface, the underlying filth ran so deep. Of course, Gu Lin didn’t take Li Shu to those seedy places, but occasionally, they encountered things that revealed glimpses of what lay beneath the surface.

“Why have you been so free these past few days?” The two walked down the crowded street hand in hand, showing no reservations about their closeness.

“There’s nothing major happening lately, but in a few days, it might get busy. By then, I might not have time to be with you. I wanted to take this chance to spend time together.”

‘A few days…’ Li Shu recalled the original plot. The busy period Gu Lin mentioned should be the upcoming power struggle in the capital. After this, Gu Lin would firmly establish his foothold there. In the original plot, this was also when he avenged his family.

Because of his interference, many events in the plot had changed, but some things were destined to happen regardless, like the power struggles among the capital’s upper echelons. If a system was rotten to the core, the only solution was to cut out the decay.

The capital now was merely a façade of prosperity, hiding countless problems beneath the surface. There was the growing tension between ordinary people and the evolvers, the exploitation of the lower classes… These issues couldn’t just be ignored or wished away. They were like an infection attached to the bones—once it flared up, it wouldn’t be easily solved.

As the ancient saying goes, “Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it.” Even in the apocalypse, this still held true. Those in power might think they were safe, but they were blind to the fact that the foundation beneath them was already rotting. Rotten wood could not serve as support.

Unfortunately, they only saw the surface beauty and prosperity. They never looked down, never realized that the foundation holding everything up was on the verge of collapse. They didn’t know that with just a light gust of wind, everything would come crashing down.

Gu Lin was right—the atmosphere in the capital suddenly became tense one day. Gu Lin instructed Li Shu to stay home as much as possible during this time, as things were chaotic outside. Li Shu obediently agreed.

However, while Li Shu stayed home, the mysterious person went out.

As Gu Lin got busier, Li Shu found more things he could do. Gu Lin brought several teams of people to secure the Gu family’s home, enforcing strict inspections for anyone entering or leaving. Old Master Gu also wasn’t home often during this period, so more often than not, Li Shu was alone.

Gu Lin became increasingly busy, sometimes not coming home for days. Li Shu had 1314 monitor the Gu family home, then changed his clothes and quietly slipped away.

With 1314 helping him avoid surveillance, Li Shu cloaked himself in spiritual energy and left without alerting anyone. His first stop was the trading market. Compared to his previous visit, the place was obviously more chaotic, with disorder breaking out at any moment.

But this chaos provided the perfect opportunity for Li Shu. In such disorder, no one would pay attention to the sudden appearance of a stranger. Weaving through the crowds, Li Shu found the spot where he’d seen Zhao Feng before.

Zhao Feng was selling crystal cores. Under normal circumstances, that would be fine, but in this chaotic situation, he stood out too much. With so many crystal cores in his possession, anyone would want to take them for themselves.

Zhao Feng was already at the peak of the third level, just one step away from advancing to the fourth. In the capital, that kind of strength made him one of the strong ones. Normally, no one would dare provoke him, but this wasn’t a normal time.

When Li Shu arrived, he saw several people teaming up to attack Zhao Feng. Zhao Feng was exhausted and planned to fight to the death, determined to drag his attackers down with him.

He closed his eyes and waited for the attack to land, but after a long while, nothing came. He opened his eyes in confusion, only to see a dark figure standing in front of him, blocking all the attacks.