Chapter 17

Xu Mo turned to glance at Ma Wu, frowned, and said with a dark expression, "It's quite troublesome that he's following us like this."

Liu Qian nodded and said, "We must come up with a way to shake him off. Otherwise, when we get to that girl, this guy will surely cause us trouble."

Xu Mo pondered for a moment, "I'll lead him away, and you go find Shen Bancheng's daughter."

He was actually a bit worried that after they split up, Liu Qian might find an opportunity to run away and leave him behind. But then he thought, that person surnamed Chen should also be able to anticipate this possibility. How could Ma Wu alone keep an eye on both of them? It had been a long time since he had seen the SUV driver, who might be watching from a hidden place.

In public, they still had some reservations, but once they were in a place with no one around, they would certainly take action. Zhao had a gun, and who knew if the other two had weapons as well.

Therefore, if Liu Qian ran away, it might just be what they wanted. Liu Qian had much more experience than he did and probably wouldn't do such a foolish thing.

Liu Qian thought for a moment and agreed. The two then split up, with Liu Qian heading to the villa on the hill to find Miss Shen.

Ma Wu hesitated for a moment but still chose to follow Xu Mo.

Xu Mo had nowhere to go and stopped where he was, waiting for Liu Qian's news. Ma Wu watched him from a distance, not getting any closer, and sneered repeatedly.

More than half an hour later, Liu Qian came down from the hill, bringing bad news. Miss Shen had already left with her bodyguards and was no longer on the hill.

Xu Mo's expression turned even more grim. In this situation, he could only rely on himself.

Based on his guess, Miss Shen probably hadn't caught the person surnamed Zhao. After last night's incident, she had become like a frightened bird. Moreover, this place had been compromised and was known to the 'Madam's' people. She was worried that they would send more people, so she had withdrawn in advance.

From this, it seemed that the 'Madam' was even more terrifying than he had imagined. With Shen Bancheng's influence, his daughter, knowing that it was the other party's doing, still dared not confront them directly and could only choose to hide.

Getting involved with such an enemy put him in a very precarious situation.

Liu Qian was also at a loss for a moment, "What should we do now?"

Xu Mo thought for a moment, "That little Chen doesn't know our names or backgrounds, which is the only advantage we have."

Liu Qian said resentfully, "So what? Who knows how he has arranged things and plans to intercept us on the way?"

Then he thought of something and couldn't help but shiver, "And that zombie, it's really too eerie. Just thinking about it makes me feel uneasy. If they kill us, do you think they might turn us into zombies too?"

Xu Mo sighed, feeling that this was a possibility. Just thinking about it made him shudder.

A strong sense of discomfort welled up inside him, and he quickly shook his head to force such thoughts out of his mind. He took a deep breath, calmed down, and after a moment's thought, asked, "They seem to be under the command of some 'Madam.' Have you ever heard of such a person?"

Liu Qian shook his head, "Never heard of her. From that zombie, this person is much more evil than Boss Shen and Boss Feng. They might not be part of the mafia but could be from some cult."

Xu Mo nodded, thinking the same. However, knowing these things didn't seem to help much.

After some more thought, he continued, "The people that Chen has arranged to intercept us on the way probably don't know who we are or what we look like. If we can shake off Chen and the other two, it shouldn't be too hard to escape."

Liu Qian glanced back at Ma Wu, "This Ma is like a plaster, we won't be able to shake him off easily." He paused and added, "Right, the people watching us aren't just Ma Wu. There's also the SUV driver. One is in the open, and the other is in the shadows. When I went up the hill to find that girl, Ma Wu stayed to watch you, and he followed me. He was hiding, but I accidentally saw him."

Xu Mo had already guessed this much. Hearing Liu Qian's words, he couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in his heart.

He glanced at Ma Wu, who was also looking in his direction. Their eyes met, and Ma Wu immediately gave a challenging look. Then he raised his right hand, put his index and middle fingers together, and made a throat-slitting gesture, meaning you're dead. He raised his eyebrows, looking extremely pleased with himself.

Xu Mo was filled with hatred and a strong desire to kill them.

If all three of them were dead, the information would be cut off. Even if the people Chen arranged to intercept them came, they wouldn't recognize him and Liu Qian. However, with just the two of them unarmed, and the other three possibly armed, even with guns, it would be a matter of luck not to be killed, let alone to kill them.

Then he thought of the red snake in the river. That snake was highly venomous. Qian had died from just two bites. Could he catch the snake and use it against them?

After a moment's thought, he couldn't help but shake his head. The snake had killed Qian mainly because it caught him off guard. If he knew in advance and was prepared, he wouldn't have been bitten.

With Ma Wu and the SUV driver closely watching him and Liu Qian, how could he get such an opportunity? Moreover, after Qian threw the snake into the grass, who knew where it had gone.

He glanced at Liu Qian, who quickly asked, "Have you thought of a way?"

Xu Mo shook his head and suddenly remembered the Book of Revelation. The SUV was on the second page, and it should be involved in a car accident. Although the SUV driver almost hit him yesterday and drove the car into a small ditch, it was far from a serious accident.

Could he use this car accident to his advantage? If the accident happened on the way back and they were in the car...

Xu Mo felt a surge of excitement. Then he thought, it must be all three of them in the car. If even one is left behind, the plan will be in vain.

However, getting all three in the car when the accident happens would be difficult. The driver and the person surnamed Chen were likely in the SUV, but Ma Wu was uncertain.

Logically, based on personal habits, the vehicle they took to come would likely be their first choice to return. This choice is like marking territory, an instinctive reaction. Unless there are other changes or special circumstances, it rarely changes.

This time, the interception on the way back, Xu Mo guessed, would likely be in the form of a robbery. The people Chen arranged would pretend to be robbers and take the two of them away.

And to avoid suspicion, Chen and the other two would not be involved. Otherwise, with so many people watching, if anything happened to the two of them, they would also be implicated. Unless they dared to kill everyone to cover their tracks, but in broad daylight, they probably wouldn't dare to do that.

But which vehicle did Ma Wu sit in when they came?

Xu Mo recalled and found that except for the big fat man, he had no clear memory of the other two who were with Chen in the SUV.

He couldn't help but ask Liu Qian, "Do you remember who else was in the SUV besides Chen and the big fat man? Was it Ma Wu?"

Liu Qian didn't even think and shook his head, "I don't remember. What are you asking this for?"

He was completely uninterested in such matters, knowing even less than Xu Mo. He had even forgotten that the big fat man who originally sat behind him had later moved to the SUV.

Xu Mo gave a helpless smile.

Not knowing which vehicle Ma Wu originally sat in made things difficult. More importantly, to monitor him and Liu Qian, even if he originally sat in the SUV, he might switch to the bus on the way back.

He needed to find a way to force him to sit in the SUV.

How could he force him to sit in the SUV?

This was not easy. Even if he originally sat in the SUV, if the bus was already full, and he asked to switch seats, no one would likely refuse.

Was there a way to not only make him sit in the SUV but also make others unwilling to switch seats with him?

He suddenly remembered the SUV driver driving the car into the ditch yesterday and had an idea.

He then said to Liu Qian, "Can you spread the news about the SUV driver driving the car into the ditch yesterday so that everyone knows?"

Liu Qian asked, "What are you thinking?"

Xu Mo hesitated, as the information about the accident came from the Book of Revelation, which he couldn't explain. He continued, "Do you have a way?"

Liu Qian thought for a moment, "There's definitely a way. Zhao Hongzhe and the others have nothing to do, so they can spread the news."

He paused and added, "But to spread the news, the three of them are all long-tongued. They already told others about it at lunch yesterday, so there's no need to tell them again."

Xu Mo said, "That's not enough. We need to make it more serious to scare people. Say that the SUV driver likes to drink but has a low tolerance. Just a small glass is enough to affect him. His driving skills are poor, and yesterday, he almost caused an accident by driving the car into the ditch right after starting it. Be careful when you ride with him today. If he drinks again and drives on the mountain road..."

In this story, "likes to drink," "low tolerance," "driving the car into the ditch," and "almost causing an accident" are all true. As for whether the SUV driver has a low tolerance, if a small glass is enough to affect him, and how good his driving skills are, it's hard to say.

But after saying this, the SUV driver would be helpless and couldn't explain to others.

And this rumor, added to the facts with a few "reasonable" speculations, would be hard for others to disbelieve.