Elder brother's garrison

“…Okay, I won’t go there.” Xiaobai glanced at the thick, dark artificial lake outside the door, closed the door, came to Miao Yan’s side, and squatted down.

“…Ha…ha…” Miao Yan stared nervously at the tightly closed iron gate, her dark pupils trembling. She gripped Xiao Bai’s hands tightly, her whole body still shaking with fear. “That…that way won’t do…there are…bad things over there…”

Miao Yan looked like she had triggered some kind of PTSD.

"Okay, whatever you say." Xiaobai responded softly to Miao Yan. She put her hand on Miao Yan's shoulder, using her network to soothe Miao Yan's emotions, and changed the subject, "The phone card you just took out, is it the one you told me about before, the one you stole from Aunt Mei?"

Perhaps it was Xiaobai's constant companionship over the past two days that made Xiaobai's ability to stabilize emotions particularly effective on Miao Yan, and Miao Yan slowly regained her senses.

Miao Yan murmured softly. She first exchanged a few glances with Xiao Bai, then opened her hand, looked at the phone card in her hand, and nodded silently.

Miao Yan handed the phone card to Xiao Bai.

"This phone card... Aunt Mei must have been looking for it for a long time, but she had no idea that it was actually under her seat..." Miao Yan whispered, "The most dangerous place is the safest place..."

"Yes, a smart choice." Xiaobai held the phone card and smiled and nodded at Miao Yan.

Xiao Bai had been wondering before, since Miao Yan had stolen Aunt Mei's phone card, where did she hide it...?

After all, the place where Miao Yan was located was the base of a human trafficking gang. She couldn't possibly have her own secret little dark room here. If she carried the phone card with her, she definitely wouldn't be able to hide it, and Aunt Mei would find it sooner or later.

"Will someone be there to meet you tonight? Give them this phone card, and you'll have evidence to arrest Aunt Mei," Miao Yan said to Xiao Bai.

"Hmm... there should be." Xiaobai looked at the phone card in her palm and nodded.

"Then, let's get out of here quickly," Miao Yan quickly added, getting up while holding onto the chair.

Xiao Bai put Aunt Mei's phone card into his pocket and followed Miao Yan to the office door.

Miao Yan pushed open the door to the principal's office. She had just taken a step out when, before Xiao Bai could follow, she suddenly retreated quickly and pushed Xiao Bai back into the office, her face pale.

"Oh no, oh no..."

Miao Yan stared wide-eyed at Xiao Bai, almost speechless, her face filled with horror.

"What's wrong?" Xiaobai asked, looking at Miao Yan.

"Outside...outside..." Miao Yan stammered, large beads of sweat appearing on her face, her pupils trembling as if she had encountered something incredibly terrifying.

Xiao Bai seemed to have guessed something. She silently put her arm around Miao Yan's shoulder and pulled her behind her. Then, Xiao Bai went to the principal's office, opened the door, and looked out into the corridor.

The moment Xiaobai saw the scene outside the corridor, a sudden realization dawned on her.

Oh wow.

So that explains why the fire started so suddenly tonight...

In Xiaobai's view, the second-floor corridor, which should have been empty, was now lit up.

The corridor was brightly lit.

A kind-looking old lady stood in the middle of the corridor with her hands behind her back and a smile on her face. Beside her, like door gods, stood Gao Le, who had no expression on his face, and Xu An, who had a smile on his lips. The three of them were quiet and had different expressions, like three old cats waiting for the mouse to come out on its own.

The area on either side of the principal's office door and at both ends of the corridor was now completely blocked by several tall women.

"Oh, good evening, little girl."

When Aunt Mei saw Xiao Bai's head peeking out of the principal's office, her smile deepened, and she called out to Xiao Bai.

"..."

Xiao Bai blinked, first looking at Aunt Mei and Gao Le and Xu An beside her, and then turning her gaze to the tall women standing on both sides of the principal's office door.

Finally, she turned her gaze away and looked at Miao Yan, who was hiding behind her, pale-faced and trembling all over.

In this scenario, there's no need for further explanation.

It's obvious that Miao Yan's secret operation tonight, taking advantage of the fire to take Xiao Bai out to find the phone card, was most likely a scheme by Aunt Mei to trick Miao Yan into making a move. Miao Yan really fell for it.

Aunt Mei and Gao Le and Xu An must have been waiting for them here for a while.

but……

Aunt Mei was so certain that Miao Yan would make a move... It seems my disguise wasn't perfect after all.

Xiao Bai looked at the scene in the corridor and thought to herself.

"Tonight is really lively."

Just as Xiaobai was pondering, Aunt Mei's voice rang out again.

Aunt Mei, with a smile on her lips, slowly walked towards the principal's office, her voice sounding particularly long in the darkness.

"A little mouse that can't control its claws."

"A little hook overflowing with love."

"Have you had enough playing in someone else's room?"

"..."

Xiaobai pulled her head back into the room and closed the principal's office door behind her.

Xiao Bai turned to look at Miao Yan.

Miao Yan's gaze was unfocused; she had completely lost her composure.

It seems that the appearance of Aunt Mei has been a huge shock to Miao Yan.

“She, how could she be here… It’s over, it’s all over… I’ve been tricked, completely tricked… There’s no escaping… There’s no escaping…” Miao Yan muttered to herself, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. “Yes, I’m sorry… I’ve ruined you… She, she must have known I was bringing you here to find the phone card, tonight was the best opportunity… I… I’ve been fooled… She knew you were an undercover agent all along…”

"Shhh."

Xiao Bai gestured for Miao Yan to be quiet, then looked towards the other end of the principal's office and took Miao Yan's hand.

"Let's go to the other side of the lake!"

Chapter 3711 Testimony in Court

Even though Xiaobai pulled Miao Yan into the principal's office, Aunt Mei remained calm and composed. Her demeanor was like that of a meticulously planned hunter, leisurely savoring the joy of capturing her prey, as if everything was under her control.

Aunt Mei slowly walked to the door of the principal's office.

The quiet corridor was immediately filled with Aunt Meryl Streep's signature kind and gentle voice.

"Little girls, do you know how much energy it takes for Aunt Mei to stay up all night with you young people at her age?" Aunt Mei stood at the door of the principal's office, nagging at the closed door with a kind expression, as if she were chatting with her granddaughters. "It's late at night, I've been busy with documents all day, and I finally get off work and can lie in bed and rest, but you two start a fire, and I have to get out of bed again. Sigh... Now I've finally found the two of you, and I have to play hide-and-seek with you... Aunt Mei's patience is running out."

When Aunt Mei finished speaking, although her words remained kind and gentle, a faint chill permeated the end of her sentences.

Gao Le, standing next to Aunt Mei, listened to her speech expressionlessly. Xu An, standing on the other side, chuckled and then reached out to grasp the doorknob of the principal's office.

Crackling sounds...

Xu An gently turned the doorknob, but it didn't open.

"Aunt Mei, they locked the door from the inside."

Xu An put his hand down and said to Aunt Mei.

Aunt Mei nodded, her gaze sweeping coldly over the tall women around her.

Aunt Mei didn't speak, but the tall women gathered around knowingly. One of the tall women reached out and grasped the doorknob of the principal's office, turning it gently.

Crunch!

The crisp sound was fleeting; she had completely removed the lock from the principal's office door.

The tall woman silently opened the door to the principal's office.

Inside the room, the principal's office was decorated as always.

However, at this moment, two girls who should not be here are squatting on the floor behind the desk, like innocent civilians hiding in the trenches.

Of the two, the girl with the incredibly smooth, long white hair maintained a calm and composed expression, even with a hint of tranquility. The other girl, however, was completely different. She was breathing rapidly, pale, and trembling, leaning weakly against the white-haired girl. The moment she saw Aunt Mei, her face contorted as if she had seen some utterly terrifying creature.

Aunt Mei smiled slightly at the two girls in the room, then stepped out and slowly walked into the principal's office.

"Gao Le," Aunt Mei called out to the person outside the door after entering the principal's office.

"I'm here," Gao Le replied.

"Everything's alright here. Go check on the fire in the village." Aunt Mei looked at Xiaobai and Miao Yan with a smile and said without turning her head, "If it's not done yet, go and help out."

"……Yes."

Gao Le, who was outside the door, responded and then turned and left.

Gao Le's footsteps gradually faded away and disappeared.

Aunt Mei tilted her head back, listening to the footsteps outside the door. Only after the footsteps faded away did she speak to Xiaobai and Miaoyan as if she had something in mind.

"Oh my—Gao Le, that child, has always pleased me so much. Every time I see you these past few days, it reminds me of when he first came here." Aunt Mei didn't seem to have any immediate intention of doing anything to Xiao Bai and Miao Yan in the room. After confirming Xiao Bai and Miao Yan's location, she slowly walked to the bookshelf in the principal's office, reached out and opened the bookshelf, and continued, "When that child first came, he was just like you, never crying or making a fuss, quick-witted, and incredibly smart. He's clearly just a child, yet he can command the respect of many adults... It's just a pity that he's not as good-looking as you, so I kept him. His performance hasn't disappointed me."

When Aunt Mei opened the bookcase, what was inside was not books, but a Buddha statue.

The moment Aunt Mei saw the Buddha statue, her expression became solemn and devout. She first bowed to the Buddha statue, then picked up three incense sticks from the bookcase, lit them, and placed them on the statue.

After paying her respects to the Buddha statue, Aunt Mei's expression returned to one of ease and joy.

After watching Aunt Mei offer incense to the Buddha statue, Xiao Bai gently patted Miao Yan in her arms.

"Aren't you going to arrest us?" Xiao Bai glanced down at Miao Yan's condition and asked Aunt Mei, who looked relaxed.

"Do you think there's any difference between the two of you being caught by me now?" Aunt Mei glanced at Xiao Bai and asked in return.

"..." Xiaobai shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"As people get older, they gradually become more sentimental." Aunt Mei looked at Xiaobai for a while, then shook her head and said with a sigh, "If it were three or five years earlier, I definitely wouldn't have had time to chat with you. I would have let them take you both down the moment I entered the principal's office. But tonight... I just finished a cup of coffee to stay up late, and on a whim, I had some time."

"I also have some questions I'd like to ask you," Xiaobai said.

“Oh, in that case, we can have a chat,” Aunt May smiled.

"Can you let us go after we've finished talking?"

"Want to hear the truth?" Aunt Mei asked kindly.

"Mm." Xiaobai nodded.

“No, you must die tonight,” Aunt Mei said.

"Because we stole your SIM card?" Xiaobai asked. "Aren't you worried you'll never get your SIM card back?"

"..."

Aunt Mei looked at Xiao Bai and suddenly laughed, her face full of wrinkles, making her look particularly ferocious.

"The phone card...that phone card thing, was it this little girl who told you about it?" Aunt Mei gestured to Miao Yan in Xiao Bai's arms. "Did she tell you that she stole my phone card, so I didn't dare to do anything to her?"

"Isn't that how it is?" Xiaobai frowned.

"So you young people really don't have a mature way of thinking," Aunt Mei shook her head. "That phone card was indeed useful to me. It would be good if I could find it after some effort, but if there's really no way to get it back, then it's just gone."

“Oh…I see, you’re losing patience,” Xiaobai said.

"The key is lost, but we can find it in a while. At worst, we'll just have to change the lock." Aunt Mei slowly walked to the middle of the principal's office. "You should know who these people next to me are, right?"

"Ship girls?" Xiaobai looked at the tall women next to Aunt Mei.

Actually, Xiaobai recognized these tall women the first time he met Aunt Mei.

However, these so-called "ship girls" are not quite the same as the ship girls that Xiaobai knows.

The ship girls that Xiaobai usually knows all exude a strong life force, in other words, they give people a feeling of being "very healthy" and "very energetic". This is because the ship equipment makes the ship girls' flesh and blood exceptionally vibrant. However, the tall ship girls following Aunt Mei at this moment give people the exact opposite feeling - they look lifeless, without any personality or distinctive reactions, and there is no light in the depths of their eyes. Rather than independent lives, they are more like a group of puppets, or even a group of walking corpses.

"You certainly have a good eye." Aunt Mei looked at Xiaobai with admiration. "They are ship girls, and ship girls who obey me without question."

"I never expected you to be an admiral."

“Admiral? I’ve never seen the sea in my life,” Aunt Mei said.

"You're not the admiral?"

"They are civilian ship girls, and I took them in."

"Your relationship must be more than that..." Xiaobai said, looking at the tall, motionless ship girls.

"..." Aunt Mei didn't intend to continue this topic. She smiled and said, "Ship girls are to humans what humans are to ants. But I control the ship girls, which means I'm above everyone in this village. Do you think I, with these ship girls protecting me 24/7, would care about losing a phone card and losing the villagers' trust? Even if they don't trust me, as long as my ship girls are still here and my methods are still there, I'm still the village chief, the one who makes the decisions for everyone. That's unshakeable."

"..." Upon hearing this, Xiaobai scratched her head and looked at Aunt Mei, saying, "So... when did you find out I was an undercover agent?"

"first day."

"First day?"

"I knew it the first day I met you."

"How could that be? I think my acting skills are pretty good." Xiao Bai said, feeling a bit discouraged.