Chapter 276
Chapter 276
Now she was so jumpy that the slightest sound sent her sprinting away.
Who knew whether that enormous python had caught up again?
She didn’t dare stop, much less look back.
The chase went on for a full fifteen minutes.
Even the visitors who had fainted had woken up by then.
Qingqing scratched her head at the people slumped on the ground in front of her.
“Aren’t we leaving now?”
“My dear lady, could ya give us a minute to catch our breath?”
The broad Tianjin accent made Qingqing smile despite herself.
“If you’d called out sooner, I would’ve stopped.”
“Oh, bless ya, lady! I’ve shouted myself hoarse! Couldn’t ya have turned around?”
After a brief rest, the mercenary squad escorted Qingqing toward the exit.
Nobody spoke along the way.
Qingqing was simply thirsty and exhausted, and wanted to save her strength.
The mercenaries, meanwhile, were shrouded in misery.
The Big Boss’s visit to the Island today had practically meant a day off for them.
Even their daily five-kilometer cross-country run had been canceled.
Who could have guessed that, thanks to this woman, they would wind up running five kilometers through primeval jungle anyway?
“Miserable” didn’t begin to cover it.
Before Qingqing emerged, Li Yang approached Gu Yue cautiously with a plate of sliced roast meat.
“Want some?”
Gu Yue shot him a murderous look.
She snatched the plate away and began eating without a word.
Li Yang might be slow on the uptake, and his emotional intelligence sometimes took a vacation.
But he wasn’t stupid. He could tell Gu Yue was angry.
“I’ll get you some cola. Don’t be mad!”
For all his talent at causing trouble, Li Yang really didn’t know how to soothe an angry girl.
But he had a boss!
“Boss! Boss! Gu Yue’s mad, and I can’t make her feel better. What do I do?”
Zhang Bei glanced at Gu Yue, sitting in a corner gnawing on roast meat.
“Ask around the Laboratory for a face mask. A little gift should do the trick.”
“Thanks, Boss!”
Li Yang was quick to understand. He grasped Zhang Bei’s meaning instantly.
After all that time in the jungle, her skin must be dry and chapped.
A face mask to cheer her up would fix everything!
And so Guan Guo, who was busy wondering whom he should turn his back on, became the victim.
Li Yang’s relentless chanting annoyed him beyond endurance.
“Go into the second room. The stuff on the table can be used as a face mask.”
“Thank you, Professor Guan!”
“It’s just a by-product of an experiment. You spread it on your face.”
With his answer secured, Li Yang happily stepped into the room.
Two bottles stood on the table, both filled with a thick black liquid.
Having taken the wrong medicine before, Li Yang was especially careful this time.
He opened both bottles and sniffed them closely.
One smelled of earth. The other had a faint fragrance.
Was there any need to think about it?
It had to be the fragrant one!
Li Yang picked up the bottle and hurried excitedly back to the beach.
“I got a face mask from Professor Guan. Put it on!”
Gu Yue looked at the bottle in his hand and finally nodded in satisfaction.
“At least you know what’s good for you!”
“Where? What face mask? I want some too!”
The eager voice was slightly muffled.
Qingqing held a lamb skewer in one hand, her eyes fixed on Li Yang.
As soon as Gu Yue saw her, she pulled her down to sit beside her.
“Here, I’ll put it on for you!”
“Okay!”
Qingqing polished off the meat as fast as she could, then waited quietly for Gu Yue to apply the mask.
Most of the visitors only got ordinary skewers.
Still, an hour-long feast gave them plenty to enjoy.
Zhang Bei looked over the visitors sitting in little groups.
“You can visit the zoo over there. If you want to play on the beach, get moving. We fly back in three hours!”
“Woo-hoo!”
“Let’s go! I’m going surfing!”
Zhang Bei rubbed his full stomach and leaned back in his chair, ready for a nap.
Then a sudden scream shattered the peace beside him.
He looked toward its source, puzzled.
Yes, it was Qingqing!
There had indeed been a face mask on the table. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what Li Yang had taken.
That stuff was something a young assistant had developed while bored.
Essentially, it was a lubricant for certain instruments.
The assistant had even added fragrance to cover the unpleasant smell it gave off after compression.
Its raw material was an oil with exceptional penetrating power.
Yes, what Qingqing had smeared on her face was compressed machine oil!
As Zhang Bei looked over, he was greeted by a face so black it shone.
Qingqing’s skin had already been dark.
But that had been a healthy tan from the sun.
Now she was so black that only the whites of her eyes and her teeth stood out.
To put it another way, it was the difference between matte black and glossy black.
Little Dark Girl had truly earned her name!
Qingqing stared at her face in a small mirror, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.
She might have been a little dark before, but she had still been a beauty.
Now, though…
She didn’t even look like the same species anymore!
She was miserable enough already, but Zhang Bei just had to twist the knife.
“Planning to infiltrate the enemy and become a tribal chief?”
“Piss off!”
“Could you turn away from the light? The glare’s hurting my eyes.”
“Go away! Go away! Go away!”
Gu Yue stood nearby, at a loss for how to comfort her.
Just keeping herself from laughing was hard enough!
“Boss, where’d the foreigner come from?”
Li Yang approached from a distance carrying several cups of iced cola.
Dazzled by a gleam of black, he blurted out that profound question.
Qingqing immediately fixed him with a look that could have devoured him alive.
At the same moment, Gu Yue, still suppressing her laughter, realized something.
Hadn’t that face mask originally been meant for her?
Faced with two pairs of ice-cold eyes, Li Yang quietly took a step back.
“May I ask what happened?”
Qingqing gritted her teeth. “I’m definitely giving you something to remember today!”
She had only studied boxing for a month, and she still couldn’t beat Boss Zhang.
But taking Li Yang down without a scratch was hardly a problem.
Besides, Gu Yue was joining this fight. He wouldn’t dare resist!
Zhang Bei discreetly backed farther away from Li Yang’s thrashing before allowing himself to laugh.
The king of troublemakers never disappointed.
Whether he was screwing over himself or his teammates.
Countless lessons had taught Zhang Bei that he could put his complete trust in Li Yang!
Still enjoying the spectacle, Boss Zhang had no idea that his most trusted employee had devised a plan to screw him over.
To be absolutely sure of success, Li Yang had kept it hidden until now.
Heizi glanced at Li Yang being pummeled, excitement flickering in his eyes.
After so long under Zhang Bei’s thumb, he finally had a chance for revenge!
He had to admit, the kid’s plan was flawless!
Heizi quietly pressed his radio button. “Begin the operation!”