Chapter 188: No One Here Appreciates Your Singing
“Has she entered the room?” Su Tao asked.
Zhuang Wan grinned. “She has! The moment she went in, I changed the passcode. Right now, she’s probably screaming for help with no one to hear her.”
Su Tao nodded. As soon as night fell, she called Liang Ce to go “check in” on Lian Sha with her.
But just as they reached the building’s entrance, they spotted Xiong Tai clutching a broom, glancing nervously upstairs. The next second, he looked horrified and bolted like his life depended on it.
“What are you running for?” Su Tao called after him.
Xiong Tai, as if seeing a ghost, ignored her and tried to flee even faster.
Liang Ce narrowed his eyes. In an instant, Xiong Tai’s movement slowed dramatically, as if he were moonwalking in zero gravity.
Su Tao casually jogged forward and grabbed him with ease.
“What were you just looking at?” she asked.
Liang Ce deactivated his ability.
Xiong Tai snapped back to normal, his face filled with terror. He stammered:
“Boss Su! That witch—why is she living here?! I was under her spell before! I nearly got tricked into joining the war and throwing my life away! I only realized it much later, and it scared the hell out of me. Back then, I had no control over what I said or did—it was like I was possessed!”
“And now you’ve let her move in? Just now, she saw me from her window and tried to use her powers again—she wanted me to tie a rope so she could climb down! There’s no way I’d dare!”
Su Tao raised an eyebrow. “She controlled you before?”
Xiong Tai was so traumatized that he took two large steps back, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the building. Swallowing hard, he explained:
“Back when Tan Yong wanted to attack your Panliu Mountain, he didn’t have enough soldiers, so he had Lian Sha bewitch me into joining the fight… Boss Su, I swear—I never wanted to go against you! Even if you gave me a hundred lives, I wouldn’t dare! I didn’t dare back then, and I definitely don’t dare now! D-Do you need anything else? If not, I’ll be leaving now…”
Seeing that Xiong Tai was on the verge of wetting his pants, Su Tao waved him off.
That night, Xiong Tai was so terrified he had nightmares—in his dreams, Lian Sha controlled him again and made him attack Boss Su, only for him to fail miserably and get shredded to pieces by a black cat.
*
Su Tao and Liang Ce went upstairs.
The moment the password-protected door unlocked, a soft, melodic tune drifted from inside.
Su Tao entered expressionlessly, took a seat on the couch, and calmly listened until the song ended. Then, she asked:
“Got any other tunes?”
Lian Sha’s eyes widened in pure disbelief.
“You… you’re not affected?”
She immediately tried again, her voice carrying a hypnotic edge.
“Take me out of here…”
Su Tao remained unfazed, simply watching her in silence.
Lian Sha’s heart sank.
“Wait… Have I seen you before?” She hesitated, scanning Su Tao’s face. “You’re Su Tao… from Panliu Mountain?”
The heavy silence gave her the answer.
Lian Sha froze for two seconds. Then, she suddenly burst into laughter.
“Su Tao… Taoyang—hahaha! I should’ve guessed! This place is just like Panliu Mountain!”
Her laughter died down as she eyed Su Tao warily. “Alright, what do you want? You’ve locked me up here—what’s your plan?”
As she spoke, her mind raced for an escape route.
Maybe the window?
Su Tao said calmly:
“Don’t bother thinking about it. Even if you escape this room, you won’t get out of Taoyang. I’d advise you to give up on that idea sooner rather than later.”
“I’m here to give you a choice. You have two options. First, you can keep being disobedient, struggling to escape, and eventually end up ‘accidentally’ dead in some corner of Taoyang.”
“Second, you listen to me. Stay put in this room, where you’ll have food and water. When we go to the old station, you’ll use your abilities to control Tan Yong and cooperate with me in killing him. If you behave, I might just let you go.”
Lian Sha was so shocked she couldn’t speak.
Was this really a choice?!
The first option was clearly a threat!
Su Tao stood up. “I’ll give you time to think. But during that time, you’ll have to take care of your own meals. This room will be cut off from water and electricity. Oh, and don’t bother trying to bewitch anyone passing by—no one here appreciates your singing.”
Liang Ce, ever sharp, snatched Lian Sha’s communicator and even took her only piece of luggage before flashing her a smug smile.
The password-protected door locked again.
Night fell, and the exquisitely decorated room was plunged into complete darkness.
Even the previously open window had been locked tight, sealing her off entirely from the outside world—not even a wisp of wind could get through.
*
The next day, Su Tao received a call from Lei Xing, his voice filled with irritation.
“Fuck! We just arrived two days ago and found our own turf taken over. We’ve been fighting for two days straight, finally drove those bastards out today, and now I can finally take a breath and call you.”
Su Tao’s first reaction was concern for their safety. “Was it serious? Is everyone okay? What about you?”
Lei Xing, unexpectedly warmed by the concern, completely softened, his tone doing a 360-degree turn:
“I’m totally fine! Da Zui and the others just got some minor injuries. The worst hit were the locals and our men stationed there—about ten of them died. The enemy had more people, lost around twenty. Their leader? I even managed to bite him, hahaha! Didn’t kill him, but with a wound that deep, he’s in for a rough time.”
Su Tao warned him, “Be careful and keep a low profile. If you attract too much attention, you’ll only invite trouble.”
Lei Xing, oddly pleased by the scolding, replied cheerfully:
“Got it! I’ll make sure Da Zui and the others stay low-key.”
Su Tao: …And yet, weren’t you the one leading the charge in showing off?
Lei Xing continued, “Things are under control on my end. We’ll head back tonight, take the shortcut, and be there in three days. Then we’ll storm Tan Yong’s headquarters directly. What do you think?”
Su Tao chuckled. “No rush now. When you return, rest first. I’ve already caught Lian Sha—she’s locked up here. We’ll use her as bait to lure Tan Yong out. Once he steps outside the old station, we’ll kill him there—no need to waste manpower fighting our way in.”
Lei Xing paused, then laughed loudly.
“Brilliant move! Most people wouldn’t even be able to capture Lian Sha, but you actually managed it without getting bewitched. Boss Su, just how many hidden talents do you have?”
Su Tao smirked. “Enough talking. Since you’re fine, take the time to recover. When you get back, I’ll have Master Qin prepare a feast—eat till you drop.”
“I’d like to request an extra two-liter bottle of ice-cold milk.”
“No problem.”
“Listen to me, thank y—”
“Beep beep beep—” (Call disconnected.)
*
Shortly after, Zhuang Wan arrived, looking smug. “Lian Sha gave in. Guess spending the night in total darkness with no food or water made her rethink things.”
Su Tao corrected her. “She didn’t rethink anything—she had no choice. Giving in was only a matter of time. Restore her water and electricity, but only give her cheap meals, just enough to keep her alive.”
And so, the task of delivering food to Lian Sha fell to none other than Xiong Tai—the lowest-ranked person in Taoyang.
When Xiong Tai heard the news, he almost passed out from fear. Trembling uncontrollably, he clung to Qi Yunlan’s leg, sobbing:
“I—I—ahhh! I’d rather spend my whole life scrubbing toilets, cleaning fountains, and taking out the trash! I’d even give up drinking forever! Please, I beg you—don’t make me face that witch! Waaaah—”
