Chapter 272: Finding a Wife for Black Sesame?
Mu An’an felt like she had just had a long, peaceful dream.
She couldn’t remember what she had dreamed about, but she hadn’t felt this relaxed in a long time. A soft and beautiful melody lingered in her ears, pulling her into deep slumber.
She had no idea how long she had slept. When she woke up again, her hands and feet were no longer bound. The RV was moving steadily along the road, and outside the window, the midday sun shone brightly over the barren Gobi Desert.
Had she slept until the next day?
Su Tao, noticing that she was awake, exited the system and stepped out of the RV bedroom, smiling as she asked, “How do you feel?”
Mu An’an was still a little dazed. She tried calling out to Qu Jingwen in her mind, but there was no response. It was as if the other woman was in a deep, unbreakable sleep.
Mu An’an was pleasantly surprised. “Did she disappear?”
Su Tao shook her head. “Not so fast. I’ve only put her into a deep hypnotic state. It will take a few more times before she truly disappears.”
“Disappearing” was actually a process of brainwashing Qu Jingwen, making her completely relinquish control of the body and gradually lose her self-awareness.
Once she lost her sense of self, Qu Jingwen would be “dead.”
Even so, Mu An’an was delighted. She knew it was only a matter of time.
She said gratefully, “This is the first time I’ve felt like a real person, like I’m actually alive. Boss Su, thank you. You’ve given me a second life.”
Su Tao patted her on the shoulder and asked, “I remember you once said you were planning to go north to search for your family. What about now?”
The light in Mu An’an’s eyes dimmed, and she shook her head.
“I won’t search anymore. I haven’t heard anything for years. They’re probably gone. Besides, I’m doing well now. I don’t want to keep chasing something uncertain.”
Su Tao nodded. “Alright. But if you ever feel like looking, you can post a missing persons notice on the official site. If there are any leads, I can also send someone to help you find them.”
Su Tao already considered Mu An’an one of her own people, and for those she considered her own, she didn’t mind spending time and effort to help.
Besides, if the stash of weapons left behind by Tan Yong hadn’t been discovered yet, she might even get to claim them for free.
Mu An’an was deeply moved by her words and nodded firmly. “Thank you, Boss Su.”
She couldn’t help but think—if she had met Su Tao before she encountered Tan Yong, would her fate have been different?
But there were no “ifs” in life. The scars of the past were hers to heal.
From today onward, she would live well and work hard for Boss Su.
Speaking of work, Su Tao felt that continuing to have Mu An’an do odd jobs at Panliu Mountain wasn’t ideal anymore.
So, she assigned her to work under Ma Dapao as his assistant.
Ma Dapao was initially a bit uncomfortable with the fact that Qu Jingwen had turned into Mu An’an. It was both awkward and unnerving.
Parasites—just the thought of it was terrifying.
Something that could hide deep within a person’s consciousness and take over when least expected.
But Mu An’an beamed at him with a bright, sunny smile, her attitude humble and respectful. “Manager Ma, I’ll be relying on you. Please don’t hesitate to assign me any small tasks.”
It was the same face, but Ma Dapao felt as if he were looking at a completely different girl—one full of warmth and positivity.
His awkwardness and concerns eased, and his smile became much more genuine. “Let’s learn from each other and help one another.”
Mu An’an radiated the energy of a sunflower, always turning toward the light, and it was impossible to ignore.
Her joy and optimism were infectious, even making Su Tao feel more motivated in her work.
For the past two days on the road, Su Tao spent her mornings constructing schools and her afternoons on calls with Old Mei, discussing the planning and design of the Taoyang Private Military Training Ground.
She wanted a professional training facility, unlike Lei Xing’s setup, which was casual and mainly for entertainment.
Back when she had first suggested building a professional training area for Panther Path, she had envisioned a proper range with a shooting field, a comprehensive training ground, and a track and field area.
Lei Xing had outright rejected the idea. “Who cares about professionalism? As long as there’s a place to run, that’s good enough. Give us more entertainment facilities instead.”
Classic Lei Xing.
True to his style, Old Mei’s “design” was incredibly unprofessional—Panther Path’s training ground ended up looking more like a cyberpunk-themed resort from a distance.
But Su Tao was serious about her goal. She was training talent for the long term, so she needed a proper setup.
Old Mei had done his research this time, and with the remote assistance of Shi Zijin, a professional, they finally drafted a solid design for the Taoyang Private Military Training Grounds.
However, to Su Tao’s dismay, the finalized blueprint required 15,000 square meters of land.
And that was already the smallest version possible.
The 400-meter track alone took up 10,000 square meters.
The indoor and outdoor shooting ranges occupied 2,000 square meters.
The comprehensive training area, filled with various exercise equipment and obstacle courses, needed at least 2,000 square meters.
The remaining 1,000 square meters would be used for dormitories, providing housing for the private military team.
Su Tao liked everything about the plan and didn’t want to cut anything down.
But she had to be realistic.
She consoled herself: “I’ll take it step by step. Let’s start by building on the 1,400 square meters we already have.”
She actually still had 14 crystal cores left, but she was reluctant to use them now. Who knew? When they arrived in Xindu, there might be something valuable that required crystal cores for trade.
Night gradually fell.
This was their second night on the road. With Black Sesame around, they were able to effectively avoid zombie attacks at night, significantly increasing their marching speed.
Su Tao closed the system, ending her day of hard work. She yawned, ready to sleep.
But Black Sesame, who had just returned from patrol, was restless. Its mating calls were so loud that they were giving her a headache.
Even Shi Zijin, who was sleeping in the RV’s living room, gave up on sleeping, grabbed Black Sesame with one hand, opened the window, and tossed it outside.
Black Sesame then went off to bother other vehicles instead.
As soon as the sun rose, just as Su Tao was about to call everyone down for breakfast, she heard Jian Kaiyu roaring from the front vehicle:
“Black bean peed on my bag!”
Everyone froze and immediately started checking their own luggage, looking for any signs of similar damage.
Luckily, there were none!
Jian Kaiyu was the only unfortunate victim.
Black Sesame seemed to realize it had done something wrong. Its ears flattened as it leaped onto the roof of the vehicle, lying low and refusing to show itself.
Furious, Jian Kaiyu stormed out of the RV, holding his dripping bag, determined to climb onto the roof and catch the guilty cat.
Black Sesame instantly jumped down and dashed to Su Tao’s feet, clinging to her leg and trying to climb up, seeking refuge.
Su Tao couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. She picked it up by the scruff of its neck.
Black Sesame squinted its eyes and stayed still, not daring to move.
Jian Kaiyu, practically fuming like a fire-breathing dragon, glared at it. But in the end, he just scolded it a few times and accepted his bad luck, emptying his bag to dry out his belongings.
The bag contained his personal items—towels, a change of clothes, and other essentials.
Thanks to that one pee incident, almost everything got a bit of it.
Feeling guilty, Su Tao apologized, “I’ll replace everything for you. It’s because Black Sesame is in heat—he can’t control his urination. If he smells his scent on your things next time, he’ll do it again.”
Jian Kaiyu hadn’t realized Black Sesame was in heat.
No wonder—after spending so much time with Black bean, this was the first time they had seen it randomly marking items.
His eyes widened slightly as he asked a rather unexpected question:
“So… have you found it a wife yet?”
