Chapter 388: No Disturbance
Shi Zijin pressed, “What’s the most important thing?”
Su Tao shook her head, “It’s not important anymore. I’ll have the monitoring room track Jiang Tong’s movements 24/7, and I’ll ask Lingyu to follow her as closely as possible—even outside Taoyang.”
Hearing her name, Lingyu immediately perked up, “What? What is it?”
Su Tao distracted her with a strawberry and continued, “I must visit the research base soon to see Bone Wings and consult Shen Wencheng.”
That night, Shi Zijin unusually had no interest in watching dramas or wandering around.
A chilling thought weighed on him—Dongyang, or rather the entire southern region, could not survive the disaster brought by a second Bone Wings.
And right now, he was nothing more than a powerless spirit—too weak to play the hero again.
But aside from him, there truly was no one else capable of confronting a second Bone Wings.
And if there was a second one, could a third and fourth not also exist?
The scariest part was that humans were exposed, while they hid in the shadows.
It really felt like walking on thin ice, standing at the edge of an abyss.
Late at night, Lin Fangzhi got up to use the bathroom and saw the living room TV still on. Major Shi sat by the window, his face clouded with worry.
He didn’t get it—what was there to worry about while watching TV? Was the drama that bad tonight?
Forget it. Better get to bed—tomorrow, a northern group was coming to purchase supplies…
*
The next morning, Su Tao attended her usual Dongyang meeting. Surprisingly, a familiar face was there—Gu Mingchi.
Apart from the stern-faced District Chief Liang, no one objected to his participation.
After all, most people in the eastern district still followed his lead. Without him, their district-wide plans wouldn’t get off the ground.
The eastern district spanned a vast 390,000 square meters—almost 400,000. Su Tao did a quick mental calculation—it would require about 4,000 crystal cores to secure the entire area.
The sheer number made her head spin. She almost needed medical attention on the spot.
It was too hard. Way too hard. If they wanted to lock down the eastern district, would she have to resort to robbing coastal areas?
The meeting lasted about an hour. Afterward, District Chief Xie enthusiastically offered to drive Su Tao home.
Gu Mingchi stepped beside him, silently watching.
District Chief Xie hesitated. “…I, uh, have some things to do. Maybe Boss Gu can take Su Boss home instead?”
Gu Mingchi responded with a simple, “Mm.”
Without hesitation, Su Tao got into his car. She was about to explain why she had hung up on him last time when he beat her to it:
“Why did you hang up on me?”
Su Tao answered honestly, “Something urgent came up. By the time I was free, it was already too late—I didn’t want to disturb you.”
Gu Mingchi’s face remained cold and calm. “You wouldn’t disturb me.”
Little did she know, after being hung up on, he had waited all night for her call. Whether it was late or not didn’t matter to him.
Su Tao quickly changed the subject, “Boss Gu, securing the eastern district isn’t just my responsibility. Since you’re the one in charge, shouldn’t you contribute some crystal cores? District Chief Xie is practically broke—he already emptied his pockets to support the project.”
Might as well squeeze what she could!
Gu Mingchi replied calmly, “No need to ask. When the project starts, I’ll send over whatever you need. Also, you still have those medical supplies, right? I can arrange a reliable convoy to transport them to the coast, the north, the inland west, and even across the ocean.”
Su Tao’s eyes lit up. “Boss Gu, you’re amazing! I’ll build you a private residence—you’ll love it.”
Hearing her cheerful tone was music to Gu Mingchi’s ears.
Women needed to be coaxed—gently.
As he drove steadily down the battered road, it somehow seemed more pleasant. He added, “The people who attacked Taoyang last time were from Dingnan Base. When did you offend them?”
Su Tao blinked, thinking back to the brief attack on Taoyang.
The battle had ended so quickly that she barely remembered it.
Dingnan Base? That probably meant Jiao Qing’s husband had found out she was the one who killed his wife.
Still, it was a pretty pitiful attempt at revenge.
Su Tao casually said, “You know Dingnan’s First Lady?”
Gu Mingchi frowned slightly. “Mm. An old woman pretending to be young.”
Hearing his blunt description, Su Tao felt no need to hold back.
“Yeah, her. I killed her. Now her husband’s trying to get back at me. Simple as that.”
Gu Mingchi gave her a surprised look, his amber eyes gleaming with an unusual light.
It was the first time Su Tao had seen his eyes up close, beneath those silver-framed glasses.
They were a mesmerizing amber—mysterious and dangerously attractive.
Startled, she quickly covered her eyes. “Hey! What are you doing—trying to kill me with your powers?”
Gu Mingchi sounded exasperated. “…I’m not using my powers.”
“Then stop looking at me!”
With a helpless sigh, Gu Mingchi refocused on the road.
“I’m just surprised you’d kill someone. I didn’t think your kindness had teeth.”
Su Tao scooted a little farther from him, “I’m not a saint. If someone wants to hurt me, I’ll pay them back twice as hard. By the way, how do you know those attackers were from Dingnan?”
“I captured the ones who escaped. Do you want them back for questioning, or should I burn them all and be done with it?”
Su Tao froze, genuinely moved for the first time. “Gu Mingchi… thank you.”
His face twisted with a jumble of emotions—joy, stubbornness, restraint, and pride—so intense that he looked like a mess.
Su Tao stared. “If you don’t like me thanking you, I won’t say it. Don’t look so scary.”
Gu Mingchi’s voice was low. “Say it again.”
“…Don’t look so scary?”
“The other part.”
“…Thank you?”
He hummed softly. “You’re welcome.”
Feeling slightly overwhelmed by his unpredictable reactions, Su Tao fell silent for the rest of the ride.
Gu Mingchi wanted to talk more but had no idea how to make small talk. If others didn’t start a conversation, he wouldn’t either.
He had planned to linger in Taoyang for a while, hoping for more interaction, but then he saw a girl bouncing toward Su Tao.
“Tao! You’re back—I have something amazing to show you~”
Seeing Wen Man, Su Tao immediately forgot about Gu Mingchi, feeling both exasperated and sweetly touched.
This kind of sweetness had nothing to do with romance—it was the warmth of knowing a good friend always cared about her, always shared joys first.
Wen Man didn’t even notice Gu Mingchi. She grabbed Su Tao’s hand and dragged her outside Taoyang.
“I need to show you outside—it’s too warm in here to feel it properly.”
Hand in hand, the two girls dashed away.
For the first time, Gu Mingchi felt a little… redundant.
