Chapter 21
Not bad, Shen Yuzhe indeed made some small movements while hugging Mina. She probably sensed it as well.
Even if she didn’t sense it, she would likely discover it later. Shen Yuzhe believed that she would entrust the gold card to the strongest among them, which might be Jay.
Though possessing normal cards was the safest option, having lucked out with a gold card shouldn’t go to waste.
The saying goes, “When you’re well-fed, you start thinking of lust.” In this context, the “special cards” were the primary resources the mini-persons on their team aimed for, rather than focusing on “intimacy.”
Therefore, Shen Yuzhe thought that until his advanced card was taken away, Mina and Lily were relatively safe. Most of the males’ attention was still on “card snatching.” Only after they acquired satisfactory cards would they seek further benefits.
Once he exchanged his advanced card, Shen Yuzhe also considered that if he was unfortunately robbed, it might not be a dead end. After all, Johnny didn’t explicitly state what card he drew when he accidentally exposed Shen Yuzhe. It was the misunderstanding of those people.
In this way, by losing only an advanced card, he could mislead everyone who coveted the gold card and temporarily divert their attention from Mina and the others. If used effectively, these two cards could become their life-saving charms. Shen Yuzhe understood this from the beginning.
Now, after Shen Yuzhe had cleverly led the pursuers for almost an hour, the moment that determined life or death had finally arrived.
The spectators outside the arena were also eager to see whether Little Wolf would be angered by being deceived or would let Shen Yuzhe go.
Killing was not allowed, but if Little Wolf became enraged, it was possible that he might cruelly beat the cunning black-haired mini-person.
Stevens glanced at Evan with an air of inevitability, already looking forward to Little Wolf’s performance.
However, what happened next stunned everyone!
Little Wolf pulled his neck back and maintained a slight distance from Shen Yuzhe. He nodded with a joyful expression.
Although many positions in the arena were equipped with listening devices, mini-people’s voices were still too faint compared to regular people’s. They were only conveyed if they were speaking right next to a microphone or shouting loudly within the arena. So, initially, the audience didn’t have this requirement. After all, watching mini-person fights was akin to watching action movies, similar to watching cricket fights; nobody cared whether the “crickets” had lines.
But the unfolding situation had left them somewhat puzzled.
What had the black-haired mini-person said to Little Wolf? Why was Little Wolf so compliant? Could it be that one advanced card had already satisfied him?
Stevens also widened his eyes, staring at the screen in disbelief. If he had a long beard, he might be blowing air from frustration by now.
In fact, the recent events weren’t much lighter on Shen Yuzhe’s heart than they were on the audience outside.
While letting Little Wolf observe the advanced card, his heart was pounding as well. He was afraid that Little Wolf would catch on.
Indeed, there was a significant difference between the gold card and the advanced card. The gold card had a golden border engraved around it and its letters were gilded. The advanced card had the same manufacturing process as the intermediate and regular cards, differing only in the letters on it.
But Shen Yuzhe was gambling—gambling that Little Wolf wouldn’t recognize the difference.
During the card drawing earlier, Little Wolf had loudly asked about the card in his hand. Shen Yuzhe had kept this in mind, speculating that Little Wolf probably couldn’t read.
In the entire card drawing box, there was only one gold card and two advanced cards. One advanced card had been drawn by Ace early on, meaning that among those who had seen both the gold card and the advanced card, only he was left. Of course, now it might also include Mina or possibly Jie, but definitely not Little Wolf.
If Little Wolf couldn’t read, he wouldn’t be able to tell whether the card in Shen Yuzhe’s hand was a gold card or an advanced card.
Shen Yuzhe’s heart was about to leap out of his throat, and finally, Little Wolf finished verifying and revealed a satisfied smile.
Shen Yuzhe breathed a sigh of relief, quickly putting the card away and intentionally putting on a reluctant expression. “Let me see your card too.”
Unexpectedly, Little Wolf spread his hands generously, saying, “I don’t have one right now.”
Shen Yuzhe’s eyes twitched. “Huh? What about the card you just drew?”
“That ordinary one? Useless, I threw it away.” Little Wolf scratched his ear, saying, “Don’t worry, it’s just a card. I’ll snatch one from someone I encounter later and give it to you.”
Shen Yuzhe was rendered speechless…
Yet, Little Wolf had a confident expression and asked, “What’s next? You won’t secretly run away, will you?”
Shen Yuzhe replied, “You’ve been following me for so long, are you afraid I’ll run?”
Little Wolf nodded self-assuredly. “You have a point.”
Shen Yuzhe surveyed his surroundings and said, “Those people will probably catch up soon. I need to find a place to hide myself first. You’ll be hiding in a nearby concealed spot, maintaining some distance from me. If someone spots me, you’ll attack them secretly.”
“Why do I need to ambush from a distance? Can’t I just stay with you?” Little Wolf still hadn’t given up on ambushing Shen Yuzhe, hoping to knock him out while he let his guard down, snatch the card, and make a quick getaway… He couldn’t be bothered to play bodyguard for such a long time!
Shen Yuzhe said, “If you stay with me, those people will definitely consider you my ally. This brings us back to the issue I mentioned earlier, right? Do you think that even if you snatch my card and part ways, they’ll spare you?”
Little Wolf: “Uhh…”
Shen Yuzhe continued, “But if you’re hidden, the effect is different. Your ambushes and sneak attacks will create the illusion of ‘I have many companions,’ making people wary and hesitant. Even if a master appears and snatches my card, you can carefully assess the situation in the shadows. When you understand their strength, you can plan how to get the card back.”
Although Little Wolf was displeased with being led around by the nose, Shen Yuzhe’s words were comprehensive and meticulous, leaving almost no room for objection. Thus, he had to reluctantly comply with the plan.
The two of them soon found a hiding place: a dilapidated thatched cottage surrounded by unknown plants, lush and green, highly concealed.
Shen Yuzhe didn’t know whether the environment here had developed naturally or was artificially constructed. If the latter was the case, then the designers had certainly put in a lot of effort… But they were doing all this for entertainment. How bored were the giants to indulge in this?
Just as he sighed about this, Shen Yuzhe heard Little Wolf’s voice from a tree. “Hey, I don’t even know your name!”
Shen Yuzhe: “Yu, like the rain.”
Little Wolf asked, “What is rain?”
For a moment, even Shen Yuzhe couldn’t answer himself. In reality, his original name given by Evan was Blake. Mina and others had called him “Blake” for a while too, but that name made him feel disconnected.
Until one night, he had a dream. In the dream, he was lying somewhere, urgently and repeatedly telling himself a few words to remember his name. As a result, he only remembered the word “Yu” (rain).
It was a strange character, but miraculously, he recognized it and knew its literal meaning.
Later, he asked Mina what the “little drops of water falling from the sky” were called, and Mina told him it was rain—of course, in the language they were using to communicate now. Mina also said that rain was frightening and recounted how her sister was swept away by rainwater.
Shen Yuzhe felt it was familiar in some way and subconsciously felt like he had seen it before. Now, with Little Wolf’s question, he suddenly realized that he actually hadn’t.
He had been confined to Evan’s house and hadn’t experienced real rain since waking up. However, those things seemed to be buried deep in his mind and were unintentionally unearthed—a part of his memory.
However, his memory of raindrops was very small, fine, and harmless.
Shen Yuzhe frowned and once again connected his identity to the giants…
“What are you staring at!” Little Wolf impatiently interrupted his thoughts.
Shen Yuzhe snapped back, explaining briefly to Little Wolf, though he seemed to not understand.
Shen Yuzhe then asked him a question, “When did you wake up?”
After thinking for a moment, Little Wolf said, “About… a year ago.”
Indeed, judging by Little Wolf’s mental maturity, he didn’t seem to have grown for many years. Shen Yuzhe’s guess was correct—Little Wolf was also someone who had had their memories erased.
Apart from Mina, who had survived in the mini-world for many years and was purchased by Evan, Shen Yuzhe hadn’t encountered a second person born normally.
Shen Yuzhe further asked, “And what about your red-haired partner?”
Little Wolf wrinkled his face. “That redhead? I don’t know. She was bought by the owner just a couple of months ago to mate with me.”
Shen Yuzhe was dumbfounded. “Mate, mate?”
Little Wolf seemed like he didn’t want to be associated with that person at all and said fiercely, “Yeah, but I don’t like her at all! She’s fierce! Moreover, she doesn’t seem like a female at all!”
Now Shen Yuzhe was stumbling over his words. “She’s a girl!?”
Little Wolf replied, “Yeah, can’t tell, right? I don’t know what the owner was thinking, and I don’t know why he didn’t pick a normal one…”
Shen Yuzhe couldn’t find words. The information conveyed in Little Wolf’s few sentences was too impactful on his perspective.
After digesting it for a while, he changed the subject and asked Little Wolf, “You’re not from here, so why do you want to snatch the gold card?”
Little Wolf responded, “The owner said that if I could snatch the gold card, he would let me freely roam around the big house for a day, hehe.”
Shen Yuzhe inquired, “Big house?”
Little Wolf clarified, “The house where the owner lives.”
Shen Yuzhe questioned, “So, where do you normally live?”
Little Wolf answered, “In a very small box, I can’t even run in there. I don’t like it, I’m almost growing hair in there…”
Shen Yuzhe felt a twinge of guilt for deceiving Little Wolf and said, “Is freedom only attainable through the gold card? What about the advanced card?”
“The advanced card can only be exchanged for food, and it’s useless. If I can’t snatch the gold card, I might as well stay here. I feel this place is more interesting…” Suddenly, Little Wolf fell silent and looked alertly toward a certain direction, then after a moment, he threw a small stone in Shen Yuzhe’s direction—this was their signal—warning him to hide because someone was approaching!