6: Chapter 6 He Yueyou

Pushing the door open directly, the scene inside unfolded before his eyes. There were eleven people in the private room, both men and women—seven men and four women. At that moment, a middle-aged man was singing while holding a beautiful girl, while others were joyfully playing games and drinking. He Yueyou was being sandwiched between two men who were pressuring her to drink; one man's hand was about to rest on her shoulder. Her eyes were somewhat hazy, suggesting she had already drunk quite a bit. Cao Xiao's heart boiled with rage, but he did not let it show on his face.

No one noticed the unexpected visitor. Near the door, Cao Xiao found the control panel on the wall, tapped it twice to turn on the lights, and pressed mute. The private room became brightly lit, and the noise died down. The man who was singing lost his musical accompaniment and choked on his breath. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked toward Cao Xiao at the doorway in unison.

"Sorry to disturb you all, but I'm here to pick up Yueyou. Let's go!" Cao Xiao stood straight at the door with a smile, offering an apology, though his face showed no hint of the embarrassment one usually feels after interrupting others. Ignoring their angry glares, he looked at He Yueyou and spoke.

"Kid, who are you? Don't you know it's very impolite to interrupt people's fun like this?" The middle-aged man who had been singing spoke each word slowly, his eyes fixed intently on Cao Xiao.

"I've already apologized. Yueyou, let's go!" Cao Xiao glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and spoke to He Yueyou again.

He Yueyou had already stood up, wanting to come out, but the person next to her blocked her path.

"Kid, you must be Yueyou's boyfriend. Why don't you sit down and have a drink with us? It's still early. It's not every day that Big Boss Zhang treats us, and today's activities are going to be very rich. Young people should participate in more activities and make more friends. Come, sit here." At this time, the middle-aged man blocking He Yueyou stood up, holding a glass of red wine, and spoke to Cao Xiao with a beaming smile.

"I don't drink. Please move aside and don't block the way." Cao Xiao wasn't buying it. He knew that if he didn't intimidate these people today, he probably wouldn't be able to leave. Furthermore, for He Yueyou's sake, he was fearless. As soon as he entered, he had used the Detection Function to scan everything in the private room. Although the Intelligent Industrial Mother Machine was not a weapon, it was more terrifying than conventional weapons within a certain range. Even if something legendary like a space was used for storage, it would be a huge mistake to say it had no offensive power. Simply releasing the thousand tons of coal collected in the space could cause a disaster; moreover, using the collection function could tear Shengshi down to a barren wasteland. At worst, he could make these scum who looked like decent people shut up forever, but that would only be a last resort when driven into a corner. Unless it was a life-or-death situation, Cao Xiao would never use such means for a moment's satisfaction.

"Cao Xiao, don't speak recklessly. This is Deputy Director Huang from our office, and everyone here is someone of status. I'm sorry, my boyfriend doesn't know how to speak properly; I'll apologize on his behalf." He Yueyou spoke to Cao Xiao with a face full of worry, then picked up a glass of red wine, apologized to the people in the room, and downed most of the glass in one gulp.

Cao Xiao didn't even have time to stop her, and the rage in his heart was almost impossible to suppress. He knew that those who could afford to consume at Shengshi, especially in Private Room 666, were people of high status locally. Although he didn't recognize any of them, their clothing and manner of speaking suggested they were either big bosses or officials. Many degenerates had been purged from the ranks recently, but could one expect these people, who were used to doing as they pleased, to suddenly become honorable gentlemen? Cao Xiao memorized each of their faces; if he had the chance in the future, he would make sure they received their due punishment.

"Oh! Little He, why are you the one drinking? If anyone's drinking, it should be that friend of yours. There are three glasses of white spirit here; if you come over and finish them, today's matter will be settled. Little He must stay today, but once you've finished these, you can get the hell out." A middle-aged balding man sitting in the corner spoke to Cao Xiao with a gloomy expression.

The anger in Cao Xiao's heart suddenly vanished; he was actually amused by these people. They had no idea they had just brushed past the line of death. They were all so self-righteous and unscrupulous. If Cao Xiao's psychological state hadn't been so stable, given that he possessed a weapon of mass destruction, these people would have gone to hell today. They completely disregarded him, and they didn't even respect He Yueyou. Since they wouldn't let them leave and he couldn't go on a rampage today, he could only find a way to take He Yueyou away. In the future, he would make them repent before him in despair in a more open and legitimate manner.

In an instant, he had a plan. Locating the electrical wires inside the wall above the corridor, he used the collection space to suddenly cut and store a small section, about one millimeter long, from the two main circuits of this floor. Immediately, the entire floor was plunged into darkness, followed by a burst of screams from outside. The emergency lights in the corridor began to function. Cao Xiao had cut the lines to create chaos so he could take He Yueyou away. He silently collected the white spirit from a bottle on the table into his space, then slowly introduced it bit by bit into the spot where he had severed the main lines inside the wall. The circuit short-circuited, the emergency lights burned out, and the entire building lost power. An explosion occurred at the point of the short circuit. white spirit itself is flammable; the short circuit directly electrolyzed the water in the spirit into hydrogen and oxygen. In the air-deprived pipes, this provided the conditions for combustion and added fuel. The short circuit provided a massive amount of energy, electrolyzing a lot of water in a short time. Combined with the expansion of gases, it instantly burst through the pipes and the wall, causing an explosion. The alcohol in the pipes also flowed out and began to burn, igniting flammable materials on the wall and producing thick smoke. Screams rose one after another; not only were the people in the room in a panic, but the entire Shengshi was in chaos.

Cao Xiao didn't stop his actions. He introduced a tiny bit of alcohol into the internal components of the phones of everyone in the room except He Yueyou. Knowing that phones also have flashlight functions, this made things perfect. There wasn't a single ray of light in the room. Those people hurriedly took out their phones only to find they wouldn't turn on. He Yueyou also took out her phone and was about to press the power button, but just because others couldn't see didn't mean Cao Xiao couldn't. Every substance emits invisible light, after all. By adjusting the Detection Function, Cao Xiao could see objects clearly. Using the Detection Function as his eyes, he walked over quickly, pushing aside anyone blocking his way. Reaching He Yueyou, he took her phone with one hand and put it in his pocket, then, ignoring her startled cry, he picked her up and quickly walked out of the private room.

He Yueyou realized what was happening and began to struggle, so Cao Xiao whispered to her: "It's me, Cao Xiao. It's too dark outside, let me get you out of here first." He Yueyou stopped struggling and gripped his arm with both hands. In the corridor, people were already using their phones for light and fleeing toward the stairwell. Cao Xiao carried He Yueyou and followed the crowd out of the Shengshi lobby. It was pitch black outside as well. Finding his car, he set He Yueyou down and opened the door for her to get in. He got in, started the ignition, and drove toward the small town.

"Cao Xiao, thank you for coming to rescue me today. I'm sorry for bringing you trouble. I shouldn't have asked you to come; I could have found a way to escape on my own. Those people are not to be trifled with. You should change jobs and stop staying in Xinyang County. My parents opened a company in the provincial capital; you can work there. If you go, the salary won't be low," He Yueyou said to Cao Xiao with an apologetic tone after a period of silence on the road.

"It's fine. I didn't provoke them, and they don't know my situation. If I stay somewhere else for a while, they won't be able to find me. You don't need to thank me, either. If I hadn't come, those beasts in human clothing would have done something terrible. We're friends, and I couldn't just watch something happen to you. Luckily, Shengshi had a power outage and a fire today, otherwise, who knows what would have happened," Cao Xiao said to He Yueyou, feigning a lingering fear.

"Well, if any of them try to cause you trouble, you must call me. I'll handle it then." Seeing he wasn't insisting, He Yueyou didn't push further.

"Alright, I'll definitely call you then. But you should still apply for a job transfer. Your workplace has such beasts; you have to be so cautious just going to work," Cao Xiao said.

"This time was truly an accident. I was called out by Director Huang today to discuss matters, but I didn't expect those vile women to drag me here after dinner. They pestered me so much I couldn't even leave. Those people usually act quite decent; I didn't expect them to show their true colors today. I really didn't know Director Huang was that kind of person; he used to be all smiles and very kind to everyone. If I had known, I wouldn't have gone out with him for anything. However, he wouldn't dare be lawless at the office; I get along well with the other leaders. If he dares to do this again, I'll have my Little Uncle deal with him. They didn't even check my background before daring to target me; my family won't reason with such scum—they'll just investigate them to the bone." He Yueyou explained the reason for being there, becoming angrier as she spoke until she was speaking fiercely.

"That's good then. We're almost there. You probably haven't eaten much today, have you? Go back and wash your face first, and I'll heat up the food. You can come over and eat in a bit." Cao Xiao hadn't heard He Yueyou talk much about her family before; after all, they didn't interact much normally. He figured her parents and Little Uncle weren't ordinary people. But Cao Xiao didn't think it was that simple—it's the petty people who are hard to guard against.

After parking the car, Cao Xiao and He Yueyou each returned to their own rooms. Cao Xiao quickly tidied up his messy little nest, heated up the prepared wild game, and set out a small square table and two small stools. He laid out the dishes and two sets of bowls and chopsticks. It was then that Cao Xiao realized something was missing. He Yueyou was a girl and didn't drink much, but there should at least be some drinks. However, there was nothing in the house but boiled water. This was embarrassing; he had never invited a girl to dinner before and hadn't considered this. It was too late now, but he hoped He Yueyou wouldn't mind.

After waiting another ten minutes, He Yueyou finally arrived late. She was wearing a light gauze nightgown, and her hair was still wet; she must have just showered. Cao Xiao stared blankly. Only now did he realize that He Yueyou was even more beautiful than he had imagined, as graceful and moving as a lotus emerging from water.

"You're really beautiful today!" Cao Xiao snapped out of his daze and couldn't help but say to He Yueyou.

"Haha, I've always been beautiful! Cao Xiao, you seem a bit different today. You wouldn't have talked like that before. You're acting strange today!" He Yueyou laughed confidently and then looked at Cao Xiao somewhat suspiciously.

"Nothing's changed; I've always been like this. It's just that you haven't observed me properly before." Cao Xiao didn't realize that he indeed had changed. He had gained a sense of self-confidence, and his temperament had changed accordingly. His way of speaking and acting had also been affected, no longer as gloomy as before. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been bold enough to speak to He Yueyou in such a direct tone today; he just hadn't felt the change himself.

"Maybe I just didn't know you well enough before! But you were really manly today, not taking those guys seriously at all. At that moment, I even doubted if it was really you," He Yueyou frowned slightly as if feeling sentimental, then spoke excitedly.

"I just have sharp eyes; I could tell at a glance those people were up to no good. At the time, I was just thinking about whether I could intimidate them. It was all an act. I didn't expect them to be so self-righteous and not buy it at all. Luckily that accident happened, otherwise I wouldn't have known how to save face. Let's not talk about that anymore, let's eat. I was lucky to get this wild game today; try my cooking and see how it is," Cao Xiao said with a mix of truth and lies.

"I'm starving today. I hardly ate anything, and my stomach is full of alcohol. Mmm! Braised rabbit meat. Hey, what soup is this? It smells so good. I won't be polite, then." He Yueyou's expression changed quickly, and she immediately began to speak piteously.

He Yueyou impatiently picked up a piece of rabbit meat with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, and swallowed it in a few bites. Then, with a face full of curiosity, she put a piece of snake meat in her mouth. She didn't speak, but as she ate, she made satisfied humming sounds.

"That is dragon-phoenix soup, it's good for nourishing the blood and qi," Cao Xiao said.