Chapter 75: The Conspiracy of the Seven (IV)

After some explaining, Anna finally calmed down a bit. Although there was still a lot of anger in her heart, she realized that what she needed to do now was to follow Xie Quan’s plan to restore his vision and mobility. Otherwise, in such a state, it would be really difficult for them to escape.

“I think I just saw the lab you guys are talking about, there are some people guarding it, that should be where the instruments are.” Anna looked at Xie Quan, who was sitting in a wheelchair, and looked at Sofia next to her, she judged, “It’s not convenient for you to go over together, I’ll go over and take care of the people first, then you can come over.”

“You’ve seen it?” Xie Quan suddenly asked.

Anna nodded. “I just came from outside and looked around a corner from a distance, I saw someone in the shadows, I thought you were inside.”

Xie Quan was suddenly silent.

Anna tilted her head. “What’s wrong? Anything wrong?”

“How many people are there?”

“About ten or so.”

Xie Quan frowned, and he asked, “Anna, how did you know I was here?”

Anna, though she didn’t know what he meant, replied succinctly, “We monitored your locker at the Imperial Bank. A few days ago, someone took your key to pick up something, and we followed them all the way here.”

“What were the details?”

“The details… Just an alpha came out of the Imperial Bank with something, then walked a little ways, got into a black hover car, which drove straight into the mansion… That’s it.”

“Why are you asking this? Time is of the essence, let’s not worry about these details, let’s act first…” Anna was in a bit of a hurry, although no patrols had been coming, this place was not safe after all, not to mention that they still had to treat Xie Quan first, there was not much time to delay.

However, Xie Quan said in a very decisive and cold voice, “Anna, you have to leave.”

Anna and Sofia were both suspicious and surprised. “Why?”

Anna said disapprovingly, “Why should I leave? What will you do if I leave? You’re not coming with me?”

Sofia also helped. “Yes, Mr. Yan, if Miss Anna leaves, it will be more difficult for the two of us to escape.”

However, when confronted with Anna’s question, Xie Quan replied categorically, “Don’t delay, you should leave, they are deliberately luring you here.”

When he left the bedroom with Sofia, there were only a few people guarding the area and it was easy to avoid them. He had previously thought that it might be because of the banquet that the people were transferred away, not to mention that he was still a blind man who couldn’t walk on his own, and it was understandable that they weren’t as defensive about him. But just now, Anna mentioned that there were many people guarding the vicinity of the laboratory.

That’s a contradiction.

If they were not on guard, then it should not have been so heavily guarded outside the lab. They were guarding the lab because they were afraid that someone might get in. But in this mansion, who else but him would want to break in?

The man did not let anyone guard outside his room in order to lure him out. But he was afraid that he would really enter the lab and release the controls on his body, so he still had people guarding the lab in the shadows. And Anna’s description of what they were tracking at the time confirms this suspicion.

Although the original Xie Quan told “Rod” where his safe key was located, the purpose was to let him alert Anna and others, and then let Anna have a trail to follow, but this process should never be so simple.

With the experience of dealing with “Rod” these days, this person was sinister and poisonous, and extremely concerned about the disclosure of his identity. Even the people waiting in the mansion did not know his name and identity.

How could a person like this reveal the location of his residence so easily?

He simply wanted to use this as bait to lure people in.

Anna froze, she frowned, facing the possibility raised by Xie Quan, she surprisingly did not feel too surprised. Such an “unsurprised” feeling was rather more shocking to herself. It turned out that deep down in her heart, she didn’t want to believe that everything would be so easy. But so what? She was still not willing to leave.

“Even if they have an ambush, I’m going to take you away-“

“Don’t be capricious.” Xie Quan was not overwhelmed by Anna’s defiant “camaraderie”. “Since there’s an ambush, it’s not something you can handle alone, now get out of here right now and then come back prepared.”

“…” Although Anna’s heart was reluctant, when she saw Xie Quan’s eyes, her mind also calmed down at once. His eyes had lost their emotion after losing his sight, and revealed his coldness that did not melt easily like ice.

It seemed that no matter what time it was, he could always look at everything so calmly, even if he was also in such a situation.

“Let’s go, before they move.”

Anna’s hands that were loosely hanging at the side clenched tight, finally she bit her lips and nodded. “You wait for me, I will come back.”

Although Xie Quan could not see, he could still hear Anna’s footsteps gradually moving away, agile, swift and light, like a feline.

Listening to the footsteps fade away, Xie Quan’s frown gradually loosened, while Sofia, who was standing behind Xie Quan, was flustered. “Then Mr. Yan, what should we do now?”

“Go back,” Xie Quan replied.

“Go back?”

Xie Quan nodded, since he knew that the other side had set a trap ahead, it was impossible to implement whatever plan he had before, today.

Xie Quan asked, “Xiao Bai, go back to the bedroom.”

Xiao Bai’s innocent and sinless voice rang out from the wheelchair’s control panel, “Yes! Mr. Yan!”

“Mr. Yan! Turn left ahead!”

“Go straight!”

“To the right!”

“Further to the right!”

“…” Sofia suddenly stopped in her tracks and spoke hesitantly, “Mr. Yan.” 

“What’s wrong?”

“This road… Is it misdirected?”

Xie Quan’s wheelchair didn’t stop, the wheels still slowly rolling forward.

Sofia looked at the heavy door ahead, she stared wide-eyed and murmured, “This is not your bedroom, and this is not the way to your bedroom-“

Xie Quan slightly froze, and then his brow furrowed.

The reason was simple, this wheelchair was not at all listening to his instructions.

And at that moment, Xiao Bai’s voice was still ringing unrelentingly, “Forward! Forward! Open the gates!”

Just like in the fairy tale, open sesame1, the cold and heavy door actually really opened with the voice of Xiao Bai.

And Sophia’s voice that was trembling from fear also sounded again after a brief loss of sound.

“Mr. Yan… This is not a bedroom… This is… The lab.”

Not the lab they were going to at the beginning, but another lab.

A room that no servant would go near. And in that lab, lying on the pale, cold floor was Anna, who should have just left safely. She had her hands tied behind her back and her whole body had fallen to the floor unconscious.

Xie Quan could not see, he only felt a coldness that came towards him. This coldness came from the front and from his heart. Although he could not see, he still seemed to see a huge net unfolded in front of him, tightly wrapped around himself.

This moment of panic he had not felt for a long time, even when his life was in danger before, he had never panicked. But now, finding out that his artificial intelligence Xiao Bai had betrayed him, his heart turned over in a huge wave.

He had always relied on his creations, because machines did not deceive people, and smart systems always acted according to the program engraved in them. Now, his artificial intelligence had been tampered with and betrayed him.

He suddenly became a little confused.

What should he do?

And at that very moment, a hand suddenly held the handle of his wheelchair from behind

Translator Notes:

The tale referenced is “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” from One Thousand and One Nights. “Open sesame” was a phrase used to open a cave filled with treasure. Nowadays, it’s a fun phrase to say when someone wants a door magically opened.