The off-road vehicle struggled up the rugged mountain road; despite carrying five people, the spacious vehicle did not feel crowded at all.
It was just the back-and-forth jostling that was a bit uncomfortable.
"I say, Mr. Bang, where exactly are you planning to hold this swimsuit party? It seems a bit unreliable to do it in the middle of nowhere," said Xie Tiankong, who had recently started doing video ga comntary. Riding the modest wave of popularity gained from past videos, he was getting by fairly well.
Shaobang laughed, "Just relax, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
"Mr. Bang, what's the deal with those models? Are they pretty?" This ti the question ca from Xiao Ge, the young man who seed a bit eager and lacked the restraint of the others.
"You'll see how pretty they are when we get there. Look, isn't that it?" Shaobang said, pressing down on the accelerator as he spoke.
Just ahead in the mountain hollow, a rather large two-story villa ca into view. The vehicle finally stopped bumping around after reaching a stone-paved road and parked in a clearing outside the mansion. The group got out of the vehicle and looked around, finding everything quite novel.
Li Shuren sized up the building before him. It appeared to have so years on it, showing signs of decay, but the grandeur of its past was still evident, exuding a sense of historical vicissitude. Other than that, however, it didn't look like a place where a swimsuit party would be held, which made him sowhat suspicious.
"I say, Mr. Bang, surely this isn't the pool for your swimsuit party?" Han Wenhuan joked, pointing to a large pond in front of the villa. Clearly ant for raising fish, the sizeable pond was lined with sand, filled with lush water plants that made the water appear green, and occasionally a carp would leap out, causing ripples to spread.
"Of course not. This mansion was a refuge from war for my ancestors. No one has lived here since liberation, and I took it over for temporary stays during wilderness trips. Let's head inside, it looks like rain," Gu Shaobang said, pointing to the sky as he spoke. Indeed, at so point, a mass of leaden clouds had drifted over, giving the sky a heavily overcast look.
Slapping his thigh, Han Wenhuan exclaid, "Damn, I saw the weather forecast this morning and it said there'd be heavy rain, but I didn't catch on at the ti. The swimsuit party was just a ruse you made up, wasn't it? Tell the truth, Mr. Bang, what's the real reason you brought us here?"
"You'll all know by twelve. Let's get inside before we get drenched," Gu Shaobang said, opening the large door of the villa and leading the way in. Seeing the wind pick up and the thunder rumble ominously as if rain could start at any mont, the group, with no other choice, followed him inside.
Although the villa looked sowhat old, the interior was quite clean, with furniture like sofas and chairs all in place, and electricity was still functioning.
Gu Shaobang pointed to a liquor cabinet, "There's alcohol in the cabinet, all fine drinks. There are boxes with compressed biscuits, canned goods, and so snacks – help yourselves."
None of the group were shy, and they weren't about to stand on ceremony with Shaobang. They each helped themselves to a glass of good liquor from the cabinet and began to relax. Han Wenhuan opened a food box and imdiately laughed, "Heh, military grade? What are you stockpiling all these biscuits and canned goods for? Planning on becoming a recluse?"
He picked up a can and noticed that sothing was off about the date; the products were all manufactured within the past month or two.
Casually tossing aside the can, he turned to Gu Shaobang and asked, "Alright, what's really going on?"
"I told you, you'll know everything by twelve. If you're interested, we could play so poker first."
"Damn, you're not being straight with us. I ca for the swimsuit models; if there aren't any, I'm not playing your ga," Xie Tiankong said as he headed for the door. Just then, a loud crack of thunder sounded, startling Xie Tiankong enough to step back quickly. Outside, the rain began to pour down, making it impossible to leave.
Xie Tiankong glared at Gu Shaobang, frustrated, and reluctantly sat down.
Not far from the mansion, about a mile away, a sedan was parked on the side of the road, peering through the downpour at the distant, blurry outline of the villa.
Little Li and Little Wang were silent as they watched the rain outside, "Damn, why would those guys run into the mountains for no reason and just happen to get caught in a downpour?"
"Yeah, the higher-ups told us to keep an eye on these guys but didn't clarify why. What the hell!" Little Wang chid in agreent.
"Stop it, it wouldn't be good if the higher-ups found out," said the other.
As they were complaining, suddenly they heard a knocking sound at the car door.
Both n went quiet at once, glancing at each other and recognizing the anxiety in the other's eyes. Who could be knocking in such a torrential downpour?
Little Li drew his handgun and signaled towards the door; Little Wang nodded, drew his own weapon, and stepped out.
After a few steps in the rain, a bolt of lightning flashed directly above Little Wang, striking him without deviation. The appearance of the lightning was so sudden that Little Li hadn't even processed what had happened before Little Wang had collapsed, convulsing.
How could this happen! Little Li rushed out quickly, checked Little Wang's neck for a pulse, but it seed he had none. He stood up, looking around to find the person who had knocked earlier, but the rain obscured everything. With only the rain around him, a chill ran down Little Li's spine, unsure if it was from the rain or fear.
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