Lan Luoyun had no intention of exposing Lin Yaru’s attempted escape just yet.
After all, proving that Lin Yaru had tried to run away wouldn’t benefit anyone else.
Since the missing woman had been found, the group resumed their journey.
The entire afternoon, Chief Chen was in a foul mood.
Every now and then, he lashed Lin Yaru with his whip.
This time, she didn’t dare complain.
Meanwhile, Lan Luoyun and Lin Nancheng remained untied.
After all, if Lan Luoyun hadn’t helped earlier, nobody knew how long it would have taken to find Lin Yaru.
“Mother…”
“Mother…”
“Can we go play now?”
Dabao and Erbao whispered hopefully.
They still hadn’t finished having fun inside the storage space before being brought back out.
“Of course.”
Lan Luoyun smiled.
“But while you’re playing, help Mother fill some bags with milk tea.”
“I’ll send you right beside the milk tea machine.”
The twins immediately nodded.
“Don’t worry, Mother!”
“We’ll do it!”
With that, Lan Luoyun quietly sent them back into the space.
Not only would they enjoy themselves, but it also reduced the burden on her and Lin Nancheng during the journey.
The first thing the twins did after entering was complete their mission.
They filled bag after bag of milk tea.
Matcha.
Classic milk tea.
Fruit flavors.
Anything they could find.
Only after finishing their work did they head back toward the amusement area.
Meanwhile, outside, Lan Luoyun pulled a random water pouch from her space.
This one happened to contain matcha milk tea.
“Not bad.”
“My babies did a great job.”
She took a sip before turning to Lin Nancheng.
“Thirsty?”
“Want some?”
Before he could answer, she had already shoved the pouch into his hands.
Lin Nancheng took a cautious drink.
His eyes immediately widened.
The flavor was unlike anything he had ever tasted.
There was tea.
But not just tea.
There was sweetness.
Creaminess.
And tiny edible bits mixed throughout.
“What is this?”
He looked astonished.
“Where do you keep finding these strange but delicious drinks?”
Lan Luoyun laughed.
“It’s called milk tea.”
“If you like it, I have plenty.”
“Drink as much as you want.”
The moment she finished speaking, Lin Nancheng raised the pouch and emptied the entire thing.
Not a single drop remained.
Lan Luoyun stared.
She had never expected such a rugged man to love milk tea this much.
The day had already been delayed by numerous incidents.
Nobody dared speak much during the afternoon march.
Chief Chen was still angry.
The atmosphere remained tense.
Even so, despite everyone’s efforts to hurry, they failed to reach the next stopping point before nightfall.
Darkness arrived first.
Continuing would be too dangerous.
“Rest here for now!”
Chief Chen shouted.
“Old Meng!”
“Take some men and search the area!”
“See if there’s somewhere we can shelter for the night!”
Old Meng quickly gathered several men and set off.
Eventually, they found a bridge tunnel nearby.
It could accommodate more than a hundred people.
One side had nearly been blocked by years of accumulated dirt and debris.
The result was a naturally enclosed space on three sides.
A perfect shelter.
The exhausted travelers settled beneath the bridge.
Everyone immediately began preparing food.
Lan Luoyun and Lin Nancheng, however, weren’t hungry.
They had spent the entire day drinking milk tea.
As for Dabao and Erbao, they had eaten plenty inside the storage space.
They weren’t hungry either.
“Nancheng.”
“Take Dabao and Erbao and play with them for a while.”
“I need to talk to Lin Yaru.”
Without waiting for a response, Lan Luoyun walked away.
She found Lin Yaru and dragged her toward a secluded spot not far from the bridge.
Seeing Lan Luoyun’s expression, Su Yuping and Lin Nanhao didn’t dare interfere.
Even Chief Chen ignored it.
He trusted that Lan Luoyun wasn’t about to run away.
The moment they were alone, Lan Luoyun got straight to the point.
“Lin Yaru.”
“You’d better behave yourself.”
“Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been trying to escape.”
Lin Yaru immediately bristled.
“What proof do you have?”
“Who says I was trying to run away?”
Lan Luoyun couldn’t be bothered arguing.
She simply grabbed Lin Yaru’s clothing and pulled out a thick stack of banknotes hidden inside.
Lin Yaru’s face instantly changed.
Back when Su Yuping’s family had visited, they had given her a considerable amount of silver and banknotes.
But Su Yuping had kept everything herself.
She never would have voluntarily handed such wealth to Lin Yaru.
There was only one explanation.
Lin Yaru had stolen the money.
Most likely, she had intended to flee the previous night.
Then she encountered the wild boar and was forced to return.
At noon, she had deliberately started a fire.
Amid the confusion, she had attempted to escape again.
Since her secret was exposed, Lin Yaru stopped pretending.
“Give those back!”
“Whether I run away or not is none of your business!”
She lunged forward.
Trying to snatch the banknotes.
Lan Luoyun sidestepped effortlessly.
Lin Yaru missed completely.
Then—
THUD!
Lan Luoyun’s kick sent her flying.
Lin Yaru slammed into a nearby tree and collapsed.
“This is only a small lesson.”
Lan Luoyun’s voice turned cold.
“If you continue causing trouble…”
“You won’t get to keep living.”
She still wasn’t ready to completely remove Lin Yaru from the picture.
The timing wasn’t right.
But repeated provocations deserved consequences.
Having delivered her warning, she turned around and walked away.
Lin Yaru could only limp back behind her.
No one pitied her.
In fact, most felt she deserved it.
If not for her actions, nobody would have endured Chief Chen’s endless scolding all afternoon.
The moment Lan Luoyun returned beneath the bridge, the twins ran over.
“Mother!”
“We slept so well in your secret base today!”
“Mother!”
“We want beds like the big one in your secret base!”
Lan Luoyun blinked.
“Big bed?”
“Which bed are you talking about?”
The shopping center inside her space had an entire furniture section.
There were countless beds.
She assumed they meant one of those.
The twins’ next words, however, shocked her.
“Mother!”
“We went to your big villa!”
“The bed inside was super soft!”
“We want to sleep there every day!”
Lan Luoyun froze.
Villa?
That word didn’t even exist in Southern Yue.
Where had they learned it?
Immediately, she sensed something was wrong.
“Dabao.”
“Can you tell Mother who else you met in the secret base today?”
There was no way the twins had learned modern terms on their own.
Dabao answered enthusiastically.
“We saw a giant toy!”
“It could talk!”
Lan Luoyun immediately understood.
The robot.
The Year-2100 household service robot she’d brought with her.
“Mother!”
“The toy person said you never have to worry about milk tea again!”
“It promised to fill bags of milk tea for you every day!”
Only then did Lan Luoyun finally relax.
At least it wasn’t another human somehow entering her space.
“That’s not a toy person.”
“It’s called a robot.”
“You can even give it a name if you want.”
The twins nodded eagerly.
They were already discussing possible names.
Lan Luoyun was laughing and chatting happily with them when—
Suddenly—
She felt something strange beneath her feet.
A faint vibration.
The ground…
seemed to be moving.