Vegetables exposed to radiation and those that had mutated weren't exactly healthy. No wonder Eiffel had been having constant nosebleeds lately, no wonder Xiao Dou kept recoiling from the mutated veggies, and no wonder she kept hearing the odd sobbing waves coming from them. This eerie castle was basically a wall built by viruses, sucking in harmful substances day after day. And these people hadn't even noticed.
The food only gave them a temporary illusion of strength.
It was all a scam. That explained why she hadn't heard of such miraculous material in her previous life. These two weren't some kind of time travelers at all. Just as they said, they were nothing more than a bunch of con artists.
As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
If everyone here had eyes on Austin Castle, maybe it was possible to cooperate. Everyone could get what they wanted, and the mission would be way easier. They were all stuck, trapped inside Austin with no way out. Taking anything by force would be nearly impossible—but if they played the con right, letting the enemy willingly deliver the supplies themselves, that would be perfect.
Jing Shu's mind started spinning with ideas.
At that moment, Dr. B spoke up, "You have to trust in human greed and desire. Humans aren't tricked by others—they trick themselves. They live in their own lies. No one can wake them from what they already believe. Once we introduce the castle walls into the mix, they'll believe us first. Then, after a series of checks, they'll become addicted to their daily dreams of getting rich."
"So? How do we get the supplies out? And how do we escape?"
Dr. B paced, swirling a test tube. "I plan to do all of it outside the castle, unnoticed. We'll switch the supplies secretly, and we'll escape along the way. But it has to be gradual. We might even have to make them beg us to perform the ritual outside. To do that, the materials have to be rare, and obtaining them has to be unheard of. Let me think, how do we pull off this act?"
"Bit, besides the three of us, maybe we should find some powerful allies. Ones we can trust, because escaping won't be easy.
Are you crazy? No one in Austin Castle is trustworthy. They're all minions of that man, lost in their decadent lives. If anyone figures out this is all a conspiracy, we'll die horribly!"
"Clap, clap, clap." Jing Shu stepped out from the shadows, applauding. She couldn't help but admire Dr. B's plan. This man really understood the essence of deception.
"Who's there?!"
"Damn, how did she get in?!"
Jing Shu's figure appeared in the dim light. Mrs. C panicked, instantly pulling a gun on her. The fact that anyone could carry a gun in this supposedly gun-free castle showed just how much authority Dr. B commanded. Even she had been fooled.
"Ma'am, don't get excited, or—" Jing Shu's lips curved into a faint smile. With a gesture, a dozen snakes slithered up silently, coiling around Dr. B and Mrs. C's feet and racing up their necks, tongues flicking.
Mrs. C froze, eyes wide with terror. The snakes were only a few dozen centimeters long, but they were venomous. She didn't have any serum or antidote.
Dr. B raised his hands, relaxed. "Don't panic, my dear beautiful lady. I'm just wondering what I can do for you."
Jing Shu strolled in slowly, her bulky coat making her look casual. Xiao Hei followed, translating their conversation.
"Bit, it's her. This Chinese woman—she cultivated the herbs!"
Dr. B squinted, rubbing his red nose and shrugging. "Ah, this clever lady must have discovered something. You heard something, didn't you?"
Jing Shu dusted off her coat. "Crawled in through your chimney. Not easy, but I heard everything you said. I think I know the secret of the Luminite now."
"Oh? That's unfortunate news, isn't it, my beautiful lady? What's your plan? Threaten us? Report us? Though honestly, neither seems likely." Dr. B looked calm, fully embodying the con artist's MAX skill—always confident.
Jing Shu nodded. "Actually, I want to cooperate with you."
"You want the supplies too?" Mrs. C asked warily.
Jing Shu shook her head. Most of the food here was irradiated and unsafe. "Honestly, what I came to Austin Castle for was the full set of dehydrated vegetable equipment. Of course, a well-stocked seed bank would be great, and if there's extra minerals, that'd be nice too."
Dr. B smirked, amused, as if he didn't believe her.
Mrs. C was blunt. She stared at Jing Shu like she'd lost her mind. "Forget China. Food and supplies are scarce here. You're risking so much for this? Or is this some kind of trap, trying to pull a 'sucker trick' on us?"
"Recently, a wealthy slave owner came to Austin. He offered a huge reward for a group of Asians—you heard about that, right?" Jing Shu asked.
Dr. B nodded, raising an eyebrow. "So he's after your group? But how did you get past so many checkpoints and into the castle?"
Jing Shu smiled faintly. "There's always a way in. Do you know why he's paying so much? Because we stole supplies from twenty of their cargo ships. For now, we don't need more food. What we need is equipment to process and dehydrate vegetables."
Dr. B's expression shifted to understanding, then he laughed heartily. "Looks like we're all on the same side. Beautiful lady, could you please call your little pets off? We can discuss the next steps properly."
At a wave of her hand, the snakes slithered back like a tide until they vanished. Mrs. C exhaled, raised her lips, and snapped her fingers—but nothing happened.
She snapped again, and again—still nothing.
Jing Shu quietly snapped her fingers and stepped out from the shadows, bringing forth a half-human, half-ghost figure wrapped in bandages. She teased, "Looking for this person?"