Chapter 51 The Legendary Lin Xiaobao

Chapter 51 The Legendary Lin Xiaobao

"Was it you who broke the illusion?"

A strange voice suddenly pierced Hua Diao's ears, startling her out of her cheerful mood. She immediately looked up toward the source of the sound.

There stood a young man with handsome features, dressed in a white shirt casually paired with suit pants. Tall and well-built, he appeared to be an educated elite in his mid-twenties, exuding an air of refinement. His brows were slightly furrowed, and his deep, inscrutable eyes bore into her with a mix of eight parts scrutiny and two parts displeasure.

Hua Diao blinked in surprise. "You are...?"

Before the young man could answer, the Bao Brothers beside her burst out excitedly. "Xiao Bao! You're alive and didn't kick the bucket! That's great!"

The young man's cool demeanor instantly cracked, his lips twitching as his sophisticated facade crumbled.

Hua Diao was taken aback.

So... this was the legendary Lin Xiaobao?

She glanced at him, then at the three hulking brothers who were now rushing toward him with joyous, almost childlike enthusiasm, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Had the Bao Brothers taken all the nutrients in the womb, leaving Lin Xiaobao stunted and lacking their massive build? Or had Xiaobao stolen all their brains instead, making him clearly the smartest of the bunch?

After the Bao Brothers finished doting on their little brother, Da Bao cheerfully waved at Hua Diao. "Girl, come over here! Let me introduce you—this is our little brother, Lin Xiaobao. He's always been incredibly smart, a top graduate from Shengjing University. Right after graduation, he was snapped up by a global top 50 company. Too bad the apocalypse had to ruin everything, or else he'd be dressed to the nines for his office job by now."

Lin Xiaobao's eyebrow twitched as he shot Da Bao a cold glare. "Big brother, 'dressed to the nines' isn't the right phrase here. Seems like you need to go back to elementary school and relearn some basic Chinese."

Da Bao's grin froze, and he immediately backpedaled. "Ah, Xiao Bao, I misspoke! You're magnanimous—just pretend I never said that, okay? I won’t misuse idioms anymore!"

Er Bao and San Bao quietly edged away, eyes downcast, pretending they hadn’t heard a thing.

Let’s be real—their little brother was scarily smart. They weren’t about to get dragged into this and risk being sent back to elementary school alongside Da Bao.

In short, the three burly men stood there, meek and submissive around their smaller, more refined younger brother—a truly bizarre sight.

Hua Diao also took a small step backward, deciding it was best not to intrude on this heartwarming sibling reunion.

But her movement didn’t escape Lin Xiaobao’s notice. Raising a brow, he temporarily spared Da Bao and turned to her with a polite smile. "Big brother, aren’t you going to introduce me to this young lady?"

Da Bao, as if granted a great pardon, eagerly grinned. "Ah, right! Xiao Bao, this is the girl we begged to come rescue you. We waited forever for backup at Lakeside Avenue, but no one came, and we even mistook her for the rescue team! But don’t let her petite frame fool you—she’s incredibly capable. Not like those girls yesterday who kept pestering us to help them kill monsters."

"I still remember the scene—she held that gun like it was nothing, striding in like some firefighting hero, impressively confident. Her aim? Unreal. Bang, bang, bang—every shot landed like she was shooting targets at a carnival. Those goblins went down in rows, one after another. Seriously impressive."

Hua Diao waved her hands modestly, cheeks flushing. "No, no, Da Bao’s exaggerating. I’m just an ordinary girl."

Lin Xiaobao was momentarily surprised. He hadn’t expected this turn of events. His wary look softened slightly as he politely acknowledged her. "Thank you."

He didn’t mention how he’d cycled through the illusion three times, nearly clearing Annie’s name and breaking the illusion himself—only for her to beat him to it.

Ah, well. His three idiot brothers had begged her to come rescue him, and it wasn’t like she’d done it on purpose. If the opportunity wasn't meant for him, so be it.

Resigned, he sighed—then suddenly, his sharp gaze shot toward a patch of overgrown grass, a glint of suspicion flashing in his eyes. "Someone’s there."

Hua Diao and the Bao Brothers suddenly remembered.

"Right! We almost forgot—if it weren’t for those bastards, we wouldn’t have been spotted by that mermaid and dragged into the illusion!"

"Bet they’re here to pick off our kills."

"Sneaky bastards, lurking after us like that. No way they’re up to any good."

San Bao, in particular, was seething. After nearly being defiled by three male mermaids in the illusion, he was more than ready to redirect his rage toward the scumbags who’d gotten them into this mess.

In the grass—

A henchman trembled as he whispered to Brother Tiger, "T-Tiger, they spotted us. What do we do?"

Originally, they’d come to finish off the Bao Brothers. But who knew this abandoned park hid a monster boss? One glance, and they were all sucked into an illusion. When they woke up, most of their crew was dead—only he, Brother Tiger, and one other remained.

Now, three against five? With Lin Xiaobao in the mix? The henchman had been outsmarted by Xiaobao before. They didn't stand a chance.

Brother Tiger’s face fell. He knew it too—that’s why he’d stayed hidden, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He wouldn’t act unless he was certain he could take out all five in one go. Because if they fought back, he was dead.

But before he could find that perfect moment, they’d been discovered.

"Tiger..."

Gritting his teeth, Brother Tiger growled a single word. "Retreat."

The two henchmen didn't hesitate. They scrambled away like their lives depended on it, only breathing easy once they’d crawled out through the dog hole.

By the time Hua Diao and the five carefully pushed through the grass to investigate, they found no living souls—only over a dozen corpses lay twisted unnaturally among the trampled weeds.

Their deaths were eerie—faces twisted in terror, pupils dilated as if they’d been scared to death. Most disturbingly, their bodies were covered in a strange black substance that seemed to be dissolving their flesh.

Two in particular had it the worst—their flesh already corroded down to the bone.