"No need. Aren't you also heading back to the city? Just take them along." Zhou You reasoned that if they were to use Zhu's cars to return, they'd be spotted immediately. Hitching a ride with Zhang Dingshan might allow them to slip past the enemy's watch.

Zhang Dingshan breathed a sigh of relief, realizing they only needed transportation. Laughing, he said, "Consider it done. It's no big deal!"

When Shao Qi arrived with the group of children, Zhang Dingshan's face darkened, and he sternly asked, "Who are they? Why are there so many children here? Isn't this a breeding ground for mutated beasts? Why are they here?"

Zhang Dingshan wasn't particularly familiar with Zhou You and Shao Qi, and thus unaware of their character. Seeing so many children, he couldn't help but assume the worst.

Zhou You waved him off, saying, "It's a complex matter, not easily explained in a few words. Simply put, the Zhu family is deceiving with regards to the orphans. Shao Qi and I have rescued them."

"Rescued? They..." Zhang Dingshan was utterly confused, but this wasn't the place for an extended discussion, so he followed them out.

Chapter 146: Surprise

Workers at the breeding farm were taken aback seeing the injured children. Those employed here knew some inside information, but regular workers never ventured to the back and were oblivious to what went on.

Shao Qi confidently sat in the main hall, stepping on the manager of the farm. Zhou You helped the children onto the vehicles and told Zhang Dingshan, "Head to the city quickly. Once there, drop these children off at Litchi Mansion. Try not to be seen en route. I have other matters to attend to."

Zhang Dingshan pulled him aside, whispering, "Brother Zhou, tell me honestly what's going on. I need to be prepared."

Zhou You responded with a question, "How much do you know about the Zhu family's influence in Yang City?"

"Zhu? General Zhu? His wife is the city lord's sister. Given that relationship alone, they're not an entity our small exploration team can afford to offend." Zhang Dingshan looked at him intently, saying, "I might have overstepped by calling you 'brother', but today, I won't question further. I promise to save the children. For everything else, whenever you need assistance, just let me know."

"Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble because of me?"

"Haha, in our line of work, when don't we risk our lives? If we were afraid of dying, we wouldn't have left the city. The first time I saw you and your companion, I had an exceptional trust in you both. I believe you won't let me down," Zhang Dingshan waved at Zhou You, "Enough talk for now. Let's head back. When we have some free time, I hope we can play some games together."

"Understood."

Watching the convoy depart, Zhou You turned to enter the livestock farm. Shao Qi had finished his questioning and had knocked out the manager with a palm strike. Standing up, he grabbed Zhou You's hand and started walking out.

"Where to?"

"I've just learned something interesting. Let's check it out." Shao Qi's steps were light, and as they exited the main hall, he casually said, "No one inside the farm is allowed out, or else... they'll face severe consequences!"

The remaining people didn't know the number of intruders, so out of fear, they hid in the basement. Even if they had the courage, they wouldn't dare to drive back to the base without security, considering the dangers on the road.

Shao Qi led Zhou You to the stone forest on the west side of the livestock farm. It seemed like a man-made stone forest, with large stones standing tall and arranged artfully. Not a single leaf was in sight, making it a relatively safe refuge in the wild.

"Who built this? What's the purpose of constructing such a massive stone forest?"

"Follow me." Shao Qi's hand slid from Zhou You's wrist to his palm, intertwining their fingers. Sneaking a glance at Zhou You and noticing no resistance, a smug smile crept onto Shao Qi's face.

Zhou You pinched him lightly, asking calmly, "What are you so pleased about?"

Holding up their interlocked hands, Shao Qi chuckled, "Is this your way of accepting me? Have I been 'promoted'?"

Zhou You pushed the hand down, "We'll talk about that later. Business first."

Stopping in his tracks, Shao Qi examined the stone forest, finally settling on a rock engraved with intricate patterns that were hard to notice at first glance.

"What's this?" Zhou You curiously touched the rock. Its shape was odd, almost as if a single stone had been split in two.

"The farm manager told me that every so often, people from the Zhu family visit this place. He once saw someone enter this stone forest late at night and stay for hours. So, he suspects there's a secret the Zhu family keeps here."

"Could there be a hidden chamber or something? In the wilderness, building a secret room is hard to detect. But what's the purpose?" Zhou You pondered, then whispered, "Maybe they've hidden some treasures here, like ancient relics or gold?"

"It's possible. After all, keeping a large fortune in the base would be too conspicuous. And if Zhu Rongwei truly has grand ambitions, he'd need to gather resources and troops. Using the orphanage to train spies, maybe he'd also use money to buy over martial artists to form his own army. In the past or the present, revolting always requires both manpower and funds."

Zhou You picked up a piece of stone and crushed it, chuckling, "I thought this entire stone forest was made of gold."

Shao Qi laughed heartily, "Even if you emptied a national treasury, you couldn't build such a vast stone forest out of gold. But it's not entirely out of the question that some part of it is gold."

However, it clearly wasn't. Shao Qi kicked over a stone pillar and found nothing unusual. He closely inspected the ground which was also made of stone blocks, explaining why not a blade of grass could grow.