Shen Yi stared at the face that had just been washed clean by the water, her mind going blank for a split second.
She recognized this face.
Or rather, she recognized the adult version of this face.
But...
That was impossible, right?
Shen Yi bit the corner of her lip, staring at him in disbelief.
The boy was also tilting his head to look at her. Drops of water slid down the tips of his hair. His eyes held a hint of confusion, like a kitten suddenly pinned down by its owner, not knowing what had happened but not struggling either.
"Dahei, what is your name?"
The boy fell silent again.
He seemed to have always had this turtle-like personality.
Whenever he encountered a problem, he would shrink his head into his shell and refuse to make a sound.
This little sweet pea might actually be a wolf in sheep's clothing like Shen Zhizhao.
To say Shen Zhizhao had nothing to do with kindness was an understatement; they were worlds apart.
His way of thinking was exactly the same as Old Mr. Shen's, a typical politician's mindset. As long as the result went their way, it didn't matter if the process resulted in a river of blood.
It didn't matter how many people died, as long as the goal was achieved.
Could he really be the same person as this good-tempered child in front of her?
Shen Yi thought it over, looked at him, and couldn't help but pinch his cheek, which still carried a bit of baby fat. She muttered, "Forget it."
It wasn't important.
Compared to who was who, the most urgent thing right now was to survive.
Number Four's cheeks turned slightly red from her pinching.
"When we get out of here," the boy said, articulating every word seriously, "I will definitely tell you my name."
Seeing his solemn expression, Shen Yi felt an indescribable softness in her heart and humored him, "Alright, alright. When we get out, I'll definitely tell you my name too."
His tone grew even more serious than before. "Then you must tell me. I will remember you."
Shen Yi couldn't resist reaching out to pinch his cheek again. "Dahei, how are you so well-behaved?"
Such a good child.
How did he grow up to become Shen Zhizhao?
Number Four's face flushed from being rubbed. His voice was muffled. "Sister, no shooters have come in here for two months. That means a lot of people in the other teams have died."
The environment in their team was very good. There were basically no conflicts or arguments, and the probability of a bloody incident was zero.
"You need to be careful," the boy said slowly. "Our team hasn't made any moves for a long time. In a few days, shooters will probably enter the field to clear people out."
Shen Yi's hand paused, and she let go of him.
Number Four squatted down, picked up a branch, and drew a rough map on the ground.
The island wasn't very large. It was shaped like a leaf with a bite taken out of it, narrow at both ends and wide in the middle.
He pointed to the central area of the island, and then to several key locations.
"When those people come in, they'll herd us all together like a hunt." His voice wasn't loud, but his logic was too clear for a seven or eight-year-old child. "A group of kids can only get a chance to survive the guns if they find ways to eliminate their opponents."
After listening, Shen Yi asked, "How many of them are there in total?"
"About ten."
Shen Yi memorized the information.
"Where will they come from?"
Number Four immediately took her to the spot where those people boarded the island: "Here."
"Military helicopters, capable of seating about seventy or eighty people at a time."
"So if we want to escape..." Shen Yi slowly picked up the trail of thought, "we can try to hijack this helicopter."
Number Four turned to look at her.
His expression remained unchanged. "Sister, resisting means death."
"Don't die."
Number Four muttered as an afterthought, his fingertips trembling.
He had seen too many people die right in front of him.
He chose to discard and forget the people or things that had passed away.
It was better to just forget.
What was gone would only become a thing of the past.
Tears could never be fully shed; all he could do was forget them in order to keep moving forward.
Sometimes Number Four felt that, at his core, he was no different from his family.
Only those who survived would be remembered by him. As for the countless people who had passed away, apart from the initial grief, he couldn't even remember their names later on.
Shen Yi held his hand and walked back, her tone relaxed. "It's fine, it's fine. Trust me."
In terms of pure physical combat, Shen Yi was far more formidable than the shooters here, whether it was due to the physical adjustments the system had made to her body or her long-term experience of being beaten by her mother.
If she were thrown in here alone, Shen Yi would definitely be the last one standing.
But she wasn't here to play a battle royale.
Why should they have to follow the rules those people made?
...
Just as Number Four had predicted, this peaceful life lasted for about seven or eight days. With the numbers remaining stagnant, a group of shooters who had been holding back for a long time finally couldn't resist and landed on the island again to check the situation.
To put it bluntly, they didn't come here entirely to clear out the children.
It was more like a group of people accompanying a wealthy young master in a bloody game of house.
A dark-colored helicopter was flying in from the direction of the sea.
The helicopter landed in the open clearing. The cabin doors opened, and several fully armed men jumped down.
"Damn rich kids," a scruffy man cursed under his breath. "Sooner or later, I'll blow them all away."
Another man carried the same resentment. "Let's go, let's go. Let's see if we can find our young master this time."
He dragged out the last two words, sounding exceptionally sarcastic.
"He's way too good at hiding, isn't he?"
"He makes himself look all dirty and disheveled all day long just to avoid the fate of killing people. If he just manned up a bit and took those people out, we wouldn't have to land on this island every few days to supervise him."
The group's resentment was immense.
The employer had paid a hefty price for them to act as referees and supervisors on this island, accompanying a rich kid in a bloody version of playing house.
They were getting paid to do a job, but that didn't mean they enjoyed running to this broken-down island every other day.
"Hasn't he been getting pretty close to a little girl these past few months?"
"Yeah, before I left last time, I specifically found a few kids to act as informants. I refuse to believe we won't catch him this time!"
