The young man immediately panicked, but forced himself to remain calm and asked, “What do you want to do?! If you dare mess around, Uncle Zhao will definitely expel you all from the island!”

Tan Xiao leaned in and quietly asked Bai Youwei, “Weiwei, what are we supposed to do to him again?”

Bai Youwei glanced at him with mild indifference. “Just watch from the side.”

Tan Xiao thought about it and nodded. “Alright then.”

Bai Youwei said to Xiao Zhang, “Actually, it’s nothing much. We just arrived and don’t understand some things, so we want to ask you a few questions. Answer them properly, and once you’re done, we’ll let you go back.”

Xiao Zhang looked at them suspiciously. “What do you want to ask?”

“What’s your name?”

“…Zhang Qi.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Two months.”

“Have you been to West Mountain Island?”

“No!”

“You’ve followed Uncle Zhao for so long—why won’t he accommodate you and take you over there?”

Zhang Qi’s face showed annoyance, but wary of these people, he didn’t dare lash out. With a stiff expression, he answered, “Uncle Zhao is only responsible for transporting people. Whatever people West Mountain selects, that’s who he takes over. He can’t make the decision!”

“Can’t make the decision…” Bai Youwei seemed thoughtful and asked again, “What kind of people were selected to go to West Mountain before?”

Zhang Qi frowned. “Why are you asking this?”

“Just answer.” Bai Youwei smiled at him. “As for the rest, you don’t need to worry about it.”

…

In the closed room, Zhang Qi told them everything he knew about the people who went to West Mountain Island. There were men and women, old and young. At first glance, the personnel selection seemed to have no pattern, and the age range was quite average…

After listening, Bai Youwei said nothing, only glanced at Shen Mo.

Shen Mo also looked at her.

Tan Xiao was completely lost. Watching the two of them “exchange meaningful glances,” he grew anxious. “Can you two stop just communicating with your eyes? Say something so I can hear it too.”

“It’s nothing.” Bai Youwei smiled faintly, her gaze falling on Zhang Qi again.

Her expression was somewhere between smiling and not smiling, making Zhang Qi feel his skin crawl. Steeling himself, he said, “I’ve already told you everything I know! Can you let me go now?”

“Relax.” Bai Youwei said. “We’ll keep our promise, but before that, I want to give you a reward…”

Zhang Qi asked warily, “What reward?”

“Come here.” Bai Youwei beckoned with her finger. “I’ll give you an earth-shattering secret.”

Zhang Qi looked at Shen Mo, then at Tan Xiao, and gritted his teeth as he walked over.

“Bend down.” Bai Youwei said. “I’ll only tell you.”

Zhang Qi did as told and bent down.

Bai Youwei whispered something in his ear.

Zhang Qi’s expression immediately changed several times, shock flowing through his eyes.

Bai Youwei smiled. “Alright, you can go now.”

Shen Mo, standing nearby, opened the door.

Zhang Qi didn’t move.

He stood frozen in place for a long, long time… Finally, he lifted his feet and stepped out, his face iron-blue and ugly.

After he left, Shen Mo closed the door and looked at Bai Youwei. “Although the selected personnel are suspicious, using only this one point to condemn the old man is somewhat far-fetched.”

“It’s two points.”

Bai Youwei raised two slender, pale fingers and said with a smile:

“First, Old Zhao arranged for people to plant crops as early as July, which shows he never considered seeking refuge at a safe base, but instead was determined to be self-sufficient. Isn’t that strange? When a great disaster occurs, normal people would first think of getting rescued, yet he only guards this small island.

Even if we say he can’t bear to leave his homeland, how do we explain the second point? The people he sends over are either elderly or sick people who can’t do physical labor, or troublemakers like drunkards and gamblers. Normally, a base selecting people should prioritize those with special skills, right?”

“That’s not right…” Tan Xiao interrupted from the side. “But aren’t Zhang Qi and Sun Wei doing fine on the island too?”

Sun Wei was that burly man.

Bai Youwei sneered contemptuously. “If I were Old Zhao, I’d keep them too. They’re strong, obedient, not too bright, and compliant enough—why wouldn’t I keep them?”