Chapter 18: The Rescue Plan
“How did you two get out?”
Now that she’d relaxed, Chaolu had a mountain of questions bottled up, and she fired them all off like cannon shots.
“Chaoyang, how exactly did you mark the place? Why was there a mark at that bald guy’s door?”
“By the way, how did you even get out of your room? No—never mind that. Can we just escape straight away?”
“But after escaping, where would we even go? Do you have any ideas?”
This rapid-fire barrage of questions left the two little dumplings completely stunned.
“Hold it.” Chaoyang stretched out a hand and, by feel, pinched Chaolu’s mouth shut—squeezing it into a duckbill shape.
Chaolu: “…”
Excuse me, aren’t you polite?
“Anyway, that mark was an accident,” Chaoyang said simply. “As for right now… we can’t leave yet.”
Chaolu’s face showed confusion. “Why not?”
“Because there are still so many big brothers, big sisters, uncles, and aunties being held by those bad guys,” Mibao said earnestly. “Sister Chaolu, we can’t just leave them behind!”
For children, the lesson they grew up with was simple: when you see injustice, you step in to help.
All the more so since those uncles, aunties, brothers, and sisters who’d been captured were people from the same villa community where Mibao lived. Sometimes they’d even sneak her little snacks. There was no way Mibao could abandon them and run away alone.
As for Chaoyang, he wasn’t that selfless. But he sure could hold a grudge.
Baldy’s gang had threatened him, even talked about eating him—of course he couldn’t swallow that insult.
Since Mibao wanted to save people anyway, why not go with the flow and take this chance to wipe the whole gang out?
“These guys are way too evil!” Chaolu burst out in anger after hearing their explanation. “But what should we do? How can I help?”
For kids who hadn’t yet stepped into society, the idea of rescuing people was only natural.
“Baldy wants me to help them plan a heist on the armory—that should be our chance.” A sharp gleam flashed in Chaoyang’s eyes. “When that happens, there’ll definitely be fewer people left here. You can seize the moment to cause chaos, then free the others.”
“But aren’t they all locked up?” Chaolu raised the obvious concern. “How are we supposed to get the keys? Can you get them?”
Chaoyang: “…”
Originally, that was a problem. But now…
Chaoyang silently turned to look at Mibao. “Mibao, does that master key of yours have a limit on how many times it can be used?”
[Of course not! System products are guaranteed premium quality!]
Before Mibao could even open her mouth, the system in her head had already started shouting.
So Mibao just repeated it out loud: “Big brother says there’s no limit.”
Chaoyang’s expression grew complicated as he nodded, then turned back to Chaolu. “So… the locks aren’t an issue.”
Chaolu: ?
She looked at Chaoyang, then looked at Mibao, and the question marks in her eyes only multiplied.
What’s that supposed to mean? Did they already get the keys?
And why was he asking if there was a limit?
Since when do keys have usage limits??
And then Mibao goes, ‘big brother says no limit’—hello??
Which big brother?
Someone you just met?
“You two are hiding something from me, aren’t you?” Chaolu narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Spit it out. What’s going on?”
Chaoyang: “…It’s a little complicated, not something I can explain in a few words. Anyway, the locks aren’t a problem. Let’s focus on planning our next move.”
As for the matter of Mibao’s imaginary big brother actually conjuring real objects out of nowhere…
Even Chaoyang himself hadn’t figured that one out yet, so of course he didn’t know how to explain it to Chaolu.
Since time was short, Chaolu—though still confused—didn’t press further. Instead, the three little dumplings quickly hashed out the details of their plan.
Once they were done, they split up to carry it out.
Mibao and Chaoyang carefully sneaked back into their room, only to realize… they couldn’t lock the door from the inside.
“Forget it, just leave it,” Chaoyang said. “We’re just kids anyway. Whether it’s locked or not doesn’t really matter.”
Baldy and his gang would make up some excuse for it themselves.
Mibao nodded in a dazed, muddled way.
Then she yawned and got ready for bed.
“Mibao, that big brother of yours…”
Chaoyang was about to ask about the master key, but when he turned his head, he saw Mibao already lying down.
Hearing him call her, Mibao forced her sleepy eyes open, but her eyelids were waging war against each other: “What is it, Brother Chaoyang?”
Chaoyang: “…Nothing. Go to sleep.”
Forget it, he’d ask tomorrow.
…
…
“What’s with this lock? Why isn’t it shut?”
Early the next morning, after breakfast, Bald Man came over planning to “bond” a little with the brains of the operation. But the moment he arrived, he saw the lock on the kids’ door hanging open.
His face instantly darkened, and he turned toward Monkey.
After all, Monkey was the one who locked up yesterday.
Monkey was just as baffled when he saw the open lock: “No way, I definitely locked it yesterday…”
“If you locked it, then how the hell is it open?” Bald Man snapped. “Don’t tell me you got all dizzy just because that little brat kept calling you ‘big brother’?”
Monkey: “…”
…No way. Right?
Just as the two of them were staring each other down, the door creaked open from inside—Mibao and Chaoyang came out yawning.
And suddenly it became four people, all staring wide-eyed at one another.
A few seconds later, Chaoyang finally drawled: “Got anything to eat?”
“Here.”
Bald Man casually tossed him a box of biscuits and half a bottle of water, then shoved the two dumplings back inside and locked the door again.
This time, he did it himself, and even double-checked after.
“See? This is called being thorough.” Bald Man shot Monkey a look and lectured him. “You, on the other hand, are sloppy as hell. Good thing those two kids didn’t notice—otherwise they might’ve bolted last night!”
Monkey was sulking. He could’ve sworn he locked the damn door…
But the evidence was right in front of him, so all he could do was nod. “Boss is right.”
The two of them kept grumbling as they walked off.
…
Inside, Chaoyang tore open the biscuit pack and split it with Mibao.
They only ate half, saving the rest for Chaolu.
“Should’ve asked Chaolu to lock the door last night,” Chaoyang muttered between bites.
Too careless.
“Oh, right—Mibao, that alien big brother of yours…” Chaoyang finally remembered the question he’d failed to ask last night. “What’s the deal with him? How come he can give you stuff out of nowhere?”
As absurd as it sounded, it was obvious now that Mibao’s so-called alien brother wasn’t just her imagination.
So—aliens are real?
Well, sure, the apocalypse had already shown up… aliens shouldn’t be that shocking, right?
Yeah, right!
Since when can aliens conjure up a master key?
And what’s more, one that can unlock a door from the inside out? How does that even make sense?
Chaoyang’s brain had turned into mush, one big pile of question marks.
“Alien big brother is just my brother,” Mibao explained with a perfectly straight face, not noticing Chaoyang’s mental collapse in the slightest. “My brother is the most powerful person in the whole world!”
“I told you before, Brother Chaoyang—you already knew this, right?”
Chaoyang: “…”
He had thought it was just her imagination back then.