Trembling At A High Altitude

After running for a while, Zeka realized he seemed to be lost!

Impossible, right? Coming from the yard to this vegetable patch, there was only one path; how could he get lost?

But now, the surroundings were unfamiliar to him.

Could it be that he had taken a different path when leaving the vegetable patch?

But Zeka wasn't sure.

Because the stone paths here all looked quite similar.

He hadn't paid much attention to the sides of the path when he came.

Paying attention was useless anyway, because there were only waist-high weeds on both sides of the path, with no other landmarks.

Even if he tried to return the same way he came, walking on the path he came from would still feel unfamiliar.

He dared not run back but had to continue running forward, steeling himself.

Along the way, Zeka tripped over something and heard a sharp 'clang!' sound as he fell to the ground again.

Getting up and seeing the source of the sharp 'clang,' Zeka was petrified.

It was an animal trap!

The kind that could trap large animals!

Luckily, he hadn't stepped into the iron jaws but had merely triggered it by the side. If he had stepped on it, his leg bones would likely have been snapped at that moment!

There hadn't been such a thing on his way here, right?

Should he turn back now?

Suddenly, from behind him came some noises, seemingly the sound of a corpse dragging through the weeds.

This immediately dispelled any thoughts Zeka had of running back.

He continued to run forward, steeling himself.

The island wasn't very large; even if he ran in the wrong direction, he should quickly reach the shore. Once at the shore, if he walked half a circle along it, he could still find the dock where the yacht was moored.

As he ran, from a slightly distant part of the weed thicket beside him, there suddenly came a very shrill scream. It seemed to be a woman, coupled with some shouting, but because it was somewhat distant, the voices weren't very clear.

Hearing that screaming, Zeka became even more frightened and sped up his pace.

After another five minutes, he was lucky to see the yard up ahead.

Although Zeka was still puzzled about whether he had taken the wrong path when he returned, seeing the yard, he temporarily pushed those doubts aside.

"There's been an incident! Director Lin! The guide is dead!"

Zeka finally managed to escape back to the yard alive, rolling and crawling.

He didn't even know when he had lost the umbrella.

Upon reaching the yard and rushing into the stone house where everyone was gathered, he immediately yelled out loud to the others.

Seeing the others, Zeka finally felt relieved.

When people are extremely scared, being alone is fatal; having companions makes a big difference.

"Director Lin isn't here; he went out." Only the female staff member, Yang Shunli, and Mindo who were with Zeka remained in the stone house.

"Where did Director Lin go?" Zeka quickly asked the female staff member.

"The guide is dead? How did he die?" Richard, Aila, and Li Teng came back from outside. Richard had heard Zeka's shout just before entering and frowned slightly.

"I don't know, killed by something unknown! This island is not safe! We need to leave immediately!" Zeka was still incredibly frightened.

"Look what you've done! You were supposed to arrange a yacht trip for the guests, and it turned out like this!" Richard couldn't help but complain.

"Forget all that now, Director Lin, and let's hurry and get everyone off this island! Otherwise, there might be more casualties!" Zeka was almost beside himself with anger, even regretting coming back to call these people. Wouldn't it have been better to let them fend for themselves while he escaped directly to the yacht and instructed the pilot to leave?

Afterward, he could simply call the police to handle things.

But then, considering the high salary of this job, he decided to continue tolerating his boss's terrible temper.

"Are you sure there's been a homicide? If so, we should call the police," suggested the female staff member as she took out her phone.

"Did you see the body? Did you see the guide being killed with your own eyes?" Richard stopped the female staff member.

"No…" Zeka shook his head.

"Calling the police without seeing anything, that's a waste of public resources! I'm a public figure, do you really want to embarrass me in front of the public?" Richard loudly scolded Zeka and the female staff member.

"Director Lin is right! It was our oversight," the female staff member quickly put away her phone.

"Let's go back to the yacht together!" Richard declared.

"Director Lin, where is your wife?" As the organizer of the event, Zeka habitually counted the people present and noticed someone was missing.

Gemma was gone!

"She just told us she found it too stuffy here and went back to the yacht by herself," Richard answered Zeka.

"In such a dangerous place, how could you let your wife go back alone?" Zeka couldn't help but get anxious. As the event organizer, he was responsible for these people's safety. If something happened to the boss's wife, Richard would definitely blame him when they got back.

Although it wouldn't amount to criminal responsibility, getting blamed would mean losing his lucrative job!

"Didn't you say this island was very safe? That there were no wild animals and no dangers? It was because you said it was safe that the lady felt comfortable going back to the yacht alone!" Richard indeed started to shift the blame onto Zeka.

"Director Lin, let's not worry about that now; let's hurry to the yacht and meet up with the lady," Zeka pleaded with Richard.

"We only found four beat-up umbrellas, where's the one you took? Now we only have three umbrellas left, but there are seven of us!" Richard continued to vent his anger.

"You two share an umbrella; I'm already soaked, so I don't mind not using one," Zeka quickly waved his hand.

"Alright then, Miss Song, this way please." Richard, holding the best of the three umbrellas, gestured politely to Aila, clearly inviting her to share the umbrella with him.

Aila hesitated haughtily for a moment before stepping under Richard's umbrella.

Richard then casually, as if unconsciously, wrapped an arm around Aila's waist.

Aila's body stiffened involuntarily...

This scene, this feeling, was all too familiar.

When he was madly pursuing her, he often held an umbrella over her like this and wrapped his arms around her waist in the rain.

However...

She had just witnessed his cold-blooded ruthlessness.

Gemma had not returned to the yacht.

She had just gone "for a walk" with the three of them.

Richard and Gemma shared one umbrella, while Aila and Li Teng shared another.

Gemma had always thought that Richard had feelings for Song Qing and was beginning to neglect her. Feeling his gentle gaze under the umbrella, she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty and was overwhelmed with regret.

She didn't understand why, but during a particularly anxious moment due to Richard and Song Qing, Song Qing's bodyguard, Li Gui, casually struck up a conversation with her.

Then, it was as if she had been brainwashed by him, unconsciously starting to flirt back. Initially, she thought she was just getting back at Richard, but later she couldn't control herself and ended up having an affair with the bodyguard.

This caused her to feel a strong sense of guilt when she faced Richard's love again.

The four of them walked into the overgrown weeds behind the yard, strolling on even narrower paths among the weeds. Richard reminisced about the good times with Gemma, hugging and smelling her from time to time.

Just as Richard hugged her again, making her forget everything around her, he seemed to lift her body up with his frenzied motions, even lifting her off the ground.

When her feet hit the ground again, she stepped on something. With a 'clang!' a metal trap snapped shut, sending a piercing pain up her shinbone that made Gemma scream out loud instantly.

The pain made it impossible for her to stand. As Richard released his hold, she fell down into the weeds.

Bending down to check, Richard discovered that Gemma had stepped into a heavy-duty Animal Trap that had broken her shinbone.

"How could there be such a thing here? It's horrible! Don't be afraid, I'll go find someone to rescue you," Richard said, also appearing very panicked as he turned to leave.

"Don't leave me! I'm pregnant with your child! I was planning to tell you once we got back!" Gemma quickly reached out to grab hold of Richard.

At this moment, she suddenly had a very bad feeling.

She always felt that Richard would never return.

Could it be that he might do to her what he'd done to Aila in the past, dispose of her now that he had a new love, Miss Song?

Wasn't it too coincidental?

On a rainy day, he took her out for a walk, deliberately cuddled and lifted her, and placed her into the Animal Trap…

In an instant, Gemma thought too much. She knew she couldn't let go; once she did, this man might never come back.

"You're hurt like this, I need to hurry and find someone to rescue you! Don't be foolish! Let go quickly!" Richard forcibly twisted Gemma's pinkie, causing her so much pain that she had to let go.

Then Richard disappeared into the weeds ahead like a shot.

From the way Richard forcibly twisted her finger, Gemma confirmed her suspicion.

In an instant, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

Those who harm others ultimately harm themselves; she rose to power using extremely sinister methods, and now everything she had done was coming back to haunt her.

Was it really karma?

Gemma, with a broken leg, couldn't get up or leave; she reached for her phone in her pocket to call for help.

Only to find, the pocket where she normally kept her phone was empty!

Could it have been stolen by that scoundrel?

"Aila, I'm sorry. I was blinded, I shouldn't have plotted with him to kill you, he's not a human! He's a scoundrel!" Gemma broke down crying.

"Is it a bit late now to say sorry?" a voice appeared from the weeds ahead.

Then, a figure turned towards her.

Gemma recognized the person approaching—it was Song Qing.

"You... Miss Song, it's great you could come. I need to expose a scumbag for who he truly is! He initially manipulated me into killing his former wife and now he wants to kill me too. If you end up with him in the future, he will definitely harm you. My today will be your tomorrow..." Gemma hurriedly spoke to Aila.

"Oh? His former wife? According to what I know, wasn't she killed by the family nanny?" Aila expressed her confusion.

"No, it was him! The nanny was merely the knife in his hand! He initially..." Gemma revealed everything Richard had done.

Of course, when it came to her own involvement, she deliberately downplayed her past, shifting all the blame onto Richard, making herself appear to be another victim.

"Wasn't it you who hired the nanny for her house? Your aunt, who had cancer and a son who, after the incident, was sent abroad to study. In this entire affair, your role is hardly less culpable than his," Aila scoffed.

In her previous mission, she had seen all the videos and understood all the causes and effects. Gemma's lies were naturally all exposed by her.

"How... how did you know that?" Gemma looked at Aila in utter terror.

"Because I am Aila! I speak for myself." Aila slowly took out a bag of salt.

The bag of salt that Li Teng had prepared for her in advance.

Initially, she hadn't understood what Li Teng was doing with this stuff, but now she finally understood.

She couldn't help but admire Li Teng greatly—truly a visionary!

"Aila? You are Aila? Impossible! Impossible! What... what are you going to do?" Gemma was utterly terrified.

"I said I speak for myself. What I want now is for you to taste the flavor of salt on a wound…" Aila opened the bag of salt and poured the salt grains into Gemma's broken bone wound.

"Ah!!!!"

Gemma's screams echoed in the weeds.

Unfortunately, in the thunderstorm, the noise didn't carry far.

...

"Thank you, my revenge is almost complete." Aila quietly expressed her gratitude to Li Teng after they met.

"Almost complete? Does that mean you hate Gemma more than Richard?" Li Teng smiled faintly.

This wasn't surprising at all.

Women, whose families are torn apart by mistresses, and who are harmed by the mistress and their own husband, often hate the other victim, the mistress, more than their husband.

Although Aila also detested Richard, clearly, she hated Gemma even more.

The recent retaliation against Gemma seemed to elate her exceedingly.

"No, next I'm going to deal with Richard fully—I want him to suffer more than Gemma! I need your help even more." Aila realized her slip and quickly added a few words.

"There are many variables on this island. It's very possible he might die before you get your hands on him, but no matter what, since I have helped you from the beginning, I will see it through to the end," Li Teng nodded.

It was quite satisfying to punish scum casually during a mission and help Aila with her own personal vendetta.

But there was a deeper reason...

Li Teng felt all this was definitely related to the main storyline of the mission.

If the mission was based on Aila's experiences, assisting her in her revenge was surely the right decision.

The pass he was trying to obtain likely lay hidden within these clues of revenge.