128: Chapter 128 Brother Fan, I'm not targeting anyone.

"But have you ever thought about it? There are seven people up here, the Karst Cave is only so big, and the supplies are only so much. The more people there are, the less each gets."

Zhang Tao blinked. "Wang Lan, that's because you don't understand that son of a bitch Lin Fan. Even if there's plenty to eat, he won't give you a single bit extra."

Zhang Tao's mind spun as he ruminated on Wang Lan's words, sensing something was amiss. His tone dropped a bit. "Could it be... Could it be that you plan to take out the others?"

Wang Lan glanced at him.

That look was genuinely like looking at an idiot. She had seen stupid people, but she had never seen anyone this stupid.

"Of course not. Lin Fan decides the overall direction, but when the people below him share his burdens, he will feel that you have value. Once you have value, of course he will throw you a bone."

"Why do you think Zhou Kai was able to stay? Because he can put in physical effort, can fight and carry loads, and is a useful ox. Why are you able to stay? Because you are obedient, but Xiaotao..."

She paused for a beat.

"Just being obedient is not enough. Dogs are obedient too; when a dog is told to sit, it sits, and when told to lie down, it lies down. But what a master wants is not just an obedient dog."

"What a master wants is a watchdog."

"A dog that will actively fetch things back for its master."

Zhang Tao's mouth hung open, momentarily unable to tell whether he should nod or curse.

Was she calling him a dog?

But... what she said didn't seem wrong either.

Wang Lan didn't give him time to digest it and continued.

"Did Lin Fan touch Su Qingxue?"

Zhang Tao recalled and shook his head.

After Lin Fan carried Su Qingxue up, he indeed hadn't even gotten to touch her hand.

"That person Su Qingxue is used to being noble, having grown up pampered in the palm of someone's hand. As the eldest miss of the Shengtang Group, when has she ever suffered grievances?"

The corners of Wang Lan's mouth curved up. "How could she possibly let Lin Fan touch her voluntarily?"

"Even if you beat her to death, she wouldn't."

"But if someone helps him solve this problem?"

Zhang Tao was stunned.

"If someone goes to wear down Su Qingxue... helping Lin Fan turn this vase into something that can hold flowers..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

But Zhang Tao understood.

He savored these words, and the more he savored them, the more he felt there was a way.

Su Qingxue wouldn't let Lin Fan do it, so Lin Fan would use force?

Impossible. Given Lin Fan's personality, if he wanted to use force, he would have done so long ago. Why wait until now?

Then that required an intermediary.

Someone to do this for Lin Fan.

If he, Zhang Tao, did it and helped Lin Fan handle Su Qingxue, would Lin Fan be happy?

Definitely happy.

Would he be rewarded with some benefits if he was happy?

Most likely.

Giving a bit more meat, a bit more water, and carving out a good spot for him in the Karst Cave—these were all minor things.

The crucial point was that Lin Fan would think Zhang Tao was useful—not a dead dog that only knew how to lie down, but a live dog that would actively fetch prey back.

Only live dogs get to eat.

Zhang Tao raised his eyes to look at Wang Lan walking ahead.

Her back was straight and her steps were steady. The submissive look from inside the rock crevice earlier had completely vanished, replaced by another calm expression.

No wonder.

No wonder that coward Chen Jian could act as the brains down below and gain a voice among that group of people.

It wasn't because Chen Jian had ability.

It was because Wang Lan was standing behind him.

Wang Lan was the true mastermind.

He lowered his head and glanced at Wang Lan's profile.

In her thirties, although a bit old, her mind worked well and her figure was also soft.

Compared to Liu Feifei that vase who knew nothing except a face and a figure, Wang Lan could at least help him come up with ideas and solutions.

Perhaps in the future—a bold and absurd thought popped into Zhang Tao's mind: perhaps in the future, he could use Wang Lan's brain to climb step by step, and once his wings grew strong...

pull Lin Fan down and become the boss himself.

He spent a minute composing his emotions, took a deep breath, then turned to Lin Fan and spoke.

"Brother Fan."

"Speak."

"Brother Fan, I've been thinking. Right now there are seven of us, and food and daily expenses all rely entirely on you alone to worry about. I feel... aren't some people just too clueless?"

Lin Fan leaned against the rock wall and didn't take up the conversation.

Zhang Tao waited for two seconds, and not getting a response, licked his lips and continued.

"Brother Fan, look here. Zhou Kai moves stones, gathers firewood, and stands guard every day. Even though Liu Feifei eats Zhou Kai's share of supplies, she at least helps build fires and cook things."

"Song Ya's injuries aren't even fully healed yet, and she still knows to help you organize supplies. As for me, whatever you tell me to do, I do. Even if I had to smash poison with my bare hands, I wouldn't even frown."

"Yet there are some people who, after being rescued, do nothing at all, just sit right there, waiting to eat and drink like they're staying in a hotel."

Song Ya was organizing the gauze, her hands pausing for a moment as she raised her head to look at Zhang Tao.

Su Qingxue sat on the other side of the campfire, hugging her knees with both hands, without any reaction.

Zhang Tao swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Wang Lan sat two steps behind him, lowering her head with her fingers crossed on her knees, not saying a single word.

But Zhang Tao could feel her presence. That feeling was very subtle, like during an exam when an honor student sat next to you; you didn't even need to look at her, just knowing she was there gave you the courage to write two extra lines on your paper.

"Brother Fan, I'm not targeting anyone," Zhang Tao added.

Liu Feifei sat beside Zhou Kai, casting a sidelong glance at Zhang Tao and then another at Su Qingxue, pressing her lips together without making a sound.

Su Qingxue still didn't move.

Of course she could tell who Zhang Tao was talking about.

Out of the seven people on the island, who was working and who wasn't didn't require Zhang Tao to call roll.

She had only been brought up from below by Lin Fan yesterday afternoon, and her injuries hadn't even been fully treated yet, before Zhang Tao started making sarcastic remarks.

But she had no intention of speaking up.

It wasn't forbearance; it simply wasn't worth it.

Su Qingxue hadn't been cursed at much in her life, but she had heard enough sarcastic remarks to fill a truck.

Those old foxes on the board of directors and the shareholders making veiled insinuations—which of them wasn't classier than Zhang Tao's routine?

She was too lazy to even lift her eyelids.

Seeing that neither Su Qingxue nor Lin Fan reacted, Zhang Tao felt somewhat more at ease inside.

No reaction meant no opposition.

No opposition meant tacit approval.

He probed another step forward.

"Brother Fan, let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart."

Lin Fan raised his eyes to look at him.

"Speak."

Zhang Tao rubbed his hands together and squatted down. "Su Qingxue—what her status in the company was before, I know. The eldest miss of the Su Family, the general manager of the group; when we saw her, we had to call her President Su."

He paused for a moment.

"But this is the island."

"On the island, there is no Shengtang Group and no President Su. She is just an ordinary woman who can't even start a fire or boil water. You traded over forty catties of pork to bring her up—how many days could those forty-plus catties of meat have lasted us?"

Zhang Tao gestured in the air.

"And what happened after she came up? 'I will be self-reliant'? You can recite words like that at the company's annual meeting, but here?"

He let out a scoff.

"Self-reliant, what is she going to rely on to be self-reliant? Photosynthesis with that face?"