230: Chapter 230 Shen Hanhan Suffers a Cruel Blow

Two thousand eight hundred kilometers away. The Northwest Desert.

A military Mengshi off-road vehicle sped wildly across the Gobi Desert.

Yellow sand filled the sky.

Li Li sat in the passenger seat, his hands gripping the roof handle tightly as his body jolted violently with the vehicle.

"Brother, which deity did you learn this driving technique from?"

Li Li turned his head.

The special forces soldier driving stared straight ahead and floored the accelerator: "Reporting, Chief, strict orders from superiors: I must deliver you to the coordinate point within three minutes."

Li Li felt his stomach churning.

Two hours ago, he was still acting as a fugitive version of Pinduoduo at Hongqiao Airport.

An hour and a half ago, he was sitting in the back seat of a J-20S, experiencing a vertical takeoff from the ground.

The warm current in his brain brought on by [Extreme Physical Fitness] was still surging.

He even felt like he could flip a camel over with his bare hands now.

But in the script of the Strategic Deception Bureau, he was just a weak orphanage director and a variety show amateur.

At this moment, he was wearing a black windbreaker provided by a sponsor.

He was carrying two red plastic bags he had swiped from a small shop in town.

Inside the plastic bags were two bottles of Nongfu Spring water and three shriveled loaves of bread.

In his pocket, he also tucked away two tickets to the Northwest Film City.

This script from the Strategic Deception Bureau was obsessively detailed to an infuriating degree.

The Mengshi off-road vehicle drifted.

It stopped steadily behind a sand dune.

Li Li pushed open the car door and jumped out.

The moment his legs touched the ground, he felt this Gobi Desert was a hundred times more welcoming than the cockpit of an F-35.

He carried the plastic bags and went around the sand dune.

The front of the sand dune.

The scorching sun hung high in the sky.

Jiang Rumu was sitting on the hood of a Jeep Wrangler.

Three mobile phones were set up in front of her.

The windproof microphone was covered with a fluffy cover.

For the past few days, she had been under immense pressure, acting alongside Shen Yu.

After the military took Shen Jue away three hours ago, she was left alone.

It wasn't until half an hour ago, when a satellite phone call came through telling her he would arrive soon, that she dared to start the live stream.

She finally dared to start the broadcast.

She raised her hand and pressed the "Start Broadcast" button.

The moment the screen switched from black to bright.

The number of online viewers jumped directly from zero to ten million.

The number in the top right corner was still scrolling wildly at a rate of one hundred thousand per second.

The server lagged for two seconds.

The comments section completely plastered the entire screen.

[Where is Li Li!!!]

[Hand over the Zero-Dollar Shopping Big Brother! Hand over the orphanage director!]

[Stop hiding him! I know he is next to you! Let him come out and walk a few steps!]

[President Trump named him specifically for sanctions! Hurry and let him come out to host a special session to respond!]

[Eagle Country netizens who climbed over the Great Firewall express their disagreement! That creepy guy is definitely a body double! You Eastern Great Nation are shielding the real criminal!]

[Stop talking nonsense! Our official statement has already been released, Zhang Nan is just a spy! Your own security is trash, why blame our Director Li?]

[If Li Li can fly an F-35, I'll eat my keyboard while doing a handstand!]

Jiang Rumu looked at the dense text on the screen.

She raised her hand to brush aside her hair, which had been messed up by the wind.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the Northwest Loop travel live stream."

"The person you are looking for is not here."

"He went to town to buy supplies."

"Out here in the wilderness, one has to eat and drink."

The comments section wasn't buying it at all.

The refresh rate was so fast it created afterimages.

[Went to buy supplies? This excuse is too lame!]

[Family, does anyone get it? There is definitely something wrong with the live stream these past few days!]

[Right! Eating watermelon the day before yesterday, riding a camel yesterday, Li Li only showed the back of his head and his profile the whole time!]

[He hasn't said a single word! He hasn't even shown his full face!]

[Didn't you two just officially announce your relationship? Why isn't there even any hand-holding or hugging? This isn't a honeymoon, this is just teaming up to walk the Gobi!]

[It's definitely a contract couple! It's all a script!]

A bolded red comment suddenly floated across.

[Case solved, brothers! That is definitely not Li Li!]

[Li Li went to Okinawa to steal an F-35! He has already been picked up by the state and put under protection!]

[That body double wearing sunglasses and a mask next to her is definitely that dope Shen Jue!]

[Right! The height and build match perfectly! Shen Jue hasn't even posted on Weibo lately; he must have been press-ganged into being a body double!]

[The Strategic Deception Bureau is really good at this bait-and-switch trick!]

Jiang Rumu looked at this comment.

She laughed in anger.

She tapped the screen twice with her finger.

"You say the one next to me is Shen Jue?"

"Fine."

"I'll satisfy your curiosity."

She opened the list of connection requests.

She directly called Shen Jue via video call.

Beep, beep.

The video connected.

In the split-screen, a head with a Korean-style comma hairstyle appeared.

The hair was a mess.

Shen Jue was shirtless, and there was a red mark on his collarbone from his pillow.

He squinted, with half his face out of the frame.

He let out a huge yawn.

"Sis."

"It's the middle of the day, why are you calling me?"

"I just fell asleep."

Jiang Rumu adjusted the phone stand.

"Netizens say you are in the Northwest acting with me."

"Show them where you are."

Shen Jue scratched his head.

He looked completely confused.

"I'm at home."

"I stayed up all night watching three zombie movies, and I just closed my eyes."

He raised his phone.

The camera shook.

He walked to the window and pulled open the curtains.

Blinding sunlight shone into the room.

Outside the window, a strangely shaped twisted building stood under the blue sky.

The Beijing "Big Pants" building.

An iconic landmark.

The comments in the live stream instantly shifted direction.

[Holy crap! It really is Beijing!]

[This dope's just-woken-up look can't be acted; he's definitely sleeping at home for real!]

[It's over, the Strategic Deception Bureau's script has been debunked.]

[Then who exactly is Li Li in the Northwest right now?]

[Could the one in Okinawa really be Zhang Nan?]

[I don't believe it! Li Li is definitely not in the Northwest!]

Jiang Rumu was just about to cut the connection.

A very light sound of footsteps came from behind the off-road vehicle.

Stepping on the sandy ground, it made a soft rustling sound.

A man's voice suddenly rang out in the live stream.

"Is Baby live streaming?"

The volume was very soft.

It carried a hint of exhaustion, yet also absolute relaxation.

The live stream comments cleared instantly.

It paused for a second.

Then it exploded at ten times the speed.

[This sound!!!]

[It's Li Li! It's definitely Li Li!]

[Who can handle this "Baby"! My bones have melted!]

[He really is in the Northwest!]

Jiang Rumu turned her head sharply.

The camera couldn't capture her face, but her rapid breathing could be clearly heard.

A man wearing a black windbreaker walked in front of the camera.

His short, messy hair was ruffled by the wind.

The zipper was pulled up to the very top, covering his chin.

He was holding two plastic bags in one hand, which contained mineral water and bread.

Li Li.

The living, breathing Li Li, without sunglasses, without a mask.

He walked to Jiang Rumu's side and bent down to put down the plastic bags.

He fished out two crumpled tickets from his pocket.

He shoved them in front of the camera.

"Northwest Film City couple's package tickets."

"I bought them while I was out buying water."

"I'll take you to ride horses in Loulan this afternoon."

The comments section went completely crazy.

[Holy crap! He even has tickets!]

[The timeline matches up perfectly! He really is traveling in the Northwest!]

[Case solved, case solved! The Zero-Dollar Shopping Big Brother is someone else!]

[President Trump's face has been slapped swollen!]

Li Li stuffed the tickets back into his pocket.

"There isn't anything good to eat in town, so make do..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

Jiang Rumu looked at the man in front of her.

Looking at the Gobi sand and dirt on his clothes.

The string in her brain that had been pulled tight for three days finally snapped.

She didn't care about the tens of millions of online viewers.

She didn't care about Shen Jue, who was still on the call.

She grabbed the collar of Li Li's windbreaker with both hands.

Veins bulged on the back of her hands.

She pulled down hard.

Li Li was caught off guard, his body leaning forward.

Jiang Rumu lifted her head.

She pressed directly onto him.

Blocking the words he hadn't finished saying.

Their teeth collided, making a very faint sound.

Li Li's hands hovered in mid-air.

He was still holding that red plastic bag in his hand.

He froze for a second.

Then he wrapped his arm around Jiang Rumu's waist.

Pulling her into his embrace.

And deepened the kiss.

The live stream screen froze on this image.

Their faces were pressed together.

The wind blew across the Gobi, whipping up a cloud of fine sand.

The live stream server crashed completely.

Black screen.

Only a string of error codes remained.

In the split-screen, Shen Jue's eyes went wide instantly.

He held his head with both hands.

He almost dropped his phone on the ground.

"Holy crap!!!"

Shen Jue's scream pierced through the screen.

"Are you guys crazy!"

"What did I do wrong!"

"I can't even get a good night's sleep!"

"You're just slaughtering us single dogs in front of tens of millions of people?!"

He grabbed his already messy hair.

"I just woke up!"

"Have you considered the feelings of us single dogs!"

"Have you considered the life or death of a single dog who has to eat a mouthful of dog food the moment they open their eyes!"