47: Chapter 47 King of Ala Kingdom: Listen to Li Li!

The second wave of missiles didn't make it to the ground.

In the distance, over the sea, a white line shot up from the surface.

The type 055 destroyer's anti-missile interceptor caught the cluster bomb mother pod high in the sky, detonating it directly at an altitude of 6,000 meters.

A massive orange fireball exploded in the sky.

The shockwave pressed down from above, causing the remaining glass fragments of Water World to chime and clatter.

No sub-munitions scattered.

Clean and efficient.

Li Li watched the fireball expand in the air, then slowly disperse into a cloud of orange-gray smoke.

In the distance, the type 055 destroyer sat silently on the sea, its gray hull paint blending with the blue of the Persian Gulf.

Thank you, Motherland.

Han Xubai scrambled up from the ground, his glasses crooked, his hands fumbling blindly at his face, but his mind was clear.

"The cluster bombs are targeting landmarks." He tilted his head, looking up at the sky, "Water World counts as an iconic building in Dubai. They hit it in the first wave, and they hit it again in the second."

He paused for a beat.

"That means they don't care how many people they kill; they care about how many landmarks they can blow up to make the news."

Cen Ye crouched on the ground, wiping the mud from his face.

"You're blind and you can still analyze this much?"

"I'm blind, not brain-dead." Han Xubai blinked hard, and his glasses finally snapped back into place. "We need to leave Water World immediately. This place is a sitting duck."

Li Li didn't waste words.

"Move."

He bent down and pulled Jiang Rumu up from the ground. The wound on her right shoulder was still seeping blood. His T-shirt was draped over her, the white cotton already stained red. Jiang Rumu gritted her teeth without a sound, her left hand clutching the hem of the T-shirt tightly.

Shen Jue carried Director Pei Zhao on his back. Cen Ye supported Qi Wanyin. Gu Zeyan helped Fang Ruowei. Wen Zhuotang limped along behind them, her face pale, but she wasn't crying.

Lao Zhou carried the camera, following at the end.

The group stumbled toward the nearest exit. The Production Team staff in fluorescent vests shouted "EXIT! EXIT!" in all directions.

Han Xubai muttered as he walked.

"According to Article 18 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, clearly marked civilian facilities should not be targets of military strikes—"

Li Li didn't look back.

"Lawyer Bai, can you not recite legal codes while we're running for our lives?"

"Occupational hazard."

---

Outside the main entrance of Water World.

Ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks were lined up in a long queue, stretching along the main road of the Palm Jumeirah as far as the eye could see. Red and blue lights flashed in alternation.

Medical personnel in white coats crouched by the roadside, triaging patients. Minor injuries got a green tag, moderate injuries a yellow tag, and severe injuries a red tag.

The Production Team was lucky—the closest sub-munitions had landed fifty meters away, so there were no direct hits. They mostly suffered from shockwave injuries, with some minor shrapnel grazes.

Green tags.

Except for Jiang Rumu.

The Ala Country medical staff examined the wound on her right shoulder, frowned, and applied a yellow tag.

Jiang Rumu looked down at the yellow tag.

"I'm fine."

The medic shook his head, rattling off a string of Arabic.

Li Li translated from the side.

"He says the burn on your shoulder needs debridement and stitches, or it will get infected."

Jiang Rumu looked at him.

"You speak Arabic too?"

"I know a little."

"A little?"

Li Li rotated his left wrist.

"I know enough."

Jiang Rumu didn't have the energy to roll her eyes.

Ambulances transported the wounded in batches. The Production Team was packed into three vehicles. Jiang Rumu sat in the first one, with Li Li beside her.

The door closed.

Jiang Rumu leaned against the wall of the carriage and closed her eyes.

"Li Li."

"Hmm."

"When I was underwater just now… I didn't know anything."

"Hmm."

"I woke up to see you performing CPR on me."

"…Hmm."

Jiang Rumu didn't open her eyes.

"Your lips taste like mud."

Li Li turned his head to look out the window.

The muscle in his jaw twitched.

---

Examinations, stitches, X-rays, prescriptions.

It took over six hours of chaos.

By the time all thirty-six members of the Production Team had been treated and boarded the bus back to the Burj Al Arab, the sky over Dubai was completely dark.

It was 1:07 AM.

The lobby of the Burj Al Arab was brightly lit. The security team had been completely rotated, with heavily armed Ala Country special forces standing on both sides.

Li Li helped Jiang Rumu walk into the lobby. Her right shoulder was wrapped in thick medical bandages, and his T-shirt was still draped over her, the bloodstains having dried into a dark brown.

In the center of the lobby, a young man in a white robe stood up.

Fahd bin Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Al Maktoum.

The seventh prince of Dubai.

He walked over quickly, first patting Li Li on the shoulder and looking him up and down.

"You aren't hurt?" he asked in Arabic.

"No."

Fahd sighed in relief, looked at the bandage on Jiang Rumu's shoulder, and pursed his lips.

"Come with me. We'll talk in the VIP room."

---

VIP room on the first floor of the Burj Al Arab.

Fahd sat at the head of the long table.

"The final casualty count for Water World is out. Fifteen staff members are dead. Twenty-seven are seriously injured. Including your Production Team, ninety-five people have minor injuries."

Jiang Rumu sat next to Li Li, her injured right hand resting on the table, her fingertips trembling slightly.

Fahd rubbed his temples.

"Given the current security situation, the Royal Family has decided—to cancel the banquet in Abu Dhabi the day after tomorrow."

Li Li looked up.

"It shouldn't be canceled."

"Fifteen people died today, Li."

"I know. That's why it cannot be canceled."

Fahd didn't respond.

Li Li leaned forward.

"The whole world knows about this banquet. Israel knows it too. If you cancel, it means one of their missiles can blow away Ala Country's social schedule. They bomb your airport, they bomb your water park—and then you shrink away. The whole world is watching."

Fahd tapped his fingers on the table twice.

"Do the opposite. Don't cancel. Announce in a high-profile way that it will continue, and expand the scale—invite every foreigner currently in Abu Dhabi to attend. Let CNN film it, let BBC film it, let the cameras of the world aim at the royal banquet hall."

He held up a finger.

"Israel is bombing civilians, while Ala Country is inviting civilians to dinner. Which side will global public opinion stand on?"

Fahd stared at him.

The security advisor whispered in Arabic from the side, "The security pressure is too high."

Fahd raised his hand to stop him.

"You want to turn the banquet into a PR war."

"Yes." Li Li leaned back in his chair. "Israel uses missiles to fight, you use banquets to fight. Of course, you can't skimp on the missiles either; bomb them back."

Fahd was silent for ten seconds.

He stood up. He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the dark surface of the Persian Gulf. On the horizon in the distance, the silhouette of the type 055 destroyer was faintly visible.

He turned around.

"I need to discuss this with my father."

He walked to the door and stopped. He turned back.

"Li. You are well-suited to be a politician."

"Thanks." Li Li rotated his wrist. "I'm better suited to be an architect."

Fahd pushed the door open and left.

There were only two people left in the VIP room.

Jiang Rumu waited until the door was closed before speaking.

"The things you just said—when did you think of them?"

"In the ambulance."

"I fell asleep in the ambulance."

"Yes. You fell asleep, and I started thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

Li Li looked down at his left wrist. The blue text was floating quietly.

[Main Mission: Lead the entire Production Team to attend the Abu Dhabi Royal Banquet.]

"Nothing." He stood up. "Let's go back to the room; you need to change the dressing on your shoulder."

Jiang Rumu also stood up. She took two steps, then paused.

"Li Li."

"Hmm."

"Earlier at the hospital, I called TikTok back."

"Hmm."

"They said… your emergency contact field is empty."

Li Li's footsteps faltered for a beat.

Jiang Rumu watched his back.

"Fill me in from now on."

Li Li didn't look back.

He rotated his left wrist.

He left.

Jiang Rumu stared at his back as he pushed the door open.

The door closed.

She looked down and saw the charred scar peeking out from under the bandage.

She opened her phone contacts and flipped to "L".

Under Li Li's number, the notes field was empty.

She typed four characters.

"Emergency Contact."

Saved. Locked the screen.

---

At the end of the corridor.

Li Li leaned against the wall, the blue text still hanging on his left wrist.

[System Notification: Host's heart rate detected to have increased by 17%.]

He pulled his sleeve down to cover the text; the increased heart rate was mainly due to the poor air quality, not his problem.

Yes, it was not his problem.

His phone lit up.

A text message from Fahd, in Arabic.

"My father and the King have discussed and agreed. The banquet will proceed as planned, the scale will be increased fivefold, please invite your entire Production Team."

Li Li locked the screen.

The sail-shaped dome of the Burj Al Arab glowed with cold white light in the night.