"The phone you have dialed is temporarily unreachable..." Poor two middle-aged guys

“Can’t get through?”

Dongfang Zhixia had been trying for ages, but the call remained impossible to connect. She didn’t know whether there was no signal or the phone was turned off.

“What on earth is Shen Qinghan doing?” Dongfang Zhixia frowned deeply as she stared at the more than ten failed calls on her phone, then turned it off.

“No, Mom, you try.”

Dongfang Zhixia stood there for a moment, then seemed to think of something. Her gaze shifted to Su Su, who was still standing nearby.

Su Su: “...”

Sweetheart, you’re really losing it... Where would I get that girl’s phone number?

“Sweetie, I don’t have Hanhan’s number,” Su Su said after a brief silence.

“Who told you to call that troublemaker? I mean, call Uncle Shen and the others.” Dongfang Zhixia frowned, looking at her mother with an odd expression.

Anyone could tell she obviously wasn’t asking her to call some problem child, right?

“That girl’s phone is set to block calls from unknown numbers. Even if you know her number, you won’t get through unless you’re in her contacts. I’m telling you to call Uncle Shen and the others and ask what’s going on.”

Dongfang Zhixia explained.

Su Su: “...”

“Uh... all right. I’ll give it a try.”

Su Su fell silent again. She had originally wanted to refuse. After all, those two old foxes had only just tricked her, which was why she had inexplicably fled from Longguo to a foreign country in the first place.

She hadn’t even figured out how to get revenge yet. And now she was supposed to call them? Where would that leave her dignity?

She hesitated for one second. But after feeling her daughter’s “death stare,” Su Su decided to put her own affairs aside for now. There was plenty of time in the future to settle accounts with those two old foxes!

As for now...

“Beep... beep... beep...”

A call was placed to somewhere in the northwest of Longguo.

As luck would have it, the place happened to be outside the military district’s signal-blocking range. The guesthouse had been chosen in a particularly cunning location.

“Beep... beep... beep...”

“Brother Shen, your phone’s ringing.”

Lin Tianxiong was sitting on the bed, blow-drying his hair while looking at messages sent by his subordinates. Suddenly, he heard the phone on the bedside table ringing. He glanced at it... It wasn’t his phone.

“Who’s calling? Brother Lin, answer it for me...” Shen Ming was outside, using a cup to scoop up water and wash his hair.

The northwest was still a little too harsh a place. Fortunately, neither Shen Ming nor Lin Tianxiong had been spoiled growing up, so they adapted to the local conditions fairly quickly. In fact... they were doing quite well.

The two brothers had just washed their hair and were preparing to go outside to see what was happening.

People from all over Longguo had already arrived. They would soon be entering the military district. Once inside, they could take a look around and figure out what was going on...

Naturally, the two of them were out of the question. They had appeared in public far too many times and in too many places, so there was a good chance someone sharp-eyed would recognize them. The ones sneaking into the military district were their daughters.

The two fathers would remain outside to provide support and see whether there was anything they could do afterward...

“Oh, all right.”

Lin Tianxiong didn’t think much of it. He picked up the phone and was about to answer. But just as his finger was about to touch the green answer button, he stopped.

After seeing the caller’s name, Lin Tianxiong’s eyes cleared at once, and he stared in shock.

The caller ID read... Su Su.

Lin Tianxiong: “...”

“Brother Shen, this call is a little... special. You’d better answer it yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll hold the phone for you. Just keep washing your hair...”

Lin Tianxiong hurriedly scrambled off the bed and jogged outside.

There was no helping it. He had a guilty conscience, and now the rightful owner was coming after him. Of course he was afraid.

The only thing Lin Tianxiong found comforting was that Brother Shen was here too. Otherwise, he would have been in for a truly miserable time...

“Special? Is Wanyi calling? Fine, Brother Lin, hold it for me.”

Shen Ming paused, but quickly nodded.

Lin Tianxiong: “...”

Hang in there, Brother Shen!

The call connected.

“Shen Ming, you’ve got some nerve. You actually dared to answer the phone?” Su Su’s voice came from the other end, laced with amusement and suppressed anger. Lin Tianxiong’s hand trembled as he listened.

It really was her...

When Shen Ming heard Su Su’s voice through the phone, he shuddered and dropped the hot water in his hand onto the floor.

Shen Ming: “???”

Brother Lin, what exactly did you mean by “special”?

Shen Ming didn’t have time to worry about washing his hair anymore. He hurriedly got up, wiped his face with a towel, and took the phone from Lin Tianxiong.

“Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? What happened? Is something wrong?” Shen Ming knew the moment he opened his mouth that he had already made a blunder.

Lin Tianxiong immediately made himself scarce.

He might not have believed that move from anyone else, but if it was Shen Ming—the Dahai City's lady-killer—then Lin Tianxiong trusted him unconditionally!

There were plenty of influential figures in Dahai City. Among those prominent people, Shen Ming was unquestionably one of the most significant. Lin Tianxiong was as well, though he had chosen a completely different path.

His playing field was a peculiar one. For a long time to come, the major families of Dahai City would surely remember what Lin Tianxiong had done.

A modern-day King Goujian of Yue, that was what he was.

As for Brother Doudou... aside from his extraordinary talent, achievements, and background, most of what he had received was reputational damage.

Who the hell had called him the Young Miss Killer back then? He hadn’t paid it any attention at the time, but that bizarre title had somehow spread.

A dozen years later, he had become a lady-killer...

What a damn bastard!

If he ever caught the person who had first called him a lady-killer, he would definitely teach the guy a lesson or two!

Wasn’t that just ruining a person’s life?

“Huh? You actually have the nerve to ask me that? You tricked Zhixia and me into coming to this freezing, godforsaken place where there isn’t even a ghost in sight, and you still have the nerve to ask what happened?” Su Su sneered.

Shen Ming said in feigned confusion, “Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? What do you mean I tricked you and Zhixia into coming to this frozen wasteland?”

Lin Tianxiong silently gave him a thumbs-up from the side.

That was the way to do it, Brother Shen!

He was part of one of the Three Great Families, after all. The Lin family was still somewhat lacking in status. If Su Su really set her sights on them, they would certainly have to pay dearly. It was better to let Brother Shen go and face the enemy head-on...

Lin Tianxiong also believed that Shen Ming would understand him.

“Hmph. You two can keep pretending. I’ll remember what happened this time. When I get back, I’ll settle the score with both of you old foxes!”

Su Su snorted coldly and stopped arguing with Shen Ming about it. Her daughter was waiting beside her and was already becoming anxious.

“I don’t have time to argue with you right now. Shen Ming, if you still acknowledge me as your sister-in-law, then stop playing dumb. Call your family’s Qinghan right now. Zhixia has something to ask her. Tell her to answer the phone.”

Shen Ming: “...”

He understood now. After going around in such a huge circle, there was really only one reason she had called.

She wanted to find their Hanhan...

But why did she want to find their Hanhan?

That sounded rather serious, though. Shen Ming grew a little more attentive. With that tone, there had to be something urgent going on.

“All right, Sister-in-law. Give me a moment. I’ll send a message to our Hanhan.”

When Shen Ming was handling serious business, he was genuinely reliable. He knew exactly which matters were urgent and which could wait—that was his greatest strength. No wonder Madam had completely given up and lain flat at home…

Just kidding. Even without Brother Doudou, she would have lain flat all the same. The only difference was that the pressure Brother Doudou carried would have been divided among the others below him.

Madam: Sorry, I don’t do pressure…

“Don’t send a message. Call her directly—we’re in a real hurry.” Su Su’s anxious voice came from the other end of the phone. She sounded as though she couldn’t wait even a second.

Shen Ming raised an eyebrow.

“That urgent?”

“All right, Sister-in-law, hang up for now. I’ll call Hanhan.”

“Hurry, okay?” Only then did Su Su reluctantly end the call.

“Beep, beep, beep…”

The moment that call ended, another series of beeps began. He was calling the Young Miss.

“Beep, beep, beep…”

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later…”

Shen Ming: “…”

“Brother Lin, give it a try on your end. I remember Bai Zhi was with our Hanhan.” Shen Ming had run out of ideas, so he sighed and spoke up.

Lin Tianxiong had been slacking off and idling away for most of the day. At last, he finally “came back to life.”

“Hmm, all right. I’ll call and ask…”

“Beep, beep, beep…”

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later…”

Lin Tianxiong: “…”

Shen Ming: “…”

So where had those two girls run off to?

“Wait, I still have one more option!” Shen Ming suddenly spoke up as the room fell silent, pulling out his “secret backup power source”!

“Brother Shen, you still have a plan?” Lin Tianxiong’s entire body trembled. Could this be the legendary Dahai City’s lady-killer?

As expected, it was terrifyingly powerful!

“Beep, beep, beep…”

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily…”

Shen Ming: “…”

Lin Tianxiong: “…”

All right. Now they really had no options left.

This time, Shen Ming had called the short-haired woman. Her phone was kept on twenty-four hours a day. If he couldn’t get through, there could only be one explanation: there was no signal.

The short-haired woman’s phone had satellite-call capabilities. There was absolutely no way it could simply fail to receive a signal. If this was happening now, then the only possibility was that the signal had been blocked.

And as luck would have it, the Northwest had no shortage of military bases…

Neither Shen Ming nor Lin Tianxiong was stupid. After comparing the facts for a moment, they immediately realized what had happened.

Their daughters had apparently grown tired of waiting for the main force and gone in by themselves.

The two men: “…”

So… had the two middle-aged men really been abandoned completely?

At the same time.

Inside the military base.

The Young Miss and her group had successfully slipped in with the main force.

“Young Master, please don’t wander around. This is a military base. You can’t act recklessly…” an elderly woman with white hair whispered from within the group.

They had come over from Dongda City. They were also a branch of the Du family there, only a rather special one. To a certain extent, they were involved in the occult—and they often appeared in the public eye.

For example… spirit mediums!

The old woman’s hand was cold, carrying a strange scent that seemed to come from some kind of animal.

Shen Qinghan nodded. “Mm, I know. Keep going.”

The white-haired old woman nodded. “I’m naturally not worried about you, Young Master. It’s just that this friend of yours…”

The old woman hesitated. In the end, her gaze fell on Lin Baizhi, who was looking left and right at the edge of the group, clearly preparing to sneak away.

Shen Qinghan narrowed her eyes, then walked over to Lin Baizhi.

And then… she headbutted her!

“Bang!”

Shen Qinghan, are you freaking insane…?

That was the last coherent thought in poor Sister Lin’s mind before everything began spinning. After that, she remembered nothing at all…

Shen Qinghan simply dragged her along.

“Mm, all right. Let’s go.”

The white-haired old woman: “???”

Huh?

When had the Young Master become so… much like the head of the family?