The leading man gave his two panions a look.
The stout man scowled and retreated a few steps.
The woman in red bit her lip and put away her weapon.
"A misunderstanding," the man explained. "My name is Yan Qingwen, and these are my panions, Su Man and Lü Ang. We tend to speak bluntly, but we mean no harm. Calling this young lady disabled… wasn't meant as an insult."
He paused for a second, then added with a faint smile, "Besides, this young lady is disabled, isn't she? How else should we have phrased it to avoid causing offense?"
Bai Youwei smiled and raised her voice. "Wow, look everyone, there's a fatso! He looks like a burnt pig's foot!"
The stout man sputtered, "You!…"
Bai Youwei asked innocently, "Oh, how should I have said it to be polite? He is fat! And that… cross-eyed battle-axe?"
"What did you call me?!" the woman in red glared.
"I said you're blind," Bai Youwei replied sweetly. "You immediately assumed I'm living off men. How do you know I'm not the one supporting these men?"
Shen Mo: "…"
Tan Xiao: "…"
Cheng Weicai: "…"
"Even if I were living off men, what business is it of yours?" Bai Youwei chuckled. "Did I eat your rice or steal your man?"
The stout man couldn't help but retort, "You little girl have a venomous tongue! We say one thing to you, and you fire back with a dozen insults! Don't think we won't hit you just because you're a girl!"
"Go ahead!" Bai Youwei slammed her hand on her toy gun, her eyes filled with malice. "Kill you all, and I'll just take your jigsaw pieces!"
At the mention of jigsaw pieces, the three people's expressions immediately sharpened, and they looked at them warily. People who knew about jigsaw pieces were, in all likelihood, people who had been in the maze. And those who had been in the maze had enhanced physical abilities; such people were not to be underestimated.
The atmosphere grew tense as the two sides faced each other in a silent, strained standoff.
Shen Mo glanced at Bai Youwei, then looked at the leading man and calmly said, "Apologize. Although you have weapons, those things aren't necessarily more effective than props."
Yan Qingwen looked at Shen Mo, then at Bai Youwei.
Bai Youwei casually fiddled with the toy gun in her hand.
The corner of Yan Qingwen's mouth curled up in a wry smile. "…Fine. We were rude first. I apologize to you on behalf of my panions. Now, may we leave?"
Shen Mo made a "please" gesture.
The stout man and the woman in red still looked indignant, but they ultimately didn't say anything more and sullenly followed Yan Qingwen.
After they had walked away, Shen Mo turned and flicked Bai Youwei on the forehead.
"Don't make such vicious remarks in the future. Are you trying to stir up trouble?"
Saying things like killing people to take their jigsaw pieces had scared Cheng Weicai so much his face had turned white.
"I have to be tough to scare them," Bai Youwei rubbed her forehead and said seriously. "Some people are just bullies. The tougher I am, the more they'll be afraid and won't dare to mess with us."
Tan Xiao nodded repeatedly. "Weiwei is right, Mo Ge. When we're roaming around, our aura is important!"
"…" Shen Mo didn't want to argue with the two "children."
"Look, they seem to be trading with those people," Bai Youwei said excitedly.
While the two sides were arguing, some onlookers had appeared near the intersection, as if they had a prior agreement with the three, carrying boxes and bags of various sizes.
The three handed over a gun and some ammunition and received several boxes in return.
"I wonder what it is…" Bai Youwei looked at the receding figures, curious.
"Gasoline," Shen Mo said.
Bai Youwei looked at him. "How do you know?"
"I smelled it," Shen Mo said lightly. "And besides gasoline, I can't think of anything else that would be more valuable than guns and bullets."
He paused, then added in a low voice, "We're running low on gasoline, too."
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