Chapter 1196 - 1196: Your Dam Overlord Has Arrived

Ten minutes later, under Pei Dengke's repeated insistence, Xiao Feng finally decided… to leave him at home.

There were plenty of reasons, but the main one was that taking him along would be a hassle.

Besides, at this point Pei Dengke really wasn't suitable for showing his face around anymore; if he got carried away and fell into someone's trap, there wouldn't be a second "Qi Datou" rushing over to clean up the mess.

The location given on the invitation was a holiday manor, far from the city, backed by a mountain and occupying a fair bit of land.

After parking, Xiao Feng got out of the car.

Immediately, a man in a suit and tie walked over and asked with a smile, "You must be Mr. Xiao, right?"

Xiao Feng nodded, acknowledging it.

The man went on, "I'm here to pick you up, the car's ready, please come with me."

"Hold on a sec!"

Throwing that out, Xiao Feng opened the front passenger door, gave the driver a few instructions, agreed on a time for him to come pick him up, and only then followed the man toward a nearby sightseeing shuttle.

Once they got on, the man didn't make small talk; he casually introduced the resort's history, some nice scenic spots, and the local food.

Xiao Feng listened with a slight smile, not showing much impatience.

After about fifteen minutes of this, the already slow vehicle started to go even slower.

"Huh?" The man driving in the front seat let out a doubtful sound and stomped the gas a few more times, but the speed didn't pick up.

Xiao Feng glanced around; all he could see were flowers, grass, and trees. Clearly they hadn't arrived yet; the car had a problem.

Which also meant… the setup was about to start.

The man in front turned his head, wearing an apologetic smile. "Sorry, the car's out of juice. I'll call and get you another one, is that okay?"

"If I say no, are you going to stick wings on me and let me fly over?" Xiao Feng said, half smiling.

The man gave an awkward smile. "Mr. Xiao, you really have a sense of humor. I'll contact them for a replacement right away."

With that, he got off to make the call.

Xiao Feng didn't say anything, but the smile at the corner of his mouth grew even stronger.

If nothing unexpected happened, there was no way any car was actually coming…

Sure enough, in a moment they heard the man shout loudly, "What?!

How is it possible you can't spare even one car? I'm receiving a VIP here, you have to get me a car!

In half an hour even the hot dishes will be cold, forget it, forget it, I'll think of something myself."

Putting away his phone, the man came back to the car and bowed repeatedly. "I'm really, really sorry. It's close to the end of the year, there are a lot of tourists, and they just can't send a car over right now."

"I know."

"You know?" the man asked in surprise.

Xiao Feng couldn't help laughing. "I don't just know they can't send a car, I also know you weren't even on the phone just now. Your phone was upside down. You think I'm nearsighted, or just blind?"

"Uh…" The man froze on the spot, looking a bit at a loss.

Xiao Feng waved a hand. "No need to be nervous. I know you're just following orders. I won't ask who.

I just want to know what the next step of the plan is. Can you tell me?"

"They… they want you to take that tricycle over there." The man pointed ahead.

It was a pedal tricycle with an old man sitting on it, looking around seventy.

"What, they planning to stage a fake accident halfway?" Xiao Feng asked.

The man gave a bitter smile. "No, it's just to deliberately make you late."

"Thanks for telling me this." Xiao Feng nodded slowly and patted the man on the shoulder. "I won't tell anyone you spilled the beans, don't worry."

With that, he got out of the car and walked straight toward the tricycle.

The man hurried after him, jogging up to the old man and saying, "Old Bai, help me take this guest to the Reception Building, my car's out of power."

The old man cupped a hand around his ear and frowned. "Take him where?"

"The Reception Building!"

"Reception what?"

"Reception Building!"

"What Building?"

"Re-ce-ption Build-ing!"

"Reception what?"

By the time they finished that little exchange, the old man had fully demonstrated his seasoned-actor skills.

Watching from the side, Xiao Feng couldn't help clicking his tongue. If he hadn't known in advance, he might… still not have believed it.

At most he'd just think the old man didn't want to take him.

After all, to keep messing up just those three simple words "Reception Building" over and over—he was laying it on way too thick.

Right then, the old man suddenly slapped his thigh. "You mean the Reception Building?"

"That's right, the Reception Building," the man replied feebly.

The old man gave him a "you're wasting my time" look and snapped, "See, if you'd said 'Reception Building' earlier, I'd have known."

"…" The man.

I've been saying it this whole damn time!

Even knowing it was an act, he still couldn't help getting a little pissed.

After another round of back-and-forth, Xiao Feng finally sat down on the old man's tricycle.

"You'd better sit tight!" the old man warned, looking back.

Xiao Feng nodded, thinking, How fast can this rickety tricycle even go?

He hadn't expected the old man to swing his arms, lift his butt off the seat, and suddenly pick up speed, shooting forward like the wind.

"Hmm?" Xiao Feng genuinely couldn't figure this out.

Weren't they trying to make him late on purpose?

This was not what making him late was supposed to look like.

Just as he was thinking that, there was a sharp "ka" sound. The old man's pedaling cadence went up several notches, but the speed didn't increase accordingly.

Obviously… the chain had snapped.

He managed to bring the tricycle to a safe stop. The old man spat into both hands twice, fuming. "Dropping the chain on me at a critical moment, let's see how I fix you!"

Then he looked at Xiao Feng. "Just wait a bit, give me five minutes."

The old man wasn't bluffing. In less than five minutes, he really did get the chain back on.

The tricycle was "back to full health," and the old man pedaled with all his might, to the point that Xiao Feng in the back was actually a little moved.

However, the sentiment didn't last long…

"Pff!"

The tire… got punctured.

The old man was so anxious he was practically hopping. "Aaaargh! I'm gonna die of anger, I'm gonna die of anger!

Give me another five minutes, I refuse to believe this!"

…

Finally, after two more punctured tires and three more chain drops…

The old man managed to bring Xiao Feng to the Reception Building.

By then, he was a full twenty minutes late for the appointed time.

"I'm… I'm really, really sorry, I already did my best!" The old man panted, practically out of breath.

Xiao Feng shook his head and said nothing.

Seeing the old man drenched in sweat, with steam practically rising off his head, he really couldn't bring himself to blame him.

Walking with an easy stride, Xiao Feng headed toward the Reception Building, his expression calm and unhurried, with not a hint of panic.

At this moment, he could feel that besides the people at the door, there were at least a dozen more gazes on him.

And as for who those gazes belonged to, that went without saying.

"Sons, your overlord of the dam… has arrived!"