Chapter 68: Be My Little Brother

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However, this decision put Tang Ailian in a difficult position, leaving her grandmother, who had brought her here to sell tofu, in distress. Her family must be worried, especially her mother.

Tang Ailian felt frustrated. If she had known this, she wouldn't have gone along with that woman to infiltrate this dangerous situation.

But now that she was here, she had to make the best of it.

Finally, as night fell and the surroundings grew quiet, a sealed truck pulled into the alley. The dozen or so children, including Tang Ailian, were pushed and squeezed onto the truck, their minds hazy from whatever drug they had been given.

A pungent smell filled the air, nearly making Tang Ailian retch. She had to fight the urge to jump out of the vehicle.

The woman in charge whispered, "Once you're on the truck, find a seat and don't move around."

Tang Ailian had to endure the nauseating smell and found an available seat.

Once the doors closed, the little remaining light was shut out. Despite it being autumn, the inside of the truck remained oppressively hot. But worse than the heat was the overwhelming stench—clearly, with the long journey, some of the children had been relieving themselves on the truck.

Tang Ailian had to suppress her disgust as she scanned the children using her telepathy. Most of them were dozing off, presumably still under the influence of the drugs.

But then, she detected the faint life force of a girl, around two to three years old, that was dangerously weak. Without intervention, this girl might not survive the night.

Tang Ailian also spotted two other children with similarly faint life forces. These three kids were on the verge of death.

They were likely in the same state as the previous world, having lost vital signs by the time the sealed truck was intercepted.

Tang Ailian was furious. These human traffickers clearly didn't consider these children as human beings. To them, if these kids couldn't survive the journey, they might as well be discarded. The special organization had no use for those too weakened.

In the sealed truck, with over a hundred abducted children, Tang Ailian moved closer to one of the critically ill girls. She used her telekinesis to conjure a small water orb and gently fed it to the girl.

As the girl drank the spirit water, her condition gradually improved. Tang Ailian quickly moved to the next child in distress, repeating the process.

While rescuing the second child, Tang Ailian felt a pair of eyes fixed on her.

When she reached the last unconscious girl, she finally approached the owner of those eyes. He was a boy, around four or five years old, with big, earnest eyes watching her in the darkness.

Tang Ailian offered him water like she did with the others. The boy took the water from her hand and drank it all. Surprisingly, he even stuck out his tongue to lick her wet fingers.

Tang Ailian blushed. Though she inhabited a four-year-old's body, her soul was that of an adult.

However, the little boy seemed unfazed by his actions, and he thanked her sincerely, "Thank you! Your water is so good. After drinking it, I feel energized and more alert." After a pause, he added, "I'm Feng Ming. What's your name?"

Tang Ailian's heart skipped a beat. This was Feng Ming, the boy from the mysterious family whose actions had led to the expansion of the child trafficking investigation.

She introduced herself, "I'm Tang Ailian, and I'm five years old." Though, in reality, she hadn't even turned four yet. She hesitated before continuing, "Don't worry, I've already called for help."

Feng Ming, in awe of Tang Ailian's dedication, asked, "Are you undercover?"

Tang Ailian accepted his admiration, "Yes, I'm undercover." She glanced back at the boy who had claimed to be an undercover agent earlier. He seemed somewhat resentful, possibly because Tang Ailian had taken on the undercover role he wanted.

To clear any misunderstandings, she hastily explained, "I was captured as an undercover agent. But don't worry, I'll get all of you out of here."

Feng Ming, despite his tender age, still had some skepticism. "Why do you want to save us?"

Tang Ailian realized that even a young child like Feng Ming had learned to be cautious due to his life experiences. She smiled and responded, "What if I told you I want to make some of you my little brothers?"

Feng Ming was puzzled, "Don't you have any brothers?"

(End of this chapter)