I changed the world.

Page 447

“In addition, I can give you an extra 100 runes, Miss Tour Guide.” He took out his wallet, pulled out a 100-pound note, and handed it over.

As a Rune colony, Misura Island uses a currency system based on Rune pounds, called the Livor. This is the currency system used by Runes in the colony, with its value corresponding one-to-one with the Rune pound. In fact, using the Rune pound directly in the colony is also welcomed, even more so than using the local currency.

100 runes was a rather attractive tip for the tour guide, and the tour guide hesitated noticeably for a moment.

“Miss tour guide, look, we’ll pay the driver just for driving us around, it’ll only take an hour round trip. He can even make it back for dinner, so no one will lose anything.” Chadwick slipped the money over.

Perhaps because she was willing to receive a tip, or perhaps because Chadwick's suggestion was truly flawless, the tour guide eventually nodded, accepted the money, and then said, "I'll go talk to the driver. Please wait here for a moment."

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 941 Strangers

After the tour guide left the room, Chadwick and the others exchanged glances. So far, everything had gone smoothly, so they sat down in the tour guide's room to wait.

About fifteen minutes later, the tour guide came back into the room and beckoned everyone to follow her downstairs.

The group followed the tour guide downstairs. They walked out of the building where the guest rooms were located and went outdoors. A light mist was floating in the air, and the sky looked gloomy.

They walked a short distance along the road to the manor and saw the bus that had brought them there parked by the roadside. On the way, Pete gave Chadwick 240 pounds as a share of the money for the group, and everyone split the 300 runes equally, which was only fair.

The bus driver, a dark-skinned local, reached out his hand to them as soon as they boarded the bus, clearly asking for a 200 rune pound tip. Since it was agreed upon, Chadwick didn't hesitate, took out two banknotes and handed them over. The bus driver took the banknotes, put them in his pocket, and then waved to them, indicating that they should find a seat.

Then they discovered that there were other people on the bus: two rather burly men with distinctly local features, one sitting near the front door and the other near the back door. These two were definitely not members of the tour group.

“Miss tour guide, there are two people on the bus who are not part of our tour group. Who are they?” Chadwick immediately got off the bus and asked the tour guide who was still standing next to the bus.

"Oh? Those are people from Latour Estate. They also have business to attend to in the city," the tour guide said casually.

"I see..." Chadwick could only nod and get back into the car.

He got into the car and deliberately walked past the two men. He noticed that although the two men pretended to be looking out the window, they were actually very wary and would glance at him from time to time.

The man sitting in front was a burly man with a full beard, while the man sitting in the back was bald with a scar on his face. Both of them were wearing black trench coats.

He made a friendly gesture and smiled at the bearded man who met his gaze. The bearded man nodded back with a forced smile.

Chadwick didn't linger; he walked to the middle of the vehicle and sat down, while the others sat down beside him.

After the group got into the car, the doors closed, and the vehicle quickly started moving.

Chadwick leaned close to Pete and whispered, "Those two guys in the car might be suspicious. They've been watching us. Also, I just noticed something bulging under their clothes; I wonder if it's a gun."

Pete's expression changed visibly upon hearing this, and he seemed about to turn his head to look, but Chadwick quickly reminded him, "Don't look at them, or you'll arouse suspicion..."

Just then, Oliver, who was sitting in the row in front of them, suddenly handed them a note from between the two seats in front of him.

Chadwick quickly took the note and opened it; it contained the same sentence: "Those two locals on the bus might be problematic!"

Clearly, Oliver had also noticed something. Chadwick and Pete exchanged a worried glance, but they couldn't talk much to avoid being noticed by the two people in front and behind them.

Chadwick frowned in thought. If the two people in the car really had something going on and he wanted to do something to them, it would definitely happen on the way. Once the car entered the city, it would be much less convenient to do anything.

This also means that they don't have much time, because theoretically the return journey is only about half an hour. If they make a move halfway, it means they may only have about 15 minutes of buffer time.

He thought for a moment, then took a pen from his backpack and wrote something on the back of Oliver's notepad: "I'll get out and see if they come with me. If they do, then there's a real problem."

After he finished writing, he showed the words to Pete and then slipped them into the gap between the seats in front of him.

Chadwick's thinking was simple: he would find an opportunity to get off the bus. If the two men on the bus were genuinely just hitchhiking to the city and had no other purpose, then they would naturally ignore him. But if they did have other motives and wanted to do something, then seeing him get off the bus would make them worry that he would escape, and they would definitely follow him off the bus, which would also be a way to keep an eye on him.

He turned to look at Pete, who nodded in agreement. Chadwick took a deep breath, stood up, and, holding onto his seat, went to the driver's side. He called out loudly in Rune, "Sir, please stop!"

“Please stop, pull over!” Chadwick said, gesturing as he spoke.

The driver was a local who, having worked for tour groups for a long time, could understand some basic runes. Seeing this, he slowly pulled over to the side of the road and asked him loudly in broken runes, "What is it?"

"My stomach hurts! I can't hold it in anymore..." Chadwick rubbed his stomach, patted his bottom, and repeated, "I need to get out of the car to relieve myself..."

The driver hesitated, glancing past Chadwick and exchanging a look with the bearded man sitting in the front seat. The bearded man gave a subtle nod, so the driver shouted in heavily accented Rune, "It's right by the roadside. Don't go into the woods! There are snakes! Danger!"

He gestured, seemingly afraid Chadwick hadn't understood, and repeated, "There are snakes there, it's dangerous... Don't go far..."

“This gentleman will accompany you downstairs…” He gestured to the bearded man beside him, seemingly concerned for Chadwick’s safety.

Chadwick glanced at the burly, bearded man, nodded, and agreed.

Immediately afterwards, Chadwick and the bearded man got out of the car one after the other. Chadwick glanced around, pointed to a clump of bushes nearby, indicating that he was going to squat there...

The bearded man glanced at him, nodded, and gestured for him to come over, while he himself stood not far away, clearly watching Chadwick.

Chadwick lingered behind the bushes for a while until the burly man started urging him on. Only then did he pull up his pants and get back into the car, while the bearded man followed him back to his original spot.

Chadwick thanked the driver and the bearded man with a smile before returning to his seat. By this time, Chadwick, Pete, and the others were basically certain that the two burly men, one in front and one behind, were indeed suspicious.

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 942 The Scheme

The car started up again soon. Chadwick, Pete, and the others remained silent. They all knew they were facing a grim situation. Although they didn't know what the two burly men who had gotten in the car with them wanted, the occasional glances they received told them it probably wasn't anything good.

Chadwick glanced at the time. A full 20 minutes had passed since they left Latour Estate. Excluding the 10 minutes he spent dawdling behind the bushes, the actual driving time alone was 10 minutes. He judged that the two burly men couldn't have waited until they reached the city before making their move. That meant the moment of truth was approaching, and they had to come up with a plan as soon as possible.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down, and reached into his backpack, where he found a multi-functional knife, which was his only weapon at the moment, or rather, something that could be used as a weapon.

However, the other side has two people, and they are very likely armed, which is the most troublesome thing...

A note was slipped between the seats in front of Chadwick. He carefully took it and unfolded it. It read: "Eleanor will fake a heart attack to lure them over. We'll then pounce on them and pin them down."

The note was probably written by Oliver. Chadwick and Pete, who was standing next to him, were somewhat tempted after reading it, but they quickly realized that if the two of them were cautious, only one of them would come forward to check. They couldn't guarantee that both of them would come forward to check at the same time.

Moreover, if the other party is carrying a handgun or similar weapon, even if two people come up to check together, they cannot guarantee that they can take down two strong men at the same time and prevent the other party from taking out their weapons. For a few untrained people, this is too difficult. If there is even the slightest mistake, the consequences will be serious!

He took a deep breath, looked at Pete's tentative gaze, and subtly shook his head.

Then, he took out his pen and a piece of sticky note, wrote some words on it, and handed it to Pete, who hesitated for a moment before nodding.

So Chadwick stuffed the sticky note into the space between the two seats in front of him.

A short while later, the note was slipped back to Chadwick, who unfolded it and saw that some words had been corrected on it…

And so, after the sticky note went back and forth twice, a new plan was formed...

The car continued its leisurely journey forward, the surroundings shrouded in mist, the gloomy sky reminding Chadwick of a scene he had once dreamt of…

Shaking his head to shake off the unsettling thought, Chadwick took a deep breath, stood up again, and feigned discomfort. Clutching his stomach with one hand and supporting himself on the seat with the other, he approached the driver and shouted loudly in Rune, "Sir, please stop! Please stop!"

"Pull over!" Chadwick gestured.

The driver turned his head and saw it was him again. His face showed obvious displeasure, but he still slowly pulled over to the side of the road and asked loudly, "What is it?"

"Diarrhea... I ate something bad... I have diarrhea..." Chadwick gestured and explained to the driver that he must have diarrhea and needed to get out to relieve himself.

The driver was clearly frustrated and annoyed, but also worried that the man might actually defecate in the car. He glanced again at the bearded man sitting by the door and shouted in heavily accented Rune, "Just by the roadside, don't go into the woods!"

He gestured and repeated, "Right by the roadside...don't go far..."

“Let this gentleman accompany you downstairs…” He pointed to the bearded man beside him.

Chadwick nodded; this was exactly the development he wanted...

The bearded man was clearly impatient, but he didn't seem to speak Rune. He just frowned and kept urging, "Hurry up, hurry up..."

Chadwick simply smiled gratefully at him, then found a bush, gestured to him, and squatted down...

..........................................

Time slowly passed, and Chadwick remained crouched behind the bushes, showing no sign of getting up. The bearded man was clearly getting impatient.

Just then, a shrill scream rang out. The sound was so loud that not only the bearded man standing not far away, but also everyone in the car could hear it clearly.

Upon hearing the sound, the bald man who had been sitting by the back door of the bus immediately stood up, looking down through the window while instinctively reaching his hand inside his trench coat.

His action was noticed by Pete and the others who had been watching him. They exchanged glances, pretended to be worried, and got up to walk towards the open front door of the bus.

Seeing that they seemed about to get off the bus, the man sitting by the back door couldn't sit still any longer. He was also curious about what was happening downstairs, so he stood up and quickly walked towards the front door...

..........................................

Under the car, Chadwick sat on the ground in terror, clutching his ankles tightly with both hands, rolling around and howling loudly.

The bearded man strode over to him and loudly asked a question in the local language. Chadwick looked completely bewildered and simply shook his head. The bearded man was clearly asking something, but Chadwick only howled, shook his head, and rolled on the ground.

The two talked at cross purposes for a while before Chadwick finally cried out in anguish, "Snake...snake...snake..."

The bearded man also couldn't understand runes, but judging from his appearance, he could tell that Chadwick had been bitten by something. So he walked over to him, squatted down to check, but Chadwick was rolling around as if in great pain, making it impossible for him to check. He could only yell at Chadwick, hoping he would behave.

At that moment, on the bus, Pete and the others crowded around the door, looking out. Oliver even shouted to Chadwick, "Mr. Spencer, what happened?!"

At this moment, the bald man also arrived at the front door, reached out and pushed aside Oliver who was blocking his way, and loudly asked the bearded man under the car in the local language, obviously wanting to know what had happened.

Chadwick also heard the questioning voices coming from the car nearby, so he shouted, "I've been bitten by a snake... there's a snake..."

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 943 Strike First

As he said this, he stopped rolling and pointed to his ankle, pleading for help from the bearded man crouching in front of him...

The bearded man frowned, lowered his head, and reached out to lift Chadwick's trouser leg. Just then, Chadwick suddenly struck the bearded man's temple with his right hand!

To be on the safe side, he didn't use his fist to strike, but instead picked up a hard stone the size of an egg that he had prepared beforehand and smashed it directly with the protruding side of the stone.

He ultimately did not use his multi-tool knife, partly to avoid any potential killings. Chadwick was concerned that a fatality would complicate matters, as all the dangers so far were merely their own speculations.

After a heavy thud, the bearded man groaned and fell to the ground, stunned by the impact. He tried to struggle, but Chadwick pounced on him and pinned him down, then slammed another stone into him!

Little did anyone know that although the bearded man's face was covered in blood and he was in a daze, he had not yet passed out. Instead, he struggled to hold down Chadwick's right hand, which was holding the stone.