Chapter 706: Uncontrollable Family Members
My sister told me that our "family" had changed.
She had thought it would be safe here, but now it seemed no different from the outside.
But where could we even run to?
Had my sister also overlooked one problem...?
Uncle Wan and us had walked out of the same room. Even if we wanted to escape, how could we?
Sister Siwei told me her plan: to slip away when leaving the interview room. But we had underestimated Uncle Wan.
He seemed to have been prepared. As soon as we entered the hallway, those fierce-looking uncles came up to greet him, and he whispered a few words. We were surrounded in the middle and immediately taken to the "family."
We had no chance to escape.
The second time, Sister Siwei planned to make a move inside the room, but we still had no hope of getting away.
All the aunties obeyed Uncle Wan's orders without question. They would restrain us from the start, and we simply had no way to flee.
After two escape attempts, Uncle Wan assigned someone to watch us specifically. We were monitored twenty-four hours a day, even having to report when we needed to use the bathroom.
Only then did I finally understand what Brother Gu Yu meant when he left.
"If we don't leave now, we never will."
But... if we had left then, would Uncle Wan have let us go?
Would he have allowed us to leave?
Days like this stretched on for years, until I grew numb.
I traveled back and forth countless times between the powerless real world and this powerless "prison," finding no way out from either side.
The two worlds echoed each other, forming an even larger cage.
Over the years, Sister Siwei and I tried countless times to escape this "family," but we could never do anything.
The entire city was filled with "family members." There was nowhere to hide. After all, I was too famous—I was a "hero." Everyone recognized my face, and I would be caught immediately.
Fortunately, Sister Siwei was a "healer." No matter how badly we were beaten or injured, she could always heal us right away.
She always smiled and told me that she could not only heal a person's exterior but also their interior.
I never understood what she meant by that until the very end.
That night, we failed to escape again. Uncle Wan came to our room, which now only had me and Sister Siwei left.
"Little Li..." Uncle Wan walked in with a bottle of wine, sat cross-legged on the floor, and said, "Tell me... haven't I been good to you? Why do you keep trying to run?"
The air was filled with the stench of Uncle Wan's body odor.
"Brother Wan... if it were just a 'pyramid scheme,' that would be one thing. After all, to gather people here, a pyramid scheme is a useful tool. But now you've started killing people." Sister Siwei's voice was urgent. "Don't you think you've gone astray? If this continues... what will this place become?"
"Killing? Tsk..." Uncle Wan shook his head, picked up the bottle, and stood up. "You two, come with me."
He led us into the hallway. It was a circular corridor with an open center, so we could see the people on the opposite side.
**"Dear family members!! Sorry for disturbing you late at night, but could you please step out for a moment?!"**
Uncle Wan shouted in a booming voice.
I saw people emerging from every door, looking toward Uncle Wan with confusion.
We were on the fifth floor. I could see people on several floors above and below, all standing there looking at us.
"Little Li, after people are brainwashed, how absurd do you think they can become?" Uncle Wan asked in a low voice.
"What do you mean?"
"I'll show you an experiment."
With that, Uncle Wan took a deep breath and shouted loudly: **"Dear family members! Our clan has added a new family rule. Starting tomorrow, no one is allowed to wear socks! Anyone caught wearing socks will be punished!"**
Sister Siwei frowned, looking at Uncle Wan with confusion.
Uncle Wan just kept smiling.
"Little Li, guess whether they'll agree to this new rule?" he whispered.
"This is too ridiculous..." Sister Siwei said. "This rule has no meaning whatsoever."
"Just watch."
The crowd thought for a moment, then someone started shouting: "Brother Wan, do we need to take them off now?"
"Got it, Brother Wan!"
"No problem!"
Uncle Wan showed a slight smile, then turned to Sister Siwei. "Little Li, now you try to stop them."
"What?"
"You can try everything to persuade them," Uncle Wan said. "Right here, I'll allow you to say anything. Let's see if you can cancel this 'new rule' with your own ability."
Sister Siwei looked like she had been wanting to do this for a long time. She stepped forward and said, "Are you really letting me say whatever I want? And you won't hurt me or Hero because of it?"
"Of course."
With Uncle Wan's permission, she thought quickly for a moment, then called out to the crowd: "Everyone! Don't you think this new 'family rule' is absurd?!"
After her shout, an eerie silence fell over the entire building.
"'No wearing socks from tomorrow'—don't you find this rule strange? It doesn't help us get out, nor does it help us unite!" Sister Siwei yelled. "What's the point of obeying this rule?! We're all equals! Why do you have to follow every order unconditionally?"
I thought my sister made a lot of sense, but for some reason, no one answered her.
Why did everyone listen to Uncle Wan so blindly?
What had he done to them?
Soon, an uncle from the opposite side spoke up.
"Little Li, what are you doing? It's just a pair of socks. No need to make a big deal."
Once one person spoke, the rest started chattering all at once.
"Yeah, Little Li, everyone likes you a lot. Don't ruin their trust over a pair of socks."
"I've been wanting to stop wearing socks for a while anyway."
"Our 'big family' got to where it is today because of the 'family rules.' What's wrong with that?"
"Exactly! Exactly!"
The crowd exploded.
Countless voices came from all directions. The whole building seemed to erupt.
Sister Siwei looked at the noisy crowd with cold eyes.
**"Alright! Quiet!"**
Uncle Wan shouted, overpowering everyone's voices.
Sister Siwei and I stood there, feeling like our ears were ringing.
**"Everyone, stop talking nonsense. I had Little Li play a joke on you all just now. Remember this new family rule and go to bed early! We need to greet tomorrow with full energy!"**
"Got it, Brother Wan!"
Just as Uncle Wan was about to send everyone back, one auntie yelled out: "This is a rare chance! Everyone's here! Let's shout our slogan one more time!"
I recognized that auntie—she was one of the "team leaders" Uncle Wan had appointed. She was about to lead everyone in shouting their slogan. Honestly, I was a little scared of this scene. Every time they shouted, even their necks strained with effort.
"If you don't work hard today!" the auntie shouted.
"Tomorrow you'll be picking up trash!" they shouted.
"If you don't endure hardship today!"
"Tomorrow you'll eat dirt!"
"Our goal after we leave is—"
"To buy oil mines in East Africa! To buy big houses in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou!"
"Goodnight!"
"Goodnight, team leader!"
Everyone filed back into their rooms in unison. Uncle Wan turned to Sister Siwei and me and said, "Come on, Little Li. Let me buy you a drink."
He walked into the room, closed the door, pulled out paper cups from his pocket, and poured himself and Sister Siwei a drink. "Little Li, did you notice? This is what people call a 'pyramid scheme.' I'm the evil mastermind, but any pyramid scheme eventually starts to grow on its own, completely out of my control."