MPWATMBC Chapter 115

Plans Never Keep Up With Changes.

Who first uttered this phrase is unknown, but it’s an undeniable truth and a golden rule of life. As a planner at heart, Ryan had long come to terms with this fact. Yet it never stopped him from diving headfirst into creating meticulous plans. The pain of a disrupted plan was sharp, but Ryan would rather endure it than face the chaos of having no plan at all.

Fan Lanting’s mind raced as he saw the captives being brought forward. A single thought swirled in his brain: This definitely wasn’t part of Ryan’s plan.

Among the captives was Audei, wearing the same clothes she had been in when captured. Her hands were tied, her mouth gagged, and her tear-streaked face was etched with despair as she looked at the distant stone building.

Sweat poured down Fan Lanting’s body beneath his thick clothing. If not for the darkness of the night concealing him, the puddles forming at his feet from the dripping sweat would surely have given him away. He forced himself to remain composed, drawing on his years of experience as a reconnaissance soldier. Controlling his expression, he maintained a calm, indifferent demeanor as he turned to face the pirate leader.

With a slight nod, he greeted the leader with a perfectly measured attitude—neither too deferential nor overly bold—striking the delicate balance necessary for his cover.

The leader was a tall, silent man with almost no facial expressions. He had a large build and wore a thin cotton-linen outfit, which looked like a large cloth bag with three holes cut out for his head and arms. The leader didn’t look like a pirate overlord commanding a murderous crew but rather like a wealthy merchant who came to a desert oasis to experience life in the countryside.

The leader cast a cold glance at the “strategist,” his indifferent gaze sharp as a blade, carrying an unspoken pressure. However, when the soft “hissing” sound reached his ears, his eyes lowered, and his icy gaze softened as it landed on the flower spider.

The flower spider impatiently raised one of its slender legs. It didn’t like being here—this place made its fangs itch. It was painful to be surrounded by so many people but unable to bite anyone.

This pain was something only the leader understood. He truly was a man who lived for his spider.

The leader’s cold demeanor melted as he spoke to the flower spider in a soft and gentle tone, “My darling, just wait a little longer. It’ll be over soon.”

The flower spider let out an unsatisfied “hiss hiss,” its tone seemingly asking for a specific time. This rose ghost-face spider was incredibly intelligent, far beyond normal spiders. It could understand its master’s words and even communicate with him.

The leader patiently replied, “Very soon, no more than fifteen minutes, alright?”

The flower spider let out two hisses, as if reluctantly agreeing to the leader’s request with a low, grumbling tone.

After finishing his conversation with his little pet, the leader’s expression suddenly turned icy again. He coldly ordered, “Take the person to the front. If they don’t come out, kill her.”

There was no hesitation in his tone. The leader’s intent was clear—if the people in the stone house refused to surrender, they’d kill the hostage right in front of them to send a message.

Inside the stone house, the environment on the third floor was much better. Most of the deadly, destructive weapons were piled up on the first and second floors, so the third floor was significantly safer. They didn’t have to worry about a small bit of static electricity blowing everyone sky-high.

There was a window here that allowed a view of the outside world, unlike the sealed-off, decorative windows below. Bandner stood by the window, tilting his head to observe the situation outside. “I see the flower spider, that disgusting, nasty bug! With it here, the leader won’t be far away. I’m guessing…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Bandner noticed his sister, Audei, getting restless again, eyeing the weapon crates with curiosity. He shouted sternly, “Audei!”

Audei stuck out her tongue mischievously and muttered under her breath, “I was just looking, only looking. Do you have to be so fierce?”

“Audei,” Bandner called again, this time with resignation in his tone. “These things are dangerous. They’re not something you can just mess around with. Audei, my little darling, you weren’t like this before.”

Bandner, while stopping his sister, glanced at the others in the room. His eyes landed on the gentle Ryan. In a flash of realization, he noticed that Ryan had been standing not far from his sister the entire time—just three or four steps away if estimated precisely. He suddenly remembered reading somewhere that this was considered a very safe distance, one that respected personal space while still being close enough to intervene if needed. Could it be that Ryan had an interest in his sister? No, no, Ryan was already married—his partner was the idolized General Auston.

Then why was Ryan acting this way?

Bandner couldn’t make sense of it. His gaze shifted to his sister, noticing how she would occasionally steal a glance at Ryan, her eyes tinged with shyness—like a young girl harboring a secret crush.

Audei blinked innocently. “Brother, I’m just curious, that’s all. I just want to open it for a quick look. It won’t cause any problems, you know my movements are always careful.”

Bandner frowned, sensing that something was off about his sister. “Audei, during the time you were kidnapped… Did something happen to you? Were you hurt?” His thoughts turned to the possibility that she might have been traumatized, explaining her change in behavior.

Audei obediently shook her head. “Nope, nothing happened,” she said, stepping forward to her brother’s side and taking his arm. With a soft, pleading tone, she added, “Brother, I’m just curious. You know I’ve never seen so many weapons and ammunition before. Our ‘East Side’ lacks these so much. If we had them, we wouldn’t be at anyone’s mercy, right?”

Bandner reached out and gently pinched his sister’s cheek. She had clearly been through a lot—poor food, restless sleep, and constant fear behind these walls had left her looking visibly worn out. But as his fingers brushed against her skin, he froze.

Wait… why does her cheek feel a little strange?

Audei flashed a sweet smile. “Brother, you haven’t answered my question yet.”

Bandner sighed. With his sister clinging to him, he barely had time to glance out the window. “Yes,” he admitted with a soft sigh, “if we had these weapons, we wouldn’t be at anyone’s mercy.”

“Then let’s take them back with us!”

“Little Audei, how have you become so naive?” Bandner replied, looking at his sister fondly. Yet, as he gazed at her familiar face up close, something started to gnaw at him—a subtle yet undeniable sense of incongruity, as if her face didn’t fully belong.

Audei pouted playfully. “I’m still young!”

“Alright, alright…” Bandner replied, his tone doting but his heart tightening with unease. Instinctively, he glanced out the window and froze.

A group of pirates was approaching the stone house, dragging someone along with them. The person’s hands were tied behind their back, and their mouth was taped shut, silencing any cries for help. But even from a distance, Bandner recognized her instantly.

It was his sister—tear-streaked, distraught, and utterly real.

“Audei…” His eyes darted to the figure beside him. She was standing right there, looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

He whipped his head back toward the window, then back at the girl beside him.

Finally, his gaze shot to Ryan. The ever-gentle man no longer wore his signature smile. Instead, his expression had turned calm and serious, his eyes fixed on Audei with quiet intensity.

Ryan hadn’t spent much time with Audei, so he couldn’t rely on her behavior or words to assess the situation. He simply had a gut feeling that the Audei they’d found inside the walls wasn’t quite right. And now, it seemed, the issue was glaringly obvious.

He stepped forward, approaching the window without hesitation, standing directly in front of it as if he weren’t worried about exposing himself. “I came across something in the strategist’s journal,” he said, his voice calm. “She mentioned that she and the leader have a daughter.”

Bandner’s eyes widened in shock. “!!!” His arm trembled uncontrollably, and he could no longer support the “sister” clinging to it.

Ryan continued, his tone steady. “I was shocked too. I mean, those two… that kind of relationship? It caught me so off guard I didn’t know how to bring it up.”

In truth, the journal entries were mostly scattered complaints from the strategist about the leader—grumbling about his lack of skill, his obsession with the rose-faced spider, and how even the spider seemed to matter more to him than their “little one.” The fragmented, nonsensical notes had been pieced together by Yuan Chu and Code Zero, and Ryan had deduced the existence of their daughter from there. Since it was only a hypothesis, he hadn’t shared it with anyone—until now, when it unexpectedly became relevant.

“They’re using Audei to threaten us,” Ryan said, his gaze sharp as he turned to the girl next to Bandner. “What do you think? Should we use you to threaten them?”

‘Audei’ giggled, a high-pitched, almost mocking sound. “That won’t work,” she replied with a smirk. “Nobody cares about me. I’m just a ghost here, you know? Hardly anyone inside the walls even knows I exist. You wouldn’t get anywhere trying to use me against them. Honestly…” Her tone turned teasing, her voice light yet cruel. “You’d have better luck with his rose-faced spider. No, wait—scratch that. That spider is his everything. You grab the spider, and you’ll finally get his attention.”

She released Bandner’s arm at last, but the damage had already been done. The poor man was frozen in place, his entire body stiff with shock and disbelief.

‘Audei’ wrapped her arm around Ryan’s, her tone sweet but insidious. “If you succeed, will you take me with you?”

“No!” Bandna snapped back into action, his voice a roar. “What have you done to my sister?” He had been standing next to someone who wasn’t even his sister for this long, and hadn’t noticed—he was worse than a stranger!

Slap! Bandner slapped himself across the face in frustration. In the past, he would have impulsively rushed downstairs, disregarding everything to save his sister. But now, after the training Ryan had given him, he had learned to hold himself back. Still, the burning anxiety inside him couldn’t be quelled, couldn’t be released. He forced himself to remain calm.

The others stood frozen, confused, not understanding a single word exchanged between the three of them. They were all completely lost. The only one still in control was Ryan. He smiled faintly, pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Let’s go downstairs.”

‘Audei’ shrugged, her tone casual as if this were all a game. “You’ll be disappointed. I told you, I’m useless.”

Ryan nodded, his expression steady. “Yes, I understand. But we still have to go downstairs, don’t we?”

The real Audei was pushed roughly to the ground, forced into a kneeling position, with a wooden rifle pressed to the back of her head. Her neck was forced lower, her posture one of execution. She bit her lip in defiance, tears slipping down her face uncontrollably, bitter regret washing over her. How could she have been so foolish? How could she have trusted that fragile, unfamiliar girl?

Hearing footsteps approaching from ahead, Audei knew her brother had come out. He must have been both worried and disgusted with her.

Ryan spoke loudly, “Let’s make a deal.”

The leader seemed uninterested. The fake strategist, Fan Lanting, had stepped forward, but he didn’t speak. He only exchanged a glance with the pirate next to him, who immediately understood. “There’s no deal to make. You come out obediently, or we’ll kill the woman.”

Ryan calmly replied, “If you don’t release her, I’ll set off the explosives.”

The pirate laughed, “Isn’t it just death?”

Ryan’s voice remained steady, “We’re not afraid of death. Are you?”

The pirate fell silent. They were indeed afraid of death. Suddenly, the pirate noticed there was another girl standing next to Ryan, someone who looked exactly like the one kneeling on the ground. He rubbed his eyes, confused. Were they twins?

Ryan gave ‘Audei’ a gentle push, smiling as he said, “Good girl, I won’t make things difficult for you. Let’s go.”

‘Audei’ blinked and replied with a mischievous tone, “Don’t regret it.”

Ryan said, “There’s nothing to regret. We’re surrounded on all sides, unsure if there will even be a tomorrow. We might as well do what feels right. Why trouble a little girl who wants to see the outside world? Let’s go, we won’t have the chance to take you with us.”

‘Audei’ pouted in disappointment, stamping her foot playfully. “So annoying.”

Seeing that Ryan really was letting her go, she huffed and ran off. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she quickly dashed to the leader and the strategist’s side. She opened her mouth to shout for help, but what could she say? She wouldn’t claim them as hers, and what would shouting even accomplish?

Her presence was so inconspicuous that no one paid much attention to her anymore. She pouted, bored, her eyes wandering until they landed on the flower spider. The spider, a sort of second-in-command among the pirates, was aimlessly walking around on the ground. ‘Audei’ grinned mischievously and pulled out the item Ryan had slipped into her hand earlier. She quietly approached the flower spider, pressed the object against its body, and the spider screeched in a sharp hiss. It tried to draw the leader’s attention but quickly realized its limbs were paralyzed, and it couldn’t make a sound.

‘Audei’ said with a playful grin, “Silly little thing, why did you wander off so far? Isn’t it better to stay close to him?”