This Setup Is Broken - This Setup is Broken Chapter 8: The Situation

Bai Shi guesses that the leader takes most of his subordinates to ensure safety. Leaving only one or two people to guard him and Tang Xin since they are just kids and don’t require much effort to watch. As he listens closely to the sounds outside, he begins to examine the warehouse. The warehouse is small, with a few items piled in a corner, covered in thick dust, clearly untouched for a long time. He looks around and finally finds a small iron rod that fits in his hand. He quickly grabs it and hides it behind his back, pretending to be tied up again.

He nods at Tang Xin, signaling that he is ready. They have already discussed their plan. Without hesitation, Tang Xin shouts to the outside, saying she needs one person to take her to the restroom. With that one sentence, she both explains what she wants and subtly hints at the number of people expected. Given her low combat ability, it’s most likely that only one person will come. Both of them watch the door and, sure enough, only one person enters.

Tang Xin feels slightly relieved and takes the opportunity to ask where the leader is. She quickly shifts the conversation to money, subtly revealing that she has a deal with the leader and will receive a large sum once it is completed. Bai Shi watches intently, waiting for the man’s reaction. The leader might have connections with Tang Xin’s stepmother, but his subordinates might not. Many follow the leader for money, and since the leader wanted to keep this from them, they would likely be curious if they heard about another deal.

As expected, the man looks surprised and does not immediately untie Tang Xin. Instead, he asks about the deal’s details and the amount involved. Tang Xin feels awkward, stating that only she and the leader know, and even Bai Shi is clueless because the leader had plugged his ears at the time. The man becomes more suspicious and kneels down to coax her, promising not to tell anyone else. After hesitating for a few seconds, Tang Xin reluctantly agrees to let him lean in closer to listen, asking him to block Bai Shi’s view of her mouth. The man complies, turning his back to Bai Shi and leaning in.

Bai Shi seizes the opportunity, grips the iron rod tightly, and quickly charges forward. The past six months haven’t been for nothing. Apart from grueling physical training, he’s also learned other skills. At this close distance, his accuracy is nearly perfect. Even though he’s a child and not very strong, the added speed makes the final blow powerful enough to knock the man out easily.

To avoid drawing attention, Tang Xin’s ropes aren’t untied. She ends up being used as a cushion for the falling man. Bai Shi pushes the man off her and cuts her ropes. Glancing down at the unconscious man, Bai Shi notices something hanging around his neck and pauses before taking it. Tang Xin looks over, “A mech’s space button?”

Bai Shi nods. Seeing the space button looks new, her expression instantly turns cold. It seems that stepmother truly went all out to get rid of them in one go! Suppressing her anger, she rubs her wrists as she stands up. Suddenly, she wonders what if they’ve overthought everything? She looks at Bai Shi, instinctively wanting to ask, but then decides that if they are wrong and the leader’s men only get lightly injured, they shouldn’t be too angry. Both sides wouldn’t lose much and could continue to cooperate.

Besides, they have come this far, so there’s no turning back. She quietly asks, “There might be more people outside. How do we escape?”

The warehouse has no windows, only a small ventilation hole in the iron wall at the back, making it impossible to climb out. Bai Shi stands by the door, quickly scanning outside from various angles. He spots a small round table about six or seven meters to the left of the warehouse, with a few chairs around it. A man is sitting in one, pouring himself a drink.

He knows this must be the other guard. He picks up the iron rod and positions himself by the door, looking at Tang Xin, “Make some noise.”

Tang Xin is startled, “What?”

“Make it sound really miserable.” Bai Shi instructs.

Tang Xin understands but hesitates, “Do you think it will work?”

“Probaply”

Realizing there aren’t many options, Tang Xin takes a deep breath and lets out a piercing scream. The sudden scream startles Bai Shi, he nearly throws the iron rod at her. He quickly regains his composure, holds his breath, and waits. Soon, he hears hurried footsteps followed by the door on the left being pushed open.

Without hesitation, Bai Shi swings the rod upwards with all his strength, hearing a scream as it strikes the man in a vulnerable spot. The kidnapper’s face contorts in pain as he clutches his crotch and collapses to the ground.

Tang Xin: “…”

She realizes her expectation that Bai Shi would leap up and knock the man out from behind was naive. After a brief silence, she says: “Knock him out.”

Bai Shi would like to do that, but the kidnapper keeps twitching and tries to crawl away. It would take too much time to knock him out, so Bai Shi abandons the idea. “Let’s go. He won’t get up for a while.”

Tang Xin agrees and steps around the kidnapper to leave. Bai Shi doesn’t know how the main character escapes in the original story, so he came up with this plan on his own. He knows how painful such an experience is as a man, he can’t help but glance at the kidnapper in sympathy one last time before turning to leave.

Once outside, their view opens up instantly. He realizes that they were actually locked in a shipping container, only lacking a bottom and attached to the cement ground, which makes it appear like a warehouse. The yard is large, filled with small stones, broken parts, tall factory buildings, half-dismantled machinery, and a lush mountain not far away.

He guesses this might be an abandoned mine, this gives him a headache. His initial plan was to run toward a crowd, but if they are indeed in a mine, they could be isolated in the mountains with no people around. As he walks and thinks, he quickly approaches Tang Xin, who has just found her communicator among some junk on a table. Once she finds it, she attaches it to her wrist and powers it on, ready to contact her people.

Seeing Bai Shi approach, she hands him her ID card. “Is this yours?”

Bai Shi nods and takes the ID card, placing it aside. Just as he’s about to determine the escape route, he hears some sounds ahead and looks up sharply. Tang Xin also senses the commotion and quickly turns around. A person suddenly appears from the other side, adjusting his belt as he asks: “I think I heard someone calling from the bathroom just now. What’s going on…” Before he finishes, he spots them and freezes.

The person: “…….”

Tang Xin: “……”

Bai Shi: “……”

The scene freezes for half a second, then Bai Shi snaps back to reality and pulls Tang Xin to run.

“Dang it!” The person reacts quickly and hurriedly chases after them.

Behind the place where they were held, there are rows of shipping containers close together.Adults might find it cramped, but it’s easy for kids to move through freely. Bai Shi clearly sees this and runs right in without hesitation, muttering, “This is fate, dang it, still need the protagonist to fight after all?”

Tang Xin follows closely but doesn’t hear him clearly. “What did you say?”

When Bai Shi gets nervous, he often blurts out his thoughts. After making a turn, he realizes his mistake and says expressionlessly: “Nothing.”

Tang Xin doesn’t press further. Looking back, she sees that they have temporarily shaken off the third person. She pushes on, “Didn’t you say there wouldn’t be too many people left?!”

“Three people is too many?”

Bai Shi pauses and starts muttering again, “Oh right, we’re just kids. Maybe they thought they could take a break? Perhaps they have diarrhea and couldn’t follow?”

Tang Xin: “……”

Tang Xin can’t tell if he is joking or being serious, and instinctively continues the conversation. “Even so, the leader could have taken those who are fine with him, why leave three people? What is he thinking? Is he guarding against me?”

“Who knows.”

Bai Shi maintains his poker face. “The leader’s mind is like a needle in the ocean.”

Tang Xin: “……”

Bai Shi hears the faint sound of cursing coming from behind and turns another corner, considering their escape. He suddenly recalls something. “Are you really the main personality?”

“Yeah.”

“So you have control? You won’t change into another personality, right?” Bai Shi asks.

“What if you change back and just stand there crying, refusing to run with me? Does she know about you and what’s happening?”

“No, we both don’t know those things.” Tang Xin explains.

“The only reason I know is that uncle Wang told me. He’s the butler who came with me. He wanted to find a doctor for me, but I didn’t agree yet. But don’t worry, I won’t disappear in this situation.”

Bai Shi feels a wave of despair wash over him. This means dealing with two personalities, he has to manage both of them. If anything happens, they have to explain it again. Plus, some unexpected situations might arise in the future, like being poisoned from alcohol or something, those people in the group might impulsively create a third personality that also needs to be dealt with.

He is filled with rage. “Why did you give up on treatment?”

“I’m afraid that bi*ch will discover my existence, so I can only do it this way for now.”

Tang Xin pauses and yells, “Are you cursing? Do you think I wanted a split personality? I’ve been pretending to be a good girl all this time, but the other personality appeared out of nowhere. What can I do?”

“……” Bai Shi falls silent, thinking that it really isn’t her fault. Blame the bastards who write this book.

“Wait”

He suddenly asks: “If you don’t know what’s going on, how do you know I’m from the repair shop? You mentioned the number of subordinates to the leader, which made him ask me, so you should know my identity.”

“Oh, I woke up when my other personality fainted and overheard their conversation, so I know about you.”

Bai Shi understands now and keeps running. They soon reach an empty space with only a factory building to hide in, but the door is locked and rusty. Bai Shi tells Tang Xin to squeeze in through the gap, and he follows right after her. Inside, machines and iron frames are scattered everywhere, and the ceiling has gray transparent glass, with a few pieces already shattered.

Tang Xin’s communicator has powered on. She initially wanted to contact her subordinates, but they ran into the third kidnapper, so they had to leave. She now has a chance.

She dials the number, glances at the person on the screen then quickly explains the situation. Asking him to see if there’s something wrong with the leader. If there is, then hold him back. Call the police if necessary, capture him immediately.

Her expression is calm: “Don’t worry, I’ve escaped, and the boy from the repair shop is with me. You all handle your things first, we’ll find a way over and contact you later.”

After decisively hanging up, she raises her chin with the pride of a female warrior, as if prepared to fight to the death.

Bai Shi: “……”

“The little girl obviously wants to prioritize saving her brother, so she lies to focus her subordinates on dealing with the leader. While she herself becomes secondary. If she is still alive, she can return home with a witness to deal with her stepmother. If she dies, her subordinates will take out her stepmother and her son, leaving the Tang family to her brother in the future. So ruthless!”

Bai Shi stares at her in disbelief. “Little girl, do you really have to be so ruthless at such a young age?!”

Tang Xin shoves her communicator into his hand: “You take this. If the people outside really come looking for you later, I’ll distract them. You find an opportunity to run, it’s not your business anyway.”

“When the harem is in trouble, the protagonist can’t just run away!” Bai Shi ignores her, moves around the pile of frames, and finally finds a large space. He brings out the mech, and the giant metal figure easily smashes through the ceiling glass with a loud crash.

“How old are you?”

Tang Xin sees his intentions and hesitates, “Have you controlled a mech before? Do you have a mech pilot’s license?”

Bai Shi answers blankly: “None of that.”

Tang Xin turns around and leaves, “I’m not doing this! If I get caught again, there’s still a chance I might survive. But you’re just committing suicide!”

Bai Shi doesn’t argue with her. He grabs her firmly and pulls her into the cockpit through the open hatch, pressing her into the co-pilot seat.

“Let me go!” Tang Xin screams in panic.

“Are you crazy? I’d rather get caught than go insane with you!”

As soon as she finishes speaking, she hears a slight commotion ahead. Another mech appears in sight, clearly belonging to the third kidnapper. During their argument, he climbed to the top of the container and released the mech. Bai Shi narrows his eyes, quickly moves his fingers, and controls the mech up into the air. He raises the cannon on his shoulder and fires a shot, knocking the kidnapper off the container! Got him!

Tang Xin gasps: “You’ve never…”

“Yeah, I’ve never operated one” Bai Shi replies, not blinking as he focuses on the ground, his profile sharp and determined. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t.”