Boundless – Chapter 45

When Wen Qianshu woke up, the car was stopped.

Jiang Yao was no longer feverish, but she was still unconscious. Gao Bai was leaning against the front passenger seat, snoring his head off.

2333 was wholeheartedly waiting for Wen Qianshu to ask what they had said while she was asleep, what Jiang Yao had done, but it waited until it was about to burst and still got nothing.

2333 was very angry, but Wen Qianshu wouldn’t know it was angry, which was as good as useless.

Wen Qianshu sat up, looked over, and saw Lou Jiu with her hands in her pockets, leaning against the car door.

Seemingly sensing the movement, Lou Jiu turned her head slightly and pulled the car door open.

Wen Qianshu got out of the car. Her legs felt weak, but Lou Jiu steadied her, helping her stand firm.

Not far away, Shang Ci had taken off his restraint device and had a cigarette dangling from his lips, its tip glowing red amidst puffs of white smoke. He was handsome, with an almost sharp handsomeness, sword-like brows, and star-like eyes, truly outstanding. However, his face often wore a devil-may-care smile, making him look a bit lazy and masking most of his fierce aura.

Lou Jiu rolled her neck and heard Wen Qianshu ask, “Where to next? Picking someone up?”

Lou Jiu was a little surprised and looked at her, but the other person just smiled. “Otherwise, we should be rushing back to the base, not stopping here to rest.”

Lou Jiu: “Yeah.”

A gentle breeze blew by, and the daylight was just right.

Shang Ci spoke up, “We just received a signal. There’s a hospital up ahead that seems to have signs of life. We’re going to search it and refuel. Captain Jiang needs antibiotics, so we can grab some there too.”

“D District really suffered this time, with the earthquake and the zombie horde.”

Wen Qianshu narrowed her eyes. A hospital?

In the novel, Jiang Yao woke up in a hospital. At that time, she had sensed a conspiracy and her team members were all dead. When she woke up, she was extremely wary and directly held Lou Jiu hostage with a knife, completely antagonizing Team 5.

After returning to the base, she couldn’t fit into any team and became a lone wolf. She was pulled into Team 5 by Shang Ci but continued to act alone, eventually carving a bloody path by herself and blowing up the entire villain’s laboratory.

The reason this world collapsed was because Jiang Yao completely lost her mind later on. She couldn’t find her savior’s child, couldn’t protect the teammates she had fought and died with, and couldn’t hold on to the person she longed for.

“She always thought Shang Ci liked Lou Jiu more, and the first mistake she made upon waking was nearly stabbing Lou Jiu.”

Wen Qianshu stared at this sentence for a long time but said nothing.

2333 was spinning with anxiety. It had already discovered that Jiang Yao was awake, because in the original book, they would have already reached the hospital by now.

In the original book, Wen Qianshu didn’t exist. They moved out immediately after waking up at the temporary stop. Gao Bai failed to outrun the second wave of zombies and was bitten and severely injured. So, Shang Ci and Lou Jiu rushed to the hospital to save Gao Bai without stopping, which led them to not pay attention to Jiang Yao, allowing her to find an opportunity to grab Lou Jiu after waking up. With Lou Jiu held hostage, Gao Bai couldn’t be treated and almost turned into a zombie for real.

She had harmed two of Team 5’s main members in one go. This was the real reason Jiang Yao was at odds with Team 5.

But now, everything was fine. Shang Ci naturally wouldn’t fight while exhausted, so he stopped here for a short rest.

Inside the car, Jiang Yao finally managed to wear through the rope buckle and got up. Gao Bai’s snores were thunderous, perfectly masking the slight scraping sound she made. 2333 held its breath, just about to give a warning, when it heard Wen Qianshu say, “I’ll head back to the car then.”

But without even turning her head, facing outward, she reached down and pulled the door open.

2333 instantly calmed down. Wen Qianshu was doing it on purpose.

The next second, Wen Qianshu was pulled by the back of her neck, and a long needle was pressed against its side. “Don’t make a sound.”

She had intended to pull Wen Qianshu up silently, but Wen Qianshu’s legs seemed to give way, and she bumped against the car door, making a dull thud.

Jiang Yao: “…”

The two people outside immediately looked over. Just as Lou Jiu was about to move, Jiang Yao yanked Wen Qianshu up by the collar, pressing the side of the needle firmly. “Don’t move!”

Lou Jiu stopped, staring at Jiang Yao expressionlessly.

Gao Bai continued to snore.

Jiang Yao said gloomily, “Where is this?”

She lowered her gaze slightly to look at Wen Qianshu, pressing down with her finger. “You tell me.”

However, Wen Qianshu blinked and broke into a smile. This was quite difficult. She was wearing a restraint device, so her mouth wasn’t visible, yet Jiang Yao could still tell she was smiling. It showed how brightly Wen Qianshu was smiling, with even the corners of her eyes and brows filled with mirth.

It was an almost innocent smile, but in this context, it seemed somewhat terrifying.

Even Jiang Yao was startled and moved the needle half an inch away.

But Wen Qianshu suddenly thrust her neck forward, pushing her artery against the needle. Jiang Yao only wanted to threaten her, not kill her, so she quickly retracted the needle. Wen Qianshu, however, ducked down and split the needle with a “crack” from her restraint device.

Lou Jiu was also fast. Before Jiang Yao could react, she lunged forward, grabbed her by the neck, pulled her completely out, and slammed her hard against the front car door!

The snoring stopped abruptly. Gao Bai’s face, swollen from sleep, appeared behind the car window. “What’s wrong!”

Gao Bai: “…”

Jiang Yao was pressed so hard she could barely breathe, on the verge of suffocating.

Shang Ci: “Xiao Lou.”

Lou Jiu released her hand, but with a twist of her fingers, she backhanded a sharp knife against Jiang Yao’s jaw.

Shang Ci’s figure appeared behind her. He tapped his cigarette, knocking off the ash, and said with a smile, “Captain Jiang, this is going too far.”

Jiang Yao looked at them coldly. “Where is this?”

Shang Ci smiled, but there was no smile in his eyes. “Captain Jiang, we’re all from the search teams, and you know me. We went through a lot of trouble to rescue you, and this is how you act right off the bat? What’s the meaning of this?”

Jiang Yao’s eyes were dark. She let Lou Jiu hold the knife to her. Gao Bai didn’t dare to speak. Shang Ci tapped his cigarette intermittently with his finger, seemingly not planning to smoke it anymore, letting it burn out on its own.

While everyone was at a standstill, Wen Qianshu spoke up with a smile, “What could it mean? She was most likely injured by someone, so she’s suspicious of you all.”

2333 almost choked.

As if the atmosphere wasn’t tense enough, Wen Qianshu put on a very hurt expression. “So, it’s fashionable for you search teams to be suspicious of each other now?”

“Come on, we’re all human.” Wen Qianshu sighed pretentiously, pretending to mediate, then asked with great interest, “You’re both captains. If you really fought, who would be stronger?”

When it comes to faking things, the degree is what’s most important.

Once you overdo the fakeness, it becomes comical.

Just like Wen Qianshu’s feigned disappointment right now, which actually looked strangely excited, giving off the vibe of someone who’s pretending to break up a fight but secretly hoping they’ll start brawling.

Gao Bai: “…”

Jiang Yao: “…”

Shang Ci: “…”

Lou Jiu: “Pfft.”

Gao Bai looked over in disbelief, only to see their aloof team doctor looking expressionless. It was as if he had misheard that sound just now.

Jiang Yao frowned deeply. “You search teams?”

Strangely enough, Wen Qianshu wasn’t good with language, but she had a natural talent for understanding what people were saying. “Yes, you. I’m not from a search team.”

Wen Qianshu stepped to the side and hooked an arm around Lou Jiu’s shoulder. “Alright, Sister Lou, why don’t you let her go and ask what’s really going on?”

Lou Jiu glanced at her. Her light-colored pupils were just like amber, stunningly beautiful.

Wen Qianshu still had a smile playing at the corners of her eyes. The body she was in now had a pair of innocent doe eyes, moist and dewy, looking very naive and pitiful.

But paired with her earlier action of smiling as she lunged towards the needle, this naivety and pitifulness seemed exceptionally fake, and somewhat horrifying.

Shang Ci: “Let’s talk in the car.”

Lou Jiu retracted the knife, and Jiang Yao turned and got into the car. Shang Ci stubbed out his cigarette and followed her in.

“Get in the car,” Wen Qianshu said to Lou Jiu with a smile. “I’ll stay out here for a bit.”

Shang Ci also called out to her, “Xiao Lou?”

The wind blew across the grass at their feet, the green blades brushing affectionately against Lou Jiu’s leather boots.

She braced her hand on the car door and looked at Wen Qianshu for a moment.

But the other person wasn’t looking at her, just staring at the distant lake as if preparing to go take a look.

Lou Jiu: “Okay, call me when you’re done talking.”

With that, she pulled the car door shut, staying outside herself.

Lou Jiu: “You’re good on the high-altitude frame. Did you climb trees as a kid?”

Wen Qianshu was a bit stunned, but then she smiled. “Yeah, I was a mischievous kid, loved running wild everywhere.”

Lou Jiu: “No wonder you’re not afraid of heights.”

Wen Qianshu moved closer to her and said sincerely, “Of course. I’ve even been up in the clouds.”

Lou Jiu: “How did you get up there?”

Wen Qianshu thought for a moment and said, “Flew up using magic.”

2333: “…”

2333 was beginning to suspect that Wen Qianshu’s brain was broken, that she was finally going crazy.

Lou Jiu looked down at her, and after a long pause, managed to squeeze out a sentence: “Very impressive.”

Wen Qianshu couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s fine if you go inside. You don’t have to worry about me staying out here.”

Lou Jiu: “I’m not worried about you. It’s stuffy in the car.”

Wen Qianshu raised an eyebrow, but Lou Jiu ignored her. Instead, she sprinted towards a nearby tree, leaped a few steps up the trunk, and flipped onto a branch. Wen Qianshu climbed up after her, was pulled up, and sat on the branch. A pair of binoculars was thrust into her hands. “I’ll teach you how to scout first.”

As she spoke, she reached out to guide Wen Qianshu. “These directions are blind spots. When you’re scouting without teammates, remember to check them repeatedly.”

Wen Qianshu raised the binoculars and looked in the direction she pointed. “Okay.”

Wen Qianshu’s ploy was quite brilliant. By letting Jiang Yao grab her, it meant Jiang Yao hadn’t actually harmed any members of Team 5. Then, with a few words, she pointed out Jiang Yao’s predicament and pushed her towards Team 5.

Shang Ci wasn’t an idiot. Wen Qianshu could tell that both he and Lou Jiu felt something was wrong with the second wave of zombies. Now, when he confronted Jiang Yao, even if they were still hiding things from each other, they would at least reveal something and get a step closer.

After all, they were all from search teams. Compared to Jiang Yao, Qin Shu was even more of an “outsider.”

If Jiang Yao lied, Wen Qianshu would be more hypocritical; if Jiang Yao went crazy, Wen Qianshu would be more neurotic; if Jiang Yao was a lone wolf, Wen Qianshu would be more perverse. As long as there was a comparison, Jiang Yao would always look a little better.

Anyway, she would still be able to join Team 5 in the end. Wen Qianshu was just waiting for Jiang Yao’s attitude towards her to be bad, preferably getting worse and worse. Then, she would reveal that she was Qin Shu, making Jiang Yao feel so guilty that she would insist on compensating Qin Shu, fulfilling Qin Shu’s wish to join Team 5.

Then Jiang Yao would feel that she had wronged Team 5 by pulling Qin Shu in, so she would be nicer to Team 5, and Team 5 would in turn be nicer to Jiang Yao.

Back and forth like this, their team camaraderie would be reconnected.

And with a “problem child” like herself around, Jiang Yao would soon discover that Shang Ci was actually much nicer to her than to Lou Jiu. Maybe those two would even get together.

Shen Ting lacked confidence; Yan Han didn’t understand what she truly wanted and ended up being someone else’s pawn; Jiang Yao fought all alone until she finally couldn’t take it anymore, yet she refused to ask for help.

Many misunderstandings in this world aren’t really misunderstandings at all; they’re the consequences of poor communication.

Wen Qianshu was never afraid of this. Whatever Jiang Yao couldn’t bring herself to say, she would say it for her.

Tsk, just imagining the scene of Jiang Yao being both furious and embarrassed made Wen Qianshu feel great.

Is there anything in the world more exciting than an ice beauty showing emotion?

While enjoying the feeling, she couldn’t resist teasing 2333 again. “Look at me, I’m so serious about repairing the world line.”

2333 didn’t understand what she was doing at all and just felt like she was stirring up trouble. “You, seriously repairing the world line?”

2333 sneered, “I don’t believe it.”

“Alas,” Wen Qianshu sighed. “Geniuses are truly lonely.”

Wen Qianshu began to plan how to reveal her identity to Jiang Yao in a more natural way, and how to make up for her crazy behavior today.

The search team wasn’t a joke. She had smiled too much like a villain today; Team 5 might not want her anymore.

Lou Jiu: “Focus. If you practice well now, you can graduate from the training camp earlier.”

2333: “Huh?”

Wen Qianshu: “Huh?”

Lou Jiu glanced at her, then looked away and took a piece of paper from her pants pocket. She said calmly, “I wrote you a letter of recommendation. You’ll enter the training camp when we get back.”

“After you get out, come to Team 5.”

Wen Qianshu: “…”

Sorry, Jiang Yao, my red thread of fate is too strong. I’m afraid it’s going to snap yours.

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Author’s Notes:

OOC Theater:

Wen Qianshu: Yeah, an ice beauty showing emotion is the most exciting.

Lou Jiu: Roger that.

Wen Qianshu: ?

#This scene seems familiar#

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Wen Qianshu is finally starting to seriously follow the original plot and do her mission.

As for why, I’ll explain after the third world ends.

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