After coming out of the fitting room, Wen Qianshu looked much more behaved. She picked a few conventionally styled outfits with bold colors—a habit she had picked up from Yun Cai.
Yun Cai was born in Yanyun Sky and grew up amidst brilliant clouds, loving vibrant colors the most. She loved to wear red and looked good in it, which led Wen Qianshu to believe that young people couldn’t do without a red outfit or two.
2333: “You? A young person?”
Wen Qianshu: “That’s right.”
2333: “Are you aging in reverse?”
Wen Qianshu blinked, smiling at 2333 in the fitting room mirror. “Who can blame me for loving to smile? A smile makes you ten years younger, after all.”
2333: “?”
Is that how you use that saying?
Having been with Wen Qianshu for so long, 2333 was becoming increasingly blunt with her. “Then you’d better stop smiling. A couple more smiles and Qin Shu will be back in the womb.”
Wen Qianshu: “…”
After paying, Lou Jiu came over carrying a bag.
The sales associate checked the receipt, packed the purchased clothes, and handed them to Wen Qianshu.
Wen Qianshu took the bags and leaned over to look at the one Lou Jiu was holding. “What’s this?”
Lou Jiu took the clothing bags from her and handed her the one she was holding. “Open it and see.”
Wen Qianshu pulled a metal box out of the bag. She opened it and saw a portable restraint device—also a silver mesh, but with a small, cursive character for “Shu” embroidered in red silk by the ear.
It was clearly custom-made.
Wen Qianshu tried it on. It was a perfect fit.
She was curious. “When did you measure me?”
Lou Jiu: “While you were sleeping.”
“I had your character embroidered on it so it won’t get mixed up with others.”
Wen Qianshu quite liked it, but when she thought about the timing of Lou Jiu ordering this custom restraint device—
Wen Qianshu: “Sister, is your favorite color red?”
Lou Jiu: “…”
Lou Jiu: “Yes.”
Wen Qianshu wanted to laugh but couldn’t resist teasing her. “Then why do you never wear red?”
Lou Jiu: “It’s too flashy.”
Wen Qianshu found it strange. “And it’s not flashy when I wear it?”
“It is flashy.” Lou Jiu lowered her gaze, glanced at her, then looked away. “But you look good like this.”
She seemed a little uncomfortable. “You look good whenever you’re not holding yourself back.”
Wen Qianshu had been walking while swinging the bags on her finger. Hearing this, she paused for a moment, and the bag, not swinging properly, hit her on the calf.
Lou Jiu: “What’s wrong?”
Wen Qianshu: “Nothing.”
She changed the subject nonchalantly. “When do I have to report to the training camp?”
“Normally, it would be the next session,” Lou Jiu said. “But the captain has connections in the training camp. Once the list is entered, he can help you make adjustments. Do you want to join this session or the next?”
Wen Qianshu: “This session.”
“Alright.” Lou Jiu didn’t try to persuade her otherwise, only saying, “This session has already started. It’ll be a bit tough for you to join now.”
“If you don’t know something, just ask me.”
Wen Qianshu: “Okay.”
Jiang Mingyue thought she was “unhappy,” Yun Cai said she was “pretending to be serious,” and now Lou Jiu was convinced she was “holding back.”
Why does this person always use her powers of observation in the wrong places?
Wen Qianshu suddenly said, “2333, you’re still the best.”
2333 immediately became alert. “What did you do now?”
Wen Qianshu: “I’m praising you. Praising you for being so easy to fool, it saves me a lot of trouble.”
2333: “…”
2333 was silent for a moment. 2333 couldn’t hold it in. 2333 started to get worked up. “What did you lie to me about now? Can’t you just be honest for once!”
Wen Qianshu: “Hahaha, see? You believed me again.”
2333: “…”
2333 gritted its teeth. “One day, I’m going to have a fight with you!”
On one side, 2333 was so angry it started giving her the silent treatment again. On the other, Shang Ci asked Jiang Yao, “Is this what you found?”
He looked at the name on the paper and asked, “Who is this?”
Jiang Yao lowered her eyes. “The inventor of the anti-zombie agent.”
Shang Ci was taken aback. The name was very unfamiliar; it wasn’t on the research institute’s personnel list at all.
But that was the problem—the anti-zombie agent was so important, why wouldn’t its inventor be at the research institute?
Jiang Yao: “I’ve been investigating him for a while, but his information has been blocked.”
Shang Ci: “How much do you know?”
Jiang Yao: “He also has a daughter named Zhou Nianyue. I’m guessing you’ve heard that name.”
Shang Ci: “The first person at the base to be injected with the anti-zombie agent?”
“Yes,” Jiang Yao said. “But she was just a child when she received the injection.”
Shang Ci: “What?”
When the anti-zombie agent was invented, the base was already quite well-established. A researcher’s young daughter would never be on the front lines, so how could she have been bitten by a zombie?
Jiang Yao: “What’s even stranger is that Zhou Nianyue disappeared after that.”
Shang Ci understood her implication. After a moment of thought, he made a call to verify the information. Jiang Yao interlaced her fingers, her eyes dark, and looked at the glass window beside her.
The glass window reflected her shadow, her face pale, her expression cold.
Unsure if someone at the base had turned traitor, Shang Ci’s call took a long time. He beat around the bush, mixing truth with falsehoods in a conversation as winding as a mountain road. He frowned slightly as he listened to the person on the other end finish speaking.
When he hung up, Jiang Yao stared at the window and said, “I want to find him.”
“He must know something.”
Shang Ci: “Alright.”
He bit down on the cigarette in his mouth and tapped his fingers on the table. “I’ll go with you.”
Shang Ci got the man’s address and went there with Jiang Yao.
It was just after a rain, and the air was damp and sticky, making one uncomfortable.
The further they walked, the more something felt off, until they saw the team emblem on the main gate.
The base had designated several residential areas for search team members, and these places usually had the search team’s emblem at the entrance.
Shang Ci was a bit surprised and exchanged a look with Jiang Yao. This person was old now and came from the research institute; there was no way he would be in a search team.
Besides, the houses in this area didn’t look large, more like housing allocated by the base for single personnel.
Jiang Yao shook her head. “There are no women with the surname Zhou in the search teams.”
There were very few biological females in the search teams, and everyone knew the names of the few who were there.
Shang Ci: “Let’s go in and see.”
With Shang Ci’s status as the captain of Team 5, they entered the building smoothly and made their way to the person’s door. Jiang Yao held a knife behind her back while Shang Ci raised his hand and knocked—no one answered.
Shang Ci frowned. “Not here?”
Jiang Yao, however, remained silent. She pulled a rectangular device from her bag, pressed it against the door, and began to crack the fingerprint lock.
Shang Ci was completely caught off guard. “What are you doing?”
Jiang Yao stared down at the device. “It’s good that he’s not here. We might find something.”
Shang Ci reached for her wrist, trying to pull her away. “Captain Jiang, this is breaking and entering—”
But Jiang Yao seemed to have anticipated it. She sidestepped his hand and pressed down with her finger. With a “ding,” the lock was cracked, and the door opened.
Jiang Yao pushed the door open and went inside.
Shang Ci frowned and followed her, quickly taking out his phone to apply for a search warrant.
The room reeked of alcohol, and there were two pairs of slippers on the floor.
Jiang Yao had a background as a scout and walked very lightly, almost silently.
She glanced down at the slippers, frowned, and drew the gun holstered on her leg.
This time, Shang Ci successfully grabbed her wrist. “What are you—”
Before he could finish, Jiang Yao raised her hand and covered his mouth.
She moved the tip of her foot, nudging one slipper slightly to line it up with the other pair—they were the same size.
Shang Ci frowned.
Neither pair of slippers was large, most likely women’s sizes—but the person they were investigating was a man.
Jiang Yao nodded.
The person was home.
Shang Ci’s head was throbbing. He tightened his grip on Jiang Yao’s wrist and whispered a warning in her ear, “Don’t do anything reckless.”
Jiang Yao didn’t answer and was pulled forcefully to Shang Ci’s side. He also drew his gun and moved forward cautiously. The surroundings were dead silent as they crept toward a door.
Just then, they both heard a “buzz”—the sound of the fingerprint lock recognizing a print. Someone was back!
Lou Jiu pushed the door open and let Wen Qianshu enter first.
However, Wen Qianshu braced her hand against the door and looked down at the slippers on the floor.
Perhaps because Lou Jiu’s father often had hangovers and would vomit all over the place, Lou Jiu’s home was well-stocked with rags, slippers, and the like. The slippers Wen Qianshu was currently wearing at Lou Jiu’s house were a new pair, in Lou Jiu’s size.
This new pair of slippers was dark black. At this moment, one of them had a light scuff of dust on it and was placed side-by-side with Lou Jiu’s—
Wen Qianshu raised her arm, hooked it around Lou Jiu’s neck, and whispered smilingly in her ear, as if sharing an intimate secret, but what she said was: “Sister, someone has come in.”
Lou Jiu was startled. She actually wrapped one arm around Wen Qianshu’s waist, lifting her up, while using her body as cover to reach into the pouch strapped to her pant leg and pull out a gun.
The arm was wrapped tightly around her waist and abdomen; Wen Qianshu could almost feel the lines of Lou Jiu’s arm.
A cold object slid along Lou Jiu’s hand and was silently tucked into her waistband, her T-shirt lifting and falling back down—it was a knife.
The cold, sharp edge of the blade pressed against her skin, sliding along her waist with the warmth of Lou Jiu’s palm, sending a shiver through her.
Followed by a sense of weightlessness and the posture of being controlled.
The other’s raised eyelashes, cold and stern eyes, and a completely normal tone.
“Mm.”
Wen Qianshu: “…”
Wen Qianshu repeatedly told herself that although it wasn’t necessary to pick her up here—just stepping closer would have been enough to shield her—but, but—
This process seemed to take a long time but was actually very fast. Before Wen Qianshu could finish her “but,” Lou Jiu had already let go, moving her from in front to behind her, subtly shielding her. Then she gave her a little push, signaling her to call for help, while she herself released the safety on her gun and cautiously moved into the room.
Wen Qianshu smiled, a smile that seemed a bit like she was gritting her teeth. She watched Lou Jiu take two steps, but instead of leaving, she pulled the door shut.
In the corner between the door and the wall, a person was huddled. Before they could react, Wen Qianshu moved forward and knocked their gun aside with her elbow.
Their eyes met—they recognized each other at the same time.
Jiang Yao was momentarily dazed and failed to dodge the blow, but Wen Qianshu’s body was too weak at the moment to knock the gun from her hand. “You—”
Wen Qianshu didn’t wait for her to speak, taking the opportunity to throw another punch at her abdomen. Jiang Yao raised her hand, caught the fist in her palm, and tightened her five fingers, intending to stop her. “Wait—”
But Wen Qianshu pressed forward with the momentum, slamming her forehead with a “thud” right between Jiang Yao’s eyebrows.
For a moment, Jiang Yao’s ears rang and her vision went black. She gritted her teeth and tried to push Wen Qianshu’s forehead away, but the other used her force to pull her backward, using her full body weight to violently pull her over, and they both crashed to the ground.
They tumbled through the entryway, knocking over the shoe rack at the side. Wen Qianshu was on the bottom and let out a muffled grunt as she hit the floor, sucking in a sharp breath from the pain. But the wooden shoe rack also came crashing down, hitting Jiang Yao on the shoulder and nearly knocking the wind out of her.
Lou Jiu: “Jiang Yao?”
Even though she rarely showed any expression, her voice was tinged with anger. “You dare break into my home?”
She aimed her gun at the captain of Team 1. “Let go of Qin Shu!”
Jiang Yao: “…”
It was true she was on top of Qin Shu, and she could indeed easily restrain her, but the other girl was holding a knife, and it was pressed against her neck.
The young girl was clearly in a lot of pain too, her breathing was unsteady, and her hands were trembling, but she actually had a smile on her face, her beautiful eyes fixed on her without moving.
Her pupils were deep, like thick ink.
What kind of fighting style was this, injuring the enemy by a thousand while losing eight hundred yourself?
The problem was, both times she had faced Qin Shu, Qin Shu had done the same thing.
She belatedly thought that this daughter of the Qin family, even with the same eyes, was still different from Mrs. Qin.
From the direction of the bedroom, someone pushed open a door, revealing Zhou Qiming’s face, awake from a hangover. “What’s going on?”
Then he saw the scene before him in shock, and also saw that the door to another bedroom had already been pushed open, with another man standing at the entrance to his daughter’s room.
Zhou Qiming: “?”
Did I drink too much again?
Or am I still drunk?
Shang Ci was also stunned.
He stammered, “Uh,” twice, then said drily, “A misunderstanding.”
“It’s all a misunderstanding—”
Author’s Notes:
OOC Theater:
Jiang Yao: Say that again, who lets go of whom?
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