Chapter Forty-Five: This is the Truth

Chapter Forty-Five: This is the Truth

Chapter Forty-Five: This is the Truth

As the middle-aged man approached, Zhou Ran was not intimidated at all; he calmly sat down in the chair.

The middle-aged man, his face contorted in rage, knelt on the ground with a thud, tears streaming down his face.

"Waaaaah, boss, I knew it was you!"

"Ah, boss, that's great, I'm saved!"

"Boss, it's so great to see you again in this godforsaken place."

The middle-aged man cried with snot and tears streaming down his face, as if his own father had died.

"Stop making that useless face of yours, it's so embarrassing!"

Zhou Ran dodged away in disgust, but the middle-aged man didn't care at all and pounced on her, hugging her leg.

The howling grew louder.

"You have no idea what kind of life I've been living here. I was terrified, afraid that I would die."

"Boss, I don't care, you have to save me. I'm your most loyal little brother and your most valuable asset."

"Get lost!"

Zhou Ran kicked him twice, but couldn't break free of his grip at all.

What did you eat? You still have the same energy as before.

"Let go right now."

"I won't let go!"

"Guo Xiang, if you cry again, I'll sew your mouth shut."

Zhou Ran scolded him, and Guo Xiang immediately stopped crying and released his leg.

She stood to the side, looking aggrieved, with her head down, stealing glances at Zhou Ran.

Seeing Zhou Ran looking over, she couldn't help but hiccup.

He covered his mouth, looking pleading.

That expression and that face didn't match at all.

Zhou Ran rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "What a sin," she thought.

What sins did he commit to be entangled with this kid in his past life, and now he's met him again in this one?

However, meeting an acquaintance, who was also his most loyal subordinate, was like meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

"Be normal. Explain how you came into this world and what your current identity is."

"Yes, boss."

Seeing that his eldest brother wasn't angry, Guo Xiang sat cross-legged on the ground and told him everything that had happened.

Upon hearing Guo Xiang's description, Zhou Ran held back for a long time, but finally couldn't resist and gave him a good beating.

When Qian Kong rushed back with Xia Cheng'an, worried that Zhou Ran would be taken advantage of, they witnessed this scene.

Zhou Ran, who is only a little over 1.6 meters tall, jumped up and down and slapped Guo Xiang.

Guo Xiang, who is over 1.8 meters tall, looked like a wronged little wife, not daring to dodge, and let Zhou Ran beat him up.

He kept begging for mercy.

"Calm down, I was wrong, I was wrong, please stop hitting me."

Zhou Ran kicked Guo Xiang, but it didn't hurt him much; it hurt his foot.

He secretly resented his unlucky constitution; Zhou Ran's body was so weak that she couldn't even hurt someone when she hit them.

The enemy suffered 800 casualties, while we lost 1,000. It hurt his hands from the blows.

This is especially noticeable when encountering someone with physical strength.

He wouldn't suffer a loss if he had even a slightly higher combat skill level.

No, he must make exercising his top priority when he gets back.

"Does your hand hurt? Let me massage it for you?"

"Get lost."

Zhou Ran kicked Guo Xiang, and Guo Xiang obediently stepped back, not wanting to annoy his boss.

They saw Xia Cheng'an and his group coming over.

"Gu Tingxiao delivered it?"

"Yes, codename 1 has taken over. Our people have arrived and surrounded the island."

Qian Kong asked, "What should we do next?"

Zhou Ran nodded to indicate that she understood. "Just let them surround it. There's no need to go to the island. When the officials arrive, they can hand it over directly. Don't touch or meddle with anything here, and pretend you don't know anything afterward."

"knew."

Qian Kong understood that this was to save their lives; if they knew too much, it would involve too many secrets.

Even if the authorities are merciful, the best way to keep secrets from leaking out is to protect people in a safe place.

He may never be able to leave this island.

They know nothing, and will be relatively free in the future.

"Alright, you guys go ahead with your work, I'm going to rest for a bit."

Zhou Ran had a headache and needed to rest.

One reason is that he spent two days on the front lines, rescuing and searching for people, and he was indeed exhausted.

Another thing is that he needs to organize the information he just received and think about what to do next.

"Then what should I do?"

Guo Xiang asked Zhou Ran urgently, he didn't want to die.

"You'll have to confess what you did later."

Zhou Ran reminded Guo Xiang not to say things he shouldn't.

With so many years of tacit understanding, Guo Xiang wasn't really stupid; of course he understood the meaning behind Zhou Ran's eyes.

Knowing that his boss wouldn't abandon him, Zhou Ran felt relieved and sat down quietly to watch over him.

Seeing that everything was alright, Qian Kong left Xia Cheng'an there while he went to arrange other matters and inform the Gu and Xia families.

Once Xia Cheng'an was safe, he didn't care whether the ground was clean or not and simply collapsed onto the ground.

He was exhausted, both tired and hungry.

As his tense nerves relaxed, exhaustion overwhelmed him, and his eyelids began to stick together.

In the end, he couldn't resist the onslaught of sleepiness and fell asleep.

Zhou Ran's breathing was steady.

Guo Xiang looked curiously to the left, then to the right.

Seeing that the two of them were asleep, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes as well.

He had been worried and hadn't slept well lately, but now that things have settled down and his boss has reappeared so reliably, he can finally sleep peacefully.

When the officials arrived, they found the three people lying in various positions.

Their faces were peaceful. Their first thought was that all three were dead. Poisoning? Sudden illness? Or was someone responsible?

I went through all the people I suspected in my mind.

Until I was sure she had fallen asleep.

Even the officials are at a loss.

How can these three be so carefree? They can sleep so soundly here, not even being woken up when they came in.

As long as they're not dead, they can explain things more easily.

He instructed people to move them all to the prepared beds to rest, and then Guo Xiang was woken up and taken away.

Guo Xiang is very important as the person in charge of this base.

They were all prepared for this stubborn resistance.

To their surprise, Guo Xiang confessed without them even having to lift a finger.

Those who successfully interrogated Guo Xiang suspected that the information he provided was problematic.

I carefully checked it several times and compared it with the information I received before I was sure that it was all true.

I couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

Why were you so cooperative?

“The person in charge is gone, and I'm the only one left. I was forced to do it. I understand the policy of leniency for confessing.”

Guo Xiang understood better that he couldn't say that Zhou Ran had instructed him to do it at this time, as that would expose Zhou Ran to everyone and raise suspicion about his identity.

He's still waiting for his boss to bail him out; he'd never betray his boss.

"Good for you. I will report your situation clearly."

Does this count as turning oneself in?

Guo Xiang asked with shining eyes, having heard that surrendering oneself could result in a reduced sentence.

"No."

Guo Xiang deflated; as expected, he still had to rely on his boss to bail him out.

Zhou Ran and Xia Chengan slept soundly, but Xia Chengan was unusually restless.

He woke up quickly and found himself in a room at the base, with his thighs wrapped in gauze after he pulled back the covers.

I didn't feel any pain, probably because the anesthesia hadn't worn off yet.

He struggled for a moment, then realized he couldn't move. He wondered how Xia Cheng'an and the others were doing, and whether they could escape safely.

With their intelligence, they should be able to get out, right?

Hearing the noise, Mi Tian walked in from outside.

"Young Master, you're awake?"

"Mi Tian? How did you get here? How are Xia Cheng'an and Gu Tingxiao?"

"Don't worry, young master, they're all fine. Fifth young master is sleeping, and young master Gu is resting next door. This place has been taken over by the authorities."

"That's good."

Hearing the information Mi Tian provided, Xia Chenggan breathed a sigh of relief; nothing is more reliable than official sources.

"Did Xia Cheng'an escape and come to you for help?"

"No, it was Young Master Zhou who brought us here to find you."

Mi Tian recounted everything that had happened in detail, some of which she had heard about and some of which she had witnessed firsthand.

"I understand, thank you for your hard work."

"It's not tiring, young master. Would you like something to eat?"

"Hmm. This is troublesome."

Xia Chenggan regained his former gentle and refined demeanor.

He was starving, and his weakness made him need food to nourish him.

Moreover, he needs to take charge of what's to come.

He didn't think Zhou Ran, who was afraid of trouble, would take the initiative to contact the authorities.

Whether his status was high enough or not, he just felt that Zhou Ran didn't really like being official, but she didn't hate it either.

This dislike is more like a dislike stemming from differing perspectives, rather than a dislike of the person's character.

If Zhou Ran were here and knew what he was thinking, she would give Xia Chenggan a thumbs up without hesitation.

Then give a generous compliment.

You're absolutely right. There's no such thing as a mouse liking a cat. Even though cats can be cute sometimes, it depends on who they're with.

Mi Tian went to prepare the food.

Xia Chenggan was thinking about what to do next.

As for Zhou Ran, after waking up, she ate a meal, took a shower, changed her clothes, and then stayed in her room watching TV.

The signal is bad on this island, so there are only a few channels available to watch.

Zhou Ran was suffering from the mental and visual torment of a boring program.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Zhou Ran said lazily.

Xia Chenggan was pushed in.

Zhou Ran glanced at his legs and said something.

"You're already disabled, so just focus on recovering. Why are you running around everywhere? What if you really can't be cured and end up mentally unstable?"

Xia Chenggan paused for a moment, then laughed.

"No, my injury is not serious. The doctor has already checked it. There is a minor fracture, but I will not be disabled."

"Oh, so you also like luck."

Zhou Ran breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that he wouldn't be crippled.

Thinking of what Guo Xiang had told him before, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

"Thank you so much this time. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have been injured, and Xia Cheng'an and Gu Tingxiao would have been eaten by fish as well."

"Oh, just a verbal thank you, no material reward."

Zhou Ran directly asks for benefits; those empty words of thanks are completely useless.

"Okay, what do you want? I'll do whatever I can to satisfy you."

"Well, then I'll ask for three promises. Three lives for three promises isn't too much to ask, is it?"

These were Zhou Ran's carefully considered requests: three promises, no more, no less, and not excessive.

If Xia Chenggan agrees, he might come in handy in the future.

Xia Chenggan narrowed his eyes; his sixth sense told him that Zhou Ran wanted a lot.

"I can still do what I can, as long as I don't violate the law or the principles of being a decent human being."

Xia Chenggan added that he would make the commitment to keep the scope as narrow as possible.

He wouldn't be foolish enough to agree to everything; that's a big no-no. Author's Note: Thanks to my mentor 9492239 for their support! For more exciting content, please leave a message for this book on Liancheng Reading.