"...Boss, our employment period is over."

The petite girl held the hilt of the knife with one hand. When she lowered her head, her eyes were downcast. She spoke as usual, yet her voice was unwavering.

The entire research room was completely silent; even 037 was dumbfounded.

Wait, wait a minute, what are you doing, Ancestor?

037 was certain she hadn't missed a single word. How could this ancestor suddenly want to part ways with the male lead? Wasn't she supposed to be a heroine?!

"Because... we've reached a stalemate."

Ruan Qing'an closed his eyes briefly before continuing, "Boss, our employment relationship was established before you left S City. The employment period was forty days in total, and later you were upgraded to personal protection."

"The employment relationship will be terminated in five minutes."

"..."

Zhou Ziqi pinched the bridge of his nose: "Xiao Ruan, stop fooling around. If it's a contract period, I can buy you for your entire life."

His voice was slightly hoarse, and his hidden anger seemed to have been suppressed to the extreme, but Zhou Ziqi half-closed his eyes and temporarily suppressed his emotions—his little Ruan was very stupid, and he could give her more indulgence.

If it were anyone else, he would have thrown them out the moment he opened his mouth.

She paused, then said, “There are rules in our line of work, boss. We can’t hire people like you repeatedly. This will allow me to figure out your habits. If someone hires me to kill you later, it will have a negative impact on you. It’s also to protect you.”

It was clearly just a fabricated background, but now that Ruan Qing'an is using it, he makes it sound very plausible.

Finally, the man leaning against the lab table chuckled softly.

Zhou Ziqi took half a step forward, and before Ruan Qing'an could instinctively back down, he raised his hand to block her lower back, pressing down slightly on her waist. Given the large size difference between him and the girl, it was as if he wanted to encircle her in his arms.

His slender fingertips traced upwards along her delicate arm, gripping Ruan Qing'an's wrist. Zhou Ziqi's narrow eyes narrowed slightly.

"Xiao Ruan, what I'm giving you is far from enough for your salary."

"Then I'll return the scabbard—"

"Unless you can take off these clothes too."

Zhou Ziqi chuckled softly, his eyes, as beautiful as the moon and the rosy clouds, filled with tender affection. He lowered his voice and whispered in her ear, as if he were telling her love words. Even when he was extremely angry, his words were as gentle as a bright moon and a gentle breeze.

He's always been like this; he laughs and acts crazy, then suddenly turns around and kills.

The man's fingertips caressed the ties of her black dress at her lower back, as if they were rubbing against her skin through the fabric.

Ruan Qing'an didn't say anything more, biting her lower lip and taking half a step back.

She tightened her grip on the knife handle: "Boss, I already said that before we even got back to base."

"During your employment, I am your weapon. As long as it is within my duties, your safety is the highest priority, and your requests are my standards of conduct. However..."

"Until the moment the employment relationship ends."

The smile on Zhou Ziqi's lips gradually faded. His little bodyguard still looked sullen, but his words were ruthless, or rather, very much like a businessperson.

Yes, from following him, protecting him, risking her life for him, standing behind him, silently trying on clothes with a sullen face...

Initially, their relationship began with employment.

Zhou Ziqi lowered his eyes: "Xiao Ruan has always been very clear about her own position. No matter how good I am to you, you have never changed your position. Xiao Ruan is not stupid, she is too smart."

"Because I haven't forgotten that you, boss, once tried to kill me too."

"Yes, I admit it."

He has always acted according to his heart, and he admitted it quite frankly: "Because the old Ruan was not worth my attention."

Does this refer to the original owner of the body before leaving the action team...?

Zhou Ziqi never concealed his evil, just as he never concealed his indulgence and favoritism; it was so pure it was frightening.

Ruan Qingan glanced at the time.

"The time is up. The forty-day employment period is over."

Goodbye, Mr. Zhou.

She uttered those three distant words indifferently, placed one hand on the hilt of the Tang sword slung across her waist, and turned to walk out of the research room.

Zhou Ziqi lowered his eyes, and with a slight raise of his hand, a spatial ability fluctuation appeared, almost instantly imprisoning the space in the corridor in front of him. But the next moment—a sharp blade slashed across.

The confined space shattered like glass, spreading out from the cracks like a spider web, tearing into large pieces.

A strong gust of wind swept by, lifting the stray hairs around the man's ears.

Before him stood a girl holding a knife in one hand, the tip pointing at him—Zhou Ziqi knew perfectly well how sharp the knife was, but the one thing he never imagined was that one day it would be pointed at him.

Ruan Qingan's eyes were devoid of emotion, like those of a real weapon.

"Mr. Zhou, please have some self-respect."

"..."

He couldn't help but laugh, took a few steps back, leaned against the lab table, raised his hand to cover his almost distorted face, and the madness in his eyes spread endlessly, like a bottomless abyss.

Just as Nguyen Thanh An was about to leave the research room—

"Keep the scabbard and everything I gave you. What I, Zhou Ziqi, give away, I have no reason to take back. But I gave it to Xiao Ruan because you are mine."

"So I'm giving you one last choice, Xiao Ruan."

Ruan Qing'an paused, turning back to look at Zhou Ziqi.

The man was sitting at the lab bench with his back to her, seemingly examining the glass test tubes on the table and testing the biological reactions inside. He spoke casually and nonchalantly, as if it were his last act of indulgence.

His voice was slightly deep: "Stay here, cause trouble and make a scene in the base... You can do whatever you want, I'll be here."

"If you leave here, I will kill you with my own hands."

In the deathly silent research room, only Zhou Ziqi's voice could be heard. Ruan Qing'an stroked the hilt of his knife and closed his eyes briefly: "Mr. Zhou, take care."

Only after hearing the elevator running did the man, who should have been observing biological reactions and concentrating on his experiment at the lab bench, let the glass test tubes shatter on the table.

But he didn't react for a long time, his upturned phoenix eyes slightly lowered.

This is not something Zhou Ziqi should have made a mistake on.

He was almost machine-like in his approach to experiments and research.

...

Meanwhile, outside the research institute.

Ruan Qing'an looked up at the azure sky, his leaden-gray eyes flickering slightly, as if he were deep in thought.

037: [Why, why did you do this, ancestors?]

“Because I am his possession, he can indulge in all his strange behaviors. A ‘master’ will fall in love with a ‘weapon’, but if I have always been a weapon, how will he ever notice…”

"It's not that he likes this 'weapon,' but rather, it's me?"

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