Chapter 70 Rewind, Pause, Over Time As an executor, he...
Fu Ze knew that his question was somewhat unreasonable.
Emergency, impromptu decision, influence from others... even he himself could find a thousand reasons why Yuan Jianxing didn't tell him the action plan.
But he just couldn't stop thinking about it:
Is Fu Ze's value to Yuan Jianxing limited to the "you issue a task - I execute it step by step" model?
Although Fu Ze discovered the trickery involved, it was clear that almost everyone except him had been fooled by the fake Yuan Jianxing.
As the fake Yuanjianxing approached, Franka became visibly agitated, and the hand gripping the dagger trembled uncontrollably.
With a slight tremor, Que Ling's neck would be in serious trouble.
From everyone's perspective, in order to avoid angering Franka, Que Ling seemed to be desperately suppressing his fear, forcibly relaxing his body, and not uttering a single cry even as the dagger cut several more small wounds on his body.
However, at that moment, Franka vaguely heard a very faint but very clear, even somewhat warning, cold laugh.
"I said, one cut is enough, how many more cuts do you want?"
Judging from the tone of voice and the direction from which the sound came, the speaker was Que Ling.
These words left Franka bewildered, as were Fu Ze, who could read the other person's words from their lips in the distance.
However, unlike Franka, whose attention was mostly focused on the original star and who couldn't pay attention to Que Ling's condition, Fu Ze was both keen and astonished to discover that the extra cuts on Que Ling's collarbone caused by Franka's shaky hand had actually healed.
The word "healing" alone cannot accurately describe what happened in the blink of an eye.
The typical healing process is as follows: the blood flowing from the wound coagulates into a scab—the flesh beneath the scab grows and adheres—and finally the scab falls off, revealing brand new pink skin.
However, the healing of sparrow feathers is entirely different.
The skin that was cut by the dagger automatically flipped inward and closed up, reconnecting and fusing from both ends to the middle.
From a visual perspective, it's as if the small area where the wound is located is rewound frame by frame, returning to the state before the injury occurred a few seconds ago.
At the same time, although the amplitude was very slight, Fu Ze once again felt the resonance and pain that his body would experience when the [Key] ability was activated.
All the above subjective and objective factors prove one point—the Sparrow Feather also possesses the ability of a [Key]!
Although his colleague, the executive, had told Fu Ze in casual conversation that Que Ling had a clean background and had no connection with Kangming Group.
With such overwhelming evidence before them, there is no doubt that Que Ling and Kangming Group, or at least Long Ji himself, must be connected.
Regardless of what Sparrow Feather's specific abilities are, if he wanted to, he would never be held hostage by Franka, a mere amateur.
So, was his being taken hostage by Franka today really just a coincidence?
Or is this actually... a performance?
Because the range and duration of the [Key] ability activated by Que Ling are small, the cocoons that would have sprouted and wrapped around Fu Ze's internal organs after sensing the power of the [Key] disappeared without a trace before they could take shape.
But Fu Ze still felt a little short of breath.
This unexpected discovery was like a lit fuse, instantly triggering a chain reaction that made him think of something else, something he seemed to have naturally overlooked from the beginning:
Was the force behind Franka, which was directing the kidnapping of Que Ling, after Yuan Jianxing, or after him?
...Was it already known that I was not dead?
Both Fu Ze and Yuan Jianxing seem to have fallen into a misconception.
They were comparing the "bridge sweep" they had heard from Snake Eyes with the [Mirror Image] that Rhinoceros Horn had unleashed, in order to measure the power of the Dragon Spine that truly held the [Key].
Fu Ze suddenly felt as if his entire soul had been torn in two.
Half of them are the past version of myself, blindly and wearily chasing the "key" according to that oracular voice amidst frequent deaths and rebirths.
The other half was brought back to the human world from the icy sea by Yuan Jianxing after the cruise ship incident. He spent a few days leisurely sunbathing and drinking soda, and even recreated a version of his past self.
Although the former occupied the majority of Fu Ze's memories of his life, the latter has surpassed it and has even subtly become Fu Ze's true perception of himself in the past few days.
However, the sudden appearance of the Sparrow Feather and the [Key] ability shattered Fu Ze's illusions, silently and bluntly telling him—you cannot escape.
If their true goal was to use Yuan Jianxing to lure them out, then they wouldn't give up easily after failing this time.
So as long as you live, you will inevitably face "the next time" and "the time after that".
The real... until death do us part.
As a result, Yuan Jianxing also had to endure increasingly severe trials.
Suddenly, Fu Ze felt a stinging pain in his eyes.
He then noticed a drop of sweat sliding down his forehead, past his eyebrows, and finally flowing into his eye.
Its current state is more like tears than sweat.
Thanks to the physical pain, Fu Ze was able to pull himself out of the emotional turmoil.
In short, regardless of whether the whole thing is as he guessed—that Yuan Jianxing is using him to find him, or whether he is overthinking it and the other party is after Yuan Jianxing—he has to find the real Yuan Jianxing first.
Having regained his composure, Fu Ze began to analyze the current situation.
Why would Hara Misaki find an executive with a similar build to him and use a device to replace his face so that he could stand in for Franka?
First, let's rule out the possibility that Yuan Jianxing is trying to shirk responsibility. Even if an event like the world being destroyed and the timeline being restarted, as depicted in the novel, were to occur, this situation would not exist.
Suddenly, Fu Ze recalled the uncharacteristically heartfelt words Yuan Jianxing had confided to him on the phone:
"The rooftop negotiation between V City and Wan Chuanqiu last time left a deep shadow on me."
Could it be that... he learned from his previous experience and realized that anyone who chose the rooftop, a highly performative location, as the hostage-taking site likely had ulterior motives and wanted to spread the word?
Furthermore, even though he had already caught up with Franka, Yuan Jianxing did not require him to take down Franka cleanly and decisively to eliminate any future troubles.
so……
Fu Ze's pupils trembled slightly.
Yuan Jianxing never intended to negotiate with Franka from the beginning, and it is very likely that he decided to kill her on the spot as a warning to others.
That makes sense!
Given the current situation, using a long-range sniper rifle to eliminate Franka would obviously be the best option.
However, simply shooting the head or neck could cause Franka's arm to retract, resulting in secondary damage to Sparrow Feather.
To avoid this situation, Yuan Jianxing had to use the inertia of the bullet to move Franka away from where Sparrow Feather was located.
Based on all these considerations, the best sniping spot is very likely to be...
Fu Ze shifted his gaze to a small high-rise building used as a museum, located a few hundred meters behind the main building.
Although that small high-rise was a bit taller than the current building, it was only about ten meters taller, roughly two and a half stories high.
For sniping, a horizontal straight-line distance of nearly one kilometer, this height difference is already at its limit.
The windows on the top floor of the museum, which are usually kept closed to insulate against heat and moisture, were now slightly ajar, as if silently confirming Fu Ze's judgment.
Hidden among the crowd, Fu Ze quietly left the rooftop via the side staircase, almost unnoticed by anyone.
-
A few minutes ago.
Yuan Jianxing, who entered the building in front of Franka, switched identities with his executive colleague who had been lurking inside. They then took a car through the back door and sped towards the nearest high-rise building.
The spot where Yuan Jianxing is now is exactly the best sniping point that Fu Ze later deduced.
Standing alone in the lobby of the aircraft-themed museum, Yuan Jianxing opened the weapon case he was carrying and took out a newly adjusted gun.
The words "Hercules AXR" are cast on the side of this brand-new gun.
Given the current distance, this weapon is the only one that can accurately hit Franka's head.
In terms of shooting ability, it would have been most appropriate for Fu Ze to fire this shot.
However, Yuan Jianxing genuinely didn't want the other party to touch the gun, so he chose to conceal his action plan and fire the shot himself.
However, what he didn't expect was that simply holding the Hercules AXR would be enough to bring back the problem that he had been suppressing and trying to forget:
As an executive officer, can he really protect a murderer?
If this problem is not truly resolved, it will inevitably leave both of them deeply wounded over time.
Over time...
Yuan Jianxing didn't know why he suddenly thought of this word.
She clearly only had a slight liking for Fu Ze.
From developing feelings for each other to officially entering into an intimate relationship and finally deciding to grow old together, the journey in between is far more than just a series of arduous journeys.
In recent years, Xu Xiezhi has spoken with him privately on several occasions. He has already achieved more than enough, leaving his competitors far behind. However, if he wants to advance further in his career, he still needs to find a suitable woman to marry at the right time and have a child as soon as possible.
From a popular perspective, once a man has a family, he becomes vulnerable and has concerns about how he conducts himself.
Correspondingly, you can use it with peace of mind.
Although Hsu Hsieh-chih herself scoffed at such things, the general environment was such that it was beyond the control of personal opinions.
Given Yuan Jianxing's personal qualities, if he were to agree, many people would be willing to facilitate a win-win situation.
Yuan Jianxing did have further ideas, but he was absolutely unwilling to achieve his goals in this way.
This stems not only from considerations of responsibility and obligation towards a future spouse, but also from a naive yet stubborn refusal to settle.
No compromises...
Thinking of this, Fu Ze's figure clearly appeared in Yuan Jianxing's field of vision.
Will he be the one who "doesn't settle"?
Whatever the answer may be, there is no doubt that Fu Ze has become an extremely special existence in Yuan Jianxing's life.
From adversary to subordinate and bait, then to temporary partner, and finally to "Fu Ze," a character he personally crafted starting from his birthdate on his ID.
The entire process was unprecedented and will likely never be repeated.
Although Yuan Jianxing's mind was somewhat elsewhere, his hands didn't stop; muscle memory helped him complete all the preliminary preparations smoothly and quickly.
With a clear click of the trigger, he awoke with a start, and everything except the warning letter incident was banished from his mind.
The Hercules AXR was mounted in the window, and its electronic sights were focused on Franka's head.
Just then, the elevator doors on the rooftop opened, and Mihoshi Kōhara made his official appearance.
Judging from her reaction, Franka clearly hadn't figured out the other party's identity, and the whole matter entered the negotiation stage just as Yuan Jianxing had planned.
Yuan Jianxing's headset broadcast everything that was happening on the rooftop in real time.
"We meet again." Franka's sinister laughter struck Hara Mihoshi's eardrums.
Yuan Jianxing could understand the other party's hatred and sincerely felt sorry for having to involve and harm innocent people.
But he still doesn't regret doing it.
Since we are already in position, there is no need to delay through negotiations.
"It's me," he replied from afar.
As soon as Shinjiro Mihoshi said something, the fake Shinjiro Mihoshi on the rooftop mimicked the information transmitted through his earpiece.
"You know perfectly well that there's no turning back now, and your actions are undoubtedly..."
"Our family crest was engraved on the fortress you toppled," Franka interrupted Mihoshi, her eyes filled with longing. "Do you know what that was?"
Before Yuan Jianxing could try to recall what Franka meant by the clan emblem, he continued, "It's a flame."
Meanwhile, inside the building where Yuan Jianxing was located, a cluster of blazing flames rose from behind a short-circuited electrical appliance in the public tea room. It first licked at the surrounding clutter, then expanded its territory and climbed onto the curtains and burned the ceiling.
A large amount of heat and smoke grows and collides within the confined space, waiting to break through everything currently trapping them once a certain critical point is crossed.
However, the power plug of the alarm device not far away had already been burned out.
The carbon black at the break point still faintly revealed an undying red glow.
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Author's Note: Sigh, Fu Xiaozhe misunderstood that this was aimed at him. [Chin resting on hand]
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