Chapter 28
Shu Juan led them to her residence, which was still the same laboratory building, where she said she lived to fulfill her duty.
After tidying up a room for people to stay in, Shu Juan said to them, "You can stay here for now. There are people here and the system protects you."
They didn't choose the main entrance when they sneaked out; they slipped out through a side door with other people. Qiao Yan's hovercar was left in the amusement park, so their pursuit should be slower this time.
“A shooting.” Shu Juan sat on the sofa in the room. “I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like this before, something this professional.”
“No, ordinary family members shouldn’t have the killer’s contact information.” Qiao Yan replied while tidying up Xiao Lu’s severed limbs. “Could you help Xiao Lu rebuild a body? Just like before, that will do.”
She used a tool to pull a small sphere out of Xiao Lu's chest area. This was Xiao Lu's mechanical core, but it had already been modified long ago.
Shu Juan sat up from the sofa. "Okay, let me see."
Upon hearing Xiao Lu's name, Nan Shuyin jumped out of her brother's arms; unable to move her legs, she scooted over to him.
"Can it be fixed?" She was the most anxious one. "Can it be fixed?"
Shu Juan looked down and said knowingly, "Oh~ you're Nan Ya Yin's sister."
Why do you want to fix it?
"Because Xiaolu is my best friend!"
Why is it your best friend?
"Because, because my brother doesn't have time to spend with me, Xiao Lu will spend time with me."
Shu Juan raised an eyebrow. "Why doesn't your brother have time for you?"
Qiao Yan kicked Shu Juan and then picked Nan Shuyin up from the ground, saying, "Be serious."
"Look how anxious you are." Shu Juan looked at the core. "It can be repaired. It's much better than when it was sent over last time. It must have protected itself in the end, as it was almost unaffected."
“It seems that Xiao Lu took a picture of the sniper at the end,” Nan Ya Yin recalled. “She said that the sniper was hiding in the Xuan Niao Tower at the time.”
"What!" Qiao Yan opened the terminal and found that Xiao Lu had tried to send a photo, but it failed because it was destroyed.
Shu Juan shook the core. "It's alright, the core is intact, and the stored data won't be lost. Once it wakes up, it can transfer the data to you."
"I'm going to Xuan Niao Paradise again later. Get me a car ready," Qiao Yan said to Shu Juan. "Oh, and also, get me a room."
"I understand the car, but you two sleep in separate rooms?" Shu Juan scratched her head. "It's not because you're in heat..."
"I have to go to class," Qiao Yan suddenly said loudly and seriously, her dark eyes staring at her. "There are four long classes a week."
"Fine, you've got a hard life, okay?" Shu Juan knew from her words that they hadn't actually gotten together, but she still expressed that they shouldn't live in separate rooms for the time being.
Go ahead and pretend, you'll regret it.
Shu Juan didn't stay long; she took the core and went to the laboratory to get busy.
-
"You're going back?" Nan Ya Yin grabbed her. "Are you looking for death?"
Qiao Yan felt the grip on her hand tightening. She remembered what she had said to him earlier, "I'm not going to die, I just want to take a look."
"What's the point of watching now that they've already run away?" Nan Yayin said in a low voice.
He's emotionally unstable right now; no one can remain calm and rational after experiencing a shooting. Qiao Yan said she wanted to go back—what's the difference between that and courting death?
Qiao Yan placed Nan Shuyin on the sofa, placing his other hand on the one that was holding hers. "The sniper got away, but that doesn't mean it's over. If they can send out the first sniper, they can send out a second. As long as I'm alive, their target will always be there. I don't want to die, and I don't want you to die either."
Nan Yayin closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, her eyes were bright red. "I don't want to."
"It's my fault." Qiao Yan was already used to wiping away his tears. "I dragged you into this. If I could have handled these things before, we should be having a great time at the amusement park right now."
"Is this the time to talk about who's right and who's wrong?" Nan Ya Yin let go of her. "I don't want you to die."
He knew, of course, that Qiao Yan was very strong. She was a member of the Interstellar Expeditionary Force, had won countless honors, and the entire school combined couldn't beat her. But Qiao Yan was human; if she were hit in the heart or brain, she would die.
Unlike Xiao Lu, who can come back to life with a core, she will die once she dies. Even if Nan Ya Yin searches the entire universe, she will not be able to find her.
Qiao Yan cupped his face in her hands, "I won't die, don't worry, I won't die."
She repeated these words over and over, making them sound more and more like empty promises.
"I'll be back soon." Qiao Yan hugged him, but she never received a response from Nan Ya Yin.
Shu Juan texted her that the car was ready. Qiao Yan let go of him, walked to the door, and then looked back at him.
Nan Yayin didn't say a word, and didn't even look at her.
Xuan Niao Paradise is not far from Shu Juan's laboratory. A shooting just happened there, and the police will probably come here to set up a cordon for protection.
"We probably can't get up to the Xuan Niao Tower," Qiao Yan thought as he drove, "but the good news is that with so many police officers around, the murderer probably won't dare to stay put."
Safety was at least guaranteed. Qiao Yan stopped the car and looked at the amusement park not far away. The police had already searched inside, and even if she wanted to find clues, it was very likely that she would come up empty-handed.
But there's one thing: her car is still here.
Qiao Yan was about to drive back to where she had parked when she was still trying to figure out whether it was a hacking attack or a listening device.
A huge explosion came from behind her; the Xuan Niao Tower had been blown up.
Stone chips rolled down, and the tallest tower in the Black Bird Paradise collapsed with a roar, destroying two hundred years of history in just a few seconds.
They were going to such lengths to prevent them from finding any evidence. There were still people searching the tower; Qiao Yan's eyes widened.
She not only dragged Nan Ya Yin into it, but even these police officers were indirectly killed because of her.
If these things had been handled properly back then, this outcome wouldn't have happened; or if I had died on that planet back then, these tragedies wouldn't have occurred.
Qiao Yan shook her head, thinking that the news of the Xuan Niao Tower being destroyed would soon be broadcast. She quickly replied to Nan Ya Yin with "I'm fine" and drove to the parking lot.
After what happened, few people dared to park here anymore; the parking lot was unusually deserted, with only Qiao Yan's hovercar still parked there.
This scene made her feel that something was bound to happen. Qiao Yan stopped her car not far away, leaving the door open so that she could easily escape if anything happened.
The hovercar is bio-sensored; it unlocks automatically when it senses its owner. Qiao Yan approached but didn't see any unlocking response.
The car wasn't locked?
Impossible. The hovercar automatically locks as soon as the owner leaves, let alone in the morning. It even unlocked when I got in at the hospital.
Qiao Yan looked through the car window and saw a cat that had been cut in half at the waist on the passenger seat.
A memory device is placed in the separated part.
Qiao Yan did not hesitate. She opened the door and immediately smelled the fuel leak.
Before she could even think, Qiao Yan grabbed the memory card and ran away. Luckily, the car door wasn't closed when she arrived. Before she had driven five meters, she heard another explosion behind her.
I saw in the rearview mirror that her car was burned, billowing black smoke.
Qiao Yan knew she might be discovered, and she couldn't go back now.
Qiao Yan let the hovercar take over driving, and the car drove along until it arrived at the old town.
Many people have left the old town, and the once-thriving residential areas now resemble dilapidated buildings. Uninhabited houses are easily damaged, and the winding cracks in the walls tell Qiao Yan that this place has fallen into disrepair.
The construction of these houses used to be standardized. However, due to a population surge but the resettlement sites not yet being built, additional floors were added on top of the existing two-story buildings until the maximum capacity was reached. On the top floor, there was an inward-facing space for storing miscellaneous items, but it was not visible from the outside.
Many people are unaware of her past, and it is not even mentioned in her military resume.
She came from a rather poor planet, to a large family. Unfortunately, she was the eldest child, burdened with the responsibilities of her younger siblings and her parents.
When Qiao Yan saw this house, those past memories came back to life, so when she heard Nan Shuyin tell her about the secret base, she immediately knew where it was.
It's that attic embedded inside.
Since few people live in the old town, the key to that attic room may have been lost long ago.
Qiao Yan opened the door and went in without much trouble. There wasn't much dust in the room, which showed that someone used to clean it regularly. After he stopped living there, some dust had settled down.
There were no lights in the room, so Qiao Yan could only turn on the terminal lighting.
There were some simple toys and a blanket lying on the floor. There was a dilapidated table by the door, which must have been there before.
Qiao Yan didn't want to look at the contents of that memory. She didn't know if it contained a location tracking feature, and if it was accessed, the other side might also know where she was.
She wanted to see this place again, to see how Nan Yayin used to live.
Qiao Yan was sitting in the chair behind her desk, with the terminal on the table, when the drawer suddenly fell onto her lap and rolled out two unopened new inhibitors.
It's already so rotten.
There were some notebooks on the right side of the drawer, but Qiao Yan didn't look at them, thinking it would be very unethical if they were diaries or something.
On the left are several glass bottles, with some adhesive residue still stuck to them, and inside are candies of different colors.
The old-fashioned candy, made with syrup and food coloring, is the same as the one she ate when she was a child.
She was just about to call Nan Yayin to ask if she could have a piece of candy when Nan Yayin called her first.
After answering the phone, Qiao Yan said "Hello" but heard no reply. "Nan Yayin?"
There was still no response on the phone. She actually wanted to call him by his full name, but calling him by his full name always felt a bit distant.
"What's wrong?" Qiao Yan asked him. "I'm fine. I'm at your secret base right now."
“I knew there was an explosion, but I’m fine,” Qiao Yan assured her. “I wasn’t injured either. I was far away at the time, so don’t worry.”
“But I won’t go back tonight. I saw your candy jar here,” Qiao Yan asked him. “May I…”
The call was suddenly disconnected, and Qiao Yan stared at the disconnected profile picture on the screen.
She sighed. It was immoral to rummage through other people's things, even if drawers or cabinets had fallen down due to decay.
Qiao Yan inserted the storage device into the terminal, which contained eleven videos, each labeled with a name, and she happened to recognize each one.
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