Chapter 29
Nan Shuyin wanted to see Shu Juan punish Xiao Lu, so she was pushed in her wheelchair and pulled over to watch.
He sat alone in the room, with nothing on his mind, just staring aimlessly at the terminal.
The pheromones that Qiao Yan had used to comfort him lingered on his collar, but the scent always dissipated, and he suddenly realized that he might be relying on her too much.
He was afraid of this feeling—the need for her, the dependence on her. If it were before, he should have run away quickly; 150,000 yuan would have been enough for him and Nan Shuyin to live on for a while.
Qiao Yan is dangerous. Getting close to her will only bring you closer to danger. There was already a shooting today, what about tomorrow?
He had to run, he absolutely had to escape. He stood up and paced back and forth when suddenly a message popped up on his terminal. It was from Qiao Yan. He didn't want to read it, but his finger clicked on it uncontrollably. "I'm fine."
Thinking it was all so incoherent, Nan Yayin read the message over and over again.
She sent this because she was afraid I would worry about her, but why would she think I would worry about her? Why should I worry about her? If that's what she thinks, she should listen to me and not go there anymore.
As dinner time drew to a close, Qiao Yan still hadn't returned. Nan Ya Yin's heart pounded. What was wrong with her? She had clearly promised to come back soon.
Qiao Yan...
Shu Juan sent him a message asking him to go to a restaurant for dinner. He was holding his terminal and headed there when he happened to pass by two researchers who overheard their conversation.
Was there an explosion somewhere this afternoon?
"It was the Black Bird Tower. Someone even went to take a look back then, so what?"
Xuan Niao Lou!
Nan Yayin didn't hesitate for a moment before calling Qiao Yan. By the time he realized what he was doing, it was too late to press the hang-up button.
"Hello?"
Nan Yayin didn't have time to hang up, and she couldn't bear to.
Qiao Yan's voice came through the terminal, slightly distorted. It was still spoken softly and slowly, but it felt a little fake, lacking the stability of being grounded, as if it were floating.
He couldn't touch her, see her, or even be sure if the person on the other end was Qiao Yan, or if it was just someone whose voice sounded similar. He heard her recount what had happened afterward, telling him not to worry, and then he heard her say that she wasn't coming back today.
"Liar!" Nan Yayin gritted her teeth. She had clearly said she would be back soon.
Nan Yayin frowned and hung up, then hurriedly dialed back, but no matter how she dialed, the other end was always busy and she couldn't connect.
After much deliberation, Nan Yayin finally came to the conclusion that Qiao Yan had definitely encountered some kind of trouble.
The secret base—Nan Yayin knew exactly which attic it was.
Why did she go to the old town? There were many things I couldn't figure out, and in the end, they all turned into worry about Qiao Yan.
"Hey? You're here." Shu Juan and Nan Shuyin had been eating there for ages, but Nan Yayin hadn't come over. "Your sister only gets a little lively when she sees me fixing robots; she barely eats anything when she doesn't see you. Aren't you going to join us?"
"Do you know what's wrong with Qiao Yan now?" Nan Yayin turned around, and Shu Juan saw that he looked worried. "You two are so close, you must know what's wrong with her. She will definitely tell you."
"I don't know," Shu Juan said, somewhat puzzled. "What's wrong?"
“She said she wouldn’t be back for dinner today.” Nan Ya’yin didn’t know what she was saying. “But she promised me she would come back. Something must have happened to her.”
"I'm going to find her," Nan Yayin murmured to himself, as if hoping Shu Juan could help him, or as if he was only saying it to himself.
"Where to?" Shu Juan asked, hands in her pockets. "We found her, and then what?"
"And then what?"
"I'm asking you, if you find her, can you help her?"
Shu Juan ruthlessly exposed the truth: Nan Ya Yin couldn't help her. The blame was being placed on her; his aimless searching would only make things worse. Qiao Yan not only had to protect himself, but also him.
However, Nan Ya Yin lowered his head. He didn't want to wait, didn't want to be overwhelmed by fear, and didn't want his last meeting to be one where he received no response.
"I can't help." Nan Yayin finally laughed at herself.
Shu Juan raised an eyebrow. "You see, you can't help her, but actually, I can't help her either."
"Let me tell you, when I was younger, I stood up for her and got beaten up by some people." Shu Juan patted her arm. "I'm an Alpha, xx, and I couldn't beat them at all. Three or four people just held my head down and beat me up."
Nan Yayin looked at her; she was indeed quite petite, and he felt he could easily beat her.
“But I’m smart.” Shu Juan pointed to his head. “I can’t help you with physical strength at all, but I’m far superior in terms of intelligence.”
Judging from what she said, she didn't seem very smart, Nan Yayin thought to herself.
"So you should eat first. This whole thing might be over once we fix the robot." Shu Juan put her hands back in her pockets. Giving people psychological counseling was really troublesome, but she was just too kind. Besides, Nan Ya Yin really seemed likely to succeed in getting together with Qiao Yan. Qiao Yan was her major investor, after all. This connection couldn't be broken; it was a necessary service.
Nan Yayin thought to herself, she doesn't have Qiao Yan's martial arts skills, nor does she have Shu Juan's brains. What can she do? She can't do anything except open her mind and get flustered.
He couldn't help Qiao Yan; ultimately, they were from two different worlds.
"I understand." Nan Yayin composed herself. "Let's go eat."
"It's great that you can understand." Shu Juan breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Nan Yayin was very perceptive and could understand things after being explained only once.
"Teacher, the robot is fixed!" Shu Juan's student rushed out to find her in a panic.
"It's fixed, so what's the rush?" Shu Juan patted him on the shoulder.
"No, teacher, that robot starts talking nonsense as soon as it's turned on, I can't understand it at all."
Shu Juan frowned. "Go take a look."
She had only taken two steps when she turned back to Nan Yayin and said, "You come too."
Qiao Yan's signal was blocked as soon as she opened the storage device; her terminal now only serves one function: a locator.
She had seen those eleven names; they were so familiar, names she could never forget.
They were the other members of her team.
These photos show the remains they brought back from the Desert Star; their encounter with such a monster was a far cry from a peaceful death.
However, they had already been buried. Logically, we should have examined the biological slime on the cut and studied this newly appeared creature as much as possible so that we could have a response next time we encountered it.
However, the bodies they saw at the time were gruesome, and since Qiao Yan was still alive, her severed leg could be studied. Therefore, most people, including Qiao Yan herself, hoped that they could be buried as soon as possible and that no further research could be conducted.
Qiao Yan looked at the photos; she had never actually seen them before. The authorities wouldn't release such things, and very few people could have taken them.
Qiao Yan thought about it carefully, and realized that they were all people in positions higher than hers.
She couldn't recall any of the eleven family members holding such a position.
Before she could figure it out, the storage device suddenly failed, and a flash of blood appeared on the terminal screen.
Another threatening letter.
“You should be like them; you are the twelfth.”
Qiao Yan often laughed at the contents of the threatening letters, but this was the first time she had actually laughed out loud.
At least we can identify who's behind them. And when this intense desire for revenge is tied to status and identity, it makes people wonder if there's some unspeakable secret, and whether the act of revenge is no longer pure.
Qiao Yan was just an ordinary person, but she was certain that the other party couldn't be any more cunning.
Did they intend to scare her with the gruesome deaths of their teammates? Who should be afraid now? Shouldn't it be them?
Qiao Yan's terminal went black, and the entire attic went dark.
We can't stay here. They'll find us. This is Nan Ya Yin's safe house, and she's already offended them enough.
She took a brightly colored candy from the glass jar. Eating candy all the time wasn't a good habit, and she would tell Nan Yayin about it when she saw her again.
Qiao Yan put the terminal in her pocket and walked towards her car downstairs.
She saw a dark figure flash by and thought to herself, "They're pretty fast."
Qiao Yan didn't care that he dared to make a move so quickly after failing the first time. He got into the car and said, "Go to No. 61, Linglan Street, Yinhe District."
Let's go home; this time, we're finally making some progress.
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