Chapter 144: Return

Two more days passed, and they searched every inch of Si Gu Qiu, but ultimately found nothing. The fake Zongfang could not find the Black Box and began to grow impatient.

As the sun set, Qiao Suisui and Ka'er hid in an abandoned warehouse; the mottled marks on the walls and the flickering lights created a tense atmosphere. Scattered before them were a pile of messy documents and photographs, all fragments of life in the village of Dadeline from many years ago.

After these days of delay and investigation, Qiao Suisui had formed a theory that was infinitely close to the truth.

"Ka'er, these documents," she pointed to a yellowed medical report, her voice tinged with excitement, "look at these dates and symptom records; the people in the village developed symptoms at almost the same time. This is definitely not a coincidence."

Ka'er frowned as he looked at the report, deep in thought, "These symptoms are too similar to the typical reactions to a chemical leak."

"Here is an unfinished investigation report showing that the village's water source experienced a drastic chemical change in the period before it was bombed. I think this is related to the underground laboratory's discharge system."

"You mean the underground laboratory's chemical waste was discharged into the villagers' water source, causing them to discover the existence of the laboratory, so the Federation had to silence them to prevent the news from leaking."

Qiao Suisui nodded. The truth was ready to emerge.

Suddenly, footsteps came from outside. Qiao Suisui and Ka'er stared at the door in unison.

*Knock, knock. *

The knocking made Qiao Suisui's nerves instantly tense up.

*Knock, knock. *

With each successive knock, she even forgot to breathe.

The figure of the fake Zongfang appeared at the doorway, his gaze sharp and cold, a strange smile on his face, while his hand, held behind his back, gripped a chainsaw.

"Qiaoqiao, what are you two doing here?"

Ka'er blocked Qiao Suisui, both of them entering a defensive stance.

*Click—*

A chainsaw abruptly pierced through the wooden door.

"Being so disobedient will give me a headache." It was Zongfang's voice, but the strange smile and extremely gloomy tone in his words made Qiao Suisui shrink back.

Ka'er shouted at the door: "Who exactly are you?"

The fake Zongfang laughed loudly and broke directly through the door.

"I had intended to let you slowly uncover the truth, but now it seems it is simpler to just end you."

Qiao Suisui asked coldly: "You were the one who blew up the underground laboratory, weren't you? After you saved us that day, you kept watching the direction of the collapse; you were confirming whether the entrance was completely buried. And you put on a show of saving us just to follow us the whole way, so you could grasp how much of the truth we knew."

"Miss Qiao, you are very smart." His expression instantly turned ferocious, "Unfortunately, such a smart Ancient Human just can't help me find what I want."

Clearly, this man had been guiding them to find the Black Box all these days. Qiao Suisui felt suspicious; what exactly was in the Black Box? But there was no time to think; bullets quickly headed toward them, and Ka'er's arm was pierced while he was shielding Qiao Suisui.

The fake Zongfang's movements were swift and lethal, and the air was filled with the sharp whistling of blades cutting through it.

Ka'er ducked to dodge, feeling the cold wind brush past his face; he knew that was the chill of a dagger a mere hair's breadth from his skin. Qiao Suisui seized this moment and stabbed her Emei piercer directly into the fake Zongfang's side, only to see the opponent use the momentum of his retreat to clumsily dodge the fatal blow.

Ka'er and Qiao Suisui coordinated perfectly, leaving their backs to each other. A flash of light crossed the fake Zongfang's eyes, then he suddenly accelerated, twisting his body at an almost impossible angle, his head rotating 180 degrees to face backward. The dagger brought with it a biting wind, heading straight for Qiao Suisui.

"No!!!"

Ka'er grabbed Qiao Suisui, the two instantly rotating to swap positions; Ka'er's back was exposed to the fake Zongfang's blade, falling right into the opponent's trap.

*Puchi*, the sound of a sharp blade sinking into flesh.

Qiao Suisui opened her eyes wide and used all her mental power to throw the Emei piercer at the opposite side, pinning the fake Zongfang directly to the wall. The person on the wall struggled for a few seconds and then breathed their last.

"Ka'er! Ka'er!"

"No, I don't want you to die, get up, don't die..." Qiao Suisui hugged Ka'er and cried nervously, her hands covered in blood, helpless and desperate.

Ka'er lay on the ground, slowly raising his hand to wipe away her tears, asking weakly: "Why are you crying... you don't love me anyway. If I die, no one will make you angry anymore."

"I don't want you to die, I don't..."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to lose you." Qiao Suisui cried heartbrokenly, making Ka'er feel a bit choked up, but he still had to keep acting.

"Then, do you like me even a little?"

Qiao Suisui's face was still streaked with tears, and she sobbed as she realized something was wrong.

"You... you're okay?"

Qiao Suisui yanked up his jacket and saw that he was wearing a custom-made bulletproof vest underneath.

Ka'er clutched his chest and squinted, saying: "I think I can still be saved."

Qiao Suisui pushed him away and, still not satisfied, gave him a kick.

"You actually joked about something like this!"

She turned to leave, but was instantly pulled into a hard embrace.

Ka'er hugged her tightly from behind; at this moment, the wound on his back was still bleeding, but thanks to the bulletproof vest, the wound was not deep.

"I was wrong, I was wrong, I'm fine, don't be angry. Don't be afraid, I will always, always be with you. You will never lose me, I promise."

Qiao Suisui's eyes were still red and she held onto her anger, but she was mostly angry at herself. It was Ka'er who risked bringing her to the Southern Battlefield; if something had really happened to him, she would never have been able to forgive herself. Instead, she should thank Ka'er; in that split second just now, he hadn't even thought twice before using his own body to block it for her.

She turned around and hugged the man's narrow waist, wiping all her tears onto his clothes.

Ka'er chuckled, watching her burrow into his arms like a small animal, his hand stroking her head.

Both of them thought the crisis was over, but suddenly, the ground began to shake, and from the cracked earth, one 'Zongfang' after another emerged; their expressions were blank, like controlled puppets.

"Did you think it was over?" Kui Shou's voice echoed in the air, full of sarcasm and indifference.

"It's you? You didn't die?"

Qiao Suisui looked in shock at the man walking slowly toward them; his fingertips were manipulating countless threads. With a wave of Kui Shou's hand, countless 'Zongfangs' began to launch attacks at Qiao Suisui and Ka'er.

Kui Shou, whose talent was manipulation. The one Anubis killed that day was merely one of his puppets.

From the beginning, the Federation's plan was to have Qiao Suisui draw out Anubis; as the son of the Rebel Army, Anubis likely knew the whereabouts of the Black Box, so the Leader ordered Kui Shou to constantly create opportunities for them to be together. Whether it was at the wine cellar or the bridge tunnel, Kui Shou had been secretly monitoring them.

"My patience is limited. I'll ask one more time: where is the Black Box?"

Qiao Suisui did not speak; she supported the injured Ka'er, and the two of them constantly resisted the puppets pouncing on them, gradually falling into a bitter struggle. Qiao Suisui could not hold on and nearly fell to the ground; Ka'er nervously blocked in front of her, the wound on his back already torn, yet he was still holding on.

As the situation grew more tense, the dust and debris on the battlefield drifted away under the impact of mental power.

Suddenly, red snow began to fall from the sky, like a mist of blood. A figure, like lightning at dawn, abruptly cut into the center of the battlefield, directly blocking all attacks in front of Qiao Suisui.

Silver hair fluttered in the wind; the man wore a black combat suit, and every step he took seemed to tread upon the sound of thunder. Kui Shou was commanding countless puppets, but when he saw the man standing in the center, fear and unease flashed in his eyes.

"Zongfang."

Respectfully welcoming Noble Consort Xi back to the palace~~~~~(End of this chapter)