Ch. 1591..1600
Chapter 1591: Abiya appears in 1590
The situation had reverted to its starting point; Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu had initially set out to track down the manager of this particular area, but after venturing out for two nights in a row, they hadn’t found anyone—instead, they’d stumbled upon an even bigger secret.
When they were ready to investigate the new incident, they found everything had circled back to the beginning, as if the elusive manager was right in front of them.
“Ah, we can’t go shopping together again,” Zhuang Liu’s wish was to go shopping with Tan Rou, but something unexpected always happened.
“Once this is over, we’ll spend three days here, shopping our hearts out,” Tan Rou said.
Zhuang Liu had no choice but to comply with his wife’s plans.
After buying cotton candy, Hamillen bid farewell to Tan Rou and her party. Once he was a good distance away, Tan Rou’s tracking job began.
Hamillen seemed in a hurry to get home, walking at a brisk pace; Tan Rou had to jog just to keep up with him.
“It looks to be him,” Tan Rou muttered, “But he’s rather stout, isn’t he? The man from last night definitely wasn’t this heavy. Could he have other brothers? No, no, even if he did, it’s impossible for the wound to be identical.”
After wrestling with the thought for a while, Tan Rou stopped pondering because Hamillen had reached home. To her surprise, the hotel owner didn’t live in a luxurious villa; his home was quite modest, yet the yard was filled with lush plants and was arranged very beautifully.
“Darling, Daddy’s back,” Hamillen’s face brimmed with a happy smile.
A five-year-old girl rushed out from inside the house, adorable in appearance with her light golden hair and her fair cheeks, like a little angel.
“Daddy!” The girl flung herself into her father’s arms, “Did you go buy cotton candy?”
Hamillen replied, “Of course, your daddy will always buy what my little dear wants to eat.”
“Hmph,” the girl pouted, unhappy as she said, “It’s all your fault, Daddy. You promised to read me a storybook last night, but you disappeared again.”
With his left hand, Hamillen held his daughter’s tiny hand and said, “But I did buy you cotton candy, didn’t I?”
The girl’s mood brightened, “Then let’s go back inside and eat the cotton candy together.”
The father and daughter, holding cotton candy, made their way into the house, but at that moment, a person suddenly sprang out from the side, shouting, “Boss, boss, please save me!”
Upon hearing the voice, Hamillen protected his daughter behind him and demanded, “Abiya, what are you doing here instead of at work?”
Pale-faced, Abiya replied, “Boss, I’ve done everything as you said, but I’m still a little short on money, please lend me some. I will pay you back later. I’ve been feeling unwell, no one is willing to hire me, and I’m out of money. Give me another chance, I promise I’ll work hard, I’ll help you—”
“Silence!” Hamillen frowned and scolded, “Don’t talk nonsense outside!”
Abiya nodded rapidly, “Okay, okay, whatever you say goes, just please lend me the money!”
Not wanting to make things too harsh, Hamillen uttered a “Hmm,” then said, “You haven’t received your full salary for this month yet; I will get you the payment soon. Come inside with me.”
“Thank you, boss, thank you so much!” Abiya gratefully said.
Then Abiya followed Hamillen and his daughter inside, and after they entered, Hamillen locked the door behind them.
Tan Rou didn’t dare get too close for fear of surveillance, so she hid in a spot to wait for them to come out. But a long time passed, and nobody came out.
At this point, Tan Rou sensed something was off. Why did Hamillen need to personally settle Abiya’s wages? He was the boss; he should just be managing the hotel. It’s rare for a big hotel owner to personally pay an employee.
Things were not right, not at all.
Tan Rou couldn’t wait there any longer—Zhuang Liu was waiting for her return—so she edged a little closer to Hamillen’s place. Upon spotting the surveillance cameras on the courtyard wall, she decided to leave.
Before leaving, she accidentally discovered a Round Badge on the wall. By its design, it looked nearly identical to the one they had previously found, and in size, it matched the one they’d seen with the Faler family.
“It was you after all,” Tan Rou whispered softly.
Chapter 1592: Control of Drugs 1591
Waiting here no longer held any purpose, so Tan Rou had no choice but to leave first. She and Zhuang Liu had other matters to attend to, and she still had to attend Gand’s meeting that evening.
Despite knowing that the Dawn Society was involved in very frightening activities, since she had decided to uncover the secrets of the Dawn Society, she couldn’t allow herself to be afraid. She carefully avoided the surveillance cameras and then headed back.
On her way back, Tan Rou received the test report that Samiyi had sent to her. It seemed that their work efficiency had improved, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to produce the results so quickly.
What Tan Rou didn’t know was that Samiyi had personally overseen the test. She had delivered the blood sample to the laboratory personnel and then stayed there, watching them until they had written the report.
After getting the report, Tan Rou didn’t rush to look at it. She needed to hurry back and meet up with Zhuang Liu; he must be getting anxious waiting for her.
When she returned, Zhuang Liu had just gotten his hands on some freshly made cotton candy. “You’re back. The cotton candy is just made; do you want to try a bite first?”
Tan Rou said, “Sure. But before tasting the cotton candy, we need to find a quiet place to sit for a while. I just received the test report from Samiyi, so I need to decode the report first.”
“How about the café we went to last time?” Zhuang Liu suggested, “I think the second floor there is quite quiet.”
Tan Rou also thought that place was good, so they both headed to the café.
This time, Tan Rou didn’t order coffee; she still had to go back and get some sleep, and coffee would surely keep her awake. It was still the same waiter, No. 007, who served them. When he saw Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu coming, No. 007 promptly excused the other guests to personally serve them.
Tan Rou didn’t disappoint him. She ordered two of the most expensive drinks in the shop and a few pricey cakes. “Let’s start with these. If it’s not enough, I’ll call you to order more.” It was lunchtime, and the two of them hadn’t eaten yet, so it was the perfect time for cake.
No. 007, the waiter, couldn’t stop smiling. “Of course, please enjoy your beautiful time.”
“Oh, by the way, has the Princess been to the shop lately?” Tan Rou casually asked.
No. 007 immediately replied, “Yes, she came again the day after, but this time she wasn’t with her friends. She was alone. She took a phone call midway and then left in a hurry.”
“Thank you,” Tan Rou graciously pulled out a small denomination coin from her wallet, “This is for your tip.”
No. 007 was even happier. “Thank you, beautiful lady. If you have any questions in the future, you can directly ask me, and I will surely answer.”
Tan Rou still needed to look at the report, so she asked the waiter to leave them for now.
After opening the report sent by Samiyi, Tan Rou’s expression was incredibly calm. She said, “It’s mostly what I had suspected, the zombies are being controlled by a drug, though we still haven’t been able to determine the components of the drug.”
Zhuang Liu said, “It seems that the person who made the drug is very skilled.”
Tan Rou agreed with this view, but she added, “It’s also possible that Samiyi didn’t have enough time. From the moment I handed over the sample to her, until she sent me the report, it was roughly just three hours. Such a difficult drug component should be tested multiple times.”
“She might have been quite anxious,” Zhuang Liu said. “If it were me, I would be very anxious too. Zombies aren’t just cats and dogs; they are extremely dangerous. If they appeared on the streets, the consequences would be severe.”
Tan Rou nodded and said, “We still need to capture a live zombie, but we don’t know where they are and cannot catch them. Plus, last night’s events must have alerted the higher-ups of the organization, so I estimate that the zombies won’t be appearing for a while.”
“Don’t we have that whistle in our possession?” Zhuang Liu said. “If we can decipher the secret of the whistle, could we use it to call out the zombies?”
“How can we play the whistle without the music score?” Tan Rou said. “I don’t know how to play the whistle. If you want to try, you can give it a shot.”
Chapter 1593: 1592 Flute Recording
“I don’t want to play that flute,” Zhuang Liu said with disgust, “First of all, we still don’t know if there’s poison on that flute, so I’m not going to rashly play it. Second, someone has already played it, and I really don’t want to play a flute that someone else has played.”
Tan Rou wouldn’t play the flute either, so let the princess, Samiyi, handle it, “After we crack the code of the flute, we can have Samiyi find someone to play it.”
Zhuang Liu strongly agreed with the suggestion, “Good, this matter should indeed be handled by the princess.”
They hadn’t said much when three more people approached, one of whom was constantly complaining.
“The police here are just too much. I laid all the evidence right in front of them and yet they still won’t help me deal with it. If I could find their supervisor, I’d write a complaint,” the hot-tempered man said angrily.
His companion tried to calm him down, “Come on, it’s just a small matter, you don’t need to be so angry. Besides, didn’t you say that there was no noise afterwards? Maybe you just heard wrong.”
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me.” The hot-tempered man immediately took out his phone, “Listen to this, there’s the sound of a flute in here. It might not be clear on the phone, but it was really loud at the time.”
His companion listened carefully, then said, “It does sound like a flute, but it’s too faint to be evidence, isn’t it?”
“How can it not be evidence?” the hot-tempered man shouted, “The sound was really loud then, but I don’t know why it seems so faint when recorded on my phone.”
“Maybe it was just in your dreams,” his companion said, “Didn’t you say you’ve been sleeping poorly lately? It must be because of your poor sleep that you heard other sounds as the sound of a flute.”
Another companion added, “Yeah, maybe you mistook the sound of the wind for that of a flute.”
Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu, having overheard their conversation, exchanged looks and both understood what the other was thinking. They had just been discussing the absence of the sheet music, and now, as it turned out, the walking sheet music had just walked in.
“Hey, handsome guys, what are you arguing about?” Tan Rou greeted them smilingly, “This is a cafe, could you please not quarrel anymore?”
The man originally wanted to say “Who are you to intervene in our business,” but his attitude changed immediately when he saw that the speaker was a stunning foreign beauty.
The previously very angry man quickly put on a gentler expression, “Lady, I’m truly sorry, we were talking too loudly, please forgive our noise.”
Tan Rou waved her hand lightly, “It’s okay, I don’t think you were being too loud, but I do believe, as friends, you shouldn’t be arguing over a small matter, right?”
Unexpectedly, the hot-tempered man immediately reverted to his previous demeanor, “I don’t want to argue with them either, but they don’t believe me, I just can’t help wanting to argue with them.”
Tan Rou, very understandingly, asked, “What seems to be the problem, handsome?”
If it had been anyone else asking, the man might not have answered, but since it was a stunning beauty, he felt compelled to respond.
“The problem is, I’ve been having really poor sleep these days. Even a little noise can wake me up,” the hot-tempered man said, “If it were quiet at night, I could sleep, but last night it was just too loud. Someone kept playing a flute below my apartment.”
“I opened the window and searched for a long time but couldn’t find anyone, so I recorded the sound of the flute. But when I called the police the next day, they felt I was wasting their resources and didn’t want to help me with my case.”
His friend interjected, “You must have heard wrong.”
The man insisted stubbornly, “My ears are very sharp, it’s impossible that I misheard.”
“May we listen to your recording?” Tan Rou asked smilingly, “Perhaps we can help you find an answer.”
The man said generously, “Of course, I’ll play it for you right now.”
Chapter 1594: Go to the palace in 1593
When the sound was played, Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu could confirm that the man was not lying; he truly had recorded the sound of the flute, and quite completely at that, capturing both the previous and middle portions of the tune.
A friend of the man said, “What flute sound? Why do I only hear a vague noise? It seems like there’s a different sound, but how can you be so sure it’s a flute?”
The short-tempered man almost jumped up, “It’s true, that night I really heard a very loud noise, but I don’t know why it turned into a very soft sound after recording it.”
Tan Rou said, “I did hear a bit of flute sound in it, and it’s quite pleasant. By the way, I also study music, and I’d like to keep this sound for research. Would it be convenient for you to transfer it to me?”
The man was very willing to comply with the request from a beautiful woman, saying directly, “Sure, I’ll transfer the sound to you right now.”
Tan Rou did not add his contact information, as they were strangers and adding contact information could be dangerous. They used a direct file transfer. Soon, the audio from the man’s phone was transferred to Tan Rou’s phone.
Tan Rou said very generously, “To express my gratitude, I’ll cover all your expenses here today. Order whatever you like; don’t worry about saving money for me.”
“Is there such good luck?” the man’s companion asked. “Then I’ll transfer you some files too. Can you treat me to a meal next time?”
Tan Rou replied with a smile, “If fate allows it and we meet again, I might indeed treat you to a meal.” In reality, she was thinking, what kind of idiot wants me to treat him to a meal? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll poison you?
However, the ill-tempered man waved his hand, “Hey, it’s just a small matter, and since you’re guests from abroad, how could I let you treat us? The consumption at this restaurant isn’t cheap; there’s no need for you to cover it. If we’re fortunate enough to meet again, let me invite you then as a welcome to our country.”
Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu had a good impression of this man, and even though he said there was no need for them to treat, when the waiter brought the bill, Tan Rou had them bring it over and they paid first.
After leaving the coffee shop, Tan Rou pulled out her phone to listen to the recording, “Although the sound is a bit soft, we can try to enhance it when we get back and recover the original sound. Then we can get Samiyi to find someone proficient in music to transcribe the score.”
But when Tan Rou played the recording, they found that the sound of the flute was not soft at all, but very clear instead.
“Uh…” Zhuang Liu patted his ears, “Is there something wrong with my ears? Why do I feel the sound is very loud?”
Tan Rou instantly understood the reason, “It seems that the kind-hearted guy’s phone was malfunctioning.”
But they had already walked far away and didn’t go back to look for the guy; besides, if they did, that guy might want to return the money for the meal to Tan Rou and company.
Tan Rou said, “Let’s go, we’ll find Princess Samiyi at the royal palace and give her this recording.”
“Eh?” Zhuang Liu asked, “Can I go too?”
Tan Rou answered, “Samiyi has long been wanting to invite you, but I kept declining. I didn’t really want you to be exposed in front of others, after all, you are my last card to play.”
Hearing this, Zhuang Liu didn’t feel inclined to visit the palace anymore, “I’d rather wait outside for you, to avoid exposing my identity.”
Tan Rou looked around, “You might as well come with me, I think your identity is almost completely exposed now.”
Since Tan Rou put it that way, Zhuang Liu didn’t debate on the issue, “Alright, I’ll go with you to the palace, and I might as well take in the view inside.”
Tan Rou said, “There probably won’t be time to look around today; we can take our time to visit when we’re free.”
“Sure.” Zhuang Liu had no objections.
They didn’t enter through the main gate; that would be too conspicuous. Tan Rou led Zhuang Liu to the same side entrance Samiyi had used before, guarded by those most trusted by the princess.
Chapter 1595: 1594 First protect yourself
Samiyi was not too surprised to see Zhuang Liu; Zhuang Liu was Tan Rou’s lover, and Samiyi had already had people investigate him thoroughly, with the information readily available on Samiyi’s desk.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Highness,” Zhuang Liu said politely. In a foreign land, he knew he had to display the proper etiquette. Here he was not the influential CEO but just a foreigner visiting.
Samiyi smiled slightly and said, “Mr. Zhuang, I am also pleased to meet you here. I appreciate you for sending the medicine and for bringing over the latest research equipment. If there is anything you need, please tell me, and I will do my best to accommodate your requests.”
Zhuang Liu had no requests; his only demand was to take his wife home now, but he knew that was an impossibility, so there was nothing more to say.
“I hope my wife and I can safely return to our country,” Zhuang Liu stated. “That is my current request.”
Samiyi responded, “Please rest assured, Mr. Zhuang. As a princess and the future queen, I will ensure the safety of both of you.”
Zhuang Liu didn’t trust this “future queen’s” assurance at all. After all, even the queen herself was hardly safe now. If the Dawn Society created more zombies, he imagined the country might be destroyed. Could someone still be called a queen if she no longer had a country?
However, Zhuang Liu would not say these things in front of Samiyi. Responding to Samiyi’s promise, Zhuang Liu merely smiled, “Thank you for your promise.”
“Samiyi, we’re not here to make small talk,” Tan Rou said as she took out her phone. “Did you listen to the files I just sent you?”
Samiyi nodded and replied, “I listened, but I’m not good at music, so I can’t discern anything special about the music score within.”
“I’m not asking you to study the music score,” Tan Rou said. “I want you to find some who are adept at music, then copy out the music scores of these two pieces. Afterward, we can have someone play these pieces to draw out the zombies hiding in the dark.”
Samiyi admired Tan Rou’s idea, “Your idea is very good. Instead of spending a lot of time searching for zombies, we might as well have them come out on their own.”
“Exactly,” Tan Rou had other matters to attend to, so she briefly explained her plan, “You get someone to copy the music scores, then investigate the flute. If there’s nothing wrong with it, disinfect it. Once it’s disinfected, find someone to play the flute to attract the zombies.”
“Alright, I’ll arrange for it to be done,” Samiyi agreed. Then she remembered another issue, “Tan Rou, is tonight the time to go to that place?”
With Zhuang Liu present, Samiyi did not mention the Dawn Society directly.
But Zhuang Liu had known about the Dawn Society for a while. Once Samiyi brought it up, he joined in saying, “I will accompany Tan Rou there, but I will not enter the Dawn Society’s inner sanctum. I will wait outside for her to return.”
Samiyi wasn’t surprised and said calmly, “Having you there will set my mind at ease a bit because I cannot accompany Tan Rou tonight.”
She was still in a wheelchair, after all. If something unexpected happened while she was there, none of them would be able to escape.
“You don’t need to come,” Tan Rou said. “I’ll just say you’re ill and resting at home. Moreover, the last time we went, Gand separated us, so even if you came with me, we wouldn’t stay together.”
“I will stay inside the palace,” Samiyi said. “But I will send someone to protect you covertly…”
“No need,” Tan Rou refused Samiyi’s offer. “If you send someone to follow me, they will surely be discovered by the Dawn Society, and then I would have to spend time rescuing your people, disrupting our plan.”
Samiyi had no choice but to abandon the idea, cautioning Tan Rou, “Tan Rou, you must be careful. This is not your business; it’s something I should handle. You don’t have to put yourself in danger. If there’s an accident, ensure your safety first—everything else is secondary.”
“I understand,” Tan Rou nodded.
Chapter 1596: 1595 She is quite good
Tan Rou had always lived in the palace of Samiyi, where there were many maids and some guards, but they were all stationed outside the palace. Therefore, when Zhuang Liu arrived, problems arose.
“This…” a maid said with difficulty, “Miss Rou, this is the princess’s palace, and we usually should not bring men here. If you want your friend to stay, we should ask the princess for permission.”
Tan Rou had left in such a hurry that she had forgotten to ask Zhuang Liu where he lived. She wasn’t sure if Samiyi, who she assumed was busy, would respond to her message.
“How about this,” Tan Rou proposed, “please ask the princess to arrange a new residence for my friend. Don’t arrange it in the princess’s palace, arrange it somewhere else. My friend is visiting the palace for the first time, I would like to show him around. Would that be possible?”
The maid sighed with relief, “Okay, we will ask the princess right away.”
After their conversation, Tan Rou took Zhuang Liu on a stroll around the palace. They had planned to rest first before touring the palace, but without a place to rest, they had to start their tour immediately.
Zhuang Liu casually observed the palace’s scenery and then started discussing Princess Samiyi with Tan Rou.
“This princess does not seem to carry any airs,” Zhuang Liu really appreciated Samiyi, “and she doesn’t treat you merely as a tool to be exploited. She is genuinely concerned about your safety, the worry in her eyes earlier was genuine.”
Tan Rou, having spent some time with Samiyi, was convinced that if Samiyi’s demeanor was all an act, her acting skills were incredibly sophisticated.
“Samiyi is a very gentle person,” Tan Rou remarked, “Similarly, she is also very intelligent. The current situation in the Kingdom is not good, and as a princess, she shouldn’t become the next King, not simply because she is a woman, but because she lacks significant power and reliable people to appoint.”
“Jimi and the others were loyal to the former king, and they’re also getting older; no one can be sure if they can really provide support to Samiyi.”
“The princess’s position is very difficult,” Zhuang Liu commented, “If it were someone else, they probably would have taken their money and moved abroad by now, instead of sticking around to sort out such a mess.”
“Samiyi is a very responsible person,” said Tan Rou with compassion, “After her brother fell ill, she has been handling everything. The first time I met her, she struck me as incredibly stunning—a beautiful and noble princess, truly graceful.”
But Zhuang Liu interjected, “Yet, grace cannot hide the dark circles under her eyes.”
Tan Rou explained, “That’s because she hasn’t been sleeping well for a long time. Plus, she was just poisoned yesterday and barely survived, only to dive right back into work. Even I couldn’t handle working several days in a row.”
“Now I understand why you want to stay here and help her,” Zhuang Liu mentioned, “Even knowing her path is fraught with hardships, she has not given up but chosen to bravely face the future.”
“Yes, I admire her courage,” Tan Rou said with a smile, “so I’ll do my utmost to help her. This is not only about helping her, but also about challenging my own limits.”
“That’s fine,” Zhuang Liu said, “You help her, and I’ll be by your side to assist you, hoping you both can achieve your desires.”
Tan Rou nodded, “Mm.” She checked the message on her phone and then said, “Samiyi has already arranged a new residence for us. Let’s go rest for a bit. We still have important matters to handle tonight.”
Zhuang Liu hadn’t planned on resting in the palace, or he would have brought his luggage, “It seems I need to go back and get my luggage.”
Tan Rou replied, “There’s no need to bring it over for now, because if we both stay inside the palace, we would need formalities to go out, which would waste time and also make it inconvenient for you to interact with people outside.”
Zhuang Liu thought for a moment and agreed, “Hmm, I understand. I’ll go back to the hotel tomorrow morning.”
Tan Rou took Zhuang Liu’s hand, “Let’s go, let’s go rest for now.”
Chapter 1597: 1596 one person keeps the appointment
When the time came for the Dawn Society meeting, Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu quietly left the palace through a minor door. They departed separately, with Tan Rou leaving ten minutes ahead. Ten minutes later, Zhuang Liu left the palace. Tan Rou walked ahead while Zhuang Liu followed at a discreet distance, guided by the locator’s signal.
Arriving at the location of the Dawn Society, Tan Rou entered first. Zhuang Liu kept watch near the villa, eyeing the eerie building and voiced his doubt, “Can people really live in this place?”
Just then, a black crow flew out of the house, cawing strangely before flying off into the distance.
Zhuang Liu looked around at the surroundings—everything was shrouded in darkness except for a dim streetlight in the far distance. There were no sounds or lights around, as if everyone had fallen asleep.
He glanced at his watch; it was already ten o’clock at night. This meant that their meeting was about to start, and he hoped Tan Rou would come out soon.
Led by Bata, Tan Rou came before Gand. Observing Gand on the steps, she felt something was amiss.
“Good evening, Mr. Gand,” Tan Rou began. “Thank you for waiting here for me. I think I must give you an answer tonight, otherwise, you might not be pleased.”
Gand stood with his back to the light, rendering his expression invisible to Tan Rou. But when he spoke, she realized something was wrong.
“Good evening, Miss Zhuang Rou. I am very happy to see you here again,” Gand said with a hoarse voice. “I’ve been worried that you might have returned to your country before this moment, but it seems my fears were unfounded.”
“Eh?” Tan Rou inquired with concern, “Mr. Gand, your throat doesn’t sound very well.”
“Oh, I’ve just caught a cold recently,” Gand replied offhandedly.
Tan Rou chuckled, “To catch a cold in such hot weather, Mr. Gand, you’re quite unfortunate.”
“It’s because of the heat that I drank a lot of ice water, and too much ice water gave me the cold,” Gand added.
Tan Rou knew he was lying, but she did not call out his deception. “Oh, please take good care of yourself. After all, you are the pillar of the entire Dawn Society. Without you, the Dawn Society would be in peril.”
“The Dawn Society belongs to everyone. I’m merely managing it on behalf of everyone,” Gand said. “If I fall ill, someone else will take over my duties.”
“That’s good to hear,” Tan Rou responded with a smile.
“Miss Zhuang Rou, regarding the proposal I mentioned last time, how have you considered it?” Gand asked again.
Tan Rou deliberately avoided the question, “Mr. Gand, the meeting time is almost upon us. Let’s start the meeting first, but rest assured, I will give you a satisfactory response after the meeting.”
Gand did not say more; he gestured with his hand, “Please, follow me.”
“Mr. Gand, don’t you want to ask why my friend didn’t come?” Tan Rou asked with a smile.
Gand paused in his movements, then answered with a smile, “Miss Zhuang Rou, I think my stance has been clear enough. Your friend’s talents are not very impressive, and her absence won’t cause us any loss. But it’s different with you—if you didn’t come, we would lose a great deal.”
Tan Rou laughed, “It’s fortunate that my friend isn’t here; otherwise, she would have been very upset to hear such words. After all, it’s not me, but she who wants to join the Dawn Society. She’s fallen ill today, which is why she couldn’t come.”
Gand, seemingly realizing his earlier comment was inappropriate, quickly added, “Oh, that’s truly regrettable. I actually had hoped Miss Sally would come.”
Tan Rou didn’t buy Gand’s excuses at all; he clearly didn’t care whether Samiyi would come, as he didn’t even bother to inquire about her. If Tan Rou hadn’t mentioned Samiyi, Gand probably would have forgotten that there was a member of the Dawn Society named Sally.
Once again, Tan Rou arrived at the underground meeting place. Before taking her seat, she noticed the pastries and coffee laid out on the table. These items had previously appeared in front of them from underneath the table during the last visit; this time, they had been prepared in advance.
Chapter 1598: 1597 Strange Food
Last time, they didn’t eat the food but couldn’t take it out because someone was specifically checking items at the door. To ensure their safety, Samiyi and Tan Rou threw away what they had taken.
Ina had said that the Dawn Society didn’t use to provide food, but the last two times, food had been arranged. Could it be that the Dawn Society had changed their meeting procedure?
“We have carefully prepared some snacks and coffee, Miss Zhuang Rou, if you’re hungry, you can have something to settle your stomach,” Gand said, “Of course, even if you’re not hungry, you can still have some. The food is quite delicious.”
“Thank you for your kindness,” Tan Rou tactfully declined Gand’s invitation, “but I’ve been taking a certain medicine lately and the doctor advised that I shouldn’t mix it with coffee or have sweets, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to enjoy what you’ve prepared. Besides, I had a full meal before coming, and after 10:00 PM, I generally don’t eat anything.”
Gand frowned and said, “Oh, that’s truly unfortunate. But since you’ve come, we can’t let you be underserved. I heard that in your country, people prefer drinking tea, so would you like us to prepare a cup for you?”
Tan Rou wasn’t accustomed to drinking tea either, but she found Gand’s insistence peculiar; she had already said she didn’t need anything, so why keep offering?
She certainly didn’t consider Gand to be kind-hearted. The fact that he was persistent in feeding her made her suspect that there might be something untoward about the food.
“Then please prepare a cup of plain boiled water for me,” Tan Rou said, “I’m not really fond of tea, and plain water is more suited to my current needs.”
Gand had no objections. He instructed someone nearby, “Please go and get Miss Zhuang Rou a cup of boiled water. It’s quite warm weather, remember to put some ice cubes in it.”
Tan Rou didn’t stop Gand’s actions; rather, she was curious to see what he planned to put in her water.
The meeting began, and it followed almost the same process as last time—everyone sat together eating at the outset.
Tan Rou lifted her cup and pretended to drink water, but in reality, she poured the water onto her clothes. She wore black that evening, and since the Dawn Society provided black garments as well, there wasn’t a noticeable trace even after spilling water on her clothing.
Acting required a full performance. Tan Rou brought the cup to her lips, and under Gand’s gaze, she pretended to take a sip of air, then mimicked the sound of swallowing.
Seeing Tan Rou ‘drink’ water pleased Gand greatly, and he smiled with satisfaction before turning his attention elsewhere.
After this act, Tan Rou didn’t touch the cup again, and Gand didn’t concern himself with it, probably assuming she had indeed drunk the water.
The meeting was very calm this time, no one went onstage to perform shooting, and not many people were present, so the duration was shorter than last time.
After the meeting ended, a girl called out to Tan Rou, offering her the snacks she hadn’t finished, “Friend, did you miss dinner? This cookie is what I saved; let me give it to you.”
Tan Rou was not at all hungry and wanted to say “I don’t want it,” but the girl didn’t allow her to speak.
“Don’t be polite, it’s the least I can do,” the girl insisted, pushing the cookie into Tan Rou’s hand, “Go ahead and eat, no one will mind.”
Tan Rou wondered, “Why are you offering me snacks?”
The kind girl said, “Your table was the only one without snacks, and you were the only foreigner in the room, so I think those people deliberately didn’t prepare them for you. Don’t be upset; my cookie is for you, so you won’t feel left out.”
Tan Rou wasn’t upset at all and had no desire to eat something that already looked suspicious. As she was about to decline, she felt a push from behind.
“Tan Rou, what are you doing blocking the doorway?” Ina burst in from behind and pushed them toward the exit, “Come on, let’s go out first.”
There was only one entrance and exit, and it was already very crowded with everyone queuing in and out. Ina’s push only added to the chaos.
In the midst of the confusion, Tan Rou felt her hand gripped tightly.
Chapter 1599: 1598 reply
“Don’t push!” shouted the person in charge of checking those entering and leaving, “People in the back, stop pushing, those in the front are about to fall down!”
“Oh, my God, who stepped on my dress?” a woman cried out.
“Don’t poke my belly, it’s just been filled with food, if you poke it again, I’m going to throw up!” a man yelled.
Ina dragged Tan Rou forward, seemingly indifferent to the chaos at the moment, as long as they could get out.
Tan Rou had experienced Ina’s strength and speed, so when Ina led her out through the crowd, Tan Rou was not at all surprised.
“Thank you, Ina,” Tan Rou breathed in the fresh air, “But you can’t do this next time, the exits here are quite small, and a stampede could injure a lot of people.”
Ina stuck out her tongue, mischievously saying, “I know, Sister Tan Rou, I’ll be careful next time.”
Just when Tan Rou thought her lesson had been effective, Ina added, “Next time, I’ll wait for you to get out and then start pushing.”
Tan Rou felt that Ina was being mischievous, so she patiently told Ina, “No, Ina, that’s the wrong behavior, you shouldn’t do that.”
Ina turned and ran off, “Ina doesn’t want to listen, Ina loves the excitement!”
Tan Rou couldn’t catch up with Ina, so she let her do as she wished.
Only after Ina had run off did Tan Rou remember she was still holding the food that the girl had stuffed into her palm.
She didn’t understand why the girl had given her the unfinished snack; she hadn’t looked hungry, nor did she care if she was treated differently.
However, the girl had indeed done a good deed, and Tan Rou really wanted to take the food out to study, but there would be checks at the door to see if anyone had taken anything with them. The chaos this time, however, gave Tan Rou the opportunity, and she successfully brought the food out.
Tan Rou broke the biscuit into pieces and stuffed them into her clothes, then found a place to wash her hands clean, and finally went to look for Gand.
Gand was reading in his study, with Bata also there. Bata usually bowed his head when opening the door, and Tan Rou had never seen his expression, but at this moment, seeing Bata’s face revealed sharp eyes.
Upon seeing Tan Rou enter, Bata immediately bowed his head again and said quietly, “Mr. Gand, I’ll take my leave now.”
Gand gestured dismissively, saying, “I have important matters to attend to, please escort our guest out, and don’t forget the summer gifts we’ve prepared.”
Bata nodded, “Alright, I know.”
As he passed by Tan Rou, she quickly scanned the area and then withdrew her gaze.
“Miss Zhuang Rou, are you ready to give me your answer now?” Gand clasped his hands and spoke very calmly.
“Yes,” Tan Rou sat down naturally in the chair across from him and said, “If I wasn’t ready to give you an answer, I wouldn’t have come today.”
“What’s your answer?” Gand asked.
Tan Rou cocked her head, smiled, and said, “Well, of course…” She raised her index finger and thumb, making a gun gesture, “Bang—”
Gand didn’t get her meaning, “Miss Zhuang Rou, are you trying to assassinate me?”
Certainly not, Tan Rou wasn’t that foolish. “Of course not, I mean the training can start now. Your time is precious, and so is mine, so let’s get right to the point.”
Gand stood up from his seat, “Good, I like your straightforwardness, please follow me.”
Tan Rou followed Gand to the backyard, behind was a large lawn, but she felt that this place might hide more than meets the eye, possibly even an underground facility.
Sure enough, when they reached their destination, the ground split open, and a flight of stairs appeared before them.
Tan Rou suddenly asked, “Mr. Gand, can I trust you?”
Gand answered, “You can trust me completely, as I am not one to deceive.”
Tan Rou entered the underground stairs before Gand, “Alright, then I’ll trust you, but if I find out you’re lying, our relationship will end up like that apple.”
Chapter 1600: 1599 Dawn Guard
This basement was even more spacious than the previous venue, but the walls here were not made of gems, instead, they were metallic. Tan Rou walked by the side and could even see her own face reflected on the walls.
She tapped the wall several times with her hand and discovered that it made hardly any sound, indicating that the wall was very thick.
“There’s another door,” Tan Rou spotted a door in front, “there aren’t any traps behind this, right? I won’t get shot into a sieve as soon as I enter, will I?”
Gand chuckled, “Miss Rou really has a sense of humor. Since I invited you here, why would I harm you? If you’re not reassured, let me walk in front of you.”
Saying so, Gand walked ahead of Tan Rou, pressing a few keys on the keypad beside the door. The thick, heavy door in front of them then opened.
When the front door opened, the door to the underground staircase behind them shut. Tan Rou looked upward from below and noticed there was also a thick metal plate.
“Miss Rou, do you still feel it’s dangerous?” Gand asked with a smile after stepping through the door.
“I still can’t let my guard down,” Tan Rou replied.
Gand didn’t mind her caution and continued to lead the way. “Since you don’t trust me, I’ll just have to keep going ahead.”
Gand went first, with Tan Rou following behind. As soon as they entered, the heavy metal door behind them closed, isolating other sounds. The only audible noise was from their footsteps on the floor.
Tan Rou thought to herself that the confidentiality in this place was impressive. With so many thick doors, even a tank cannon might not be able to blast through here.
Moreover, this place was definitely designed to block signals. She wondered if Zhuang Liu could still receive her signals.
“Miss Rou, what are you daydreaming about?” Gand approached the final door, “This is the last door. Why not guess what’s inside?”
As Tan Rou approached the door, she boldly guessed, “I guess it’s full of people, all armed with guns.”
The smile on Gand’s face brightened, “I love talking to clever people.” He pressed the keypad. “Come on, let me show you our finest warriors.”
Upon hearing “warriors,” Tan Rou felt a bit uneasy. Were there going to be a mob of purple-skinned zombies inside? After all, Hamillen also referred to those zombies as “warriors.”
Fortunately, everyone inside was normal, lacking the purple-skinned zombies of Tan Rou’s imagination.
Seeing a newcomer enter, the warriors training inside glanced over and then resumed their training.
Tan Rou was quite satisfied with their demeanor, but it seemed they did not need her training. Why did Gand insist on bringing her here?
“Mr. Gand, your warriors seem very capable. Do they really need my training?” Tan Rou asked.
“Yes, Miss Rou’s strength is formidable, and I could really use your help,” Gand replied with a smile.
Looking at the warriors, who were significantly taller and robust, Tan Rou suddenly had an ominous feeling.
“Mr. Gand, you’re not joking with me, are you?” Tan Rou asked calmly, “They look quite formidable.”
Gand clapped his hands, and the warriors stopped their training, then lined up neatly in front of him.
“They are the guardians of dawn, only they can help us achieve the dawn,” Gand suddenly made a cryptic remark.
“Oh, indeed,” Tan Rou agreed, “They are indeed very strong.”
Unexpectedly, Gand turned to her and asked, “Miss Rou, do you think they currently lack anything?”
Tan Rou responded seriously, “I have not seen them in real combat, so I can’t tell what they lack. If you really want to know, you can set me up to spar with someone.”
Gand seemed surprised by Tan Rou’s answer but he did not object. He randomly picked someone, “You, come out.”
The tallest man from the last row stepped forward, cracked his knuckles, and silently stood in front of Tan Rou.
Facing a man much taller and more muscular than herself, Tan Rou was indeed nervous. But nervous or not, she had to fight anyway.
“Let’s give it a try then,” Tan Rou said calmly.