Ch. 1611: _-1620

Chapter 1611: 1610 I will avenge you

Tan Rou was indeed trapped inside the gate, but since it was an electronic gate, it was very easy to break it. Tan Rou was uncertain whether destroying the gate would lock it permanently or cause it to malfunction and open, so she had to take a gamble.

Luckily, Tan Rou won the bet. She used a gun to break the control lock of the electronic gate. However, the gate only opened slightly, so she had to pry open the rest of the large gate herself.

Just then, the Dawn Society guards inside also pursued her. They resumed battle mode and clashed with Tan Rou once again. This time Tan Rou couldn’t run anymore; she had to defeat the Dawn Society guards first before she could deal with the large gate.

The Dawn Society guards were very formidable. Although Tan Rou defeated them, she sustained serious injuries herself. Her back and arms were hit several times, and blood kept flowing out uncontrollably.

Fortunately, Tan Rou was a Court Physician. She knew how to stop the bleeding, which prevented her from bleeding out. The blood on her arm was from earlier wounds and hadn’t had time to clot yet.

“Gand, you wanted to capture me, right?” Tan Rou said, smiling. “I’m here now, make your move!”

“Tan Rou…” Zhuang Liu called out in a low voice, “don’t worry about me… go, just go!”

Gand quickly pulled a weapon from a Dawn Society guard and pressed it against Zhuang Liu’s neck. “Leave? None of you are going anywhere! You’ll all stay and be my test subjects!”

“What are you dreaming of?” Tan Rou calmly said, “If you want to make me your test subject, we’ll see if you have the ability to do so!”

She walked step by step toward Zhuang Liu. With each step, a faint bloody footprint appeared on the ground. Not all the blood was hers; some was from the Dawn Society guards. If it weren’t for her black clothes, the bloodstains on her would have been even more obvious.

“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll kill him!” Gand bellowed.

“No problem,” Tan Rou said with a smile. “Zhuang Liu, if he kills you, I’ll definitely avenge you. Then, I’ll destroy the entire Dawn Society, and finally, I’ll join you.”

Zhuang Liu also smiled faintly, “No need to join me. If I die, just live well.”

If Zhuang Liu died, Tan Rou wouldn’t live alone. She would kill everyone in the Dawn Society to avenge Zhuang Liu and then commit suicide.

“Let him go,” Tan Rou said very calmly. “Otherwise, I’ll kill every last one of you here.”

“Sir, sir, something terrible has happened. Tan Rou…” Bata, the old servant, ran in frantically. Upon seeing Tan Rou, he shut his mouth.

“Speak!” Gand barked.

Bata opened and closed his mouth, finally saying, “Tan Rou injured all the Dawn Society guards in Section B… and escaped…”

After hearing this, Gand exploded in anger. “Do you think I need you to tell me that? Can’t I see it with my own eyes?”

Indeed, anyone who wasn’t blind could see that Tan Rou was here, and she was armed with a gun.

“So, what should we do?” Bata asked. “Sir, should we let them leave?”

“Leave?” Gand said. “If we let them go, all our efforts will be wasted!”

“It’s not that serious,” Bata said. “Our main forces are elsewhere.”

“Shut up!” Gand scolded. “Don’t blabber everything!”

No wonder Tan Rou hadn’t seen many people here. It turned out that the main force was elsewhere. Although these Dawn Society guards were strong, they were few in number, probably only equal to two patrol squads. Relying on these few to overthrow the royal government was ridiculous.

There was another important point. Where were the zombies they saw that night? How many zombies were there?

“Let’s make a deal,” Tan Rou said. “You let us leave, and we will immediately leave the country. We guarantee we will not come back or get involved in your conflict with the royal family. How about that?”

“Do you think I’m a fool?” Gand sneered. “If you leave, you will definitely report everything here to Samiyi, and then we’ll be in danger.”

“You already have strong forces,” Tan Rou bluffed. “You don’t need to fear the royal soldiers. Even if they attack, you won’t lose.”

 

Chapter 1612: 1611 reinforcements

Tan Rou knew that Gand wouldn’t believe her words, but it didn’t matter; she just wanted to buy time. The more time she had, the more she could figure out how to escape.

Although she had spoken of avenging Zhuang Liu later, Tan Rou didn’t wish for Zhuang Liu to come to any harm. She hoped Zhuang Liu could make it back alive, as the Zhuang family parents had only this one child. If something happened to Zhuang Liu, it would devastate them.

“Miss Rou, do you think I would believe your words?” Gand said, “And now that you are all in my hands, I just need to give the order, and my Dawn guards will surround you. Why would I let you go and create trouble for myself?”

Tan Rou couldn’t show her nervousness; she calmly replied, “Mr. Gand, since I was able to get out of your basement, I can get out of here too. You know what I am capable of, don’t you? And you don’t really think I came here alone, do you?”

Gand began to hesitate. He wasn’t sure if Tan Rou had an ace up her sleeve, so he dared not act rashly.

“If you really had reinforcements arranged, you wouldn’t be waiting here.” Gand laughed, “I’m going to kill him now. Can you save him in time?”

With that, Gand aimed his sharp weapon at Zhuang Liu’s throat. With a slight force, the skin on Zhuang Liu’s neck was pierced.

Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu had never encountered such a situation before. If they were still in their own country, they would never be in such a predicament. Unfortunately, they were in a foreign land, bound by various constraints, with little external support to rely upon—they had to save themselves.

Zhuang Liu’s breathing slowed down; he moved his neck back slightly and said, “Go, don’t worry about me!”

“Ha!” Tan Rou scoffed lightly, “Go ahead, if he dies, I will scrape the flesh off your body slice by slice until you’re skinned alive.”

This was a particularly cruel form of torture. Although Gand had never witnessed it, just hearing Tan Rou describe it was terrifying. He had no doubt in the truth of her words since Tan Rou indeed had such capability.

“Fine, I’ll capture you first, then deal with him!” Gand changed his target. “You better not move, or I’ll stab him.”

Tan Rou stared intently at Gand, saying nothing.

Gand commanded, “Come on, grab that woman!”

These Dawn guards were a different set, unaware of Tan Rou’s strength, and seeing that she was injured, none of them were scared. If they had seen the current state of their comrades, they probably wouldn’t have dared to move.

Tan Rou stayed still, facing the attacking Dawn guards with a calm demeanor. Her gun remained aimed at Gand, ready to shoot him first at the last moment.

“Bang bang bang…” Continuous gunfire sounded outside.

Everyone was distracted by the gunfire, including Tan Rou, but she didn’t move; she couldn’t afford the distraction.

Gand’s composure wasn’t as solid as Tan Rou’s, and at the sound of gunfire, he instinctively looked towards the door. There was nothing visible at the entrance, unable to see who was shooting outside.

“What’s going on?” Gand ordered, “Bata, go check it out.”

As soon as the words fell, a squad of fully armed soldiers charged in, their weapons not pistols but the more formidable assault rifles. If they were hit by an assault rifle’s barrage, even if they didn’t die, they’d be severely injured.

“Nobody move, or I’ll start shooting!” the leader shouted.

Tan Rou recognized the man; he looked familiar—he was the one who had shot in the laboratory building. She and Xite had fought, and it was him who had later led people to help her escape.

These men must be the King’s guards. What were they doing here? Could it be that Samiyi had been protecting them all along?

It was the first time Gand had the experience of being at gunpoint by a group; he was afraid but couldn’t show it.

“None of you move, or I’ll kill him!” Gand stabbed another small hole in Zhuang Liu’s neck.

Poor Zhuang Liu, his neck was almost punctured, with three holes already made so far.

 

Chapter 1613: 1612 Rescue

“You are surrounded,” yelled the leader. “Don’t resist unnecessarily or harm the hostages, or I’ll start firing!”

Gand wasn’t willing to back down. “Go ahead and shoot; let’s see whose gun is faster.”

At that moment, the dawn guards discarded their sharp weapons, turned around, and drew handguns, aiming them at the King’s guards.

Because Gand had ordered them to capture prisoners alive, they hadn’t used guns until now, but with their lives on the line, if they didn’t use guns, they might lose their lives.

Both sides were armed, and both had quite a number of men. If a gunfight broke out here, the villa would likely be destroyed.

Tan Rou negotiated with Gand. “Let’s both compromise. Release my people, and we’ll leave.”

Gand refused. They were at a disadvantage now. The dawn guard had already suffered losses, and if they fought now, they would surely lose. But if they had hostages, the situation would be different; at least, the enemy wouldn’t shoot at them.

“No way,” Gand declared. “You leave our territory first, then we’ll release the hostages. If you don’t agree, we’ll kill him!”

Tan Rou wasn’t sure if she could order the guards, so she asked, “Who ordered you to come to our aid? The princess herself?”

At that moment, the commanding officer’s communicator went off; Samiyi’s voice came through: “Everyone, follow their orders and withdraw from their territory.”

The commanding officer and his men still held their guns, but they kept backing away, seemingly intent on actually withdrawing.

Seeing them retreat, Gand realized he was safe and said to Tan Rou, “Miss Rou, please also withdraw.”

Tan Rou agreed, “Alright, I can leave, but once we’ve withdrawn, you must release my people, or I’ll have Samiyi send troops to blow up your hideout!”

Gand found the phrase eerily familiar. He might have heard this foreign man say something similar when he entered. Could they be related? Why do they speak the same way?

Now wasn’t the time to ponder this. Gand needed to find a way to leave quickly. This base was no longer usable. He had to take what he could and destroy what he couldn’t. He had to buy time for their retreat, so this foreign man couldn’t be released yet.

“Miss Rou, I advise you to talk less,” Gand sneered. “Your friend is in my hands. If I accidentally pierce his throat, it wouldn’t be fun.”

Tan Rou loathed being threatened. This was her own mistake, but no matter, she would definitely find a way to recover.

Gand, she must deal with him!

If before this was all for the thrill, what she had to do next was for revenge.

She had never truly wanted to kill someone before, not even when Chen Yi and Tan Jing drugged her. But Gand must die. If Gand didn’t die, she, Tan Rou, would never return home!

“I understand,” Tan Rou slowly moved towards the door. “We will leave, but once we have left, you must release him!”

“Alright,” Gand checked the time and then said, “Withdraw to the yard outside, and in half an hour, we will release him.”

Tan Rou disagreed, “No, I have to keep an eye on him the whole time. If I can’t see him, I won’t leave.”

Gand ordered two people to tie up Zhuang Liu. “Okay, he will follow you, but must stay more than fifteen meters away from you. After half an hour, you can take him with you.”

Tan Rou guessed Gand was planning to escape. She didn’t want to let Gand get away easily, but she also couldn’t risk Zhuang Liu’s safety. Amid this dilemma, she heard Samiyi’s voice through the communicator.

“Rou, let them go,” said Samiyi. “I promise you, I’ll find them at any cost.”

Tan Rou hesitated before replying, “Alright, I’ll give you half an hour. If you don’t release him by then, don’t blame me for not being polite. We might as well die together!”

 

Chapter 1614: 1613 Explosion

Long ago, Gand had told the members of the Dawn Society in the villa that if they were ever exposed, they would need to pack up and evacuate immediately from the moment of their exposure.

So when the guard team burst in, those Dawn Society members hidden in the darkness began to pack their things.

Gand had already delayed them for a while, and with an additional half an hour, they could transfer all their important documents. Whatever could not be transferred would be blown up, as the Dawn Society was not short of money.

Gand was watching from upstairs, with the Dawn guard next to him holding a gun aimed at Zhuang Liu in the middle of the courtyard, who was tied up there. The moment anyone dared to approach, the guard upstairs would open fire.

Tan Rou stood fifteen meters away from Zhuang Liu, her gun also aimed at Gand upstairs, but she knew it was useless because she was too far, and her bullets couldn’t reach him.

Gand was staying there to buy some time, as the evacuation wasn’t complete yet; he had to wait until the Dawn Society’s important assets were transferred before he could leave with peace of mind.

“Sir, let’s leave now!” Bata urged again.

“No, I can leave in peace only after those things are transferred,” Gand stubbornly said.

Bata responded, “We have almost finished transferring the items, and those that are left behind can’t be taken with us, so we will detonate them after we evacuate.”

“Hmm,” Gand was pleased with their efficiency, “By the way, has Ina been found?”

“I have already sent someone to notify Ina, but there has been no response yet,” Bata said. “She said she was going out to shop this morning, and I have no idea where she has gone. But Ina is smart too, seeing so many armed people here, she definitely won’t come back.”

“If we can’t catch Tan Rou, Ina is one of our last resorts; we absolutely can’t afford to have anything happen to her,” Gand said angrily. “Damn it, I didn’t expect to be tricked by that foreign woman. If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t need to rush our evacuation now!”

Bata commented, “Sir, to speak frankly, this accident is your fault; you made a wrong judgment.”

Gand naturally knew it was his mistake, and he admitted it, “Yes, I know. I was not well prepared this time; I underestimated that woman’s capabilities. I won’t make the same mistake next time!”

The time was almost up, Gand left a few Dawn guards to keep aiming at Zhuang Liu, then he left with Bata.

As for the old servants in the house, he wasn’t concerned about their lives at all. They were just servants, not worth his effort to take them along.

With five minutes left to half an hour, Tan Rou kept checking her watch. She wanted to rush over to rescue Zhuang Liu now but was worried that the Dawn guards would open fire.

Ten minutes ago, Gand had disappeared from upstairs, presumably he had left.

Tan Rou watched Gand’s figure disappear, wishing she could just shoot him regardless, but knew it wasn’t practical, her pistol’s range wasn’t far enough to hit him.

But she kept her gun raised not because she liked to play with it, but to prevent any accidents, if the opposition shot, she could also shoot back. But if possible, she hoped they wouldn’t shoot.

The time came, the Dawn guards started evacuating, and Tan Rou quickly ran to Zhuang Liu, cutting the ropes on him with a knife.

“Zhuang Liu…” Tan Rou’s tears couldn’t help falling, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Zhuang Liu tried to smile, “Don’t… don’t cry, I’m alright.”

Tan Rou looked at Zhuang Liu’s sunburnt face with sorrow, “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

The guard team also rushed over, assisting Tan Rou to carry Zhuang Liu away.

But before they could evacuate, they felt the ground shake.

“Is it an earthquake?” a team member asked.

Tan Rou immediately realized it wasn’t an earthquake, “No, it’s an explosion, the ground underneath is hollow, evacuate quickly!”

The team members reacted very quickly, immediately running to the outside.

The villa began to collapse underground, and human screams could be heard from inside.

 

Chapter 1615: Tragic situation of 1614

“What’s going on?” The captain of the guard was the first to hear the noise. “Is anyone still inside without evacuating?”

Tan Rou said, “They are people from the Dawn Society.”

Since they were from the Dawn Society, the guards had no duty to rescue them, and besides, they were all in danger themselves, so how could they go in to rescue others?

Zhuang Liu knew who had been left behind, but at this moment he no longer had the strength to speak. When that needle exploded, a small amount of the medicine entered his body. He hadn’t expected such a small dose to be so potent, and he was already feeling dizzy and blurred vision.

If all the medicine had been injected into his body, he really didn’t want to imagine what would have become of him.

The ground kept shaking, and soon it began to collapse. The surrounding buildings were also affected; those of poor quality had walls cracking open in the explosion.

People still eating breakfast hurried out of their homes, thinking it was an earthquake, but once outside, they realized that this was far more serious than an earthquake.

A group of soldiers armed with submachine guns ran outside, with screams and explosions mixing together, like the end of the world.

“What’s happened?” Citizen A asked.

“Help, there’s a terrorist attack!” Citizen B shouted.

“Run!” Citizen C yelled. “There’s been an earthquake!”

The entire area was in utter chaos, with the sounds of explosions, cries for help, and the collapse of buildings and the ground; these noises were filling Tan Rou’s ears, causing her head to throb.

By the time they reached a safe area, the explosions had stopped, but cries for help could still be heard from inside.

The captain of the guard didn’t know what to do; his communicator had been damaged in the chaos, so he could no longer hear Samiyi’s orders.

“Miss Tan Rou, what should we do now?” the captain of the guard asked.

Tan Rou said, “Let’s go back and report the situation here to the princess. Although this place has been destroyed, I think there might still be some useful things left behind. We can let the professionals handle it later.”

Zhuang Liu, however, said, “Those who are alive can also be saved. They have followed Gand for many years and must know some of his secrets. Gand must have escaped by now, and we don’t know their new base yet, so perhaps those people might know something.”

The captain of the guard said, “Yes, I’ll send a few people to escort the two of you back first. The rest will stay to search for and rescue the surviving individuals.”

Tan Rou did not insist on staying. Her wounds needed to be treated as soon as possible, and Zhuang Liu’s condition was not good; she needed to get him treated quickly.

“Alright, be careful,” Tan Rou instructed. “Although the explosions have stopped, we can’t guarantee there won’t be more, so wait a bit before going over. And make sure to take protective measures during the search and rescue, to prevent exposure to poison gas and flames.”

The captain nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

A few team members escorted Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu away, while the remaining guards stayed behind with the captain to inspect the site and search for survivors.

When the houses collapsed, those who ran quickly had made it outside, but they still fell into pits created by the explosions. They weren’t dead, but they were seriously injured.

The captain of the guard said, “Groups of three, spread out and search for the living. These people are crucial witnesses; we can’t let them get away.”

The other members of the guard rapidly joined the search and rescue, with the captain standing atop the wreckage, directing their efforts.

Looking at the pits on the ground and the bodies emerging from the ruins made the captain feel extremely angry.

Before the mission, the princess had told him that the leader of the Dawn Society was very clever, but she hadn’t told him that the person could be so cruel. There were still so many people who hadn’t evacuated, how could he have ordered the destruction of this place?

Most of the people died in the explosion, some were blown to bits on the spot, and others were crushed to death by collapsing buildings. Those who barely survived weren’t much luckier; they either had arm or leg injuries, and even if they lived, they would be disabled for life.

“It’s too tragic!” the captain of the guard heard someone say.

“Did this family offend someone?” another asked.

“Let’s not get involved, to avoid getting ourselves implicated,” someone else said.

 

Chapter 1616: 1615 you are very brave

On the other side, Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu had returned to the royal palace. Samiyi and the doctor were waiting for them at the entrance. As soon as they arrived, the doctor took them to the treatment room.

Tan Rou’s body was covered in external injuries, and the smell of blood was so strong that even Samiyi couldn’t help but frown, but Tan Rou couldn’t care less about her own condition. What she needed to see now was Zhuang Liu safe and sound.

“Zhuang Liu was injected by that old bastard,” Tan Rou said angrily, “I don’t know what that old bastard injected into him, but we need to hurry and get his blood tested to see if we can find out what kind of medicine it is.”

Samiyi nodded and said, “Okay, I will also step up the research on the blood samples you brought back yesterday in the hope of developing an antidote as soon as possible.”

Tan Rou said, “Once Zhuang Liu’s vital signs stabilize, I will also join the research.”

Samiyi said loudly, “Rou, you need to treat your wounds first. Your clothes on the back are torn, and you have many wounds there.”

“It’s okay, they’re just external injuries,” Tan Rou said as she walked, “Those people wanted to capture me alive, they didn’t use lethal force.” She then pulled out a red and yellow object from her pocket, “This is a pastry I took from there; it should have poison in it. Send it for testing right away to quickly find out what poison it contains.”

“Okay, I understand.” Samiyi immediately made a phone call to have someone come and take the item.

Zhuang Liu’s consciousness was very blurry. He didn’t know whether it was the result of the medicine or the blow he had received, but right now he felt nauseous.

“Tan Rou, I feel sick to my stomach, and I feel like vomiting…” Zhuang Liu said weakly, “If I die…”

“Don’t you say that!” Tan Rou said very seriously, “You feel like vomiting because you were just punched and then exposed to the sun for so long. It definitely isn’t because the drug is taking effect.”

In truth, she also couldn’t be certain whether or not it was the drug taking effect, but under the current circumstances, she had no choice but to use false words to brainwash herself.

Zhuang Liu didn’t speak any further, “Mm, I’ll be fine.”

Tan Rou stopped Gand from giving Zhuang Liu an injection of the medicine, but still, a small amount of medicine entered Zhuang Liu’s body; perhaps only a drop, yet it indeed had some effect on him.

The medicine was incredibly potent; just a tiny amount made Zhuang Liu faint for several hours. When Zhuang Liu came to, the sun had already started to set.

Zhuang Liu felt thirsty. Even before he opened his eyes, he said, “Is there any water?”

“Mr. Zhuang Liu has woken up!” The maid said with great surprise, “Go and tell the princess right away.”

Unfortunately, he spoke in his own country’s language, which the maids didn’t understand, so naturally, they didn’t go to get him any water.

The next thing Zhuang Liu asked was about Tan Rou’s situation, “Where is Tan Rou?”

This time he spoke in the language of J Country, so the maids understood, “Are you asking about Miss Tan Rou’s condition? She is in the next treatment room, and the princess is also there. Miss Tan Rou has many wounds which need proper treatment, or else she will have scars.”

Zhuang Liu opened his eyes, “Thank you. Could you please get me a glass of water? I’m a bit thirsty.”

“Of course.” The maid went to pour him water.

Zhuang Liu struggled to sit up, “Can I go see Tan Rou?”

The maid pushed him back down to the bed, “Miss Tan Rou said you need to rest a bit more. If you wake up, we will notify her.”

Zhuang Liu said, “Don’t notify her, she’s receiving treatment right now. If she knows I’m awake, she’ll definitely come to see me.”

The maid uttered an “uh” and then said, “We have already gone to notify her.”

But only Samiyi came to see Zhuang Liu, “Mr. Zhuang Liu, how do you feel? Are you still feeling dizzy?”

Zhuang Liu replied, “I’m okay, just a bit tired, nothing else.”

“Then I’m relieved,” Samiyi sighed with relief, “If something happened to you, I wouldn’t be able to face Rou. You took risks with your lives to gather information for us, and yet I couldn’t ensure your safety.”

Zhuang Liu said, “We chose to go ourselves; we should take responsibility for all outcomes.”

“You are both very brave and impressive!” Tears almost came to Samiyi’s eyes, “Thank you for everything you have done for us!”

Chapter 1617: 1616 Anonymous Letter

“The brave one is her; I’m just the one holding her back,” Zhuang Liu said with deep guilt. “If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“It should be said that if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt either,” Tan Rou said as she entered from the doorway, her arm and body wrapped in gauze.

Zhuang Liu became agitated again. He suddenly sat up, wanting to go over to Tan Rou.

However, Samiyi stopped him and pushed him back down onto the bed, saying, “Mr. Zhuang, your condition is much more serious than Rou’s, so you should rest easy for now.”

Tan Rou also said, “Zhuang Liu, the toxins haven’t been cleared from your body yet. Right now, you need to lie down and try to minimize your blood circulation as much as possible.”

Zhuang Liu asked, “Have you identified the components of the toxin?”

Tan Rou answered, “It’s still being tested. The toxin in your body is different from that in the blood clots we brought back, and the concentration is very low. It’ll take some time to figure out what the components are.”

Zhuang Liu asked again, “Tan Rou, are your injuries serious?”

Tan Rou shook her head, “Not serious, all my wounds are superficial. They will heal quickly. Plus, I’ve used the medicine I brought with me. It won’t take more than a few days for me to fully recover.”

Zhuang Liu said with heartache, “I’m sorry, it’s my fault you got dragged into this. If you hadn’t come to save me, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

Tan Rou walked up to Zhuang Liu’s bed, took his hand, and whispered, “I should be thanking you for buying me time. If you hadn’t lured Gand away, I might not have had the chance to sabotage the electronic door.”

“Tan Rou, thank you for saving my life again,” Zhuang Liu said.

Tan Rou smiled faintly, “We’re family; there’s no need for thanks.”

It used to be Tan Rou who always thanked Zhuang Liu; now it was his turn to thank her.

As they exchanged their affectionate words, Samiyi blushed and said softly, “Then you two have a good talk, I’ll go tend to some official duties outside.”

Tan Rou, however, stopped her, “Samiyi, wait a second.”

Samiyi asked, “Is there something else you need me to do?”

Tan Rou shook her head, “No, there’s nothing I need to do at the moment, but I have a question for you. How did you know we were going to be in danger? Could it be that the guards were following us the whole time?”

“No,” Samiyi gave a negative answer. “I didn’t anticipate that you would be in danger. Instead, someone sent me an anonymous letter this morning, stating that you were in danger at the Dawn Society and needed rescue. The letter was printed and had neither a signature nor a recipient. It simply appeared out of nowhere on my desk.”

“Speaking of that, I have something to say too,” Zhuang Liu interjected. “Actually, last night Tan Rou and I didn’t bring that many weapons with us. I only took a couple of guns and some bullets. As for the explosives strapped to our waists, they fell from the sky.”

Tan Rou found the conversation increasingly absurd. An anonymous letter that appeared out of thin air, explosives that dropped from above—who could be helping them from behind?

“Could the letter have been sent by your friends?” Samiyi asked. “Perhaps they also provided the explosives.”

Zhuang Liu said, “Impossible. We don’t have many friends in this country, only the research staff from the research base, and they are all scientists, unskilled in spy craft.”

Samiyi spoke tactfully, “I’m talking about another group, the very capable ones.”

Tan Rou immediately understood who she was referring to and explained, “Samiyi, don’t worry. Those people won’t threaten you. They’re just here to ensure the researchers’ safety.”

Samiyi clarified, “I know they’re trustworthy, that’s why I wanted to ask if they were the ones who provided you with help.”

“No,” Zhuang Liu asserted. “I didn’t contact them last night. They’re quite spread out and far away, so it’s unlikely they would know where we were. They’re good at fighting, but sending letters to the palace is beyond them; they don’t have that capability.”

“Then who sent this letter?” Samiyi couldn’t understand. The sender wasn’t from the enemy’s side. If not an enemy, then it must be an ally. But just who was this ally?

 

 

Chapter 1618: Do you want to cooperate in 1617?

Tan Rou said, “Don’t waste time thinking about who sent the message. Instead, let’s focus on researching the antidote. We still have to solve the great secret of the flute and find the person who can play it. There’s a whole pile of things waiting to be done. We should not waste time anymore.”

Samiyi nodded, “Yes, I will increase manpower for these tasks and strive to develop the antidote as soon as possible.”

In a basement inside the royal city, where Gand, usually very calm, was now losing his temper. He yelled, “That despicable woman, I want to kill her! No, I want to capture her, turn her into the strongest warrior, and have her lead the charge!” Bata stood by, not saying a word.

“Mr. Gand, you seem a bit angry,” Faler said slowly as he approached, his tone leisurely as if there was not a rush in the world.

Gand, seeing Faler, couldn’t contain his anger, “It’s all your brilliant idea, why did you introduce that woman to us? If not for her, we wouldn’t have lost a base.”

Faler calmly replied, “Don’t push the blame onto me. The person I asked you to capture wasn’t that foreign woman. But you did have an unexpected gain; that woman is indeed formidable, isn’t she?”

“Yes,” Gand snapped back, “So formidable that she destroyed my entire base, all my hard work wasted—those were all money!”

Faler looked up at Gand, “Are you short of money?”

Gand pursed his lips, “Yes, I’m not short of money, but there’s no need to waste so much money!”

Faler chuckled softly, “Mr. Gand, if you want to achieve great things, you can’t mind these small losses.”

Gand slammed the table, “Easy for you to say. Do you know what we’ve lost? We left the machines for developing new drugs there, and if we want to research again, we’ll have to ask those ‘Wild Wolves’ for them again, who will only swindle us and aren’t truly interested in helping us.”

Faler said calmly, “Since those external Wild Wolves will swindle us, why not try cooperating with the local ‘dogs’?”

Gand didn’t understand what he meant, and Faler continued, “Your idea, Mr. Gand, is to overthrow the current royal family’s rule, to prevent them from having the king among themselves, so why not try becoming the king yourself?”

“I’m not interested in that position,” Gand didn’t want to be king; it was a sure way to a short life.

“You could promote a puppet king,” Faler suggested, “Then you can be the true king in the shadows, do whatever you please without anyone affecting you.”

“Oh? His Royal Highness, didn’t you say you weren’t interested in the royal family’s rule?” Gand said with a half-smile, “So why are you now getting involved in their struggle?”

Faler laughed, “I just loathe this country, loathe the rule of the royal family. As long as the royal family exists, I cannot sleep peacefully.”

Gand rejected Faler’s suggestion, “Sorry, I’m not interested in ruling this country either, nor do I want to be a king. I just want to lead my Dawn Society toward a bright future and not engage in such madness.”

Faler didn’t even want to hear Gand talk; he knew Gand too well, having been a spy leader for many years. What secrets were there in this country that he didn’t know? He had already thoroughly investigated Gand’s background.

“Mr. Gand, I genuinely want to offer advice. Since you don’t want to listen, there’s no need for me to continue,” Faler said, pulling out a stack of rolled-up papers from his sleeve. “Here are the nobility secrets that Samiyi has been wanting. You might find them helpful.”

Gand rudely accepted them, “Even if you give me these, I won’t act according to your suggestions.”

Faler said indifferently, “No worries, I’ve reached this age already. Even if I wanted to compete for something, I no longer have the capacity to.”

After speaking, Faler leisurely walked away.

When Gand was alone, he opened the documents. Inside were details about the nobility, all info tainting their reputations, each one enough to land those nobles in prison for more than three years.

“This really is a good thing,” Gand said with a smile.

 

Chapter 1619: 1618 I will help

Bata was still pondering the question from before, “Sir, we’ve already been exposed, and our strength has weakened somewhat. I think we can choose to cooperate with Faler.”

Gand didn’t think highly of Faler at all, it was just that the things he provided had a bit of use, “Bata, Faler is very old, and we at the Dawn Society must respect the elderly and care for the young. We cannot let an old man help us with our affairs. So, let Faler stay at the base and enjoy his retirement.”

Bata said, “I feel that Faler hasn’t finished speaking his piece. Faler has long left the palace, and he has virtually no contact with the royal family. Why would he still say he wants to cooperate with us?”

Gand said, “Although Faler has already left the royal family, do not forget, the blood of the royal family flows in his veins; he will always be one of the royals. He must have an informant within the palace. What we need to do now is to find out the identity of this informant from him, and then have the informant work for us.”

Bata still felt that they should be somewhat honest with Faler, for Faler was no simple man, “Sir, why don’t we just listen to Faler’s suggestion? I think…”

“Uncle Gand, Grandpa Bata!” Ina skipped in from outside, “I’m back!”

As soon as Ina arrived, Gand and Bata stopped their previous conversation, and they immediately turned into affectionate elders.

“Ina, what did you buy today?” Gand asked with a smile.

Ina took off the bag she had on her and started taking things out one by one, “I bought some yummy cake, and a pretty little butterfly lollipop.”

Gand asked, “Is that all you bought?”

“Yeah,” Ina said, tilting her head, “Does Uncle Gand need to buy anything? If you want to buy something, then Ina can go out and buy it for you right now.”

Gand gently shook his head, “No need, I don’t need to buy anything. It’s just that Ina, I feel like you’ve been liking going outside more and more lately, and once you go, you stay out all day. And you used to like going out at night, right? Why have you changed to going out during the day?”

Ina answered very candidly, “There are so many yummy things during the day, fun things, beautiful cotton candy, sweet cakes, and I can even go to the amusement park. Ina likes to go out during the day.”

Gand was somewhat dissatisfied with Ina’s answer, and he cautioned her, “There are many dangers during the day. You should not go out during the day anymore.”

Ina did not object, she nodded and said, “Okay, Ina will go out at night.” Then she raised her own question, “Uncle Gand, why do we have to live here? I want to live in our home. It’s not fun in here.”

At the mention of this, Gand became very angry, and his expression turned very serious, “Ina, our home has been destroyed, and we can no longer go back, we can only live in this place.”

Ina did not like living here, she said, “Uncle Gand, let’s go fix our home.”

Gand said, “It can’t be fixed, our home has been blown up by that bad person, and it’s all been blown to pieces, it can’t be put back together again.”

Ina stamped her foot angrily, “Who ruined my home? I will go and take revenge!”

Gand lied to her, “It was that Tan Rou. I invited her to join our Dawn Society, but not only was she unwilling to join, but she also blew up our entire home.”

Ina was still very angry, “Tan Rou, she ruined my home, I will never let her go!”

Gand smiled slightly and said, “My dear child, only you are the best. So, would you be willing to do a favor for your uncle?”

Ina agreed without hesitation, “Yes, whatever uncle says, I will help with!”

Gand stroked her head, “Good child, uncle likes sensible children the most.”

Ina showed a smile, “Ina is the most well-behaved child.”

Gand handed the task to Ina, “Now I need you to keep an eye on Tan Rou, and then take the opportunity to put this thing inside her food, and watch her eat it. Can you do that?”

Ina took the medicinal pill from Gand’s hand, “Uncle Gand, rest assured, Ina will definitely complete the mission. It’s just that I don’t know where Tan Rou is, can you tell me?”

“Tan Rou lives inside the palace,” Gand said, “Ina needs to infiltrate the palace and keep an eye on her.”

 

Chapter 1620: The once Ina of 1619

“Sure.” Ina agreed, “Wherever Uncle Gand sends Ina, that’s where Ina will go.”

Gand asked her, “The palace is a very dangerous place. Aren’t you afraid, Ina?”

Ina replied, “I’m not afraid. As long as it’s a mission arranged by Uncle Gand, Ina will complete it. Ina isn’t afraid of anything.”

Gand chuckled, “Good. Rest a little, and then go to the palace to carry out your mission.”

After Ina had left, Bata spoke up again, “Sir, Ina is still a child. Isn’t such a task too dangerous for her?”

Gand glanced at him, his tone utterly merciless, “Would you rather take her place?”

Bata hesitated before replying, “My health has deteriorated greatly; I couldn’t possibly complete the tasks you assign.”

“Then talk less,” Gand commanded. “Without having captured Tan Rou, Ina is the best weapon I have at my disposal. The Dawn Society is at a critical stage; she must play her part to clear obstacles for us. Why else would I have brought her back from that place?”

“Yes,” Bata nodded. “As always, you’ve thought it through more thoroughly, sir.”

Gand had no time for further idleness, “Go hurry Ina along. We don’t have much time. We must capture that woman as soon as possible.”

Bata could only do as Gand ordered. As he went to look for Ina, he suddenly remembered how they came upon her, though perhaps Ina herself had forgotten her origins. Bata remembered them very clearly.

Years ago, he and Gand had encountered the girl in a border town. Lively and adorable, she would wear new clothes every day and bring food to the poor. Strong, she’d carry heaps of goods to give away, which she had bought with her own money.

The girl caught their attention, and the more they interacted with her, the more they noticed her exceptional strength and her immunity to sickness. No epidemic could touch her.

Gand found the girl to be extraordinary and took an interest in her. They often visited her family, bringing delicious food. She was so grateful she would sing to thank them.

Her voice was like that of a nightingale, melodious and healing. Everyone there loved to hear her sing, as if her voice could cure all ailments.

But since that incident, Ina had never sung again.

Lost in his thoughts, Bata arrived at the door of the room they had arranged for Ina. He hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door.

Ina came to the door, bouncing and jumping. Seeing Bata, she beamed a radiant smile, “Grandpa Bata, what’s up?”

“Nothing,” Bata replied. “I just worried you might feel uncomfortable here and wanted to keep you company for a chat.”

“That’s fine.” Ina opened the door wider. “Come in and take a seat, Grandpa Bata.”

Bata was very fond of Ina, the youngest member of the Dawn Society, despite the many years she had been with them.

“Do you like this new place, Ina?” Bata asked.

Ina answered honestly, “I don’t like it here. This place is underground. I don’t like living underground; I like to live where I can see the sun.”

Recalling the past, Bata said, “Right, when we saw you, you were watching the sun. Your little face was all red from the sun, yet you still didn’t want to go home.”

Ina asked innocently, “Grandpa Bata, are you talking about me? But I don’t remember any of that.”

Bata’s expression darkened, and he said gravely, “If you don’t remember, then let it be. Those memories aren’t good ones, anyway. It’s right that you’ve forgotten them.”

Ina didn’t doubt Bata’s words at all and nodded solemnly, “Yes, I belong to the Dawn Society; that’s my real home. My past memories are bad, the past me was bad too. Only the current me is the real me, and I will definitely help Uncle Gand.”

Bata replied with a touch of sadness, “You’re such a good child!”