If Xiao Zhenyun had heard this three days ago, he might have casually admitted, “Yeah, so what? Want to race?”
But today was just not the right day. His gaze turned cold as he abandoned the long-unused facade of gentleness, and he glanced at Ye Feiran with disdain before giving a faint smile. “Xiao Fei, are you confused? How could Xiao Chu possibly be with me?”
“Don’t pretend.” Ye Feiran’s voice suddenly turned serious. “Without sufficient certainty, I wouldn’t come here to confront you.”
Could he just have Hedgehog tie him up and throw him in the basement to team up with Si Chu, like fugitives on the run? Even though this would heavily impact the plot, well… since the plot details were already a mess, the main storyline was what mattered.
This was why Xiao Nian always demanded Xiao Zhenyun to try his best to stay within controllable limits and perfectly restore plot details. After all, unforeseen circumstances often lowered completion rates, leaving them to perfect other aspects to achieve balance.
The administrator, who had been sitting on the sofa, seemed to sense Xiao Zhenyun’s dangerous thoughts from afar and hurried over in slippers, looking ‘curiously’ around.
To Xiao Zhenyun, it was just about monitoring him to prevent worsening the already precarious plot. But in Ye Feiran’s eyes, it appeared as the standard image of an innocent child who would suffer discrimination in the future due to his criminal father’s imprisonment.
“… Maybe we can talk privately,” the kind-hearted little chick said, pursing his lips.
Having the nerve to show up alone and even daring to seek a private chat with him must mean there’s some backup waiting outside… Xiao Zhenyun thought for a moment, then turned to lead him towards the study. However, when he looked up, he noticed that Hedgehog had silently positioned himself by the French windows, carefully peering outside behind the curtains to remain concealed.
The black box brought by the sentinel was securely strapped to his back.
“What’s going on?” Xiao Zhenyun asked.
Following closely behind, Ye Feiran only just noticed the unfamiliar sentinel in the room, a snake coiling subtly around him, its head raised faintly as it darted out its tongue. Ye Feiran cautiously halted his steps, his vigilance deepening in his eyes.
During this time, Hedgehog’s gaze outside gradually turned suspicious, his brow furrowing. “There’s someone suspicious approaching…”
Could it be someone assisting Ye Feiran from outside? Why are they so careless, getting spotted right away? How can we trust them with the grand mission of protecting the world in the future?
“It seems like they’ve left…?” Hedgehog murmured to himself, “…something’s not right.”
Suddenly, he placed the black box on the floor, and with a swift motion resembling opening a music box, he revealed several metal parts inside, glistening smoothly under the lamplight. Clearly well-maintained and cherished, with his adept assembly skills, a fully black sniper rifle swiftly took shape. He bit a bullet as he assembled it, instructing, “Stay here and don’t go out. Lock the windows, draw the curtains. I’ll be right back… Oh, and remember to let me back in.”
Ye Feiran was startled. He had thought Xiao Zhenyun might be resorting to desperate measures to silence him, considering how their conversation had gone. But to his surprise, the unfamiliar sentinel’s gun wasn’t aimed at him; it seemed they were dealing with some other troublesome situation.
The sentinel, with the spiritual form of a viper, moved ghost-like, gun in hand, opening the window and slipping onto the balcony before disappearing in the blink of an eye.
“Xiao Fei, go help Nian Nian close the windows,” Xiao Zhenyun ordered, immediately locking the French windows on the balcony. Looking back, he saw Ye Feiran standing there in confusion, not understanding what was happening. He had obviously come here to confront him, but now he seemed unwittingly drawn into some bizarre trouble, even having to assist the culprit himself.
Xiao Zhenyun tried to calm Ye Feiran in a paternal and gentle tone. “Xiao Fei, the situation is urgent. Can we sort out any misunderstandings between us later?”
Yet Ye Feiran still hesitated, not moving. He had prepared himself mentally before coming here, knowing he would face a cunning opponent who had deceived everyone including him, even the sentinel permanently bonded with him.
Creating a tense and urgent atmosphere to prevent the victim from thinking clearly was a classic trick. Was this how Si Chu had been deceived—lulling prey with a charming appearance and friendly demeanor, then striking when they lost their rhythm? This despicable wolf in sheep’s clothing!
Wait, Ye Feiran recalled the surveillance footage: Si Chu’s partially unbuttoned shirt, loose pants, and chains around ankles—this was no sheep, but a disguised ruffian!
Xiao Zhenyun didn’t waste words on this cautious peacock; he could only rely on Xiao Nian to make several trips back and forth, handling the situation.
Soon, as the attic’s last window was closed by Xiao Nian, Ye Feiran squinted and saw Hedgehog hastily running outside with someone on his back, and another person stumbling alongside him.
He quickly ran downstairs and saw Xiao Zhenyun also spotting the figure through the doorbell monitor. After opening the outer gate for Hedgehog, Xiao Zhenyun led the person up from the underground garage.
Ye Feiran finally realized that Xiao Zhenyun was indeed in trouble. Hedgehog carried an unconscious person up from downstairs, and Ye Feiran hurriedly followed, gathering around the sofa.
When Hedgehog was fully under the bright light, Xiao Zhenyun could see blood all over him. He gently placed the person down, moving aside the tangled, dirty short hair to reveal the handsome face of Duan Fei, the missing person mentioned by Si Di.
The other person who ran back with Hedgehog was, of course, Xiao Jiali. Grayish-white eagle feathers sprouted behind his ears, and his pupils had turned into eagle-like eyes, slightly lighter and brighter than his usual amber eyes, resembling melted gold.
“Where’s your sensory suppressor?” Xiao Zhenyun asked sternly, glancing at Xiao Nian, who immediately turned to fetch a spare suppressor from Xiao Jiali’s room.
“No, don’t bother,” Xiao Jiali said, injured with blood on his forehead, half of his eye glued shut. Half of him was covered in Duan Fei’s blood, and half was his own. “Those experimental subjects will catch up soon. I’m sorry… I didn’t intend to lead them here, but the accident site was closest to here. I instinctively ran in this direction, and when I realized I should leave, this… gentleman chased after me.”
Hedgehog raised an eyebrow. “Blame me, huh?”
Xiao Jiali hurriedly apologized, and as a guide, Ye Feiran’s instincts for rescue and reassurance were deeply ingrained. He bent down beside Duan Fei, swiftly unbuttoning the collar to ensure clear breathing, watching him continuously cough up blood, disoriented. Ye Feiran simultaneously applied pressure to a massive abdominal laceration, urging, “He’s in critical condition. We need to get him to a hospital urgently.”
“Let’s move quickly then.” Xiao Zhenyun quickly sent a voice message to Si Di, updating him on the situation and directing others into action. “Take him to the black car in the garage. Hedgehog, you take him. Jiali, go with them. Xiao Fei, come with us in another vehicle.”
He then thought about the little doggy in the basement, but MP’s target was Xiao Jiali and him. Once they left, these experimental subjects might not thoroughly search the entire villa.
Hedgehog remained positioned by the window, back against the wall, gun in hand. Suddenly, he chuckled softly, raising his gun. “Sorry, looks like leaving won’t be so easy… Someone’s coming after us.”
His words hung in the air like a death sentence, and the room fell into an eerie silence.
Everyone tensed, eyes darting around the room. Faint footsteps echoed on the ground floor, along with the subtle sounds of someone scaling the walls outside the villa. Shadows flitted past the closed curtains, creating a scene straight out of a horror movie.
Xiao Nian came out from a room, holding a medical kit and spare suppressor. Despite not knowing exactly what was happening, he subconsciously tiptoed, cautiously closing the door to Xiao Jiali’s bedroom in the deathly silence.
On the other end, Si Di received the message and immediately replied: “Our team will arrive in ten minutes.”
Ten minutes seemed a bit too long, Xiao Zhenyun thought. If things didn’t go smoothly, those ten minutes might just be when they come to collect their bodies.
Blame it on the original text’s ‘Xiao Zhenyun’ for choosing such a remote, desolate place to hide his true identity, making even takeout deliveries take an hour and a half, with limited options available.
“Xiao Fei, if you have anyone outside assisting you, tell them to hurry up and help,” Xiao Zhenyun whispered.
“No, I… I came alone.” Ye Feiran, influenced by the tense atmosphere, sprouted blue-green crown feathers on his head and extended long peacock plumes from his waist. “I just have a tracking and automatic alert system… If I don’t leave your house within 24 hours, it will upload my movements and our conversations to all my pre-set accounts… including Brother Di and the Chairman’s terminals…”
“24 hours… By then, the grass on our graves will be two meters high,” Xiao Nian joked, still finding the time to make light of the situation.
There was no doubt that the special operatives currently surrounding the house were all S-class, and it wouldn’t be long before they used various methods to infiltrate the villa from all sides. So, regardless of the danger, they had to act. Standing here hesitating would only lead to disaster.
However, these S-class experimental sentinel operatives, whose minds were solely focused on killing, arrived even faster and more ferociously than Xiao Zhenyun had imagined. Upon noticing the vigilance of the villa’s owner, they abandoned their silent approach and, in an instant, a loud crash echoed as a footprint appeared on the front door.
Xiao Jiali only had time to wipe the blood from his face with Xiao Nian’s help. The moment he heard the sound, he positioned Xiao Nian behind him. “You all get in the car and leave. Mr. Viper, give me the gun. I’ll cover the rear.”
“Can you handle this job?” Hedgehog turned back with a provocative smile.
Just then, the metal door was forcefully kicked open, bullets raining into the room. Simultaneously, a barrage of bullets swept in through the glass outside. Hedgehog rolled to the floor, using a table as cover, with the unconscious Duan Fei shielded within his protection radius.
Xiao Nian, protected by Ye Feiran, hid in a corner, while Xiao Zhenyun was shielded by Xiao Jiali, who used the versatile wheelchair as a bullet barrier.
The first sentinel to enter immediately aimed at the two individuals partially obscured by the wheelchair, but Hedgehog was no pushover, quickly firing back. The sentinel was forced to retreat behind the door.
Xiao Zhenyun was lifted by Xiao Jiali and swiftly relocated. Thankfully, there was plenty of furniture nearby, and they successfully concealed themselves behind the sofa. Xiao Zhenyun listened to the constant gunfire around him and whispered, “Can you get me to my bedroom?”
Glancing up at the second floor, Xiao Jiali hoisted Xiao Zhenyun onto his back. With astonishing agility and adrenaline-fueled athleticism in the face of danger, Xiao Jiali jumped onto the railing, landing on the second-floor floor almost effortlessly.
Ye Feiran watched their backs in confusion until his attention was diverted by the handgun handed to him by Xiao Nian, an eight-year-old child exhibiting shooting skills that some adults lacked. Xiao Nian even found time to remind him, “Stay focused.”
On the second floor, Xiao Jiali swiftly reached the doorway of the target bedroom upon landing. They entered without turning on the lights, with Xiao Zhenyun guiding him to the bedside table to retrieve two handguns. They also found a large bag of ammunition and a mysterious remote control in a lower cabinet.
Xiao Jiali received a gun, thinking they were about to leave to continue the fight downstairs. However, Xiao Zhenyun directed him to the closet door, instructing him to open it and move aside a row of clothes blocking the view, revealing a door that Xiao Jiali had never seen before.
“What’s going on here…?”
Xiao Zhenyun naturally didn’t have time to answer Xiao Jiali’s confusion. He quickly recited a password for Xiao Jiali to enter.
The password-protected door opened, revealing Si Chu lying on the bed, who lifted his head in surprise, locking eyes with the astonished Xiao Jiali.
“Mr. Si Chu…?!” Xiao Jiali exclaimed in shock. “You’ve been missing for twenty days. We’ve been searching everywhere for you. How did you end up here?”
His voice was not loud, but there was an immediate crash from outside the bedroom door as the experimental subjects discovered them.
“We can catch up later.” Xiao Zhenyun, the mastermind, showed no sign of guilt or distraction. He remotely unlocked the magnetic wristband for Si Chu and tossed him a gun and bullets. “Xiao Chu, time to get to work.”
Si Chu took the gun but, like Ye Feiran, hesitated and didn’t act immediately, typical of someone who had been thoroughly deceived and was now suspicious. He wondered if this was a test to see if he had any ulterior motives.
It wasn’t until a sentinel with visibly deranged eyes and bloodshot pupils appeared behind them that Si Chu snapped out of his trance and swiftly aimed and fired.
The author has something to say:
Making the most of everything • Xiao Zhenyun
Little Dog: Xiao Zhenyun, stop squeezing every bit of usefulness out of me!!! This life is unbearable.