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"Yes, it's me."
This time, Xu Nuan answered without any hesitation, her gaze clear and calm. She added lightly, "Xu Hang told me. He was the first to wake up because he regained consciousness after being splashed with blood."
Zhang Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly, as if assessing the truth of her statement.
Xu Nuan didn't give him time to think and posed her own question. "What is your identity in the outside world?"
Sure enough, Zhang Xiao's attention was drawn away by her words, and he chuckled softly. "What, are you interested in me?"
Xu Nuan remained expressionless. "If that counts as a question, then I can ask another one. But you have to answer my previous question first."
Zhang Xiao laughed a few more times before responding. "I am a manager at a company under Feng Tong Group, eager to get into Fengtong Technology. That place holds the core lifeline of the group. That's why I want to befriend Yaojie; after all, it's impressive for an outsider like him to become a key member of Fengtong Technology. Most of the core organization consists of members from the Rao family."
Xu Nuan was somewhat dissatisfied with this answer but chose to respond lightly to avoid further complications. "Okay, I understand."
Zhang Xiao immediately got to the point. "When you were living with Yaojie, did he ever bring back some models? How much information do you remember about those models?"
Xu Nuan felt a chill run down her spine, but she decided to feign acceptance and ramble on instead.
"What model? When I lived with him, he liked to bring things home, but they were always packed away in boxes, and he would study them alone in his study. I'm studying human resources, so I wasn't really interested in his architectural stuff and didn't ask much."
Zhang Xiao's expression grew serious, but he didn't explode. He loosened his grip on Xu Nuan's hand.
Xu Nuan realized that her strategy of being increasingly candid was working to confuse him, so she asked, "How did you get your hands on that thing? Who else is supporting you?"
"That's two questions," Zhang Xiao replied, surprisingly following Xu Nuan's lead.
"Of course, I acquired it through some illegal means. As the saying goes, money can make the devil push the millstone. Although I'm just a manager, it doesn't stop me from having money. Wealthy people can be capricious; I enjoy challenging these things."
Knowing that Zhang Xiao's words were half-truths, Xu Nuan steeled herself to listen as he edged closer to the core of the matter.
"You didn't see that model. So, you must have heard him talking on the phone about it. Did you catch any phrases or terms that you didn't understand?"
Xu Nuan gritted her teeth, her pupils momentarily constricting before she quickly masked her unease. Under Zhang Xiao's cold gaze, she slowly uttered four words.
"Forest of Hatred."
This was already a vague term she had crafted to avoid revealing any core information while still being somewhat relevant.
However, she noticed that after hearing those words, Zhang Xiao fell into deep thought—not angry, not confused, and not excited.
Contemplation grew more terrifying.
Especially from Xu Nuan's perspective, she could see the sunlight casting a gentle shadow on Zhang Xiao's long eyelashes, illuminating the cold, hard angles of his face that seemed unwilling to merge with the light.
"What a vague hint," Zhang Xiao muttered to himself while rubbing his chin with one hand, the other still resting on Xu Nuan's neck as he continued his monologue.
"It really needs a thorough investigation. If only there were more hints... Unfortunately, time is running out."
As Xu Nuan listened to Zhang Xiao repeatedly emphasize words like "time" and "hints," her suspicions deepened. She was contemplating how to use this to question Zhang Xiao and uncover his intentions when he suddenly turned his head sharply in another direction.
"Tsk, tsk, who’s reckless enough to come over here?"
Xu Nuan widened her eyes slightly, but she couldn't move yet, unable to turn her head to see who was approaching. She hoped for someone to rescue her but dreaded the thought of her companions facing off against the deadly Zhang Xiao.
To her surprise, Zhang Xiao stood up first, displaying a hint of impatience as if he intended to leave.
Xu Nuan blinked, caught off guard by this sudden change, and then saw Zhang Xiao crouch down, leaning close to whisper in her ear.
"By the way, I haven't told you the good news. Yaojie still likes you. Although he left you, there’s a reason for it. So, how will you choose between these two men?"
"What do you mean?"
Xu Nuan strained to raise her voice just as Zhang Xiao's expression twisted into something sinister. He pulled out a short knife and plunged it violently into her abdomen. Though she felt weak, the pain surged through her, heightening her senses as she watched blood begin to flow out.
"Here’s a short knife for you, as a token for our next meeting."
In her dazed state, with blurred vision, she only heard this sentence and saw the figure turning away without a hint of reluctance.
After a while, Xu Nuan finally heard a voice coming from one direction; it was the man she owed the most.
"Nuan!"
Ah, he was clearly a calm, gentle, and capable person. Why did he always show such an expression in front of her?
Such a look that made her feel heartbroken and guilty?
As the voice reached her, he almost lunged in front of her. She could feel him pressing his hand against his abdomen, and although that expression flashed by quickly, she couldn’t see Gu Ze rummaging through the medicine.
She didn’t know how much blood she had lost or what would happen when she encountered Zhang Xiao in the future.
But at this moment, she felt truly at ease.
This feeling was different from the joy of knowing that Qin Yaojie still liked her.
She realized she was a bad woman.
At this moment, the saline solution in her eyes seemed to have received some command, rushing out uncontrollably.
"Does it hurt? I'll bandage it up right away."
When Xu Nuan heard those words, she felt the knife being pulled out, followed immediately by the sensation of blood flowing.
"Damn it!"
She heard Gu Ze's low curse, but for some reason, she felt a sense of joy.
"Zhang Xiao is gone; he won't be bothering us for a while."
Sending that dangerous guy away made her truly happy.
"Was it that bastard who did this?" Gu Ze's curses grew louder, accompanied by a burning anger.
"Which direction did he go? We might as well deal with him here; keeping such a menace around is useless."
Xu Nuan chuckled lightly a few times, even though she lacked the strength to lift her head and could only see the clear blue sky above.
"Even in a game, you can't break the law."
"And besides, he's an armed dangerous individual. It's better to avoid him; it's not worth it to miss out on the game because of someone like him."
"Armed?" Gu Ze paused in his movements for a moment.
"So you were threatened by him, which is why you're defending him?"
Xu Nuan was stunned for a few seconds before replying, "The threat is real, but when have I ever defended him? If I had the ability, I'd want to hit him back hard."
"The force of action is mutual, or I will hit back."
Gu Ze calmly continued the conversation.
"What did you inject me with? I can't move at all."
"Muscle Relaxant. That guy," Xu Nuan finally expressed her anger after feeling relieved, "doesn't he know the side effects of this drug on the human body? I'll find a chance to retaliate."
"Don't dirty your hands; I'll take care of it."
Gu Ze replied with his usual calmness.
Xu Nuan was left speechless, unsure of what to say. She could only wait for Gu Ze to bandage her up and then wait for the effects of the relaxant to wear off.
However, when Gu Ze finished bandaging and leaned over to look at her, Xu Nuan noticed a flush on his face.
A flush?
Xu Nuan silently recalled the spot where Zhang Xiao had stabbed her; it seemed to be a little higher up. And here she was, letting Gu Ze lift her shirt to bandage her without any resistance. No wonder she felt a chill earlier; she thought it was just an illusion from blood loss.
No, she realized that even if she wanted to resist, she didn't have the strength to do so. Moreover, judging by the force with which Zhang Xiao had stabbed her, if the bleeding wasn't stopped in time, she could have said goodbye right there.
Looking at the smiling face above her, Xu Nuan thought for a moment and then said, "I forgot you were a man."
Of course, there were times when she would forget that she was a woman. Believe her, when a person's mind goes blank, no one can remember who they are or what their identity is.
Gu Ze's smile instantly froze, and then he gritted his teeth and said, "You will eventually know that I am a man."
Xu Nuan, who could only lie there and not move, became interested in teasing him. "No, I can only know you are a man when your wife is giving birth, not you."
Gu Ze was taken aback, and then his gaze became incredibly profound.
Xu Nuan felt inexplicably that looking at Gu Ze against the light was much more pleasant than looking at Zhang Xiao. The former was a companion who would save her, while the latter only knew how to torment her to obtain the information he wanted.
With such a comparison, her earlier words seemed a bit lacking in substance.
"Ahem," Xu Nuan cleared her throat a few times to divert the topic before she could say something even sharper.
"What about Xu Hang and the others? They aren't still trapped in the fog, are they?"
Gu Ze's gaze remained unchanged but followed Xu Nuan's words. "Hang has already regained consciousness and is looking for the other two."
"That's good." Xu Nuan let out a slight sigh of relief, thinking that since Zhang Xiao always seemed pressed for time, he would surely head straight for the Supply Station and wouldn't have the leisure to harm the others.
After a moment of silence, Xu Nuan asked again, "Gu Ze, did you know Zhang Xiao before?"
Gu Ze did not hesitate at all. "No, I don't know him. Well, I've never seen him. My memory is quite good."
Xu Nuan had no reason to doubt this man who always ranked in the top three.
"Could it be that he knows you unilaterally? Is he afraid of you?"
Xu Nuan pondered her guess and unconsciously voiced it.
"I don't think he's afraid of me. Doesn't he treat everyone the same way? Of course, he might act differently towards you, which is why you always get tricked by the ambiguous information he provides."
"Hey, if it's ambiguous, then it doesn't count as being tricked."
After Xu Nuan reluctantly argued that point, she continued, "He treats everyone the same to hide something from me. But seeing how he just avoided your gaze, it seems like you are the key to that matter."
"What matter?"
Gu Ze naturally asked.
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