Kang Xin took a deep breath—then suddenly leapt over the barricade.
Her pistol fired with pinpoint accuracy, the bullet striking the attacker’s hand. A pained scream echoed through the entire building.
Before he could recover, Kang Xin had already closed the distance, swiftly disarming him of all his weapons.
She pinned him down with her knee jammed firmly against his back, the muzzle of her pistol pressed tightly to his head.
“Now, I’ll ask a question—you answer it. One for one.”
The man struggled violently, but his eyes flicked toward a specific corner of the room.
From that corner, a new figure suddenly emerged.
The figure raised a pistol—its aim locked on Kang Xin. But she didn’t notice, exhausted as she was, her guard had begun to slip.
Just as the attacker was about to pull the trigger, a gunshot rang out—from behind him.
The man stared in disbelief at the bloody hole blooming on his chest. He collapsed in a pool of blood.
Behind him, Ye QiuXue sat collapsed on the floor, visibly shaken by the gun’s recoil.
Her hands trembled, but her eyes were resolute.
She had known this mission could be dangerous—but she’d never imagined it would come this close.
If she’d hesitated even a second longer, Kang Xin might’ve died because of her.
The thought alone made her lower her gun as her strength drained away. She couldn’t even stand.
Meanwhile, Kang Xin, having gotten nothing useful from the man she interrogated, knocked him out cold with the butt of her gun.
Then she rushed over to Ye QiuXue to check her condition.
“You okay?”
“I… I’m fine. Just… exhausted. My body won’t listen.”
At her words, Kang Xin looked back at the corpse.
She had nearly died at that man’s hands. If Ye QiuXue hadn’t pulled the trigger in time, she wouldn’t be standing here now.
Realizing this, Kang Xin did something rare—she reached out and clasped Ye QiuXue’s trembling hand, her tone softening.
“Ye QiuXue… thank you. If you hadn’t fired, I’d be dead right now.”
She could still feel Ye QiuXue trembling.
Kang Xin tightened her grip, trying to pass some strength to the other girl.
“Don’t blame yourself. In that moment, you did nothing wrong. If he hadn’t died, it would’ve been you—or me.”
Ye QiuXue’s trembling slowly began to subside.
She nodded, then leaned on Kang Xin to push herself up.
The two stood shoulder to shoulder, just about to discuss how they might extract more information from the captives—
—when a voice suddenly spoke from behind.
“So, you’re Kang Xin and Ye QiuXue.”
The unexpected voice sent a chill down both their spines. Even Kang Xin had failed to notice his presence.
They turned around instinctively—only to see a sharply dressed man standing calmly behind them.
His hands were in his pockets, and he didn’t seem interested in fighting. What was stranger was that he didn’t appear the slightest bit surprised by the bodies on the ground.
“Subjects No. 37 and 69… failures, as expected. Seems the boss underestimated you.”
He muttered almost to himself.
Seeing the girls’ confused gazes, the man smiled again.
“Ah, where are my manners? I’m Zero—under Shi Zhong’s command.”
The moment Kang Xin heard the name Shi Zhong, she reached for her gun—but Zero was faster, already aiming his weapon at them.
“Relax. I know you probably don’t like that name, but maybe another one will sound more familiar…”
“Han ShuYi. You know that name, don’t you?”
“Han… Han ShuYi?!” Ye QiuXue’s wide eyes were filled with confusion.
She remembered clearly—Han ShuYi had died a long time ago.
It was during the operation to save Han YunXi.
But the man before them… didn’t look like he was joking.
“Can we talk properly now? When I met with HuMing, things weren’t even this tense.”
“You’ve seen HuMing?!”
Kang Xin caught on immediately. Maybe this man knew where Hu Ming was!
“Of course I have. And I know the reason you didn’t kill that guy earlier was because you wanted to ask about HuMing’s whereabouts.”
Zero lowered his gun and tossed a USB drive to them.
“Take this to the Gu family. They’ll know what to do.”
“And you? What are you trying to do?” Ye QiuXue kept her eyes fixed on him, worried he’d vanish right under her nose.
“Me? Like I said… I’m Han ShuYi. And right now—I’m going to save my sister.”
Somehow, smoke had filled the air, though neither girl had noticed it until now.
Zero’s figure gradually faded into the mist—disappearing from their sight.
The two girls exchanged a glance—and reached the same decision without a word.
…
Elsewhere, Xia GaoWu was holed up with them in an abandoned factory.
It had been repurposed over the years and was no longer the ruin it once was.
He stared grimly at the screens displaying the others’ locations.
Xia XiaoXi and Han YunXi exchanged a glance as well, both of their expressions heavy.
They’d already heard about Xia GaoWu’s past—and HuMing’s plan—on their way here.
Everything had been orchestrated for this moment.
It was thanks to that planning that they’d managed to deceive so many. But it also explained why Xia XiaoXi had spent so many years living in pain.
And now that she saw her father still alive, the tears came without warning.
“Dad… I thought you were dead.”
She threw herself into his arms, her emotions finally bursting forth.
Xia GaoWu held her tightly, his heart aching.
Seeing how brave his daughter had become—how she now stood tall in the face of danger—he couldn’t help but reflect on how much time had changed her.
She was no longer that little girl who cried at every problem.
“It’s okay now. Once we get through this, we can go home.”
“Yeah… We’ll go home—together with brother!”
“Your brother’s fine. He’s already gone to the Gu family. They’ll take care of him.”
“So what now?”
“There are still some loose ends out there. I’m trying to figure out how to deal with them.”
Xia GaoWu glanced at the two girls beside him, momentarily at a loss.
Their pursuers were still out there. If they made a move now, their location would be exposed instantly.
And for now, all nearby communications were jammed. All they could do… was wait.
Han YunXi looked toward the monitor, where a camera had picked up several approaching figures.
They were armed—clearly not friendly.
One of them even seemed to notice the camera, staring straight at it before turning to speak to his companions.
“Uncle… I think they’ve found us!”
Xia GaoWu’s brows furrowed. He pulled a handgun from a drawer and turned to the girls.
“There’s a hidden room in the back. Go there and lock the door—I’ll handle the ones outside.”