Chapter 59: He Is Your Only Blood Relative
His words caused the word “rescue” to die in Yan Ci’s throat.
Before the two of them could reach a conclusion, Xie Qiang walked over to them, carrying lunch for the three of them.
After sitting down, she asked casually, “What are you two chatting about? You never used to have anything to talk about, but now you’re sitting together having a chat?”
Bai Zhi immediately flashed a smile. “Nothing much. We were just saying how hard you’ve been working.”
He glanced at Yan Ci, who immediately took the cue.
“Right. Running a small dessert shop like this and doing everything yourself is far too exhausting. I mentioned buying you a robot last time; let’s do it. We’ll start by getting one to handle the register.”
Xie Qiang looked around the shop and nodded. “That works. Business is stable now, so I can buy one myself. But we can talk about that later. I want to talk to you two about something else. There’s a place I feel I absolutely have to go.”
Although Si Ye had withdrawn his men, he had strongly requested that, for her own safety, Xie Qiang avoid going anywhere other than her home and the dessert shop.
Xie Qiang had agreed. Since she didn’t have anywhere else to go anyway, she had compromised on that small request.
A fixed route allowed Si Ye to maximize the efficiency of his protection. Although his people still followed her, they no longer hovered directly in front of her. It was a mutual concession.
But today, Xie Qiang’s heart began to race inexplicably. It felt like a nerve was pulling her in a specific direction.
And that direction seemed to be to the west of the shop.
Bai Zhi and Yan Ci exchanged a look. A thought simultaneously popped into their heads: could it be that Xie Qiang had some sort of guidance toward her blood relatives?
Yan Ci cleared his throat and asked, “What makes you want to go out?”
Xie Qiang was confused. If they asked her why she wanted to go, she couldn’t actually say. There was just a pull in her heart.
” I just feel like I should go to the far west of the Empire. What’s over there?”
Bai Zhi’s pupils constricted. Her brother was in the far west—the slums of the Empire. Ah Tao, whom she had treated before, lived there as well.
“Tell me, what is your subconscious telling you to do?” Bai Zhi lowered his voice, using a magnetic tone infused with a hint of hypnotic guidance.
He wasn’t sure if this method would help Xie Qiang say what she couldn’t put into words herself, but it was worth a try.
Sure enough, Xie Qiang’s eyes grew a bit vacant, and her voice lost some of its usual emotion.
“Over there… there is someone… with the same blood as mine?”
The moment she said it, Xie Qiang snapped back to her senses.
“Someone? There’s someone with the same blood as mine drawing me there?”
She immediately lowered her head in thought, murmuring, “Could my mother be there? No, the experimental records clearly stated she was ‘disposed of.’ It couldn’t be her. Then… is it a sibling?”
She looked up at Bai Zhi. “Tell me, is it possible I have living siblings? Humans, not failed experiments.”
Bai Zhi nodded. “It’s possible. I was actually just about to discuss this with Yan Ci. You do indeed have a relative—a younger brother. We don’t know his exact location yet, but Lotia wants to kidnap him to threaten you.”
“Kidnap him to threaten me? I didn’t even know I had a brother. How can he threaten me with someone I don’t know?… Wait, that means he’s in danger right now? I have to go save him!”
Xie Qiang frowned. She had suspected there was a connection, but she hadn’t expected it to be a blood brother.
“Wait, why would I definitely be threatened? I don’t even know him. We have no emotional foundation. How can Lotia be so sure I’d be influenced?”
She pursed her lips and leaned back against her chair.
Even though she claimed there was no emotional bond, her heart was thumping painfully. It felt as though if she didn’t go, her heart would give her a serious shock.
Yan Ci took a sip of his drink and said nonchalantly, “He’s likely your only living blood relative. Can you really be heartless enough not to save him?”
See? Yan Ci knew Xie Qiang well.
Normally, Xie Qiang was tough on the outside but soft on the inside. It had been the same when they went to Lotia’s research facility; she claimed she wasn’t looking for info on her mother, but she had been more proactive than anyone when the files appeared.
Sure enough, Xie Qiang lowered her head and let out a dejected sigh.
Then she looked up at them. “So, what’s the plan? Are you helping or not? Even if you don’t, I’m going there myself.”
The moment she stepped out of the dessert shop, guards would follow her. Trying to lose them without help would take a lot of effort.
Seeing how determined she was, Yan Ci could only nod in agreement. Fortunately, he had intended to help from the start.
And so, that afternoon, Xie Qiang disguised herself and left the shop with a group of customers.
With Yan Ci and Bai Zhi still in the shop, the guards assumed Xie Qiang was still inside and didn’t suspect anything.
Five minutes later, Yan Ci left. He reached the prearranged meeting spot with Xie Qiang and headed west.
The last to leave was Bai Zhi. He waited until all the customers were gone, tidied up the shop as Xie Qiang had instructed, and locked the door alone.
This finally drew the attention of the guards.
They saw the dessert shop close and noticed only Bai Zhi was there. They immediately surrounded him.
“Mr. Bai, where is Miss Xie Qiang?”
Bai Zhi didn’t intend to hide it. Looking at the time, Xie Qiang and Yan Ci had already been gone for half an hour. He said directly, “She went to the Imperial slums. If you want to report to Si Ye, go ahead. I’ll provide him with her coordinates.”
This was part of their plan.
They didn’t know the full extent of the situation in the slums, but combat was almost certain. They needed all four of them there if possible.
Hearing this, the guards immediately relayed the message to Si Ye and allowed Bai Zhi to leave.
Si Ye was busy at the time and felt a headache coming on when he received the news.
He had warned Xie Qiang repeatedly not to wander off, yet she had still managed to sneak away under the cover of Yan Ci and Bai Zhi.
He was surprised to hear she was going to rescue a brother, but he could only accept the situation.
However, he couldn’t leave just yet, so he ordered the guards to provide backup and follow Bai Zhi to catch up with Xie Qiang.
The guard captain looked at Bai Zhi; luckily Si Ye had acted in time, or he wouldn’t have known where to look.
He led his team and gave chase.
Meanwhile, a frowning Si Ye sent the information to Lei Lie, telling the main combat force to provide support first. He would finish his work as quickly as possible and head there himself.
Arriving hurriedly at the slums, Xie Qiang and Yan Ci parked their car in an unfamiliar area. They were surrounded by impoverished people in patched clothing who watched them with curious, searching eyes.
Yan Ci ignored them and simply asked Xie Qiang, “Is it this alley next? The car can’t get in; we’ll have to go on foot.”
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