At night, when the spoils of the day were counted, the crowd gathered were all grinning to their ears.
“Three evolving crystal cores and fifty transparent crystal cores. And Gu Ning, these are yours.” Jia DaoZhang said as he pushed all the gold rings, necklaces, and all kinds of jewellery that were piled up on the table to Gu Ning.
Gu Ning just kept everything back into the space when there was a knock on the door.
Everyone in the room glanced at each other strangely as how could someone be knocking on the door at this time of the day?
As soon as Luo Long opened the door, he then turned his head to Gu Ning and told her: “Gu Ning, it’s for you.” He passed a look to Cheng Ming before pulling the door open, directly exposing Zhang Ji who was standing in the doorway.
Zhang Ji said to Gu Ning: “Gu Ning, come out. I have something to talk to you about.”
Jia DaoZhang glanced at Cheng Ming and Fang Fa before asking: “It’s late now, is there something that you can’t talk about during the day?”
Zhang Ji looked at Gu Ning with a smile and asked: “You wouldn’t deny me of such a request after all the years we’ve known each other, would you?”
“I’m going out for a while, I’ll be back soon.” Gu Ning told Brother San and the others before walking out with Zhang Ji.
At Zhang Ji’s request, the two of them went downstairs and strolled through the night. Only the management office was lit up in the whole base but everywhere else was lit by a torch every ten meters or so with burning fireballs. By this time, there was basically no one walking on the street, only occasionally survivors returning to the base.
It was quite a long walk when Zhang Ji suddenly asked: “Remember the last time we walked like this at night?”
The last time she and Zhang Ji took a stroll together like this was when she graduated from college and Zhang Ji invited her and Lu JiaZi to dinner. Halfway through the meal, Lu JiaZi had to leave first so Zhang Ji sent Gu Ning home and took a walk like this. She didn’t expect to meet him again and when Zhang Ji reminded her, Gu Ning felt a little bit nostalgic.
Zhang Ji then asked, “You and JiaZi haven’t met each other since the apocalypse happened?”
Gu Ning was silent for a moment before answering: “No.”
“I thought I recognized the wrong person when I saw you yesterday. You’ve changed a lot.” Zhang Ji suddenly stopped in his tracks then looked at Gu Ning and said softly: “You must have suffered a lot.”
Gu Ning was keenly aware that Zhang Ji’s tone was a little strange when he said this but she didn’t think too much about it. When she was about to reply, Zhang Ji suddenly leaned down slightly and placed his hands on her shoulders: “Come over to me.” He said: “I will take care of you.”
Gu Ning froze for a moment, then abruptly smiled as she asked: “Are you saying such a thing for the sake of our past friendship, or are you aiming at my space ability?”
Zhang Ji didn’t expect Gu Ning to ask him that rhetorically, he was stunned for a while before smiling and answering frankly to her: “Both.” He sat down on the edge of the flower bed by the roadside then patted the space next to him to indicate Gu Ning to sit as he continued: “But without our past friendship, then I would probably be more inclined to just kill you now.”
Gu Ning spoke as she implied: “That Zhou Yan in your team would want to kill me more than you do.”
Zhang Ji picked up a cigarette, lit it with a lighter, and took a puff before replying slowly: “As long as you come to my side, I will naturally protect you. I’ll even sacrifice her to protect you if necessary.” After saying this, he smiled faintly and stared at Gu Ning: “You know, compared to the past, I prefer the life now. It’s easier.”
Gu Ning was unmoved then raised her hand to look at her watch and stated: “I’m going back.”
This was a rejection.
Zhang Ji stood up and asked an incredibly abrupt question: “You’ve fallen for someone else?”
Apart from this reason, he couldn’t think of any other reason for Gu Ning to reject him. The three distinguished faces of Fang Fa, Cheng Ming, and Zhang XiaoBai quickly flashed through his mind. Thinking of that, he looked at Gu Ning with a hint of pity in his gaze and a hint of disdain that even he didn’t realized.
After Gu Ning went back up to the floor and recalled the look Zhang Ji had just given her, she suddenly realized that Zhang Ji had misunderstood and was a little annoyed. Just when she was about to turn around and went downstairs to explain to Zhang Ji, on the second thought, she didn’t think that was necessary. Thus, she ignored him and headed back.
When she returned, it was clear that the rest were all ‘curious’ about what Zhang Ji had chatted with her. Yet, after all, it was Gu Ning’s business and they didn’t feel too comfortable prying it. Gu Ning was considerate enough to explain: “That’s one of the seniors from my school. It’s been so long since I’ve last met him so we had chatted for a while.”
In the evening Gu Ning returned to the other side of the world through the space.
It was early in the morning so she changed her clothes and opened the door as she walked out for her regular exercises. After half an hour of her morning run, the others were already having their breakfast. Yi ShaoQing walked down the stairs with his coffee and messy hair. He stared at Gu Ning with his sleepy eyes and asked for advice seriously: “Gu Ning, can you tell me how you managed to survive after being abused half to death by Ji JiuZe yesterday and still seem so energetic now?”
Gu Ning thought for a moment before replying seriously: “Because there was no training yesterday.” After stating this, she sat down opposite Ji JiuZe and started having her breakfast.
It was obvious to her during the training that Ji JiuZe was more lenient and the overwhelming feeling was lessened. She could now split some of her energy to observe his combat skills.
After three hours of training followed by a half-hour break.
Gu Ning sat against the wall and gulped the water down her throat without any image. Even though Ji JiuZe sweats more than her, he still drank his water so slowly and unhurriedly. It was as if there was nothing in this world that could make him do things in a hurry.
Gu Ning suddenly wondered what he would be like when he was in the post-apocalyptic world. Then her thoughts shifted to that she had met Yin Sang and Zhuang Chen in the post-apocalyptic world but not him nor Yi ShaoQing…… Gu Ning shook her head as she recalled Ji JiuZe’s terrifying combat skills, even if he hadn’t evolved his powers, there was no need to worry about him being eaten by zombies.
“What’s wrong?” Ji JiuZe suddenly placed down the water, looked at Gu Ning, and asked.
“Hmm?” Gu Ning didn’t understand: “What?”
Ji JiuZe stared at her and explained: “You were shaking your head just now.”
Gu Ning didn’t expect to be noticed by Ji JiuZe and was slightly flustered: “Uh. It’s nothing.”
Ji JiuZe, however, remembered what Yi ShaoQing had told him the previous day and looked at the flash of panic on Gu Ning’s face. He believed Yi ShaoQing’s statement even more and asked again: “Do you have any problems with my training methods?”
He was serious when asking Gu Ning’s opinion but his expression was just too solemn, causing Gu Ning to misinterpret it and thought that he was reprimanding her for being unhappy with him. She immediately shook her head and denied: “No, no.” The expression on her face was a hundred percent sincere.
Ji JiuZe stared at Gu Ning for a solid minute before asking: “Have you rested enough?”
Gu Ning hurriedly got up from the ground: “Enough, enough.”
After Ji JiuZe adjusted his training method in time, Gu Ning once again showed her amazing skill of movement replication. Her combat skills once again leaped by bounds.
Moreover, it was not easy to make Ji JiuZe feel contented.
Three days later, Gu Ning received her first assignment after entering the Five Stars Brigade.
Prior to that, she had signed a confidentiality agreement of at least twenty pages.
Then she got in Ji JiuZe’s car at noon, with no idea where she was going or what she was going to do. No matter who she asked like Zhuang Chen or Yi ShaoQing, it’s all the same reply that she would know when the time comes.
Ji JiuZe was wearing a tailor-made black suit, none of which was uneven, making him look even sharper. Accompanying with a white shirt and a black tie, he looks like a complete business elite.
Gu Ning even had the illusion that Ji JiuZe was the boss, she was his secretary, and now she was following him to a very important business deal.
After getting into the car, Ji JiuZe threw over a file and stated briefly: “This is the target of this mission.”
Gu Ning apprehensively took the information out of the file and found that it was a topographical map, a spatial structure of a villa to be exact. It included the exterior pool, the location of every walkway and every room was clearly drawn. The room in the very centre was circled in red.
Ji JiuZe continued speaking as he started the car: “You have half an hour to get this map engraved in your mind.”
Gu Ning kept quiet and just focused on the map seriously. Starting from where she was going to enter and two minutes later, she closed her eyes and the structure of the map appeared clearly in her mind. She placed the map into the file and asked Ji JiuZe: “What do I need to do later?”
Ji JiuZe glanced at the file in her hand with some approval, then answered: “Twenty minutes after I’ve gone in, you need to find your own way to enter this villa and get into that marked room to find a document. It is the seventh book in the top third compartment from the right of the bookshelf. You have ten minutes to retrieve the document out.”
With those words, he pulled the car over to the side.
Then he stretched his watch-worn hand out in front of Gu Ning: “Time match.”
After matching the time, Ji JiuZe reached into the back seat and lifted a sliver case before pushing the door open and alighted. He then leaned down slightly to look at Gu Ning who was slightly nervous in the car and said: “Be careful.”
Gu Ning nodded solemnly.
Afterward, Ji JiuZe disappeared into the night with his suitcase.
Gu Ning hurriedly got out of the car and stuck close to the fence next to her, then carefully sneaked to the front and poked her head out to check.
She saw Ji JiuZe walk straight to the entrance of the villa and then he was stopped right in front of the main door. His back was facing Gu Ning and then he spread open his arms.
Two young men came forward and searched Ji JiuZe thoroughly before leading him in.
Gu Ning took the opportunity to count the guards at the entrance alone. There were five to six of them, on the other side, there were a few with torches patrolling around the villa. She looked down at her watch, there were still seventeen minutes left, she had to figure out how to avoid all these guards and get into the villa quickly.
At night, when the spoils of the day were counted, the crowd gathered were all grinning to their ears.
“Three evolving crystal cores and fifty transparent crystal cores. And Gu Ning, these are yours.” Jia DaoZhang said as he pushed all the gold rings, necklaces, and all kinds of jewellery that were piled up on the table to Gu Ning.
Gu Ning just kept everything back into the space when there was a knock on the door.
Everyone in the room glanced at each other strangely as how could someone be knocking on the door at this time of the day?
As soon as Luo Long opened the door, he then turned his head to Gu Ning and told her: “Gu Ning, it’s for you.” He passed a look to Cheng Ming before pulling the door open, directly exposing Zhang Ji who was standing in the doorway.
Zhang Ji said to Gu Ning: “Gu Ning, come out. I have something to talk to you about.”
Jia DaoZhang glanced at Cheng Ming and Fang Fa before asking: “It’s late now, is there something that you can’t talk about during the day?”
Zhang Ji looked at Gu Ning with a smile and asked: “You wouldn’t deny me of such a request after all the years we’ve known each other, would you?”
“I’m going out for a while, I’ll be back soon.” Gu Ning told Brother San and the others before walking out with Zhang Ji.
At Zhang Ji’s request, the two of them went downstairs and strolled through the night. Only the management office was lit up in the whole base but everywhere else was lit by a torch every ten meters or so with burning fireballs. By this time, there was basically no one walking on the street, only occasionally survivors returning to the base.
It was quite a long walk when Zhang Ji suddenly asked: “Remember the last time we walked like this at night?”
The last time she and Zhang Ji took a stroll together like this was when she graduated from college and Zhang Ji invited her and Lu JiaZi to dinner. Halfway through the meal, Lu JiaZi had to leave first so Zhang Ji sent Gu Ning home and took a walk like this. She didn’t expect to meet him again and when Zhang Ji reminded her, Gu Ning felt a little bit nostalgic.
Zhang Ji then asked, “You and JiaZi haven’t met each other since the apocalypse happened?”
Gu Ning was silent for a moment before answering: “No.”
“I thought I recognized the wrong person when I saw you yesterday. You’ve changed a lot.” Zhang Ji suddenly stopped in his tracks then looked at Gu Ning and said softly: “You must have suffered a lot.”
Gu Ning was keenly aware that Zhang Ji’s tone was a little strange when he said this but she didn’t think too much about it. When she was about to reply, Zhang Ji suddenly leaned down slightly and placed his hands on her shoulders: “Come over to me.” He said: “I will take care of you.”
Gu Ning froze for a moment, then abruptly smiled as she asked: “Are you saying such a thing for the sake of our past friendship, or are you aiming at my space ability?”
Zhang Ji didn’t expect Gu Ning to ask him that rhetorically, he was stunned for a while before smiling and answering frankly to her: “Both.” He sat down on the edge of the flower bed by the roadside then patted the space next to him to indicate Gu Ning to sit as he continued: “But without our past friendship, then I would probably be more inclined to just kill you now.”
Gu Ning spoke as she implied: “That Zhou Yan in your team would want to kill me more than you do.”
Zhang Ji picked up a cigarette, lit it with a lighter, and took a puff before replying slowly: “As long as you come to my side, I will naturally protect you. I’ll even sacrifice her to protect you if necessary.” After saying this, he smiled faintly and stared at Gu Ning: “You know, compared to the past, I prefer the life now. It’s easier.”
Gu Ning was unmoved then raised her hand to look at her watch and stated: “I’m going back.”
This was a rejection.
Zhang Ji stood up and asked an incredibly abrupt question: “You’ve fallen for someone else?”
Apart from this reason, he couldn’t think of any other reason for Gu Ning to reject him. The three distinguished faces of Fang Fa, Cheng Ming, and Zhang XiaoBai quickly flashed through his mind. Thinking of that, he looked at Gu Ning with a hint of pity in his gaze and a hint of disdain that even he didn’t realized.
After Gu Ning went back up to the floor and recalled the look Zhang Ji had just given her, she suddenly realized that Zhang Ji had misunderstood and was a little annoyed. Just when she was about to turn around and went downstairs to explain to Zhang Ji, on the second thought, she didn’t think that was necessary. Thus, she ignored him and headed back.
When she returned, it was clear that the rest were all ‘curious’ about what Zhang Ji had chatted with her. Yet, after all, it was Gu Ning’s business and they didn’t feel too comfortable prying it. Gu Ning was considerate enough to explain: “That’s one of the seniors from my school. It’s been so long since I’ve last met him so we had chatted for a while.”
In the evening Gu Ning returned to the other side of the world through the space.
It was early in the morning so she changed her clothes and opened the door as she walked out for her regular exercises. After half an hour of her morning run, the others were already having their breakfast. Yi ShaoQing walked down the stairs with his coffee and messy hair. He stared at Gu Ning with his sleepy eyes and asked for advice seriously: “Gu Ning, can you tell me how you managed to survive after being abused half to death by Ji JiuZe yesterday and still seem so energetic now?”
Gu Ning thought for a moment before replying seriously: “Because there was no training yesterday.” After stating this, she sat down opposite Ji JiuZe and started having her breakfast.
It was obvious to her during the training that Ji JiuZe was more lenient and the overwhelming feeling was lessened. She could now split some of her energy to observe his combat skills.
After three hours of training followed by a half-hour break.
Gu Ning sat against the wall and gulped the water down her throat without any image. Even though Ji JiuZe sweats more than her, he still drank his water so slowly and unhurriedly. It was as if there was nothing in this world that could make him do things in a hurry.
Gu Ning suddenly wondered what he would be like when he was in the post-apocalyptic world. Then her thoughts shifted to that she had met Yin Sang and Zhuang Chen in the post-apocalyptic world but not him nor Yi ShaoQing…… Gu Ning shook her head as she recalled Ji JiuZe’s terrifying combat skills, even if he hadn’t evolved his powers, there was no need to worry about him being eaten by zombies.
“What’s wrong?” Ji JiuZe suddenly placed down the water, looked at Gu Ning, and asked.
“Hmm?” Gu Ning didn’t understand: “What?”
Ji JiuZe stared at her and explained: “You were shaking your head just now.”
Gu Ning didn’t expect to be noticed by Ji JiuZe and was slightly flustered: “Uh. It’s nothing.”
Ji JiuZe, however, remembered what Yi ShaoQing had told him the previous day and looked at the flash of panic on Gu Ning’s face. He believed Yi ShaoQing’s statement even more and asked again: “Do you have any problems with my training methods?”
He was serious when asking Gu Ning’s opinion but his expression was just too solemn, causing Gu Ning to misinterpret it and thought that he was reprimanding her for being unhappy with him. She immediately shook her head and denied: “No, no.” The expression on her face was a hundred percent sincere.
Ji JiuZe stared at Gu Ning for a solid minute before asking: “Have you rested enough?”
Gu Ning hurriedly got up from the ground: “Enough, enough.”
After Ji JiuZe adjusted his training method in time, Gu Ning once again showed her amazing skill of movement replication. Her combat skills once again leaped by bounds.
Moreover, it was not easy to make Ji JiuZe feel contented.
Three days later, Gu Ning received her first assignment after entering the Five Stars Brigade.
Prior to that, she had signed a confidentiality agreement of at least twenty pages.
Then she got in Ji JiuZe’s car at noon, with no idea where she was going or what she was going to do. No matter who she asked like Zhuang Chen or Yi ShaoQing, it’s all the same reply that she would know when the time comes.
Ji JiuZe was wearing a tailor-made black suit, none of which was uneven, making him look even sharper. Accompanying with a white shirt and a black tie, he looks like a complete business elite.
Gu Ning even had the illusion that Ji JiuZe was the boss, she was his secretary, and now she was following him to a very important business deal.
After getting into the car, Ji JiuZe threw over a file and stated briefly: “This is the target of this mission.”
Gu Ning apprehensively took the information out of the file and found that it was a topographical map, a spatial structure of a villa to be exact. It included the exterior pool, the location of every walkway and every room was clearly drawn. The room in the very centre was circled in red.
Ji JiuZe continued speaking as he started the car: “You have half an hour to get this map engraved in your mind.”
Gu Ning kept quiet and just focused on the map seriously. Starting from where she was going to enter and two minutes later, she closed her eyes and the structure of the map appeared clearly in her mind. She placed the map into the file and asked Ji JiuZe: “What do I need to do later?”
Ji JiuZe glanced at the file in her hand with some approval, then answered: “Twenty minutes after I’ve gone in, you need to find your own way to enter this villa and get into that marked room to find a document. It is the seventh book in the top third compartment from the right of the bookshelf. You have ten minutes to retrieve the document out.”
With those words, he pulled the car over to the side.
Then he stretched his watch-worn hand out in front of Gu Ning: “Time match.”
After matching the time, Ji JiuZe reached into the back seat and lifted a sliver case before pushing the door open and alighted. He then leaned down slightly to look at Gu Ning who was slightly nervous in the car and said: “Be careful.”
Gu Ning nodded solemnly.
Afterward, Ji JiuZe disappeared into the night with his suitcase.
Gu Ning hurriedly got out of the car and stuck close to the fence next to her, then carefully sneaked to the front and poked her head out to check.
She saw Ji JiuZe walk straight to the entrance of the villa and then he was stopped right in front of the main door. His back was facing Gu Ning and then he spread open his arms.
Two young men came forward and searched Ji JiuZe thoroughly before leading him in.
Gu Ning took the opportunity to count the guards at the entrance alone. There were five to six of them, on the other side, there were a few with torches patrolling around the villa. She looked down at her watch, there were still seventeen minutes left, she had to figure out how to avoid all these guards and get into the villa quickly.
