Chapter 48: I am about to be with you

Qing Tianfeng's face was as cold as frost. He disengaged the safety on his weapon, his eyes shifting upward, intending to signal Jiang Xiaoya to find a safe place to hide.

But he didn't see her.

He froze for a moment, his gaze beginning to scan the room for her. Hearing a noise, he ran into the bathroom, only to find Jiang Xiaoya dismantling the window.

The window was fitted with ordinary stainless steel security bars. With two strikes of the hoe in Jiang Xiaoya's hand—*bang*—the security bars hung precariously.

Jiang Xiaoya tossed the hoe aside, yanked the loose security bars out in one go, and turned back to shout to Qing Tianfeng, "Captain Qing, let's go!"

Qing Tianfeng looked at the fallen security bars, then looked up at the nonchalant Jiang Xiaoya, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably as he fought back a laugh.

The footsteps outside had stopped; clearly, they didn't dare rush in blindly, having no idea that a second "door" had already been opened inside the house.

"Let's go."

Jiang Xiaoya patted the wall dust off her palms. Seeing him dazed, she raised her voice.

Qing Tianfeng snapped out of it and told her to exit through the window first while he covered the rear.

The viewers in the livestream reacted much like Qing Tianfeng did upon seeing this scene.

【Wait, they just... casually escaped like that?】

【Captain Qing: Is it really that easy?】

【Never mind Captain Qing, I want to say it too—is it really that easy?】

【The moment they pulled out the AKs, I thought they were going to sacrifice their lives today. I didn't expect...】

【Sacrifice what? I told you guys long ago, Stupid Sister is hard to kill.】

【The hardest person to kill of the year has appeared!】

【Yama: The "Hardest to Kill" series just gained a new member.】

【I finally get it. Stupid Sister goes bungee jumping every day; I don't know which day she'll actually mess up.】

【You can't really blame her; that's just the kind of luck she has.】

【Yama: Your lifespan isn't up yet, so keep messing around.】

Outside, the thugs were pressed against the door. After a long silence from within, they exchanged glances and decided to kick the door open and charge in with their AKs.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Before seeing anyone, they fired over a dozen rounds.

Only when the air fell completely silent did they crouch down to survey the room. A group of them searched the room and the bathroom, finally standing before the broken security bars with grim expressions.

"They ran."

"They won't get far. Chase them!"

"We can't let them escape!"

The group clamored, grabbing their weapons and giving chase.

Jiang Xiaoya and Qing Tianfeng did not run toward the main entrance. They remembered there were dozens of German Shepherds ahead, as well as security guards with ill intentions. Running out now would be no different from walking straight into a trap.

The two ran toward the abandoned factory area and quickly climbed onto the rooftop of one of the buildings.

Once they caught their breath, Qing Tianfeng took out his phone to call his criminal investigation colleagues, telling them to bring men over immediately. After hanging up, he called his superior to request SWAT intervention.

In the current situation, even if the entire criminal investigation team arrived, they could only hold them off for a while.

After hanging up, Qing Tianfeng saw Jiang Xiaoya clutching that toy car. He stepped forward to inspect it and asked, "What's inside this?"

He thought Jiang Xiaoya knew what was in there, which was why she had risked her life to snatch a child's toy.

"I don't know."

Jiang Xiaoya looked at the toy car from all angles, but she truly couldn't see anything unusual.

In terms of weight, it wasn't heavy at all. What could possibly be hidden inside?

"Then why did you snatch it?"

"I saw how nervous they were. This car definitely isn't simple."

She offered an explanation that sounded somewhat plausible.

"..."

Seeing Qing Tianfeng's clearly skeptical gaze, Jiang Xiaoya blinked innocently. She couldn't exactly tell him that the System had forced her to take it.

Ever since she got this System, she felt it was even more eager to complete tasks than she was. Sometimes, if she refused to do something, she actually couldn't leave.

But then again, it made sense. She was the one risking her life; it was only right for the System to be proactive. It was her life on the line, not the System's.

Qing Tianfeng couldn't guess what Jiang Xiaoya was thinking for the moment, but this wasn't the time to dismantle a toy car to solve the mystery. He stood with her, one on the left and one on the right, monitoring the situation below.

Positioned on the fifth floor of an abandoned factory building, they had a clear view of everything below from their vantage point.

"Those people... this abandoned factory employs this many security guards?"

Jiang Xiaoya looked at the people running toward them. Their clothes were similar to the guards who had intercepted them when they first entered the factory. She turned a confused gaze toward Qing Tianfeng.

"Yes... when we came here before, the explanation given was that this area was scheduled for demolition, so the boss had hired them temporarily."

Qing Tianfeng frowned. The guards they had seen back then were only a few, working different shifts; he hadn't expected there to be so many.

Using the "God's Eye" camera view, the livestream viewers heard their conversation. Through the blurry footage, they saw a row of dark shadows rushing toward the building.

The comment section erupted instantly.

【Eh, wasn't this supposed to be an abandoned factory? Why are there so many guards? This is such a huge red flag—didn't Captain Qing notice it last time?】

【Didn't you hear Captain Qing? They were hired because the area is being demolished.】

【Why do I feel like Captain Qing's tone is very uncertain?】

【He's only been here once to search a house, of course he doesn't know the full situation. Let me tell you, the polluted factory area is incredibly shady. Forget the factory; even in the seafood market next door, if you go in without spending a thousand on a bag of dead shrimp, don't expect to walk out alive.】

【That still has nothing to do with these guards.】

【Exactly, the guards are clearly very professional. They knew Jiang Xiaoya and the others were in danger and arrived so promptly.】

Jiang Xiaoya remained silent after hearing Qing Tianfeng's explanation, focusing instead on scouting escape routes.

Qing Tianfeng saw this and gave her a stern look. "We are very high up. Don't play with your life."

Jiang Xiaoya: "..."

*Brother, wasn't I playing with my life the other day?*

Ever since she got stuck with this damn System, she knew her days were numbered.

At this thought, a wave of sorrow washed over her.

Jiang Xiaoya stepped forward and patted his shoulder. After building up the mood, she suddenly adopted a tragic tone: "My dear Captain Qing, let these words serve as my presence. When you hear this, you and I are about to head into battle..."

"Jiang Xiaoya!"

Qing Tianfeng gave her a speechless look. "Speak. Human. Words!"

"Captain Qing, I'm leaving my last will and testament." Jiang Xiaoya reverted to normal in a second.

"Speak!" Qing Tianfeng commanded.

"Hiss... about the matter of applying for the bonus..." She glanced at Qing Tianfeng with a contemplative look. "I dare to bet my life against you, Captain Qing, because I believe you won't let me lose."

Qing Tianfeng: "..."

【Pfft! Hahaha, who else gets this inexplicable sense of humor?】

【Jiang Xiaoya: If I actually tried to leave a will, you wouldn't want me to.】

【Captain Qing: You really can't help but laugh when you're speechless.】

Even the haters didn't expect Jiang Xiaoya to be thinking about bonuses at a time like this, and they felt a surge of disdain.

*Keep reading, keep reading, you must keep reading. How far this goes depends on you guys.*

(End of Chapter)