Villain Boss Chapter 174
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 174: The Beginning Of Revenge
On the way back, Shen Yang found a random excuse to separate from Shen Lang. Humming a tuneless little tune, he ambled toward the dungeon.
Following behind him, Zhong Qian wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled miserably. "Captain, it's already late today. Why don’t you..." Come back tomorrow?
"Is it late?" Looking at his watch, Shen Yang chuckled. "It's not even three o’clock. It isn’t late."
It wasn’t considered late at three o'clock in the morning? Zhong Qian was miserably vexed. "Captain, what are you going to do in the dungeon now?"
"Nothing." He couldn't suppress the smile on his face. "I'm going to survey the terrain."
Survey the terrain? Zhong Qian said solemnly, "Captain, are you thinking of rescuing Luo Rui from jail?"
If he really wanted to protect Luo Rui, it was possible for him to do such a thing.
"Are you kidding?" Shen Yang suppressed his smile, his expression a little cold. "Who will I rescue?"
"..." If you weren’t trying to rescue her from jail, then why were you surveying the terrain?
"Hah." Shen Yang quickly smiled again and muttered, "I received a good thing a few days ago. As luck would have it, our beautiful Miss Luo is in the dungeon. I'll try it on her for the next couple of days..."
Hearing Shen Yang’s mumbling, almost like talking to himself, mingled with inexplicable excitement, Zhong Qian, who was following behind him, shuddered for no apparent reason.
……
Wei Yage's funeral was held the next day.
Because of the rampant virus in the apocalypse, most funerals chose cremation—burning to ashes would prevent any abnormalities.
The once glorious captain of the sixth team was reduced to ashes in a huge fire, taking nothing with her, leaving nothing behind.
As comrades, Gu Yunqing and Su Qin both appeared at the funeral.
When Wei Yage was alive, Su Qin and she disliked each other. Now that she was dead, Su Qin felt a little sad.
"I didn't expect this to be the outcome..."
Hearing his lover's murmurs, Gu Yunqing took her hand and whispered, "She made the wrong choice, so she must bear the consequences of her mistakes."
Su Qin nodded. "Yes."
"Think about Chu Yuan and Qi Yao, whom she schemed against, as well as Seventh Brother and Sister Ranran—Qin, even if Wei Yage hadn't died, she wouldn't have stood on the same side as us." He smiled wryly. "Since she choose to be enemies, one day we’d have to face off."
Now, perhaps they should be thankful for Jiang Ran's quick decision, otherwise they wouldn't know who would end up being burned to ashes.
Su Qin nodded again, catching a glimpse of a guy standing behind the crowd. She frowned. "Xie Chengzhi is here too?"
Gu Yunqing followed her gaze.
The guy, dressed in black, stood outside the crowd, looking around as if searching for something.
Meeting Gu Yunqing's gaze, he froze for a moment and subconsciously looked away. But then, as if remembering something, he glanced at Gu Yunqing again.
After the funeral, Xie Chengzhi stopped Gu Yunqing at the cemetery entrance.
To avoid taking up space on the base, the cemetery was located on Xiling Mountain behind the base. Xiling Mountain's temperature was cooler, and the peak was perpetually covered in snow, leaving a chilly breeze even in spring.
Gu Yunqing, wrapping his coat tightly around himself, mumbled, "Captain Xie, what's the matter?"
"Have you seen Jiang Ranran?"
When he returned to the crime scene last night, Jiang Ranran had already left.
He hadn't gotten the answers he sought, so he'd spent a sleepless night.
Yi Xi's words were like thorns in his heart. As long as he didn't get the answer, it would be a constant pang reminding him that Jiang Ranran might have died during the escape.
The girl he once loved had perished in the icy lake.
But if Jiang Ranran was truly dead, then who was the person now living as Jiang Ranran?
Who was that girl who shared nothing in common with Jiang Ranran besides her appearance?
What was she trying to do by taking over Jiang Ranran's identity?
Was she seeking revenge for Jiang Ranran’s death?
He broke out in a cold sweat at the mere thought of this possibility
Hearing him ask about Jiang Ran, Gu Yunqing frowned. "Sister Ranran didn't come to the funeral—she and Wei Yage have a feud. You should have heard about that."
"I know, I know," Xie Chengzhi gulped. "Do you know where she is now?"
"Sister Ranran?" Gu Yunqing paused. "It's not her day off, so she should be at work—if you want to see her, go to the crop experimental base."
Xie Chengzhi's eyes lit up. "Thank you," he said, turning to leave.
"Xie Chengzhi," Gu Yunqing called the guy’s name, but before he could turn around, Gu Yunqing kindly reminded him, "I heard Luo Rui is in the dungeon—if you really care about her, you'd better go check on her more often."
His girlfriend was imprisoned in the dungeon, her fate unknown, and yet this man still had the mood to look for his ex-girlfriend? Hah, what a scumbag.
Xie Chengzhi hurried away without stopping.
Su Qin, waiting nearby, vaguely overheard their conversation. She showed disdain and glared at Gu Yunqing. "Why did you tell him where Ranran is? That guy might want to get back with her—tsk, what a shameless bastard."
Gu Yunqing laughed. "I heard from Seventh Brother that the wild lilies south of Xiling Mountain are blooming, and he's taking Sister Ranran on an outing today."
So, Jiang Ran wasn’t even at the crop experimental base?
Realization suddenly dawned on Su Qin. "Geez... you really are..."
The two of them walked slowly down the mountain, hand in hand.
"Hey, why didn't Shen Yao come today?"
At the mention of her good friend, Su Qin also looked concerned.
"Yaoyao hasn't been feeling well lately. She goes home as soon as she gets off work every day, and I haven't seen her go to the cafeteria to eat..." Shen Yao couldn't cook, so Su Qin was worried that she'd starve to death at home. "Why don’t I find time to go see her later?"
"You going alone?" Gu Yunqing scoffed. "You might as well wait for Sister Ranran to come back and take her with you."
At least Sister Ranran could cook, and she was better than Su Qin at caring for a patient.
Besides, if Shen Yao was truly unwell, if the two girls went together, they could take turns to look after her.
……
Even during the day, not a single ray of light could penetrate the dungeon. The damp floor was covered with grass, and the occasional scurrying of rats could be heard.
Luo Rui huddled in a corner, hugging her knees, silently calculating what time it was.
Screams echoed from an unidentifiable direction.
Not sure whether it was because of hoarseness or injury, it was indistinguishable whether the cries were male or female. Each cry was like a death warrant, gradually crumbling her defenses.
"Don't worry, Chengzhi will definitely come and save me. He will," she murmured, burying her cheek in her knees and gritting her teeth to endure.
Footsteps were heard in the corridor, stopping in front of her cell door.
She looked up with some surprise.
The young man gave her an expressionless look and ordered the men behind him, "Take her over there."
"Yes."
Luo Rui said warily, "What are you going to do? Zhong Qian, who asked you to take me out? Marshal Shen? Or Captain Shen?"
"Miss Luo." The second team's deputy captain remained polite. "Please don't struggle, or I'll kill you right here."
He didn't explain who was taking her out.
Threatened, but certain he'd keep his word, Luo Rui didn't dare to struggle, allowing the two men to restrain her hands.
She followed Zhong Qian out. She didn't know how long she'd walked before the smell of blood filled her nostrils, and her vision suddenly widened.
The hall was brightly lit, the pale light a bit blinding. Luo Rui instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes.
Once she adjusted to the bright light, she removed her hand and glanced at her surroundings.
She froze in place, her face pale and her pupils trembling. Her mouth was slightly open as if someone was choking her. After struggling for a moment, she finally let out a terrified scream.
