Villain Boss Chapter 184
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 184: As Long As I’m Here
In her dream, there was an endless snowfield, and the little girl dragged her frozen legs, moving step by step in the snow.
Behind her, there were the barking of hounds and noisy voices, gradually approaching.
She couldn’t be caught and must escape. She must escape far away. If she was caught, she would surely die, and would be torn into pieces by that huge cold machine—just like her dead companions.
She must keep running, keep moving forward. Only in this way could she survive, only in this way could she...
Survive?
The little girl who was trudging suddenly froze.
She frowned and thought hard.
Why must she survive? Wait, what was survival? How was she supposed to do so? Keep moving forward? Or...
She looked around blankly, her sight blocked by the blizzard, and everywhere she looked was a flying white.
She couldn’t see anything clearly.
She raised her hands to block her eyes.
"A117?" Amidst the howling snow, someone called her softly, "A117."
She turned and looked. The man was standing in the swirling snow, his face blurred.
"A117." He held out his hand. "Come here."
Come here.
A117.
Who was calling her? Calling her name over and over again.
The little girl opened her eyes dazedly.
The young man's cold gaze met her gaze.
"You’re awake?" Si Xu, growing impatient, reached out and grabbed the girl by the collar, hoisting her to his level.
Their eyes met, and he chuckled softly, a smile so cold it sent a chill down one’s spine. "Were you dreaming?"
Without waiting for the little girl to respond, he scoffed, "Oh, I'm overthinking it. How could a puppet dream? They say dreams are the embodiment of a person's hopes. You don't even have a heart, so how could you have any wishes or expectations?"
"..."
"After all, you're a cold-blooded creature who would betray even your benefactor. I shouldn't have expected too much from you. I just feel pity for Shen Bai—he's done so much for you, yet he still can't give you a human heart."
"..."
Because A117 attacked Jiang Ran, Seventh Brother waited for her to wake up, then launched into a childish verbal attack...
Su Qin crouched to the side, sighing.
Shouldn't he first ask what exactly happened? Although those people in the conference room were temporarily controlled, they couldn’t keep them imprisoned in the conference room forever, right?
The most urgent thing right now was to clear Ranran of suspicion.
How long was Seventh Brother going to keep nagging?
Complaining inwardly, Su Qin yawned, tears of weariness leaking from the corners of her eyes—it was already eleven o'clock in the evening. She felt so sleepy.
"Seventh Brother, you..." Enough was enough. She wouldn't understand even if you scolded her. Wasn't it just a waste of your own breath?
Su Qin urged in a low voice, trying to stop Si Xu's childish behavior.
The door of the room was opened, and Jiang Ran walked out of the bedroom rubbing her eyes.
"Si Xu? Youyou?" She was holding a water glass, obviously woken up by thirst and was planning to get some water to drink. "What are you doing?" After speaking, she walked around Si Xu and Shen Youyou, walked to the water filter, poured a glass of water, and gulped it down.
"I'm so thirsty..." After drinking a glass of water, Jiang Ran was rejuvenated. "Hey, Captain Qin, why are you here too?"
The other three, "..."
Si Xu threw Shen Youyou to the ground, and walked briskly to Jiang Ran. He took off his coat and wrapped it around her. "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Are you dizzy? Do you feel any pain on your body?"
Jiang Ran shook her head. "No." She raised her hand and touched the back of her head. "Oh, there seems to be a lump here... Si Xu, did you abuse me while I was asleep?"
Si Xu, "..."
Seeing the lively Jiang Ran, Su Qin felt like she saw a loved one. She was so worked up that tears welled up in her eyes. "Ranran, you're finally awake! Do you know that I'm almost pissed off to death by Seventh Brother and A117?"
Without waiting for Jiang Ran to ask, Su Qin recounted everything that happened in the evening. "... I originally thought of bringing A117 here to ask her about the situation, but after finally waiting for her to wake up, Seventh Brother started scolding her and hasn't asked a single question yet!"
Jiang Ran was stunned. "You mean, the surveillance footage showed that I was the one who opened the north gate and let the zombies in? And..." She looked at the little girl squatting on the ground. "Youyou also testified that it was me?"
"Yes."
"Let me recall..." Jiang Ran recalled what happened in the evening. "After work, I was waiting for you at the base gate so that we could visit Sister Shen Yao together. Then Youyou came over and said that Eldest Brother was waiting for me at the north gate, so I followed her to the north gate. And then..."
Jiang Ran frowned and pursed her lips. "I was knocked unconscious."
She had no recollection of what happened after that.
Jiang Ran was knocked unconscious? Who was the person who appeared in the control room and pressed the switch to open the north gate?
"You said that the person in the surveillance footage looks exactly like me?"
"Yes, exactly the same." In order to analyze the footage, Su Qin played it on a loop. "In my opinion, it's you."
"Is it possible that the surveillance footage was edited?"
Si Xu's first thought was this possibility, but— "No."
Su Qin sighed. "I’ve analyzed it. The video wasn’t post-edited. There’s no problem with it."
Jiang Ran nodded. "That means the person who opened the door was indeed me?"
She sighed. "I haven't proven myself in Xiling base yet, and now, I’ll become the target of public criticism and be kicked out of Xiling base. No, it’s very likely that those people will find ways to kill me forever to eliminate trouble. Sigh, why is my life so difficult?"
"You could still joke at a time like this..." Su Qin was helpless. "Ranran, you have a really good mentality."
"What else can I do? I can't just cry." Crying was useless. It was better to adjust her mentality and contemplate what to do now.
"Si Xu." Jiang Ran bit her finger and thought of a possibility. "Do you think I’d been..."
"Hypnotized?" Si Xu had thought of this possibility after Su Qin said that the video wasn’t edited. "I’ve asked someone to investigate it."
Asked someone to investigate it? In other words, Seventh Brother had already arranged everything? Then what was the point of her waiting here?
If she had the time, she might as well go home and sleep!
Su Qin stared at Si Xu, feeling resentful. "Seventh Brother, who did you arrange to investigate it?"
Si Xu smiled slightly, looking very annoying. "A117 is here, so I can't say."
Su Qin, "..."
She wrapped her uniform jacket tightly around her, yawned again, and spoke incoherently because of sleepiness. "Since you’ve already made arrangements, I don't need to worry about it. I'll go to the conference room to take a look, and explain the current situation to that fool, Gu Yunqing."
Su Qin dragged her heavy feet out of the apartment.
Jiang Ran was about to pull Shen Youyou aside for a good chat when her stomach growled at the wrong time.
She placed a hand on her stomach and looked at Si Xu.
Si Xu walked towards the kitchen without hesitation. "What do you want to eat? I'll wash the vegetables."
For someone who couldn't cook, he had completely adapted to the task of washing vegetables and dishes.
Jiang Ran followed him like a little tail. "Whatever you prepare, I'll eat."
Since she said whatever, Si Xu casually pulled out a piece of pork belly and some green peppers and potatoes from his space. "Stir-fried pork with green peppers and spicy and sour potato shreds."
"Sure."
He filled the water and washed the vegetables carefully.
Jiang Ran pressed against his back, occasionally popping her head out to give him advice.
"Si Xu."
"Yeah?"
"What if we can't find the evidence? Are they going to kick me out of the base? Or just kill me and sacrifice me to the gods?"
"No."
"What?"
"As long as I'm here, they won't dare."
They wouldn't dare—they would only hide in the shadows, constantly plotting and scheming with underhanded means, and then get hurt by him.
