Not far away, Ziek occupied a foldable chair, the campfire had painted his skin in hues of red, orange, and gold. Staring at the white liquid in his glass, his thoughts on the girl he met today.
The absence of emotion in her voice struck him deeply. It was as if her spirit had been drained of vitality. Where had her light-hearted laughter and witty banter disappeared to? And how had no one else seemed to notice?
Beside him, Yi Zen sat with a glass of wine, his expression composed. He took a sip before speaking, "You've been eyeing that vodka for half an hour."
"It tastes like crap," Ziek dipped his tongue into the glass. Scowling, he tilted the glass and spilled the whole content on the grass, "Where is Bing Shi? Why is she still not here?"
Yi Zen refilled his glass of wine and raised an eyebrow. The change from addressing her as "grandma" to "Bing Shi" hadn't escaped his notice. "She won't come. She hates drunk people."
Just as Yi Zen was about to take a sip of his own wine, Ziek's words halted him. "You seem to know a lot about her. Do you two talk often?"
Yi Zen retrieved his phone and displayed a file, his expression unyielding. "No, she sent me a list of things she despises. When I read it, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her boyfriend."
Ziek couldn't hold back his laughter. "Classic her. Send it my way." What a great way to scare a man away.
Yi Zen stowed his phone, sensing a force tugging at it. He held onto it firmly, not allowing it to be taken. "So you can pursue her? Keep dreaming."
Ziek's grin persisted, undeterred by the icy daggers that appeared in the air. "What's the matter? Did you grow tired of Fu Lian?" he goaded, brushing off the frosty reception, "And now you're setting your fucking sight on Bing Shi?"
"Of course not, I love Fu Lian," said Yi Zen apathetically, feeling his weapons being pulled out, he continued, "I'm guarding Bing Shi like a protective older brother."
"When did you turn into a siscon?" Ziek persisted, unyielding even in the face of another set of ice needles forming around his neck. "Let's coax her out of her tent." He yearned for the sound of her laughter, craving it deeply.
"Ever since you started addressing her by name," Yi Zen held his ground as ten levitating assault rifles aimed at his head. Yet, he did not falter.
"I heard you planted a kiss on her," Ziek's unwavering gaze met Yi Zen's, redirecting the incoming lightning into a compact sphere of energy.
"You heard correctly," Yi Zen evaded his own redirected lightning, "Give it up. My sister deserves better than you." Taking action to prevent a disastrous outcome, he dissolved the lightning sphere.
The once harmonious atmosphere grew stifling as two massive waves of hostility enveloped the entire vicinity. The intoxicated people instinctively sobered, turning their heads towards the source. Their leaders were locked in a standoff, weapons aimed at each other.
'What the fūck is happening?' Their thoughts resonated with the collective astonishment. Was this about the enigmatic Female Fatale?
Ziek's subordinates noticed how Ren Han started to bother Fu Lian the moment she appeared with Yi Zen. In their eyes, no couple had ever appeared as stunningly matched as these two. Men and women alike gazed from a distance, tinged with envy.
What was their...ehm... not very handsome BOSS thinking?!?! Picking a fight over a woman, who clearly despised him so much that she didn't even appear at his welcome party?! So what if he won a battle against Yi Zen? It didn't mean he'd win Fu Lian's heart! Was that why Ren Han disappeared for half a year? Both parties lamented in unity.
The temperature plummeted, leaving them in an arctic chill. Amidst the volley of lightning balls, ice blades, and projectiles exchanged between the two leaders, the soldiers couldn't endure it any longer.
"Someone needs to go find Bing Shi," one soldier muttered, receiving an affirmative nod from another as they rushed toward the base with urgency.
"She despises the smell of cigarettes?" Ziek's voice resounded, his fingers crunching a few ice blades as he glanced at his phone. "You'd better steer clear of her, then."
"..." Yi Zen momentarily froze a few incoming bullets, his thoughts spinning. Had Ren Han somehow manipulated him into sending the file? How could that have occurred without him noticing?
A sly smirk tugged at the corners of Ziek's lips, a devilish gesture that betrayed his cunning. "Take out your phone," he said when he noticed Yi Zen's curiosity. As Yi Zen complied, he discreetly employed a small USB device designed for phones, connecting it to his device in a fast manner.
Yi Zen frowned, crushing the USB before it could reach his phone. It was as if the other man was saying that he had already hacked their devices before.
He knew it, that man was too dangerous.
What was more unsettling, however, was Ren Han's newfound interest in his little sister.
· · ───────── · ⊱❈⊰· ───────── · ·
[Hidden Quest: Find out what went wrong with Yi Zen +1000p. After finding the reason, prevent it from happening again +250p. Make his lover accept his real personality +250.]
When Bing Shi came up with three reasons for Yi Zen's behavior, this quest popped up three times in a row! When she came up with a random idea, it popped up again!
Bing Shi stared blankly at her unfinished cup of ramen with pursed lips. Covered in a fluffy baby-blue blanket, she waited for Kuro to finish its connection with the HQ.
[I'm back.]
["Welcome back. How did it go?"]
Kuro started to choke the mouse toy on her bed.
[The quest "Find out what went wrong with Yi Zen" is a chain quest. And because the system can't tell if your deduction was wrong or right, until you finish the whole chain quest, you won't get any points.]
Bing Shi dropped on the bed in defeat and growled in frustration.
'That man is killing all my brain cells!'
knock
knock
Qua Tao's voice trembled with apprehension as he spoke out urgently, "Miss Bing Shi, please help us! General Yi Zen and Ren Han are fighting over Miss Fu Lian!"
The door to Bing Shi's space creaked open, revealing her less-than-pleased expression, "What does it have to do with me?" she asked in a bad mood, "Call Miss Fu Lian to resolve it. I'll only make it worse with my jealousy."
The door swiftly shut in Qua Tao's face, leaving him bewildered. "..." He hurried to Fu Lian's tent, acknowledging that Bing Shi's logic held truth; witnessing two men vying for another woman's affection would surely be exasperating.
A few moments later...
Qua Tao looked pleadingly at Bing Shi, "Once Miss Fu Lian arrived, the conflict escalated further. Both General Yi Zen and Ren Han have sustained serious injuries."
"Tell Ban to heal them," Bing Shi's eyes narrowed, her tone tinged with irritation, "Why don't all of you change your spot and ignore those two attention-seeking individuals?"
With that, the door was closed once more.
'Do these two have me for a clown?'