Chapter 95: Seeds of Estrangement
An hour later, the drowsy Fang Xiaocao was startled awake by the sound of hurried footsteps and shouting.
“I really have nerves of steel…”
She couldn’t help but mock herself. In such a dangerous environment, she had actually almost fallen asleep. If she had dozed off, it wouldn’t have taken a hidden sniper to end her—any random beast could have easily sent her to the afterlife to join Aquarius.
“Be careful! There’s a sniper!”
As the footsteps grew closer, Fang Xiaocao quickly shouted a warning.
“Stay alert!”
Before she could finish her sentence, a deep, magnetic voice reached her ears.
“Which direction is the sniper?” the voice asked.
“I don’t know~ My friend got shot in the head. I was too scared, so I’ve been lying here for an hour.”
Fang Xiaocao shrugged helplessly.
“If I knew where the sniper was, I would’ve tried to run ages ago. You think I’d just be lying here, bored to the point of almost falling asleep?” she grumbled inwardly.
“Stay on high alert!” “Sniper team, locate the target!”
The magnetic voice commanded once again.
“Go ahead, search all you want. You won’t find a thing,” Fang Xiaocao muttered.
In this vast forest, a sniper’s natural battleground, all they had to do was tuck themselves away in the foliage, throw on some ghillie camouflage, and stay still. Without revealing themselves, they’d be nearly impossible to detect.
“Report! The sniper team has not found the target.”
Ten minutes later, a low voice came through the radio.
“Keep searching! Check every high vantage point in the area!”
The deep voice issued another command.
“Assault team, find a way to extract the civilian.”
“Yes, sir!”
Hearing this, Fang Xiaocao panicked and quickly shouted, “Hey, don’t rush in recklessly! He’s armed! If he’s still around, it’s too dangerous!”
She didn’t want to see anyone else get killed trying to save her—it would weigh on her conscience forever.
“Protecting civilians is our duty.”
The magnetic voice responded, filling Fang Xiaocao with a sudden warmth.
A surge of pride rose within her.
Seriously, looking at the whole world, what other country’s military would willingly risk their lives just to rescue civilians?
“Wait! Don’t come over just yet! I have an idea!”
Fang Xiaocao shouted urgently.
“Don’t do anything reckless. Just wait for our rescue,” the deep voice said sternly.
“I’m scared of dying, okay? I won’t act recklessly. Just hold on. Let me test something first.”
She picked up a tree branch, took off her jacket, and draped it over the stick.
She carefully maneuvered the branch to mimic a human figure, inching it toward the rescue team, hoping to lure the sniper into revealing their position.
Five minutes passed, but there was no gunshot—no thunderous crack of a sniper rifle.
Did the sniper leave?
“We’re not waiting anymore! Assault team, prepare to extract the civilian!”
The deep voice, now filled with urgency, made a decisive call.
“Yes, sir!”
“Sniper team, stay alert for any potential threats. Assault team, move out!”
“Yes, sir!”
Rustling sounds filled the air as two soldiers in green camouflage, their faces painted with war paint, dashed toward her.
Fang Xiaocao opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.
Even if she spoke up, it wouldn’t change anything.
All she could do was silently pray that the hidden sniper had already slipped away.
“Hurry!”
A deep voice sounded beside her, and in the next instant, she felt herself being lifted off the ground.
Blinking in surprise, she realized that one of the soldiers had scooped her up and was carrying her.
“Cover the assault team! One of you take her back to the assembly point. The rest, continue the search with me!”
The magnetic voice sounded again, now much closer.
Following the voice, Fang Xiaocao spotted a tall, broad-shouldered man clad in jungle camouflage. His face was painted with oil paint, and he was crouched behind a tree, eyes sharp and focused.
Sitting in the car heading back to Tang City, Fang Xiaocao gazed out the window at the fast-retreating scenery, lost in thought.
“Zhi Qi… was it really you?”
The question echoed in her mind.
“Xiaocao, what are you thinking about?”
The curious voice of Su Wanqing interrupted her thoughts.
“Nothing…”
Fang Xiaocao brushed it off casually.
She couldn’t tell anyone about her suspicions regarding Zhi Qi. She had to keep them buried inside.
Even though Zhi Qi was the prime suspect, Su Wanqing and the others weren’t entirely cleared either.
Who was really the mastermind lurking in the shadows? It was still unclear.
After all… Zhi Qi wasn’t the only one who had left the camp that day.
Su Wanqing had been gone for a long time as well.
What had she been doing during that time? No one knew.
At this point, aside from the deceased Aquarius, Fang Xiaocao felt like she couldn’t trust anyone.
Even Yun Luoshu, whom she had once relied on, felt like a risky bet.
Between them all, Zhi Qi was the most suspicious.
Meanwhile, Yun Luoshu had the least suspicion cast on her.
After leaving the mountains, Ye Lingchen, Lin Meng, and Qian Xia parted ways, returning to Beijing with the vehicle sent for them.
Before parting, Fang Xiaocao and Ye Lingchen exchanged WeChat contacts and made plans for her to visit Beijing.
Mysterious as always, Wan Xiaozhou had slipped away at some point, leaving without so much as a goodbye.
Now, in the car heading back to Tang City, aside from the driver, only Fang Xiaocao, Zhi Qi, Yun Luoshu, Su Wanqing, and Wen Shi remain.
The car had been sent by the Zhi family to pick up Zhi Qi.
Fang Xiaocao and the others were just hitching a ride.
Looking at Zhi Qi’s back from the front seat, Fang Xiaocao once again felt conflicted.
She didn’t know how to face Zhi Qi anymore.
Ever since she started suspecting her, a seed of estrangement had been planted in her heart.
And as time passed, that seed began to take root, grow, and bear fruit.
Even though she didn’t want to believe that Zhi Qi was behind everything, her subconscious had already begun to guard against her.
Now, every action Zhi Qi took seemed suspicious in Fang Xiaocao’s eyes.
Even her smiles… felt like they had hidden meanings.
The car slowly drove into Tang City.
“Xiaocao, where are you headed? Want to stop by my place?”
Zhi Qi turned around and asked.
“No… No need. I’m a little tired. I just want to go home and rest.”
Fang Xiaocao forced a smile and declined.
(End of Chapter 95)
