QT: Against My Will (Volume 2)

4.44 - Don't Hide Like A Coward - Dangerous Angels

[Side quest successful: Break the link between Zhao Rong and Mao An, +1000p]

In a room dimly lit by the glow of a projected movie, Ziek looked up in surprise as Bing Shi leaped into his arms. He returned her hug and her kiss, his eyes asking, 'What the fuck was that for?'

"I finished a side quest," getting a congratulatory embrace from Ru Quan; she then hugged Kuro for a few seconds before she was separated.

Nestling her between his legs, Ziek took Kuro into her arms. Hugging both of them, he felt a warmth spread through his chest as he watched the movie. It was as if he had gained a big family.

Kuro suddenly grew in size and wrapped itself around Ziek and Bing Shi, to keep them safe.

"It's alright, just shrink back," Bing Shi tapped at its warm skin, "We'll protect you."

Upon catching a wink and a reassuring smile from Xuan Mu, Kuro returned to its normal size and nestled back into Bing Shi's arms.

There could be a chance that Kuro was being monitored by an outsider, even more of a reason for them not to mistreat it. Who cared if Kuro belonged to HQ? Betrayal was always expected.

Just like Sharkie, it became a part of their lives; they wanted Kuro to understand that they didn't see it as an outsider. It once implied to Bing Shi how it was annihilated more than once due to gaining consciousness, thanks to which it could suffer and feel a range of emotions. To protect its existence, it could always hide inside baby Shiro, thus the reason why Kuro became so attached to it.

|"Are you alright?"|

Bing Shi leaned back against Ziek's chest, her hand lightly stroking the arms that held Kuro.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Ru Quan murmured, planting a small kiss on her head. He had a more pressing matter at hand; there was no time to feel jealous of Kuro. Having sęx with Bing Shi was the dumbest thing he could do. Now, it was even harder to differentiate himself from the others.

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° A few days ago...

° Fei Lan had just assassinated a guard assigned to watch the doctor who had adopted her.

° The dying guard's final words, "His... His Highness won't forgive you," haunted the air as his body hit the cold ground of an underground dungeon.

° Inside an underground dungeon, there was a massacre going on. Fei Lan flicked acupuncture needles from between her fingers, dispatching anyone foolish enough to get in her way. Time was of the essence; she had to save the clinic doctor.

° She couldn't teleport with more than one person and didn't want to reveal her ability to anyone, so she ordered the doctor to hide, but he was stubborn, refusing to abandon the clinic.

° Fei Lan navigated through the underground dungeon's maze-like corridors, her footsteps echoing off the stone walls. Her mind was racing. She knew this was a trap, but she was no coward. She had expected they'd hold the innocent doctor hostage in order to lure her out. When she finally found the doctor, he was already dead.

° It was a visceral punch to her gut, an overwhelming mix of grief, guilt, and fury. Her eyes hardened, and her grip tightened on her weapon. The room seemed to grow colder, the air thicker with an impending sense of doom.

° Her eyes caught sight of the scrap of parchment pinned cruelly to the doctor's chest. Yanking it free, her eyes scanned the hastily scrawled words. 'He would rather commit suicide than be interrogated?' The message taunted, a sickening cherry on top of this horrid situation.

° Fei Lan felt her veins turn to ice. Her fury crystallized into something lethal, something that could not be contained. With a flick of her wrist, she launched a volley of needles into the void of the room—each needle was a silent promise to make her enemies pay dearly.

° In a burst of movement too swift for the human eye, Kuro lunged out of its shadowy hiding spot. Its fangs were bared, gleaming like ivory knives in the dim light, and its muscular body moved with purposeful agility. In one fluid motion, the snake-like creature coiled itself around Fei Lan, its scales contracting with formidable strength.

° [Host, she's inhumanly fast.]

° ["Oh, she sure is. We need to find out what other tricks she has up her sleeves. She is a hacker, so be careful. Can she injure you in any other way? Are you sure she can't kidnap you into her space?"]

° [Host, you don't need to repeat yourself. Systems are a threat to such dimension spaces. We can pinpoint its location from the inside.]

° Hearing many footsteps in the distance, Kuro continued to squeeze Fei Lan, who showed a calm and indifferent expression despite the pain. What she didn't expect was the disparity in strength between the two systems. {'Aren't you supposed to be a top system?'}

° {Wuwu. Every system is top of its department.}

° {"Useless. Make a connection with it. I'm going to hack into it."}

° {No! It's too risky! There could be a backlash!}

° {"Stop being so annoying. I have my ways, stale for time, and watch the upcoming grand show."}

° Though his Host frequently scolded the boy, he didn't mind — he took it as his Host showing affection to her family. His host was never wrong; he had full confidence in Fei Lan.

° Materializing before Kuro, XiaoPu called out in a confident voice.

° (XiaoPu): "Call out your Host to come and fight fair and square! Tell her to stop hiding behind a system like a coward!"

° Fei Lan showed a dark smile that could be missed easily; a small chip appeared in her palm. In her past lives, she was known as the most wanted genius hacker, with a bounty of over one billion.

° With her skills of many years, combined with the teaching from the training system, she was never caught. She was a predator, not a prey. "Never mess with me, Bing Shi, ever," she said while emitting a dangerous and pressuring aura that could send others trembling from sheer fear.

° 'Sure, of course, that's why I'm not confronting you face to face. Don't worry. I'm expecting the worst from you.'

° Bing Shi went through so many death threats from Yi Zen and Fu Lian that she turned a blind ear to this one. Especially Yi Zen, who would occasionally attempt some sneak attacks on her as training against 'assassins'.

° Initially, Bing Shi tolerated Yi Zen's so-called training sessions, which felt more like skirmishes on the brink of lethality. As ice daggers, swords, and bullets whizzed past her, would be propelled by an aura tinged with murderous intent.

° ["Aw, her system is so cute! If you feel any danger, immediately run away. We gained enough information from this meeting. We'll wait until our enemy makes another mistake."]

° [Yes.]