Li Junnan was now filled with curiosity. To be honest, he didn’t have a good impression of Gu Ran. His understanding of her was that she either caused trouble or was on her way to causing trouble.
The entire Tan Palace had been thrown into chaos by her, and Fu Sijue was physically and mentally exhausted from the hurt she caused.
As a friend and a brother, Li Junnan couldn’t understand why Fu Sijue insisted on having this woman.
With Fu Sijue’s status, any one of his identities could captivate thousands of young women. What kind of woman couldn’t he have? Yet for over twenty years, this guy had remained chaste, kept himself pure, and been so disciplined that people outside speculated he had issues with his sexual orientation.
However, tonight’s Gu Ran had opened Li Junnan’s eyes. Her calm composure during the surgery, her command of the entire situation, and her superb skills made Li Junnan feel inferior.
Fu Sijue knew Li Junnan was curious, but could he say that he actually didn’t know either?
“Probably. She said she studied medicine for a few years with an old Chinese doctor in her village.”
Fu Sijue said calmly. All three people in the study were stunned, their expressions complex.
Who would believe that? An old Chinese doctor? But what Gu Ran displayed today was exquisite Western medical expertise.
“Alright, I know you’re curious, but this has nothing to do with what we need to do next. Lao Jia, has there been any contact from Yan Chen?”
“Milord, Chief Zuo is still at the Alliance Headquarters. Currently, the Western Base appears most suspicious. This operation was a joint mission between Headquarters and the Western Base, but the Western Base didn’t provide support at the agreed time. Otherwise, the captain wouldn’t have been injured.”
When Lao Jia spoke about this operation, his eyes were filled with anger. They risked their lives carrying out missions at the border, yet those above, to consolidate power and eliminate dissidents, actually disregarded the lives of their operation team members.
Fu Sijue didn’t show much emotion and continued asking.
“Is there any evidence? Lao Jia, you should understand that everything must be backed by evidence. Otherwise, even I can’t do anything.”
Fu Sijue had his own frustrations too. The Alliance Base belonged to an official department. Although his authority in the Alliance Base was unmatched, there were still people above the Alliance Base. If he wanted to take action against someone, he must have evidence. Otherwise, he might be accused of abusing his power.
“There are already some clues, but Chief Zuo is still arguing with those guys at Headquarters. We can only arrange for others to investigate.”
Lao Jia said with a furrowed brow.
Fu Sijue pinched the bridge of his nose, thought for a moment, and said.
“I’ll handle this matter personally. Rest well during this period. It won’t be long before everyone might get busy.”
The Alliance Base had become increasingly chaotic in recent years. Several district commanders were ambitious and wanted to pull him down from that highest position.
Previously, Fu Sijue thought this kind of healthy competition could enhance combat effectiveness and had been turning a blind eye to it.
But now, someone had crossed the line. For personal gain, they actually started disregarding their brothers’ lives. It was time to reorganize the entire Alliance, and this was a perfect opportunity to make an example of them.
Upon hearing this, all three of them became excited.
Over the past two years, they had clearly felt that Fu Sijue had been delegating too much authority. While this approach represented trust and motivation for those loyal to Fu Sijue, for those with ulterior motives, it was absolutely nurturing a tiger that would bring disaster.
“Sijue, are you returning to Headquarters?”
Li Junnan asked with some excitement, which was understandable. After all, Fu Sijue, the absentee leader, had not returned to the Alliance Headquarters for nearly a year, causing many to almost forget that the Z Alliance still had a commander codenamed King Yama.
“I won’t be going back. With Zuo Yanchen overseeing things at the headquarters, it’s sufficient. If I were to suddenly return now, it might alert our targets.”
“That’s true. If the King Yama who’s been missing for almost a year suddenly appears at the headquarters, those people would likely become cautious and restrain their ambitions. That would spoil the fun.”
Li Junnan toyed with the scalpel in his hand. Though he spoke with a smile, his demeanor gave off a cold-blooded, murderous vibe.
“In fact, over the past few years, there have been people inquiring about King Yama’s identity. At one point, they even thought Chief Zuo was the mysterious King Yama.”
Lao Jia looked at Fu Sijue as he spoke, recalling how it had taken him quite some time to digest the fact that King Yama was none other than the formidable business magnate, Milord.
Within the entire alliance, fewer than thirty people knew Fu Sijue’s true identity. These individuals had been by his side for at least ten years, brothers who had faced life-and-death situations together.
Back when Fu Sijue took on the critical task of leading the reorganized Alliance Base, he was only eighteen. Like many young people, he enjoyed creating mystery and intrigue, so he always appeared wearing a silver mask.
Later, to ensure the safety of himself and those he cared about, he grew accustomed to wearing the mask, even during external operations.
As a result, to this day, the Alliance Base—which started as a special forces team of just a few hundred members—has become one of Z Country’s three most crucial national defense bases. Yet, its supreme commander remains the most enigmatic figure.
Once, a foreign power offered a staggering two billion bounty on the Dark Web for the head of the Alliance Base’s commander. Unfortunately for them, the listing remained unclaimed for half a year.
It wasn’t out of fear of King Yama, but simply because no one knew his true appearance. Without exception, anyone who had seen his face had ended up meeting King Yama in the afterlife.
“Let them inquire. If such methods were effective, I wouldn’t still be living peacefully to this day.”
“Milord is right. By the way, our squad’s successful breakout this time was thanks to the assistance of the Silver Fox Organization.”
Lao Jia suddenly recalled the group of people who had unexpectedly appeared during their retreat. Although he hadn’t seen their faces, their attire was highly distinctive.
“The Silver Fox Organization? That mysterious force operating in both the light and dark realms—why would they appear in the Triangle Zone?”
A cold, sharp glint flashed in Fu Sijue’s eyes.
The Silver Fox Organization, a group straddling the line between good and evil, rose to prominence five years ago in the Independent Island by challenging two local powers single-handedly. Since then, it had become the underground ruler of the Independent Island.
Yet, to label the Silver Fox Organization as entirely villainous would be inaccurate. The assassination missions undertaken by its covert division primarily targeted heinous criminals.
On the other hand, to call them a force for justice would also be a stretch. They operated beyond the jurisdiction of any nation, maintained close ties with covert forces in multiple countries, engaged in arms trafficking, and offered mercenary services—none of which could be considered virtuous.
What puzzled Fu Sijue was that the Silver Fox Organization’s headquarters were in the Independent Island, and its members were primarily active in the Western Hemisphere and various war zones. They had never been seen in the Triangle Zone before.
Faced with Fu Sijue’s skepticism, Lao Jia scratched his head and replied.
“It seems they came to the Triangle Zone specifically for that batch of new materials.”
“So the materials were hijacked?”
“Oh, no, that’s the strangest part. The Silver Fox Organization knew the materials were in our possession, yet they actually called off their operation. In the end, when we were ambushed, they even actively helped us.”
“What’s going on? Isn’t the Silver Fox Organization an underground force? I’ve heard that once they set their eyes on something, there’s no precedent of it being snatched away.”
Dan Zuo spoke up at this point. Due to certain reasons, he had dealt with the Silver Fox Organization before and had suffered losses at their hands several times.
Hearing that the Silver Fox Organization had voluntarily given up the fight was as unbelievable as the sun rising from the west.
Fu Sijue also found it increasingly strange. He had also had contact with the Silver Fox Organization before. How to put it? The people in that organization were all extremely arrogant, to the point of being downright contemptuous.
Everyone in the underworld knew that once something caught the Silver Fox Organization’s eye, it was as good as theirs.
“Dan Zuo, you’re in charge of investigating this matter, but don’t provoke any conflicts. After all, they did help us this time.”
Fu Sijue instructed, hoping it was all just a coincidence and not part of some scheme.
Dan Zuo nodded.
The four of them talked in the study until after 3 a.m. before wrapping up, but Fu Sijue kept Li Junnan behind alone afterward.
“Is there something else?” Li Junnan asked, puzzled.
Fu Sijue nodded and got straight to the point. “Ranran knows about my poisoning. She said there are two types of toxins in my body—one is the G3 Agent you know about, and the other is a chronic poison called Heart-Devouring Poison. Have you heard of it?”
“What? Heart-Devouring Poison?”
Li Junnan practically leaped up from the sofa, his face full of shock, followed by deep concern and fear.
As a doctor, how could he not have heard of Heart-Devouring Poison? Back in school, he had even researched this toxin under his mentor’s guidance, but the project made no progress and eventually had to be terminated.
Li Junnan was only briefly flustered. After calming down, he asked with disbelief, “Sijue, are you joking?”
“Do you think I would joke about something like this? But Ranran said she has a way to detoxify me, though it will take some time.”
“Just based on her…”
Li Junnan was about to say that someone like her, who knew nothing, couldn’t possibly manage it. But then he recalled Gu Ran’s performance in the operating room earlier and swallowed his words, changing his tone. “So you believe she can detoxify the poison in your body?”
Fu Sijue nodded, looking completely composed, as if he weren’t the one poisoned.
“Of course. At the very least, she was able to detect the other toxin in my body just by taking my pulse. You’ve drawn plenty of my blood over the past six months but never once detected it.”
Hearing this, Li Junnan was so ashamed and frustrated he wished he could crawl into a hole.
“Sijue, Miss Gu is too young.”
“Jun Nan, you should know better than to judge someone by their age. Besides, wasn’t tonight’s surgery the best proof? Since you have no solution for the G3 Agent, why not let Ranran give it a try?”
Fu Sijue’s attitude was firm. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Li Junnan, but he also wanted to see just how capable the woman he loved really was.
Betting one year of his own life on this girl’s ability to create a miracle, at worst it would mean death—after all, given the current situation, he was doomed to succumb to the poison in the end anyway.