He lifted his leg and walked steadily to the front of the convoy.
After briefly asking the lead driver a few questions, he looked up and glanced at Nie Zhenzhen standing in the middle of the road.
Then he turned around swiftly, returned to the rear door of the Knight XV, and bowed to report to the distinguished man inside.
“Mr. Li, a girl suddenly rushed out of the jungle, saying she was lost, and stopped the convoy.”
“Heh, this is Zaisang’s territory. It’s probably one of his goods that wasn’t watched closely enough and slipped out.”
The man let out a light chuckle, then spoke calmly,
“A-Yan, I’ll trouble you to make a trip and help him send his goods back.”
“Yes, Mr. Li.”
Just as A-Yan turned around, ready to carry out the man’s orders,
the man added another line, “Tell him, if he can’t even keep an eye on a woman, he’d better stop hanging around this area altogether!”
His tone carried a hint of mockery and ruthlessness.
With that, the man rolled up the car window and continued to rest with his eyes closed.
His demeanor was leisurely and languid, like a wild beast temporarily at rest, radiating a chilling aura that inspired fear.
A-Yan strolled slowly to Nie Zhenzhen and politely gestured with a “please” motion, signaling the girl to follow him forward.
Nie Zhenzhen thought the newcomer meant well, intending to give her a ride.
After all, the man before her, with his attire and appearance, didn’t look like a bad person.
She timidly lifted her leg and followed A-Yan’s lead.
When she reached one of the off-road vehicles, she paused and asked in a soft voice,
“Sir, could you please give me a ride? Just drop me off at the nearest town!”
Her eyes were filled with sincere pleading and hope.
A-Yan turned to look at the girl but didn’t answer.
He only gave a slight nod, signaling her to get in quickly.
A formulaic smile hung on his face, the corners of his mouth curved just right, yet it couldn’t hide the indifference and impatience in his eyes.
The man in the back seat of the Knight XV cast a glance out the window with his unfathomable eyes.
He saw a frail, wavering figure standing before an off-road vehicle.
The girl’s hair was disheveled, her clothes wrinkled and torn by the branches of the forest.
That broken, bedraggled state, resting on her, didn’t seem dull at all—instead, it gave rise to a pitiful, fragile beauty that made one’s heart ache with tenderness.
But soon, the faint ripple that had just risen in the man’s heart, before it could even spread, quickly returned to calm.
He continued to rest with his eyes closed, no longer looking out the window.
Nie Zhenzhen sat quietly curled up in the back seat of the off-road vehicle.
Her body leaned slightly against the window, her expression still pale with lingering shock.
The girl’s fingertips clutched at the hem of her clothes, her heart still trembling faintly.
Her gaze was vacant, fixed on the trees and wilderness rapidly receding outside the car.
Her eyes were empty and forlorn, a trace of unresolved fear knitted between her brows. She remained silent and still, letting her thoughts drift through the harrowing encounter just now, unable to settle for a long time.
After a while, when her emotions had calmed slightly,
she once again politely thanked A-Yan in the passenger seat,
“Thank you, sir. Would you mind telling me your name? If I ever get the chance, I’ll definitely repay you properly!”
“No need.”
A-Yan was silent for a few seconds before coldly squeezing out those two words.
Nie Zhenzhen shivered at the chill in his voice.
But she chose to muster her courage again, her voice soft yet carrying a cautious, tentative tone,
“Excuse me, sir, could you take me to the nearest police station?”
Ha, police station?
The police here were just for show—or even accomplices.
In this land of wolves that devoured people without spitting out bones, power and armed force were the only way to survive.
A-Yan sneered contemptuously to himself.
Nie Zhenzhen received no answer.
The car fell into a strange, awkward silence, adding to her unease and fear.
Soon, the vehicle passed through a familiar stretch of dense jungle and drove onto a narrow path.
The girl increasingly felt something was wrong—the scene seemed familiar.
But in her nervousness, she couldn’t recall it at all.
Yet the panic in her heart grew stronger, surging toward her like waves, one after another.
It wasn’t until the vehicle came to a steady stop outside that heavy iron gate that she suddenly snapped awake.
Instinctively, she reached for the door handle, wanting to get out immediately and escape this hell on earth.
But she pulled at it hard several times, and the door remained unmoving.
Only then did she realize the doors had long been locked tight.
A-Yan rolled down the window and waved to the sentry post outside the iron gate.
The gate was opened at once.
Two rows of guards stood facing them, armed with loaded weapons, bowing to welcome the vehicle inside.
After the vehicle came to a stop and the engine died on the open concrete ground, A-Yan stretched out his leg and got out.
He walked a few steps to the lead guard, exchanged a few brief words.
The guard glanced toward the car, then immediately waved, signaling one of his soldiers behind him to step forward.
Nie Zhenzhen watched in terror as a soldier walked toward her.
The car door was yanked open, and a wave of cold, harsh air rushed in.
The girl huddled tightly in the back seat, her hands gripping the edges of the seat, her lips pressed firmly together as she refused to budge an inch. Her eyes were filled with resistance and helplessness.
The soldier’s face was cold and grim, his patience completely exhausted. He leaned directly into the car.
A pair of rough, powerful hands clamped firmly around her slender arms, the force rough and unyielding.
Ignoring the girl’s panicked struggles and attempts to dodge, he dragged her out of the cramped back seat by sheer force.
The girl stumbled, her body lurching forward as she was pulled, her clothes twisted and disheveled.
She had no strength to resist at all.
Finally, she was thrown hard onto the ground, the impact making her gasp sharply in pain.
She was like a frightened fawn backed into a corner, utterly defenseless.
Her eyes looked at A-Yan with a pitiful, pleading gaze, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, as if she were only speaking to herself,
“Why… why are you doing this to me…”
There was no reply. All she received was a cold, indifferent look.
Then, a figure growing increasingly blurry as it walked away.
Finally, the man got into the car and, without looking back, drove completely out of the compound.
Nie Zhenzhen sat collapsed on the ground, her eyes hollow and vacant, despair flooding over her like a tide, drowning her completely.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, her breath caught in choked sobs.
There was no trace of vitality left in her expression—only shattered, lifeless stillness. She resigned herself to sinking, too drained even to shed tears.
“Take her to the torture chamber and lock her up alone!”
The head guard issued the order coldly.
The soldiers behind him stepped forward in response.
Despair had strangled every ounce of Nie Zhenzhen’s strength.
She no longer struggled or resisted, nor did she beg or plead. She was numb and defeated.
Docilely, she let the soldiers grab her arm and drag her forward.
Her expression was dead and still—a woman who had fully accepted her fate, ready to face death.