“What? Is practicing with guns bothering you? Plenty of people practice shooting these days!” the man replied calmly.
Song Ning shook her head.
“The calluses on your index finger aren’t just on the sides—they cover almost the entire finger. You don’t just practice with handguns. You practice with rifles too.”
There might be plenty of people who practiced with handguns, but those who trained extensively with both handguns and rifles could be narrowed down to a very specific group.
No wonder she had been so confident.
“Pan the Hunchback” studied her silently. After a long moment, he clicked his tongue.
“Alright! What else?”
“I heard the traffickers saying that things have been very tense lately. When I saw you making such a grand show of robbing other criminals, I found it strange. ‘Brother Da’ is afraid of the police, and Pan the Hunchback should be too. For him to attract attention at a time like this would be asking for death. It didn’t make sense. Then, when I saw these two ‘lackeys’ make their move, I became certain…”
“They were using standard military restraint techniques. Their attacks were fierce, but they instinctively avoided vital points. That’s very different from the style usually associated with gangs. So… I decided to follow you and confirm my suspicions.”
The people around them were stunned.
Their operation had been smooth from start to finish. They had cut through their targets with overwhelming momentum and had been feeling quite pleased with themselves.
Yet this young woman…
Had seen through them at a single glance.
Tilting his head, “Pan the Hunchback” stared at her for a while. His tongue pressed against his cheek as he chuckled.
“Well then! Judging by how confident you are, you’ve had me figured out from the start, haven’t you? Thanks for going through all the trouble of acting this scene out with me!”
Song Ning couldn’t help laughing.
Although she had pieced together their identities step by step, she had indeed been curious to see just how long this “boss” could keep up the act.
As it turned out…
The boss had never even dared to truly begin.
…
Laughter erupted around them again.
Compared to the earlier jeering, this laughter was far more genuine.
The man straightened up and brushed back the hair that had been covering his eyes.
As his hair swept aside, it revealed a smooth forehead and an exceptionally handsome pair of eyes, along with a smiling face.
He stepped forward and extended his hand.
“Gu Zheng. Captain of this anti-crime operation. You really have given us quite a big ‘surprise.'”
Song Ning extended her hand as well.
“Song Ning. I’m very happy to meet all of you here. You can ask me anything, and I’ll do my best to cooperate.”
Gu Zheng placed his hands on his hips and looked her up and down once more before frowning.
“First question. You’re this bold and slippery. How exactly did you end up getting kidnapped by traffickers?”
Song Ning paused.
That question…
Was painfully direct.
She knew his suspicion was completely reasonable, so she could only force out an awkward laugh.
“I’d been running a fever for several days before that. My head wasn’t clear, and I was constantly confused… I never expected to fall into their trap.”
The fever was true.
Whether it happened before or after the kidnapping…
Well, that was up to her to decide.
Gu Zheng narrowed his eyes but didn’t pursue the matter.
“Second question. Why do you know so much about the military? And in such detail?”
Song Ning paused again.
Why did she know so much about the military?
Because she had practically grown up in one.
Most people enlisted when they came of age.
She had effectively “enlisted” the moment she was born.
Her father’s childhood dream had been to join the military, but after growing up, he failed the political background review and became a researcher instead. Unable to let go of his dream, he married a military officer.
As a result, her officer mother gave birth to her on a military base and raised her there.
She had grown up on military training grounds.
Naturally, her own childhood dream had also been to join the military.
While other girls learned dancing and painting, she was running five-kilometer weighted marches with recruits and practicing military boxing.
Yet when she finally reached enlistment age, she failed the political review as well.
For the same reason as her father.
It all traced back to the case involving her grandfather years ago.
Even having a military officer as a mother wasn’t enough to overcome that obstacle.
Her grandfather’s case had become an obsession for the entire Song family.
Unable to enlist, she studied medicine instead.
Later, she opened hospitals.
More than one, in fact.
And then…
Just as her career was flourishing, before she had even found a suitable partner, before her grandfather’s case had been solved…
She opened her eyes and found herself here.
A kidnapped, ignorant village woman.
She had plenty of grievances herself and no idea where to begin.
In truth, there were things she hadn’t said.
She had spent her entire life around soldiers. She was overly familiar with their behavior, movements, and body language.
Their eyes.
Their reactions under pressure.
Even the unconscious habit of reaching for a weapon.
All those traits combined into the unique sense of righteousness and presence that soldiers seemed to possess.
She could feel it the moment she got close.
That was the real source of her confidence.
“What? Difficult to answer?” Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow.
“My grandfather served in the war. When I was very young, he told me countless stories about the military in great detail. I also enjoy reading books and listening to radio broadcasts. Anything related to the military tends to stick in my mind.”
Song Ning answered seriously.
After all, the original owner’s grandfather was already dead.
And he really had served in the war.
Even if he had only been a medic.
“So your fighting skills came from your grandfather too?”
“Yes. He taught me military boxing from a young age. He always said it never hurt for a girl to learn some self-defense. That’s why many common techniques looked familiar to me the moment I saw them.”
A sheen of sweat appeared on Song Ning’s forehead.
She had known that exposing their identities would inevitably lead to this round of questioning.
But since they were clearly targeting the traffickers, joining up with them had been the safest and smartest choice.
The only problem was that the man before her was even sharper than she had imagined.
She had only used two moves at the window.
To be precise, she had only managed half of each move before he completely restrained her.
Yet he had still recognized that she was trained.
She felt it was necessary to remind him that the most important matter at hand was the traffickers.
And besides—
Lan Ying was still waiting for her.
Just as she was about to speak—
Captain Gu suddenly said seriously,
“Very well, Comrade Song Ning. Thank you for taking the initiative to find us. Right now, our priority is learning everything we can about the traffickers. Since you’re here, then the young woman with the injured face should also be nearby, correct?”
Song Ning froze.
Then she stared at him in surprise.
“How do you know Lan Ying’s face is injured?”
That half-smiling expression appeared on Gu Zheng’s face again.
“‘Besides the one who’s practically at death’s door, there’s another one with an injured face. Everyone else has already been sold off.'”
He shrugged.
“That’s one of the traffickers’ latest statements.”
“Ah… well…”
Song Ning suddenly found herself speechless.
Gu Zheng studied her quietly.
His tone was serious, yet carried a hint of amusement.
“Although I don’t know where the misunderstanding occurred, theoretically speaking…”
“You should be the one they were referring to as ‘practically at death’s door.'”