On the way back, Jiang Ning was in an excellent mood.
With a bicycle purchase permit and a fortune of two hundred yuan tucked into her pocket, this house call had been extremely profitable. Having a bicycle would make it much easier to travel back and forth to the county town to buy and sell medicinal herbs. She wouldn’t have to keep hitching rides with the regiment anymore.
The jeep pulled up at the entrance to the military residential compound.
“Comrade Jiang, I won’t be going inside,” Officer Zhao said politely after bringing the vehicle to a stop. “If you need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to call the county committee.”
“Thanks.”
Jiang Ning pushed open the door and got out.
Dusk had already fallen. The aroma of freshly cooked food drifted through the compound, and lights were glowing in the windows of the various households.
Jiang Ning had just reached the door of her family’s single-story house when she stopped abruptly.
The door wasn’t locked.
In fact, it was slightly ajar, leaving a narrow gap.
There were no lights on inside. The darkness resembled the gaping mouth of some enormous monster waiting to swallow her whole.
Jiang Ning narrowed her eyes, instinctively reaching into her pocket for a razor blade.
Then she pushed the door open.
“Back already?”
A deep voice sounded from the darkness. A lighter clicked, and a small flame sprang to life, illuminating Gu Ci’s stern face.
He was sitting beside the table, holding a gun-cleaning cloth and methodically wiping down a disassembled Type 54 pistol. Its components were scattered across the tabletop, gleaming coldly in the flickering light.
Jiang Ning closed the door behind her and casually flipped the light switch.
The dim yellow light came on.
Gu Ci narrowed his eyes, apparently unaccustomed to the sudden brightness. However, his hands never stopped moving as he continued wiping the gun barrel with steady precision.
“Commander Gu, are you standing guard over my door?”
Jiang Ning slapped the envelope containing her money onto the table with a sharp smack.
Gu Ci glanced at the envelope, then raised his eyes to her.
“Director Li’s daughter from the county committee. A hysterical episode. You cured her with one slap and a few acupuncture needles.”
His tone was flat, as though he were reporting the details of a dull military operation.
“Two hundred yuan in consultation fees, plus a bicycle purchase permit. Jiang Ning, you make money faster than a bank robber.”
Jiang Ning pulled out a chair, sat down, and poured herself a glass of cold water.
“Commander Gu certainly gets his information quickly.”
She took a sip. “What? Was Officer Zhao sent by you?”
“Yes.”
Gu Ci didn’t deny it.
“I wanted to see what you were really capable of. Were you just putting on a show and pretending to have supernatural abilities in the compound, or did you actually have some skills?”
“And what was your conclusion?”
“Not bad.”
Gu Ci began reassembling the pistol, piece by piece.
Click. Click.
His movements were so practiced that they were almost frightening.
“However…” His tone suddenly shifted, and the gun barrel pointed casually in Jiang Ning’s direction. “There’s something I’d really like to know. A country girl who grew up in a village for twenty years and had barely visited the county town a handful of times—where did she learn all these skills? Psychology, anatomy, acupuncture, and that look in her eyes…”
He paused.
“The kind of look that only someone who has killed before would have.”
The atmosphere instantly froze.
This was Gu Ci.
He might have been crazy, but he certainly wasn’t stupid. On the contrary, his powers of observation were exceptional.
Jiang Ning looked at the dark muzzle pointed at her.
She didn’t retreat. Instead, she leaned forward until her chest pressed against the cold barrel.
“Gu Ci, you’ve been investigating me?”
She asked with a smile on her lips, but there wasn’t the slightest trace of warmth in her eyes.
“I have.”
Gu Ci stared directly into her eyes.
“Jiang Ning of Jiangjia Village. Timid since childhood, so afraid of killing a chicken that she couldn’t even bear to watch. When her adoptive mother beat and scolded her, all she could do was cry. Three months ago, she was nearly beaten to death for stealing a sweet potato.”
His finger rested on the trigger.
“You’re not her. Who are you?”
It was a deadly question.
In this era, the idea of a soul inhabiting someone else’s body might have sounded absurd. But if she were branded an enemy spy, her fate would be far worse than death.
Jiang Ning looked at Gu Ci.
She was taking a gamble.
She was betting that this madman didn’t need an innocent country girl with a spotless background. What he needed was someone who could dance alongside him in hell—a kindred spirit.
“I’m Jiang Ning.”
She spoke calmly.
“However, the Jiang Ning from before really is dead.”
Gu Ci raised an eyebrow.
“Three months ago, when she was beaten half to death and thrown into a pigsty, that timid, cowardly Jiang Ning died.”
Jiang Ning reached out and gripped the hot gun barrel. Slowly, she pushed it away from her chest.
“The person who crawled back from hell is the woman standing before you now. Commander Gu, when someone is pushed to the brink of despair, they’ll learn anything to survive. Killing pigs, killing people, saving lives—it’s all the same. As long as you can stay alive.”
She met Gu Ci’s gaze, her eyes filled with a ruthless determination that sent a chill down the spine.
“You crawled out of a pile of corpses yourself. You should understand that feeling—the desperate need to survive at any cost.”
Gu Ci stared at her.
The fire burning in those eyes was the same kind of fire that burned within him.
It was the survival instinct of a beast.
After a long silence, he finally removed his finger from the trigger.
“I don’t believe in ghosts or gods.”
Gu Ci put the pistol back into its holster.
“But I trust my instincts. You have something I need. As long as you don’t betray me, I’ll treat you as a living person.”
“Betrayal?”
Jiang Ning let out a mocking laugh.
“Commander Gu, we’re in the same boat now. What would I gain by betraying you? Going back to Jiangjia Village to farm the land?”
She stood up and waved the envelope in her hand.
“The money belongs to me, and so does the permit. In exchange, I’ll take care of your headaches.”
Gu Ci watched her money-loving expression, and the murderous intent in his eyes finally faded completely.
“I’m going to the city tomorrow.”
He said, “I’ll buy your bicycle while I’m there. It’s on the way. That’ll save me from having to send someone to pick you up in the future.”
It was his way of acknowledging her.
Jiang Ning was just about to respond when a sudden, urgent air-raid siren rang out outside.
Woooo—Woooo—
The piercing sound tore through the tranquility of the night.
Gu Ci’s expression changed. He sprang to his feet.
“What happened?” Jiang Ning asked.
“A first-level combat alert.”
Gu Ci grabbed the cap from the table and pulled it onto his head.
“Or it could be… a major accident.”
Before he had even finished speaking, the door was violently thrown open.
Wang Dayong rushed inside, his face covered in blood. Before he could even steady himself, he shouted, “Commander! Something terrible has happened! The construction company’s mess hall… Hundreds of people collapsed after eating dinner! They’re foaming at the mouth! The medical unit can’t handle them all!”
Food poisoning.
And on a massive scale.
Gu Ci’s gaze instantly sharpened like a blade.
The construction company was currently racing to repair a national defense optical cable. For something like this to happen at such a critical moment could not possibly be a coincidence.
“Seal off the scene! Nobody is allowed in or out!”
Gu Ci issued orders as he rushed toward the door. But just as he reached it, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at Jiang Ning.
“Can you neutralize poison?”
Jiang Ning had already picked up the box containing her silver needles.
“As long as it isn’t the most lethal kind of poison, I’ll give it a try.”
She walked up beside Gu Ci, her expression even calmer than his.
“Lead the way. This time, I’m charging a fortune!”