Chapter 130
Chapter 130: The Complete Strange Island
Outside, 1 minute passes. Inside the Confinement Cell, 24 hours.
But Jiang Nan only used half that time.
Otherwise, she would break.
Jiang Nan stood up and straightened his collar.
Tiffany, at that moment, lay collapsed on the floor.
Her eyes had rolled back.
Foam at the mouth.
That once-proud soul had been utterly shattered across a full 12 hours.
What remained on her face now was only a hollow numbness—thoroughly, completely wrecked.
Jiang Nan looked down at her from above.
‘12 hours.’
‘Reflect on yourself properly. We continue tomorrow.’
The next second, his figure dissolved from the Confinement Cell.
Seattle Mercy Hospital Plaza.
In the outside world, only 1 minute had passed.
The Sovereign Lantern hummed low in midair, and Jiang Nan's tall, upright figure materialized from nothing.
"Master!"
Before he had even steadied himself, Piano was the first to come rushing over.
Piano threw herself onto Jiang Nan's arm and pressed her nose against him.
"Master! Where did you go just now?!"
She twitched her nose, sniffing up and down his body.
"You suddenly disappeared for a whole minute! I thought something had happened!"
"Hm?"
She suddenly stopped. Her nose twitched again several more times.
"What's that smell?"
"Master, why do you have that woman's smell on you?"
Jiang Nan's expression remained blank. He reached back and slapped a sticky note onto her face.
【Get lost.】
【Went to take care of business.】
Piano tore the note off and blinked.
"Oh… taking care of business, huh…"
Her eyes shifted. Something surfaced on her face.
"Then, Master, do you need me for anything?"
She leaned in and pointed at herself, lowering her voice.
"If you're still not done~"
"I'm… available, you know~"
Jiang Nan looked down at her.
Those eyes—undisguised desire.
‘This woman…’
‘Her energy really is something else.’
But Jiang Nan, right now, was in sage mode.
Never spoke harder than in moments like this.
"Want to do work?"
"Then I'll give you an assignment."
Another sticky note, pressed onto Piano's face.
【Go through the hospital and take stock of all usable medical equipment and instruments.】
【It's safe now. No danger.】
【Can you do it?】
Piano stared at the words on the note, frozen for a second.
Then—
"Yes!!!"
She practically shouted it.
"Master, leave it to me! Piano will complete the mission!"
"I'll take stock of every single usable item! Not one will be missed!"
The moment she finished speaking, she spun around and sprinted toward the hospital entrance.
That stride, that silhouette—the spitting image of a dog let off its leash.
Jiang Nan watched her retreating figure and raised an eyebrow slightly.
‘This one…’
‘Aside from that kind of thing, she's actually a person with a brain.’
In an environment like this, the fear wasn't that someone wouldn't work—it was that there was no work to do.
Piano clearly understood that.
She would do everything in her power to prove her worth.
Only that way could she stay by her master's side.
Jiang Nan withdrew his gaze and looked ahead.
Guo Shuai stood not far off, holding Quanquan, on standby at all times.
"Move out."
He spoke.
"Yes! Boss!"
Guo Shuai immediately snapped to attention and fell in behind Jiang Nan.
Quanquan, draped over his shoulder, parroted in a tiny voice.
"Move out~ move out~ follow the big boss~"
……
At the edge of the plaza.
Han Fei, Ye Yilin, and Guan Ming stood where they were, not quite knowing what to do.
Should they follow?
Did they even have the right to follow?
Han Fei watched that gradually retreating figure, her expression complicated.
Since truly becoming a mother, the sharp edge she carried had softened by half.
Love brings strength.
But equally, it brings weakness.
Because she had something to care about again.
Someone she wanted to protect.
But…
It was precisely because she had something to care about that she had to work harder to stay alive.
Han Fei took a deep breath and rose to her feet.
"Move."
She said.
Ye Yilin looked up. "Mom, where are we going?"
"We follow."
Han Fei fixed her gaze in the direction Jiang Nan had gone, her eyes resolute.
"Even if we have to swallow our pride, we're getting in."
"That person… is worth following."
Guan Ming nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"Whatever you say."
Ye Yilin clenched her fist.
"Got it! I'll do whatever Mom says!"
The 3 of them stepped forward and gave chase.
Guo Shuai caught the movement behind them and drew close to Jiang Nan's side.
"Boss, those 3 are following us." he murmured.
"The Desperado woman, that female student, and the cop with the severed hand."
"Should I send them away?"
Jiang Nan's stride never broke.
"No need."
He said, tone flat.
He never had anything against taking people in.
As long as they had value, he was willing to accept them.
Besides……
Jiang Nan lifted his eyes toward the horizon.
The journey ahead of him was a sea of stars.
How could he manage that without a team?
As they spoke, the group had already reached the motorhome.
That enormous black mobile fortress sat quietly in the open space outside the hospital.
Heavy armor, a menacing silhouette, and that aura of Aura of Fear radiating from its layer of S-Grade Cursed Hide.
Just looking at it was enough to make one feel a quiet dread.
The vehicle door swung open, and several figures came rushing out.
"Boss!!!"
Wang Meng was first, charging forward with excitement painted all over his flushed face.
"You're finally back!"
"We saw the massive explosion from inside the vehicle! And that pillar of light!"
"It was absolutely incredible!"
Behind him, Chen Tong and Yekaterina came striding over.
Neither woman hesitated for a moment—one from the left, one from the right, both pulled Jiang Nan into an embrace.
Chen Tong buried her face in his shoulder, her voice slightly choked.
"As long as you're fine… as long as you're fine…"
Yekaterina tilted her head up, her golden vertical pupils full of concern.
"Are you hurt?"
Jiang Nan shook his head.
"No."
With that, he glanced toward Guo Shuai, the meaning unmistakable.
Hoshino Hikari poked her head out from behind.
"OK! Leave it to me!"
She stepped forward quickly, her hands radiating a healing light.
"Thanks, Boss. Thanks, Hoshino."
Guo Shuai's body was covered in bruises from the battle, so he accepted the treatment.
Quanquan sat on his shoulder, watching Hoshino Hikari with wide, curious eyes.
"Daddy, what's this big sis doing?"
"Healing Daddy."
"Can Quanquan heal too?"
"You? What can you heal?"
"Quanquan can eat Daddy's sickness away!"
"Eat the sickness? Do you think illness is a snack?"
"Snack! Snack!"
"I really can't with you."
Guo Shuai buried his face in his hands.
Quanquan was sharp sometimes, and unimaginably dense at others.
Liu Yuqing pushed up her glasses and walked over to stand before Jiang Nan.
"Boss, what about the item?"
She held out her hand.
Jiang Nan glanced at Guo Shuai.
Guo Shuai caught on immediately, pulled the hard drive from his chest, and tossed it over.
"Catch!"
Liu Yuqing caught it, turned quickly, and made her way back to the motorhome.
She opened the Leader Tablet and inserted the hard drive into the port.
Buzz!
The screen lit up.
A progress bar began loading.
10%…
30%…
60%…
100%!
【Map loaded successfully!】
Liu Yuqing's pupils contracted sharply.
"This… this is…"
Her fingers slid across the screen—zooming in, zooming out, zooming back in.
The upper half of the map finally appeared in full.
It was a vast, expansive region.
But that wasn't what stunned Liu Yuqing.
It was—
On the map. That enormous black marker.
A city.
A real, actual city.
And above it, 4 characters marked in black.
【Dragon-Summer Imperial City】.
Danger Level: Black.
Liu Yuqing's hands began to tremble.
Black.
That was the highest danger level marked on any map.
"Boss…"
She lifted her head, looking toward Jiang Nan, her voice slightly unsteady.
"Look at this……"
Jiang Nan took the tablet.
When his gaze landed on that black primary city—
His pupils contracted, ever so slightly.
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