Chapter 24: Compromising Together

Xie Quan left the warehouse before the police car arrived, but because of his injuries, he didn’t get too far. Ji Cheying did not find Xie Quan in the warehouse, so he began to look around.

Looking around the warehouse, although he did not find Xie Quan’s figure, he found a pool of water in front of the warehouse had been stepped on by something, on the concrete floor there were a few tracks.

Those were definitely not human footprints.

Ji Cheying carefully observed and confirmed that it should be the traces of a robot. The water stains had not yet dried, indicating that they had been left not long ago. With a few guesses in mind, Ji Cheying followed the direction where the tracks disappeared and started searching.

Running on the deserted road, the young and talented five-star Major General of the Empire, who was able to keep his face unchanged in the face of the intergalactic beast invasion on the battlefield, showed panic at this moment.

This panic had been lurking in the depths of his heart since he received that phone call more than an hour ago. Noel City was not as peaceful and safe as it appeared, and Ji Cheying knew very well what kind of darkness and intrigue lay behind it.

The murderer of several betas had yet to be apprehended, and he was still lurking in the shadows, watching over the innocent. But at this very moment, Xie Quan was kidnapped.

Xie Quan, who was a beta, was kidnapped.

Thinking that Xie Quan might have met with poisonous hands, Ji Cheying hated himself for not sending the man back at that time, and not even bothering to make sure he arrived home safely after he left.

Otherwise, he could have come earlier.

If something had really happened to Xie Quan…

If…

At that moment, he heard a playful child’s voice in the roaring sea wind.

The voice said “Mr. Quan.”

His heart tightened and time seemed to stand still for a second as Ji Cheying turned on his heels and ran in the direction of the voice to the other road. Turning the corner and skimming past the abandoned building at the end, he turned around anxiously and saw the person he had been looking for.

The sea breeze whimpered and cried, and on the path beside the dark harbor road, the thin young man almost blended into the darkness. His back was straight, and he walked slowly but step by step, with only a worn-out old robot following beside him.

Next to the path was a wild growth of wild grass, but under the vitality, it was barren and silent. The weeds and the shadow of a man and a machine tangled together, almost indistinguishable from each other.

He didn’t know what he felt in his heart at that moment, his eyes locked on that figure, and he gave a long exhale. Ji Cheying’s head was blank as he finally simply ran to him—

He reached out his hand, grabbed him, watched Xie Quan turn around to face him, and when his figure was in those eyes again, the blood in Ji Cheying’s heart boiled up again. The wind rose up under the drums and horns, the flags rolled up, and it was as if a thousand armies were waving the flag in his heart.

His throat tightened, his voice was a little out of tune. “Shit! Are you okay?!”

At that moment, the clouds drifted away, the moonlight fell back on them. Ji Cheying saw Xie Quan’s appearance, and his pupils tightened. His face was swollen on one side, and the bruises on his fair skin were particularly shocking.

Ji Cheying’s breath caught, he reached out and ran his hand through Xie Quan’s forehead hair, which also covered bruises and had blood in it. His other hand, which was still holding the other man’s wrist, involuntarily tightened.

Xie Quan’s wrist was strangled by the rope, and when Ji Cheying’s hand tightened, the pain caused him to frown, but he did not say anything. He only asked with puzzlement in his eyes, “Why are you here?”

Ji Cheying’s eyes were dark, and he replied in a deep voice, “I came to find you. Sorry I’m late.”

To find him?

Xie Quan thought of the police car that Xiao Bai had mentioned earlier; did he come with the police? So the police really came to look for him? Xie Quan didn’t understand why he had to apologize, let alone how the police knew he was here.

Taking into account the hidden anger in Ji Cheying’s eyes, Xie Quan simply said, “I’m fine, you don’t have to come to me.”

Ji Cheying’s face was not kind. “You’re fine?”

Xie Quan’s eyes blinked. “It just looks worse, but it’s not life-threatening, don’t worry.” It was just the abdomen that hurt, the rest of the body was actually fine.

“Who did this?” Ji Cheying did not listen to Xie Quan’s words at all, but asked, “One of the people lying there, Márquez?”

However, without waiting for Xie Quan’s answer, Ji Cheying realized that now was not the time to ask such questions, and he frowned. “I’ll take you to treat your wounds.”

The convoy that he left behind and was on its way included a medical team, which should be almost there by now. However, Xie Quan broke away from his hand at that moment. He said irresistibly, “I’ll take care of my own business.”

Ji Cheying saw Xie Quan’s firm gaze and immediately remembered that Xie Quan had the same attitude on the street before and did not go to the hospital in the end.

Xie Quan had a secret, and this secret made him resistant to hospitals and the police.

Ji Cheying’s eyes fell on the wound on Xie Quan’s face, and instead of persuading him as he had done before, he simply asked, “Where are you going?”

Xie Quan was surprised by Ji Cheying’s lack of stubbornness, and he froze, hesitating a bit, not knowing how to answer. He was ready to go to a black clinic. Would the other party be shocked if he said so? Should he just say one? Or simply not say it?

Yet just as Xie Quan settled there in thought, Ji Cheying spoke in a languid tone, “Wherever you want to go, I won’t say anything, but if you don’t tell me, I’ll definitely take you back.”

“…” Xie Quan pondered for a few seconds and said, “The clinic, private.” He was slightly more polite.

Ji Cheying really didn’t say anything, and he asked, “Where is it? I’ll walk you there.”

Xie Quan’s eyes widened slightly. “You didn’t say you were coming with me.”

Ji Cheying was unfazed. “I just said I wouldn’t say anything, I didn’t say I wouldn’t do anything.” He had even looked down to call a car. “It’s rather isolated here, it’s not convenient to call a car, you may need to wait for a while.”

“…”

Xie Quan sighed and only stood helplessly by, when Ji Cheying asked, “Give me the address.”

Xie Quan turned his head and said to the robot next to him, “Xiao Bai, send the address.”

Xiao Bai, who hadn’t dared to speak, responded, “Yes!”

Ji Cheying received the address from Xiao Bai, and as he typed it in, he looked at the old, worn-out household robot and asked, “Xiao Bai?”

Xie Quan was stunned, he just shouted it out in the moment, but now that Ji Cheying asked, he didn’t know how to explain. And Xiao Bai was good enough to keep its mouth shut and wait for Xie Quan to explain.

Xie Quan thought for a while and explained, “They had a home robot there, I liked it so much that I brought it out.”

When Xiao Bai heard Xie Quan’s answer, he echoed, “Hello! I am household robot number 0256, you can affectionately call me Xiao Bai.”

Ji Cheying thought about the security footage he had seen earlier and felt that this ridiculous reason somehow fit Xie Quan.

Of course, he knew Xie Quan must be hiding something, but he didn’t want to press the issue.

After calling the car, Ji Cheying looked at Xie Quan, who was now standing against Xiao Bai with a haggard face, little strength, and one hand covering his abdomen. He deeply locked his eyebrows. “Are you hurt badly? In addition to the injuries on the face, where else did you get hurt?”

While asking, he went up to remove Xie Quan’s hand covering his abdomen to see the situation. Only then did he see the two skinned strangulation marks on Xie Quan’s wrist.

“Your hands…” He thought that when he had just grabbed Xie Quan’s wrists, he must have aggravated his wounds, yet Xie Quan did not say a word. The inexplicable anger in Ji Cheying’s heart rose again, his cheeks hardened, and his lips tensed into a straight line.

Those scum.

They should really have died in the fire.

A bit of hostility slipped through his eyes.

No.

Fortunately, they did not die in the fire.

Death in the fire was too cheap for them.