Chapter 117

"Is this a storage room?"

The Doctor looked around, then asked in confusion.

"It seems so... Right, I need to find those gangsters quickly--"

Something's not right!

The Doctor opened the door, glanced at the layout of the corridor, and then abruptly turned to Aiden and shouted.

"What... something's not right..."

Aiden was stunned into standing still by the Doctor's shout.

"There's only one passageway in this place, and you have to go through that basement to leave!"

How did you know...?

"The ventilation duct we just climbed—these ducts are usually connected to passageways. Remembering the path we climbed gives us a rough idea of the surrounding terrain... The blockage we just encountered was deliberately set up!"

In an instant, the Doctor realized that their route might have been manipulated by someone, and then he broke out in a cold sweat.

"How could this be...?"

"Never mind that! Let's find a way out! Climb that pipe and go back the way we came. Even if we get blocked at the exit, it's better than staying here!"

"Hurry up..."

The Doctor, standing in the corridor, suddenly felt a jolt behind her. When she turned around abruptly, a rugged male face appeared silently behind her!

"Haven't seen you for a long time."

He then spoke, calling out to Aiden and the Doctor who were standing in the corridor and at the doorway.

Almost instinctively, the Doctor delivered a powerful kick, sending Aiden, who was halfway down the storage room doorway, flying back inside! At the same time, he slammed the cold metal door shut with a bang!

The door closed, and the automatic locking mechanism activated, locking her and the man who had appeared out of nowhere in the corridor. At the same time, the Doctor gripped the screwdriver in her other hand and thrust it directly into the keyhole. This action used almost all her strength, but fortunately, the old lock cooperated, clamping the screwdriver shut and completely eliminating the possibility of opening it by normal means.

"Run!!!! Find a way to avoid going the same way we came! Hurry!!!"

Almost shouting, the Doctor leaned against the door and yelled at Aiden inside.

"Te... Te Senior! What about you?! I... I..."

"Stop talking nonsense! Of course I know it's all your fault! So you better get out of here and find a way to call the police!!! Hurry up! What good do you think the two of us together will do? That way at least one of us will survive! And I don't want to die! So you better hurry up! Once we're out, find a way to get help immediately!!!"

"Senior... I understand, please, I'll be right back! Wait for me!!"

Aiden shouted, then scrambled into the pipe above at almost his fastest speed.

Meanwhile, the Doctor leaned against the door, staring at the burly man in the black suit with a grim expression.

"Only a clueless young man like him, fresh out of college, would believe that going to the police would be helpful..."

"Damn it... I almost instinctively kicked him in..."

Why? Shouldn't she prioritize saving her own life in this situation?!

Damn it.

"Probably because they didn't want to see this brat with such inexplicable enthusiasm die like that..."

The Doctor swallowed hard, then tried to pull out the screwdriver, hoping to at least have some time to fight back.

However... as expected, it failed.

It can't be pulled out.

"You seem to have a high opinion of that young man?"

The burly man spoke slowly.

"... Just a brat full of enthusiasm but unable to see reality, a head full of ideals... He won't live long if he doesn't change... At least, I don't want to see him die in front of me."

The Doctor stared at the burly man's pupils and suddenly felt that those blue pupils were somewhat familiar.

"Really? I don't like seeing passionate young people with ideals die so easily either."

The burly man nodded, then stepped forward, after which the Doctor shrank back in fear.

He patted the latter's head.

Doctor:"??"

"Long time no see, Doctor. How have you been?"

The voice was unfamiliar, yet in an instant, it reminded her of a familiar figure.

"Zuo Jian?!!"

Chapter 73, The Troublemaker

Left... Zuo Jian??

Although the burly man before her didn't look like the one she remembered...

The voice was quite different from the soft male voice, but for some reason, just a brief eye contact made her almost subconsciously overlap the other person with the image in her memory.

Well, saying that makes it sound like she and Zuo Jian have a deep connection and are very familiar with each other.

However, considering that the Doctor has been walking alone in this unfamiliar world since he woke up, and has not met many people so far.

In a sense, at least for her, Zuo Jian and Laurentina were the two people she knew best.

Well, Zuo Jian counts as one and a half, Laurentina as half.

"I haven't even started explaining yet, Doctor, you've already figured it out? You're something else."

Zuo Jian looked at the Doctor in Zuo Jian of him with a smile, then touched his own face.

Yes, it was the face of a burly man who looked very fierce at first glance.

It must be said that this aligns with the stereotypes that ordinary people have about gangsters.

(Please refer to the general appearance of the Grand Master from Monster Hunter World and the Village Chief from Rise of the Monsters for inspiration.)

The only discordant element is probably the two Feline cat ears on its head, representing its species.

However, Victoria is a country where Feline is the primary medium, and many of the "important figures" this body has seen in its memories are also Feline.

What's this? Is Old Victoria really cat-eared?

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he stood to the side, then looked around the corridor and turned to the Doctor, saying...

"Let's talk somewhere else; this isn't the right place."

"... Are you really Zuo Jian?"

However, at this moment, the Doctor suddenly became alert again, looking around as if she was thinking about something.

Do you want me to prove it? Although I don't think it's necessary.

Zuo Jian turned his Zuo Jian, cupped his head in his hands, and then effortlessly removed his head, placing it on his chest.

"!!!!"

"Sigh, I knew it would turn out like this. Alright, Doctor, this isn't the place for a conversation..."

"No... you still need to prove... although... although..."

The Doctor hesitated for a moment, but seeing the other person's helpless expression, she took a deep breath and finally read out what she was thinking.

"Unless you can prove you know where Laurentina is right now!"

"Where is Laurentina...? She's too far away, but let me see..."

Zuo Jian placed his head back on his neck, then squinted his eyes to sense the position of his host.

If nothing unexpected happens, that direction is within the apartment they rented.

Yes, Laurentina must have gone back to cook for Skadi.

"She's currently in an apartment we rent, but I don't think I remember the exact location, it's definitely quite a distance—"

"If you'd like to see her, she probably can't come right now, I'm sorry..."

However, to Zuo Jian's surprise, when he heard that Laurentina was not nearby for the time being, the Doctor's eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately went to Zuo Jian's side and waved to indicate that.

"Really? That's good. Oh, no, it's a real shame I won't get to see Laurentina. But it's alright, seeing you is still somewhat gratifying, Zuo Jian."

"Really? Okay, let's go up now."

Zuo Jian nodded, then led the Doctor through the underground corridor with practiced ease, leaving the vicinity of the storage room and finding a hidden elevator.

"Are you curious why I know this place so well?"

"A little."

"But you don't seem to be planning to ask."

Inside the elevator, Zuo Jian looked at the Doctor in front of him with some surprise as he took out a communicator and fiddled with it.

"If you don't want to talk about it, you shouldn't ask. If you want to talk about it, you will naturally say it later. Besides..."

The Doctor sighed and turned the communicator screen towards the Zuo Jian.

"Can't get through... That guy seems to be scared by you."

The guy she was referring to was, of course, Aiden.

However, the Doctor found that no matter how she dialed, she couldn't get through to the latter's communication... Tsk, she remembered, to prevent making any noise while crawling in the pipes, she specifically asked Aiden to put the communicator on silent.

"A young man seems to have been terrified by what you just did... He should be climbing out of the pipes and running towards the police station by now..."

"According to this body's memories, the police wouldn't pose any trouble for 'me,' since I can still clearly recall seeing many well-known police chiefs at various dinner parties."

"However, on another note, your reaction just now was incredibly fast... Doctor, I never expected you to be able to protect your subordinates like that. Honestly, it was really cool!"

Zuo Jian recalled the Doctor's appearance just now, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his face. At the same time, he gave her a thumbs up.

"Pfft... Don't... Don't talk nonsense. I just did it on a whim, and that guy isn't my subordinate. He's just a hot-headed junior at most."

"So, what are you planning to do...?"

"He'll probably go to the police station next... judging from what you've said, he'll likely run into trouble..."

"So, what are you planning to do?"

"Isn't it good too?"

He wanted to see what reality should be like, and also to see how much it differed from his imagination from what was hidden beneath Victoria's glamorous exterior.

The Doctor shrugged, indicating that he intended to show Aiden what real society was like.

"But damn it, I thought Londinium, being the capital, would have a slightly better security situation. Damn it, how come your words make it sound like a giant cesspool!"

She leaned against a corner of the elevator, looking somewhat uncomfortable, and complained with a disgruntled expression.

"Really? I think so too."

Zuo Jian watched the Doctor in Zuo Jian him with great interest, who occasionally complained. The woman in front of him had a rather cute pouty expression.

Although she looks petite, for some reason, Zuo Jian subconsciously treats the Doctor as an equal to herself.

Even though she was with Laurentina, Anita, Narcissa, Skadi, and the others, she treated them all like children.

This is why he took the initiative to seek out the Doctor next.

"So, Doctor, I want to ask you, if I said I want to change something, or simply want to start from Londinium and change Victoria, what would you think?"

After Zuo Jian finished speaking, the elevator rang, and they returned to the first floor of the hotel.

"Change... you mean...?"

The Doctor seemed to realize something, and suddenly turned his head to look at the open elevator doors.

At that moment, rows upon rows of neatly dressed gang members were lined up on both sides of the elevator door, like a welcoming aisle, inviting the two people inside the elevator to come forward.

She noticed that almost all of the gang members lined up had blue eyes that looked familiar to her.

They... they were all...

"Whether it's their souls or their bodies, I'll accept them all; consider it my way of atoning for their sins."

Zuo Jian finished speaking, he straightened his clothes and then led the Doctor upstairs.

The two arrived at the hotel reception desk and looked at the receptionist who was still busy at work.

"Boss, you've arrived."