Now That Was Quite a "Surprise"

"What? Is practicing with guns a crime now? Plenty of people practice shooting these days!" the man said 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 use rifles too."

There might be plenty of people who practiced with handguns, but the pool of people who regularly trained with both handguns and rifles was much narrower.

No wonder she was so confident.

"Pan TuozI" studied her quietly. After a long moment, he clicked his tongue. "All right! What else?"

"I heard the traffickers say the police have been cracking down lately! When I saw you openly robbing other criminals, I thought it was strange. 'Brother Da' was afraid of the police, and Pan TuozI should have been too! Drawing attention to himself at a time like this would be asking to die! It made no sense! Then, when I saw these two 'underlings' fight, I had my answer..."

"They used standard military restraint techniques. Their moves were ruthless, but they instinctively avoided vital areas. That's very different from how gangsters supposedly fight! So... I followed you here to make sure!"

Everyone around them was stunned. They had swept in here, "robbing other criminals," meeting no resistance and feeling thoroughly pleased with themselves!

Yet this young woman had... spotted the truth at a glance.

"Pan TuozI" tilted his head and stared at her for a while. He pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, then gave a soft chuckle.

"Well! Judging by how sure of yourself you are, you had me figured out ages ago, huh? Thanks for going to all that trouble to play along!"

Song Ning couldn't help laughing. Although she had confirmed their identities step by step, she had indeed wanted to see just how far this "boss" would take his act...

As it turned out... the "boss" hadn't even dared to begin!

Another wave of laughter rose around them. Compared with their earlier teasing, this laughter was far more genuine.

Then the man straightened and reached up to sweep back the hair that had been covering his eyes. As it lifted, it revealed a smooth forehead and a pair of exceptionally handsome eyes, along with a smile.

He stepped forward and held out his hand to her-

"Gu Zheng! Captain of this anti-gang operation! You really have... given us quite a 'surprise'!"

Song Ning held out her hand as well-

"Song Ning! I'm very glad to see you here! Ask me anything you need to. I'll do my best to cooperate!"

Gu Zheng planted his hands on his hips and looked her up and down again, then asked with a frown:

"First question. You're so bold and slippery-how did you end up being abducted by traffickers?"

Song Ning paused...

That question... really cut straight to the heart of things!

She knew Gu Zheng's suspicions were perfectly reasonable, so she could only give an awkward chuckle and answer, "I'd been running a fever for several days. My head wasn't clear, and I was confused... Before I knew it, I'd fallen into their trap!"

The fever was real. Whether it had happened before or after her abduction... was up to her to say.

Gu Zheng narrowed his eyes but didn't dwell on it. He continued, "Second question. Why do you know so much about the military? And in such detail?"

Song Ning paused again...

Why did I know so much about the military?

Because I grew up on a military base!

Other people enlisted when they were old enough. She had "enlisted" the moment she was born!

Her father had dreamed of joining the military since childhood, but when he grew up, he failed the political background check and went into scientific research instead. Unable to let go of that dream, he had found her a military officer for a mother.

As a result, her officer mother had given birth to her on base and raised her there. She had grown up on the military training grounds.

And so, joining the military had been her childhood dream too.

While other little girls learned dancing and painting, she went on five-kilometer runs with weighted packs alongside the recruits and practiced military combat drills.

When she reached enlistment age, she still couldn't pass the political background check!

The reason was the same as her father's: a case involving her grandfather, Old Man Song, many years earlier.

Even having a military officer for a mother couldn't get her through the background check.

Her grandfather's case had become an obsession for the Song Family.

Unable to enlist, she had studied medicine instead. Later, she had opened a hospital-more than one, in fact... But then, before she, with her successful career, could even go on her arranged date, and before the old man's case had been cleared up...

She had opened her eyes and found herself transported here...

As an ignorant woman who had been abducted and sold!

She had a bellyful of grievances herself and didn't even know where to begin!

In fact, besides what she had just told them, there were other things she couldn't explain-

Having grown up surrounded by military personnel, she was intimately familiar with their behavior, movements, and body language: their eyes, their reactions in the moment, even the habitual way they reached for their guns... Perhaps all of those things combined into a distinctive military "uprightness" or "presence." She could feel it as soon as she approached them. That was the real source of her confidence.

"What? Hard to answer?" Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.

"My grandfather fought in a war. He told me about the military when I was very young, in great detail. I also like reading and listening to the radio. Anything related to the military sticks in my mind!" Song Ning answered earnestly.

After all, the original owner's grandfather had already passed away. And he really had served on a battlefield, even if he had only been a medic.

"So your grandfather taught you how to fight too?"

"Yes! Grandpa taught me military combat drills from childhood. He said it never hurt for a girl to learn some fighting skills! That's why those common moves look familiar to me as soon as I see them."

Sweat began to bead on Song Ning's forehead. She had known that exposing their identities would inevitably lead to questions, but since they were here to deal with the traffickers, joining them was clearly the wisest and safest choice!

It was just that the man before her was obviously sharper than she had imagined. She had only used two moves by the window-or, more precisely, half of each move before he had firmly countered her-and he had still realized she knew how to fight...

She felt she really needed to remind him that the most important thing right now should be the traffickers!

And-Lan Ying was still waiting for her!

With that thought, she was just about to speak-

When Captain Gu said seriously, "All right! Comrade Song Ning! Thank you for taking the initiative to find us! Our priority now is to learn about the traffickers. Since you're here, is there also a young woman with an injured face nearby?"

As Song Ning registered his words, she froze again!

She asked in surprise, "How do you know Lan Ying's face was injured?"

Gu Zheng wore that half-smiling expression again and said, "'Apart from one who's almost stopped breathing and another with an injured face that we're stuck with, everyone else has been sold!' Oh! That's from one of the traffickers' latest statements!"

"Ah... well..." Song Ning suddenly found herself at a loss for words again...

Gu Zheng quietly studied Song Ning, his tone serious but carrying a hint of amusement. "I don't know where things went wrong, but theoretically speaking-you should be the one they said was 'almost stopped breathing'!"