Soon enough, the two of them made it to the bottom of the roof. Xia Lei was able to see two armed security guards right above him. The two men were chatting among themselves while smoking cigarettes near the stairway.
“Uncle Xia, there’s someone above us,” said Zhu Xuanyue in an unexpectedly loud volume. She intended to remind Xia Lei of the danger on the roof, afraid that he couldn’t catch her well.
Zhu Xuanyue’s lack of stealth made Xia Lei sigh heavily. When would this little devil grow up? However, he was aware that as soon as she returned to her normal state, there was no way he could trick and manipulate her.
To no one’s surprise, Zhu Xuanyue’s voice immediately attracted attention from the two security guards.
“I heard voices coming from that direction,” alerted a guard.
“I’ll go take a look.” The other guard threw his cigarette bud onto the ground and readied his gun. The man began to walk into the pointed direction, his muzzle coincidentally pointing towards the pipes.
“He’s coming!” Zhu Xuanyue was not nervous at all. Instead, she looked crazy excited. “Uncle Xia, can I turn him into an idiot?”
Jeez, how clueless is she?!
Xia Lei wanted nothing more than to reprimand her but all he could muster was, “Shut up!”
“Ah, I’ll stay silent then,” said Zhu Xuanyue. There was a brief pause of silence before she spoke again. “I want to climb up now.”
The armed security guard was getting closer. If Zhu Xuanyue was to show her head now, the guard would undoubtedly pull the trigger. Urgently, Xia Lei quickly grabbed a fistful of her skirt to stop her from moving forward.
How would Zhu Xuanyue understand his intention? All she did was lunge herself forward and let her skirt slide off her bottom.
Zhu Xuanyue looked down to spare Xia Lei a confused gaze. “Uncle Xia, why are you taking my skirt off? Are you trying to do naughty things to me?”
Now, the security guard had made it to the edge of the roof. Before he could even stretch his torso out to investigate the situation, his knees buckled and he plopped down onto the roof limp.
This was evidently Zhu Xuanyue’s doing. Those who were murdered or eaten were ultimately spared of fear, let alone the excruciating process of agonizing terror and hopelessness as they succumbed to doom.
“Bro, what’s the matter?” The other guard standing at the stairway cautiously held his gun. However, after he had completed the movement, he lost all control of his body and slumped down like his colleague.
Xia Lei watched the scene unfold, feeling a terrifying chill crawl up his spine. Aside from the black-robed man, he could not think of another person who could withstand Zhu Xuanyue’s silent assassination!
Zhu Xuanyue helped herself onto the roof with Xia Lei following suit seconds apart.
She huffed and had her arms akimbo. “Uncle Xia, you haven’t given me an answer. Why did you take my skirt off? Are you thinking of naughty things?”
Xia Lei could only laugh helplessly. “What do you mean by that? Don’t overthink this. Quick, go get one of their pants and put them on. We need to hurry.”
“I don’t wanna!”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to wear something that has been worn by filthy men.”
“You can’t be serious about walking around butt-naked, right?”
“I’m not wearing it. At worst, I’ll just kill off anyone who has seen my buttocks.” There was something evil glimmering in her eyes.
Xia Lei could feel his heart sink with anxiety. “Are you going to kill me too?”
“Of course not, Uncle Xia. You’re welcome to look at my butt anytime you want. My butt can only be seen by you alone.” Zhu Xuanyue began to giggle childishly. However, her giggles died down abruptly. Her tone shifted into something different. “How shameless of you! I can’t believe you’re still this perverted. I’ll make sure you remember me forever, do you recognise me?”
Those words felt like a hit on the head by a thick wooden bat. The sudden surprise made him dizzy, rendering him only able to gape stupidly at the woman before him.
The Zhu Xuanyue in front of him still looked like Zhu Xuanyue, but Xia Lei had a strong feeling that the woman talking to him now was Gu Kewen!
This woman was created through Ning Jing and Gu Kewen’s body and occupied by Zhu Xuanyue’s soul. The characteristics of Ning Jing and Gu Kewen were very obvious at the initial moment of her awakening. However, as time passed, Zhu Xuanyue seemed to have overshadowed and suppressed Ning Jing and Gu Kewen. Xia Lei had not expected Gu Kewen’s awakening at a time like this!
Was there no regularity?
Had he triggered something by accident? Did this work like flipping a switch where a corresponding personality change would take place at certain intervals with a suitable trigger?
There were one too many guesses in Xia Lei’s head.
After all, to Gu Kewen, she had every reason to kill him. Xia Lei had taken away everything from her. He killed her father and her brother. He was also the one who robbed her of her life.
Xia Lei paused for a moment to digest his shock. He tried to probe, “Gu Kewen? Is that you?”
Zhu Xuanyue turned her head around. “Uncle Xia, who were you talking to?”
Gu Kewen had ‘left’.
Xia Lei fell silent momentarily. “Oh, it was nothing. Listen to me, go wear some pants.”
“No! No! No!” Zhu Xuanyue began to throw a tantrum.
The man was helpless. “What can I do for you to put on some pants?”
“I can wear yours but I don’t want to wear these two filthy men’s pants!” fumed Zhu Xuanyue.
Xia Lei didn’t know whether to cry or to laugh at her behaviour. The man could only reluctantly strip his pants off and give it to her. He then proceeded to take off one of the guard’s pants for himself. It didn’t take long for him to be clothed but Zhu Xuanyue was still gaping at his pants in confusion. Xia Lei decided that there was no need to urge her. With a swift motion, he retrieved his computer from his backpack and connected it to the telecom junction box at the side of the stairway.
Two minutes later, he had gained access to the building’s surveillance system.
Zhu Xuanyue was finally clothed but felt the urge to toy with her zipper. She proceeded to pull the zipper up and down again and again.
Watching the little devil toy with the zipper, an unprecedented bold thought manifested in Xia Lei’s heart. “If the real Zhu Xuanyue and the prehistoric chosen one were enemies but the current Zhu Xuanyue is reliant on me, could this be related to Ning Jing and Gu Kewen’s existence? If that is the case, will Zhu Xuanyue experience some changes?”
Regardless of Ning Jing or Gu Kewen, both ladies had him in their hearts. Ning Jing's affection towards him was strong. There were elements of adoration in her love. On the other hand, Gu Kewen shared a love-hate relationship with him. She even took the extra step to die in his arms so that he could remember her forever! The existence of these anomalies could alter Zhu Xuanyue’s perception of him! Based on her original personality, there was no way she could be easily manipulated and tricked by Xia Lei. If there was no change, they would’ve fought each other long ago!
Zhu Xuanyue was no longer interested in the zipper, choosing to come closer to the side of Xia Lei. “Uncle Xia, what are you up to?”
Xia Lei answered, “I’m connecting to their surveillance system. That way, we could just enter into the building without the need to hide.”
“What if someone finds us? Can I eat them up?” Zhu Xuanyue smacked her lips. “My tummy is grumbling.”
“Sure, but you can only do so when absolutely necessary. Understood?” Xia Lei reminded her gently.
The woman returned a smile. “Mm, I understand. You’re the best, Uncle Xia.”
Despite that, the smile on Xia Lei’s lips was bitter. He was aware of Zhu Xuanyue’s true nature. Every usage of her powers would follow with a hunger that needed to be satiated with sustenance. Now that he had brought her on his operation, he had to be prepared for a mountain of bodies.
“Alright, I’m done. Let’s go.” Xia Lei stuffed the laptop back into his bag then pushed the emergency doors in the stairway open. Initially, the door would require a passcode to open but there was no need for that now. His hacking earlier ago had unlocked every door that required a password in the building.
Along with that, Xia Lei had also searched for Folsom’s location. It was a pity that he couldn’t track her down.
Entering the stairway, Xia Lei activated his X-ray vision. The man immediately found two armed security guards stationed at a door and gestured for Zhu Xuanyue to keep silent. Slowly, he reached behind him to brandish a gun he got from the security guard along with his trusted military knife.
Before he could signal her to attack, Zhu Xuanyue had already bounced out from behind him.
“Who’s there?!” Her abrupt appearance was immediately noticed.
“Oh no! You found me! Haha!” Zhu Xuanyue laughed happily.
The two security guards steadied their muzzles with the intention to aim at her but their elbows were rendered motionless. The men soon noticed that they couldn’t even control their tongues!
With a light bounce and a skip, Zhu Xuanyue approached the guards. Her face came into the proximity of one and his face was immediately stripped of its colour. Two seconds later, he was on the ground. Xia Lei didn’t need his left eye to know that his brain was probably only the size of an apple now.
The second guard fell onto the ground.
Following that, Xia Lei exited into the corridor. His left eye penetrating through the door that the two unfortunate guards were tasked to protect.
Abruptly, he was welcomed by two familiar faces.