"Are you okay?"
On Rover's shoulder, bright red blood bloomed like cherry blossoms, drifting in the air and taking root in Zane's heart.
Seeing the completely undisguised concern on Zane's face, Rover felt a warm current fill her heart.
In that moment, she seemed to forget the fury from chasing Scar earlier. Even her breathing became careful, as if afraid of disturbing this brief moment of gentleness.
"I'm fine…", Rover's crimson lips moved soundlessly. She wanted to ask what Scar's words earlier really meant.
"Phew..." Zane let out a long breath. After a quick check, he found that Rover only had a simple external wound, and it wasn't deep.
"Luckily, it's not serious. With your physical condition, it probably won't even affect your ability to use your right hand to hit me."
But looking at Zane's focused expression as he checked her wound, the question stuck in her throat no matter what.
'Forget it. I'll ask Jinhsi later. She should know what happened back then…'
At least right now, he was still standing in front of her.
For Rover, that was enough.
"You make it sound like I bully you every day.", Rover puffed out her lips and complained with a slightly spoiled tone.
At this moment, in front of Zane, there was none of the cold sharpness she had shown while fighting Scar.
Feeling the relaxed atmosphere Zane brought her, for some reason, a strange sense of familiarity surged up in her heart like a tide. It felt as if she had experienced all of this somewhere, sometime before.
Guided by the threads of memory, Rover unconsciously raised her right hand. Her jade-like fist moved slowly, with a hint of hesitation, and gently tapped against Zane's chest.
"Ah! I'm dying! Ah!", Zane immediately acted as if he had suffered a heavy blow.
He clutched his chest exaggeratedly with both hands, letting out a miserable wail, then fell straight onto the ground, rolling around while crying out.
However, despite his exaggerated and ridiculous movements, his bright eyes never once left Rover. They were filled with laughter and warmth.
"Pfft~"
Watching Zane's clowning, Rover finally couldn't hold it in. The corners of her lips lifted slightly, revealing a faint smile.
But behind that smile, a subtle feeling of loss quietly emerged in her heart, mixed with a sense of familiarity, as if she had once lost something extremely important.
'If… if I hadn't lost my memory, that would be nice.'
Rover couldn't help thinking this, and a trace of deep melancholy appeared in her beautiful eyes.
Just as Zane finished bandaging Rover's wound, a gentle voice came from the other side.
"Rover, Senior. Are you alright?"
Yangyang ran over from afar, calling out loudly. Behind her, the Doctor hurried along with her short legs, chasing after her.
When she got closer, Yangyang saw Zane lying on the ground, and her pretty face immediately turned pale.
"Senior! You're hurt?"
"Yeah, I'm seriously, seriously injured. I need a beautiful girl's kiss to...ah!!!"
Right in front of Yangyang's shocked eyes, the Doctor raised her foot wrapped in a black leather boot and kicked Zane hard in the backside. Zane instantly jumped up from the ground, looking completely uninjured.
Seeing this, Yangyang let out a sigh of relief.
Heaven knew how worried she had been when she saw so many Fractsidus corpses scattered everywhere earlier. As a member of the Midnight Rangers, her duty was to protect civilians.
And the fact that so many Fractsidus had silently appeared in Qichi Village was already their failure.
Noticing Yangyang's expression relax, Zane smiled smugly.
However, as a well-known figure in Jinzhou, famously the "Little Tyrant of the Frontier", how could Zane swallow this grievance?
So, while the Doctor still looked confused, Zane's lips curved upward into a sly, mischievous smile.
"Help! Someone's murdering her husband!"
Right before the Doctor's stunned eyes, Zane shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice echoed far and wide, even making the already-escaped Scar shudder and turn back to check that Zane wasn't chasing him before relaxing.
Hearing this, the Doctor froze for a moment. Then her originally fair face flushed bright red, like a ripe strawberry.
She suddenly widened her eyes and glared at the grinning troublemaker in front of her.
"Y-you… what nonsense are you talking about!", As she spoke, unable to suppress whether it was anger or embarrassment, she immediately raised her black longsword and slashed fiercely at Zane.
Facing the cold blade coming straight at him, Zane showed not the slightest regret. Instead, he grinned and provocatively shouted at the Doctor, "Hehe, come bite me! I dare you to chase me. If you catch me, I'll let you hehe."
Before he even finished speaking, Zane turned and sprinted wildly toward Jinzhou City.
"Still saying 'hehe', don't run if you've got guts!"
Seeing him getting farther and farther away, the Doctor stomped her foot in anger. Biting her bright red lips lightly, she didn't care about anything else and hurried after him, lifting her small, delicate legs and holding her longsword high as she chased relentlessly.
Watching the two figures running farther away while still bickering and playing around, Yangyang and Rover couldn't help but look at each other.
They exchanged glances, both seeing the same deep helplessness on each other's faces.
———
Soon, Rover and Yangyang returned to Jinzhou City and immediately spotted those two familiar figures.
Judging from the "crime scene," Zane had clearly suffered an "accident." The "victim" was now lying on the ground with his head covered and his backside sticking up, while the Doctor stood behind him, kicking his butt hard with her little leather boots.
She seemed to be muttering something under her breath, something like Lungmen profanity.
Beside them, an elegant figure covered her mouth and laughed softly while watching Zane get beaten.
A tall white strange creature floated nearby, green light flashing from time to time, seemingly healing Zane.
"You're back."
Who else could the one waiting be but Baizhi?
Hearing Baizhi's voice, Zane lifted his head and looked at Rover and Yangyang with a pitiful expression, calling for help.
"Help! These two aren't human! They beat me while healing me at the same time. Is this how Jinzhou interrogates prisoners!?"
Ignoring Zane's wailing pleas, Baizhi quickly walked over to Rover and carefully removed the bandage to check her wound.
At the same time, she muttered softly, as if talking to herself, "Honestly, I don't know who it was just now, barging into the research institute without a care and dragging me out, shouting that the Rover was seriously injured and insisting I come take a look."
As she spoke, after finishing the examination, Baizhi lifted her eyes with a half-smile and glanced at Rover. The meaning behind it was obvious.
Hearing this, Yangyang glanced at Rover in surprise, who looked just as shocked. Then she puffed out her lips in dissatisfaction, a strange emotion slowly stirring in her heart.
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