Chapter 161 Of Course, It’s Something You Can’t Hear

Chapter 161: Obviously Something You Weren't Meant to Hear

Zhong Wan raised an eyebrow. "You two... what are you doing?"

Fu Zhangzhou unashamedly pulled a blushing Fang Ran into his embrace. "As you can see."

"This is a public place, a workplace," Zhong Wan said, crossing his arms, a teasing smile playing on his lips. "Fang Ran just woke up... Fu Zhangzhou, do you have no shame?"

"Oh?" Fu Zhangzhou glanced at him, then at Lu Wenchuan behind him. "Talking to me about 'bottom line'? Well, I do have some, at least I wouldn't... mark someone at work."

Zhong Wan's face flushed, leaving him speechless.

It was Lu Wenchuan behind him who chimed in, "Sentinel Fu Zhangzhou, I haven't thanked you yet."

"Thank you for your warning that day."

"Otherwise, Zhong Wan and I wouldn't have... completed the marking so quickly."

"......"

Now it was Fu Zhangzhou's turn to be speechless.

He had plotted for so long, never expecting this fool to beat him to it. He instinctively looked at Fang Ran, a hint of resentment in his eyes.

Fang Ran was amused as he glanced at him, then at Lu Wenchuan. The Ice Sentinel's eyes held a certain sincerity, as if he was genuinely expressing gratitude.

Sometimes, he couldn't tell if Lu Wenchuan was truly simple-minded or just pretending to be naive to outsmart others.

Well, as long as Zhong Wan liked him, it was fine.

"Fu Zhangzhou, why are you looking at Fang Ran?" Zhong Wan chuckled upon seeing Fu Zhangzhou's defeated expression. "It's your own fault; you couldn't get it done."

"You can't blame others."

"Everyone..."

The staff member standing nearby was completely bewildered.

Could these people not see him?

Discussing such private topics in public—was that really okay?

"Everyone," the person spoke up, raising his voice, "I still need to examine Guide Fang Ran. Could you please..."

Fu Zhangzhou seemed to finally hear him, stepping out of the treatment pod and gently helping Fang Ran up.

But as soon as Fang Ran sat up, he saw a familiar figure enter the medical room.

"Fang Ran, you're finally awake!"

Fang Liyu walked toward them, beaming. "Zhong Wan, Sentinel Lu Wenchuan, all of you are here!"

"Sister Fang."

Fang Ran nodded at her.

Fang Liyu looked him over and finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Your vital signs look good. It's good that you're okay."

"When I saw you being dragged into the rift that day..." Fang Liyu's expression tightened. "My heart nearly stopped."

"Sister Fang, it's not your fault," Fang Ran said to her. "Those sentinels clearly came prepared."

"By the way, what happened to those people from Guardians Team C in the end?"

"The center's sentinels had them subdued at the time. But..." Fang Liyu paused. "There were some issues when handing them over to the Guardians."

Hearing this, the staff member knew they were about to discuss confidential matters and shook their head, quietly slipping away.

Seeing that only their group remained, Fang Liyu continued:

"Those people suddenly disappeared, just like last time—all they left was a piece of tree bark..."

"Now the Guardians are publicly claiming that these people were imposters, not real Guardian sentinels. But in reality..."

"In reality, they were also Marauders," Fang Ran finished her sentence. "Did they disappear around the time Fu Zhangzhou and the others dealt with those monsters?"

Fang Liyu nodded. "Timing-wise... it does roughly match up."

Fang Ran and Fu Zhangzhou exchanged a glance, both understanding that the so-called Marauders were likely mutated monsters controlled by Wen Qi in disguise.

Fang Liyu sighed. "Alright, let's not talk about this topic for now."

She looked at Fu Zhangzhou and Lu Wenchuan. "Director Jin has returned from District 12 and needs to discuss something with you. He's in the conference room now."

Fu Zhangzhou immediately glanced at Fang Ran. "I need to stay with my guide."

Fang Ran took the nutritional drink handed to him by Zhong Wan and said, "Go. What if it's something urgent?"

His body had mostly recovered, and his heat had completely passed. He couldn’t delay the sentinel's work. Seeing that Fu Zhangzhou still looked reluctant, he mustered his courage, leaned close to his ear, and whispered something.

The sentinel's expression immediately brightened, and he eventually agreed to follow Fang Liyu without argument. Still, he glanced back at Fang Ran at the doorway, his look meaningful.

Zhong Wan asked with amusement, "Fang Ran, what exactly did you say to him?"

"This guy has been camped out in the medical room for days, refusing to leave. He even rejected Director Lu's meeting requests countless times."

Fang Ran stammered, "It was nothing..."

Obviously something you weren't meant to hear.

To divert Zhong Wan's attention, he glanced around and brought up a new topic.

"This is the District 4 headquarters, right?"

"Yes," Zhong Wan nodded. "We only managed to contact A Chuan and the others the day after you fell into the rift. That’s when we learned the other end of the rift was actually that DT332 area."

He crossed his arms and shook his head. "It's really quite strange."

"After Sister Fang received the news, she immediately brought us back to District 4 to discuss with the tech department how to reopen the access point to that area."

Fang Ran suddenly recalled the situation at the end of their last mission.

"I remember... that access point had collapsed?"

"Right. Initially, after the tech team’s assessment, they said it would take a month or two to repair."

"But..." Zhong Wan shrugged here, "The strange magnetic fields vanished overnight. We still can't figure out why."

Fang Ran frowned. Vanished overnight? Could this be related to Wen Qi? Maybe after his consciousness faded, everything returned to normal?

He suddenly remembered that besides Wen Qi, there was another person who needed attention.

"By the way, what about Shen Ke?" Fang Ran asked, "He was also on that hover vehicle at the time. How was he doing?"

"Guide Shen Ke is fine." Zhong Wan frowned slightly, saying puzzledly: "I remember he was barely alive when we were at the waiting point. But when we came out of DT332, he... how should I put it? He seemed like a totally different person."

A different person?

Fang Ran froze.

It seemed he had to confirm this with Guide Shen Ke.

Unexpectedly, just then, he heard Guide Shen Ke's voice.

"Guide Fang Ran, Guide Zhong Wan."

Guide Shen Ke had actually appeared at the doorway of the treatment room.

Zhong Wan was startled. "Guide Shen Ke, why are you here?"

Guide Shen Ke gave a friendly smile to them. "I heard Guide Fang Ran had woken up, so I came to see him."