Chapter 213: 213: The lethal drug that causes Xu Fang to bleed profusely (first update Chapter 213: 213: The lethal drug that causes Xu Fang to bleed profusely (first update There were six people surrounding the entrance and exit of building seventeen.

Zhou Xufang put on a mask and a hat and slipped on a jacket before heading out. She didn’t take the stairs but went to the rooftop and leapt down, landing behind building seventeen.

She picked up a stone from the ground and threw it upwards, knocking the surveillance camera askew. The group of men with unclear intentions also came over at the sound.

There were not just six of them but a total of eight—each one empty-handed but by their attire and build, they all appeared to be professional hitmen.

Zhou Xufang assessed them, “Who are you?”

The men were also sizing her up. The man leading them was the shortest, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he wore a mask on his face, “Are you Zhou Xufang?”

They weren’t here for the professional errand runner; they were here for Zhou Xufang.

Zhou Xufang denied it, “I’m not.”

The leading man did not engage in idle chatter, “Whether you are or not, we’ll find out.” He raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and commanded, “Go!”

The seven men excluding him closed in on Zhou Xufang, all tall and burly.

A man to her left pulled out a telescopic stick from his waistband, flicked the switch, and swung it at Zhou Xufang. She dodged by stepping to the side and delivered a side kick, kicking the telescopic stick out of the man’s hand to the ground. The man cried out in pain, unable to lift the hand that was struck.

Zhou Xufang quickly picked up that telescopic stick, and as two men approached her from left and right, she immediately moved, circling to the back of one of them. Before he could react, she pushed him hard. The man went flying, crashing into his accomplice, both rolling to the ground.

These men were quite agile, but they were no match for Zhou Xufang. She could lay them all out in five minutes.

The fourth one was now hanging on the community’s protective net, having been punched there by her.

The leader among the eight men had been watching the fight from the side without stepping in until the fifth man fell. Then he pulled out a gun from the pocket of his dress pants, aiming in the dim streetlight.

Zhou Xufang was being swarmed by two men.

“Whoosh!”

It wasn’t the sound of a gunshot but of an injection needle being fired.

Zhou Xufang reacted with lightning speed, side-stepping to avoid a critical hit, but the needle still pricked her arm. It didn’t hurt much, and she immediately pulled out the needle.

If it was an anesthetic, given the dosage, it wouldn’t have any effect on her.

She dropped the needle on the ground and glanced at the sneak attacker before launching her assault.

That man had the best skills among them, barely dodging Zhou Xufang’s punches. Just as she was about to launch a second attack, her outstretched hands suddenly went weak; she staggered, nearly unable to stand.

It wasn’t an anesthetic; it was penicillin…

Her steps were faltering, and her vision began to blur.

The gunman seized this moment to pull out a dagger and lunged at her aggressively. With her legs unsteady and her movements slow, she tried to dodge but wasn’t fast enough. The dagger plunged straight into her back.

She managed to land a kick to the man’s chest. Due to the recoil, she stepped backwards several paces. The dagger had penetrated deeply, and the bleeding stopped instantly; the wound was visibly healing.

Once penicillin took effect, it would slow down her recovery and self-healing abilities, bringing them below the level of a normal person. This would cause a clotting disorder, while the circulation of her blood would speed up to several times that of an average person.

The wound that had just started to heal, cracked open again. Blood seeped out, first in small trickles, but within seconds, the flow increased, gushing out more and more…

She swayed, then fell backward.

In her earpiece, Shuangjiang called to her with a synthesized voice, “Ah Fang.”

She lay on the ground, and in a short while, a small puddle of blood had formed on her back.

“Ah Fang.”

“Ah Fang!”

There was no response.

Shuangjiang switched to the surveillance feed and took a glance, immediately feeling frantic.

Zhou Xufang said that Jiang Zhi was going to the film festival tonight, which was a live broadcast. She wasn’t sure if her phone was permitted inside, so she tried calling, but as expected, no one answered.

It was too late…

She sat down and her fingers hit the keyboard, quickly typing as code scrolled rapidly across the screen.

At half-past eight in the evening, as soon as Qiao Nanchu arrived home, he received a call from the duty officer at the station.

He took off his jacket and threw it on the couch, picking up the call, “What’s up?”

Li Xiaodong reported to him, “SpongeBob has graced our Criminal Intelligence Department again.”

SpongeBob referred to the hacker Shuangjiang, who the colleagues in the intelligence department called so because each time she hacked into their system, she’d pop up an image of SpongeBob. They had become so accustomed to her ‘visits’ that they would even miss her if she didn’t ‘play’ for a few days.

However, after so many confrontations, they realized that SpongeBob wasn’t some kind of terrible villain.

Qiao Nanchu asked, “What does she want this time?”

Li Xiaodong said, “Just sent a few screenshots. It looks like someone got killed.” Similar situations had occurred before, like reports of sorts, “Lu Ning is still verifying it.”

“Send them over to me to take a look.”

Li Xiaodong said OK and sent the screenshots over.

The images were taken outdoors, the lighting was dim, and the camera was far away, so they weren’t very clear, but Qiao Nanchu still recognized the person lying on the ground.

“No need to verify anymore, the location is Yuquan Bay.” He immediately gave the order, “Don’t alert the Criminal Investigation Team yet, you take a few people over there.”

Li Xiaodong was puzzled, “Just us going over?” Why not contact the Criminal Investigation Team? If the screenshots were real, this was obviously a criminal case.

Qiao Nanchu didn’t explain, “Don’t ask so much, just take people over there first, I’ll be at the scene in twenty minutes.” Zhou Xufang had a special profession, her matters couldn’t be made public.

Li Xiaodong didn’t ask any further, and replied, “I’ll take action right away.”

Qiao Nanchu hung up the phone and dialed Jiang Zhi’s number, and he picked up after one ring. Qiao Nanchu was terse, “Jiang Zhi, Zhou Xufang is in trouble.”

Time rewound a quarter of an hour, to eight fifteen.

Jiang Zhi had just entered the venue.

Xue Baoyi called him over to sit.

He had just sat down.

Xue Baoyi tilted her head and leaned in, whispering to him, “Brother Zhi, you really have your own style, arriving a quarter-hour late.”

Only Jiang Zhi would be late to such occasions.

No, there was also some upstart Weaver who was blissfully unaware of her stature.

Jiang Zhi shifted to the other side, “Speak if you want to speak, don’t get so close.”

Xue Baoyi was a rebel, she loved teasing beautiful people, “I won’t.”

If the angle was right, one could snap a photo of Young Master Baoguang ‘snuggling’ up to Director Jiang’s shoulder, the two of them appearing close and intimate. It seemed the Young Master had annoyed Director Jiang and was now coaxing him. Xue Baoyi moved closer and reached out to ‘caress’ Director Jiang’s face.

Director Jiang caught the Young Master’s hand in one go.

Fang Lixiang, one of the only other latecomers, witnessed it all and was immediately agape, “Oh, my god!” Was she witnessing her best friend’s boyfriend cheating?

Seeing someone, Xue Baoyi quickly let go of Jiang Zhi’s hand, and even bit back, “Don’t touch me, bastard!”

Jiang Zhi: “…”

Bastard!

Jiang Zhi couldn’t be bothered to deal with him anymore.

Because Fang Lixiang was late, worried about being caught on camera, she covered her face and timidly looked for her seat.

Like an ostrich!

Xue Baoyi called her over in a hushed voice, trying to cover the noise, “Fang Lixiang, come sit by me.”

Fang Lixiang glanced at the seat next to the boss, where a woman’s handbag was placed, presumably because the seat’s owner had gone to the restroom. Of course, she wasn’t going to poach someone else’s spot, “My seat isn’t there.” It’s not like she didn’t have a seat.

Xue Baoyi was like a bandit, speaking in a heavy Beijing accent, “When I tell you to come sit, you come sit.”

Alright then, she sat down.

In the darkness, the ‘bandit’ revealed a triumphant smile.

After sitting for a while, the original owner of the seat returned from the restroom. She was a popular actress. She looked at Fang Lixiang, then back at Xue Baoyi, and then displayed an expression of apparent understanding and significance. She cooperatively went to take Fang Lixiang’s spot.

Fang Lixiang handed over the popular actress’s handbag, embarrassed but remaining polite.

“Boss.” Fang Lixiang faced forward, speaking softly.

Xue Baoyi, not hearing clearly, leaned in a bit, “Hmm?”

Although she shouldn’t meddle in the boss’s private affairs as an employee, Zhou Xufang was her best friend, and she had to say something, “Director Jiang already has a girlfriend, and they are very much in love.”

You should stop interfering!

Xue Baoyi raised an eyebrow, dressed in a flashy suit, carefree, looking like the most flamboyant bandit leader, “So?”

So: “Stop bothering him.”

Have some shame!

Xue Baoyi: “…” She didn’t take kindly to the word ‘bother,’ “Which eyes of yours saw me bothering him?”

Fang Lixiang looked straight ahead, “Both of them.”

Xue Baoyi glanced over, and instead of sitting like a big shot in his own way, Fang Lixiang barely occupied half her seat, sitting upright and proper. He just saw the back of her head, “Are you blind? Ever heard of brotherhood?”