Zhao Sanyan’s Return to Reality

Ren Anhua gripped Zhao Sanyan’s collar, a height that was now quite convenient for her.

Although this was still a clearly aggressive gesture, she had at least taken her hand off her sword hilt, which allowed Zhao Sanyan to breathe a small sigh of relief.

“Sorry?” Ren Anhua said, lifting Zhao Sanyan by his collar and slamming the tall man against a nearby wall with one hand.

A dull thud echoed far down the streets of Pu Town under the setting sun.

Zhao Sanyan felt as if his internal organs had been violently shaken and turned upside down.

But he also felt a sense of relief, because he wasn’t dead.

Ren Anhua hadn’t killed him outright.

Not killing him already showed her attitude.

It seemed there was still hope for him.

But then he suddenly noticed Huang Jing’s expression turning somewhat terrifying and quickly raised a hand to stop her.

“This is something I must do. Stay out of it. I’m fine.”

Ren Anhua glanced at the pretty young woman she had met once before, then turned her head back to look at Zhao Sanyan.

“Heh, you’ve even found yourself a little lover. Now you’re coming to me to say you’re sorry?”

Ren Anhua’s tone was dripping with sarcasm, but as soon as she said it, she felt something was off about the sentence.

What she meant was that this brat Zhao Sanyan’s girlfriend was from the military.

Surely no one would get the wrong idea, right?

“No, she’s just my subordinate,” Zhao Sanyan said, getting back on his feet.

He seemed a bit unsteady; even with her current physique, Ren Anhua still completely overpowered him in terms of strength.

“Boss, I’ve made some mistakes. Although I was kept in the dark about that plan, I didn’t seek you out this time to make excuses for myself. This time, I’m not just here to apologize to you. There are more important things, things you should know as soon as possible.”

“The military already knows your movements. Don’t go to Su City!” Zhao Sanyan stared at his former boss, his tone exceptionally sincere, even more so than at their last meeting.

Ren Anhua had naturally guessed that the military would make some moves regarding Su City.

After all, among the nearby human settlements, it was the only area beyond the military’s control.

Of course, Ren Anhua wasn’t afraid of this obstacle.

The military couldn’t possibly make a huge move in Su City; after all, two powerful factions were entrenched there.

Even if the military were to act, they would have to think it over.

As long as it wasn’t a city-wide manhunt, the current Ren Anhua wasn’t worried about what they could do to her.

Besides, an unofficial area like Su City didn’t require personnel registration.

Ren Anhua wasn’t worried at all that the military could find her.

But looking at Zhao Sanyan’s attitude, it seemed the military’s operation was not so simple.

Moreover, encountering Zhao Sanyan in this place was already very telling.

“Give me the details,” Ren Anhua said, looking at Zhao Sanyan, her expression growing solemn.

Compared to demanding an explanation from this traitor, she was more concerned with things of practical significance.

What had happened had happened.

Revenge afterward, besides making herself feel better, served no other purpose.

Although the effect of making herself feel better was quite significant, when faced with more realistic factors, its priority had to be pushed back.

For instance, Ren Anhua was currently more concerned about the extent of the military’s pursuit of her than Zhao Sanyan’s apology.

The answer she received was quite shocking.

Along the dozen or so routes she might take from the city to Su City, all of them were garrisoned by military personnel.

When marked on a map, it looked just like a large net.

‘What did I do? Did I poke Wan Xingbang’s chrysanthemum? Is it really necessary to retaliate against me like this?’

“Are you soldiers really this idle?” Ren Anhua asked, looking at Zhao Sanyan, starting to get curious about his job.

“I don’t know either. The higher-ups gave a direct order that you must be captured. No, that you must be found and an alliance formed with you.”

“What if I don’t want to form an alliance?” Ren Anhua glanced at Zhao Sanyan, holding the map in her hand.

“Then you will be captured. Of course, the military still hopes it would be best if you volunteered.”

“I’m not forming an alliance. Come and get me,” Ren Anhua said provocatively.

It was clear she was still holding a grudge over Zhao Sanyan’s previous persuasion.

“You must be joking, Boss. How could I do something like that? I joined this plan precisely to tell you this. The military’s attitude toward you is no small matter. You must not let your guard down.”

“Why would they show such an attitude? I clearly don’t have the high-temperature ability anymore. Is it because I almost killed that Kapok tree? By the way, is that Kapok tree still alive?”

Ren Anhua still held out some hope regarding her ability.

Although she also knew that even if the Kapok tree were still alive, the military would not be so kind as to provide her with a chance to switch back.

One must remember that Wan Xingbang had written an entire project plan for her high-temperature ability; how could he let it go so easily?

“I don’t know. All information was locked down after that day. A person of my rank could never know such classified information. Wan Xingbang… he still doesn’t trust me completely. If it weren’t for the attitude I showed before, he probably wouldn’t have even allowed me to participate in this plan.”

“But you still participated, and even betrayed the military.” Ren Anhua folded the map and put it in her pocket.

She knew that Zhao Sanyan’s main purpose this time was to hand this map over to her.

This sincerity was enough, and she didn’t want to pursue the issue with Zhao Sanyan any further.

Although it was often said that only the result matters and the process is not important, the process that needed to be looked at still had to be looked at.

If Zhao Sanyan had truly been kept in the dark and used as a pawn during that ability-stripping deception, then Ren Anhua wouldn’t blame him too much.

After all, there were plenty of people who had done far worse than him; he was just one very small screw in the machine.

“You betrayed the military, and this time there’s no excuse of being kept in the dark,” Ren Anhua said, looking at the tall man with interest. “What do you plan to do now? You told me quite a few things back then. That future, those prospects, you don’t want any of it now?”

“I don’t want them, I don’t want them anymore. From now on, I am no longer a member of the military,” Zhao Sanyan said with a lonely laugh.

He realized he had been too naive.

When he joined the army, he thought he had gotten in based on his own strength; after all, his strength was indeed not weak.

But after joining, he discovered that all the issues Wan Xingbang discussed with him were about Ren Anhua.

At the time, he simply thought the military coveted Ren Anhua’s talent and hoped to use him as a bridge to pull Ren Anhua into the military’s fold.

For long-term considerations, Zhao Sanyan at the time also thought it was a good choice for Ren Anhua to join the military.

No matter how the times change, the official power is always the strongest; otherwise, it wouldn’t be called official.

For a talent like Ren Anhua, leading that bunch of small-time thugs was truly a waste of his potential.

He should have had a brighter future, not waste his life on a small, cobbled-together group seeking shelter.

Perhaps, in Zhao Sanyan’s eyes back then, Ren Anhua leading the camp was like Ren Anhua in her current eyes seeing Chen Shu with the Mutual Aid Society.

Of course, Ren Anhua’s subordinates were much stronger than Chen Shu’s, but in Zhao Sanyan’s eyes, they were still completely unworthy of Ren Anhua.

But Zhao Sanyan had no idea that things were far from simple.

The military wanted not only Ren Anhua the person, but also his ability.

These two were calculated separately.

Ren Anhua wasn’t the only one who had been deceived; Zhao Sanyan was as well.

It was only then that he realized that someone like him was still far from entering the military’s core circle.

What elite, what chosen one of the new era—that was all just his own wishful thinking.

Only a character of Wan Xingbang’s level could be such a person.

And he was nothing but a pawn.

After the battle in the city, Wan Xingbang’s attitude toward him had clearly cooled.

Of course, due to the value of his strength, Zhao Sanyan still received quite favorable treatment in the military, but by then, he had already recognized certain truths.

Especially after he refused the promotion, the change in Wan Xingbang’s attitude became even more suspicious.

Zhao Sanyan was well aware that he was under suspicion.

This operation was his last as a soldier.

“Wan Xingbang is a terrifying person. He probably already guessed my actions this time. But he’s still human, he can’t consider everything from every angle. Our meeting this time, you could say luck played an eighty percent role. Besides Pu Town, you had a dozen other routes to choose from. He couldn’t have guessed that you would happen to choose this one.”

“He’s not sure if I’ll betray the military, and at the same time, he doesn’t know which route you’ll choose, which is why I said luck played an eighty percent role. But after this, it’s hard to say. I don’t think I can hide this from him. I can’t stay in the army anymore,” Zhao Sanyan lit another cigarette for himself and took a drag.

For him, numbing himself with alcohol was a very dangerous thing.

He couldn’t activate his ability to instantly clear all abnormal states like the old Ren Anhua could, so he could only use smoking to achieve this.

He was afraid of Wan Xingbang, but he felt that this was something he had to do.

“I’ll be wanted by the military, just like you.”

He had smoked quite a lot in the past few days.

Whenever the smoke swirled before his eyes, he would think of his boss and then question himself internally.

But the cigarette in his hand now was the last one.

He was pretty much fed up with the inferior spiciness of this off-brand cigarette.

He had finally made his choice, handing the map over to Ren Anhua.

From now on, he, like Ren Anhua, would face being wanted by the military.

And this wanted notice would probably not be as gentle as Ren Anhua’s.

If caught, he probably wouldn’t be enshrined in exchange for favorable living conditions through some ability transfer, but would be sent directly to a research institute for experiments.

Under Wan Xingbang, this was how traitors were usually dealt with.

“Haha, but my status probably isn’t as high as yours, Boss. You definitely can’t guess how much effort the military put into this plan, and now I’ve ruined it all.”

Zhao Sanyan forced a carefree expression with a stiff corner of his mouth.

An inexplicable feeling of vengeful pleasure rose in his heart.

Perhaps to numb his fear of the military, he desperately focused his attention on this pleasure.