Chapter 60 Defection in Progress

"Let her go!" Zhang He shouted uncontrollably upon seeing this.

"What are you rushing for? I told you, once I leave this place, I will naturally let her go," Shen Xing said indifferently.

With that, he held the woman hostage and began to slowly move outward.

At this point, Bai Ying had completely lost track of what Shen Xing was actually trying to accomplish.

And Shen Xing showed no sign of needing her cooperation whatsoever.

Otherwise, he at least should have given her a subtle cue.

"Step aside, all of you! No one is allowed to shoot!" Zhang He immediately ordered, ignoring even the elderly director who had been released.

Before long, Shen Xing and the woman reached the doorway.

"Alright, nobody is allowed to follow me out. I keep my word; since I've decided to leave, I won't go back on it and harm her. Just stay here and wait for her to return," Shen Xing warned, casting a particularly deep look at Zhang He.

Zhang He was naturally filled with worry, but with a hostage in the other's hands, he dared not do anything that might provoke him.

"You'd better, or I will truly make you witness what hell looks like!" Zhang He finally spat out a harsh threat, barely managing to salvage a shred of his dignity.

Shen Xing smiled and ignored him further.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he and the woman gradually faded into the distance.

...

At the edge of the military camp.

In a secluded corner where no one paid attention.

Shen Xing brought the woman here under duress and then came to a halt.

The woman urged, "Why aren't you walking anymore? If you don't know the way, I can act as your guide."

"Name."

"What?"

"Don't play dumb. I asked for your name."

Shen Xing pressed the muzzle of the gun firmly forward, causing the woman to let out a sharp cry of pain.

"Hey, take it easy! My name is Chen Lihua, so what?"

"Nothing much. If I'm not mistaken, you're Zhang He's woman, aren't you? You were the one who ruined his wedding." Shen Xing said softly.

"You guessed wrong. We don't have that kind of relationship." Chen Lijun immediately denied.

"Is that so? Meaning my judgment was off? Well, no help for it. I have a fragile ego and can't bear losing face in front of a woman—that's worse than death to me. So I'm afraid I'll just have to finish you off." Shen Xing said with a hint of perversity.

Chen Lijun was stunned for a moment, her expression shifting between shock and doubt.

"You can't be serious, right? What normal person would throw their life away over something like this?"

"Do you think the things I've done so far are something a normal person could pull off?" Shen Xing countered.

"...Fine, you win. I was lying to you just now. You guessed right; I am indeed Zhang He's woman. But the truth is, we share a genuine love. He and that woman Bai Wei are completely unsuited for each other, and they wouldn't be happy after marriage. What I did was actually a form of saving her. If you're holding a grudge on her behalf, you shouldn't be coming after me." Chen Lijun explained with composure.

"Heh, you really are smart. Speaking at such a pace, you must have rehearsed your defense in advance, right? I noticed it back in the room—while that guy Zhang He is as dumb as a post, you're quite clever. He wouldn't have reached his current position without your contribution. Only... your judgment just now wasn't quite accurate." Shen Xing said with a chuckle, sounding like friends chatting casually.

"Wrong? Which part are you referring to? Could it be that you aren't doing this for Bai Wei, but rather harbor some other grudge against Zhang He? Was Bai Wei just a random pretext?" Chen Lijun asked, somewhat puzzled.

She felt quite confident in her deduction, theoretically ruling out the scenario she had just mentioned.

"No, I am indeed doing this because of Bai Wei's plight. The mistake I meant is that switching the hostage to you wasn't about venting frustration on Bai Wei's behalf. You overestimate my friendship with her. Helping her complete the surgery was already doing her a massive favor; I don't need to go out of my way to do all this extra work for her."

"Then... what are you doing this for?"

For the first time, panic clearly showed on Chen Lijun's face, as she once again sensed that unsettling malice weighing down on her heart.

"Naturally, because I admire you. I admire both your intellect and the mutual attraction between a man and a woman. That's why I brought you to such a secluded place, just the two of us, to discuss this matter. Why follow someone like Zhang He? Abandon him, come over to my side, and work for me."

Shen Xing stepped forward, his body pressing almost flush against her back.

His free hand, the one not holding the gun, also began to move restlessly.

Chen Lijun felt utterly numb, never anticipating such a development.

At that moment, a profound sense of disorientation overwhelmed her reason.

There were simply too many points to object to, leaving her unsure of where to even begin.

"Are you crazy? You're an outlaw! What's the point of joining your side, becoming an outlaw right alongside you? I'm sorry, but I have zero interest. I don't want to lie to you, so I'm speaking the absolute truth. If I've offended you, I can only apologize. And stop putting on this act of a lust-crazed fiend; I've met plenty of men obsessed with women, and their eyes look completely different from yours."

Chen Lijun forced herself to remain calm, speaking while carefully registering the changes in Shen Xing's breathing.

Since she couldn't see his face, she had to rely on the shifting rhythm of his breath to perceive him as best as she could.

"You really are sharp. But if that's the case, it only proves my approach was correct. You are indeed worth the considerable trouble I've taken. However, I must remind you of one thing: a man and a woman can never fully understand each other. Even if I'm not obsessively lustful in that exaggerated way, it doesn't mean I'm some kind of saint. For instance, right now, I need to verify something by taking a certain action."

Shen Xing murmured right beside her ear, and in the next instant, one of his hands swiftly breached the primary barrier of her trousers.

Before Chen Lijun could even react, several lines of defense were successively breached.

"Get away from me!"

Caught entirely off guard, a foreign sensation invaded her body for the very first time.

Unable to control herself, Chen Lijun let out an instinctive cry.

Yet Shen Xing did not stop; since they had already reached this point, he naturally had to continue the investigation.

Thus, Shen Xing pressed the muzzle of the gun a little harder, using cold reality to help Chen Lijun regain her composure.

The cool, hard sensation proved remarkably effective.

Though burning with a shame that made her entire body tremble, Chen Lijun indeed dared not cry out again.

In the blink of an eye, ten seconds passed, yet to her, it felt agonizingly long.

Shen Xing withdrew his hand, his mood clearly improved by a couple of notches as he triumphantly declared:

"I knew my judgment wouldn't fail. This difficulty level was exceptionally high, not in the same league as the ones before. You... are still a virgin."

Chen Lijun bit her lower lip fiercely, trembling with fury.

"Couldn't you just ask me directly?! I have never suffered such humiliation in all my life!"

Shen Xing let out a light hum.

"Changing the subject won't help. Now that this has been confirmed, all my deductions fall into place. Your relationship with Zhang He isn't nearly as tight as it seems. In theory, the probability of you turning traitor shouldn't be small at all."

Chen Lijun did not deny this point, only asking:

"Is that what led to your suspicion?"