Shrouded Seascape

Gao Zhiming was dyed completely red with blood as he crawled over Lightning Tiger's corpse. There was so much blood all over him that he looked like the bloody corpse beneath him.

The men retreated as the boy advanced. By the time he reached the checkered plastic sack containing Anna again, the men had already backed up to the stairwell.

Kneeling on all fours over Anna's unmoving figure, Gao Zhiming pointed the juggling knife in his hand at the men. Then, his hoarse voice reverberated with the strength to chop nails and sever iron as he exclaimed, "I dare you to touch her!"

Without a leader, the group comprising more than a dozen grown men was being intimidated by an eight-year-old child. Gao Zhiming's vision was blurry, and his head felt as heavy as lead, but he knew that he couldn't lose consciousness.

If he ended up losing consciousness, no one would protect his sister.

Just then, a pair of slender hands embraced Gao Zhiming from behind. Then, he was pulled backward into the soft and fragrant embrace of someone. The scent was familiar to Gao Zhiming; it was his sister's scent. His sister was finally awake.

Anna looked down at Gao Zhiming and saw that the boy had fainted. Anna revealed a complicated expression at the sight. She needed no explanation, as the situation alone told Anna everything she had to know about what had transpired.

Anna lowered her head and kissed the battered Gao Zhiming.

Gao Zhiming's stern shout just now had awakened Anna, and she confirmed that he was truly similar to the Charles whom she had met in the Subterranean Sea.

"She's awake. What are we going to do?"

"Lightning Tiger's dead. What else can we do at this point? We just have to call the cops."

"Right, right, right, call the cops, quick! Before they get here, let's get our stories straight. We have to tell them that we didn't do anything."

Just as they were about to call the police, several tiny green fireballs manifested in midair, instantly incinerating their phones.

The abrupt manifestation of the green flames gave everyone a fright.

Anna gently laid Gao Zhiming down on Lightning Tiger's corpse before picking up the iron pipe on the ground. "Do you know how important this child is to me? And you people actually dared to beat him up?"

Anna's high heels echoed crisply against the concrete floor as she walked toward the stairwell with a smile.

"You just woke up, so you must have no idea what's going on. We're here to help you! We're here to help you, but your little brother suddenly killed one of us," Big Dragon explained, but Anna acted as if she couldn't hear him.

Swoosh!

Anna swung the iron pipe in her hand, smashing it into a man's head.

The man's skull caved in, and he fell to the ground, never to move again.

"Fuck! Get her!" the men exclaimed. They thought they had the advantage over the seemingly frail Anna. However, it took them no time to discover that they were wrong, utterly wrong.

The iron pipes in their hands phased through Anna, unable to harm her in the slightest. In contrast, Anna's blows seemed to be getting stronger after each blow.

"She's a ghost!" No one knew who shouted, but the men's morale plummeted to the abyss upon hearing the voice. They turned around and fled downstairs in terror.

Of course, Anna wasn't going to let them go. Her figure vibrated at a high frequency as she melted into the floor. These men had almost killed Gao Zhiming, so she showed them no mercy and slaughtered them thoroughly.

Anna was very skilled when it came to giving one a torturous death. On that night, screams of agony echoed in the corridors of the unfinished building for a very long time.

Gao Zhiming had no idea how long he had been sleeping, but the first sensation that struck him was hunger—he was very hungry.

Gao Zhiming groggily opened his eyes and immediately sat up. He looked around frantically for his big sister. Soon, he found Anna on the right side of what looked like a hospital room.

Anna seemed to be browsing an international news website on a laptop.

Gao Zhiming relaxed instantly upon seeing Anna.

"Big Sister, you're finally awake. I really… missed you," he muttered in a hoarse voice.

Anna let go of the mouse and stood up. She walked up to the seated Gao Zhiming and laid him back down. "You're badly hurt; the attack on your back injured your spine. You need as much rest as possible."

"Where are we?" Gao Zhiming looked around. The room was too crude to be called a hospital room, but the table next to his bed was filled with bottles and jars, so he felt like he was in a hospital.

"A secret place to receive some treatment," Anna said. She rubbed Gao Zhiming's head, and the latter's eyes narrowed, seemingly enjoying it.

Then, Gao Zhiming recalled something and asked, "Big Sister, what happened to those people?"

"I dealt with them," Anna said casually. Clearly, she didn't want Gao Zhiming to ask more questions about it because she changed the topic by asking, "Are you hungry? There's food here."

Anna opened the green thermos on the table next to them, and the rich aroma of chicken rushed out of the thermos, making Gao Zhiming unconsciously gulp a mouthful of his saliva.

Anna proceeded to tear off pieces of chicken with chopsticks before feeding Gao Zhiming.

Gao Zhiming raised his hands, which both had an IV line, and struggled to sit up.

"It's okay, Big Sister. I can eat by myself."

"Don't move around. The line will backflow," Anna said sternly.

Anna's stern voice rendered the boy silent, and he no longer insisted on feeding himself as he enjoyed the food that Anna had brought for him.

While the boy was eating, Anna suddenly asked, "Why did you save me? My treatment toward you wasn't exactly the best, and I almost strangled you to death as well."

"But you're still the person who has treated me the best," Gao Zhiming said with no hesitation at all. "You're a good person, Big Sister."

"A good person?" Anna muttered. She had never imagined, even in her wildest dreams, that someone would call her a "good person" one day.

"If something like this happens again, don't be a hero. Let them take me away. This body isn't mine, anyway. Your survival is far more important than the chastity of this fleshly body."

However, Gao Zhiming showed no intention of nodding. He fell silent, and he clearly opposed Anna's suggestion.

Anna stared at Gao Zhiming with a complicated face. After a long while, she asked, "Do you know why I saved you?"

"Why?"

"Because you will be my husband in the future." Anna finally confessed.

Gao Zhiming's cheeks instantly flushed bright red. He was both excited and nervous. It seemed that he had no idea how to respond to Anna's words.

Anna reached out and gently caressed his cheek, saying, "In just a few years, we will experience many things in that hellish place; we will go through many pleasant and unpleasant events."

Anna then told Gao Zhiming everything about the future as well as her plans.

It was extremely complicated for the young Gao Zhiming. In fact, he was confused, but he still listened intently.

Once Anna had finished her confession and the chicken soup in the thermos had run out, she wiped Gao Zhiming's lips clean with a napkin.

Then, she leaned over and pressed her forehead against Gao Zhiming's forehead. The shy Gao Zhiming looked away, but Anna grabbed his head and made him face her.

Anna stared intently at the young Gao Zhiming and she enunciated each word as she said, "Gao Zhiming, you must never forget what I'm about to say! You must do everything you can to protect our daughter Sparkle!"