He just broke up with his girlfriend and is already living with the devilish rich girl.

Chapter 55, Number I

Zheng Xingguang walked over step by step, looking at the girl who was curled up on the ground with her hands covering her head.

Her body was covered in scars, bruises and welts, and several clear needle marks could even be seen on her exposed arms and calves.

Compared to when I fought her on the bridge before, why has she suddenly lost so much weight?

He looked like he had shrunk a size, with large, tattered clothes hanging loosely on his body.

Answer my question.

Zheng Xingguang's voice was devoid of any warmth.

"Who exactly are you?"

The girl's body trembled, and she slowly raised her head.

Her face remained expressionless, but there seemed to be a hint of unease and anxiety in her empty eyes.

Under Zheng Xingguang's gaze, she made a move that caught him completely off guard.

She reached out her dirty hands, grabbed the hem of her tattered clothes, and suddenly lifted it up, revealing her entire abdomen.

"What are you doing!"

Zheng Xingguang subconsciously took a half step back, his cheeks feeling a little hot.

"What kind of behavior is this for a young lady?!"

The girl ignored his reprimand and simply pointed to her flat but scarred abdomen.

There is a clear mark there.

A black Roman numeral.

"Number One," she said softly.

Zheng Xingguang frowned: "What do you mean by that?"

"This...this is me." The girl's voice was tinged with confusion, as if even she herself was unsure.

"I am... Number I..."

As soon as she finished speaking, her body suddenly began to tremble violently.

She clutched her stomach abruptly, curling up into a ball, her forehead instantly beaded with cold sweat.

Painful groans escaped from her clenched teeth, and her body convulsed uncontrollably.

Zheng Xingguang's eyes sharpened, and he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Don't try anything funny! Hey! Stand up!"

However, the girl just rolled on the ground in pain, her face turning deathly pale at a visible speed.

It doesn't seem like an act.

Zheng Xingguang sheathed his sword, quickly stepped forward, squatted down, and grabbed her wrist.

Two fingers were placed on the pulse point.

The pulse is disordered, the qi and blood are weak and floating, and there is a tangled mess in the stomach and intestines.

He moved closer and smelled not only the blood but also the sour stench of rotting food on her.

"What exactly did you eat?"

"Those things...the stuff from that bucket just now..."

The girl's voice was broken and filled with pain.

Zheng Xingguang remembered the trash can he had just passed by.

It was full of garbage, even the dog shook its head at it, but she ate it with relish.

"Is this all you're going to eat?!"

"Before... I was too scared to come out, so I hid in... in the garbage dump... I was so hungry, I couldn't take it anymore..."

Zheng Xingguang frowned.

He looked at the girl groaning in pain on the ground and felt inexplicably irritated.

He was somewhat confused about what he was doing.

According to regulations, he should immediately subdue her and then take her to the department's anti-magic prison.

This person is closely connected to beasts and is an extremely dangerous being.

but……

He recalled the annihilation operation, the traitor Chen Guodong, and the pursuit targeting him and his sister.

Now, he doesn't quite trust the people in the bureau.

If this "Number I" really did escape from that secret experiment amidst the chaos, then for some people, she is proof that she is still alive.

A flaw that must be eliminated.

If she is handed over, what awaits her may not be a trial, but rather an "accidental death."

No.

Zheng Xingguang made a decision.

He scooped up the girl, who was curled up on the ground, and carried her in his arms.

It was very light, as light as a handful of weightless withered grass.

He wanted to take her back to his safe house first.

...

Inside the safe house, Zheng Xingguang placed her on the bed.

He rummaged through an old wooden box and pulled out several packets of herbs wrapped in oil paper, then skillfully tossed them into a pot to boil.

The medicinal soup quickly turned black and viscous, emitting a pungent smell.

Zheng Xingguang took out a yellow talisman from his pocket, lit a spark with his fingertip, and set the talisman ablaze.

Watching the talisman burn to ashes, he sprinkled all the ashes into the medicinal soup and stirred it.

He carried the bowl of dark, medicinal soup to the bedside and helped the weak girl sit up.

"Drink it."

Without hesitation, the girl took the bowl, tilted her head back, and drank the entire bowl of medicine in one gulp.

Zheng Xingguang was stunned.

This talismanic water can cure all poisons and cleanse impurities, but the taste...

It is so bitter and spicy that it is basically unpalatable to most people.

One sip and you'll vomit up all your bile.

He even had two pieces of milk candy in his hand, ready to stuff them into her mouth to calm her down when she was about to spit it out.

"You didn't react at all! This stuff is terribly bitter!"

After the girl finished her medicine, she leaned weakly against the headboard, staring at him with empty eyes.

She asked softly, "What does 'bitter' mean?"

Zheng Xingguang was stunned again.

"Don't you have a sense of taste?"

"What is taste...?"

Zheng Xingguang stared at her blank face, and his doubts resurfaced.

"Stop playing dumb with me!"

He said coldly.

"When you were controlling those berserk monsters to fight me while playing your flute, you weren't acting all pitiful!"

"I'm telling you, I'm only saving your life now. Once I find out the truth, I'll still take you to the anti-magic prison!"

The girl lay back on the bed, her empty eyes staring at the ceiling, unresponsive to his threats.

"It's okay."

Her voice was very soft, like a feather.

"Anywhere is fine..."

This indifferent attitude made Zheng Xingguang feel like he was punching cotton, which only made him more irritable.

He couldn't bear the smell emanating from the girl—a mixture of blood, rot, and dirt.

"Go take a shower!"

The girl's body stiffened visibly. She slowly turned her head, and for the first time, surprise appeared in her empty eyes.

"Can I... take a shower?"

"Nonsense!" Zheng Xingguang said with a look of disgust.

"You stink so badly you could kill flies! Go wash up right now!"

Having received "permission," the girl sat up tremblingly.

Then, right in front of Zheng Xingguang, she took off her tattered top.

Zheng Xingguang was dumbfounded.

He watched helplessly as the tattered cloth slipped off, revealing the girl's slender but already well-defined figure.

"What are you doing?!"

He turned around abruptly, feeling his face burning.

"Don't even think about seducing me! I'm telling you, I can withstand any test!"

"We, we, we are all outstanding agents who have grown up gloriously under the banner of the Special Administration Bureau!"

"Yes, you've undergone the most rigorous anti-sugar-coated bullet training! Your level of...testing wouldn't even qualify as a deduction in our internal assessments!"

"Which Special Administration Bureau agent couldn't withstand such a test?!"

The girl tilted her head, seemingly not understanding what he was saying at all.

"I'm ready."

"What's ready?" Zheng Xingguang asked, his voice trembling as his back was to her.

"bath……"

The girl's voice carried a hint of confusion as she slightly raised her hand.

"You...you can start washing me with water now."

Zheng Xingguang froze.

Rush... rush her?

He suddenly realized.

She used to be treated like livestock, stripped naked and then washed with a hose.

An unnamed anger and heartache welled up in my heart.

He turned around, roughly grabbed the tattered clothes from the ground, and haphazardly pulled them up to cover her fair skin.

Then, he grabbed her arm and dragged her into the bathroom.

"Watch closely!"

He turned on the shower head somewhat awkwardly.

"This! Turn it down for hot water! Turn it up for cold water! Adjust it yourself!"

"And this! It's shower gel! Pour it into your hands, lather it up, and then apply it to your body!"

"This is for shampooing!"

The girl stared blankly at his series of actions, seemingly still not quite understanding.

Zheng Xingguang had lost his patience. He pushed her under the shower and slammed the bathroom door shut.

"Wash yourself! Don't come out until you're clean!"

He leaned against the door, listening to the "whoosh" of the showerhead coming from inside.

Soon, the girl's mutterings, both calm and tinged with a hint of curiosity, rang out.

"So warm..."

"So comfortable..."

"Oh... oh, it's so hot."

Zheng Xingguang was startled and rushed in again to lower the water temperature for her.

"Ah...it's so cold..."

He raised it a bit more.

"Hehe... This is so much fun..."

"Who's playing with you!"

After going back and forth several times, until only the sound of "so comfortable" remained in the bathroom, he was finally able to plop down on the living room floor.

"well……"

Zheng Xingguang rubbed his temples, feeling more tired than if he had gone on a long field mission.

He went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

The room was empty except for a few eggs and a handful of noodles.

He sighed, took out a pot, and started boiling water.

Because this is all he knows how to cook.

If only my sister were here.

No...no, I can't let my sister get involved in this.

I'm now considered to be harboring a criminal suspect... but I want to break things up with her no matter what.

If we could get her to reveal who their backers are within the General Administration.

That would also be helpful to the father.

Listening to the sound of water in the bathroom, Zheng Xingguang began to think.