Chapter 156: So Deep, So Hot-Huh? This Isn't a Dating Sim?(Mouth with three corners)

In front of the north gate of the Irene Group headquarters building.

Yang Mingzhong squatted on the ground, holding a cigarette between his fingers, his gaze locked tightly near the rear tire of a car parked beside the gate.

He had been staked out here for a while now.

Based on his previous reconnaissance experience, that crucial NPC was almost ready to appear.

Sure enough, just a few minutes later—

"Meow~"

Accompanied by a soft cry, a plump little cat, shaped remarkably like a gas cylinder, walked out from behind the car tire with its tail held high.

The little kitty padded on its paws and headed straight for the north gate.

"Miao Xiaoxiao!" Yang Mingzhong called out.

"Meow~" Hearing someone call its name, the cat immediately spun around, trotted quickly to Yang Mingzhong's feet, and began circling his trouser legs.

Yang Mingzhong squatted down and raised a hand to rub the chubby cheeks of the cat.

In fact, right at the start of this final quest, he had come looking for Miao Xiaoxiao. Back then, when he directly asked where the "Furnace" was, Miao Xiaoxiao had slipped away through the north gate without even looking back.

Now, armed with the Guild President's crucial hint, Yang Mingzhong changed his phrasing:

"Do you know the way to the underground beneath the Irene Group?"

"Meow~" Miao Xiaoxiao rubbed its round head against Yang Mingzhong's palm, then turned and walked deeper into the courtyard.

This was its way of guiding Yang Mingzhong.

Yang Mingzhong followed closely, watching as the little kitty squatted down beside a flowerbed, stuck its butt in the air, and began scratching desperately at the dirt with its front paws, acting just like an eager dog.

Yang Mingzhong squatted down beside the cat, reached out to push aside the obstructing bushes next to the flowerbed, and finally saw what Miao Xiaoxiao was digging at: a few stones piled together to form a crude fortress.

The moment that fortress was torn open by Miao Xiaoxiao, a finger-sized gecko instantly darted out from the collapsed stones with a "swoosh".

"Brother Tiger?" Yang Mingzhong blurted out reflexively.

Hearing that name, the gecko stopped abruptly, freezing as if under a binding spell.

Yang Mingzhong stepped over into the flowerbed and walked up to Brother Tiger.

Sensing Yang Mingzhong's approach, the little gecko darted forward a short distance again, then froze once more, waiting for the man behind it to catch up.

Following the gecko, Yang Mingzhong walked and stopped within the flowerbed, making a circle before finally stopping right beneath a drainage outlet of the Irene building.

The gecko burrowed down into the patch of muddy ground and vanished from sight.

Yang Mingzhong squatted down, pulled out a dagger, and began digging along the spot where the gecko had disappeared.

Before long, the dagger struck a thick iron plate, producing a metallic, clanging sound.

Yang Mingzhong paused his digging, put away the dagger, and scraped away the surrounding soil with his hands, revealing a hidden door.

Joy flickered in the depths of his eyes, and Yang Mingzhong immediately pulled up the guild chat group from his system interface—

[.z.: Found it!]

[.z.: A hidden door leading underground]

[.z.: [Image]]

[Xiaofu: ()wow!*]

[FireFireFire: Holy cow, bro, where is it? Share your location, we're heading over right now!]

…………

The CEO's Office.

Wen Nan's cheeks were cupped in Guan Ailin's hands as they kissed with lingering passion.

It wasn't until he was growing slightly short of breath that he was forced to grasp the back of Guan Ailin's neck, pulling her back a little. Smiling, he asked, "Why are you suddenly so... clingy?"

Guan Ailin knelt before Wen Nan, lifting her hand to trace his eyebrows gently with her fingertips, as if trying to carve his features into her heart.

"I'm a little scared... so scared... scared that one day, I'll forget you." Guan Ailin lowered her gaze, clasping the back of Wen Nan's hand. "This morning, I clearly sent you a message, but during the meeting this morning, I suddenly couldn't remember anything at all. It felt as though the person who spoke those words to you and sent those messages earlier wasn't me at all."

Wen Nan understood Guan Ailin's concerns. This was also the reason why he had felt a sense of loss while sitting alone in this office earlier, but he didn't voice any of it. Instead, he turned his hand over to hold hers, pulled it to his lips for a gentle kiss, and then smiled. "Don't overthink it. You were just too busy with work and forgot for a moment. Didn't you remember everything now?"

Guan Ailin shook her head, not so easily placated.

"It's not that simple. I... can feel it. It's as if there's a hidden eraser in my mind, ready at any moment to wipe away every trace of you from my memory...

"I'm afraid that one day, I'll end up like Li淑仪 [Li Shuyi], forgetting even the husband she once loved most with all her heart."

Wen Nan kissed her trembling eyelashes. "That won't happen. I said I would take you away, and I will definitely take you away."

Guan Ailin lifted her eyes to look at Wen Nan, stunned for a moment. Then, as if suddenly losing control, she raised her hand, pulled at the hem of Wen Nan's shirt, and made ready to replay everything from the previous night.

Wen Nan gently gripped her eager yet slightly trembling hands, glancing toward the door. "This is the office."

People came and went outside the door, and the sound of footsteps and conversation could be faintly heard.

Guan Ailin shook her head. "Without my permission, no one dares to come in."

With that, she pulled Wen Nan's arm, guiding it against her body.

……

Unlike before, Guan Ailin this time was far more proactive and passionate than ever before.

Just as she had said herself, she was deeply worried and terrified, so she was desperate to use her own body to trace the shape of Wen Nan, as if only by doing so could she permanently brand him into her mind.

……

Once this "serious business" concluded, Wen Nan gently placed Guan Ailin onto the spacious sofa. The moment he sat up, a flurry of notifications chimed in.

First came the Winner Guild group chat—

[FireFireFire: It's finally open! Damn, this door was welded on way too tightly!]

[FireFireFire: [Image]]

[FireFireFire: Bros, the three of us are heading in to scout the path]

[Yao: 1]

[Yao: Let's roll!]

[Jingxing: Be careful]

[FireFireFire: What the hell, this tunnel is freaking deep! And damn it's hot!]

[Yao: ???]

[Yao: You better be talking about the actual tunnel]

[FireFireFire: Damn it, what kind of filthy road can you drive on?]

[FireFireFire: No, seriously, there's an actual furnace in here!]

[FireFireFire: I can't take it, we're coming back out. We only walked about twenty meters inside and the temperature spiked close to fifty degrees Celsius. If we go any further, we'll definitely turn into roast suckling pigs.]

[Yao: Pigs have the decency to know their limits.]

[FireFireFire: Screw your beauty.]

[.z.: Xiaofu is suffering from heatstroke. Do you guys have any medicine?]

[Jingxing: Yes, head back to the respawn point first. Don't charge deeper in.]

……

Right on the heels of the guild chat messages, another alert popped up—

[SlaveTamer-Monarch: Silver Thorn has appeared, slipping along the drainage outlet of the Irene building all the way into a certain tunnel.]

(End of this chapter)