The man called Zhou Zhe, upon hearing this, loosened the rope that had restrained Gou Dan.
Gou Dan trotted happily back to Xu An's side.
Completely unaware of what had happened, it innocently rubbed against Xu An's calf.
Xu An didn't know what method the man named Zhou Zhe had used to tie up Gou Dan.
Not only had Gou Dan not attacked the man, but it hadn't even barked.
"Can you take the knife down now?"
His voice was hoarse and low.
Xu An glanced back at Zhou Zhe, whose presence was incredibly faint. She detected a strong smell of blood from him.
She secretly pondered, then withdrew the dagger from the man's arm and retreated to the side.
Her back was against the wall, and she crouched down to check on Gou Dan's condition.
Blood flowed continuously from the man's arm, staining his sleeve red in a matter of moments.
"Captain!"
Zhou Zhe quickly ran to the man's side, attempting to examine his injuries. However, during his movement, it was unclear if he had aggravated his own wound, causing him to sway slightly.
Only then did Xu An feel slightly reassured. This man named Zhou Zhe must be the one who had called for help earlier. Judging by his appearance, he was seriously injured and his combat effectiveness was practically zero.
It seemed the only real threat was the man currently facing her.
After a thorough check, finding Gou Dan unharmed, she also felt a sense of curiosity towards Zhou Zhe.
Her Gou Dan, normally, would bark incessantly at strangers unless specifically instructed otherwise by her.
An idea flashed through her mind: perhaps the man named Zhou Zhe had been a dog trainer before.
As for "Captain?", what kind of captain was he?
A soldier?
What were the identities of these two men before her?
While Xu An appeared to be checking Gou Dan, her gaze never left the two men.
If one had to say they were soldiers, it wasn't impossible. The disciplined demeanor they exhibited certainly resembled that of military personnel.
However, the "killing move" unleashed by the so-called captain upon their first encounter forced Xu An to remain on guard.
In her past life, many criminal gangs had impersonated soldiers and committed unforgivable acts.
Xu An could be sure that before she arrived, there was only one person's breathing here.
This meant that the captain had appeared within the three minutes she had been traveling.
The fact that Xu An had not detected his presence at all sent a chill down her spine.
If she hadn't reacted quickly and drawn her dagger to block, what had the man intended to do with his arm?
Try to strangle her directly?
He claimed to have no ill intentions, yet his entire demeanor exuded a murderous aura. Did he think she was some clueless young girl?
This was also the reason why Xu An dared not let down her guard.
Did he look down on her because she was a girl, or did he think she was easy to handle?
Gou Dan affectionately licked Xu An's palm with its tongue. She looked down at her dog, anger flaring within her.
She swatted Gou Dan's hindquarters.
"Why didn't you bark when you were taken away! Are you a mute puppy! What has Mom taught you! When you see bad guys, you beat them!"
She silently added to herself: "Better to bite them to death!"
Zhou Zhe looked at the wound on his captain's arm, then listened to the young girl not far away, whose words were clearly aimed at someone else.
He retorted indignantly, "I didn't do anything to your dog, but you injured my captain quite badly. Do you know... if it weren't for..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the man interrupted him.
"Zhou Zhe, shut up!"
"Yes, Captain!"
A man over six feet tall seemed like a chastened boy in front of his captain. He looked at the man before him with teary eyes.
If it weren't for his captain, he would have died at the hands of that monster just now.
Unfortunately, because of the appearance of this woman, that monster had escaped again.
Zhou Zhe endured the pain in his chest and looked at the man's arm, saying,
"Captain, the wound is too deep, the bleeding just won't stop!"
Zhou Zhe's voice trembled slightly. He was afraid that the man's arm would be permanently disabled.
Turning back, he glared resentfully at Xu An and said, "You, little girl, how can you be so brutal, stabbing people at the slightest disagreement!"
Xu An didn't indulge him either and retorted sarcastically.
"Or what? Waiting for your good captain to slap me to death?"
"You were the one who suddenly barged in. Captain was just trying to capture..."
"Zhou Zhe! I've said enough! Shut up! Does what I say no longer have any authority?!"
The man's cold aura, which he had been suppressing, erupted outwards as he addressed Zhou Zhe.
Zhou Zhe shrank his head, not daring to say another word.
The man looked at Xu An, his reason for stopping Zhou Zhe from speaking further was to avoid revealing too much information to her.
This woman was too sharp.
With just a few words, Zhou Zhe, who was always straightforward, had already let slip a lot of information.
Their mission was absolutely confidential. He could not allow a third living person present to know about it.
Xu An also fell silent, not uttering another sound.
From the beginning, her intention was to provoke the man called Zhou Zhe and extract information.
This was because, among those present, Zhou Zhe appeared to be the most naive.
(Zhou Zhe: I haven't offended any of you.)
Since her intentions were discovered, Xu An decided to admit it frankly.
"If you don't stop the bleeding from that arm, it'll likely have to be amputated."
Xu An wasn't trying to scare him. She was the one who had inflicted the wound, and no one knew better than her how much force she had used.
The man stopped Zhou Zhe from speaking and said calmly, "You have a way?"
Xu An nodded.
"Yes, I found some medical supplies downstairs earlier, including a tourniquet."
Zhou Zhe's face lit up upon hearing this.
Xu An's subsequent words shattered his fantasy.
"Don't think about going down to get them; all the supplies are with me."
"Of course, neither of you should expect to snatch them from me. Believe me, it's not certain who will live and who will die."
The man's lips curved subtly upon hearing this, and he asked, "What do you want?"
"I don't want anything. I'll ask three questions, and you answer them truthfully. Then I'll give you what you want."
The man became interested and asked playfully, "Three questions? How will you judge if I'm lying? What if I'm just playing with you?"
Xu An smiled nonchalantly, appearing even more indifferent than him.
"Then swear on your honor as a soldier. If you lie to me, it will be as if you have betrayed your faith and your country!"
Zhou Zhe's eyes widened, reddening. "You're talking nonsense! You..."
The man, unfortunately, couldn't stop Zhou Zhe in time. Zhou Zhe had already spoken his piece.
Xu An looked at the two men opposite her with a triumphant smile, her eyes full of calculation.
Only then did Zhou Zhe belatedly realize he had been tricked.
He lowered his head in shame and softly called out, "Captain..."