After Crossing Over, I Marked the Empress

Shen Han and Ma Haoyu walked in the empty corridor, neither speaking.

The soft carpet underfoot and the thriving green plants on both sides remained unchanged, but the two no longer felt the warmth they had upon first arriving.

Birth, aging, illness, and death are natural laws of life; everyone knows they should face them calmly.

However, when this moment truly presents itself, happening to those around us, how many can actually accept it peacefully?

Feeling the atmosphere grow heavy, Ma Haoyu took the initiative to start a conversation.

“It’s good that Ning Xi was the one helping Jiang Xinyue. I couldn’t have handled a scene like that.”

“I probably would have been exposed as soon as the elderly lady asked me the first question. I definitely couldn’t have performed as naturally as Ning Xi.”

Shen Han nodded, knowing that being sentimental here would be of no use.

After composing herself, she said to Ma Haoyu, “Let’s split up and proceed as we planned earlier.”

“We may not uncover any useful information, but since we’re here, we should do our best to complete the task.”

“Yes!”

After responding softly, Ma Haoyu immediately headed towards the server room.

According to information provided by the special investigation team, ZK General Hospital had been anonymously reported for involvement in black market organ trading.

But this area was very difficult to investigate, and so far there was no concrete evidence to prove it.

Shen Han knew from Gu Junwan that there were two opposing forces within the Zhou K Group, battling each other.

So she wanted to come and see for herself if she could gain any additional insights from the hospital as an entry point.

The investigation into the Zhou K Group was being handled by dedicated personnel, and logically, this shouldn’t have been a concern for the guard team.

But Shen Han’s identity was not only the Empress’s guard captain but also her partner.

She hoped to help her Omega solve problems.

She had always been working towards this goal, persevering, and doing well.

At this stage, Gu Junwan’s work was concentrated within the Palace of Peace, with no safety issues.

So, Shen Han had come up with this plan.

However, to her slight disappointment, after wandering around various areas of the hospital for half a day, she had heard an earful of idle gossip but nothing truly useful.

Just as she was about to head to the next area via the fire escape, she suddenly heard people speaking softly in the darkness above.

“That bitch Zhou Nuoman, guarding this crappy hospital like it’s her eyeball. If we could move our goods through here, who knows how many times more we’d make. The people who can afford to come here are all big spenders!”

“Stop complaining. This private hospital is her father’s business project, so it’s normal that we can’t get our hands in. But now she wants to stick her foot into our territory, that’s crossing the line.”

“By the way, Brother Ma, do you think we can succeed tonight? I heard that bodyguard of hers is a really tough customer!”

The two chatted recklessly as they fumbled their way up the dark stairs.

They had no idea that not far below them, Shen Han was following.

It wasn’t their carelessness to blame. ZK Hospital had convenient elevators reaching all areas.

Besides, who in their right mind would be climbing stairs in the fire escape late at night?

Shen Han followed the two, holding her breath. With her reconnaissance skills, she naturally wouldn’t let them discover her presence.

Listening to their conversation, she was surprised.

‘The Zhou Nuoman they’re talking about must be the daughter of Vice Chairman Zhou Ming. Judging from their conversation, these two sneaky individuals should be subordinates of the other vice chairman involved in illegal activities.’

‘But what are they here to do? Kidnapping? Or something more sinister?’

As she pondered, the man called Brother Ma spoke again: “Don’t worry, that bodyguard of hers has turned coat. Otherwise, why do you think the boss would have us come tonight?”

The two then discussed some details of their plan.

After quickly calculating in her mind, Shen Han hurriedly and quietly left the fire escape.

She sent a text message to Ma Haoyu.

[Stop what you’re doing and go to parking level B3, section D immediately. Puncture the tires of all the vans. Be quick and make sure the cameras don’t catch your face.]

Ma Haoyu didn’t ask anything, replied with a “Roger” and took the elevator to the first floor.

Slipping into the stairwell, he turned his jacket inside out, pulled out a floppy hat from his pocket to cover his forehead, then slouched off towards the underground parking area.

By the time Ma Haoyu started puncturing van tires, Shen Han had already run quickly to the hospital’s east exit.

Earlier, when she heard the two men planned to take Zhou Nuoman out of the hospital, she had formulated a strategy in her mind.

The strategy was simple, but simple things are often the most effective.

Their route was to leave through the east gate and transport Zhou Nuoman to another location to force her to sign some agreement.

So, if the vehicles couldn’t move, they would likely take their target on foot rather than waiting for backup.

But now there was a problem.

How could she use this opportunity to make some connection with Zhou Nuoman?

After all, Shen Han’s goal wasn’t just to rescue someone.

Revealing her identity directly was certainly not an option, and she couldn’t appear too deliberate in the rescue process.

Not far from the east gate, Shen Han’s eyes lit up, and she immediately ran towards a noodle stand in a diagonal alley.

In this small alleyway, there were several stalls selling food, fruits, and flower baskets.

Even rich people have poor relatives, so naturally not everyone coming to visit patients at a private hospital would be wealthy.

Next to the noodle stand sat several middle-aged people.

They weren’t eating noodles, just cracking sunflower seeds and chatting.

At their feet were signs with information like “Welfare Card Swiping,” “Locksmith Services,” “House Rentals,” and so on.

Shen Han saw that several were businesses explicitly prohibited by the Federation government.

Reporting them could wait. Now, she needed to borrow one of their signs.

For 50 yuan, a middle-aged woman happily handed over her odd-job sign.

She even enthusiastically taught Shen Han some sales tactics.

“Girl, when you’re calling out, make sure you don’t lock yourself into anything specific.”

“If an employer asks what you can do, just say you can do anything. Be flexible, and don’t price yourself too high!”

Shen Han nodded casually and went to stake out the hospital’s east gate with the odd-job sign.

She looked down at the bold text on the sign in her arms that read “Can endure hardship, can work independently, temp worker,” and sighed slightly helplessly.

‘It’s a good thing I came out in disguise today. Otherwise, if people saw the Empress’s personal guard doing street temp work, who knows what kind of media storm it would stir up!’

As she thought, she mussed up her hair even more, with her bangs almost covering her black-framed glasses.

At the same moment.

Zhou Nuoman, being “escorted” downstairs by her bodyguard, belatedly realized that tonight’s situation was a bit off!

Earlier, she had noticed two suspicious figures seemingly following her and told her bodyguard.

The bodyguard searched around but found no one, then suggested leaving it to the hospital security while they quickly left.

Since Zhou Nuoman had discovered the issue herself, she didn’t find anything wrong with the bodyguard’s decision at the time.

Normally, people are more inclined to believe in the “truth” they’ve discovered and analyzed themselves.

After the two entered the elevator, Zhou Nuoman saw the bodyguard press the button for B3.

She became alert: “Isn’t our car parked on B2?”

“Sorry, I was still thinking about those suspicious individuals and got it wrong.”

The bodyguard explained, moving half a step to the side and reaching out as if to press another button.

The button display area was blocked by the bodyguard’s body, and Zhou Nuoman couldn’t see his operation.

As she anxiously waited, the floor display at the top of the elevator showed ‘-2’.

But the elevator didn’t stop descending.

Zhou Nuoman realized she had likely fallen into a trap.

Her assistant had been fine in the morning but fainted in the office in the afternoon.

She hadn’t originally planned to come to ZK Hospital tonight; it was because she heard about an urgent situation at the hospital that she decided to come and check.

These coincidences weren’t particularly special on their own.

But in the current situation, they were quite extraordinary!

Zhou Nuoman knew she couldn’t physically overpower the bodyguard. She pretended not to notice the floor change and lowered her head, holding her phone in her hand.

The elevator doors opened at this moment.

But before Zhou Nuoman could dial her father’s number, the bodyguard forcibly took her phone away.

“Miss Nuoman, I don’t want to harm you. I hope you can cooperate a bit.”

“Don’t be too nervous. Brother Qiang just wants you to come over for a chat. We’re all family here. What can’t we sit down and discuss properly?”

By now, Zhou Nuoman was being led out by the bodyguard’s grip.

Hearing his words, she couldn’t help but laugh coldly: “Some family. Wang Qiang using this method to negotiate with me, does he really think they can cover the sky with one hand?”

As she spoke, Zhou Nuoman tried to break free forcefully.

As soon as she moved, a syringe was brought close to her waist.

The bodyguard’s voice was devoid of warmth: “Miss Nuoman, you know we can’t really kill or maim you, so Brother Qiang had me prepare this injection.”

“This is newly acquired from overseas. Just one drop in your bloodstream, and you’ll be dependent on it for life.”

Zhou Nuoman’s face turned ashen, and she gave up struggling.

She knew the “goods” he mentioned was a new type of drug, which she absolutely couldn’t risk being exposed to even slightly.

The bodyguard dragged her directly to Section D, but before they reached the car, two men who looked like thugs came running over in frustration, saying the tires had been punctured.

The bodyguard frowned and asked, “You two go check if it’s only our car that’s been punctured?”

One thug said, “We’ve already looked. There are three vans parked in Section D, all punctured!”

“Who knows which bastard did it. If they’ve got a grudge, why not slash luxury car tires instead!”

After hearing that other cars had been damaged too, the bodyguard’s slight suspicion instantly dissipated.

He thought for a moment, then directly gripped Zhou Nuoman’s nape and walked towards the exit: “Let’s get out first. Xiao Ma, call for another car to come.”

Xiao Ma agreed while asking, “Bro, why don’t you just knock her out and carry her?”

The bodyguard frowned: “If the staff here see someone unconscious, they might start asking questions. Too much trouble.”

Then he said to the woman in front of him, “Miss Nuoman won’t yell or move recklessly. Otherwise, if she accidentally touches the needle tip, that wouldn’t be good.”

Zhou Nuoman’s neck was gripped, making it impossible for her to speak.

Moreover, she was truly afraid they might inject her with drugs. Although she was extremely anxious, she couldn’t think of a way to escape.

The group successfully exited through the east gate.

Zhou Nuoman rolled her eyes, looking around, hoping to spot a doctor who knew her.

If she could somehow make them notice something unusual about her situation, she might be able to escape this predicament.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many people coming and going outside the east gate, and no ZK Hospital staff were present.

Just as she was despairing, a woman suddenly came jogging over from the roadside.

She was holding up a square sign with “Temp Worker” and similar phrases written in thick pen.

The bodyguard immediately signaled everyone to stop.

The two thugs put their hands in their pockets, quietly gripping the switchblades hidden inside.

Shen Han ran up to the four with her sign held high, speaking enthusiastically: “Boss, need a temp worker? I can do anything, and I’m not expensive. Hiring me is really a great deal!”