Chapter 25: Some Encounters Are Destined to Be Bittersweet

Nine minutes had passed, leaving only six. Could twenty jin of gold really be hidden in a sofa?

Zhou Zhihan sat down in the living room and surveyed the sofa. It was impossible; no one would hide gold around the cushions or the coffee table. He mocked himself for acting like a headless fly, driven to such desperation that he would entertain the foolish notion that someone would stash gold in their own living room sofa. Yet, he wondered if Kaori Yoshiko might have been clever enough to think that the most dangerous place was the safest.

Could she have been that foolish? Perhaps. Even a woman as beautiful as a fairy, with a heart as venomous as a scorpion and a mind as meticulous as Kaori’s, might succumb to a moment of stupidity. Zhou Zhihan decided to gamble on that possibility. He hurriedly flipped the sofa over, but a second later, he realized his own folly—it was obvious at a glance that such a space couldn't hold twenty jin of gold.

He admitted he was no different from those desperate souls grasping at straws. Suddenly, as he looked up, his gaze caught the wine glasses hanging upside down in the bar area. An idea struck him: could the red dot in the upper-left corner of that white abstract painting represent a wine glass? Was the gold hidden in the bar?

He walked toward the bar but stopped after a few steps. The memory left in Kaori’s mind before she died must have been the most authentic reflection of her inner world. While the bar was oval-shaped, it was dark red, a stark contrast to the white in the painting.

What was that white oval? "A bathtub?" Zhou Zhihan slapped his forehead and sprinted toward the bathroom.

Passing by Kaori’s body, he saw her lying prone by the bathroom door, a pitiable sight. He wondered how his predecessor would have felt seeing her like this. Recalling the abstract painting of the umbrella, a sudden tightness gripped his heart. In the depths of Kaori’s soul, was the man under the umbrella his predecessor? And was she there with him?

The image had been blurry and abstract, perhaps indicating that Kaori was deeply conflicted about their future. She was caught between a man she loved deeply—a man who loved her in return—and the formidable, feared Tokko Kikan. In that moment, Zhou Zhihan seemed to understand why she had abandoned the thought of eloping and chosen to kill him instead. She knew that no matter where they fled, the secret agents would find them. Rather than letting him die at their hands, she would rather he die by her own. She could not let him go, for no one else had ever made her love so helplessly, and she could not bear for him to discover that she was a specially trained operative of the Tokko Kikan.

Some encounters are destined to be tragically beautiful.

Looking at Kaori, who lay dead in a posture of supplication, wrapped in a bath towel, Zhou Zhihan stood frozen for a few seconds. If he hadn't transmigrated here, would his predecessor have been the one lying dead? If they had met in a peaceful era, might their story have become a romantic legend? He could only blame this damnable war.

Stepping over her body, he entered the bathroom. By the white bathtub sat half a glass of red wine, looking as vibrant as a fresh blossom. This was it. He checked the time: four minutes remaining. There was water in the tub, along with lingering foam. Kaori had soaked, then rinsed under the shower. He shook his head; she had spent a full half-hour in there. He stripped off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and plunged his hand into the water. It was still warm, with a faint, feminine scent drifting on the surface.

After feeling around for a few seconds, he found the drain lever at the bottom. He pulled it, and a small vortex formed on the water's surface. In less than a minute, the tub was empty. It looked perfectly ordinary, with no visible signs of a mechanism. Was the gold not here?

Panic began to set in—less than two minutes left. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. He gripped the drain handle and twisted. It didn't budge. He applied more force, then used both hands, straining until he heard a "creak." Behind him, the toilet automatically shifted to the side, revealing an oval opening in the floor.

Zhou Zhihan was overjoyed. The toilet was connected to the bathtub’s mechanism; without significant wrist and arm strength, no one could have twisted that handle. Furthermore, who would ever think to turn a drain handle when the tub was empty, or suspect a connection between the tub and the toilet? Kaori’s foresight was truly meticulous.

He reached into the hole and pulled out a heavy, unlocked box. Inside were rows of glittering gold bars.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission. Reward: 1000 Air Combat Coins."

He had no time to check his rewards or the details of the [Air Hegemon] title. His priority was to leave. Even though he was certain no one would come, he felt an unsettling presence in the room, as if he and the dead woman were not alone—as if a pair of eyes were constantly watching him.

He reset the bathtub handle and the toilet. As he walked out of the bathroom clutching the gold, he caught a glimpse of a misty figure in the vanity mirror, watching him silently. It was his predecessor.