Scarred Hearts — A Girls' Love Tale - Chapter 49

“Yan Shaoqiu,” Ying Sha contacted through the earpiece, “can you hack into the surveillance system?”

“Two ladies, I have two pieces of news: one good, one bad. Which do you want to hear first?” Yan Shaoqiu’s tone wasn’t very tense.

“The bad news,” the two replied instantly and in unison.

“I couldn’t get into the top three floors,” Yan Shaoqiu said. “Not because their security is that tight, but those three floors aren’t connected to the network. Only computers that are online have vulnerabilities. If I had hacked their surveillance system from the start, you two wouldn’t have to risk coming here in person.”

“What about the good news?” Yan Shuangfei leaned against the storage room door, then suddenly stepped away, hurriedly brushing dust off her clothes. Ying Sha shook her head helplessly and walked over to help pat the dust off her back.

Yan Shuangfei smiled gratefully at Ying Sha, then focused on listening. “I can see the surveillance on the lower floors, so at least we don’t have to worry about not getting into the top three floors.”

Both women felt their hearts sink. Honestly, that “good” news was barely comforting. With their skills, taking the elevator straight up shouldn’t be a big problem. But that also meant once they reached those top three floors, there would be no backup at all.

They carefully pushed the door open, checked that no one was watching this corner, then quickly walked out acting casual.

Ying Sha and Yan Shuangfei walked out casually and ran into the floor’s boss. He blocked their way, looking stern. “What are you two trying to do?”

“Bathroom,” Ying Sha answered calmly.

“What a nuisance,” the man sneered at them, then turned and left.

Yan Shuangfei breathed a sigh of relief. Her tense nerves relaxed a bit, and she and Ying Sha headed to the elevator.

“Don’t worry, no one is in the elevator. Everyone’s busy handing over shifts,” Yan Shaoqiu said brightly.

Ying Sha tilted her head, signaling Yan Shuangfei to follow her. They walked casually to the corner, then Ying Sha suddenly pulled Yan Shuangfei back hard. They pressed against the wall and saw three men in black suits escorting someone, boarding the elevator first.

“Yan Shaoqiu, how didn’t you see this?” Yan Shuangfei whispered angrily after the elevator doors closed.

“It happened too fast,” Yan Shaoqiu explained. “They took a different route, right through a blind spot in the cameras. I just didn’t catch it in time.”

Yan Shuangfei fell silent, accepting the explanation. She looked back at Ying Sha, who was deep in thought, frowning seriously.

“What are you thinking about?” Yan Shuangfei asked quietly.

“The wedge formation…” Ying Sha whispered. “Isn’t that unique to country A’s special forces?”

Yan Shuangfei sensed something was wrong, bit her lip, and said, “But the guns Han family gave us are the kind used by M continent’s gangs. Such a flashy style…”

“Has Han Yu lost his mind?” Ying Sha shook her head. “This is like negotiating with a tiger! Is he trying to please both sides? If this escalates to the national level, can the Han family still survive? Has Han Yu lost it?”

“Maybe he has some backing,” Yan Shuangfei cut in. “We might find some clues once we investigate.”

The two took the elevator up to the highest floor accessible.

“You have 30 seconds to find a hiding spot before going upstairs on your own,” Yan Shaoqiu said during the elevator ride.

They stepped out to find the floor completely empty. They didn’t relax at all—empty spaces always felt creepy.

“Yan Shaoqiu is only temporarily blocking the cameras,” Ying Sha said, looking up. “Look closely—there are sensors here. One wrong step will trigger the alarm.”

“Thirty seconds to get through all these obstacles!” Yan Shuangfei gasped, pulling out two pairs of special goggles. She put on one and tossed the other to Ying Sha.

“Don’t waste time.” Ying Sha flipped up into a graceful side somersault. Yan Shuangfei followed closely. For them, these challenges were manageable if they stayed careful.

Yan Shuangfei barely caught her breath from the quick movement when Ying Sha suddenly grabbed her and pulled her toward the stairs. They stumbled inside, pushing open a door to find an empty room and slipped in.

“Damn it.” Yan Shuangfei collapsed onto the floor, looking pale. The sudden dizziness gave her a headache. Her right finger had been pinched hard just now, sending sharp pain that quickly went numb. “What’s going on?”

“I just heard footsteps,” Ying Sha panted. “No time to wait for you to hear and identify them. I dragged you up right away.”

Sweat dotted Ying Sha’s forehead, but her eyes fixed sharply on Yan Shuangfei—specifically on her hand.

“Hey, are you dumb?” Yan Shuangfei joked weakly. “They wouldn’t really fall for a fake couple act, would they? Careful the doctor might come back and scold you.”

Ying Sha looked at Yan Shuangfei with sympathy, puckered her lips, then said, “You better look at your hand before joking.”

Yan Shuangfei gave a bitter smile, feeling uneasy and reluctant but forced herself to lower her head. She gasped, raised her right hand, and held it out toward Ying Sha with a miserable expression. “What do you think I should do?”

Her right ring finger’s first joint and the upper part were bent unnaturally backwards by the sudden force, sticking stiffly upwards. It looked strange and out of place on her otherwise neat hand.

Ying Sha slowly squatted and took Yan Shuangfei’s hand, fingertips lightly touching the broken bone. Yan Shuangfei flinched like she’d been shocked and instinctively pulled back.

Ying Sha glanced at Yan Shuangfei, who returned a helpless look. They stared at each other silently.

Yan Shuangfei looked sadly at her twisted finger. Taking in the message in Ying Sha’s eyes, she gritted her teeth and nodded stiffly. “Go ahead.”

Go ahead with what? They both knew—what else could they do? Her finger was broken. How could she even hold a gun? They had to fix it.