The Cannon Fodder Alpha Who Made the Heroine Pregnant - Chapter 48

48: The Hidden Laboratory

Chu Zhao’s improved mood softened her demeanor toward Zhou Lan. Though their conversation remained sparse, Zhou Lan sensed the subtle shift—less resistance, more internal conflict.

It reminded her of their initial interactions, yet different. Chu Zhao was simultaneously drawn to and repelled by her presence, caught in an unresolved tug-of-war.

Zhou Lan had never been adept at friendships, especially with women. In her previous life, music had been her sole companion, filling the voids that might otherwise have ached with loneliness. Only in rare quiet moments, nights spent overthinking in bed—had that emptiness crept in.

But with Chu Zhao, it was different. There was something about her, a magnetism Zhou Lan couldn’t quite define. Perhaps the beginnings of friendship, perhaps something more.

She debated addressing the unspoken tension between them when the taxi suddenly braked hard. Zhou Lan lurched forward, seatbelt digging into her abdomen before snapping her back. Beside her, Chu Zhao nearly slammed into the window—until Zhou Lan’s hand shot out as a buffer.

“Are you okay?” Chu Zhao asked, noticing Zhou Lan’s pained expression.

Zhou Lan inhaled deeply, waiting for the sting to subside. “I’m fine.”

Ahead, a black sedan blocked their path, positioned deliberately to force their stop. The shared glance between Zhou Lan and Chu Zhao conveyed mutual understanding: this was no accident.

In Jiangning, only one person would intercept them this way.

The taxi driver stormed out, shouting until two hulking men emerged from the sedan. Zhou Lan intervened before things escalated.

“Miss Zhou,” one man said stiffly, “the Chairman requests your presence.”

Chu Zhao’s fist clenched. She could take them, but not without risk. Not in her condition.

“We’ll go,” she conceded.

The drive ended at a derelict factory—outwardly abandoned, but inside, a high-security facility.

“This is one of Zhou Corp’s clandestine labs,” Chu Zhao murmured as they passed through multiple biometric doors. “Human experimentation.”

Zhou Lan’s stomach turned. Such practices were internationally prohibited. If exposed, Zhou Corp would face annihilation.

Notably, Chu Zhao had omitted this facility’s evidence from what she’d shared with the Sang operative.

Kang Kang met them at the elevator. “The Chairman suspects you, Miss Chu,” he said tonelessly. “But isn’t certain.”

Zhou Lan’s pulse spiked. Zhou Xianling operated on presumption of guilt, doubt equaled condemnation in his eyes.

A cool hand covered hers, Chu Zhao’s silent reassurance. Zhou Lan clung to it like an anchor.

The office they were confined to had glass walls. Kang Kang lingered.

“My sister was one of the girls forced to bear Zhou Xianling’s children,” he revealed abruptly.

Zhou Lan’s breath caught. She’d suspected but didn’t want to believe.

“You want revenge,” Chu Zhao deduced, voice glacial.

Kang Kang’s composure cracked. “Shouldn’t I? He destroyed my family!”

“Your quarrel is with Zhou Xianling,” Chu Zhao countered. “Not Zhou Lan.”

“She benefits from his crimes!”

“Yet she helped you find your sister.”

Kang Kang hesitated. “I won’t harm you. But your disappearance will destabilize him. With the investigation team in Jiangning, any misstep from Zhou Xianling…”

Zhou Lan nearly laughed. They’d been trying to flee Jiangning, now they were being forcibly detained to achieve that same goal.

The irony wasn’t lost on Chu Zhao either. At least this way, they faced Kang Kang rather than an unhinged Zhou Xianling.

For now, they were safe.