Darkness came like a tide and swallowed her up. The sharp pain was like red-hot needles, piercing her nerves and pulling her back from the abyss of coma. The world spun and shattered in her eyes,
Then it was pieced together again, but everything became blurry, as if covered with a thick veil.
Waves of nausea accompanied the headache, making her almost faint again. She instinctively wanted to moan, but found that the tip of her tongue touched a strange emptiness. She subconsciously licked her gums with her tongue, where there were originally inlaid
The two pure gold dentures were now empty, leaving only two cold caves.
Fragments of memory were like scattered shards of glass, flashing in her mind. She worked hard to piece these fragments together, recalling that she had been in so much pain due to two cavities, and finally spent a lot of money to replace them with shining gold dentures.
Nowadays, this gold, which symbolizes wealth and status, has disappeared, replaced by an empty feeling of weightlessness, as if a part of the body has been forcibly stripped away.
She speculated that perhaps those who imprisoned her here were worried that she was hiding poison in her dentures, so they roughly removed them.
As her consciousness gradually returned, a sharp pain came from her wrist, like countless tiny steel needles piercing her nerves, making her take a breath. She raised her arm with difficulty, trying to
Checking the injury, what came into view was a bare forearm covered with bandages. There were waves of numbness and throbbing pain from the broken area. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she realized that her hand was gone.
.
At this moment, an old voice sounded beside the bed: "The bones were shattered by bullets, and the blood vessels were completely broken. The traffic that day was very congested, and when the ambulance arrived at the hospital, some structures could no longer be repaired..."
There was a hint of casual indifference in this voice, as if he was recounting a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.
Sofia turned her head with difficulty, and her eyes fell on the speaker. An old man with a cane was sitting beside the bed. He was thin, but his voice was steady, powerful, and full of energy, without any sense of hoarseness due to old age.
There was an elusive light shining in his pair of deep eyes.
The old man paused and added: "Of course, this is a more pleasant explanation. In fact, we thought you wouldn't need that hand in the future, so we took it off." There was a hint of emotion in his tone.
There was a hint of joking, as if they were talking about a trivial matter. This understatement made Sophia feel a chill to her bones.
Sofia's eyes fell on her other hand. It was firmly fixed on the bed board. The infusion tube was connected to the bottle above her head. Liquids of various colors were slowly being injected into her body. She took a deep breath.
tone, trying to suppress the anger and fear in his heart.
She understands that becoming angry at this moment will only make her look more embarrassed, and will only make those who tortured her even more proud. She must stay calm. Being angry will only make others laugh, and any anger after falling into the hands of the enemy will make others laugh.
She only wanted to please the other person. So she tried hard to control her emotions and showed that she didn't care.
She forced herself to calm down, opened her dry lips, and asked in a slightly hoarse voice that was unfamiliar to her: "You are very interesting. Can you tell me your name?"
The old man smiled, as if the problem was trivial and not worth mentioning.
"Me?" He paused slightly: "Of course, my name is Leo."
"Leo?" Sophia repeated the name silently, searching for relevant memories in her mind, but found nothing. This name was completely unfamiliar to her.
Leo slowly tapped the crutch on the ground with his hand, making a slight tapping sound. The sound was particularly clear in the silent ward. He raised his eyebrows slightly and raised an imperceptible smile at the corner of his mouth.
, this smile was fleeting, but it seemed to carve a deep groove on his face, showing his inner pride.
His eyes shone with the satisfaction of a hunter after capturing his prey, and he was obviously very proud of his success in hiding his identity for a long time. He rubbed his hands gently, and his slender fingers rubbed against each other, making a slight rustling sound, like
It's like admiring a perfect piece of art, and it's like thinking about the next step.
He spoke slowly, with a hint of condescending arrogance in his tone: "As an intelligence leader, the most basic quality is to prevent opponents from finding out your true identity, isn't it?" He paused slightly and turned to Sophia, with a look in his eyes.
There was a cunning light, which was like a sharp knife, piercing Sophia's heart: "And you, Sophia, obviously failed to do this."
After that, he paused, with a trace of amusement flashing in his eyes, as if he was laughing at Sophia's incompetence. He coughed slightly, as if he was deliberately trying to titillate, and after Sophia looked at him, he continued slowly:
"Now, I can tell you my identity, because..." He deliberately prolonged his voice, and a trace of playfulness flashed in his eyes, like a cat teasing a mouse: "I no longer need to keep it a secret."
He leaned forward slightly, his old body leaning forward, approaching Sophia, and said in an almost whispering tone: "I used to have a tavern, the name is..." He paused again, this time the pause was longer, as if
Deliberately creating suspense, he uttered two words one by one: "Silver Fox."
He leaned back, sat upright again, and stared at Sophia closely, observing her reaction. He saw Sophia's face turn pale instantly, and her eyes were full of shock and disbelief.
He knew what these two words meant to Sophia. He knew that he could finally take off his mask and stand in front of Sophia with his true identity. He knew that this cat-and-mouse game that had lasted for most of his life was finally over.
It's coming to an end. And he is the ultimate winner.
"Silver Fox..." These two words were squeezed out of Sophia's chapped lips, hoarse like sandpaper, with a trace of uncontrollable trembling. Her throat seemed to be strangled by an invisible hand, and her breathing became distorted.
It becomes difficult.
Sofia's eyes were firmly fixed on Leo's face like nails. She tried hard to open her eyes wide, trying to engrav every detail and every wrinkle of this face deeply in her mind. This was not only
It was just a face, but a symbol, a symbol of the nightmare that had plagued her for years.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment, and the room was silent. Except for the sound of Leo tapping the cane, there was only the sound of Sophia's heavy breathing and the violent beating of her heart. She felt that her brain was blank, and countless memory fragments were like a revolving lantern.
Flashing by, those thrilling chases, fierce confrontations, and repeated failures all turned into the powerlessness and bitterness of the moment.
It took a long time for Sophia to find her voice. It was hoarse and weak, like a candle swaying in the wind, which might be extinguished at any time.
"You are very powerful." She said these words with difficulty, with a hint of unnoticeable admiration in her tone. It was recognition of a powerful opponent, but also a denial of her own years of hard work.
"I have never taken advantage of you." Sophia's eyes moved away from Leo's face and turned to the ceiling above her head. The pure white color made her feel dizzy, as if she was in a void.
She blinked slowly, trying to dispel the dizziness.
"Whether it's in the Eastern Continent or the Western Continent..." Sophia's voice became lower and lower, as if gibbering. She thought of those days in the Eastern Continent, those days full of dangers and challenges. She also thought of herself.
Her experience in the Western Continent, those seemingly short but undercurrent days. No matter where she was, she could not escape the shadow of the Silver Fox.
Of course, she may not know that in addition to the Imperial Security Bureau, her enemies also include the special operations department of the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as the military intelligence department of the Tang Empire... and the people directly under His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Empire.
Security forces. She has too many opponents, and... they are very, very strong.
Soft light poured down from the ceiling, illuminating the entire room and also illuminated Sophia's pale face. Everything in the room seemed so white and flawless, like an unreal dream. Sophia felt as if she was floating in the air, lost.
gain control over the body.
"This makes me happier than getting a medal." Leo's hearty laughter broke the silence of the room, with a hint of pride in his tone. This laughter sounded so harsh to Sophia, like a winner's
show off.
"Praise from enemies is always particularly precious." His voice was full of confidence and pride.
"I didn't expect that a big shot like you would come to see me." Sophia tried hard to raise her head and look at her body, but she was too weak. She tried several times but failed. Her body seemed to be filled with alcohol.
It was as heavy as lead, and every movement made her feel extremely strenuous.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Leo noticed Sofia's movements, and gently waved his hand like a gentleman, motioning to the female nurse standing on the other side of the bed to help adjust the bed. The female nurse immediately understood, walked to the head of the bed, and pressed
The electric switch. The motor made a slight buzzing sound, and the upper part of the bed slowly rose, supporting Sophia's body.
Only then did Sophia see her physical condition clearly: the knee of one leg was wrapped in a thick bandage, and the other leg was intact. She was wearing a loose hospital gown without a quilt.
"I thought you sawed off my legs too." Sophia looked at her intact legs with a hint of self-deprecation in her tone. At the same time, she glanced calmly at the female nurse standing beside her.
Years of experience told her that even if she was not injured or tied up, the woman standing next to her bed could hit her several times.
"Hahaha! I'm not a big shot." Leo laughed loudly. He looked at his pocket watch and said something that stunned Sophia: "In a moment... what comes is the real thing.
A big shot. His Majesty the Emperor will come to visit you."
After saying that, he stuffed the pocket watch back into his pocket. After so many years, he was still used to using the pocket watch that was not very punctual and often needed adjustment to barely work. Because this pocket watch was given to him by His Majesty the Emperor.
.
"Really?" When Sophia asked this question, she could hear the trembling in her voice.
"It's true." Leo knew that at this time, His Majesty the Emperor's car should have arrived at the door of the hospital: "As your request before dying, he agreed. His Majesty the Emperor is very kind, isn't he?"
"Yes, indeed." Sophia closed her eyes. She saw that man for the first time, but it turned out to be when she was in the most embarrassing situation.
If it was ten years ago, in the Flame Castle, if there were no wrinkles in the corners of my eyes, if I didn't have to be paralyzed in the hospital bed...this meeting, maybe...