After Crossing Over, I Marked the Empress

Chapter 137 : Recruiting the New Guard

The events in the party room hadn't yet spread throughout the entertainment center.

So when Shen Han appeared in the corridor, reeking of blood, people assumed she'd been beaten up in the private room, perhaps hit over the head with a bottle.

Such incidents were common throughout the 546th Street district.

Unless they were close friends, no one would interfere or dare to speak up.

Men and women embraced in the hallway, tobacco and alcohol mingling in the air, filled with an atmosphere of indulgence.

Shen Han walked alone through the dazzling, smoke-filled corridor, at odds with the bizarre scene.

The bloodied paratrooper knife was hidden in her sleeve, and the sticky blood on her brow made her uncomfortable.

But she didn't dare wipe it, as that would smear the makeup disguising her features.

Recalling Ren Hui's attitude earlier, Shen Han grew more vigilant.

'His final actions were clearly offering me a way out. Otherwise, I definitely couldn't have left the room so easily.'

'But why did he do that?'

'Does he really want to protect me, or was he unable to subdue me in that situation, so he needs to placate me first before finding a chance to set a trap?'

Shen Han quickly pondered her next move as she walked without hesitation to the managers' break room.

Whatever happened, she needed to treat the wounds on her temple and arm first.

She couldn't carelessly wipe the blood on her face, lest it reveal her true skin tone and arouse suspicion.

As for whether to meet Ren Hui later, Shen Han wanted to consult with Gu Junwan before deciding.

The managers' break room wasn't locked.

Just as Shen Han was about to push open the door, Mu Ze's slightly panicked voice came from behind: "Manager Shen, do... do you need any help?"

As Shen Han's only lackey, Mu Ze could also freely enter and enjoy the party room tonight.

This was a privilege he'd never had before.

So tonight, he had specially styled his hair with a shiny pomade and borrowed a presentable outfit from a friend.

He arrived a bit late, missing the chance to enter the private room with Shen Han.

Two minutes ago, he happily rushed to the party room entrance, only to find it was no longer allowing entry.

Mu Ze immediately pulled aside a familiar lackey and asked: "Hey, what's going on?"

That lackey was still shaken by the incident in the room earlier.

Suddenly grabbed and questioned, he instinctively became irritated: "Can't you see for yourself!"

But when he realized it was the follower of that Manager Shen who had grabbed him, he was stunned.

"You... you... you! Weren't you in the room just now?"

Mu Ze looked at him like he was an idiot: "If I was, why would I be asking you?"

As he spoke, he quickly scanned the area for any sign of Shen Han.

The lackey pointed at the blood on the floor and said: "See that? Your manager did all this. She's incredible!"

"I'll tell you quietly, but don't go spreading it around! Boss Yan tried to kill her, but ended up getting killed instead. You should've seen it, the scene in there was like something out of a movie-"

Before he could finish, Mu Ze urgently interrupted: "Which Boss Yan are you talking about?"

The lackey lowered his voice: "Who else could it be?"

As he spoke, he pressed one side of his nose and made a sniffing gesture.

Mu Ze immediately understood - he meant Yan Bo, the drug trafficker!

The next second, Mu Ze left him behind and followed the blood trail on the carpet all the way to the managers' break area.

He didn't know why he was doing this, but at that moment, he just had to check on Manager Shen.

Shen Han turned her head to look at the young man who was slightly out of breath from running: "I'm fine. Go about your business."

With that, she stepped into the break room.

Mu Ze stood there, unsure what to do.

Just now, he had seen her face under the jacket.

Cold, fierce, covered in blood.

As he stood there in a daze, Yan Ni, wearing a sparkling dress, came running from elsewhere.

The Omega's face showed clear anxiety. She glanced at Mu Ze before immediately pushing open the door to the managers' break room.

At this time of night, most of the entertainment center's staff were busy elsewhere.

There were hardly any people at the entrance to the managers' area.

Mu Ze bit his lip and quickly ran into the room.

This was a shared break room for floor managers. Though not small, it felt cluttered and cramped due to the mess everywhere.

Shen Han had just taken her jacket off her head when Yan Ni and Mu Ze entered one after the other.

"Do you need something?"

Hearing Manager Shen's somewhat cold voice, Mu Ze didn't know how to respond.

He had originally been assigned to monitor her every move, but after tonight's big incident, he didn't want to provide information to others.

He wanted to do something for this manager, even if it was just a trivial thing.

Mu Ze couldn't understand these conflicting emotions himself, let alone explain them out loud.

Compared to the internally confused Mu Ze, Yan Ni's thoughts were unprecedentedly clear.

She knew the person before her had just killed a drug lord, and her current situation was extremely dangerous.

"Manager Shen, you need to leave here quickly!"

"There's a small door leading outside from the back kitchen. I... I can show you the way."

Mu Ze also came to his senses and chimed in: "I have a friend who drives a taxi. Manager Shen, Yan Ni is right. You can't stay here anymore. You need to find a place to lay low for a while."

Hearing their words, Shen Han was somewhat surprised.

It seemed these two already knew she was in trouble, yet dared to come at this time to offer advice. This didn't quite match the level of their relationship.

"Thank you, I appreciate your kindness, but I don't plan to leave right now."

"You should both go. I can handle what I've done, but if you get implicated because of this, I won't be able to help."

Shen Han directly dismissed them.

She really didn't need their help and was afraid of getting them involved.

Another point was that with those two standing there, she couldn't connect her earpiece to talk to Gu Junwan.

The two seemed influenced by Shen Han's confident demeanor.

Mu Ze scratched his neck and nodded: "Then I'll go ask around with the brothers. If I hear any useful information, I'll let you know right away."

Yan Ni also stopped urging her to escape. She stared at the cut on Shen Han's forehead from the glass shards and asked in a tone seeking permission: "Manager Shen, can I help treat the wound on your face?"

As she spoke, she pulled her silver purse to the front and began rummaging inside.

"I have tweezers. They're for makeup, but should work fine."

"If we don't remove the glass shards quickly, it might get infected."

Watching the Omega's hurried manner, Shen Han's eyebrow immediately raised.

She quickly said: "No need, no need! I can handle it myself."

With that, she ushered them both out.

Rushing to the bathroom and locking the door, Shen Han turned the faucet on full blast.

Amidst the rushing water sound, she immediately unlocked the communication function on her earpiece.

"Your Majesty, you should have seen everything that happened earlier. My plan is to go meet Ren Hui and see what he has to say."

"But there's a problem now. I can't easily clean the blood off my face, yet going like this would be too strange."

Gu Junwan's voice immediately came through the earpiece.

"Stay in the break room. Zhou Nuoman is on her way to the entertainment center and will arrive soon. She'll talk to Ren Hui."

"There are special team members in her bodyguard team. They'll escort you back later."

After a pause, Gu Junwan asked in a voice striving for steadiness: "How badly are you hurt?"

Just hearing her Omega's voice made Shen Han feel warm inside.

Moreover, though Gu Junwan's words were few, the information conveyed had already arranged everything to follow. Shen Han didn't need to worry about anything else.

Thinking of this, Shen Han's voice unconsciously took on a gentle tone: "Just some surface wounds, don't worry."

After a moment, she returned to business: "By the way, does Zhou Nuoman know my undercover identity now?"

"Will accidentally killing Yan Bo affect the special team's overall plan?"

Gu Junwan: "She only knows you're an undercover police officer, not your identity as a guard team member."

"As for the Yan Bo incident, it seems it won't affect the overall plan. It might even act as a catalyst."

"Tonight's party was originally a trap set for Zhou Nuoman. Before she arrived, someone already tried to kill a manager under her command. Whether or not this was a misunderstanding, for her and the Zhou family's new guard faction she represents, this is a declaration of war from the other faction. They must make a choice."

Gu Junwan didn't spell it out, but Shen Han understood that the Zhou family's new guard faction's only choice was to cooperate with the federal government.

Her wife had already initiated a plan to recruit them, extending an olive branch!

It made sense. For the new guard to change the group's future, they would inevitably encroach on the other faction's territory. The other side making a move against them was only a matter of time.

Unless they backed down, with the two factions maintaining a non-aggressive stance in the big picture.

But in that case, the new guard wouldn't be called the new guard anymore.

After ending the communication with Gu Junwan, Shen Han took off her glasses and, looking in the mirror, used her fingers to remove the larger glass shards from her forehead.

Some smaller fragments would have to wait until her backup arrived to be dealt with.

......

In the speeding hovercraft cabin, Zhou Nuoman sat frowning in the wide leather chair, silent.

On this night, her experience could be described as full of twists and turns.

The amount of information she received was so great that it left her feeling numb even now.

She had originally gotten over a dozen bodyguards from her father, intending to go to Jinxi Entertainment City.

To be safe, two of the bodyguards even had concealed firearms.

With strict air route checks, the group had to use ground transportation.

But before they were halfway there, they were stopped by a police roadblock conducting routine vehicle inspections.

The bodyguards' guns were easily detected by the scanning devices.

Zhou Nuoman couldn't leave and had to cooperate with the police investigation.

Before this matter was resolved, her father called to tell her there was trouble at the entertainment center.

Her father Zhou Ming's voice sounded somewhat urgent. Without much explanation, he directly issued an order.

"That Shen Nuan who saved you outside the hospital is an undercover police officer. Now we're allies in the same trench with them, so Nuoman, you must protect this person!"

"Dad will negotiate the cooperation with the police properly. You don't need to worry about it, and don't question Shen Nuan. We're all pawns who've crossed the river, often with no way back-"

Zhou Nuoman gripped the phone tightly. Thinking about the bloodshed that had occurred at her destination, a chill crept up her spine.

After hearing her father's words, she was about to tell him she was being held by the police for firearms possession.

But before she could speak, a team of Alphas in suits quickly ran towards her.

"Miss Zhou, hello. My name is Zhao Qi. I'm responsible for escorting you immediately to Jinxi Entertainment City."

"If you have any questions, you can ask me on the way. Now please follow us to the vehicle."

A medium-sized military-modified hovercraft was parked on the gravel by the roadside.

Then, Zhou Nuoman and the dozen or so bodyguards she had brought were all invited aboard.