Alien Arms Empire.

Chapter 1888

Darkness surged in like a tide, swallowing her. Sharp pains pierced her nerves like red-hot needles, pulling her back from the abyss of coma. The world spun and shattered in her eyes, then pieced itself together again, but everything became blurry, as if covered by a thick veil.

Waves of nausea and headaches came over her, 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 two pure gold dentures were originally inlaid, but now there was nothing but two cold holes.

Fragments of memory flickered in her mind like scattered shards of glass. She tried to piece them together, remembering how she had suffered so much from two cavities in her teeth that she eventually spent a lot of money to replace them with gleaming gold dentures.

Today, the gold, a symbol of wealth and status, has disappeared, replaced by a feeling of emptiness and weightlessness, as if a part of the body has been forcibly peeled off.

She speculated that perhaps those who had imprisoned her there were worried that she was hiding poison in her dentures, so they removed them roughly.

As she gradually regained consciousness, she felt a sharp pain in her wrist, as if countless tiny needles were piercing her nerves, causing her to gasp. She raised her arm with difficulty to check the injury, but what she saw was a bare forearm wrapped in bandages. She felt numbness and throbbing pain at the fracture, and she widened her eyes in disbelief, realizing that her hand was gone.

At this moment, an old voice sounded beside the bed: "The bones were shattered by the bullet, and the blood vessels were completely broken. The traffic was very congested that day, and when the ambulance arrived at the hospital, some structures could no longer be repaired..." The voice carried a hint of indifference, as if it was telling a trivial matter that had nothing to do with it.

Sophia turned her head with difficulty and her eyes fell on the person who was speaking. An old man with a cane was sitting beside the bed. He was thin, but his voice was steady and powerful, full of energy, without the hoarseness of old age. His deep eyes flickered with an elusive light.

The old man paused and added, "Of course, this is a nicer explanation. In fact, we thought you wouldn't need that hand anymore, so we took it off." There was a hint of joking in his tone, as if he was talking about a trivial matter. This understatement made Sophia feel a chill in her bones.

Sophia's eyes fell on her other hand. It was firmly fixed to the bed, and the infusion tube was connected to the bottle above her head. Liquids of various colors were slowly injected into her body. She took a deep breath and tried to suppress the anger and fear in her heart.

She knew that being angry at this moment would only make her look more embarrassed and make those who tortured her even more proud. She had to stay calm. Being angry would only make others laugh at her. Any anger after falling into the hands of the enemy would only please them. So she tried hard to control her emotions and act like she didn't care.

She forced herself to remain calm, opened her dry lips, and asked in a slightly hoarse voice that was unfamiliar to herself: "You are very interesting. Can you tell me your name?"

The old man smiled, as if the question was insignificant and not worth mentioning.

"Me?" He paused for a moment and said, "Of course, my name is Leo."

"Leo?" Sophia repeated the name silently, searching her mind for related memories, but found nothing. This name was completely unfamiliar to her.

Leo slowly tapped the crutches on the ground with his hands, making a slight tapping sound, which was particularly clear in the quiet ward. He raised his eyebrows slightly, and a barely perceptible smile appeared 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 flashed with the satisfaction of a hunter who had captured his prey, and he was obviously very pleased with 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, as if he was appreciating a perfect work of art, or as if he was planning his next move.

He spoke slowly, with a hint of arrogance in his tone: "As an intelligence chief, the most basic quality is to prevent the opponent from finding out your true identity, right?" He paused slightly and turned his gaze to Sofia, with a cunning light in his eyes, which was like a sharp knife, piercing Sofia's heart: "And you, Sofia, obviously failed to do this."

After that, he paused, a hint of teasing flashed in his eyes, as if he was mocking Sophia's incompetence. He coughed lightly, as if deliberately whetting her appetite, and after Sophia looked at him, he continued slowly: "Now, I can tell you my identity, because..." He deliberately dragged out the ending tone, a hint of playfulness flashed in his eyes, like a cat teasing a mouse: "I don't need to keep it secret any longer."

He leaned forward slightly, his old body leaning forward, close to Sophia, and said in a tone that was almost whispering: "I used to have a tavern called..." He paused again, this time the pause was longer, as if he was deliberately creating suspense, and then he uttered two words word by word: "Silver Fox."

He leaned back and sat up again, staring at Sophia closely, observing her reaction. He saw Sophia's face turn pale in an instant, her eyes full of shock and disbelief.

He knew what these two words meant to Sofia. He knew that he could finally take off his mask and stand in front of Sofia as his true self. He knew that this cat-and-mouse game that had lasted for most of his life was finally coming to an end. And he was the ultimate winner.

"Silver Fox..." These two words were squeezed out of Sophia's cracked lips, hoarse as if rubbed by sandpaper, with a hint of uncontrollable trembling. Her throat seemed to be strangled by an invisible hand, and breathing became difficult. Sophia's eyes were firmly nailed to Leo's face like nails. She tried to open her eyes wide, wanting to deeply engrave every detail and every wrinkle of this face in her mind. This is not just a face, but a symbol, a symbol of a nightmare that has troubled her for many years.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment. The room was silent. Apart from the sound of Leo tapping his cane, there was only Sofia's heavy breathing and the violent beating of her heart. She felt her mind was blank, and countless fragments of memory flashed by like a revolving lantern. Those thrilling chases, fierce confrontations, and repeated failures all turned into powerlessness and bitterness at this moment.

It took a long time for Sophia to find her voice again, which was hoarse and weak, like a candle swaying in the wind, which could go out at any time.

"You're awesome." She uttered these words with difficulty, with a barely perceptible admiration in her tone. It was a 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 in the East Continent or the West Continent..." Sophia's voice became lower and lower, as if she was mumbling. She remembered her days in the East Continent, those days full of danger and challenges. She also remembered her experiences in the West Continent, those days that seemed short but undercurrents. No matter where she was, she could not escape the shadow of the Silver Fox.

Of course, she may not know that her enemies include not only the Imperial Security Bureau, but also the Special Operations Department of the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as the military intelligence department of the Tang Empire... and the security forces directly under the Emperor of the Tang Empire. She has too many opponents, and... they are very strong.

Soft light poured down from the ceiling, illuminating the entire room and Sophia's pale face. Everything in the room seemed so pure and white, like an unreal dream. Sophia felt as if she was floating in the air and had lost control of her body.

"This makes me happier than getting a medal." Leo's hearty laughter broke the silence in the room, with a hint of pride in his tone. To Sophia, this laughter was so harsh, like the show-off of a winner.

"Praise from enemies is always extraordinarily precious." His voice was filled with confidence and pride.

"I didn't expect someone as important as you to come see me." Sophia tried to raise her head and look at her body, but she was too weak and failed after several attempts. Her body seemed as heavy as if it were filled with lead, and every movement made her feel extremely strenuous.

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"Oh, sorry." Leo noticed Sophia's movements and waved his hand gently, signaling the nurse standing on the other side of the bed to help adjust the bed. The nurse immediately understood, walked to the head of the bed, and pressed the electric switch. The motor made a slight humming sound, and the upper part of the bed slowly rose, supporting Sophia's body.

Sophia then saw 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 and no blanket.

"I thought you sawed off my leg too." Sophia looked at her intact leg with a hint of self-mockery in her tone. At the same time, she glanced calmly at the nurse standing beside her.

Years of experience told her that even if she had no injuries and was not tied up, the woman standing beside her bed could beat her several times.

"Hahaha! I'm not some big shot." Leo laughed loudly. He looked at his pocket watch and said something that stunned Sophia: "In a little while... the one who will come is the real big shot. His Majesty the Emperor will come to visit you."

After saying that, he put the pocket watch back into his pocket. After so many years, he was still used to using the pocket watch that was not very accurate and often needed to be adjusted to work. Because this pocket watch was given to him by His Majesty the Emperor.

"Really? Really?" When Sophia asked this question, she could hear the trembling in her voice.

"It's true." Leo knew that by this time, the Emperor's car should have arrived at the hospital entrance: "As your last wish before death, he agreed. His Majesty is very kind, isn't he?"

"Yes, it is." Sophia closed her eyes. The first time she met the man happened when she was at her most embarrassed.

If it was ten years ago, in the Fire Castle, if there were no wrinkles around my eyes, if I wasn’t paralyzed on the hospital bed… maybe this time we met…

Forget it.