Mission in another world with my transformed best friend

After watching Hani leave and noticing the double or triple number of guards on the walls surrounding the "Alchemy Pavilion," Wang Kai finally breathed a sigh of relief. He patted his face to ease the tense, serious expression he had been putting on, and then turned and ran inside.

Just as he reached Zhang Lan's door, the slightly ajar door opened abruptly, and a petite figure rushed out, nearly bumping into Wang Kai. Upon closer inspection, it was Ilya!

Ilya looked up and met Wang Kai's gaze, then said something to him with a forced smile.

"The 'knight' who's willing to risk his life to protect the 'princess' has arrived so quickly, hee hee..."

"You... were able to overhear what was going on downstairs from the fifth floor?"

"No, I... I didn't. I didn't eavesdrop or relay anything at the request of the Holy Maiden... Ah, I don't know anything, I didn't say anything... I'm leaving now. I need to tell the other sisters immediately that the Holy Maiden is alright. Bye-bye."

Under a slightly suspicious stare, Ilya quickly ran away.

Wang Kai then tried his best to regain his composure, as he did not want to amplify the impact of the "attack incident," especially in front of the person involved.

Taking a deep breath, she gently pushed open the door. At first glance, she saw Zhang Lan half-lying on the bed, and Masha beside her, constantly wiping her with a hot towel.

After Wang Kai came in, Masha stopped what she was doing and spoke slowly without turning her head.

"They checked her over carefully several times just now, and Sister Lan is mostly fine, just some scratches..."

"Really? Basic treatment..."

Wang Kai raised his hand, intending to begin treatment, but Zhang Lan immediately raised a hand to stop him.

Seeing this, Wang Kai was somewhat puzzled, but he seemed to understand something from the other party's eyes, so he put on a big smile and said.

"'Once the wound heals, the pain is forgotten,' right? Well, after living in the fortress-like 'Alchemy Pavilion' for the past month or two, under such heavy protection, I've forgotten that this is a world where 'human hearts are treacherous.' Learning a lesson is a good thing, isn't it?"

A flicker of embarrassment and anger crossed Zhang Lan's face; she seemed a little displeased, her cheeks puffing out slightly. She quickly glanced down at the bruises on her wrists from where they had been "suppressed," and her petite body trembled again…

Hearing this kind of "brotherly" banter, Masha naturally disagreed. She turned her little face to look at Wang Kai with a slightly reproachful expression, puffing out her cheeks as if she were silently protesting and refuting Zhang Lan's remarks.

Seeing this, Wang Kai thought for a moment and also "teased" Masa.

"Right, right, I forgot. If you had been next door, Martha, they wouldn't have dared to attack so blatantly, right? Where were you at that time, so late?"

Upon hearing this, Martha suddenly remembered something, her face flushed red, she stood up, opened the door and ran out, leaving behind a sentence before she left.

"Waaah~ Brother Kyle is such a dummy, he just loves teasing me, I'm ignoring you now..."

With Martha gone, only a speechless Zhang Lan and Wang Kai, whose smile had long since faded, remained in the room. The silent, oppressive atmosphere was far too somber for those who had just survived such an ordeal. Wang Kai, unsure how to begin, stared at Zhang Lan's slightly self-reproachful expression and suddenly a memory of an old song came to mind…

So, Wang Kai walked to the window, cleared his throat a few times, drew a few rhythmic lines in the air with his hand, and began to sing a cappella...

"~Angels are the same,"

They can get injured just like that.

Even if the sky falls,

I'll take the blame too.

The injury in a certain month of a certain year

Forget at this moment

I will be by your side.

"Until the end of time~"

...Pfft!

A suppressed laugh interrupted Wang Kai's singing. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Zhang Lan had gotten up at some point and was sitting quietly on the edge of the bed, staring at him with an expression that was both angry and amused...

Soon, Zhang Lan stopped smiling and made a "please continue" gesture.

Wang Kai scratched the back of his head, his face slightly flushed.

"I admit I haven't been to a karaoke bar in over ten years, so please don't laugh at me for singing off-key... Anyway, let's continue."

"~Angels are just like you,"

They can get injured just like that.

Looking at your tears,

The pain is in my chest.

No matter how fierce the wind and rain,

I am your gentle haven.

My love shines only for you~ only for you~ it shines only for you~

After finishing the song, Wang Kai recalled the meaning behind this old song from his youth, and he immediately regretted it. Wasn't this an old love song with a "simp's confession"? How could he have sung it out of the mouth? Would Zhang Lan take the opportunity to laugh at him after he realized what had happened?

"Hmm hmm hmm hmm~ Hmm hmm hmm hmm~"

Unexpectedly, Zhang Lan closed her eyes, hummed along to the rhythm a few times, and soon a sentence floated out.

"Angels are the same... Do you think I'm an angel?"

"Of course... Ah, you can talk now?"

Zhang Lan nodded.

"My throat is still numb, so I can't speak loudly."

Wang Kai breathed a slight sigh of relief and then focused on the question he had just asked.

"At least in Kyle's eyes, you must be an angel."

A hint of displeasure flashed across Zhang Lan's face, and her voice rose a few decibels.

"Don't forget, I'm a real man at heart. I once went up to the roof to steal bird eggs with that guy called Er Gou, went down to the river to catch fish, and even secretly went up to the rooftop at night to peek through binoculars at the older girls across the street taking a shower with their windows open."

Wang Kai was stunned and didn't know how to respond.

Zhang Lan knew that continuing to ramble on about these topics would ruin the atmosphere, so she touched the "sensing ring" on her finger and asked thoughtfully.

"I've already guessed a little, but I still want to hear you tell me in person how you found out I was being held hostage."

"Oh, I saw a few regular flashes on the ring, three long, three short, then three long again... Based on some wilderness survival videos I've watched before, the video bloggers mentioned that in danger, you can use a flashlight to flash three long, three short, then three long in a regular pattern towards helicopters or rescue teams. It represents the Morse code for 'SOS' in international distress signals. At that moment, I also remembered that you used to do surveying work in the wild, so you must know this method of distress signaling. Besides, we're probably the only two people in the world who know how to use this distress signal. After confirming you were in danger, I rushed over and just happened to run into you..."

Zhang Lan nodded after hearing this. Earlier, she saw that her wrist was being stepped on by the "maid" and the "sensing ring" was being pressed down. At that time, this was the only way she could send out a distress signal. She hadn't had much hope, but Wang Kai noticed it immediately and quickly understood its meaning.

"So, after we met, when I was walking one after the other with that 'maid' you also know, your initial reaction was that you knew nothing. But why did you seize the perfect opportunity to save me when she wasn't looking...?"

Wang Kai frowned slightly, walked over and sat down in the chair. He carefully took Zhang Lan's right hand, looked at the bruise on her wrist, gently put it down, then looked at the pinch marks on her neck, and finally fixed his gaze on her pretty face where there were still nail scratches.

The distance suddenly closed, completely violating the "one-meter rule." However, Zhang Lan, the initiator of the rule, seemed to have forgotten about it. When their eyes met, she didn't flinch at all, because she still wanted to hear that crucial answer.

"Actually, the first thing I noticed was the abrasions and bruises on your body that indicated danger. Although you didn't say anything and your eyes didn't change, and the maid didn't reveal anything either... But when I saw the fingernail scratches on both sides of your face, and when these scratches were connected, they clearly showed two numbers, I realized that you were in extreme danger."