193: Chapter 193 Then why are you touching it so carefully?

They were very close, close enough for him to smell the mixture of seawater and dirt on her body.

"Open your hands."

Xu Zhixia glanced at him, spread both hands out, palms facing up.

Lin Fan didn't look at her palms.

He reached out and started patting her down from her shoulders downwards.

Xu Zhixia didn't move.

Lin Fan's palm slid from her left shoulder to her armpit, his fingers tracing down the arc of her ribs.

Reaching her waist, he paused at her belt position and gave it a squeeze.

There was nothing.

Switching to the right side, the same path: shoulder, armpit, ribs, waist.

Then his hands moved forward.

His left hand held down Xu Zhixia's right shoulder.

His right hand started from below her collarbone, moving all the way down along the front of her shirt.

When passing her chest, Lin Fan's fingers spread open, his palm pressing firmly against the fabric.

Xu Zhixia's breath hitched for a fraction of a second.

But she didn't dodge, nor did she slap his hand away.

Lowering her eyes, she watched Lin Fan's hands move from left to right, and from top to bottom.

He didn't skip a single spot where something could be hidden.

Places like the chest had thick flesh and high elasticity, making them most suitable for tucking small items between the underwear and the skin.

A card, a folding blade, or a micro-syringe could all be shoved in.

Lin Fan patted her down very thoroughly.

It wasn't out of lust; it was an inspection.

Every touch carried force, his fingers pressing along the edge of her underwear to confirm there were no hard objects inside.

After checking the chest, his hands moved downwards, passing her abdomen to both sides of her hip bones.

His fingers reached into the waistband from the belt buckle position, feeling a circle along the inner side of her trousers.

Shifting to the back, his palm pressed against her lower back.

Next was the buttocks.

Lin Fan's hands slid down from her lower back, with both hands pressing on her left and right sides respectively.

Xu Zhixia's waist pushed forward by half an inch.

It wasn't intentional cooperation, but a muscular reaction.

The movement was slight, but Lin Fan felt it.

He didn't stop.

His palms went from the outside to the inside, pressing every single spot. Her trouser pockets—two in the front, two in the back—were all felt thoroughly.

Whether there were interlayers in the trouser seams or patches on the lower back.

Xu Zhixia didn't say a single word from beginning to end.

Liu Feifei poked her head out from beside Yang Ningcong, watching the whole scene.

Her gaze was complicated.

"Lin Fan," Liu Feifei called out.

Lin Fan turned his head.

Liu Feifei stepped closer, "You were almost riddled like a hornet's nest just now, and the first thing you do upon coming up is to grope someone's chest?"

Lin Fan didn't answer.

Liu Feifei curled her lips.

She looked Xu Zhixia up and down, her gaze lingering on the front of that soaked shirt for two seconds.

Done it, definitely done it, otherwise it couldn't be this big.

"Look at her, dressed like a human being, who knows what kind of stuff she is deep down."

She glanced at Xu Zhixia again, not intending to hide her voice, "I've seen the women brought on Yang Ningcong's boat, all sorts of styles. I also understand the circles of the second-generation wealthy."

Xu Zhixia didn't look at Liu Feifei.

Liu Feifei grew more and more enthusiastic as she spoke, "Do you have no concept of what Yang Ningcong and his gang play when they go out to sea?"

"Those women on the boat, today this one accompanies the boss, tomorrow that one accompanies the bodyguard, they've mixed around hundreds of times."

She reached out and pointed towards the outside of the Karst Cave, "That pile on the beach just now, there was one wearing a skirt with nothing underneath. Did you think the seawater washed it away?"

She turned her head to look at Lin Fan.

"If you're really craving it, I won't stop you later, but at least mind your hygiene. Catching a disease in an occasion like this and then going back to mess with Su Qingxue, you..."

Lin Fan stared at her for two seconds.

"Checking for contraband."

"Huh?"

"She might be hiding something on her body. A body search. What did you think I was doing?"

Liu Feifei opened her mouth and closed it again. She was silent for several seconds.

"...Then why did you touch so thoroughly?"

"Could anything be found out if it wasn't thorough?"

Liu Feifei's mouth twitched, wanting to say something but failing to utter it.

She glanced at Xu Zhixia, then at Lin Fan, and finally turned her head, muttering a sentence.

"Fine, consider I said nothing."

Song Ya stood to the side, having never spoken; she turned her face to the other side.

Lin Fan withdrew his hand and took a step back.

Xu Zhixia lowered her head to tidy her collar with a small movement, using just two fingers to flick the second button upward slightly.

She didn't wipe her body, didn't shake her hands, let alone curse.

This kind of reaction was almost impossible to appear on an ordinary woman.

Touched from head to toe by a strange man, a normal person would either scream, swing a slap, or break down on the spot.

She had none of that.

Lin Fan leaned against the rock wall at the cave entrance, tucking his pistol back into his waist, his gaze never leaving Xu Zhixia.

"There's a question."

Xu Zhixia raised her head.

"Wang Laoliu is down there, his gun is lost, but he's not crippled. I brought Yang Ningcong up, so he won't dare chase us for a short while, but he will return to the beach."

Lin Fan looked at her.

"After he goes back, the first thing he'll do is untie those bodyguards, and then you guys."

"As long as you stay down there, in just a few minutes, your hands and feet will be free."

Xu Zhixia's lips moved, but she wasn't in a hurry to speak.

Lin Fan continued, "You followed me up. Wang Laoliu is down there, and you ran away—what would he think? He'll think you're in cahoots with me. Once he gets weapons again, you won't be able to go back."

This was the crucial point.

Xu Zhixia following Lin Fan up was equivalent to taking a side in Wang Laoliu's eyes.

And on a Deserted Island, the price of backing the wrong side was much greater than in civilized society.

In a civilized society, backing the wrong side at most meant losing a job, changing companies, or moving to another city.

Backing the wrong side here meant handing over your life.

"So why did you follow me up?"

Xu Zhixia looked at him, and after two or three seconds, she finally spoke.

"Naturally, to stay alive."

Xu Zhixia spoke on her own, "That spot on the beach has no cover, no fresh water, and no food."

"You've lived on this island for two months."

"An ordinary person lasting two months on a Deserted Island is not something that can be achieved by luck. Your grasp of this island's terrain, water sources, and the distribution of flora and fauna far exceeds any of us."

She raised her hand and pointed behind her.

"I saw it when I came up the ramp. Within a radius of one kilometer, this Karst Cave is the only natural shelter with long-term living conditions."

"It has cover, depth, high terrain, and a narrow entrance. Inside the cave, there are smoke-stained traces of burning campfires, processed straw mats, and air-dried meat."

She paused.

"You didn't just hide here for two months; you've been managing this place."

Lin Fan didn't express his stance; this woman's observation skills were better than he expected.

From the ramp to the cave entrance took less than ten minutes in total, yet she had seen everything she needed to see.

Xu Zhixia continued, "When rescue will come, nobody can say for sure."