T/N: minor gore warning (re: blood) at the end.
Xu Xinghe instinctively wanted to hide, but suddenly, he received a meaningful look from Gu Nai.
Suddenly, he stopped moving.
Gu Nai walked up to him and kept his eyes on him.
Only then did Xu Xinghe realize that Gu Nai’s eyes were slightly red.
Gu Nai opened his mouth and said softly, “Don’t try to resist, okay? Unless you want me to ask the people at the door to come in and catch you.”
He said this, and slowly injected the unknown liquid into Xu Xinghe’s forearm.
Xu Xinghe frowned slightly, and then heard Gu Nai say in his ear in a very small voice, “Lie down, close your eyes, and don’t move.”
Xu Xinghe’s heart trembled. Under Gu Nai’s eyes, he finally lay on the bed, and slowly closed his eyes.
After about ten seconds, he only heard the sound of electricity buzzing, and some other noises, before Gu Nai’s footsteps walked away. There was a clang of the cell door opening, before the sounds faded away.
Xu Xinghe was a little puzzled, what’s the situation? Could it be that Gu Nai really turned against his master? Is he planning to take him out of here?
Then why do all this? To fool the guard at the door?
After a while, the cell door was opened again, and then closed again.
Xu Xinghe opened his eyes and saw Gu Nai return.
“What did you use just now?” Xu Xinghe sat up and asked.
“Glucose water.” Gu Nai tore off his gloves, walked forward in three or two steps, and bent over to Xu Xinghe. “Listen, everything that happens in this building is under his surveillance. I temporarily blocked the signal in this room, and looped the video of you sleeping into the monitor. But it will be discovered by him sooner or later. What you said just now is too dangerous, and will make him suspect that I have ulterior motives, so he’ll immediately send more people here.” Gu Nai’s voice was low and fast.
Xu Xinghe was stunned by his sudden statement. After a few seconds, he asked the question that he cared most about: “Was Changfeng really attacked?”
“It’s absolutely true, his life and death are unknown! So you have to recognize your current situation! I don’t care what preparations you made in advance to be so confident, but all those plans are in vain. Everything has to be considered in the long run, understand? They specially chose this time to lure you into a trap, so you have to prepare yourself to have no backup!”
For a moment, Xu Xinghe felt that all the blood in his body congeal.
He forgot to breathe for a while, and his consciousness fell into a chaotic void.
He clenched his palm tightly, not daring to think about Ling Changfeng. Even the merest thought was like the sharpest shard stabbing painfully into his chest.
“Xu Xinghe! Stay awake!” Perhaps because he was worried that the guards at the door noticed something abnormal, Gu Nai’s voice was extremely low. He tightly grabbed Xu Xinghe’s shoulder and shook it. “Now’s not the time to be sad! His death isn’t confirmed. As long as you can get out alive, there is still hope for you to meet again! But the key now is that you will be picked up tomorrow! At that time, that person can change his face, his identity… or even directly mark you! Marked for life! He’s been thinking about this day for a long time, and once you return to Jindi Star1Jindi = Gold Emperor, but it isn’t important so Jindi it is with him, the base camp of their family, it will be difficult to escape.”
Xu Xinghe raised his eyes and asked with gritted teeth: “Who is the so-called ‘he’?”
“Norman Wells.” Gu Nai said word by word. “The general secretary of the Nine-Star Council, he is modest in front of people, but a beast behind closed doors! He has persecuted countless omegas, but never gave anyone a lifetime mark. From this point of view, you are special. He said you have a charming aura he’s never smelled before.”
Xu Xinghe let go of his stiff fingers and tried to find He returned to his own voice: “Then what shall we… do? Escape first?”
“There is no way to escape.” Gu Nai said in a low voice.
Xu Xinghe suddenly raised his head: “What do you mean?”
“You can’t escape, this is the second underground floor. I am also trapped here, and there is no way to return to the surface.” Gu Nai’s voice was very deep. “After this old military factory was remodeled, the elevator you came from became the only exit. It’s a one-way access. Anyone can go down, but if you want to go up, you need that person’s password and voiceprint.”
“Can’t the password be hacked?” Xu Xinghe asked.
Gu Nai shook his head. “I tried to crack it, but in the end I found that there’s an electronic passcode, but also one for the security lock – a physical lock. It can’t be deciphered, and forcefully disassembling it takes too long and will trigger an alarm.”
Xu Xinghe’s heart sank. He looked at Gu Nai and asked, “Then what are you doing here? If there’s no escape, shouldn’t you let me fend for myself?”
“I can’t escape, but you can.” Gu Nai raised his head and looked into his eyes.
Xu Xinghe was stunned: “What?”
Gu Nai said, “You must have a way to escape, just like that summer two years ago…”
“Two years ago? I injured my glands and passed out, which was how I managed to escape being marked.” Xu Xinghe shook his head.
“No, that’s not it! The prey he has set his eyes on has never escaped like that!” Gu Nai roared in a very depressed voice. “I know him too well. Once that man sets his sights on something, he’ll never let go easily. At that time, you had no power or strength, were alone and even unconscious. Even if you were a corpse, he’d probably take your ashes back for collection!”
Xu Xinghe trembled.
“After you fainted, something must have happened! During summer vacation two years ago, do you remember what happened in early July?” Gu Nai asked him.
Xu Xinghe shook his head, a light flashed in his black eyes.
“Impossible! You don’t know him, Xu Xinghe. That person is paranoid and selfish, but he is very, very careful. He doesn’t have to take such a big risk to arrest you. Doing so will completely offend Ling Changfeng! But he still came, why? Is it just because he likes you? No, he is a person who only loves himself, and if something hurts his own interests, he will give up no matter how much he likes it! Or maybe he is afraid that you will reveal what happened back then to Ling Changfeng? But if that’s the case, then he shouldn’t risk coming to the Capital Star this time! There must be other secrets hidden in you!”
Gu Nai’s speech was growing more rapid, almost manic, and Xu Xinghe couldn’t even keep up with his rhythm.
He tried to start recalling bits and pieces of the past, but there was a slight tingling in his brain.
“That summer two years ago, he should have either captured or killed you, but he didn’t. And now, he should have given up hunting you, but he didn’t either. It’s unreasonable, and it’s not in line with his modus operandi. Unless you have something else that he can’t let go of!” Gu Nai kept asking in Xu Xinghe’s ear. “I don’t know the answer, but you must know. Remember, Xu Xinghe! Remember!”
Xu Xinghe’s brain was torn apart by thousands of thoughts, and he had a splitting headache.
“No, I really don’t remember… I passed out at the time, and when I woke up, I had been lying in the hospital bed for nearly half a month…”
Xu Xinghe was stunned as soon as he finished speaking.
In a trance, he still remembered that the doctor he saw for the first time after he woke up asked him the first question, not how he was feeling now or if he was uncomfortable, but—
Do you remember?
Remember?
He forgot?
In the midsummer of July two years ago, during the period when he thought he was in a coma, what happened?
“You must remember it now!” Gu Nai continued to speak at a low and fast pace. “It’s fine if Ling Changfeng is still alive. But if he is gone, you have to find a way to save yourself! You have to plan for the worst and can only rely on yourself!”
Desperately trying to recall what happened in early July, Xu Xinghe’s brain almost exploded with pain.
His hands and feet started to get cold and started to tremble.
His body seems to instinctively prevent him from trying to recall further.
Gu Nai clasped Xu Xinghe’s shoulders tightly with both hands, bent down, and looked him in the eye. “You must remember, Xu Xinghe! He won’t let go so easily after two years, you must have used something at that time to escape from him…”
Before he finished speaking, there was a “click”.
The door of the room was opened.
Immediately after, there was a “bang”.
Gu Nai stood in front of Xu Xinghe, blocking his sight.
Therefore, Xu Xinghe did not immediately see who was coming, and only heard a gunshot.
The next moment, Gu Nai’s body rushed forward and fell softly on top of him.
Blood poured out continuously from the back of his head, dyeing Xu Xinghe red.
There’s one more part in this chapter. Told you it was long.
Want faster releases for SMM? Get faster updates by buying a ko-fi~ Progress towards add’l releases, and to see other ongoing projects, are tracked on my ko-fi page.
