Arriving at the crime scene even faster than the Security Bureau was Wumeng. He looked down at the ground in silence; if not for the body shape being barely recognizable, he would have thought the tracker was malfunctioning.
So it was a vendetta...
A person who, out of sheer grudge, became a driver, fought Wudong for the steering wheel the whole way, and dodged bullets while driving, all just to kill the target with her own two hands.
Was her whole family destroyed or something for her to seek revenge like this?
“Holy crap, was he interrogated?” Night Heron slid down the shallow slope nearby, rushing to catch up to Wumeng. Her expression was horrified. “But we didn't receive any order for an interrogation. Doing this is pure psychopathy—Wudong has lost her mind!”
“You seriously need to take your sister to a local clinic for treatment. Otherwise, what if she wakes up one day, snaps, and stabs her teammates?” She patted Wumeng on the shoulder. “Does she even have any humanity left?”
Night Heron joked, “Once the Security Bureau records this case, it'll probably become a new terrifying urban legend.”
After speaking ill of her, she craned her neck to look for Wudong. “Huh? Where's Wudong? Didn't we agree to meet up before running?”
Wumeng didn't want to linger in the area for too long. Keeping it brief, he said, “I lost contact with her ten minutes ago, and her tracker malfunctioned as well. Something must have happened. Right now, I don't know if she's alive or dead. I'm going to find her.”
“What do you mean?” Night Heron followed behind him, her mind going blank for a second. “Wasn't Wudong the one who killed him? Wait... then isn't she in extreme danger right now?!”
“Oh crap, we really ran into a sick freak this time. That bastard had a terrifying number of enemies, and now they're dragging us into it too!” The more she thought about it, the scarier it felt. She added, “Since Wudong has been out of contact for so long, the chances of something bad happening to her are super high.”
Too many unexpected accidents had occurred during this mission. Now that the job had been finished by someone else in such a bizarre fashion, she felt somewhat lost. “What on earth actually happened?”
Wumeng shook his head. “I don't know either.”
After walking for about eleven or twelve minutes, the terrain opened up before they had even covered two kilometers.
Night Heron's eyes lit up when she saw the wreckage of the car. “The vehicle's tracker vanished shortly after the car crashed through the guardrail. If Wudong is injured, she couldn't have gone far.”
She didn't believe Wudong, a well-trained operative of the organization, would die in an explosion. So she had definitely escaped and was somewhere nearby.
With an expressionless face, Wumeng began searching through the surrounding bushes, using the wreckage as the center.
Perhaps having heard the approaching footsteps and familiar voices, a breathy, faint voice surfaced like the chirping of an insect.
“Save... save me...”
The voice was raspy and harsh, every syllable slurred into a muddled mess, making it hard to discern what she was saying.
“I'm here... cough... here...”
“Are you a ghost or what?” Night Heron shoved aside a clump of bushes, revealing a blood-soaked figure within, before turning to Wumeng. “Found her.”
She dragged Wudong out. The movement sent such a wave of pain through Wudong—whose back was a bloody, mangled mess from the explosion—that she twitched violently.
“How did you get yourself into this state?” Feeling a rare pang of conscience, Night Heron flipped her back over. As she handled her, she was startled to discover a deep, gruesome strangle mark encircling Wudong's neck. The sight of the raw, torn flesh gave Night Heron phantom pain, making her eyelids twitch and her own neck feel tight.
This girl is surprisingly hard to kill.
Lying flat on the ground, Wudong gasped heavily for breath, her voice wheezing through her teeth. “Almost... I was almost decapitated... I only survived by playing dead.”
Night Heron was at a loss for words...
Girl, do you even remember you're a professional assassin? How can you say something like that out loud?
Speechless, Wumeng closed his eyes, stepped forward, and hoisted her onto his shoulder. “Let's go.”
...
By the time she returned to the convenience store, it was nearly eleven o'clock. Having accomplished what she set out to do, Lin Mo felt completely calm inside and out. She felt a sense of relief, as if her soul, long crushed deep beneath the surface, had attained a momentary liberation.
Returning to the locker room to change her clothes, she finally had time to pull out her phone.
An hour ago, the store manager had seen through the surveillance camera that no staff was in the store and sent a question mark, followed by several missed calls that she hadn't answered.
Lin Mo packed her things and put on a loose, long-sleeved jacket.
【I wasn't feeling well earlier. I'm sorry, Manager.】
The manager flew into a rage: 【How unwell could you be?! You disappeared for four hours! You didn't work a single minute of your shift! You're fired!!】
Lin Mo corrected precisely: 【It was three and a half hours.】
【Get out!】
【Okay.】
Since she had only worked for half an hour, she didn't have the nerve to ask for wages. She turned off her phone, pulled her jacket tighter, and walked out of the locker room.
The employee taking over her shift stared at Lin Mo, who had already bundled herself up tightly. She opened her mouth. “You... you're pretty fast.”
“Because my shift is over.” Lin Mo paused for a second and deliberately walked around her as she headed out. “I'll be going then.”
“Oh.”
...
Her body was covered in blood...
By eleven o'clock, the buses had stopped running, so Lin Mo could only take a taxi. She had disposed of her innermost layer of clothing, but the dried blood clinging to her skin still couldn't be wiped completely clean.
Only after making sure that the raincoat underneath completely enveloped her whole body did she get into the taxi.
She rolled the window halfway down, first confirming that the smell of blood wouldn't spread too far, though it was likely masked by the smell of sulfur anyway—even if that smelled suspicious in its own right.
Leaning against the window to look outside, the upper half of the glass reflected the streetscape flashing past, while the lower half showed her thin, pale chin tucked inside her hood. Her entire person seemed severed into two halves.
Lin Mo gazed at the quiet night scenery. Licheng had a hilly terrain; looking out, all she could see were mountains hidden in the dark, standing tall in the distance before being swallowed whole by the black mist and disappearing completely.
The neon lights outside blurred into a hazy pool of water. In the silent night, it felt as though some distant voice was echoing from afar.
The world seemed to spin, growing light and weightless. It was an indescribable peacefulness—as if a demon had extracted her bones. Her mind went blank, her feet felt soft and weightless like a windless pool of water, and her soul returned to its rightful home.
All her resentment, sorrow, and lingering unwillingness had vanished. Her body had turned into a dandelion spore, ready to float away at any moment.
Now, even the strange glances the taxi driver cast her way from time to time failed to stir much emotion in her.
After about half an hour, the taxi came to a stop.
“We're here.”
Lin Mo got out of the car and headed home along a pitch-black alleyway.
“Girlie...”
Hearing the old woman's voice once again, Lin Mo knew that since the old woman had been able to smell the blood on her when she came home that earlier time, she could definitely smell it now as well.
She turned her head and watched silently as the old woman, holding onto the doorframe, shuffled out on stiff legs. Clutching a piece of candy in her hand, the old woman took two steps forward and tried to stuff it into Lin Mo's hand.
Lin Mo dodged it. “I don't like candy.”
“There's something to be happy about, something to be happy about,” the old woman didn't insist. Unable to stand for long, she retreated and sat back down on the chair by her doorway. “My sweet daughter is taking me to live with her. In the future...”
Leaning her body back, her voice echoed down the alleyway, “You won't be seeing me anymore...”
“I understand.” Beneath her black hood, only Lin Mo's eyes were visible, and a fresh trace of worry flickered within them.
The serenity that had welled up from deep within her heart had vanished just as quickly as it had arrived.
“Then... congratulations. You'll get to live with your children.”
She turned around and quickened her pace.
The driver who had brought her here had probably noticed something amiss. With the attack on the elevated highway, coupled with picking up a suspicious person at such an hour, there was a high likelihood he would call the police.
Even if the old woman picked up on something, it didn't matter much to her anymore.
After all, everything—all of it—had been exposed.
She needed to leave now, faster and faster.
...
Knock, knock, knock—knock, knock, knock—
A rapid sequence of knocks sounded from outside the door. Estimating the time, Lin Mo was due to return. Lin Nan had long finished packing and was waiting for her; regardless of what she had gone out to do, everything would be settled once she came back.
He pulled the door open. The first thing that caught his eye was a figure almost merged with the night. She pulled down her hood, her eyes filled with relief, her words rushed and anxious.
“Let's go, we're leaving right now!”
Her face was covered in large patches of blood, her eyes were bloodshot, and her skin showed faint signs of burn marks. A large portion of her neck and the fingers exposed outside her clothes were swollen, red, and blackened.
Lin Nan didn't ask a single question. He had anticipated this all along, decisively heading back inside to grab the bags they had already packed before following close behind her.
Lin Mo had bought tickets for a late-night bus departing just after midnight. When they arrived, there were still twenty minutes left.
Only a few people remained in the waiting hall. Her hands trembled constantly, though she couldn't tell if it was caused by fear and anxiety or by pain and burns.
Another ten minutes passed. She couldn't stop tapping her heels against the floor as her calm and detached mood receded, pain surging up from the depths like a tidal wave.
Hurry up, hurry up... why is there still so much time left?
She couldn't control her impatience, and the delayed pain only fed her anxiety, dulling her ability to think clearly.
Lin Mo checked the time repeatedly. Meanwhile, Lin Nan opened a bundle and pulled out a pouch.
“I brought burn ointment.” As he spoke, he pulled out two rolls of gauze. “Applying it might make you feel a little better.”
Lin Mo didn't hear what he was saying at all. When he put on gloves and tried to grab her hand, she slapped him away out of reflex.
The back of his hand stung sharply, as if hit five times with a bamboo stick in quick succession. Lin Nan's expression remained unchanged as he held her wrist again to sanitize her injuries.
Before long, the announcement chimed. Only a single gate was open at the ticket check, where a sleepy, uniform-clad ticket collector squinted to check their ID information.
Although Lin Mo had briefly cleaned herself up in the restroom, leaving no major flaws except for the slight redness on her face, she still leaned close to Lin Nan.
Her worries were clearly unnecessary; the ticket collector didn't even look at her before letting them through.
Even after stepping onto the bus, lingering fear still clutched Lin Mo's heart.
The two got on the bus, found their seats, and waited for departure. Lin Mo stared fixedly outside, any glint of colored light enough to tighten her nerves to the snapping point.
Will someone find her?
Except for the dead and the store manager who fired her, nobody saw her face. Even if they want to investigate, it'll take time.
No, it won't happen... stop scaring yourself.
The bus started moving.
She didn't know how long they had been driving on the highway. The bus had only stopped once at a service area along the way. The scattered passengers inside were long asleep, and even the driver was resting his eyes.
Lin Mo's eyes were bloodshot, yet her mind remained hyperactive. She couldn't sleep; every person within her sight made her feel uneasy.
Could they know who I am? Why are they trying to leave? Is anyone here covered in blood like me? Does someone have ill intentions?
“Why don't you rest for a bit?”
Lin Nan hadn't slept either. The ointment had been far too little—he hadn't expected Lin Mo to have such extensive burns. Even squeezed into thin lines, the tube had quickly run out, so he had bought another one when they stopped at the service area.
Lin Mo shook her head. “I can't sleep.”
“I'll keep watch for you.” Lin Nan knew what she was worried about.
Having lived with her for this long, he knew it wasn't the physical pain keeping her awake. It was entirely the unfamiliar environment—she couldn't stop herself from being wary of everyone.
In that case, as someone who could barely, vaguely be considered an acquaintance, he probably, should, perhaps be able to offer her a tiny sense of security.
“You can lean on me and catch a snooze.”
Lin Mo didn't move.
Right, he knew it.
An extremely unfamiliar “younger brother” of questionable identity naturally didn't count as someone she could trust.
Rate on N.U.
