Chapter 78 Bites, sobs, and the freedom I had until Yuan Jianxing finally let go...

The funeral home in L city is divided into two parts: one part is for the deceased's relatives to say their final goodbyes, and the other part is for cremating the remains.

Thanks to Mu Wangzhuo's special arrangements, the room that Yuan Jianxing was supposed to go to, Room 1, was the first room after entering the memorial area, so he didn't have to walk too far.

After Yuan Jianxing went into the room alone, Mu Wangzhuo tactfully closed the door.

At this point, all the sounds of weeping from other rooms, the funeral music playing from the funeral home's sound system, and the mechanical sounds coming from the adjacent building were completely shut out.

The only things left in the world were the slowly moving Yuan Jianxing and the transparent coffin placed in the center of the room, which looked somewhat blurry due to the water droplets hanging on its exterior.

With each step he took, Yuan Jianxing felt his heartbeat amplify.

By the time he reached the coffin, his heartbeat had become deafening, pounding against his eardrums like a bass drum.

At the same time, the cold air emanating from the coffin also reached Yuan Jianxing's face, causing his brows and eyelashes to become slightly damp, just like the flowers placed beside the coffin.

At this distance and angle, Yuan Jianxing finally saw Fu Ze once again.

Fu Ze has now been cleaned up and dressed in a uniform according to custom. He lies in the center of the coffin in a more upright posture than he has ever been before.

Even with the uniform concealing his identity, Yuan Jianxing still had no way of knowing the details of the other party's fatal wound, including its location and appearance.

But perhaps it's better not to know.

Meanwhile, the minor abrasions on Fu Ze's exposed skin were repaired by the mortician.

The mortician's skills were superb, restoring Fu Ze's appearance almost perfectly.

However, Yuan Jianxing could tell that without the care of those bottles and jars in the bathroom, Fu Ze's skin had become much rougher and his hair had become much frizzier.

Despite countless facts repeatedly telling him that "Fu Ze has left," Yuan Jianxing still couldn't help but reach out and press his hand on the carotid artery of the person lying down.

Unsurprisingly, there was no undulation there, and it was so cold that Yuan Jianxing's fingertips trembled.

Yuan Jianxing seemed unwilling to give up and tried probing another artery.

The result remained the same.

It was probably a coincidence that the second place Yuan Jianxing tested was near the spot where Fu Ze had asked him to "go all the way" and leave a trace.

Just then, Yuan Jianxing also had a mark on his finger.

He bit into the shell after seeing Fu Ze submerged in a pool of blood, to make sure it wasn't a hallucination and to make sure at least one of them "woke up."

Seemingly having received some kind of hint, Yuan Jianxing looked at Fu Zexu's hands, which were clasped together on his lower abdomen.

On the other person's left index finger, there was a mark exactly the same as on my own finger.

The only difference is that after these few days of rest, the teeth marks on Yuan Jianxing's hands, being alive, have become very faint, while those on Fu Ze's hands are permanently there, like an engraving.

In an instant, Yuan Jianxing felt as if a cacophony of sounds, like boiling seawater, was erupting in his ears, so loud it felt like his brain was about to explode.

When the noise subsided, he realized that his right hand had somehow firmly grasped Fu Ze's hands.

The two crescent-shaped curves were also very closely joined together.

At this moment, Yuan Jianxing's left hand was resting on the edge of the coffin above Fu Ze's head, and his whole body was positioned directly above Fu Ze.

Even though the two had engaged in more intimate poses, Yuan Jianxing felt that this was the closest he had ever been to Fu Ze.

Because at this moment, there are no other factors that could sow discord between them, only the purest matter of life and death.

That's a bit absurd.

But why did things turn out this way?

Yuan Jianxing had no clue about this.

So he was caught off guard and, unusually, somewhat at a loss.

Perhaps it had been too long since he had faced a situation where there was no solution and no way to reverse the situation, so Yuan Jianxing inexplicably wanted to laugh.

And then he actually laughed.

But the moment the corners of his mouth curled up, two warm tears slid down from his already brimming eyes without him even realizing it.

They gathered at the tip of my nose, then finally fell down, splashing up a tiny water droplet.

Yuan Jianxing was stunned, then wiped it with his hand in disbelief.

It is tears.

What couldn't fall in the dream has finally come to pass in reality.

Yuan Jianxing couldn't remember the last time he cried, so he never expected that he would be the type who, once he started crying, couldn't stop.

At first, his tears were silent, falling drop by drop.

A few drops of tears coincidentally landed on Fu Ze's eyelids, making it seem as if both of them were crying silently.

In the overly quiet room, even the faintest breathing sounded somewhat noisy and lonely.

After a certain moment, Yuan Jianxing finally let himself cry out loud.

The sound was initially suppressed, like a sob squeezed out from deep within the chest, carrying the tentative quality of a newborn after a long period of repression.

But soon, it broke free of its restraints and turned into almost uncontrollable sobbing.

The sound grew louder and louder, rampaging through the excessively quiet room, where only the refrigeration unit beneath the coffin was constantly running, creating ethereal, layered, and vibrant echoes.

The sun shines brightly outside the window, and the world continues to operate according to its established trajectory, remaining oblivious to the sorrow that Yuan Jianxing experienced, which gradually escalated from a trickle into a cataclysmic upheaval.

-

A staff member from the cremation area of ​​the funeral home carried out a simple but heavy wooden urn containing ashes.

Are Fu Ze's family members here?

The staff member called out twice with a blank expression.

Seeing that no one responded immediately, he put the urn aside and continued to do other work.

Just a second before the urn was about to fall onto the table, a pair of hands gently caught it.

At the same time, a slightly hoarse male voice rang out: "It is I. Give it to me."

The staff member looked at the man in the hospital gown with suspicion, and only let go of him after noticing that he was holding several clipped identification documents that matched the deceased.

Yuan Jianxing tossed the box in his hand.

The person who used to require him to lift horizontally with both arms is now contained in such a small box that it can be supported with one hand.

"Fu Ze's parents are still alive, why not inform them?" Mu Wangzhuo asked from behind him.

Recalling Fu Ze's account of his upbringing at the underground gunfighting ring, Yuan Jianxing replied calmly, "He was an undercover agent planted by the Kangming Group within the executive ranks. Apart from his exam results, all his information was fabricated."

Mu Wangzhuo's lips twitched slightly.

If he could turn back time, the first thing he would do is slap himself for the time when he singled out Fu Ze's resume from the pool of trainee executive candidates and wholeheartedly recommended it to Yuan Jianxing.

The two walked out of the funeral home and sat on a bench under the shade of a tree, waiting for the mechanical parking system to move Mu Wangzhuo's car.

Although Mu Wangzhuo is usually eloquent and never lets the atmosphere get dull.

Even someone as knowledgeable as him didn't know how to comfort Yuan Jianxing.

Ultimately, Mu Wangzhuo didn't know how he wanted to define the relationship between Yuan Jianxing and Fu Ze.

In the throes of new love?

Although Yuan Jianxing usually disregards the rules and regulations of the Adjudication Bureau, he would never violate the principles that a superior must adhere to.

A secret affair?

Given Hara Mihoshi's personality, she wouldn't do something so sneaky. If she's going to be in a relationship, even if it's not glamorous, it has to be open and aboveboard.

Unrequited love?

Yes, that's the most likely.

However, according to his colleagues at the L City Adjudication Bureau, Fu Ze was actually more proactive in their daily interactions.

...The situation here is still too complicated, so Mu Wangzhuo chose to give up thinking about it.

Besides that, there is another important reason why he cannot speak.

Although I have had a rich romantic history, including good and bad, respectable and undignified relationships, none of them have ever involved a life-or-death separation.

Offering comfort without empathy is likely to be a mistake, so it's better to say nothing at all.

Just when Mu Wangzhuo thought the two of them would continue to wait in silence, Yuan Jianxing spoke first:

"Since V City sent you to pick me up, they must have already made relevant follow-up plans."

Okay, let's talk about work.

This is very much like the original star.

Mu Wangzhuo relaxed considerably and spoke fluently:

"During the days you were in a coma, the Adjudication Bureau held continuous meetings and made three major decisions."

"First, reopen the investigation into the snake eye, taking the contents of the snake eye's statement as the primary reference, and investigate the culprit that caused the Charon crossing."

"Second, investigate all suspicious cases from the time the [key] appeared, which was three months ago, until now."

"Third, appease the residents and issue an official statement as soon as possible to explain."

Yuan Jianxing hummed in agreement, indicating that he had no objection or thoughts on this arrangement.

Mu Wangzhuo continued, "The deputy director is already going through the procedures. Once your injuries have healed, you will return to V City and be reinstated to your original position."

"You are the only one among all the executives who has ever fought against someone with the [Key] ability. You are the only one who can lead this team."

Yuan Jianxing nodded.

“Besides that, there’s another piece of good news.” Mu Wangzhuo snapped his fingers. “You know that leader who was taken away for investigation because he accepted huge bribes.”

"As you know, there are only so many high-ranking positions in the Adjudication Bureau. One person can only move up when a position becomes vacant, and then a new position will become available."

"With that batch of contraband from before, plus the Franka hijacking incident, and the strong support of Deputy Director Xu—oh no, I should call him Director Xu now—no one can compete with you in this promotion selection."

Mu Wangzhuo originally wanted to pat Yuan Jianxing on the shoulder to congratulate him, but after recalling the X-ray films posted on the other's bedside, he awkwardly withdrew his hand and simply clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Congratulations! You'll soon be officially a leader. If you become rich and powerful, don't forget me."

This is indeed a joyous occasion.

Yuan Jianxing failed to advance last time because he was pushed down by someone who had connections, and that connection came from "that leader" that Mu Wangzhuo mentioned.

But Hara no Hoshi was not happy.

Because the two important factors that helped him advance were both obtained through Fu Ze's efforts.

If he could, he would rather spend his entire life as a lowly soldier with the title of "Chief" in exchange for Fu Ze's life.

Mu Wangzhuo tugged at Yuan Jianxing's sleeve and said with dissatisfaction, "Can't you at least give me some feedback?"

"How should I react?" Yuan Jianxing looked up.

"He's nonchalant and doesn't care at all. In short, he's incredibly pretentious, the kind of person who makes others want to punch him."

Isn't that what it is now?

“That’s different.” Mu Wangzhuo gestured in mid-air, “You’re radiating an aura of dejection right now.”

"Me? Dejected?" Yuan Jianxing retorted stubbornly.

Mu Wangzhuo sneered, "Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself? If you don't have any, there's a fountain over there that you can use too."

Yuan Jianxing knew he wasn't in a good state, so he stopped arguing with Mu Wangzhuo and instead brought up another matter he was concerned about:

"Since you're saying you want to investigate the matter of the [key], what about the rhinoceros horn and badger teeth?"

Mu Wangzhuo hesitated for a moment.

He hadn't expected that Yuan Jianxing would ask such a direct and crucial question.

Even if I don't say anything now, Yuan Jianxing will still be able to find out later.

Since it's bound to happen sooner or later, it's good to try to distract him.

"On the day of the Franka hostage incident, Rhino died in a car outside the L City bus station. All the evidence at the scene indicated that the murderer was Badger Tooth, and the murder weapon was a kinetic energy pistol."

Yuan Jianxing was taken aback.

Badger teeth can kill rhinoceros horns? How is that possible?

Mu Wangzhuo continued, "After killing the rhinoceros horn, Badger Tooth traveled by car to the headquarters of the Kangming Group, where he then triggered a series of riots."

"I don't know why, but people from different security teams went up in batches that day."

"The entire building was practically a river of blood."

"Fortunately, no unarmed residents were injured."

Yuan Jianxing interrupted, "What about the dragon's spine?"

"You mean their chairman? He was in V City on the day of the incident, so he escaped unscathed."

What was he going to V City for?

"It seems to be some kind of school-enterprise cooperation project, but I can't remember the specifics. I'll find it for you later."

Just as the mechanical parking maneuver brought his car down, Mu Wangzhuo got up, intending to end the casual conversation: "However, according to the news, Longji just booked a luxury hotel presidential suite in V City for a whole year, and it is estimated that he will stay in V City for a long time."

Yuan Jianxing clenched his fist slightly.

V City is their home ground.

This time, the balance of power has shifted.

After Mu Wangzhuo left, Yuan Jianxing, who was finally able to be alone with Fu Ze again, first rubbed the urn in his hand with his palm.

“You said before that the key was the first condition for your loyalty to me.”

Yuan Jianxing lowered his head and softly recounted the conversation the two had had on the boat.

"So you'll be on my side until I kill Dragonspine."

"As long as I can guarantee that my goal remains unchanged, your judgment will naturally remain unchanged as well."

"So even if your loyalty expires, I still assure you that I will fulfill my promise to you, continue to investigate the Cummins Group, and once I catch a miracle, I will expose and destroy it."

“You’re welcome to come and check on the work anytime. After all, you’re more free now than I am…” Yuan Jianxing flicked away a piece of broken leaf stuck in the crevice of the urn.

"To make things easier for you, I'll try to... dream a little more."

I also hope you can be happy in my dreams.

Let's stay a little longer.