Chapter 50

Zong Linhan kicked open the apartment door with such force that the door slammed against the wall with a loud bang.

"Zhi Ling!"

There was only deathly silence in response.

The living room lights were on, the screen was on an entertainment channel, and the unfinished tomato juice sat on the coffee table, with droplets of water running around the bottom of the glass.

Zong Linhan immediately took out his phone and contacted the team responsible for perimeter protection.

"Team Leader Zong..." The voice on the other end was tinged with panic, "Isn't there another team to take over? We received an 'emergency order from higher-ups' that they've discovered a key movement of the Ecological Faction and require all personnel to go to their aid..."

Zong Linhan abruptly hung up the phone, his heart sinking to the bottom.

A diversionary tactic. They could use the highest level of authorization to send his direct subordinates away...

A wave of panic nearly engulfed him; countless terrifying thoughts swirled in his mind, but he couldn't afford to panic. Just then, he remembered a device.

He took out the emergency toolbox from the car. Inside was a small, USB-like device, which was the signal receiver. The transmitter was on Wen Zhiling. If she took the device with her before leaving, he could track her using this small device.

Zong Linhan pressed the button on the side, and the instrument emitted a faint blue light. He contacted the technical department, who quickly informed him of the location: a watchtower in the suburbs.

-

In the underground space, a soft blue light shone on Wen Zhiling's pale profile as she focused intently. Complex sequences of code appeared on the large screen as she typed them in.

Zong Linyang stood not far from her, leaning against a control panel. He appeared relaxed, but his eyes were sharp as he stared intently at the characters she typed, wary of any error messages that might appear, and on guard against any self-destructing programs that might emerge at any moment.

This is the territory of the eco-faction. It was also a laboratory staff member who, after it was abandoned, used his power to sneak in and transform it into a "spark preservation" base. As the saying goes, the darkest place is under the lamp, which is why the eco-faction never discovered it. Unexpectedly, it was eventually put to use.

He only decided to disappear after learning that other relevant data was stored here and only needed the key command to fully unlock it, in order to avoid investigation of him, prevent the investigation from spreading to more people, and prevent the ecological faction from discovering this place.

Finally, this day has come, and the long-cherished wish of the elders of the clan can be fulfilled. This matter has cost my parents many years of tears, cost my younger brother who should have been growing up carefree, but is now involved because of him, and also cost an innocent girl.

His thoughts drifted back to the corridor of the orphanage many years ago. When he first saw Wen Zhiling, she wasn't among the children playing. She was clutching a tattered book, her eyes blankly scanning her surroundings. The director explained that this child had a bad life; her family had all perished in a fire, leaving her alone, which was why she had become so quiet.

For media publicity purposes, he gave gifts to the children. She accepted them and said thank you, her voice young but clear.

So she can talk.

She looked up at him, her eyes bright.

The Zong family wasn't without younger generations; there were many children. But Zong Linyang still felt that this brightness was quite different from that of the children in his family. To this day, he still hasn't found the right words to describe the sight he saw.

Later, something unexpected happened, and she became one of the few patients who were "dead ends but still alive," and the only one who was saved.

He initially thought she was the kind of child who was naturally innocent and pure, but as they spent more time together, he discovered that her gaze was actually just a performance. The precocious little girl seemed to cleverly discover what adults liked to see, and then she expressed it in detail.

Her guard was alarmingly high. In the month following her recovery, she stayed up all night, constantly on guard against everything around her, which severely weakened her immune system, almost costing her her life. This was all captured on surveillance footage. She had picked up a piece of wood from somewhere and secretly sharpened it into the shape of a knife on a brick wall in the corner at night, hiding it under her pillow.

Later, because the researchers were concerned about her mental health, they suggested that she be sent to a villa near them to be cared for by everyone in turns, so that she could feel at home, which was better than the perpetually disinfectant-smelling cubicle.

She appears to be about the same age as others in public, but she is extremely easily startled at night. The surveillance footage shows a child sitting up until dawn, and several researchers with children cried several times.

After inputting multiple sequences, the system entered the verification phase. Wen Zhiling breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed her stiff neck.

“I’ve always been curious to ask,” Zong Linyang suddenly spoke, her voice somewhat abrupt in the empty space, “You’ve shown a strong aversion and distrust of the outside world since you were little, so why are you different towards my younger brother?”

Wen Zhiling's mind was entirely on the screen, so she answered absentmindedly, "Because he gave me his complete trust first..."

Zong Linyang teased, half-jokingly, "You've never trusted Lu Qin like this before. He was quite upset for a while. All that sweet talk was for nothing."

The verification was complete, and Wen Zhiling started typing, not paying attention to the reply. Another half hour passed, and the next verification period began, finally giving her a brief opportunity to speak again.

Zong Linyang asked, "Do you hate us a lot?"

Wen Zhiling: "No, you saved me."

Zong Linyang: "It wasn't us who saved you, it was your parents. You survived because your father was one of the earliest researchers and gave you a special vaccine. It was originally intended to strengthen your body, but we never expected it to protect you during the supernatural event. This also helped our research make a breakthrough discovery."

He paused, "And what we bring you is repeated pain in the laboratory." Once, an experimenter couldn't bear to see the child's suffering and even suggested euthanasia, saying it was better than enduring the repeated torture in the superpower experiments.

That's why they later decided to erase her memories.

Wen Zhiling's answer remained unchanged: "No."

She still has a vague memory of the candy they gave her; in the despairing, cold laboratory, even a little bit of sweetness was the most beautiful thing in her gray memories.

To protect this sweet treat, she dared not sleep at night. She secretly picked up a piece of wood and honed it into the shape of a knife on a brick in the corner of the wall, then hid it under her pillow.

If bad people like those from the orphanage were to come in, she would want to protect them.

Looking at her, Zong Linyang actually wanted to ask about the port, why the ship was docked in Tris Bay. But that matter was too long ago and too trivial, and she probably didn't remember it.

never mind.

Zong Linyang glanced at the countdown on the screen, straightened up, suppressed all outward emotions, and pointed the gun at Wen Zhiling with seemingly random but precise aim. "It's almost time."

His tone carried a half-serious, half-threatening tone: "This last part is quite long, so concentrate and don't make a mistake. You know the consequences."

Wen Zhiling paused in her typing, sensing a faint, chilling sense of danger, but strangely, she didn't feel pure fear. Perhaps it was because he and the people in the lab had never harmed her.

Wen Zhiling took a deep breath, and as she typed the last few characters—

"Bang!"

The metal door at the entrance let out a loud, strained crash, twisted inward, and collapsed.

"Zong Linyang, let her go!"

The moment Zong Linhan burst in, his gun was locked onto his brother's position.

He tracked them all the way here, and all his fears became a reality the moment he saw Zong Linyang's gun pointed at Wen Zhiling.

After Wen Zhiling finished inputting the data, the machine made a loud noise. She turned around and saw this scene, "Zong Linhan! No—!"

"Bang!"

Zong Linyang, who had been pointing the gun at Wen Zhiling, suddenly turned it around at an extremely fast speed, without the slightest hesitation, and aimed it at Zong Linhan.

The bullet grazed the air and accurately struck the person next to Zong Linhan, who was about to attack him.

The other person fell to the ground immediately; he was one of the earliest members to join Zong Linhan's team.

The smell of gunpowder spread.

Zong Linyang lowered the gun in his hand. "You're just being too concerned, silly little brother."

He looked at the cold corpse on the ground. "The eco-faction is really desperate. They've even activated their most hidden pawns."

Zong Linyang retrieved the complete sequence.

Wen Zhiling breathed a sigh of relief, almost completely exhausted. Zong Linhan rushed over to hug her, but Zong Linyang lightly blocked him in the middle.

He said with a touch of emotion, "You two little devils who were about the same age have actually grown up to be a couple. Hold on to the hugs and celebrations, say goodnight to your little girlfriend, and come with me to take care of the important business first—sister-in-law, I'll borrow you for now, someone will come to take you home soon."

-

The core sequence was encrypted and transmitted to the highest-level server. Inside the special base, the Second Uncle's calm and collected voice came through the internal communication: "Lin Yang, Lin Han, the ecological extremists have also been brought under control, and their main armed strongholds have been taken down. The extermination of the remaining forces will be completed soon."

The long-standing, undercurrent-filled confrontation came to an end with just a few simple words.

The tense atmosphere eased slightly. One brother leaned against the wall, and the other sat in a chair, both looking tired after their nerves had been stretched so tightly.

"What are your plans next?" Zong Linhan asked in a hoarse voice, leaning against the cold wall.

Zong Linyang twitched the corner of his mouth. "It's a bit troublesome. I have to undergo a period of supervision and investigation, and work with my second uncle to explain what has happened in the past few years. After all, I'm involved in too many things, and my identity is sensitive. I don't know how many pages the report will be."

The dim incandescent light flickered, and Zong Linhan spoke, "Zong Linyang, this is over. Stay away from Wen Zhiling. If you drag her into danger again..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the threat was effectively conveyed.

After listening, Zong Linyang met his younger brother's gaze and found him both cute and fierce, as if he were seeing all the years he had missed again. "I know, my ancestor. I'll stay far away from you. I can't afford to be implicated."

His attitude was so gentle, as if he wasn't the one who had pointed a gun at people earlier.

After a while, Zong Linyang suddenly spoke, his voice much lower, "But it seems pretty boring."

Zong Linhan looked at him.

Zong Linyang's gaze was unfocused, as if he were looking through the wall into the distance. "You've seen the data, haven't you? How long did this research last? How much manpower was consumed? How many people were assassinated by the Ecological Faction after exhausting their efforts? But... once the restoration plan is on track, all the history of superpowers will only become sealed top secrets that will never be made public."

His tone carried an unprecedented hint of sarcasm: "No one will remember their names, and no one will know what was sacrificed in the darkness. All the sweat pieced together day and night is nothing more than dew before the dawn, which will soon evaporate."

These words weighed heavily on Zong Linhan's heart, as he had considered similar thoughts. He wanted to comfort his brother, but didn't know how to begin.

Zong Linyang changed the subject casually, shifting to a lighter topic, "Do you know Wen Zhiling very well? Let me test you. In a board game you played when you were little, there was a port called Tris Bay. It was a place with scarce resources and frequent wars. Why would someone dock their ship there in the game?"

Zong Linhan gave a slight smirk, "You guys are so busy, yet you still find time to play board games?"

Zong Linyang: "People from the lab used to take her out to play. You should have seen the photos, right?"

Zong Linhan lowered his eyes and thought for a while, but couldn't come up with a reason to park here. It was indeed not a good decision.

He said tactfully, "Then she probably just doesn't want to play games with you, but is too embarrassed to bring it up herself."

Zong Linyang: "..."

Although I was very annoyed, it was indeed reasonable and well-founded.

The two had been busy all night. When they left the base, the sky was just beginning to lighten and a gentle breeze was blowing.

Zong Linhan suddenly remembered, "In the introduction to Tris Bay in the game, there is a little story that says the residents of Tris Bay especially like to go out to sea with their families, and by evening, the harbor is full of families returning home."

Zong Linyang was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "Family."

-

As evening fell, the apartment was filled with the aroma of home-cooked meals, and the evening news was broadcast on television.

The anchor calmly reported on the recent improvement in public security and the steady progress of various livelihood policies. The hidden truth behind this was that, with the help of the Bureau of Extraordinary Detectives, many people with supernatural abilities had returned to normal.

Wen Zhiling ate her cola chicken wings, still a little incredulous that she could finally live such a peaceful, normal life without the need for injections.

Zong Linhan added a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs to her bowl. This was because after hearing about Wen Zhiling's experience in the laboratory when she was a child, Zong's mother felt so sorry for her that she wanted to take care of all her meals and bring her soup and vegetables every day.

His voice carried a hint of mockery, "What, life's too boring? Want to find some excitement?"

Wen Zhiling, biting into a delicious sweet and sour pork rib, asked, "What mischievous idea have you come up with?"

"Do you want to spend Chinese New Year together this year?" Zong Linhan's lips curled up. "My cousin is obsessed with watching variety shows. She was urging me to see you the day before yesterday. I finally managed to put it off until the end of the year."

Auntie's sweet and sour pork ribs were delicious, but seeing Zong Linhan's family was quite a sight. Just thinking about it made me imagine a huge family, and the terrifying scene of being surrounded by relatives instantly flashed through my mind.

Zong Linhan: "Or you could live with my parents and brother?"

Wen Zhiling sensed something was amiss. "Your real purpose wouldn't be this, would it?"

Zong Linhan: "Don't you feel much more relaxed?"

Wen Zhiling nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

Zong Linhan couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Then it's settled, we'll spend the New Year together."

Wen Zhiling: "Mmm!"

Outside the window, the city lights stretch endlessly. Inside, steam rises from the food, and the news continues to report on another day of smooth global operation.

Wen Zhiling held Zong Linhan's hand, finally feeling like she was at home.

-----------------------

Author's Note: My initial intention was to write a story about "not trusting the whole world but believing in you," with some sweet, clandestine interactions captured on camera... but the reality turned out to be far more complex than my ideal, and many parts fell short of expectations, lol.

I sent small red envelopes to those who followed me up to chapter 45, saying I'd try to update daily, but in reality, I stopped updating altogether. It's another sad contrast between my ideal and reality...

Thank you to all the angels who are following the latest chapters for your company and reading!

- Pre-order "Waiting for My Brother to Get a Fever" -

Lijia has had a crush on her brother for a long time.

In the cold winter, she stood on tiptoe to put a scarf on Jiang Xun, the gray wool wrapping around his neck in circles. He bent down slightly, and the distance between them instantly closed.

Without stopping her hands, Lijia glanced at him casually. The warm orange light above him outlined his tall and straight features. His skin was pale and cool, and his long eyelashes cast small, brush-like shadows under his eyelids, which lifted slightly and then quickly fell back down.

"Okay." She stepped back to the sofa, her hands behind her back.

The long black coat accentuated Jiang Xun's tall, slender, and neat appearance.

He calmly straightened his scarf and coldly reminded her that she had better behave herself while he was away on business, or she would suffer the consequences of not coming home at night.

Lijia agreed and watched him push his luggage to the door, but in her mind she was thinking about something even more outrageous.

She wanted to win over this controlling man, who especially loved to boss her around.

She had even figured out how to make him completely obedient in bed.

However, behind her eagerness to try was the fact that on the very first day of her plan, Jiang Xun saw her erotic information.