Chapter 154: Extra Chapter 2: Seven Years Ago (1)

——Memory Divider-Seven Years Ago——

Thick, rolling clouds, like unmelting cream, piled up in layers, creating an endless torrential downpour over the city.

This bizarre thunderstorm has been going on for a week and shows no signs of stopping, shrouding the entire city of Zhouhai in a damp despair.

The accumulated water in the streets and alleys resembled an inexhaustible river, and the surging waves of the sea kept washing over the coastline, carrying a turbulent force that could swallow the city at any moment.

At the foot of a mountain on the outskirts of Zhouhai City, villagers who had been summoned arrived one after another at the evacuation site.

The scene was chaotic. Elderly villagers refused to leave, complaining that they hadn't taken their valuables with them. The cries of children filled the air, creating a cacophony of noise.

"Our city is experiencing a new round of continuous thunderstorms. Affected by the continuous and intense convergence of cold and warm air, the thunderstorms are not only widespread, but some areas also have hourly precipitation of 30-50 millimeters."

According to the latest meteorological report, thunderstorms are expected to persist in the aforementioned areas for the next 24-48 hours. The city's emergency management department is leading a joint rescue team temporarily formed by firefighters, armed police, and the military to cope with the extreme weather. We request the cooperation of all citizens...

Perhaps it was the damned weather and the urgent mission that created the heavy atmosphere; the carriage was eerily quiet.

For this trip, Wei Lian appointed Cheng Sangluo as the company's representative, specifically responsible for managing the team and rescue operations.

She was driving a military jeep at the head of a group of rescue vehicles, heading towards the village evacuation site where the rescue was being carried out.

Sitting in the passenger seat, his teammate listened to the news broadcast and muttered under his breath, "Damn it! The rain just won't stop, like the sky has a hole in it. If the seawater floods in at this rate, won't it drown the boat?!"

"Can't we say something auspicious? Natural disasters are not like man-made disasters that can be avoided as much as possible. They always come suddenly and catch people off guard." Cheng Sangluo's attitude was serious, and her words carried a bit of the intimidating power of a leader.

After saying that, she stopped talking and listened silently to the sound of the wipers rubbing against the windshield until she stopped the car at her destination.

"We're here, let's get moving." She turned off the news radio in the car, put on her hat and then quickly put on her raincoat, and nimbly pushed open the door and got out.

"Team Leader Cheng! You've finally arrived!" The forest firefighters who arrived earlier didn't have time for pleasantries. They hurriedly grabbed a map and explained the current difficulties: "Most of the villagers in this area live at the foot of the mountain, but many others are scattered in the forest. We don't have enough manpower. We have to rescue people and race against time. I think splitting up is the most scientific approach."

Cheng Sangluo wiped the raindrops from his face, took the map and studied it briefly. Thinking that the heavy rain would only exacerbate the dangers in the mountainous areas, he didn't dare to waste too much time and agreed, "If landslides or mudslides occur, rescuing people will only be more difficult. Let's do as you say. Each team will be assigned a forest firefighter familiar with the terrain to lead the way, and we should try to make the rescue as quick as possible."

"Okay, I'll go assign our people right away. Please divide them into teams as soon as possible, there's no time to lose."

"Alright, meet here in five minutes." Cheng Sangluo glanced at the time, turned around and beckoned to his teammates. "The situation is urgent, and we don't have enough manpower for rescue. One team will stay to help the police maintain order and evacuate the crowd. The rest of you will split into four groups and go into the mountains with the firefighters for rescue. Quickly check and organize your equipment, and we'll be in the mountains in five minutes!"

"clear!"

Meanwhile, abandoned village houses deep in the mountains and forests.

"Useless! What use are you guys if you can't even handle one woman? This is a golden opportunity, you have to get rid of her today!"

The torrential rain was accompanied by flashes of lightning and claps of thunder, but it couldn't drown out Lin Sheng's furious roar.

Xu Songheng was already used to his rudeness, so he deliberately moved the phone further away and said in a good-natured tone, "I understand what you mean. If we create an accident in this kind of weather, even if the police find the body, they won't be able to tell whether it's a natural disaster or a man-made one."

"You understand?" Lin Sheng sneered, then paused for a few seconds before bursting into a rage: "If you understand, why aren't you taking people to look for it? You useless thing!"

Hearing the busy tone of the call being disconnected, Xu Songheng's face, which had been fawning just a second ago, instantly turned gloomy.

He then grabbed his subordinate by the collar and shoved the cigarette butt into the man's clothes, but even that couldn't vent the anger he was holding in.

He finally managed to tie Lin Jin up in this godforsaken place, but in the short time he had to take a break to smoke a couple of cigarettes, the cunning woman slipped away right under his nose.

The torrential rain was so persistent and strange, it was as if God was helping them. This was the best opportunity for Lin Sheng to eliminate the threat. If Lin Jin really escaped, that vicious man would surely skin him alive.

Thinking of this, Xu Songheng felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but shiver. He then pushed away his innocent subordinates who had been implicated, "If we don't get rid of Lin Jin today, no one can explain themselves. What are you standing there for? Go find him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the men in the room hurriedly changed into raincoats. With a flash of white lightning, the dark mass of people scattered and ran away from the village house.

Xu Songheng stood at the door, lit another cigarette, and shouted after exhaling a cloud of smoke, "Find the person and take action immediately, leave no survivors!"

*

Lin Jin hurriedly wandered through the remote, uninhabited mountains and forests. The rain soaked his clothes, and his short hair, which reached his neck, clung to his skin, causing an unbearable discomfort.

It was the weekend, and she worked an extra half-day at the company. Thinking that it was too rainy to drag everyone along, she didn't bring any bodyguards.

She never imagined that less than half a year after returning to China, that bastard Lin Sheng would already be unable to restrain himself and want to kill her.

The kidnapping came unexpectedly; when she was retrieving her car from the parking garage, the people Lin Sheng had arranged suddenly appeared.

At that moment, her face was cut by something sharp, and the blood that oozed out mixed with the rainwater, staining her collar with blood.

Her frantic running posture, with her constantly turning back, revealed her disheveled state. Her high heels kept getting stuck in the soft mud, and in desperation, she had no choice but to take off her shoes and walk barefoot over stones of all sizes.

Before long, her once fair and delicate feet were covered in wounds from the stones, and the dirt made it impossible to tell whether the injuries were minor or severe.

Even though the pain in his feet was excruciating, Lin Jin dared not slacken his efforts in the slightest. It was getting dark, and if he stopped now, he didn't know whether he would give his life to Lin Sheng's men or to the wild beasts in the forest.

She didn't know where she was. The dense forest was like a maze that would devour her without spitting out her bones. She couldn't find her way or see any paths that anyone had trodden. She had no choice but to aimlessly search for a way to escape.

'Boom!'

After a flash of white light, a deafening thunder rumbled in, as if it were right above Lin Jin's head, ready to strike him down at any moment.

Lin Jin, who hadn't dared to stop the whole way, finally stopped. At the moment the thunder sounded, he instinctively covered his ears, squatted down, and curled up into a ball.

Lightning and thunder have always been her inner demons, and the slightest provocation can bring out her vulnerable side.

Rainwater slid down her forehead and across the bridge of her high nose, and it was hard to tell if it was mixed with tears of fear.

Fortunately, she retained some rationality and kept warning herself to stand up quickly and not to be caught by Lin Sheng's men again.

"Damn it, the forest is so big, what the hell are we going to find by searching it with just a few people?!"

"That's right. Even if we're paid to do a job, they can't treat us like animals. If something goes wrong in this heavy rain, we brothers might not survive!"

“That woman must be nearby. Those fashionable high heels don’t seem like something a villager would own.”

"Find it carefully, it might be hiding somewhere."

The rustling sounds of conversation came from an unknown direction, sending chills down Lin Jin's spine. Her heart pounded in her chest, creating a suffocating sense of fear.

Lin Jin could also tell from the conversation that they were Lin Sheng's men.

She tried her best to remain calm, half-lying down the hillside and sliding down until she found a large tree with thick branches.

This may not be a safe place, but at least it will allow her to hide for a while.

"Why do you think the big boss is so determined to kill that woman? What kind of deep-seated hatred or grudge could that be?"

"Shh! Don't say things like that. We're paid to do things for people, so we have to keep our fighting and killing to ourselves."

"President Xu has given the order: leave no survivors. I certainly can't bring myself to kill anyone. If you happen to catch someone, you can do it. When the reward comes, you'll get more than me."

"Damn it, you pinned all the murders on me, and you still want to get something out of it?"

"Then I still have to do my part. Don't think you can pocket all the money yourself!"

Amidst the patter of rain, the conversation between the two men grew closer, accompanied by the sound of their footsteps crunching through the mud.

How could Lin Jin not be afraid? She heard the words "leave no survivors" very clearly, and she couldn't help but cover her mouth with her trembling hands, afraid that the other party would hear even the slightest sound of her tense and rapid breathing.

She pressed her back firmly against the tree, closed her eyes, and prayed that the people loitering nearby would leave quickly.

Perhaps due to excessive tension, her mind went blank, and she lost the ability to think about how to escape. She could only stay where she was, with no other way to deal with the danger except to pray.

"Hiss... Can you smell something?" One of the thugs wrinkled his nose, sniffing the faint scent of perfume in the air, and a sinister smile gradually spread across his face.

The other man followed suit, taking a deep breath as if he too had found a subtle detail in the rain-soaked, muddy air. He then laughed and hissed, "Looks like our luck is on our side tonight."

As he spoke, he rubbed his hands together lewdly, hissing and chuckling strangely, "Boss Xu only said no survivors, but he didn't say how... We'll have to have some fun with him..."

"Fool! Didn't you understand what the big boss meant? Natural disasters and man-made calamities, of course she has to die naturally. Do you expect the police to find your descendants when they find the body?"

Listening to the two men's vulgar conversation, Lin Jin's brows furrowed deeply, filled with lingering fear.

She was extremely annoyed, thinking that the shoes she had kicked off had become clues for the thugs to search for. She then turned her head slightly to sniff her body and realized that the lingering scent of perfume had given her away.

Even so, she dared not move an inch, lest she make any more noise and become a fish waiting to be slaughtered on the chopping block.

Unfortunately, what people fear most is what happens most often.

The sound of shoes crunching over withered branches and leaves suddenly reached Lin Jin's ears, and two figures in black raincoats walked past her.

The white light of lightning flashed at that very moment, illuminating the dark sky for a fleeting instant.

One of the thugs, a tall man, walked ahead, seemingly intending to continue along the hillside, so he didn't turn back.

The other person was responsible for patrolling left and right. At first, he did not notice Lin Jin, who was less than a meter away from him. As his gaze moved from afar to near, he finally noticed the figure huddled in a ball.

Another flash of white light appeared, followed by a deafening thunderclap, further highlighting the man's hideous face.

He tilted his head, revealing a sly smile, then let out a sharp, piercing laugh: "Hahahaha... So you're here! We've been looking everywhere for you..."

"Ah—" Lin Jin finally let out the scream that had been building up inside her. Just as the other person reached out to grab her, she nimbly dodged to the side.

A sharp pain shot through her foot, which had been scraped by a rock. She hissed in pain, but driven by instinct, she rolled over and staggered toward the other side of the hillside.

Seeing that he had found an opening, the man spat angrily and called to his companion not far away: "The fat sheep that was about to be eaten is about to get away, hurry up and chase after it!"

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