Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Final Ultimatum

Mu Ye's warning sounded like a muffled alarm bell within the upper echelons of the Xu Yue organization. Although it did not immediately trigger widespread panic, an invisible tension began to spread through headquarters like a damp fog.

Gongyang Yan Daosi worked almost non-stop, personally overseeing the reinforcement of defenses at all key points, and increasing the frequency and rigor of security checks several times over.

The ferocity in Xiya's red eyes intensified, and his team members could clearly feel the suffocatingly low atmosphere he exuded during training and patrols. Even the usually relaxed logistics area was shrouded in a stifling silence.

In this atmosphere of impending doom, Zhong Si keenly sensed the change.

Although he was not directly informed of BXX's threat, he knew something big was about to happen from West Asia's increasingly hardened profile, the Ram's frequent patrols, and the quietly increasing weapons and medical supplies on the organization's internal inventory list.

Muye's training did not stop; in fact, the intensity increased, but the content quietly shifted towards more information encryption, counter-tracking and identification, and emergency evacuation plans. This shift itself was a silent declaration.

However, compared to the increasingly tense atmosphere within the organization, there was a small place in Zhong Si's heart that strangely maintained a fragile warmth because of his secret connection with Qianxu Wuyun.

Each brief encounter in an abandoned courtyard or secluded corridor became the only light in his gray world.

He would complain to her about how brain-draining the new training content was, he would imitate the anxious look of the Rams when checking for safety, as if he wanted to pry up all the floor tiles to see, and he would secretly tell her that today, because of a team member's small mistake, Xiya almost demolished the training ground again.

These trivial matters, which require careful consideration within the organization, he could confide in Qianxu Wuyun without any burden.

She would always listen attentively with her bright yellow eyes, offering him a glass of warm water or a small piece of dessert she had secretly hidden away, and dispelling the gloom in his heart with her unique, sunny smile.

He wasn't entirely without doubts. Sometimes, he would catch a fleeting shadow beneath Qianxu Wuyun's smile, feel the cool touch of her fingertips, and notice the complex, heart-stopping emotions that flashed in her eyes when she occasionally looked at him.

But whenever he had the slightest doubt, Qianxu Wuyun would gently brush it aside with an even brighter smile and more considerate care. Deep down, he might know that this warmth was as fragile as glass, and might even harbor hidden sharpness, but he was already deeply immersed in it, and found it sweet.

He craved this "normal" comfort so much that he was willing to selectively ignore all signs of unease. He told himself that as long as he could feel a moment of peace by her side, nothing else mattered.

However, this stolen tranquility is ultimately a castle built on quicksand.

On a stormy night, the rain lashed the dirty streets of London, as if trying to wash away all the filth in the world.

Qianxu Wuyun huddled in the cramped storage room in the attic of the "Rye Tavern," listening to the raging wind and rain outside the window, her body trembling uncontrollably. Not from the cold, but from fear.

A few hours earlier, she had received a highly secretive instruction, requiring her to go to the long-abandoned St. Jude Cathedral on the edge of the East End at midnight. The instruction was marked with the unique symbol of the Dream Serpent: a thorn ring entwined with a venomous snake.

She knew that what was bound to happen had finally arrived.

The rain soaked her hair and thin clothes, and the icy chill went straight to her bones.

She trudged through the muddy alley, the abandoned church appearing as a huge, silent black silhouette in the rain, behind which lay unfathomable darkness.

She pushed open the half-closed, creaking wooden door, and a gust of cold wind, mixed with the smell of mold, dust, and the fishy smell of rain, rushed in.

The interior of the church was empty and gloomy, with several rows of pews lying askew on the floor, and only mottled walls remaining where icons once hung.

Only a faint candlelight flickered in the wind in front of the altar, illuminating a tall, slender figure leaning against a dilapidated preaching platform.

Morse Black, or rather, the Dream Snake.

He was still wearing a long black trench coat that almost blended into the shadows, with the collar turned up to cover the lower half of his face.

But those eyes, gleaming with a ghostly green light in the dim candlelight, were colder and sharper than ever before.

He toyed with a strangely shaped, slender dagger, its blade reflecting the candlelight like a snake's forked tongue.

"You're late, little bee." His voice was calm and even, yet it carried a chilling edge that pierced through the rain and reached Qianxu Wuyun's ears clearly.

Qianxu Wuyun's heart clenched. She stopped a few meters away from Meng She, lowered her head, and dared not meet his gaze. Her voice trembled slightly from the cold and fear: "I...I'm sorry, Lord Meng She. The rain is too heavy..."

"Excuses are something only the weak need," Dream Snake interrupted her, her tone completely flat. "How's the task I gave you progressing?"

Qianxu Wuyun's body trembled even more violently.

She bit her lower lip tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms, trying to use the pain to maintain her composure. "I...I'm trying to get closer to my target...Zhong Si...he trusts me a lot now..."

“Trust?” Dream Serpent chuckled, a laugh devoid of warmth, only sarcasm. “What I want isn’t the trust of a little lover, it’s intelligence on the core of the Xuyue organization! It’s the operational patterns and weaknesses of ‘Whale Shark’ Xiya! It’s ‘Saltwater Crocodile’ Xuyue’s next plan!” His voice suddenly rose, like a whip lashing through the silent air. “But what did you give me? A bunch of garbage information about what that little piece of trash ate and what he talked about in his sleep!”

Qianxu Wuyun knelt down on the cold, damp stone ground with a thud, splashing water everywhere.

Rain streamed down her hair, mingling with her tears and blurring her vision. "Give me a little more time...please...Lord Dream Serpent...Zhong Si is very wary...I..."

"Time?" Meng She slowly walked up to her, squatted down, and used the side of her cold dagger to lift Qian Xu Wu Yun's chin, forcing her to look into her emotionless emerald eyes.

“I’ve given you far too much time. Xu Yue and Lian Yeyi have joined forces, and that bitch Mu Ye seems to have caught wind of something too. BXX’s patience is limited, and my patience… has run out as well.”

His voice was low, like a venomous snake hissing in your ear: "Listen, little bee, or should I call you... man-eating bee? Don't forget your identity, your worth, and... the consequences of disobeying me." His gaze swept meaningfully over Qianxu Wuyun's slender neck, "Your little lover, is she called Zhong Si? 'Little Butterfly'? A very cute code name."

Do you think a butterfly could still fly if its wings were torn off? And if it knew that the little bee it sees as sunshine actually carries a poisonous stinger…wouldn't it be heartbroken?

Qianxu Wuyun's pupils suddenly contracted, and immense fear gripped her instantly, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

Meng She's words were like a poisoned ice pick, piercing through all her pretense and wishful thinking.

"No...don't hurt him...please..." she sobbed, pleading in vain.

"Then prove your worth." Dream Snake released her hand, stood up, and looked down at her as if she were an insect that could be crushed at will. "This is your last chance."

At our next meeting, I want to see substantial progress—a detailed analysis of West Asian warfare practices, or… an opportunity to create divisions within their ranks.

He paused, a cruel and twisted smile curving his lips: "For example, how about finding a way to make that red-haired mad dog have even the slightest 'misunderstanding' or 'dissatisfaction' with the little butterfly he's so carefully protecting? Sometimes, undermining trust is more effective than directly obtaining information. You should be... very good at this, right? After all, you know best how to use 'emotions' as a weapon."

These words were like a final verdict, shattering Qianxu Wuyun's last hope.

She collapsed in the cold rain, watching the figure of the Dream Serpent disappear like a ghost into the shadows on the side of the church. The faint candlelight went out, and the whole world returned to complete darkness and cold.

The rain poured down on her mercilessly, but it was nothing compared to the chill in her heart. She curled up on the ground like an abandoned, dying animal, letting out suppressed, desperate sobs.

On one side was the chilling threat of death from Meng She, and on the other was Zhong Si's unconditional trust and warmth... She was being torn apart by these two enormous forces, almost shattering into pieces.

She knew she couldn't delay any longer. The Dream Serpent's ultimatum had been issued, and she had to make a choice.

Either betray Zhong Si, handing over potentially fatal intelligence, which might grant her a brief period of survival, but would forever rob her of the glimmer of light illuminating her dark life and push him into an abyss of no return. Or…

She dared not think any further.

In the pouring rain, Qianxu Wuyun struggled to her feet, wiping the rain and tears from her face. For the first time, a deathly, desperate resolve appeared in her bright yellow eyes.

She staggered out of the abandoned church, merging back into the endless rainy London night.