get away
On September 23, 175th year of the new calendar, the day when Lu Ming "mysteriously disappeared", in a mountain villa in City A, District 8.
After coaxing Maya to sleep, Mai'er closed the door gently. Every time she saw this cousin who was just in her early twenties, she would feel heartbroken because she should have been raised and cared for by the elders of the clan, but she encountered that kind of thing.
Whenever Mai Er thought of that beast, he had the urge to torture him to death with his own hands.
Downstairs in the living room, Lu Zhiqi had just hung up one call and seamlessly answered another. He'd been incredibly busy lately. Lu Ming could have abandoned his family and run away, but he couldn't. He wasn't trying to atone for his father and grandfather's sins, but simply wanted to make amends to those who had suffered because of them, even if it meant easing the burden on them.
As Mai Er walked down the stairs, the door to the main hall opened without a breeze. However, this time, no one complained about the newcomer's arrogance, because many of the once high-spirited young men and women were no longer around.
Lu Zhiqi continued to reply coherently to the person on the other end of the phone, and he nodded to the person who walked in as a greeting. Mai Er waved to the person and said, "Come on, sit down. Where are you coming back from this time?"
Ying Yungui took off his heavy coat and hung it on the hanger. He drew his finger in the air and the door closed without any sound.
"That experimental base in the far north of Area 3 is said to have found the remains of some old-time mutants, but they are actually just the skeleton of a large beast." He leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes for a nap. Even the highly saturated light could not hide the dark circles under his eyes.
Mai Er tactfully did not disturb his rest, and Lu Zhiqi quietly walked to the next room to continue the call.
After a moment, Ying Yungui opened his eyes and stared at the gorgeous chandelier on the ceiling, then asked, "Where's Maya? Is she okay?"
Mai Er hummed and said, "It's okay today. I fell asleep just now."
Ying Yungui: "Okay." Lu Zhiqi returned to the living room at this time. He looked at Ying Yungui and Mai Er respectively, and then turned off the lights in the living room on the first floor.
In the dim illusion, the three of them began their meeting.
Mai Er was the first to speak: "He ran away, and there was no trace of him."
Lu Zhiqi continued, "Nothing was lost at home or at the training base. He must have escaped temporarily."
Ying Yungui: "It's within expectations. It's what he would do. What about Li Ming?"
Mai Er: "Still in the interrogation room, empathy still failed. The Li family sent someone to say that he is no longer the young master of the Li family, and asked us not to involve their family."
Ying Yungui looked calm, as if he had expected this to happen.
"Don't let him die in the interrogation room. He must have clues that can lead to Lu Ming." His tone was flat, as if the person he was talking about was not a companion who grew up together, but a rival with a grudge.
Mai Er looked at Ying Yungui now and felt that he had become a completely different person since he came out of the confinement room last year. Although Ying Yungui had always been arrogant and stinking before, he was at least more humane than he is now.
Ultimately, that person's death had fundamentally affected him. The image of Shi Youchen emerged in Mai'er's mind.
At the end of the previous year, Ying Yungui went to District 7 to look for Shi Youchen's whereabouts and almost turned the entire District 7 upside down. As a result, he was punished by the association and put in solitary confinement for a full 100 days. He also lost the qualification to participate in the "Lixin Plan" and was unable to move the manor of his friend in District 9 here.
Later, when his confinement ended and he came out, he came to discuss the next plan with Mai Er. Mai Er still remembered clearly what Ying Yungui said at the time: "I will not let either Labriel or Lu Ming go. But that idiot Labriel is now protected by his grandfather, so I can't do anything to him for the time being. As for Lu Ming..."
"He caused Shi Youchen to be involved in those things. I will make him pay the price." When Ying Yungui said these words that day, there was no fluctuation in his eyes, as if he had already thought about what to do.
And in fact, he was indeed in control. From the demise of the Mo family, to the encounter with Lu Zhiqi, the rescue of Maya, and the control of those officials and the people, Ying Yungui handled every step with precision and efficiency.
Until Lu Ming disappeared this time under the association's heavy surveillance.
Lu Zhiqi spoke up at this point: "By the way, regarding that basement we mentioned last time, when are you planning on checking it out?" Ying Yungui fiddled with the ring on his left ring finger and said in a relaxed tone: "No rush, let's deal with Li Ming first."
"Remember, don't mention that basement in front of Maya."
Mai Er frowned: "Of course I know this, and you too. Take care of yourself. He..." Just after saying the word "he", a gust of wind suddenly blew in the house for no reason, and then the chandelier on the ceiling of the living room made a sound of shattering.
Ying Yungui: "That's all for today."
Mai Er sighed. "If he were here, he wouldn't want to see you become like this." That's what she originally wanted to say.
After Mai Er and Lu Zhiqi left, Ying Yungui reclined on the sofa, closed his eyes, and lay there for a while. Suddenly, he felt palpitations and difficulty breathing. He immediately used his telekinesis to teleport himself to the back hill of the villa. After taking a few deep breaths, he felt better.
Ever since Shi Youchen's death, Ying Yungui would find it difficult to breathe if he stayed in a confined space for more than a certain period of time, and only in the open mountains could he recover. Mai Er had taken him for countless tests, but to no avail.
Ying Yungui wondered if it was because his body wanted to be closer to Shi Youchen. After all, he disappeared into the forest in the end.
...
After returning to the Lu family mansion, Lu Zhiqi immediately walked past the bookshelf and entered the basement, which he had been most reluctant to go to.
It was here that he caught his father behaving inappropriately with Maya, and it was here that he was locked up in a dark dungeon by his enraged father.
Lu Zhiqi once believed that because he wasn't as good as Ying Yungui, his father always looked down on him and was unwilling to entrust him with important tasks. Gradually, this belief made him more and more paranoid, and he insisted on competing with Ying Yungui in everything, which led to him falling into an endless struggle with himself.
Until he discovered that his father was secretly looking for and bringing back some children, some of whom always looked like him in some way.
His fear finally reached its peak. Fearing of being abandoned, he secretly investigated them without his father's knowledge. It turned out that the person who had a direct blood relationship with these children was not his father, but his grandfather Lu Cheng.
He had kept this experience deep in his heart until Lu Ming angrily admitted the plan under his questioning.
"Bloodline Purification Plan".
At that moment, Lu Zhiqi realized belatedly that his father had actually reached such a level of paranoia, and his grandfather had actually been so absurd. Impulsively, he secretly met with Ying Yungui, but he didn't know how to start the conversation.
Later, because he witnessed Lu Ming's brutality, he was imprisoned in the dungeon for countless nights. Every night was tortured, and Maya's painful and desperate wails lingered in his ears, reminding him of what a beast Lu Ming really was.
Later, someone found him and offered to rescue him, but on the condition that he testify for someone.
And that person was Mai Er who reported to the association.
Lu Zhiqi turned off the induction light. The four walls and ceiling of the basement were covered with a layer of dark blue mist. Beneath the mist, bright stars flickered intermittently, forming one ancient and mysterious image after another.
He looked at the corner that his father had been so obsessed with. What did the crow-like pattern on it represent? He still had no idea. But he had a feeling that someone else could understand, so he told Ying Yungui about it.
——
Seven days later, Lu Ming was supposed to be tried and sentenced.
In the decision-making meeting room of the District 1 Association headquarters, Ying Xiangze, after listening to all the reports, concluded, "They were able to quietly remove the person under our supervision. Only the Maintenance Bureau could do this."
"Anyway, Lu Ming is no longer considered a member of the association. Let's update the list of fugitives."
Someone asked, "What about the Lu family in District 8? Are they dealt with together?"
"..." Everyone started whispering to each other, and the meeting room was noisy for a while.
Ying Xiangze's energy trembled, and after everyone quieted down, he said, "In view of Lu Zhiqi's various actions, the Lu family can be exempted from sharing the responsibility, but they must be punished accordingly."
"Effective immediately, the Lu family's status as a family of supernatural powers will be revoked, their corresponding rights will be revoked, and all servants will be dismissed. All registered supernatural members of the Lu family will have their points reset to zero, and will be prohibited from participating in reward-based missions for six months."
...
"Is that it?" Inside the Maintenance Bureau, after hearing the news brought back by Yan Zhiyuan, Morrill couldn't help but be a little surprised at the association's handling of the Lu family.
Shi Youchen was not interested in this: "After all, Ying Xiangze is a man of some skill."
Yan Zhiyuan agreed again: "After all, he has been immersed in the association's headquarters for so many years, so he has a good grasp of this balance."
Morrill was very dissatisfied with the current result: "So that damn bastard Lu Ming really escaped to the Maintenance Bureau?"
Shi Youchen took a sip of tea, his gaze drifting through the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows to the schools of fish swimming above: "What will happen to the fish that fall behind?" He suddenly asked this question without any context.
At the end of the school of fish passing by outside, there was a fish with an injured tail fin that had obviously left the group.
Then it was snatched away by the swift-approaching beaked birds and eaten.
Morrill's expression flickered: "If you encounter a stronger one, you will die. If you encounter a weaker one..."
"Maybe I can still survive for a while."
Shi Youchen silently repeated, "Yes, that depends on his luck."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
