Chapter 88 Showdown
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
Huo Shen stood at the door of the study, his tall figure blocking the only way out. His face showed no sign of fatigue from the long journey, only a calmness that hinted at a storm. His bottomless eyes, like the surface of a frozen lake, coldly reflected Su Yan's instantly pale face and the USB flash drive in his hand that could no longer be hidden.
Su Yan's heart was pounding wildly in his chest, nearly suffocating. His knuckles were turning white from the force of gripping the USB drive, and his mind was blank, with only one thought remaining: it was over.
Chen Mo stood silently behind Huo Shen, like a lifeless shadow, with his eyes lowered, isolating himself from everything outside.
Huo Shen's gaze slowly moved from Su Yan's face to the USB drive in his hand, and then back to his face. He didn't get angry immediately, nor did he question him. He just looked at him quietly, but this silent gaze was more frightening than any thunderous rage.
He finally moved.
He walked into the study, his leather shoes clattering against the carpet, making a nearly silent thud, yet it was like a heavy hammer, hammering down on Su Yan's heart. He approached step by step, the overwhelming pressure making it almost impossible for Su Yan to breathe. He subconsciously stepped back, his back pressed against the cold edge of the desk, with nowhere to retreat.
Huo Shen stood in front of him, so close that Su Yan could clearly see the suppressed, surging black storm in his eyes. He reached out his hand, not to take the USB drive, but to suddenly pinch Su Yan's chin, with such force that Su Yan instantly burst into tears.
"Have I ever told you," Huo Shen's voice was low and hoarse, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, with a chilling chill, "What will be the price of touching something you shouldn't touch?"
Su Yan was forced to raise his head, and his jaw felt as if the bones were almost crushed, but he gritted his teeth and did not beg for mercy. He just looked at Huo Shen with his eyes that were misty but extremely stubborn.
His silence and the stubbornness in his eyes were like sparks, instantly igniting the storm in Huo Shen's eyes.
"Speak!" Huo Shen suddenly tightened his fingers, and Su Yan groaned in pain. "Tell me, what did you find in my computer? What's hidden in this USB drive?!"
Su Yan knew that it was impossible to completely conceal the truth. The fact that Huo Shen had appeared at this precise moment meant that he might have already noticed something, or even... this might have been a test from the very beginning.
He took a hard breath. Because his jaw was restrained, his voice was a little blurry, but surprisingly clear: "A Xiao... recording."
Huo Shen's hand, which was pinching his chin, stiffened imperceptibly. The emotions surging in his eyes froze for a moment, but the storm soon grew even more intense.
"You cracked it?" Huo Shen's tone was filled with a hint of disbelief and coldness. "How did you do it?!"
"The music sheet..." Su Yan closed his eyes, almost giving up, "The music sheet on the desk... is the code, and also... the key to decryption."
These words resonated like thunder in Huo Shen's ears. He suddenly loosened his grip on Su Yan's chin, taking a half step back as if burned. He looked at the photo frame containing the music fragment on the desk, his eyes a complex expression that was difficult to discern: shock, realization, and a hint of... fury from having his reverse scale touched.
The most private connection between him and Xiao that he had carefully hidden, the corner deep in his heart that he didn't want anyone to see, was actually brutally revealed in such a way by the young man in front of him.
"You, dare, to—" Huo Shen's voice trembled slightly due to extreme anger. The storm in his eyes almost turned into substance and completely swallowed Su Yan.
Su Yan leaned against the desk, rubbing his chin which had been pinched red. Under Huo Shen's almost murderous gaze, he instead felt the courage to throw in the towel.
"I heard it!" He raised his head, his voice hoarse from having survived a disaster and sharp with a desperate gamble. "I heard what Ah Xiao said! He said he was wrong and shouldn't have trusted Zhou Mingchen! He said there was something wrong with 'Prometheus' and they wanted to control and erase it! He said he tampered with the data and the real core is hidden in the 'Initial Sequence' and it needs to be activated with the 'melody' you agreed on!"
He yelled out the most crucial information in the recording in one breath, and every word was like a knife, cutting through Huo Shen's forced calm appearance.
"He didn't die accidentally! He was silenced!" Su Yan stared at Huo Shen's suddenly constricted pupils and spoke word by word, "And you, Huo Shen, have you been missing him for all these years, or...feeling guilty?!"
The last two words were like a poisonous thorn, piercing the most vulnerable part of Huo Shen's heart.
Huo Shen's face instantly turned ashen, and veins popped out on his forehead. He suddenly raised his hand, as if wanting to slap Su Yan or even strangle him.
Su Yan subconsciously closed his eyes, ready to endure his anger.
However, the expected pain did not come.
He opened his eyes and saw Huo Shen's hands frozen in mid-air, his fists clenched, his knuckles crackling with the force. He stared at Su Yan intently, his chest heaving violently. His deep eyes were filled with surging rage, the embarrassment of having his sore spot exposed, and a kind of pain... deep enough to see through his bones.
Guilt.
These two words, like a mirror, revealed the truth deep in his heart that even he himself did not want to face.
A long, suffocating silence stretched between the two of them.
Finally, Huo Shen slowly lowered his hand. The storm in his eyes gradually subsided, replaced by a deep, almost exhausted coldness.
He didn't look at Su Yan again, but cast his gaze on the photo frame containing the sheet music. His voice was so low as if he had lost all his strength:
"Give me the USB drive."
This wasn't an order, more like an... exchange.
Su Yan looked at his back, which seemed a little desolate at that moment, hesitated for a moment, and finally placed the hot USB flash drive in his hand on his open palm.
Huo Shen gripped the USB drive tightly, his fingertips turning white from the pressure.
He didn't say another word, nor did he even look at Su Yan. He turned around and left the study with heavy steps.
Chen Mo followed silently and closed the door gently.
Su Yan was left alone in the empty study, leaning against the desk and slowly sliding down onto the carpet.
It was as if all the strength in his body had been drained away, leaving only the exhaustion of surviving a disaster and an indescribable complex emotion.
He laid his cards on the table.
He survived.
But he didn't know whether this storm had subsided temporarily or... had just begun.
------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
