Chapter 48
The lighthouse basement returned to silence, with only the smell of gunpowder, blood, and the faint sound of electricity from server failures filling the air.
The crater left by the warning sniper bullet stared at Gu Jing like a mocking eye. The secret door closed, and Zhou Liguang fled with the chip and the secret. Qin Yu's cigarette case disappeared into the darkness at the bottom of the cabinet.
"Fuck!" Qin Xiao kicked the server case next to him hard, making a dull thud. "The cooked duck flew away! We almost got caught in the pot!" He wiped the blood off his face and glanced around sinisterly, especially at the dark corner where the bullet came from. There was nothing there at the moment, as if the precise sniper kill just now was just an illusion.
739 quickly examined the bodies on the ground and whispered, "They are all professionals, with no identification." He walked over to Gu Jing and looked at his pale but unusually calm profile with concern. "Mr. Gu, your injuries..."
Gu Jing raised his hand and gently touched the bullet-grabbed earlobe with his fingertips. There was a burning bloodstain there. He shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the dark void, as if he wanted to penetrate the concrete and see the shooter.
"They're not coming for us." Gu Jing suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse but terrifyingly calm, "and they're not Zhou Liguang's men either."
Qin Xiao frowned: "What do you mean?"
"Those shots," Gu Jing said slowly, "killed Zhou Liguang's men, interrupted my movements, and let Zhou Liguang go." He paused and added, "...but they didn't kill us."
Precise, efficient, and purposeful, yet elusive. It was like it was executing a completely different set of instructions.
Qin Xiao's face changed as he suddenly realized, "Is it the person who sent the second anonymous letter? The one hiding behind the scenes?" He spat bloody saliva, "Damn it, are you kidding us? First he messes things up, then he saves people. What on earth do you want to do?"
"He doesn't want Zhou Liguang to die now, nor does he want me to get the cigarette box. Or... he doesn't want the contents of the cigarette box to be obtained by anyone other than Zhou Liguang." Gu Jing analyzed, his heart pounding at the thought about Qin Yu. If the sniper was Qin Yu's man... then why did he prevent me from getting the cigarette box? What else was in the cigarette box besides the chip?
"What should we do now?" 739 asked, listening vigilantly to the faint footsteps and shouts coming from outside, which seemed to be approaching - the reinforcements Zhou Liguang called for or the port security forces might be arriving soon.
Qin Xiao grabbed a handful of his hair in frustration. "What else can I do?! I can't stay in this damn place anymore!" He quickly glanced at the server cases that had been stripped of their critical hard drives. "The rest of the junk is useless!"
He walked to the destroyed explosion-proof door, carefully peeked out, and quickly retracted his gaze: "It seems quieter outside, but there are definitely people everywhere. Let's take the backup passage!" He was referring to the secret door through which Zhou Liguang escaped.
"That sniper..." 739 hesitated.
"I can't care less!" Qin Xiao gritted his teeth. "Let's talk about whether they're enemies or friends later! Let's get out of this damn place first!"
He walked to the secret door first and fumbled with the mechanism. The secret door had not been completely locked when Zhou Liguang had fled in a hurry. Qin Xiao pushed hard and it slid open a gap. Behind it was a narrow, dark passage leading downwards, emitting a damp and musty smell.
"Hurry!" Qin Xiao went in first.
739 looked at Gu Jing.
Gu Jing took a last look at the gap at the bottom of the server cabinet. It was bottomless, swallowing up the cold metal box and also swallowing up some possible answer or a deeper mystery.
Without further hesitation, he bent down and entered the secret passage. 739 followed closely behind, restoring the secret door to its original state as best he could from the inside.
The tunnel descended deeply, steep and slippery. The three could only feel the cold stone walls as they carefully descended. In the darkness, the only sound was their heavy breathing.
After walking for about ten minutes, the stairs finally reached their end. A faint light and a shimmering breeze appeared ahead. The exit seemed hidden in a crack in the reef, and beyond lay the turbulent sea.
The salty sea breeze rushed in, bringing with it a breath of freedom but also unknown danger.
Qin Xiao was the first to emerge from the crack, observing his surroundings warily. This was an extremely secluded little bay, surrounded by steep reefs. The lights of the harbor in the distance were like stars.
"Safe for now." He whispered, motioning for the two to come out.
The three of them stood on the cold sand, the waves lapping at their ankles. They had survived the catastrophe, but they felt no joy at all.
The mission had failed utterly. Manpower had been lost. The trail had been lost. And they were being manipulated by a mysterious force lurking in the shadows.
Qin Xiao's expression was grim. He pulled out a waterproof communicator and tried to contact the people on board, but all he heard was a crackling noise. "The signal's been blocked, or something's happened to the ship," he said grimly.
Gu Jing looked at the dark sea, and the sounds of the sniper rifles that decided his fate and Zhou Liguang's vicious words seemed to still echo in his ears.
"Qin Zhengfeng... wants to capture me alive?" "Qin Yu... wants to trade a secret for my life?"
These two thoughts were like two poisonous snakes, biting wildly in his heart.
He suddenly turned around and looked at Qin Xiao, his eyes bright and frightening in the night: "Where is Qin Zhengfeng?"
Qin Xiao was stunned: "Did you believe Zhou Liguang's nonsense?"
"I want to know the answer." Gu Jing's voice was smooth, yet filled with an unquestionable determination. "Only he knows the answer."
Whether it is about Qin Yu, his parents, or the answer to his own destiny.
Qin Xiao stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled, his smile filled with cold amusement. "What? Don't you want to find out the truth about your damn brother? Do you want to ask the old man directly?"
"If we find Qin Zhengfeng, we might find the answers to everything," Gu Jing said calmly, "including whether Qin Yu is dead or alive, and who is behind this."
This is undoubtedly the most dangerous and most direct way.
Qin Xiao took out his cigarette case and tried to light one, but found it was already soaked in blood and seawater. He angrily crushed the case and threw it away.
"The old man is a walking dead now. I only know a few possible locations where he's hiding. His defenses are tougher than a tortoise shell." He licked his teeth. "Besides, we're not the only ones looking for him now. Zhou Liguang has escaped, and that rat behind the scenes is also keeping an eye on us. If we go over there now, we'll be sitting ducks."
"Then let them all come." Gu Jing's voice was unusually clear and cold in the sea breeze. "Let's see who is the hunter and who is the prey in the end."
Qin Xiao looked at him, as if he was truly getting to know this man for the first time. The Gu Jing before him was no longer the "widow" in need of protection, but a demonic sword, completely unsheathed and thirsty for blood.
Crazy, but very tempting.
"Damn it..." Qin Xiao cursed, but his eyes flashed with excitement and danger. "This is so fucking exciting. Fine! I'll go crazy with you to the end!"
He pulled out a spare, smaller satellite communicator and began sending rapidly encrypted messages.
"We need to get a boat and some equipment first. I know there's a black market dealer in Redmayne who'll sell anything for money." Qin Xiao said as he operated, "Then, we'll go to the 'Sea Burial Church'. It's one of the three most likely places the old man is hiding."
Sea Burial Church. A name that sounds ominous.
Gu Jing nodded without saying anything else. He turned around, facing the endless sea, and slowly clenched his fists.
The nails dug deep into the palms, causing sharp stinging pain, but it was far less painful than the one-tenth as complex and tangled pain in the heart.
Qin Yu, if you were still alive... If you were dead...
Whatever the answer is, he will reveal it himself.
At all costs.
The waves crashed against the shore, rolling up thousands of piles of snow, and then quietly retreated, as if foreshadowing the coming of a bigger storm.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
