Chapter 6
Gu Jing's fingers were icy cold, yet with an undeniable strength, they clasped tightly between Qin Yu's fingers, stained with the cold sweat and blood of their respective palms, sticky yet scorching. This sudden contact, this posture of standing side by side, was like a blinding flash of lightning, splitting the bloody chaos before Qin Yu's eyes.
He turned his head suddenly and bumped into the lines of Gu Jing's profile - tense, pale, but revealing a cold determination he had never seen before. That determination even overwhelmed the suffocating feeling brought by Qin Zhengfeng on the screen.
On the screen, Qin Zhengfeng paused, barely perceptible, as he shook his wine glass. The easy, cat-and-mouse smile on his face faded slightly, and a flicker of genuine surprise flashed across his eyes, quickly replaced by a deeper sinister look.
"Oh?" He drawled out his words, his tone scrutinizing. "The Gu family kid... is more interesting than I thought."
Gu Jing ignored his disgusting comments, his eyes fixed on the screen. His voice was terrifyingly steady, and every word was like an icicle hitting the ground: "Don't you like looking at the choices?"
He raised his free hand, pointed at Uncle Lin who was dying, and then suddenly pointed at his own and Qin Yu's tightly clasped hands.
“Now, the options have changed.”
"Or, you let them go, and we'll stay and play with you to the end."
"Or," Gu Jing's voice turned icy, "you press the detonator right now or whatever the fucking thing you have, and we'll all be finished together. Your Qin family's dream of annexing the Gu family and getting away with it—"
He paused, and the corners of his lips formed an extremely cold and cruel arc.
"—and rot in this pile of scrap metal."
The air was dead silent.
There was only the "tick-tick" sound of dripping blood and the crackling sound of electricity from the screen.
Qin Yu's heart pounded wildly in his chest, nearly exploding. He stared at Gu Jing's profile, those eyes that reflected the cold light of the screen but burned with a destructive fire. A huge, unfamiliar wave of emotion washed over him like a tsunami, sweeping away all despair, leaving only shock and a burning sensation that bordered on pain.
He was gambling. He was gambling with both of their lives, gambling on Qin Zhengfeng's obsession with the "perfect plan," gambling on his fear of letting everything completely get out of control and perish together!
The smile on Qin Zhengfeng's face completely disappeared. He put down his wine glass, leaned forward slightly, and through the screen, his cold eyes scraped across Gu Jing's face like a scalpel.
Three long, suffocating seconds.
Suddenly, without warning, he laughed, not with joy, but with a kind of cold interest after being provoked by an ant.
"Very good." He clapped softly, once, twice, sounding particularly harsh in the silence. "You're brave. I underestimated the significance of your 'accident'."
The moment he finished speaking, several extremely short muffled sounds and the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground suddenly came from the direction of the underground entrance! Then, a burst of rapid but steady footsteps quickly approached from afar!
Qin Yu suddenly raised his gun and pointed it at the source of the sound, protecting Gu Jing even more tightly behind him.
Three figures in black combat uniforms, their faces painted with greasepaint, quickly rushed out from the shadows. Their movements were swift and professional, their weapons pointed vigilantly in all directions. The leader saw Qin Yu and immediately made a gesture.
"Brother Yu! The periphery has been cleared and the exit has been controlled, but the enemy reinforcements are still approaching. We must evacuate immediately!" He spoke very quickly, his eyes sweeping across the tied-up Uncle Lin and the screen without any unnecessary emotion.
They're Qin Yu's people! They actually found this place and broke through the blockade outside!
On the screen, Qin Zhengfeng's face darkened for the first time, a cold expression so gloomy it could have dripped water. He had obviously not expected Qin Yu's men to be so efficient and combat-effective.
"Oh," he sneered, "you are quite well prepared."
Chance!
Qin Yu reacted instantly and ordered his subordinates without hesitation: "Save him! Stop the bleeding! Quick!"
The two men immediately rushed towards Uncle Lin, quickly cut the rope and carried out emergency bleeding control.
Qin Yu's gun was still pointed at the screen, but his eyes turned to Gu Jing and he said hurriedly, "Go!"
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhengfeng's eyes on the screen became sharp, and he seemed to be giving some instructions to the person beside him.
"boom--!!"
A huge explosion suddenly erupted from the upper floors of the factory! The entire underground space shook violently, and a large amount of dust and rubble fell from the ceiling!
"Cough cough..." Gu Jing bent over due to choking.
"From over there! Quickly!" Qin Yu pointed at the faint light source in the distance, yelled at his men, pulled up Gu Jing, and rushed over there amidst the violent shaking and falling rocks!
Explosions sounded one after another from different directions. Qin Zhengfeng had obviously activated the preset blasting device, wanting to bury them here completely!
"Go! Go! Go!" Qin Yu roared, using his body to block a piece of falling rubble for Gu Jing. The rubble hit his back with a dull sound, and he staggered a step, but did not stop at all.
The men carried the unconscious Uncle Lin on their backs and rushed towards the light desperately!
The roar of explosions and collapsing structures behind him was like a maggot on his tarsal bones, chasing him relentlessly. A scorching wave of air and thick smoke rolled in.
The exit in front of me was getting closer and closer. It was a narrow iron ladder leading upwards to the ground.
"Go up!" Qin Yu pushed Gu Jing towards the ladder.
Gu Jing grabbed the cold ladder rails and climbed up frantically. Qin Yu followed closely behind, covering his rear.
When he was the last one to rush out of the ground exit and rolled onto the cold wasteland—
“Boom!!!”
There was a deafening roar behind him, and the entire underground entrance collapsed completely, forming a huge pit, and smoke and dust rose into the sky!
A scorching wave of air hit my face.
Gu Jing collapsed to the ground, coughing violently, his lungs burning. He turned his head with difficulty.
Qin Yu half-knelt beside him, also panting, his face a mixture of black ash and blood, looking utterly miserable. However, his eyes were terrifyingly bright, staring intently at him, making sure he was safe. Not far away, his men were giving Uncle Lin further first aid.
They escaped.
From that hellish trap.
The cold night wind filled my lungs, carrying the smell of freedom and gunpowder.
Gu Jing looked at Qin Yu, at his eyes that reflected the flames rising into the sky behind him but only held his own reflection. His heart belatedly began to beat wildly, and the trembling of surviving a disaster and some kind of hot emotions swept through his limbs.
Qin Yu struggled to get up, staggered to him, and stretched out his hand, as if wanting to touch him to confirm that he was real.
Just then—
“Buzz…Buzz…”
In Qin Yu's pocket, another rarely used encrypted phone vibrated.
It’s not Qin Zhengfeng’s line.
Qin Yu paused, his expression changing slightly as he pulled out his phone. On the screen was a single flashing red codename: "Nightingale."
He glanced at Gu Jing, hesitated for a moment, then pressed the answer button and put the phone to his ear.
Gu Jing saw Qin Yu's brows suddenly furrowed, his expression becoming extremely ugly in the light of the fire, and even... a hint of disbelief and anger flashed across his face.
The call was very short, only a dozen seconds.
Qin Yu listened without responding and simply cut off the call. He stood there, his fingers tightly gripping the phone, his knuckles whitening. The air around him suddenly dropped below freezing, more biting than the winter night's chill.
"What's wrong?" Gu Jing propped himself up and stood up, feeling a strong sense of uneasiness in his heart.
Qin Yu slowly raised his head and looked at him. The complex expression in his eyes frightened Gu Jing. It contained lingering fear, cold anger, and a hint of... heavy, almost sad understanding.
He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse as if it had been ground by a grinding wheel:
"Uncle Lin's rescue route and time... were leaked accurately."
He paused, and every word seemed to contain ice chips.
"The source of the information points to the highest level within the Gu Group."
The blood color on Gu Jing's face disappeared completely in an instant.
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