Chapter Sixteen: Closing the Net
"Immediately issue the orders. The plan has changed; the Lu family case will be closed ahead of schedule. While encircling and destroying several warehouse strongholds, focus on breaking through Lu family's outpost A outside the city. Ensure the safety of our three informants." Jiang Zhimu methodically issued tasks to each unit, his expression serious. "We have lives on our hands; there can be no mistakes!"
"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.
Su Yi was locked in a room at Lianhua Residence. Someone brought him three meals a day, but he had no other contact with anyone. He remained in a daze for three or four days, waking up each day after struggling with pain, only to fall into darkness and unconsciousness again. This time, however, what woke him was a strangely novel sensation of turbulence after several days of silence.
"Lu Ming? Where to?" His voice was extremely hoarse, like a worn-out bellows, trembling precariously.
"The tarmac, get out of here." Lu Ming answered him succinctly and truthfully. In just a few days, Lu Ming had lost a lot of weight. The bloodshot eyes, the stubble, and the dark circles under his eyes gave him a sense of fatal decay—like a statue abandoned in a corner of a Greek temple.
Su Yi was taken aback and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Stop."
Lu Ming remained unmoved.
"I told you to stop!" He suddenly screamed hysterically, like a madman, the piercing scream making everyone's eardrums hurt in the small space. "You know everything! It was me, it was me who betrayed you! You should have killed me like you killed those people, instead of still fantasizing like this!"
"You know, you know...you know everything!"
His eyes were blurry from crying, and the world seemed to fade away with him. He didn't know whether to say "I'm sorry" or anything else, so he could only cry, calling out Lu Ming's name, just as he always did when he was helpless.
Those who weep are heartbroken and utterly defeated.
Lu Ming stopped the car and walked to his side without him noticing. She gently pried open his hands, which were covering his tears, and kissed away the tears on his face. "Of course I know, but I love you. We've been together for sixteen years. I know your feelings for me better than you do."
How devout they are, like the most devout believer kneeling before his god.
But they are not gods; they are just vicious beasts with blood on their hands, licking each other's wounds in times of danger while plotting to kill each other.
I am in pain. Every moment I am alive, every moment I am conscious, is so painful.
Betraying you is painful, abandoning one's conscience is painful, struggling in endless desires and living a life worse than death is painful, the killings and bloodshed of the past years cannot be washed away... it is all painful.
My soul, too, was weighed down with immense weight.
“I want to atone for my sins,” Su Yi said.
From the very beginning, he was more resolute than anyone else in choosing this path. To him, the police's mission was not to strive for the light, but to strive for death. So he fearlessly drank drugs from the mainland and fled for his life through the desolate mountains and plains of China.
Betraying morality is like abandoning the physical body; betraying Lu Ming is even worse than the soul being annihilated.
Lu Ming hugged him almost roughly, as if he wanted to crush him into powder. With such force, he told him, "You are innocent. I'm just late."
The sound of sirens rang out behind them, which they took as a death knell for their souls ascending to a state of selflessness.
Lu Ming knew from the beginning that he had become Lu Fang's bait, and that he could never escape it in his entire life. He didn't crave life itself; he simply couldn't give up having Su Yi by his side, whether in exile or in death. But this self-righteous love dragged his bright self into a quagmire of darkness.
"Go, Su Yi." This was the last time Lu Ming kissed him in her life; the kiss was tender and lingering.
“Lu Ming, I love you. This is the only thing I can tell you, even though it sounds so weak. Whether you want to believe it or not, I still love you.” Su Yi looked at him. Lu Ming was the true beginning of his life. Thinking about it carefully, all the joy in his life had been given to him by Lu Ming. Even though darkness flowed from where he was to the world, he did not allow a single stain to touch his clothes.
This time, I will never leave you again.
Nobody knows.
Amidst raging flames and a hail of bullets, they remained pure and fearless in the face of death, embracing each other until the end of time.
I will bear all the consequences, and I beg you to let us walk together.
The black muzzle of the gun, the sparks flying everywhere, after a moment of agony, we escaped to safety.
With intelligence readily available, authorities at all levels deployed virtually the maximum possible force for what could be described as complete firepower suppression. Any non-governmental organization that might have influence within the country would be utterly powerless in the face of such a situation.
The people at the outpost in the suburbs had evacuated two days earlier. Gu Bai'an followed the group into the unfinished building. Large splattered patches of blood on the ground, spreading from the basement, were like the most dazzling light, making one's vision go black. Just looking at it terrified him, and he dared not let his brain have any tendency to think about the unbearable outcome.
He stood like a weathered stone statue at the entrance to the water dungeon, watching the riot police break down the door. The clanging and banging went on for a while, then men and women in white coats rushed in and out carrying a stretcher. Qin Xichao shoved and pushed him into the ambulance. The engine roared to life, and it was quite some time before he seemed to snap out of a daze and hurriedly looked towards Yi Chu.
Yi Chu was staring at him with those bright, watery eyes. He suddenly felt a cool sensation on his face, followed by a surge of warmth that welled up in his eyes: "You really scared me to death..."
Yi Chu's voice was still weak and strained: "It's too dark there... I... I'm afraid to walk alone..."
The night was so dark and so long, which made me even more afraid to leave. The thought that if I left, you would have to spend the rest of your nights in such emptiness made my heart ache unbearably. So I prayed to some unknown deity for a chance to return to your side.
Yi Chu's limbs were bluish-purple from prolonged lack of blood, and his legs below the knees were swollen and white from being submerged in water for too long. The gunshot wound on his outer thigh was gruesome, turning black and oozing pus, emitting a foul stench. His wrists were a bloody mess, and his lips were chapped from thirst and the strain of being bitten by his teeth, covered in scabs. The numerous small wounds all over his body were even more horrific.
Gu Bai'an wanted to reach out and hug him, but didn't dare. She wanted to touch him, but didn't know where to start, feeling completely at a loss.
"I'm not afraid of pain, just hug me..."
“…Okay.” But he couldn’t bring himself to touch his hair and then couldn’t help but kiss him.
Yi Chu had numerous external injuries, but fortunately, none of them were life-threatening. It took him two or three days before he could barely lift his arm, and getting out of bed and walking was still difficult. But he couldn't stop worrying about him, so on the first day, when Gu Bai'an was out for a checkup and he wasn't watching, he called Zhang Wenqing to inquire about the latest developments of the operation.
"The Lu family got wind of it, and a faction led by Lu Fang withdrew from the country early this morning. During the pursuit, we killed the current number one, Lu Ming, on the spot and arrested many leaders. A criminal group of this size is like a centipede that doesn't die easily; completely eradicating it would also cripple us. In the end, it's not certain who will suffer because they are too eager for quick success, too calculating, and intolerant of any wrongdoing... However, after this battle, they no longer have the fertile ground to thrive on a large scale in the country. We still need to be vigilant against a counterattack in the future, but thankfully, it's finally come to an end..." Zhang Wenqing's voice sounded tired even through the phone, clearly indicating that he hadn't had a chance to rest for a long time due to ongoing matters.
"Then... what about Su Yi?" Yi Chu asked nervously. He already knew a little about Su Yi's background from Gu Bai'an.
Zhang Wenqing knew he couldn't escape this question, and sighed: "He was shielded by Lu Ming. The forensic report said the body was very intact, with only one fatal wound on the temple, indicating suicide by gunshot..."
“Actually, he didn’t have to do this. He was misled and didn’t know the truth before, but later he made great contributions to the police. As for Su Zhengde’s case, he was under eighteen years old when he committed the crime, and the existing evidence is not enough to convict him. Since he is innocent and the statute of limitations has expired, the possibility of him being convicted is very small… It can only be said that he was unlucky in his choice of people…” Zhang Wenqing’s words were full of regret.
No, that's not it. Su Yi certainly wouldn't want to hear others say he "met the wrong person." Yi Chu's words swirled in his throat, but he knew it would be pointless, sounding pale and idealistic. He still remembered their last meeting, when Su Yi talked to him about that man whose name had never been mentioned. That must have been the most talkative he'd ever been, his mouth practically stretched to the sky, his silly grin resembling that of a lovesick young man…
He thought to himself, "So this is how a person can be so simply and openly happy for another person."
“He has no family, but he left you a suicide note… I’ll come see you tomorrow and bring it to you.”
Yi Chu lay in bed, staring at the flickering screen, a sense of bewilderment suddenly rising within her. It seemed like only yesterday they met, yet years had passed in the blink of an eye, truly vanishing without a trace. Since then, they had been separated by death, their paths crossed in reincarnation, never to meet again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
