Chapter 176 I Will Protect You
After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice carrying the calmness of analysis: "Wang Bo's quick agreement suggests that the Sacred Heart Society has a great need for the lower-class workforce, or rather, they are very confident in their methods of controlling people."
Lu Zheng stood by the window, lifting a corner of the curtain to observe the outside. Hearing this, he didn't turn his head and said in a deep voice, "Yes. They need a constant stream of 'fresh blood' to keep running, especially someone like you who is 'valuable' and seems 'easy to control.' Once inside, it's just the beginning. Every step must be taken with even greater care."
“I know.” Su Xiaonuan put down the tin box, walked to the table and sat down, placing her hands on the table like a student listening attentively in class. “Lu Zheng, based on the information you currently have, what do you think the Sacred Heart Society’s internal structure is like? What might we face after we go in?”
Lu Zheng lowered the curtains, turned around, and sat down opposite her.
The dim light cast flickering shadows on his stern face. His tone was calm and even, as if he were stating facts of a case unrelated to himself:
"Based on existing clues and analysis of similar organizations, it is a typical pyramid scheme. Once inside, the first step is likely to be 'isolation' and 'brainwashing.' They will cut off most of your contact with the outside world, put you in centralized accommodation, and manage you uniformly. Then, so-called 'lecturers' will give you lessons, instilling their fallacies and heresies, exaggerating returns, and painting a false picture of a bright future, while using your 'weaknesses'—such as our 'debt' and 'illness'—to exert psychological pressure and control."
He paused, his gaze falling on Su Xiaonuan's face with a barely perceptible caution, and continued, "Centralized accommodation means we likely won't be able to live alone. To save costs and facilitate control, they usually arrange for multiple people to share rooms. Based on our experience from the several dens we've raided before, a dormitory might house two to six people, or even more. And... their gender is unknown."
He said the words "gender unknown" very softly, but the meaning behind them was like a piece of ice, instantly hitting Su Xiaonuan's heart and sending a chill down her spine.
She certainly understood what this meant.
Co-living together creates a mixed environment, resulting in a loss of personal space and privacy, and also means a significant increase in potential dangers.
Especially in such illegal organizations, the lines of morality and law are extremely blurred.
Su Xiaonuan's heart skipped a beat, and her breath caught in her throat for a moment.
She instinctively clenched her hands on her knees, her nails almost digging into her palms.
She looked up and met Lu Zheng's gaze.
His usually deep and calm eyes now clearly reflected her figure, as well as his undisguised, deep concern and worry.
He was worried about her.
This realization, like a warm current, strangely diluted some of the icy chill.
Su Xiaonuan took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress the unease and tension in her chest.
She straightened her somewhat stiff back, her eyes regaining their resolve, and said slowly and clearly, "I understand. I will... protect myself. And at the same time, complete the mission."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable determination.
Seeing her quickly adjust her state and the light in her eyes that was a mixture of vigilance and courage, Lu Zheng felt as if something had gently bumped into his heart.
An impulse, surpassing his usual calm and restraint, prompted him to say almost without thinking:
"And me too."
The three words, deep and powerful, struck the silent air like a solemn promise.
Su Xiaonuan was startled and looked up at him.
Lu Zheng's gaze did not waver at all; he looked straight back at her, his eyes filled with concern, determination, and an almost obsessive protectiveness that she had never seen in his eyes before.
"I will protect you," he added clearly, as if to confirm, or as if to make a vow to himself.
"..."
Su Xiaonuan felt her heartbeat suddenly go out of control, like a frightened rabbit pounding wildly in her chest, making her eardrums buzz.
A surge of heat uncontrollably rushed to her cheeks, and she could even feel her ears burning.
She instinctively gripped the hem of her clothes, her palms sweating slightly from nervousness and some indescribable emotion.
The room was so quiet that you could hear each other breathing clearly.
She looked at him, and he looked at her.
There seemed to be invisible threads entwining in the air, taut and subtle.
Several seconds passed before Su Xiaonuan seemed to finally find her voice. She quickly lowered her eyes, avoiding his overly direct gaze, and nodded slightly, squeezing out a syllable as thin as a mosquito's buzz, yet exceptionally clear:
"……good."
That single word, "good," seemed to have exhausted all her strength at that moment.
Lu Zheng looked at her slightly flushed profile and her gently trembling eyelashes. The corners of her tightly pursed lips softened almost imperceptibly, forming a faint curve.
The anxiety that had been hanging in the air seemed to subside a bit because of this simple response.
Night quietly enveloped the dilapidated tenement building.
Tomorrow will mark the beginning of an unknown future filled with both uncertainty and danger.
But in this small, humble abode, a kind of trust and bond quietly grew, like a glimmer of light piercing through the darkness, giving them the courage to move forward and face the challenges.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the tenement building was still immersed in a dreamlike silence.
Su Xiaonuan and Lu Zheng had finished packing and were standing downstairs next to the slightly dilapidated tricycle. At their feet were two shrunken, patched snakeskin bags—containing all their "belongings": a few faded old clothes and some simple daily necessities, shabby but just right.
Su Xiaonuan was wearing her oldest plaid shirt and faded jeans, her baby face showing the exhaustion of a sleepless night and the nervousness of stepping into the unknown.
Lu Zheng still looked "sickly" and frail, with a slightly hunched back, a pale face, and occasionally coughing softly. One hand was also subconsciously protecting his stomach, which seemed to be uncomfortable.
Before long, a silver-gray, somewhat old-looking seven-seater van silently glided up in front of them.
The car windows were covered with dark anti-sunlight film, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.
Su Xiaonuan and Lu Zheng both became more vigilant without realizing it.
The car door was flung open with a whoosh, and Wang Bo's shrewdly smiling face popped out: "Xiao Su, Xiao Lu, have you been waiting long? Come on, get in the car!"
"Brother Wang!" Su Xiaonuan immediately put on a grateful yet restrained smile, and together with Lu Zheng, hurriedly stuffed the two light snakeskin bags into the trunk.
Then, she stood by the car door, looking at the clean interior, with a timid and hesitant expression like a country bumpkin entering the city.
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