Chapter 191 Cooperation?
Overwhelmed by immense regret, self-blame, and helplessness, she was instantly engulfed like a tsunami!
If... if she had been more alert, if she had sent the message sooner... would An Ran have survived?
This realization is even more cruel than learning of Anran's death itself!
"ah--!!!"
Su Xiaonuan could no longer bear the immense pain and blows that came one after another, and let out a desperate cry like that of a wounded wild animal!
She suddenly clutched her head with both hands, her nails digging deep into her scalp, her body trembling violently as if she were about to vomit her internal organs.
Her mind was filled with uncontrollable flashbacks of everything she and An Ran had shared.
When we were kids, we would sneak candy together and get scolded, then blame each other and get punished together;
In college, we shared our innermost thoughts, complained about weirdos, and planned for the future.
Before Anran left the country, he hugged her and cried his eyes out, saying he would definitely come back;
After their reunion, An Ran, with eyes filled with guilt yet utterly sincere apologies and attempts to make amends...
Those vivid, heartwarming scenes have now become the sharpest knives, slowly slicing through her heart.
In the end, all the struggles and all the pain turned into an uncontrollable, collapsing cry.
She hung her head, curled up on the cold ground, her shoulders heaving violently, her suppressed, desperate cries echoing in the small cell, filled with endless sorrow and regret.
Tears flowed like a burst dam, soaking the ground and her stained clothes.
Lu Zheng stared at her silently for a very long time.
His clenched fist slowly loosened, and the tense, menacing aura that seemed to be at odds with the whole world gradually transformed into a heavy, silent sigh amidst Su Xiaonuan's desperate cries.
He knew that any words would be inadequate at this moment.
He struggled to get off the hard bed and walked unsteadily to Su Xiaonuan's side.
Then, he slowly squatted down, extended his hands—the same hands that once held a gun but were now trembling—and gently, with an awkward yet incredibly firm tenderness, pulled the girl, who was crying so hard she was almost fainting, into his not-so-broad, but which he was willing to use to shield her from the storm at that moment.
Su Xiaonuan's cries gradually changed from a devastating wail to suppressed sobs in Lu Zheng's silent embrace, until finally only a slight tremor in her shoulders remained.
A chilling despair, like the pressure of deep-sea water, weighed heavily on the two of them.
Just then, Fu Lilian, who had been standing quietly like an observer, suddenly underwent a subtle change in her expression.
That cold, mocking, and cruel calm receded like the tide.
The corners of her mouth curved slightly, no longer with that condescending smile, but with a hint of... indescribable, a smile that mixed with determination and a certain eager anticipation.
She took a step forward, her high heels clicking crisply on the alloy floor, breaking the despairing silence of the cell.
"Have you cried enough?" Fu Lilian's voice remained steady, but her tone was completely different from before. It lacked the indifference of someone who was not involved and gained a more cold-blooded pragmatism. "If tears can bring revenge or undo anything, you can continue."
Su Xiaonuan lifted her head from Lu Zheng's embrace, her red eyes still brimming with tears, but behind the tears was a burning pain and a cold clarity.
She looked at Fu Lilian but did not respond immediately.
Fu Lilian didn't urge her, but simply extended her hand, gloved with black tactical gloves, palm up, in an inviting gesture, her sharp gaze fixed on Su Xiaonuan:
"Cooperate? I'll let you out, giving you a chance to leave this place and even potentially retaliate. But what you have to do is create enough trouble for me to completely disrupt the order of this prison and shatter the current 'peace'."
Su Xiaonuan's pupils contracted slightly.
She saw Fu Lilian's outstretched hand, and even more so, she saw the deep-seated hatred in Fu Lilian's eyes, which was tightly wrapped in a cold shell and was about to burst forth!
The hatred was so intense, so real, that it was not feigned.
In a flash, all the contradictory information about Fu Lilian in Su Xiaonuan's mind rapidly connected: the crescent-shaped mark on her shoulder blade, similar to Ji Xianjun's, didn't seem to be fully integrated into the Crescent Moon or Sacred Heart Society; she appeared to have been kidnapped, yet she appeared in the Deep Sea Prison in this manner; she brought the bad news of An Ran and the others, her tone icy, but the hatred burning in her eyes at this moment was definitely not directed at them...
A vague conjecture took shape in her mind—Fu Lilian might not be a pure enemy, nor was she truly loyal to any organization.
She seems more like... a vengeful figure harboring deep hatred, lurking in the shadows, waiting for her chance to strike? And the object of her hatred may very well overlap with the forces behind the Sacred Heart Society, Crescent Moon, and even this deep-sea prison!
"You want us to create chaos and buy time," Su Xiaonuan's voice was hoarse but unusually clear, "so that you can do something for yourself? Something that... cannot be done with the authority of your internal staff alone, and can only be accomplished by taking advantage of the chaos?"
A hint of surprise flashed across Fu Lilian's eyes, as if she hadn't expected Su Xiaonuan to grasp the key point so quickly.
She didn't deny it, but simply nodded, her tone resolute: "That's right. I need a riot big enough to grab everyone's attention, to buy me time to open a 'door'."
Su Xiaonuan supported herself on Lu Zheng's arm and slowly stood up.
Her body was still a little weak, but her back was straight.
Her face was still wet with tears, but her eyes were like a blade that had been reforged by anger and determination.
She glanced at Lu Zheng beside her, who was silent but whose eyes had sharpened, then at Fu Lilian's outstretched hand and the shared hatred in her eyes.
Without further hesitation.
Su Xiaonuan reached out and firmly grasped Fu Lilian's tactical gloved hand.
Two hands, equally slender yet possessing different strengths, clasped tightly together in the cold prison air.
"Cooperation." Su Xiaonuan spoke clearly, with a do-or-die determination, "Tell me how."
Now, they have truly gone all in.
Success might allow them to escape alive, or even obtain the most crucial secrets about Crescent Moon, the Sacred Heart, and this deep-sea prison, thus seeking a belated justice for Anran and all her sacrificed and suffering companions.
Failure... at worst, it's just death.
In a sense, she and An Ran are the same kind of people, stubborn and determined to go all the way once they've decided on a path. However, she is a little "luckier" than An Ran at this moment—she is still alive and still has a chance to fight one last time.
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