Chapter 10: 9 Whisper in the Dark and Blood-stained Starlight
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The heavy impact sounded like the death knell of the god of death, blasting in the deadly hut! The rusty iron door trembled violently under the huge force, and the dust around the door frame fell! The sound hit Su Wan and Fu Bo's hearts again and again, instantly freezing the overwhelming hatred and sorrow in the air!
Helian Cheng's people! They are chasing! So fast? !
The huge fear was like a cold giant hand, instantly strangling Su Wan's throat! Her blood, which had just been ignited by hatred, seemed to be frozen in an instant! She looked at Fu Bo fiercely, her bloodshot eyes full of horror and despair!
The grief on Fu Bo's face was instantly replaced by an extreme fear and determination! His turbid old eyes suddenly widened, and the blood on his wrinkled face was completely bloodless! Almost instinctively, he used all his strength to stuff the blood-stained contract document on the table back into the oilcloth bag, and then randomly stuffed it into the worn canvas bag, then grabbed the canvas bag and stuffed it into Su Wan's arms with all his strength!
"Go! Madam! Go!" Uncle Fu's voice was distorted and hoarse because of extreme anxiety and fear. He grabbed Su Wan's cold wrist with amazing strength and dragged her towards the only back window of the cabin without saying anything! "Go out through the window! There is a forest behind! Run! Don't look back!!"
"Uncle Fu! What are you going to do?!" Su Wan held the heavy canvas bag that seemed to be stained with her father's blood, her heart pounding, and the huge panic made her almost unable to think!
"Don't worry about me! Go!" Uncle Fu pushed open the creaking, dusty back window, and a damp, cold wind with the smell of decayed plants and trees instantly poured in! He almost pushed Su Wan out of the window! "Remember! Stay alive! You must stay alive! For your father! For the truth!!"
"Bang!!!"
A deafening bang!
The iron door of the hut finally couldn't withstand the violent impact, twisted and deformed, and collapsed inward! In the smoke and dust, several men in black combat uniforms, with sturdy bodies and cold eyes like machines, rushed in like evil spirits crawling out of hell! The strong flashlight in their hands was like a sharp sword, instantly piercing the dimness of the hut and accurately locking the two people by the window!
"Catch them!" The leading man's voice was cold and ruthless!
"Go--!" Uncle Fu roared for the last time! He used all his strength to push Su Wan out of the window! At the same time, his skinny body burst out with unimaginable power, like a moth flying into the fire, opening his arms and resolutely rushing towards the man in black who rushed in!
"Uncle Fu--!!" Su Wan's body fell heavily on the cold and muddy ground outside the window, and the canvas bag in her arms hurt her! She struggled to look back, and through the diffuse smoke and dazzling light, she saw Uncle Fu's thin and old figure being knocked to the ground by two wolf-like men in black! Fists and boots fell like raindrops! Uncle Fu's painful groan and the crisp sound of broken bones came clearly!
"No--!!" Su Wan's eyes were bloodshot! The huge grief and anger instantly overwhelmed the fear! She subconsciously wanted to crawl back!
"Go... Go quickly..." Uncle Fu raised his bloody face with difficulty in the interval between punching and kicking. His turbid eyes stared at Su Wan outside the window with the last trace of pleading and unwillingness, and screamed with his last strength: "Run... Run--!!"
Su Wan's tears burst out like a dam bursting! She bit her lower lip tightly and tasted the strong smell of blood! Reason told her that Uncle Fu was risking his life to buy time for her! She couldn't let him down! She turned around suddenly, using all her strength, holding the heavy canvas bag, and stumbled into the dense, dark, monster-like forest behind the cabin!
Branches and thorns whipped her exposed skin frantically, leaving blood marks! Under her feet were slippery rotten leaves and twisted tree roots, which hurt her bare, already scarred feet! She ran desperately towards the depths of darkness like a fawn chased by a hound and in a panic! Behind her, Uncle Fu's last shrill scream came from the direction of the cabin, followed by a few dull gunshots!
"Bang! Bang!"
The gunshots were like the last death knell, severely shattering the last bit of luck in Su Wan's heart! Uncle Fu... Uncle Fu...!
The great grief and overwhelming despair made her stumble and fall heavily to the ground! The cold muddy water instantly soaked her evening dress! The canvas bag in her arms fell out! She struggled to get up, but she felt that all the bones in her body seemed to be broken, and the cold suffocation drowned her like a tide. Behind her, the rapid footsteps of the man in black and the beam of light from the strong flashlight were like maggots on the tarsal bone, approaching quickly!
It's over... It's really over...
Father... Uncle Fu... I'm sorry...
I can't escape...
In the last moment before her consciousness sank into darkness, she saw a dazzling beam of light covering herself, and several huge black shadows pressed down like mountains...
---
The biting cold forcibly pulled her back from her coma.
Su Wan suddenly opened her eyes, and the severe headache made her eyes blurry. She found herself lying on a huge, cold, operating table-like metal table. Surrounded by cold, metallic walls, there were no windows, only a pale, blinding shadowless lamp overhead, which illuminated her embarrassment and despair.
The air was filled with a strong smell of disinfectant mixed with rust, cold and pungent. This place... was like an underground laboratory, and also like a... cold storage specially used to handle "items".
She tried to move her body, but found that her limbs were firmly locked to the edge of the metal table by cold metal shackles! The wrists and ankles felt a biting cold and the pain of being bound!
A huge fear instantly gripped her! Helian Cheng! Where did he take her? !
"Awake?" A cold and low voice, like a venomous snake sliding across the ice, sounded behind her.
Su Wan's body stiffened instantly! She turned her head sharply!
Helian Cheng was standing next to the metal table. He took off his suit jacket and wore only a well-ironed black shirt, with his sleeves casually rolled up to his forearms, revealing his firm and smooth muscle lines. He held a transparent glass container in his hand, which contained some dark red, viscous liquid. There was no expression on his face, only a bottomless calmness. His deep eyes were like two cold pools, reflecting the dazzling white light above his head, and also reflecting her terrified and desperate reflection on the metal table.
There was no anger or murderous intent in that look, only an absolute indifference and control as if looking at an experimental specimen.
"It seems that Uncle Fu's 'gift' to you makes you very excited." Helian Cheng's voice was calm and he walked slowly to the edge of the metal table, looking down at the imprisoned Su Wan. His eyes swept over her muddy and torn evening dress, the bloody marks on her bare ankles caused by thorns, and finally fell on the worn canvas bag that she had held tightly in her arms and was now casually thrown in the corner of the metal table.
"No..." Su Wan's voice was hoarse because of fear and weakness. She subconsciously wanted to curl up her body, but was fixed tightly by the cold shackles. "Don't touch it! That's..."
"What is it?" Helian Cheng raised his eyebrows slightly, and a cold and playful arc appeared at the corner of his lips. He stretched out his fingers and gently brushed Su Wan's cold and trembling cheeks with a creepy slowness. The touch of his fingertips was like the scales of a poisonous snake. "Is it the bloody contract signed by your father and me... fifteen years ago?"
His voice was very light, but it was like a poisoned ice cone, piercing Su Wan's eardrums and heart!
He knew it! He knew everything! What Uncle Fu told her... he knew everything!
A huge chill swept through her body instantly! Su Wan's body couldn't help but tremble violently, and her teeth chattered! Fear was like a cold vine wrapped around her heart, but even stronger was the overwhelming hatred that almost broke through her chest and was completely played with by her!
"Helian Cheng! You devil!!" She raised her head suddenly, with crazy flames burning in her red eyes, and roared hoarsely, "You killed my father! You forged that car accident! For Xingguang Island! For that damn contract! To turn me into your prop! You will not die well--!!"
The roar echoed in the cold metal space, with desperate accusations and curses of destruction.
Helian Cheng listened quietly, without any ripples on his face. He even tilted his head slightly, as if he was appreciating the noise made by a new object. Until Su Wan yelled until she was hoarse and only had weak gasps left, he slowly spoke, his voice low and calm, with a kind of indifference that controlled everything:
"Anger is the last fig leaf of the weak, Su Wan." His fingertips slid across her collarbone that was violently heaving due to excitement, and the cold touch made her tremble all over, "Uncle Fu is old and confused. His memory... is distorted by hatred and imagination. What he told you is just a tragic story... tampered with by time."
He paused, admiring the deeper anger and despair rising in her eyes due to disbelief.
"Your father's car accident was an accident." His voice was like a cold judgment, unquestionable, "The brake system is aging, the road is slippery in rainy weather... This is a conclusion repeatedly verified by authoritative institutions. As for the contract..."
His eyes turned to the shabby canvas bag in the corner, and a trace of disgust flashed in his eyes, like looking at garbage.
"It does exist. But your father signed it voluntarily. For your mother's illness, and for the 'reasonable' development of the sea area he has studied all his life. He is aware of the terms, including... the 'restricted inheritance'." Helian Cheng's tone was as flat as if he was stating the weather. "I found you and made you Mrs. He, just... to fulfill the agreement of the contract and ensure that the development of Xingguang Island proceeds according to the original 'blueprint'. This is fair."
"Fair?!" Su Wan almost vomited blood! She struggled, and the cold metal shackles cut into her flesh, leaving deep red marks, "Fair?! You threatened him with my mother's life! You killed him! You imprisoned me here! You tell me this is fair?! Helian Cheng! You lied! You are full of lies!!" She screamed, tears mixed with humiliating sweat rolling down wildly.
Helian Cheng seemed tired of her accusations. He frowned slightly, and finally a trace of cold impatience flashed across his eyes. "It seems that the 'gift' that Uncle Fu gave you has completely made you lose the calmness and judgment that Mrs. He should have."
He stopped looking at her and picked up the glass container containing the dark red viscous liquid and walked to a huge silver metal instrument in the corner of the room, which was flashing various indicator lights and connected to complex pipes. He opened the container and slowly poured the dark red liquid into a transparent liquid inlet tank.
The liquid flowed down the pipe, making a slight gurgling sound.
"Since words can't make you recognize the reality..." Helian Cheng turned around, holding an instrument connected to a slender metal probe in his hand, and walked towards Su Wan who was imprisoned on the metal table. The tip of the probe flashed a little blue, ominous light.
"Then use a more direct way to help you...calm down." His voice was low, with a cold concentration like conducting a scientific experiment.
The huge fear was like a cold tide, instantly drowning Su Wan! She looked at the probe that was getting closer and closer, flashing with a faint blue light, and at Helian Cheng's emotionless eyes that were like the abyss. A chill ran down her spine and into her head!
"No...no! Helian Cheng! What are you doing?! Let me go!" She struggled frantically, and the cold metal table made a harsh friction sound because of her twisting! The skin on her wrists and ankles was rubbed by the edge of the shackles, and blood oozed out, but she was unaware of it, and only boundless fear seized her!
Helian Cheng ignored her struggle. He walked to the side of the metal table and easily pressed down her violently twisted shoulder with one hand, and the force was as strong as an iron clamp! His other hand, holding the metal probe that was flashing with a faint blue light steadily, slowly, with a creepy precision, approached her temple!
"It will be fine soon, Su Wan." His voice sounded low, like the whisper of a devil, with a cold comfort, "Just help you... clean up those... painful 'impurities' memories that shouldn't exist. Let you... become the obedient Mrs. He again."
Clear up memories? ! Become the obedient Mrs. He again? !
This cognition was like the most terrifying nightmare, instantly breaking down all of Su Wan's defenses! He not only wanted to imprison her body, but also erase her memory! Erase her love for her father! Erase her pursuit of the truth! Erase everything about her as "Su Wan"! Turn her completely into a perfect prop without a soul, without a past, and only obeying his orders!
"No——!!!" A shrill, desperate and unwilling scream suddenly tore through the cold air! Su Wan used up the last strength of her life, twisting her head frantically, trying to avoid the approaching, venomous blue light like a venomous snake's tongue!
"Let me go! Devil! You murderer! I hate you! I curse you!!" She screamed, tears pouring out! Her father's figure lying in a pool of blood, Uncle Fu's last shrill scream, the cold starlight sapphire on his neck, the polluted sea photo on the auction table... all the scenes flashed back in front of her eyes! Hatred! The overwhelming hatred was like the fire of hell, burning every inch of her nerves!
Helian Cheng didn't care about her curses and struggles. His eyes were focused, with an almost cold calmness, and the cold probe finally touched Su Wan's hot and trembling temple skin!
A sharp pain, as if countless ice needles pierced into the brain, exploded instantly! Accompanied by indescribable dizziness and a sense of consciousness peeling off! It was as if a cold hand was violently stirring her brain, trying to tear out the most precious fragments of memory and grind them into powder!
"Ah--!!!" Su Wan screamed inhumanly! Her body arched violently due to the severe pain! She was pulled back to the metal table by the cold shackles! Her eyes were fixed on Helian Cheng's cold and ruthless face, which was close at hand! That face was as handsome as a god, but more cruel than a devil!
Hate! A monstrous hatred! At this moment, it surpassed the severe pain of the flesh! It surpassed the fear of death!
"Helian Cheng--!!!" She used up the last bit of remaining consciousness and squeezed out a bloody curse from between her teeth. Every word was filled with hatred enough to burn the soul, "I will not let you go even if I become a ghost!!"
Just then!
"Ding--Ding--Ding--!"
A sudden and rapid electronic alarm sounded from the huge silver instrument in the corner of the room! The dazzling red light flashed wildly!
Helian Cheng's operation of the probe suddenly paused! He suddenly turned his head to look at the instrument, and for the first time, a very subtle, doubtful light flashed across his deep eyes!
I saw that in the transparent pipe connected to the instrument into the liquid tank, the dark red viscous liquid that Helian Cheng had just poured in was rolling and boiling violently at this moment! The color quickly changed from dark red to a strange, metallic blue! On the instrument screen, the originally stable waveform line instantly became violent and chaotic, and issued a sharp alarm!
"How is it possible?!" Helian Cheng whispered, with a rare and unbelievable fluctuation in his voice! He suddenly let go of the hand that was suppressing Su Wan, walked quickly to the instrument, and tried to check the abnormality!
Su Wan, who was almost fainted by the severe pain and hatred, felt a very weak gap at the moment when Helian Cheng let go! The instinct for survival and the overwhelming hatred made her burst out with the last strength! Her eyes swept across the metal table like a dying beast!
Her sight was fixed on the corner of the metal table - the worn canvas bag that Helian Cheng had discarded like garbage!
Uncle Fu stuffed it into her hand! The canvas bag containing the bloody contract!
And at the edge of the open bag, an inconspicuous metal sheet the size of a fingernail was emitting a very faint red light spot as the alarm of the instrument sounded!
What is that...? !
Su Wan's pupils suddenly contracted! A vague thought flashed through her confused consciousness like lightning!
No time to think!
At the moment when Helian Cheng was abnormally attracted by the instrument! At the moment when he turned his back to her!
Su Wan used up all the remaining strength and will in her body and turned her head suddenly! Her lips, with a determination to burn both jade and stone, kissed her wrist fiercely and desperately - the cold and hard metal shackles!
No! Not a kiss!
Her teeth, like sharp daggers, bit down fiercely and with all her might, carrying overwhelming hatred and the last bit of sober madness! Biting on a sharp metal burr on the edge of the shackles that was slightly raised due to the violent struggle just now!
"Crack!"
A very subtle shattering sound that was infinitely magnified by her!
Accompanied by piercing pain and a mouth full of blood!
A hard, bloody... thing was forcibly bitten off from her mouth!
That was not a tooth!
It was the... main stone... inlaid on the... starlight sapphire pendant... that Fu Bo stuffed into her mouth in the chaos? !
That deep, star-reflecting, cold stone? !
At this moment, it rolled down on the cold metal table with Su Wan's blood, reflecting a strange and cold... dark blue light under the dazzling shadowless lamp above!
As the blood-stained sapphire rolled down——
"Boom——!!!"
The huge silver instrument in the corner of the room, like a detonated bomb, suddenly burst out a dazzling blue electric light! The violent energy was out of control in an instant! Countless fine arcs of electricity burst out from the instrument like dancing venomous snakes, making a crackling sound that made people's scalps numb! The entire cold metal room was reflected in a strange blue!
The out-of-control energy storm was like an invisible giant hand, instantly blowing Helian Cheng, who was closest to the instrument, away! His tall body hit the cold metal wall heavily, making a dull loud noise!
The entire underground space shook violently! The shrill alarm was completely drowned out by the more violent energy roar! The shadowless lamp above the head flashed wildly, and then went out completely with a "snap"!
Darkness! It fell instantly!
Only the violent, expanding dark blue ball of light at the core of the out-of-control instrument, like the devil's eye of hell, emitted a heart-pounding, destructive light in the absolute darkness! The violent energy turbulence raged wildly in the narrow space, cutting the air and emitting a ghost-like scream!
Su Wan, who was imprisoned on the metal table, was also hit hard by the violent energy shock wave at the moment the instrument exploded! The severe pain and strong dizziness made her eyes black and she almost fainted! But the metal shackles that tightly imprisoned her at her wrists and ankles seemed to be overwhelmed and made a subtle "clicking" sound in the violent energy turbulence!
Cold! Severe pain! Darkness! A destructive energy storm!
And... the starlight sapphire that rolled down to her hand, stained with her blood, and exuded an ominous aura under the reflection of the dark blue magic light!
Su Wan turned her head with difficulty in the severe pain and dizziness. In the reflection of the violent blue light, she saw Helian Cheng lying in the shadow of the corner, seemingly injured and unable to move. His eyes, which were always unfathomable and in control of everything, were now fixed on the out-of-control blue magic light, and for the first time, they clearly reflected... horror!
Opportunity!
A crazy and desperate thought, like a poisonous vine growing in the darkness, instantly entangled Su Wan's nerves that were on the verge of collapse!