Chapter 9: Surviving the Calamity, Another Threat Appears

  Mingying's heart and soul shook, relying on her senses to steer the car back in its original direction, but it was too late. All she heard was a loud crash, as the right rearview mirror was completely knocked off by something and flew out.

  "Bang!!" A loud noise came from behind, almost deafening. The car headlights that were still swaying back and forth on the back of my head suddenly weakened. Many fragments flew over, some even hit our car roof. It was like a rainstorm.

  I was afraid of Mingying's distraction, so I hurriedly said to her: "Don't look back, steady the steering wheel, take your foot off the accelerator and slow down!"

  I turned back to look out of the car window, and that Prado had stopped. A figure got out of the car, seemingly furious, scolding incessantly.

  "What's going on?" Mingying asked while gripping the steering wheel.

  I used all my strength but couldn't see the person's appearance, so I turned my head back and said: "Just now we passed a dangerous bridge. In order to avoid it being crushed by large trucks, the highway bureau inserted thick iron bars at the head and tail of the bridge to limit its width. Our car is narrow enough to pass through, but that big truck can't come over and will be scrapped."

  What just happened, I'm still feeling scared. The iron rod on the bridge, it's probably been inserted for many years, and now the warning paint on the iron rod has all fallen off, and there is no streetlight here, so it's very hard to notice. But if Mingyue hadn't held onto the steering wheel just now, I'm afraid we would have crashed into the iron rod first.

  Mingying had already completely let go of the accelerator, and the car gradually slowed down. After sliding forward for a long time, she saw that the gate of a residential area was open, so she turned in and found a parking space, slowly driving into it. When the car was fully stopped, Mingying suddenly pressed the brake pedal while engaging the handbrake, causing the car to shake slightly before finally coming to a stop.

  The three of us in the car were all gasping for air, I felt like my clothes were already soaked through, and my hands and feet couldn't stop trembling. This chase scene just now, I've only seen it in American blockbusters. I promise you, only if you experience it yourself like I did, will you know what it means to be on the verge of life and death, what it means to have your fate hanging by a thread.

  Professor Li Yubo's face was as white as paper, looking extremely pale and unpleasant. After taking a few deep breaths, he finally spoke: "Lin, Lin You, what is your background?"

  "What's going on?" I asked puzzled, "What does it mean?"

  "Are you a CIA agent?" Li Yubo asked, staring at me with an expression that seemed like he had watched too many American dramas.

  "I said calmly: 'Nothing. Just don't blame me for kicking you and breaking your hand.'"

  Li Yubo sighed and said, "I'm not stupid, if it wasn't for that one kick from you, I'd be dead."

  Mingying said on the side: "Now is not the time to divide the merits. Gather your things, take a taxi to Leng Kong's house. Hurry up!"

  I secretly sighed and shook my head. After getting off the car, I bid farewell to Mingying, saying that I really couldn't take it anymore. The enemy was unknown, yet the situation had already escalated to the point of gunfights and killings. This intensity, I couldn't handle, truly couldn't handle. You guys go back to Lingkong's house by taxi, I'm going home to cry under my blanket. Please pass on a message to Old Lady Yin that I've quit this game. That's it, take care of yourself.

  I don't want to go to Leng Kong's house, not because I hate him or because he once broke into my home and stole Xiao Luqi's body and then made threatening calls to me, but because of the current situation, even guns have appeared. Is this the rhythm of "Want Your Life 3000" from the domestic comedy "Ling Ling Qi"? This is too dangerous! I'm just an ordinary citizen, not FBI, CIA, Marine Corps or National Security Agency, I can't afford to get hurt!

  Why am I taking such a great risk? For Xiao Luqi? For a beauty who has already died? Just because I took one glance at her and fell in love, I would stake my life on it?

  Don't think I'm not brave enough to die for her. Yes, I fell in love with her at first sight; yes, she's my true love; yes, I can give up everything for her. But this ridiculous organization wants to use her as leverage against me, making me take such a huge risk? I'd rather go and rescue her, then fight it out with this ghostly organization until one of us dies! At least that way, even if I die, I'll know who killed me! Unlike now: everywhere is an ambush, every day I'm on edge, defending against enemies lurking in the shadows, maybe not even knowing how I died.

  Just as I was about to hail a taxi, a hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, pulling it down.

  It's Mingying's hand.

  "She said coldly: 'If you leave, you will find a dismembered female corpse in the ice cabinet.'"

  It's been a long time since I've felt my eyebrow twitching —— when I feel threatened, yet completely despise the threat, my left eyebrow will involuntarily twitch.

  Staring at Mingying, I said word by word: "Very good, your organization is very powerful, and maybe in your eyes, I am just an ant. I know that with just one phone call, you can make me regret my life. If so, would you please let your henchmen take care of me too? Otherwise, I swear to turn all of you over."

  Li Yubo had no idea that things would suddenly turn out like this, and he stood there in a daze, at a loss for what to do.

  I shook off Mingying's hand and didn't even look at her, continuing to hail a taxi.

  She stood still beside me, her gaze fixed on my face, scorching hot. I deliberately avoided looking at her, only raising my hand to stare at every car passing by the distant intersection.

  It's been a long time since there was a car here.

  Her hand stretched out towards my wrist again, but this time it was very slow.

  I'm fed up and turned away. Irritated, I glanced back at her.

  This time it was my turn to be stunned.

  At this moment, she had completely lost the momentum of her previous arrogant and aggressive words, but instead looked like a weak and helpless little white rabbit, with her nose twitching constantly, her whole body trembling slightly, and her two eyes staring tightly at me. Perhaps my calm demeanor in the face of danger just now had already made her feel a bit dependent on me. Looking at her expression, it seemed as if she was thinking that if I were to leave, she would be dead the next second.

  No matter how ferocious she was, no matter how much she threatened me, I knew her personality was just temporarily enraged and didn't take it to heart. But at this moment, she is a vivid, helpless life. She also has an attachment to life and a fear of death. I admit, I've never seen her with such an expression before.

  Seeing her like this, his heart softened all of a sudden.

  Next, I was vaguely aware of being pulled into a taxi by Li Yubo, heading to Leng Kong's house. All the way there, I could only hear Li Yubo humming with his arms around his knees, which made me feel annoyed and distracted.

  Mingying has recovered from that helpless expression, but now she has put on a deep-thinking look. Such an enigmatic woman has already toyed with me several times, could it be that the previous expression was also a pretended pitiful appearance?

  Alas... why am I always so soft-hearted, yielding to persuasion but resistant to force!

  Ling Kong opened the door to find it was just the three of us, especially with me being there, and you can't even begin to describe how terrible his expression was. Ming Ying's face also looked awful, because she had just seen the disheartened side of me, and she didn't know what to do either.

  Although Ling Kong was tricked by me that day when he stole the corpse, after all, he is a key figure in the organization. After hearing Mingying's situation, he didn't say much and efficiently took out his phone to make several calls. First, he arranged for a tow truck to take Mingying's BMW for repairs, then arranged for a small team from the organization to go to Mingying's house to investigate, and finally contacted an old expert who is proficient in traditional Chinese medicine and asked Li Yubo to go to his home to reconnect the joints.

  I sat on the sofa in Leng Kong's empty home, watching him direct his subordinates over the phone with a calm demeanor. I looked at this 180-square-meter, five-bedroom, two-hall house, and these valuable European-style furnishings. It was astonishing that such a house didn't have a mistress. Perhaps it was because of the nature of his work, so he didn't want to marry and have children, fearing unnecessary burdens?

  I silently wonder: Ling Kong, why is he so busy? What's the purpose of him doing these things for his organization? What's the purpose of those people following him and working for him? Even Ling Kong himself, the people under him, and the assassins who came to kill Mingying and Li Yubo, what's the purpose of their existence? Is it money? Fame? Status? Power? Or so-called brotherhood, rules?

  Doing something without a purpose, isn't it just foolishness, ignorance and impulsiveness?

  And what about me? What am I doing here, anyway?

  What is the purpose of human life? Is it to indulge in food, drink, and pleasure, or to set a goal that may be meaningless and struggle for it with all one's might, or simply to drift through life since we are here anyway?

  Living in a world where everything is manipulated and controlled, one can't really control their own destiny, but rather be played by fate mercilessly. Those goals, whether it's passing the middle school exam, college entrance exam, getting promoted or becoming rich, are they really what I want? What if I get them? What if I don't?

  What is the point of living? And why are we so afraid of death?

  Mingying saw me dazed and made a cup of tea for me, handed it over and said: "Thank you."

  I came back to myself from my reverie, remembering what she had just said to threaten me, and coldly said: "Thanks for what? I don't want to die either. Just self-rescue."

  She didn't retort with a sharp tongue despite my cold words, but instead sat beside me and said: "You are physically present here, yet your heart may be wandering elsewhere. If that's the case, saving yourself is also saving others."

  I was shocked in both body and mind: How could she utter such words with Buddhist logic? I couldn't help but look at her.

  Mingying didn't look at me again, but instead held the cup of tea in her hand and stared at the misty vapor rising from the rim, lost in thought.

  I took a sip of tea, extremely strong. So bitter it puckers your mouth.

  Ling Kong arranged everything and had Li Yu Bo sit in a chair waiting for the car to come pick him up to see that old Chinese doctor. He moved a chair himself, sat down opposite me and Ming Ying, and said: "What kind of person is he?"

  Mingying and I both shook our heads, indicating we didn't know.

  I suddenly asked Li Yubo: "Professor Li, you just mentioned that your father heard two things from someone, what are they?"

  Mingying chimed in from the side: "Just as we were saying that, we encountered an ambush."

  I nodded and said, "Yes, you also heard a faint gunshot outside the door, didn't you?"

  Mingying murmured a response, saying: "I didn't hear any footsteps, probably they've been waiting outside the door for quite some time."

  Ling Kong glanced at us and said, "So it seems that the killer heard Professor Li mention something important and came in to silence him before he could reveal the secret. Professor Li, what were those two things you mentioned?"