maggie: "Our male protagonist is in position."
The vast screen was broadcasting every move in the Xishan mining area in real-time. Countless surveillance cameras had already captured Ouyang Chen's figure, and at this moment, he was unaware that he had fallen into a trap.
Mo Qingyun: "Didn't we have a bet on who would find Ouyang Chen first? You lost, and you haven't let me punish you yet."
maggie: "Killing him would be the best punishment."
Mo Qingyun: "I'm talking about you. You lost, how should I punish you?"
Mo Qingyun's fingernails traced across maggie's face. She could see a hint of fear in maggie's eyes.
Mo Qingyun: "Just kidding. It doesn't matter who finds him, as long as we find him, right?"
maggie: "As long as the Umbrella plan proceeds smoothly, this credit can be yours."
Mo Qingyun: "Haha, to whom are you claiming credit? Are you claiming credit to the master of the Tang Empire? Or to the executor of the Umbrella plan? Or to a member of the Bilderberg Club?"
Mo Qingyun gently swirled the champagne flute, the effervescence seeming to pre-celebrate the impending victory.
maggie: "Aren't we all doing this to keep the plan moving forward?"
Mo Qingyun: "That's right. So, we... shall continue to watch."
Mo Qingyun smiled and clinked glasses with maggie, her gaze fixed on maggie as she drank her champagne.
Just as they expected Ouyang Chen to head for the laboratory first, he surprised everyone by knocking out several guards and stealing the key to the experimental subject containment door…
maggie: "Pointless..."
Just as maggie was about to say something into the microphone, Mo Qingyun covered it.
Mo Qingyun: "The most interesting part of a cat-and-mouse chase is the slow torment. Don't disturb him when you're about to kill the mouse. He's going to die anyway, so let him have a sense of accomplishment before he goes."
And so, Ouyang Chen believed he had successfully rescued them, but...
Suddenly, floodlights illuminated the area, exposing everyone to the glare.
Countless gun barrels were aimed at the group.
"Get down!!! All of you, get down!!!"
As Ouyang Chen prepared to resist, the gun barrels erupted, spitting out a torrent of bullets that sounded like firecrackers. Splattering blood obscured Ouyang Chen's vision…
A full minute passed before the deadly display of gunfire finally ended…
There were no more groans from the ground.
Kawei: "Kobetia needs no heroes. Everyone here will become a sacrifice for the great Umbrella."
Ouyang Chen: "Kawei…"
Kawei: "Oh, Mr. Ouyang Chen, why haven't you left yet? Is it because you can't bear to leave the stones of Kobetia?"
Ouyang Chen: "What is your relationship with the Onassis family?"
Kawei: "I have no relationship with the Onassis family. I am one of the most loyal servants of this empire."
Ouyang Chen: "..."
Ouyang Chen had guessed correctly. Kawei was Colin's man!!!
Kawei: "From the moment you stepped into Kobetia, I recognized you…"
Ouyang Chen: "You didn't kill me…"
Kawei: "Because someone didn't want you to die. I, on the other hand, would love to tear you limb from limb and send you down to atone for Colin."
Ouyang Chen: "Your plan won't succeed. This place will be discovered soon!!!"
Kawei: "Hahaha, do you think the people of Kobetia care? They are already ghosts in hell, willing to become experimental subjects for Umbrella."
Ouyang Chen: "Kill me, or I'll kill you."
Kawei: "I will. I'll let you enjoy death, but before that, I'll drain every last drop of blood from you."
With that, Kawei summoned more subordinates. They bound Ouyang Chen tightly until he lost consciousness, then dragged him into a house.
— In Ouyang Chen's illusion —
"Ouyang Chen, wake up!!!"
Muzzy-headed, Ouyang Chen felt as if someone was calling him.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Sister Hong.
Ouyang Chen: "Sister Hong?"
Sister Hong: "The guests have arrived, and you're still asleep?"
Ouyang Chen: "Guests?"
Sister Hong: "Drank too much, didn't you? It's your birthday today, and those rich ladies have booked the place to see you! Hurry up and get ready to greet them!"
Ouyang Chen shook his head. He couldn't remember anything. Was it all a dream?
As he swayed and pushed open the door, he was met with a cacophony of voices. The rich ladies wished Ouyang Chen a happy birthday in unison, and even Mo Qingyun slowly approached him, pushing a giant cake cart.
Ouyang Chen: "Xiao Yun?"
Amin: "Yun Chen Ge, for you."
Sister Hong: "What are you standing around for? Cut the cake!"
Ouyang Chen: "You guys..."
Jin Youli: "Darling, you look so handsome today!!!"
Ouyang Chen was startled by Jin Youli.
Ouyang Chen: "You, didn't you die?"
Sister Hong quickly covered Ouyang Chen's mouth.
Sister Hong: "He's had too much to drink and isn't thinking clearly."
But Jin Youli didn't seem angry at all, nor did she seem to have heard him.
Ouyang Chen felt someone holding his hand, as if to cut the cake together.
But as he turned to look at the person behind him…
Ouyang Chen screamed: "Colin!!!"
Colin: "Today, I want to call you darling too."
Ouyang Chen felt something poke his backside, and then he woke up with a start…
— Illusion ends —
Su Ruiyi: "Ouyang Chen!!! Ouyang Chen!!!"
Ouyang Chen gasped for air, sitting up from the ground.
Su Ruiyi was trapped inside a glass enclosure for experimental subjects. She kept banging on the glass door, trying to attract Ouyang Chen's attention.
Ouyang Chen: "Yiyi? What are you doing here? Didn't I ask Shasha to send you to the airport?"
Su Ruiyi: "I ran away..."
Ouyang Chen: "You're being completely reckless!!!"
Su Ruiyi: "You swore you wouldn't abandon me!!!"
Ouyang Chen rushed to pull at the glass door, but it was locked and wouldn't budge.
Ouyang Chen punched it, tried to find something to knock with it, but the glass was as strong as a copper wall and iron bastion, unmoving.
Ouyang Chen: "How did you get here?"
Su Ruiyi: "I don't know. I met someone at the airport who could take me to the Xishan mining area. Then he found out I was Miss Su, and then I fainted. When I woke up, I was here…"
Ouyang Chen looked at the electronic keypad lock and randomly pressed a few buttons. It seemed to trigger a switch, and numbers began to appear on the glass, as if it were a countdown…
With a bang, the lights in the room went out, leaving only the red glow from Su Ruiyi's glass enclosure. The rest of the room was pitch black.
"Ouyang Chen."
Ouyang Chen: "Mo Qingyun?"
At this moment, a figure seemed to emerge from the darkness…
Ouyang Chen: "Mo Qingyun!!!"
Mo Qingyun: "Long time no see, my love."
Ouyang Chen: "Let her out!!!"
Mo Qingyun: "Shouldn't we have some intimacy before discussing other unimportant people and matters?"
Ouyang Chen: "I'll give you anything you want. Just let Su Ruiyi go."
Mo Qingyun: "After all this time, don't you feel any guilt towards me?"
Just as Ouyang Chen was about to lunge and grab Mo Qingyun, he realized he had lunged at empty air. The figure flickered a few times and then vanished…
A hologram?!
Ouyang Chen turned around, and the figure reappeared from another direction.
Ouyang Chen: "Come out. Come out and let's talk."
Mo Qingyun: "Now, you actually want to see me."
Ouyang Chen: "What do you want to make you let Su Ruiyi go?"
Mo Qingyun: "Are you pleading for her?"
Ouyang Chen: "Yes, I'm begging you…"
Mo Qingyun: "Is that how you plead?"
Ouyang Chen: "Mo Qingyun, I beg you, let Su Ruiyi go…"
Mo Qingyun: "That's how you plead!!!"
Mo Qingyun roared angrily. Ouyang Chen stared at the hologram, unable to find any flaws…
Su Ruiyi: "No!!! Don't kneel!!!"
But Ouyang Chen didn't listen to Su Ruiyi. He fell to his knees before the hologram with a thud.
Mo Qingyun: "Coward…"
Su Ruiyi pounded on the glass, crying and urging Ouyang Chen to get up, not wanting him to beg for her sake…
Ouyang Chen: "Is that enough? Can you let Su Ruiyi go?"
Mo Qingyun: "Ouyang Chen, I've always wanted to ask you, do you regret any of the choices you made in the past?"
Ouyang Chen: "..."
Mo Qingyun: "If I gave you another chance, would you choose to save her or me?"
Ouyang Chen turned to look at Su Ruiyi. She sat in the glass enclosure, tapping the glass, crying and shaking her head, as if telling Ouyang Chen not to save her anymore…
Ouyang Chen: "One more time…"
Ouyang Chen: "I'd still choose to save Su Ruiyi…"
Mo Qingyun: "Why didn't you choose me!!!"
Ouyang Chen: "I'll bear the punishment of not choosing you alone. You don't need to take out your hatred for me on Su Ruiyi!"
Mo Qingyun: "Then I should thank you. Because of your heartlessness, I have the chance to witness this scene today!!!"
Ding—
An alarm seemed to sound in the glass enclosure. The countdown on the glass began to accelerate, reducing from over an hour to ten minutes in an instant…
As Ouyang Chen worried about the decreasing number, the acceleration stopped, and it returned to its normal speed.
Mo Qingyun: "I want you to witness firsthand the consequences of not choosing me."
Ouyang Chen: "Mo Qingyun, you shouldn't be like this. You weren't this cruel!!!"
Mo Qingyun: "Why does everyone say that? Then what kind of person am I supposed to be?"
"A little mute who's bullied into silence? A love-sick fool who's heartbroken by you and begs you not to leave?"
Ouyang Chen: "Please, let her go. You can kill me…"
Mo Qingyun: "I don't want to be controlled by anyone anymore. I don't need you to tell me what to do or not to do!!!"
The acceleration started again, and when it stopped at one minute…
Ouyang Chen: "No!!!"
Mo Qingyun pressed pause on the other side, and the entire countdown froze.
Mo Qingyun: "I've changed. It's because my love for you has soured, but it's not a bad thing. Now I'm finally free. I like who I am now…"
Ouyang Chen: "Xiao Yun, all of this is wrong. I'm glad you inherited Axe's position…"
"But you need to know what you can and cannot do. This laboratory is the beginning of harm to humanity. Don't let them use you…"
Mo Qingyun laughed heartily, the room filled with a terrifying cackle…
Mo Qingyun: "Did I hear that right? You're playing the good guy now? Aren't you the adopted son of the Tang Empire? How many people have you killed? Do you think stopping an experiment now makes you a hero? You'll always be a bad person…"
Ouyang Chen: "That's why I've been in pain my whole life. I was a victim of the experiments, so I killed people. I even killed your brother. I couldn't see the truth, so I used you…"
Mo Qingyun: "I don't blame you anymore… but you're too foolish. You haven't felt the power of this strength. Umbrella isn't a harm; it unleashes the energy within you. It's freedom, the freedom we all crave…"
Ouyang Chen: "Xiao Yun…"
Mo Qingyun: "Umbrella will show you Su Ruiyi's true face…"
Ouyang Chen: "What?"
Mo Qingyun: "Witness its power…"