Chapter 181: Solo Performance

Chen Ling had at least seven or eight knife wounds on his body, and even a bullet hole in his shoulder. His face was covered in blood and exhaustion, and large drops of sweat trickled down his cheeks, falling one by one onto the barren ground.

Wen Shilin froze, staring blankly at Chen Ling's unnaturally twisted left hand, surprise welling up in his eyes.

"Your hand..."

"That part couldn't pry open the chains, but it could pry open my hand." Chen Ling gave a weak smile. "It's alright, though... I'll go see Dr. Chu; these injuries are nothing to him."

Wen Shilin's gaze at Chen Ling was complex. He had also gotten hold of that part before but hadn't thought of breaking his own hand to get free, or rather, he hadn't dared to even consider it. Yet, Chen Ling had taken the part and done just that.

If it meant survival, Wen Shilin would have unhesitatingly used the part to break himself free, but at that moment, he simply hadn't thought that far. It was Chen Ling's courage, or perhaps his utterly rational wisdom, that had saved both of them from the brink of death.

"How did we just escape?" Wen Shilin couldn't help but ask.

"We were trapped in a warehouse just now. After we came out the main door, people started hearing sounds and approaching, so I rushed towards the path with fewer people... and finally escaped through the back door."

As Chen Ling spoke, an invisible python slowly emerged from between his eyebrows, coiling around the unsuspecting Wen Shilin, seemingly sucking something from him little by little.

Wen Shilin was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "That was truly dangerous... I really owe you a lot this time, Mr. Lin Yan."

"I was just escaping for my own life."

Chen Ling looked down at his wounds and spoke hoarsely, "Mr. Wen, let's part ways here... I need to go see Dr. Chu."

Wen Shilin was about to offer to go with him, but then he remembered that all this had started because of him, and following Chen Ling might only get him further entangled. After a moment of silence, he spoke with a complex expression:

"Alright... I won't follow you. You saved my life; I'll definitely repay you when I have the chance."

Chen Ling waved his hand dismissively and walked away with staggering steps. His brown overcoat, stained red with blood, gradually disappeared into the distance.

Wen Shilin was about to walk in the opposite direction when his peripheral vision caught sight of a crumpled file bag lying in the pool of blood where Chen Ling had stood. It must have been on Chen Ling's person and gotten into this state during the chaotic fight.

Wen Shilin had no doubt why the file bag happened to be there, nor did he doubt anything Chen Ling had just said, because the Mind Serpent was coiled above his head, continuously drawing away his "doubts."

Wen Shilin bent down and picked up the file bag, intending to return it to Chen Ling, but found that Chen Ling was nowhere to be seen. He was so severely injured that he probably wouldn't be concerned about this job application file.

He could only retrieve the file bag from the blood, carefully wipe away the bloodstains, and plan to return it to Chen Ling next time they met.

Just then, a tear opened at the bottom of the file, and several pages floated out.

Wen Shilin looked down, finding that most of the papers contained Chen Ling's personal information and resume, but when he picked up the last sheet, his brows furrowed unconsciously.

"This is..."

It was a photograph of a boy, about fifteen or sixteen, quiet and refined. On the back of the photo was a line of deeply etched text:

—Who stole your heart?

Doubt appeared in Wen Shilin's eyes. At the same time, the Mind Serpent coiled above his head opened its mouth wide, and the doubts it had just swallowed flowed back into his mind.

Wen Shilin stared blankly at the photograph in his hand, his doubts reaching an unprecedented peak. He had never felt this way when pursuing other news stories.

Who was this boy? Why was he in Lin Yan's job application file? What did "stealing a heart" mean? Was it related to his hospital interview?

Wen Shilin wished he could rush forward and stop Chen Ling immediately, but he ultimately restrained himself. Even so, his mind was restless and uncomfortable.

He shook his head and stumbled towards the other side of the road.

After Wen Shilin had gone far, a blood-soaked figure slowly stepped over the gravel, returning to his original spot. A biting cold wind brushed his hair, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Chen Ling waved his hand casually, and his twisted, broken wrist automatically returned to normal. The bloodstains on his body visibly faded, restoring him to his original pristine appearance.

He stood there calmly, completely unharmed, as if the broken bones and wounds from moments ago had been mere illusions.

The wailing cold wind swept across the desolate wilderness, buzzing through the empty warehouse.

Chen Ling pushed open the warehouse door again and slowly walked inside with his hands in his pockets, like an elegant actor about to step onto a stage. The roar of the machines masked the creak of the door and his footsteps, sounding like an accompanying musical score.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

"I really am Officer Tan Xin's person! Everything I said is true! Why aren't you listening to me?!"

"You can't kill me... I've completed missions for the organization! You can't just abandon me like this!"

A-Cheng, with a black cloth bag over his head, was chained next to a machine in the center of the warehouse. The roaring of the nearby machine was almost deafening, completely drowning out his desperate shouts.

Chen Ling stopped in front of him, a hint of mockery in his eyes. He suddenly grabbed A-Cheng by the throat with one hand and slammed him hard against the machine's surface.

A-Cheng's roars abruptly ceased.

A layer of skin naturally peeled from Chen Ling's face, transforming him into a completely unfamiliar middle-aged man. A cold, hoarse voice spoke:

"...Have you thought it over?"

"Thought what over?!" A-Cheng stammered in reply. "I-I'm telling the truth! If you don't believe me, you can ask Officer Tan Xin..."

"I've already sent people to ask. They didn't receive anything from you."

A-Cheng was stunned. "No, that's impossible..."

At the same time, layers of skin continuously peeled from Chen Ling's face, like mysterious and deceptive masks, as distinctly different voices rang out one after another:

"Boss, he's lying. He's not Tan Xin's person at all."

"Yeah... he's just struggling to survive. Maybe he even faked that location."

"Boss, that reporter and the other person have already been killed, completely eliminating future trouble. What about this one?"

"Is that even a question? Why keep him?"

Beneath the roaring machinery, A-Cheng couldn't pinpoint the source of these voices. Amidst the "crowd's" murderous tones, his body trembled slightly with fear.