The Melee

Loving and not loving are inherently very different, always so clear-cut. Especially when encountering danger, that difference is laid bare before one's eyes, as if magnified under a microscope.

"Hahaha, you're not very big, but you certainly talk big. I really want to see how you're going to kill me. With that blunt knife of yours? Or with those thin, sickly arms?"

Hearing Bai Lin's words, Cheng Ling retorted disdainfully. However, her eyes betrayed her anxiety, and her steps slowly retreated.

Humans always carry a sense of fear when facing unexpected events, just as Cheng Ling felt toward Bai Lin right now. The wound on her wrist had mostly healed, but it still throbbed with a dull ache, reminding Cheng Ling of how the thin, weak girl in front of her had snapped her wrist bone with one hand.

If she remembered correctly, Bai Lin's gaze back then was just like it was now. And at this moment, that gaze was even more ferocious, making one utterly terrified. Seeing Bai Lin slowly approaching her with a machete in hand, Cheng Ling knew that although the machete was sharp, it still couldn't compare to the gun in her hand.

Cheng Ling didn't know what she was afraid of, nor why her body was cold and breaking out in sweat. She only knew that her hands were trembling and her heart was in a panic. And the cause of this fear was Bai Lin, who was only twenty-two years old.

Anger, resentment, and dread—all these emotions invaded her soul in an instant. Without thinking, Cheng Ling aimed straight at Bai Lin and fired. But because her hand was shaking, she missed; the shot grazed Bai Lin's leg, leaving a hole in the floor.

"Haha."

The emptier the space, the louder and clearer the sound echoed. Cheng Ling looked at Bai Lin, who was taking step after step closer, and really wanted to know if the spine-chilling laugh just now had come from her.

"You, what are you laughing at?"

Thanks to the dim light, Cheng Ling finally saw the corners of Bai Lin's lips slightly curved. At this moment, she was certain that the laugh just now had indeed come from Bai Lin. But Cheng Ling didn't understand; normally, Bai Lin never smiled easily, so why was she smiling now?

"I cannot waste time."

At this moment, Bai Lin finally spoke. Her voice was no longer as soft and gentle as usual, but carried a trace of hoarseness. While Cheng Ling was still dazed, she saw Bai Lin charge toward her, the distance between them shrinking to just a few steps.

The sudden situation terrified Cheng Ling so much that she fell backward onto the ground. Without thinking, she fired several consecutive shots at Bai Lin, but all of them missed. Cheng Ling's marksmanship was never accurate, and she always had to cooperate with others during missions. Now in a state of panic, her accuracy was even worse. Seeing Bai Lin already standing in front of her, Cheng Ling pulled the trigger frantically. But to her despair, the magazine was empty.

A fatal wound—just how painful is it? Many people probably couldn't answer this question, and neither could Cheng Ling. Her vision grew increasingly blurry, her body instantly stopped functioning, and fresh blood spilled from the corners of her mouth, uncontrollable.

Immediately after, her body convulsed and stiffened, her white eyes staring blankly at Bai Lin, while the machete was plunged straight into her throat.

Seeing Cheng Ling's eyes wide open, staring blankly at her, Bai Lin bent down, closed Cheng Ling's eyes for her, pulled the knife out of her throat, and set it aside.

"I'm sorry, but I still have things to do. Therefore, I cannot die."

After saying that, Bai Lin sheathed the small knife Chi Qing had given her back onto her waist and headed toward the gathering point. She couldn't delay any longer; the gunshot just now must have attracted the attention of Bai Jun's subordinates. Before long, this place would be surrounded.

"Bai Lin, where is Cheng Ling?"

As soon as Bai Lin arrived, she heard Ge Tong ask about Cheng Ling. She simply said "I don't know" and fell silent. In truth, it wasn't that Bai Lin wanted to hide the fact that she had killed Cheng Ling, but telling them at this moment would only cause internal chaos, which wouldn't benefit them.

"Who are you?"

As soon as Bai Lin finished speaking, another voice rang out. The pitch-black slaughterhouse suddenly lit up. The sudden light left Bai Lin's and Ge Tong's eyes unable to adapt. But there was no time for them to recover their vision; the battle had already begun.

"Hide behind the machinery!"

Seeing Ge Tong still standing there dazed, Bai Lin pulled her and ran toward a pile of machinery not far away. At the same time, she drew her gun from her chest and fired at the group. At this point, they had to shoot, since their intrusion had already been discovered.

A barrage of bullets struck the metal machinery, making clanging sounds. While firing back, Bai Lin silently estimated the enemy's numbers. Clearly, Bai Jun's men were fully prepared. Not only were they heavily armed, but their numbers were also terrifyingly large. Furthermore, Bai Lin noticed several men talking into walkie-talkies, meaning more reinforcements would arrive soon.

Their weapons were modern and their ammunition was plentiful, while her side only had a few bullets left. Looking up at the second floor and seeing no movement, Bai Lin aimed at a machine not far away, rolled out, and targeted an enemy's head.

One shot, two shots, three shots—Bai Lin fired extremely fast, without losing any accuracy. Seeing three enemies get their heads blown off by Bai Lin, Ge Tong touched her own neck in fear. She felt that Bai Lin's posture at this moment was extremely similar to Chi Qing's back then.

"Bai Lin, why hasn't Chi Qing come out yet? We can't hold on much longer!"

Seeing their ammunition dwindling, Ge Tong screamed. Bai Lin also had very few bullets left. The two hid behind the machinery, and after not firing for a while, even a blind person could tell they were at the end of their rope.

Hearing footsteps drawing closer, when a gun barrel appeared in her line of sight, Bai Lin aimed at the person's body and pulled the trigger without hesitation. The bullet pierced through flesh and embedded itself in the wall behind, while fresh red blood sprayed everywhere.

More and more enemies poured in. Bai Lin picked up a gun from the floor, grabbed the corpse, and threw it out. Taking advantage of the enemy's attention being drawn to the corpse, Bai Lin raised both guns and fired simultaneously. In an instant, all the enemies on the first floor were eliminated.

Looking at the corpses piling up on the floor, Bai Lin threw away the empty guns and ran up to the second floor.

"Hey! What are you going to the second floor for? Hurry to the car and let's get out of here!"

Seeing Bai Lin desperately running to the second floor, Ge Tong couldn't understand why this person would rush into the tiger's den when there was a way to survive.

No one answered Ge Tong's question, because at this moment, Bai Lin was only thinking of Chi Qing. She was certain Chi Qing had heard the commotion downstairs, so she should know there was trouble and retreat immediately. Yet Chi Qing had made no movement whatsoever, and the second floor was terrifyingly silent. Instinct told Bai Lin that something must have happened to Chi Qing.

Without time to think, Bai Lin ran straight to the second floor. She swept through the rooms, not even having time to breathe. Her stomach throbbed with pain, making her break out in a cold sweat. Her newly recovered body had just gone through a battle, and her physical strength was failing, her vision growing increasingly blurry.

Even so, Bai Lin did not stop. She was no fool; she understood that returning to the car and leaving now was the correct choice. But to her, what was the point of surviving without Chi Qing?

Her steps grew faster, her heart beating more rapidly. Looking at the black steel plate covering the hatch ahead, Bai Lin felt that this was the place. Regardless of any ambush, regardless of what was happening inside, Bai Lin only knew she wanted to see Chi Qing, to watch over and protect her.

Despite being mentally prepared, the scene inside still horrified Bai Lin. The steel plate covering the hatch was pushed aside; there were no secret mechanisms inside, nor any sounds of fighting. There was only one thing: the smell of fresh blood.

White walls, white floors, white instruments—everything had been stained red with fresh blood. Corpses littered the floor, including elegant young women and men in black suits. They lay there, breathless and lifeless, their numbers unclear, leaving only a striking red color.

Among the corpses, a man and a woman were standing. The man was a foreigner, very tall, over 1.8 meters, with a bulky build. He wore a green military uniform and dark green boots. And the woman was the one Bai Lin constantly yearned for—Chi Qing.

At this moment, Chi Qing was facing off against the foreign man. More than half of her black clothes and trench coat were stained red with blood, making her look as if she had just stepped out of a pool of blood. Fresh blood slowly dripped from her left hand, pooling on the white floor to form a brilliant crimson puddle. Behind Chi Qing, Zeng Kehen lay on the floor. Her face was pale, and she was draped in Lu Weilai's trench coat. Bai Lin didn't know what had happened to her, but she could tell Zeng Kehen was severely injured.

"What are you doing here? Hurry up and leave."

Seeing Bai Lin still standing dazed at the door, Chi Qing looked at her. Seeing that she wasn't injured, she felt relieved. But her softened expression quickly turned cold due to Bai Lin's disobedient behavior.

"You're injured."

Bai Lin acted as if she didn't see the foreign man, nor did she hear Chi Qing's questioning. She walked up to Chi Qing and said quietly. Bai Lin didn't care about the sharp, displeased look in those dark eyes, only slowly pulling Chi Qing's arm. Her entire body trembled, and she instinctively gripped Chi Qing's arm tightly.

"It has nothing to do with you. Take Zeng Kehen and leave. I'll handle this place, you..."

"No, I won't leave. I won't leave you behind."

"What are you saying?"

Chi Qing could hardly believe her ears. She seemed to have just heard Bai Lin say "no" to her. Before Chi Qing could understand, Bai Lin used practical action to shock her.

Seeing the other tear her gray shirt and use the soft fabric to tightly bind her left arm, Chi Qing truly doubted whether this Bai Lin in front of her was the person she knew.

"Give me some time. Trust me, I won't let you down."

Bai Lin also saw the shock in Chi Qing's eyes. She understood that this place was very dangerous. But leaving Chi Qing behind and escaping with Zeng Kehen was something she absolutely could not do. Now, she only needed to defeat this foreign man, and then she could take Chi Qing and Zeng Kehen away.

At this moment, she was by no means the weak and powerless Bai Lin; the situation no longer allowed her to continue her disguise.

She—Bai Lin—weak and submissive, would forever belong only to Chi Qing. But when facing others, especially those who wanted to hurt Chi Qing, she would absolutely never show mercy.

Looking at the other's arm shielding her, clearly so thin, yet her back seemed extraordinarily tall. Chi Qing seemed to see the image of her past self. Back then, she had also protected the injured Su Aoran behind her. No matter how much danger lay ahead, she never evaded or panicked.

Back then, Su Aoran had said to her, "Chi Qing, be careful." Now, she couldn't help but say the same thing.

"Bai Lin, be careful."