Warehouse No. 1

(Second Part)

Xu Jie screamed and struggled to her feet in a panic, rus.h.i.+ng to take cover behind a chair. She looked at s.h.i.+ Jin with eyes filled with fear and disbelief.

When s.h.i.+ Jin raised his head just now, his face had suddenly looked like Yun Jins, and his voice seemed to become softer and more feminine; it was as if it were Yun Jin speaking to her, saying that she knew everything Xu Jie had done, saying that she wanted to plunge her into the depths of despair.

No, impossible, Yun Jin was dead. The person in front of her was s.h.i.+ Jin, that s.l.u.ts sp.a.w.n.

She tried to convince herself, blinking and blinking to try and dispel the illusion. However, the more she blinked, the more s.h.i.+ Jins figure looked like his mother, even his expression slowly appeared more and more like Yun Jins. Finally, unable to bear it, she ducked down behind the chair, lowering her head and completely hiding herself. Kill her! I order you to kill her! Ive paid you for this, so hurry up and kill her! she screamed, her voice shaking.

Xiao Sis buff was only effective against Xu Jie, the only one who had actually seen Yun Jin and held a guilty conscience. Therefore, to the members of Tarantula, it looked like Xu Jie had exchanged a few words with s.h.i.+ Jin, then suddenly hid behind her chair for no apparent reason and started raving like a madwoman.

Are you sick in the head? The guard team leader scowled at her, motioning for his subordinates to ignore Xu Jie and stay put.

s.h.i.+ Jin hadnt expected Xu Jie to have such a huge reactionreally, wasnt she acting too scared? After checking the time, he poked Xiao Si in his mind and, with a little reluctance, asked it to remove the buff for the moment.

When the buff disappeared, s.h.i.+ Jin did find himself feeling a little unwell, but because it hadnt been applied for long, the degree of discomfort was still within the tolerable range. He moved his bound legs, giving himself a moment to adjust, then cleared his throat with a low cough and looked at Xu Jie. What are you hiding for, didnt you want to chat? Why are you panicking all of a sudden?

It wasnt Yun Jins voice anymore.

Xu Jie gripped the back of the chair tight in her hands. Calming down a little, she peered over the chair at s.h.i.+ Jin, wary; seeing that he didnt look like anyone but himself, she almost fell to the ground as her tense body relaxed.

s.h.i.+ Jin raised his eyebrows, deliberately taunting her. You seem to be terrified of me? Huh, I thought youd be difficult to deal with, but it turns out it was all bluff and bl.u.s.ter to cover up your fear.

Xu Jies face went taut at his ridicule. Realizing that her recent behavior was extremely disgraceful, she quickly straightened her skirt and stood up, looking down at s.h.i.+ Jin from a dominant position. She glanced at the members of Tarantula out of the corner of her eye, only to see that they were looking at her like they were watching somebody mentally deranged, and her expression stiffened further. She sat back down in the chair, acting as if nothing had happened, and said, Im just playing with you. At this point, youre just an insect in the palm of my hand that I can crush whenever I wishyou think Im afraid of you?

I dont think so, I know so, s.h.i.+ Jin replied innocently. I mean, a moment ago, you very obviously showed everyone how much I scare you, so did I say anything wrong?

Xu Jies expression sank. Youre looking for death, you d.a.m.n mongrel! I should have killed you as soon as you were born!

You? s.h.i.+ Jin shook his head, giving her a look of derision mixed with pity. You couldnt even step in the front door of my house. After we moved to M country, whenever you were there as well, Dad would send people to watch you to make sure that you couldnt get close enough to even catch sight of me, much less kill me. Do you really think I dont know anything at all? Among all Dads women, youre the only one he didnt choose. Do you really not have any idea how much he disliked you? If Xu Chuan hadnt done his best to speak up for you back then, Dad wouldve gotten rid of you straight awayonce you climbed into his bed, he knew exactly what kind of scheming, calculating woman you were. Ive heard you think of yourself as Dads rightful wife? Wake up. Even if there was something like that, that would be Fei Yujings mother rather than youat least Dad took the initiative to woo her.

Xu Jies face flushed, then turned white. Her hands clenched on the chairs armrests, she cried out, What do you know?! Woo? You think they deserve that word? Theyre just a bunch of baby-making machines s.h.i.+ Xingrui boughtas if they can be compared to me!

Baby-making machines? s.h.i.+ Jins tone was flat, but his words were deadly. At least Dad was willing to pay them to birth a child, but what about you? You managed to get pregnant after sleeping with him, but if it werent for Big Brother resembling Dad so much, you wouldve been run off as a scammer. I heard you lived with Dad for a few months after giving birth. After that first time, he never touched you again, did he? Ive seen your medical records for postpartum depressionaccording to the psychiatrists notes, you seemed to be complaining about Dad not wanting to sleep with you?

The last fig leaf torn off, Xu Jies expression distorted with fury. She surged to her feet and rushed at s.h.i.+ Jin, screaming, Nonsense! The reason Xingrui didnt touch me was that Id just given birth, he was worried about my body! He loved me, he loved me more than anyone else! Im going to rip out your tongue, dig out your eyesIll make you beg for death!

The guards promptly moved to block her. Step back! If you dont stop, we will throw you out! one of them warned, glowering at her.

Shoved back, Xu Jie staggered and nearly fell over again.

s.h.i.+ Jin chuckled. He loved you more than anyone else? Stop talking in your sleep, Xu Jie. The person he loved the most was dead, and the living can never compete with the dead. And now, hes gone to reunite with his favorite person in the afterlife. You couldnt have him in life, you wont have him in deathyoure doomed to never obtain his love, for all eternity.

Snap.

The last string of reason in Xu Jies mind broke. She looked at s.h.i.+ Jins mocking smile, remembering s.h.i.+ Xingrui still pining for his deceased lover, even after she bore him a child, remembering him burying any information about that person so deep that no one could find any trace of it at all, remembering how he kept looking for subst.i.tutes and how obsessed he was with Yun Jin Then, an image of s.h.i.+ Xingrui, blissfully happy together with his true love or Yun Jin in the afterlife, appeared in her mind. At long last, her sanity completely collapsed. Shrieking, she lunged at s.h.i.+ Jin again. Ill kill you! Im going to kill you!

Boom

At the same time, the faint sound of an explosion could be heard outside.

The guards stopped Xu Jie once more. Hearing the explosion, very convincingly tense expressions appeared on their faces; after a brief exchange, they all took out their weapons and moved closer to s.h.i.+ Jin, keeping him in the middle.

Xu Jie was still struggling to get free, looking completely deranged.

The leader of the guards, who had caught her, raised a hand and slapped her. Were under attack and the enemies already broke in, keep quiet! he growled.

The enemies broke in already?

Her face swollen and painful and her mouth tasting of blood, Xu Jie was forced to regain some reason. She looked in the direction of the noise, disbelieving. Whats going on? Were being attacked? By who?

Who? s.h.i.+ Jin said with a smile. Of course, by the cripple who you said couldnt protect me, who else? Unfortunately for you, it seems its not your destiny to be able to kill me in this lifetime, Xu Jie.

Xu Jies eyes widened and she screamed in denial, once again struggling to rush at s.h.i.+ Jin.

Finally reaching the end of his patience, the team leader tossed her aside, cussing her out. He crouched to cut the rope binding s.h.i.+ Jins feet. Watch them, he ordered his subordinates. Im going out to check the situation. If I dont come back in ten minutes, take them and retreat!

His subordinates acknowledged the order and changed their formation to surround both Xu Jie and s.h.i.+ Jin as the team leader stepped out of the storeroom.

Xu Jie stared blankly for a moment, dumbfounded, then turned to look at s.h.i.+ Jin next to her. A twisted smile crawling onto her face, she breathed, How nice, I can finally reach you.

s.h.i.+ Jin gave her a sideways glance, sneered, and extended his leg to kick her without hesitation.

Thump.

Caught off guard, Xu Jie crashed to the ground.

Tarantulas guards looked over at the commotion. Seeing that it was Xu Jie whod suffered a loss, they turned back as if nothing had happened.

You d.a.m.n mongrel Gnas.h.i.+ng her teeth, Xu Jie struggled to get up.

Out of the corner of his eye, s.h.i.+ Jin saw Gua Ones figure appearing at the door of the storeroom. Asking Xiao Si for the buff, he kicked Xu Jie down once more, then deliberately got closer to her and whispered, Hey, dont you want to kill me? Come on.

It was a soft female voice again, Yun Jins voice.

Xu Jie shuddered. She looked up at s.h.i.+ Jin, but saw a womans face instead and screamed in horror. Scrambling back at first, she came to an abrupt stop, her expression turning vicious. Yun Jin, if I could kill you the first time, I can kill you a second time! Go to h.e.l.l, you s.l.u.t!

A womans shrill voice resounded in the car. s.h.i.+ Weichong started and instinctively turned towards the comm, then got up and tried to get closer to it. The other brothers also glanced over at the sound. Li Jiuzheng asked hesitantly, Was that Xu Jies voice just now? What did she say, shes going to kill Xiao Jins mother a second time? What does she mean?

The car was dead silent as everyone looked sideways at s.h.i.+ Weichong. s.h.i.+ Weichong stiffened, then sat back down and buried his face in his hands, a low howl like that of a trapped animal escaping his throat.

At this point, the last glimmer of hope flickering in his heart was completely extinguished. What was even more terrifying was that his mothers true face and past may be much darker and weigh heavier than he thought.

The other brothers watched him in silence, their expressions complicated.

Lian Juns cool voice broke the stifling atmosphere inside the car. He switched the comm to a two-way communication with Gua One, who had been the one to broadcast Xu Jies voice, and asked, What is the situation, have you found s.h.i.+ Jin?

{Yes, in the storeroom in the deepest part of the factory. Both s.h.i.+ Jin and Xu Jie are there, guarded by Tarantula, and Xu Jie is attacking s.h.i.+ Jin. Were not willing to risk charging straight in for fear of accidentally injuring s.h.i.+ Jin.} Gua One gave a calm report.

Lian Juns eyebrows knitted. Hold them down with cover fire and try to find a way around to enter the storeroom from the rear, then wait for an opportunity to rescue s.h.i.+ Jin.

Gua One acknowledged the order and began to discuss a detailed plan with his subordinates. Xu Jies voice, intermittently sounding in the background, provided an unpleasant accompaniment.

Hearing that, Lian Jun added with a frown, Dont let Xu Jie hurt s.h.i.+ Jin. Set up a sniperif she tries to do anything drastic, kill her.

s.h.i.+ Weichongs head snapped up. No, dont kill

So youre going to watch her hurt s.h.i.+ Jin? Lian Jun interrupted him, looking at him with eyes like ice. Dont try to interfere with my decision or Ill take care of both of you together.

Big Brother. Fei Yujing pressed a restraining hand onto s.h.i.+ Weichongs shoulder and motioned him not to speak, then looked at Lian Jun and said, Saving s.h.i.+ Jin is the most important.

Lian Jun glanced at him, then turned back to the comm, no longer paying any attention to s.h.i.+ Weichong.

s.h.i.+ Weichongs fists clenched, his body so tense it might as well have been carved out of stone, and his eyes already bloodshot from repressing all the emotions raging in his chest.

The sound of gunfire continued to flow from the comm, along with Xu Jie and s.h.i.+ Jins vague voices. Gradually, the brothers attention was drawn to their conversation, and the longer they listened, the uglier their expressions became.

When Xu Jie rushed over to attack him, s.h.i.+ Jin hurriedly backed away. He asked Xiao Si to remove the buff, pretending to look shocked and enraged as he said, You had a hand in my mothers death? What did you do?!

After going back and forth for so long, Xu Jie finally saw s.h.i.+ Jin show the panic and anger that shed been dying to see. Instantly feeling better, her desire to kill him grew even stronger. What did I do? What do you think I did? That fragile little girl wasnt worthy of standing by Xingruis side, so naturally, I sent her to h.e.l.l!

Although s.h.i.+ Jin was acting precisely in order to provoke Xu Jie into speaking her true mind, he still couldnt avoid growing angry as he listened to her. His expression cooling, he asked, She wasnt worthy? You think you were worthy?

The members of Tarantula spotted Gua Ones team and rushed to guard the door; they were completely focused on the enemy and had no attention to spare for stopping Xu Jie.

Xu Jie was quite satisfied with this situation. Now that there was no one to hold her back, and afraid that s.h.i.+ Jin would really be rescued, she reached inside her clothes and pulled out a slightly curved, finger-length iron wire, sharpened at one end. You think you can still mouth off at me? Go to h.e.l.l, you mongrel!

< Where did she get that?! > Xiao Si screamed. < Wasnt she searched? How come she still has a weapon! >

Women wear a certain item of clothing than men dont, and its possible to hide weapons there, s.h.i.+ Jin replied in his mind, quickly figuring out where the iron wire in Xu Jies hand came from. Dodging her attack, he said coldly, Mongrel? Out of all of you, my mother was the only one Dad was in a recognized relations.h.i.+p withhe put an engagement ring on her hand. Have you been deluding yourself for so long that you believe your own lies? As he spoke, he asked Xiao Si to give him the buff again.

An engagement ring? So what, shes nothing but a subst.i.tute as well! Xu Jies emotions had been pushed to the limit as s.h.i.+ Jin repeatedly avoided her attacks; she seemed to see the shadow of Yun Jin in him again. Her expression turning more and more distorted, she screamed, Its you, its all because of you, because you have this face! Why do you look like this?! And your hand, your ring finger, destroyed, Ill destroy them Yun Jin, Ill make you and your son live a life worse than death!

s.h.i.+ Jin dodged her uncoordinated attacks and slipped behind her. He kicked her in the calf and retreated again, asking, And what about s.h.i.+ Weichong? Have you ever thought about him, how does he feel with you not caring about anything other than killing me?

Kicked, Xu Jie stumbled and almost fell. When she heard s.h.i.+ Weichongs name, her reason returned for a brief moment but soon disappeared again. She turned around to look at s.h.i.+ Jin, her eyes murky. Weichong will understandhes only like this because you confused him and sowed discord between us. Once youre out of the way, hell return to being my good, obedient son. I dont care about anything but killing you? No, youre just the first. You, your mother, those other s.l.u.ts who dared to touch Xingrui and their b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, I wont let any of you go. Im Xingruis wife and the rightful owner of Ruixinganyone who dares to s.n.a.t.c.h what belongs to me deserves to die!

In the van, the brothers frowned and turned to look at s.h.i.+ Weichong. He in turn was staring at the vans comm with a blank expression, completely shocked by Xu Jies words.

In the storeroom, s.h.i.+ Jin was stunned as wellXu Jie wanted to kill not only him but also his other brothers and their mothers? He wasnt acting this time when he asked, Are you crazy? Big Brother would never accept you killing them! Theyre different from me!

What do you mean never? Im Weichongs mother, of course hell listen to me. Even if he doesnt understand now, as long as Im with him, hell understand sooner or later. Xu Jie was very satisfied with the expression s.h.i.+ Jin was showing now. Gripping the iron wire, she approached him step by step, taunting, Arent you doing so good at running away? With the wall behind you, lets see where youll run now. Hmm, what should I start with? Ive heard that Xingrui attached the most importance to your face, so lets destroy it first! With those words, she lunged forward.

s.h.i.+ Jin glanced over his shoulder, finding that hed been careless in his shock and actually let himself be herded into the wall. He frowned and ducked down to avoid Xu Jies first blow, then kicked her away. After that, he looked towards the door of the storeroom, where the members of Tarantula and Annihilation were pretending to fight it out, and caught Gua Ones gazethe play had gone on long enough, it was time for the curtain call.

The moment Gua One received the signal, he turned his gun towards Xu Jie and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

{Ah!}

A womans scream resounded in the van, then Gua One reported, {All the Tarantulas have been subdued. Xu Jie wanted to stab s.h.i.+ Jin, so I shot her in the leg. s.h.i.+ Jin is not injured. I repeat, we rescued s.h.i.+ Jin and he is unharmed.}

Lian Jun acknowledged the report and turned off the comm. Open the door, were going to pick up s.h.i.+ Jin, he said to Gua Nine.

Complying, Gua Nine pulled the vans door open and got out to pull out the wheelchair, then helped Lian Jun into it.

Big Brother! came Xiang Aotings sudden shout.

Lian Jun turned his head and saw that s.h.i.+ Weichong had gotten out of the car on the other side and was running towards the abandoned factory. Turning back, he ordered Gua Nine, Send people to follow himdont let him get hurt, and dont let him hurt s.h.i.+ Jin.

His words indicated that he suspected s.h.i.+ Weichong might hurt s.h.i.+ Jin because of Xu Jie. Fei Yujing and the other brothers exchanged glances, frowning, then chased after s.h.i.+ Weichong.

If youre seeing this notice, youre reading this chapter on pirate site the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.

The shot knocked Xu Jie to the ground. She landed badly when she fell, and cut her own face with the wire she was holding, disfiguring herself.

s.h.i.+ Jin stared at her, stunned. He looked at the fast-approaching Gua One and asked, What should I now? Disfigurement wasnt part of his plan.

Gua One misunderstood his meaning. He untied the rope on s.h.i.+ Jins hands and handed him the gun, saying, You can finish her off if you want to, Jun-shao will take care of the consequences.

No, I dont want to get my hands dirty because of someone like her, s.h.i.+ Jin replied, returning the gun. Although he wanted to take vengeance on Xu Jie, hed never planned to kill her. Get a doctor to dress her wounds, s.h.i.+ Weichong is coming.

As if stimulated by s.h.i.+ Weichongs name, Xu Jie on the ground suddenly moved, groaning as she struggled to sit up. First, she touched her painful, bleeding face in disbelief, then looked at her leg. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the members of Tarantula and the enemies standing together and talking peacefully, and realization dawned on her. She turned to stare at s.h.i.+ Jin, shocked. You, are you colluding? You, all of you

s.h.i.+ Jin looked at her, a corner of his mouth pulling up. You guessed it, this kidnapping was a trap, he said. Gesturing towards Gua Ones earpiece, he added, By the way, let me kindly inform you that s.h.i.+ Weichong heard everything you said to me, and hes on his way here now.

What? Xu Jie stiffened, then hurriedly turned towards the door of the storeroom, the movement making her fall to the ground again.

Its not just s.h.i.+ Weichong, my other brothers are here too. They all heard what you said, that youre going to kill them and their mothers. Xu Jie, no one will ever believe you again. s.h.i.+ Jin looked down at her and continued to twist the knife. Oh, and the Xu family is finished. Soon, Xu Chuan is going to be released on bailyou should be very clear about what hell do.

No, no, no Xu Jie struggled upright again. She looked at s.h.i.+ Jin with eyes full of hatred.

Not paying any attention to her glare, s.h.i.+ Jin leaned in close and whispered, I forgot to tell yous.h.i.+ Xingruis true love, who you tried so hard to uncover, was actually a man, and my mother was his sister by blood. s.h.i.+ Xingrui found my mother long ago and raised her in secret for ten years, hiding her until she became an adult. So you know, you never had a chance to win s.h.i.+ Xingruis heartfrom your appearance to your gender, everything was wrong. Spend the rest of your life tormented by this knowledge, Xu Jie. I wont kill yourather, I hope youll live a long, long life in pain, watching me and your only son getting along.

Xu Jie was so livid her eyes seemed about to pop out, and she bit her lips so hard they nearly split. She sprang up and threw herself at s.h.i.+ Jin, snarling, No! Im going to kill you! Kill you!

Sharp-eyed, Gua One pulled s.h.i.+ Jin back, taking out his gun to shoot her other leg. Before he could, however, a tall figure rushed over and enclosed Xu Jie in a firm hug, blocking his line of fire and stopping Xu Jies attack on s.h.i.+ Jin.

Shnk.

At the m.u.f.fled sound of the iron wire piercing through clothes and skin, Xu Jie froze. The wire fell out of her trembling hand as she raised her head to look at the man holding her.

s.h.i.+ Weichongs expression was heavy. Not paying any attention to the wound, as though he wasnt the one whod been injured, he met Xu Jies eyes and whispered, Mom, I really cant help you this time.

Xu Jies body trembled. She looked down at his abdomen, where the blood from the wound was beginning to soak through his clothes, and screamed. She rushed to support his body, shaking her head in panic and rambling incoherently, I didnt mean to, Weichong, Weichong, does it hurt? I did all this for you, dont look at me like that, dont

The iron wire didnt penetrate very deep. s.h.i.+ Weichong pushed Xu Jies hand away, face blank, and said, No, the only one you were doing this for was yourself.

I didnt, it was s.h.i.+ Jin who forced me, he set me up, these people are all working with him. He wants to frame me, to divide us Xu Jie explained as she tried to take his hand. Her gaze swept over the corpses of the Tarantulas that were scattered across the ground, when just a moment ago they had been chatting with Gua Ones subordinates, and her voice got stuck in her throat.

s.h.i.+ Weicongs eyes were full of disappointment. He avoided her hand and said, Even now, youre still trying to deceive me. Mom, I heard everything Even if this is fake, the things you said were your true thoughts. I dont think I know you anymore. How did you become like this?

Im not Xu Jie fell silent; she couldnt find a convincing explanation. She caught sight of s.h.i.+ Jin standing on the side, expressionless, and suddenly remembered him asking, Do you know what despair feels like? Blood drained from her face. She looked at the corpses, touched her ruined face, then looked at s.h.i.+ Weichongs dead, despondent eyes, and her heart trembled more and more. In the end, she couldnt endure the combined blows any longer and fainted.

s.h.i.+ Weichong hurried to catch her. He kneeled on the ground, silently touching her b.l.o.o.d.y face. A while later, his shoulders gave a sudden shake as a suppressed cry rose in his throat.

Seeing s.h.i.+ Weichong like this, s.h.i.+ Jins chest felt stuffy and painful. After the buff disappeared, physical discomfort flooded his body; just as he was about to fall down, his back suddenly touched something warm and arms tightened around his waist. He couldnt have been more familiar with this embrace.

Lian Jun. He didnt look back, only held the hand that had come up from his waist.

Its alright. Lian Jun gave him a comforting kiss on the ear. He followed his gaze to s.h.i.+ Weichong holding Xu Jie, and whispered, Are you regretting it?

s.h.i.+ Jin shook his head and turned around to hug him, evading the question. He buried his face in his lovers shoulder and closed his eyes.

Was he regretting it? No, this mess of a situation needed a clean cut, it couldnt be left to fester any longer. But

Revenge doesnt taste sweet, he sighed softly, tightening his arms. Im a little tired. He didnt feel happy at all.

Soothing him, Lian Jun stroked his back, and coaxed in a gentle voice, So from now on, leave this kind of thing to me Rest, Ill take care of everything else.