Chapter 00139: The Long Night Comes to an End
# The Long Night Comes to an End
Chapter 139
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 139: The Long Night Comes to an End
"Hum hum hum~ hum~ hum hum hum~ hum~"
In the midst of soft and indistinct singing, a fleeting and slender figure darted through the neon lights and night shadows of the city.
Like a weightless ghost, she leaped between towering buildings, each jump carried by a gentle breeze, as if soaring through the sky.
And so, she landed atop an apartment building.
Defying gravity, she descended along the wall, kicked open a half-closed window, and leaped into a room where the lights were still on.
"Ah Ran, I'm back."
What greeted her was a sword aura so refined it seemed to hover between existence and nothingness!
A relentless barrage of a hundred sword strikes came roaring at her!
The sword auras converged like a storm, filling the overly narrow living room and completely engulfing her.
But soon, the countless sword auras, sharper than any blade, dissipated under a faint glow.
An Ning stepped in and saw a familiar face...
Already brimming with anger!
"Don't bully Ji Jue!"
"Throwing a tantrum now?"
An Ning was slightly taken aback, then nodded in realization, "Hmm, it's been two years. Ah Ran has grown up."
With a light sigh, her figure suddenly surged forward, appearing right in front of An Ran without warning, effortlessly dismantling and crushing his long-prepared fierce attack.
Finally, with practiced ease, she grabbed his wrist, twisted it, and pinned him down on the sofa.
Just like the countless outcomes of their past duels.
Little An, utterly defeated.
Finally, she leaned down and asked curiously:
"Are you trying to steal your sister's man now?"
Little An was stunned, so shocked he forgot his anger, shaking his head vigorously, "I, Ji, Ji Jue and I aren't like that! Men and men can't possibly..."
But An Ning leaned closer, staring straight at him.
"It's possible, very possible!" she retorted firmly, "As long as it's true love, age, status, and position don't matter. Should gender be a problem?"
"Ji Jue and I aren't in a relationship like that!"
"Oh ho?"
An Ning's smile grew even more delighted, "Since you're not planning to steal your sister's man... then you'll definitely help me, right?"
She paused, her smile growing sweeter, and released his hand, "After all, if I marry him, wouldn't you and Ji Jue get to spend every day together?"
"I..."
Little An was at a loss for words, instinctively not wanting Ji Jue to have too much contact with his sister, nor approving of them being together, "Ji Jue wouldn't like you!"
"Is that so? Hard to say."
An Ning raised a slender finger, twirling a strand of hair by her ear, revealing her delicate cheek, "After all, I'm quite pretty, prettier than you."
"Useless!"
Little An straightened up, retorting firmly, "Ji Jue never judges by appearances!"
"But I'm talented and strong too, maybe ten or a hundred times stronger than you?"
An Ning rested her chin on her hand, still smiling, "Besides, if I work a bit harder, I can kick Second Uncle aside, and after Grandpa and Dad pass, I might just become the head of the An family. With the An family backing me, wouldn't he have everything he wants?"
"So what?"
Little An glanced disdainfully, his resolve growing firmer, "Ji Jue never cares about power, nor does he compare people based on strength or family background!"
"Is that so? Then it seems I have no advantage in his eyes."
Though she said so, An Ning didn't seem the least bit flustered, her smile growing more cunning, making An Ran feel a sense of foreboding, as he heard her soft words:
"In that case, my only advantage would be... being rich?"
"Gulp..."
An Ran was dumbfounded.
Stiffly, he swallowed.
Only on this point, he couldn't find a rebuttal even after scouring the holy texts.
An Ning had found his weakness, An Ning had launched her attack.
Thus, An Ning had won the match.
An Ran, utterly defeated, unable to recover.
"Hmm, it's decided then! As long as I give him a lot of money, he'll never forget me!"
An Ning pressed her advantage, "I remember he fixes cars, right? Buying a car... too ordinary, doesn't seem like it would leave much of an impression..."
As she spoke, she pulled out her phone and dialed, "Hello? Dad, it's me, I've found a man, give me money. I want to buy that sports car factory from Universal Heavy Industries to give to him..."
It's over, it's over, all over!
An Ran was drenched in sweat, his gaze unfocused.
As if he could already see Ji Jue being bought off by his sister with money, turning into a hedonistic, aimless, and decadent man...
No, this can't happen!
I must save Ji Jue from my sister's clutches!
What to do? What to do! What to do?!
On the day before his sixteenth birthday, An Ran for the first time understood the meaning of helplessness and despair.
Fortunately... in the end, An Ning didn't buy the car factory.
Because Dad wasn't willing to fork over the money.
Not out of stinginess for such a modest gift.
But in the eyes of a pure-hearted middle-aged man, without a formal confession and courtship, it doesn't count as a relationship.
Long live pure love!
Little An resolved to work more, take on more jobs, and earn a lot of money for Ji Jue, to help him stick to his ideals and resist his sister's evil temptations!
Strive! Work hard! Grow stronger!
Leave my weakness behind...
This strength is the reason to protect Ji Jue!
Outside the window, the long night stretched on.
The moonlight gradually hid behind the clouds.
The darkness was as eternal as a nightmare.
.
Nightmares and hell are both in the blood.
At Jici Hospital, in the inpatient building, at the end of a blood-red corridor, a crisp sound echoed.
Ding—
The elevator doors opened, revealing a face with exposed bones, staggering out step by step on a left leg.
From the tattered, empty left sleeve, blood dripped.
"Isn't this day a bit too exciting?"
Old Lin raised his left hand, formed of black smoke and sparks, and touched his face, forcibly reattaching his broken jaw, smoothing out the torn skin, piecing together his original appearance.
In the reflection of the window, he examined his now hideous appearance.
And behind the elevator doors lay a hell filled with bones and blood, utterly silent.
"Tch."
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
Step by step, he walked through the corridor littered with corpses.
Finally, he pushed open the door to the ward.
Amidst the chaos, a weary sigh was heard.
"Too late, Old Lin."
On the floor, amidst overturned carts and tangled cables and IV lines, Chen Xingzhou looked up, greeting hoarsely, "Something happen?"
In his arms, a nurse struggled violently, spitting out bloody bubbles.
Her spasming hands clawed at Chen Xingzhou's face, leaving deep, bone-exposing scratches.
Thus, in such a wretched state, she met her end.
Silence fell.
"Looks like things are going well, the surgery was a success, the panacea wasn't wasted on you."
His equally battered partner grinned mockingly, "After all that dying and coming back to life, what's the point?"
"Since I started hustling at seven, and by eleven was working for the big shots, I've understood one thing—a real man either dies without a burial, clean and simple, or wins completely, with grandeur. If you don't dare to gamble with your own life, are you even a man?"
Chen Xingzhou struggled to release his grip, ignoring the crimson flowing from his abdomen, coughing, gasping, then looking up, "Got a smoke?"
"Smoking now? Looking to die?"
Old Lin scoffed, his remaining right hand fumbling in his pocket for a while before tossing over a cigarette pack and lighter.
A wisp of smoke rose from the flame.
White mist slowly exhaled.
Chen Xingzhou lay comfortably in the pool of blood at the foot of the bed, ignoring the agony in his guts and the shadow of death, as if without a care in the world, "You look like you've aged a lot. Has it been that bad since I died?"
"Pretty relaxing, actually. One less troublesome boss, feels like retirement every day," Old Lin replied nonchalantly, "But Yubo, that kid, has had it rough these past couple of days, probably can't hold on much longer."
Chen Xingzhou was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I've burdened him."
"No, I think his only hope now is for you to hurry up and die."
"Huh?"
Chen Xingzhou was stunned.
Old Lin shrugged, "He's planning to take a friend's advice, donate that money to the Chongguang Church. Then start over, alone."
"Haha, hahaha, cough cough cough..."
Amidst his coughing, Chen Xingzhou couldn't help but laugh out loud, "That's a good friend he's made, great, really great. Now I can die in peace."
"Don't say that, the wicked live a thousand years, you've got plenty of life left."
"Doesn't sound like a compliment."
"Take it as you will, you're no saint either."
Old Lin extended his single arm, hoisting the half-dead Chen Xingzhou off the floor and onto a wheelchair, then pulled out a syringe from his pocket and jabbed it into his neck, "Don't celebrate too soon, the game's not over."
"No, I've already won..."
In his daze and dizziness, Chen Xingzhou grinned, murmuring softly, "I've fought fate and won. This round, victory is mine!"
"Yeah, yeah, sure, sure."
Old Lin nodded helplessly, watching as the pallor of Chen Xingzhou's face gradually flushed with color, sobering up and regaining his senses under the influence of the expensive drugs.
Until the last trace of a smile faded from his face.
He had regained his composure.
Once again, he was the Chen Xingzhou he knew.
And in the blood outside the door, footsteps sounded, one after another, figures emerging from the shadows, standing in the corridor, waiting silently.
Until Old Lin pushed open the door, and a wheelchair rolled out over the blood.
"Let's go, everyone."
Chen Xingzhou nodded calmly, greeting his long-absent subordinates, "Let's go see some old friends, give them some good news."
He said, "The night is too long, I'm afraid we won't make it to dawn."
Outside the window, the last line of neon and light faded into the deep night.
In the endless darkness, there was only blood and death.
This was the brutal finale.
They left behind the chaotic ward and corridor, disappearing into the darkness.
Fifteen minutes later, Lei Yaoxing received the news: Jin Wujiu and Li Wentong's teams were completely wiped out, Chen Xingzhou was missing, whereabouts unknown.
Two hours later, a doctor from Haizhou Guangyao Hospital personally signed the death certificate, delivering it to Lei Yaoxing outside the emergency room.
After lingering for half a month, Lei Wuye finally breathed his last.
"One step slow, every step slow."
Lei Yaoxing gazed at the death certificate in his hand, then looked out the window at the deepening night, the endless darkness at the end of which the outcome awaiting him was faintly visible.
But unexpectedly, he was utterly calm.
"Announce the funeral."
He said, "Some things need to end, there must be a conclusion."
Four hours later, amidst sudden thunder, a downpour began.
As the sudden rain hurried away, a faint line of dawn light leaped from the edge of the sky, illuminating the bloodstains that had not yet been washed away.
For everyone, the night that seemed endless had finally come to an end.
(End of Chapter)