HuMing stared at the rising water, his brows furrowed in a deep line.
He was waiting for Bai XingQi to shut down the mechanism—but that relied on them staying alive long enough for her to do it.
“Looks like our time’s almost up.”
The water crept over their necks. HuMing held HuMin tighter, kicking upward again and again.
She was still unconscious. If he let go, she would sink straight to the bottom.
He looked toward the window—still no sign of anyone. Who knew where Bai XingQi was now?
HuMing rarely felt this powerless. To be drowned by Francis… now that would be a joke.
Before he could think further, the water swallowed his head. In an instant, he was fully submerged.
His gaze darted to HuMin—still unresponsive. Leave her be and she’d simply drown.
Without hesitation, HuMing pressed his lips to hers.
The sensation was strange. This wasn’t a romance scene by any means, but his mind couldn’t help flashing to melodramatic tropes.
If HuMin suddenly woke from a kiss now, that would be worthy of a script.
But she didn’t move. She remained limp in his arms, sinking with him in the water.
And despair began to gnaw at him—because in a few minutes, he would run out of oxygen too.
His vision blurred. In his mind, memories began to flicker like a reel of film.
He saw Ye QiuXue, Han YunXi, Xia XiaoXi, Kang Xin walking toward him, as if to guide him to heaven.
But before he could touch their hands, the scene twisted.
The sky turned a bloody red. Corpses clawed their way up from the ground, swarming toward him.
They were misshapen—missing arms, half their skulls gone.
He recognized every single one of them. These were the people he had killed.
It had been long ago—but he had never forgotten.
He knew his sins could never be washed away. Most of those he’d slain were despised criminals, sure…
…but some innocents had been caught in the crossfire.
No one could forgive him on their behalf. And if this was how his story ended… maybe it was time to stop here.
With that thought, he closed his eyes. His consciousness began to fade, his body sinking as though into the deep sea.
A familiar voice whispered at his ear.
“Dying won’t help. People like us—once we start down this path, there’s no turning back.”
“If you think you bear sins, then do what you believe is right.”
“I brought you into this life because it’s the only life I knew. Your future was never meant to be like this.”
“So—you can’t die yet.”
A burning sting struck his cheek. Someone had slapped him, hard.
His stomach lurched violently, as though to empty itself.
“Brat, who told you to sleep here? You’ve still got important work to finish!”
A rush of air filled his lungs.
Instinctively, HuMing coughed up all the water in his stomach.
He hacked and wheezed, his blurry vision slowly clearing.
The first thing he saw was wet steel plating. Then—just beside him—a pair of long, shapely legs and a body with dangerous curves.
He froze for a beat.
She arched an eyebrow at him, a playful smile tugging at her lips.
“If it weren’t for me, kid, you’d be floating face-down right now.”
That familiar voice brought a faint smile to his own weakened face.
Rolling onto his back, he glanced toward the window.
Bai XingQi was there, giving him a thumbs-up, her expression dripping with relief.
She’d gotten here as fast as she could. If HuMing hadn’t already taken out the security, it would have taken her much longer—long enough for him and HuMin to drown.
And of course, she’d had the master key Zero left her.
Zero hadn’t explained, just left it behind before disappearing. She hadn’t expected to use it here.
But because of it, she’d been able to disarm every trap in her way.
After resting a moment, HuMing turned to HuMin.
“How’s your body holding up?”
“I’d like to say fine, but right now I’m standing on pure willpower.” Her elegant smile faltered as she sank to the ground, too weak to hold herself up.
He wasn’t surprised—Francis’s drugs had harsh side effects. Temporary paralysis was a light one.
“I thought you might never come back.” His voice was quiet, enough to make her pause.
Then she smiled again.
“Someone told me I’d be saved, and until then… to become a ‘tool.’”
HuMing knew who she meant, and the thought stirred something in him.
He pushed himself to his feet, just as the nearby door unlocked with a click.
Bai XingQi peeked inside, relief plain on her face.
“You two okay?”
“Miss Bai, take her and get out of here.”
“And you?”
“Me? The mastermind’s still breathing. This story doesn’t have a happy ending yet.”
HuMing strode off, disappearing from their sight.
HuMin watched his retreating back.
Her mind drifted to the day he’d finished his training.
“Still as unshakable as ever… HuMing.”