178. Awakening
Facing Lin Wuju’s smile, Su Zeheng remained calm.
“What do you really want to say?”
“Do you really think Wen Han ever liked you?”
Lin Wuju stepped aside, but Su Zeheng did not rush forward; instead, he turned his head in a daze.
“What do you mean?”
“Isn’t it strange that the Recycling Station has no targets this month?”
“Forget it.” With a cold laugh, Su Zeheng turned and walked away.
Lin Wuju did not mind and calmly walked in the opposite direction.
“You are the target.” He suddenly spoke.
Su Zeheng, who had just left the alley, stopped abruptly and turned his head. “Me?”
“Mr. Su, do you really believe that a witch would do good deeds in secret and have thoughts of goodness?”
Lin Wuju also turned around.
“Perhaps you haven’t considered that what you thought was real… might actually be fake?”
Su Zeheng narrowed his eyes and shook his head subconsciously. “Impossible.”
“The welfare house incident was orchestrated by her behind the scenes.”
Lin Wuju took steps toward Su Zeheng, while the latter stood rooted to the spot, shaking his head repeatedly.
“All her good deeds were for your benefit. By the way… Mr. Su probably doesn’t know what a natural witch truly is, right? That’s an evil, playful powerful soul, and perhaps no one can see her true face.”
“In other words,” he patted Su Zeheng’s shoulder with a smile, “what we both see is her disguise.”
“… Impossible.”
“You can ask her yourself; I believe she will give you the same answer.” Lin Wuju couldn’t help but smile again. “By the way! From the very beginning… she approached you to manipulate you. Including making her daughter call you Dad, including letting her mother meet you, including getting to know your sister, and everything else you’ve experienced with her… it’s all fake!”
The alley was deathly silent, and distant gunshots suddenly echoed.
Su Zeheng suddenly snapped awake, only to see Lin Wuju’s composed smile.
“In fact, you don’t need to ask her to figure it out yourself, right? But love often blinds people, gradually robbing them of their judgment. Frankly speaking… even I am stunned by Wen Han’s methods, and you being manipulated is not unjustified.”
With his hands behind his back, Lin Wuju gently nudged the other person’s shoulder.
“I won’t disturb Mr. Su’s work anymore; I hope to see you again.”
He slowly walked out of the alley, fading away with the wind.
“…”
The alley became even more silent.
Su Zeheng kept shaking his head in silence until another gunshot startled him awake.
“Not good!”
His expression changed as he suddenly woke up, rushing towards the sound of the gunshots.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
On the outskirts of the western part of the city, gunshots continued to ring out.
Su Zeheng finally stopped running, the deafening sounds still echoing in his ears.
But in front of him… no one was standing.
“…”
A strong wind swept through, bodies lay on the ground.
The criminal had vanished, and behind him came countless screams and radio communications.
Police officers rushed in quickly, nurses and stretchers urgently entered the crowd.
In that chaotic moment, Su Zeheng stood motionless.
…
Boom!
As the last police officer left, a weak figure could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground.
The darkness of the alley swallowed him whole, an unprecedented fatigue and despair enveloped Su Zeheng.
“…I… I…”
The criminal escaped, and I watched him flee right before my eyes!
She… also lied to me, and everything was fake!
Thinking of the tragic scene just now, he finally understood everything.
He finally realized that, in Wen Han’s eyes, he was merely a toy from start to finish.
Just like everyone she hurt, just like every soul she intended to harvest.
Carefully as he was, he ultimately lost miserably, didn’t he?
The final straw broke the already taut, barely supported nerves.
After repeated awakenings and regrets, Su Zeheng’s nerves were like a stretched steel wire that lost its elasticity and finally snapped.
Silently hugging his head, he clutched his hair and slammed his head against the wall behind him, collapsing.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sirens in the distance echoed, the screams of the fleeing crowd vividly replayed.
“I… I failed… I failed!”
Buzz… Buzz… Buzz…
He kept muttering, completely ignoring the vibrating phone.
“I failed… In reality, I was always a loser. I lost…”
“Wen Han… You are even more… capable than I imagined.”
“I really… lost… I really lost… Hahaha!”
He laughed bitterly, closing his eyes, finally accepting the despair as he picked up his phone.
There was a sudden silence on the other end of the line.
After a while, Old Chen’s voice slowly emerged, “Old Su, it’s me.”
“…Sorry.”
The phone fell silent again, just like Su Zeheng’s empty heart at that moment.
Old Chen sighed helplessly, “Old Su, you’re our most elite member! How could this happen… Did something unexpected occur?”
“No accident, it’s my fault, I failed… Sorry, truly sorry…”
His head lowered bit by bit, his hand holding the phone trembling violently.
Su Zeheng lowered his head, everything before his eyes blurred.
He couldn’t distinguish whether he was overwhelmed by guilt over his failure or by Wen Han, or because he let the Monster Alliance escape, watching helplessly as the hostage was harmed.
Or maybe all of it…
It seemed he had lost his keen insight, losing all his abilities.
Suddenly, he felt like an ordinary person, his mind filled only with self-reproach and pain, anger and resentment.
All failures crashed upon his resolute body, causing Su Zeheng to laugh uncontrollably, his whole body shaking, chest heaving violently.
Yet, that laughter sounded more like crying, ending in silent sobs.
“Sorry… Really sorry…” he repeated endlessly.
“Old Su?!” Old Chen worriedly asked urgently, “What happened to you? You…”
Before he finished, there was a commotion on the other end of the line.
Moments later, Old Chen reconnected, his tone suddenly cold, “Su Zeheng, given your recent changes in condition and your dereliction of duty… the deputy director wants to see you.”
“…Yes, I understand.”
Old Chen paused for a moment, seemingly waiting for someone to leave, then spoke again after several seconds, “Old Su, are you alright?”
Su Zeheng smiled and shook his head, closing his eyes as he looked at the pitch-black world before him.
“Old Chen, can I ask you something?”
“Ask me?” Old Chen was taken aback, “What is it? Are you asking about how to…”
“No.”
Su Zeheng shook his head.
“You said alcohol makes one feel happy and forget troubles…” A faint smile appeared on his closed eyes, “Is that true?”
Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…
Crash!
The phone, with its screen off, fell to the ground as his arm weakened.
Outside the alley, police and nurses were orderly busy, the entire city in chaos.
No one noticed the figure slumped on the ground in the alley.
…
“This way! This way!”
“There’s still a pulse!”
“Hurry!”
Star River City, West Side.
Due to the sudden incident, the entire region was in panic.
At this moment, everyone was busy with their own tasks, no one noticed the figure standing in the intersection.
To be precise, they couldn’t see.
This was the fourth black magic Wen Han obtained: invisibility!
Click!
She put away the camera and gradually squinted her eyes.
“Me?”
Because of invisibility, she effortlessly witnessed the entire process and saw Su Zeheng’s collapse.
But why… should she be happy, yet she couldn’t feel joy?
“My emotions… are changing… changing!”
She spoke cautiously, but she couldn’t control the change in her emotions.
Wen Han turned and hid in the darkness, touching her heart, her gaze gradually becoming scattered.
“What’s wrong with me? What’s happening to me?”
“It’s not right! Could it be that I’m influencing Su Zeheng, how could he influence me?”
“Lin Wuju… and Lin Wuju! Why is he telling Su Zeheng these things? He never communicated with me!!!”
Holding the camera, Wen Han looked around frantically, but her heart couldn’t settle down.
“It’s not right!… It’s not right!!!”
Silent contemplation for a long time.
Suddenly, Wen Han’s brow furrowed, she roared loudly, her hair rising.
The black flames in her eyes suddenly flared up, then gradually subsided with her mumbling.
Her mood returned to normal, relying on what Su Zeheng had said.
Wen Han took a deep breath, her eyes gradually narrowing, like a sharp blade in the cold wind, carrying the cruelty of the icy world.
[Is it because I don’t know, or because I can’t bear to?]
[I’m just afraid of…]
[Emotions are complicated, sometimes you…]
[Those who play others will eventually be played]
[Are you the natural witch? Hmm… indeed extraordinary]
[I heard that my foolish brother has a natural witch under him? Indeed interesting]
[Mr. Su, you should let Wen Han choose for herself]
[I believe you will choose the Recycling Station, because you belong to the dark]
[En… If it’s you, I can make an exception]
[From now on, you and Lin Wuju will switch roles, Lin Wuju will be the assistant, you will be the station master]
[You think you are stirring others’ emotions, but you might be deeply entangled yourself]
[No, as your station master, I am just giving you a friendly reminder]
[A powerful soul can awaken the Demon King]
[Wen Han…]
[I’m really starting to like you more and more]
“Lin Wuju!”
Her eyes trembled, Wen Han finally widened her eyes and regained her senses.
She turned her head in shock.
At this moment, she was incredulous but also seemed to have expected it, clenching her fists tightly.
“So, I…”
“Am also a target?!!!”
