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墨書 Inktalez
Clutching the scalding USB drive, I dashed out of the desolate industrial area like a startled bird.
The darkness behind me seemed to have countless eyes, coldly watching my fleeing figure.
Adrenaline surged wildly through my veins, sustaining my nearly exhausted body.
The biting cold wind whipped against my cheeks, bringing sharp pain, yet it also kept me somewhat alert.
The contents of the USB drive felt like a ticking time bomb.
The laboratory, genetic modification, "perfect specimens," that mysterious man with glasses... and my missing mother.
All of it pointed toward an abyss I could hardly fathom.
I couldn’t go to the police.
At least not now.
Lu Li's betrayal was like a poisoned thorn, piercing the most sensitive part of my heart.
I didn’t know who else I could trust.
The only thought in my mind was to get home first.
Back to what I once believed was a safe haven, but now might be riddled with traps.
I needed an absolutely secure place to deal with this USB drive and contemplate my next move.
The midnight streets were empty and silent, with only the sound of my hurried footsteps echoing in the stillness.
Each flicker of the streetlights sent a jolt of fear through me, as if a shadow might leap out at any moment.
Finally, I spotted the familiar apartment building.
I took out my keys, but my hands trembled violently, and it took several attempts before I managed to insert one into the lock.
I pushed the door open.
The living room was shrouded in darkness.
I let out a sigh of relief, turned back to close the door, and leaned against the door panel, gasping for breath.
In the darkness, a deep and hoarse voice suddenly broke the silence.
"You’re back."
My heart stopped for an instant, and my blood seemed to freeze in that moment!
Click.
The lights in the living room flickered on.
Under the blinding light, Lu Li sat on the sofa, his face pale as paper, beads of cold sweat dotting his forehead.
He was still wearing that blood-stained shirt, the blood at his side had dried into a dark brown stain.
He didn’t go to the hospital?!
How could he be here?!
When I left, the sound of the ambulance was already so close!
A wave of shock and anger overwhelmed me in an instant.
He looked at me, his gaze complex—filled with pain, struggle, and a hint of something I couldn’t comprehend… despair.
"You…" My voice was so dry it was barely audible. "Why didn’t you go to the hospital?"
He didn’t answer; instead, he raised his hand and gently pressed against the wound at his side, his brow furrowing in pain.
"It’s just a superficial injury," he said softly, his voice laced with suppressed agony.
Superficial injury?
That was clearly a gunshot wound! It had bled so much!
He is lying!
Anger and disappointment churned in my chest.
I stepped closer to him, each step feeling like I was walking on the edge of a blade.
“Lu Li, tell me, who exactly are you?” I fixed my gaze on his eyes, trying to find a trace of truth in those deep waters. “What happened to the injury on your waist?”
He avoided my gaze, looking out at the heavy darkness outside the window.
“Nian Nian, some things are safer if you don’t know,” he said, his voice weary and powerless.
That phrase again!
That damn, self-righteous protection!
I could no longer endure this feeling of being kept in the dark.
The rainy night twenty years ago, my mother’s disappearance, the nameless corpse, the laboratory, and this damned injury on him!
What is the connection between all of this?!
I lunged forward, wanting to grab his arm and question him.
Perhaps my movement was too abrupt, or perhaps he was caught off guard.
He instinctively raised his hand to block me, and the collar of his shirt tore open at one corner.
In that instant, my gaze froze.
On his left shoulder near the collarbone was a distinct old scar!
The shape of that scar… peculiar and twisted, resembling some kind of… totem!
No! It was more than just a totem!
That shape, that position struck like lightning through my memory!
Twenty years ago, that man who kidnapped me!
In the chaos, I caught a glimpse of a blurred mark beneath the torn collar of his shirt!
How is this possible?!
How could it be?!
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
A suffocating chill filled the air.
I stared in disbelief at the scar, then abruptly turned to look at Lu Li's face.
His complexion turned pale instantly, his eyes filled with panic and... fear.
He instinctively tried to cover it up, but it was already too late.
"This..." My voice trembled uncontrollably, each word felt like it was squeezed out through clenched teeth, "This scar... twenty years ago... that kidnapper..."
My mind went blank as countless chaotic images flashed before my eyes.
A rainy night, fear, my mother's screams, the bitter almond scent, and... this damned scar!
Lu Li suddenly stood up, staggering back a step, distancing himself from me as if I were some kind of monster.
His breathing was rapid, his gaze flickering with pain and struggle.
"Nian Nian, it's not what you think..." He desperately tried to explain, but his voice was broken and weak.
"Not what I think?" I laughed bitterly, tears uncontrollably streaming down my face. "Then what is it, Lu Li! Tell me! Were you there that rainy night twenty years ago?! Is the scar on you left by that kidnapper?! Why did you come close to me?!"
My questions bombarded him like a barrage of arrows, each word laced with blood and tears.
He closed his eyes in agony, his lips moved but no words came out.
Silence.
A deathly silence enveloped us.
This silence, sharper than any explanation, pierced my heart like a dagger.
He knew everything.
He had known from the very beginning.
His approach was laced with ulterior motives.
The so-called love, the so-called protection, were nothing but intricately woven lies!
In that instant, my trust shattered completely, leaving not a single fragment behind.
"Speak!" I screamed hysterically, rushing forward to pound my fists against his chest. "Why won't you say anything?! Tell me the truth! Tell me!"
My fists fell like rain, yet I felt no pain whatsoever.
The ache in my heart had drowned out everything else.
Lu Li allowed me to vent my frustration, neither retaliating nor dodging. He simply looked at me with an expression of profound sorrow.
That gaze was like that of someone watching a precious treasure on the verge of breaking apart.
Suddenly, he seized my wrist with surprising strength, causing a sharp pain to shoot through me.
"Nian Nian," he said, locking eyes with me, his voice hoarse and heavy as he spoke each word deliberately. "Forget me."
Forget you?
How could that be possible?!
The two most important people in my life—one being my long-lost mother and the other the man I had loved deeply—were now intertwined with that nightmarish kidnapping incident!
How could I ever forget?!
"Let go of me!" I struggled fiercely, but I couldn't break free from his grip.
At that moment, a faint sound came from outside the window, as if someone was moving quickly.
Lu Li's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly pushed me away!
"Run!" he shouted, his eyes filled with an unprecedented urgency and fear.
I stumbled backward from his push and crashed against the wall.
Before I could react, Lu Li had already turned and dashed toward the window.
His movements were astonishingly swift, completely unlike someone who was injured.
What was he planning to do?
Jump out the window?!
This was the fifth floor!
"Lu Li!" I cried out in alarm.
He didn't look back.
Just as he was about to climb out of the window, it seemed he remembered something and abruptly halted.
He quickly turned around, rushed to the wooden coffee table nearby, and pulled out a small military knife. On the smooth surface of the table, he began to carve something at an incredible speed!
The blade scraped across the wood, producing a sharp "scritch" sound.
It was an extremely complex geometric pattern, with twisted lines that exuded a strange and sinister aura.
It felt vaguely familiar yet utterly foreign.
After carving the last stroke, he looked deeply into my eyes, filled with determination and… warning.
Then, without looking back, he leaped out of the window and vanished into the heavy darkness of the night.
The movements were clean and swift, as if rehearsed countless times.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
I stood frozen, my mind blank.
He... just vanished like that?
Jumped from the fifth floor?!
I rushed to the window, peering down.
The ground below was empty, illuminated only by dim streetlights and the swaying shadows of trees.
No one was there.
Lu Li had simply disappeared into thin air.
As if he had never existed at all.
Only that eerie symbol, etched into the coffee table, remained, exuding an ominous aura.
My legs went weak, and I slowly slid down against the wall until I was on the floor.
A profound emptiness and despair washed over me like a tidal wave.
Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision.
Deceit, betrayal, disappearance...
The shadows of twenty years ago enveloped me once more.
I curled up on the cold ground, like a child abandoned by the whole world, weeping uncontrollably.
Why?
Why did this have to happen?
Amidst my tears, fragmented memories surged into my mind without warning.
The swaying carriage...
The pungent smell of medicine...
In the darkness, a man's deep voice...
And a vague, spinning... symbol...
The shape of that symbol...
Was surprisingly similar to the one left by Lu Li on the table?!
My cries abruptly ceased, and a chill shot from my feet to the top of my head.
What do these fragmented memories mean?
What connection do they have with Lu Li's disappearance and my mother's vanishing?
What does the symbol left by Lu Li truly represent?
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