Chen Yu: "..."
He stared in shock at the peerless killer who had just kicked the door open out of nowhere.
He opened his mouth, his mind racing through a thousand thoughts, before finally squeezing out: "Shen Yi?"
The moment the words left his mouth, a blade was pressed against his throat.
Seeing the dark-eyed teenage boy staring at him, about to plunge the knife straight down, Shen Yi was quick enough to snatch it away. She calmly warned, "Don't just kill people casually. That's very impolite, brother."
Besides, she had known Chen Yu for many years.
"..."
Polite?
Was this a matter of politeness?!
Chen Yu didn't dare to breathe. Pale-faced, he cautiously shrank back and made a reasonable guess: "Shen Xun? Is that you?"
Shen Xun didn't answer.
Seeing the teenager's silent expression and the cold, undisguised malice in his eyes, Chen Yu was instantly certain.
It was him.
"We've known each other for so long, and this is how you treat me the moment we meet? Can your conscience take it?" Chen Yu opened his mouth, taking a long moment to find his voice. He asked tremblingly, "How did you guys get here? Wasn't Li Jianwei's lair surrounded?"
He had so many questions.
Shen Yi had no obligation to answer him.
"Let's go find Li Jianwei. I have a score to settle with him."
Chen Yu paused, nodded, and pursed his lips, his expression turning a bit dark. "Li Jianwei has a lot of intel. He might still be of some use to you."
People like him were only useful kept alive.
After saying this, he reined in his expression and subconsciously ducked behind Shen Yi.
His position perfectly kept him out of Shen Xun's line of sight.
"Chen Yu!"
Sasa's voice rang out from the other side. The woman rushed over, grabbed Chen Yu's arm, and looked him up and down.
Overall, he was alive, limbs intact, and his brain didn't seem to have any major issues.
Chen Yu was staring back at Sasa, but soon, his gaze unconsciously drifted to the people walking with her.
Shen Ruxu and Shen Zhizhao stood together.
The two were quite pleasing to the eye.
Shen Wenta, who was two steps behind, noticed Chen Yu's gaze and shot him an unceremonious glare.
His eyes held no emotion, looking as if he might pull out a gun and shoot him at any moment.
Chen Yu still couldn't help but take a few extra glances because of his striking looks.
He had been locked up until he was dizzy, his brain not working properly. In a classic case of his mouth moving faster than his brain, he blurted out, "Sasa. Where did you find this male model boyband?"
Sasa: "..."
"No," she quickly explained. "These are Xiao Yi's brothers."
"..."
"Wow." Chen Yu subconsciously glanced at Shen Yi, the shock in his voice far outweighing his fear. "That's really something. Your brothers put male models to shame, Shen Yi."
Even as a guy, he couldn't help but be amazed.
Sasa quickly pinched him. It wasn't too hard or too light, just enough to make Chen Yu shut up.
"He's been locked up so long he's gone a bit crazy," Sasa turned back to explain to Shen Yi with a stiff smile. "I'm going to have a little chat with him."
She dragged Chen Yu a few steps away, lowered her voice, and practically spoke through gritted teeth, "Can you just shut up? Do you have any idea how I managed to escape?"
At the mention of this topic, Chen Yu immediately dropped his joking demeanor.
"How did you get out of Que? And how on earth did you find this place?"
Sasa had no choice but to recount the whole story from beginning to end. Finally, she summed up her friend's family background for her partner: "Underworld syndicate. The Shen family. Do you get the picture now?"
"..." Chen Yu digested this for two seconds, before a sadly inappropriate realization dawned on him.
Those two cartons of milk he had, it seemed, would never be given away.
"...I remember she always used to tell us nonsense like 'I got thrown into the training ground again today' or 'Killing people is easier than doing homework'."
Chen Yu had a great memory and still remembered their past conversations. "We even laughed at her, thinking she was just going through an edgy teenager phase."
"Normal people wouldn't overthink it," Sasa said, her tone weary. "Que is finished now. Let's take some intel as a peace offering and jump ship to The Archive. Their organization doesn't use corporal punishment on their employees."
"That works?" Chen Yu said. "Then we can be colleagues with Xiao Yi in the future."
...
When Li Jianwei was dragged into the basement, the ropes dug into the old wounds on his wrists, burning like fire.
Someone smashed a rubber mallet into his shoulder blade.
Li Jianwei clenched his jaw, his mouth filling with the metallic taste of blood.
"Tough bones." The man squatted down and pinched his chin, forcing him to look up.
Li Jianwei simply twitched the corner of his mouth.
"Boss, this guy is too stubborn. Should we try another method?" someone nearby asked.
"No rush." The man released his chin. "He has value. His brain is worth money. Don't break him."
"Mental torture works best on people like him. Throw him into the white room tomorrow."
Li Jianwei hung his head, a mixture of sweat and blood dripping from the tip of his nose.
By the time he was cut down from the ropes, his left arm was completely useless.
Someone kicked him, and Li Jianwei simply collapsed sideways onto the ground, pressing his face against the freezing concrete floor.
"Don't let him die." Someone dropped the order as their footsteps gradually faded away.
Li Jianwei lay on the ground, motionless.
In the dead silence of the basement, a sudden loud crash rang out. The door was kicked open, slamming against the wall as the light from the hallway flooded in.
Li Jianwei narrowed his eyes. The light was blinding, and he couldn't make out anything except a silhouette standing in the doorway.
It was a slender figure, backlit, its outlines blurred.
But that door-kicking style was awfully familiar.
His heart skipped a beat.
Out of everyone Li Jianwei knew, only Shen Yi lacked manners to this extent.
He stared at the figure in the doorway with dazed eyes, thinking he was hallucinating.
Until Shen Yi stepped right in front of him.
Li Jianwei finally saw clearly who it was.
"Little killer." He stared at her, shifting slightly to lean against the wall. Blood trickled down his forearm. Perhaps not even realizing what he was saying, he murmured, "Are you here to save me?"
"Wrong."
Shen Yi remained expressionless. She raised her hand and delivered a vicious punch that sent him crashing back to the floor. "I'm here to beat you up."
