With the sound of "bang bang bang" gunfire, many of the people shielding Zhao Long fell to the ground.
"Boss, we need to get out of here," one of Zhao Long's subordinates urged. "Most of our men are unconscious. We don’t have the strength to fight back against them. It’s too dangerous—we should leave now."
"No."
Zhao Long's gaze darkened as he stared ahead.
"Today, Lin Xuan must die!"
Only if Lin Xuan died could "Ling" return to his side—his most formidable assassin. Only then could the name "Ling" once again strike fear across the international underworld.
Zhao Long's hand suddenly produced a crossbow from nowhere.
This crossbow could fire four arrows in rapid succession.
With a flick of his fingers, the arrows shot through the air, swift and unstoppable.
Lin Xuan moved to dodge.
Su Hua's heart clenched.
"Ah Xuan, watch out!"
She rushed forward and pushed Lin Xuan aside.
An arrow grazed her waist, leaving a bloody gash.
Jiang Qing, witnessing this, was baffled. "???"
At a time like this, CEO Su was still playing the martyr?
She could have dodged safely—why deliberately get herself hurt?
"Lin Xuan," Zhao Long sneered, "those arrows are coated with my signature poison. Without the antidote, death comes in three days."
"Lin Xuan, isn’t she the one you care about most? Then make Ling return to me. Otherwise, you’ll have to watch her die!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Think it over, then come find me."
With that, Zhao Long pressed a hidden mechanism. An opening appeared behind him, and he leaped into it with his closest men, vanishing from sight.
Lin Xuan had no time to worry about Zhao Long’s escape—even if he fired, he couldn’t stop him now.
Instead, he steadied Su Hua, quickly checking her pulse.
His eyes trembled violently.
The poison was a lethal blend of seven deadly toxins, meticulously brewed under precise conditions.
Just as Zhao Long had said—without the antidote, death would come in three days.
Lin Xuan knew the cure, but it required seven days to prepare. There was no time.
Would he have to watch Hua Bao die—or hand her over to the Shadow Organization?
Wang Ba scratched his head. "Well, the Golden Dragon Gang’s been paid, and the job’s done. We’ll be on our way now. Young Master Lin, if you ever need us again, don’t hesitate to call."
His eyes kept drifting toward Su Hua.
No denying it—CEO Su was stunning. Wealthy, beautiful.
But was she really in danger?
She was their gang’s golden goose. They couldn’t afford to lose her.
Then again, Lin Xuan’s medical skills were legendary. Surely he could save her.
Reassured, Wang Ba led the Golden Dragon Gang away in a grand procession.
Soon, he doubled back.
"Almost forgot something important," he muttered to himself.
"Listen up, all Golden Dragon Gang members!" Wang Ba barked. "Search every corner of the Shadow Organization’s hideout. Take anything valuable—leave nothing behind!"
Jiang Qing watched as the gang members eagerly looted the Shadow Organization’s treasures, her lips twitching.
No wonder they were under Young Master Lin’s command.
Their shamelessness matched his perfectly.
"Hua Bao." Lin Xuan held Su Hua close, letting her lean against him. His voice was soft, almost to himself. "Don’t worry. I’ll save you. You won’t die, and you won’t have to return to Zhao Long as an assassin."
Hua Bao would be fine!
The poison was fast-acting. Soon, Su Hua’s body grew weak, her once-vibrant lips now pale.
Hearing Lin Xuan’s words, a faint light flickered in her eyes.
So… Ah Xuan didn’t hate her for being an assassin?
Before coming here, she’d been terrified he’d think her cruel.
"Ah Xuan."
She weakly grasped his hand. "Don’t run away. Stay with me, okay?"
"Of course, of course. I’ll stay by your side, Hua Bao. I won’t leave."
Lin Xuan lifted her into his arms and boarded the plane back to Night Garden.
Su Hua fell unconscious.
Lin Xuan checked her pulse—just asleep, for now. He exhaled in relief.
"Young Master Lin, do you have a way to cure CEO Su?" Jiang Qing asked anxiously.
"No," Lin Xuan admitted grimly.
Jiang Qing deflated.
Her fists clenched.
"If we can’t find the antidote, CEO Su will die. Must she really go back to the Shadow Organization? That place devours people whole." She murmured to herself.
Her face twisted in anguish—but inwardly, she gave herself a silent pat on the back.
I never expected her acting skills to be this good.
"No."
Lin Xuan pressed his lips together. "No matter what, I won’t let anything happen to Hua Bao."
After returning to Night Garden,
Lin Xuan divided his time between caring for Su Hua and retreating into his research space, working tirelessly day and night to develop an antidote for her.
Over the past three days, he hadn’t shaved, bathed, or changed his clothes, letting his appearance become unkempt.
He wandered around in a daze, as if he had lost his soul.
Gazing at the woman on the bed, her entire body shrouded in an aura of death, he forced himself to continue administering acupuncture to Su Hua.
He needed to perform the acupuncture and administer medicine for seven consecutive days for her condition to recover.
But.
Even though he knew how to treat her, it was useless.
Because after being poisoned, Su Hua only had three days left.
"Hua Bao."
Lin Xuan held Su Hua’s icy hand. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone after the Mourning Syndicate on my own."
If he hadn’t sought them out, Hua Bao wouldn’t have followed, wouldn’t have gotten hurt, wouldn’t have been poisoned.
"Ah Xuan."
Su Hua weakly opened her eyes. "Don’t run away anymore, okay?"
"I won’t, I won’t. Hua Bao, I’ll never run away again in this lifetime," Lin Xuan rasped, his voice hoarse with emotion.
A faint glimmer flashed through Su Hua’s eyes.
Ah Xuan was being so obedient now…
"And, Ah Xuan, don’t put yourself in danger anymore," Su Hua added.
"Alright, alright. I’ll listen to whatever Hua Bao says."
At this point, he would agree to anything she asked.
Su Hua’s lashes fluttered as she watched Lin Xuan’s worried, fearful expression. She wanted so badly to tell him the truth.
But she couldn’t.
She needed Ah Xuan to worry, to be afraid—otherwise, he wouldn’t learn his lesson. Next time, he’d just throw himself into danger again.
"Ah Xuan." Su Hua’s cold fingers traced Lin Xuan’s brows, his nose, his lips, before finally resting on his cheek.
"I love you. So much… so, so much…"
After speaking, Su Hua, weakened beyond endurance, slipped back into unconsciousness.
transmigrates into the role of a villainous rich second-generation kid in an urban fantasy novel, and gets bound to a god-tier choice system. Right at the start, he catches the female lead stealing exam papers! This triggers the villain's choice options! [Choice 1: Pretend you didn't see anything] [Choice 2: Loudly call her out, drawing everyone's attention] [Choice 3: ...] And thus, a twisted villain is born. To avoid getting killed by the protagonist, he has no choice but to take down all the protagonists first. Jiang Che: Nobody understands being twisted better than me!
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
