As Jiang Yan’s voice faded, the factory plunged into dead silence. Everyone present stared at him in disbelief, utterly shocked that he would ask such a question.
Even the high school boy hadn’t seen it coming. He gaped at Jiang Yan, his eyes screaming, Are you an idiot?
Though the question was absurd, the others couldn’t help but eavesdrop, curious about Luo Qing’s answer.
Luo Qing stayed silent for several seconds before finally answering in a low voice, “I wouldn’t save either of you.”
“Why?” Jiang Yan frowned, clearly dissatisfied.
“You both seem like big shots in the organization,” Luo Qing replied calmly.
“If a few more ‘important people’ die, maybe I’d get a chance to climb the ladder.”
The crowd: …Well. That’s… ambitious.
Their organization operated exactly like that—survival of the fittest. When a higher-up died, someone below would inevitably take their place. Some even killed their superiors to speed up the process.
Power and money had a way of bringing out the worst in people.
Jiang Yan realized he’d asked a stupid question. This man was part of their organization, after all—no one here was a saint.
If Luo Qing didn’t push them underwater while they were drowning, that alone would count as “kindness.”
Besides, Jiang Yan wasn’t the type to wait around for rescue. If only one could survive, he’d make sure it was him.
Given only one choice, the selected person could only be him. Had to be him.
As for Lin Xingyi…
In this abandoned factory, aside from the traffickers and their victims, no one knew he and Lin Xingyi were here.
And the dead don’t talk.
Jiang Yan’s gaze darkened. Finally, he lowered his eyes, stood up, and left without another word.
Just like that, the farce ended. The others, oddly disappointed by the anticlimactic resolution, dispersed.
But it wasn’t truly over—not yet. Luo Qing still hadn’t chosen his “partner” for the night.
Until he did, neither of those two would let this go.
***
Everyone in the abandoned factory was curious about who Luo Qing would choose—everyone except the boss himself.
It wasn’t that the boss wasn’t curious. He just no longer had the chance to be.
The boss stared in disbelief at the steel pipe that had pierced his heart, then at Pei Rong standing not far away. Finally, with unwillingness in his eyes, he closed them and slowly collapsed to the ground.
Blood stained the floor—this time, it was the criminal’s own.
Yet this was all just an accident. The steel rod had slipped from above by chance and, by another twist of fate, pierced the boss’s heart as he passed by.
Just like that, the boss died unexpectedly, without even a sound.
In their line of work, death was far too common. The boss’s demise didn’t cause much of a stir. The human trafficking group took less than three minutes after seeing his body to elect a new boss.
—Pei Rong.
No one objected to Pei Rong taking over. In truth, he could’ve been boss long ago—his skills surpassed the previous leader’s. He’d only given up the position because he found it troublesome.
With the new boss decided, no one paid any attention to the corpse on the ground. Instead, they all bowed respectfully to Pei Rong.
“Boss!!!”
Amid the crowd, one man’s face twisted in pain as he rubbed his chest during the salute, as though his heart ached.
The person next to him, a close acquaintance, noticed and asked in a hushed voice, “What’s wrong? You feeling sick?”
The man’s hand paused. His lips twitched. “…It’s nothing.”
Seeing his reluctance to explain, the other didn’t press further—and so, he missed how the spot the man was rubbing matched exactly where the steel rod had pierced the boss’s heart.
The man stared at the boss’s corpse and the blood spreading across the floor, then rubbed his chest again, expressionless.
Damn, that was ruthless…
After greeting the new boss, the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only the chest-rubbing man standing in place.
The one who’d asked about him earlier frowned at his pained expression. “Seriously, what’s going on with you?”
The man gave him a gloomy look and answered in a heavy tone, “I’m contemplating life.”
The other: “?”
“Thinking about what to do next.” The man sighed, his voice thick with worry.
The person rolled their eyes, muttered "You’re insane," and walked away, leaving the man alone with a face full of gloom as he continued staring at the corpse.
Without his former authority as the boss, he had no way to guide Luo Qing anymore—he couldn’t even get close to him.
The man truly couldn’t understand how someone could emerge from the abyss of sin and walk the most righteous path imaginable.
No one could possibly commit acts of kindness while carrying out human trafficking missions. And yet, Luo Qing had done exactly that.
Wearing the mask of a criminal, yet performing deeds of utmost goodness.
No one noticed the man’s strange behavior, nor that his expression bore an eerie resemblance to the former boss’s.
No one realized that the missions the boss had assigned Luo Qing seemed designed to push him toward crime.
When the first attempt failed, the boss had even ordered a second.
Even telling Luo Qing to leave or choose a powerful figure to align with was a way to sever his ties with the police, ensuring he could never break free from the criminal organization.
It was as if a sinister hand were pushing Luo Qing deeper into the abyss of crime.
And yet, Luo Qing stubbornly stood his ground, refusing to abandon his principles or walk that dark path.
Humans were born sinful. If someone refused to cross the line, it was only because the temptation wasn’t strong enough—or because they hadn’t yet been backed into a corner with no other choice.
The man suspected his approach had been wrong. Maybe Luo Qing had helped the police because he thought the organization was doomed, given how closely the cops were watching them.
Perhaps he could work with that.
***
After meeting the new boss, Luo Qing felt a twinge of unease. The man named Pei Rong was no different from Jiang Yan and the others—he had his own designs on Luo Qing.
Honestly, Luo Qing wasn’t even particularly disgusted by it anymore. Strangely, he’d almost grown accustomed to it, as if he’d lived through this scenario countless times before.
The problem was, he didn’t want to be anyone’s "wife" right now. All he wanted was to survive.
Even if it meant serving twenty years in prison, he’d rather live openly in the light.
After the group dispersed, Luo Qing didn’t return to his room. Instead, he listlessly hid in a corner, unwilling to face the others.
Just as his thoughts began to drift, a voice spoke beside him:
"Why are you here alone?"
Luo Qing glanced up. It was one of the human trafficking group’s members—someone he barely knew, having only seen them in passing during full gatherings.
Luo Qing couldn’t be bothered to respond to someone he wasn’t familiar with, so he simply averted his gaze.
But the man seemed oblivious to social cues. He sat down right beside Luo Qing. "Struggling to choose someone?" he asked.
Before Luo Qing could reply, the man rambled on, "Honestly, any of them would do. They’re all big shots in the organization, and their looks are top-tier. You wouldn’t lose out no matter who you pick."
He sighed, his voice dripping with envy. "Stick with one of them, and you’ll probably become a big deal too."
Luo Qing stayed silent, his expression blank as he stared at the man, appearing to listen intently.
But that wasn’t the case at all. Something about this guy felt off.
Though they weren’t close, Luo Qing had a sharp memory—this man hadn’t acted like this before.
His gaze dropped to the man’s hands, and his brow furrowed tightly.
Why were his little mannerisms so similar to the boss’s?
The man kept chattering. After a while, he glanced around and, seeing no one nearby, lowered his voice, leaning in with a conspiratorial look.
"You know who’s really behind our organization?"
He seemed content to talk with or without Luo Qing’s input. "You’ve heard of the Lin Corporation, right? The multinational Lin Corporation."
"Let me tell you—they’re the ones backing us."
"Bet you didn’t see that coming." There was an odd pride in his tone. "Our organization isn’t some small fry. The police can’t touch us because they wouldn’t dare mess with the Lin Corporation."
"As long as the Lin Corporation stands, our organization will never fall."
His voice dropped even further. "Rumor has it, we’ve got connections higher up."
"The people at the top won’t let the police move against us. Anyone who tries to take down our organization would be cutting into their profits."
His expression turned gloomy. "Of course, small fries like us are still fair game. The organization might even throw us to the wolves as scapegoats."
He looked at Luo Qing, his voice thick with envy. "But you’re different. If you latch onto a big shot, no one would dare touch you."
Luo Qing studied him quietly, his delicate features tightening further. The more he watched, the more suspicious he became.
For a fellow "small fry," this man knew far too much—way more than someone in his position should.
The man had no idea he was under suspicion. He simply thought his persuasion had worked. Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he glanced at Luo Qing with a hint of gossip in his eyes. "Seriously, which one of them do you like more?"
Luo Qing didn’t answer. Instead, he lifted his pale chin slightly, gesturing toward the man’s back.
The man didn’t catch on at first, thinking Luo Qing meant him. His face twisted in horror. "Y-you… you like me?!"
"No way!!" His reaction was extreme—he crossed his arms protectively over his chest and shrank back. "I’m straight! You can’t like me!"
After a pause, he glanced at Luo Qing’s beautiful eyes and added stiffly, "Don’t think just because you’re pretty, everyone’s into you. I’d rather die than give in! Even if you got my body, you’d never get my heart!"
Luo Qing: "...Behind you."
Only then did the man realize his mistake. Awkwardly, he lowered his arms and turned around—only to see a tall figure standing right behind him.
It was Pei Rong.
The man: "..."
