NOVEL NEXT Vol. 1 - Ch. 372 - Success
"But speaking of which, that guy Francis has gone completely silent lately. We haven't been able to track down even a trace of him. And the people who keep coming after us—none of them have said anything useful." HuMin's face grew grim. She knew just how dangerous this situation was for all of them.
She herself had once died at the hands of his schemes.
But more importantly, they didn't know whether the drug Francis had been developing was a success or not. If it was… then that would be catastrophic for them.
Kang Xin lowered her eyes slightly, as if remembering everything that had happened over the past two years.
She only had one impression of Francis: he was a threat to HuMing's life.
In fact, it was because of him that she now had to spend her nights in places like this.
"If I had to guess, he's been hiding out to continue developing that drug. And if we prepare for the worst—then he's already finished it, and he's just waiting to unleash it on all of us." Kang Xin had long been mentally prepared. She saw her mission as one thing: to eliminate the obstacles in HuMing's path.
HuMin pinched her chin, a thought suddenly surfacing—something she had learned in the past.
The drug could be made, sure. But for Francis, the real difficulty had always been acquiring the raw materials.
That was why he'd clung to Cha Chai back then—so he could continue with the experiment.
"Our next stop is somewhere else. We have to get out of here. Whether we'll find—"
HuMin's sentence cut off mid-way. Her eyes narrowed, gaze locked on a distant patch of darkness.
Her hand moved to her hip, resting lightly on the grip of her gun—ready to retaliate at any moment.
Kang Xin felt it too. There were eyes on them—watching from the shadows behind HuMin. A silent, suffocating tension pressed down on them, as if they'd already walked straight into an ambush. Not a single sound had been made. Their enemy was hidden. Expert. Deadly.
"Looks like we'll have to split up and run. If we're lucky, maybe we'll see each other again. But it's fine. If we survive, we'll meet back up with HuMing."
"Okay."
Kang Xin gave a short, firm reply—her focus entirely on the environment around them.
A beat passed in silence.
Then suddenly—HuMin shouted.
"Run!"
Gunfire rang out from the darkness. HuMin drew her weapon and fired back toward the flash of muzzle flare.
Kang Xin sprinted in the opposite direction, running with everything she had. At that moment, only one thought filled her mind: she had to see HuMing.
That single thought gave her strength, her body charged with adrenaline. She had to escape.
Gunshots continued to echo in the distance. Kang Xin tore through the undergrowth, heading toward the boat they had scouted earlier.
Suddenly—a shadow appeared in front of her.
The figure's eyes were glazed white, unable to focus.
Under the faint light of the moon, Kang Xin saw the person's face clearly.
Even after two years, she recognized him.
"Shi Ren?"
The man didn't answer. He just stared at her, motionless, like a machine.
"You're with Shi Zhong now? Or… are you his puppet?" Kang Xin frowned. The way he looked, the way he moved—it wasn't normal.
And more importantly, HuMin had been one of the people involved in that incident. Back then, the reason Shi Ren went after Bai XingQi was because he'd seen Bai XingQi personally kill HuMin.
"HuMin's being hunted down right now. Are you really going to waste your time here?"
The moment the words left her lips, Kang Xin rolled to the side.
Bang bang bang!
Bullets struck where she'd been a second ago.
She'd almost died.
Now there was no doubt—Shi Ren was under someone's control. Francis's experiment had worked.
Kang Xin drew her gun and fired, but Shi Ren vanished into the forest.
Her heart pounded in her chest, racing like a drumbeat—every breath she took walked the razor's edge between life and death.
But soon, she forced herself to calm down.
Her priority was getting out. She didn't need to fight.
Breathing deep, she slowed her heart rate.
Her eyes turned cold, eerily reminiscent of HuMing's expression.
She gripped her gun tightly, ready to land a lethal shot in the dark.
"Don't move."
A low voice suddenly murmured right into her ear. Kang Xin froze in place, stunned.
She hadn't even noticed anyone approaching. The person was already right next to her—and had a gun pressed to her head.
"Run to the coastline. There are only two guards there. Take them out, and you can escape."
Kang Xin hesitated. The voice sounded… like someone on her side.
She tried to turn her head to see the man's face, but he pressed the barrel harder against her skull.
"Don't turn around. If you see my face, you won't live. Also—tell HuMing this: protect Han YunXi."
With that, he gave her a shove.
Kang Xin stumbled forward, then sprinted toward the coast without looking back.
The man watched her retreating figure, silently. After a few seconds, he turned around to face Shi Ren.
Shi Ren seemed confused. Their mission was supposed to be simple: kill those two women. Yet this man… had let one go.
The man stared at him for a moment, then raised his gun without hesitation—and fired.
Shi Ren's pupils sharpened for just a moment—as if regaining clarity—before the light faded again.
"A failure. You have no value."
"If you had fired the second you saw her, she'd be dead already."
He turned and walked into the darkness.
Gunfire erupted across the island.
Kang Xin took down the two guards at the coast with her bare hands. After waiting a few more minutes—seeing that HuMin had no chance of reaching the shore—she started the boat and left.
She would come back for HuMin.
She had to.
…
Thunder rumbled.
HuMing jolted awake in bed.
He felt like he'd just escaped from a long nightmare.
In the dream, everyone around him… was dead.
They lay in pools of blood, crimson cascading like a waterfall.
HuMin stumbled toward him, staggering with each step—until she collapsed before she could even reach him.
And right beside him, Francis stood, holding a vial, a vicious grin on his face.
"You see? I'm not dying by your hand a second time. I'll destroy everything around you."
Then—he threw the vial.
And at that moment—HuMing woke up.
He clutched his head, breathing hard, chest heaving.
That nightmare had felt far too real. It left him shaken—completely unprepared.
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