Chapter 58: Stop 22: Sleepiness

Chapter 58: Stop 22: Sleepiness

Yan Qiling rummaged around the room and surprisingly found a bottle of water, which he then unscrewed and handed to the person lying in bed.

Ming Yiyang leaned against his pillow and drank, experiencing a strange sensation.

It felt as if he was being taken care of.

"Where are Chi Zihe and the others?"

"They'll be here soon, don't worry."

Ming Yiyang had intended to wait for Chi Zihe to arrive before taking the medicine, but blood loss made him feel drowsy.

He fought against sleep, but Yan Qiling sat on the sofa by the head of the bed, pulling out that manager's work journal to read again.

The rustling sound of the pages mixed with the howling of the storm outside the window, and he couldn't resist the growing drowsiness. For a moment, he felt as if he wasn't in the perilous realm of the Underworld but resting in someone else's courtyard.

He took out the pill bottle containing Sacubitril Valsartan tablets from his pocket and placed it on the bedside table.

"This is a medicine for Si Shuhao to try. I'm not entirely sure if it will work... It's pink, remember to have her give it a try..."

His tone was already blurred by drowsiness.

When Yan Qiling looked again, the young man was already asleep, his silver hair nestled within the pristine pillow, resembling a fluffy silver chrysanthemum.

Ming Yiyang's features were sharp, with deep sockets that accentuated his high-cheekbones. Being tall, he had a habit of looking down on others, whether standing or sitting, with an imposing gaze that seemed to pierce through them from below. His demeanor, be it fierce or arrogant, always conveyed a readiness to pounce at any moment, as if in a perpetual state of defensive alertness.

In his memory, this was the first time he had seen this person shed their tough exterior and reveal their vulnerability.

He appeared unbelievably gentle, even carrying an unconscious hint of childishness.

He was not entirely without guard, however. When Yan Qiling reached for the full cup nestled in his embrace, the young man foggily raised his bandaged hand in obstruction, laboriously opening his eyes as if to verify the intended recipient.

But soon he drifted off to sleep, his hand clasped firmly around Man Du's all the while.

Yan Qiling didn't force it but gently tapped Mengdu's head instead. When Mengdu pursed his lips, Yan Qiling whispered softly,

"Finish up and come over, I'll be at 212."

Gazing at the sleeping young man, Yan Qiling adjusted the blanket at the edge of the bed.

He thought to himself that if Ming Yiyang could remain like this, it wouldn't be bad at all. In that case, he wouldn't mind going against the norm to ensure this child's smooth sailing and safety.

-

When Song Yuan was brought in, he remained relatively composed.

His body was splattered with large patches of blood, reeking of a pungent metallic scent.

This person had a refined and gentle appearance; judging solely by his face, one would never associate him with being a crazed killer who used a gas cutter to brutally decapitate his victims.

Tightly bound, Chi Zihe nudged him into a corner, but Ming Yiyang remained unfazed, calmly observing everyone in the room. His gaze lingered a bit longer on Yan Qiling's handsome face, lost in deep and somber thoughts.

Si Shuhao, having taken a dose of Sacubitril Valsartan, seemed to have calmed down somewhat. Yet, Chi Zihe didn't untie her wrists, instead making her sit on the sofa obediently until dawn.

Yan Qiling glanced at the sleeping Ming Yiyang and then at the silent Song Yuan, lowering his voice:

"Where's Qi Yongxin?"

"He fled halfway through the binding. We couldn't locate him, he might be... dead. Ghosts seeking vengeance, you know. He took a life, so naturally, he pays with his own blood."

After Ming Yiyang left, Yan Qiling also stepped out.

Half an hour later, Yan Qiling returned to inform Chi Zihe to go and apprehend the suspect. Coincidentally, they received a distress signal from Ming Yiyang, so the two of them split up before reuniting now.

Sitting by the bed, Chi Zihe leaned in to examine the sleeping Ming Yiyang, marveling softly,

"This guy usually can't sleep through the night, but he's currently sleeping so soundly. This is his most vigilant In-Between World, after all."

"He lost quite a bit of blood. After having some water and resting, he'll be fine."

Yan Qiling, having glanced at the countdown on the train ticket, said,

"Wake him up in ten minutes."

Song Yuan, who had been overlooked, chimed in voluntarily,

"I didn't expect Qi Yongxin to choose murder just to divert your attention onto me. That's practically courting death."

"He said he knew you before entering the In-Between World."

Yan Qiling didn't object and engaged in a friendly conversation:

"Are you friends in real life?"

"Not really. We met in an online forum. If anything, he's my employer, though rather foolish, I must say."

Song Yuan expressed his disdain:

"I've already gathered information about this world – it's divided into factions. We prepared two strategies, and coincidentally, both he and I were chosen for the opposing faction."

"A golden opportunity, isn't it? As long as he follows my plan, he'll survive, regardless of others' actions."

"Really?" Chi Zihe countered. "Then what was the point of hanging the key to the cold storage on that corpse? If Qi Yongxin had found it, he'd be dead."

"Hmph, do you take me for a fool?"

Song Yuan remained composed:

"Can't others enter the manager's office just like him? Of course, I made backup plans. As long as someone other than him enters the cold storage, it becomes a trap. Besides, even if he gets the key, there's no logical reason for him to go in."

Yan Qiling smiled faintly.

"It doesn't matter about these small matters. Where's the access card?"

Song Yuan looked at him with an "as expected" expression.

"The location of the access card is known only to me. I can give it to you, but to ensure safety, you'll have to give me a hostage."

Yan Qiling said, "I can be your hostage."

Song Yuan didn't look at him, instead staring straight at Si Shuhao, who was beginning to yawn due to sleepiness.

"I don't want you. I want her! I want that woman as my hostage."

Halfway through her yawn, Si Shuhao: Huh? !

Confusion spread across her face, and the urge to kill that had been stirring in her heart suddenly intensified — if she hadn't been bound and unable to move, she would have definitely engaged this arrogant speaker in a fierce battle.

"Even if she were to become your hostage, how would you proceed with negotiating with us?"

The man wore a enigmatic smile, his yin-yang eyes gazing at him with a hint of mischief.

"Are you suggesting a location for us to search?"

"Why not? I can stay within your sight, as long as I have the hostage with me. Once you retrieve the access card and we exit, I'll release her at the stairway. Don't chase, don't press me, and no incident will occur."

Yan Qiling observed that this person named Song Yuan was indeed exceptionally skilled in negotiation.

He was skilled at reading the situation and could swiftly grasp crucial information, formulating a favorable strategy for himself in no time.

Especially for those who harbored hopes yet wished to avoid enmity, such an offer held immense allure.

But...

"There's no need for you to volunteer anything."

The man with a gentle demeanor spoke in a non-threatening tone.

"Here you are, you're your own hostage. Whether or not you speak is entirely up to you. As for me, I have many ways to make you wish you were dead without actually killing you."

Chi Zihe obligingly cracked his knuckles with a "snap, snap," the ring on his left ring finger shimmering in the light.

A fleeting hint of fear finally flickered across Song Yuan's face.

That fear crescendoed when a silvery cord, like a snake, slithered out from under the covers!

The cold rope climbed up his ankles, coiling around his neck at a leisurely pace before tightening slightly around his throat.

"Dying is easy," said the person controlling the rope nonchalantly.

"Living a miserable existence takes more skill. But don't worry, while I haven't mastered this art to its peak, I've delved quite deeply into it."

Before Song Yuan could utter a word, he was already seeing stars from the constriction. By the time he regained some semblance of consciousness, he found himself slumped against the wall, his throat burning with pain.

"You think this will make me tell you... Think again, it'll never happen!"

Song Yuan was well aware that if he gave in, whether he lived or died would ultimately depend on these people's decision.

But if he didn't yield, they would at least have to beg him by the time the power was about to cut off the next day.

"Your thoughts are transparent to me," Yan Qiling said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, as cold as an abandoned jade. "You're hoping to hold out until tomorrow, waiting for the hotel to lose power, forcing us to compromise with you, right?"

"I can remove you from the hotel right now and let you freeze to death in the blizzard," he continued. "Then I'll simply cut the power and return. I'll tell everyone that it was you who caused the outage, and now that the power system is down, the ski resort's door can be pushed open. We still have eight people, and that heavy iron door can still be moved."

Song Yuan was astonished by how ruthless this person was.

"There's still the night to endure tomorrow!"

"No problem, we've got the boiler room," Yan Qiling replied with a smile. "You don't need to worry about our survival. As long as we're alive, there will always be a way."

Song Yuan was speechless.

His lips trembled, and after taking a deep breath, he said,

"…You promised not to kill me."

"As long as you hand over the correct access card," Yan Qiling said. "We won't harm you."

After a long and arduous struggle, Song Yuan was about to speak when a deafening buzz mixed with a sudden explosion of whispers penetrated the walls!

The whispers were a cacophony of different voices, like a million mosquitoes buzzing in their ears!

Upon hearing this, Si Shuhao immediately collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Ming Yiyang, who had been asleep, shot up, a wooden blade forming in his hand as if he had never dozed off. He went on high alert.

"There's something approaching."

The door slammed open and then began flapping wildly. The glass shattered with a cracking sound, and a cold gust of wind rushed in, stealing away what little warmth there was.

Seeing his chance, Song Yuan tried to escape but was pulled down by the Spirit Binding Rope. However, Yan Qiling soon realized that a force was dragging Song Yuan out! If he kept holding onto the rope, Song Yuan would be strangled on the spot.

Lowering his gaze in thought, he felt a tap on his shoulder. A young man leaned in, his breath warm:

"Let him go first. I have a way to deal with the access card."

Yan Qiling retrieves the Spirit Binding Rope, dragging Song Yuan away with a pained cry!

Returning the rope to Ming Yiyang, Yan Qiling asks,

"How does it feel?"

"Not too bad, the bleeding has stopped."

Awakening, Ming Yiyang finds his thoughts much clearer:

"The ski resort's door consists of two main parts: one is the roller bearing for moving the door after unlocking, and the other is the lock control, which determines if the door can be unlocked or not."

"However, the lock control and the card reader don't matter much. Since it's an electric lock, cutting off the power will naturally unlock it. It's not a hindrance."

"As for the roller bearing, that's the crucial point. Its connection must be within the card reader! The main task is to reconnect the wiring while the power is still on, so we won't need to push the door manually – it will operate and open by itself."

Chi Zihe helps the struggling Si Shuhao back to the sofa, surprisedly asking,

"Why didn't you mention this idea before?"

Ming Yiyang fell silent for a moment:

"I just thought of it in a dream... I dreamed that the knowledge from the deceased electrician started attacking me."

As they spoke, the temperature in the entire house seemed to plummet close to freezing. The humming noise outside gradually faded, fortunately, the day had fully dawned by then.