Chapter 114

Chapter 114

Shen Liuyun looked at Shen Muyun, a laugh escaping him. "Mu Yun, your current state only makes me desire you more. Tell me, if neither of us had been adopted from the orphanage, would our lives have unfolded differently?"

Shen Muyun’s gaze locked with Shen Liuyun’s, a cold dread creeping up his spine. "Different? But there are no 'what ifs,' Brother. You’ve asked me this twice now. There’s truly no chance—we can’t rewind to the past, and you and I can never be together."

Shen Liuyun’s phone flashed incessantly, displaying Lu Huainan’s number, call after call.

"Brother, please just let me go. This won't lead anywhere. I won't pursue these two incidents."

"Is that so?"

Shen Liuyun put the call on speakerphone.

"Shen Liuyun, where have you hidden Shen Muyun? Don’t push me."

Shen Liuyun chuckled softly. "Huainan, don’t be angry. Mu Yun is right here beside me. He’s perfectly fine—eating well, drinking well—just not free to move around."

"Huainan, I’m here, I—"

Before Shen Muyun could utter another word, Shen Liuyun swiftly stuffed a strip of cloth from the table into his mouth, then raised a finger to his own lips in a "shush" gesture.

"Quiet now. Huainan, has the northern project concluded? You came all this way with him. I’ll take excellent care of him, don’t worry."

"Madman, you’re utterly insane! Shen Liuyun, what do you want? The Shen family shares are already yours. Is it money from the Lu family? I can give it to you, but you *must* release Shen Muyun."

Shen Liuyun paused, said nothing, and then abruptly ended the call.

Lu Huainan checked the GPS—the last known location where Shen Muyun’s signal vanished—and pressed harder on the accelerator.

Tied up and uncomfortable, Shen Muyun’s cheeks were flushed. He kept staring at Shen Liuyun, his mind racing to the gem. This was a critical moment—would it actually work?

"System, are you there?" Shen Muyun whispered in his mind.

"Host, what’s wrong? What do you wish to do? Oh, my, how did you end up in such a state? How pitiful!"

"Enough with the chatter. Didn’t you say that gem I acquired could help me? Now tell me, *how* does it help?"

The system seemed troubled, pondering for a moment. "Well, it could send you back to the Time-Space Administration, but that’s quite risky. You wouldn't be able to return to this world, and Lu Huainan and the others would never find you. Is that truly what you desire?"

Shen Muyun hesitated, unwilling to cause Lu Huainan pain. He could vividly imagine Lu Huainan’s frantic search, driven to madness by his disappearance.

"I—"

Before Shen Muyun could continue their mental conversation, a tremendous crash echoed from the doorway.

"Shen Liuyun, come out! Where have you hidden him?"

Shen Liuyun clapped slowly. "You’re quick. Did you put another tracker on his phone? But this time, neither of you is escaping. What a delightful outcome—if I can’t have it, no one else will."

Shen Muyun continued to struggle, muffled whimpers escaping him.

"Brother Yun, don’t be afraid. I’m here. I’ve come to save you. Enough talk—whatever you want, I’ll agree to it."

"Not so fast. What I want, you can certainly afford. I want you to stay here forever. As for your dear Brother Yun, whether he’s fortunate or not, that I cannot say."

Shen Liuyun pulled the cloth strip from Shen Muyun’s mouth.

Gasping for fresh air, Shen Muyun couldn’t help but yell at Lu Huainan, "Don’t listen to his lies, Huainan! Get out of here! There seems to be a time bomb—he set it. Leave now, or we’ll all die here!"

"So clever, Mu Yun. How did I never notice your intelligence before? As for me, if I can’t possess something, I’d rather destroy it. Just like those who compete with me—I dislike them, so why not obliterate them all? A clean slate."

"Madman, you’re a madman! What do you want, Shen Liuyun? You’re insane, utterly insane!"

"Yes, I am insane, and it’s because of you. You always reject me, so I have no choice but to destroy everything."

Shen Liuyun tapped the table in front of him. "Mu Yun, there’s a bomb under your seat. Lu Huainan, there’s one under your feet too. If one of you leaves, the other has only 10 seconds. If you both leave simultaneously, they’ll both explode. Understood?"

Shen Liuyun watched as their faces shifted from flushed to pale, then to an ashen gray.

A peculiar thrill sparked in his eyes.

"Like it? My grand gift to you. It feels amazing, doesn’t it?"

Lu Huainan looked at the timing device beneath his feet, then surveyed the surroundings. "Liu Yun, we’ve been brothers for so many years. Listen to my advice—the Shen family is yours now. I can even let go of Shen Muyun. We can start over completely. What do you think?"

"Don’t think I don’t know—can I ever trust your words? If I release you now, you’ll just take Shen Muyun and flee, won’t you?"

"Brother, wake up! What’s happened to you? This isn't like you."

Shen Liuyun glanced at Shen Muyun. "What am I like? I am this way because of both of you. Why? Why should you two be together? Enough, I have nothing more to say. Your life-and-death separation—I adore it. I hope tomorrow’s headlines will feature something explosive."

With that, Shen Liuyun exited the warehouse.

Shen Muyun looked despairingly at Lu Huainan, thinking of the gem in his hand. At worst, he could simply disappear...

"Brother Yun, don’t be afraid. My people are already nearby. Someone will defuse the bomb. Here’s the plan: you leave first, and I’ll follow right away, okay?"

"Huainan, only ten seconds... How can anyone defuse a bomb in ten seconds? How is that possible?"

Shen Muyun lowered his head, sobbing softly.

"If... if I didn’t exist, would none of this have happened? It’s all my fault. Everything happened because I exist, right...?"

"No, Brother Yun, don’t think like that. I have a plan. Trust me, okay? Get up. I can escape soon. Look, my bodyguards are outside—they have toolkits. Really, it’ll be quick."

Shen Muyun glanced outside—fully armed bodyguards were indeed present. Shen Liuyun had long since vanished to who-knows-where.

"Huainan, I’d rather just sit here, waiting it out. We—"

"The timed system has been activated. Countdown: 100 seconds..."

A mechanical voice suddenly cut through the air. Shen Muyun jolted—did that mean...?

"Brother Yun, there are still 100 seconds—less than two minutes. Get up, okay? Run quickly. Ten seconds is no problem for me. I can get out of here, I promise."

Time ticked away, second by second. The bodyguards outside burst in and examined the bomb.

"Mr. Lu, this bomb is unusual. Mr. Shen must leave first for us to defuse it. Ten seconds is truly enough."

Shen Muyun stared blankly at the person in front of him. "Huainan, I—"

"Go quickly. I promise I’ll be right out."

Looking at the timer and Lu Huainan’s determined expression, Shen Muyun decided to get up and leave. At worst, he could return to the Main God’s space—maybe, just maybe, he could meet Lu Huainan again.

"You absolutely cannot lie to me!"

Shen Muyun immediately sprang from the chair, and the countdown instantly dropped to 10 seconds.

"Brother Yun, run, hurry!"

Shen Muyun immediately sprinted towards the warehouse door. As he looked back, he saw Lu Huainan’s smile, and it seemed as if he was muttering something. Something was wrong, this wasn't right.

Shen Muyun wanted to go back, but someone nearby grabbed him, holding him firmly in place.

"Lu Huainan, did you lie to me? Get out of there! Now! There's not much time left!"

Shen Muyun struggled with all his might but couldn't break free.

"We've faced situations like this several times, Lu Huainan!"

"Boom!"

A massive explosion rocked the warehouse. In an instant, flames shot skyward. No one emerged from within.

"Huainan!"

Shen Muyun’s mind went completely blank, tears streaming uncontrollably. Affected by the bomb’s shockwave, he was thrown several meters.

He lay on the ground, crawling forward relentlessly.

The bodyguard beside him immediately grabbed his ankle, pulling him to his feet.

"Mr. Shen, this was Mr. Lu’s wish. You must leave quickly. There’s certainly more than one bomb here."

Shen Muyun fought back fiercely. "You’re lying! He’ll be fine. Just now... he was still talking to me. You’re all lying to me! Don’t talk nonsense, don’t say that..."

Shen Muyun suddenly felt a sharp sting at the base of his neck, and then everything went black.

Darkness. Why was everything black? Where was Lu Huainan? Where was the system? Where had everything gone? Shen Muyun struggled to look around, but it was utterly silent. No, this wasn't right. Where exactly was this?

Just then, the system materialized in human form. "Shen Muyun, I believe this mission should be considered a failure. This is the Main God’s space. What will you choose? Will you go back? But if you go back, it wouldn't mean anything anyway."

"System, don’t you have regret pills? How do I go back? How do I save him!"

"Host, stop thinking about it. Those things are merely placebos to deceive people. I didn’t want to tell you this so soon, but almost nothing on the shelf is useful. Yes, I am the useless system everyone complains about. I always wanted to return to the original world, and now, I’ve failed again."

"No, impossible. I want to go back. I believe Lu Huainan definitely isn’t dead, definitely not!"

"Shen Muyun, be rational. I am the system. How could I not know if he’s dead or not? I can no longer sense his presence. You need to accept this reality or remain here forever."

"Impossible, I won’t stay in the Main God’s space. Let me out, let me out!"

"Sigh, why is it always such deep devotion? Shen Muyun, think carefully. If you leave, you can never return here again."

"My mind’s made up. I want to go back."