34: Brother, what are you doing!

Lin Yu didn't look back.

He merely left a sentence, as calm as if stating an objective fact.

"There's still time to find a doctor."

As his words fell, he stepped towards the elevator entrance, completely leaving behind the horror, blood, and ruins.

These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Su Qingxue.

She shivered, breaking free from the apocalyptic scene and the trembling of her soul.

A doctor!

Yes, a doctor!

She scrambled towards the bloody mess under the load-bearing pillar.

Chen Rui... he was still breathing, but completely unconscious. Where his two arms should have been, there were only two bloody, mangled holes, and blood was still gushing out, forming a small puddle on the ground.

Su Qingxue's stomach churned. She suppressed the urge to vomit and pulled out her phone with trembling hands, only to find the screen pitch black, completely destroyed by the terrifying electric current from earlier.

Her car!

Su Qingxue rushed like a madwoman towards Chen Rui's expensive sports car. Luckily, the car could still start. She exerted all her strength to drag the unconscious Chen Rui into the passenger seat.

The car roared, its tires screeching on the ground as it sped out of the hellish parking lot.

The cold wind poured in through the broken window, making Su Qingxue's cheeks sting.

Her mind was a chaotic mess.

Lin Yu... what happened?

What on earth happened?

Was that man really Lin Yu?

Was it the Lin Yu she had known since childhood, who later degenerated, making her despise and look down on him, even feeling that speaking a word to him was a waste of time?

Impossible!

Just recently, she and Lin Yao had gone to that dilapidated container to find him.

What was he like then?

Pale and emaciated, a half-dead, down-and-out figure, exuding a decaying aura of being disconnected from society.

And today?

Today he wore a proper suit, his complexion was a bit better, but his frail physique clearly hadn't changed at all!

But it was precisely such a frail body... Su Qingxue's mind uncontrollably replayed the scenes from moments ago.

Chen Rui, a Level 30 [Rock Warrior], an elite professional! He tried to shake his hand with all his might, only to have his own hand crushed!

A punch fueled by anger, a punch strong enough to break through walls, landed on his back, but he didn't budge. Chen Rui's own arm, however, was blown to a bloody mist by the recoil!

And then there was that last... that divine punishment-like lightning!

That was not a power that ordinary people, or even ordinary professionals, could possess!

That was a natural disaster!

Su Qingxue's hands on the steering wheel were shaking wildly.

These past five years... what exactly had Lin Yu been doing during his five years of disappearance?

Was he really... playing a grand game?

This absurd notion, which she had once scoffed at, now transformed into the most terrifying brand, deeply etched into her mind.

She felt as if she had glimpsed an incomprehensible, terrifying secret... Lin Yu paid no attention to the fate of the two ants behind him.

He entered the elevator, returned to his doorstep, and opened the door.

"Brother! You're back!"

A petite figure immediately rushed over, like a happy swallow, directly clinging to his arm.

It was Lin Yao.

She had changed into a cute bunny pajama set and was smiling, waiting for him at the door.

A hint of helplessness appeared on Lin Yu's face.

He would bet that if he hadn't run away from home for these five years, Lin Yao at this age would definitely dislike him more than she liked him. She wouldn't be like this now, like a clingy little shadow.

"How could that be! I like my brother the most!"

Lin Yao held Lin Yu's arm, pulling him to sit on the living room sofa, chattering non-stop.

Mother Lin and Father Lin also completely relaxed upon seeing their son return; the unpleasantness at the dinner table had long since vanished.

A family should be like this.

Lin Yu sat quietly, listening to his sister talk about interesting things at school, his gaze sweeping over the familiar yet somewhat strange furnishings in the living room.

He was home.

This feeling wasn't bad.

Lin Yao talked until her throat was dry, picked up a glass of water, took a big gulp, and then naturally leaned back, resting her small head on Lin Yu's shoulder, her hands still holding his arm, fiddling with his suit cufflink.

"Brother, this outfit looks so good on you, a hundred times better than the ones you used to wear!"

"Is that so."

"Of course!"

Lin Yao's fingers traced upwards from the cuff, unconsciously sliding gently over his arm.

Suddenly, her movement stopped.

A strange sensation came from her fingertips.

Through a layer of shirt fabric, she felt some tiny, dense bumps.

Something was wrong.

Lin Yao's brows furrowed slightly.

Yesterday in the container, she had also hugged her brother's arm, but the situation was chaotic then, and her mind was agitated, so she hadn't noticed at all.

With a hint of curiosity, she carefully pushed up Lin Yu's suit cuff a little, and then the shirt cuff.

When that small section of his arm was exposed under the bright living room light.

The smile on Lin Yao's face instantly froze.

The skin on that seemingly still slender arm was covered with dense, tiny needle marks!

Some had already turned into light brown spots, clearly old ones.

And even more were fresh marks with a slight redness and swelling!

These needle marks extended from his wrist upwards, disappearing deep into his sleeve, with no end in sight!

She hadn't seen them yesterday!

It was because the needle marks themselves were not obvious, and the light was dim then, so she didn't even think in that direction!

Today, under the bright light, with a little attention, this terrifying sight could no longer hide!

"Ah!"

Lin Yao instinctively cried out in surprise.

"What's wrong, Yao Yao? Why are you so jumpy!"

Mother Lin's voice came from the kitchen.

Father Lin also looked up from behind his newspaper.

Lin Yao's body stiffened. She immediately let go, quickly pulled down Lin Yu's sleeve, and forced a smile towards her parents that was uglier than a cry.

"N-nothing! Nothing! A bug!"

She turned back, staring intently at Lin Yu, the brother who had once made her feel incredibly safe.

At this moment, she felt a chill rush from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.

Lin Yao's heart felt as if it was being fiercely gripped by an invisible hand.

She looked at Lin Yu, her lips trembling, and spoke in a tearful voice that only the two of them could hear, filled with panic.

"Brother..."

"What... what exactly are you doing?"

Lin Yao's fingertips recoiled as if they had been burned.

The bright light in the living room now felt incredibly harsh to her eyes. Those tiny, old marks that had healed into light brown spots, and those new holes with fresh redness and swelling, looked like ugly centipedes, crawling from her brother's wrist deep into his sleeve.

How could she not have noticed yesterday in that dimly lit container!

"Brother..."

Lin Yao's voice trembled, filled with a fear she hadn't even realized.

How could the brother who made her feel so safe, who made her feel he was omnipotent, have something like this on his arm?

Was it what she was thinking?

Selling blood... for money?

Or was it... something even more terrifying, something that only appeared in the news, something that would ruin a life forever once tainted?