Le 19e cercle de l'Enfer

Chapitre 45

"Shen Meixuan, did you hypnotize him?"

"So you knew everything." Song Yun'er stared intently into his eyes, seemingly trying to decipher An Qiqi's thoughts. She spoke with a mocking tone, "Aren't you police supposed to be amazing? Why did you frame me in a case two years ago? Officer? Hahaha..."

"Shen Meixuan, I know you've suffered a great injustice. If you release him now, I'll definitely clear your name, okay?" An Qiqi said sincerely.

"Too late, too late..." She smiled at Song Xiaomo and said, "Your heart belongs only to me, and no one can take it away! Even if I can't have it, I will destroy it with my own hands, hahaha..."

"But he's not Kim In-hyun. Why are you so desperately deceiving yourself? Do you know that you've already killed so many people? You can't afford to make another mistake. I don't want a twisted heart hidden beneath your beautiful exterior."

"Did I kill so many people? You...you're framing me again!" Song Yun'er's shoulders trembled uncontrollably, and blood began to flow from her right eye. "You...you will get your retribution!"

"I believe the law will deliver a fair verdict."

"Fairness?" Song Yun'er chuckled, shook her head, and said to Song Xiaomo, "Renxuan, let's go. Let's send this so-called fairness to hell!"

"Okay, I see the light of happiness, it's right ahead." A naive smile appeared on Song Xiaomo's lips.

"No, come back!" An Qiqi rushed over. He knew that if Song Xiaomo took another step forward, she would be falling into an abyss.

But he had already lost control...

"No!"

However, just as Song Xiaomo was about to lose her balance and fall, a white shadow suddenly pounced from the side and grabbed Song Xiaomo's wrist.

- It's that old man.

Song Yoon-ah shook her head, her gaze filled with confusion, despair, and helplessness.

An Qiqi let out a long breath and slumped down, drenched in sweat.

"What just happened?" Song Xiaomo gradually came to her senses and stared blankly at the three people in front of her.

"Xiao Mo, you were just hypnotized by her!" An Qiqi said.

"Really?" Song Xiaomo stared at her blankly and asked, "Meixuan? Was it really all you? Was He Zhiying also controlled by your hypnosis? Where is she now? Tell me, where is He Zhiying?"

"So you're here to see her?"

"Yes, after going through so much, I've realized that the person I truly love is her!" Song Xiaomo finally said.

"Why? Why?" Her face contorted in pain.

"Because... I'm not Kim In-hyun at all! Even if you get this heart, what good will it do? I can never love you again."

"You'll die a horrible death!"

"Meixuan, I know He Zhiying is on this island. Please, please let her go. She's innocent! If you really want to hate someone, come at me. Why make things difficult for her?"

"Hehehe, you feel sorry for me? You've been bewitched by that vixen, haven't you? I'm going to torture you, torture you for the rest of your life... Hehehe, do you know that? Kim In-hyun, I hate you! I hate everything about you! Ever since your heart returned to HY University, I've been torturing you. I'll make you live a life of agony, I'll make you suffer until one day you have a mental breakdown, a life worse than death..."

Song Xiaomo smiled bitterly, then suddenly stepped forward, tore open his shirt, and said, "This heart originally belonged to Jin Renxuan. Now I'm returning it to you. Here, take it... I only hope you'll let He Zhiying go." After saying this, his mood became lighter and more cheerful. No one could escape this day; rather than trembling and falling into the abyss, it was better to let things take their course and remain calm.

Everyone was stunned. In that brief moment, Song Xiaomo felt a cold, sharp dagger pressed against her chest.

"Come on, let's get down from here..." Song Xiaomo gestured with her hand in front of her chest and said with a righteous air.

Song Yoon-ah stabbed the dagger with all her might...

Song Xiaomo closed her eyes.

Suddenly, the knife fell to the ground. Song Yoon-ah stared blankly at him, her voice hoarse as she said, "You're really not In-hyun? Really not...?"

"I'm not! Your Kim In-hyun is dead! I know you love him deeply, and it's precisely because you love him so much that you hate him so intensely. But... why don't you cherish the time you have now? You've already died once, why not give yourself a chance to start over?"

Section 125: Chapter Twenty-Seven Rebirth (2)

A long silence followed. Tears streamed down her face as Song Yun'er asked, half-believing, "Really? Can I really start over?"

"Of course, we will all help you." Song Xiaomo nodded firmly.

An Qiqi's heart gradually calmed down. Just as he was about to say something, a loud bang rang in his ears.

"Bang-"

The old man slowly lay down on the ground, his body covered in blood. A hot bullet had pierced his body.

Zhao Zhengmin, standing dumbfounded in the grass with his hunting rifle, hadn't expected the old man to suddenly step in front of Song Yun'er. The blood-covered old man looked up and said with difficulty, "Meixuan...you...are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Eun-hee, what's wrong? What's wrong?" Song Yoon-ah rushed over and hugged him.

The old man looked at her, gave a bitter smile, then reached out and ripped off her face.

Song Xiaomo was stunned.

This old man was actually Park Eun-hee in disguise. It turns out he was wearing a mask.

An Qiqi was also incredulous. After a moment, he lunged at Zhao Zhengmin and pinned him to the ground. Zhao Zhengmin waved his hands, shouting, "Let me go! I want revenge for my brother!"

"Why did you save me?" Song Yoon-ah cried.

"I...I just...I just don't want anything to happen to you...In this life...no matter where you go, no matter what you become, I will love you, and I will be willing to do anything for you...Even if I die, I will...I will pray for you from below..."

"Eun-hee, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." Song Yoon-ah screamed frantically, "Don't die, don't die!"

"Eun-hee, hang in there, you'll be alright." Song Xiaomo rushed over as well.

"Xiao Mo... I'm sorry... that doll... it was... it was He Zhiying..."

A doll? A bolt of lightning seemed to cleave through Song Xiaomo's confusion. He understood: He Zhiying was that strange doll! No wonder the doll shed tears when it looked at him; so that's why… so that's why…

"Thank you, you already saved me once. Hang in there..."

Park Eun-hee coughed up blood and said to An Qiqi, "Qiqi... those people weren't... we didn't kill them... except for that porter... there were also..." Before she could finish speaking, Park Eun-hee breathed her last.

Tears streamed down Song Yoon-ah's cheeks. She released her grip on Park Eun-hee, stood up, and said, "Eun-hee, we can finally start over..."

Song Xiaomo was taken aback, not understanding the meaning behind her words.

Song Yoon-ah stood up, spread her arms, suddenly took a step forward, and jumped off the cliff...

"Meixuan-" A heart-wrenching scream came from Song Xiaomo's throat; it was clearly another voice from the depths of his heart.

Section 126: Chapter Twenty-Eight - The Last Shots (1)

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Final Gunfire

Song Yoon-ah jumped into the sea and disappeared.

Park Eun-hee lay there quietly; he was dead…

The lighter fell to the ground with a "thud." An Qiqi picked it up and, trembling, managed to light the cigarette after several attempts. A pungent, burnt smell wafted out.

Song Xiaomo was helping He Zhiying remove the plaster-like substance stuck to her body. Soon, He Zhiying could move her whole body, but she couldn't say a word. Song Xiaomo didn't ask her anything, but just held her tightly in her arms. After going through so much, everyone needed some time to slowly process the cruel reality.

An Qiqi gathered some dry grass and wood and started a campfire. The fire crackled and popped, illuminating several tired faces in its light.

"Do you hate them?" An Qiqi asked.

"What's the point of hating someone who's already dead?" Song Xiaomo sighed. "Meixuan was blinded by hatred, that's why she did this... Actually, her heart was filled with both love and hate, causing her to constantly teeter on the edge of contradiction. Humans are truly strange creatures. Everything Park Eun-hee did, on the surface, seemed to stem from her love for Shin Meixuan, but in reality, it destroyed her, and it destroyed herself. Such love is too heavy..."

"Yes, twisted love. I think he started plotting against you the moment you entered the dormitory. From He Zhiying's strange behavior to Song Yun'er's appearance, and the little girl in the hospital room, including the maid in that villa, the corpse in the lake—all of these people were pawns he planted. It's a miracle you weren't driven insane by all the scheming he put into dealing with you!"

"Heh, I've already died once, what's there to be afraid of?" Song Xiaomo gave a wry smile. "Now it seems that Enxi might actually be the owner of that blog, going to great lengths to lure me here..."

"However, from the moment he saved you, it proved that he had begun to repent."

"Yes, he's really determined to start over..."

An Qiqi turned around, a tear sliding down his right eye. A moment later, his voice, a mixture of anger and sorrow, said, "We need to hurry!"

Zhao Zhengmin's hands were cuffed to a large peach tree. He lay on his side with his head on the ground and his mouth chewing something.

"What are you eating?" Song Xiaomo walked over and asked.

"peach!"

"Where did it come from?" An Qiqi became alert.

"It fell from the tree."

"Nonsense, how could there be peaches this season?" An Qi looked up at the tree and realized something was wrong.

A chilling killing intent seemed to lurk beneath the silence.

"I don't know about that. It's cold and I'm starving in this godforsaken place. These peaches that have fallen from the tree are free, so why not eat them?" Zhao Zhengmin said pitifully.

"Alright, now that you've eaten, I have a few questions for you."

"All right."

"Did you kill him?"

"Who? You mean Xue Longzi?" Zhao Zhengmin smiled bitterly. "Actually, I was doing this for revenge. I was forced to kill her. If I didn't, how could I ignite Song Xiaomo's fighting spirit?"

"You're a madman!" An Qiqi glared at him, suppressing her anger as she asked, "What about the others? Why did you kill so many people? Was the case from two years ago also your doing?"

"...Sigh, it's alright to tell you now. I concocted the poison. I gave some to my brother to administer, and the rest to the female administrator. She's the one who put it in Shin Mi-hyun's room. Also, after Kim In-hyun was poisoned, we called him and told him that Shin Mi-hyun wanted to kill him, and that idiot actually believed us. Then we called Shin Mi-hyun and told her that Kim In-hyun was sick and lying in the dormitory. Then she rushed over. Because we had precisely calculated the time of their meeting, and the CMK2 poison was prepared exactly at that time, the moment they met was exactly when the CMK2 poison took effect. Kim In-hyun's final attack was probably an instinctive reaction... Actually, we just wanted to kill Kim In-hyun and find Shin Mi-hyun to be a scapegoat!"

"That was a really underhanded counter-espionage tactic! Why did you do that? What deep-seated grudge do you have against them?"

"Nothing... I... was......" Zhao Zhengmin trembled as he spoke, his face turning deathly pale and contorting as if struggling before death...

An Qiqi was taken aback by this sudden change and was at a loss for what to do. He frantically shook Zhao Zhengmin's shoulder: "What's wrong with you? Tell me!"

"CMK2..." Zhao Zhengmin finished speaking his last words, kicked his foot, and breathed his last.

An Qiqi let go of his grip in frustration and slumped to the ground. He knew Zhao Zhengmin had died from CMK2 poisoning. This terrible poison was one he had brought back, and now he himself had died from it. Life was truly unpredictable!

"The peaches are poisonous! There are other people hiding on this island!" An Qiqi realized.

"Then...should we look for it?"

"No need. We're in the open, he's in the shadows. This puts us at a disadvantage, even putting our lives in danger... We'll go back as soon as it's light!" An Qiqi didn't explain anything. He seemed to have seen through everything. Now, it was time to put an end to everything...

Sherlock Holmes once said that when all impossibilities are eliminated, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

In the empty indoor shooting range, a man gripped his gun, aimed, fired, quickly switched magazines, then aimed again and fired once more.

"Bang, bang, bang..." Ten bullets hit the bullseye.

Suddenly, the door opened.

The man stared at An Qiqi for a long while before slowly asking, "How's the case going?"

"Hehe." An Qiqi smiled calmly. "Team Leader Jin, I have some questions I'd like to ask you, is that alright?"

"No problem, please close the door properly."