Choosing to Grow

"Waaah~~ Waaahhh~~~~"

Zheng Shaotian began wailing frantically. He could feel the pressure around his neck, which had just eased slightly, tightening again. He was already starting to suffocate.

"He-jie, what do we do?! Haven’t you found his accomplices yet?! If this continues, Zheng Shaotian is going to die."

Le Erya was futilely trying to show sympathy from the side. The sense of justice in her heart prevented her from standing by and watching this happen.

"There’s no choice. Check the safeties, chamber the rounds, and wait for my command. Get ready to move."

Zheng Shaotian’s condition was critical. Lin Qinghe had no choice but to consider the hostage’s safety and act despite having no certainty of success.

"Shaotian~"

The Zheng Family members also noticed that Zheng Shaotian was in a bad way. They cried out in alarm, yet not one of them dared take a step forward. Zheng Shaotian’s mother had just demonstrated the consequences through her own actions. Better a dead friend than a dead self. Although Zheng Shaotian was their relative, they had no intention of sacrificing their own lives for him.

Gu Sheng suddenly loosened his chokehold on Zheng Shaotian slightly and grinned viciously at the Zheng Family members opposite him. "Do you know what Yao Xingxing went through before he died?"

"Not good~"

Lin Qinghe’s expression changed dramatically. She abruptly stood up with her gun raised, but she was still a step too late.

"Ugh~~"

As Gu Sheng spoke, he suddenly hoisted Zheng Shaotian upward. His right hand covered Zheng Shaotian’s entire face and squeezed. Crack! The crisp sound of breaking bones rang across the platform, followed by an extremely low groan from Zheng Shaotian. His jaw had been crushed by Gu Sheng just like Yao Xingxing’s had that day, leaving him able to produce only a few simple sounds through his throat.

"Don’t move! Put your hands up!"

After standing, Lin Qinghe aimed her gun at Gu Sheng, who was holding Zheng Shaotian dozens of meters away. Le Erya stood up half a beat later and was still somewhat nervous. Although she raised her gun, her eyes darted left and right.

"You’re the one who shouldn’t move, Detective Lin. I already warned you not to play the hero. You can’t afford the price."

The instant Gu Sheng finished speaking, two gunshots rang out, causing a commotion. Two bullet holes appeared beside Lin Qinghe and Le Erya’s feet. While they were startled and momentarily distracted, Gu Sheng had already changed the direction in which he was holding Zheng Shaotian, using him as a shield to block Lin Qinghe and Le Erya’s line of sight.

He wasn’t afraid of bullets, but he hadn’t come here today to deal with Lin Qinghe and Le Erya. He had no time to waste on them. It would be better to make them obediently submit as soon as possible.

"Detective Lin, I warned you not to play the hero. You can’t afford the consequences."

Gu Sheng waved Zheng Shaotian around, conveniently blocking the muzzles of Lin Qinghe and Le Erya’s guns. "That was only a warning. Next time, the bullets won’t land on you. They’ll land on these ‘innocent’ people around you. They may not be entirely clean, but today, they should count as innocent.

"So choose now! Will you put down your gun and protect a group of innocent people, or will you keep opposing me for the sake of this damned man in my hands? You shouldn’t have stepped forward in the first place. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t bear any responsibility for this matter. But you stepped forward without being able to control the situation. Do you think they’ll be grateful to you?"

Lin Qinghe glanced at the crowd from the corner of her eye and, sure enough, found plenty of hostile gazes. Even the Zheng Family members were looking at her that way. Gu Sheng’s words had made them think he was a reasonable man, and they naively believed he would punish only the primary culprit.

"Choose! If you can’t decide, I can help you~"

As Gu Sheng spoke, he pulled the pistol from his pocket and aimed it at a fat, big-eared man beside Lin Qinghe. Gu Sheng didn’t know who the man was or whether he was good or bad, but it was his bad luck to be standing beside Lin Qinghe.

"You win~ Xiao Ya, put down your gun!"

Sweat trickled from Lin Qinghe’s forehead down to her nose before dripping onto the front of her collar. She turned her head and searched the area, but still couldn’t find Liu Daimei, who was firing from hiding. After taking several deep breaths, she chose to put down her gun and raise both hands. She actually felt somewhat relieved. If she put down her gun like this, their responsibility would be somewhat lighter.

They had come here today, and after Gu Sheng’s incident occurred, the two of them were doomed to have bad luck as the only two criminal-affairs personnel present.

It would be wrong to let Gu Sheng abuse the Zheng Family members unchecked, but it would be even more wrong if people in the crowd were injured because of them. No matter what they did, they would be wrong. It was a thankless and extremely dangerous job. If she had a choice, Lin Qinghe would never have come in here in the first place.

Now, although she was still responsible for putting down her gun under Gu Sheng’s threat, at least she had an explanation. At the very least, her responsibility would be somewhat lighter.

"Oh, oh~~"

Le Erya’s reaction time was more than half a beat slow. It wasn’t until several seconds after Lin Qinghe spoke that she lowered her gun and raised her hands, saying, "Oh, oh." Her face still wore a thoroughly bewildered expression.

"You want to speak. You want to tell everyone why this happened today!"

Gu Sheng pulled the endlessly wailing Zheng Shaotian closer and let out a night-owl-like laugh. "Having one person know the truth is enough. The rest can die confused!"

Gu Sheng had no intention of exposing the identities they possessed in this world, so he deliberately didn’t say that the matter had happened today. He had also crushed Zheng Shaotian’s jaw immediately after revealing the truth, ensuring that he couldn’t speak. Just as he said, one person who knew the truth was enough.

Bang!

Gu Sheng flicked his wrist and released Zheng Shaotian. No one knew what Gu Sheng had done to him, but when he fell, his body remained stiff and motionless. His knees slammed heavily into the floor, and he covered them while whimpering incoherently, unable to get up.

"Do you need me to help you? Should I do it?"

Gu Sheng suddenly turned his head as he spoke. He was talking to Chu Xin, who had come with him. Although he said this aloud, his feelings were complicated. He hoped Chu Xin would do it herself so that she could grow, but he didn’t really want her to have to endure this kind of experience in order to grow. Even if she was like a vase, he still liked Chu Xin just as much and didn’t care whether she could help him.

Bang!

After a stretch of silence, a dull thud rang out. Under the incredulous gazes of Lin Qinghe and Le Erya, a cloaked figure wearing a different Jester Mask dropped from the blind spot of a pillar more than ten meters above. Then the figure walked toward the platform.

The vertical distance between the upper and lower levels of this third-floor hall was fifteen meters. There were many blind spots among the steel structures overhead, and Liu Daimei and Chu Xin had been hiding there.

"Mm! Mm~~ Mm~~"

Zheng Shaotian stared at Chu Xin as she approached, constantly whimpering and trying to speak. He now understood why Gu Sheng had come, and he was quite familiar with Chu Xin. Because of his preconceptions, along with his deliberate observation and comparison, he recognized her. Precisely because he recognized her and knew what he had done, he became even more terrified.

Bang!

Chu Xin walked up to Zheng Shaotian and pressed the muzzle against his forehead. Without the slightest hesitation, she fired and killed him. Afterward, her air seemed to change somewhat. Beside her, Gu Sheng merely let out a long sigh.

Chu Xin had grown, but Gu Sheng didn’t know whether the strength that had come with it was a good thing or a bad one. Still, this had been her choice.