Chapter 401: Chapter 401: He Left, and I Feel Relieved!
Lu Xining’s gaze slightly tightened as she swiftly dragged her wandering thoughts back, focusing entirely on replicating the fingerprints at hand.
But no matter what, fragnts of her mories from that ti would inevitably flash through her mind.
Her hands, trained in dicine, were naturally steadier and more balanced, giving her an innate advantage in tasks requiring precision and stability.
And being soone with a personality that went all in once she focused, Lu Xining would have loved to learn more challenging skills alongside Fu Junhang’s team, if not for the child she was carrying in her womb.
At that ti, the little dumpling in her stomach was extraordinarily obedient — she didn’t experience any morning sickness, and even as her belly gradually grew larger, the baby inside remained calm and placid, giving off a soft and sticky sweet personality. That’s why, after the child was born, the na “Lu Nuonuo” ca to mind.
Thinking of her daughter, who had been so well-behaved and thoughtful from a young age, Lu Xining’s maternal warmth spilled uncontainably across her brows and face.
Cheng Cang suddenly asked, “Thinking about your daughter?”
Lu Xining didn’t hide her longing for her daughter. She curled her lips into a smile and nodded slightly. “Thinking about all three children.”
As she spoke, she sprayed a special reagent onto the black access card. Under specific lighting, the two fingerprints on the black card beca clearly visible.
They were the fingerprints of ng Lai’s thumb and index finger.
The patterns of both fingerprints were exceedingly clear and complete.
Lu Xining set about replicating the fingerprints on the black card using specialized materials.
The current step didn’t require Cheng Cang’s involvent.
But when she ntioned the three children, Cheng Cang couldn’t help but think of Ji Muye, who had departed earlier that morning. His thin lips pressed into a tight line, and a trace of concern flickered in the way he gazed at Lu Xining.
He wondered if her three-second pause earlier had been because she thought of that man who had left.
Like her, Cheng Cang had learned from ng Lai that Ji Muye had already left the Royal Cruise. After returning, he also received confirmation from his own sources that it was indeed true.
The helicopter had all but stabilized in midair the mont it arrived at the deck heliport from the banquet hall.
Which ant…
Ji Muye had always arranged for soone to shadow the Royal Cruise’s route at all tis.
Thinking of Ji Muye, who had already left the Royal Cruise, Cheng Cang deliberated briefly. Still concerned that her emotions might affect the critical tasks ahead, he couldn’t help but ask, “Now that the father of your children has suddenly left, do you feel sad?”
Just as Lu Xining exhaled in relief after flawlessly replicating the two fingerprints, she heard Cheng Cang’s abrupt question.
“No,” she answered without hesitation.
Hearing her reply, Cheng Cang paused for a second before asking, “Why not?”
The fingerprints had already been successfully replicated.
The next step was transferring them to a special material to create a fingerprint mold.
For Lu Xining, this wasn’t a significant challenge. After all, the ZN experintal base she was currently in had research in this field; it just hadn’t been disclosed publicly yet.
The mini-replication machine was humming away at its work while Lu Xining, now free, turned her head to glance at the man beside her. “Why are you as curious about Ji Muye and as ng Lai?”
“…” Cheng Cang’s mouth twitched slightly.
Taking advantage of the fingerprint replication machine working on ng Lai’s fingerprints, she returned to the sofa and finally responded to his question.
Lu Xining: “When he left, I felt relieved.”
Cheng Cang blurted out, “Why?”
Lu Xining: “Because of the children.”
Her gaze wandered toward the blue sky outside the living room window, her thoughts drifting to Lu Nuonuo, Ji Chao, and Ji Ze — her three children.
From the very beginning, she hadn’t wanted Ji Muye to board the ship.
As the parents of three children, if sothing were to happen to one of them, it would be better for the other to remain to raise the children. That was clearly healthier for the kids’ emotional and psychological well-being.
With Jing Zheng, Fu Junhang, and Ming Yuan as elders, Lu Nuonuo would never suffer injustice in her later years.
Ji Chao and Ji Ze had Old Sir Ji to rely on and would never be taken advantage of either.
But Old Sir Ji was already advanced in years.
If both she and Ji Muye t with misfortune at the sa ti, leaving their children without their parents’ protection, no matter how resourceful or intelligent they were, they would inevitably fall prey to others.
If she survived, she would exert every ounce of effort to protect the twins.
But if sothing truly occurred on the Royal Cruise, she hoped the two boys would still have their biological father around to guide them as they grew.
As for Lu Nuonuo… She was the kind of child who, as long as her mother was present, would remain indifferent to everything else. But if her mother were gone, Lu Xining couldn’t predict or even imagine how her temperant might change.
Even when she found out that Ji Muye was participating in the climb for power, Lu Xining refrained from interfering in his decisions — one reason being that she had the capability to care for all three children.
If he were to encounter any danger on that perilous path, for Ji Chao and Ji Ze’s sake, she would extend her protection to Old Sir Ji, ensuring that hidden threats wouldn’t target the elder in his twilight years.
Similarly, if she t with disaster aboard the Royal Cruise while Ji Muye survived, then Lu Nuonuo’s future would be all the more secure.
Those three children were her Achilles’ heel.
“For the children? But what about you? Do you feel no emotional loss at all? Don’t mistake my concerns — I’m only worried you might get caught up in emotional turmoil, which could affect what we need to accomplish next.”
Cheng Cang’s expression turned severe as he said, “I’ve already laid it all on the table for you yesterday. This ti, we’re putting everything on the line. It’s either those four die, and the Royal Cruise vanishes into the deep sea, or every last remnant of the Chu Family’s loyalists perishes.”
“The Chu Family’s revenge—we hope it will be delivered by the hand of one of your own. Once this task is completed, we’ll do everything in our power to escort you to safety.”
From the mont they boarded the ship, they had accepted that they might never make it back.
The endless deep sea was already perilous, a mystery full of untold dangers.
As for ng Lai, Yilijite, Rexiva, and Danrus—the four of them, ever since the incident all those years ago, had been confined by their families under the guise of protection, locked above the depths.
Over the decades, they’d explored the surrounding seas countless tis.
They were far more familiar and at an advantage compared to the others.
Though Cheng Cang hadn’t said it outright, Lu Xining could detect another layer of aning in his voice.
She opened her mouth and said, “Cheng Cang, I want you to understand one thing.”
“Once trust begins, it cannot falter midway. If you can’t give your complete trust, then it’s better to exclude from this operation altogether.”
Cheng Cang fell silent and reluctantly said, “…Apologies. I overthought it.”
The fingerprint replication machine fell silent, its work complete. Both Lu Xining and Cheng Cang looked toward it simultaneously.
Two flesh-colored fingerprint sleeves, perfectly replicating ng Lai’s fingerprints, sat quietly at the center of the machine. Their most urgent task now was determining which fingerprint ng Lai used as the key to the secret door.
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