"Run!!"
"Yan Huan!! A car is crashing in from outside!!!"
At that mont, Ye Shiyu and Yan Huan simultaneously heard the alard warnings from Ye Lan and Myau-chan.
Ye Shiyu blanked for a second. Before she could even process the warning, the adjacent wall violently exploded.
Amidst billowing clouds of dust and the deafening roar of an explosion, a shadowy silhouette crashed into the room, carrying a trendous kinetic force impossible for any carbon-based lifeform to withstand.
Because the vehicle smashed diagonally through the wall beside the main entrance, the four people present—who were all standing near the doorway—were caught entirely within the blast radius.
"Rumble!!"
The deafening roar in her ears jolted Ye Shiyu into realizing what was happening. Her mind went completely blank, yet she subconsciously reached out, desperately wanting to shove Yan Huan out of the way.
Then, she hastily looked toward Bai Yi and Ye Lan standing at the door.
"Mom!"
'No, this distance...'
'There is no ti!!'
The vehicle was simply moving too fast. In a flash of lightning and flint, the terrifying kinetic force was already bearing down upon them.
Even with her mother's desperate warning, she had a single second to react at best.
She could push Xiao Huan away, but she could not save her mother!
However, even knowing it was too late, Ye Shiyu's eyes turned red, and she violently lunged toward Ye Lan like a madwoman.
"Ah..."
anwhile, Bai Yi and Ye Lan, standing right by the door, were the first to spot the incoming vehicle, making them the quickest to react.
Ye Lan did not possess a Modifier. Since she had spent her precious ti calling out to warn Ye Shiyu and Yan Huan, she had already squandered her only window of opportunity to move.
Only Bai Yi was left with a full second to activate her Modifier.
"Ti... Sto— Aaagh!!"
But Bai Yi had spent the entirety of the previous night sprinting toward the city center.
Her relentless running and continuous use of her Modifier had long since drained every drop of potential from her body.
She had already passed out once in the car earlier. Although she was awake now, the mont she tried to activate her Modifier...
"Click-click-click!!"
Subconsciously, Bai Yi drove her willpower to wind the hour hand of her pocket watch in a desperate attempt to activate Ti Stop. But the very instant the icy hour hand trembled, an agonizing, needle-like prickling sensation pierced through her entire being.
Imdiately after, her body flickered semi-transparent for a fleeting second. Blood trickled down her nose, and every last ounce of her strength completely vanished.
"Boom!!"
'It is over...'
'We are dead!!'
With that thought, Bai Yi quickly squeezed her eyes shut, bit her lip, and threw her arms over her head.
By now, the vehicle had already bulldozed its way right in front of them, dragging a lethal cloud of debris along with it.
As Ye Shiyu's pupils shrank in trembling terror, the crushing impact reached the very tips of her hair...
"Grab!"
From behind, a large, burning hot hand suddenly clamped firmly around her wrist.
"!?"
Ye Shiyu's eyes widened in shock. Before she could even turn her head, she felt an imnse, bull-like strength violently yank her backward.
"?!"
As she was sent flying backward, hurtling away from the impact...
...she finally caught a glimpse of the back view of Yan Huan, who had forcefully grabbed her.
But he was still sprinting forward, charging directly toward Ye Lan and Bai Yi.
'There is no ti!!'
Ye Shiyu had not expected Yan Huan to do this at all. She stared at him in utter disbelief, opening her mouth to scream for him to stop.
But in the next second, Yan Huan gritted his teeth and tightly gripped an illusory toad amulet hidden within his embrace!
It was an amulet that granted him the power of Teleportation.
However, this artifact could only teleport him alone; he could not bring anyone else along.
Therefore, there was only one possible solution!
"Tick... Tock..."
As Yan Huan willed his teleportation ability into action, a clock-ticking sound, exactly like the dripping water sound of Bai Yi's power, suddenly echoed from his body.
"Click!!"
In an instant, his figure vanished, materializing right beside Bai Yi and Ye Lan.
"Get out of the way!!"
Carrying the heavy montum of his sprint, he viciously thrust his hands forward, shoving Ye Lan and Bai Yi away with every ounce of his strength.
"Thud!"
Bai Yi, who had already shut her eyes tight and was trembling in anticipation of death, suddenly felt an imnse force crash into her, sending her flying. She was perplexed:
'So...'
'...getting hit by a car doesn't hurt that much after all.'
...
And so, having felt no agonizing pain, Bai Yi finally dared to open her eyes.
However, the mont she did, she was greeted by the sight of Yan Huan, who was right in front of her.
"Huh? Yan—"
Her pupils shrank slightly as she barely registered his face, which was looking straight at her...
"Bang!!"
"Crash!!"
In the very next second, right before her eyes, a horrifying kinetic force violently slamd into Yan Huan, launching his body into the air. He was instantly swallowed up by the hurtling ambulance as its deadly montum carried it forward, obliterating his figure from sight.
"Splatter!"
In that fleeting mont, a spray of Yan Huan's blood splashed fiercely across Bai Yi's breathtakingly beautiful face.
"Thump!"
Following that, Bai Yi slumped heavily onto the ground, landing on her backside in a complete daze.
A sharp pain flared up from her tailbone.
But at this mont...
She just sat there blankly, her eyes wide, her expression completely frozen.
It was as if her brain was entirely unable to process the incoming information, failing to comprehend what had just happened...
...
More than half of the mansion before her had collapsed, and an endless wave of smoke and dust billowed directly toward her.
Yet Bai Yi rely stared blankly into the swirling dust. It was not until the thick, lingering tallic stench of iron assaulted her nose that she abruptly realized sothing, hesitantly raising a hand to touch her face.
"Sar..."
A sticky, wet sensation clung to her fingertips. Following the feeling, Bai Yi slowly lowered her head to look...
...and saw a thick sar of deep crimson blood pooled in the palm of her hand.
That blood did not belong to her. It belonged to...
"Aaaaaahhhh!!!!"
In the next second, she snapped out of her stupor, shrieking at the top of her lungs as if she had suffered a mortal blow.
She scrambled to drag her heavy body up from the ground, limping desperately toward the ruined mansion.
"Ugh..."
Behind her, Ye Lan, who seed to have hit her head during the fall, lay panting on the ground, letting out pained moans.
"Shiyu... Xiao Huan..."
"Creak..."
By now, the interior of the mansion was a complete disaster zone.
Although Ye Shiyu had been shoved out of fatal danger by Yan Huan, she had still been caught in the shockwave. Her entire body was battered and covered in bruises and lacerations.
Gritting her teeth, she clutched her head, feeling an unbearable, agonizing pain pulsing through her skull.
Yet, amidst the overwhelming pain, a vivid mory flashed before her eyes—the image of Xiao Huan violently pulling her out of harm's way right before the crash.
Her pupils instantly constricted, and she frantically tried to stand up.
"Xiao Huan... Xiao Huan!"
Ye Shiyu struggled frantically on the ground for quite so ti, yet completely failed to get to her feet.
Looking down, she realized that her leg had been crushed by a massive piece of debris, twisting at an unnatural, horrifying angle.
It was broken.
Gritting her teeth, Ye Shiyu could only watch helplessly as Bai Yi hobbled into the wreckage.
At this mont, at the front of the ruined vehicle.
Amidst an endless sea of shattered masonry and twisted tal, Yan Huan lay crumpled on his side.
"Yan Huan! Yan Huan!!"
Tears streaming freely down her face, Bai Yi stared at Yan Huan's motionless body. Shaking uncontrollably in absolute terror, she frantically clawed at the heavy rubble burying him.
As she tossed the debris aside piece by piece, the paralyzed Ye Shiyu in the back finally managed to catch a clear view of Yan Huan lying broken in a massive pool of blood.
"No... How... How could this happen..."
Hearing Bai Yi's frantic sobs, Ye Shiyu felt her heart skip a beat.
'The prophecy...'
She suddenly rembered the dical records predicting that Xiao Huan would end up in a vegetative state. And now, this had happened...
She had no idea why the ambulance had suddenly lost control, but...
...it had just happened, exactly like this.
But, if the second prophecy was true, what about the third?
...
As these thoughts spiraled, the sheer horror painted across Ye Shiyu's face only intensified.
An overwhelming wave of dread fueled her Desire, causing a faint purple glow to flicker to life on her mobile phone.
"No, no, no, no..."
But a second later, the agonized weeping erupting from Bai Yi instantly wrenched Ye Shiyu's attention back.
She looked up again, only to see that Bai Yi had cleared the debris off Yan Huan's upper body and was desperately checking his breathing.
After feeling nothing, Bai Yi's face paled drastically. She frantically pressed her fingers against his neck, praying to find a pulse.
But as she looked down, she saw a ghastly, ferocious laceration tearing across his throat. It was completely impossible to check.
Left with no choice, Bai Yi tremblingly pressed her hand firmly over his chest.
She bowed her head, searching for a rhythm for a long ti. But the longer she waited, the more deathly pale her complexion beca.
From afar, witnessing all of this unfold, Ye Shiyu's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
"Riiip!"
Even after checking multiple tis, Bai Yi simply refused to believe it. In a sheer panic, she tore open Yan Huan's ruined shirt, directly pressing her ear against his bare chest to listen for a heartbeat.
She kept her head lowered against him for an agonizing eternity. Then, abruptly rembering sothing, she hastily adjusted Yan Huan's broken body so he lay completely flat.
Then, she interlaced her hands, placed them over his sternum, and frantically began performing CPR.
"Ugh!"
Weeping uncontrollably, she pumped his chest over and over, then clamped her lips desperately over Yan Huan's to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
After repeating this grueso cycle several tis, Bai Yi leaned down once more to listen for a heartbeat.
Yet instantly, her fra shuddered violently. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself up and started the chest compressions again.
It wasn't until she had fruitlessly repeated the process countless tis that Bai Yi finally broke. Completely shattered, she collapsed onto Yan Huan's blood-soaked chest, wailing in absolute agony.
"Waaahhh... Yan Huan... It's all my fault... Just now... Sob..."
Just now, she had failed to activate her Ti Stop...
If only she had managed to activate Ti Stop, perhaps Yan Huan wouldn't have had to...
"Waaaahhhhh..."
"Tick... Tock..."
...
Listening to Bai Yi's wretched, gut-wrenching wails, Ye Shiyu finally realized the horrifying truth.
Completely ignoring her shattered leg, she began dragging herself across the floor, crawling inch by agonizing inch toward Yan Huan.
Gritting her teeth, she dragged her broken body for a long ti before finally reaching him.
Amidst the total devastation, Yan Huan lay on his side in a rapidly expanding pool of blood. His face was deathly pale, and he was completely devoid of life.
In utter disbelief, she too reached out to check his breathing and pulse...
'Nothing?'
'No...'
'This isn't right...'
'How could it end like this...'
'The prophecy...'
'It's all wrong...'
'How could he...'
"Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!"
Ye Shiyu's eyes practically bulged out of her skull. She clutched her head violently, her sclera turning a ferocious crimson red, as she doubled over and began violently dry-heaving.
"Whoosh!" At that very mont, outside the mansion grounds, a figure with long red hair heard the trendous commotion and was sprinting frantically toward the source.
Tong Yingying stared at the thick, gray dust billowing into the sky, an intensely ominous premonition clawing at her heart.
...
She gritted her teeth, pushing her speed to the absolute limit. Her silhouette blurred into a sheer afterimage as she bolted toward the wreckage.
Initially, she had assud that sothing had gone wrong at Bai Yi's residence—perhaps a fight had broken out between Bai Yi and Ye Shiyu.
But upon arriving at the gates, she found Bai Yi's ho completely pristine. Instead, it was the mansion across the street that lay in ruins, with an unconscious woman sprawled near the collapsed entrance.
Tong Yingying's expression changed drastically.
She stared in shock at the smoke-choked rubble. Already, the agonizing, heart-rending cries of Bai Yi pierced her ears from within.
"Yan Huan... Sob... Don't die... I don't want you to die... Waaah..."
'Yan Huan?'
'Die?'
Tong Yingying's mind went entirely blank. She froze in her tracks, completely motionless like a stone statue.
"It is currently 4:30 PM, Linn ti. Let us take a look at the weather forecast for the next three days. Starting tonight, the entire city of Linn will usher in a new wave of heavy rainfall..."
"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you breaking news.
"At 10:13 AM this morning, a severe vehicle collision occurred in the North Sea Villa District.
"Reports indicate that an ambulance en route to pick up a patient in the North Sea District abruptly lost control under unusual circumstances, crashing into a residential mansion at a high speed of over 80 miles per hour.
"At the ti of the incident, four individuals were present inside the property. Among them was the current CEO of the Ye International Linn Division..."
The steady voice of the news anchor drifted through the room, making An Le, who was wiping dishes in the kitchen, pause slightly.
She continued drying a bowl as she turned to look at the television broadcasting the news in the living room.
In the living room, An Le's father, An Bang, was also watching the television.
"Currently, the accident has resulted in one fatality and multiple severe injuries.
"Among the five ambulance crew mbers, including the driver, three sustained heavy injuries and one sustained minor injuries, but none are in life-threatening condition. The driver is currently undergoing ergency surgery, and their status remains unknown.
"Inside the mansion, one person was killed, one suffered critical injuries, and two sustained minor injuries.
"According to our reporters on the scene, the identity of the deceased has been confird: Yan Huan, a first-year student at Far Moon Academy, and the current Student Council President..."
"Crash!"
As the broadcast continued, an incredibly sharp, ear-piercing shatter echoed from the kitchen.
...
An Bang slowly turned his head toward the kitchen in a daze. There, he saw his daughter staring blankly at the television screen with completely hollow eyes, absolutely motionless.
At her feet, pale shards of the shattered ceramic plate were scattered across the floor.
'Ye Shiyu...'
For so inexplicable reason, even though his daughter hadn't made a single sound, An Bang suddenly felt that...
...his daughter was exceptionally terrifying right now.
"Lele?"
...
Hearing her father's voice, An Le slowly snapped back to reality and looked at him.
Like a horrifying illusion, the skin below her neck instantly turned completely pale, and one of her eyes abruptly morphed into a vicious pink serpentine slit.
"Dad... I need to head out for a bit..."
An Le stared at An Bang for a long ti with wide, hollow eyes before suddenly speaking in a trembling voice.
"Ah... Okay."
Terrified to refuse, An Bang simply nodded. He turned away to grab the remote control to lower the volu of the news, wanting to console his daughter.
"By the way, Lele—"
"Creak..."
However, when he turned his head back, his daughter was nowhere to be seen.
Only the front door of their ho remained wide open. And dripping from the door handle was a thick, translucent glob of sli.
"According to our reporters on the scene, the identity of the deceased has been confird: Yan Huan, a first-year student at Far Moon Academy, and the current Student Council President..."
anwhile, in the Kyogo Ward, inside the sprawling Sakuramiya Residence.
Sakuramiya Hitomi stared vacantly at the news feed on her mobile phone, all color completely drained from her face.
Behind her, Nara was frowning, conversing with soone on the phone.
"Understood. I got it."
Monts later, Nara set her phone down, an exceptionally grim look on her face.
She gazed at the back view of Sakuramiya Hitomi, who sat frozen in her chair like a statue. Sighing heavily, she spoke up.
"It's confird. It's true. The hospital has already issued the official notice. Tong Yingying was at the scene and followed Yan Huan, Ye Shiyu, Bai Yi, and Ye Lan to the hospital..."
"Ye Shiyu... Bai Yi?"
Hearing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi's shoulders trembled slightly. She turned her head slowly to look at Nara.
At that mont, tears were streaming steadily from her eyes.
"Yes... It seems that Ye Shiyu and Yan Huan were originally in a mansion together. It was Bai Yi who called Ye Lan over..."
...
Sakuramiya Hitomi's breath hitched, and her brilliant mind quickly pieced everything together.
'That place...'
'...must have been where Ye Shiyu was holding the President hostage.'
'Ye Shiyu...'
"I... I need to go out. Help
get dressed..."
After a mont of dead silence, Sakuramiya Hitomi murmured, her lips trembling uncontrollably.
However, the instant she tried to stand up, all strength left her body, and she collapsed directly to her knees.
"Eldest Miss!"
Seeing Sakuramiya Hitomi fall, Nara's expression shifted drastically, and she rushed forward to help her up.
But before Nara could even reach out, she helplessly watched as Sakuramiya Hitomi buried her face in her hands and began to weep.
"Waaah... President... Sob..."
...
Seeing Sakuramiya Hitomi completely shattered, Nara lowered her eyes. Ultimately, she couldn't find a single word of comfort to say. She simply stood up in silence to fetch so clothes for her.
At the Golden Lion Group headquarters.
Aria Spencer was still pouting as she scribbled down her sumr vacation howork, though she constantly stole eager glances at her mobile phone from the corner of her eye.
The phone had Plane open, displaying their small "Rescue Yan Huan" group chat.
"Why is there still no news, aoo..."
She hadn't been able to find Yan Huan at the employee dormitory earlier, so she could only wait and see how things were progressing on the others' end.
As it turned out, one had been grounded by her father, and the other had been grounded by her brother...
That left only the old red-haired woman, who claid she could locate Bai Yi...
"It's been so long since I've seen Yan Huan. I miss him so much, aoo..."
Staring at the completely inactive chat, Aria Spencer pouted even more, slumping over her desk and muttering in deep annoyance.
Although her mother returning to her ho country had made Aria very sad...
...on second thought, with Mama gone, she could go look for Yan Huan.
Furthermore, without her mother around, Heather probably wouldn't be able to keep her in check, giving her endless opportunities to hang out with Yan Huan.
Because of that, she hadn't been too heartbroken over it.
Yet, to her total frustration, this ss had to happen...
It annoyed Aria to no end.
'It's all that damn Ye Shiyu's fault!'
"Ding-dong..."
Right at that mont, the door behind her opened, revealing a panting, profoundly anxious Heather.
"Aoo?"
Seeing that it was Heather, Aria Spencer pouted and quickly locked her mobile phone screen.
"What do you want, aoo?"
...
Heather swallowed a mouthful of saliva, staring blankly at the young girl before her.
Seeing her perfectly normal expression, Heather instantly knew that Aria definitely hadn't heard the news yet.
Breathing a slight sigh of relief, Heather hastily forced a stiff smile.
"I-it's nothing..."
"Aoo?"
Through Aria's eyes, Heather's bird form suddenly twisted grotesquely, an absolute telltale sign that she was blatantly lying.
"Hm... Then what are you doing here?"
Aria asked, looking at her vigilantly.
Heather cast a quick glance at her mobile phone and said softly,
"Under President Elvira's strict orders, I am here to confiscate your mobile phone and ensure you focus on your howork."
...
Aria felt completely annoyed. She instantly turned her head away, refusing to give her the ti of day.
At this mont, snuggled tightly in her arms was the Golden Bomb Pig Plushie that Yan Huan had gifted her.
"Aria, please be good, okay?"
Standing behind her, Heather saw her absolute refusal to hand over the phone, and the awkward smile plastered on her face grew even more desperate.
She had to confiscate the phone right now. If the young lady found out about the accident...
...it would undoubtedly cause a huge commotion.
She needed to wait and report to President Elvira before making any further decisions.
...
But Aria rely kept her back facing Heather, staying completely silent.
"Aria~"
Heather slowly stepped over to her side, wanting to try and persuade her again.
However, as she drew closer, she couldn't help but freeze in pure shock.
Because at that very mont, Aria, clutching the Golden Bomb Pig Plushie, was staring blankly straight ahead.
A solitary tear was slowly trailing down the corner of her eye.
"Aria..."
Witnessing this, Heather nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva and whispered softly.
Only upon hearing her voice did Aria slowly co back to her senses and turn to look at her.
"I don't know why, aoo... All of a sudden... I suddenly really want to cry..."
"Ah?"
Heather was completely taken aback. Feeling utterly lost and empty, Aria raised a hand to wipe the corners of her eyes.
"Sob..."
But for so unexplainable reason, the more she wiped, the more tears poured out.
Until her vision blurred completely, and the Golden Bomb Pig Plushie she held so tightly in her arms was utterly soaked through.
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