“Shuhan, where are you? Save me,” Zhou Jing began to plead desperately.

She was somewhat relieved that she had knocked on Chen Shuhan’s door earlier.

He had opened the door. If he hadn’t seen her, he would have gone looking for her in her room. That way, he would realize she was missing right away.

“Do you want to see him?” Nan Muran asked coldly. She despised people like Zhou Jing, who had committed countless evil deeds in her past life, yet still clung to hope before death.

She should die in despair and fear, just like Zhang Kun, like the Nan family, like Qi Li…

Zhou Jing’s pupils were bloodshot, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, unable to comprehend Nan Muran’s words.

To her, the girl who had suddenly appeared before her seemed like a demon crawling out of hell.

Without warning, Nan Muran forcibly pried open Zhou Jing’s mouth until it was at an angle where she could no longer make a sound, then pulled out her tongue and sliced it off.

Afterward, she tied Zhou Jing’s ankles together with rope and hoisted her out of the window, hanging her upside down.

Taking advantage of the pitch-black night, Zhou Jing was slowly lowered along the wall until she dangled right in front of Chen Shuhan’s window.

Somehow, the curtain inside had shifted slightly, leaving a small gap.

But that tiny gap was enough for Zhou Jing, who was pressed against the window, to clearly see the scene inside.

In the room, a naked man and woman were sweating profusely as they moved in a frenzied, passionate tangle. The man was wild and insistent; the woman seductive and enchanting.

Zhou Jing, clinging to the last bit of hope, watched in despair as her supposed savior was in bed with another woman.

She stared helplessly as they reveled in pleasure, again and again.

She tried to close her eyes, but realized she couldn’t even do that—she didn’t even have the right to look away.

All she could do was watch them over and over, while she, hanging outside in the freezing winter night, slowly waited for death.

With her medical background, Zhou Jing was well aware of the injuries inflicted by the girl.

Several wounds had severed arteries—not enough to kill her instantly, but enough to ensure she would eventually bleed out and die.

Feeling the temperature outside drop lower and lower, she knew she didn’t have much time left.

Outside on the fifteenth floor, after Nan Muran hoisted Zhou Jing out the window, Si Ye grabbed her hand and led her back to her room.

Jiawu and Lao Ying immediately began cleaning up any traces—not just from their room, but also along the outer wall and anything left by Xiaoliu.

Even Qijin had been frightened by the bloody, ruthless Nan Muran.

But after Jiawu explained that Zhou Jing had caused the deaths of many people—and had nearly killed Ranran, Si Ye, and Lao Ying—he finally accepted it.

Such an evil person deserved to die.

On the sofa, Nan Muran curled up in a corner, stunned.

Si Ye held her hands tightly, but her consciousness was still locked onto Zhou Jing outside the window—feeling her despair, sensing her life slowly drain away.

Only when Zhou Jing finally stopped breathing and her body turned as cold and stiff as an icicle did Nan Muran retract her spiritual sense.

“Was that too cruel?” Nan Muran suddenly asked Si Ye, seemingly out of nowhere.

Si Ye tucked the blanket tighter around her, smiling gently. “How could it be? It was just one death. What’s cruel about that?”

Watching Nan Muran earlier had made Si Ye even more acutely aware of how deeply the underground laboratory had scarred her.

A person who had been broken, tormented, and numbed by despair would typically hate everyone equally and lose all ability to trust.

But Nan Muran hadn’t.

Despite enduring the worst of humanity, she still treated her family, friends, comrades, and lover with kindness. She even chose to trust strangers like Han Yingtian and his group. That was already more than enough.

Because of this, Si Ye, Jiawu, and Lao Ying could understand her. That’s why they had simply stood by and let her act without interfering.

In the end, they just quietly helped her clean up the evidence to ensure no future trouble.

Si Ye gently stroked her hair, seeing her looking a little lost. “Don’t be sad. You still have us. No matter what happens, we’ll always be with you.”

“I feel… a little moved,” Nan Muran said, her eyes brimming with heat.

Si Ye pulled her into his arms and chuckled. “You’re a bit silly.”

“I’m not silly!”

“Alright, you’re not silly. I’m the silly one.”

That night, even though Si Ye and Nan Muran ended up sleeping on the sofa, they slept soundly.

Jiawu, Lao Ying, and Qijin also slept peacefully.

Because they knew that tomorrow morning, when Chen Shuhan discovered Zhou Jing’s corpse, that was when they truly needed to stay on high alert.

---

The next morning, the hotel staff who came in to work were the first to notice something was wrong upstairs.

“What’s that?”

“Is that… a person?”

“Ah—someone’s dead!” Once they realized it was a corpse, screams started erupting downstairs.

Meanwhile, in the ninth-floor guest room, Chen Shuhan and Ouyang Yun were still sleeping soundly, exhausted from their wild night.

Until there was a loud, urgent knock on the door.

“Young Master Chen.”

“Young Master Chen, please open the door, something’s happened.”

Woken so early, both of them were visibly annoyed.

But Chen Shuhan, being a man who prioritized his career, still chose to get dressed and open the door, though he was clearly displeased.

Ouyang Yun, who had been pampered since childhood, was much less tolerant. “Ugh, so annoying, this early in the morning.”

“Get dressed,” Chen Shuhan tossed her a sweater with some irritation.

Seeing the woman’s bare, bruised body, he couldn’t help but close his eyes briefly.

Ouyang Yun giggled as she pulled on the sweater and quickly tidied up the bed.

When he opened the door, the person outside was the manager of the Lanchi Base Hotel.

“Young Master Chen, sorry to bother you. Uh, we need to enter your room for a moment,” the hotel manager said, looking extremely awkward.

After all, having a dead body hanging outside one’s window all night was an especially ominous and horrifying matter.

Chen Shuhan frowned in displeasure.

The manager had no choice but to explain directly: “There’s a dead body outside the hotel… and it’s hanging right outside your inner window.”

Ouyang Yun, who had just come out, heard this and instantly turned pale, her stomach churning with nausea.

Chen Shuhan’s expression also darkened. He hurriedly led the hotel staff and the base’s security personnel into the inner room.

As soon as they pulled open the curtain, everyone gasped sharply.

Because the female corpse was facing the window directly, her eyes wide open in a look of unfulfilled death.

“Ah… this is…” Ouyang Yun turned deathly pale.

The woman’s face was so horrific it was hard to recognize her, but Ouyang Yun recognized her outfit—it was the same khaki professional suit Zhou Jing had worn yesterday, and her meticulously styled hair matched too.