Mu Yanci’s pupils jolted. “How could you have…?” Didn’t the true heir of the Kuang family have a reputation as a worthless thug? How could he have so much liquid capital, and all of it given to him?

Kuang Ye didn’t answer. Instead, he raised his weary face and asked Mu Yanci, “Do you have any leads on Wanwan?”

Mu Yanci shook his head, his voice hoarse. “The other side’s counter-surveillance is very strong. Every time the police bring someone in, they’ve already left.”

“But there was no trace of luminal reaction at the scene, so Wan wan should still be alive.”

Kuang Ye tightened his fist, his tense mind loosening a little. As long as she was still alive… that was good. But beside him, an invisible Kuang Ye suddenly felt his nose sting, covering his reddening eyes weakly. Because he knew from Wanwan’s description, she hadn’t survived. Why was this nightmare still not ending? He was close to breaking.

— Another half month passed, and the police finally located the kidnappers. It was in an old tube building. Mu Jianhua deployed SWAT to surround the entire building, cutting off all escape routes. In the end, in a basement, everyone found Mu Wan’s dismembered body. The kidnappers had killed the hostage in an extremely brutal manner.

Mu Jianhua trembled violently as he looked at the scattered body parts. His body convulsed, and he finally coughed up blood, falling unconscious.

Wang Lan and Mu Yanci didn’t fare any better. Just hearing the news already felt like their hearts were being ripped apart. This was their precious daughter and sister, the one they had raised with love and care, and she had met such a terrible end.

— Meanwhile, Kuang Ye was handing out flyers with Mu Wan’s photo on it, going door to door in Shuijiang Road, inquiring about any information. Suddenly, someone pointed at the flyer and said the person looked familiar.

Kuang Ye was about to feel hope, when the person pointed to a news channel showing a live broadcast. “Isn’t this the girl in the news?”

“How tragic, I heard she was dismembered. When her parents found her, the blood was still warm…”

The things in his hands immediately slipped as Kuang Ye froze in place. For a moment, it felt like all the sounds and colors of the world were being stripped away from his body. After a long time, he seemed to snap back to reality, his legs giving way beneath him as he fell to the ground, and then he began violently banging his head against the floor.

“Ahhh!” He screamed like a wounded animal, his forehead cracking open, blood dripping down his face, his fingers scraping at the ground, nails splitting apart. Wan wan, Wan wan, Wan wan! Tears mixed with blood, dripping onto the flyers with her face on them. His mangled hand grabbed one of the flyers, staring at the bright smile of Mu Wan in the photo. He was in unbearable pain, guilt flooding him as he shouted in anguish.

“It’s me, it’s all my fault.”

“Why didn’t I dare to get close to you because of my inferiority?”

“Why, because you called off the engagement, because you knew Kuang Shuyu’s true nature but still stayed with him, I selfishly let you go.”

“Wan wan, I love you.”

“If I had been braver, more proactive, more persistent, would you have… not died?”

He was speaking his heart out, but his beloved could no longer hear him.

— On the other side, Kuang Ye’s situation wasn’t much better. He blankly listened to the news broadcast, and by the time he realized it, his face had already gone cold. His heart felt as though it had been split in two, and he muttered restlessly.

“No, it can’t be.”

“Wake up, wake up, this is just a nightmare, Wan wan is fine, Wan wan didn’t die.”

“Damned eyes, open! I want to see my Wan wan! I want to see my happy, joyful Wan wan.”

His rage slowly turned into panic when there was no response. Kuang Ye began to wonder whether Wan wan had never truly been reborn. Maybe the current version of him was just a second personality triggered by the mental trauma of “Kuang Ye”. He wanted so much to be with Wan wan that he was living in those sweet memories of her.

“Damn!” By now, he had lost all calm. Everything before his eyes felt too real, too realistic to be a dream, as if it was truly happening.

— Three days after Mu Wan’s death, the police finally obtained a description of the kidnapper’s real appearance through a composite sketch from the nearby supermarket owner. The kidnapper was around 30 to 40 years old, 179 cm tall, slender, with prominent facial features, slightly foreign or from a minority ethnicity. He had many burn marks on the back of his hands, from cigarette butts.

Mu Family issued a nationwide manhunt for the kidnapper, and all the government agencies in S City registered the kidnapper’s face, ensuring that he couldn’t leave the city using any transportation.

As for Kuang Ye, in the days following, he stayed in a cramped rental, not eating or drinking. He was staying there because he had no money left. He had sold his stocks in Su You, the club, and even his most precious possession, a house filled with countless memories of Mu Wan. Everything related to her had been packed into a cardboard box, but he lacked the courage—or the right—to open it.

Until one day, Zhang Qinan called him.

“Kuang Ye, the global competition is coming up soon. Your hand doctor already spoke to me. Are you going to announce your retirement?”

Kuang Ye froze, repeating, “Retirement?”

“Yes, I know you don’t want to give up on esports, but your health is more important. This can’t be helped—”

“No, Manager, I’m not retiring.” Kuang Ye interrupted Zhang Qinan, staring blankly at his right hand.

Then, a small smile curved his lips as he murmured.

“Wan wan, it’s so strange… This hand used to hurt so much, but now I can’t feel anything at all.”

“You must be watching over me, right?”

He tried to stand, but his body had been frozen in the same position for so long that it went numb, and with a loud crash, he fell back again. The light fixture in the broken rental fell on him, and after a series of clattering sounds, the room fell silent for a few seconds.

Then, Kuang Ye got up as if nothing had happened, laughing, “As expected… it still doesn’t hurt.”