Chapter 229: Final Chapter

Yu Shixue watched with his own eyes as the seawater shattered against that person's shoulder blades; Ling Wu's leap into the sea was like a sacrificial binding, dragging fiercely at his ankles, making it difficult even for Yu Shixue to breathe.......

His head felt as if it had been chiseled open by a hammer, a buzzing sound ringing through it.

The sound of the yacht's engine gradually faded, the wake churned up by the propellers swirling into a snow-white trail.

Yu Shixue was filled with hatred.

In just one night, Beidu City had been turned upside down; Ling Wu was that mysterious Magician, and the wedding he had been so full of joy for had been used by his beloved as a sharp weapon for revenge, casting his sincere heart high into the air only to be trampled into pieces.

Yu Shixue could not endure such betrayal; he was filled with grief, indignation, and uncontrollable rage, wanting to catch Ling Wu and demand why he had done this....... Yet, he had seen with his own eyes Ling Wu leap from the yacht like a withered leaf or a broken butterfly, dying on the very day they were to be married.

Yu Shixue's overflowing rage suddenly subsided, leaving him entirely bewildered and at a loss.

Why?

How could it be like this?

Yu Shixue had always been the type to side with his own rather than with reason; since those people had done such vicious things to Ling Wu, they deserved to go to hell, so what was the meaning of shamelessly dragging Ling Wu down with them?

Why hadn't Ling Wu told him?!

He hadn't told him anything.

Was he really that untrustworthy?

Or had Ling Wu believed from the very beginning that he would not stand on his side?

The dead cannot return to life.

From the moment Ling Wu died, all grievances were canceled out.

Yu Shixue had been on the verge of obtaining the person he had longed for, only to be caught off guard and fall from a great height; his heart, which had been filled to the brim, was like a balloon inflated many times over that had suddenly burst today, leaving him unable to find peace for a long time.

That affection was buried along with Ling Wu in this boundless sea, bone-chilling and unforgettable.......

The dead are remembered forever.

The dead are missed forever.

Jin Shaoyu scrambled up from the ground in a daze, his eyes bloodshot with extreme hatred and loathing: "Who allowed you to point your guns at him! You killed my brother! I'm going to make all of you pay with your lives!"

The person who had been kicked to the ground by him dared not make a sound.

With none of the three families—Yu, Jing, or Yin—having spoken, no one could do anything to this heir of the Jin Family; as long as the other three families gave the word, they could legitimately classify the Jin Family as a traitorous clan and openly crusade against them.

Jing Du was silent, yet a massive storm was brewing within his heart.

Ling Wu was dead.

Dead......

With such a turbulent current, once dragged into it, there was simply no possibility of survival.

Yin Huaiyu immediately issued an order: "I want to see the person if they are alive, and the corpse if they are dead!"

"Start searching!"

Everyone knew the hope was slim.

【Ding! Yu Shixue favorability 100!】

【Ding! Jing Du favorability 100!】

【Ding! Chu Yi favorability 100!】

【Ding! Yin Huaiyu favorability 100!】

【Mission complete!】

Ling Wu seemed to be awakened by the harsh notification sounds; he closed his eyes as seawater poured into his nasal cavity without restraint, his body sinking continuously, the cold water wrapping around his limbs, yet there was no look of pain on that beautiful face, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a smile of a plan successfully executed.......

His consciousness sank completely.

Deep in the seabed, it was as if a mysterious species was spreading out, with a ghostly light flickering beneath Ling Wu like the eyes of a venomous snake.

Chu Yi did not yet know the news of Ling Wu jumping into the sea; his heart was beating irregularly, sometimes rapid and sometimes slow, as if his body were warning him of something.

Huo Xi asked him: "Your Highness, what is wrong?"

"Nothing."

Yet, Chu Yi felt deeply uneasy.

A voice came through the tactical headset.

"Target 1 of Zone 1, distance 200 meters, wind speed 5 meters per second, wind direction southwest, adjust 1 mil."

The observer conducted reconnaissance and positioning on the target, then lowered the laser rangefinder.

Yin Shuyi knew the enemy was in the dark while he was in the light, so he chose to bypass the port by speedboat to successfully rendezvous with his subordinates; his movements, which he thought were flawless, were monitored by Shi Yu the entire time.

Chu Yi had long since brought a sniper team to wait on the only path.

Yin Shuyi was dressed low-key, but his focus was highly concentrated; out of the corner of his eye, he caught a fleeting diamond-shaped glint on the glass wall nearby, like the sharp edge of a cut diamond, and a warning bell rang in his heart.

He gave an inconspicuous hand signal.

Several special security personnel immediately raised the bulletproof shields in their hands, their bodies leaning slightly upward, and the shields closed like steel petals, wrapping Yin Shuyi in the middle, their tactical boots scraping against the ground with a sharp sound.

And the backup bulletproof vehicle was not far away.

Yin Shuyi's men were well-trained, and the hexagonal protective net formed by the bulletproof shields was almost impeccable; Chu Yi's team had traveled light to cross the defensive line and carried no heavy weapons, leaving them almost helpless against this.

And Yin Shuyi needed less than 15 seconds to evacuate.

Letting him return to the Southern Military Region would lead to endless trouble.

The sniper adjusted his breathing and quickly calmed down; the final shooting angle was swallowed up, and his index finger pre-pressed the trigger to the critical point, clearly feeling the firing threshold.

"Can't let them get into the bulletproof vehicle."

"Do we have any grenades?"

A window was shattered, and a grenade flew out.

"Gap in the left flank!" The observer's low roar in the headset and the engine of the bulletproof vehicle sounded almost simultaneously.

As they were getting into the vehicle, one of the special security personnel turned half a beat too slow, but that half-beat was fatal, and a gap appeared in the shield array.

But it was too late; that special agent used their body to block in front of Yin Shuyi.

The vehicle's armor was closing, the hood's hydraulic rods emitted a faint hiss, and the sniper's crosshairs shifted to the gap of the retracting car door, firing a shot; the sparks on the bulletproof shield were like slow-motion fireworks.

Just when they let their guard down.

The sniper calculated the delay of the Tungsten Core Armor-Piercing Bullet and fired a second shot, refracting the bullet when the armored car began to move and the rearview mirror frame formed a reflective surface at a specific angle, hitting the target.

"Target has been neutralized."

Chu Yi issued the order: "Sniper squad of District 1, retreat rapidly according to the backup evacuation route and return to the base."

The members of the sniper squad leaped forward in alternating cover, quickly retreating from the rooftop, while reports from other sniper squads kept sounding in the earpiece.

"District 9, confirmed 7 kills!"

"Please advise."

"District 4, confirmed 3 kills!"

"Please advise."

"District 6, confirmed 11 kills, 1 injured!"

"Please advise."

The Imperial Army and Ling Wu coordinated from inside and out, catching the nobles almost completely off guard; by the time they came to their senses, nearly half of Beidu City had already fallen, with a trend of continuously spreading toward the city center.

The death of Yin Shuyi caused the morale of the nobles to plummet even further.

But compared to external threats, internal troubles were equally thorny; civilians in the Lower City District of Beidu City didn't know where they heard the news that those attacking the city were the army of the former royal family, and for a time, they rose in rebellion one after another, the riots were hard to stop, and some even used homemade guns to assassinate officials.

For a time, every noble feared for their own safety.

Jin Liangjin was dead, so Jin Shaoyu was the legitimate head of the Jin Family; although there were Elders managing the situation, the Jin Family's Military Base and industries undoubtedly suffered the least casualties, or almost no casualties at all.

He knew this was all because of Ling Wu.

Jin Shaoyu held the share transfer agreement sent by Davis and laughed at himself; Ling Wu was truly his good brother, clearing away all his worries and protecting him cleanly, yet he himself had died.

His eyes were full of bloodshot veins, like the eyes of a beast: "When did he give this to you?"

Davis had also just learned the news of Ling Wu jumping into the sea, and it was impossible not to be shocked; such a person who was so strategic and confident, just died so easily?

It was truly unbelievable.

Davis: "It was on the evening of the 14th, the Eldest Young Master gave it to me and specifically instructed me to give it to you on the 16th."

Jin Shaoyu was completely dejected, his tall body slumped, tears wetting the agreement, and he tore it to pieces: "He had long planned to abandon me, he had long planned... Brother, I actually don't want these things, I just want you to come back."

"I just want you to live well!"

Davis's eyes were also a bit moist.

His feelings for Ling Wu were very complicated.

When Jin Shaoyu was overcome with grief, he saw a letter in the document bag; he hurriedly picked it up, the wax seal on the envelope was intact, and the words "Shao Yu, please open" were written in flowing ink.

"You go out first." Jin Shaoyu looked at Davis, clearly not wanting this letter to be seen by others.

Only then did he tear open the letter.

The content was very concise: "Shao Yu, I am very sorry, please forgive my willfulness; when you see this letter, you might think I have abandoned you again. I cannot bear to hurt you, and even less can I bear to leave you behind."

"Overthrowing the nobles and establishing a new regime—in order to welcome the arrival of this dawn, I have lurked in the darkness for long enough, almost worn down of all my spirit. I have made full preparations, but due to some reason that cannot be established on scientific grounds, I did not die."

"If things proceed smoothly according to my plan, I am very likely to leave the Empire and return to the Federation. I have a kind mentor in the Federation, as well as a senior fellow apprentice who treats me with great affection; they are all people worthy of trust."

"I will contact you immediately once I am settled. If I don't, then it is a pity; I may have fallen into some rather dire situation. You can call the owner of this number; he is my senior fellow apprentice."

"Additionally, in order not to cause unnecessary trouble, please, I implore you, help me keep my identity hidden."

"And that Crown Prince of the Empire, he is meticulous and resourceful. The nobles within Beidu City are deeply rooted and interconnected; although the nobles still have remaining strength, it is not an easy task for him to restore the royal family. But with the hearts of the people and the will of the masses, he will sooner or later eliminate his dissidents; you must never go head-to-head with him."

"Please believe in your brother; I did not die, I want to live more than anyone else."

Jin Shaoyu put the letter away properly and silently memorized that string of numbers.

He naturally believed Ling Wu's words, and knowing the news that his brother was not dead, his mood improved significantly.

But why did Ling Wu write a letter, a letter for him! Yet half of it was about how smart and how capable Chu Yi was...

Was he not smart or capable himself?

Jin Shaoyu was so angry he wanted to take a knife and stab Chu Yi to death, but he was afraid of disrupting Ling Wu's plan, so he could only swallow his anger, silently reciting: "If one does not tolerate small things, one will spoil great plans; if one does not tolerate small things, one will spoil great plans."

Damn it!

Jin Shaoyu's possessiveness reached its peak; he thought about how Ling Wu didn't mention anything else in the letter, so he tacitly kept the news of his survival a secret.

Let that red-head, that toad lusting after swan meat, and those three idiots who are all talk and no action cry about it.

Just thinking this, Jin Shaoyu immediately held his head high, felt proud and elated, and was beaming; he was simply like a different person from the haggard, heartbroken, and pale appearance he had just a moment ago, which could be called another great miracle of the world...

The civil war of the Empire had completely begun.

There was no time to be decadent; one had to brace themselves and pull it together. Yin Huaiyu heard the news that his father had been assassinated; even though there was no real family affection, he still felt as stifled as if a stone were blocking his heart.

Not for anything else, but because he had lost the last relative he had in this world.

A simple funeral was held.

Humans are creatures who are born naked and leave "empty-handed"; no matter how glorious or powerful you were in life, you still cannot take a single cloud or speck of dirt with you.

Apart from the black-and-white photo on the tombstone, all that remains to remember you is the lingering attachment in people's hearts, but Yin Huaiyu had no such attachment; after all, Yin Shuyi was neither a good husband nor a good father.

Yin Huaiyu wiped away his tears, thinking to himself that when he saw Ling Wu jump into the sea, his crying was even louder than this.

Who wouldn't call him a "filial son" after hearing that?

Thinking of Ling Wu, his heart felt as if it had been splashed with oil, scorching and hot; when the wind blew slightly, the wound in his heart that hadn't yet been smoothed over would ache again and again.

Yin Huaiyu knelt before his father's tombstone, missing someone else, thinking of the way he first met Ling Wu, thinking of the clothes he wore, thinking of his smiling face, thinking of his angry expression, thinking of the way he shone... this person didn't let people have peace even after he died.

He had shattered his heart into pieces, and it could no longer contain a second person.

He silently began to shed tears again.

Ling Wu was the type of person who had the capital to make people infatuated and haunted by him; it was truly terrifying. His charm wrapped around you when you weren't aware of it, and when you suddenly looked back, you realized that without this person by your side, your world seemed as if it couldn't turn anymore.

But he died.

The salvage crew didn't even find half a scrap of his clothing, and no sign of him was discovered along the nearby coastline; he was likely eaten by sea creatures.

What a damn load of bullshit!

Yin Huaiyu thought to himself, how could he have died?

How could he possibly die?

Before Ling Wu jumped into the sea, he hadn't even left behind a single word.

He was just like he always was; with a single look, it was as if some magical barrier had trapped Yin Huaiyu's life in place, and for the rest of his days, whenever he thought of this person, his left leg would ache faintly, and something would take root and sprout in the depths of his heart.

Yin Huaiyu knew that on the internet, people who could not be attained were called a "white moonlight," so he supposed he would consider Ling Wu his white moonlight.

After all, it was quite fitting; moonlight shines impartially upon all living beings, and he was but one of those beings.