Chapter 3108: After Divorce, Forced to Compete with My Ex-Husband 39

It was dawn.

Yunwu and Steve went down the stairs to the hotel basement,

Jeffrey's men guarded the door at the end of the hallway; seeing Yunwu and Steve approach, they stepped aside to let them pass and opened the door for them.

The room had no windows; Chimu was thrown into the corner, his hands bound behind his back, his broken legs also tied up, his whole body curled up lying on the floor, his clothes covered in dust and grime.

Hearing the door open, Chimu's eyelids twitched, he slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he felt was the intense pain from his legs.

He tried to mobilize the Fortune Value in the system to heal his injuries, but found the remaining Fortune Value insufficient to fully mend his broken legs, so he temporarily dulled part of the pain, reducing it from unbearable to barely tolerable.

But Chimu rarely suffered like this; even three years ago, when his relationship with Chenshu was at its most strained, other Fortune Children continuously supplied him with Fortune Value, keeping him perpetually protected and nourished—even taking a bullet left him unharmed.

... But at this very moment, under Jin Chen's targeting, his Fortune Value had been drained to rock bottom, making even mending his broken legs a luxury.

He gritted his teeth, lifted his head from the dull pain, and saw Yunwu and Steve standing at the doorway.

Chimu's eyes instantly reddened, tears streaming down his cheeks, his voice hoarse and weak: 'Yunwu bro… Steve, let me go… I know I was wrong…'

Yunwu stood at the doorway, head lowered, looking at him, his expression unchanged.

Seeing Yunwu's lack of reaction, Chimu turned to Steve, trying to move him with his tear-filled eyes.

But his pleas seemed to have no effect on either of them; Steve even took half a step back, as if avoiding some contagion.

Chimu clenched his fists in anger; usually, whenever he cried, those Fortune Children would soften and waver a little, but now it didn't work, so he had to change tactics.

He began talking about the past, about how Yunwu had been rumored to violate imperial regulations with his research direction, conducting experiments with dangerous toxins.

'Yunwu bro…' Chimu's voice trembled with sobs: 'I know I made some mistakes, but I truly… I never meant to harm you. Do you remember? When you were expelled from the research institute, everyone said your research was flawed, only I stood up to speak for you… I vouched for you with my reputation, I stayed by your side through those days…'

Yunwu watched his performance, unmoved; his perpetually gloomy eyes held no pity, not even anger, as if he had seen through all the tricks and was patiently waiting for the actor to finish his final act.

'But that rumor, wasn't it you who spread it?'

Chimu's sobbing broke off abruptly.

He had clearly ordered the system to erase all traces, clearing every transaction record spotless—how did Yunwu find out!

Chimu could only deny vehemently: 'It wasn't me… how could I possibly harm you… Yunwu bro, believe me, I've never done anything to let you down.'

He then turned to Steve, hoping he could say a word for him, but Steve didn't even look at him; instead he reached out and patted Yunwu's hair, as if fearing those memories would affect his mood: 'Don't dwell on the past—get moving.'

Yunwu tilted his head, gave a slight smile, nodded, and took out a potion from his backpack.

Seeing that potion, Chimu felt his whole body go wrong. This was the protective potion Yunwu had given him before, said to enhance his resistance to mutagenic substances in the environment.

Yunwu lowered his gaze at the potion in his hand, voice flat: 'This is the last one; drink it, and the drug's effect in your body will soon kick in.'

'No… don't… what is this!' Chimu struggled to retreat, but his broken legs couldn't support his body, so he could only scrape uselessly on the rough concrete floor.

Yunwu stepped forward, crouched down, and with one hand pinched Chimu's jaw to force his mouth open, slowly pouring the potion in.

Chimu choked, coughed a few times, but most of the potion was still swallowed.

The accumulated drug effect erupted within seconds.

'Ahhhh!' Chimu's body jerked upright, his eyes wide, his pupils dilating and constricting wildly, his mouth gaping as he emitted an inhuman wail.

His body rolled and convulsed on the ground, his fingers gouging bloody tracks in the rough floor, nails breaking, blood seeping into the concrete cracks.

The wail echoed through the basement corridor, passing through the walls to the neighboring room.

In the room next door, Mai Lun and Yan Xu heard that wail.

Their situation was much better than Chimu's; although they were also locked up, at least they weren't bound, nor were their legs broken.

Mai Lun turned to Yan Xu: 'Aren't you the scheming type? Think of a solution!'

Yan Xu pushed up his glasses, let out a light sigh, and said: 'I think proper punishment would do Mumu good.'

Mai Lun froze, and Yan Xu continued: 'After all… you and he were plotting to frame the Imperial General together. We nurtured his ambition, letting him think he could do as he pleased. If no one stops him, he'll only go further astray.'

Mai Lun's face shifted through shades, finally turning into a muffled curse as he slammed his fist against the wall.

In the basement room, Chimu's wail gradually weakened, shifting from a sharp scream to a low whimper; in his mind he raged furiously at the system, cursing Jin Chen, Yunwu, and everyone who had betrayed him with the vilest language.

After he had vented enough, he switched tones and began begging the system for mercy.

【I can still go find a new Fortune Child; if you help me just once more, advance a little Fortune Value, I'll first mend my legs and escape this damned place.】

The system fell silent for a moment, then finally agreed.

Chimu felt a warm current surge from within his body, beginning to slowly mend his broken bones. The sensation was both itchy and painful, like the nerves stimulated as the bones regrew, but he gritted his teeth and endured. He continued to feign unbearable pain, curled up on the floor, emitting faint groans so Yunwu and Steve would think the drug's effect was still ongoing.

Yunwu and Steve prepared to leave, with Steve in the lead; just as he was about to step out the doorway, he suddenly halted.

He seemed to sense something, turned his head, and his gaze fell on Chimu.

Chimu curled up in the corner, head down, still appearing to be in pain; feeling Steve's gaze on him, his heart tightened, but his facial expression remained unchanged, keeping that pained, weak posture.

Seeing Steve turn his head to look at Chimu, Yunwu's heart clenched, thinking Steve had been bewitched again.

He pressed his lips together, grabbed Steve's wrist, fingers hooking around the bone, pulling inward: 'Steve, don't…'

Steve turned his head, lowered his eyes to look at Yunwu's fingers gripping his wrist, clear-eyed: 'What don't?'

Yunwu blinked: 'What were you just about to do?'

Steve withdrew his gaze, resentful: 'I have to make Jeffrey cook some awful gruel and force him to eat it.'

Yunwu: '…'

Just how awful was the dish Chimu once cooked for Steve, that he still holds a grudge to this day?

He hastily pulled Steve out of the room, shut the door, sealing off Chimu's wails outside, released Steve's wrist, and with a barely perceptible lightness in his tone said, 'I'll go make you breakfast.'

Steve gladly agreed.