Chapter 3204: Saving Zero Egg Bai Ze's Love Story 05

Jin Chen entered the basement without obstruction.

The lock core popped open with a light twist of his fingertip, needing hardly any force, but as he went inside and down the stairs, the air grew more humid and the smell of blood grew stronger.

Jin Chen's brow furrowed; not good.

He quickened his pace, passed through the corridor, and the deeper he went, the more obvious the bloody smell became, until he entered the innermost cell.

…He saw Bai Ze hanging up.

Bai Ze was suspended by chains, his arms raised above his head, wrists bound by iron rings, his body nearly hanging in midair, the whip marks on the back of his white shirt crisscrossing.

Jin Chen stood at the doorway, his face gone blank, his expression indescribable.

He had thought Zero Egg was just having a possessive fit, playing some small dark room thing, locking the person up and not letting them run, merely saying a few harsh words.

As it turned out, he had beaten the person into this state, blood splattering everywhere—what the hell is going on!

Bai Ze had originally lowered his head, immersed in despondent emotion; hearing footsteps, he thought Yi Qi had returned, and lifted his head sharply, but quickly realized it wasn't Yi Qi's movement, his gaze instantly turning sharp, cold enough to kill.

Jin Chen clicked his tongue, took two steps forward, and stood under the light.

Bai Ze saw who came, his expression clearly startled, his cold vigilance easing somewhat, but he did not fully let down his guard.

"Jin… big brother." His voice was hoarse to an extreme.

Only then, by the lamp light, did Jin Chen see Bai Ze's complexion clearly—pale without a trace of blood, lips chapped, eyes bloodshot, his whole body seeming drained of vigor.

He looked as if he were seriously injured and about to lose everything.

Jin Chen probed, "Could it be… that Zero Egg did this?"

Bai Ze understood that the "Zero Egg" he mentioned was Yi Qi, struggled to gather his spirit, nodded, then added: "It's fine."

Before Jin Chen could say anything, Bai Ze spoke again, his voice tinged with obstinacy and dejection: "Big brother Jin, will you really annul my engagement to… Yi Qi?"

Jin Chen: "?"

You damn foolish Zero Egg, trying to pin the blame on him, huh.

Jin Chen silently noted a demerit against Yi Qi in his heart.

He cleared his throat, put on a serious expression, and said, "It depends on your feelings; if there's only mutual dislike and hatred, canceling the engagement is the best choice."

Bai Ze panicked, quickly shook his head, the chains clattering with his movement, and hurriedly explained, "There's no mutual dislike, I…"

He had spoken halfway when he suddenly recalled Yi Qi gritting his teeth and saying "I hate you," those reddened eyes, that resolute back, and the rest of his words got stuck in his throat.

Bai Ze somewhat at a loss lowered his gaze, moved his lips, but ultimately made no sound.

Jin Chen looked at him like that and sighed in his heart.

All he could do was pinch his nose and continue playing the role of the understanding big brother: "If there's a rift between you, even without annulling the engagement, could you really be happy?"

Bai Ze still said nothing.

Very good, being able to reflect makes you a good love‑brain.

Jin Chen was quite pleased; it seemed talking with Bai Ze was far smoother than talking with Zero Egg.

So he seized the moment and pressed on: "What exactly happened between you two?"

Bai Ze: "……"

A deathly silence. He seemed to have had his vitality drained, head lowered, gaze fixed on some point in the void, not knowing what he was thinking.

After a while, he finally spoke: "It's my fault… I did something that upset him."

Jin Chen tried to guide: "For example…"

Bai Ze fell silent again.

Jin Chen: "……"

So cold, as if you'd never loved each other.

Perhaps Jin Chen's gaze was too accusatory; Bai Ze avoided his eyes, earnestly pleaded, and said instead: "Yi Qi's arm is injured. Big brother Jin, please have a doctor look at it; it might be hard to treat."

And there's this? Jin Chen raised an eyebrow, carefully studying Bai Ze's expression: "Who did it?"

"An assassin."

Jin Chen was speechless for a moment: "Try giving a toothpaste‑tube answer again?"

Bai Ze was dazed, and it took him a while to understand what Jin Chen was saying.

He whispered: "Big brother Jin, go check on him first. If possible… please don't cancel the engagement; give me some time."

Jin Chen rubbed his forehead: "…Um."

He decided not to waste more time on this topic with Bai Ze. The person before him was clearly mentally exhausted, his speech fragmented; further questioning would yield nothing more.

Jin Chen couldn't bear to look any longer; he intended to find the switch for the chain mechanism, first let Bai Ze down, then talk.

Even knowing Bai Ze was a mercenary in this world, with a physique far stronger than ordinary people, being hung like that still looked painful to watch.

Who would have thought Bai Ze saw his intent, pressed his fingertip on the wrist's lock buckle, somehow fiddled with it, heard a click, the mechanism engaged, the chains loosened, Bai Ze bent his knee and knelt, half‑kneeling he caught his breath, showing little sign of pain.

"The mechanism is on the chain." Bai Ze endured the whip wounds on his back and whispered, "Yi Qi… didn't make me suffer much."

As for the whip wounds on his body, it was because he failed to protect Yi Qi; it was deserved.

Bai Ze thought that, and his fingers curled up sadly again.

Jin Chen: "……"

Nuts!

He turned and left, his steps much faster than when he came, feeling that staying another second would poison him with the atmosphere between those two—extremely twisted, extremely non‑communicative, extremely self‑torturing.

Jin Chen trotted up to the third floor and stopped outside Yi Qi's room.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door, tone casual: "Asleep?"

No movement inside.

Jin Chen curled the corner of his mouth, leaned against the door frame and raised his voice a bit: "Tomorrow I'll inspect the mansion's security, screen all suspicious personnel to prevent any insiders. Anyone who shouldn't be here had better move out quickly."

Having said that, he didn't wait for a response, turned and went upstairs to rest.

He was busy all night.