SES Chapter 185 Part 1

Chapter 185

A bright light and a dim one alternated in front of her eyes, like a faint summons.

Sensation gradually returned. She was still lying prone on the ground, but the chill beneath her felt different from before. Had she been moved?

Mu Dai wearily opened her eyes.

She had been moved. This wasn’t the basement anymore, but a brick building with a concrete floor. High up on the wall was a small ventilation window. In the distance, she could just make out what looked like a signal tower. At night, its light blinked on and off, flashing every so often.

Her head felt heavy and muddled. She tried to get up, but her legs went weak and she collapsed again. The frequent drugging and starvation had taken a toll on her physical strength and reflexes. Mu Dai even wondered if she had become stupider than before.

She sat on the floor in a daze, then forced herself to recall what had happened.

Back then, Leopard had suddenly come in with people, had them hold her down, and injected her with something. She had struggled desperately but eventually collapsed to the ground. Through the half-open doorway, she had seen a pair of delicate little leather shoes—clearly a young girl’s.

Was there a little girl there too?

But she couldn’t think any further. As her heavy eyelids closed, she kept repeating to herself over and over: Don’t fall into a deep sleep. Don’t fall into a deep sleep.

After that, her consciousness drifted. For a while, she struggled to breathe, and then she seemed to hear Luo Ren’s voice.

She couldn’t remember anymore. Everything ended with the sudden crack of gunshots.

Had Luo Xiaodao come? Had he tried to save her? He must have—otherwise, why would Leopard have moved her for no reason? What were those gunshots? Was Luo Ren hurt?

Mu Dai’s eyelids twitched. Panic rose in her chest. She staggered to the door, pounding on it with her fists and shouting, “Hey! Is anyone there? Anyone at all?”

No one answered. Soon she lost her voice as well. Someone else might have given up such a futile effort, but not her.

She leaned back against the wall and sat down, clenching her right hand into a fist. Silently counting, she rested for five seconds, then raised her arm and struck the door once with the heel of her fist.

When she had first started training in martial arts, Master Mei Hua Jiu Niang had asked her, “Mu Dai, how do you open a door when someone doesn’t want to open it for you?”

She had frowned and thought for a long time. “Talk nicely to them?”

Mei Hua Jiu Niang replied, “Keep knocking.”

That move worked. In training, she had felt it deeply—no matter how complicated a technique was, practice it hundreds of times and it would eventually become second nature.

She remembered asking, “Master, what if I keep knocking and it still doesn’t open?”

Mei Hua Jiu Niang had laughed. “Silly girl. If you keep knocking, you’ll knock a hole right through the door. Whether they open it for you or not won’t matter anymore.”

That made sense.

In the darkness, her face expressionless, she raised her arm every five seconds and struck the door. The dull pounding echoed monotonously, like the light on the signal tower—up, down, up, down.

She didn’t know how long it was before the door finally opened.

The switch flipped on, flooding the room with harsh light. Mu Dai raised a hand to shield her eyes. After a moment, she looked up.

It was Leopard, standing over her and looking down.

Mu Dai didn’t bother getting up. She stared at Leopard, turned her palm upward, and extended her hand. “I want food. And water.”

Leopard regarded her with a hint of amusement. One of her subordinates came in and brought over a chair. Leopard sat down and gestured. A moment later, the man returned with a bottle of mineral water and a few slices of bread.

Mu Dai reached for the bottle cap, but her arms were weak. She couldn’t twist it open.

“You’re not going to ask why I moved you?” Leopard said.

Mu Dai ignored her. She pressed the bottle against the floor, using her arm for leverage, but her fingers kept slipping. She still couldn’t open it.

“Luo came to save you today. He even held you.”

Mu Dai kept her head down and said nothing, bringing the bottle to her mouth and biting down hard on the cap, trying to twist it open with her teeth.

“He was shot four times.”

At that moment, the cap came loose with a crack and fell to the floor. Mu Dai tipped her head back and gulped down a large mouthful of water, her cheeks puffed out as she stared at the ceiling. Leopard saw a glimmer of moisture slowly gather at the corners of her eyes.

“You’re not even going to ask whether he’s dead?” Leopard asked.

Mu Dai looked at her, then suddenly pfft—she spat the water straight at Leopard.

Leopard hadn’t noticed that Mu Dai hadn’t swallowed that mouthful. Though she dodged quickly, water still splashed everywhere, soaking half her body. The subordinate flew into a rage and strode toward Mu Dai, raising his hand to strike her—but Leopard said calmly, “Get out.”

Mu Dai let out a soft laugh, her eyes fixed on Leopard. She tore off a strip of bread and shoved it into her mouth, chewing hard and dry.

Leopard said, “Little girl, this isn’t very smart of you. You should know what happens when you oppose me.”

Mu Dai lowered her head to drink again. After finishing, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, completely indifferent. “Whether I oppose you or not, the ending’s the same. Might as well spit on you once. It makes me feel better.”

Leopard wasn’t angered. “Later, I’m going to see Luo. Do you have anything you want me to pass along?”

Mu Dai froze mid-drink. Her hand stilled, the water inside the bottle sloshing back and forth.

Leopard smiled. “I forgot to tell you—he didn’t die. Killing him isn’t my goal. Tasha’s gun and bullets are specially made. With low penetration, fired at close range, they won’t go through—but injury and blood loss are unavoidable.”

Mu Dai’s voice trembled. “Tasha?”

Had she heard that right? Was the Tasha Leopard mentioned the same Tasha Luo Ren had talked about?

A scene flashed through her mind—the delicate little leather shoes she had seen before losing consciousness.

Leopard raised her hand and clapped lightly three times.

Footsteps sounded outside. A blonde little girl ran in, calling happily, “Mommy.”

As if deliberately putting on a show for Mu Dai, Leopard asked gently, “What’s your name?”

“Tasha, Linda, Emma—whatever Mommy likes.”

“Where are you from?”

“Anywhere as long as it’s not Australia.”

“Who’s the most important person in the world to you?”

“Mommy.”

“If someone bullies Mommy, what do you do?”

“I help Mommy kill them.”

Leopard nodded in satisfaction. “Go on.”

Tasha skipped happily back out.

Leopard turned to Mu Dai. “You really should have seen the look on Luo’s face when Tasha shot him.”

She leaned close, her voice low, warm breath brushing Mu Dai’s ear. “A brainwashed child can shoot the daddy she once depended on. What about you? Do you really think you can rely on willpower alone to resist? You and Luo are in love only because of dopamine secretion in your brains. If I damage your central nervous system, you won’t even know what love is.”

Mu Dai clenched her teeth. “You want to use me against Luo Ren?”

“My pretty little one—what else do you think I caught you for? Luo is finished now. You’re a powerful piece on the board. I’m just deciding what kind of packaging to use when I send you out…”

She asked at last, “Nothing you want me to tell Luo?”

Mu Dai was silent. After a moment, she reached up, grabbed the necklace at her throat, and yanked it off. She stretched out her arm and handed it to Leopard.

“If Luo Xiaodao misses me and wants to talk to me, tell him to blow the whistle. I’ll hear it.”

The leopard took it.

As she left the room, Mu Dai heard her say with something like contempt, “Luo really did pick himself a girlfriend who lives in a dream.”

The door locked. Alone in the darkness, Mu Dai groped around, finished the last slice of bread, then tipped her head back and drank the bottle dry.