Free Web NovelChapter 384: Chapter 267: Warm Embrace
Qi Ling’s eyes reflected the splattering blood as she knelt there, dazed.
There was no impact on her chin, and her vision didn’t turn black.
She was still alive, not freed from this world.
Quietly, as the weight in her hand eased, the gun was taken away by Su Mo.
"I say, your technique of feeling things is lacking; I noticed it immediately. If you get the chance, learn from KK; his hands are incredible."
Su Mo held the gun’s muzzle, blocking it with his palm. The bullet pierced his flesh and lodged between the bones enhanced by the Mad Corpse Blood Code, without injuring Qi Ling at all.
"Tsk, it still hurts quite a bit." Su Mo flicked away the bullet from his palm with a smile, "But it seems you can’t comprehend what pain means. Oh, how I wish I had your physique as a kid, so I wouldn’t fear my parents spanking me."
Qi Ling’s pupils were unfocused, as if she hadn’t processed the fact that she was still alive, appearing somewhat wooden.
Gradually, her eyes found focus, her hands hung weakly by her sides, and she asked softly, "Why save me... why not let me just die..."
Su Mo asked in return, "Why must you die? Your revenge is over, a new Chapter of life has begun, there are no more burdens on your shoulders, isn’t it good to live on?"
"Live on?" Qi Ling’s lips pulled into a desolate arc, asking faintly, "Then tell me, how should I live on?"
"People living need a reason. Some live for others, some live for themselves."
"And me? What am I living for? I don’t even know who I am now... am I the Xiaoqi I’ve been trying to play, or the monster Zero from before?"
Su Mo said deeply, "In my view, you are neither Xiaoqi nor Zero."
"You have the vision belonging to Xiaoqi, and the past belonging to Zero. They merged seamlessly during your years of life, becoming inseparable, transforming into a new you."
"You are you, Qi Ling, the unique Qi Ling."
Qi Ling lowered her eyes, smiling forcibly, "So what? Does this have any meaning?"
Su Mo: "Living in itself, isn’t that meaning?" freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Qi Ling: "No... maybe to you all, living is the meaning to keep going. But not to me."
"To live just to live is nothing but an animated corpse, only maintaining the minimum biological survival, nothing more."
"I don’t want to live like that, because before meeting Xiaoqi, that’s the disgusting life I always lived. If I have to continue that way for the rest of my life, I’d rather die."
Su Mo: "Then don’t live like that, go find a reason to live on."
Qi Ling: "For instance? What is there? The only reason I didn’t commit suicide immediately after Xiaoqi died and dragged on to today was to personally take revenge on those people, it was the reason I lived for so many years."
"But now it’s all over, there’s nothing more I need to do in life. In that case, what is my reason for living..."
Su Mo showed a mysterious smile: "So I said, if there’s none now, go find one. How about I come up with a reason for you to live on?"
Qi Ling looked at Su Mo blankly, waiting for his answer.
Su Mo spoke in a profound tone, guiding gently: "Your programming skills are amazing, I have a powerful virus source code at home, which is hundreds or thousands of times stronger than the Nemesis virus you created. How about it, interested to take a look?"
Qi Ling: "Not interested."
Su Mo: "...Huh?"
Qi Ling seemed a bit puzzled: "Why would you think I’m interested in viruses? They’re merely tools I used for revenge."
"Change them for knives, guns, or anything else, it’s the same. It’s just that viruses seemed most effective to me, so I chose them, no other reason."
"If you think I’m like that panda engineer of yours, obsessed with research, you couldn’t be more wrong."
Su Mo was dumbfounded on the spot.
For both public and private reasons, he really wanted to recruit Qi Ling into the Edge Mercenary Corps.
Judging from the recent performance of the Nemesis virus, Qi Ling’s programming skills might even surpass An Churan, the original female lead of "Dawn."
If he could bring Qi Ling on board, the biggest software technical weakness of the Edge would be covered!
Su Mo had just taken it for granted that since Qi Ling was a hacker, she would inevitably be fascinated by the Black Extinction Virus from the old era, a completely unheard of thing after all.
To his surprise, she outright said, "I’m not interested"?
What to do now!
In the original storyline, apart from An Churan, there were very few top-notch hackers known by name, and Su Mo didn’t even know where to find such talent.
Meeting Qi Ling by a lucky fluke was already hitting the jackpot.
If he missed this chance, who knows when he’d find another reliable hacker?
Su Mo got a bit flustered and quickly smoothed things over: "Qi Ling, be more open-minded, life actually has a lot of interesting things like delicious food, beautiful scenic spots..."
"And video games... yes! Games! Let me teach you how to play games, once you get immersed, each game is a new life, they’re so much fun!"
As Su Mo rambled on, Qi Ling suddenly tugged at his tie, pulling him gently closer.
With their foreheads touching, so close together, Su Mo could even see the beautiful iris pattern in those eyes.
Qi Ling: "Are you trying to keep me?"
That gaze was somewhat intense, causing Su Mo to subconsciously turn his face away, letting out a soft "Hmm."
Qi Ling held Su Mo’s chin, forcing him to turn back, and asked softly, "Why keep me? Is it because you fancy my hacking skills?"
Su Mo: "Honestly, yes, I fancy your hacking skills, I don’t want to lie to you about that."
He paused here, then looked back into Qi Ling’s eyes, deeply saying, "But more than that, I don’t want you to die."
Qi Ling: "Why?"
Su Mo: "If you die, I feel like I would be very sad."
A tumultuous mix of emotions surged within those amber eyes, sometimes grieving, sometimes bewildered, finally transforming into an indescribable relief.
Suddenly, Qi Ling hugged Su Mo once more.
She hugged tightly, her fingers clutching Su Mo’s back, embracing with all her might, as if she wanted to merge him into her body.
Su Mo instinctively called her name: "Qi Ling?..."
With a sharp pain, Qi Ling bit into his collarbone forcefully, leaving a deep bite mark, like a kitten leaving its mark on its owner.
Su Mo stood dumbfounded, not knowing what it meant.
Almost using up all her strength, Qi Ling held Su Mo’s waist, her voice trembling slightly: "You fool, aren’t you going to hold me tight, and then tell me yourself — live on, I need you."
Su Mo finally came to his senses from his daze, lifted his arms to embrace Qi Ling, then said to her...
"Qi Ling, live on, I need you."
Qi Ling leaned against Su Mo’s shoulder and slowly closed her eyes.
For a moment, something seemed to flicker between her half-closed eyes, whether it was the light reflecting off her eyelashes in the morning sun or something else.
"Then you must be more careful in the future, Su Mo, never abruptly leave me one day."
"Because now, I’m only living for you."
In the brilliant morning sun, the two held each other tightly, as if time had frozen in that golden moment.
