Memory Lost

Chapter 128: Her Decision Part 1

Why?

Why must they do this? Why must they force her to choose?

What is their goal?

……

These thoughts flash across Su Mian’s mind. She lifts her head and stares into the bright sky. The sound of a siren is still ongoing, Han Chen is driving at top speed on the road in the early morning; many people turn to look.

Su Mian’s face is expressionless as she grabs onto the handle in the car. Her palm is hurting due to putting too much pressure on it.

Han Chen looks at her with the corner of his eye and sees her in a daze. It makes his heart ache. He returns his gaze to the road, “The bomb disposal expert is in the car behind us. Let him save the other one.”

Su Mian doesn’t speak.

Perhaps there’s still hope, but only perhaps.

Stopping the bombs from exploding on the two civilians has triggered the countdown to the deaths of two police officers. And she is the one who will decide who gets to live or die. It’s so cruel and presumptuous; this is the real retaliation and mockery on the Black Shield Team from the seven-member organization.

Her eyes become watery but she stops them from flowing out.

Xiao Zhuan and Xu Si Bai. Her most intimate friends who have accompanied her all these years, yet they’re forcing her to choose.

But there isn’t any other way.

Right after receiving the video just now, the technicians on the scene started to trace the signal. In just three minutes, they confirmed the general area, but they still need some time to figure out their precise locations. Both locations are in the East District, but one of them is in the South end while the other is in the North end. This means that after leaving the park and going East for a distance, Su Mian must make a decision. And after saving one of them, there will definitely not be enough time to make it to the other location.

They can’t replicate her fingerprint either. After playing the video, Han Chen told Chatterbox to come to the scene immediately. Chatterbox’s face turned pale when he finished watching the video and murmured, “No……it won’t work! This fella is too smart. He’s using a high precision fingerprint scanner that can sense the fine lines on the skin and its temperature. A normal fingerprint film won’t work! I must go back to the station and grab my tools. If…If Xiao Bai comes back to the station with me, it’ll take at least 20 minutes to go and come back. It definitely won’t be enough time!”

……

“Let me think for a while longer,” she says softly with her head lowered while staring at the GPS on the dash. She has always been a direction idiot who can’t tell where North, East, South, and West are. But she has engraved their current location and their route to save the two officers inside her head.

8 km.

There are still 8 kilometers before the intersection. With Han Chen’s driving speed, it’s around 3 to 4 minutes. She must make a decision; go South or go North. Otherwise, if they pass the intersection, they would be off route and won’t be able to save either of them.

“I’ll decide,” Han Chen says suddenly.

Su Mian jerks her head up and looks at him. Both of his hands are on the steering wheel and his eyes are on the road. His expression is full of coldness, “I’ll make the decision. I’ll choose who you’ll save. That’s it.”

Tears almost flow out of Su Mian’s eyes.

If the other person cannot be saved, whoever makes the decision will be the one who will live with this burden for the rest of his/her life, wouldn’t it?

Han Chen wants to carry this burden for her.

She bites on her lower lip and shakes her head, “No, I’ll decide by myself.” It’s as if moisture is gathering in her eyes and fogging up her sight as she says slowly, “They’re both my people. I need to decide this by myself.”

“No negotiation,” Han Chen says firmly with more determination than her. He accelerates faster.

“No negotiation,” Han Chen says firmly with more determination than her. He accelerates faster.

Su Mian stares blankly at the traffic light that’s gradually coming closer and curses, “Han Chen……you bastard.”

And at this very moment, her cell phone rings. At a time like this, even if there is the slightest bit of possibility to turn things around, she is desperate for it. She grabs the phone and picks up, “Cold Face, what is it?”

Cold Face is in the car behind them. His voice doesn’t carry any hesitation and it’s calm and deep, “Xiao Bai, we’ve managed to connect through. We’ll send you the signal now,” he pauses before continuing, “and you’ll be able to see them.”

“……Okay.”

Two tablets are handed to her by a technical personnel, which are used for communication. She holds them up and she feels her heart in her throat; it feels heavy and it hurts, suffocating her. In just a few seconds, she receives the signal. She presses on it and connects through.

Su Mian’s breathing stops. Han Chen, who’s beside her, turns his head and takes a look at the two individuals on the screens. He remains quiet for a moment and then returns his eyes to the road.

The image is clearer than the live video stream from before. It’s also much quieter.

Zhou Xiao Zhuan is on the left and Xu Si Bai is on the right.

_____

Earlier today.

Zhou Xiao Zhuan wakes up feeling like his head is being hit with a bat constantly. He opens his eyes and sees that he’s in an unfamiliar room. The walls are white and the ceiling is bare. Only an orange-yellow light bulb is hanging above his head and the curtains are closed tight. It makes this small room seem empty and dismal. The air inside is full of dust and the smell of camphor balls; much like a storage room.

He’s tied up onto a chair with a bomb weighing down on his chest. From head to toe, he can only move his fingers slightly, but his arms are tied up very tightly and can’t be moved at all.

A is sitting on another broken chair not more than half a meter away. He’s still in his usual attire: baseball cap, mask, and hoodie. Although only his eyes can be seen, you can clearly sense that he’s smiling.

A is sitting on another broken chair not more than half a meter away. He’s still in his usual attire: baseball cap, mask, and hoodie. Although only his eyes can be seen, you can clearly sense that he’s smiling.

“Hi!” he taps his fingers on the armrest, then gets up and puts a tablet-like computer in Zhou Xiao Zhuan’s hands, “You don’t want to see my sister once more before you die?”

Zhou Xiao Zhuan feels as if something is surging up in his chest. Even though he’s unable to move, he ruthlessly spits into A’s face, “I’m a civil officer. I don’t care if I die! What’s the big deal?! Don’t think that you can scare me, you bastard!”

A’s forehead and mask are covered in saliva. He glares at Zhou Xiao Zhuan, wipes his forehead and kicks Zhou Xiao Zhuan’s chair, “Are you crazy?!”

Zhou Xiao Zhuan is about to lose it from anger, “You’re the one who’s crazy!”

A suddenly remembers something after being scolded and doesn’t become angry. Instead, he bends down, looks at Zhou Xiao Zhuan, and his eyes smile even more energetically, “Zhou Xiao Zhuan, I’ve placed a bomb on you. There’s an exact one placed in the same area on Xu Si Bai’s body too. The code to disarm the bomb is my sister’s fingerprint. In a bit, those stinky police officers will all be lured to a place and they will only have enough time to save one person. Between you and Xu Si Bai, who do you think they will choose? Who will my sister choose?”

His words finally stun Zhou Xiao Zhuan.

A’s eyes reveal a deeper smile as he gets up, opens the door and leaves.

The room returns to silence.

Zhou Xiao Zhuan is dumbstruck for a while before he lowers his head and looks toward the tablet. The screen is dark. He can move his fingers a little bit, so he tries pressing on the screen, but nothing happens. A has obviously implemented a setup where he’s not allowed to communicate with the outside.

He can only wait.

He must wait for Xiao Bai and the others from the Black Shield Team to choose and save one of them.

Just like what A said, is he just going to wait and see Xiao Bai and the others one last time through this tablet?

Zhou Xiao Zhuan’s nose feels sour, but he tries his hardest to suppress it.

Time passes every minute and every second. A little more than ten minutes later, at another room in some big building.

Zhou Xiao Zhuan’s nose feels sour, but he tries his hardest to suppress it.

Time passes every minute and every second. A little more than ten minutes later, at another room in some big building.

Xu Si Bai is tied up in the same manner and is also holding a similar tablet for streaming. He lifts his head and looks at the man sitting in front of him.

This time, A is rather quiet.

His cap is worn very low and he’s not in a hurry to say anything to Xu Si Bai. He’s humming a melody; a very strange one. He sings the words from R’s poem, “The most simple existence of the universe, crisscrossing and turning repeatedly. The most complicated form of life, loses morning and gains night. It can blanket every day, it can possess every year……”

His singing actually carries a bit of sadness. He finishes singing once, raises his head and smiles toward Xu Si Bai, “Do you also think that I’m a lunatic?”

Xu Si Bai looks at him and doesn’t answer.

A lets out a “Hmph!” It’s unclear whom he’s angry with. He turns his head, gets up and says indifferently, “She only has time to save one person. Between you and Zhou Xiao Zhuan, who do you think she cherishes more?” He laughs suddenly, “Don’t tell me that in her heart, not only are you no match to Han Chen, you’re also no match to Zhou Xiao Zhuan?”

He walks toward the exit and gives his final words, “Let us wait and see.”

The door closes shut. Xu Si Bai tilts his head up slowly. He looks out the window; blue sky, white clouds, and buildings around. The sun shines through, warming up his body. His forehead still hurts from being hit last night. His head is a bit dizzy too. He can smell the scent of blood from his body. It’s due to the bleeding from last night, but it’s probably dry by now.

He looks down at the communication device in his hand. He doesn’t bother trying to turn it on like Zhou Xiao Zhuan. It’s because he knows that A would definitely not give him this opportunity.

He can only wait. Wait for her to choose him, or choose the other person.

He takes a deep breath and then exhales slowly.

Who will she choose?

The woman I love, if I were the one to choose, I would choose you without any hesitation.