Chapter 440 - 299: The Road Ahead (Part 2)

At this moment, a weak voice from Dongdong came through: "Boss..."

"Dongdong!" Su Mo hurriedly knelt on the ground, holding onto the blood-soaked small hand.

Dongdong’s hand was fearfully cold, and Su Mo placed it beside his face to warm it, trembling as he spoke: "I’m here, the future is here too, don’t be afraid, you’ll be okay!"

Blood continued to pour from Dongdong’s mouth, reaching the extreme of weakness. She struggled to pull the corners of her mouth into a foolish smile at Su Mo: "This breath... I fought it back for you..."

Before Su Mo could respond, he suddenly felt the small hand in his palm lose its strength.

At the same time, warning sounds of "beep beep beep" came from the emergency device, sharp enough to tear through eardrums.

The medical team members exclaimed in shock:

"Heart rate lost! Heart has stopped!"

"All vital signs have plummeted below critical values! Emergency device is ineffective!"

"Oh no... She’s not going to make it..."

Even the most skilled Future, at this moment, had tears welled up in her eyes, kneeling helplessly beside Dongdong: "No, no no no no... It can’t be like this... There must be a way..."

"Life signs can’t be maintained, mainly because the power core is completely destroyed... Yes, the power core! I need a power core!!!"

Chu Nanyi immediately rushed over: "Use mine! Take mine out and give it to her!"

Future shouted anxiously: "Yours won’t work! The parameters don’t match! There’s no time to adjust! I need one that can match on the spot! Yes... that someone!"

Before Future could call out the name, Shangguan Xue had already come to Dongdong’s side.

At this critical moment, Shangguan Li disregarded her image as a girl, directly tearing off her shirt, and stabbed into her chest with one hand.

"Psst!" The outer layer of flesh and bionic bones were broken through, she endured the intense pain and directly pulled out the power core from within her body.

The power core was similar to a normal human heart, once removed, all prosthetics would lose power.

Shangguan Li’s hands trembled as she struggled to hand the bloody power core to Future, just this simple action nearly exhausted all her strength.

"Take it... My parameters match hers... It can be used directly..."

After speaking, Shangguan Li lost all her strength and sank to the ground.

Su Mo quickly held her up, taking off his coat to cover her body for modesty.

Future obtained the precious power core and immediately picked up the necessary tools, starting to perform an emergency surgery on Dongdong.

...

"Beep, beep..." The sound from the life monitoring device transitioned to a steady rhythm.

In the Edge medical room, both Dongdong and Shangguan Li lay on the prosthetic repair tables, eyes closed, in a coma, while Future and several Edge prosthetic doctors conducted follow-up repairs.

Su Mo, KK, Chu Nanyi, and others stood outside, looking through the window anxiously.

Not long after, Future’s voice came through the broadcast: "Everything’s fine here, Dongdong’s vital signs have stabilized, and Captain Shangguan has also been sustained by temporary components."

"There are still many repair processes to be done, it’ll take about two to three days. You guys go tend to your own affairs, no need to stay here and watch."

Chu Nanyi had calmed down, now quietly rubbing his still-red eyes.

KK sat against the wall in the corridor, still unable to stop sobbing: "Big brother, what about Dongdong..."

Su Mo knew KK wasn’t asking about the injuries.

Prosthetic Implanters, there are not many injuries that can’t be repaired, and since Future said it’s okay, then Dongdong will surely recover completely.

KK was asking about Dongdong’s future.

This time she faced certain death, resolutely leaving the Edge, going alone to take revenge on Lucifer.

This act was done decisively, and according to industry rules, it truly had nothing to do with the Edge.

Because Dongdong had gone through the whole withdrawal process entirely, she’s now a free person, and whatever she does won’t implicate the team.

But the cost was that she put her life path to a dead end.

Destroying Lucifer would surely anger his father Mammon.

Moreover, Mammon was a high-ranking executive at the New Moon City branch of the Hegemony Company, when he gets furious and employs company resources for retaliation, it would be devastating.

Dongdong is about to face a manhunt, its intensity likely hundreds of times greater than the previous incident with Nuobai, even if she manages to escape New Moon City, she would live the rest of her life in the shadow of being hunted, living like a stray dog without a home.

Faced with KK’s question, Su Mo didn’t answer, only patting his shoulder: "I’ll find a way, you guys go rest for now."

...

Tonight, the night was very dark, the snow had stopped, and even the howling wind could no longer be heard, the entire New Moon City was enveloped in silence, so quiet it was suffocating.

Su Mo sat in his office, silently watching the distance through the window, the streets were empty, only the dim street lights barely illuminated the surroundings.

He was thinking.

Thinking about Dongdong’s future.

Also thinking about his own future.

"Knock, knock, knock." Then, the sound of knocking echoed in the quiet office.

Su Mo: "Come in."

"Squeak—" The door opened.

Su Mo’s mind was filled with various noises, originally absent-minded, but suddenly startled by the thing outside the door: "What the heck! What’s that?!"

Just then, a "Catgirl" peeked in from outside the door, her ears swaying rhythmically, with a half-beast half-human face that’s very cute, cheekily sticking her tongue out.

The figure hopped inside, it was a person wearing a complete set of furry costume, fluffy all over, dancing happily like she just walked out of an anime world right in front of Su Mo.

Su Mo was a bit dumbfounded.

Thinking it through, there was only one person who could pull off such a stunt.

He tentatively asked: "Ling?"

The figure removed the furry headgear, silver hair pouring out in the air, her amber eyes filled with smiles.

Qi Ling giggled, saying: "How’s this outfit, cute right?"

Su Mo was puzzled: "Cute, it’s cute, but what are you doing?"

Qi Ling: "I’m trying to cheer you up~"

Su Mo, feeling amused and helpless, said: "Thank you for going through great efforts, whether I’m happy or not is another matter, but I sure am amused."

Qi Ling took off the costume, came over and sat on Su Mo’s lap, opened her arms and acted spoiled: "Hug~"

Su Mo said somewhat helplessly: "I’m pondering things, my mind is very cluttered, let’s hug later, okay?"

Qi Ling, ignoring him, wrapped her arms around Su Mo’s head, hugging him tightly.

Suddenly unprepared, Su Mo’s face was directly pressed against Qi Ling’s chest, that marshmallow-like touch made him freeze momentarily.

"Ling?..."

"Shh..." Qi Ling held Su Mo, gently stroking the back of his head with her small hand, softly saying, "Don’t speak, close your eyes, listen to my heartbeat."

Guided by Qi Ling, Su Mo unconsciously closed his eyes, gently resting against that warm chest, listening to her heartbeat.

"Thump, thump, thump..." The girl’s heartbeat was soft, even, gently resounding in Su Mo’s ear, like a clear trickling stream, cleansing all the noises.

Feeling Qi Ling’s body heat, hearing only the sound of the heartbeat, an unprecedented sense of peace surrounded Su Mo, he forgot about thinking, indulging in this gentle embrace where hearts seemed to merge, the world reduced to just the two of them.

Qi Ling stroked Su Mo’s hair, like comforting a child, speaking softly into his ear: "Do you feel like your troubles are temporarily gone?"

Su Mo nodded lightly with his eyes closed.

Qi Ling pressed her cheek against his head, murmuring about the past: "When I was young, every time I came out of the dark prison, I would have nightmares and couldn’t sleep at night, Xiaoqi used to hold me like this, letting me listen to her heartbeat."

"She wanted to tell me—don’t be afraid, you’re not alone. And now, I want to tell you this too."

"You’re not alone, Mo Mo. I see all your hard work and dedication these days with my own eyes."

"You might feel like you have to take responsibility for everyone as the captain. But never forget, everyone is behind you, and I’m behind you too."

Su Mo smiled slightly, wrapped his arms around Qi Ling’s waist, pressing his face closer, savoring that warm body heat and gentle heartbeat.

Who knows how long it passed, he suddenly asked softly: "Ling, have you ever been to the Land of No Master?"