Song Liang had always assumed Xiao Yi’s ultimate goal was to avenge his parents and Xiao Ying and his wife, then gain complete control of Xiao Group, just as in the original novel. But he realized he had overlooked the most important point.
The revenge Xiao Yi wanted was not to kill Xiao Musheng. It was to have his crimes judged.
【Huh? Judged? By whom? Don’t major villains usually pass judgment themselves?】
“Then perhaps he isn’t the kind of villain you imagined.”
【What kind is he, then?】
“The kind who reads poetry among roses in the sunlight.”
【What?】
“Enough chatter.” Running down the corridor, Song Liang asked breathlessly, “Have you hacked into the surveillance system yet? Aren’t you supposed to be some advanced, universe-class AI?”
【Do you think I don’t want to? There’s no network here! No network! However amazing I am, I still need a connection! Have you ever seen a surveillance system without a network that—huh?】3085’s irritated voice suddenly changed, filling with confusion and delight. 【We have a connection! I found a hotspot! Stay right there! Don’t move!】
Song Liang stopped immediately.
Duan Yan and Chen Jiahe, who had been panting after him the entire way, hurried over when he finally stopped and asked where they were going next.
Song Liang stood there for a while, then abruptly said, “The top deck.”
He turned and started running again. The two behind him could only stand and watch for a moment, unable to follow right away.
“Brother Song has incredible stamina,” Chen Jiahe panted.
“Yeah,” Duan Yan agreed. “He once jumped off a yacht into the sea and didn’t even die.”
Chen Jiahe: “…”
They stood catching their breath. Then Chen Jiahe suddenly asked, “I meant to ask earlier—who was Brother Song talking to all the way here?”
Duan Yan waved a hand. “No idea. He’s always like that. You’ll get used to it.”
“…”
Having mostly recovered his breath, Chen Jiahe turned to him. “Go after him?”
Duan Yan nodded. “Let’s go.”
…
Another desperate sprint finally brought them up to Song Liang in front of the elevator.
“Bro… why… why are we going to the top deck? Is Chairman Xiao there?”
“Not him. Xiao Musheng. There’s a helipad on the top deck. He’s planning to leave by helicopter.”
“Xiao Musheng…” Duan Yan was surprised. He knew Song Liang was looking for Xiao Yi, though from everything they had heard in the hall, he also understood that Xiao Yi probably wanted to settle accounts with Xiao Musheng. “But Chairman Xiao might not be with him. It’s not like he’s planted a camera on Xiao Musheng. What if you go up there and get caught?”
“He’ll know.”
Song Liang had no doubt about Xiao Yi’s abilities or resourcefulness. In fact, he suspected Xiao Yi had rehearsed tonight’s scenario in his mind countless times before choosing this particular date to put it into motion.
April seventeenth. The day Xiao Ying and his wife had died in a car crash eleven years ago.
The room overlooking the hibiscus flowers at the old Xiao residence had been empty, save for a calendar by the bed with a date circled on it, and an old photograph tucked between its pages. One belonged to his mother, the other to Xiao Ying and his wife. Those two objects represented the three most important people in his life. They were his true obsession and purpose, the things that had sustained him all the way to this day.
The ruthless villain from the original novel gradually acquired a distinct face. Yet it was not an ugly one. It was a handsome face, with eyes as dark green as lakes and forests, and a quiet figure sitting among flowers in the sunlight.
【Host, are you sure? If Xiao Yi’s ultimate goal isn’t to make Xiao Musheng face public judgment, rushing straight to Xiao Musheng like this could put your life in danger.】
“I’m sure.”
The elevator soon reached the top floor. Song Liang strode out and pushed open the door to the deck. The wind swept the loose hair back from his forehead, revealing the figure standing at the far end.
It was the first time he had seen Xiao Yi like this. His impeccably tailored suit jacket was long gone, leaving only his shirt and waistcoat. His usually neat black hair was scattered by the night wind off the sea, occasionally falling across his eyes. Without the splendid lights that always accompanied him before an admiring crowd, his handsome face was half-hidden in darkness. Yet his green eyes seemed brighter than ever. The gloom that had shrouded that deep emerald forest was gone.
Xiao Musheng’s aged, frenzied voice drifted faintly to his ears.
“…Who told him to disobey me? Who told him to take matters into his own hands? I was his father! He dared to condemn me! He condemned me for a bastard like you!”
“Your father deserved to die even more. He wouldn’t listen… cough… He wouldn’t listen to me. He insisted on all that underworld loyalty and honor… cough! He had it coming!”
“I should have strangled you long ago. I should have strangled you… cough… My child, my Xiao Ying—”
Bang—
The gunshot was barely distinguishable amid the sea wind. The figure at the far end of the deck suddenly staggered backward, then fell like a withered flowering stem.
Song Liang’s pupils contracted. He sprinted toward the edge as fast as he could and leaped after him.
“Brother Song!”
“Brother Song!”
【Host!】
The distant thrum of helicopter blades overhead drowned out Duan Yan and the others behind him. Icy sea wind rushed into his face, obscuring his vision. Inside his mind, 3085’s cries mingled with the main system’s relentless alarms.
“Turn off the alarms!” he shouted.
His mind fell silent the next instant. As he plunged downward, he saw the vast, pitch-black sea and the figure now almost within reach.
He stretched out his hand, calculating the distance between them, memorizing where the other man would hit the water, predicting which direction he would need to swim to catch his hand.
But just before he struck the sea, that familiar mechanical voice sounded in his mind again.
【Congratulations, Host, on completing the beginner instance, The Top Star’s Secret Husband Is a Hundred-Billion CEO!】
【The host is currently facing danger outside the storyline. The system will activate its default safety protocol and transfer the host out of the current instance. Please do not panic!】
【Beep! Transferring—】
Song Liang’s eyes widened slightly. His fingertips seemed to brush a trace of icy seawater. The next instant, the figure before him sank beneath the surface, and the endless darkness filling his vision abruptly became a soft, clean white.
“…”
Standing in a silent, empty white room, Song Liang looked down at his hand. He drew a deep breath and said coldly, “308—”
【Here! I’m here!】3085’s panicked voice rang out in his mind. 【It wasn’t me! This time it really wasn’t me! This is an emergency protocol the main system set up to protect the host’s life! It was afraid something would happen to you! It’s a default setting. I couldn’t stop it either!】
【Besides… besides, he was supposed to die anyway. Only with his death could one of your main missions be confirmed as one hundred percent complete.】
“I don’t think he would have killed me.”
【But he’s just a string of data.】
“…”
Song Liang fell silent.
After a quiet moment, 3085 ventured cautiously, 【This is only your first world. Getting so immersed in it could be dangerous.】
“It hasn’t gone that far.”
Song Liang did not believe he had reached that point. It was simply that watching Xiao Yi fall into the sea before his eyes had left him feeling helpless. He disliked that helplessness. It felt as though he had experienced a similar instant thousands upon thousands of times before, and it stirred anger within him.
【That’s good, then.】3085 breathed a sigh of relief. 【The emergency protocol prevented the instance results from appearing immediately. Would you like to see them now?】
“Yes.”
With a beep, an enormous electronic screen unfolded before him. It skipped past the instance details and host information before finally displaying the results.
【Congratulations, Host, on completing the beginner instance, The Top Star’s Secret Husband Is a Hundred-Billion CEO! Main storyline completion: 93%. Main missions completed: 3/3. Character adherence grade: C. Overall instance completion rank: A!】
【Congratulations on your excellent results! Keep up the good work~】
A C for character adherence was no surprise. Neither was ninety-three percent storyline completion. He had been transferred out abruptly, after all, so the story could not have finished. But…
“Xiao Ji and I never finished exchanging rings. Why does it say all three main missions are complete?”
【You did complete them.】
【Besides exchanging rings, there is another condition that can also qualify the mission as complete.】
“What condition?”
【An important token that runs throughout the entire main storyline.】
“…”
Song Liang’s gaze flickered. “The Emperor’s Tear.”
【Yes, Host. It’s in your suit pocket.】
“…Outside the hall.”
【Yes, Host. When he kissed you.】
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