Chapter 128: Life as Cheap as Grass

The sky was darkening as Liu Jingye walked along the street. There were far fewer pedestrians and vehicles than usual today; the incident had rocked the entire city, and police armed with live ammunition had set up checkpoints at every entrance and exit.

"Searching like this will never lead to the real killer," Liu Jingye muttered, shaking his head helplessly. "The culprit is probably out there enjoying themselves right now. I just hope nothing else happens."

Just as he reached a street corner, he suddenly saw a luxury sedan speeding toward him from a distance. It was moving so fast it seemed as if it might take flight, swerving violently. The driver appeared panicked, and the car looked completely out of control.

Despite the driver’s desperate attempts to steer, the car careened and smashed into a traffic island at high speed.

With a dull thud, the already crumpled front of the car burst into flames. The pungent smell of gasoline reached Liu Jingye even from the roadside. The fire instantly engulfed the entire vehicle. The doors never opened, and those inside were doomed.

Bystanders screamed in terror, and passing cars slammed on their brakes. Drivers abandoned their vehicles to flee to safety. Moments later, the burning car exploded, the force of the blast ripping the roof clean off.

Five minutes later, fire trucks arrived and extinguished the blaze, but the occupants were already charred beyond recognition.

"Look at that, just look at it," a bystander remarked. "So much for a million-dollar import; when disaster strikes, it’s all the same. Better to support domestic brands—at least they’re cheaper."

"That license plate is something else," another added.

"That's our boss's car!" a woman suddenly shrieked. "It’s definitely his; there’s only one like it in the whole city."

"Who is your boss?"

"Boss Hong from Jinzhu Real Estate!"

"What?" The crowd was shocked. Someone sighed, "Well, that’s that. The man is dead, and he didn't even get to spend his money."

Liu Jingye was stunned beyond measure. *Is this an accident?* he thought. *Absolutely not. How could a luxury sedan like that suddenly lose control? Besides, there was no reason for the driver to be speeding on this road. Someone must have tampered with it. Moreover, the fire started at the front, not near the fuel tank at the back, yet I smelled gasoline. Clearly, someone doused the front in gasoline so it would ignite immediately upon impact.*

*Furthermore, this Boss Hong had a conflict with Young Master Feng just this morning, bragging that he had the official permits and that Feng couldn't build villas on that prime piece of land. I wonder if those permits are still valid now that he’s gone to the afterlife.*

Liu Jingye watched coldly as the firefighters pulled out the two charred bodies, now unrecognizable and lifeless.

"Tan Yifeng, aren't you going a bit too far? There was an innocent person in the car, likely the driver," Liu Jingye gritted his teeth in hatred. "Your brutality is lawless. Do you really think no one can deal with you? Being a descendant of a prestigious family with ancestors who served the nation is one thing, but to use that legacy to commit such atrocities—are you not ashamed of your forebears?"

Liu Jingye turned away, feeling for the first time the true horror and malice of these so-called "second-generation" elites. *I just hope they don't cross me. Otherwise, I don't care whose descendant you are—I will crush you just the same.*

No sooner had he finished the thought than his phone rang. It was Chen Yuxin. When he answered, there was no response. "Hello? Yuxin? Speak to me... why is your voice so faint?"

Suddenly, Liu Jingye froze. He dashed into a quiet alley. He heard Chen Yuxin’s voice, incredibly weak and labored, gasping, "I... I don't think I can make it. You..."

Her voice cut off abruptly. Panic surged through Liu Jingye. He shouted into the phone, "Yuxin! Yuxin! Where are you? What do you mean you can't make it?"

There was no answer. Liu Jingye realized the danger. He hung up and dialed a number over twenty digits long. Before the other party could speak, he said urgently, "Don't talk to me about national resources; all resources exist to serve the people. I need you to track the location of this number, 13xxx, immediately. A life is at stake. Hurry!"

He hung up. Thirty seconds later, he received a text message with an address.

It wasn't far, but with the road blocked by the earlier car explosion, he took off at a sprint. He moved like a cheetah through the city, his speed reaching its limit.

He arrived at the apartment complex and rushed to the location. He noticed people fleeing the building, covering their mouths and noses in a panic.

Liu Jingye grabbed one of them. "What’s happening?"

"Third floor! There’s a gas leak on the third floor. They won't answer the door, and it looks like no one is home. If we don't run, it might explode!"

The person scrambled away. With the stairwell clogged, Liu Jingye ran to the back of the building. He eyed the third-floor window, took a deep breath, and sprinted, planting his foot against the wall to propel himself upward. He grabbed the first-floor ledge, pulled himself up, stepped onto the sill, and leaped again to grab the second-floor ledge.

Within moments, he reached the third floor. He saw Chen Yuxin lying on the bedroom bed. Heart pounding, he smashed the glass with his elbow and climbed in. A suffocating smell of gas hit him.

He covered his mouth, jumped to her side, and found her unconscious, her face blackened and her body limp—a sign of severe gas poisoning.

Fortunately, breaking the window let in fresh air. Liu Jingye moved her to the window, took a deep breath, pinched her nose, and began performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Once, twice, three times... Liu Jingye worked like a machine, pumping air into her lungs. His own vision began to blur from lack of oxygen, his head swimming, his body swaying, but Chen Yuxin’s condition was even more dire.

Just as he felt faint and Chen Yuxin’s color began to slightly improve, he heard a buzzing sound from the kitchen. He glanced over and saw the microwave running—with a disposable lighter inside!

"Damn it!" Liu Jingye cursed. He scooped Chen Yuxin into his arms and leaped out the window.

The moment they cleared the window, a wave of heat blasted them, followed by a massive explosion and a fireball.

Gravity worked in their favor, pulling them down rapidly. Liu Jingye held her tight as the blast wave threw them over a meter away. With nothing to grab onto, he spotted a car parked directly below. Gritting his teeth, he braced himself and slammed onto the roof of the car.

His feet took the impact like anchors, crumpling the alloy roof and shattering all the windows.

A searing pain shot from his feet through his legs, as if his bones had shattered, but he hadn't actually broken anything. He had jumped from higher than this before; his body was forged like steel.

The explosion terrified everyone, but fortunately, the gas company had already been notified to shut off the main line, preventing a larger catastrophe.

Liu Jingye didn't care about the chaos. He carried Chen Yuxin off the car, ignoring the agony in his legs, and ran toward the hospital across the street.

Because of his swift arrival and the emergency CPR, Chen Yuxin was pulled back from the brink and rushed into the hospital’s hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

Liu Jingye waited anxiously. Soon, property management, firemen, and gas company staff arrived, but he ignored them, offering only brief, dismissive answers.

*Who wants to kill Chen Yuxin?* he wondered. *This was a premeditated, highly sophisticated murder attempt. They leaked the gas, and if that didn't kill her, they had a second plan—a timed microwave rigged with a lighter. The power was equivalent to TNT.*

*Who could it be? Surely not Young Master Feng? There’s no motive. Unless... because she accidentally caught him on camera at the airport? If he’d kill over something so trivial, he’s truly a maniac. Or perhaps she captured something damning on that film.*

Liu Jingye was filled with a mix of fear and fury. If anything happened to Chen Yuxin, regardless of whether Feng was behind it, he would never let him go.

After a long wait, a young female doctor emerged from the chamber. Liu Jingye asked anxiously, "Doctor, how is she?"

The doctor spoke in a soft tone. "She is out of immediate danger, but the level of carboxyhemoglobin in her blood was high, and she suffered severe oxygen deprivation. It may affect her nervous system; there is a risk of sequelae."

"What kind of sequelae?" Liu Jingye asked tensely.

"It’s hard to say, but common aftereffects of gas poisoning include dementia, impaired comprehension and memory, and in some cases, paralysis."

"What?" Liu Jingye’s heart sank. He clenched his fists so hard his entire body trembled. "Doctor, you must save her. She is a journalist—a good journalist who reports the truth and fights for the people. She cannot be left with such aftereffects."

The doctor looked at him curiously, sensing the chilling aura radiating from him. His clenched fists looked capable of shattering anything.

"What is your relationship to her?" the doctor asked.

Liu Jingye hesitated for a moment. Their relationship was complicated. He gritted his teeth and said, "I am her fiancé."

"I see," the doctor replied. "And if she does suffer these aftereffects—if she becomes mentally impaired or paralyzed—will you still marry her and take care of her for the rest of your life?"

Liu Jingye didn't hesitate. "I will."