Miss Forensics – Chapter 96.2

Insect Awakening

Several men in black, brandishing machetes, pounced towards her.

Lin Yan reached behind her waist and pulled out a mechanical stick. With a sharp “click,” she swung it straight, taking advantage of her proximity, aiming for the head of the nearest man in black.

The vibrations from the stick reverberated in her palm as the man in black staggered back two steps, clutching his forehead. Blood poured out profusely.

From the side, a gleaming blade swung towards her. Lin Yan blocked it with the mechanical stick, creating a sharp metallic clash.

She lifted her leg and swiftly delivered a whip-like kick, her leather boot ruthlessly smashing into the person’s head, sending him flying.

The man in black spat out blood and crashed into the surrounding wall.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lin Yan caught a glimpse of a flash of a blade behind her. Her hair stood on end as she swiftly turned and sidestepped, grabbing his arm with her left hand and fiercely smashing his wrist with the stick in her right hand.

The man in black winced in pain, dropping his knife. Before he could react to defend himself, the tip of the stick shifted direction and struck him squarely in the vital area of his abdomen. The man in black let out a guttural “ah” as he spat out some murky substance. Lin Yan followed up with an elbow strike, leaving him dizzy and disoriented, and forcefully slammed his head against the wall, pressing it down.

Song Yuhang showed mercy and spared lives when she intervened, but Lin Yan was different. If she laid her hands on someone, it meant she was going for the kill.

Little specks of blood stained the thin layer of snow at the base of the wall.

Releasing her grip, Lin Yan left the man in black slumped on the ground.

Her cold gaze swept across the scene, the tip of her stick still dripping with blood.

For the sake of convenience, she had changed into black combat attire, donning a short jacket and tactical boots, her brown curly hair tied back into a ponytail that hung behind her head. Her eyes and brows, splattered with blood, were set with an air of lethal seriousness.

The enemies exchanged glances, then, undeterred by the threat of death, lunged at her again.

“She can’t hold out much longer, go!”

Lin Xian’s lips curled into a slight, cold smirk as she almost turned her mechanical stick into an impenetrable shield, weaving like a dragon amidst her attackers. But even with her skill, facing multiple foes meant occasional oversights, and in an unguarded moment, she acquired another slash on her body.

She clutched her shoulder and stepped back, but someone kicked her in the back, right in the center of her back. She stumbled forward and just as she hit the ground, a knife came at her!

Lin Yan’s pupils contracted as she swiftly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the gleaming blade that shaved off a strand of her hair, causing a faint stinging sensation on her cheek.

Someone delivered a powerful kick to her chest, and Lin Yan rolled in the muddy ground. She raised the mechanical stick with both hands to block, but her arm gradually gave way under the pressure.

She gritted her teeth, her arm throbbing with pain, and the wound on her shoulder bled profusely, staining a large area of the ground where she lay.

Another man in black crawled up from the ground, wielding a knife and thrusting it towards her chest.

The glint in Lin Yan’s pupils grew sharper and sharper. She gritted her teeth, barely able to hold on any longer.

The man in black, stepping on her, kicked her wrist, causing the mechanical stick to fly out of her grasp.

He stomped down, delivering a solid blow.

Lin Yan winced in pain, her brows tightly furrowed. She coughed twice, blood frothing at the corner of her lips. Every organ in her body twisted with agony. She clung tightly to his foot, trying to move them away, her face pale.

The most dangerous part was that the knife was coming. She could already feel the piercing pain as it pricked against her skin.

Lin Yan was gasping for air, her body tensed, but just as the knife was about to do more than just slice her clothes, it halted abruptly.

She looked up in astonishment to see the man in black being hurled away by someone who had grabbed him by the collar.

The person who had been stepping on her was forced to turn and defend, leaving Lin Yan’s rescuer unarmed—having snatched the knife from the attacker’s hand.

He glanced at her and said, “What are you staring at? Let’s go!”

Clutching her abdomen, Lin Yan scrambled to her feet, picked up her mechanical stick, and limped towards the workshop.

She glanced back and saw the mysterious figure now entangled in combat, single-handedly holding off two skilled fighters.

That wine-red hair stood out starkly against the night.

“Jingzhe,” she called his name, giving a slight nod. (Jingzhe means ‘Insect Awakening’… yeah…)

“Be careful.”

With that, she plunged headfirst into the workshop without looking back.

“Is anyone there? Is anyone there?” She went from door to door, pounding and shouting, her voice carrying far in the empty space.

Ji Jingxing lay on the cold floor, tears dried up, her typically expressive eyes now dull and lifeless as she stared blankly at the chaotic play of light and shadow on the ceiling.

Caught off guard by the sound of footsteps, she almost instinctively began to tremble, curling herself into a tight ball.

“Don’t, please don’t kill me…”

In the sawmill workshop, sawdust flew chaotically as Lin Yan coughed twice, supporting herself against the wall as she walked, leaving bloody prints where her palms touched.

“Is… is there anyone?”

She leaned against the door, gasping for air, her head tilted back to stare at the ceiling as blood trickled down from the tip of her stick, dripping steadily.

The silence here was profound, with only the sound of the exhaust fan and her heavy breathing to be heard, almost nothing else stirred.

Lin Yan closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths to calm her erratic heartbeat, and at the moment she held her breath, the world returned to silence. Then, suddenly, she heard a faint cry for help.

She listened carefully.

“Don’t, don’t kill me…”

Lin Yan sprang up from the door: “Who’s there? Who’s inside?!”

The plea for help grew more piercing.

“Please, don’t kill, don’t kill me, not my child…”

Ji Jingxing, with hands and feet tied, watched the door shake violently, tears streaming down her face, banging her head on the ground begging for mercy.

The door was padlocked; Lin Yan rammed against it a few times, and dust and wood chips fell in showers.

She tried kicking it, but it wouldn’t budge. Finally, she grabbed her mechanical stick and forcefully smashed it down on the lock.

The clash of metal produced a shrill, piercing sound and sparks flew instantly.

The paint on her mechanical stick gradually scraped off, revealing the stark white material underneath.

With every lift of her arm, the unhealed wound on her shoulder surged with blood.

She had stood there for too long, so much so that a pool of blood had gathered at her feet.

“Break for me!” Lin Yan raised her hand high, and with a roar of fury, she smashed down hard, and the overwhelmed lock finally broke apart, falling at her feet.

Lin Yan pushed the door open.

A beam of light shot into the dusty air.

Ji Jingxing squinted, seeing a tall and lean figure running this way, her heart leapt with joy, thinking it was Song Yuhang. She waited until the person came near.

Before the name “Yuhang” could leave her lips, Lin Yan threw her mechanical stick aside and squatted down, frantically pulling at the hemp ropes entangled around her.

“Why is it you?” Ji Jingxing looked at her in disbelief.

Lin Yan ignored her, awkwardly stripping the ropes from her body and tossing them to the side.

“Go straight out, turn right, and take the side door. My friend will meet you there. Where’s Aunt Song?”

Following Ji Jingxing’s gaze, Lin Yan turned her head and her lips pressed into a thin line. She rushed over in three strides, took only a moment to lift the person up, and quickly unraveled her ropes.

“Auntie, Auntie, wake up,” Lin Yan gently shook her shoulders, then placed a hand on her breath and sighed in relief.

Ji Jingxing also ran over: “Mom… is she okay?”

“She’s fine, just passed out,” Lin Yan said as she carefully helped the person up and patted her back, allowing her to cough out the breath that had been caught in her throat.

“Cough, cough…” Aunt Song coughed violently twice, opening her eyes to see them and tears streamed down her face.

“Jingxing, mom is sorry…” Mother Song weakly stretched out her hand and took hold of hers.

Ji Jingxing shook her head, tears falling freely: “Mom…”

Lin Yan, supporting Mother Song by her waist, lifted her up: “Enough, let’s not wallow in sorrow here, we need to get out quickly.”

Together, they supported Mother Song, running towards the exit, one on each side. Before they could reach the main door, the heavy, bulletproof steel door came crashing down.

Lin Yan’s pupils contracted; she let go of Mother Song and ran towards the door, but it was already too late to try to lift it by herself.

As the steel door hit the floor, dust billowed up, and Mother Song watched, heart pounding, as Lin Yan narrowly avoided getting her fingers crushed.

Lin Yan got to her feet and scanned the surroundings. The workshop, neither too large nor too small, had another door — likely a staff entrance that led outside.

She took the lead and sprinted towards it: “This way.”

Ji Jingxing, struggling to support Mother Song, twisted her ankle in her high heels.

“Ouch.”

Lin Yan rolled her eyes inappropriately and tossed her stick to her: “Hold this.”

Ji Jingxing, looking at the blood-stained mechanical stick, recoiled in fear and let out another “Ah,” barely holding it with a fingertip. It was too heavy for her, and she almost dropped it, nearly hitting her foot. She quickly caught it with both hands.

Lin Yan turned around and hoisted Mother Song onto her back.

“Yanyan, this…”

“It’s okay, we need to get out quickly.”

If they were late and Song Yuhang handed over the USB drive to the other party, it would all be too late.

Decades of hard work threatened to go down the drain; just thinking about it made Lin Yan’s blood boil and teeth itch with hatred.

The guards outside heard the racket and pressed a switch on the wall, slowly lowering a bulletproof steel door, aiming to trap them inside.

Lin Yan ground her teeth in anger. Shoving Mother Song into Ji Jingxing’s arms, her gaze fell on a thick round log nearby. Summoning all her strength as if it were a matter of survival, she hefted it up and shoved it against the door. The log fell, but the door didn’t budge a millimeter.

A sharp pain shot through Lin Yan’s shoulder, her fingers lost their grip, and she fell to her knees on the ground, breathing heavily, her breaths as labored as if she were pulling a bellows.

Ji Jingxing and Mother Song looked at her; she was also looking at them.

In their eyes, there was misery, despair, sadness, and also a trace of pleading.

They were begging her to lead them out to see the light of day again.

Ji Jingxing wanted to live to see Xiaowei, and Mother Song wanted to live to see Song Yuhang.

Lin Yan knew that at this moment, she was their only hope.

Lin Yan looked at them, at the play of light and shadow on the ceiling, at the dust floating in the air, and swallowed hard.

“Alright, there’s only one last thing to try.”

Her right hand was already trembling, unable to grasp things firmly. Lin Yan touched the sawdust on the ground and grabbed a handful, throwing it up in the air fiercely.

Ji Jingxing’s vision was obscured, and she coughed violently, “Cough cough… What are you doing? Trying to choke us to death?”

Lin Yan said coldly, “Cut the crap. If you want to live, just do as I say.”

While they talked, the temperature in the workshop plummeted rapidly. The exhaust fan began to reverse, blowing out nothing but cold air.

Ji Jingxing shivered, her fingers practically too stiff to move.

Lin Yan’s eyes reddened, frantically throwing the sawdust on the ground, even tearing open the burlap sacks piled in the corner and flinging their contents out with a fierce shake of her hands, sending dust flying everywhere.

The workshop was spacious, without any hiding spots.

She pulled out a lighter from her pocket and looked back, saying, “Run!”

Seeing the lighter in her hand and the blinding dust that made it impossible to keep one’s eyes open, Ji Jingxing snapped to her senses, dragging Mother Song desperately backward.

A streak of light cut through the pitch-black workshop.

Lin Yan hurled the lighter with all her might, it smashed against the steel door, the plastic casing shattered, and the liquid butane mixed with a large amount of dust, causing a dust cloud to rise, and sparks flew in all directions.

Lin Yan turned and ran back, the air blast flipping her over.

Ji Jingxing and Mother Song also fell to the ground.

Lin Yan pulled the two of them back in one swift motion, throwing herself over them.

“Boom!” The shockwave of the explosion lifted all the dust from the ground, and flames quickly consumed the wood, spreading outwards.

Those standing guard outside only heard a loud bang and before they could grasp what was happening, the steel door was blasted open, a large hole gaped in it, and flames jetted out, meeting the fresh air outside, instantly creating a “backdraft” that mixed with the rising dust to trigger a secondary explosion.

Fire was everywhere.

Ji Jingxing was pinned down tightly, her eardrums buzzing, her nostrils filled with dust, and she soon choked and passed out.

Duan Cheng and his party, who were waiting outside the factory to respond, watched the thick smoke billowing inside and immediately felt a terrible premonition.

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LP: Lin Yan so cool

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