One person: Starting with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, his grandmaster uncle emerges from seclusion.

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

The clamor in the square slowly receded like the tide.

Most of the villagers and high-achieving individuals, who were overflowing with energy, were already quite drunk and staggering.

In one corner of the square, the bonfire was still crackling, illuminating several slightly tipsy faces.

Zhang Tianyi was still sitting in that armchair, but the cup of Moutai in his hand had been replaced with goji berry tea in a thermos.

He crossed his legs, pushed his sunglasses up to the top of his head, and squinted his eyes.

It looked like she was asleep, or perhaps she was listening to the wind.

Beside him, Chen Duo was sitting quietly on a small stool.

She was wearing that white dress, and because it was a bit chilly, she was wearing Zhang Tianyi's black trench coat over it.

Holding a skewer of golden-brown toasted bread slices, he ate them in small bites.

The firelight reflected on her face, making her appear exceptionally serene.

She's like a girl next door who's just gotten home from school and is having a late-night snack at a roadside stall.

"Ugh……"

A long, heavy sigh rang out.

Old Meng, sitting opposite me, was holding an empty wine bottle in his hand.

That usually timid face was now covered with tears.

He drank too much.

As the wine flowed into my heart, the guilt and pain that had been suppressed within me finally burst forth.

"Chen Duo..."

Old Meng raised his head, his swollen, red eyes staring intently at Chen Duo through his glasses.

His voice trembled, carrying an almost pleading tone:

"You...you tell me..."

Why did you kill Lao Liao?

"He treated you so well...he treated you like his own daughter...how could you do that to him?"

These words were like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing the last bit of alcohol in the hearts of the people around them.

Xiao Zizai, who was picking his teeth, pushed up his glasses, and a cold light flashed on the lenses.

Black Pipe stopped spinning the dagger in his hand.

Zhang Chulan frowned, glanced at Zhang Tianyi who hadn't reacted yet, and was about to speak up to smooth things over.

"Old Meng, if you've had too much to drink, go to sleep. Don't stay here..."

"I'm not sleeping!!"

Old Meng suddenly stood up, so excited that he knocked over his chair.

He stumbled and tried to rush towards Chen Duo, but was stopped by Hei Guan'er.

"Chen Duo! Do you know how many times Lao Liao argued with the higher-ups to protect you?!"

Old Meng cried with snot and tears streaming down his face, pointing at Chen Duo.

His tone was full of heartfelt indignation, as if he were saying, "I'm doing this for your own good."

"Are you out of your mind?! How could you associate with someone like Ma Xianhong?"

"Come back with me! Huh?"

"Go back to the company! Turn yourself in!"

"As long as you admit your mistake and cooperate, I'll beg Chairman Zhao! I'll beg the board of directors! I guarantee with my life that I can keep you alive!"

"Let's go back to the bunker. We won't be free, but at least... at least we'll be alive!"

"Even wearing a collar, even... it's better than being a wanted criminal!"

The air instantly dropped to freezing point.

Chapter 98 The Truth: Chen Duo's Three Choices!

Chen Duo stopped eating the steamed bun.

She slowly raised her head and looked at the man who was crying like a child.

There was no change in his eyes, only a hint of...confusion.

"Enough!!"

A cold shout abruptly interrupted Old Meng's incessant chatter.

Zhang Chulan stood up.

His face, which usually wore a sly smile, was now terrifyingly gloomy.

He shoved Lao Meng aside, stood in front of Chen Duo, and pointed at Lao Meng's nose, cursing:

"Old Meng! Have you lost your mind?!"

"Go back to the company? Turn yourself in? To save her life?!"

"Do you think this is a TV drama? That's a scene from a movie! Those are temporary workers!"

"You want her to go back to being a Gu poisoner? To continue wearing that collar that could explode at any moment? To continue being locked up like a dog in the dark, sunless underground?!"

"This is what you call doing it for her own good?!"

Zhang Chulan grew increasingly angry as he spoke, his chest heaving violently.

"Old Meng, your so-called mercy is more disgusting than Brother Xiao's murderous intent at this moment!"

Old Meng was stunned by the scolding. He opened his mouth, wanting to defend himself, but found that he couldn't say anything.

Because he knew that Zhang Chulan was telling the truth.

But what other options did he have besides this?

Just when the tension was at its peak and the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

"Zhang Chulan".

A calm voice came from behind Zhang Chulan.

"Get out of the way."

Zhang Chulan was taken aback and turned around to look.

Chen Duo had already put down the slice of steamed bun in her hand.

She stood up.

The oversized black trench coat draped over her thin shoulders looked somewhat comical, yet it also exuded a heartbreaking stubbornness.

With the blessing of Zhang Tianyi's "Purifying Thunder Wedge", the Gu poison in her body was suppressed.

The emotional void caused by the poison also received some relief.

Her mind is clearer now than ever before.

She walked up to Lao Meng and looked at the man who was weeping bitterly.

"Uncle Meng".

Chen Duo spoke, her voice soft and calm, as if she were talking about someone else's story:

"I did not kill Uncle Liao."

You're lying!

Old Meng shouted excitedly, "The autopsy report is out! He died from your Primal Gu!"

"Yes."

Chen Duo nodded. "He died from my Gu poison."

“But I gave him a choice.”

"A choice?" Old Meng was stunned.

Xiao Zizai, Hei Guan'er, Wang Zhenqiu, and others around them also pricked up their ears.

"Before meeting Ma Xianhong, I didn't know what choice was."

Chen Duo's gaze drifted, as if she were returning to that fateful afternoon:

“Ma Xianhong told me that I have the right to choose where I go and what I do.”

“I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I think… I should share this right with Uncle Liao.”

"He is the most important person to me, and I want his approval."

Chen Duo held up three fingers, which appeared exceptionally white in the firelight:

“That day, I went back to him and gave him three options.”

"First, let me go. Let me leave the company completely, leave the bunker, and go where I want to go."

"Second, come with me. Make him give up everything in the company and leave with me."

"third……"

Chen Duo paused, a barely perceptible hint of pain flashing in her eyes:

"Send me away."

"That is... to kill me."

The entire room fell silent.

The only sound was the crackling of the campfire.

"I kissed him when he wasn't looking."