The Storm Sonata

Translator: Cinder Translations

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"Doctor, you mean that Su Xiaoxiao is also..." The Fatty immediately understood what Jiang Cheng meant.

Jiang Cheng was still looking around, casually replying, "Don't keep saying 'my opinion, my opinion.' This is Chen Ran's idea. He wants to use us as scouts. Su Xiaoxiao is just a backup in case things go wrong."

"That guy is really sinister," the Fatty muttered. "He clearly doesn't treat people as people. If I ever get my hands on him, I'll... "

"Shut your mouth," Jiang Cheng interrupted. "Stop dreaming. First of all, he won't fall into your hands. Your brain is no match for his."

"Also, what does Chen Ran's scheming against Su Xiaoxiao have to do with you? Are you interested in her or just after her body?"

Jiang Cheng gave the Fatty a cold look, making him shiver. "Su Xiaoxiao's cooperation with him is to survive, which, by the way, means getting rid of us. Do you understand?"

The Fatty nervously swallowed, "Understood, Doctor."

After being scolded by the doctor, the Fatty felt awkward. A while later, he blushed and said, "I... I was just saying, Doctor, you know me."

Jiang Cheng ignored him and continued observing every move of Chen Ran and Su Xiaoxiao.

The Fatty, feeling embarrassed, didn't dare to speak again, continuing to hold the branch and pretending to be a harmless tree.

"It seems... something's not right," Su Xiaoxiao, who was now less than 10 meters away from the stone disk, frowned and glanced at Chen Ran. "There are no bodies here, and the bones on it are all old, yellowed."

Chen Ran stared at the disk, then said after a while, "Get closer, we'll examine it more carefully."

"No," Su Xiaoxiao shook her head. "Before, when my brother and I got too close, we triggered some kind of mechanism on this stone disk, and the corpses came back to life."

She rolled up her sleeves and pointed to the scratches on her body. "These injuries, and the ones on my brother, were left by those revived people and monsters."

Chen Ran narrowed his eyes, smiled at Su Xiaoxiao's serious expression, and nodded. "I see."

Su Xiaoxiao stared at him, her pupils involuntarily shrinking, as if she suddenly realized what was about to happen.

"Miss Su," Chen Ran tilted his head, looking at her with mockery, and suddenly said, "I'm afraid I'll need you to demonstrate something for me."

Su Xiaoxiao's eyes widened. After a long while, she shouted, "Are you crazy?!"

Chen Ran shrugged, sighing helplessly. "Miss Su, if you can't even fulfill such a small request... " His smile suddenly widened as he looked up. "Then I think it's better if we don't bother with all this companions crap."

A cold gleam flashed in Su Xiaoxiao's eyes, and she immediately attacked. A wooden dagger, which had been concealed under her wrist, suddenly thrust out. She knew the principle of striking first, especially against such an opponent.

If she gave him a chance to react, she would be the one in trouble.

Although she didn't fully understand how formidable Chen Ran was, she was confident in her own skills. She had specially trained with real mercenaries, not in training institutions, but with actual combat experience.

Her strength wasn't much, so she focused on technique, especially excelling in close-range knife attacks.

This time, she struck unexpectedly and chose a target that wasn't as hard to hit as the eyes or throat—the abdomen.

If she could deal a serious blow, it would make it much easier to decide whether to fight or flee.

Although she knew that after killing someone in her nightmares, she would be haunted by the ghosts of those she killed, she couldn't afford to worry about that now.

If Chen Ran didn't die, she would.

It was like seeking death by trying to bargain with a tiger.

However, the outcome was faster than she thought.

She saw her knife about to hit his abdomen, and Chen Ran, seemingly unaware, was still smiling at her. But just as the knife was about to sink into him, she missed.

Before she could comprehend what had just happened, an intense pain spread through her abdomen. She was sent flying by a powerful strike from Chen Ran to her stomach.

She was then thrown into the air again, crashing hard onto the ground.

"Poof—"

She coughed up a mouthful of blood as she hit the ground.

Chen Ran looked down at her from above, as if she were just a dead dog.

The pain in her abdomen caused her to curl up into a ball. It was clear that at least several of her ribs were broken, and the broken ribs might have punctured her lungs. Every breath made blood foam at her mouth.

Chen Ran sighed, shrugging innocently. "Miss Su, what are you doing?"

He crouched down, patting her face, which had been once pale but was now covered in blood, her body trembling.

Chen Ran grabbed her arm and reached for the dagger in her hand. "Hmm?" He paused when he tried to pull out the dagger but failed.

"You're really stubborn..." He stood up and then stomped hard on the wrist holding the dagger.

"Crack!"

The crisp sound made Chen Ran excited. He had lost count of how many times he had done this, but every time it was as thrilling as the first—blood racing through his veins.

It was like his obsession with the piano. He didn't like soft, delicate pieces. He loved the intense, heart-pounding, explosive melodies.

Just like Beethoven's Storm Sonata.

The entire world seemed to explode in his ears. Every time he heard the prelude, it felt as if he were walking in a city street during a heavy downpour.

The street was empty, and when he looked up at the sky, the rain seemed to pour directly into his eyes.

But the later part of the song was nauseatingly boring, the mournful and pitiable aria that was meant to evoke a half-dead melancholy—truly unforgivable.

Just like this foolish woman in front of him.

He deeply inhaled the blood-stained air, then bent down, preparing to take the dagger from Su Xiaoxiao's hand, her wrist twisted unnaturally from the force.

"Hmm?" Chen Ran raised his eyebrows.

He had failed again. Su Xiaoxiao's hands still gripped the dagger tightly. Although she was trembling from the pain, she hadn't let go.

Still resisting?

Chen Ran suddenly lost interest in the mission, but his interest in this small woman grew. It had been a long time since he encountered such a cute little creature.

Previously, whether it was a man as strong as an ox or a woman accustomed to the world, once they fell into his hands, they only trembled in fear, unable to speak clearly.

Suicide was a luxury.

He lowered his head, or rather, knelt on the ground, pressing his whole upper body close to Su Xiaoxiao. He wanted to hear what this stubborn woman would say in her last moments.

(End of the Chapter)

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Translated 4 Series, 1.65K+ Chapters and 2.01M+ Words.