Capítulo 11: Chapter 9: Goodbye, Lu Chen

"I'll go up for a moment," Lu Chen said as he thought of something, then turned and went upstairs.

After packing her luggage, Su Mo tried turning on the small chandelier in the room, and its soft light illuminated the space.

It had been a week since she had seen light, and she found it extremely dazzling. She squinted and shielded her eyes to adjust, scanning the messy room and the large stains of blood on the floor left by the robbers.

Lu Chen hadn't come down yet; she picked up her mobile phone and sat on the edge of the bed.

The phone kept buzzing with notifications from the school, the news, and various sources, but as Su Mo scrolled through them, there was no mention of the apocalypse, just reflections on life after the robbery.

She dialed her mother's number.

On the other end, Mrs. Su was tending to her son, who had a broken arm from a fight. Mr. Su, seeing Su Mo's call on the table, impatiently attempted to hang up until Mrs. Su stopped him upon learning it was "that money-losing daughter" and picked up the phone, her local dialect bursting forth:

"Su Mo, your brother got beaten up. Can you send some money for his medical expenses? Your father and I are nearly out."

She didn't ask how her daughter was doing or if she was safe, she just asked for money. Su Mo suddenly laughed out loud, her eyes ironic as she gazed at the moon outside the window.

Really, what had she been expecting?

Upon hearing Su Mo's laughter, Mrs. Su immediately became angry, "Your brother is seriously injured, and you laugh! Send the money quickly!" In Mrs. Su's grim view, sons were forever hers while daughters were just water thrown away, only useful for their money.

"Perhaps money isn't necessary anymore," Su Mo said lightly, and not wanting to hear her mother's harsh scolding any longer, she hung up.

"All done?" a voice asked from behind her. Su Mo turned around to see Lu Chen standing in the doorway.

He had changed into a pure black short-sleeved shirt, whose tight fit outlined his perfect inverted triangular physique; his muscular shoulders carried a backpack, and sport pants and shoes completed his outfit, exuding a vigorous charm.

"When did you get here?" Su Mo's face fell, wondering why he always seemed to catch her at her most embarrassing moments.

"Just now."

"Oh, I'm ready. Let's go." She stood up, pulling her suitcase, and after one last look at the rented room, they walked downstairs, one after the other.

Following Lu Chen to the basement where the power had been restored, he abandoned the damaged bicycle and led Su Mo to a military vehicle that looked almost new.

Su Mo put her luggage in the back seat and climbed into the passenger side. It was her first time in a military vehicle, and she curiously looked around, touching everything until she caught Lu Chen's disdainful glance, but she didn't mind.

The vehicle's interior was neat and clean, with a perfume bottle placed on the dashboard, emitting a faint scent of chrysanthemum.

"Buckle up, let's go," Lu Chen said, starting the vehicle. The engine ran smoothly, the headlights switched on, and the vehicle slowly drove out of the basement.

As the military vehicle drove away, a pickup truck also sneaked out of a nearby parking spot and followed them.

The men in the pickup were none other than those whom Lu Chen had crippled. Da Zhuang, unknown to Lu Chen, had learned some basic joint realignment skills during his time in prison. After regaining consciousness, he snapped his jaw and thigh back into place and, along with his companions, hid in the shadows plotting their revenge.

Fate seemed to have handed him the perfect opportunity.

There were still many vehicular remains on the roads. While their speed wasn't high, it was certainly better than a bicycle, and they would reach the bunker before the meteor fragments fell.

Su Mo's phone rang. It was from Mo Yan, whose voice sounded urgent but still as gentle as a spring breeze.

"Momo, are you all right? I've been so worried about you these days and I couldn't find you! You should have given me your address from the start."

"I'm fine," Su Mo sighed. Look, even a man her parents hadn't met mattered more than them.

She couldn't bear to let this person just die, so she warned Mo Yan through the phone, "Don't sleep tonight, doesn't the school have a bunker? Take people there for shelter."

"What are you sayi.."

Before Mo Yan could ask for clarification, Su Mo hung up the phone and turned it off. She feared the more she spoke, the crazier she would seem.

Lu Chen, while driving, kept an eye on Su Mo's every move. There was clearly a man's voice on the phone, and realizing this made him a bit angry.

Distraught while driving, Lu Chen didn't notice a Buick turn into a small lane and head straight for them.

At the crossroads, both cars were about to meet.

Da Zhuang timed it perfectly, staring ahead, he floored the gas pedal, a surge of black smoke erupting from the exhaust as he drove the Buick recklessly out of the alley, intending to flip the military vehicle.

Realizing something was wrong, Lu Chen saw the Buick charging towards him, unflinching, he quickly spun the steering wheel, pulling off a 180-degree drift, with the back of his car facing the front of the Buick, tires screeching and sparking on the ground.

Su Mo was completely shocked by this move; her body nearly flung from the seat only to be pulled back by the seatbelt. The belt dug into her abdomen, the intense pain causing cold sweat to break out.

Lu Chen, quick to react, pressed Su Mo's head down onto the dashboard and leaned over, partially covering her with his body. The car, due to the immense impact, still flipped over, crashing down forcefully onto the ground.

His back slammed hard against the car roof, and both were rendered unconscious. The Buick wasn't much better; although airbags deployed, the hood smashed against the reinforced military vehicle, turning it into a wreck, with the windshield shattering, impaling the inside of the car, instantly killing several people.

Smoke filled the air.

The massive collision drew many onlookers.

No one dared to help; instead, they unanimously took out their phones to capture videos and make calls.

Minute by minute passed, and midnight arrived nonetheless.

The meteorite, as expected, penetrated the atmosphere.

Countless fragments tore through the night sky, like a sunset sun, spectacular and radiant.

"Cough, cough"

Protected tightly in Lu Chen's embrace, Su Mo was the first to wake up, struggling to breathe under the weight of the man pressing on her. Enduring the pain in her stomach, she unbuckled the seat belt and climbed out of the car first.

Looking up, she saw a huge, blood-red meteorite surrounded by flames, hurtling towards her.

"Lu Chen!" Su Mo's voice almost broke as she hastily dove back into the car, unbuckling Lu Chen's seat belt and pulling on his hand desperately trying to drag him out of the car.

"Lu Chen, wake up!" Su Mo called to the unconscious man, using all her strength to slowly drag him out, managing only to get a few meters away from the car before exhausting all her strength.

The air grew hot and dry, the meteorite growing larger in her desperate eyes. She positioned Lu Chen's head on her lap, her body curling around him, holding him close in her arms as the meteorite plummeted down; Su Mo closed her eyes, a tear falling onto the tightly shut eyes of the man.

Goodbye, Lu Chen.

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