Unexpected Second Chance at Love

Chapter 999: Freedom was right there

Lu Tian’s gaze left the window and returned to his wife, watching as she approached Hung Woo.

The man was unconscious, his head hanging slightly to one side.

Only then did Lu Tian notice something unusual.

Only Hung Woo’s ankles were bound.

His eyes narrowed. A flicker of suspicion crossed his mind.

What if the man was pretending?

Lu Tian immediately stepped toward his wife, his instincts warning him that something could go wrong.

But it was already too late.

*SLAPPPP

Yue Ling raised her right hand and brought it down with a sharp, merciless slap against Hung Woo’s head.

The crack of the impact echoed through the room, snapping his head violently to the side.

Pain jolted him awake.

His eyes flew open, darting wildly around the room before finally locking onto the woman standing before him.

Yue Ling didn’t move. She watched him, her bluish-green eyes cold and unreadable.

Then she slowly leaned toward him, a faint, chilling smile touching her lips.

"There he is."

Her lips curved into a slow, deliberate smile, but there was nothing warm about it. It was the kind of smile that carried a promise of violence—a quiet warning that she had already decided how this would end.

Her eyes remained cold and unwavering, making the smile all the more unsettling. She didn’t need to raise her voice or make a threat.

The smile said enough.

Hung Woo stared into her eyes, and a chill crawled down his skin.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

When he had regained consciousness in the car taking him to Chief Ren, relief had washed over him. It meant he would live.

Being behind bars meant nothing to him.

As long as he behaved himself, he would eventually be released, no matter how many years it took.

But waking up to Yue Ling standing before him made him realize the truth.

This was the end for him.

He opened his mouth, ready to beg for any kind of mercy, but before he could utter a word, Yue Ling raised her index finger to her lips and slowly shook her head.

The gesture was simple.

Yet Hung Woo immediately fell silent.

As though her command had reached somewhere deeper than his fear, his mouth closed.

He could do nothing but stare at the woman before him.

Yue Ling lowered her hand and slowly straightened.

She looked down at him, her expression devoid of emotion. Then she tilted her head slightly and pursed her lips like she was disappointed.

"You know... I thought you would put up more of a fight than this."

She walked around him toward the lone chain hanging from the ceiling.

Reaching out, she brushed her fingers over the cold metal before curling them around it, giving it a firm tug to test its strength.

The chain rattled loudly through the room.

Hung Woo flinched. A shiver traveled down his spine.

The sound was different this time.

The first time the chain had been used on him, it had represented pain.

This time, it felt like a final sentence.

"Hung Woo. Leader of Red Militant."

Yue Ling’s voice remained calm as she slowly examined the chain in her hand.

"Many in the underworld fear you. You’ve always accepted deals that benefit you."

She gave the chain another slow tug.

The metal rattled again.

"But your mistake was failing to dig deeper into what you were signing up for."

Her gaze lowered to the end of the chain. A heavy-duty S-hook clasp hung from it.

Yue Ling released the chain and turned back toward him.

She walked toward Hung Woo.

One step. Then another. Each movement was slow. Deliberate.

Hung Woo’s breathing became increasingly unsteady as he listened to her steps.

"That," she said quietly, stopping behind him, "was your biggest mistake."

Silence followed.

Hung Woo swallowed.

He heard the faint scrape of metal behind him.

His eyes widened.

He tried to turn his head, but Yue Ling was already moving.

The chain slid across his shoulder.

Then around his neck.

Once.

Hung Woo’s breath caught.

Twice.

His pulse began pounding in his ears.

A third loop settled into place.

He instinctively tried to pull away, but he was too weak to move from the blood loss of losing his left hand.

Then came the sound he had been dreading.

A slow metallic click.

The S-hook locked into place.

Hung Woo froze.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Yue Ling’s hand remained on the chain as she leaned closer, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Now... you will know why I am feared."

She released it.

The chain gave one final, quiet rattle.

And Hung Woo realized there was nowhere left to run.

In a state of panic, Hung Woo reached up with his only hand, desperately trying to pull the chain away from his neck.

But he was too late.

Yue Ling had already stepped back. Her finger pressed the button.

The mechanism activated instantly.

The chain snapped upward, violently yanking Hung Woo from the chair and lifting his body into the air.

His legs kicked wildly beneath him as he clawed at the chain, desperately trying to free himself.

But the more he struggled, the tighter it constricted around his throat.

His movements gradually became weaker.

The color drained from his face as his vision blurred, his bloodshot eyes rolling upward.

His body convulsed once. Then went limp.

Darkness swallowed him.

Yue Ling pressed the button again, lowering the chain before his body could remain suspended any longer.

The moment his feet neared the floor, the door opened.

Liu Shan stepped inside with a syringe filled with naloxone resting in his hand. He didn’t need further instructions. He moved quickly and injected Hung Woo.

Seconds passed.

Then Hung Woo’s eyes shot open.

He dragged in a desperate gasp of air, his chest heaving as he struggled to breathe.

His bloodshot eyes immediately locked onto Liu Shan.

For several moments, he simply stared at the assistant, confusion clouding his expression.

Then his memories came rushing back.

Starting from the moment he agreed with Ji Chu Hua until now.

Then the darkness.

The sensation of his body going numb.

Death.

Hung Woo crumpled onto the floor, trembling as he realized how close he had just come to it.

For one brief moment, relief began to creep into his mind.

He was alive. That was all that mattered.

But whatever comfort that realization brought him lasted only seconds.

Yue Ling pressed the button again, and the chain wrapped around his neck tightened before yanking his body up into the air again.

The scene repeated over and over again. Hung Woo suffocated in the air until near death, then Liu Shan injected him awake.

Standing off to the side, Lu Tian watched in complete silence.

His expression remained calm, almost indifferent, as his eyes followed Yue Ling’s every movement.

There was nothing in his gaze that suggested pity for Hung Woo.

If anything, the faintest trace of satisfaction lingered in his eyes.

He didn’t flinch when the chain pulled Hung Woo into the air.

He didn’t look away when the man struggled.

He watched.

Calmly.

Patiently.

As though he were silently reminding Hung Woo that Yue Ling wasn’t the only person in the room he needed to fear.

Xu Long, however, was far less composed.

Every time the chain snapped upward, pulling Hung Woo into the air, he visibly winced and instinctively looked away.

The contrast between them was unsettling.

After the tenth cycle, Yue Ling finally stepped away from the control button.

For the first time, she didn’t press it.

Silence settled over the room.

Hung Woo lay motionless on the floor, barely conscious. His body trembled as he struggled to draw breath.

Seconds passed.

Then his eyes slowly opened.

Yue Ling crouched in front of him.

She studied his terrified expression for several seconds before a faint, almost pleasant smile appeared on her lips.

"Ah..."

Her voice was soft.

"Welcome back to the living."

Hung Woo stared at her, unable to speak. His throat was damaged from the torturous strangulation.

Yue Ling gently tilted her head.

"You seem surprised."

She reached out and lightly brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"Did you think I was trying to kill you?"

Her smile disappeared.

"No."

She leaned closer, her bluish-green eyes turning cold.

"If I wanted you dead, Hung Woo..."

A quiet pause.

"You wouldn’t have woken up the first time."

Hung Woo’s face went pale.

Yue Ling slowly rose to her feet.

"So try to breathe."

She glanced toward the control button.

"Take your time."

Then her eyes returned to him.

"Because we’re going to do this again."

A faint smile returned to her lips.

"And this time, I want you to remember every second."

Hung Woo’s body shot into the air once more.

And the cycle began again.

His body jerked violently against the restraint, every muscle straining as he fought against something he could no longer overcome. His legs kicked weakly, then slower, until even that small movement became too much for his exhausted body.

Just as his strength finally gave out, they brought him back.

He collapsed onto the floor, coughing and trembling, his entire body shaking from the strain. His chest heaved as he desperately dragged in breath after breath.

He barely had time to recover.

The mechanism activated again.

His body was lifted.

Again.

And again.

Each cycle left him weaker.

His limbs grew heavier. His movements became sluggish. His breathing grew increasingly ragged. Even lifting his head seemed to require the last reserves of strength he had left.

Yet every time his consciousness began to fade, something pulled him back.

There was no relief in unconsciousness.

No escape in exhaustion.

Death remained just beyond his reach, only to be taken away each time he came close.

Eventually, Hung Woo stopped fighting the inevitable.

He no longer feared dying.

He feared waking up.

He would rather die than endure another cycle of this torture.

Yue Ling raised a hand to stop Liu Shan. She approached Hung Woo and tapped his cheek lightly, a faint smile on her lips.

But the smile never reached her eyes.

By now, he had long since stopped fighting for mercy.

"I didn’t want to do this," she said softly. "But you gave me no choice."

She studied his face for a moment before slowly straightening.

"You see, I was never particularly fond of this room."

Her gaze drifted around the space, taking in the stark white walls and the chains hanging from the ceiling. She never once looked toward the other men in the room.

"I never understood why they installed a window in a place like this that is meant to torture."

She turned and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling glass.

Beyond it, the ocean stretched endlessly beneath the darkness.

Somewhere beyond those waves was the rest of the world—lights, streets, people going about their lives, completely unaware of what was happening inside this room.

Yue Ling placed her fingertips against the cold glass.

"Then one day..."

She paused, watching the waves below.

"I finally understood."

Slowly, she turned her head toward Hung Woo.

His hollow eyes remained fixed on the darkness outside the window.

Yue Ling’s voice became softer.

"That window was never meant to give anyone a way out."

She turned fully toward him.

"It was meant to remind them that freedom was right there..."

Her gaze dropped briefly toward the ocean far below.

"...and still completely unreachable."

A faint smile returned to her lips.

"The world is just outside this glass, Hung Woo."

She took one slow step toward him.

"You can see it."

Another step.

"You can hear it."

Her eyes met his.

"But you will never reach it again."

Her footsteps were quiet against the floor, each one seeming to echo through the room.

"This is the consequence of laying your hands on my brother."

Her gaze shifted briefly toward Liu Shan.

She gave him no verbal order. She didn’t need to. Liu Shan understood immediately.

Yue Ling turned her attention back to Hung Woo.

"You gave me a cliffhanger when you made the call."

A faint smile touched her lips.

"So I’ll give you a cliffhanger."

The moment the final word left her mouth, Liu Shan pressed the control button.

The mechanism activated.

Once again, the chain tightened around Hung Woo’s neck and lifted him from the floor.

His legs kicked weakly beneath him.

Yue Ling stood directly in front of him, watching as his movements gradually slowed.

His vision blurred as the room faded around him.

Even the sound of the ocean beyond the window seemed to disappear.

Just before his eyes rolled back, Yue Ling spoke.

Her voice was calm. Almost gentle.

"The fate of Red Militant..."

She paused, watching Hung Woo’s eyes flicker at recognition of her words.

Despite being despicable, she knew the man well enough to understand that Red Militant was his life.

He took great care of his organization. He had built it, protected it, and treated it as something worth preserving.

That was why she wanted him to understand how helpless she had felt when the screen had suddenly gone black.

He had taken her brother from her.

Then, when she had been left with nothing but uncertainty, he had reappeared and called it a cliffhanger.

Now, she was giving him one of his own.

Hung Woo’s body suddenly stopped moving, never hearing the rest of her words.

She watched him swing for several long seconds before her voice finally broke through the silence.

"...has been collected along with yours."

Only the faint creak of the chain remained as his body continued to dangle in the air, swaying slowly from side to side.

Yue Ling’s eyes followed the motion.

Her expression remained unreadable.

Liu Shan watched him for several seconds before his eyes shifted toward Yue Ling.

She said nothing.

She simply turned away.