CHAPTER 571: CHAPTER 571: PENALTY

The system sounded a bit panicked as he explained,

[It is not possible. These suits should not exist here. They belong to another dimension. Whoever brought them here has broken a very big rule. I will report it to the Admin. Once confirmed, the person who gave them to the Zombie Kings will pay a heavy price.]

"Heavy price? How heavy?" Su Jiyai’s face had a gloomy expression.

[If it is the Devil who brought them, he will be banned from entering Earth for one year. His powers will be cut by more than half. In all of the 3000 dimensions, these suits are extremely rare. Even one is precious. The fact that there are several here means someone is trying to cheat.]

Su Jiyai listened quietly. She only nodded in the end. On the outside, she looked calm. Inside, her trust in this so-called Admin and system had dropped a little.

If someone could pass through her electric walls so easily, then maybe her safety was not as strong as she thought.

She took a slow breath and turned to head toward Qin Feng’s room.

Halfway down the hallway, she saw a man standing near a doorway. He was tall, with short hair, and his face was pale. His eyes widened as soon as he saw her. It was Ou Lin.

He froze for a moment, then rushed forward quickly.

"Su Jiyai? Is it really you? You... you are alive?"

Su Jiyai raised one eyebrow but didn’t answer right away.

Before she could speak, Qin Feng suddenly stepped forward and blocked Ou Lin’s path. His voice was sharp.

"Who are you calling a ghost? Watch your words. Who are you anyway?"

Ou Lin frowned at him, but then his eyes narrowed. He remembered Qin Feng. He remembered the day of his wedding to Su Yun, when Su Jiyai had appeared with this man beside her. Their closeness had annoyed him even back then.

"And I still am with her. So?" There was a little bite in Qin Feng’s tone, and anyone watching could tell there was tension.

Ou Lin ignored Qin Feng completely. For now, all his attention was on Su Jiyai. He could not believe his own eyes.

"Su Jiyai," he said softly, almost to himself, "you are alive... and you..." He stopped, staring at her like he was seeing her for the first time.

Her hair was pulled back neatly, her posture was straight, and her calm face carried an authority that even powerful men would think twice before questioning.

She was no longer the girl who used to wait for him to arrive and look at him with a shine in her eyes. She was now the boss of Hope Base, a place even Zombie Kings had to be careful with.

Ou Lin thought about how she had fought against the Zombie King earlier. He had seen her power, her confidence, and the way others followed her without hesitation.

Inside his mind, regret hit him like a heavy hammer. If only, back then, he had followed his heart. If only he had supported Su Jiyai instead of chasing after Su Yun.

He thought, ’If I had married Su Jiyai, today I would be the one standing beside her. I would be powerful too, and she would love me. She was always the better choice. She was always the one I truly liked. I have never met anyone more beautiful than her.’

The more he thought about it, the more he believed Su Jiyai should have been with him all along.

Without thinking, he stepped forward quickly and tried to hold her hand.

Qin Feng immediately moved between them. His cold face was like a wall. "If you want to talk to her," Qin Feng said in a hard voice, "do it from a distance."

Ou Lin clenched his teeth. "I don’t need anyone’s permission to speak to my friend."

At the word "friend," Qin Feng’s eyes darkened, but before he could answer, Su Jiyai let out a sudden laugh.

It was light, clear, and beautiful, like the song of a nightingale in the quiet of the evening.

For a moment, everyone nearby was caught by the sound. Several men in the crowd looked like they forgot to breathe. Even Qin Feng’s eyes softened slightly, though he quickly looked away.

Su Jiyai tilted her head, still smiling, and asked calmly, "Friend? Ou Lin, when were we ever close enough to be called friends?"

Ou Lin blinked. Her words were like cold water pouring over his head. He stood frozen for a second before forcing out, "We... we have been together for almost sixteen years."

Su Jiyai’s smile faded. She shook her head. "You are mistaken. You were only around me because of a silly bet you made with Su Yun. You had nothing to do with me at all. If you dare to claim otherwise, I will beat you every single time until you learn your place."

Her voice was not loud, but it was sharp enough to make the air between them feel heavy.

The crowd, who had been quietly watching, began to whisper to each other. They could see clearly now. The way Ou Lin looked at Su Jiyai was not the look of a friend.

It was the look of a man who had once been involved with a woman... and maybe had hurt her badly.

One man in the crowd muttered, "Looks like he played with her feelings before."

Another added, "That explains why she’s so cold to him."

Someone else said, "What a scumbag. First he leaves her, and now that she’s powerful, he comes crawling back."

Several people nodded in agreement.

Others began speaking louder so that Ou Lin could hear.

"This kind of man should be kept far away from our daughters."

"Yes, he looks polite, but I bet he would make a woman do all the housework and then tell her it’s for her own good."

A few people chuckled bitterly at that, but their eyes were cold when they looked at Ou Lin.

Ou Lin turned his head toward the voice he recognized. A man in the crowd, someone who might have overheard his past conversation with Su Yun and Lianhua, was staring straight at him with open dislike.

Ou Lin’s face lost some of its color. He glared at the man, but then he looked back at Su Jiyai.

His expression changed. His voice dropped into a sincere tone.

"Su Jiyai... I know I made a mistake. After I betrayed you, I was broken. I realized what I lost. Can’t you give me just one chance?"

Qin Feng’s eyes narrowed, and he stepped half a step closer to Su Jiyai. "You lost your chance a long time ago."

Ou Lin ignored him. His gaze stayed on Su Jiyai.

"I was young and foolish. I didn’t see your worth back then. I was blind. But now... now I see it clearly. You are stronger than anyone here. You have beauty, power, and the respect of everyone in this base. I..."

"Stop," Su Jiyai said quietly.

Her voice was calm, but the steel in it made Ou Lin close his mouth.

"You think you can come here, speak a few soft words, and erase the past?" she asked. "The past doesn’t change. You made your choice. You live with it. I have no reason to forgive you, and I certainly have no reason to give you a place in my life now."

Ou Lin took a step forward, but Qin Feng moved with him, blocking the way like a shadow.

"You heard her," Qin Feng said coldly. "Leave."

The murmurs in the crowd grew louder.

"She’s right. He thinks she’s just going to forget what he did?"

"What a joke. If it were me, I wouldn’t forgive him either."

Ou Lin’s voice trembled a little as he stepped forward.

"Su Jiyai... I know I made mistakes. I know I hurt you before. But after... after I betrayed you, I was totally broken. I thought about it every day. I realized how wrong I was. Can’t I get even one chance to make things right?"

Hearing those words, Ou Lin showed the expression of a young man whose heart had just been shattered. His eyes trembled, his lips pressed into a thin line, as if he had just been told the world would never be the same.

However, who was he trying to fool?

Su Jiyai chuckled inwardly. She remembered every one of his deeds, every cruel word and cold look. That fake broken-hearted act might have worked on strangers, but not on her. She shook her head slowly, the corners of her mouth lifting into the faintest smile, not warm, but sharp as glass.

Before Ou Lin could speak again, Qin Feng suddenly stepped forward. He placed one firm hand on Ou Lin’s chest and shoved him back.

"Move," Qin Feng ordered roughly. His voice carried no patience, no hesitation.

Ou Lin stumbled a step but caught his balance. His face darkened.