CHAPTER 96: CHAPTER 96; HE WAS DYING

They sat in silence for a short while, her fingers intertwined with his, his shoulder warm beneath her cheek. Then she whispered, "I love you, Shen Xiao."

He tilted his head and kissed the top of hers. "I love you more than I know how to say."

After that short moment of romantic confession, the car swayed back to the highway.

The city lights shimmered in the distance. Hope was a tangible thing between them. So young, so sure, so blind to how quickly everything could shatter.

The laughter still lingered in the car like a trace of perfume, clinging to the air as Shen Xiao adjusted the rearview mirror, eyes soft and unguarded. Bai Zhi had just leaned over to peck his cheek when the sound shattered.

Pop.

A sharp crack echoed through the silence, and a spiderweb bloomed across the windshield, followed by another, inches from her temple.

Shen Xiao reacted in a blur.

"Get down!" he yelled, yanking her by the nape and shoving her head below the dash just as a second bullet punched into the hood.

Tires screeched as he swerved violently off the road, sparks flying as the undercarriage scraped against a median barrier.

Bai Zhi screamed, gripping the dashboard, her heart hammering so loudly that it drowned out her thoughts.

"They found us," Shen Xiao muttered, his voice tight with fury. "Damn it, they weren’t supposed to know."

He spun the wheel hard, tearing down a narrow alley, the car bumping over potholes and scattered debris. Gunshots rang out behind them, but the angles were wrong now and the shadows too thick.

"We have to ditch the car," he said breathlessly. "Now."

He braked hard, veering into a dead-end garage with a half-open rolling shutter. Slamming it closed behind them, Shen Xiao grabbed Bai Zhi’s wrist and pulled her into the shadows.

"You okay?" he worriedly queried, quickly scanning her. She nodded shakily, lips trembling, but unhurt.

The magic of the night had vanished. In its place: adrenaline, fear, and the sound of boots pounding nearby had replaced it.

They ran, through the back exit, down into the feral underbelly of a city that once held all their dreams.

Shen Xiao’s breaths came ragged. "They are everywhere." He didn’t want to lose hope, but the situation seemed to be dire. Could they really escape?

"There’s an old rail yard ahead," Bai Zhi heavily panted. "We can lose them in the tunnels."

Another barrage of bullets cracked through the air just as they emerged from the alley, one grazing a crate beside them, splintering wood into shards.

Bai Zhi turned mid-run, grabbed the pistol from her boot, and fired back into the darkness. A cry rang out. Their pursuers momentarily scattered.

Shen Xiao didn’t stop. He pulled her forward through the gap in the fence and into the old rail yard. They ducked under hanging wires, weaving through rusted train cars and abandoned machinery. The yard was vast, but littered with hazardous items, oil drums, jagged scrap metal, and pools of stagnant rainwater.

"Through there," Shen Xiao pointed, his breath ragged. "The tunnel system under the far platform. If we get in, they will lose us."

Bai Zhi nodded, her legs burning, lungs on fire. Shen Xiao stumbled slightly, a hand pressed to his ribs.

"You are hit?" she asked sharply, eyes wide in shock.

"It’s nothing. Keep moving."

There were shouts behind them. Flashlights danced over the train cars as more footsteps pounded into the yard.

They reached the crumbling platform and dropped down behind it. A concrete block into her palms as she crawled behind Shen Xiao, the roar of blood in her ears louder than the rain.

Down the service stairs. Into the tunnel.

Darkness swallowed them.

Rain pelted them relentlessly. Their footsteps echoed off wet metal and cracked concrete. Behind them, the shouts grew closer again. Boots thundered. Flashlights cut across the dark.

Bai Zhi shoved open a half-collapsed door, dragging Shen Xiao inside what used to be an old freight office. Broken furniture, moldy papers, and shattered glass littered the floor. He collapsed against the wall, panting hard.

"You are bleeding badly... You got shot!"

He waved her off. "I will live, I will survive this, just keep moving."

But she could see it in his eyes, he was slipping, and with his bleeding wound, he was losing a lot of blood.

A shot rang out. The wall just behind her exploded into splinters.

They dropped. Crawling on hands and knees, they ducked beneath a rusted filing cabinet and broke out through another side door. Rain drenched them instantly, soaking their clothes to the skin.

"We can’t outrun them anymore!" she shouted desperate and hopeless.

"We don’t need to," he muttered, clutching his ribs that were still heavily bleeding, "Just... hide."

The train station loomed ahead, an abandoned platform barely standing, the metal roof rusted through in places. They slipped into the shadows beneath it as the final shots rang out behind them, echoing through the rain.

Then there was silence.

No sirens. No voices.

Just the storm.

And the blood.

The bullet had missed her by inches.

The same couldn’t be said for him.

And now, his blood was all over her hands.

Rain battered the rusted metal rooftop above the old train station. A siren wailed in the distance, maybe an ambulance, maybe the police. But it wasn’t for them. No one was coming.

Bai Zhi was soaked, her breaths coming in harsh, uneven gasps. Shen Xiao lay crumpled beside her, barely conscious, blood pooling from a deep wound beneath his ribs. His shirt was shredded, his skin pale and cold.

She pressed both hands over the gash, but the blood wouldn’t stop. It seeped through her fingers, hot and steady.

He was dying.

Gunshots had stopped minutes ago. The men who had chased them through the alleyways, hitmen in black helmets and boots, had been silent since the last one she had dropped with a pipe to the head. But she didn’t know how many more were out there. How much longer could she hold on?