PDLP Chapter 100 Lin Zhou: Did you dial the wrong number? I'm just a stay-at-home mom.
Chapter 100 Lin Zhou: Did you dial the wrong number? I'm just a stay-at-home mom.
The night wind carried a chill, rustling the green plants on the balcony.
Lin Zhou stood there, like a sculpture frozen in ice.
On the other end of the phone, every word was like a poisoned bullet, precisely piercing the deepest recesses of his memory and stirring up a monstrous wave.
S-level crisis.
Pandora.
A traitor from seven years ago.
These words seem like a distant legend from the last century to Lin Zhou, the current "stay-at-home dad." But for the ghost codenamed "Old Seven," they mean blood and fire, and indelible betrayal and pain.
"How's it going, Seventh Brother?"
The voice on the other end of the phone remained calm, yet carried an undeniable sense of pressure:
"If you come back and find out the truth about what happened back then, I will tell you everything."
"Who betrayed our position? Who ruined Lao San and the others...?"
"Shut up."
Lin Zhou finally spoke.
His voice was very soft, yet it was like a block of ice that had stood for millennia, instantly freezing all the other person's words.
He slowly raised his head, and his peach blossom eyes, which always carried a hint of lazy smile, were now like a bottomless, icy pool, devoid of any ripples, only deathly stillness.
I'll say it again.
Lin Zhou's voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a chilling ferocity:
You dialed the wrong number.
"There's no seventh brother here, only a stay-at-home husband named Lin Zhou."
"As for what you called code and traitors, I don't understand a single word of it."
"My current task is to warm the bed for my wife and earn money for baby formula for my daughter."
"Let Captain America handle the big task of saving the world."
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
A good ten seconds passed before the altered voice sounded again, carrying a barely perceptible sigh:
"Seventh Brother, you've changed."
People change.
"Can you really let go? That's..."
"beep--"
Lin Zhou didn't give him any more chances to get emotional and hung up the phone directly.
The world fell silent instantly.
All that remained was the whistling of the night wind passing by my ears.
Lin Zhou stood there, his chest heaving violently, like a trapped beast that had just gone through a fierce battle.
lay down?
How could I possibly let it go?
Those brothers who fought side by side in the flames of war, those who shielded him from bullets amidst a hail of shells, and that traitor whose identity remains unknown to this day…
These things were like poisoned nails, driven deep into his bones, causing him persistent pain even in the dead of night.
but…
Lin Zhou slowly turned around, his gaze passing through the cold floor-to-ceiling windows and landing on the large bed in the bedroom.
Su Qingge was sleeping soundly, her long eyelashes casting a shadow on her eyelids, and a satisfied smile on her lips, as if she was dreaming of something good.
On the small bed next to her, Nuonuo was sleeping soundly, sprawled out, hugging a pig plushie. Her little mouth was slightly open, and she would occasionally smack her lips and murmur incoherently in her sleep.
That was his world.
It was the fragile yet incredibly precious human warmth that he had gained through seven years of "mediocrity" and "incompetence."
What would it mean if we went back?
This means he will once again be dragged into that bottomless abyss, and that everyone around him could become a target of the enemy.
He dared not gamble.
We can't afford to gamble.
"Click."
Lin Zhou opened the Nokia's back cover expressionlessly and took out the black SIM card.
That card was the only way for the "organization" to contact them back then.
He held the card between two fingers.
Goodbye, Seventh Brother.
He murmured to himself, as if saying goodbye to his past self.
Use your fingers slightly.
"Click—"
A very slight, crisp sound.
The hard chip snapped in two.
Lin Zhou walked to the edge of the balcony and raised his hand.
The two fragments, carrying countless secrets and memories, traced an almost imperceptible parabola in the air before silently disappearing into the vast night.
After doing all this, Lin Zhou felt completely drained of energy.
He leaned against the railing and lit another cigarette.
This time, amidst the swirling smoke, his eyes were no longer filled with struggle or confusion, but with an unprecedented clarity and determination.
From this day forward, there will be no more "Ghost Seven".
There's only one person who can cook, take care of kids, and occasionally has a sharp tongue—Lin Zhou.
...
"Hmm...where did you go? I feel so cold."
When Lin Zhou crawled back into bed, Su Qingge groggily turned over and instinctively snuggled closer to him like a kitten seeking warmth, burying her head in his chest and rubbing against him.
"I went to the balcony for some fresh air."
Lin Zhou reached out and tightly embraced the soft, fragrant body in his arms.
The force was so great that it seemed as if it wanted to knead her into its very bones.
Su Qingge felt a little pain from being strangled and grumbled in dissatisfaction, "What are you doing? Are you trying to strangle me to death?"
"Wife."
Lin Zhou didn't let go; instead, he buried his face in her fragrant hair, his voice muffled, carrying a hint of barely perceptible lingering fear and relief.
"Um?"
"Tomorrow... let's go buy Nuonuo a piano."
"Why did you suddenly decide to buy a piano?" Su Qingge was a little surprised, and her sleepiness dissipated somewhat.
"Because I want to hear it."
Lin Zhou looked up and, in the darkness, precisely located her lips and gently kissed them.
That kiss was devoid of any lust, filled only with endless cherishing and...protection.
He looked into her eyes and said, word by word, with utmost seriousness:
"I want to listen to your music and live a peaceful and quiet life."
Su Qingge's heart skipped a beat.
Although she didn't know what had just happened, she could clearly sense that this man... seemed a little different.
Those peach blossom eyes, which always carried a hint of cynicism, were now filled with a depth and weariness that she couldn't understand.
"it is good."
She didn't ask any questions, but simply reached out and hugged him back, pressing her face against his broad chest and listening to his steady, powerful heartbeat.
"I'll do whatever you say."
Outside the window, the night grew even darker.
Lin Zhou was unaware of this.
The moment he hung up the phone and broke the SIM card.
The rooftop of an unfinished building a few kilometers away from Cloud Top Manor.
A man in a black trench coat slowly put down the high-powered binoculars equipped with a thermal imager.
The night wind lifted the hem of his clothes, revealing a strangely shaped silenced pistol tucked into his waistband.
He pressed the miniature communicator next to his ear, his voice as cold as ice:
"Reporting to the 'Bishop'."
"The target refuses to return to the team."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by an equally cold voice:
"understood."
"Activate Plan B."