Trust between this man and the original owner had long been completely destroyed.
She gripped the brass key in her hand even tighter.
He would awaken his ability tonight.
She had to find a way to both ensure her own safety and deal with this immense threat before tonight.
If she didn't kill him, then she had to be useful to him! She had to prove the value of her existence, that her living was useful, or give him a reason not to kill her.
"Get out."
Her body trembled uncontrollably, and her face grew even paler.
It wasn't because of the insulting nature of the word, but because, in that instant, a more violent, more defiled, and more scalp-numbing memory fragment, like a bursting dam, crashed through her fragile psychological defenses.
Those weren't vague plot points seen in a book, but scenes personally experienced by the "original owner," carrying an indelible sensory impact.
The chaotic night before the apocalypse, a luxurious hotel suite, hazy lights, spiked red wine...
And this man before her, his uncontrolled descent under the influence of drugs, and the next day, upon waking, those eyes that almost spat fire, filled with humiliation and rage.
"Su Wan! You lunatic! What did you do to me?! Do you have any sense of propriety?"
The man's roar seemed to still echo in her ears, carrying with it utterly trampled dignity and towering hatred.
And the original owner, that spoiled young lady, after initial panic, faced his merciless disgust and insults, and that pathetic, twisted "liking" was instantly replaced by fury and possessiveness.
If she couldn't have him, she would destroy him.
If he wouldn't obey, she would imprison him.
Thus, there was this hellish cell before her, these heavy chains, and these numerous scars all over her body.
"Or perhaps, young lady, you've come up with some new... game?"
Her knuckles, gripping the brass key, turned white from the force, the cold metal almost embedding itself into her flesh.
Just then—
"Hmph!"
A suppressed, low growl, like a trapped beast before death, suddenly squeezed out of Lu Shiyan's throat.
His originally curled body, without warning, lunged violently towards Su Wan in an almost self-destructive manner!
"Clang!"
The heavy iron chains instantly tightened, emitting a harsh grinding sound, deeply cutting into the flesh of his wrists.
He was yanked back by the chains, his body falling heavily to the ground, still two steps away from Su Wan.
But he lifted his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on her, filled with undisguised, frenzied killing intent and a desire for destruction.
"Su Wan..." He enunciated each word, his voice like it came from hell, reeking of blood, "One day... I will grind you... and that damned father of yours... to dust!"
The last four words were practically squeezed through his teeth.
Su Wan instinctively staggered a large step backward.
"Thud!"
The bottle of water in her pocket, which she hadn't had time to put down, fell out due to the violent movement, hitting the ground with a dull thud from the plastic bottle, spilling water everywhere.
It was over.
The sins of the original owner now had to be repaid by her.
He genuinely wanted to grind her to dust.
Fear almost consumed her; she wanted to escape!
But reason firmly rooted her feet.
Escape? Where to escape?
The apocalypse had arrived; the outside was full of zombies. Where could she go? The villa was full of treacherous people, and this man would awaken his ability tonight.
She had nowhere to run.
Unless...
Su Wan's hand subconsciously touched her flat lower abdomen.
There was nothing there.
But she needed something to be there.
This was her only bargaining chip—crazy, self-destructive, yet possibly the only effective one!
She suddenly looked up, meeting Lu Shiyan's burning, mad eyes.
He was still on the ground, tightly bound by iron chains, like a beast caught in a trap, tormenting her with his gaze.
She used all her strength to suppress the sob in her throat and the trembling of her teeth.
"Lu Shiyan..."
Her voice, when it came out, still carried an uncontrollable tremor, like a flickering candle in the wind.
Lu Shiyan did not respond, only stared at her with that gaze that promised to slowly torture her.
"I..." She paused, as if summoning all the courage of her life, before uttering the next words, "I'm pregnant."
"It's yours."
These few words were light, yet they were like a thunderclap, exploding in the dead silence of the cell.
The air instantly solidified.
Time seemed to stop flowing at this moment.
The violence and madness on Lu Shiyan's face seemed to have been paused, solidifying into an extremely strange blankness.
His pupils, in that instant, seemed to suddenly contract.
Absurd!
He looked at Su Wan as if she were a complete lunatic.
Pregnant?
His?
This realization was too absurd, too twisted, causing his brain, filled with hatred and pain, to briefly crash.
He wanted to laugh, to laugh out loud, at this woman's shamelessness and absurdity.
Did she think he would believe her?
"Heh..." An extremely short, hoarse sound rolled out of his throat, carrying an unshakeable mockery and disdain.
"Su Wan," He slowly, word by word, spoke her name, each word laced with ice, "Do you think I've been locked up so long I've gone stupid?"
His gaze sharpened again, like two poisoned knives, scraping across Su Wan's pale face.
"Or is this some new... way you've come up with to torment me?"
To continue humiliating him with a non-existent "bastard child" that supposedly belonged to him?
Indeed, he didn't believe her.
If it were her, she wouldn't believe it either.
Moreover, this was originally a monstrous lie she had told in a moment of desperation to save her life.
However, she could not back down.
Once she backed down, there would truly be only one path: death.
She straightened her weak spine, meeting his scrutinizing, doubting, murderous gaze.
"It's not a lie." Her voice still trembled, but her tone carried a desperate certainty, "It's true."
"I'm not lying to you."