Chapter 501: Not even ashes can be left

"Ugh!"
A heart-wrenching scream ripped through Lina, jolting her awake from the nightmare. Cold sweat soaked her hospital gown.
She gasped for breath, her pupils dilated, taking a long time to focus. What met her eyes wasn't the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood from her nightmare, but a blinding expanse of pure white.
"Phew...it was just a dream."
She let out a long sigh of relief, her heart, which had felt like it was about to leap from her throat, finally returning to her chest.
However, the next second, her heart leaped again.
The unfamiliar ceiling, the smell of disinfectant filling her nostrils, made her mind go blank.
This was a hospital!
No, it wasn't a dream!
It was a terrifying reality, more suffocating than any nightmare!
"Chief, you're awake?" A gentle but anxious voice sounded beside her bed.
Lena turned her head with difficulty to look at her secretary. "I...how did I get here?"
The secretary's face was filled with fear and gravity. She whispered,
"While you were receiving the report from Turkey, you suddenly...you fainted. We rushed you to the hospital."
Turkey!
The name was like a poisoned dagger, instantly piercing Lena's newly erected psychological defenses.
Fragments of memory flooded back, completely overwhelming her.
"How...how is it in Turkey?"
Her body trembled uncontrollably. She grabbed her secretary's arm, her knuckles white from the force.
"Really...not a single survivor?"
"Yes, Director. Not a single one."
Faced with her trembling question, the secretary's eyes dimmed. She could only nod silently and heavily.
"The report states that at the same time as the strong earthquake, a series of violent explosions occurred inside the Wildfire Headquarters building. Everyone..."
"Explosions?!" Lena's pupils contracted sharply.
“Yes,” the secretary continued,
“It’s currently impossible to determine whether it was an accidental explosion triggered by the earthquake, or…
Someone deliberately detonated something during the earthquake.
But the investigation team’s experts say that even without the explosion, in such a cataclysmic event, everyone would have been crushed to a pulp; the outcome… wouldn’t have changed.”
Deliberately detonated?
To ensure all evidence is completely erased, not even ashes remain?
This isn’t just a hint; it’s a blatant declaration!
To ensure no trace is left, they don’t even trust “natural disasters,” and instead add a final, double layer of protection!
At this moment, the last shred of hope in Lina’s heart was utterly crushed.
She understood, completely understood!
Fang Huan Investment… they knew from the beginning that an earthquake would occur!
No! That idea was too conservative!
There’s only one truth:
They didn’t predict the earthquake; they… were the instigators of this earthquake!
They...were manipulating natural disasters!
That absurd conjecture, now it seemed, was the only truth!
"What about the rest of us?" Lina asked urgently, as if grasping at a last straw. "What did our allies say?"
The secretary's head drooped even lower, a hint of sorrow in her voice: "They...they're all gone."
"Gone...gone?"
“Yes, Director. After hearing the news of your hospitalization, everyone vanished, as if they'd evaporated into thin air.
Now, no one in Congress dares to stand with us anymore.
Even the few party members who vowed to provide full support have all fled abroad with their families overnight.”
These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over her head, chilling Lina to the bone.
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; when the wall collapses, everyone pushes it down.
No, the wall hasn't even collapsed yet; a little trouble has arisen, and everyone has scattered like birds!
She was left alone, standing forlornly on this ruin, facing that indescribable, globally terrifying shadow!
“…”
However, Lina found herself unable to utter a single curse.
Because she knew in her heart that if she hadn't fainted on the spot, she probably would have made the same choice:
Book a ticket to the ends of the earth as quickly as possible, never to return!
Faced with an enemy who could easily overturn tables and use "natural disaster" as a weapon, any so-called resistance was nothing but a colossal joke.
"And..." the secretary paused, then dropped another bombshell,
"Fanghuan Investment has already distributed huge sums of compensation to the families of all the victims of this earthquake, including... even those of us who perished."
"All of them...?"
"Yes, without exception." The secretary took a beautifully printed letter from her briefcase and handed it over,
"Not only that, they also... sent you a letter."
Looking at the bold, flowing characters "Fanghuan Investment" on the letter, Lina's hands trembled so much she could barely hold it.
"They said they hope you can reschedule the investigation."
"What...schedule?" Lina felt her blood pressure soaring like a rocket.
"Yes, they said that due to this 'unfortunate natural disaster,' the investigation in Turkey could not proceed smoothly, and they deeply regret this.
They hope that after you recover, you can reschedule.
At that time, Fanghuan Investment will certainly 'welcome you with open arms' and 'actively cooperate' with all your investigation work with the highest level of courtesy."
"...!"
Reschedule?
Lina stared intently at the few lines on the paper, each word like a grinning demon.
Where was there even a trace of apology or cooperation in these words?
It was clearly a brutal and bloody threat written in the most polite language!
You dare set another date?
Whichever day you choose, that day will be your death anniversary!
However many of you come, we'll kill them all!
We'll slaughter you until rivers of blood flow!
We'll wipe you out completely!
We won't even spare a dog!
This wasn't a letter; it was a threatening message from hell, written in the most elegant script!
It's not just about killing, it's about destroying the spirit!
The most sophisticated forms of bullying are often this simple, unadorned, and tedious!
"Heh...heh..."
Lina's throat emitted an incomprehensible sound. The polite words before her eyes twisted and distorted, ultimately transforming into a gigantic, monstrous skull, its blood-red maw gaping as it lunged at her!
"Chief...Chief!"
With a terrified scream from her secretary, Lina's vision went black. Her newly regained consciousness, like a candle flame extinguished, plunged back into endless darkness.
She had been scared unconscious once more!