Chapter 1204: The Closed Loop of Death, I Won't Use Emotional Swords

Lin Lang stepped forward, patted Bai Mengfan on the shoulder, and comforted him, "Class monitor, don't worry, after my nephew is born, I will fully fund his living expenses and education from childhood to adulthood."

“After my nephew grows up and graduates, he can be hired by the Lin Group without taking an exam. The company will provide him with an apartment, and I will also cover his wedding expenses, such as dowry, hardware, and wedding car.”

"I will send my third brother to take care of your uncle and aunt. When they pass away and are buried, I will personally arrange their funeral. You can leave with complete peace of mind."

Upon hearing this, Bai Mengfan knelt down in front of Lin Lang with a thud, choking back tears of gratitude, and said, "Thank you so much, Lin Lang!"

"I, Bai Mengfan, never imagined that I would be entrusted with your care on my deathbed. If there is an afterlife, I will be your servant to repay your great kindness."

The rain intensified, as if trying to wash away all the sorrow in the world, but it could not wash away Bai Mengfan's sobbing as he knelt on the ground.

Rain soaked Bai Mengfan's black hair, sliding down his sorrowful face, indistinguishable from rain or tears.

Lin Lang never imagined that Bai Mengfan, the class monitor who had excellent grades in high school and had been awarded the title of "Three Good Student" at the city level for many years, and who was respected even by the school bully, would have such a vulnerable and helpless moment.

"Class monitor, get up. We've been classmates for so many years, let's not be so formal." Lin Langlang quickly reached out to help Bai Mengfan up, his voice low and hoarse.

Bai Mengfan staggered to his feet, his legs so weak he could barely stand, tears mingling with the rain soaking his clothes.

“I’m sorry to my wife, I’m sorry to my unborn child… I promised to stay with her during her postpartum period, to see my child take his first steps and speak his first words, and to send him to school… but now I can’t do any of that.”

His voice was broken and shattered, each word sounding like it was being squeezed out of his throat, filled with the pain of blood and foam.

"I promised my parents that I would move in with them when they got old and take good care of them... Lin Lang, I'm a liar, a complete and utter liar!"

"I promised my family I couldn't keep any of those promises, sob sob sob..."

Bai Mengfan broke down emotionally, crying uncontrollably, her words filled with reluctance to leave her family and a longing for life.

Lin Lang remained silent, letting Bai Mengfan vent his inner pain.

He knew that any words of comfort would seem pale and powerless at this moment.

As an outstanding journalist, Bai Mengfan has traveled all over China over the years, exposing countless dark and injustices, and offending many powerful and influential people.

This time, even the Heavenly Dao tacitly accepted his fate in this "death ordeal."

"Crack... Rumble..."

Another deafening thunderbolt streaked across the night sky, descending towards Bai Mengfan as if guided by a navigation system. Lin Lang casually waved his hand, once again using the Weather Summoning Technique to help Bai Mengfan avoid the lightning.

"Bang... Sizzle..." The lightning was forced to veer off course, striking another tree not far away and bursting into dazzling sparks.

Bai Mengfan was startled and dropped the cigarette butt he was holding. His face turned pale as he stared at the tree that had been struck by lightning, and he instinctively gasped.

"Fuck!"

"Damn it, is it really true that good people don't live long, while bad people live a thousand years?" Bai Mengfan died without understanding why good people die young and bad people live longer.

Lin Lang looked at Bai Mengfan, whose legs were trembling like leaves, and at his familiar yet desperate face, and said in a deep voice, "Sometimes good people don't live long. Maybe it's because God thinks they're too tired and lets them rest early..."

"Hahaha..." Bai Mengfan sneered self-deprecatingly after hearing this, "Lin Lang, I like your explanation, but why do the kindest people suffer the most?"

Lin Lang shrugged and said, "Being an indifferent person can save you 99% of the trouble. In your understanding of life, you haven't activated the self-protection mechanism."

"As the saying goes, 'Better to die for your friend than for yourself.' If you don't even know how to protect yourself, do you expect Heaven to favor you?"

Bai Mengfan was speechless after hearing this. After a long moment of astonishment, he choked up and said, "But that's not how we were taught in books, by our parents, and by our teachers!"

"Squad leader, if there is an afterlife, I hope you will remember this saying: 'Every man for himself.' There are two things in this world that you should never touch."

Bai Mengfan wiped away her tears and asked, puzzled, "Which two things are off-limits? Tell me."

Lin Lang replied, "One is the perception of the poor, and the other is the wealth of the rich. Many people will never understand this in their entire lives. The perception of the poor is the wealth of the rich."

"When you become a journalist and expose the dark side of business in society, you not only challenge the perceptions of the poor but also threaten the wealth of the rich. Telling the truth to the people at the bottom is a matter of life and death."

Bai Mengfan was stunned after hearing this. He stared blankly at Lin Lang, never expecting that it was only at this moment before his death that he suddenly understood the underlying logic of this world under Lin Lang's guidance.

"Haha... Lin Lang, what you said is both wicked and righteous, but my ideals and my professional beliefs as a journalist have collapsed after hearing what you said."

"Squad leader, perhaps what I'm saying has shattered your moral compass and worldview."

"But as the old saying goes, the Way is not easily passed on, the Dharma is not sold cheaply, divination is not given out for nothing, doctors do not knock on doors, and even Buddha doesn't save those who are not destined to be saved."

"This passage reveals a profound law of human nature and the way of heaven: nothing in this world can be easily obtained or given away at will. Therefore, the wisdom of our ancestors tells us not to easily tell the truth to others."

Bai Mengfan suddenly realized something after hearing this. If it were before, he would have given a long and rambling argument to refute it, but at this moment he finally understood that he was trapped by his own perception.

After reciting it, Bai Mengfan chuckled to himself, "Yes! How come I only understood such a simple truth on my deathbed?"

Lin Lang continued, "If you look at it from the perspective of compassion, this world is full of pitiful people, and all living beings suffer. But if you look at it from the perspective of cause and effect, there are no pitiful people in this world. They are all suffering because of their own actions."

Bai Mengfan sighed through his teary eyes, "That's right, that's why they always say that there's something hateful about a pitiful person!"

"So when you see a group suffering, it's because their understanding is absolutely worthy of the suffering they are enduring." Lin Lang finished smoking the cigarette between his fingers.

"Thank you, Lin Lang!"

"Thank you for letting me die knowing why."

"So it turns out that being a good person can also offend the will of Heaven. I finally understand why those loyal and virtuous generals of ancient times suffered a backlash and died young. It's true that good people don't get their lives back, and the loyal and virtuous rarely have a good end!" Bai Mengfan sighed to the sky, hating the injustice of fate.

Just then, Bai Mengfan's cell phone rang, and the caller ID showed it was his parents' landline number.

He froze, staring at his phone screen, tears streaming down his face even more fiercely.

He dared not answer, afraid that hearing his parents' concerned voices would make him lose control of his emotions.

The phone rang and then dropped, dropped and then rang again, persistently as if urging something.

Lin Lang sighed: "Squad leader, answer it now, or you'll never have another chance."

Bai Mengfan pressed the answer button with trembling hands, brought the phone to his ear, and called out, trying to appear calm, "Mom!"

"Son, why haven't you come home yet? Your wife just called me and your father, crying and saying something's wrong with you. Where are you? What happened?" On the other end of the phone, Bai's mother's voice was filled with anxiety and worry.

"Mom, I'm fine, I just had some things to take care of outside." Bai Mengfan's voice trembled uncontrollably. "Don't worry, Qingqing probably misses me too much. Pregnancy makes it easy to overthink things."

"It's alright, it's alright." Bai's father's voice came, tinged with weariness. "It's raining outside, be careful on the road, drive slowly."

"I understand, Dad." Bai Mengfan gritted her teeth, trying not to cry out loud. "Mom and Dad, get some rest and take care of yourselves."

"You too, go home early, don't leave your daughter-in-law home alone."

"Okay, Dad, I love you all, bye-bye!"

After hanging up the phone, Bai Mengfan could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground, staring blankly ahead.

The rain grew heavier, blurring the distant lights and his vision.

Men in the Xia Kingdom are very reserved, unlike foreigners who easily express their love to their parents.

Bai Mengfan was the same; he couldn't remember when he stopped expressing his love to his parents verbally. This was the last time he would express his love to them.

Looking at Bai Mengfan's distraught appearance, Lin Lang felt a sudden pang of heartache, but he could only obey the will of Heaven: "Class monitor, I've done everything I could for you. It's time to say goodbye."

Bai Mengfan suddenly raised her head, a hint of reluctance flashing in her eyes before dimming again.

He slowly stood up, looking at Lin Lang with a tearful smile, and said, "Brother, I entrust my whole family to you! I can't thank you enough. In the next life, I will be your servant to repay your kindness."

Lin Lang took a deep breath, looked intently at Bai Mengfan, and nodded with reddened eyes.

"I'm leaving, squad leader. Rest in peace!" Lin Lang steeled his resolve, turned abruptly, and strode away toward the alley entrance.

As Lin Lang's tall figure gradually disappeared from sight, Bai Mengfan's vision blurred with tears once again.

The rain still lingered in the air, like a lingering gloom that refused to dissipate.

As Lin Lang stepped out of the dimly lit alley, his shadow was suddenly stretched long by the streetlights.

The dim, yellowish light pierced through the rain curtain, casting dappled shadows on the wet ground, and the air was filled with the earthy smell of rain washing away the soil.

"Boom——!"

A thunderclap struck without warning in the alley behind Lin Lang, like the furious roar of a god, shaking the heavens and earth.

The lightning bolt ripped through the thick darkness of the night, dancing wildly like a silver snake, instantly illuminating the alleyway with a blinding white light, making even the trails of falling raindrops clearly visible.

The moment the thunderclap struck, a faint yet clear cracking sound came from the end of the alley, followed by deathly silence, with only the patter of raindrops remaining, like a sigh of dust settling.

Lin Lang's steps suddenly stopped, his back stiffening into a lonely silhouette under the streetlights.

He didn't turn around to look at the direction where the thunderbolt struck, but his clenched fists betrayed his state of mind—his knuckles were white, his veins were visible, and even his breathing became heavy and labored.

He knew better than anyone else that this thunderbolt was the closing loop of Bai Mengfan's death.

Faced with this inevitable final chapter of fate, Lin Lang merely delayed the arrival of Bai Mengfan's ending.

The few seconds of silence felt like an eternity.

The halo of the streetlights swayed around Lin Lang, distorting, lengthening, and shortening his shadow.

No one knew what Lin Lang was thinking at that moment. His profile was hidden in the shadows of the rain, making it impossible to see his expression. Only his slightly trembling jawline revealed the turbulent emotions churning within him.

The rain fell softly, wetting his shoulders.

Lin Lang slowly loosened his clenched fist, and the white color at his fingertips gradually faded.

He never looked back or stopped; he simply took a deep breath and suppressed all his emotions deep within his heart.

Facing the cool evening breeze and stepping through the puddles, he walked forward with heavy steps.

Lin Lang's figure gradually disappeared under the streetlights, merging into the night behind him and intertwining with the misty rain.

The dim light followed his footsteps until his figure completely disappeared at the end of the rainy night, leaving only the empty alleyway and the lingering sense of desolation and melancholy that remained in the air after the thunderclap.

The rain is still falling.

This final, poignant moment could not escape the shackles of fate, leaving only a lonely figure fading into the night.