As Liu Chang's questioning continued, Hong Ying began to feel a chill of fear.
Regarding Xia Jin's character, Hong Ying understood it better than anyone.
It was precisely because she understood Xia Jin's character that Hong Ying chose to betray him.
The man who could casually dismiss his assistant of four to five years would surely do the same to them, their abandoned pawns.
Thinking of this, Hong Ying couldn't help but laugh up to the sky.
"Do you think you're nobler than us? Do you think you're so powerful, or do you believe Xia Jin trusts you more? Liu Chang, don't be naive, don't be foolish. If he could leave a fatal seed in us, do you think he wouldn't do the same to you? Do you think he trusts you?"
Hong Ying's barrage of questions was intended to provoke Liu Chang, to make him reveal the fatal blow he had left on her.
However, to her surprise, Liu Chang completely ignored her words, his expression not changing even after her continuous accusations.
Even more so, Liu Chang looked at Hong Ying and burst into laughter.
"Do you think these provocative words will work on me? Or do you think I'm still the same Liu Chang who was once at your beck and call? Hong Ying, we've both changed. Just as you said, Xia Jin doesn't trust me. But what I need isn't his trust, it's power. I don't want to live like a dog anymore; I want to live like a human now."
After speaking, Liu Chang unhesitatingly attacked Hong Ying with his fire ability.
Because Hong Ying's ability was of the wood element, it was naturally suppressed by the fire element.
Thus, it wasn't long before Hong Ying was defeated by Liu Chang.
However, Liu Chang did not kill Hong Ying, nor did he do anything to her.
"You can stay here and watch. Watch how I achieve success, watch your hopes be shattered by me. And do you really think Qin Chuan, whom you contacted, is enough to pull you out of this abyss? I'll tell you, Qin Chuan can barely save himself. Hong Ying, you backed the wrong horse this time."
Hong Ying had never expected Liu Chang to know so much, even knowing about her contact with Qin Chuan. It seemed her little tricks were almost transparent in his eyes.
Hong Ying couldn't help but feel a wave of despair. Qin Chuan was her last resort. If even Qin Chuan couldn't save her from this predicament, she wondered if her life would truly end like this.
But Hong Ying was unwilling to accept it.
She glared hatefully at her former young lover.
Yet, Liu Chang now appeared completely unfamiliar to her.
She didn't know when they had reached a point of divergence, and now they had reached a point of drawing swords against each other.
Qin Chuan's last order to Hong Ying was to protect Xu An. She didn't know what kind of story existed between Xu An and Qin Chuan, nor did she want to know.
She only knew that Qin Chuan had promised her that if she protected Xu An and got him safely out of the Extreme Cold Arena,
He would give Hong Ying a new identity and send her safely back to the Southern Base.
This was all Hong Ying's own choice.
Qin Chuan had once asked Hong Ying why she didn't choose to stay on the Lighthouse. But Hong Ying shook her head.
"People always need to return to their roots. All my family is there. Even though they have left this world, I must return to the ground."
After hearing this, Qin Chuan said nothing more, merely nodding faintly.
He softly said,
"Yes, we who are like us must all return to our roots."
It was at that moment that Hong Ying understood that not everyone was unwilling to return to the mainland; there were also people like Qin Chuan who silently yearned for their homeland.
But now, everything, all that was within reach, was about to be destroyed before her eyes.
Fierce hatred erupted from Hong Ying's despairing eyes.
It was at this moment that Hong Ying finally understood what his trump card was, or rather, the means by which he controlled these artificially created ability users.
Suddenly, the ability users present inexplicably stopped their actions.
Half of them ran towards Su Xiao's direction.
And Liu Chang hurled a giant fireball towards Xu An.
Upon seeing Liu Chang's fireball spell, Hong Ying's eyes nearly burst.
"You're unharmed! Liu Chang, you weren't injured at all, were you? You were just tricking me, weren't you? Tricking me into consuming my ability to heal you."
Liu Chang did not deny it, merely smiling at her.
"What's wrong with that? It's precisely because you've consumed so much of your ability that you won't be controlled now. I spared your life. Shouldn't you be thanking me?"
Liu Chang's words were filled with pity, as if he were doing something great.
"You're shameless, you're despicable! How could you lie to me, Liu Chang? You promised you would never lie to me in this life. How could you do this?" Hong Ying accused him with all her might.
But Liu Chang put on an innocent expression and shook his head at her.
The words that came from his mouth were incomparably cold and heartless.
"Hong Ying, how can this be considered me deceiving you? Didn't all this betrayal start with you?"
Hong Ying's eyes widened in horror. "I don't understand. What are you talking about!"
Liu Chang approached Hong Ying with an evil smile. However, Liu Chang now seemed like an entirely different person.
With every sentence he spoke, he threw a fireball at Hong Ying.
Hong Ying's clothes were quickly burned to shreds.
Hong Ying's frail body soon couldn't withstand the harsh winds and snow, shivering uncontrollably in the ice and snow. At the same time, she kept retreating, trying to distance herself from Liu Chang.
"What are you talking about? I don't know."
But Liu Chang's voice followed Hong Ying like a ghost. As she retreated, his voice advanced.
"You really don't know? Hong Ying, how did my mother die? Do you truly feel no guilt about it?"
Upon hearing his words, Hong Ying's heart was struck with immense fear.
"I don't know how Auntie's death has anything to do with me."
Hong Ying's eyes were filled with panic, but it was precisely this panicked tone that betrayed her.
"Hong Ying, do you truly not know? Don't you know how my mother died protecting you, and how you pushed my mother into the zombie horde to save yourself? Hong Ying, my mother loved you so much. She always treated you like her own daughter. When she learned that I liked you and that you were going to be her daughter-in-law, do you know how happy she was?"
"It was because I loved you that my mother knew I would be sad and grieved if you died, so she was willing to use her own life to protect you. But what about you?"
"You shamelessly exploited my love, my affection for you. In turn, your love for me cost her her life. Hong Ying, you were the one who should have died!"