Ding Qing's eyelids fluttered heavily a few times, as if he had used all his strength to barely open a slit.
His vision was blurry, with only dazzling white light and swaying, indistinct figures. A strong smell of disinfectant and an indescribable sense of exhaustion from deep within his body enveloped him.
He felt like the wreckage of a sunken ship, entangled by countless iron chains, slowly descending into the cold, deep sea.
Every breath was exceptionally difficult, his chest felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on it, and he could barely maintain it by relying on the oxygen delivered by the plastic mask on his face.
He tried to move a finger, but found that even such a small movement was difficult to complete.
"Brother! You're awake!"
A familiar voice, full of surprise and choked emotion, came through. His blurry vision gradually focused, revealing Li Zicheng's face, etched with worry and exhaustion.
It was Li Zicheng... Until the moment he was thrown out of the window by Luka, Ding Qing suddenly understood that the struggle for power could not be smooth sailing. He was manipulating the situation, but what about the others?
Whether it was Lee Joong-ku, the police, or that damned Zhang Shouji, it was all the same. Since Seok Dong's death, they had begun to frantically devour the Goldmoon Group's foundation. What if he had designed to clip Seok Dong's wings?
What if he had arranged for a large truck to hit Seok Dong's car, leaving him critically injured and in need of emergency rescue?
The final result was still that he got nothing. Now, he felt that something was wrong everywhere. Looking at Li Zicheng in front of him, he even had a feeling of a long time having passed.
A faint warmth and an indescribable complex emotion flashed through Ding Qing's muddled consciousness.
Thank goodness... Thank goodness it was him, Zicheng, who was by his side in the end. He was his own brother and hadn't betrayed him.
He tried to pull at the corners of his mouth to give Li Zicheng a comforting smile, but he couldn't even manage such a simple expression.
He could clearly see the concern in Li Zicheng's eyes, but he also saw the deep-seated, unconcealable confusion and fear beneath that concern.
That was uncertainty about the future, despair over his injuries, and perhaps... something else.
Ding Qing understood in his heart.
This time, he was probably truly not going to make it.
All these tubes insert his body, this feeling of powerlessness where even breathing required machine assistance, this coldness and fatigue emanating from his bone marrow... all proclaimed one fact.
He didn't want to lie on a sickbed like a broken doll, without dignity, clinging to life with machines.
He was Ding Qing, Ding Qing of the Goldmoon Group.
He was the Ding Qing who had cut his way up from the bottom, one knife at a time!
He used all his remaining willpower, gathering his meager strength.
His right hand, bound by various monitoring probes and IV tubes, began to slowly and tremblingly lift.
The target was the oxygen mask on his face, a symbol of life support, but also a symbol of humiliation and restraint.
"Brother! You can't... you can't take it off!"
Li Zicheng saw his movement and instantly panicked, quickly reaching out to try and hold down Ding Qing's trembling hand, which was trying to break free.
His hand touched Ding Qing's cold hand, and he could clearly feel the weak, powerless trembling of that hand, as well as the almost stubborn determination contained beneath it.
"Brother... please..."
Li Zicheng's voice was full of pain and pleading. He didn't dare to use force, fearing he would hurt Ding Qing, yet he couldn't just watch him remove the oxygen that was sustaining his life.
Ding Qing's hand paused for a moment, and his cloudy yet sharp gaze penetrated the oxygen mask, looking directly at Li Zicheng.
That look was extremely complex, with fatigue, helplessness, a hint of knowing bitterness, but more than that, it was a kind of almost gentle, resolute look, imbued with a sense of entrustment.
He gently, yet exceptionally firmly, pushed away Li Zicheng's obstructing hand.
Although weak, the meaning in that movement was undeniable.
Li Zicheng's hand froze in mid-air. He looked at his brother's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, and his heart felt as if it was tightly gripped by a cold hand, aching so much he couldn't breathe.
He understood. His brother wasn't being willful; he was choosing his final outcome.
The final stubbornness and dignity of a powerful figure who had been in a high position for a long time, who had fought his way up from being a nobody, and who had arranged everything behind the scenes.
Ding Qing's hand continued to tremble upwards, his fingers difficultly hooking the edge of the oxygen mask.
Every subtle movement seemed to drain his immense energy, and the heart rate on the monitor became slightly more rapid due to this struggle.
But he didn't care.
Finally, he yanked it off!
Hiss—
The oxygen mask was roughly pulled from his face and thrown aside.
A cold, unhumidified and unfiltered air instantly rushed into his nose and mouth, stimulating him to cough violently, and his complexion instantly became even more ashen.
"Brother!"
Li Zicheng exclaimed, somewhat at a loss.
Finally, he had everyone else leave, leaving only Johnny nearby.
Ding Qing gasped for air. Without assistance, autonomous breathing became a huge burden and torment for his broken body.
After a while, a faint, intermittent but exceptionally clear voice slowly squeezed out from Ding Qing's throat.
"Relax... damn it..."
He opened his eyes, bloodshot and swollen clearly visible.
"Who... is going to eat you?"
Li Zicheng was speechless at these words. He felt a little guilty; when Ding Qing was in danger, he had once again been called away by Jiang Chenghao.
"I thought I'd never see you again... I'm so happy..."
The moment he was thrown from the building, Ding Qing truly thought he was going to die. He didn't expect to live a little longer, even in this state.
"Hey! Brother... you look very tired..."
When he said this, Li Zicheng's guilt deepened. The torment he had experienced during this time had almost made him collapse.
But Ding Qing saw through it immediately. "Don't be like this. Make a choice."
Ding Qing's words made Li Zicheng tremble all over. He looked at Ding Qing with tears in his eyes, unable to speak.
"Listen to your brother..." Ding Qing took a few difficult breaths and continued, "Only then can you live..."
Li Zicheng burst into tears. Only now did he understand why Ding Qing hadn't exposed him back then. It was because he truly considered him a brother, and so he had only warned him using Xin Yu and Shi Wu.
Just like before, when Ding Qing was displeased with him, the slaps always landed on Shi Wu's face, never touching a single finger of his.
This favoritism, Ding Qing gave solely to Li Zicheng. Even when Ding Qing was betrayed, he carefully erased all of Li Zicheng's information, because he knew that scoundrel Jiang Chenghao would never let Li Zicheng get away unscathed.
The moment Li Zicheng became an undercover agent, he only had two paths: either be discovered and die gloriously, or dedicate himself to the utmost until death.
Li Zicheng had never thought of these things, but Ding Qing had thought of them all for him. Seeing Ding Qing's breathing become increasingly difficult, Li Zicheng quickly pressed the ventilator, but Ding Qing refused.
He was worried about Li Zicheng; he still had things to say.
Seeing this, Li Zicheng could no longer hold back. "Brother! Please!"
Ding Qing, however, said with difficulty, "You little bastard! What if, by some one-in-a-million chance, I were still alive, what would you do?"
Li Zicheng was stunned; he had never considered such an outcome.
"Can you deal with me? You have to be ruthless; only then can you survive, understand?"
After saying this, Ding Qing closed his eyes. "I'm... so sleepy..."
These fragmented words exhausted his last spark of life. After saying them, he seemed to be drained of all strength, and his body suddenly relaxed.
On the monitor, the heart rate curve plummeted, and a piercing alarm sounded sharply!
Li Zicheng froze. He stiffly turned his head, looking at Johnny with tear-filled eyes.
Until the very last moment, his brother was still thinking of him... Ding Qing, at the end of his life, did not review his gains and losses, but instead thought about how Li Zicheng should face a formidable opponent like him.
Ding Qing understood his predicament and gave him only one word: "ruthless." Whether in the underworld or the legitimate world, this word was a pass for those in power. It was just that when facing Li Zicheng, Ding Qing had hidden his ruthlessness.
But the moment Ding Qing breathed his last, his one-word maxim was etched into Li Zicheng's heart.
And Johnny, who had been leaning quietly in the shadows by the door, watched it all, watching Ding Qing choose his own end, watching Li Zicheng's silent breakdown and tears.
His face remained expressionless, but in the depths of his eyes, a very subtle, almost imperceptible ripple flashed.
And... a strange look and helplessness in his eyes, but Li Zicheng's mental state had collapsed, so he didn't notice Johnny's unusual expression.
Johnny respected Ding Qing's choice; this was the choice of a powerful figure.
He slowly turned and left the ward. The coming storm needed to be faced by those who were still alive.
And Ding Qing, with his last strength, pointed out a thorny, bloody path that required ruthlessness to survive, for the person he cared about most.
But... was this right?
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