Chapter 228 - 227: Does Cecilia Caldwell Love Julian Fletcher or Asher?

Chapter 228: Chapter 227: Does Cecilia Caldwell Love Julian Fletcher or Asher?

"Hide well, now. The roller coaster is about to start..."

The eerie voice spoke again. Although it was also using a voice changer, it clearly wasn’t the mechanical recording from the sixteenth and seventeenth floors. This time, a real person was controlling it.

’This person is definitely one of the killers.’

"To set up something this elaborate, there’s definitely more than one person behind it," I said in a low voice, frowning.

I even suspected it was an organization, a whole gang.

"It’s not just one person," Asher confirmed.

"Countdown: 3, 2, 1..."

The countdown finished, and the mechanisms in the floor began to open and close again, with no discernible pattern.

Asher and I were hiding under the carousel when the floor tiles beneath us opened up too.

If we hadn’t reacted so quickly, we would have fallen.

"AHH!" Someone saw the floor tiles move and bolted from their hiding spot.

And just like that, all of the attackers’ gazes locked onto that person.

"Help me!" the person screamed, trying to run.

Over on their side, the floor tiles under Madeline Quinn’s feet also moved. Zeke Shaw swiftly pulled her into his arms, saving her from falling.

But unfortunately, Peach was so scared she cried out, and the attackers discovered them.

They had all been hiding inside a cabinet, so now they were basically all exposed.

With no other choice, Felix Foster had to come out. He watched the attackers split up, trying to figure out how to fight back.

"These weapons are so clumsy..." Even at a time like this, Felix Foster was still grumbling.

Zeke Shaw hid Madeline Quinn safely and came out too. "No choice. We have to face them head-on..."

Before he could even finish his sentence, his axe was sliced in two by one of their chainsaws.

"Help!" This time, it was Felix Foster who screamed, grabbing Zeke Shaw and making a run for it.

Asher and I were hiding underneath. The space was so limited that I was practically pressed into his arms.

He seemed pretty happy about it... ’This is a slaughterhouse, man. Can you please be serious?’

"Cece..." I had no idea what was going on in Asher’s head. He was actually in the mood to grope me at a time like this.

"Shut up..." I whispered, smacking him on the forehead. "Felix Foster is about to be overwhelmed."

Asher ignored me, nuzzling against me like a big dog that had found its owner.

"You..." I sighed, not as angry as I thought I’d be.

Patting his head, I spoke softly. "Stay hidden here. I’m going to draw them apart."

I tried to soothe Asher, preparing to go out.

As I was about to leave, I paused for a moment. It seemed... protecting Asher was an instinct.

But before this, hadn’t I... always been the one seeking his protection?

Asher’s arms around me tightened. He looked up, his eyes red and his gaze searing.

It was as if... the Cecilia Caldwell of the past had always protected him just like this.

"Don’t... make me wait again," Asher said, his voice hoarse and trembling slightly.

He said not to make him wait anymore.

"Cece... you used to always ask, ’Are genetically modified humans still considered human?’ But the irreplaceable essence of humanity... is emotion. That can never be replaced." Having emotions makes one human.

This was also the very thing Cecilia Caldwell had always wanted to prove.

As long as she had emotions, she was a normal person. She could find a reason and the motivation to live.

The side effects of genetic modification were outbreaks of depressive emotions, an inability to find the motivation to live, being a puppet controlled by a powerful urge for self-destruction...

Because they shouldn’t exist. Because they violated ethics, morality, and even the natural order.

My body felt a little numb. I reached out and grabbed Asher’s wrist. "Then let’s go out together."

’Lately, I’ve been having this recurring dream. In it, I ask myself if human consciousness is carbon-based or silicon-based. If consciousness can be transferred like a computer file, and the human body is just a vessel, then do ’rebirth,’ ’regeneration,’ and even ’immortality’ cease to be science fiction?’

’And someday in the future, could consciousness be transferred into a silicon-based organism? Could humans no longer rely on ’flesh and blood,’ but become half-machine, half-human, or even... a more terrifying shared consciousness?’

"Hey!" With no more time to think, I slammed my hand against the iron bars of the carousel to get their attention.

"Split up! Lead them away and take them down one by one," I yelled to Zeke Shaw and Felix Foster.

Felix Foster let go of Zeke Shaw and ran in the opposite direction.

Zeke Shaw watched him go with a helpless look, marveling at the boundless energy of youth.

In a flash, Felix Foster jumped up, scrambled onto a slide, then leaped down and tackled one of the chainsaw-wielding men from behind.

I ran over, kicked the man’s chainsaw away, and then delivered another kick that knocked him unconscious.

"Tie him up first." One down, more to go.

Behind me, Asher had also snuck up behind a masked man and was choking him, his eyes filled with killing intent.

"Don’t kill him," I said with a frown, shaking my head at him.

’These men might not be hired killers.’

’They look... dazed, as if they’ve been terrified.’

"AHH!" A scream rang out. The two people with broken legs had been found by the chainsaw men and were killed.

I instinctively moved to stand in front of Asher. Unconsciously... I didn’t want him to see the bloody scene. ℯℯ𝑙.

Just like how Asher had protected me before.

Asher looked at me without a word.

"Cece! Asher, look out!" Madeline Quinn shouted at me from a corner where she was hiding.

I turned around just in time to see a man bearing down on us with a raised chainsaw.

Asher and I backed away, dodged, and tried to figure out a way to take them down one by one.

"Everyone hide! That psycho is about to start again." I guessed the time was about up.

’The traps go off every ten minutes...’

"Everyone’s having so much fun. Be careful now. Countdown: 10, 9, 8..."

Sure enough, the eerie voice sounded again. As soon as the countdown ended, the floor panels began to open and close.

This time, the ones who fell were three of the masked men.

They were mangled by the traps without even letting out a scream.

Warily, I looked at Asher and pulled him back.

After seeing it twice, the pattern was basically clear: the floor tiles with traps that moved were the black ones.

"He even kills his own men?" Julian Fletcher, who had just taken down a masked man himself, ran over nervously. "Something’s not right with them."

"I agree..." I reached out, pulled the mask off the man’s face, and gasped.

Their mouths had all been sewn shut with thread, a mess of mangled flesh and blood.

"The assailants are victims too..." Asher’s voice was hoarse. "These men... they should all be from the gene-crime syndicate."

’They’re Victor Quinn’s men.’

I did indeed find that tattoo behind their ears. "They’re enforcers for the crime syndicate. They were probably sent to catch the serial killer, but ended up getting caught themselves and used as NPCs to kill us."

"So now we can basically confirm that the human trafficking ring and the so-called genetic engineering crime syndicate are the same group." Julian Fletcher looked at me, his expression complicated. "Cece... after the incident, I’ve been investigating... and the truth I found was shocking and terrifying..."

He didn’t dare tell me the truth, which is why he pretended to cooperate with Erin Whittaker. He came here to find the real culprit.

Julian Fletcher stepped forward, trying to get closer to me.

Asher blocked my path like a big, protective wolfhound guarding its pup.

He still seemed to feel insecure, worried that someone would snatch me away.

My gaze felt numb as I looked from Asher to Julian Fletcher.

’Love... what does it taste like, again? I still feel so lost...’

’Painful, or blissful? Is it Asher, or is it Julian Fletcher...’

"Help!" Over on the other side, Claire Lawson’s cries for help and sobs cut through my thoughts.