The commotion caused by the battle between Annihilation and the Tarantula was too loud. As soon as they were rescued, Lian Jun immediately began arranging for the retreat of his personnel.

Considering that Xiang Aoting was a soldier and had rich combat experience, Lian Jun didn't want to give away any clues. He intentionally had Number Three intercept the other brothers of the Shi family, leading them on a detour and not allowing them to enter the "battlefield" in the middle of the warehouse.

Inside the warehouse, Shi Weichong quickly regained his composure with the reminder from Number One. He buried his head and helped the doctors who arrived later transfer Xu Jie onto a stretcher.

Shi Jin stood on the side, watching without actively calling out to Shi Weichong or approaching him. He knew that Shi Weichong's emotions were definitely in turmoil right now, and he might not want to see him.

After standing for a while, Shi Jin suddenly felt increasingly uncomfortable. Seeing that something was wrong, Lian Jun quickly put him on a stretcher and forced him to lie down and rest. Shi Jin reluctantly closed his eyes and began to meditate.

Everyone hurriedly moved outside and halfway there, they met Number Three leading a group of people including Xiang Aoting. After a brief conversation, they all retreated together.

Shi Jin didn't remember much of what happened afterwards. Shortly after evacuating Warehouse No. 1, he passed out. The after-effects of the buff were more severe than he had anticipated. After his body relaxed, he was hit with a high fever and a sore throat, which tortured him to the point of wishing for death.

When he woke up again, it was already the next morning. The sky was not yet fully lit, and the room was dimly lit. Shi Jin exerted effort to open his heavy eyelids and looked around. He found himself lying in a hospital room, with Lian Jun sleeping on the accompanying bed next to him.

He quickly covered his mouth to suppress a cough that was about to burst out, and touched his extremely uncomfortable throat. In his mind, he poked Xiao Si and asked, "What's going on now?"

"Ah! Jin Jin, you finally woke up. I didn't expect the aftermath of the buff to be so severe. I'm sorry, wuwuwu..." Xiao Si was so excited that it called out when it saw Shi Jin regain consciousness, and then couldn't help but cry.

Shi Jin only felt his head ache even more, and he bent over to grab the blanket, followed by a few muffled coughs. Upon seeing this, Xiao Si, who was trying to hold back tears, spoke softly and explained, "You passed out shortly after being put on the stretcher yesterday. Baby was very worried and brought you to the hospital. Xu Jie and Shi Weichong are also at this hospital. Xu Jie has already undergone surgery to remove the bullet and stitch up her face, and she is currently in a coma. Shi Weichong's wounds were not deep and have been bandaged. He sat by your bedside for a long time.

"Fei Yujing and the others went to a hotel near the hospital to rest, but they should come back today. Baby stayed up with you half the night, waiting for your fever to subside before finally getting some rest. He only slept for a few hours."

After hearing the situation, Shi Jin felt a little relieved. He glanced at Lian Jun, who was sleeping peacefully on the accompanying bed, and his lips curled up. He thought of something, quickly withdrew his gaze, and looked at his progress bar - he had gone through so much trouble just for this, it must go down, and preferably all at once...

Xiao Si noticed his actions and it stiffened for a moment before it dryly said, "Jin Jin, Xu Jie is indeed your death factor. After she fell into a coma, your progress bar dropped to 100, but after her surgery, it went back up to 300..."

Shi Jin: "..."

Xiao Si hesitated in her tone, "The progress bar didn't clear directly, and even rose a bit after Xu Jie recovered. Does this mean... does it mean..."

"Representing Xu Jie's unrepentant state, as long as she's alive, she won't let me go." Shi Jin was on the brink of despair, lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling, feeling hopeless. "Does this progress bar have to be eliminated by killing Xu Jie?"

Putting aside the idea of killing Xu Jie, what about Shi Weichong's situation? Speaking for himself, he didn't want to stain his hands with blood just to get rid of the progress bar. From a human perspective or a moral standpoint, he couldn't allow himself to do such a thing.

"It's highly possible," Xiao Si carefully replied, seeing his low spirits. It hurriedly comforted him, "Maybe it's not because of Xu Jie. Look, your progress bar is occasionally affected by your loved ones. Maybe this time it's because of--"

"Lian Jun's progress bar hasn't gone up. If I'm influenced by him, then his progress bar should have gone up too," sighed Shi Jin. He looked towards the progress bar in his mind that belonged to Lian Jun and noticed that the value seemed a bit off. He furrowed his brow and blinked, suspecting that his mind wasn't clear since he had just woken up. He rubbed his forehead and continued to look, then suddenly sat up and exclaimed, "It's gone down! Lian Jun's progress bar has gone down!"

"What?" Xiao Si was startled and quickly looked at Lian Jun's progress bar. Then it screamed, "Ah! It really went down! 499, it went down a bit! Did the treatment have an effect on it?"

"Definitely!" Shi Jin immediately perked up, forgetting all about his progress bar. He turned to look at Lian Jun, who was lying on the accompanying bed, with a twisted expression of shock and joy on his face.

Lian Jun opened his eyes and looked at him quietly.

"Um..." Shi Jin froze, trying to recall if he had accidentally said what he was thinking to Xiao Si just now.

After thinking for a while, he was sure he hadn't, because his throat was so sore now that he couldn't speak normally in reality... So Lian Jun was probably awakened by the sudden commotion he made when he sat up.

"Good morning," he forced a smile and greeted, trying to pass off as normal. But he tragically discovered that his voice was now super unpleasant, as piercing as nails on a chalkboard. He was so scared that he instinctively covered his neck with his hand.

Lian Jun blinked, the drowsiness in his eyes quickly fading away. He got out of bed and walked over to him, placing his hand on his forehead. He felt that he was no longer feverish and sat down beside him, naturally embracing him and stroking his back. He asked, "Did you have a nightmare? Don't be afraid, I'm here."

What a tender and considerate sweetheart.

The fright in Shi Jin's mind was instantly soothed, and he relaxed his body, hugging Lian Jun back and closing his eyes contentedly.

It's so nice to have this person by his side.

"Still sleepy? Have some water before going back to sleep," Lian Jun turned his head and kissed him, asking softly.

I'll do as you say, everything as you say.

Shi Jin nodded, but still held onto him tightly. Seeing this, Lian Jun simply leaned in and picked up the thermos from the bedside table. He opened it and stepped back a little, bringing the thermos to Shi Jin's lips.

Shi Jin took a sip of water and immediately felt relief from the pain and itchiness in his throat. He smiled at Lian Jun, about to speak, but Lian Jun quickly covered his lips.

"The doctor said your throat is seriously injured and you need to rest it. Try not to talk too much these next few days," Lian Jun instructed. He released Shi Jin's lips and helped him lie back down on the bed.

He bent down and kissed Shi Jin's forehead, saying, "Go to sleep, it's still early."

Shi Jin was actually a little worried that Lian Jun would ask him about how his throat got damaged. He had even decided to confess everything, but he didn't expect Lian Jun to skip over this point.

So, he temporarily suppressed these thoughts and obediently nodded, indicating that Lian Jun should also go back to sleep - Lian Jun's progress bar had just decreased by 1 point, and he couldn't afford for it to go back up due to lack of sleep.

Lian Jun understood his meaning, kissed him again, and said, "I'll go back to sleep for a while. Remember to call me if you need anything."

Shi Jin nodded, closed his eyes first, listened to the sound of Lian Jun lying back on the bed, and watched the progress bar in his mind decrease a little. He drifted off into a daze and fell asleep again without realizing it.

When he woke up again, it was already ten o'clock in the morning. Lian Jun had already woken up and was sitting by the bedside reading documents.

Shi Jin felt a little embarrassed. He couldn't believe he had slept for so long. He quickly got up, washed up, and cooperated with the doctor for his daily check-up. After taking his medicine and confirming that his throat was feeling a bit better, he finally spoke up and asked, "Did you exercise this morning?"

Lian Jun didn't expect Shi Jin to be so concerned about him as soon as he could speak. Feeling better, he poured him a cup of honey water and replied, "Yes, I exercised in another ward. Do you want to check?" He gestured to his collar.

Without hesitation, Shi Jin reached over and pulled open Lian Jun's collar to take a look. He even pinched his arm and nodded seriously, "Hmm, your muscle condition shows that you did indeed exercise. You're not lying. Here, let me reward you."

He leaned over and gave Lian Jun a kiss. Lian Jun made him laugh and pinched his face, gesturing towards the door of the ward. "Shi Weichong is outside, waiting to see you. Xu Jie woke up this morning, but her mental state isn't great. She may need to see a psychologist."

Her mental state isn't great?

Shi Jin glanced at the progress bar on his screen, which was steadily at 300, and furrowed his brow. "Let Shi Weichong come in first."

Lian Jun nodded and pulled up his blanket before turning to go call someone.

But Shi Jin stopped him and asked, "Lian Jun, would you be angry with me if I said I don't plan on sending Xu Jie to prison as originally planned?"

Lian Jun stopped his wheelchair and turned to look at him. He replied seriously, "I won't blame you, but I don't recommend you do this. Hidden dangers are always hidden dangers. If you want to avoid future troubles, either eliminate the hidden danger directly or control it. Continuing to let it go is not a good choice."

"I know." Shi Jin sighed, feeling a bit helpless as he grabbed his hair. "I can't just get rid of Xu Jie directly. If I send her to prison, Shi Weichong will definitely be reluctant and will come to beg me. And for now, I can't continue to pour salt on Shi Weichong's wound... Actually, I have thought of a compromise that can both control Xu Jie and give Shi Weichong a temporary break."

Lian Jun's eyes flickered as he asked, "What's the plan?"

Shi Jin didn't answer, but instead asked, "Does Annihilation have its own mental hospital? The kind that's more isolated from the world."

Lian Jun immediately understood his meaning, pointed to the armrest of his wheelchair, and suddenly laughed, saying, "There are plenty of places like that in Annihilation."

......

Lian Jun put Shi Weichong in the ward and then left, leaving the space to the two brothers.

Shi Weichong was also wearing a patient's gown, looking very haggard with heavy dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot eyes. He sat down beside Shi Jin's bed, first checked on Shi Jin's condition, and then asked, "How's your body?"

"It's pretty good. The fever has gone down, and now it's just a bit sore in my throat," Shi Jin replied, pouring him a glass of water and asking, "How about you? Is your wound deep?"

Shi Weichong shook his head, took the water, and fell silent for a moment. After considering his tone, he spoke up, "Xiao Jin, I'm sorry, I..."

"I can choose not to send Xu Jie to prison. This kidnapping didn't alert the authorities, and we resolved it on our own, so we don't necessarily have to go through legal procedures." Shi Jin interrupted him, getting straight to the point. He met Shi Weichong's gaze as he spoke seriously, "But I cannot forgive what Xu Jie did to my mother. Although she didn't personally do it, she did indeed induce my mother's suicide."

Shi Weichong's grip on the water glass tightened, and his eyes dimmed again as he asked, "What do you want to do?"

"I heard that Xu Jie's mental state is not very good and she needs to see a psychologist," said Shi Jin, not liking the current atmosphere. He pulled the blanket closer and looked down at his palm before continuing, "I think it's because of my natural suspicion, but I feel like she's faking her mental problems. Fifth Brother's senior brother is a famous psychologist, and I hope he can evaluate Xu Jie's mental condition. My request is that no matter what the result of the evaluation is, you must send Xu Jie to the mental hospital under Annihilation and never let her out again."

Shi Weichong was stunned and couldn't help but call out to him, "Xiao Jin..."

"She did something wrong, so she must be punished," Shi Jin interrupted him again, looking up at him with a determined gaze. "I may not kill her, and I may even spare her from suffering in prison, but I cannot forgive her. I won't let her live comfortably for the rest of her life, and I won't give her the chance to hurt me again! Big brother, you can call me heartless or cruel, but on this matter, I will not back down. The hospital must be under my control, and you can arrange for someone to take care of her. You can even personally inspect the environment to see if I will secretly abuse her, but she cannot be free. I only have one life, and I don't want to live in fear anymore."

"I'm sorry." Shi Weichong suddenly put down his water glass and hugged him tightly, his voice heavy, "I'm sorry, Xiao Jin, I didn't mean to push you to this point... I'm sorry."

Shi Jin was stunned, turning his head slightly to look at him and calling out, "Big brother?"

"You don't have to keep backing away for my sake." Shi Weichong closed his eyes tightly and said, "There's no need for an evaluation. My mother's mental state is perfectly fine. She's just pretending to be sick to avoid legal responsibility. I came here this time to tell you this. You can handle her however you want, I won't object."

"...Huh? Weren't you here to plead for her?" Shi Jin was completely dumbfounded, unable to understand the current situation.

"I'm not that foolish," Shi Weichong heard the surprise in his tone and stepped back, releasing him. He looked at the silly expression on his face, raised his hand to touch his hair, and showed a very bitter smile, saying, "This is too unfair to you. You have already given her a chance, but she didn't cherish it."

"Big brother," Shi Jin looked at him as if he had figured out everything, but he felt uneasy in his heart.

"I'm fine," Shi Weichong shook his head and said, "Yesterday, I thought a lot. I thought about what my mother said, our time together, and the things I've done in the past few decades... I thought all night, trying to find something that would make me happy, but I couldn't. For so many years, besides money, I haven't achieved anything. Maybe my subconscious has known this all along, that's why I've always wanted to keep you all by my side...

"You described it before as overcompensation, yes, that's right. The more I lack something, the more I seek it out, regardless of the burden it puts on you all, which indirectly led to the current situation."

"Brother, this is not your fault," Shi Jin retorted, disagreeing with him taking all the blame upon himself.

"You don't have to comfort me, I understand," Shi Weichong still shook his head and said, "I'm not self-destructive or avoiding reality by saying these things. I've just never been so clear-headed before. I know what kind of personality my mother has. She's paranoid, persistent, and won't stop until she achieves her goal. From beginning to end, she's the one who's been making mistakes. She's already pushed you to this point, and I won't assist her in doing wrong. She's beyond redemption now, and forgiving her over and over again will only make her sink deeper. You didn't make her pay with her life, and I'm already grateful for that. Whatever you decide to do with her this time, it's up to you."

Shi Jin frowned and asked, "Can we send her to a mental hospital? For the rest of her life?"

"Whatever you say." Shi Weichong patted his hair again, both to comfort and to promise. "Xiao Jin, you don't have to be on guard anymore, and you don't have to be afraid. I will never let her hurt you again, never."

After saying this, Shi Weichong left. Shi Jin watched him go, feeling that something was off about the way he said the last sentence. After thinking about it, he took out his phone and called Li Jiuzheng.

......

Although Shi Weichong was very sure that Xu Jie's mental problems were fake, Shi Jin still contacted Li Jiuzheng and asked him to come and personally check on Xu Jie. After a thorough examination, Li Jiuzheng's senior brother gave the same answer as Shi Weichong - Xu Jie did not have any mental illness. She was now in a state of excessive calmness after an emotional outburst, and all her mental breakdowns were just an act.

Shi Weichong reacted calmly to this conclusion, and even politely asked about how Li Jiuzheng was doing lately after listening.

Li Jiuzheng's senior brother cooperated and chatted with him, then called Shi Jin after leaving the hospital.

"Your eldest brother's psychological state is indeed not very good, too suppressed." Li Jiuzheng's senior brother directly chilled Shi Jin's heart with his opening sentence.

Sure enough, there was a problem, and Shi Jin frowned.

During his conversation with Shi Weichong, although Shi Weichong appeared mature and calm, as if he had already come to terms with everything, he couldn't help but feel that Shi Weichong's emotional regulation was a bit too fast. His calm demeanor seemed more like a self-destructive response to stress when pushed to the limit. After realizing this, he immediately contacted Li Jiuzheng and asked for his senior brother's number, requesting that he investigate Xu Jie's situation and also check on Shi Weichong's condition.

"So, is his problem serious?" Shi Jin asked.

"There is one thing," replied Li Jiuzheng's senior brother, then asked, "Forgive my impertinence, Mr. Shi, but is it true that you and your elder brother don't have a good relationship? Has he ever done something to you that he wants to make up for, but you have always refused to accept?"

Shi Jin didn't understand why he was being asked this way and replied, "Our relationship is indeed not very good, and the situation you mentioned has happened, but I simply don't want his things. It's not his fault."

"It seems this is where the problem lies," sighed Senior Brother Li Jiuzheng. "When I was talking to him, I noticed that he was very concerned about your situation and had a strong desire to compensate you and the other brothers. However, it seems that everyone is not accepting his compensation. Any emotion that is suppressed for a long time without release will gradually build up and eventually cause serious psychological problems...

"In short, he is being crushed by his own guilt and recent events have made him feel like he doesn't even have a position to compensate anymore. So now he is very upset and has a tendency to self-destruct along with the source of his mistake. You guys should try to comfort him."

Shi Jin didn't expect the situation to be like this. He remembered the last sentence that Shi Weichong said during their conversation and furrowed his brow.

......

That night, after some consideration, Shi Jin called Shi Weichong over and got straight to the point: "Big brother, you were right before. Forgiving someone over and over again will only make them sink deeper and deeper. This applies not only to Xu Jie, but also to you. Big brother, accompany Xu Jie to the mental hospital for six months. After six months, I will allow you to come out again."

Shi Weichong was taken aback and asked, "Is this the punishment you're giving me?"

No, I just want you to relax. And why are you so eager to ask that question?

Shi Jin didn't answer, just looked at him expressionlessly, as if he had already agreed.

Seeing his expression, Shi Weichong suddenly laughed, with a hint of relief, and hugged him, saying, "I understand now... Xiao Jin, take care of yourself. I will miss you."

"I won't miss you," Shi Jin replied stiffly, not embracing him and even pushing him away. "Go out, I need to rest."

Shi Weichong stiffened as he was pushed away, but quickly masked his emotions and smiled at him. He helped tuck him in and then left the room.

The hospital room fell silent, and Shi Jin held back his emotions for a moment before suddenly collapsing onto the bed and letting out a long sigh. Forgiving someone blindly only leads to deeper trouble...it's so troublesome.

......

After Shi Jin made his decision, Lian Jun quickly arranged everything at the hospital and took care of the paperwork for Xu Jie and Shi Weichong. He sent them off on a plane.

Shi Jin didn't go to see them off, instead he boredly leaned against the window sill in his hospital room, staring at his progress bar. As time passed by, second by second, when the flight departure time arrived, Shi Jin noticed that his progress bar had dropped to 200.

Feeling relieved, Xiao Si let out a sigh and said, "Once Xu Jie arrives at the hospital and is closely monitored, the progress bar should drop a little more."

"Hopefully," Shi Jin replied, retracting his gaze and slumping on the couch by the window. He felt a little frustrated. In order to ensure Shi Weichong could rest properly, he had no choice but to endure the heartache and choose a slightly better hospital for Xu Jie.

"Why do bad people get away with their actions? Why is she living so comfortably?" he grumbled, feeling a bit resentful.

"She won't be living comfortably," Lian Jun's voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

Shi Jin was startled and quickly turned his head to look. Lian Jun slid his wheelchair closer and reached out to touch the wide-eyed man, saying, "I've prepared a gift for her. Her hospital stay will definitely be exciting."

Shi Jin digested his words and his heart was instantly filled with hope. He sat up and asked, "What gift? Did you arrange for a terrible doctor for her?"

"No," Lian Jun enjoyed seeing his hopeful and trusting expression. He smirked and explained, "Do you remember the nurse Xu Jie bribed all those years ago? After she forced your mother to her death, she spent many terrible years hiding from Shi Xingrui's investigation and avoiding being silenced by Xu Jie. Her mental state really suffered. I found a way to send her to the room next to Xu Jie's."

As soon as Shi Jin remembered the chess piece he had left behind, his eyes lit up. He couldn't help but hug Lian Jun tightly and praise him for his intelligence. Then he sat up straight, full of energy, and shouted, "What goes around comes around! The heavens spare no one!"

As the saying goes, evil begets evil. Let Xu Jie and the nurse who hated her torture each other! It's a relief! It feels great!

But Lian Jun reached out and turned his face back, and said, "Now that Xu Jie's matter is settled, we should talk about your matter."

"Huh? My matter? What matter?" Shi Jin obediently let him hold his face, confused, and asked, "Are we talking about the start of school? That's not a problem, I've already recovered, you don't have to worry."

"I'm not worried about that," said Lian Jun, motioning for him to look down at the file on his leg. "This is the development plan for the next phase of Ruihang that Shi Weichong gave me before he left. Ruihang is now in your hands, so as the new CEO, how do you plan to handle this behemoth?"

Shi Jin's triumphant mood was instantly shattered as he looked at the file on Lian Jun's leg. He had forgotten all about it. Shi Weichong had just been forced to take a six-month leave, and now what was he supposed to do with Ruihang? He had no idea how to manage a company!