Chapter 616 - 613: All or Nothing

Chapter 616: Chapter 613: All or Nothing

Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, the perpetual lights and traffic of the bustling metropolis sketched out a brilliant yet cold skyline.

The clamor and excitement were sealed away by the thick, soundproof glass, leaving only the blurred flow of light and shadow, like another world that had nothing to do with him.

But inside the window, it was deathly still and pitch-black.

Fu Jinsen was sunk deep into the large sofa, his figure almost one with the darkness.

His eyes were bloodshot, a frightening scarlet. His normally impeccable short hair now hung messily over his forehead, exuding a heavy air of desolation.

He couldn’t remember how many nights he had spent like this, swallowed by endless silence and longing, unable to sleep.

He even resisted returning to the villa on the mountainside.

It was too big, too empty. Traces of Wanwan were everywhere: the aromatherapy she liked, the novel she’d left on the coffee table, the succulents she’d kept on the balcony...

Every corner was a silent reminder that she no longer belonged to him. She was in another, distant, and unfamiliar world, surrounded, admired, and cherished by so many powerful, exceptional males.

A tearing, twisting pain pulsed in his chest, as if an invisible meat grinder were churning him inside out. Only by numbing himself with alcohol could he find a moment’s respite.

He downed the last of the amber liquid in his glass. The burning sensation spread from his throat to his stomach, but it did nothing to warm his frozen heart.

An intense longing, so strong it threatened to shatter his sanity, coiled around him like a poisonous vine.

He was desperate to return to that era, even if only to see her again from a distance, even if it meant torturing himself by watching her give other males the smiles he could no longer possess.

He snatched the phone from the table. The light from the screen stabbed at his eyes.

He dialed a number almost purely from muscle memory.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered. A groggy voice came from the other end. "Hello?"

"The tech team—any results?" Fu Jinsen’s voice was terribly hoarse, laced with an urgency that tolerated no argument.

"President Fu!" The person on the other end seemed to snap awake. He quickly cleared his throat, his tone becoming deferential. "I’ve been following up on it. But... the team says the energy fluctuations from the black stone are already very weak. They estimate it can only support one more incomplete traversal, at most. The tech team is urgently searching for a possible alternative energy source on a global scale, but there haven’t been any breakthroughs yet."

"How much longer?" Fu Jinsen’s voice suddenly rose, filled with a restless anxiety he couldn’t suppress. "I’ve waited long enough!"

He had been back for far too long. He had no idea how Wanwan was faring over there.

’A world so fraught with danger... I can’t rest easy!’

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil of his emotions. His voice grew cold and heavy, carrying the finality of someone burning their bridges. "Tell them to keep looking. In the meantime, use the remaining energy to send me over."

"President Fu! That’s too dangerous!" the man pleaded. "The team lead has repeatedly stressed that the remaining energy can’t guarantee a stable traversal. You might not be able to come back! The safest option is to wait until we find an alternative energy source..."

"Not come back?" Fu Jinsen repeated quietly. His gaze drifted to the artificial splendor outside the window, and the corner of his mouth lifted into a bleak curve.

’This world, without Wanwan, has long since lost all its color and meaning. It’s nothing more than a gilded cage.’

Even the title of head of the Fu Family—a position he had once fought for at any cost, pouring all his energy into seizing it—now seemed utterly bland, unable to stir the slightest bit of interest in him.

"I’m giving you one last week," he said, cutting the man off. His tone was indisputable, carrying the weight of an ultimatum. "If you can’t find an alternative energy source in a week, use all the remaining energy and send me over."

After hanging up, he tossed his phone onto the sofa, where it landed with a dull thud.

’Since this is likely a one-way trip, I have to make all the necessary arrangements in the time I have left.’

In the days that followed, he became a tireless machine.

He personally interviewed several top-tier professional managers, finally selecting a team whose competence and loyalty had been tested, and entrusted them with the complete day-to-day operations of the Fu Group.

At the same time, with lightning speed and ruthless efficiency, he settled the final score with his so-called "relatives"—the ones who had been circling like vultures, constantly trying to trip him up.

He gathered evidence and sent them to prison; he manufactured crises to force them into bankruptcy and sign over their shares... He acted swiftly and mercilessly.

He felt not an ounce of familial affection for these people anymore, only a thick, viscous hatred that had been building for over twenty years.

If it weren’t for those wolves and hyenas constantly coveting the family fortune and tearing each other apart...

...he wouldn’t have chosen to hide his weakness back then in order to protect Wanwan.

He hadn’t wanted to expose Wanwan to danger, so he had used all sorts of smokescreens to placate them, even at the cost of letting her misunderstand...

At this thought, another violent spasm seized his heart.

His original plan had been flawless.

But just before he could seize full control, Wanwan had unexpectedly noticed something was amiss.

To keep her from being dragged into the vortex of their family struggles and to ensure her absolute safety, he could only choose to endure it for the time being, even deliberately distancing himself. He planned to explain everything to her after he had completely cleared away all obstacles and secured his position as the head of the family.

That so-called "fiancée" was nothing more than a marriage alliance partner arranged by the family, someone he had never acknowledged. He had already secretly made arrangements that would leave her family scrambling to save themselves.

And the ring she saw... it was a rare pink diamond he had specially acquired at an overseas auction. He had spent countless nights personally drawing the design, supervising the polishing, and having their initials engraved on it.

He had originally planned to use it to formally propose to her on the day he successfully took power.

In the six months after Wanwan "left," he had employed even more drastic and ruthless methods than originally planned. With crushing force, he intimidated all his rivals and finally earned the approval of his grandfather, who had been observing coldly from the sidelines. He officially became the undisputed head of the Fu Family.

As he sat in the office that symbolized ultimate power, a wave of immense joy washed over him.

’From now on, I can be with Wanwan openly. No one will dare be so foolish as to hurt her.’

He completely relaxed, and his first thought was to find Wanwan.

He eagerly picked up his phone and dialed the number he knew by heart, only to be met with the cold, automated message: "The subscriber you have dialed is currently busy."

He froze for a moment, then a bitter smile touched his lips as he remembered. Of course, she had blocked him long ago.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he grabbed his car keys and drove directly to the place she had rented after moving out.

He had known for a while that she had moved into a run-down rental.

His little girl was so stubborn. After they broke up, she had cut all ties with him completely, as if trying to erase every trace of his existence.