01. You Will Cease To Exist

Ding! 

Tang Xinyi's brows arched gently as a notification popped up on her computer screen. 

As a genius obsessed with making discoveries on her latest project, she barely had any social life. Her friends could even be counted on one hand.

And among those few, she didn't think that any of them would send her an email to her inbox. 

She opened the mail, and her eyes narrowed as she saw the sender. 

QianEmperor@qian.com: You have to be careful of the Su Family! 

It was just one sentence, but enough to make her mood sour. The Qian emperor was her greatest rival. Yet, he was warning her about the Su Family? 

Her fingers flew rapidly over the keyboard as she sent him a reply. 

LadyYi@tang.com: I know who exactly is my enemy and who my friends are.

Just as she sent the message, the door to her private laboratory opened, and Su Mei strolled in with a giant smile on her face.

"Xinyi, it's already past the agreed time," Su Mei said as she closed the gap between them and pulled Tang Xinyi in for a tight hug.

Even though she remembered perfectly well that she had a family dinner with the Su Family, Tang Xinyi played the card she was used to. 

"I lost track of time."

Su Mei rolled her eyes behind Tang Xinyi's back even though her voice carried none of her displeasure. "It's okay, let's go now." 

"Everyone is waiting," she added as an afterthought.

Tang Xinyi closed her laptop and made sure that every other machine had an accurate timer and was in the perfect state before she left the laboratory.

"How's that cell research going?" Su Mei asked as they walked down the large hallway of Domain. As a Tang Corporation subsidiary, the research institute was huge and had several buildings above and underground.

However, as the family's heiress, Tang Xinyi had an entire building for her private research, allowing her to do as she wished. 

"I just did the final testing, and from the data I'm getting, I think I solved it this time…" Tang Xinyi wanted to say some more, but as she remembered the message she had received a moment ago, she decided to keep her mouth shut.

The cell research was important, and even though the Tang Family was already at the top of the food chain, if they were able to roll this solution out, they would become a global giant.

While she trusted Su Mei and her godfather, the Su family was large, and she didn't want to dismiss the warning. Instead, she pulled out her phone and sent a message to her assistant. 

Tang Xinyi: Run a search on every member of the Su Family and let me know if there's anything suspicious. 

After sending the message, she continued chatting with Su Mei until they reached the underground garage. 

"You got a new ride?" Su Mei asked, her eyes flashing with jealousy as she saw the latest limited edition car in the garage. 

Unfortunately, since she was walking ahead, Tang Xinyi missed the look in her eyes. 

"Brother sent the car for me. This will be my first ride in it," she explained, unlocking the car with the key in her pocket. 

Su Mei entered the car, and when Xinyi focused on driving the car out of the underground garage, she sent a text message on her phone.

"Xinyi, Daddy just texted and said he is at the seaport to handle some matters. Let's pick him up before joining the others."

While the Su and Tang families were close, the only people that Tang Xinyi cared about were Su Mei and Su Heng, her godfather and father's best friend.

Tang Xinyi turned back in the direction of the port without a word. 

They talked about some matters now and then. Since Tang Xinyi was a person of few words, Su Mei did most of the talking while Tang Xinyi only gave her short replies. 

"We are here," Tang Xinyi announced, pulling Su Mei's attention to the abandoned port.

While gazing at the empty port, a foreboding feeling crept up Tang Xinyi's mind. 

"Are you sure uncle is here? It seems like there's no one here." She questioned.

 Her eyes moved sharply around as though afraid to miss any detail. She grew even more worried when she was sure no one was in sight.

"Call Uncle and confirm that you heard him right. I don't think anyone is here." 

Su Mei inwardly sneered as she looked at Tang Xinyi's worried expression. 

She fumbled with her phone for some seconds and then turned to Tang Xinyi.

"Xinyi, Dad's phone is not reachable. Do you think that something could have happened to him?" Her voice trialled off at the end, but it was all she needed as Tang Xinyi dashed straight into the port.

"Let's hurry. We have to make sure nothing happens to Uncle." 

Su Mei's eyes gleamed with a scheming light as she ran after Tang Xinyi.

The port was closed because there was a fire outbreak during the day, and no one was working.

However, as Xinyi did not focus on worldly matters, she hadn't heard the news. 

Just as she entered through the wide doors of the port office, another door opened. 

"Who's there?" Xinyi asked, looking around sharply, then pulled out her phone as a light source. 

"It's just me," Su Mei's soft voice rang out, and another door opened.

Before Xinyi could turn on her flashlight, someone struck her from behind, causing the phone to fall with a loud thud.

"Are you okay, Su Mei?" Tang Xinyi asked as she struggled to find her phone on the floor.

"I think something is wrong here," she added, a bad feeling creeping up her heart. 

The sound of something crunching loudly filled the space, and a light was turned on. 

Tang Xinyi's body froze as she realised four more men were in the room than she had anticipated.

More importantly, Su Mei was standing beside one of those men.

"Something is indeed wrong," Su Mei finally said, advancing slowly towards Tang Xinyi.

"Your time is up!" 

Tang Xinyi's brows furrowed as she struggled to make sense of the situation. 

What was happening?

She stood up, her heart thumping as she moved towards her best friend of many years, "Su Mei, aren't we finding uncle?"

Su Mei sneered. Her gaze, which was always kind, turned cruel.

"Father?" Su Mei scoffed, her lips curling upwards as she closed the gap between them. 

"He asked me to record your last words," Su Mei said, her face morphing into a cruel grin that had shivers rising on Tang Xinyi's body. 

"Didn't you always miss your parents? You can join them now," Su Mei added, her mouth lifted in a ridiculing smile. 

"Is this some prank?" Tang Xinyi asked as she could not believe the scene in front of her. 

"Prank? I have waited eight years to do this, Xinyi." 

Su Mei leaned in so that only Tang Xinyi could hear her words. 

"After today, you will cease to exist, and I will become Tang Xinyi!" 

A gunshot rang in the air, and in the last seconds of Tang Xinyi's life, she found herself staring at the cold and empty eyes of Su Mei, the one person she loved more than anyone else left in the world.