Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 113: Wild Animal

Time reversed back ten minutes ago.

“Missed. Neither I nor Monday felt any change.” Shu Jun stood intact on the roof of the command center, carrying Monday on his back. “A’Yan, your aim isn’t good enough.”

“Its size is too large, making it difficult to estimate the position of the brain.” Zhu Yanchen also stood on the rooftop. Only the two of them were present on the vast rooftop. Sigma was particularly sensitive to the presence of humans gathered together, so they intentionally reduced the number of people around.

“How many shots do you have left? Five? Four?”

“Three.”

“…Isn’t that more than half gone already?” Shu Jun sighed heavily.

“I know.”

Shu Jun took a deep breath and stood behind Zhu Yanchen. They leaned against each other intimately, their body temperatures almost blending together. Zhu Yanchen placed his hand on the console, while Shu Jun rested his head on Zhu Yanchen’s shoulder. The observation equipment was small, so they had to stick close together to observe the situation across from them.

If the situation weren’t so tense, it wouldn’t have been bad to be this close.

Unlike Zhu Yanchen, who was observing Sigma’s reaction, Shu Jun couldn’t discern the subtle changes in the Erosion Swamp. He focused all his attention on Luo Duan—he didn’t understand the Erosion Swamp, but he understood his longtime opponent.

“Luo Duan is commanding the group of Erosion Swamp with brains to move east. Based on his habits, Sigma’s brain must be on the west side. Hmm, this layout… It could be in the northwest. He always likes to hide weaknesses in the safest places.”

“Mm,” Zhu Yanchen softly responded. “…Are you okay to go down again later?”

“What’s the problem?”

“Just now…”

“I’m fine. I didn’t suffer any injuries at all. I ran away before Sigma caught the wolf, and it didn’t even touch me.”

Zhu Yanchen had fired a missile with a rare melancholy look on his face. Shu Jun tilted his head, and his gray-white hair brushed against the other’s cheek.

“What about Zhu Sheng?” Seeing that Zhu Yanchen’s mood was subtly off, Shu Jun casually brought up a topic.

“He’s still remotely commanding the situation on the square, with Xia Liang’s assistance. There shouldn’t be any problems there for now.” Zhu Yanchen’s entire body tensed, his eyes staring without blinking through the scope. His tone was steady, but his body was soaked with sweat.

Shu Jun pursed his lips and extended a claw to stroke Zhu Yanchen’s back. Monday, unhappy that its exclusive privilege was taken by Zhu Yanchen, twisted around, but Shu Jun simply ignored it.

“I’ve never seen you so nervous before. Didn’t we plan everything in advance?” Shu Jun tried to make his tone more relaxed. “Everything has been going smoothly so far, as long as we eliminate it in time.”

“…Luo Duan is an extremely cautious person. Sigma, on the other hand, is more animalistic and has a weaker understanding of ‘death’. They want to steadily wear us down, and Luo Duan is probably the one playing the role of ‘pulling the reins’. But ever since we entered the city, Luo Duan’s behavior patterns have become too aggressive.”

Shu Jun nodded in agreement. Zhu Yanchen wasn’t wrong; they had even speculated on similar scenarios, and the answer was “do their best”. The humans had limited preparation time: lure Sigma, feign weakness, and then strike when it least expected. This plan took various factors into consideration, minimizing sacrifices.

However, it wasn’t perfect. In the confrontation with Sigma, it was entirely possible for it to engage in large-scale destructive behavior.

Unlike the situation with Sweet Edge, humans had suppression weapons, so the strategy of targeting individual weaknesses wasn’t viable. Sigma’s possible approach would undoubtedly involve explosive erosion. To counter this, they had created a massive pit in the city center square for the purpose of holding “hostages”.

After the synthetic humans had left, Zhu Yanchen had set up numerous suppression mechanisms in the pit. They could at least help save over half of the population.

Unfortunately, the pit had limited capacity, and making it too large would raise suspicions. Shu Jun had to design it to appear as natural as possible. Still, millions of people remained outside the pit, and if Sigma were to unleash a similar ability, those people would likely face death.

Everyone knew that, in theory, this was an “inevitable” situation. However, understanding this didn’t necessarily mean accepting it.

With each missile Zhu Yanchen launched, it exploded near the edge of the abyss.

The missiles were limited, and the task of severely injuring Sigma within six shots was already an immensely pressurizing mission. Not to mention that if the injuries weren’t precise, Sigma could unleash its explosive abilities and initiate a massacre at any moment.

The hand that Shu Jun placed on Zhu Yanchen’s back became heavier.

Grand Marshal Zhu’s heartbeat raced, and Shu Jun could almost sense the blood pumping from his heart, carrying the intense heat throughout his body. And with just a swipe of his hooked claw, Shu Jun could pierce Zhu Yanchen’s heart.

This person.

“Sorry, I can’t give you encouragement.”

Shu Jun ruffled his partner’s back again and finally spoke up. “I don’t care about your people. No matter what they say, it’s all just empty words. We’ve reached this point, so let’s skip the formalities… I have one question.”

“Okay.” Zhu Yanchen’s black hair was damp with sweat, and his lips were tightly pursed.

“Sigma is essentially an aggregation of multiple brains, not a singular organism. Now that it has divided so many brains that it doesn’t need for combat, its control over the body should have weakened significantly, right?”

“That’s true.”

“So, if a completely new and sufficiently mature brain were to intervene, could it seize control of its body?”

Zhu Yanchen’s movement froze for a moment.

“You know about this.” Shu Jun smiled. “You kept it from me, didn’t you?”

“Because this is a war for humanity.” Zhu Yanchen closed his eyes. “If you were a member of humanity, even if I had to kneel down and beg you, I would do it… but this is a war for humanity.”

“Judging by your attitude, once my brain enters, I won’t be able to return to my original state?” Shu Jun’s expression remained unchanged.

“That’s correct. The black wolf that you control externally is your limit; it’s essentially a temporary puppet. But Sigma is an Erosion Swamp that has been growing for over a hundred years. To compete for dominance with it, you must directly connect your brain to its body.”

“It seems that there’s no chance of success when there’s a barrier in between. That’s troublesome.”

Finally, Zhu Yanchen turned his head to look at Shu Jun. “The plan continues. You go and help locate the position of Sigma’s brain.”

“Oh, my Chief Strategist, perhaps you should try begging me. Maybe I can fundamentally solve the problem for you. Luo Duan understands me, and given his nature, he’s probably certain that I won’t go this far for humanity.”

“I share his view.”

Zhu Yanchen’s voice lowered slightly. “The person I love is an outstanding leader who deeply cares for his compatriots. He wouldn’t make impulsive sacrifices due to personal feelings. If you were to become the new Sigma, it would be even more impossible for humans to accept a synthetic being—Shu Jun, you should understand this better than anyone.”

“The person I love? It’s rare to see you being so direct.” Shu Jun didn’t give a direct answer. He smiled and changed the subject. “Don’t worry, I know my limits.”

His A’Yan’s stance was too apparent. In fact, they both understood another fact—

Shu Jun had already revealed his true strength. Even if Sigma didn’t self-destruct, they would emerge victorious in this battle. The citizens of Y City wouldn’t let their guard down against synthetic humans. While Zhu Yanchen, as the new leader, could hold them back for a time, he couldn’t do so indefinitely.

Not to mention the general public, the three major families would never compromise.

‘…War is truly troublesome,’ Shu Jun thought.

Before transforming into his wolf form, Shu Jun approached Zhu Yanchen, who was still aiming and calculating, and gently kissed his earlobe.

“A’Yan, you’re still the same,” Shu Jun whispered softly. “There’s nothing wrong with seeking a stable approach, but…”

Shu Jun didn’t finish the second half of his sentence. He leaped off the high building. Vines extended to cushion his fall as he gracefully pierced into an Erosion Swamp. Several minutes later, the black wolf leaped away from Sigma’s side, biting down.

Zhu Yanchen was left alone on the rooftop, completely focused on calculating the movement of Sigma’s brain.

The word “but” that Shu Jun had said was spoken lightly, but his ears were filled with the pounding of his blood. Zhu Yanchen wasn’t sure if Shu Jun had truly said those words or if he was simply too anxious and experiencing an illusion.

Regardless of whether it was an illusion or not, at that moment, Zhu Yanchen could only aim as precisely as possible and then pull the trigger.

The missile flew out from the mechanical cannon and landed solidly on the edge of Sigma’s brain. Sigma’s body suddenly contracted, and its instinctive reaction couldn’t fool anyone. On the other side, Luo Duan appeared and began speaking to the black wolf. The distance between them was too great, and Zhu Yanchen had to observe Sigma’s condition, making it impossible to deduce the content from their lip movements.

Regardless, there was only one missile left, and the next shot absolutely couldn’t go wrong.

His hand gripped the trigger as he held his breath. However, just before he pressed the trigger, Sigma’s body swelled, and its physiological response became completely chaotic, with erosion flowing everywhere.

Zhu Yanchen immediately broke out in a cold sweat. The worst-case scenario had happened. Sigma’s external reactions were in disarray, and he couldn’t guess where its brain had gone. If he launched this missile now, it would be at most a matter of luck.

…He was just half a step too slow. Zhu Yanchen gritted his teeth and quickly thought of possible countermeasures.

Just at that moment, the black wolf leaped again, decisively diving into Sigma’s body.

The scene before him had a subtly familiar feel. It was like a long time ago, during the final match, when Shu Jun had descended into the Erosive Swamp.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t feel relaxed, grateful, or relieved at the sight before him. In that instant, disappointment and bitterness tightened around his heart. He stared fixedly at the struggling Sigma; his whole body frozen like a statue.

And then, something seemed off.

With Shu Jun’s power, as long as he wanted, he could quickly gain control over the real Sigma. But now, Sigma was convulsing unnaturally, expanding and shrinking, like a poisoned caterpillar. The two wills within its body were in conflict, and the intruder clearly didn’t benefit much.

Zhu Yanchen frowned, suppressing the jumble of emotions, and focused his attention on observing Sigma, determined not to give up any details.

Time passed second by second, and Zhu Yanchen’s expression twitched a few times. Surprise and confusion mixed on his face, and his finger slowly moved away from the trigger.

“Shu Jun, you really…”

Zhu Yanchen’s complex emotions couldn’t be felt by his boyfriend. If he wanted to, he could probably guess a part of it, but at this moment, Shu Jun had more important things to consider—

“I’ll keep them occupied over there. Can you give it more effort? Are you not full or something?” Shu Jun grumbled with frustration, swallowing a mouthful of erosion. “Can’t you see it’s two against one!”

There was no response from the other side.

“I’ve supported you for a thousand days, and you still can’t make an effort for a moment.” Shu Jun continued breathlessly, muttering to himself, using “Suppression” without holding back. “Can’t you show some progress? Weren’t you so eager for information back then? Well, here it is, served to you on a platter.”

Finally, his “collaborator” spoke up.

Monday had lost its sword-like form long ago, and only its milky-white brain floated within the erosion substance. It struggled to find the brain, attempting to entangle with it. Even with Shu Jun’s assistance and Sigma’s brain still in a dormant state before the explosion, this battle was far from easy.

“Wuwu…” Upon hearing Shu Jun’s scolding, it let out a pitiful whimper.

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The author has something to say:

Shu Ge: A strong person won’t stumble twice in the same pit. I’ll never jump into the Erosion Swamp to sacrifice myself again! (plop)

Marshal: .

Monday: …I never expected that I would always be the one getting hurt. jpg

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