Access Denied Ch73

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 73: Change of Plans

Yi Ning was unable to attach a camera to Luo Duan, but Luo Duan was able to keep an eye on him at all times.

During this period, he needed Shu Jun to help divert Zhu Sheng’s attention. When the time was ripe, he could leave the heart of this city and strike at the unsuspecting humans.

Before that, this was the safest place.

Even if Yi Ning had suspicions about him, given Yi Ning’s character, he probably couldn’t guess that he was the “Black Robe Leader” of that day. The whispers of the dead surrounded Luo Duan, and he was able to conceal his insane actions beneath the icy surface.

However, Yi Ning was able to climb up to his current position from the bottom, which also showed his intelligence. Luo Duan was very cautious. Apart from eating and sleeping, he spent most of his time reading. The environment around him was similar to semi-house arrest, but he rarely had leisure time.

Having been in contact with the Erosion Swamp for a long time, Luo Duan gradually began to perceive the intelligence of the so-called “Behind the Scenes Erosion Swamp”—from the sporadic descriptions of the small Erosion Swamp, he overestimated its intelligence. Although it absorbed information from the bodies of its brethren, it didn’t acquire human-like intelligence.

It was more like five-year-old children driven by hatred, holding enough poison to destroy everyone.

The reason the small Erosion Swamp enticed him was nothing more for his brain inside his skull. Since it couldn’t obtain Shu Jun, it could only outsource the task of “destroying humanity”.

Luo Duan couldn’t help but smile.

He leaned back on the soft backrest of the chair and slowly turned a page of the book. The sharp edge of the page cut his finger, but there was no trace of blood at the wound.

The room was tidy, with furniture similar to a hospital ward, all in pristine white. The air carried a delicate and pleasant fragrance, and soft notes floated out of a small speaker. The curtains were tightly drawn, the daylight lamp was turned on, and the atmosphere was so peaceful that it was unsettling.

Except for the erosion substance clinging to the walls like slime mold.

The black filament moved slowly, passing through cement and steel, conveying information.

“Marshal, th-th-this is fake, right? People at the edge of the city are spreading it, saying that the Erosion Swamp has mutated…”

“If the video is real, Zhu Yanchen’s research is real, and the flaws in the player system are real… Concealing the truth, abandoning the people, clandestine operations. They’ve done a great job.”

The small Erosion Swamp trembled slightly, and Luo Duan could hear the conversation clearly.

It seemed that Yi Ning was going to confront Zhu Sheng. Luo Duan lowered his eyelids and pondered emotionlessly. Yi Ning wasn’t lacking in intelligence and courage, but he was too soft by nature and lacked the talent to be a hero.

As for the deceased Zhu Yanchen… He didn’t care about how humans tampered with the player system.

At this point, he didn’t need to get involved. He only needed to create chaos when Yi Ning intervened and disrupted the situation, allowing things to spiral out of control. The more chaotic, the better, regardless of whether it was reasonable or not.

However, Luo Duan didn’t expect Yi Ning’s reaction to be even faster than he had anticipated.

“The video is real.” The assistant received the results the next day, his voice tinged with a sob. “Zhu Yanchen’s research, some people in the Tang family have seen it before. Although… Although…”

“What’s the matter?” Yi Ning sounded somewhat weary.

“It was Tang Heyu who mentioned it. You know, he’s a bit… eccentric. Sir, his words may not hold much weight…”

“What did Tang Heyu say?”

“He didn’t say much. I personally went to him, and he was still drunk. He said, ‘Those researchers wouldn’t understand even if they tried. Zhu Yanchen didn’t conduct his research according to the assigned topic; he was writing his own thing…’ He also said, ‘Even if they could understand it, those pampered individuals wouldn’t want to understand. It’s better to treat it as the ramblings of a spoiled brat.’ Shouldn’t you ask our own researchers again? Just judging from his demeanor, Tang Lao isn’t very reliable.”

“Our researchers provided feedback, saying they ‘haven’t thoroughly read it’—in other words, the project leaders didn’t pay attention to it. They believed there was no need to carefully read it.”

Luo Duan, eavesdropping on the conversation, wasn’t surprised.

Zhu Yanchen spent most of his time on the battlefield. To admit that they “didn’t understand” something written by such a person rather than dismissing it as “nonsense” was the first step in negating their own abilities. On the other hand, the project leaders had extensive experience, while Zhu Yanchen was an airdropped junior who was “in need of care” and had no relevant research background in his resume.

The research department was busy with various tasks. Considering all these factors, how could the experts spare their energy to read a “completely unrelated” and complex paper?

There was no excessive arrogance or malice. However, even so, the results they obtained would only be “shit that doesn’t make sense”.

However, even if it was meaningless ramblings, since they had to polish the reputation of the young master of the Zhu family, they still needed to store it in the database as a formality. After all, the current focus of research was on improving synthetic humans, not the behavior of the Erosion Swamp. These papers wouldn’t even have the chance to mislead others.

A crisp communication bell rang.

“I had them read it all night.” After a low conversation, Yi Ning raised his voice, sounding as cold as frost. “Currently, the researchers only understand about thirty to forty percent, but they can already discern something. Those papers have a coherent internal logic—they gradually prove the influence of synthetic humans on the Erosion Swamp and its hidden evolution.”

“And,” Marshal Yi Ning’s laughter turned even colder, “it appears that Zhu Yanchen didn’t seek fame through this. He had at least ten years of research experience in this field before entering the research department.”

“But he’s not even thirty!” The assistant was startled by Yi Ning’s mocking laughter, his voice becoming shrill. “If we discount the few years Marshal Zhu spent in the research department, according to that calculation, he would have started at the age of fourteen or fifteen… or…”

“I also started climbing up from the age of fourteen or fifteen,” Yi Ning calmly responded.

The assistant fell silent.

“I want them to analyze those papers as soon as possible. If Zhu Yanchen was willing to die to prove them, there must be something useful for humans in there.”

After a moment of hesitation, the assistant stammered. “Speaking of which, I heard that Zhu Sheng has also been paying attention to the database. Could he have discovered them too?”

“That’s his problem.” Yi Ning sipped his tea, his voice turning cold. “Arrange my schedule. I want to meet with Elder Tang Heyu.”

The room fell silent for a while before the assistant murmured softly. “If Zhu Lao insists on implementing the player system…”

“If Zhu Sheng has no intention of changing his policies, I will bring up some unspoken questions. The reason he can still hold his top position is simply because ‘Zhu Yanchen’ is not dead, and he and I will have another election.”

“I haven’t exposed him. First, considering the enormous power of the Zhu and Xia families, it’s difficult to obtain evidence. Second, I respect him. As for now, first, the impostor doesn’t have Zhu Yanchen’s research abilities, and I have evidence. Second… while I still respect him, I also need to fight for a way out for my compatriots.”

It seemed that the time was almost right. Luo Duan played with the erosion wrapped around his wrist and looked towards the closed window.

His deceased lover whispered in his ear, but he knew she was fake. “She” wasn’t smart enough to say anything clever.

But simple words were enough to be deadly.

Like “I miss you”, like “Are you okay?”, like “Why didn’t you grab my hand back then?”

Luo Duan lowered his head and gradually sank into the soft murmur.

Zhu Yanchen had infiltrated the city with the Old Fourth. Now, with the strict defense against synthetic humans, as a pure human who had no resonance with erosion, it was easy for him to pass through with a good disguise.

Marshals Zhu decided to contact the people from the Old Fourth first and hand over the prototype of the “Suppression” weapon, so they could start their research as soon as possible. Then he would exchange identities with Xia Yufeng.

This way, the night wouldn’t be too long and full of dreams*.

*Referring to the idiom (夜長夢多) which implies that if a situation drags on, something unfavorable may happen.

Ai Xiaoxiao was immersed in research outside the city, so the Ai’s Clinic was locked up tight. People on the streets were busy repairing the anti-erosion layer on their roofs, and overall, the mood was good, with playful banter exchanged between neighbors.

Zhu Yanchen ordered a flavored nutrient drink and bought a cheap pie, leaning against the street corner to enjoy his simple meal. The pie was average, but the filling was good. However, no matter how he tasted it, it was far from the pies baked by Shu Jun on the purifier.

The pie stall owner couldn’t hear the customer’s silent complaints and cheerfully attended to his business. The Erosion Storm from earlier had passed, and there were more people on the streets, making the atmosphere livelier.

For most people, it was just a well-defended Erosion Storm. The city residents had no clear understanding of how the player system operated, let alone the concept of “synthetic human rebellion”. Currently, since Zhu Sheng hadn’t yet located the synthetic humans, they naturally wouldn’t release any news in advance, causing panic among the citizens.

Zhu Yanchen collected his thoughts and began to ponder the possible countermeasures taken by Zhu Sheng. His movements became subconsciously elegant, contrasting with the atmosphere on the street.

When he noticed a few people looking in his direction, Zhu Yanchen quickly took a gulp of the nutrient drink in a hearty manner but ended up choking on it. Seeing him coughing, those curious gazes retreated.

“Smoke?” Just as Marshal Zhu finished coughing, he heard someone calling him from the entrance of an alley. Judging by the person’s appearance, they seemed to be from the Old Fourth, coming for the rendezvous.

“It’s me.” Zhu Yanchen hastily swallowed the pie in three bites, picked up the box, and went to meet them.

“I heard from the higher-ups that once there’s progress in this matter, we’ll inform you.” The rendezvous person wasn’t young; their face was covered enough to only reveal a few strands of graying hair.

Zhu Yanchen nodded. “It has been some time since the raw data was sent over. Do they have a rough estimate of when it will be ready? I can’t stay in Y City for long.”

He was indeed the founder of the Old Fourth, but the organization itself was loosely structured, and there were many individuals who preferred to remain anonymous. Zhu Yanchen could only hold the high-level identity in his hands, and if he wanted to inquire about the technical personnel who served as the backbone, it would be a taboo.

As a practical researcher, he only needed results and wasn’t concerned with these details. At most, he would ask a couple of questions.

“If it’s just equipment optimization, it should take around three days.” The rendezvous person was obviously acquainted with the technicians. “You don’t seem like someone who made it for personal use; you’re probably planning mass production, right?”

“Yes.”

“There are quite a few things that need to be modified, and it’s delicate work.” The rendezvous person said, “Just find a place to hide and wait.”

“Regarding the effectiveness of the ‘Suppression’…?”

“What suppression? The thing you made, that… sound wave-like gadget? Hmph, even a master will pay attention. How can someone so young be so concerned? Besides, this is just a prototype; you can’t expect it to be perfect right away.”

The rendezvous person lifted the box. “So young, yet making such a fuss about naming. If you ask me, this thing looks a lot like an ultrasonic bird repellent.”

Zhu Yanchen: “…Please help convey that portability is really important. Don’t make it too—”

“I got it, I got it. No need to fuss.”

This rendezvous person had quite a personality.

The next step was to infiltrate the command center. After submitting the documents, Zhu Yanchen directly contacted Xia Yufeng—Xia Liang was performing today, so he couldn’t summon her.

“Sure.” Xia Yufeng still had that indifferent tone but agreed quite straightforwardly.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t let this detail slip by. “What happened at the command center?”

“Ah, nothing major.” Xia Yufeng chuckled. “It’s just that Zhu Lao isn’t here, so it’s convenient for us to make the exchange.”

“Zhu Song isn’t there?”

“He went to the stronghold. It’ll probably take a few days for him to return.”

“Which stronghold?”

“Hey, what’s the matter with you? Didn’t we agree to come and pick up the items? Why do you care about where he went and what he’s doing?”

Which stronghold?” Zhu Yanchen’s voice lowered.

“…Y-0023, the special cultivation stronghold—the ‘crime scene’ where you were kidnapped.” Xia Yufeng immediately responded obediently. “That place is primarily focused on research. He’s probably dealing with the synthetic humans there.”

“When did he leave?”

“He didn’t leave long ago, and he kept it quite low-key. His car is more stable, but slower. He probably just arrived… Why are you asking all these questions?”

This was bad.

Indeed, the cultivation stronghold focused more on research than regular strongholds. Whenever ordinary people captured new mutant beasts, they would store them in the cultivation stronghold for close observation to prevent sending high-risk hazards into the city.

To control these creatures, the defense facilities at the cultivation stronghold were much better than those at the ordinary strongholds. In order to make the most of the resources, the United Government would also keep the underdeveloped synthetic humans there.

Y-0023 was a large-scale cultivation stronghold, where 60% of the juvenile synthetic humans were raised. A few days ago, when Luo Duan caused a disturbance, the remaining 40% were likely also transferred to Y-0023.

…That was why Shu Jun chose Y-0023 as the target of the attack.

Calculating the time, Shu Jun would definitely collide with Zhu Song.

During a visit from the leader, the level of defense and security would be on a different level compared to usual. If bloodshed occurred in this operation, the road ahead would only become more difficult.

“Marshal Zhu, Marshal Zhu! Snap out of it,” Xia Yufeng called out dissatisfied. “If you don’t want to answer, fine, but don’t waste time. I also have risks to consider.”

“How many people did Zhu Song bring?”

When it reached this point, Xia Yufeng gradually realized the seriousness of the situation. He fell silent for a moment, and his tone became somewhat peculiar. “What? Are you going to send the synthetic humans to raid for the youngsters? Well, that would be walking right into the lion’s den. Marshal Zhu, are you really bringing people to attack the cultivation stronghold? It seems like you’re siding with the humans after all.”

Zhu Yanchen made a swift decision. “…I’ll replace you and go there myself.”

They were too far apart, and the stronghold was close to the erosion zone, so he couldn’t contact Shu Jun. But even if he couldn’t catch up, he could at least intervene under the guise of being a “Marshal” and salvage the situation to some extent.

“Go as me? How are you going to explain it to Zhu Song?”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.” He had already thought of at least three excuses and would act accordingly.

The cultivation stronghold.

“The atmosphere feels off,” someone spoke up first.

‘Indeed, it feels off,’ Shu Jun thought. They were used to being at strongholds, and even if the cultivation stronghold required more manpower, the atmosphere shouldn’t be this tense.

“Could there be an ambush?” another person chimed in ominously. “Captain Shu, I can tell that your friend named ‘Smoke’ isn’t an ordinary person. Yu Jin is one thing; we’re all familiar with his whereabouts, and we can easily uncover his hideout. But this Smoke…”

“A’Yan won’t leak any information.” Shu Jun’s brow didn’t even furrow.

“Pardon my bluntness, but the Grand Tournament just ended, and how long have you known him? Humans have deceived us in countless ways. It doesn’t make sense for security to be enhanced like this shortly after we arrive. Even so, I don’t want to throw away my life without a fight.”

“The situation has indeed changed, but I suggest sticking to the original plan.”

Chai Xuyang had remained silent all along, but now he also looked at Shu Jun with some discontent.

“First, we don’t have the luxury to waste time. Every time we take action, we could leave behind clues for the enemy. Second, we not only need to frighten them into strengthening their security here, but also figure out why the security suddenly increased.”

“Just because you trust Smoke? If you want to believe, go ahead, but I don’t. I don’t want to put my face out there to get beaten.”

“This is an order.” Shu Jun narrowed his eyes behind his mask. “We’re soldiers. Soldiers cannot jeopardize the mission based on their personal likes or dislikes.”

“Humans have trained us to be soldiers, but I didn’t become one just because I enjoyed it.”

Shu Jun closed his eyes slightly. “Those willing to go with me, raise your hand.”

Chai Xuyang struggled for a moment, then tremblingly raised his hand. Unfortunately, no one else responded among the nearly thirty people.

“Whether we go with you or not, it means letting us kill. Isn’t it just making the citizens hate us? Even if they don’t deserve to die, I have no intention of getting along well with them.”

“Yeah, why should we restrain ourselves now?”

“That’s how war is—survival of the fittest. If those people come after us, we’ll kill them all—”

……

“I understand.” Shu Jun raised one hand. His pale eyes scanned the surroundings, causing everyone to shrink back.

Chai Xuyang’s whole body trembled, and in that instant, a chilling instinctive aura gripped him. He suddenly felt that the “Shu Jun” beside him wasn’t human, but something else—something extraordinarily dangerous. He almost immediately regretted his decision.

However, his hand remained frozen in the air, and his arm was immobilized by fear, unable to even bend.

“If you don’t want to go, I understand,” Shu Jun continued, his voice even carrying a hint of amusement. “Then it will just be me and Chai Xuyang.”

No, no, no, no. He didn’t want to. Chai Xuyang felt helpless and on the verge of tears.

The others fell silent. They only wanted to cause some trouble, make Shu Jun relent, and vent their emotions on those humans. They never expected this person to suddenly compromise and even be willing to throw his life away.

“Change of plans. The rest of you stay put. Protect yourselves and—”

Shu Jun adjusted the mask on his face and glanced at the others once again.

“—keep a close eye on me.”


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Access Denied Ch72

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 72: Shaken

On the same day that Shu Jun set off.

Without Shu Jun, the temperature around Zhu Yanchen dropped. Hu Yan managed the players’ side, and Yu Jin managed his own team well. Zhu Yanchen didn’t participate in these matters. He went straight to Ai Xiaoxiao’s research area and found a room to contemplate the “Suppression” weapon.

Before the Old Fourth left, they brought him a lot of equipment. Even so, many of Ai Xiaoxiao’s medical instruments had to be “temporarily requisitioned”. In response to this, Ai Xiaoxiao, who was focused on researching erosion treatment, was quite displeased.

“They are all my precious babies. Can’t you be gentler with them? Even if they don’t break, I still need to charge for wear and tear.” She pounded her chest and stomped her feet. “And I don’t like having people in my field of vision when I’m researching—”

Now that Ai Xiaoxiao knew about the intimate relationship between Shu Jun and Zhu Yanchen, her remaining fear of Zhu Yanchen vanished without a trace.

Marshal Zhu’s cold and stern temperament could no longer intimidate her. After observing him for so long, she felt that he was like a clamshell. When Shu Jun was around, he cautiously opened up, but as soon as he left, he would quickly shut himself tight again, which she found quite amusing.

Ignoring her, Zhu Yanchen took the data and left.

“Wait!” Without receiving compensation for the wear and tear, Ai Xiaoxiao raised her voice. “I have some strange data here that I need an expert like you to look at.”

Maintaining a closed clamshell-like aura, Zhu Yanchen slowly turned around and followed Ai Xiaoxiao into her research room.

Although Ai Xiaoxiao had made a mess of herself, the entire research room was orderly and organized. In the middle of the room was a large liquid tank, and Monday was inside, twisting and turning like a peculiar-shaped ribbonfish.

“Since he has all those people following, Shu Jun could only bring an ordinary sword,” Ai Xiaoxiao explained. “He entrusted it to me.”

When Monday saw Zhu Yanchen enter, the direction of the sword’s hilt nodded towards Zhu Yanchen, and it happily continued to swim. Seeing that it didn’t call for help like before, Zhu Yanchen turned to Ai Xiaoxiao with a puzzled expression.

Ai Xiaoxiao understood his questioning look and took a white pill the size of an apricot from a dish on the side, tossing it into the liquid tank. Monday eagerly swallowed it, happily flipping its sword body a few times, and even allowed Ai Xiaoxiao to touch it with gloved hands.

“I call it ‘erosion candy’. It loves to be active, so I added something to appease it. During this period, I’ve been studying the erosion choice of intrusion, and it seems to be working well.”

Ai Xiaoxiao withdrew her hand from the liquid and casually threw a white pill to Zhu Yanchen. She then picked up a stack of documents and tapped them on the table. “This thing has a similar level of erosion to your body. Do you remember when Mr. Shu was particularly fascinated with your body for a period of time?”

Zhu Yanchen examined the white pill in his palm and furrowed his brow.

“Of course, I’m referring to his appetite,” Ai Xiaoxiao added mischievously. “Take your time to look at the data; I’ll give you a general overview.”

“The erosion of food by the Erosion Swamp has certain requirements. If the erosion level is too low, it is not easily digestible. If the erosion is too thorough, there will be no nutrients left. To the Erosion Swamp, you are like perfectly grilled meat—neither undercooked nor burnt, fragrant, crispy, and delicious.”

Ai Xiaoxiao threw another erosion candy into the liquid tank, and Monday happily spat out a string of bubbles.

“But for you, this conclusion shouldn’t be new. What I want to talk about is other issues.”

Zhu Yanchen ignored her comparison to grilled meat and quietly examined the data, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

“Oh, I haven’t mentioned it yet, but you’ve already figured it out?”

“They have a very low efficiency when it comes to consuming food. If they were to completely erode a portion of food from scratch, the energy it takes for them to consume it…”

“They only eat the most succulent bite.”

Ai Xiaoxiao clapped her hands casually.

“It’s simple. They don’t have time for mediocre food. Currently, the Erosion Swamps are eroding frantically, which can be seen as a compensatory behavior—because the current survival environment isn’t suitable for them, they instinctively over-reproduce. As a result, the more they reproduce, the more they lack food, and the more they lack food, the less they want to focus on digestion. In the end, they can only erode more space and search for more ‘succulent and effortless’ food to continue reproducing.”

“In short, it’s a straightforward and brutal vicious cycle. They don’t consider issues like depleting their resources. After all, the world is so vast, and they haven’t eroded it all yet.”

Zhu Yanchen keenly grasped the key point. “The current survival environment is not suitable?”

“Yes, I’ve conducted many experiments with this little guy.” Ai Xiaoxiao pointed at Monday, who responded by moving its sword body in anticipation, eagerly waiting for the next erosion candy. “It has some form of intelligence and better judgment than the average Erosion Swamp—take a look at this.”

Ai Xiaoxiao manipulated some data by the liquid tank, making a series of changes. The pressure, temperature, and elemental content in the tank fluctuated on the adjacent screen, causing Monday to tremble all over.

“Feels good!” It expressed its satisfaction vigorously, sounding quite content.

“You see, it’s more intuitive this way.” Ai Xiaoxiao sat back in her chair.

Zhu Yanchen stared at the numbers on the screen, his furrowed brow remaining unchanged.

“So, there’s only one question,” he said softly. “At first, it’s understandable for them to engage in indiscriminate probing. But given the current situation, why does the Erosion Swamp still maintain this state?”

They remain in an unsuitable survival environment, rampaging and biting indiscriminately.

“You know the answer.” Ai Xiaoxiao kicked the nearby cabinet with her foot, spinning in her chair.

He did know the answer. Zhu Yanchen tightened his grip on the stack of reports in his hand. With Sigma present, the mindless Erosion Swamps wouldn’t make decisions on their own.

…Continuing the matter of the player system was even more wrong than he had imagined.

“I have to return to the city,” Zhu Yanchen said firmly. “Thank you, Dr. Ai. This data is very valuable.”

“Why go back to that ghostly place?” Ai Xiaoxiao opened the lid of the liquid tank and threw a few erosion candies at Monday.

“I have some information to look up. I remember a predecessor had written a similar paper. I didn’t think I would need it before Sigma existed, but now I must go back and take a look.”

“Why not have Dong Lao bring it out for you?”

“He can’t access it, and he shouldn’t know about it,” Zhu Yanchen said decisively. “That paper didn’t make it into the database; only the hard copy was left. My father deliberately took it down. I saw the original in the storage room of the Zhu Rong Memorial Hall—it’s Mr. Tang Heyu’s ‘Observation of Dispersed Erosion Path and Geographical Distribution Conjecture of Erosion Substance’. I need the data from it.”

“Tang Heyu? I’ve never heard of this person.”

“He researched anti-erosion instruments before.” Zhu Yanchen didn’t elaborate.

Zhu Yanchen did know this person. When he was a child, his father rarely came home. On one occasion, his father was at home, and Tang Heyu even came to their house for a meal. Later, his mother mentioned that “Uncle Tang” was his father’s closest friend. Unfortunately, later on, Tang Heyu had some mental issues, and Zhu Sheng gradually had less contact with him.

Zhu Yanchen had no interest in the gossip of the older generation. Initially, he only wanted to overthrow the player system and study the behavior of the Erosion Swamp. In order to find information related to the player system, Zhu Yanchen secretly sneaked into Zhu Rong Memorial Hall. During the search for old books, he accidentally discovered the paper in the data room and decided to check the details.

Tang Heyu was born into the business-oriented Tang family but had a different mindset. He had a keen interest in studying the player system. However, he always prioritized design and practice and didn’t leave behind many papers. During his peak, he even competed with Zhu Sheng for the leadership position.

In the past, Tang Heyu and Zhu Sheng had a very good relationship, so good that their friendship remained unaffected even during the competition for positions of power. They would even go out for a drink together after campaign speeches.

Unlike the composed Zhu Sheng, Tang Heyu was witty, humorous, lively, and straightforward. He was originally a promising leader, but unfortunately, he met an untimely end—

After publishing his first and only paper, Tang Heyu gradually started drinking heavily, showing signs of mental instability. At the height of his alcoholism, he wouldn’t remain sober for more than two hours a day. The Tang family couldn’t accept such a male head, so he was quickly sidelined from power and stepped down from his top position.

No one knew what happened to Tang Heyu. Zhu Sheng had made repeated visits in the early stages to persuade him, but it resulted in him being hit on the head with a bottle, causing a huge uproar. After that incident, Zhu Sheng never set foot in the Tang residence again.

No matter where he searched, he couldn’t find any more information.

Speaking objectively, Tang Heyu’s paper was well-written. However, Mr. Tang chose a tricky topic—disintegrated erosion and the Erosion Swamp were too different, and there were too many conjectures in the paper, so Zhu Yanchen didn’t bother to read it again.

Unexpectedly, after going around in circles, he had to search for it again. Xia Liang couldn’t handle this task as only senior researchers could enter the memorial hall. Asking others was also unreliable.

He had no choice but to change back into Xia Yufeng’s appearance and make the trip himself.

Fortunately, the people from the Old Fourth hadn’t left yet. It would only take half a day to ride the caravan to Y City. Zhu Yanchen immediately packed his belongings, disguised himself as Pan Shu’s procurement officer, and joined the Old Fourth’s traveling caravan.

Coincidentally, he could also show the prototype of the “Suppression” weapon to the experts of the Old Fourth. Moreover… it was time to release the information collected from X City to test the waters.

That night, another Marshal was also busy.

Since bringing Luo Duan back, Yi Ning had been extremely cautious. In order to obtain more intelligence, he wished he could attach a continuous 24-hour surveillance camera to Luo Duan.

However, Luo Duan ate and drank as he pleased, smiling and conversing with him as usual. He occasionally asked about the chaos at the Reunion Festival and the current situation of Groundwater, and Yi Ning used “activities” to evade his questions.

As he looked at Luo Duan, he instinctively felt that something wasn’t quite right. This synthetic person maintained a subtle distance from him, acting reasonably and intimately, always making him subconsciously regard the other as a “friend” or “kin.”

But they were neither friends nor kin.

It was just that Luo Duan was too honest, and Yi Ning couldn’t figure out what he wanted. This person neither assassinated him nor contacted the outside world. He calmly drank tea in the heavily fortified command center, and no matter how he looked at it, he didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives.

Yi Ning’s head started to ache from thinking too much.

Fortunately, at this time, there was new information coming in, giving him a chance to change his focus—

“What is this?!” Yi Ning gasped sharply.

“My elder sister’s boyfriend’s younger brother showed it to me, saying it’s footage from inside X City. Someone discovered this thing at the edge of the erosion zone—everything in that suitcase was destroyed, but the recording chip was intact, and they didn’t find the owner.” The assistant trembled, looking flustered. “Marshal, th-th-this is fake, right? People at the edge of the city are spreading it, saying that the Erosion Swamp has mutated…”

A distorted city, a bizarre head lurking between it, and four-legged creatures crawling everywhere. If someone had created such a complex fake video, it would be a remarkable feat.

“Send people to investigate the true source of the footage and also find the technicians from the Tang family. Let them see if it’s fake.” Yi Ning pinched his nose bridge. Those horrifying images were still spinning in his mind. “Don’t panic. The ruins in X City are in the heavily erosion zone, and ordinary people wouldn’t be able to retrieve data from there.”

The assistant visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. “Y-Yes, it must be fabricated. How could the Erosion Swamp mutate like that?”

He patted his chest and tried to reassure himself. “Besides, even if it’s real… you can’t obtain equipment like that for filming without a lot of money. Others may not know, but I’ve been with you for so long, don’t I know?! Only the upper echelons of the three major families can afford to play with such things. Why would they cause trouble for themselves…”

Yi Ning held his breath, his expression suddenly tensing. “What did you say? Say it again.”

The assistant was taken aback. “I said the three major families…”

“The previous sentence.”

“To…to obtain equipment like that for filming, you need a lot of money, right?”

Yi Ning’s mind was struck like lightning, and all the previous confusion suddenly found an outlet.

Zhu Yanchen.

Zhu Yanchen was a cautious person to his core, and he was also strong in combat. How could he be easily captured by a mutant beast? Not to mention that the mutant beast arranged by the Tang family wasn’t even used; it was some unknown mutant beast that unexpectedly abducted him.

At that time, he felt that something was off, as if Zhu Yanchen had known about his plan in advance.

The reason Yi Ning didn’t think deeply about it was simple—Zhu Yanchen disappeared just like that, and Zhu Sheng brought back a puppet. If Zhu Yanchen had his own plan, there wouldn’t be complete silence.

But now the echo had come.

Yi Ning repeatedly examined the footage, and the expression on his face gradually disappeared.

Zhu Yanchen used his plan and disappeared beautifully. Even if the Tang family only intended to give Zhu Yanchen a minor injury, the plan and actions would undoubtedly leave traces and attract Zhu Sheng’s attention. In this way, even if Zhu Sheng couldn’t catch any evidence, his focus wouldn’t be on Zhu Yanchen as the “victim”, naturally not prompting a thorough search in the heavily erosion area.

What happened after a successful disappearance?

Zhu Yanchen wasn’t the kind of romantic person who would intentionally fake his death and elope with someone. If this record was true, Marshal Zhu might have personally gone to the ruins in X City…

Yi Ning only knew that Zhu Yanchen opposed the player system, but he didn’t expect him to be so paranoid.

Marshal Zhu wasn’t an impulsive person and always acted with caution. So what did he discover? Were those horrifying images related to the player system? In such a critical moment, why would he sacrifice his life? What did he want to prove?

According to the assistant, the damaged suitcase was found at the edge of the erosion zone, with no owner to be found. It made sense since a normal person wouldn’t last long in the heavily eroded area of the ruins in X City…

“…In addition to what you just mentioned, help me investigate one more thing.”

Yi Ning heard his own voice speaking in an extremely dry tone.

“Have someone carefully examine the papers Zhu Yanchen left at the research institute,” Yi Ning said.

The assistant nodded vigorously and hurriedly left the room. Yi Ning then looked up at the flickering light tube above him with a wry smile forming at the corner of his mouth.

Before, he had hesitated about whether or not to go along with Zhu Sheng and accept this new player system. His only concern at the time was how to handle the issue of unemployment among the resident players once the player production suddenly increased.

But in just a few days, the residents of the settlements had been abandoned by Zhu Sheng, and the potential flaws of the player system were about to be exposed.

“If the video is real, Zhu Yanchen’s research is real, and the flaws in the player system are real… Concealing the truth, abandoning the people, clandestine operations. They’ve done a great job.”

In the unlikely event that all those things were true, the player system couldn’t be widely implemented until the flaws were resolved. Humanity needed to stand united and concentrate their efforts on combating the mutated Erosion Swamp.

At that point, he and Zhu Sheng would no longer share a common stance.


The author has something to say:

Marshal: Thank you for the invitation. No sacrifice was made. To be honest, I was actually planning to go with the Tang family’s mutant beasts. ← But then a childhood sweetheart fell from the sky, and Marshal Zhu conveniently caught him.

Shu Ge: ?

Monday: (Chewing happily, worldly troubles are not important)


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Criminal Psychology Ch219

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

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


Chapter 219

The slight sound of high heels could be heard. Tap, tap, tap…

Lin Chen suddenly sat up in his ward, which was pitch black. He listened carefully and heard faint weeping coming from somewhere, drifting in and out.

He unlocked his phone and checked the time: 9:11 p.m. Xing Conglian hadn’t called since they started their operation, indicating that they hadn’t caught Shen Lian. It wasn’t normal for a single woman to not return home after 9.

Lin Chen felt increasingly uneasy.

Suddenly, he discerned the sound of an ambulance coming from outside the surrounding space.

One, two… It seemed like more and more ambulances were driving into the hospital.

He looked at the drip bag, which only had a little bit of saline left. Without hesitation, he pulled out the needle and walked to the window to look down.

There weren’t too many people gathered outside the emergency building, but he could vaguely see uniformed police officers and some frightened onlookers. Because he was on a high floor, it was difficult to tell exactly what was happening down below. Shortly after, another police car drove into the hospital. Lin Chen recognized the figure and the bright head from the person who got out of the car.

He immediately turned around and left the room. The corridor in the special care ward was empty, and the light at the nurse’s station not far away was blinding.

As he passed by the nurse’s station, someone called out to him.

“Hey, patient! It’s rest time now. You can’t walk around freely. Go back to your room.”

As the young nurse spoke, Lin Chen’s phone began to vibrate furiously. The number on the screen didn’t belong to Xing Conglian or Wang Chao. Lin Chen gestured for the nurse to wait and answered the call.

“Lin Chen. Please speak.”

“Are you at the hospital? The operation has gone wrong… The director has arrived, and we need you to come down immediately.”

“Where are you guys?”

“We’re at the emergency building. The media is probably going to show up soon, so please hurry.”

“I understand.”

Lin Chen ended the call and quickly explained the urgent situation to the nurse before sprinting towards the elevator.

When he reached the emergency building, the first thing he heard was crying. Of course, crying was normal in a hospital, but this sound was too sorrowful, as if someone’s heart and lungs were being ripped out. During a break in the sound of the emergency room door opening and closing, Lin Chen looked inside and could only see a large number of blood-stained gauzes. He almost collided with a nurse holding blood plasma as he backed out. Using the flow of people as a guide, he found the old director in a doctor’s office.

Director Wu was retiring in less than half a year and had always been calm and relaxed. Lin Chen had never seen him look so serious before.

“What happened? Where’s Xing Conglian?” Lin Chen asked.

Director Wu looked up at him and visibly frowned at the mention of Xing Conglian’s name. Lin Chen steadied himself by holding onto the desk and remained surprisingly calm. Several doctors were sitting across from him at the desk, and he glanced at their badges: brain surgeon, neurology…

Something must have happened for all of the brain science-related experts in the hospital to have been called in.

Seeing that the director didn’t say anything, the assistant police officer beside him spoke to Lin Chen. “Wait a moment, Consultant Lin. We’re waiting for the Criminal Investigation Department to arrive and have a brief meeting with the experts.”

Lin Chen nodded.

Just then, chaotic footsteps were heard in the hallway outside the office. The door swung open, and Xing Conglian appeared with his deputy captain, Zhang Ping. Wang Chao wasn’t with them.

Xing Conglian was covered in blood from his chest to his collar, his hands were red, and his coat was nowhere to be seen. Lin Chen met his gaze, and Xing Conglian’s eyes remained numb for a few seconds. Then he looked at him with grief in his deep eyes.

“Come over here and explain what happened today!” Director Wu slammed the table, and everyone in the office was shocked.

Lin Chen turned around and calmly looked at the angry director, saying, “You need to calm down.”

“I lost a police officer under my command, and you want me to calm down?” The director’s face became stern. He stood up, pointed at Xing Conglian, and cursed, “Xiao An’s girlfriend and parents are coming here soon. You need to explain to them why a routine arrest turned into this. And why did you randomly shoot in the downtown area? Who gave you permission to do that? Have you considered the consequences?!”

Lin Chen replied for Xing Conglian. “He was carrying out his duties on the front line, and only he knows whether or not he should have fired his weapon. It’s unfair to hold the front-line officers responsible without understanding the specific situation.”

He then dragged over two chairs from the corner of the room and motioned for the two who had just entered the room to sit down.

Director Wu was so angry that his veins were popping, but he didn’t say anything more.

“Did Officer An die in the line of duty?” Lin Chen sat down on a chair and asked.

Xing Conglian looked at him and nodded.

Lin Chen’s heart sank as he looked at Xing Conglian, who was covered in blood. He immediately understood where the blood came from. “Was it because of Shen Lian’s refusal to be arrested?” he asked Xing Conglian.

“No.” Xing Conglian finally spoke up but didn’t say anything more.

Zhang Ping said, “We didn’t even see anyone associated with Shen Lian.”

“What happened at the scene? Why did it turn out like this?” Crying and footsteps were heard in the hallway outside, but the office was completely silent, with only the faint flicker of the fluorescent lights.

“I don’t know,” Xing Conglian said clearly, one word at a time.

“You fucking don’t know?!” Director Wu slammed the table again.

Ignoring the furious director behind him and everyone else in the room, Lin Chen grabbed Xing Conglian’s hand. His hand was trembling, but he still tried to calm himself down and said softly to Xing Conglian, “The hospital experts are all here. The sooner we figure out what happened, the sooner we can solve the problem.”

Xing Conglian pursed his lips. For a moment, he showed a look of extreme indifference, and then his focus gradually converged, and he said, “We really don’t know where the problem came from. Around 21:00, there was interference in our communication channel, and then there was a disturbance at the barbecue stand in the alley. The stall owner and customers who were dining fought each other, and a police officer died in the line of duty while protecting the residents.” Xing Conglian’s report was concise and to the point. “During this process, I fired two shots, one hitting the barbecue stand owner and the other hitting the suspect who was attempting to kill the police officer. The ballistic evidence and eyewitness testimony at the scene can confirm this.”

Lin Chen’s thoughts raced, and he quickly figured out what the problem was.

He had faith in Xing Conglian’s marksmanship, but with Xing Conglian on the scene and clearly stating that he hit the suspect, the police officer still died. It was clear that this wasn’t a simple issue that could be explained away.

Xing Conglian seemed to be lost in deep memories. He said, “This was my mistake. I should have chosen to kill the suspect from the beginning instead of merely disabling him.”

“So your bullets didn’t disable him?” Lin Chen asked, looking up.

“No,” Xing Conglian said. “They seemed to have no pain response and acted solely on instinct. The incident happened too suddenly, and we still haven’t figured out what went wrong.”

“How is it possible that the bullets didn’t disable them?” a department head who had been very quiet in the office asked. “Did they turn into zombies?”

“The scene has been completely sealed off. People from the Food and Drug Administration and the Epidemic Prevention Center have arrived, and only then did we come back,” Xing Conglian said.

“The Epidemic Prevention Center?” Lin Chen asked.

“Because there were reports of people biting others at the scene of the incident, some members of the public were unable to control their own emotions, so they reported it to the Disease Control and Prevention Center,” Xing Conglian said.

“Is this a biohazard crisis?” Director Wu couldn’t contain himself and said, “We were just trying to catch a person. Why did it suddenly turn into people eating people?”

“How could this situation suddenly arise?” another expert said. “We haven’t had a case like this in our city in recent years.”

“You are all neuroscience experts and should know that the possibility of this situation occurring still exists,” Lin Chen said calmly.

“That’s right. It could either be a brain disease or effects from a drug,” another person said. “Rabies?”

“I believe effects from drugs are more likely,” Lin Chen said.

“That’s right.” The experts discussed it in a flurry. “But we need to do a detailed examination to determine which specific drug it is.”

“However, the approach taken by the Disease Control and Prevention Center is correct. I believe it is necessary to implement level-one biohazard isolation, and all personnel who have come into contact with the patient should be isolated and observed,” Lin Chen said.

Xing Conglian pursed his lips. When he heard the other side talking about isolation, he interjected forcefully, saying, “I suggest finding other reasons for isolation and observation to prevent public panic. After all, this case has already been sensational enough, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to use the phrase ‘mandatory isolation’ again.”

“This is understood, but how specifically should we phrase it?” the doctor asked.

“We should explain it as drugs. If we can confirm that those involved in the fight and violence didn’t have a history of subjectively taking drugs, then they must have involuntarily ingested the drugs. As the incident happened at a barbecue stand with heavy smoke, it can’t be ruled out that other bystanders may have also involuntarily ingested drugs. For the health of everyone involved, we hope that those involved can accept observation in the hospital,” Lin Chen continued to explain to the other party. “If the media asks you about the patient’s condition, you can use relevant cases that have occurred in the United States to explain. ‘A few years ago, in a town in the United States, there was a similar case where a homeless person turned into a zombie and attacked residents, biting their faces. The local police eventually determined that the homeless people were affected by a drug called ‘bath salts’, causing them to exhibit uncontrolled panic and attacking behavior.”

“Oh… I think I’ve heard of that, but if the media asks how drug users suddenly appeared at the barbecue stand and how those crazy bystanders ingested the drugs, how should we answer?” asked another expert.

Lin Chen remained surprisingly calm from beginning to end. “Experts, please tell the media that this part of the problem should be investigated by the police. You don’t know the specific progress of the investigation, so just push it to us,” Lin Chen answered calmly.

“Okay, then let’s go see the patient first.” Several experts stood up, one after another.

The office door opened, and the flashing lights and questioning voices of reporters could be heard outside the emergency center in the distance.

“I heard there were reports of cannibalism?”

“Is this a real biohazard?”

“Is the government hiding relevant information from the public?”

Several doctors walked to the door, and suddenly someone turned around and asked, “Why are you wearing our hospital patient’s clothes?”

Listening to the voices of the reporters, Lin Chen froze for a moment, then looked at himself from head to toe, and said, “I think I should go change my clothes now.”


Kinky Thoughts:

The incident Lin Chen is referring to is the Miami cannibal attack, where a homeless man was attacked. The assailant was Rudy Eugene, who bit off the homeless man’s face. Police sources speculated that he was high on “bath salts” which might’ve been a factor in his actions, but why he attacked remained unclear.

This is different from what Lin Chen is describing, as the homeless man is the victim, not the assailant.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Evil As Humans Ch152

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 152: Bad News

Yin Ren’s human form had mostly recovered, but countless translucent wings remained under his hips and knees. He felt completely drained, and all his bones were limp and weak.

However, his physical body was frozen in mid-air, not moving up or down.

He stared fixedly at the newly born Zhong Chengshuo.

The appearance was correct, the smell was correct, and there were no traces of magic around. The other party’s gaze, posture, and subtle facial muscle movements—he had repeatedly chewed on them in his memory countless times.

It was Zhong Chengshuo… It was the Zhong Chengshuo he had separated from.

Wild joy turned into a hammer, hitting the back of Yin Ren’s head fiercely, causing Lord Ghost King’s vision to shake twice. During the battle just now, the question of “how will Zhong Chengshuo recover” was like a lead weight pressing on his chest. While he didn’t think about it, it always weighed heavily in his heart.

Now that the heavy pressure was gone, Yin Ren felt like he was floating.

…Unfortunately, it was only for a moment, and the heat of wild joy turned into coldness.

A form of regeneration that had never been seen before. Yin Ren had exhausted all the knowledge he had accumulated in his life and couldn’t think of any similar magic or evil beings in a similar situation. The strange shape of Zhong Chengshuo’s head returning to its original form was still burned into Yin Ren’s eyes, and he couldn’t explain it at all.

The person in front of him had sunk into a deeper sea of unknowns.

In a daze, Yin Ren suddenly remembered a long time ago.

In an ordinary hotel room, the bathroom was filled with steam. He accidentally broke the door and saw Zhong Chengshuo’s body for the first time.

It was as beautiful and sturdy, with graceful and smooth body lines. There was still the hideous scar, just like back then, and was still entrenched on Zhong Chengshuo’s body.

But other than that, there was nothing else.

The corpse of Zhong Chengshuo just now was unbearable to look at. That body had broken legs, the chest was turned outward, the back was riddled with bullets, and there was nothing above the neck. Not to mention these major injuries, there were countless minor injuries all over Zhong Chengshuo’s body.

But now, they were all gone. Other than losing his glasses, Zhong Chengshuo hadn’t changed in hair length or anything else.

His half-long hair was clean and refreshing, as if it didn’t belong here.

Zhong Chengshuo’s pants were a bit loose and had long been torn to the knee. The fabric on his upper body was even more tattered, with only a piece of scrap left.

Under the fragments of destruction, only the newly grown skin that had just returned and hadn’t had time to be tainted with dust could prove that everything just now wasn’t an illusion.

“Yin Ren,” Zhong Chengshuo called out softly, standing still. His voice was hoarse, as if there were some fine impurities stuck in his throat.

…Given the situation just now, maybe his throat was really clogged with some impurities.

Yin Ren didn’t get up. He weakly supported his upper body, with the red silk robe draped loosely over him and stood still in place. Separated by a faint shadow, a pair of red pupils stared blankly at Zhong Chengshuo.

Around the two of them, darkness and ruins surrounded them, while the sniper’s wreckage was scattered, still decomposing into dense evil qi, making the surroundings even colder.

Yes, Yin Ren had only noticed that Zhong Chengshuo still had “life” when he was rescuing him earlier. At that time, the enemy was lurking around, and Yin Ren didn’t have time to think deeply.

But when he could think, Yin Ren couldn’t concentrate on the reasoning.

In the quiet confrontation, only the details of their previous interaction kept coming up. In front of the darkness, Yin Ren couldn’t help but think back to the moment he first saw Zhong Chengshuo.

It was a rainy summer night when he entered the world—a night of lightning and thunder.

The streetlights were malfunctioning, and the entire street was plunged into darkness. Zhong Chengshuo met him while riding his bicycle and reported to the police seriously. After reporting to the police, Zhong Chengshuo turned on his phone flashlight and shone it on him.

At that time, Yin Ren had just come into contact with the world and hadn’t detected any subtle unnaturalness. Looking back now, that rainy night was enough to make people shudder.

Before using his phone to illuminate him, there was no lighting around Zhong Chengshuo.

And when he realized it, Zhong Chengshuo made an emergency stop. The person had obviously been riding a bike, so the speed wasn’t slow.

Does a normal human really ride a bike quickly on a pitch-black street where you can’t see your fingers?

Yin Ren raised his gaze in confusion, and the electric light on their first encounter in his mind was buried by thick journals one by one.

[I’m fine.]

To explain his healthy body, he ate a reasonable diet.

[I’m fine.]

To explain his good condition, he maintained a regular schedule.

[I’m fine.]

To explain his beautiful figure, he diligently exercised.

[I’m fine.]

In the dark basement, a diary that never stopped recording physiological information such as height and weight was like an observation log of an animal scientist.

Except that the object of observation was “Zhong Chengshuo himself”.

The chaotic memories drifted and ended in a conversation not long ago.

[What exactly are you?] Yin Ren remembered asking this in a panic when he first found Zhong Chengshuo.

[I don’t know.]

Zhong Chengshuo answered like this.

[Now, strictly speaking, I shouldn’t be considered human.]

Now it seemed that this sentence could have a second interpretation.

… Did Zhong Chengshuo undergo some changes after being killed and reborn, or was he never a “normal human” from the beginning, but just didn’t understand his own situation?

But if Zhong Chengshuo isn’t human, what is he?

His body was so broken and there was no trace of evil qi or Evil Force on it. It was as clean as any ordinary person’s.

Exhausted and mentally shattered, Yin Ren sat quietly in place as his mind silently shut down.

“Yin Ren…” Zhong Chengshuo called him for the third time, his voice tinged with a hint of grievance.

He still stayed in place, looking more helpless than avoiding. Zhong Chengshuo’s features were already gentle, and looking down like this made him seem as harmless as an herbivore.

In a daze, Yin Ren gritted his teeth. He reached out a bunch of long hair and quickly formed soft wings at the end. They swooped around Zhong Chengshuo’s ankle and pushed him forward. Zhong Chengshuo didn’t resist and was pushed to the ground, landing safely on the remaining wings like a blanket.

He was lying next to Yin Ren.

“I need a few minutes to calm down.” Amid countless thoughts colliding, Yin Ren spoke with difficulty. “A few minutes to calm down, and then deal with these…”

Zhong Chengshuo turned sideways, hesitated for a moment, and then put his arm gently around Yin Ren’s waist.

Just as if they were in their bedroom at home.

But this time, Yin Ren wasn’t as calm as he was on the soft bed.

In a series of battles, Yin Ren lost a considerable amount of flesh and blood. He was so exhausted that he felt like he would fall apart at a touch. Luckily, the person controlling the sniper’s body didn’t kick him while he was down.

In this state of extreme weakness, through a layer of sealing red cloth, Yin Ren felt the warm palm of Zhong Chengshuo.

A strong sense of rejection.

It wasn’t fear of facing a superior, but a subconscious rejection, like seeing a thorn under a leaf, or smelling a poisonous flower. It was almost instinctual, screaming to stay away or make the other person disappear…

…Disappear my ass.

Yin Ren rolled his eyes in his heart. He also turned sideways and hugged Zhong Chengshuo directly. Lord Ghost King ignored the instinctive jumping and stomping, burying his face in the other’s chest.

The instinctual warning reached its limit, as if a razor was scraping his skin.

But still Yin Ren didn’t move.

Smooth, warm skin, a pleasant smell, and the familiar heartbeat and breathing. His biological instinct told him to stay away, but his heart told him to stay put.

“I know what you’re worried about.”

Yin Ren patted Zhong Chengshuo’s stiff back. It was the first time he had seen him so awkward.

“Considering your unknown condition, I have to reconsider our accomplice relationship…”

The heartbeat under Zhong Chengshuo’s skin suddenly accelerated, like a rabbit frantically stomping its feet, making loud thumps in his ribcage.

“But I really like being in a romantic relationship and don’t want to ruin it at all.”

The “rabbit” in the rib cage slowly curled up and gently moved its body.

“Mm.” Zhong Chengshuo said seriously, “I’m just a little scared.”

Yin Ren didn’t answer. He just moved his weak body and hugged the biggest mystery of his life tightly.

……

Late at night, Qi Xin stayed in the alley without surveillance. The alley was still the same alley, but there was no longer any trace of Qiu Fang.

In the shattered glass, a faint shadow stood.

“You killed Qiu Fang.” The voice of the reflection was very calm, as if discussing the weather.

“That guy was too badly injured. As I said, he’s just a burden.” Qi Xin sat in the old place on the wall. “I just bit Qiu Fang to death. What was that phrase again… Oh, it was to ease his pain.”

If it weren’t for the obvious perfunctory tone in her voice, this might actually be a suitable reason.

The reflection remained silent.

“I used him to fill my stomach and restore my strength and made a small Divine Descent with the remains. It not only solved ‘the thing that hurt us’, but Fu Xingchuan and Shian are nearby, so they can’t escape. See, it’s like killing two birds with one stone.”

Qi Xin continued coldly.

“I made the best use of Mr. Qiu’s waste. You asked me to clean up his mess and said I could do whatever I wanted.”

“I also said that you need to give me an answer about the ‘thing that hurt us’.”

The reflection on the glass responded softly.

On the dirty glass of the alley, it appeared as a nearly black humanoid, with no facial features visible.

Qi Xin lifted the corners of her mouth, revealing a smile that wasn’t quite human. “I don’t know what that thing is, but undoubtedly, I’ve dealt with it. Is there a problem?”

Reflection: “…Dealt with it.”

“The small-scale Divine Descent that erupted in a small area may be lower quality, but it’s enough to destroy the target.”

As the night wind blew, Qi Xin straightened her messy hair. Although the posture of “sitting on the wall” didn’t match her attire, Qi Xin’s legs were neatly folded, as if sitting at a conference round table.

“As for what that thing is, Sunken Society will definitely study the remaining traces. You can ask them.”

The reflection didn’t respond. Qi Xin tilted her head slightly, and the shadow on the glass had somehow returned to normal.

This time, “that one” left early.

“You’re angry,” Qi Xin shook her head, and her strange smile seemed to be welded to her face.

She looked up at the murky night sky.

“I gave you an opportunity.”

She said with a slightly hoarse voice.

“Don’t disappoint me, both of you.”

……

As it turned out, if Ms. Qi Xin could see the status of both of them, she might be disappointed immediately.

Yin Ren sucked in the unidentified substance that Zhong Chengshuo had given him, desperately sealing his own power and struggling to stand up—no matter how strange the situation was, it wasn’t a good idea to stay in a place that belonged to Sunken Society.

Without any interference from enemies, they quickly found the exit of this interstitial space.

So, less than an hour later, there was a swaying figure on the street in the old city.

The person was dressed in rags, had an ordinary face, and was only slightly conspicuous in his dark red attire. He walked stealthily along the roadside, hunching over and dragging a bumpy suitcase.

Yin Ren touched his transformed fake face, feeling sorrowful.

The good news was that they had left the dangerous area.

The bad news was that, as two dead people, they had nowhere to go at the moment.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Evil As Humans Ch151

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 151: Mortals

“The #1 Evil Smith”, Zhou Gong, had a headache like being pricked with needles.

As a superior profession of “Corpse Servant” and “Spirit Smith”, his corpse materials weren’t abundant. Unlike the “#1 Priestess”, Qiao Shang, next to him—the fierce ghosts she summoned were enough to form an army of 100,000 ghost soldiers, whose ghostly bodies swayed and surrounded Haigu Municipal Hospital.

Layer upon layer of isolation seals rose from the ground, and the huge hospital was almost wrapped up like a cabbage core.

Thousands of hidden-type spirit weapons were operating simultaneously, and countless tiny bones were wandering in the underground pipelines. Zhou Gong was responsible for maintaining the concealment of this large-scale operation. He brought his assets to Haigu—and this time it was all of them.

The special investigation teams stationed in Shian at the A-, B-, and C-levels were all mobilized. Unexpectedly, the workload increased dramatically. Despite assigning two A-level investigation teams to Zhou Gong, his power was still constantly draining.

Zhou Gong’s chubby face was covered in sweat, like a steamed white bun.

“Lao Fu’s credit is quite high.”

Zhou Gong gritted his teeth and controlled the spirit weapon.

“He just said one sentence about the ‘aura of Divine Descent’, and the entire Haigu Branch bought it. The provincial-level comprehensive defense plan hasn’t been activated, and the nearby situation is almost the same.”

“The law of numerical changes is consistent with ‘Divine Descent’.”

Qiao Shang stood in the army of fierce ghosts with a gloomy face; her face as pale as one of them. She held an ancient compass in her hand, and countless golden charms floated on it.

The strange compass pointer trembled and rotated, pointing to the only black line on the golden compass, which was facing several blood-red “Evil” characters.

Zhou Gong pretended not to see Qiao Shang’s sulky expression.

“The law of numerical changes is consistent, but the intensity is much weaker, right? The concentration of evil qi here isn’t as high as a Divine Descent!”

Zhou Gong kept complaining, but his movements became more precise. The nesting of the concealment spell grew layer by layer, and the colorless barrier wrapped the hospital even tighter.

At this moment, as long as one wasn’t a cultivator in the industry, no matter how they looked at it from the inside or outside the hospital, this was just an ordinary and quiet night.

Qiao Shang ignored Zhou Gong’s nonsense. She held the compass with one hand and kept pinching spells with the other. Various patterns of golden charms floated in the air, and her army of ghost soldiers patrolled with them. They passed through every corner of the hospital, silently devouring evil qi.

Ghosts and humans rubbed shoulders—

The science posts walked around with detectors, constantly measuring the surrounding data. In their eyes, there was only a strange mist rising in the courtyard, which made people shiver all over.

If they could see the true appearance of the mist, it wouldn’t be as simple as “getting the chills”.

In the east, west, south, and north of the hospital courtyard, there were huge monsters crouching, each the size of the hospital’s main building. They were like town gate beasts that had been transformed into evil creatures, covered with scales like sealing spirit weapons.

Above the head that resembled a human figure, there were eyes and a mouth so large they seemed deformed. They had long necks that hung down, all focused on the direction of the abandoned building.

Strange and blurry waves of Evil Force emanated from the vicinity of the abandoned building. It felt more like a massive shadow lurking beneath a layer of ice, sometimes moving away, sometimes approaching.

The moment it broke through the “ice layer”, a great disaster was inevitable.

It was an unknown fire, and they could only do their best to shrink its area of effect, again and again.

Four giant, monstrous beasts writhed about; their rusty chains swayed gently like willow branches in the darkness. Among the gaps in the chains, the black seal employees of the Shian dressed in casual clothes floated around the evil monsters.

All of them faced outward of the courtyard, with crimson runes overlapping each other, layer by layer. In the shadow’s concealment, these non-scientific posts looked like four-legged spiders, tirelessly working.

The floating runes condensed into a dark red gauze that swayed and twisted above the hospital, constantly changing like an aurora. Wherever the light gauze passed, the space seemed to be filled with glue, creating a wonderful feeling of coagulation.

“This spell is quite fresh and more sophisticated than before.” Zhou Gong tried to change the subject, perhaps to distract himself. The more tired he was, the more he talked.

“…Not long ago, they sent us out to investigate the attackers, while the Haigu Branch secretly conducted research on their own.”

Qiao Shang rolled her eyes, and the ghost soldiers continued to circle inside the hospital. Their route had already taken shape, and they patrolled the courtyard in an orderly manner. The ground was filled with ghostly apparitions, and overhead was a misty veil. Paired with the hospital’s square architecture, the scene was both oppressive and absurd.

Tick. What should have been an uneventful second passed by.

The gently swaying red gauze suddenly began to wildly dance; its movements were bizarre and eerie, as if countless invisible giant snakes were struggling and moving within it. The intensity of the Evil Force doubled in an instant, and its state became extremely unstable.

Qiao Shang’s fierce ghost squad hurriedly changed course. With the abandoned building as the center, they walked quickly in circles, chanting mournful syllables that couldn’t be understood. The surrounding Evil Force was stirred up into a vortex by them and surged back towards the abandoned building.

The Shian black seals unconsciously increased the speed of their rune painting. The stagnant space carried the Evil Force, gathering it near the abandoned building. The gray-white abandoned building was almost wrapped in red runes, and the chaotic, shattered space was entirely covered.

At the four corners of the hospital, the four giant, monstrous beasts slowly retracted their limbs. They opened their giant mouths and emitted a hoarse and unpleasant screech. Sound waves spread out in waves, disturbing the Evil Force near the abandoned building, gradually calming the “ice surface”.

The area near the abandoned building had thus become a metaphysical explosion-proof box. As for whether this box could withstand the incoming unknown Evil Force, even a real ghost wouldn’t know.

Apart from the occasional short exchanges in the channel, the atmosphere was so heavy that it was terrifying.

Zhou Gong couldn’t bear it any longer and involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva. “By the way, if Lao Fu is trapped inside, why hasn’t the leadership from our side of Haigu come out to help?”

“They might be busy with something else.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Qiao Shang snapped. She quickly flicked her fingers, and a powerful ghost bomb flew past Zhou Gong like a fierce ghost, cutting off his pants to just above his knees.

Zhou Gong shut up in annoyance.

Qiao Shang’s guess wasn’t wrong. As the first person in charge of the Haigu branch, Li Nian was indeed busy.

He leaned wearily in the meeting room, facing the expressionless genius ghost master, Xiang Jiang.

“Since Fu Xingchuan is there, I don’t need to go. Headquarters always needs someone to stay,” Xiang Jiang said.

“Fu Xingchuan is sealed near the abnormal outbreak point, and the Evil Force could lose control at any time.” Li Nian drank a cup of strong tea and spun the lid of the thermos cup hard. “This is the first abnormal phenomenon of its kind in 28 years, and the more external help we have, the better.”

Xiang Jiang replied, “The #1 Priestess and the #1 Evil Smith are already there, and our functions overlap.”

Li Nian stared at him in silence for a while.

“Why beat around the bush? Why don’t you just say you don’t want to go.” Li Nian’s tone turned cold.

“Yes, I don’t want to go. My rank is the same as yours now, and your reasons are not sufficient. I have the authority to veto the proposal.”

Li Nian almost laughed out of anger.

Ever since the execution mission, Fu Xingchuan had been paying even closer attention to Xiang Jiang. But Xiang Jiang behaved himself and at least they didn’t notice any unusual contact between him and anyone else. Who knew that when it came to a critical moment, Xiang Jiang would actually defy orders—and in a way that was almost foolish.

When Yellow Millet appeared in Gengsheng Town, this guy disobeyed orders in secret, and now he was doing it again.

Li Nian looked into Xiang Jiang’s murky eyes.

There was no pleasure, fear, or hatred in those eyes, only a firm “this is how it should be” and even a hint of expectation.

What did this “this is how it should be” refer to? It was really hard to say.

Li Nian didn’t say much more. He connected with the front line in front of Xiang Jiang.

“Qiao Shang, our company’s strongest ghost master has other arrangements. The temporary commanding personnel have been cancelled, and from now on, you, me, and Hao Wenzhe will officially take over the command in a team of three.”

The voice on the other end of the phone was extremely noisy, like a crying wind, and Qiao Shang smiled bitterly. “What accurate timing.”

“What happened?”

“Just now, the Evil Force erupted.”

……

Not long ago, Haigu Branch Sunken Society, the exit of the underground corpse vault.

As the Evil Force raged, nearby doors gradually collapsed. Under the endless Evil Force, the living employees of Sunken Society had long since died, and even some had turned into evil creatures on the spot. At this moment, those who were already evil creatures had lost their reason and were screaming as they rushed out of the ruins.

It was just that the madness stopped as soon as they encountered Yin Ren.

The berserk Evil Force that manifested as a translucent blackness, looking extremely turbid, mixed with many black debris. However, in the midst of it, Yin Ren’s figure was still vivid.

The red veil on the thousand-year-old Ghost King’s body opened, revealing two pale and slender arms and a pair of bare feet without any cover. The extremely strong power spread through Yin Ren’s skin without being sealed.

To resist the chaotic and violent Evil Force around him, Yin Ren gradually released his own Evil Force. It repeatedly staggered away from the heavy torrents, like roots that penetrated into the rock formation, and extended them in all directions with difficulty.

In the collision of Evil Forces, Yin Ren desperately compressed his power and barely maintained a small safe zone around him.

The inexplicable Evil Force poured in continuously without any signs of stopping. As a true Evil Spirit, Yin Ren was almost crushed by the Evil Force pressing in from all sides, let alone the fragile facility of Sunken Society.

Just as they rushed out of the elevator shaft, all kinds of science and metaphysical equipment related to Sunken Society burst at once. Blue smoke and explosions intertwined, accompanied by a strong smell of burnt flesh. The surrounding space shook constantly, and there were clear signs of collapse.

The “breaking one’s arm to save one’s life*” technique of Sunken Society was indeed flawless.

*(断臂求生) Idiom referring to extreme measures taken in a desperate situation where sacrificing a part of one’s own body is necessary to ensure survival. Metaphorically, it means making a great sacrifice in order to survive or overcome a challenging situation.

With corpses as the roof and evil entities as the walls, Yin Ren put all his energy into dealing with this Evil Force. The Evil Force was like his shadow, following him everywhere, and the situation was at a stalemate. He had no room for error.

“The sniper is dead, but the pursuit continues. Sunken Society has abandoned this transitional space to protect itself.”

In an opening, Yin Ren summarized the situation succinctly.

A strand of hair was tied to his throat, and the other end was wrapped around the five fingers of Zhong Chengshuo’s hand that was talking to him through vibration.

[There is someone behind the sniper, but the intention to kill is not strong. Sunken Society will direct the space to an outside world to protect itself.]

In the darkness, lines of words appeared rapidly on the bright white screen of the mobile phone.

[Retreating is the best option.]

Yin Ren twitched the corner of his mouth.

Even in such an absurd situation, Zhong Chengshuo’s tone was still frighteningly calm, like analyzing the cost-effectiveness of discounted goods.

Indeed, the attack was lethal at the moment, but there was no killing intent.

The source of the Evil Force was already dead. The damaged corpses formed a torrent and kept attacking them ceaselessly. The person behind the scenes was obviously as powerful as the sniper, but instead of tearing apart the space and killing the two of them, they played this cat-and-mouse game. Everywhere was a dead end, but there was a glimmer of hope left.

If he were alone, he would probably not be able to withstand such a painful and torturous attack. But…

Trapped in the quagmire of Evil Force, Yin Ren tightly grasped the handle of his suitcase.

He had lived in the mountains for hundreds of years. The most ferocious beast attacks didn’t come from dying struggles, but from desperate fights.

Since waking up in this era, he seemed to have never really gone on a “night tour”?

The wings of the Yin Ren pressed Zhong Chengshuo into the suitcase and tightly wrapped around his body. In just a moment, the red veil extended, and the bone bells jingled. The shoddy red veil on Yin Ren’s body completely turned into a heavy red cocoon, and countless bone pieces inscribed with runes emerged from nothingness.

They pierced through the chaotic evil qi and directly hit the surrounding remnants of evil spirits.

That Evil Force was just pure strength.

Yin Ren felt those about-to-collapse evil beings and frantically performed spells.

He also had pure Evil Force, but he also had rationality and skills. If he simply imagined this Evil Force as a mudslide, at this moment, what he should do most…

The near-collapsed evil beings responded obediently to the call of the Ghost King by instinct.

They gathered around Yin Ren with difficulty. The corpses turned into flesh, while the evil spirits turned into tendons. The evil beings turned into armor, enveloping Yin Ren at the center and formed a long-nosed giant beast on the outside.

The next moment, Yin Ren gave up resisting in place. He drove the “giant beast” with all his strength and quickly rushed towards the distance.

Under the infection of the Evil Force, the evil beings were like effervescent tablets soaked in water. Black and red blood bubbles emerged on their bodies and ruptured at a terrifying speed. Just before the armor layer completely collapsed, Yin Ren finally broke free from the Evil Force’s envelope.

At the moment of breaking free, Yin Ren made a sharp turn with himself and the box.

Inside the cocoon wrapped around his body, he used his fingers as a knife to cut off a small handful of hair.

At the same time, the remaining evil beings outside Yin Ren flew away in an instant and were pierced by the constantly elongating hair. Their collapsing bodies attached to the hair gradually turned into a thin fabric-like material, emitting a heavy, deathly aura.

“Go!” Yin Ren shouted.

This opaque “fabric” blocked the corridor and collided with the chasing Evil Force head-on. Like water encountering waterproof fabric, the Evil Force was wrapped in it and couldn’t break through for a while.

Indeed, the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi was best at sealing Evil Spirits.

He could make a soft seal around his body, so naturally, he could make a tougher and more brutal one.

Yin Ren’s ten fingers touched each other, exerting all his strength to control his hair.

Once they left Yin Ren’s body, they wouldn’t drive his body crazy when they came into contact with the Evil Force. However, reducing the impact also meant that these hairs were like half-dead objects, and their abilities were extremely limited.

But Yin Ren only needed them to restore their most basic functions.

The black hair absorbed the scattered Evil Force and grew wildly. And this Evil Force was constantly breaking down into evil qi, which infiltrated and rapidly inflated the nearby remnants of evil spirits.

Grow, weave, grow again, weave again.

Different from the ethereal red gauze that enveloped Yin Ren’s body, the black hair had runes woven into it using the remains of evil creatures as a base, and they wildly extended, making them more firm and powerful.

The “fine cloth” was like a wildly growing skin. The more the Evil Force was wrapped up, the slower its movement became.

It really worked!

Yin Ren’s spirit shook—he crazily squeezed out his own power, continuously cycling through countless spells. More bone fragments scattered from his body, suppressing more evil creatures. Layer upon layer of debris turned into cloth, wrapping the approaching Evil Force more densely and securely.

The black hair shuttled back and forth thousands of times, and the torrential Evil Force finally came to a halt, forming a large bulge in front of Yin Ren.

On the “bag skin” woven from hair and evil creatures, there wasn’t a single crease caused by the bulge.

Yin Ren finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He stretched out his wings a little bit and wearily reached for his suitcase. The box containing Zhong Chengshuo was intact and still heavy. Without any pursuers, Yin Ren believed that he could get some advice from Comrade Xiao Zhong on how to find a way out.

Yin Ren rubbed his waist and was about to untie the “red cocoon” around his body—

Suddenly, the “bag skin” that filled the corridor bulged and moved.

As if a giant face were pressed against the “cloth”, the originally round cloth bulged with huge and indistinct human features. The face moved for a moment, and the muscles on the face shifted with the bag skin.

It was a woman’s face with an exaggerated smile.

This is bad…

Yin Ren’s head had just finished turning this thought when those thick “red cloths”—his strongest seal—were lightly blown open in front of him.

The red cloth exploded into countless pieces of flesh and blood, and the person-shaped mouth made of the Evil Force condensed, fiercely pouncing towards him.

……

At the same time, in the abandoned building.

“Stand behind me and keep your distance!” Fu Xingchuan almost roared.

Inside the gap, a frenzied Evil Force almost spurted out. It collided head-on with Fu Xingchuan’s protective spell, almost piercing through it.

But that was only the beginning.

After the initial rupture, the gap that had not yet closed was like a wound, constantly oozing extremely thick Evil Force. If Fu Xingchuan hadn’t received a message from Yellow Millet in advance and reinforced the seal from the outside, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Fu Xingchuan was surrounded by countless golden spell charms, and his face was also reflected in the golden paper color. At this moment, Fu Xingchuan resembled a person propping up the ruins of a building—he was fully supporting the protection and dared not be distracted. The other four were lying paralyzed under the ruins, trembling in fear.

“As long as I’m alive, you will still have a chance.”

Fang Xingchuan bit his teeth until they bled.

“Hang on, there will be a turning point… Hey, you, dumpling, come on and help us!”

The great evil Yellow Millet groaned. It rolled and crawled into the coffin of the corpse cage and pretended to be dead.

Fu Xingchuan: “……”

It’s not like this thing is passive. It could be considered second in command in terms of strength here. But as expected, evil beings weren’t friendly by nature, and they couldn’t be relied upon. Even if Fu Xingchuan had obtained his “divination” from Fu Wuya and learned of his lifespan, he simply couldn’t hold on like this.

Fu Wuya was only a master, not a deity. The “divination” he had divined wasn’t absolute. Taking a step back, there was also the possibility he would have to live alone for a while.

He had to think of a solution.

Except for Lu Xiaohe, who was a science post, the talents of Fu Tianyi, Ge Tingting, and Huang Jin were all good, but unfortunately, none of them had any experience. Even the weakened version of the Divine Descent wasn’t something newcomers could handle.

However, just resisting the Evil Force had exhausted all of Fu Xingchuan’s strength… He had to think of a solution…

“What is that?” Ge Tingting, who had turned pale, pointed her finger—in view of the limited energy of a certain middle-aged man, after Fu Xingchuan initially closed the gap, he removed the dark magic around her eyes.

Who knew that this girl had the guts to peek into the gap.

Fu Xingchuan subconsciously turned his gaze, seeing dark red fragments floating in the black and gray mixed with Evil Force.

The remains of a monster with a human smell. It was probably the remains of a mutated evil that had turned into mud and been made into this shape… There were also some black threads mixed in it, which were supposed to be woven into a certain pattern but were now broken and unrecognizable.

“Fragments of an evil processed by magic,” Fu Xingchuan said hoarsely.

Ge Tingting’s AI didn’t answer.

She dared not look directly at the gap itself but at the fragments that were constantly surging out. After a few seconds, she took off Shian’s unilateral earphones.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Ge?” Lu Xiaohe still held her laptop tightly. “Did you find something? I can also see those fragments. Are they very special?”

“Those fragments aren’t right.” Ge Tingting’s AI replied in a clear tone. “Those Evil Force are a bit like human corpses. I can hear the unique noise of a corpse, and the noise is particularly sharp near those fragments.”

“Those fragments seem to have a negative effect on them, but I’m not sure.”

She wiped the remaining blood and tears from her face and turned her bloodshot eyes to Huang Jin.

“Huang Jin, you try to see. It’s okay, just look at the corners.”

Since Ge Tingting’s eyes bled when she stared directly at the gap, Huang Jin kept his eyes tightly closed. When he was called upon, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

“No, we can’t do anything!” Huang Jin shouted. “Keeping safe is the best help we can offer!”

Ge Tingting didn’t respond.

In the darkness, her originally soft mind became more and more like a diamond. Huang Jin could only see the words “Do what we can” from her… Did this girl have no concept of the severity of the situation?!

However, on second thought, she had just come into contact with the metaphysical world, and what she encountered was Evil Force and cognitive pollution… Thinking about the later cases she encountered, none of them provided her with any “normal” reference standards.

Huang Jin felt somewhat exhausted.

But this time, Ge Tingting didn’t insist on asking him for help. The little girl turned around on her own and reached out to the broken pieces of the corpse.

[These pieces are corpses, and I’m a corpse servant.]

In Huang Jin’s eyes, thoughts as simple as they were terrifying flashed by.

[If the Evil Force rejects these pieces of the corpse, what if I put the pieces back together?]

Ge Tingting struggled to move her fingers.

Unlike ordinary animal bones, these pieces of the corpse were particularly difficult to control, each weighing over a thousand catties. However, this young corpse servant still refused to give up, stubbornly moving them around.

Fu Xingchuan furrowed his brow but didn’t stop her.

After less than half a minute, Ge Tingting was panting heavily in place. Her face was pale, her pupils were shaking non-stop, and her thoughts seemed to have been run through a juicer, with many negative thoughts mixed in.

Huang Jin silently watched Ge Tingting.

Perhaps she was too young and naive, but despite the waves of negative thoughts flowing through her head like water, she had a few ironclad ideas.

[There’s still the cat, Luo Wanxiang and the others I just met, and sister Ding Lizi.]

[I always have something I can do. Even if I fail, the impact will still be reduced a bit.]

Her movements gradually became weak and disorderly, but those pieces of the corpse were really pieced together by her, forming a small piece of corpse cloth.

Fu Xingchuan exclaimed, “The black silk thread embroidered on the corpse pieces has a very strong seal. I can learn it, but it will take some time. Xiao Ge, well done, you can rest now.”

But Ge Tingting didn’t give up.

She persisted in moving the pieces of the corpse, and the corpse cloth she pieced together gradually grew larger. Seeing this person’s trance-like appearance, Huang Jin, who rarely refrained from mocking, just sighed deeply.

He cut his palm with a carving knife, clenched his fist, and let his blood drip onto the modified tranquility talisman.

Ge Tingting and Lu Xiaohe looked at him with surprise.

“I always have something I can do, don’t I?” Huang Jin muttered. “Although it’s just a little calming effect, it’s better than nothing, right?”

Ge Tingting smiled at him and moved the pieces of the corpse again.

Hmm?

The feeling of irritability and ferocity that had just been present had dissipated quite a bit, and the pieces of the corpse in the Evil Force felt lighter now… No, it was more accurate to say that she “had learned how to operate correctly”.

Ge Tingting looked at Huang Jin with some surprise, but this wasn’t the time for idle chatter. She quickly assembled the pieces of the corpse while the feeling was still present.

It wasn’t her imagination.

As the spell on the pieces of the corpse became complete, there were signs that the surrounding Evil Force was being suppressed. She quickly glanced at the gaps where the Evil Force was still flowing and raised her hands…

It transformed into a crooked and distorted adhesive bandage that covered the most severely leaking areas.

As the source weakened, the surrounding Evil Force immediately became thinner, and there was a clear smile on Fu Xingchuan’s face.

“Very good.”

He said, not forgetting to glance at Huang Jin.

“I underestimated you. With this, I can also exert some of my power. You all prepare…”

Before Fu Xingchuan finished speaking, the gap that Ge Tingting had just finished patching suddenly completely collapsed.

The collapse came without warning, and the surging Evil Force burst out, instantly engulfing the five of them.

……

Inside the gap, the transition space.

When the seal exploded, Yin Ren was once again overwhelmed by the Evil Force. Unlike the last time, he was unprepared and had insufficient energy.

Yin Ren quickly constructed a winged ball and only had time to wrap himself and his suitcase behind him.

The Evil Force this time wasn’t as chaotic as before. If the previous attack was like a mudslide chasing behind him, this time the mudslide had turned into an earth dragon and was strategically suppressing him.

The person controlling from behind became serious.

…He took out his strongest sealing technique, but in the end, wasn’t it still like a cat playing with a mouse? All his resistance now seemed a bit ridiculous.

In the tattered winged ball, Yin Ren wiped the dirt from his face and tried to calm his breathing.

No, he couldn’t give up yet. He just had to escape, not win.

The winged ball, which was wrapped into a ball, trembled incessantly, and the invasion of the Evil Force from the outside was extremely painful. Yin Ren gritted his teeth and tried to squeeze out his exhausted thoughts.

Just then, a hand reached out from the suitcase and firmly squeezed the winged ball.

[Yin Ren, please restore yourself to your original form.]

Zhong Chengshuo held tightly onto his phone and turned on the only source of light in the darkness.

[No matter what kind of evil we face, your true form will always be stronger.]

“I can’t do that. It’ll cause sensory chaos!” Yin Ren immediately replied. “I need my normal five senses to properly protect you.”

Indeed, his state of mind was more favorable when fighting a sniper, but at that time he thought Zhong Chengshuo was dead and only saw the sniper running around, ignoring the damage it caused to its surroundings. But now, he had to protect Zhong Chengshuo…

[It’s not necessary. Your sense of touch is enough, leave the rest to me.]

Zhong Chengshuo replied. He lifted himself from the suitcase and hugged the bundle of wings beside him.

[Leave it to me.]

“Okay,” Yin Ren said, closing his eyes.

The next moment, a gray-black ocean poured out.

Compared to that, the Evil Force rushing towards them was like stagnant, turbid water. His sense of touch became somewhat numb, perhaps due to sensory chaos, and his severe pain became dull. With his five senses gone, Yin Ren’s world plunged into nothingness.

The sniper he was chasing had completely died, and there were no living beings around, which was terrifyingly desolate.

Yin Ren’s consciousness drifted away again, leaving only evil spirits and corpses around him. They were wandering in the distance of the battlefield, echoing almost imperceptible ripples.

In the void, those ripples were small and clear, as if they could be touched by reaching out.

…If he tried to seal them in this form again, perhaps the effect would be better, Yin Ren thought in a daze while his thoughts scattered.

It was just a thought, but those evil spirits seemed to have received a death order and gathered here at high speed. As if a layer of gauze before his eyes had been lifted, controlling the evil spirits had never been so easy.

But where was the enemy?

When the sniper was still alive, Yin Ren could track the ripples belonging to the enemy. Now, it was just manipulated wreckage. In the chaos of his five senses, it was difficult for Yin Ren to distinguish the direction of his target.

Suddenly, he felt a tug on a certain part of his body, like a polished claw gently scratching.

A very small and soft pull.

Yin Ren instinctively moved his body, only to collide with a sudden attack of Evil Force.

…Zhong Chengshuo was guiding him.

Although it was unclear how that person did it, there was no doubt that his partner was guiding him in battle.

Just the sense of touch was enough, as it turned out.

There was another gentle tug, and Yin Ren’s body contracted. This time he had no hair, but instead shed large chunks of his body, which were covered in countless runes that merged with the gathering evil spirits.

Compared to hair, the effect of large chunks of flesh was obviously much more powerful.

If this were outside, it would be a serious source of evil qi pollution. Yin Ren’s thoughts raced through his mind, but the anxiety and pressure had disappeared.

The evil spirits that came into contact with Yin Ren’s flesh rapidly swelled again, transforming into a heavy seal. However, this time, the seal didn’t weakly envelop those forces—it turned into sharp blades that sliced the surging Evil Force cleanly.

A gentle pull.

The ocean of wings surged and intertwined with the murky power.

A quiet tug.

The flesh and blood gathered into blades fell, and the dead torrent violently disintegrated. One piece, four pieces, eight pieces—the seal cut them off and then tightly isolated them.

As if sensing something, that power was guided to rampage and destroy, seemingly wanting to damage the space itself. The surging flow of Evil Force caused countless small cracks to appear in the transitional space. If this were in normal circumstances, it would be enough to disrupt any conscious attack.

However, except for Zhong Chengshuo, Yin Ren had almost given up all external perception.

That person seemed to have become his most agile combat nerve. Yin Ren acted very quickly and without hesitation.

This feeling was very strange. Previously, maintaining human form and fighting felt like a mortal dealing with a natural disaster. Now he had also become a natural disaster, despite being exhausted and unable to see or hear anything.

…But he was very calm.

That person guided him time and time again, and the entangling forces were scattered and separated by the seal. After dispersing, the process of decomposing them into evil qi became faster.

Finally, the murky power stopped moving.

The ocean of wings slumped in place, and the tense nerves suddenly relaxed. Yin Ren almost laid down to recover his human form.

As soon as his five senses returned, Yin Ren was too lazy to deal with the spatial cracks. He looked in the direction where Zhong Chengshuo was. The smile on his face hadn’t had a chance to appear before it froze on his lips.

Zhong Chengshuo was standing two steps away from him.

The man’s chest, neck, and many small wounds were all covered in Evil Force… No, it wasn’t so much that they were covered, as they were absorbed.

They wriggled, transformed, and revealed a newborn’s delicate flesh color at the broken parts.

Inside the wound, the organs were initially the size of a baby but quickly expanded and transformed into adult organs. The head was even stranger—a mixture of baby, adolescent, and adult features blended together on the fleshy ball. They looked like some kind of bizarre computer effect, slowly floating and merging like drops of oil, gradually becoming the facial features that Yin Ren was familiar with.

Those were the facial features of Zhong Chengshuo.

Even at the moment of growth, the head was still tilted—Zhong Chengshuo’s neck hadn’t turned, but his chin was facing his left shoulder.

But the “ordinary” man only fumbled for a moment. He held the head on both sides and lightly twisted it forward.

Crack.

The final wound slowly healed, and Zhong Chengshuo stood quietly in front of Yin Ren, bare-chested.

“Yin Ren.”

He opened his black hole-like eyes and called out softly.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Evil As Humans Ch150

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 150: Healing

At the moment when the Yin Ren fell to the ground, black hair danced and blocked the gap that hadn’t yet been closed. However, it was like trying to block a burst water pipe with bare hands. Countless Evil Force still squeezed through the gap. The power, full of resentment and pain, was like concentrated acid, burning Yin Ren’s wing with intense pain.

Finally reaching Sunken Society, he couldn’t afford to be passive anymore.

While the raging Evil Force hadn’t yet turned into a torrent, Yin Ren disregarded everything and blocked the gaps, quickly surveying the surrounding situation.

He smelled Zhong Chengshuo’s breath, as well as various kinds of corpse odors. Among them, there were various strange and evil qi. Compared to the Ant Nest in Gengsheng Town, this ghostly place was no less daunting.

A huge and dangerous corpse vault.

Zhong Chengshuo was once “stored” here.

Having been in contact with modern times for a long time, Yin Ren probably knew what kind of situation a place to store corpses would be. As soon as he thought of Zhong Chengshuo dragging his mutilated corpse out of here, Yin Ren’s hostility couldn’t be suppressed.

Nor did he want to suppress it.

In the blink of an eye, Yin Ren’s Evil Force surged in all directions. Countless mortuary cabinets sounded with frantic banging noises, responding with all their might. In an instant, sharp magic alarms echoed in the darkness.

Yin Ren sneered.

There was no need to reveal the true form of the Evil Force. As the “Great Celestial Master,” he was proficient in being a ghost master, corpse servant, and spirit smith. Since awakening in this era, Yin Ren hadn’t found a place suitable for “controlling corpses”.

At the moment when Yin Ren was tightly blocking the external Evil Force, the corpses shrouded in evil qi broke open the sturdy metal door and walked unsteadily towards Yin Ren.

Clack, clack.

The cold and stiff flesh slapped against the floor.

The first to break through the door were two century-old zombies. Behind them were all sorts of strange and terrifying evil beings, contaminated and mutated by Evil Force. They shook their extra limbs, opened different numbers of eyes, and emitted wailing cries from their throats.

A few bodies were missing arms and legs during the process of breaking through the door, so they stuck together to form a large, fused corpse monster. The strange smell spread in the corridor, and the thick evil qi stirred up ripples.

Cack, clack.

The dark corridor was crowded with shadows, and the bodies were all naked. The broken internal organs swayed slowly, and the deformed flesh shone with a watery sheen. Countless bones bulged, and turbid yellow corpse fluid dripped on the ground. The bluish-white color of dead flesh and the brownish yellow of dried corpses were mixed together, contrasting against the gray-white corridor, as if everything had lost its color.

This was truly a hellish scene.

Only the heavy seal of Yin Ren that was woven into his red clothes emitted a bright light in the shadows. The bodies stood obediently behind Yin Ren, solemn as if they were a funeral procession.

They gradually crowded the corridor, lifting their heavy, deformed heads, and their bones made a dry, turning sound.

It was almost over.

Perhaps for an individual, this place was an unsolvable maze. But when all the corpses had left, the only entrance disguised as a door became incredibly distinct.

Amid the almost piercing alarm, Yin Ren finally released those gaps that had reached their limit.

The next moment, the raging Evil Force in the previous interstitial space spewed out. Dozens of corpses behind Yin Ren bounced out, blocking him and rapidly stretching their arms to instantly generate layers of hard and dry membranes.

Yin Ren turned around smoothly and passed over each corpse without looking back, heading straight for the exit.

Behind him, countless bodies rushed forward into the torrent of the Evil Force. In the distorted space, the corpses were either crushed or devoured. However, they still went forward ignorantly, and all kinds of vicious corpse spells rained down on the pure Evil Force.

Even if it was a mantis trying to stop a car, with so many mantis corpses, the sticky corpse fluid could still cause the wheels to skid.

The quality of the goods of Sunken Society was quite high. Countless fierce corpses acted as sandbags in the flood, and the speed of the Evil Force slowed down a bit.

In the flood, Mr. Qiu’s remains were splashed everywhere. Any corpse that came into contact with the solid debris would expand and burst, blossoming into flesh and blood fireworks.

The sharp alarm, the sound of the walls collapsing, and the sound of corpse explosions mixed together. The quiet corpse vault suddenly became unbelievably lively, as if it were New Year’s.

Yin Ren dragged the suitcase left and right, executing each floor the same way. Even if he was frantically consumed by this strange Evil Force, the number of corpses running out of the corpse vault only increased as if it were inexhaustible.

If he wasn’t being chased, Yin Ren would love this exhilarating feeling, like a mouse falling into a rice bin*.

*An expression describing a situation where someone unexpectedly benefits from a mistake or mishap.

Meanwhile, Zhong Chengshuo obediently sat in the half-open suitcase. His body was surrounded by wings, and his hands were clinging to the edge of the suitcase, not knowing what he was sensing.

Soon, Yin Ren rushed up to the third floor connected to the elevator.

However, in the deafening alarm, the elevator was thoroughly sealed off.

There was no escape route again.

Just as Yin Ren had this thought, Zhong Chengshuo pinched the bundle of wings again. He typed quickly, and Yin Ren simply grew an eye on one of the wing clusters and distracted himself to watch.

[You triggered the magic alarm, so you can only escape up to three floors. Above the third floor, the elevator will be heavily guarded, making it difficult to break through. Erase your presence, and you can use the bottom of the elevator to borrow force.]

Yin Ren reacted instantly.

There must be a gap below the elevator shaft. He could take Zhong Chengshuo with him and hide in there, completely sealing off their breath, and let some of his hair strands crawl up—when the Evil Force arrived like a mudslide, it could help them break through all defenses.

After most of the Evil Force had surged out, they could use the remaining corpses as a consumable shield, which could indeed surprise the enemy and avoid being caught in a pincer attack.

However…

“It’s hard to defend when hiding. I can tolerate it, but you will briefly come into contact with those things.”

Yin Ren spoke very fast.

“That kind of Evil Force is different from mine. It’s exceptionally violent—”

Zhong Chengshuo just patted his wings and made an OK gesture.

Yin Ren didn’t waste any more words, nor did he hesitate.

With several spells, he shattered the elevator and went straight to the bottom of the elevator shaft, suppressing all aura. Only a strand of black hair broke away from Yin Ren’s body and spread its momentum, crawling up through numerous obstacles and cracks.

As a strand of weak and unconnected hair, it crawled exceptionally fast. As expected, the Evil Force fell for the trap and chased after the strand of hair aggressively.

Bang!

Bang!!

Bang!!!

The sound of massive explosions kept coming from above the elevator shaft, where the Evil Force collided head-on with the heavy protection of Sunken Society. Countless debris burst down like bullets. Yin Ren used his wing ball to protect himself and his suitcase while being completely soaked in the Evil Force. It felt like he had fallen into a strong acid and every skin on his body was aching.

Zhong Chengshuo, on the other hand, quietly curled up his body, just like a baby in a womb. Yin Ren couldn’t open his eyes, so he could only hold his lover tightly with his wings.

In the warm embrace of his wings, Zhong Chengshuo clenched his fists slightly.

At first, Yin Ren didn’t understand the meaning of this behavior, but the rhythm of that clenched fist was so familiar that he quickly remembered where it came from.

It was Zhong Chengshuo’s heartbeat.

No words, no heartbeat, no breath. Zhong Chengshuo used this posture to tell him that he was okay and that he didn’t need to worry.

…Zhong Chengshuo knew he would worry.

In the midst of pain and burning, Yin Ren curled up the corners of his mouth.

The sound of explosions became more frequent and blurred. The surging Evil Force also became thinner, and finally, a trace of the breath of the living seeped down from far above. Screams and another wave of alarms entered Yin Ren’s ears.

Now!

In an instant, a large army of corpses crowded into the narrow elevator shaft. Yin Ren protected Zhong Chengshuo and rushed straight up. Behind him, the corpses passed over his body, acting as a shield and blocking the front. When they encountered the scattered Evil Force, there were bursts of corpse explosions.

Yin Ren displayed the fastest speed of his life. In less than three seconds, he rushed straight to the top of the elevator.

Finding that something was off, the torrent of Evil Force turned with difficulty.

“The more, the merrier.”

Yin Ren wiped the blood and sweat off his face.

“…I love lively places the most.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the flood of corpses behind him collided head-on with the Evil Force.

Another explosion of corpses sounded, and the sturdy barriers around them immediately collapsed. The electronic alarms changed their tone into a hoarse and unpleasant mixing like a funeral march.

The space twisted, and the corpses were thrown askew. In the center of it all, Yin Ren was covered in red clothes, revealing an almost relieved smile.

It was a chilling sight to behold.

On the surface of the distant world, Wei Huaqian furrowed his brow.

His personal interface was filled with various alarms, and the blood-red warnings kept scrolling.

Something had gone wrong in the underground corpse vault.

Sunken Society had immediately sealed off the storage area and dispatched the cleanup crew. They even cut off Minister Zou’s access to the relic warehouse. Everything was executed in the fastest and most ruthless manner possible. If the risky areas were compared to carrion, he had already cut out the wound at the fastest speed possible.

…Why did something happen in the underground corpse vault?!

And it was the highest level alert!

Wei Huaqian tried to access the surveillance of the incident, but no matter which camera he looked at, the screen was pitch black—as if a bottomless eye was pressed against the lens.

Only data was frantically being transmitted, screen after screen.

An unprecedented amount of Evil Force had erupted.

…Wait, unprecedented? An eruption of Evil Force with no source?

Wei Huaqian’s hand, which was operating the tablet computer, stopped in mid-air, and his back instantly became damp with sweat. He didn’t even have time to feel sorry for the precious items in the vault. There were only two words in his mind—

Divine Descent.

He pinched his brow hard and quickly examined the rows of data.

No, no, this isn’t right.

In recent years, Sunken Society had conducted many experiments on Evil Force and gained a deep understanding of its characteristics. Wei Huaqian was very certain that the data in front of him was much weaker than a real Divine Descent. This outbreak was more like a weakened version of Divine Descent in a small area. The nature of the Evil Force had significant differences from a true Divine Descent.

The Evil Force that erupted twenty-eight years ago during Divine Descent was… fresher?

And the Evil Force that was currently causing destruction everywhere was quickly deteriorating into evil qi, like it was rapidly decaying. This level… Sunken Society should still be able to handle it at this level.

He held his breath and quickly gave instructions one by one.

Quickly separate the transition space and connect it to the human world, luring the destroyers away!

Sunken Society was his most convenient tool. The top priority was to guard the branch; even if this tool became damaged and difficult to use, it was still better than bare hands.

At the moment when Wei Huaqian was fully focused on giving orders, a certain data on the screen suddenly plummeted like a cliff.

At the same time, in the interstitial space, Yin Ren’s movements suddenly stopped.

The Evil Force around him still surged, but there was something clearly different. It was a subtle, instinctive awareness—

Just now, the source of the Evil Force had completely “died”.

The pain in that power disappeared, leaving only icy resentment and endless chaos.

And at the moment when Yin Ren was fully focused on sensing it, behind him, inside the suitcase…

The wounds on the body of this headless corpse soaked in this Evil Force were quietly closing, little by little.


The author has something to say:

Xiao Yin: Explosion of fireworks! I emptied your inventory.

Xiao Zhong: Stay quiet and get better.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Bu Tian Gang Ch144

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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


Chapter 144

The sound was annoying beyond frustration. He swept his sword again, but this time its power wasn’t as great. Under the red light, the evil spirits and demons were only pushed back a few steps and quickly closed in again. They were eager to feast on this rare opportunity of a body.

Could it be that he would perish here before becoming the head of the bureau? Wu Bingtian felt somewhat unwilling. Exhausted, he leaned on his sword. The sword light could no longer stop the relentless onslaught of the monsters. He was like a glowing, fragrant food, tempting the creatures to devour him even if it meant their own destruction.

Another swing of the sword, but this time the sword light was much weaker. The monsters were no longer afraid. The ones in front were just eliminated by the sword energy, and the ones behind came rushing forward with a roar.

A black shadow covered his head. Wu Bingtian weakly raised the long sword in his hand. His chest was heaving, his body weary and feeble, yet his heart was beating fast. His mind was in chaos. He closed his eyes, allowing his overwhelming frustration to surge through his heart. He thought to himself that this time he had failed, but even if he became a ghost, he would tear Otowa apart.

A wave of heat rushed toward him, but the excruciating pain of being devoured by countless demons didn’t materialize. Through his half-closed eyelids, he could feel the heat and light that could penetrate even the thinnest skin, compelling him to open his eyes. Before him was a bright scene, and all the monsters were vanishing under the light.

Two figures approached slowly.

At first, they were just blurry silhouettes, but gradually they became clearer, and the person in the lead was tall and familiar.

“Long Shen!”

“Boss Wu!” It was Li Ying’s voice.

Wu Bingtian had never been so ecstatic before. He sincerely welcomed Long Shen’s arrival.

When the two of them were in the Special Administration Bureau, they clashed many times. Just because Long Shen had the appearance of a hermit and seemed detached from worldly matters, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t compete with Wu Bingtian. Outsiders often thought that the head of the bureau didn’t do anything, and that Deputy Director Wu had the upper hand. In reality, the Special Administration Bureau operated under a system of checks and balances among the three of them. Wu Bingtian had also been suppressed by Long Shen on numerous occasions. Putting that aside, in terms of assigning tasks to the new recruits this time, the two of them had clashed repeatedly.

But that was internal strife, and chaos among their ranks didn’t matter. Now facing a formidable enemy, Wu Bingtian was on the verge of death. When Long Shen suddenly appeared, how could he not be overjoyed? Even someone who had resigned themselves to death wouldn’t resist such a result if they could avoid dying.

“How did you get in?” Wu Bingtian asked breathlessly.

“We killed Yamata no Orochi, tore through the enchantment, and came to your location,” Long Shen replied succinctly, with Li Ying appearing behind him.

“The legendary Yamata no Orochi?” Wu Bingtian was shocked by the words.

“Most likely. That demon beast has eight heads and eight tails. To completely kill it, all the heads and tails must be dealt with simultaneously,” Li Ying said, his face covered in bloodstains, looking even more disheveled than Wu Bingtian.

He didn’t want to recall the fierce battle they had just experienced. In order to simultaneously sever the eight heads of the giant snake, while Long Shen unleashed eight sword lights, Li Ying had to simultaneously summon eight talisman fires to burn the eight fragmented bodies, preventing their regeneration. Normally, Li Ying would grit his teeth and bring forth the eight talisman fires, but at that moment, he was heavily injured to the point where he couldn’t even use a sword. He had to almost spit out his own blood to summon the eight talismans.

Due to the light, Wu Bingtian didn’t have the intention to look at Li Ying closely. Otherwise, if he had observed carefully, he would have noticed that Li Ying’s steps were unsteady and his complexion was pale, relying solely on the medicinal pills brought by Long Shen to sustain himself. He had consumed hundreds of thousands, even millions, worth of pills from the black market. Compared to the Shangqing pills Dong Zhi had eaten, they were nothing.

“It seems that the enchantments are connected!” The two deputy directors met, and upon hearing the account of Long Shen’s experiences, Wu Bingtian immediately drew a conclusion.

“Let’s get out of here first and then discuss. Do you still have the energy?” Long Shen asked.

“I lost my arm, but I can use talismans. You can clear the way with your sword, and I’ll cover the rear with talismans,” Wu Bingtian said, sheathing his sword on his back and taking out talisman slips from his pocket. “How about Li Ying?”

Li Ying said ashamedly, “My actions may be slow.”

After all, he had suffered serious injuries and couldn’t even lift a sword, which would also affect the efficiency of his talisman usage.

Wu Bingtian didn’t waste time with unnecessary words and couldn’t spare the effort to comfort him. “Then you stay in the middle and don’t leave our protective circle.”

Long Shen said, “Otowa is observing us with a mirror. He should know that we have arrived.”

Wu Bingtian grinned. “I’ve already broken that thing. He can’t monitor us now!”

Long Shen nodded. Upon hearing these words, he no longer had any concerns. He swung his sword and slashed the countless demonic qi in front of him. In an instant, a myriad of mournful cries echoed from all directions, filled with despair and anguish. There were the cries of children and the pitiful pleas of women, but the three of them remained unaffected, steadily advancing step by step.

Wu Bingtian was at the end. His missing arm didn’t limit his movements. With his remaining intact hand, he pulled out talisman slips, chanted incantations, and the papers turned into a large number of armored soldiers that rushed towards the demonic qi.

Li Ying stood in the middle, guarding with talismans. Whenever he detected demonic qi approaching, he would burn them with talisman fires. Long Shen cleared the way in front, and with his sword light, he swept through the air, obliterating any trace of demonic qi. After breaking through the mirrored space, rescuing Li Ying, and killing Yamata no Orochi one after another, his grip on the sword remained steady and his gaze unwavering. Even the radiance of his sword and the aura it emitted were unmatched. Li Ying followed closely and realized that he had no idea where Long Shen’s physical limit lay. This man’s strength was truly terrifying.

“There’s no use killing them like this. The demonic qi will just circulate endlessly!” Wu Bingtian couldn’t help but speak up.

“Boss Wu, Boss Long just discovered a gap in the enchantment. We need to go there now!” Li Ying explained.

Wu Bingtian’s spirits lifted. “Where is it?”

Long Shen: “Not far.”

Within this enchantment, time became meaningless. Wu Bingtian didn’t even know if he had been here for an hour or two, a day or two. But he knew that his “not far” and Long Shen’s “not far” certainly had a significant difference. After walking for a while, Wu Bingtian’s remaining hand started to feel a prickling pain, a sign of extreme exhaustion. Even the efficiency of using talismans had greatly decreased. Wu Bingtian had to speak up.

“Boss Long, how much farther?” he asked.

Long Shen chuckled lightly.

The laughter wasn’t loud, but both Wu Bingtian and Li Ying heard it.

“I didn’t expect the patience of Boss Wu to be so poor.”

Li Ying was surprised that Long Shen could speak in such a teasing tone.

Wu Bingtian replied indignantly, “You try losing an arm and see. I’ve already exerted every ounce of strength I have!”

After all, they had been partners for many years. Upon hearing Long Shen’s relaxed tone, Wu Bingtian knew that the exit of the enchantment was not far away. As expected, right after he finished speaking, Long Shen shouted, “Break!”

The syllable felt substantial as it hammered on the eardrums of the other two.

Since Wu Bingtian happened to be speaking at the time, the nauseating sensation from the vibrations was greatly reduced for him. However, Li Ying wasn’t so lucky. His ears buzzed, and the sound directly pierced into his heart, causing him to immediately spew a mouthful of blood.

“Open your mouth.”

Hearing Long Shen’s voice, Li Ying instinctively opened his mouth, and a pill passed through his tongue and into his throat. The burning sensation in his chest instantly subsided.

“Oh, this is Boss Long’s private stash!” Wu Bingtian keenly observed.

Li Ying had originally wanted to ask for the name of the pill, but upon hearing those words, he silently swallowed his question. He put on an innocent and clueless expression, afraid that even if he sold himself, he still wouldn’t be able to repay the debt.

Of course, Long Shen didn’t ask him for it either. With that shout, the surroundings were instantly illuminated, and the curtain of darkness fell, replaced by flickering lantern lights and white mist.

Li Ying squinted his eyes and examined for a while before realizing that the flickering lights were actually lanterns, and the white mist was formed by humanoid evil spirits.

“Boss Long!” He turned his head towards the voice and saw Tang Jing, the director of the East China Branch, and Yu Buhui.

Everyone had finally reunited. Li Ying was very excited, and he also saw the joy on Wu Bingtian’s face.

“How are you all?” Wu Bingtian asked as the five of them quickly gathered together.

“We’re fine!” Tang Jing replied. He then noticed Wu Bingtian’s empty arm, and his voice faltered.

“Don’t get distracted. Breaking the enemy is the priority!” Long Shen seemed to sense his emotional fluctuations and reminded him in a deep voice.

One corner of the Eight-Directional Bhavacakra Formation connected to Wu Bingtian’s enchantment. With the enchantment broken and the Bhavacakra shattered, the power of the formation greatly diminished. Tang Jing and Yu Buhui’s spirits soared, taking the opportunity to make a move and eliminate two Prajna* entities.

*Often translated as “wisdom”, “intelligence”, or “understanding”.

However, Li Ying could no longer hold on. He stumbled and fell forward, but Long Shen’s keen eyes and quick hands grabbed him and gently sat him down on the ground.

“He’s dying,” Wu Bingtian said as he glanced at Li Ying.

No one considered Li Ying weak. In the situation where Ding Lan had already died, his ability to hold on until reinforcements arrived was no easy feat. Although there was the reason that Otowa Yasuhiko wanted to use him as bait, even if it were someone else, they probably wouldn’t have been able to fight their way out alongside Long Shen and Wu Bingtian.

“Don’t move, close your eyes and rest. We’ll handle things here,” Tang Jing quickly said.

Li Ying sat down cross-legged, nodding weakly.

At that moment, three white tigers leaped into the scene, roaring and pouncing towards everyone. Tang Jing caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye and noticed a slender figure.

“It looks like Eiko Kitaichi!”

Wu Bingtian was shocked. “Didn’t she suffer severe injuries and fall into a coma?”

Tang Jing sneered and briefly explained the situation. “Fujikawa brought his apprentice back to life with demonic qi, but Eiko Kitaichi ended up killing him.”

Anyone who saw Fujikawa’s fate would understand that they had brought it upon themselves. It remained unknown whether Fujikawa would regret his attempt to profit from others*.

*Plotting to skin a tiger (与虎谋皮) Metaphor referring to when someone tries to take advantage of a powerful or dangerous person or entity, often with the intention of benefiting from their resources or influence.

No onmyoji could summon more than two shikigami at the same time, but Eiko Kitaichi could. The reason she was hailed as the genius girl of their generation was precisely because of her outstanding performance in onmyoji techniques. However, she had now become a puppet of Otowa Yasuhiko, a beautiful girl devoid of expression, manipulating three shikigami to coordinate with the Bhavacakra Formation, intending to trap Long Shen and the others inside.

Just as everyone was fully focused on breaking the formation, Tang Jing heard a familiar voice say, “Follow me!”

The figure of Ming Xian then leaped into the formation, his expression anxious, urging Tang Jing and the others.

“I know the flaws in the formation, follow me!”

Tang Jing’s heart trembled, filled with uncertainty. He reached out to grab him, and Ming Xian made no resistance, allowing Tang Jing to tightly grip his arm, though he only furrowed his brows slightly.

“Otowa injected demonic qi into my body, but I still retain a part of my original consciousness. However, I don’t know how long I can hold on. Quickly follow me out before I completely lose my sanity.”

Tang Jing subconsciously took a few steps with him before remembering to turn his head and look at the others. It was during these short steps that he suddenly realized the special place Ming Xian held in his heart.

The once carefree and worldly Tang Jing, who dismissed everything in the world, found an exception in Ming Xian. He was a thorn in Tang Jing’s heart. This thorn wasn’t lethal, but it pricked his flesh constantly, causing him pain.

When Tang Jing turned his head, Long Shen furrowed his brows slightly, giving him a glance without saying anything. With the situation urgent, Yu Buhui didn’t have time to think much. Seeing Tang Jing following the other person, he quickly followed suit.

Sure enough, Ming Xian was well-versed in the formation. He led them towards one of the rooms in the courtyard. It seemed ordinary, but the Prajna Entities and shikigami did not catch up with them. They seemed to encounter an invisible enchantment and became stagnant in a certain place, only roaring and glaring at them with resentment.

The courtyard seemed small, but they had been walking for quite a while. Li Ying was starting to struggle, so Yu Buhui directly carried him on his back. Wu Bingtian, despite missing an arm, seemed to be in good spirits and didn’t need assistance from others.

“Wait,” Long Shen suddenly spoke up.

Naturally, everyone stopped in their tracks. Ming Xian suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, splattering it onto the lantern he was holding, causing the candlelight to dim slightly.

“Ming Xian!” Tang Jing exclaimed in shock, just managing to support his weakened body.

In the flickering light, he suddenly saw a faint smile on Ming Xian’s blood-stained lips. “Ming…”

The next moment, Tang Jing felt a sharp pain in his chest. He lowered his head and saw Ming Xian’s hand inserted into his body; his fingers were covered in blood. Drops of blood fell to the ground, mixing and intertwining with the blood that Ming Xian had sprayed earlier. It was unclear whose blood was whose.

The incident happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Wu Bingtian and Yu Buhui realized something was wrong and tried to intervene, Ming Xian’s figure had already disappeared from the spot, reappearing several meters away, still holding half of Tang Jing’s heart.

With half a heart, could a person still survive?

Tang Jing didn’t know. At that moment, he thought that, as a spirit that had taken human form, perhaps he could indeed survive. The cries of his other companions echoed in his ears, but those voices gradually grew distant from Tang Jing. He didn’t even know that he had fallen to the ground, only feeling a sharp pain in his chest, accompanied by a faint chill, as if a body that had just been heated was submerged in icy water during the harsh winter months.

I’ve really messed up this time. All those lighthearted thoughts have gone to the dogs. Tang Jing self-mockingly thought.

Until a finger touched his brow.

Tang Jing regained some clarity and opened his eyes to see Long Shen in front of him. “I’m fine…” Tang Jing tried to speak but coughed up more blood. He struggled to prop himself up. “All the enchantments are connected. Otowa deliberately lured us here for an ambush.”

No further explanation was needed. Everyone understood. Otowa had never shown himself, using Li Ying as bait to make Ming Xian appear. It was all part of a bigger trap to eliminate them all at once.

As soon as those words were spoken, a tremendous upheaval occurred all around them. The ground cracked, and the sky turned a fiery red. Lightning flashed and thunder roared within the clouds. The floor tiles rose into the air, swirling like a vortex in the center of a hurricane. Suddenly, everything came to a halt, and sharp edges flew toward them.

Ming Xian, who had been watching them from a distance, gradually became blurred.

“That’s the exit!” Wu Bingtian shouted.

“Yu Buhui, take them out!” Long Shen left those words behind and leaped into the air.

His speed was astonishing, merging with the sword light in mid-air. Li Ying couldn’t even see what he had done before the fragments of bricks and stones suddenly stopped and converged into a tidal wave rushing towards Ming Xian.

A path was opened!

“Let’s go!” Yu Buhui carried Li Ying in his left hand and held onto Tang Jing with his right hand. They followed behind Long Shen, with Wu Bingtian in front.

Ming Xian narrowed his eyes, seemingly surprised that his plan to capture them all had been disrupted by Long Shen. He waved his hand, and Eiko Kitaichi leaped from behind, accompanied by the Prajna Entities and shikigami, pouncing towards Tang Jing and Li Ying, who were the most severely injured among the group.

No matter how powerful Yu Buhui was, he couldn’t attend to both of them.

Li Ying felt a chilling sensation coming from the back of his head. It was dense and bone-piercing, freezing his neck and preventing him from turning to look. His body felt incredibly heavy, and he couldn’t lift his limbs. Li Ying knew that it was the pressure emitted by the approaching demon. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t be affected, but now he could only become a burden to everyone.

Just as he was about to grit his teeth and let Yu Buhui give up on him, Tang Jing’s movements were faster than anyone else’s. He swiftly turned and moved towards the back. As his palm flipped, a dazzling radiance poured out from between his fingers, freezing both the Prajna Entities and shikigami in their tracks. They howled and disintegrated into ashes.

Tang Jing spat out a mouthful of blood. Li Ying glanced at it, only to see a faint golden hue. He couldn’t help but be startled. Tang Jing had already collapsed.

Li Ying didn’t know what the radiant light Tang Jing had used to kill the enemies was, but Ming Xian saw it clearly. The ancient mirror was capable of warding off evil, and it was Tang Jing’s true body’s mirror light. He had pushed Tang Jing to the point of severe injuries and powerlessness, forcing him to reveal his true form as a last resort.

Only Eiko Kitaichi was unaffected by Tang Jing’s radiant light. After a brief pause, she flew towards Li Ying, who was defenseless. Yu Buhui acted swiftly, blocking Eiko Kitaichi’s path and engaging her in a fight within the vortex.

“Take them out first!” Yu Buhui shouted.

Wu Bingtian heard the command, but he only had one hand. He gritted his teeth and carried Tang Jing on his back, while his hand grabbed Li Ying and led them out. However, Ming Xian was waiting for them outside.

Ming Xian smiled slightly at Wu Bingtian and said, “Director Wu, you look so tired.”

Upon closer inspection, his smile only covered half of his face, while the other side remained cold and expressionless. In the dim light, his eyes seemed to be red. Wu Bingtian’s hair stood on end from his smile.

Even though Wu Bingtian believed he could deal with Ming Xian, he wasn’t confident that he could handle both Ming Xian and protect Li Ying and Tang Jing at the same time. However, Ming Xian didn’t give him much time to think. As soon as the words were spoken, Ming Xian made his move.

Meanwhile, Long Shen remained alone in the formation. After clearing the path for the others, he didn’t rush to leave. He descended from the sky and thrust his sword into the broken ground where the tiles had been destroyed. With a loud explosion, a massive shockwave spread outwards from the connection between the sword and the ground.

Regardless of friend or foe, everyone was involuntarily flipped over and thrown out, except for Long Shen, who firmly held onto the sword handle without wavering. Eiko Kitaichi and Ming Xian were impacted by the sound waves, crashing into the pillars and then falling to the ground. The others didn’t fare much better. Yu Buhui stabilized himself by plunging his sword into the ground, reaching out to grab Li Ying, preventing him from becoming a flying brick. However, Tang Jing wasn’t as fortunate. He was also lifted into the air and slammed forcefully into a wall. The impact reverberated through his internal organs, and the intense pain in his chest and abdomen made him realize that his injuries had worsened.

Tang Jing smiled wryly. Seeing Ming Xian reaching for the back of Li Ying’s head, he could only muster the strength to stand up and intervene.

A powerful radiance erupted from the connection between the sword and the ground. It was the starting point of all enchantments and the end of all entanglements. Long Shen’s target had always been Otowa Yasuhiko!

The hurricane caused by the burst of light destroyed the entire courtyard. All the dark creatures were exposed under the intense light, howling and screaming as they scattered in all directions. However, they were eventually swept up by the incoming hurricane, torn to pieces, and completely obliterated.

Eiko Kitaichi struck Yu Buhui’s shoulder with her palm, and the demonic qi immediately corroded his flesh, revealing a charred wound. Yu Buhui winced in pain, but he retaliated by kicking Eiko Kitaichi, sending her flying backward. At that moment, Eiko Kitaichi was engulfed by the hurricane and drowned in the brilliant light.

Yu Buhui quickly realized that the entire space was being torn apart by the intense light. Starting from Long Shen’s feet, a deep rift extended rapidly, like a gigantic invisible hand tearing the cracks open.

“The Seven-Star Longyuan Sword is indeed well-deserved of its reputation!”

At the end of the rift, a figure appeared within everyone’s sight. The person was short and hunched, gradually approaching amidst the intense light. He was dressed in traditional Japanese clothing, bearing all the characteristics of an old-fashioned Japanese individual. With deep facial lines and a stern countenance, he didn’t stand out among the crowd. However, at this moment, all eyes were focused on him.

Otowa Yasuhiko, who had been hiding behind the scenes, finally revealed his true form.

With an undisguised gaze of admiration and greed, he carefully scrutinized Long Shen from head to toe. “My spiritual companion, there’s no one with your heroic bearing and pride. Director Long, can you tell me the secret of your tremendous power?” Otowa Yasuhiko didn’t look at anyone else; his gaze was firmly fixed on Long Shen, seemingly unable to look away.

Long Shen ignored his question and coldly asked, “Where is Ding Lan’s soul?”

“The Seven-Star Longyuan Sword should possess such magnificence!” Otowa Yasuhiko exclaimed in admiration. However, his brows furrowed soon after. “The aura emanating from Director Long is something I have never seen in Ming Xian. In my presence, he can only behave like a dog, obediently bowing his head. I’ve wondered countless times which link went wrong, causing him to not only lack the charisma of Director Long but also repeatedly betray me.”

Upon hearing these words, Tang Jing couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic laugh.


<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Criminal Psychology Ch218

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

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


Chapter 218

20:47, at the Hongjing Drum Tower Community.

The middle-aged and elderly people who were out for a stroll or square dancing started to head home. The props used for the square dancing, in various shades of red and green, were swept past Xing Conglian’s Jeep from the roadside. The vendors at the street-side stalls also began to pack up.

The deputy captain of the Hongjing police force, Zhang Ping, sat in the jeep, observing a resident on a certain floor of building 3, block 6 of the Drum Tower Community.

The curtains were tightly closed, and the lights were still off.

Zhang Ping pressed the wireless headset and asked, “Lao Shu, any movement?”

The officer with the code name “Lao Shu” was standing in a small convenience store downstairs of building 3, observing the movements at the entrance. After two groups of returning residents had passed by, the entire community was now quiet and deserted.

“The target hasn’t appeared yet.”

“Keep watching.”

“Got it.”

Zhang Ping retracted the binoculars and looked at the captain, who was smoking in the passenger seat. He had just arrived home before 8 in the evening and hadn’t even had the chance to hug his daughter, who was doing her homework, when he was called out by the captain to prepare for the arrest of a suspect. Although he wasn’t clear about what had happened during the time, he was commuting home from work, the criminal suspect had changed from a man to a woman and from a teacher to a student, which was somewhat confusing. What was even more important was that the captain only mentioned that they had to detain the person in secret, and even the evidence wasn’t sufficient. It would have been more reasonable if they were asked by the higher authorities to cooperate with the investigation. He thought for a moment, then quietly turned off his headset and couldn’t help but speak privately with his captain, “Captain Xing, are we being too hasty in arresting this person?”

“Yes, we are,” Xing Conglian said.

“Then should we wait a bit longer?”

“We can’t wait.”

“Huh?!” Zhang Ping took the cigarette from the dashboard of the Jeep and lit it for himself. “Lao Xing, are you hiding something from us? Tell me what’s going on. How dangerous is this woman named Shen Lian? The people you have called in are almost as equipped as the special forces for catching bandits.”

“Why are you so troublesome? Are you possessed by Wang Chao?” Xing Conglian gave an impatient click of his tongue and extinguished his cigarette.

It wasn’t like Xing Conglian couldn’t answer Zhang Ping’s question, but he really didn’t know whether it was right to arrest so hastily. He simply thought that this woman named Shen Lian sounded dangerous; not to mention that she was likely to be involved with the Zaratul drug factory. What was most crucial was that many times, many things simply made no sense.

The words spoken by Lin Chen just now were still echoing in his ears. Although they weren’t clear about Shen Lian’s motive and the complex ramifications, they had directly located Shen Lian herself through a shortcut. Essentially, it was a shortcut obtained by exchanging the life of Duan Wanshan. They knew information that the murderer didn’t know, so they could take the initiative and be one step ahead. Therefore, he couldn’t let this shortcut go to waste.

At exactly 21:00, Shen Lian still hadn’t returned home.

The personnel on the roads inside and outside the community had all cleared out, and a wild cat darted into the bushes. As soon as Shen Lian stepped into the encirclement, there would be no chance of escape.

The inside of the car was dimly lit and filled with smoke. Xing Conglian rolled over and looked at his phone. He wondered if he should call Lin Chen, but he didn’t know if he accidentally pressed the lock button or for some other reason, but the screen suddenly went dark.

Xing Conglian reached out and turned off the overhead light in the car, leaving only the faint light of Wang Chao’s laptop screen in the entire space.

Zhang Ping frowned at him, as if wondering why he suddenly became so nervous. The deputy squad leader began to look around, and Xing Conglian also looked up. There was no one at the end of the road, and all the police officers were guarding key positions as usual.

There was a faint rustling sound on the communication device, and Zhang Ping began to inquire about the situation at the mouth of the road. The wind brushed the leaves, and a light came on in the distance.

“What car? Is there anyone in the car? Report quickly,” Zhang Ping asked.

There was only the same rustling sound on the communication device. Xing Conglian loaded the gun without hesitation and pushed open the door to get out of the car. Just then, a completely black private car quickly drove towards him. Xing Conglian stood in the middle of the small path and looked into the car.

Two seconds later, the driver suddenly realized that something was wrong and slammed on the brakes, the sharp sound echoing through the night sky.

The distance was close enough. With the help of the streetlamps and car lights, Xing Conglian could clearly see the driver cursing wildly in the car. There was no one in the front or back seats, and the black leather seats gleamed with a warm luster.

The darkness around them once again became quiet, and Xing Conglian watched the driver ranting and raving in the car like he was watching a silent play. Two households turned off their balcony lights, making the streetlamps turn into gentle veils. Wild cats sprinted past, and the wind rose again, followed by a suppressed gasping sound.

Xing Conglian pressed his headset and confirmed that the gasping sound was indeed coming from his earpiece, like a wild beast being strangled or a dying animal caught in a trap. The sound went from coarse to fine, like a steel knife scraping across the scalp, and finally became extremely mournful.

“What’s going on? What’s going on? Who’s causing the interference in the channel!”

Zhang Ping’s anxious inquiry came from the channel, and the undercover police officers on the scene reported one by one. Xing Conglian made a hand gesture to Zhang Ping to have the driver detained and started running.

“Mouse here!”

“Lion here!”

Xing Conglian ran past bushes and flower beds, and the wind brushed past his ears. The barbecue stall at the mouth of the road became increasingly clear.

“Camel here!”

“Wild Horse here!”

The smoke from the barbecue rose, and the fan blew all the smoke and dust into the night sky. The sound of noise and laughter drifted through the night, and people waved their beer, laughing and shouting like it was the most beautiful summer night in the city. If Xing Conglian had not seen the next scene.

All sound disappeared in the space, as if he had walked into an absolutely silent vacuum environment.

The barbecue stall owner pulled a large skewer of grilled meat from the grill, and the pointed tip of the iron skewer emitted a cold light. The gaps between the meat skewers were filled with red-hot iron rods.

The next moment, the owner’s face lit up with a smile as he grabbed the skewer and turned to hand it to a nearby customer.

At that moment, without hesitation, Xing Conglian pulled out his gun as the old, wrinkled hand reached out to hand over the skewer.

The owner still maintained his posture of grabbing the iron skewer, his elbow bent, and all the iron skewers in his hand stabbed towards the open mouth of the young man sitting at the table.

Gunshots rang out.

A spray of blood splattered into the night sky, and the skewers scattered and traced chaotic arcs in the air, finally landing on the ground.

“Anomaly detected at the alley entrance. Requesting backup!” The chaotic voices in the earpiece sounded again, and Xing Conglian ripped off his headset.

Screams pierced the night sky, from both men and women, as chaotic footsteps trampled on the sticky black oil and various shellfish waste on the ground. Some people fell, but more people stood still, staring at the horrifying scene in front of the grill.

“Police investigation! Irrelevant people leave the scene!”

A police officer guarding the other side of the entrance shouted from a distance to the diners at the barbeque stall while waving his arms. Xing Conglian scanned all the nearby faces, some showing fear, some showing numbness, and even some showing a terrifying smile. But among all these faces, there was not one that belonged to Shen Lian.

In the brief moment that he searched for the suspect, no one noticed that the young man who had been stabbed by the barbecue stall owner had regained his senses.

The young man’s eyes flashed with an unusual excitement, as if the wildest blood in his veins had been ignited. He pushed hard with his legs and pounced on the barbecue stall owner. The grill collapsed, and charcoal rolled all over the place as the two rolled in it. The air was filled with the smell of grilled meat and the sizzling sound of burning. However, neither of the two in the charcoal felt any pain. The owner grabbed a burning piece of charcoal and stuffed it into the young man’s mouth, and the young man bit down on the middle-aged owner’s face without hesitation.

With a piercing sound, a large chunk of flesh was torn off. Blood flowed down the young man’s white teeth as he continued to grin widely. The owner picked up a piece of charcoal and stuffed it into his mouth, along with the blood and shredded flesh that flowed down his wrist. The partially cooked, crispy, sweet smell was tantalizing. The owner looked at his hand and bit down, still smiling.

Smoke rose into the night sky, and the fallen fan spun weakly on the cement floor.

Xing Conglian stood still, as if someone had suddenly shot him in the head, but that wasn’t the case. He just felt like all his thoughts were scrambled, and the air was no longer filled with the scent of the city but with the putrid smell of the rainforest; everything was bloody and primitive, making him almost vomit.

A male student sitting at the same table as the young man also stood up. He wore a gold-embossed skull hoodie and picked up a piece of white porcelain shard from the ground. He turned around and walked toward the trembling guests huddled in the corner.

A police officer who had crossed the street suddenly pounced on the male student in the skull hoodie, but the male student raised the porcelain shard and held it tightly against the officer’s throat.

Xing Conglian started running again, and the air around him became scorching hot. He yelled at the guests who were still lingering near the barbecue restaurant, “Go, hurry up and leave!”

The stunned guests screamed again; their eyes filled with terror. Xing Conglian ran at his fastest speed, scanning the scene of the brawl, 20 meters, 10 meters…

The male student in the skull hoodie used some unknown force to push the police officer to the ground. Xing Conglian fired his gun again, hitting the male student’s shoulder, causing blood to flow out, but the frenzied male student seemed unaware of the injury.

Just as Xing Conglian was about to pull the trigger for the third time, the porcelain shard had already plunged into the police officer’s throat.

At the moment the porcelain shard was inserted into the throat, the night sky paused, and the background faded away. The bloody scene became bright, and Xing Conglian saw his colleague struggling to turn his head, saw his eyes wide open in the dark, and saw the bright red blood spurt out along the white porcelain shard.

He saw the young man’s hand still desperately gripping the porcelain shard, as if wanting to stab deeper.

Xing Conglian finally rushed to the two of them. He pulled the assailant away and stepped heavily on the hand that was holding the porcelain shard, knocking him out. Then he quickly took off his coat and covered his colleague’s throat with it.

Xing Conglian pressed his clothes tightly against the wound, but blood spurted out like an open tap, soaking his coat in no time. “Hang in there! Hang in there! Can you hear me?”

He shouted with all his strength, but the police officer lying on the ground only opened his mouth, as if trying to say something, but eventually closed his eyes slowly.

Someone burst out laughing, and the whole Drum Tower Community under the night sky seemed like hell on earth.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Criminal Psychology Ch217

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

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


Chapter 217

It wasn’t raining outside the ward. Tonight, the view outside the window was pitch black and unusually dry. Even inside the room, there was no sound of clattering keyboards or rapidly clicking mice. They were all waiting for Duan Yang’s email.

Lin Chen sat on the hospital bed, resting his other hand on the table next to the bed, with a pen placed nearby. He had just asked Wang Chao for a sheet of paper, but now he sat cross-legged on the bed, staring at the blank page.

Since Duan Yang’s deeply bowed back disappeared from view, the atmosphere in the ward had become heavy. Xing Conglian couldn’t even express his own emotions and could only lean on the sofa, looking at Lin Chen’s indifferent profile under the light in the ward. Lin Chen was a typical person whose features made people feel comfortable. None of his features were particularly outstanding, but when combined, they were quite handsome, with an inexplicable chill and calmness. Xing Conglian knew he shouldn’t be thinking about these things while looking at Lin Chen’s face. They were currently handling a very dangerous case, whose exact danger was impossible to pinpoint. That was the scariest part.

“Let’s reorganize this case,” Xing Conglian said.

Lin Chen still looked down at the blank A4 paper on the table, not even lifting his head.

“The murderer’s modus operandi is simple. They first fabricated the motive of academic plagiarism, then killed Tan Kang, and finally falsified Lao Duan’s DNA and fingerprints, pushing everything onto Lao Duan. The train of thought is clear, but the question is: why?”

Wang Chao looked very anxious as he looked at his computer, not even listening to what Xing Conglian was saying.

Lin Chen seemed to have finally come to his senses and said, “Yes, why.”

“Hmm?”

“There’s a critical question. Did the murderer use Duan Yang from the beginning to complete the framing process?” Lin Chen said.

Xing Conglian thought about it and answered, “Suppose the murderer didn’t know Duan Yang and only occasionally saw the academic plagiarism incident on the internet. They thought that someone like Duan Wanshan was a good scapegoat and happened to have Duan Wanshan’s fingerprints and DNA on hand, so they set up this trap. Although this possibility exists, the chance is just too small. Duan Wanshan has been abroad for so many years. Who would still keep his DNA and fingerprints?”

“Right, the cost and benefit don’t match up, and high-IQ criminals aren’t stupid enough to act so recklessly.” Lin Chen’s voice was very calm. “In fact, the first possibility didn’t exist from the beginning—the killer couldn’t have been looking for a scapegoat after killing Tan Kang and then planted the blame on Duan Wanshan.”

“So, he chose Duan Yang from the beginning,” Xing Conglian said.

Xing Conglian looked at Lin Chen, listening to him continue in a calm tone. “I can understand why he chose Duan Yang. Duan Yang used to be very simple and pure, easily hot-headed, and deeply loved Duan Wanshan. When he learned that his teacher’s research results, which had serious side effects, had been plagiarized and turned into a new drug on the market, he would definitely try his best to solve the problem for his teacher. Therefore, he was the most likely person to leave all kinds of traces that the police could follow on the internet. Duan Yang was the perfect choice because he wasn’t like others who might stand by and do nothing, right?”

“That’s it, but…” Xing Conglian couldn’t help but frown. “I feel like there are still problems with this.”

“But why did he have to use Duan Yang?” Lin Chen continued sharply.

Xing Conglian replied, “For criminals, isn’t it easier to expose themselves the more steps they take to achieve their goal? Although he later kidnapped Duan Yang through the hands of others to make up for the loophole, to be honest, wasn’t it easier for the police to discover the problem when Duan Yang disappeared?”

Lin Chen nodded. “The next question is whether Duan Yang’s kidnapping was a coincidence, or a necessary arrangement made by someone. I used to think it was a coincidence, like Zaratul’s men finding Duan Yang, who had posted online and had a lot of information, and then bringing him back to Dana to continue research. But this was only a possibility inferred under certain conditions at the time. Now it seems too coincidental.”

“Indeed. There are so many experts out there. Why bother to catch a small doctor like Duan Yang?”

Lin Chen said, “In other words, the greater possibility is that the other party specially used Lu Jia, a fake expert responsible for researching drugs under Zaratul. He’s now dead, so we have no way to investigate the process. However, this person may have mentioned Duan Yang to Lu Jia and praised him greatly, which led Lu Jia to send someone to kidnap Duan Yang from China. The purpose of doing so is simple… To kill two birds with one stone…”

“He’s really ruthless to Duan Yang.” Xing Conglian understood why Lin Chen had been silent all the time. This matter was too cruel to both Duan Yang and Duan Wanshan, especially considering that they loved each other deeply. He continued, “It seems that the murderer’s target may have included three people from the beginning: Duan Yang, Duan Wanshan, and Tan Kang, who may only be an accessory. He used Duan Yang to create a chain of evidence to frame Duan Wanshan, then killed Duan Yang, and finally killed Tan Kang to blame Duan Wanshan. This process can be basically confirmed. So we have to go back to the original question: Why did he do this?” If it weren’t for being in a hospital ward, Xing Conglian would have wanted to light a cigarette. “Honestly, I don’t think falsely accusing Duan Wanshan of murder because of academic plagiarism can hurt him in any substantial way. He’s been meticulously trying to throw dirt on Duan Wanshan, but this dirt can’t even cross the Pacific Ocean.”

“So, this matter is even more devastating, and the murderer only wanted the process.” Lin Chen hadn’t changed his posture from the beginning until now. “The murderer’s feelings towards these three people are different. He killed Tan Kang cleanly and decisively, like throwing away useless garbage. Xiao Ming felt that the murderer was very happy. What made the murderer happy was the process of releasing the balloons—that is, the process of throwing out the murder weapon that framed Duan Wanshan. I don’t even think his ultimate goal was to turn Duan Wanshan into the real murderer of Tan Kang or to send him to jail, because, as you just said, this matter can’t cause any substantial harm to Duan Wanshan. This is also where I don’t understand…as for Duan Yang…”

Lin Chen’s gaze was obviously dim and flickering.

Xing Conglian asked, “What’s wrong with Duan Yang?”

“Duan Yang is like a subtle chess piece. The killer used him to lay clues to Duan Wanshan and then didn’t hesitate to let him die, which is strange,” Lin Chen said. “It depends on whether the killer, like us, understands the secret love between the two. If the answer is yes, then he used Duan Yang, who deeply loved Duan Wanshan, to lay out Duan Wanshan’s motive for murder, and separated them forever before Duan Wanshan learned the truth… Even the motive for sending Duan Yang to Dana is very subtle, isn’t it? They obviously love each other and are on the same land, but they can’t meet. And you can imagine how sad Duan Wanshan would be if he knew all this if he hadn’t died. So I think the killer probably really hates and loves Duan Wanshan, who loves Duan Yang…”

“So, that person is likely to know the relationship between Duan Yang and Duan Wanshan?” Xing Conglian asked.

“I think so. So now the suspect’s range is very small. He must know Duan Yang, be able to get Duan Wanshan’s DNA samples and fingerprints, know the relationship between the two, have been to Dana, and understand the inside story of Zhourui Pharmaceutical and Tan Kang’s plagiarism…”

Before Lin Chen’s words fell, Wang Chao’s computer made a light sound of receiving a message.

“Has the list been sorted out?” Xing Conglian asked sharply.

“Yes, according to Duan Yang’s email, the senior sister who has been giving him information is named Cheng Jing, and the person who provided information for him within Zhourui Pharmaceutical is named Li Fengping. In addition, he has temporarily sorted out 14 suspicious names,” Wang Chao said quickly, and then began to retrieve everyone’s information.

“Is there a problem with Cheng Jing?”

“After returning to China, Cheng Jing worked at the Third People’s Hospital of Yongchuan City, and there seems to be no contact with Zhourui Pharmaceutical. The information has been sent to the tablet. Please take it out from my backpack, Boss,” Wang Chao said quickly.

Xing Conglian took out the tablet and sat on the bed with Lin Chen to watch.

Lin Chen’s fingers quickly scanned Cheng Jing’s personal information. In the photo, Cheng Jing was wearing a white robe and looked gentle and quiet. She was a pediatrician with a happy family and a clean resume.

“It’s not her. What about Li Fengping?”

The teenager frowned, suddenly picked up the Coke can next to him and poured it into his mouth, but he didn’t expect that there was no carbonation left. The teenager clenched the can body violently and made a cracking sound.

“There’s no one named Li Fengping.”

“How is that possible? Otherwise, where did Duan Yang get the internal information of Zhourui Pharmaceutical? Duan Yang isn’t a fool. How could he believe someone with an unknown identity?”

Lin Chen suddenly spoke. “This Li Fengping should have sent an email to Duan Yang. Check Duan Yang’s mailbox.”

As Lin Chen spoke, he dialed Duan Yang’s phone.

“Consultant Lin, have you found the person?”

“There is no one named Li Fengping in Zhourui Pharmaceutical. How do you know him?”

On the screen, Duan Yang hesitated for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing, as if he had reached a sudden understanding of everything. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he spoke. “Am I just a fool being played in the palm of someone’s hand?”

“No, to me, you’re just a young doctor with a sincere heart and kind intentions.”

“Kindness that is used by others is foolishness, isn’t it?”

Lin Chen shook his head and said seriously, “You are attributing criminals’ malice to people’s pure kindness. I think this is an incorrect attribution, although many people make this mistake.”

Duan Yang took a deep breath, and his eyes turned red. “You’re always so convincing, Consultant Lin.”

“I’m good at it,” Lin Chen said softly.

Duan Yang said seriously, “It was my former classmate named Shen Lian. She should be working in the medical department of Zhourui Pharmaceutical now, and she also knew about Teacher’s plagiarism incident. She said she felt there was a problem when she was responsible for conducting clinical trials for the new drug, so she introduced me to a friend who could get first-hand information from within Zhourui Pharmaceutical. Actually, that friend may have been her all along, pretending to be someone else.”

Lin Chen glanced at Wang Chao, who quickly typed in a search query and reported several keywords. “Shen Lian, from Hongjing, former associate researcher of the R&D department, former deputy director, and director of the medical department at Zhourui Pharmaceutical… Went abroad in January of the same year and returned to China in September of the same year. Since five years ago, Shen Lian has had multiple records of leaving the country for short-term or long-term stays ranging from three to five months, ostensibly for business trips, but it is very likely that she was secretly sent to Dana by Zhourui Pharmaceutical…”

After Wang Chao finished his report, he looked up at them.

Xing Conglian looked at Duan Yang on the screen who had been listening all along, and finally heard him ask, “Why?”

“We will find out,” Xing Conglian said, nodding at Duan Yang and ending the call.

From the moment Shen Lian’s name appeared, Lin Chen had been silent, listening like an old monk in meditation, as if he had fallen into an inexplicable emotion.

Xing Conglian was keenly aware of the problem and said, “Wang Chao, find Shen Lian’s address and notify the bureau to put out a warrant. Go out now and give me a minute.”

Wang Chao packed up quickly and brushed past him. The sound of the teenager making a phone call came from the hallway.

Xing Conglian walked over and turned off the lights in the ward, then walked back to Lin Chen’s bedside and kissed him hard.

For about the first thirty seconds of the kiss, Lin Chen was in a state of silence, but then he began to respond to him.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Chen asked softly, looking up.

Xing Conglian pulled away from Lin Chen’s lips. The bitter taste of Lin Chen’s mouth lingered on his lips and teeth as he touched his face and looked into his eyes in the darkness. He asked seriously, “What are you thinking about? Your emotions suddenly seemed off.”

“I just suddenly felt that this feeling wasn’t good,” Lin Chen said slowly and seriously. “If Teacher Duan hadn’t died, we might have taken a very long time to notice the problem here and finally locate Shen Lian.”

“Maybe,” Xing Conglian said.

“But now?” Lin Chen asked. “I was thinking about profiling the killer earlier, but I don’t need to do that because I know I can’t make any difference here. The killer will easily be revealed. But we achieved this result through a series of unfortunate events, including the death of Teacher Duan. The cost is too high, really too high.”


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Access Denied Ch71

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 71: Quarrel

The corridor was wide, and more and more people gathered. Instead of trying to stop them, Shu Jun secretly had someone open the communication devices and broadcast the argument to various rooms. The players knew to make space for them, and their position offered a good view, allowing them to hear the conversation clearly. The broadcast quality was quite good.

There weren’t many people that Yu Jin called for help—just over a hundred at most. On the players’ side, many were watching the commotion, and they overwhelmingly outnumbered Yu Jin’s group.

Hu Yan was also squeezed among the players. When he saw Shu Jun approaching, he struggled to swim through the crowd until he separated from the group.

“What’s going on?” Shu Jun asked him in a low voice.

“I don’t know how it started exactly. But Yu Ge, cough, Yu Jin said that the ‘Crooked Head’ guy has been mouthing off. He’s arguing with Chai Xuyang from Groundwater. They’re worried since they haven’t seen Luo Duan…”

“Get to the point,” Shu Jun said patiently.

“Well, they started arguing, and Chai Xuyang made the first move. Yu Jin has been trying to calm things down, but both sides were getting worked up, and he couldn’t stop them.” Hu Yan’s voice became softer.

“He must apologize today so we don’t have to see these people causing trouble daily. Yu Ge, this matter is something you really can’t intervene in,” the Crooked Head guy said with a cold voice, carrying a gloominess that didn’t match his age.

Yu Jin was caught in the middle, unable to do much. Even his vibrant golden hair appeared somewhat dull.

“Damn it, I should twist your cabbage head off first.” Chai Xuyang’s voice became hoarse. “It’s already good enough that we’re not killing you. You don’t even have a shred of dignity. Who are you showing off to? Who?”

“What? Do I have to kneel down and present something to you? Do I owe you?” The Crooked Head guy sneered, making his deformed upper body appear even more terrifying.

“You hit the nail on the head.” Chai Xuyang’s eyes turned bloodshot with anger, and he clenched his fist tightly. “You people here, all of you know about the player system, right?”

“I fucking know,” the Crooked Head guy replied nonchalantly. “For those who hang around in the settlement all the time, who wouldn’t know? We understand much more than that bunch of idiots in the city.”

The atmosphere among the players became restless, and tension increased. Several impulsive individuals wanted to rush forward, but they were held back by members of the Blackbirds.

Chai Xuyang raised his voice. “You all know very well that you’re stepping on our corpses to live comfortably. And now you dare to claim righteousness? They say ignorance is bliss, but you all clearly knew we existed—”

The Blackbirds who were blocking the way, became less resolute, and the players surged forward a few steps. The young humans on Yu Jin’s side had serious expressions and showed no signs of backing down.

Shu Jun put his hand on Zhu Yanchen’s shoulder, gestured for him not to act, and continued to watch.

Seeing that no one was stopping him, Chai Xuyang poured out his panic-fueled grievances. “You all live peacefully while we are destined to die for you? We’re supposed to be your tools, unable to live past thirty? Ah? Even if you give little respect to us, you shouldn’t have such a nonchalant attitude.”

He paused for a few seconds, seeing the Crooked Head guy staring at him with twisted eyes, not responding. Chai Xuyang believed he had rendered the other side speechless and raised his voice to continue.

“Indeed, you wouldn’t understand—what it feels like to realize you’ve been deceived when death is at your doorstep, what it feels like to have friends and family die without any explanation. To humans, we are nothing more than chickens or ducks waiting to be slaughtered. How dare you people get offended—”

“Wow, you really understand, don’t you?” the Crooked Head guy responded sarcastically. The crowd surged again. Many instinctively wanted to use their abilities, and the air was filled with the restlessness of erosion, but Shu Jun suppressed it.

“Even if I die, I’ll drag a few more down with me. You, who have knowledge, are all worthless!”

“So self-righteous?” The Crooked Head guy laughed. His laughter was terrifying. He extended his deformed legs and stumbled forward. “What? How about we switch places? If you don’t cause trouble for us, you can enjoy good food and drinks until you die, supplied by the stronghold? As for ‘the other side’, we know a little bit too. That place is like a paradise with blue skies, birds chirping, and fragrant flowers. You can have whatever you want there. It’s like heaven on Earth.”

His voice was shrill and unpleasant, but in the midst of the chaos, it carried even farther.

“No sickly parents to take care of, no siblings born with missing noses and eyes, and you get to be healthy—yes, your lives may be short, but am I living any longer? Let me tell you today, my heart, liver, spleen, and lungs are already twisted, and they’ve been soaked in erosion. I won’t live past thirty either.”

The Crooked Head guy twisted his deformed body, growing more confident. “I count the days one by one, feeling uneasy everywhere, working hard every day just to get some food, unable to sleep properly. If it weren’t for Yu Ge being a good person, I probably wouldn’t have survived until today. You’re worried and fearful before you die, but I’ve been worried and fearful since I can remember. So, Mr. Synthetic, are you willing to switch places with me?”

“I wasn’t talking about you as an individual, I—” Chai Xuyang retorted with a strained voice.

The Crooked Head guy let out a string of sharp laughter, followed by a cough. “Why should I reason with you? I have my own problems just trying to survive. Can I even control others?”

“You hate humans; fine, it’s understandable. Let me ask you one thing today—do I deserve to die as a person who knew but didn’t seek justice for you? Do my brothers, who are in the same situation as me, deserve to die?”

He pointed in the direction of the settlement. “Should those children who can’t even wipe their own snot also deserve to die?”

Chai Xuyang was stunned and couldn’t come up with a response for a moment.

“Should they die?” The Crooked Head guy stared closely at Chai Xuyang. “Can’t you say something?”

“Are you implying that not only should we not resist, but we should also be grateful?” After holding back for a while, Chai Xuyang couldn’t come up with a response, so he changed the topic. Although he said that, the hostility on his face had indeed lessened.

The Crooked Head guy laughed even more happily. “Growing up in the settlement, I understand quite a bit about being a bad person. When you can’t make it through, you do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means looking a bit unsightly.”

“Nowadays, resources are scarce everywhere, and legitimate work is hard to find. I’m not a good worker, and I require more medication than the average person. I understand if others want to give up on me. But do I deserve to die? Why should I? Others have their reasons, and I have mine. If I want to live, I’ll give it my all—that’s why I’m supporting you synthetics, hoping that you can make some progress and at least break this deadlock.”

Chai Xuyang pursed his lips tightly and his face tensed up. The radicals behind him gradually came to their senses and stopped struggling.

“So in the end, you shouted at a useless person like me for half a day but couldn’t come up with a solution yourself. Have you considered that when you revealed your heavenly life to the city, many people probably thought that humans had done everything they could and had settled everything from the beginning?”

The Crooked Head guy became more spirited as he spoke.

“Why argue about wiping us out or feeling grateful? To put it plainly, if you can live your life, then live it. If you can’t, raise your voice and let it be known. Everyone wants to live well. It’s that simple. Given the situation, it’s not necessary to focus on someone’s faults and make a fuss about it.”

Shu Jun slowly hooked the corners of his mouth as the signal broadcast continued uninterrupted.

Chai Xuyang was quite angry but realized that he wasn’t entirely justified. After hesitating for a while, he picked up the Crooked Head guy’s crutch that had fallen to the ground.

“…I shouldn’t have acted impulsively earlier. I apologize,” he muttered meekly.

“That’s good. At least you’re still human, not one of those idiots who either prosper under my rule or perish miserably—idiots who just want to kill people as soon as they appear.”

The Crooked Head guy’s mouth still stunk, but it didn’t sound like he intended to continue the argument.

Then the two of them exchanged a few more words, and the tense atmosphere from before had completely disappeared. The players gradually dispersed, many of them wore thoughtful expressions on their faces.

Yu Jin wiped his sweat and felt relieved. He patted the Crooked Head guy’s back and took out a can of meat from his bag, handing it to him. The dinner bell rang, and the corridor completely cleared out, returning to its previous desolate appearance.

Only then did Zhu Yanchen turn his head and ask, “Did you know they wouldn’t escalate the conflict?”

“In Luo Duan’s team, there are no overly impulsive individuals. After spending a long time on the battlefield, everyone knows when to listen to others. Yu Jin also knows how to distinguish between important and trivial matters. He won’t bring people who don’t understand social customs.”

Casually leaning against a supply box, Shu Jun relaxed his posture.

“Moreover, just now, when I saw those two, their gestures and movements showed no killing intent. At worst, they will part ways without hostility. Maybe they can even have a productive conversation—that’s what I thought.”

Marshal Zhu excelled in overall planning, but he mostly dealt with astute individuals and rarely encountered people who were rough around the edges, making it easy for him to overlook details. Seeing Zhu Yanchen’s serious and inquisitive expression, it took him a while to suppress his playful thoughts.

“Whether they part ways or have a productive conversation, it will let the players know the thoughts of some humans. In fact, there’s a saying among unconventional thinkers—we’re not afraid of arguments; we’re afraid of two-eyed creatures who only recognize ‘categories’ and believe only in themselves. In other words, it’s actually a good thing if they can argue normally.”

At this point, A’Yan would surely understand.

Sure enough, Zhu Yanchen nodded. “Those two just now were able to express their own views. They saw the other party as someone they could have an ‘equal exchange’ with.”

Instead of viewing them as the “other race” that should be killed on sight.

“What else?” Shu Jun smiled, squinting his eyes.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t answer, but his black gem-like eyes focused on Shu Jun. Shu Jun enjoyed breaking this sense of calmness and couldn’t resist extending his claw tip to lift Zhu Yanchen’s mask, lightly tapping the other’s soft lower lip. “One more kiss, and I’ll explain further.”

The two squeezed into a dark corner, and Zhu Yanchen pressed Shu Jun against the crate, kissing passionately. Shu Jun allowed Zhu Yanchen to lightly bite his lower lip, squinting his eyes while enjoying the warmth of the other’s body. His claw tip mischievously pricked and teased Zhu Yanchen’s back.

“I know what you want to say.” After the long kiss ended, Zhu Yanchen smoothed out Shu Jun’s tousled hair. “You want the people in the settlement to speak their minds, so you can identify the point of instigation for Zhu Sheng, right?”

To resist the synths, Zhu Sheng would inevitably incite the people in the settlements to take action first. The settlements were already filled with a group of lawless individuals, and if their emotions were truly stirred up, colliding with vengeful synths would only add fuel to the fire.

Today, it seemed that these people truly held grudges against the synths.

Marshal Zhu clearly understood this in his heart but deliberately chose not to mention it. Shu Jun licked his tingling lips and looked at Zhu Yanchen’s curved mouth, starting to suspect that a certain fox surnamed Zhu was doing it on purpose.

“Yes, now that the vaccine has been administered, we can relax for now.” Shu Jun stretched his body as he spoke with a tone filled with amusement. “There shouldn’t be any major conflicts anymore, and Hu Yan can handle it. I can now go out with peace of mind.”

After saying that, his fingers reached Zhu Yanchen’s neck and slowly trailed from the Adam’s apple to the chin. “Stay at home and behave yourself. Don’t wander around. If you can develop a suppression weapon early, I’ll let you kiss me for three hours straight.”

Zhu Yanchen looked at him with amusement and firmly grasped that mischievous hand, speaking sincerely. “…Be careful on your journey.”

Indeed, they didn’t have much leisure time.

The disruption of Luo Duan in Y City could only buy them a little time. The number of exploration teams searching for synthetics was increasing. The situation was tense, and they had to stay ahead of Zhu Sheng.

For example, they needed to arrange the children who were still in the stronghold in advance.

The children weren’t regular players and naturally didn’t participate in the festivities. Most of the time, they stayed on the “other side” and only entered the real world for training purposes.

As soon as the rebellion in Luo Duan occurred, Zhu Yanchen immediately proposed a possible way to handle Zhu Sheng—suspending the <Erosion> practical class on the “other side” and keeping the children inside the hibernation pods.

Zhu Sheng wouldn’t easily destroy them until the attack strategy of the synthetics was confirmed. For the synthetics wandering outside, these children were valuable… or rather, bait.

The current situation was chaotic, and the United Government hadn’t yet found the main force of the synthetics. The defense of these special strongholds wasn’t particularly strong. When they officially clashed, these strongholds would become impenetrable. It was necessary to strike early.

Zhu Yanchen had research tasks to attend to, so Shu Jun decided to lead a small team himself for a swift and decisive assault. He waited for two days until the impact of the conflict had escalated sufficiently, and then he started calling the names.

Upon seeing the members of the small team, Hu Yan almost gasped for breath. “Captain Shu, why didn’t you pick people from the Blackbirds?”

The list had about thirty names, all the most extreme “Luo Duan-style” players, without a relatively calm individual among them.

“I can handle them. You go borrow people. If someone explicitly refuses and can’t be convinced no matter what, put them on the backup list for the next round.”

“Alright…” Hu Yan rubbed his temples. He didn’t quite understand this approach, but looking at it from another perspective, Captain Shu wouldn’t joke about the safety of the children. Although the people on the list had poor moods, they were still capable soldiers—after all, less experienced soldiers rarely experienced life-and-death separations.

Before setting off, Zhu Yanchen prepared almost a dozen emergency tactics, only leaving out the blueprint for the stronghold’s restroom.

Although Shu Jun was mentally prepared, the separation was more difficult than he had anticipated. Zhu Yanchen had to cover his entire face in front of others, so he couldn’t bite the mask. He could only bid farewell honestly. “That’s enough, A’Yan. If you keep preparing, we’ll have to bring a whole cart for our boxed meals.”

Except for Shu Jun, the temporary team had gloomy expressions. Chai Xuyang, who had caused a conflict earlier, was also part of the team, and compared to others, his mood was considered good. This person had a respectable reputation in Groundwater, so Shu Jun decided to make him the temporary team’s vice captain.

The stronghold where the children were located was quite unique. It was situated in the area formed after the merger of two cities and was converted from the old stronghold before the merger. These “nurturing strongholds” had relatively safe geographical locations but were also close to the city.

According to Zhu Yanchen, once the synthetic embryos stabilized, they would rapidly mature to the age of nine. Memories before the age of nine were mostly randomly generated and instilled by the player system. People generally didn’t remember much about their early childhood, so as long as some significant memories and knowledge were instilled, fragmentary memories would suffice.

After the age of nine, the children would enter school for education. During this period, those with poor physical condition or extreme personalities would be screened out, and once the remaining children reached sixteen years old, they could be divided into combat teams. After a year of team evaluations, most synthetics would enter combat teams at the age of seventeen.

As for those who were excluded, they would be used by military schools as teaching squads, allowing young human commanders to “learn from real-world trial and error”.

Under Zhu Yanchen’s coordination, the mortality rate among synthetics had been decreasing in recent years. Marshal Zhu himself disliked the player system, so the cultivation of young synthetics had slowed down. But even so…

“How do we take the children with us? No matter how we think about it, there are thousands of them,” Chai Xuyang asked. “Setting aside those who can become combatants, what about those around ten years old? We have such a small team, we can’t even transport enough protective suits, and we certainly can’t let those kids cross the erosion zone without any protection.”

“Who said we’re taking them with us?” Shu Jun used the wind to push the sled while responding in a cheerful voice.

“If we’re not saving people, then why are we going?” Another person retorted impatiently. “Are we just going there for a stroll?”

“A stroll would be quite nice.” Shu Jun laughed. “Not only are we going for a stroll, but we’re also going to earnestly attempt to kidnap people, although in the end, we’ll have to fail.”

Everyone on the sled stared at Shu Jun; their expressions turning serious.

It’s always amusing to tease his own Grand Marshal. These people simply didn’t understand his words, Shu Jun thought sadly. He sighed, adopting a more serious tone. “We’re already struggling to provide for the adults in terms of supplies, let alone taking care of children. Our energy can’t keep up, and we’re lacking in terms of resources—just providing basic healthcare for children is beyond our capabilities.”

“The reason we’re going to kidnap people boils down to two things.”

Shu Jun cleared his throat and glared at a few people who were eager to argue.

“First, we want Zhu Sheng to know that we intend to kidnap these children, forcing him to bring out the highest level of defense. To cut off our abilities, the only thing they can do is desperately purify the erosion substance, preventing us from utilizing our powers. This way, when we eventually strike against Y City, the children won’t be caught in the crossfire.”

“Secondly, it’s to report our safety to Zhu Sheng’s top leadership. By informing him in advance, we’re indicating that we don’t intend to take the route of mad destruction—to prevent Zhu Sheng from searching for us everywhere and in order to concentrate his forces to protect Y City, he might decide to dispose of the children first.”

If they truly wanted to perish together, they probably wouldn’t rescue those young “burdens” who couldn’t be considered combatants.

Although the players on the sled were radical, they still had some sense. They hated humans, but they wouldn’t hate their young comrades, who were still of a tender age. Once Shu Jun explained their purpose, no one opposed it.

They had accumulated quite a bit of anger and were just waiting for an opportunity to release it.

As if understanding their thoughts, Shu Jun added, “This time, no killing allowed.”

“Why?!” Someone immediately exclaimed. “We can let go of the people in the settlement, but those in the strongholds are all lackeys of the United Government. Why shouldn’t we kill them?”

Shu Jun pinched his brow. “I won’t go into long explanations, but I’ll mention one point. Everyone heard the Crooked Head guy’s words. The civilians in the city don’t really understand the player system. If we engage in mass killings here, we’ll only push them towards Zhu Sheng’s side. If you want to give Zhu Sheng the title of ‘Justice’, then go ahead with the killing.”

There was a collective hum of agreement within the temporary team, and no one continued to oppose.

After being deceived for so many years, these veteran players felt sick to their stomachs. If they were to be falsely accused again, that feeling would increase tenfold. After hearing Shu Jun’s words, they even felt an urge to “tear off the skin of the three major families and let the citizens see the truth with their own eyes”.

Sitting at the front of the sled, Shu Jun turned his face to feel the wind.

Things were going slightly smoother than he had anticipated. He hoped there wouldn’t be any problems on Zhu Yanchen’s side.

However, at critical moments, whatever one feared would come to pass. Just as they quietly crossed the wilderness, Y City fell into chaos once again.


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