Evil As Humans Ch144

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 144: Desperation

Time reversed to the morning of that day.

In an underground location, Zhong Chengshuo held onto the front of the human guard’s clothing tightly.

The zombie guard lay on the side, watching helplessly. Zhong Chengshuo couldn’t use magic, but he was skilled at tearing off the corpse talisman with his nails, just like King Yama, the King of Hell.

With its movement and vocal nodes destroyed, the zombie guard turned into a crude humanoid canvas, lying on the wall corner, at Zhong Chengshuo’s mercy.

The human guard, who was caught by the collar, was anxious. Zhong Chengshuo didn’t care about his thoughts. He tightened his fingers, and asked again, “Where are the personal items of the corpses stored?”

Dead people always hated having their things taken away, and this was a universal truth.

The human guard closed his mouth, having given up on running away. He would occasionally glance at the door, hoping someone would notice the broken light—

This thing, which he didn’t know what it was, only used physical attacks and Sunken Society certainly had the numbers to overwhelm it!

But the hands of this thing were so cold, it made him uneasy.

After asking his question, Zhong Chengshuo froze in place like a statue, silently waiting for thirty seconds. Just as the thirty-second mark passed, he extended his other hand and began to remove the human guard’s uniform.

The human guard instinctively protected his chest and exclaimed, “What the fuck are you doing?!”

“Otherwise, it will be stained with blood later,” Zhong Chengshuo replied calmly, slowly unbuttoning the uniform as if he were skinning an animal.

The human guard: “……”

The human guard: “Your personal belongings will be classified and stored in the relic warehouse for seven days and nights. After confirming that there are no problems, they will be packaged and sent to the research department outside for identification. Do you need me to guide you to the relic warehouse?”

He didn’t even dare to take a breath halfway through, and by the end of his sentence, he barely had a whistle in his voice.

Zhong Chengshuo stopped unbuttoning the uniform.

“Okay.”

He stared at the human guard with Minister Zou’s dull eyes.

“Then give me the personal belongings of this person first.”

The human guard tremblingly took out Minister Zou’s phone and then nervously handed over his own phone. Zhong Chengshuo put both phones in his pocket and lifted the zombie guard with one hand, placing it back at the entrance to the underground corpse vault while it was still dark.

The zombie guard let out a sigh of relief. It dutifully stood in place, decorating the area with the original “peace” that was there before. Before the corpse talisman was repaired, it couldn’t speak or move, which meant it would be mostly his unlucky colleague who would be held accountable.

It looked at Zhong Chengshuo and the human guard walking away with an almost sympathetic look.

Hopefully, this guy was just a lonely ghost who wanted to retrieve his private belongings, or else this matter wouldn’t end well.

The pale lamps gradually retreated. Zhong Chengshuo and the guard walked shoulder-to-shoulder through the dim corridor that was similar to a tomb due to the low ceilings towards the underground corpse vault exit. The nearby corridors were complicated like a spider’s web, and the guard deliberately chose the “proper” main roads.

Zhong Chengshuo could see the desire in his eyes. The guard most likely wanted to trigger an alarm to notify Sunken Society, so he followed quietly, noting all the scenes along the way. Whenever this guard wanted to walk the same path again, he would stop quietly and stare at the uniform buttons of the guards without expression, causing the guard to almost stumble over his own feet.

Click clack.

The sound of two pairs of footsteps, one light and one heavy, echoed in the corridor. Zhong Chengshuo kept puffing his chest, but he didn’t really breathe. In contrast, the guard’s breathing became increasingly heavy and rapid.

“How much further is it to the relic warehouse?” Zhong Chengshuo asked as if chatting.

“We have to change zones,” the guard said hoarsely. “This area only stores individual bodies and specimens. I’m not lying to you…”

“I know, some practitioners’ personal belongings may react with their bodies and cause problems,” Zhong Chengshuo continued to answer with a leaky throat yet his tone was calm enough to make one’s hair stand on end. “But considering convenience, the warehouse and the morgue can’t be too far apart. At least not more than thirty minutes of a straight-line distance.”

The guard hung his head and dared not say a word.

This evil thing that came out was not only strong but also very difficult to fool.

It had decisively killed Minister Zou and disabled the zombie guard. The guard thought it would create a commotion at the entrance of the underground corpse vault, relying on its strength, but who knew this evil thing was exceptionally calm and completely untrickable…

Making a big fuss was certainly cool, but Sunken Society could easily block it using crowd tactics.

This guy not only wanted to retrieve his own belongings but also wanted to escape.

The guard’s plan to escape in the chaos was ruined, and he didn’t dare to intentionally provoke this evil thing. At this point, he could only hope that the people of Sunken Society would discover that something was wrong on their own.

Perhaps some strange god heard the guard’s thoughts, as the next moment, Minister Zou’s phone rang.

Zhong Chengshuo slowly took it out and was relieved to find the face recognition unlock option.

He declined the call directly and quickly replied with one hand.

It was an internal communication group called “Technical Department Two~Five”.

[Technical Department Two—Zou: I’m caught up with something. It’s not convenient to talk.]

[Technical Department Two—Han: The boss is coming for a meeting this morning. Hurry up. It’s important.]

[Technical Department Two—Zou: Okay.]

Time’s running out,’ Zhong Chengshuo thought.

According to the guard, after the items here were confirmed to be okay, they would be “transported out”.

He had been here for less than seven days, so the hamster phone charm must still be here. But the fact that they had to pack and transport it was enough to make him smell that something was off.

Sunken Society could easily take defensive and protective measures and build a separate laboratory near the corpse vault. Insisting on building the laboratory outside could only mean that there was something fishy about this place.

In other words, it was hard to escape from here.

He couldn’t go to the so-called boss meeting. At most, his colleagues would notice something was wrong with Mr. Zou after half a day.

Zhong Chengshuo’s footsteps became heavier, causing the guard to jump in place. He led Zhong Chengshuo up and down, turning probably eighteen corners, until they finally arrived at a new area.

Compared to the dim and gloomy corpse vault, the walls here were painted  light green, giving it a somewhat hospital-like feeling, and there were fewer messy fork roads.

There was a fenced wall with an open gate between the two areas, and a detector beside the gate flickered with a bright green light.

Zhong Chengshuo stopped cautiously.

“This is the storage area, and we guards have permission to be here.” Seeing Zhong Chengshuo’s gaze, the guard quickly explained his necessity, “The relic warehouse is as big as a maze, and it’s hidden deep. It’s hard for you to find it alone.”

Zhong Chengshuo supported Minister Zou’s heavy head and said, “Let’s go.”

Just as the two of them passed through the narrow gate of the fence and stepped into the storage area, the bright green lights in the corners they couldn’t see suddenly went out.

This scene was being projected in real-time on a display screen in another underground building. Perhaps due to poor signal, the image flickered and blurred.

Wei Huaqian sat at the end of a long table with three other people sitting sparsely around it.

One of them was thin and sweating, wiping his face with a tissue over and over again.

“Minister Han, is this what you called ‘no problem’?” A woman with round and gentle features spoke. Her voice was strangely mixed with coquettishness and contempt. “The meeting is about to start, and he followed a guard to the storage area?”

“He said he…was caught up in something. Maybe he’s just looking for something.” Minister Han was like a fish out of water. His mouth opened and closed, unable to suppress the guilt in his voice.

“Come on, isn’t he still walking? Is the situation that urgent that he’s using Sunken Society’s property for private use?” The woman sneered.

“Boss Qu is so sharp. You’re able to guess there might be something wrong right away.” The only old man at the table didn’t forget to flatter.

Wei Huaqian didn’t even look at the old man. His eyes were fixed on the bloated figure on the screen.

The other three ministers didn’t know that Minister Zou had begged and pleaded to get into this meeting. The mistake during the Gengsheng Town incident was too big, and before they could fix it, Mr. Qiu caused a disturbance that disrupted Shian, indirectly dragging Sunken Society into trouble.

At this critical juncture, Minister Zou planned to use Zhong Chengshuo’s corpse to make a comeback and present an important plan—there was no time to waste, so they were counting on him.

The meeting had just started for half a minute when Wei Huaqian immediately ordered surveillance near the corpse vault to be accessed.

“Evil things don’t just appear out of thin air. Perhaps the employees under Lao Zou’s command made an operational mistake.” The middle-aged woman was the first to react. “There are two dangerous corpses stored there for over three hundred years. I remember their characteristics…”

Wei Huaqian: “The night is long and full of dreams. Isolate the storage area and use magic to destroy it.”

The other three fell silent instantly.

“That’s… quite severe.” Minister Han was the first to react.

Valuables had long been transferred to the closed area, so the items sent in the past seven days were all low-value personal items. The value of the corpse vault was much higher than that of the storage area, so the urgent matter was to eliminate any anomaly as soon as possible.

He quickly pulled out his phone and gave instructions.

Wei Huaqian had been staring at Minister Zou on the screen the entire time, tapping his fingers on the desk from time to time.

Less than ten seconds after Minister Han hung up the phone, the screen suddenly switched. Thick metal plates dropped on both sides of the gate, completely separating the relic warehouse from the corpse vault.

On the other side of those flashing, blurry colored blocks, Zhong Chengshuo and the guard stopped in their tracks.

The guard let out a sob.

As a guard at the Sunken Society Haigu Branch, he had at least figured out the various hidden rules of the organization. Now that all escape routes had been completely blocked, Sunken Society had no intention of letting him go back alive.

Next, there would definitely be a “great purge”.

Zhong Chengshuo sighed. “Faster than I thought.”

As he spoke, the pale green walls around them suddenly lit up, casting an ominous glow that made the hallway look like day time. Zhong Chengshuo kicked the guard, who was as still as a statue, and pounced on him.

The green light covered both of them from head to toe, shining brightly and continuously.

Even though Zhong Chengshuo managed to block most of the light, the guard’s limbs were still exposed to the green light. He made an inhuman groaning sound, and when he moved slightly, his limbs were left behind like decorations made of sand, instantly turning into flesh-colored powder.

There was no blood from the cut. The guard twisted his body in confusion, as if commanding his now disappeared limbs.

He didn’t even realize that half of his head had been cut off, leaving only a fragmented wound covered in powder.

“Ah… Ah…” the guard murmured. “Why… I’m only half a cultivator… Why is it so serious…”

He turned his remaining eye around in desperation. “Why… are you fine… Why…”

Before he could finish speaking, the guard began to cough violently. Flesh-colored powder mixed with blood splattered on the ground.

Zhong Chengshuo was like a dead umbrella, silently propping himself up on the guard’s body, creating a small patch of shade in the green light.

“I’m leaving,” Zhong Chengshuo said calmly. “You can tell me the direction of the relic warehouse or you can remain silent.”

The guard looked at him in fear and despair with tears overflowing from his remaining eye.

“The guards of Sunken Society’s corpse vault are usually ordinary cultivators who have been in the organization for at least ten years. You know they experiment on people, but you still want to help guard it. A miserable death is a common outcome.”

Zhong Chengshuo lowered his eyes, looking directly at the muddy pupils of the corpse, revealing a thick darkness. His voice was becoming softer, with a sound like liquid seepage, almost as if he was trying to soothe a crying baby to sleep.

The guard shook his head desperately, like a leaf in the wind, causing the missing pieces of his head to fall like sand.

Fear.

Zhong Chengshuo quietly chewed on his fear, frozen in place like a plant. Time ticked by slowly until he finally bent down and whispered something into the guard’s ear.

The guard’s tears gushed down as he too muttered a response. After speaking, a miracle-like calmness washed over the guard’s once hopeless face.

……

Outside the screen, Wei Huaqian narrowed his eyes and stopped tapping his fingers on the table. They could only see Minister Zou slowly standing up, but he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he stood there silently. The guard, now without limbs and only part of his head, was completely exposed to the light. He writhed like a salted slug, and in less than a minute, a living person was turned to dust amidst the magical radiance.

Only then did Minister Zou straighten his clothes and walk in a certain direction.

“The spell was ineffective. Isn’t that an evil thing?” Minister Han was shocked to see Minister Zou not reacting to the green light. “How is that possible?”

“That must be Minister Zou himself. Strange. Is his faith so firm? This is the guy that hangs a safety talisman in his car on purpose.” The middle-aged woman frowned. “But he specially protected that guard… The guard only has limited clearance and can’t go to high-level places.”

The old man hastily nodded in agreement.

The woman turned to Wei Huaqian carefully. “Boss, do we continue to monitor his actions? Maybe there will be more…”

“Stop the spell and let the cleanup crew in.” Wei Huaqian interrupted flatly.

The woman gasped in shock.

Clearly, there was no intention of leaving any survivors.

The cleanup crew was a group of fugitives that Sunken Society kept in its branches. They generally had little education and didn’t leave the branch much. In a sense, these villains were regarded as twisted science posts—they neither believed nor disbelieved in science and only cared about money and face.

They couldn’t achieve complete immunity to magic, but they were tough-skinned and could deal with weak cultivators.

Wei Huaqian seemed to ignore the gasp of his subordinate. He turned his head, propped his hands on his forehead, and stared intently at the screen.

Minister Han cleared his throat with difficulty. “How much can we adjust?”

“As much as we can.” There was a hint of amusement in Wei Huaqian’s voice.

He wanted to see how much this unknown thing was capable of. After all, as long as he obtained the remains of the body, he could hand it over to the research team—it would be interesting to have the technicians in Department 2 study the remains of their former boss.

In the video, Zhong Chengshuo started to jog. He tried to keep his head stable as he ran towards the location the guard had pointed out—the relics warehouse, just like the underground corpse vault, was also located on the bottom floor. This wasn’t because it was super important, but simply because Sunken Society had killed too many “human guinea pigs” and accumulated too many relics.

This was his only chance.

Zhong Chengshuo had not run for long when he heard hurried and chaotic footsteps behind him. The once silent corridor suddenly became chaotic, and the overlapping echoes made the space crowded.

Conversations and running sounds came at him from several directions at the same time, full of hostility.

Without hesitation, Zhong Chengshuo instantly accelerated and rushed towards his destination. He jumped down each flight of stairs at an almost falling speed that the soles of his shoes barely scraped against the ground. He focused intensely on the small cellphone charm laying somewhere underground, as if it was the most important thing in the world.

Unfortunately, he was one step too late.

Just when he was one floor away from his destination, he was blocked by the chasing soldiers who had caught up to him.

The elevator in the storage area could go straight to the deepest level, and a group of them had even come up from underground to block him. Zhong Chengshuo was trapped at the corner of the staircase.

This group of people approached from all sides, looking down on “Minister Zou” with contempt, as if they were looking at a piece of meat on a cutting board.

“It’s a fat pig that runs fast.” One of them taunted, causing a few scattered laughs.

Zhong Chengshuo quickly scanned all the unexpected guests. The people sent by Sunken Society this time had nothing to do with cultivators.

As far as Zhong Chengshuo could see, there were at least twenty people, and there were even more outside the corridor. These people were strong, wore “cloth armor” made of fiber with hard protective parts on key areas, and wore protective helmets similar to football helmets on their heads.

Pairs of eyes peered out from the helmets, and Zhong Chengshuo was familiar with that look and those eyes—they had all appeared on the A-level wanted list.

Murderers.

Apparently, Sunken Society allowed its lackeys to have a little personality. The criminals had clubs, butterfly knives, and triangular blades, and the most extreme ones had shovels and machetes.

Perhaps considering the problem of accidental injury in a small space, there were no weapons of mass destruction such as shotguns.

Zhong Chengshuo quickly scanned the nearby lighting and cameras, moved his joints, and silently lowered his center of gravity. If he still had a heart, his heart rate at this moment would definitely shatter his ribs.

Half a second.

With these big executioners crowding together, and the originally cramped corridor seemed even more suffocating. The gaps between them weren’t even big enough for a child to stand in, so it was hard to find even a glimmer of life among them.

One second.

As long as he made a tiny mistake, this group of people could hold him down with their weight alone.

The next moment.

“Yo, this idiot still wants to move…” A thin man with a butterfly knife hadn’t finished his sentence when his tongue froze in his mouth.

The butterfly knife in his hand disappeared.

With a few light cracks, the butterfly knife was dismantled into three pieces in Zhong Chengshuo’s hand. Before the others could react, Zhong Chengshuo had flung the handle and the blade of the disassembled knife, instantly shattering the nearest three lighting fixtures.

This time, the darkness was even more complete than in the corpse vault.

The criminals on the cleanup crew weren’t stupid. The ones in front relied on their position to shout and charge directly at Zhong Chengshuo, trying to suppress him with a sea of people. But that bloated “Minister Zou ” was like a phantom, evaporating on the spot.

What followed was a warm and sticky liquid.

It sprayed everywhere, splattering everyone’s faces and bodies. When the criminals reacted and turned on their emergency lights, five seconds had already passed.

The surroundings were dark and blood-red.

The people in front had become headless bodies—the sturdy cloth armor and hard helmets couldn’t withstand the swift and precise knife strikes on their necks.

The heads had rolled on the ground with their helmets still on, while the bodies had collapsed with a dull thud. The ground was wet and slippery with blood. These people all had sharp weapons in their hands, but their movements had slowed down unconsciously.

“It’s a machete! My brother has lost his machete!”

“Fuck! That guy ran down. Chase him!”

At the same time, Zhong Chengshuo picked up a spare head with one arm, and with a machete in one hand, he came to a sudden stop at the bottom of the stairs.

As fate would have it, he didn’t have time to run far. The unfortunate end of the stairs had no elevator or transitional hall; only a plain metal door stood in the open. Next to it was the damn facial recognition device—this time, Minister Zou no longer had authority to open it.

He was just a door away from his hamster pendant.

Dozens of people had swarmed down the stairs behind him; their footsteps sounding like torrential rain. There was only a dead end in front of him, but even though his heart no longer existed, Zhong Chengshuo still felt a suffocating squeeze in his chest.

The familiar fear hit him again like a shot of adrenaline.

He didn’t want it to end.

Instead of the bank-style “vault” doors like the underground corpse vault, it was an ordinary metal door.

He held a thick-backed machete in his hand and a hard helmet that still had a head attached to it.

He didn’t want it to end.

Two seconds later, Zhong Chengshuo kicked hard at the door lock. He paid no attention to the dangerous cracking sound of the bones in his leg and kicked again. After four or five kicks, there was a slight deformation on the door.

Zhong Chengshuo raised the machete and precisely inserted the blade into a small gap. Then he jammed the head into the door frame and used all his strength to pry it open.

Crack.

The deformation of the door wasn’t significant, but the gap had widened a lot.

Time seemed to slow down, and countless equations floated through Zhong Chengshuo’s mind. He kicked his battered legs repeatedly, creating several gaps in different positions.

Just as he lifted his foot again, a dozen gunshots rang out. A wave of heat hit his back, and his left eye instantly lost sensation.

His back was riddled with bullets, and his left eye was probably shot through.

He had felt pain, but not much. It was more like a numb, dull ache, accompanied by the subtle sensation of foreign objects entering his body.

Compared to the sniper’s explosive bomb, this level of power was nothing.

Zhong Chengshuo used a flying kick, causing the metal door to shake unbearably and then collapse. There was no sound behind him. Zhong Chengshuo didn’t know if the criminals were scared by him, an “undead zombie”, or if they had other thoughts. He simply lifted his bent right leg and limped into the relic warehouse.

The hamster pendant Yin Ren gave him was there.

He remembered it clearly. It was a little hamster with “Wealth and Prosperity” attached to it.

However, the moment he saw the large relic warehouse clearly, another kind of fear crawled up and plunged into his back like a knife.

This was indeed a “large” warehouse for relics.

This underground warehouse was so big that he couldn’t see the end at a glance. The shelves led directly into the ceilings and were about six meters high, full of messy objects: common clothing, suitcases, handbags, and other casual items. Some damaged cameras lay quietly in the dust, and the cleaning tools used by the cleaners were also dumped in the gaps in the shelves. The skin of various balls was old and damaged, and most of them were deflated.

Stationery, books, bows…

Water cups, sneakers, remote controls…

The metal shelves used bones bonded together by glue and were piled high, making an extremely colorful but bleak maze.

His hamster pendant was just a drop of water in this sea of objects.

Zhong Chengshuo shook his head and forced himself to remain calm.

His task was still here, and theoretically, the possibility of completion wasn’t zero.

This wasn’t the end.

……

“He has been on the run for how long?” Minister Han asked cautiously.

“Fifteen hours and twenty-eight minutes.” The middle-aged woman rotated the steel pen in her hand. There were two empty lunch boxes by her side. “The boss instructed that if we can’t solve it in 24 hours, we have to consider a full lockdown of the relic warehouse. If he wanted to create a scene, I suspect he would have done it from the start.”

Since Minister Zou’s destination was the dull “relic warehouse”, Wei Huaqian was too lazy to watch a bunch of people play hide-and-seek and left before noon.

He ordered his people to completely seal off the underground corpse vault, wait until they knew the situation of the “evil being” that escaped before continuing further inventory work.

Once they entered the relic warehouse, there was no turning back—

The relic warehouse, internally referred to as the “dead man’s dump” contained “material items” that were tasteless to eat, a waste to discard, and could be completely sealed off.

Full lockdown meant they would lower the separators and fix the suspicious intruder in place. Then, they would completely seal off several divided spaces, pour in liquid nitrogen, and destroy all the physical things inside.

Now it was already late at night, and in the picture, “Minister Zou” was still limping and running away. In the vast “garbage dump”, that guy was dragging his broken body, painfully and awkwardly fleeing.

After taking so many bullets and still being able to move, he could only be a dead man. As for why this thing could evade magic, they would soon have an answer—

“Minister Zou” was already on his last breath.

He killed more than a dozen criminals, but they were all tough guys in the cleanup crew. Even if the crazy Minister Zou cut them down, they could still tear off one or two pieces of flesh in return. In contrast, Minister Zou could only strip the corpses and get some clothes to block his wounds.

He was like a small animal that knew it was about to be slaughtered, fleeing with a desperate and sad momentum.

What a pitiful guy. The middle-aged woman yawned.

“Minister Han, you continue to watch. I’ll go back first.” She stretched her neck.

The picture was too blurry, and there were too many obstacles in that ghostly place. It wouldn’t matter if they didn’t watch for a while. After all, the end was about to come, she thought.

Minister Han nodded obediently.

In a place they couldn’t see, Zhong Chengshuo used the cover of miscellaneous objects and gradually changed his blood-stained clothes, becoming more and more similar to the appearance of the criminals.

Half an hour later, a criminal bent down and sewed Minister Zou’s head onto another corpse. Then, he stood up unsteadily, covering his neck with the shadow of the helmet.

He played with the bayonet in his hand for a while as his bloodshot eyes scanned the dusty shelves. Slow motion covered the stiffness of his movements. This silent criminal, together with his other “companions,” continued to roam and explore.

But what others saw were just suspicious figures, and what he saw was the thickness of the accumulated dust.

At the same time.

“I know where our battlefield should be,” Yin Ren said.

“Wait, hold on. Don’t get excited yet. Even if the data is correct, I don’t know what this coordinate means!” Lu Xiaohe wiped the sweat from her face. “I need to study it. I have to wait until tomorrow when Fu Tianyi wakes up…”

Without hesitation, Yin Ren took out his phone and searched for Fu Tianyi’s phone number.

Lu Xiaohe: “…”

One day apart felt like three autumns have passed*, and this guy was becoming more and more ruthless.

*(一日不见如隔三秋) Idiom referring to the feeling of missing someone very much, as if even a short period of time apart feels like an eternity. It emphasizes one’s emotions when separated from a loved one or close friend.

“He must have gone to sleep as soon as he got back, so it makes no difference,” Yin Ren said while flipping through his contacts.

“I’m here.” A head with dark circles under his eyes stretched in from behind the door, sounding a bit resentful. “Miss Lu ran so loudly that it woke me up.”

“You came at the right time.”

“Also, do we need the assistance of Da Huang and Xiao Ge?” Lu Xiaohe tried to pull back the unrestrained Yin Ren. “You also need to rest…”

She hadn’t finished speaking when she saw the gap suddenly widen, like an eye suddenly opening.

This time, Yin Ren held on longer than any previous time.

In the darkness of the gap, various chaotic spatial bubbles were stacked, shimmering with strange textures of light.

“Fu Tianyi, I need more data,” Yin Ren said hoarsely.

“I just need to figure out one coordinate… Just one coordinate.”

Fu Tianyi was exhausted, as if his whole body had been run over by a car. “Breaking through the limit” was a training method, but he couldn’t help but mutter a few words of complaint. It was just that, when he saw Yin Ren’s expression clearly, he didn’t dare say anything.

In the dark waiting room, Yin Ren’s eyes were red as if a sharp blade had been unsheathed. He deliberately restrained his aura, but the oppressive feeling was still like a knife cutting through skin.

Fu Tianyi reached out with his sore and weak hand and tried to activate his power again.

He felt all the muscles in his body crushed into meat sauce. Even the most dangerous missions before weren’t as relentless as this endless night and day of feeling like his flesh was cut with a blunt knife.

Even though he grumbled in his heart, he didn’t hold back his power. Lu Xiaohe didn’t say anything more, and quickly started typing on the keyboard.

“Xiao Fu, be steady… I’ll adjust the space folding parameters…”

She didn’t even have time to wipe the sweat from her nose.

“Yin Ren, tonight I can only try to build a computational model as much as possible. I don’t have any equipment to simulate the signal right now, so I have to use the detection device from the Shian to adjust the gap. Promise me that when I finish the model, you’ll rest… Yin Ren?!”

Lu Xiaohe screamed, and Fu Tianyi was so scared that he lost his strength.

Without hesitation, Yin Ren tore off the hamster pendant from his phone and put his hand into the gap, then pulled it out. “The signal source is exactly the same. Is this okay?”

“It—it’s possible.” Lu Xiaohe swallowed hard.

It was possible, but she was afraid that if Yin Ren made a mistake, the gap would swallow his arm and the hamster pendant whole.

“Just in time.” Yin Ren’s hair tips couldn’t help but move as if to calm himself. “Trust me.”

Lu Xiaohe had just planned to get up from the chair, but then sat back down. She let out a deep sigh and said, “Anyway, I’ll take a break after I finish perfecting the algorithm. I won’t care about you anymore!”

“Thank you,” Yin Ren replied indifferently.

For the first time in his life, he was holding the hamster pendant in his hand that was full of sweat.

Finally, there was a turning point.

When he found the possible location of the hamster pendant, he used the opportunity to break through the “interstitial space” over there. The sniper had no reason to throw a phone pendant there, so Zhong Chengshuo must be nearby.

The answer he wanted was within reach, and after days of darkness, a glimmer of light finally appeared.

Yin Ren adjusted his breathing and was about to tear open the gap again when suddenly his hair stood on end—

A feeling of being watched.

Yin Ren’s black hair shot straight up and instantly passed over Lu Xiaohe and Fu Tianyi, who were both dumbfounded. Sure enough, the next moment, a bullet pierced through the window and directly hit where Lu Xiaohe was originally located.

The blinking machine was blown black, and the squeaking sounds of machinery stopping sounded one after another.

“Don’t worry!” Lu Xiaohe’s face was whiter than a corpse. She hugged her remaining laptop tightly, and her voice barely sounded calm. “My data is all in a private cloud, which he can’t destroy!”

As she spoke, she glanced at Yin Ren’s hair with the corner of her eye.

“You can always start over,” Yin Ren said. “As long as you find the way, you can always start over.”

The answer was another round of firepower suppression. Pure physical bullets poured in from the doors and windows, causing the floor of the waiting room to shatter, and sharp fragments flew everywhere. If it were a human, this situation would be enough to turn them into minced meat.

This time, Yin Ren didn’t hide his skills.

In the darkness, one protective spell after another lit up. They had obviously been modified—the surrounding space appeared to be distorted like water waves. They emitted a faint fluorescent light, cutting the view outside the protective shield like a mirage.

The protection gradually narrowed and stopped near the coffin where the corpse was located, just enough for three people to stand.

“Can we keep going?” Yin Ren asked Lu Xiaohe.

“Must be able to.” Lu Xiaohe smiled bitterly. “Unless you can throw me out of the country in one shot, I doubt he will keep sniping at me.”

“I can keep going too.” Fu Tianyi stared blankly at the protective spells around him. “I can do whatever you want me to do.”

“Very good.” Yin Ren clenched the hamster pendant in his hand.

He maintained the sturdy protective spell while reaching out his right hand. Yin Ren opened the gap again and used the hamster pendant to touch the interstitial space.

This time, just as he reached into those illusory spaces, a cold hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.

An unfamiliar hand.

Yin Ren instantly retracted his hand, and the gap quickly closed again. Just before it closed—

Bang!!!

A bullet flew out of the gap, grazing his tightly clenched right hand.

The bullet was off target.

Because the moment it touched him, Yin Ren’s right hand, along with the chubby hamster pendant, exploded into powder.


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

Evil As Humans Ch143

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 143: Wish With Precaution

In the dark of night, the hour hand trembled slowly and pointed to ten o’clock.

Although testing intermittent data was important, people weren’t machines. High-intensity, concentrated work was exhausting, so Yin Ren urged everyone many times in advance to go back and rest—working soberly the next day was better than working groggily.

But Yin Ren didn’t follow the others back and stayed alone in the abandoned building.

To facilitate their movements, Fu Tianyi simply moved into Unit 9’s ward. The group of three in the ward had finished their supper and, except for Fu Tianyi, who had gone to bed right after, sat around a table.

Lu Xiaohe was worried and said, “I counted. Yin Ren had a bowl of porridge in the morning, a boiled egg at noon, and nothing for dinner. Now he’s not in our sight, and we don’t know how much he actually has slept… He won’t be able to keep going like this. Shall we buy something and bring it to him?”

She pulled up the takeout platform interface.

Huang Jin laughed inwardly. As a genuine evil, Yin Ren could theoretically live without eating. With so many evils in the world, he had never heard of any starving to death.

But he was also unable to understand why Yin Ren was so serious.

“Even if he’s on the verge of a breakdown, his emotions don’t seem to be collapsing into madness,” Huang Jin muttered. “He’s just scary in his determination. I don’t understand what he’s thinking…”

He had seen Yin Ren’s arms explode all day long to the point of blankness.

Lu Xiaohe thought it was some kind of mystical skill, while Ge Tingting only felt that Yin Ren was amazing. In the end, he had shouldered everything himself.

“What do you mean?” Ge Tingting argued with Huang Jin. “They were in a relationship, so it’s a bit much to think about other people’s grieving behavior.”

“How old are you? Do you understand anything?”

“You don’t even have a girlfriend.” Ge Tingting wrinkled her nose. “I seem to know a coward who is too scared to confess to Ding Jie.”

Huang Jin instantly choked up.

“Adults have to consider many things!” He coughed twice and wiped his nose hard. “It’s not like little kids nowadays, who get heartbroken at thirteen or fourteen, and think they’ve seen through the world at sixteen or seventeen… Lu Xiaohe, say something to her too!”

“What can I say? I’ve never been in a relationship either.” Lu Xiaohe was calm. “We science posts value practicality. Those who have no experience shouldn’t speak casually.”

Da Huang and Xiao Ge looked at her in surprise.

“Not surprising, right? I don’t want to date, and besides, my mother has been sick for a long time.” Lu Xiaohe shrugged. “As long as I talk about my family situation, even the most enthusiastic pursuer will run away.”

She fell silent for a moment.

“…Yin Ren said that if we successfully find Xiao Zhong, each of us can make a wish.” She moved her gaze away. “Do you think he’s serious?”

“Yes.” Huang Jin almost immediately answered. “But personally, I don’t recommend that you make a wish.”

There was a momentary freeze in Lu Xiaohe’s expression.

“You haven’t had much contact with the real world of metaphysics, so it’s normal not to understand,” Huang Jin said seriously, tapping his fingertips on the table.

“’Wishing’ is a very dangerous thing. If you’re not careful, you’ll be in deep trouble… There’s a saying among the Nightwalkers: ‘Don’t make wishes that cannot be fulfilled immediately.'”

“Because Sunken Society loves to make wish deals that cheat people,” Ge Tingting interjected.

“No, Sunken Society so-called wishes are generally fulfilled immediately. Money, power, fame, special abilities… all of them are contracted and delivered. But if it’s the kind of wish that cannot be immediately fulfilled, the wish maker will definitely be remembered.”

“Isn’t it a good thing to be remembered?” Ge Tingting asked curiously.

“If you make a wish that exceeds the abilities of an ordinary person, you have to weigh what ‘thing’ you are dealing with,” Huang Jin said in a low voice. “Neither of us seems to have accumulated enough virtue to withstand it, so we must be careful.”

Forget about accumulating virtue; they had probably committed enough sins in their past lives. Huang Jin sighed pessimistically.

Lu Xiaohe remained silent. A thought passed through her mind. ‘It doesn’t matter if I’m remembered or not.’ She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief instead.

“Anyway, that’s how it is. Even if you believe in Yin Ren, you must make your wish within the normal range.”

“After all that talk, you don’t believe in Yin Ren,” Ge Tingting summarized.

“You may know someone’s face, but not their heart. It’s not right to believe in someone we’ve only known for a few months, right?”

Ge Tingting typed furiously, and the AI voice continued, “But if Yin Ren doesn’t believe in us, there’s no need to show his sadness, right?”

“Yin Ren is very strong, and he didn’t reveal anything before. Such a strong person won’t easily reveal their true emotions in front of small fries.” ‘Unless he has ulterior motives.’ Huang Jin thought.

“Doesn’t that mean his sadness is real? He even offered the conditions for us ‘small fries’ to make wishes, so he must need help.” Ge Tingting furrowed her brows. “According to what you said, he has to suppress his emotions completely and handle the problem of Zhong Chengshuo by himself… Is that necessary considering his strength?”

Huang Jin opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

“Or do you think that ‘small fries’ like us are not qualified to help someone as strong as Yin Ren? Huang Jin, do you think you have seen the world?”

Lu Xiaohe looked at them with enthusiasm as she took a sip of hot water.

“I don’t know what you’ve been through, and I haven’t seen much of the world either. But at the time of the Corpse Cage, I wanted to say that you’re always judging from a high horse, spouting a bunch of harsh words, and then coldly observing everything from the sidelines! Is it really so great to be able to see people’s thoughts?”

“If Yin Ren asks us for help, I’ll go and help. If Yin Ren is sad, then as teammates, we should find a way to help him. Why do you have to make simple things so complicated?”

Huang Jin’s expression suddenly changed.

He stood up abruptly and rushed out the door.

“?!” Ge Tingting was stunned.

She turned her head stiffly. “Xiaohe Jie, do you think he ran out to cry?”

As soon as the AI finished speaking, two messages suddenly appeared in the Shian WeChat group.

[Ten Thousand Taels: I have a new idea for making the tranquility talisman. Simply suppressing it may not be “strong”. I should handle it in a more simple way…unclog instead of block.]

[Ten Thousand Taels: @Ear Person, what I said earlier was a little inappropriate. Let me think about it again.]

[Ear Person: This is an apology, right? Senior forgives you.]

[Ten Thousand Taels: …… 👋]

He didn’t reply after that.

Ge Tingting played with her phone for a while. “Xiaohe Sister, I’m going to bed now. I have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Go ahead,” said Lu Xiaohe.

The two juniors had finally quieted down. Lu Xiaohe stretched and decided to wash her face. However, as soon as she stood up, something unusual suddenly entered her mind—

Huang Jin could see people’s thoughts? She had read the case report of the Bai Yongji case, which showed that Huang Jin could even see Fu Xingchuan’s thought process—even if Minister Fu could hide sensitive information through quick thinking, Huang Jin’s eyes would never miss any malicious intent.

Why is he so guarded against Yin Ren?

Lu Xiaohe pondered for a few seconds and sat down in front of the wall of machines. She logged into her expanded account and began to search for Yin Ren’s identity details in the employee database—if Yin Ren was really a powerful cultivator, Shian would definitely have supplementary information. Even if those data weren’t open to her, with Lu Xiaohe’s current permissions, she could at least see the indexes.

She opened the labyrinth-like related items of Shian layer by layer and quickly recorded the recording time of each task’s supplementary data.

Nothing.

There was nothing in the Shian system about Yin Ren’s identity.

Lu Xiaohe’s movements stopped, and the glow of the screen was reflected in her eyes, which blinked incessantly.

Even if Yin Ren was an unknown powerful person, even if Yin Ren was the biological father of Sunken Society leader, Shian would still truthfully record it in the system.

…Why is there nothing?

With this thought in mind, only a member of the Fu family could activate the Corpse Cage. The one who really constructed the internal spatial technique was the ancient Charon, Fu Wuya.

However, Yin Ren was trying to keep the Corpse Cage running so he could analyze the spatial technique.

Is the spatial technique something that can be learned at will? If not, why does Yin Ren have abilities close to a Charon?

But before she could draw a conclusion, another alert sounded.

The progress of unlocking Zhong Chengshuo’s hamster device had finally reached 100%.

Lu Xiaohe jumped up from her chair, clamped the laptop under her arm, and ran towards the night wearing slippers.

Fifteen minutes ago, in the abandoned building.

Yin Ren was once again forced to close the gap.

The space itself was too solid, and he was like an ant trying to move a mountain. Even if he could learn Fu Wuya’s technique or use the limited activation time of the Corpse Cage with Fu Tianyi’s support, it wasn’t enough to completely decipher the spatial magic.

But even though he didn’t know the way, he didn’t want to stop and rest.

He was like an angry prisoner, repeatedly hitting the sturdy prison door.

He believed there was always a way. At least during these eight or nine hours of the night, he may be able to loosen the door a bit more, and a little more looser was better than nothing.

The ear-piercing sound of space tearing and closing and the sticky sound of flesh exploding were better than the silence of an empty place.

Crack!

The gap was torn open for the umpteenth time, and this time it stayed open for half a second longer than before.

There was no direct road to another world inside the gap. On the contrary, it was dark inside, with countless large and semi-transparent cavities that looked like enlarged pomegranates.

Each cavity was blurry, with different scenery shadows visible inside. Those shadows constantly twisted and squeezed each other, and the colors mixed together, forming a dim compound eye that made people nauseous.

This immature gap led to a strange space close to the human world but was absolutely deserted.

No one knew where a mature gap would lead, and those who entered it never returned.

At this moment, Yin Ren only had this gap that was about to collapse. It was shallower than an immature gap, and the countless colorful masses inside it were like unopened “passages.” On the other side, perhaps it was already in a deeper, more untouchable place.

Even if he could open a path, where should he lead Mr. Qiu?

Numbly, amidst the excruciating pain of flesh and blood bursting, Yin Ren thought to himself.

If Mr. Qiu’s body was the same as Qi Xin’s, and damage wasn’t fundamental, what should he do? He had to prepare for the worst and choose a battlefield that was inaccessible…

Not far away, Lu Xiaohe’s device suddenly emitted a pleasant beeping sound.

It was Zhong Chengshuo’s hamster device that was just cracked!

Yin Ren stopped thinking instantly and hurriedly ran to Lu Xiaohe’s device. Unfortunately, the device was too complicated. His fingers were groping in a hurry, and he didn’t know how to start it. He wanted to press randomly, but he was afraid of mishandling it and destroying the hard-earned data.

Fortunately, in less than three minutes, Lu Xiaohe, with disheveled hair and a dirty face, rushed in with the laptop in her hand.

“Get out of the way!” she shouted with the typical arrogance of a science post, rushing towards the screen like a cannonball, almost leaving afterimages of her fingers.

Countless obscure and difficult-to-understand data instantly filled the screen. Lu Xiaohe’s eyes moved quickly, and the screen scrolled down one by one. Yin Ren was nervously staring at Lu Xiaohe’s expression, feeling helpless for a while.

Lu Xiaohe’s expression went from excitement to confusion, and finally settled into “worry”.

Yin Ren’s hopeful red eyes dimmed, and he remained silent.

“…The positioning result has indeed come out.” Lu Xiaohe cleared her throat twice. “But the coordinates are very strange… I have calculated it several times, and they are all coordinates that should not exist in the world. There is always an additional correction parameter… I’m sorry, this explanation is hard to understand, isn’t it?”

She thought for a while.

“Simply put, if Zhong Chengshuo’s algorithm is correct, the hamster pendant is in a space that does not exist in the world.”

“Zhong Chengshuo’s algorithm won’t be wrong.”

Yin Ren answered very confidently.

“His algorithms especially can’t be wrong now.”

Wait a minute.

A space that doesn’t exist in the world.

The Other Side was a space that didn’t exist in the world. According to Shian’s information, dead objects couldn’t enter The Other Side. That meant the hamster pendant was in a place between “this world” and “The Other Side”.

It neither existed in this world, nor was it truly in The Other Side… For example, it could be in an immature or already decaying gap.

Yin Ren stared fiercely at the now-closed huge gap. His gaze penetrated through the darkness and looked towards the countless blurred images revealed when it was opened.

“Very good,” he said.

“I know where the battlefield should be now.”


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

Evil As Humans Ch142

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 142: Trap

In the early morning, Qiu Fang was standing in an alley without surveillance.

Unlike the crowd around him, who were looking down at their phones, he had nothing in his hands. His plain white T-shirt had no pockets, and his tight-fitting jeans revealed that he had nothing inside.

Qiu Fang’s face was relatively clean, and his outfit made him stand out on the street. Unfortunately, the dark alley was filled with smelly garbage cans, rats scurrying along the walls, and unconscious thugs.

Several badly dressed young people were lying on the ground, unconscious, with blood stains all over the ground. A few teeth were scattered in the blood. Qiu Fang leaned against the wall, without a single drop of blood on him, looking at the people on the ground with disgust, as if he were looking at cockroaches turned upside down.

Qiu Fang stood motionless for half an hour, watching those people struggling to breathe, until suddenly he turned his head and looked in the direction of Haigu Municipal Hospital.

“The gap is shaking,” he murmured to himself. “Someone is breaking into the gap there.”

Then he fell silent, as if listening to someone’s reply.

“It’s definitely not you, and it’s not Miss Qi… Mr. Le is not nearby… Sunken Society doesn’t have this kind of power. Could it be that they have made some kind of research breakthrough?” Qiu Fang frowned.

He made a gesture with his hand, as if holding a gun, and pointed towards the hospital, but didn’t take any further action.

“No, that person’s spatial magic is similar to the Fu family’s, so it’s not easy to target.” Qiu Fang lowered his arm. “I need to attack up close.”

Then he fell silent again, as if listening to something.

“My opinion is the same as that guy’s. You’d better not go.” A female voice came from above.

Qiu Fang looked up and saw Qi Xin in a gray-black suit. She smiled faintly and looked down at him with her sparse brows.

“You can’t aim at him and forcing you to show up at close range is clearly a trap. Mr. Qiu, although I understand your ‘nature’ of provoking disputes, attacking the Fu family is too reckless, don’t you think?” Her tone was very light, but it made him uncomfortable.

“It’s just a group of humans.”

Qiu Fang spat.

“If it weren’t for the ‘ending’ we want being too troublesome, I could easily kill them all. I just played with them casually before and don’t need you to get involved.”

“Is that so?” Qi Xin smiled more meaningfully. “Thanks to humans, you have been able to grow rapidly in the past few thousand years and sit on an equal footing with us. Humans also like to say that they should have a sense of awe towards food.”

Qiu Fang had no choice but to look up at Qi Xin, and he didn’t bother to hide his disgust.

Qi Xin remained unmoved. Her facial expression twisted so much that it didn’t look like a “smile”. “Besides, you are obviously the most human-like among the four of us, aren’t you?”

Qiu Fang was shocked. His eyes bulged as something quickly surged in his shadow, forming dark whirlpools.

“Not long ago, you attacked the Fu family, causing someone to be traumatized and seek revenge during that crazy attack. If they really break through to our side, who will be responsible?” Qi Xin continued in a calm and collected manner, as if she hadn’t seen his reaction.

“That’s enough.”

Two voices from the shadows simultaneously spoke on the dusty glass of the alleyway.

One was a gentle female voice.

“Mr. Qiu has been working hard to expel potential invaders, and his previous behavior was instinctive. Don’t provoke him.”

“I didn’t provoke him,” Qi Xin lightly said. “I’m just advising him not to fall into a trap.”

“I’ll go.”

The moment he heard the woman’s voice, Qiu Fang instantly stopped the whirlpool. He scratched his hair, but accidentally tore off a piece of his scalp due to the force.

“A trap? Even if humans dig out their six Evil Spirits and attack together, it’s just a finger’s work for me. With them, how big a storm can they make? If that gap is really opened up by humans, I’ll be fucking ridiculed by this surnamed Qi every day.”

Qi Xin looked in the direction of the hospital and smirked.

“You and him can go together and settle it quickly,” the shadow on the glass lip-synced, making a sound that only they could hear. “The top priority is to close the gap.”

“I’m not going.” Qi Xin tidied up her scattered hair and narrowed her eyes. “If I follow him, won’t it ruin Mr. Qiu’s enthusiasm? Besides, I’m not interested in this kind of fighting. Even if I win, there will be no food to eat.”

“I don’t need an old bastard like you to deal with a few pieces of trash,” Qiu Fang sneered.

The shadows on the window sighed together.

“I understand,” the woman’s voice said, even gentler now. “The Haigu branch of Sunken Society is just below the hospital and is also built on a shrinking gap. You should act swiftly and don’t touch Sunken Society for now.”

“Okay.” Mr. Qiu bowed to the shadows on the glass.

He walked out of the alleyway quickly without even a glance at Qi Xin.

“You were a little harsh just now.” The woman’s voice became even more gentle. “He’s still young, and his nature affects him. We’re all companions working together. Why be so harsh on him?”

“Maybe I don’t like playing the ‘hero game’.”

Qi Xin grabbed a stone from the wall and weighed it in her hand. “I’ve never been a ‘righteous partner’ with you guys. I just promised not to make trouble. Stop using your methods on me.”

Crack!

Qi Xin flung the stone, hitting the glass window and shattering the shadow figures.

Confirming that those broken shadows would no longer move on their own, she lightly clapped her hands and also looked in the direction of the Haigu Municipal Hospital.

The smile on her face became even more apparent.

……

Zhong Chengshuo had some free time and followed the same route back, carefully disposing of Minister Zou’s body.

Confirming that there were no monitoring devices on the upper floors, his movements became much more calm.

With two bodies, he could do a lot more—

Minister Zou’s head was also finely cut off by him, and he became more proficient at it with practice. This time, Zhong Chengshuo had sewn it more skillfully.

Minister Zou was slightly taller than Zhang Wei and had a slightly larger body so Zhong Chengshuo put Zhang Wei’s clothes on the outer layer of the lining and adjusted it to roughly match the appearance, then he put on a coat. The sturdy and beautiful body was covered up, suddenly appearing much richer and almost identical to Minister Zou from before.

Maybe it was because his neural processing was more refined, this time he was much more precise in manipulating the head; at least not as slowly as before.

After doing all this, Zhong Chengshuo stepped out of the morgue again. He moved forward along the clear route in his mind and walked all the way to the elevator.

Ding.

After a long time, the elevator’s crisp sound echoed on the first floor of the morgue.

At the door of the underground morgue.

“The elevator just rang,” the human guard said.

“Yes, the elevator rang.” The zombie guard picked his nose. “That guy who went down just now finally came back. I thought we were going to lose another one. I don’t know if he found what he was looking for. Let him fill out a brief record form later.”

Half an hour passed.

The tall, thin human guard said, “Strange, why isn’t Minister Zou coming out? Can it be that he could still get lost on the first floor?”

“Who knows.” The zombie guard continued to concentrate on picking his nose. “Maybe he ran into something and got scared.”

Ding.

In the corridor behind the two guards, a faint and distant sound was heard, which was the sound of the elevator arriving on the first floor.

The two guards looked at each other.

Ding.

Five minutes later, the sound rang again.

Ding.

Ding.

Ding.

In the underground morgue, where no one was supposed to be, the crisp electronic sound effect was extremely regular, with intervals of almost exactly one second. The human guard immediately got goosebumps all over his body. He glanced at the tightly closed door of the underground morgue and rubbed his exposed forearm.

“This is not right. Go check the surveillance.”

The zombie guard sprayed out a disdainful breath and slowly moved to the side guard room. The screen was full of surveillance footage.

The “Minister Zou” who entered a while ago was shown in the footage.

The picture was dim near the elevator door, which creaked and rattled as it slid open. Minister Zou’s shadow stretched long down the corridor. When the elevator door opened completely, he walked out normally, but then walked backwards step by step.

The indicator light blinked, and the elevator descended.

Five minutes passed, and the elevator arrived on the first floor again. The door opened as usual, and the above scene repeated. If it weren’t for the constantly advancing time on the surveillance footage, the zombie would almost think that this was a looped video.

Strange things happened frequently, but those monsters usually came straightforwardly. There were rarely such… bizarre phenomena.

As a zombie guard who had been dead for more than ten years, it was the first time he felt a little scared.

He leaned closer to the screen, carefully observing the details of the footage.

Minister Zou’s face was calm and his movements were natural, indicating there was no stiffness which meant he shouldn’t be controlled or possessed. His clothes were clean, and there were no suspicious marks on them.

The eerie loop continued, and this “normal” scene made the zombie guard even more uneasy.

“Minister Zou seems to have been possessed. You go in and take a look. I’ll stay here and guard.” The zombie rubbed the non-existent goosebumps and tremblingly returned to his post.

“You can’t say that,” the human guard said sternly. “You’re the monster here, and the other side is just an ordinary person possessed by an evil spirit. Why don’t you go? I’m flesh and blood and may end up in the hospital.”

The zombie gritted his teeth angrily and pushed open the thick door.

The corridor leading to the elevator was neither short nor long. The zombie nervously sharpened his nails, ready to attack at any moment.

Ding.

The elevator door opened slowly again, and Minister Zou appeared in front of the zombie guard with a calm expression.

Zhong Chengshuo quickly scanned the zombie in front of him.

Not too long ago, wearing a staff uniform, the evil qi emanating from his body was typical of Sunken Society. Such zombies were artificially created and durable, but not particularly powerful.

Nearby guards.

Zhong Chengshuo took two steps forward, and this time he didn’t retreat into the elevator.

“Just you?” The zombie looked behind him. “What about Zhang Wei?”

Zhong Chengshuo shook his head.

Seeing that “Minister Zou” could still react normally, the zombie relaxed. “What was that all about just now, going up and down like that? Are you playing with us?”

Zhong Chengshuo continued to shake his head, pressing his temple hard and pointing to his neck, making a dizzying gesture.

“Oh, your throat is injured, no wonder there’s a bloody smell.” The zombie sniffed. “It’s not that bad. There’s no evil qi on your body. You were probably just possessed. When you go out, have someone exorcize you.”

Zhong Chengshuo nodded pitifully.

With the zombie in front and him behind, the two walked straight towards the door. But as they passed the corner and reached the final exit corridor, the zombie’s steps slowed down.

“Something isn’t right,” it muttered. “I just felt it. Your human smell is too weak, almost like a freshly dead person…urgh!”

It didn’t finish the sentence.

Zhong Chengshuo’s hand pierced through its flesh directly, stabbing the corpse talisman inside that was as vital as a heart. The movement of his hand was as precise as that of a scalpel, directly breaking through its weakest defense and hitting the vital point.

The zombie had never been so scared—comparable to a bank clerk with a gun pointed at his back.

“You… You… You have something to say. We’re all evil things, so there’s nothing we can’t talk about.”

“I’m not an evil thing,” Zhong Chengshuo said in a low voice. “Cooperate with me. Take me out, and you might still have a chance to survive,” he continued solemnly.

Feeling the hand lightly scraping the corpse talisman, the zombie’s teeth chattered.

The human guard quickly saw his monster colleague.

Looking through the peephole from afar, the zombie was leading Minister Zou out. Minister Zou looked fine, but the two seemed a bit too familiar, with their shoulders hooked and their faces close together.

There was no expression on the zombie’s face, and his steps seemed even stiffer than usual.

“Hurry up, fill out the registration form, and get out.” The human guard put his heart back in his stomach. “Seriously, we still haven’t found anyone, and we’re just causing trouble for ourselves.”

Zhong Chengshuo nodded sincerely and glanced at the nearby light.

“Alright, hurry up and come out.” The human guard kept muttering, but then saw Minister Zou maintaining the posture of “embracing” the zombie, taking off his own work card with one hand.

“Registration doesn’t require a card…”

Before the human guard could finish his sentence, a thin work card flew past his temple and directly shattered the only lamp at the entrance of the morgue.

The surrounding area instantly plunged into darkness.

Bang!

In an instant, the nearby guard room was tightly closed.

Zhong Chengshuo, who was stuck in the small guard room, slowly took off his obstructive lab coat.

“Hello. Excuse me, where are the personal items of the corpses stored?”

He spoke softly with a gentle tone.

“I want to get my things back.”


The author has something to say:

Xiao Zhong: That’s the token of love my lover gave me (referring to the hamster).


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

Evil As Humans Ch141

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 141: Getting Closer

The beef buns near the hospital were famous, and despite Lu Xiaohe and the others eating with restraint, the fragrant meat smell still entered Yin Ren’s nose.

In the past, he would have bought a dozen buns to take home. Zhong Chengshuo would express a slight dissatisfaction with this greasy taste and then help him make crispy bottom pan-fried buns—he had bought buns here before and specifically asked Zhong Chengshuo to help make something similar.

Yin Ren remembered that the man was wearing the “Dangerous Person” apron, pursing his lips, and frying the buns as if doing an experiment.

At that time, he was lying on the sofa playing with his tablet, and he could see Zhong Chengshuo just by raising his head. Amidst the sizzling sound of frying buns, Zhong Chengshuo would sometimes turn his head to look over. The man didn’t often smile, but when he met Yin Ren’s gaze, he would tilt his head slightly, indicating “I caught you”.

Then Yin Ren would look more upright and even use a little hair to harass him.

At the time, he only felt that those fragments were ordinary. He thought he would miss the thrills in the abandoned amusement park and the moment of redemption in the Archive more, but what pressed him down were all these small details.

They were hidden in every corner of his life and would come to mind if he wasn’t careful.

Compared with that, the years he spent in the wilderness were like a blank piece of paper.

‘Liking mortals is too terrible,’ Yin Ren thought.

But if he were given another chance… If he were given another chance…

He would still be attracted to that annoying yet lovable guy.

The smell of the buns still lingered at the tip of his nose, but Yin Ren had no appetite. He subconsciously touched the pocket of his pants—a small hardcover notebook was placed in his pocket, and every page was written with “I’m fine”.

It was a hope he wanted to touch but didn’t dare to.

Yin Ren was lost in thought when Dog Thing vibrated.

“Yes?” Yin Ren skillfully answered the phone.

“The Corpse Cage just reacted. There is a Fu family member nearby.” Fu Xingchuan restrained his tone as much as possible. “You asked us to send the Corpse Cage over earlier and said you had a way… Is your way to catch Fu Tianyi to do the job?”

“The elders of the Fu family are either rooted in place or busy outside, and someone has to control the Corpse Cage.” Yin Ren casually twirled his hair and spoke with a smile, but there was no smile in his eyes. “Although I can also flay a piece of the Fu family’s blood alive and make it into a spirit weapon to pass it off as real, that’s still a bit inhumane for this era.”

Fu Tianyi swallowed a mouthful of millet porridge with difficulty, looking puzzled. The other three members of Unit 9 didn’t find anything unusual and were busy grabbing the last tea egg on the table.

Fu Xingchuan sighed. “Fu Tianyi is only 21 years old and has never been in contact with many Corpse Cage-related spells. He is also proud and arrogant. Moreover, his previous mission was dangerous, but the preparations were all fully done… “

“Fu Xingchuan, just say what you want to say.”

“This is just great!” Fu Xingchuan coughed a few times and suppressed the laughter in his voice. “I’m here to convey the words of the ancestor and my personal attitude… Use him as much as you want, and be sure to be ruthless, but leave him with some leeway.”

Yin Ren: “……”

As expected, the Fu family was still the Fu family; each one abnormal in their own way. Yin Ren had just wanted to hang up the phone when he heard the voice on the other end of the line become a little more serious.

“As for the sniper case, Shian’s current focus is on ‘preventing cross-dimensional attacks’. Although we won’t stop tracking the attacker, Shian will definitely prioritize preventing such incidents.”

Fu Xingchuan’s tone became more serious.

“You can ask Lu Xiahe to pay attention to Shian’s research on space. I don’t care about your methods, but I just need you to remember one thing—our ‘innocent pact’ can’t be wronged.”

“I remember,” Yin Ren replied succinctly.

“Good. By the way, do you and Xiao Zhong know a doctor at the hospital? I remember she was surnamed Sun… Be careful and don’t reveal anything in front of familiar faces.”

Dr. Sun?

Yin Ren’s hand, which was stroking the hardcover book, suddenly stopped.

“I remembered an interesting thing. Go and help me check the ‘enemy’ who was hospitalized before, but be careful not to use Shian’s official investigation methods.”

“Clues?”

“It’s not very useful. Just something I thought of.”

Even if the sniper was really Mr. Qiu, that “Mr. Qiu” could easily pretend to be ignorant, especially given the “perfect human disguise” of Qi Xin. If they rashly investigate, they might stir up trouble.

This matter wasn’t easy, and only the “#1 Ghost General” could handle it.

“Ah, my leg isn’t healed yet…” Fu Xingchuan muttered. “Okay, I’ll think of a way.”

On the other side, Fu Tianyi gradually stopped stirring his porridge. His expression became more and more anxious.

Yin Ren’s tone didn’t sound like he was speaking to the “#1 Ghost General” at all. Instead, it was more like an elder communicating with a junior.

Who is this guy?

Half an hour later, Fu Tianyi stopped thinking about this question.

Lu Xiahe sat in a corner of the waiting room. As the numbers on the temporary screen wall were changing frantically, Huang Jin murmured to himself, while constantly strengthening the defensive array around him. Ge Tingting stood next to Yin Ren, ready to assist Fu Tianyi, who for the first time was going to assist the bride into the sedan chair*.

*Clarity: This line is basically saying, normally Fu Tianyi is the person being lifted in the sedan chair (being supported by others), but now, he’s the one doing the lifting.

“Activate the Corpse Cage, and I’ll take a closer look at how the spell works,” Yin Ren said.

“What do I need to do?” Fu Tianyi took a deep breath.

“Remember this pattern, infuse it with power, and stop when I say so.” Yin Ren reached out his hand, and a set of runes appeared above the coffin in an instant. “Tingting, make sure to stabilize the corpse, so that it doesn’t move too much.”

How did Yin Ren know such a spell? Perhaps he had a close relationship with the Fu family as this spell had been passed down by the ancestor. Fu Tianyi silently recited it three times in his heart, barely holding back his curiosity.

It wasn’t too difficult to maintain the input of power.

He used eight points of strength from the beginning, but the output of power was like a drop in the bucket. In just a few minutes, Fu Tianyi’s power began to fluctuate, causing the Corpse Cage to shake uncontrollably. Ge Tingting’s face turned red, as she continued to pour power into the body, hoping to keep it from moving around in the coffin.

His performance was utterly terrible.

Fu Tianyi’s face turned pale as he put out the maximum strength he could muster—in his usual tasks, this strength would be enough to deliver a decisive blow.

The Corpse Cage finally convulsed, and a layer of faint light appeared on the surface of the rotten skin.

“Okay,” Yin Ren said. “With this intensity, let’s try to sustain it for four hours.”

However, Fu Tianyi couldn’t even last for four seconds. After a frustrated burst of output, he sat on the ground like he had just climbed out of a pool.

“I can’t hold on…” He weakly pressed his temple. “The patterns are too complicated, and the power requirements are too high…”

“Is that so?” Yin Ren remained noncommittal.

“I personally improved the control technique. I only wanted it to maintain its startup state without having to confront enemies,” Yin Ren said casually. “The power consumption and complexity of this spell have been reduced by about half… and someone like you is the strongest of the new generation of the Fu family?”

“Is it possible to modify a technique of this level?” Fu Tianyi exclaimed. Even that girl, Ge Tingting, was earnestly nodding and recording!

It was no longer a matter of “poor performance”. Even in his best condition, he was like a blade of grass compared to others.

…And this made him unreconciled.

In a daze, Fu Tianyi slowly clenched his fist.

“I have recorded the data of spatial disturbances, but the sample size isn’t enough,” Lu Xiaohe interjected calmly. “Try it first and adjust it according to Mr. Fu’s subsequent data.”

With a bitter face, Huang Jin added three more protection spirit weapons.

Try it? Fu Tianyi wiped the sweat from his face. What was he supposed to try?

Crack.

In the next second, a burst of hostility erupted around him. It turned into a cold wind and made Fu Tianyi’s face shake. Yin Ren stretched out his right hand and directly cast the spell in front of the gap.

A spell that was infinitely more complicated than the Corpse Cage formed instantly. It was like a huge brand from hell, with black light emanating from its edges, floating in front of the dark gap.

The gap seemed to sense something, and it twisted restlessly, with gray-black mist pouring down from the edges. A terrible cracking sound came from all sides, followed by the harsh sound of something being forcibly torn apart.

Fu Tianyi covered his ears and numbly watched the scene in front of him.

The pitch-black gap grew bigger and bigger, and the wriggling shadows in the darkness beyond were faintly visible. Yin Ren stood with his back to Fu Tianyi. In front of the huge gap, his black hair fluttered in the hostility, like a figure walking out of a painting.

Unfortunately, in the next moment, there was a disgusting sound of something too heavy collapsing, and the gap that had been propped open suddenly closed. It was like an opened mouth that suddenly bit down, instantly shattering Yin Ren’s complex and mysterious spell formation.

What shattered along with it was Yin Ren’s right arm.

Flesh and blood were scattered and turned into dust. Yin Ren’s palm and arm completely exploded, and along with the spell formation, they were swallowed up by the gap, leaving no trace behind.

Fu Tianyi: “?!”

“No,” Yin Ren murmured. “It’s not quite there yet. The array needs to be adjusted… Fu Tianyi, what are you doing? Keep activating the Corpse Cage. Lu Xiaohe needs more ‘space connectivity’ data.”

Fu Tianyi asked, “Wait, are your hands okay?”

Yan Ren didn’t answer.

The next second, he saw bones and muscles rapidly emerge from Yan Ren’s shoulder, forming a brand-new arm in an instant.

Then Yin Ren raised his hand again, and a brand-new array appeared before the gap.

Immediately followed was the familiar scene—the gap was pushed open, the array failed to tear the space, and the spell backfired. The newly grown arm couldn’t hold on for five minutes before it exploded in the air again.

Yin Ren clicked his tongue and grew another arm, as if he felt no pain. Lu Xiaohe was busy with the data in front of the screen and didn’t look over, while Huang Jin seemed used to it and only focused on reinforcing the protection.

Ge Tingting had already secured the Corpse Cage. “Yin Ren is really powerful.”

Her AI voice was serious.

Fu Tianyi was in a daze.

They’re crazy. All of them are crazy.

Yin Ren paid no attention to Fu Tianyi’s progress, repeatedly exploding his arms, but didn’t urge Fu Tianyi again. Even though they all knew that the faster Fu Tianyi mastered the Corpse Cage, the faster Yin Ren could adjust the array.

With the sound of flesh and blood exploding, Fu Tianyi felt like he was on pins and needles every second he was idle.

These people were crazy, and he, who stayed behind, must be crazy too.

He raised his hand again above the Corpse Cage, disregarding his exhausted body, and tried to activate the Corpse Cage again.

……

With the location of the “morgue” provided by Zhong Chengshuo, Minister Zou soon found the correct path.

But with such a big monster behind him, he didn’t dare to confirm the state of Zhong Chengshuo’s corpse.

“This is the deepest part of the underground morgue, divided into three layers. We have to climb the stairs to get to the elevator. This is the third to last layer, so we’ll be out soon.”

Perhaps to save his own life, Minister Zou explained very passionately.

Zhong Chengshuo stayed about two steps behind him. Once he felt stable, he found Minister Zou’s wet pants very distracting and didn’t want to be too close to him.

“What about when we get to the elevator?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

“We can leave the morgue then.” Minister Zou’s forehead broke out in sweat again.

After leaving the morgue, what awaited them was Sunken Society of the Haigu branch—one of the strongest branches of Sunken Society. By then, this monster wouldn’t be able to escape. Each ghost master could drown it with just one spit.

But first, this monster couldn’t get into the elevator.

When they arrived at the elevator, he could immediately sound the alarm and rush into it. By the time he left the underground morgue, this guy would soon be under the control of Sunken Society’s security.

He just had to stabilize this guy first.

“Leave the morgue…” Fortunately, the self-proclaimed fitness instructor didn’t ask any further questions.

“You said your loved one is waiting for you, right?” Minister Zou quickly changed the subject. “She’s probably a very beautiful girl. You must have a good relationship.”

“I don’t know if we have a good relationship.”

Zhong Chengshuo lowered the head that didn’t belong to him, and stepped on the stairs, step by step.

“But I really want to go see them.”

“You will definitely see them.”

Minister Zou smiled apologetically and took two steps forward without making a sound.

“You see, this is the elevator. I’ll go wash my face first…”

Crack.

“I’ll definitely see him.”

Zhong Chengshuo calmly repeated as he watched Minister Zou’s broken neck slide softly to the ground.


The author has something to say:

Congratulations to Xiao Zhong for getting a second head (…


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

Criminal Psychology Ch209

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

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


Chapter 209

Lin Chen had certainly thought before that if one day he could be lucky enough to be with Xing Conglian, they would definitely have a very interesting life. As it turned out, his speculation was correct.

After saying “goodbye” to Xing Conglian, Lin Chen took out his headset and walked out of the ward with a thick stack of medical examination reports that needed to be filled out by a doctor.

At the moment the door opened, the medical staff pushing the hospital bed whizzed past, and Lin Chen stepped back and stood back in the doorway.

In a moment of surprise, he saw an old man lying on the hospital bed, feeling that fate was unpredictable, often just like this moment.

He remembered yesterday walking through the special care ward and seeing the old man full of energy educating his subordinates, but now he lay on the hospital bed without any awareness, as if only one breath remained.

The elevator door opened in the distance, and the hospital bed was quickly pushed in. The iron gate closed, and the floor numbers on the elevator sign quickly descended.

Slow footsteps sounded behind him, and Lin Chen turned his head and was surprised to see the young subordinate who had been reprimanded by the old man yesterday.

They looked at each other, and the young man in a suit and leather shoes avoided his gaze. It seemed he didn’t intend to chase after the hospital bed.

Lin Chen held the medical examination report and took a brief look at the other person. He turned his feet and walked towards the other person.

The young man’s hair was very soft, as if deliberately highlighting a fierce temperament, and his hairstyle was cut very short, making him look out of place. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and an ill-fitting suit, looked dejected, and had no pain or resentment on his face, only confusion.

“Hello,” Lin Chen greeted the other person.

“I’m sorry to have troubled you.”

He didn’t expect the other person to answer like this. “Troubled? “

The young man lowered his head even more. “When I was scolded by the chairman yesterday, you just happened to pass by.”

Lin Chen was even more surprised. With such short eye contact yesterday, the young man could remember him, and now he mentioned this embarrassing thing specifically. Following the principle of saying what was on his mind, he asked strangely, “Why suddenly bring this up?”

“I…” The young man hesitated. Although he looked like he didn’t know whether to speak or not, he continued, “I thought…you wanted to talk to me about something. I thought that this would be…the beginning…”

He patted the other person’s shoulder calmly and explained to him, “Would you feel that such a beginning is suited for starting an intimate conversation?”

The young man rubbed his face with his hand, shook his head, and turned to leave.

Lin Chen was helpless. Why did he always encounter such vague and unclear things when he just went out for a medical examination? After the young man took a step out, he stopped him. “I’m going for a medical examination now. It will take about an hour. If you have time, would you like to accompany me?”

The young man turned around and nodded vigorously.

Lin Chen stood at the elevator entrance, and the young man beside him politely pressed the elevator button for him as if he were used to doing this. When the elevator door opened, the other person even held the door and let him go in first.

“The chairman is sick. Don’t you have to go and keep him company?” Standing in the elevator, Lin Chen found a topic to chat with the other person.

“I made the chairman sick. He told me to fuck off and never show up in front of him again.”

The young man’s voice was thin and soft, as if it could be cut off at any moment. Lin Chen thought about this sentence in his heart. Normally, when a chairman met a disliked subordinate, he would only say “you don’t have to come to work tomorrow”. Saying things like “fuck off” and “never show up in front of me again” didn’t seem quite right.

“Then resign.” He thought for a moment and replied.

The young man looked at him resentfully.

“He’s not your father, so you don’t need to be so subservient.”

The young man smiled bitterly.

Lin Chen suddenly understood something. “Is he really your father?”

The young man lowered his head again and pecked like a little chick.

“Are relationships in rich families always so twisted that the son has to call his father the chairman…” Lin Chen said, thinking of Xing Conglian for no reason.

In fact, since Xing Conglian revealed his wealth, he had always avoided thinking about this kind of issue. Who knew what the Xing family would do because the eldest grandson of the main branch married a homosexual. Although he subconsciously believed that Xing Conglian’s parents wouldn’t come to him throwing a check, it was hard to predict the thoughts of the rich.

Just as Lin Chen was getting lost in his strange thoughts, the young man who had been following him finally couldn’t help but speak. “The chairman… has always disliked me… He thinks I’m too weak… And I made a big mistake recently… I failed a bidding project… and the chairman got sick because of anger… Isn’t that my fault?”

Hearing this, Lin Chen turned his head to look. He suddenly realized that since he met Duan Yang, he might have a special physique that attracted confused young people. Why was this stranger already telling him about his personal struggles?

Lin Chen sighed, and the elevator door opened.

He walked out first, and the young man followed like a lost little duck.

“What kind of illness does your father have?” Lin Chen stood at the elevator entrance and asked, looking at the floor indicator in the lobby.

“Hypertension, but the doctor said there might be a cerebral hemorrhage…”

“If there is a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, the patient should be sent for an MRI first, right?” Lin Chen followed the indicator and walked to the right.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

“I don’t know why, but when I see you, I want to talk. I’m really sorry… It’s not good for someone like me to be so forward, right?”

“I can only say that your personality is not suitable for the job you are doing now, such as being in charge of the bidding case, right?” Lin Chen said as he walked.

“You’re being too direct.” The young man couldn’t take it.

“Actually, it’s not really your personality that’s the problem, but rather your temperament. You seem to have a typical phlegmatic temperament. You can remember me after a brief eye contact, which indicates that your intelligence and memory abilities are quite good. You are better suited to be a scientist or an artist, rather than managing a factory. The factory has wasted your potential,” Lin Chen comforted him.

“How do you know that I work at a factory?”

“You’re wearing a suit with the logo of ‘Guanghua Chemicals’ embroidered on it.”

The young man nervously touched his pocket and said embarrassedly, “I used to work in chemistry, but the chairman said I had to take over the factory in the future and couldn’t do research anymore, so I was transferred to management. But I really don’t understand it.”

“It’s already not easy for you to know what you can and cannot do,” Lin Chen comforted him and led him to turn right.

At the end of the hallway was a closed magnetic resonance imaging room, and the door reflected a metallic silver light.

The young man also saw it, and his words trembled. “You mean…me?”

Lin Chen folded the medical report and put it in his pocket. “Since he is your father, let me accompany you.”

He didn’t know what was wrong with his words, but the young man’s eyes turned red in an instant.

Many people came and went outside the MRI room every day. Lin Chen stayed outside with the young man for a while, watching the patients and their families come and go, and listening to him talk about things related to the chairman.

The young man said his name was Zhan Tianming, only one letter away from a famous railway expert. He hoped his father could survive, because he was worried that he would have to take on the heavy responsibility of managing the entire factory, but he also felt that such a mentality was too selfish. He wanted to become stronger, but his personality issues became a deep problem for him. He really couldn’t manage people.

Zhan Tianming didn’t have deep feelings for his father, which stemmed from the constant criticism and lessons he received during his upbringing. His father controlled everything in his life, including his choice of major in chemistry in college and his current transfer to management. All of these decisions were made with the factory in mind.

Lin Chen listened silently, building a psychological profile of this young man. Zhan Tianming’s case was all too typical, and distorted father-son relationships often have similarities. He also quickly understood why Mr. Zhan would vent his inner emotions to anyone he could find because, in his life controlled by his father, he really didn’t have anyone to talk to.

Not long after, the isolation door of the MRI room opened again, and Mr. Zhan’s attending doctor walked out. Zhan Tianming rushed up to him.

“The patient’s brain hemorrhage is still relatively severe, but there should be no immediate danger to his life. I still recommend conservative treatment…” The doctor said a lot.

After listening for a long time, Zhan Tianming finally asked, “The chairman, will he recover?”

“You know, the brain is very difficult to predict. The specific damage situation depends on the absorption of the hematoma. I will still lower the blood pressure in the early stages and cooperate with some drugs that can absorb brain hematoma. However, brain damage is irreversible, and there are many drugs to choose from. The specific treatment plan will be determined after consultation…” The doctor wore a mask. When he said this, he suddenly stopped and said, “I remember Mr. Zhan is in the pharmaceutical industry?”

“We are a chemical company and also produce pharmaceutical-related chemical additives. But strictly speaking, we cannot be considered a professional pharmaceutical company,” Zhan Tianming answered very honestly.

“If you can get some Nordren through special channels, Mr. Zhan’s recovery may be better.” 

Upon hearing this, Zhan Tianming’s expression visibly lowered. ” Nordren…?”

Lin Chen had been sitting outside the MRI room all this time. When he heard the word ” Nordren”, he looked at the doctor in surprise. The doctor was about forty years old, and his expression when he mentioned Nordren didn’t seem fake. He seemed to recommend the drug because its efficacy was indeed significant. And according to the doctor’s words, Nordren hadn’t yet been officially mass-produced, so it could only be obtained through special channels. Therefore, he had no great interest in making recommendations for his own benefit.

“Do you… know about Nordren?” Lin Chen stood up from the bench and asked the doctor.

“Who are you?” The doctor hesitated.

“I… am a friend of Mr. Zhan.” Lin Chen looked at Zhan Tianming and answered.

“Oh.” The doctor didn’t ask much and answered very straightforwardly. “This drug is closely related to our neurology department, so I have been tracking and observing it. Its clinical effect is indeed good, but it is a later-stage treatment. The early stage is still mainly drugs that promote hematoma absorption.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen suddenly remembered the scene when Duan Yang first took him to the hospital. They were at the door of the neurology department, watching the elderly people who were unable to move due to brain damage, and Duan Yang explained to him what a revolutionary drug it was.

“Is this drug really that good?” Suddenly, a nearby patient’s family member approached.

The auntie’s voice was very loud, and there were many patients’ family members at the door of the MRI room. When they heard the word “drug”, more people crowded around.

“In the pharmaceutical industry, it is difficult to define good or bad standards,” the doctor said frankly.

The auntie grabbed the doctor and said, “Didn’t you just say it’s good? My husband also had a brain hemorrhage last time, and now he is paralyzed. Can this drug cure him?”

“Specific circumstances depend on your husband’s medical case. It’s hard to say.”

“We can’t understand what you doctors are saying!” the auntie complained. “Just tell me the truth.”

Seeing more and more family members of patients around prick up their ears, Lin Chen said slowly, “But I remember the listing process for Nordren was quite complicated, and it caused fatalities.”

“I’m not too sure about that.” The doctor put his mask back on. “I’m just suggesting an option. I remember Zhourui will be holding a new drug presentation at a hotel tomorrow. You can go check where it is and learn more for yourself. It should be better than just listening to me.”

After the doctor finished speaking, Mr. Zhan’s hospital bed was pushed out, and the doctor left with it after nodding to them.

However, the family members outside the MRI room were in an uproar.

The auntie with sharp ears grabbed Mr. Xiao Zhan. “Do you have connections? Can you get this medicine? Tell me, how did you manage to get it?”

Lin Chen backed away and avoided the onslaught of the patients’ families. He watched as Mr. Xiao Zhan became a small boat in a storm, being pulled and tugged until his clothes were all wrinkled. The people around him finally let him go, probably because they felt he was too inky in his speech.

Zhan Tianming stood there in silence, looking depressed from the moment Lin Chen mentioned “Nordren”.

Seeing this, Lin Chen walked over, patted his shoulder, and asked, “Does your failed bidding project have anything to do with Zhourui Pharmaceutical?”

Upon hearing this question, Mr. Xiao Zhan was about to cry.

“Can I go see the chairman first?” Mr. Xiao Zhan looked around. “Where did they take the chairman?”

“Just now, the doctor said that Chairman Zhan will be sent to the intensive care unit. No visitors are allowed,” Lin Chen replied.

“Oh?” Mr. Xiao Zhan hesitated. “I see. Are you still going for the physical examination? Shall I accompany you?”

“Forget it, let’s go see your father in the ICU,” Lin Chen said as he walked forward, and Mr. Xiao Zhan followed closely behind.

After walking for a long while, Mr. Xiao Zhan finally asked, “Why do you want to know about the bidding project, and… What is the Nordren fatality case all about?”

“I thought you didn’t care,” Lin Chen turned around and said.

“Really?” Mr. Xiao Zhan hesitated for a moment and continued, “I didn’t ignore your question just now. I just didn’t know where to start.”

“You can start anywhere,” Lin Chen said.

But about five minutes later, Lin Chen deeply regretted what he had just said.

To be exact, although Mr. Xiao Zhan spoke slowly, it didn’t mean he spoke less.

Mr. Xiao Zhan was a bona fide chatterbox, starting from the entire process of a drug going to market and explaining in detail the complex process of a drug ultimately being used by patients.

Lin Chen frowned and listened. On the pharmaceutical company side, there were a series of processes such as early project selection, product research and development, animal experiments, and clinical trials. It was rare to obtain approval for a drug to be marketed, and there were still many problems in drug production, promotion, storage, transportation, and other aspects.

Mr. Xiao Zhan’s father’s factory mainly provided an emulsifier to Zhourui Pharmaceutical in the long term. The specific chemical terms made Lin Chen’s head spin, but he still summarized the key information in Mr. Xiao Zhan’s words. Guanghua Chemicals had been providing emulsifiers to Zhourui Pharmaceutical for years, but they lost to another relatively unknown company in the bidding meeting for the new year.

What was originally well arranged suddenly changed, but business losses were secondary. The main issue was that Chairman Zhan doubted Mr. Xiao Zhan’s ability.

Today, Chairman Zhan heard from an insider in Zhourui’s procurement department that the reason why Guanghua Chemicals failed in the bid wasn’t because of the price but because abnormal impurities were detected in the emulsifier they previously provided. Fortunately, the pharmaceutical factory’s quality inspection personnel were responsible and discovered the problem. However, the company’s senior management was furious and put Guanghua Chemicals on the blacklist.

Lin Chen and Mr. Xiao Zhan walked to the vending machine, took out three coins from their pockets, and bought a bottle of chilled Coke. Mr. Xiao Zhan’s voice was so gloomy that it could squeeze out water. “I was in charge of production before, and Chairman Zhan thought…I didn’t manage production well and caused the problem. But I…I don’t know what happened.”

The Coke rolled out, and Lin Chen bent down to take it.

Mr. Xiao Zhan continued, “But if there is a problem with our product, why didn’t they come to us for compensation? Both the business process and the legal process can be followed, but they just kicked us out without giving us a chance to make things right. This is just unreasonable.”

Lin Chen had been silent all along, but when he heard this, he handed the Coke to the young man in front of him and said calmly, “Indeed.”

Mr. Xiao Zhan looked up and refused his Coke. “I don’t drink carbonated drinks.”

Lin Chen showed him his injured hand and said calmly, “I’m asking you to help me open it. It’s not convenient for me.”

Mr. Xiao Zhan was embarrassed again and quickly helped him open the can.

Lin Chen took a sip of the Coke, thought about something, and asked, “Can your father’s internal relationship with Zhourui Pharmaceutical tell you what type of impurity it is?”

Mr. Xiao Zhan shook his head vigorously. “I don’t even know how the chairman got this information, and he didn’t tell me. If I knew, I would definitely go and ask him!” Mr. Xiao Zhan pushed his glasses up and rolled up his sleeves.

Now that Chairman Zhan was in a coma and the matter involved an insider, it was unlikely they could find the specific person for the time being. Lin Chen pursed his lips and said to Mr. Xiao Zhan, “Are you a chemical expert?”

“Well… I can’t say I’m an expert in chemical engineering. I just studied it…”

Lin Chen interrupted him. “I suggest you go back and check your factory’s emulsifier products yourself, and it would be better to have a report from a reputable professional institution. At the same time, check all the supply reports for previous batches, and if there are samples left, it would be even better to preserve all the evidence.” Lin Chen put the Coke bottle on the windowsill and took out his phone. “In short, do it as soon as possible.”

“I was planning to do that, and I’m going back now!” Mr. Xiao Zhan said as he was about to leave, but he suddenly stopped, feeling uneasy. “But… what about the chairman?”

Looking at him, Lin Chen asked, “Do you think the factory is more important to your father, or his own life?”

“Of course, the factory is more important,” Mr. Xiao Zhan answered without hesitation.

“So, do you understand what you should do?” Lin Chen asked in response.

……

Xing Conglian was in the forensic science department, waiting for the fingerprint identification results.

Around him were forensic police officers coming and going. Some were examining the blood-stained clothes from when Tan Kang was stabbed yesterday, but more were doing knife comparison work.

The crime scene where Tan Kang was stabbed, and the surrounding garbage bins didn’t reveal the weapon used by the killer. They could only determine the type of knife used to stab Tan Kang from his wounds. The forensics lab was filled with all kinds of knives of various sizes purchased from the market, but so far, they hadn’t found a weapon that matched the size.

There were very few leads available, with only a pile of blurry surveillance videos left. Wang Chao and the other officers were tirelessly reviewing the videos.

Xing Conglian took out a cigarette, and just then, his phone rang.

As he answered the phone, Xing Conglian felt inexplicably nervous. “What’s wrong? Is the medical checkup result not good?”

“Um…” Lin Chen’s voice came through the phone.

Hearing the hesitation in his voice, Xing Conglian suddenly had a strange suspicion. “You haven’t gone for the checkup yet, have you?”

“I was planning to, but something came up,” Lin Chen said.

If Lin Chen were in front of him, Xing Conglian would have the urge to knock him down, take off his pants, and spank him, but this was Lin Chen. He couldn’t do that, so he just imagined the scene in his mind and patiently asked, “What happened?”

“I met someone strange.” Lin Chen paused and said, “To be precise, it’s a lead that can’t be called a lead.”

Xing Conglian switched the phone to his other hand and listened to Lin Chen’s simple description of the supply problem at Guanghua Chemicals. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Zhourui Pharmaceutical suddenly changed its supplier because of impurities in the raw materials?”

“It’s not exactly sudden, but it did happen recently,” Lin Chen said.

“Do you think there’s a problem here?”

“I’m not sure. It may be because I’ve been listening to too many complicated issues in the drug marketing process that I suddenly feel that we may have jumped to conclusions at the beginning, and this matter may not be as we thought.”


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

Access Denied Ch53

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 53: The First Shot

Upon seeing Luo Duan quietly reading a book, Yi Ning was somewhat astonished.

The command center was in chaos all night. As the only player in the command center, Luo Duan was supposed to stay in the ward.

“It’s nothing major.” Luo Duan saw through his thoughts and casually closed the book. “It’s too noisy outside, so I went in first. Do you mind?”

“What…?” Yi Ning took a deep breath, not knowing what the guard outside the office was doing.

“I found your belongings and informed the guard.” Luo Duan continued as if reading his mind. “I’ve been coming here often recently, so he let me in.”

With that, Luo Duan flicked his hand on the coffee table and placed Yi Ning’s access card on it.

Yi Ning immediately regained his composure. “Where did you find it?”

“It was on my level.” Luo Duan’s expression was unreadable. “I heard some commotion outside and happened to come across two figures. They were all covered up, not like people from the command center, so I stopped them out of instinct. They managed to get away, but this thing fell to the ground. It had your identification number on it, and it seemed important, so I thought… it’s better to hand it over to you personally.”

Yi Ning broke out in a cold sweat. What happened in the underground was probably related to the missing access card. He always carried it with him, hidden in the most inconspicuous pocket of his coat. But it was so small that he didn’t bother to check it constantly. If someone could secretly take it without him noticing…

Yi Ning’s thoughts circled around, from his assistant who organized his clothes to every person who came and went in the office, and finally his gaze settled on Luo Duan.

‘It’s a bit absurd,’ Yi Ning thought. Luo Duan had brain shock to prevent him from learning, so even if he used the access card and saw the brain control, he might not know its purpose. Not to mention, this person didn’t run away but returned the key himself.

It would be better to first verify the existence of those two strange individuals. For now, it seemed that Luo Duan wasn’t highly suspicious.

“You’ve been working too hard these past few days. Take a good rest.” Luo Duan picked up the chilled tea in front of him and approached Yi Ning. “By the way, what exactly happened outside?”

“Just a research accident. Nothing major.” The other person’s tone was quite gentle, but Yi Ning had already become cautious. He discreetly took the teacup and set it aside. “Regarding the two individuals you saw, do you remember any other details?”

“They were both men with tall stature, over 1.8 meters. That’s all.” Luo Duan glanced at the neglected tea.

“Understood. Thank you for your assistance. We will have someone follow up on this matter.” Yi Ning stood upright politely. “The security alert in the command center has been heightened recently, so please refrain from coming here again.”

Luo Duan sat back on the sofa with a smile on his lips. “Alright, this is my last night. Now that there are people everywhere outside, I’ll take this opportunity to find some peace and quiet here.”

At this point, Yi Ning didn’t feel it was appropriate to rush Luo Duan. The recent upheavals had exhausted him, and having a living being to accompany him in the room was actually a good thing.

Yi Ning slumped in his chair, vigorously massaging his temples. His headache felt like being stabbed with a needle.

“How is Zhu Yanchen’s condition?” Luo Duan asked, intentionally or unintentionally. His voice was extremely pleasant, like warm spring water, and not at all annoying to the ears.

This point struck a chord with Yi Ning. He had been holding back a lot of emotions, with nowhere to vent. Although this matter had nothing to do with the players, he couldn’t help but respond.

“Zhu Yanchen?” Yi Ning continued to press on the side of his head, forcing a bitter smile. “I’ve had a few conversations with Zhu Yanchen before, and in terms of aura, it’s like comparing heaven and earth. But if we put that aside, I can’t find fault with him in other aspects.”

“A substitute, huh.” Luo Duan continued reading, flipping through the pages. “It seems to be Zhu Sheng’s method, and the substitute is probably from the Xia family.”

“Most likely.” Being able to discuss this together made Yi Ning feel much better.

Unconsciously, the two of them continued talking late into the night. It had to be said that Luo Duan was truly a pleasant person to be around, exuding a reassuring charm in every movement.

If only he were truly human.

After seeing Luo Duan off, Yi Ning was momentarily stunned. He was a commoner and only learned the truth about the player system after reaching adulthood. However, the explanation given by the military academy was quite convincing—considering synthetic humans as “specially trained animals in human shells”.

From a DNA perspective, synthetic humans couldn’t be considered the same species as humans. The reason synths had a human appearance was simply because the mixed genes were too uncontrollable, and researchers were afraid they would turn out too strange looking, so they were uniformly guided during the embryonic stage.

…But the physical resemblance made it too easy to empathize. For a few seconds, he almost mistook Luo Duan for a genuinely compatible friend.

Sure enough, perhaps it was better not to have further contact.

Yi Ning first jotted down his insights from the conversation, then opened the screen and began adjusting the arrangements in the medical department. Based on their relationship during this period, he had to arrange the best doctors for Luo Duan.

Ai Xiaoxiao didn’t like working at the command center.

After being hired by the command center, she had to run around in three directions—sitting in the command center, checking on the condition of the synthetic humans at the base, and managing Ai’s Clinic in her remaining time. When she was absent, the clinic employees would at most sell medicine, but they wouldn’t treat patients.

Not long after sending those two troublemakers away, Yi Ning specifically called Ai Xiaoxiao to the command center. This was an arrangement outside of work, completely disrupting Ai Xiaoxiao’s rest plans. However, the overtime pay was too generous, so she could only secretly be annoyed.

“Come in.” Putting on temporary attire, she shouted toward the door and opened the patient files along the way.

Then Ai Xiaoxiao froze.

“Dr. Ai.” Luo Duan, dressed in a patient gown, politely nodded at her.

…Didn’t Luo Duan merge with a small Erosion Swamp? Why is he still here?

Ai Xiaoxiao quickly controlled her expression, straightened her face, and nodded towards Luo Duan. “Please have a seat.”

“I heard that you were called here temporarily. Thank you for your hard work,” Luo Duan said politely. “I will cooperate fully.”

Due to personal reasons, Ai Xiaoxiao had a great deal of respect for players. If she didn’t know the truth, based on his attitude alone, she could have developed some favorable impressions. Unfortunately, the gentler Luo Duan appeared, the colder the chill she felt down her spine.

As someone who had also fused with an Erosion Swamp, there wasn’t a trace of the “vitality” on Luo Duan that existed on Shu Jun.

“Let me see your wound.” Ai Xiaoxiao decided to swiftly resolve the matter.

Luo Duan obediently unwrapped the bandages. The previous injuries had healed well and didn’t seem to be a problem.

“No major issues. However…” Ai Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and stared intently into Luo Duan’s eyes. “Go to the second-floor laboratory and have some blood drawn.”

According to the regulations, she had to do this. God knew how nervous she was—this person had merged with an Erosion Swamp, so it would be strange if his blood test results were normal. But if she didn’t ask, this cunning fox might sense something, leaving her in a dilemma.

Luo Duan didn’t move.

Ai Xiaoxiao tried to appear nonchalant. “What?”

“I have a small question I’d like to ask.” Luo Duan smiled. “Have you heard of ‘Gentle Breeze’ from the Blackbirds… Captain Xu?”

Ai Xiaoxiao stared at the screen. “I won’t answer questions unrelated to medical treatment. If I tell you to go, then go.”

“I just suddenly remembered.” Luo Duan still didn’t budge. “Captain Xu is the player with the longest combat career in history. I think he retired at the age of thirty? But it’s said that he spent his final days at the command center, and I’m quite curious about this place. To be honest, I’m almost thirty as well, but my character’s physical condition is nowhere near as good as Captain Xu’s.”

Upon hearing this, Ai Xiaoxiao slowly clenched her fists, and her words got stuck in her throat.

Seeing her reaction, Luo Duan’s smile grew wider. “I want to break that record as well. Consider it my final wish. But if my character’s health condition is too poor, I might be advised to retire. Since there’s no problem with the wound, please be lenient, Miss Ai, and postpone the examination for later—at least until my external injuries have healed.”

He leaned in slightly.

“Recently, I came across some interesting stories—apparently, the people Captain Xu helped are also documented in the command center. One of them was ‘Xiaoxiao’ who was sent to the Ai’s Clinic, and she looked quite familiar. Is that you?”

“That’s enough.” Ai Xiaoxiao interrupted coldly. “As I said, I won’t answer questions unrelated to medical treatment.”

But it had to be said, this was a good opportunity to take advantage of*. Luo Duan wanted to maintain superficial peace, and Ai Xiaoxiao didn’t want to be silenced. Cold sweat formed on Ai Xiaoxiao’s back, and she stared directly into Luo Duan’s eyes. “On that note, I was never an official member here to begin with. If you want to delay the blood test, then delay it” ‘…Anyway, you can’t die,’ Ai Xiaoxiao added in her mind.

*Borrow a slope and descend with a donkey. Idiom referring to taking advantage of a favorable situation or making use of an opportunity to achieve one’s goal with less effort or risk.

“I’ll sign for you, and you can go for some basic tests.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Once Luo Duan left, Ai Xiaoxiao’s clothes were suddenly soaked with sweat. She let out a sigh of relief and stared at the closed door.

The people from the Old Fourth were still searching on the outskirts of Y City, completely mistaken about their target—Luo Duan was indeed cautious, but not as crazy as they had imagined.

She had to report to Zhu Yanchen quickly.

Zhu Yanchen was busy.

To be precise, both he and Shu Jun were busy. The goods from the Old Fourth wouldn’t arrive so soon, but Young Master Zhu was ambitious. He directly picked up a debris-cleaning machine from the market. After being tinkered with for two hours, the cleaning machine started to work erratically.

In less than half a day, it had cleaned out a buried house.

To conceal their activities, Zhu Yanchen didn’t touch the mud around the house. Although the interior had been cleared out, the entire house remained buried under the black mud, becoming a perfect underground base.

Everything was covered by the mud, adding a touch of funerary atmosphere.

Hu Yan lay motionless on the table in the center of the room while the purifier hummed in the background. For a moment, the room looked even more like a burial chamber. Shu Jun and Zhu Yanchen stood by the table, quietly examining Hu Yan, perfectly playing the role of a tomb robber.

“Hey—” After a few seconds, Hu Yan moved. He struggled to turn over and immediately began to vomit.

Shu Jun quickly stepped forward and held a basin to catch the vomit.

“What kind of gameplay is this?” Hu Yan weakly asked, wiping his mouth. “Shu Ge, stop keeping me in suspense. Oh, I feel so dizzy, blergh!”

Before he could finish speaking, he vomited out another half basin.

“Drink something.” Zhu Yanchen had prepared fluids in advance. He supported Hu Yan’s head and let him drink slowly.

“Where does it hurt?” Shu Jun glanced at the handheld scanner and nervously asked. After becoming proficient in the procedure, removing the brain chip wasn’t as difficult as he had imagined. But a comrade was always a comrade, and he couldn’t help but worry.

“It doesn’t hurt, but I feel… how should I put it… like the dizziness after staying up all night.”

Shu Jun breathed a sigh of relief—when he experienced the pain, it was as if the heavens and earth were collapsing, but Hu Yan’s reaction wasn’t as intense, which was a good sign.

“I will arrange for further testing,” Zhu Yanchen reassured as he placed a hand on Shu Jun’s back. “Don’t worry.”

The muscles on Shu Jun’s back tensed, and he managed to maintain a steady tone, saying, “Alright, I’m counting on you.”

“Enough with that, both of you. Answer my questions quickly,” Hu Yan said weakly as he wiped his mouth and sat down at the table. “Shu Ge, what did you call me here for?”

“I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, tell me, just say it.”

“First, let me introduce this person here. He is indeed ‘Smoke’, my ‘Smoke’.” Shu Jun gritted his teeth. “He’s not some relative of your sister-in-law. He’s the one you’ve been referring to as ‘sister-in-law’.”

Zhu Yanchen: “…”

Hu Yan was left perplexed. “Ah? No? This…?”

“And there’s more.”

Shu Jun closed his eyes, finally understanding Zhu Yanchen’s initial feelings.

“This world is not a game. Our world is.”

Hu Yan remained seated on the edge of the bed. Despite the pain, he didn’t collapse or continue vomiting. Under the warm glow of the light, he appeared even more bewildered. “…Shu Ge, what are you talking about? What do you mean it’s not a game?”

‘Success,’ Shu Jun thought. He should have felt jubilant, but his heart gradually sank.

He had taken the first step into war.


The author has something to say:

Hu Yan, the poor soul shaken by the real world (?


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

Access Denied Ch52

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 52: Operation Exercise

At this point, Shu Jun had grown accustomed to seeing the ‘other self’ in his dreams—strictly speaking, it was a disguise of ‘a part of Sigma’ pretending to be him.

This time, the dream scene changed, and the spacious apartment turned into the small apartment where he had lived in his childhood. Outside the window was a void of pitch-black darkness, and Sigma stood silently at the door, still wearing its terrifying appearance.

Shu Jun glanced at it, too lazy to speak, treating it as a strangely aesthetic modern decoration.

Soon, he nostalgically wandered around the apartment, with shadows of the past everywhere—he and another child ran around the room, sharing snacks based on the results of their races, lying together on the balcony to feel the breeze, or making a mess of the furniture to build an unconventional secret base. Two small pots of bellflowers squeezed into a corner, full of vitality. Looking back now, he had indeed been taking care of them since then.

This narrow apartment had never made him feel so special. Looking back now, perhaps Smoke was the only true thing from his childhood.

Sighing, Shu Jun sat on the sofa. In his memory, the sofa had always been large. He remembered it clearly—one night, they were both tired from playing and didn’t want to set up the bed, so they squeezed onto the sofa and spent the night together. When they woke up the next day, Smoke’s head was resting on his chest, sleeping soundly.

Now, as he sat on it again, it felt fragile and cramped.

Despite knowing it was a dream, Shu Jun’s gaze softened.

Sigma at the door: “…”

It had intended to bring some excitement, but who would have thought that Shu Jun would start reminiscing instead? Unwilling to be ignored, it spread its erosion. Blood-red, foul-smelling threads started crawling along the floor. Shu Jun let those threads entangle him, enduring the negative emotions transmitted through them without changing his expression.

Early adaptation was for the best; the real Sigma would only become stronger. Looking at it from another perspective, as long as his will remained firm enough, this was a good opportunity for practice.

Soaked in negative emotions throughout the night, Shu Jun woke up the next day feeling like he had been marinating in them.

He even smelled his own arm to make sure that the putrid stench didn’t exist in reality. Zhu Yanchen, as usual, had gotten up early and was working at the desk. Shu Jun jumped off the bed and only then realized that warm water for washing up was already prepared and the toothbrush cup was in its most convenient spot.

After a night of accumulating negative emotions, most of it dissipated instantly at this moment. Shu Jun turned his head—Marshal Zhu was sitting at the desk; his hands had already recovered, and his beautiful fingers slid across the screen. Sensing Shu Jun’s gaze, Zhu Yanchen turned his head, visibly softening his expression.

The two locked eyes for a moment, and Shu Jun felt an inexplicable sense of warmth in the air.

He raised the corners of his mouth, raised the rinsing cup toward Zhu Yanchen, and made a toasting gesture. The latter chuckled, turned his head, and continued with his work.

“I’ve figured it out,” Ai Xiaoxiao declared during breakfast.

Shu Jun was eating a steamed bun when he heard that and nearly choked on it. “Really?!”

Ai Xiaoxiao slowly turned towards him, her gaze scanning him up and down with a complex mix of emotions. Shu Jun felt uncomfortable under her scrutiny and rubbed his cheek. “The medicine was made so quickly. Dr. Ai is truly impressive…”

“No need to flatter.” Ai Xiaoxiao continued staring at Shu Jun, her tone peculiar. “It was inspired by Zhu Yanchen.”

Zhu Yanchen calmly drank his porridge, lifting the bowl to cover most of his face.

“I won’t be able to make any medicine in the short term. The efficacy verification and mass production will both take time. It was fine before, but now that Luo Duan has run away, by the time this medicine is ready, the daylilies will have frozen into popsicles*.”

*Metaphor referring to something that will take an extremely long time to happen or be accomplished.

When it came to business matters, Ai Xiaoxiao was always efficient.

“So, I’ve decided to take inspiration from Zhu Yanchen’s approach—combining drug control with the use of erosion. It may be less efficient but more reliable in terms of safety.”

“Erosion surgery?” Shu Jun paused with his chopsticks in midair.

“Yes. Sigma asked Luo Duan to erode the brain control in order to obtain its characteristics and remove the shock in the brain… I thought, hasn’t your erosion also nibbled on brain fragments? They should recognize the taste.”

“So?” Shu Jun took a small bite of the steamed bun.

“So, you can use erosion to infiltrate a player’s body and accurately erode that part of the brain, similar to Sigma’s approach.”

Shu Jun’s expression changed. “That’s impossible; their bodies can’t handle it.”

“That’s where the drug control comes in.” Ai Xiaoxiao tapped her tea egg. “I happen to have a type of medicine that has excellent purification effects, but it’s too damaging to the body. Humans use it as a last resort, equivalent to choosing a slow death instead of a disease, enduring ten times the suffering, and only living two more days… But for a synthetic human, short-term use won’t be a problem.”

“How did you get this kind of medicine?” Shu Jun frowned.

Ai’s Clinic didn’t discriminate against customers, but human clients were the majority. Developing new medicines was incredibly difficult, and even if they specialized in making money from synthetic humans, short-term use wouldn’t solve the fundamental problem and had no future prospects.

“Someone paid a hefty sum for a custom order, and I stumbled upon it*.” Ai Xiaoxiao glanced at Zhu Yanchen with a half-smile. “Don’t worry, I’ve conducted human experiments for fifteen years, so I know the effectiveness. Unfortunately, there’s only one fool who would choose a slow death. Otherwise, the data would be more accurate.”

*Unintentionally inserting a willow (无心插柳柳成) Idiom referring to a situation where someone achieves or receives recognition or success without actively seeking it. It implies that a person’s achievement or success happened inadvertently without deliberate effort. It comes from a story from the Spring and Autumn period in Chinese history where a man carved his name in a willow tree, expressing his feelings of longing for his hometown. Unexpectedly, this carving became famous, leaving behind his legacy.

Shu Jun looked at Zhu Yanchen beside him. “Is that medicine a canned milky-white powder that can be used directly on an Erosion Swamp?”

That was the weapon Zhu Yanchen had used to attack Sweet Edge’s temple. At the time, Shu Jun had been curious—usually, weapons with strong killing power wouldn’t be so crude. Now it seemed those cans weren’t weapon casings at all; they were innocent medicine bottles.

“Surname Zhu, do you have any idea how much one canister of medicine costs?! I worked so hard to prepare it for you, and you use it against an Erosion Swamp?!” Ai Xiaoxiao lamented with a pained expression.

“Ai Xiaoxiao.” Zhu Yanchen warned in a low voice. “Stick to business.”

“Huh? I think she’s talking about something important,” Shu Jun interjected. “Miss Ai, please continue.”

“In short, I have this medicine. You perform the surgery using the erosion substance and then immediately have the patient take the medicine to expel it. In theory, it won’t cause much harm—at most some physical weakness, and there won’t be any side effects.”

After all, Ai Xiaoxiao still recognized Zhu Yanchen as her boss and didn’t continue teasing him.

“I have a good amount of the medicine in stock. The problem lies with you. This is considered a surgery, and if you tremble too much, you might end up harming the patient’s brain. Later, I’ll give you a mannequin. If you can make the erosion substance crawl through specific points, that should be enough.”

According to the intelligence from the Old Fourth, the Blackbirds had returned to Y City to hand in their mission completion, while Yu Jin went back to the settlement to collect his reward. Shu Jun brought the mannequin and a large pack of medicine, and he and Zhu Yanchen directly returned to the border settlement.

They returned only after spending a night there, so Yu Jin wasn’t surprised at all.

“I explained to them that you two are my acquaintances and wanted to return to the settlement in advance to spend the night. Anyway, we’re out of the danger zone, and Captain Hu didn’t say anything. He just asked about the identification number of our settlement—Gray Claw, is that someone you know?”

“Yes,” Shu Jun didn’t deny it.

“Ah, that guy’s not bad.” Yu Jin shook his head and glanced questioningly at the mannequin. “I’ve collected your rewards; I’ll give them to you later. Now we’re partners, right? Let me ask directly, are both of you synthetic humans, including Smoke?”

“He is human.” Shu Jun smiled faintly. “How could a synthetic human infiltrate the Old Fourth?”

“That’s true. I was wondering why the Old Fourth put me in charge so quickly. But I can’t understand. Our settlement doesn’t have any proper fighting strength. What benefits can we gain from cooperating with you?”

“I can give you an example now, Mr. Yu,” Zhu Yanchen earnestly stated. “The Old Fourth merchants will have more frequent interactions in the near future. I request that you prepare more supplies in your capacity as the manager. I will provide the list of supplies and the funds, and make sure to keep separate records.”

Yu Jin narrowed his eyes. “From what you’re implying…”

“It’s been unstable lately,” Zhu Yanchen succinctly replied.

“Fine, anyway, my brain is like this. Even if you explain more, I won’t understand.” Yu Jin waved his hand. “You provide the money, and I’ll stockpile the supplies.”

“We have a testing ground, which used to be the ruins of a  small town. We can clear out some usable old buildings from there,” Zhu Yanchen continued. “As for the mechanical parts on the list, please find someone to assemble them into cleaning machines. We only need to clean the underground part.”

“Ah? The erosion in that area is quite severe. Can the machines even operate?”

“We’ll figure something out.”

“…Alright.” Yu Jin’s expression became more serious. “I won’t ask what you two are planning. I just hope that you can keep your promise and not let the people in the settlement suffer any losses. If you’re not using the land and resources, they should belong to us. As long as you can do that, I’m willing to help.”

“Certainly.”

After discussing the details with Yu Jin for a while, the two returned to the inn just at noon. Uncle Pan was napping behind the counter, so they quietly returned to their room without disturbing him.

Seeing the double bed, Shu Jun felt a sense of familiarity. He patted the pillow on the bed and was about to say something when he noticed Zhu Yanchen staring at the mannequin.

“Don’t look. I’m going to practice. I still have to go hunting tonight.”

After finishing breakfast, Shu Jun still felt hungry. Even though there was regular food to satisfy his hunger, he still wanted to hunt some mutant beasts for a meal. During this time, his hidden appetite for Zhu Yanchen hadn’t disappeared. Since discovering his feelings, his “appetite” had taken on an additional meaning, which he firmly suppressed in fear of losing control again.

“I’m afraid this won’t work.” Zhu Yanchen glanced at the points on the mannequin. “Even if you practice with it, real people breathe, and their bodies don’t remain completely still, so you won’t achieve the optimal effect.”

He glanced at the body model once again and took off his windbreaker. “Do it on me.”

“You… What…?” Shu Jun’s hand slipped, and instead of patting the pillow, he hit the edge of the bed.

“It’s better to practice on a live person.”

Zhu Yanchen started to unbutton his shirt while speaking calmly.

“First, practice accuracy. You only need to let the erosion crawl on the surface of my body; you don’t need to touch my brain. Second, I am immune to erosion. They won’t be able to invade me. Lastly, when faced with me, the erosion will resist vigorously, which is more conducive to practicing control.”

“Uh…” Shu Jun stood still, dumbfounded. By the time he reacted, Zhu Yanchen had already marked the practice points with a pen.

Red crosses scattered across his pale skin, rising and falling with each breath.

“You can start practicing now.” Zhu Yanchen, shirtless, sat at the end of the bed. He calmly opened his tablet screen and continued his research, clearly not intending to waste any time.

Shu Jun swallowed a mouthful of saliva, feeling that mixed appetite rise again. He pierced his lips with his teeth and took three whole seconds to suppress it.

“I understand,” he said softly.

The pitch-black erosion transformed into fine tendrils, slowly crawling up Zhu Yanchen’s skin like deformed vines. The contrast between black and white was exceptionally vivid, and Shu Jun could hear his own heartbeat clearly.

Damn, it really is a highly difficult exercise.

The threads passed over a red cross but failed to fully invade the intersecting point. Under Shu Jun’s force, the erosion tendril slid lightly over the skin, winding quietly and then returning.

The red crosses gradually became incomplete, and a few central points were successfully erased. This task was somewhat like embroidery; indeed, it required practice.

Despite countless threads caressing his upper body, Zhu Yanchen remained motionless.

“If you feel itchy, let me know,” Shu Jun said hesitantly. The scene before him was too ambiguous, and his thoughts gradually became muddled.

‘I must adjust the atmosphere,’ he thought.

“It’s fine,” Zhu Yanchen didn’t turn around and replied in a steady voice. “Just continue. Don’t be nervous.”

Don’t be nervous? His heart felt like it was about to jump out of his throat. Shu Jun took a few deep breaths; his back was soaked in sweat.

Aside from standing up to complete the red crosses, Zhu Yanchen sat on the bed until the sun went down. Shu Jun’s progress was astonishing—initially, the erosion tendril was crooked and lacked precision, but later, each stroke became accurate and direct.

Having grown accustomed to the sensory stimulation, Shu Jun’s hunger intensified several times, but his mood became more stable. That self-assurance of being in control returned once again, with only a small regret—

From start to finish, Zhu Yanchen sat steadily, without the slightest wavering.

From a certain perspective, this practice was ambiguous enough yet the other party had no reaction at all. Perhaps he truly saw him as just a friend. Shu Jun felt a slight sense of disappointment.

With this thought in mind, Shu Jun’s mischievous side emerged. Before completely retracting the erosion tendril, he intentionally left a thread and allowed it to slowly move, crawling across Zhu Yanchen’s neck, hooking onto his left ear from the root, and tracing along the contour.

He remembered well that Smoke’s ears were ticklish.

Sure enough, Marshal Zhu’s left ear turned red in an instant. His expression became peculiar as he turned around, grabbing Shu Jun’s wrist.

“Sorry, sorry, I saw you motionless—” Shu Jun immediately retracted the erosion tendril, raising both hands.

Zhu Yanchen scanned him from head to toe with an unfamiliar gaze. Shu Jun quickly adjusted his expression, straightened his posture, and decided to apologize sincerely—

Marshal Zhu leaned forward, his face coming a bit too close. He whispered near Shu Jun’s ear, “Stop messing around. I still have that pair of handcuffs.”

His voice was soft and his tone calm, so Shu Jun didn’t know whether this was a joke or a threat.

“I’ll go hunting now.” Shu Jun stood up abruptly. “I won’t dare anymore, I promise. I’ll catch a plump mutant beast, and we can roast it and eat it together later.”

Zhu Yanchen wiped his face slowly. “…We don’t have enough chili powder. I’ll go buy some.”

“Okay, okay, A’Yan, you know me well. Remember to get a few bottles of drinks.”

“Mm.”

Inside Y City.

The command center had an incident, so Yi Ning had been running around all day. Finally, as night fell, he dragged his tired steps back to the office.

To his surprise, there was a familiar figure there. Luo Duan was leaning against the sofa, reading a book. When he saw Yi Ning enter, he revealed a gentle smile.

“You’re back,” he said softly.


The author has something to say:

Shu Jun: I’m seducing him, but he’s not moved at all. Could it be that it’s really just friendship? (Referring to the erosion tendrils)

Marshal: I’m seducing him, but he’s not moved at all. Could it be that it’s really just friendship? (Referring to undressing)


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

Access Denied Ch51

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 51: Final Statement

Zhu Sheng’s demeanor was completely different from that in the expansion pack. With just a glimpse through the crack, Shu Jun felt a strong sense of oppression. Zhu Sheng wasn’t a smiling tiger type of character. His face was imposing even when not angry, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes looked like they were carved into hardwood, not affected by muscle movements. The decoration style of Xia Liang’s lounge was light and cute, but with Zhu Sheng’s presence, the air suddenly became ten times heavier.

Zhu Sheng was about seventy years old, with white hair dyed black, looking younger than his actual age. He quickly glanced around the room and smiled at Xia Liang. “It’s time to go on stage. Go prepare.”

This was a request to leave. The reason for Zhu Sheng’s visit wasn’t difficult to guess—Xia Liang’s lounge didn’t have surveillance and was the most confidential room in the Grand Theatre.

Xia Liang was very perceptive. She quickly bowed and lifted the complicated skirt of her costume, walking faster than running, leaving the two men in the wardrobe behind.

Shu Jun: “…”

Xia Liang’s wardrobe was quite large, so he and Zhu Yanchen didn’t have to stick close together. Thinking that this person didn’t like physical contact, Shu Jun deliberately stayed far away—so as not to be misunderstood as taking advantage, since he planned to pursue Zhu Yanchen in the future.

Zhu Yanchen apparently noticed Shu Jun’s movement and adjusted his posture silently. The wardrobe was dim, and Shu Jun could vaguely sense a hint of sadness on the other person’s face.

Is it because of Zhu Sheng?

Shu Jun turned his gaze to the outside of the wardrobe again.

“Your condition isn’t quite right,” Zhu Sheng said to Xia Yufeng with no emotion in his tone.

Xia Yufeng was so scared that he was frozen, his lips trembling uncontrollably. “I didn’t tell her anything. I really didn’t. Zhu Lao…”

“Barely passable,” Zhu Sheng said casually. “Her mood is fine.”

Only then did Xia Yufeng relax. He hadn’t yet fully relaxed when Zhu Sheng put his hands behind his back and said slowly, “Do you know about the command center incident?”

“I heard a little bit before coming here.”

“Mm.”

“I heard that the brain control stored at the bottom was destroyed.” Seeing that Zhu Sheng didn’t express his opinion, Xia Yufeng continued cautiously. “In such a heavily secured place, this incident must have been caused by humans, right?1

“Remove the modal particles from your sentence. ‘This incident must have been caused by humans’.1 Zhu Yanchen wouldn’t speak in that tone.”

1Clarity: Xia Yufeng originally added a [ba] () which is a modal particle that is often added to the end of statements to express uncertainty or suggestion. Zhu Sheng is correcting him by telling him to drop it when speaking, as Zhu Yanchen wouldn’t use [ba] ().

“Yes, yes!”

“Before Yi Ning, investigate this matter thoroughly. Make a show of going to the Old Fourth.”

“The Old Fourth…?”

“A non-governmental organization. It has recently extended its reach too far and needs to be taught a lesson… You have been with Zhu Yanchen for several years. Do I need to explain the rest?”

“I understand.” Xia Yufeng’s back was covered in cold sweat. With things having reached this point, his life was being tightly controlled by both the Zhu father and son. “I’ll pick up the synthetic work that Zhu Yanchen was previously responsible for. But if the brain control is destroyed, can we still produce new synths?”

“I didn’t come here to give you advice.” Zhu Sheng didn’t hide his disdain. “Since you’ve taken up this position, don’t just think about your own little world all the time. If you don’t do well, there’s no difference between you and a fake.”

Shu Jun couldn’t help but look at Zhu Yanchen again.

Facing his biological father, Zhu Yanchen didn’t have any particular reaction. It was just unclear whether he was mistaken or not, but it seemed that Marshal Zhu had gotten much closer, and his body temperature had warmed up the air around him.

Still feeling stifled? After thinking about it for a while, Shu Jun considerately stuck something on the edge of the wardrobe. Zhu Yanchen’s face had a layer of faint blackness.

Perhaps because he was bored with Xia Yufeng’s silence and trembling, Zhu Sheng glanced at the small lounge, then opened the door wide. “Let’s go.”

Taking advantage of Zhu Sheng’s inattention, Xia Yufeng hesitated and glanced at the wardrobe, then obediently straightened his back and followed him out. The two didn’t immediately leave the room and instead waited quietly for Zhu Sheng and the guards outside to walk away.

“Your father has a strong presence,” Shu Jun whispered. “Can Xia Yufeng really hold on?”

“It concerns his life, and he still has some skills,” Zhu Yanchen responded in a low voice. “Don’t be fooled by Xia Yufeng’s appearance. He has some ability—when the Xia family sent him to be my subordinate, it was an indirect attempt to please Zhu Sheng.”

“It seems you haven’t always been alone.” Shu Jun patted Zhu Yanchen’s forearm. “That’s good.”

“I started studying the loopholes in the player system a long time ago, and when he found out, he ran to Zhu Sheng and told him,” Zhu Yanchen said seriously.

Shu Jun: “…” No wonder the atmosphere was a bit strange earlier. He thought Xia Yufeng was apologizing for impersonating Zhu Yanchen.

“The things that Zhu Sheng destroyed weren’t genuine.” Zhu Yanchen’s voice was a bit cold. “At that time, Zhu Sheng noticed that something was wrong with me, and it would only be a matter of time before he found out about the research. I released a decoy and tested Xia Yufeng, and you know the results.”

Since then, he had never revealed his full plan to his subordinates. All of them only knew the parts that they were responsible for, and this lesson was also worth the price.

Half a step away, Shu Jun felt a bit uncomfortable. Ai Xiaoxiao didn’t seem like a healing type of subordinate, and he hadn’t heard of Zhu Yanchen having any close confidants. He had thought that this person had friends to accompany him, but now it seemed that he was still alone.

…No, he almost forgot about Miss Xia Liang.

“I don’t have any objections to Miss Xia Liang,” Shu Jun hurriedly said. “If you think she’s trustworthy and if you encounter a situation that requires her cooperation, just let me know.

There it is again. There it is again. Zhu Yanchen’s grayish complexion had appeared again.

“Do you still want to see her?” Zhu Yanchen’s tone was a bit strange.

“Ah?” Shu Jun was stunned, and for a moment, he couldn’t grasp Zhu Yanchen’s motive for asking. “It’s not like I want to see her. Uh, don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to interfere with your personal life. I just brought it up from a cooperation perspective since I heard that you two had broken up…”

Zhu Yanchen grabbed Shu Jun’s shoulders, clenching his fists tightly.

“She likes wo—”

The wardrobe was opened with a snap.

“Oh, you two are still here?” Xia Liang raised her eyebrows. “I’ve finished singing two songs over there, so if you want to leave, you better hurry up… Or are you two planning to join me to get your photographs taken by the media later?”

Seeing the movements of the two, her gaze swept over Zhu Yanchen’s hand, and her expression became ambiguous. When she spoke again, she reverted to her sweet and charming tone. “The secret passage is over there. Let me help you open it. Speaking of, may I see your face, sir?”

She looked at Zhu Yanchen out of the corner of her eye, pretending to be shy.

Shu Jun had already found the mask stuffy. Since they were planning to leave, he didn’t restrain himself any longer and simply took it off—it was a simple effort, and he wouldn’t be petty against this girl.

“Oh my, you’re so handsome. Even better than Marshal Zhu,” Xia Liang said softly. “Sir, I’ve never seen you before. What’s your name?”

“Xia Liang, stop fooling around.” Zhu Yanchen’s voice was icy, and he grabbed Shu Jun’s hand. “Let’s go.”

“Take care.” Xia Liang bit her lip and looked aggrieved. She twisted the perfume bottle in the corner and opened the secret passage.

As soon as the two disappeared, Xia Liang burst into laughter. After years of collaboration, she had never seen Zhu Yanchen’s calm demeanor broken like this. The marshal had always been indifferent to everything—including himself—like a machine. Now that she saw his panicked side, she found it extremely interesting.

Iron Tree surnamed Zhu had really bloomed.

Xia Liang had only known that Zhu Yanchen was overly concerned about Shu Jun before, but now it seemed that reality was much more entertaining than she thought. Miss Xia picked up her communicator and wanted to share this great news with someone, but as she scrolled through her contacts, her smile gradually disappeared.

Wearing this mask for too long, she didn’t have anyone to share it with. Even when she hadn’t broken up with her girlfriend, she had to keep it a secret from her.

…How boring.

Xia Liang ran her fingers through her hair, wiped away the tears that had come out of her laughter, and returned to being the cute and coy young lady of the Xia family. She was about to face the camera, so she had to prepare her mood in advance.

In the secret passage.

Shu Jun only felt his hand being squeezed tightly by Zhu Yanchen. To be honest, he was still a bit confused. Xia Liang’s image outside was pure, gentle, and courteous. He thought she was just curious about his appearance, but he didn’t expect Xia Liang to be so open-minded.

Anyone would mind when the person they had feelings for paid extra attention to someone else.

“A’Yan, I think you may have misunderstood something.” After the two climbed out of the secret passage, Shu Jun quickly clarified, “I don’t have any thoughts about her, really.”

“She likes women,” Zhu Yanchen said gloomily.

“?!?”

“…She only likes women,” Marshal Zhu repeated through gritted teeth. “She was just teasing you.”

Shu Jun stood frozen on the spot, his heart bursting with unknown fireworks—if Xia Liang liked women, then it would be impossible for her to have residual feelings for Zhu Yanchen. He had been thinking about it just a second ago, that Zhu Yanchen had a lingering attachment to Xia Liang and that he should bury his own feelings deep in his heart rather than interfere with their relationship. But at this moment, his sadness disappeared on its own.

It turned out that all of Zhu Yanchen’s previous unnatural behaviors were only because he was afraid that Xia Liang was teasing him. He was really a considerate friend.

With a relaxed and happy mood, Shu Jun took a deep breath, and he was more energetic in discussing business matters. “Zhu Sheng mentioned something about the Old Fourth just now…”

For a moment, a trace of helplessness flashed in Zhu Yanchen’s eyes. But when he heard about business matters, he became serious again. “Zhu Sheng has always been bothered by the Old Fourth. For the people living in the settlement, the Old Fourth is more trustworthy than the United Government. With the current situation unstable, he’s afraid that the Old Fourth will take advantage and expand their power.”

“I know.” Shu Jun let Zhu Yanchen lead him through the streets and alleys of Y City. “I’m just worried about you.”

Zhu Yanchen’s footsteps halted.

“Now that you’re not here, Zhu Sheng has regained his power. If he’s investigating the Old Fourth and dig deeper about their leader, he might find that you’re still alive…”

“He won’t. Ai Xiaoxiao is always cautious. It’s not easy just to track her down.” Zhu Yanchen also took a deep breath.

As soon as they returned to Ai’s Clinic, they were greeted by a barrage of scolding from Ai Xiaoxiao.

“Sneaking out in the middle of the night, huh?” She picked up a scalpel, and the tip of the knife almost touched Shu Jun’s nose. “Do you know how troublesome it is to reconfigure the basement protection network? Can’t you wait until tomorrow to go out and die?”

“Urgent matters. It’s business.” Shu Jun stared at the moving knife point in front of him, quickly trying to appease her.

“First that surname Dong and now you two. Yes, I work for you, but just because you say, ‘business matter’ I’m supposed to let it slide?” Ai Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth. “If you’re really sincere about apologizing, lie down on the operating table and let me dissect you properly…”

“I’ll go down first. A’Yan, I’ll wait for you in the bedroom.” Shu Jun slumped his shoulders, turned, and ran away, leaving Ai Xiaoxiao, who was about to explode, with her real boss.

Zhu Yanchen stood silently on the basement floor like a frozen cat, letting Ai Xiaoxiao rant and rave in front of him.

Seeing that he wasn’t responding, Ai Xiaoxiao started to feel bored, and after a few minutes, she calmed down. After rolling her eyes several times, she exhaled a breath. “Fine, it’s convenient that Shu Jun isn’t here. His detailed scan results just came out tonight. I need to talk to you about it.”

Zhu Yanchen instantly thawed. “Let me see.”

Ai Xiaoxiao waved her hand, and several screens appeared in the air. The images and text flickered, and Zhu Yanchen’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

“You’ve noticed it too? Every time he fights with an Alpha Erosion Swamp, he recovers a bit of his memory. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence now—”

Ai Xiaoxiao pointed to Shu Jun’s brain scan. “The foreign brain tissue is cleared away by the erosion, leaving a hole in his brain. After two battles, that hole has obvious signs of healing.”

“Quality erosion is repairing his brain,” Zhu Yanchen’s voice was a bit dry.

“Yes, it’s not the kind of rough imitation. Erosion relies on the information fragments left by Sigma to truly repair brain cells to their original state—repairing a surface wound and repairing a damaged brain—you should know the difference in difficulty between the two?”

Zhu Yanchen’s last bit of relaxation disappeared from his face.

“Shu Jun’s synchronization rate with the Erosion Swamp is surprisingly high. Sigma obviously also found this out. Do you understand what this means? Zhu Yanchen, if Shu Jun’s brain fully recovers, he will become the first synthetic human in history to have a ‘complete brain’. If we compare the synthetic human to a human instruction manual for the Erosion Swamp, he is the most detailed and complete final version.”

“If Shu Jun defects or loses the battle, Sigma will not just be a ‘demon god’ that was pieced together. The thinking of a top-level warrior, the unknown abilities of a composite, absolute suppression of other Erosion Swamp… Faced with the current Sigma, we can still barely survive. Once it is completely intact, we won’t even have a chance to win.”

Zhu Yanchen closed his eyes. Ai Xiaoxiao crossed her arms and looked at him with interest.

“I won’t touch him now, if that’s what you’re asking.”

After a while, Zhu Yanchen spoke.

Ai Xiaoxiao whistled. “If it were Zhu Sheng in your place, he would probably already have rolled up his sleeves and personally killed him. After knowing each other for so long, I just realized that the Zhu family also has people of character.”

“No, this decision is not based on my emotions.” Zhu Yanchen clenched his fists. “First, Shu Jun’s ‘Suppression’ is very useful. Sigma doesn’t have this ability, and it’s one of our trump cards against it. Second, Luo Duan has already joined Sigma. We need a leader to stabilize the synthetic humans—even if they don’t fight against Sigma, it’s enough if they don’t take the opportunity to kill humans.”

“That would make sense if Shu Jun cooperates—but what if Mr. Shu wants to follow in Luo Duan’s footsteps?”

“I will deal with him personally.”

Zhu Yanchen lowered his gaze. “I’ll talk to him about these things frankly and openly in a moment. After all, to analyze the ‘Suppression’, we need his cooperation.”

“Are you kidding me?” Ai Xiaoxiao burst into short bouts of laughter. “You, the nominal chief strategist, are going to go straight to his face and say it? What are you going to say? ‘Mr. Shu, if you join the Erosion Swamp, we’re all dead! So please cooperate with me. Let me study your abilities and make sure to destroy your brain in time when something goes wrong’?”

“Yes.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Right now, the last thing I should do is conceal it.” Zhu Yanchen’s tone was calm. “Humans have hidden it from him for too long. Since we’re partners, I will explain the situation thoroughly. Shu Jun isn’t a reckless person. He’s quite smart, and he treasures his teammates… I understand him.”

Ai Xiaoxiao didn’t say anything else and looked back and forth at Zhu Yanchen’s face.

“Forget it. I’m not very concerned about life and death anyway,” she said lightly. “It’s up to you.”

She put away those screens, stretched lazily, and then came back to her senses. “Wait, you said it’s not based on your emotions… Do you really have feelings for him?”

“Mm.”

“What?!”

“If we can cooperate until the end…” In the dark room, Zhu Yanchen’s gaze was obscure. “I want to keep him by my side.”

Ai Xiaoxiao’s mouth fell open, and she gasped, looking more shocked than before. “Wait, wait. Is it what I’m thinking? You… Him…? You really are crazy. My god, I think I should pack my bags early and be ready to run away for my life—”

Zhu Yanchen gave her a cold glare and walked down to the bedroom on the lower level.

Ai Xiaoxiao’s thoughts jumped around between home, country, the end of the world, and gossip, but when she calmed down, she slowly sat on the nearest chair. “…Oh, should I not have given them two single beds?”

The temporary bedroom on the second basement floor.

“Okay.”

After hearing Zhu Yanchen’s explanation, Shu Jun agreed to assist without hesitation. He continued to brush his teeth, holding the toothbrush in his mouth, as if Zhu Yanchen had just borrowed a tube of toothpaste from him.

The other side was too straightforward that it left Zhu Yanchen confused for a while.

“If I can transplant the ‘Suppression’ ability onto a weapon, I will have the ability to easily kill you,” Zhu Yanchen repeated, fearing that the other party didn’t understand him clearly.

“Isn’t that great?” Shu Jun spat out mouthwash. “In case Sigma really cripples me, you can blow my head off in time, and it won’t learn anything.”

“I will have the ability to easily kill you,” Zhu Yanchen repeated.

Shu Jun looked at him worriedly, with toothpaste foam still around his mouth. “Marshal Zhu, are you okay? I already have the ability to easily kill you now, and nothing has happened to you. We’re still sharing a room.”

Zhu Yanchen: “…” For a moment, he didn’t know how to refute.

“But I’m quite happy.” Shu Jun turned his head back and continued brushing his teeth, making his voice muffled. “You didn’t hide anything from me.”

He also had no intention of taking advantage of the moment when Zhu Yanchen wasn’t paying attention and killing him easily to prevent future troubles.

As expected of the person he fell in love with. Shu Jun had been wanting to find flaws in Zhu Yanchen so that his feelings for him would grow slower. But after observing him carefully for a while, he found that there was nothing annoying about him; rather, he had some cuteness.

“But…” Marshal Zhu was the first to speak, perhaps because Shu Jun had agreed too readily, and he himself was now hesitant.

“What are you hesitating about? Anyway, I’m not planning on losing to Sigma.” After washing his face, Shu Jun shook his head with a smile. “Even if you really want to blow my head off, you’ll need the chance to do so.”

“Also, there’s already enough trouble with Luo Duan on Sigma’s side. If I also have to give up my comrades and join that thing, you can kill me.” After thinking for a moment, Shu Jun added, “I won’t give up on them, nor should I. I’m luckier than Luo Duan, so I should also bear the responsibility brought on by this ‘luck’.”

As he spoke, Shu Jun suddenly had a sense of déjà vu—he seemed to have said something similar a long time ago.

Zhu Yanchen’s gaze softened. “Mm.”

“You have to go back to the team tomorrow, and I don’t know when Ai Xiaoxiao’s medicine will be ready… Haa, looking at how Hu Yan and the others are, my heart aches.” After finishing the main topic, Shu Jun sat by the bed and began to ramble. “And there’s so much trouble on Yu Jin’s side…”

Zhu Yanchen sat across from him, listening attentively.

The content of their conversation became more relaxed, gradually resembling their previous online chats. However, the distance between them, with two hospital beds only a meter apart, made Shu Jun feel uncomfortable.

He wasn’t going to do anything inappropriate, but sleeping on the same bed as the person he had a crush on still made him happy. During this mission, they slept in a tent with Yu Jin, and they had all been sleeping in separate sleeping bags for several days. Then they arrived in Y City and encountered this awkward situation.

They chatted for a while until it was time to sleep.

“Good night.” Shu Jun curled up facing the wall, sighed quietly, and spoke softly.

“Good night.” Zhu Yanchen replied in a low voice.

…Shortly after, Grand Marshal Zhu turned over and faced away, quietly sighing as well.


The author has something to say:

Shu Ge: When the person you like pays extra attention to others, it’s natural to feel jealous.

Marshal: You know that too.


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

Access Denied Ch50

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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


Chapter 50: Sigma

“The ability of that little Erosion Swamp is most likely ‘Crush’,” Ai Xiaoxiao said. “Cutting itself into pieces, sneaking into the command center in batches, and then restoring itself—other Erosion Swamps can’t do that.”

Having no luck finding Luo Duan, and with alarms sounding all around them, the two had to retreat. Ai Xiaoxiao wasn’t on duty at the command center today, so they went straight to Ai’s Clinic.

It had been less than a week since she had started studying the brain sample, but Ai Xiaoxiao had at least gone through everything related to Monday and managed to draw a lot of preliminary conclusions.

She had been studying tirelessly lately, eating only one meal a day. Now she was sitting across from the two of them, wolfing down noodles and explaining things in a muffled voice.

“I have some idea of how it entered the command center,” Ai Xiaoxiao said, tapping her fork. “But let’s start with the basics. You’re probably most concerned about the special abilities of Erosion Swamps with brains.”

Zhu Yanchen nodded.

“Based on what I’ve seen so far, the special abilities of Erosion Swamps with brains are more like using the first obsession or wish generated by the brain? It’s roughly the same thing. When Shu Jun wanted you to rest quietly, it resulted in ‘Suppression’. As for Sweet Edge, her thought was to restore her body, resulting in ‘Creation’. As for the Erosion Swamp you encountered, I suspect that the last synthetic human consciousness it contacted was ‘wanting to see what it has become’.”

Therefore, it gained the ability to replicate the appearance of objects, which did make sense. Shu Jun stirred the mixed noodles on his plate with a fork and listened attentively.

“From here on, I need to give someone a refresher on the basics of the Erosion Swamp.” Ai Xiaoxiao wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth and gave Shu Jun a sidelong glance. “What I’m about to say is related to that so-called ‘behind-the-scenes mastermind’ Erosion Swamp, so you two better listen carefully.”

“Erosion Swamps don’t intentionally seek out people. You should know that the Erosion Swamp doesn’t discriminate and doesn’t even choose between organic and inorganic matter. As for why they are now imitating humans—firstly, humans are the only species that can threaten their existence, and secondly, humans are generous and know that the Erosion Swamp don’t really understand their own bodily intelligence. This is why they made synthetic humans that resonate easily with the Erosion Swamp and delivered them straight to the swamps’ doors, as if giving them a detailed instruction manual.”

She poured herself a large glass of water and sneered, “Humans brought this upon themselves. Without synthetic humans as a springboard…look at Monday. Monday is the natural limit of an Erosion Swamp. Do you think it would be difficult to deal with?”

Shu Jun lifted his sword and placed it on the dining table. Monday seemed to sense the solemn atmosphere, choked out a sob, and started playing dead.

Monday was cunning and had a bit of a brain, but compared to humans, it was more like an “animal”.

Intelligent animals understood how to seek benefits and avoid harm, and unless the situation was extreme, they wouldn’t provoke humans. Before encountering Sweet Edge, Zhu Yanchen had also followed this line of thinking.

Unfortunately, things didn’t always go as planned.

“I understand what you mean. The Erosion Swamp learns from humans at most one-tenth or one-twelfth, and they may not be focused on it. With us as raw materials, they can focus on us as their targets and can learn six or seven-tenths of what we have to offer. I didn’t misunderstand, did I?” Shu Jun squeezed the sword handle. “But what does this have to do with the mastermind?”

“What’s the rush? I was just about to tell you. The Erosion Swamp is different from normal organisms. They don’t undergo cell differentiation, and their nature is more like a set of identically sized building blocks. Based on intelligence, they form a structure similar to a cell, which is the origin of the Erosion Swamp’s ‘brain’, and at most can be considered a group of erosion substance playing house at a higher level.”

Monday heard that this wasn’t a compliment and quietly spat out a “pfft”. Ai Xiaoxiao gave it a cold glance, and it instantly straightened its body, pretending it hadn’t done anything.

“They aggregate synthetic human remnants together, regardless of their quality, and cram them in. Apart from your exceptional case, the Erosion Swamp’s special abilities are derived from the residual subconscious of synthetic humans. Surname Zhu, your research is more inclined towards this aspect, right?”

Zhu Yanchen nodded again.

“They’re not just borrowing logical thinking.” Shu Jun started to pick up.

“Yes, thanks to the information you provided, we have come to a preliminary conclusion—in words you can understand, the Erosion Swamps absorb all the despair and hatred of the players before they die. The more powerful players can even leave behind ‘special abilities’ through their obsession. Fortunately, the resonance among players isn’t so high, so the information that the Erosion Swamp gets is limited. Even if they learn six or seven out of ten things, their nature is still something else.”

The sound of a fork scratching the moist porcelain plate created an unbearable noise. The mockery on Ai Xiaoxiao’s face became even stronger.

“They should have learned everything—at least the ancestral fighting methods of humans.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let me explain.” Zhu Yanchen took over the conversation. “Humans have a clear individual concept, but Erosion Swamps don’t. Luckily, Erosion Swamps with brains outside have developed independently, and the Mirror Erosion Swamp’s testing is the result of their negotiation. If we’re unlucky…”

“If we’re unlucky, there’s only one ‘mastermind’ behind it all.”

Ai Xiaoxiao let go of the fork, no longer making noise.

“It aggregates all the Erosion Swamps with brains, holding all existing information. Whether it’s the ‘Crush’ Erosion Swamp of the command center or the ‘Mirror’ type to probe you, they are all things it has split off. Sweet Edge was too powerful and retained her own thinking ability, so it didn’t dare to touch it.”

Zhu Yanchen sighed heavily.

Ai Xiaoxiao snorted. “And judging from your weird dream, we’re really unlucky—where did the ‘Crush’ Erosion Swamp get its information and intelligence from? The hidden Erosion Swamp with brains might really be just one. Calling it the ‘mastermind’ is too convoluted. I’ve already come up with a name for it. I’m going to call it Sigma.”

Shu Jun looked at the mixed noodles on the plate, completely losing his appetite.

“Let me summarize it,” he said in a daze. “You mean the one we’re looking for… Sigma, is the concentration of the negative emotions and obsessions of the dead. It sounds like—”

“It’s not sounds like. It is an evil god created by humans themselves.”

Ai Xiaoxiao smirked.

“Erosion substance is just erosion substance. It just follows its instincts to survive and doesn’t have any tendencies… Okay, hurry up and eat your food. After you finish, I still need to check your brain.”

After the examination, the two of them stayed in the basement of the clinic.

Having lost a potential collaborator, not obtaining the medicine for the brain shock, and being drenched with cold information, Shu Jun sat on the edge of the bed, feeling a little listless.

Humans had created an evil god, and synthetic humans not only couldn’t stay out of it but also had to pay the price. When the Erosion Swamp came, not to mention humans, even synthetic humans or dogs wouldn’t be taken into consideration.

But the hatred was there. Let alone his teammates, he himself didn’t want to fight to “protect mankind”. The conflict between humans and synthetic humans was irreconcilable, and outside there was a Sigma watching eagerly, not knowing when it would strike.

In such a messed-up situation, he still had to find the most appropriate solution. Shu Jun’s head was throbbing. He tried to find some good news—from the situation of Luo Duan, it seemed that Sigma preferred to provoke the conflict between humans and synthetic humans rather than directly attack them. At least they could control the situation and buy some time.

Shu Jun collapsed on the hospital bed stiffly, making a loud noise.

Surprised by the sound, Zhu Yanchen turned his head. He hesitated for a few seconds, sat on the edge of the bed, and covered Shu Jun’s forehead with one hand.

“The thing you dreamed of is probably a part of Sigma,” Zhu Yanchen said with concern in his tone.

“Then it’s pretty silly.” Shu Jun weakly smiled. “That’s not what I’m worried about now. What about Luo Duan… The combination of his splitting ability and water control is terrible. We can’t catch him.”

“Removing the brain chips from the players only means that they have the ability to know the truth, not that they will immediately accept it.” Zhu Yanchen withdrew his hand from Shu Jun’s forehead. “If he wants to spread the truth, he must take action. Although we can’t mobilize the regular army, I will ask the people from the Old Fourth to pay attention.”

“Okay,” Shu Jun looked at his slender fingers, feeling uneasy. At this moment, Luo Duan must be taking action, but he was idle here. He turned over and over like a hotcake, feeling uncomfortable.

He had to take action, but after this battle, the alert level of the command center would only increase. The enemy was in the dark, and they had no place to start.

Wait, the command center…

“What time is it now?” Shu Jun rolled his eyes.

“Seven in the evening.”

“The event at the Grand Theatre hasn’t ended yet.”

“I have arranged some waiters from the Old Fourth. If you are talking about intelligence…”

“No.” Shu Jun sat up straight from the bed. “I suddenly have an idea.”

Zhu Yanchen raised his eyebrows.

“If I were Luo Duan, I might take the opportunity to start from the inside. No, I’m not talking about killing people. There have been many assassinations among the three major families, and the defense measures must be good. If he exposes himself now, he will be picking sesame seeds, losing sight of the watermelon*.”

*Idiom which means to gain a little but lose a lot or to lose sight of the bigger picture by focusing on small gains.

Due to the tacit understanding cultivated since childhood, Zhu Yanchen quickly picked up his thoughts.

“You think he won’t leave Y City.”

“He won’t leave easily without enough intelligence. After all, we have conflicting positions. If he leaves Y City, I can easily pursue him. But if he stays in Y City, I can’t do anything to him—at least not openly.”

Zhu Yanchen’s gaze gradually changed.

“Ahem, so we need to go to the Grand Theatre… I guess you have figured it out.” Shu Jun made a subtle gesture. “You can consider the situation and take back your position in advance.”

Zhu Yanchen stared directly at Shu Jun’s grayish-white pupils, quickly calculating in his heart.

Threatening or even kidnapping the substitute and regaining some of the resources in the United Government. Even if there were guards in the Grand Theatre, they were only guarding humans, which was much easier to deal with than the command center. It was a very risky move, but not impossible.

“Let’s go take a look first.” He didn’t refuse.

The Grand Theatre was brightly lit. The alarm in the command center was being handled by special personnel, and for now it was deemed to be caused by human interference. Although the alarm level was high, it wasn’t to the extent that all top-level officials had to come out.

The performance was still ongoing.

The current act was a dance, and Xia Liang was resting backstage. She had already finished doing her makeup and was reading a boring love story. “Marshal Zhu,” who had narrowly escaped death, was sitting on a nearby sofa with his arms crossed and eyes fixed on the ground.

‘I’m bored to death,’ Xia Liang grumbled inwardly with a sour expression. She still had to take charge of the final performance before the curtains closed. She finally had some time to rest, but she had to be with this impostor.

It was bad enough that she had to be with him, but she also had to pretend to know nothing.

She didn’t know what the impostor was thinking, but she was disgusted. Fortunately, she had acted out a breakup scene with the real Zhu Yanchen before, so she didn’t have to act affectionately with this stranger.

“Xiao Liang.” The man spoke hoarsely.

“Hmm?” Xia Liang looked up, and her eyes immediately filled with tears. She had a look of five parts resentment and five parts sorrow, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

Faced with such a look, the man awkwardly stopped talking and fell silent again.

Judging from the situation, the Zhu family was planning to act until the end. Her “romantic relationship” with “Zhu Yanchen” was likely to be restored. After all, what the two families wanted wasn’t the so-called happiness of their children. In this era, marriage was just a guarantee in disguise.

Xia Liang chuckled to herself and continued reading her boring novel.

Well, if this guy dared to touch her, she could expose his fake identity in an instant. Regardless of where this substitute was found, once his identity was leaked, they would both be silenced together. The other party looked like a coward who didn’t have any guts.

But it was still annoying. She didn’t know how long this idiot would be here, and the awkwardness in the air was almost overflowing out the window.

Just then, there was a sound at the door handle. Xia Liang perked up—even if it was an assassin, it would be more interesting than the man in front of her.

The door opened, and two men walked in.

One of them was wrapped tightly, with a bit of a medieval knight vibe and a protective posture in his movements. The other had a bold face and looked like a twin of “Marshal Zhu” on the sofa.

Oh, who else could it be—Marshal Zhu had come to visit, and he even brought Shu Jun disguised as a bodyguard.

She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but Shu Jun kept glancing at her, intentionally or unconsciously. Xia Liang picked up her book, hiding her smile, and pretended to look shocked.

“You… You…” The “Marshal Zhu” on the sofa was dumbfounded.

“Shh.” Zhu Yanchen’s gun was pressed against his forehead, and his other hand made a quiet gesture. Shu Jun locked the door and leaned against the door panel nonchalantly.

“It’s impossible. Zhu Sheng told me… This can’t be…” The impostor was completely confused.

“Zhu Sheng doesn’t know everything,” Zhu Yanchen replied coldly. “Who are you?”

The man looked at Xia Liang again, opened his mouth, and then slumped down completely. “Xia Yufeng.”

“Hah?!” Xia Liang exclaimed.

Then she realized that her tone wasn’t quite appropriate and added softly, “W-What?!”

She had heard of Xia Yufeng before, who was considered a distant relative living miles away. The Xia family had always been grooming him to be Zhu Yanchen’s vassal, so Xia Yufeng had followed Zhu Yanchen for several years and knew of his habits. Zhu Sheng absolutely considered this aspect when choosing this person.

Even though both the Xia family and Zhu Sheng knew that she wasn’t interested in men, this was still too much of a waste. Xia Liang felt nauseous.

According to the information she had received, Xia Yufeng found out about some of Zhu Yanchen’s research and went to report it to Zhu Sheng. Later, Zhu Yanchen’s research materials were destroyed, and Xia Yufeng disappeared from the social circles of the three major families, probably exiled to some remote corner.

Although they were distant relatives in name, they had never had any contact, and she had not paid any more attention to him. Who would have thought that their first meeting would be in such a situation?

When he heard the name of the informant, Zhu Yanchen remained expressionless.

“Oh,” he said lightly. “It’s you. No wonder. They did a good job with the plastic surgery.”

“I’m sorry.” Xia Yufeng was shocked and confused, unable to distinguish whether Zhu Yanchen was human or ghost. “Back then… I didn’t mean to…”

Zhu Yanchen ignored him. “It’s simpler with you. From now on, you will listen to my orders. If I need you to appear, you will appear, and if I need you to disappear, you will disappear. If Zhu Sheng finds out that I’m still alive, even if there’s only a hint of it, you know what he’ll do.”

“If you want to eliminate me and continue to occupy this position, you’d better succeed on the first try. If I hear any rumors, you know what I will do.”

Xia Yufeng choked in fear, as if someone was holding his throat.

Seeing this expression on “Zhu Yanchen’s” face, Shu Jun turned his head uncomfortably. The lounge was small, and the other person came into his view.

Xia Liang was still using the book to cover the lower half of her face. Her eyes were moist and terrified, looking quite pitiful. Before they broke in, he had politely raised the question—should they lure Xia Liang away so they could deal with the impostor alone?

“It’ll be too easy to expose ourselves. Xia Liang’s lounge doesn’t have any surveillance. Don’t worry, she won’t say anything.” Zhu Yanchen had answered like that.

As it turned out, Miss Xia didn’t scream. She just rolled her tearful eyes around, scanning the other three people. Whether she was scared or just had lingering feelings for Zhu Yanchen was still unclear.

Well, if everything could really settle down, the road to pursuing the marshal would still be difficult. If A’Yan was really straight, he had no intention of forcing it.

Shu Jun stared blankly at Xia Liang, ignoring the gaze that Zhu Yanchen threw at him. Marshal Zhu frowned, and his face became even stiffer.

His right hand continued to point the gun at Xia Yufeng, and his left hand patted Shu Jun’s neck. The latter looked at his stiff face and said “Oh”, sounding particularly complicated.

Xia Liang: “…”

She had seen countless men who were infatuated with her. Not to mention Zhu Yanchen, even the synthetic man’s gaze wasn’t one of amazement or admiration. She always felt that his eyes were a bit like those of a wolf protecting its prey. But in the next second, Marshal Zhu turned to touch Shu Jun’s neck and looked at him.

That gaze was just like Shu Jun’s, and the wolf that had been protecting its prey suddenly became two.

…These two people are interesting.

“What do you want me to do?” On the other side, seeing that Marshal Zhu hadn’t mentioned any conditions for a long time, Xia Yufeng’s legs went weak with fear. He summoned all his courage and spoke up.

Xia Yufeng was clear about Zhu Yanchen’s methods. He wasn’t as ruthless as Zhu Sheng, but he wasn’t soft-hearted either. He wasn’t the waste that was rumored in the market at all. When he went to inform Zhu Sheng, on the one hand, he wanted to gain Zhu Sheng’s backing, and on the other hand, he was really frightened by Zhu Yanchen’s research.

The command center had been researching synths and the Erosion Swamp. They were trying to reduce the cost of manufacturing the hibernation pods, strengthen control over the fragments of the brain, accelerate the growth of synthetic humans, and adjust their appearances to match other species… All sorts of things like this.

But Zhu Yanchen had no interest in those studies.

Thinking back to those times, Xia Yufeng felt a bit complicated.

He had been raised as a subordinate of Zhu Yanchen since he was young, and he had some resentment, but not much. When he turned sixteen, he officially began to assist the young master of the Zhu family. Although the two weren’t close, Zhu Yanchen never blamed him or instructed him to do any unsavory “tasks”.

Gradually, Xia Yufeng began to like this job. With a boss like this, as long as he didn’t cause trouble, he could live a comfortable life for the rest of his days.

However, the good times didn’t last. At that time, the young master of the Zhu family was still young and couldn’t keep everything under wraps. Xia Yufeng saw the disease on his body one day—terrifying and twisted. It shouldn’t appear on someone from one of the three major families.

Zhu Yanchen asked him not to say anything and made many promises. Xia Yufeng didn’t know if too many painkillers were used, but at that time, Zhu Yanchen always had a strange and dreamy feeling. Xia Yufeng was only fifteen years old at the time and had never seen a “bigshot” beg him before, so naturally he agreed.

Out of a sense of responsibility to his work, he even expressed his willingness to be Zhu Yanchen’s assistant and hide things for him.

Since then, Zhu Yanchen probably saw him as a reliable subordinate and would occasionally reveal some of his thoughts to him.

Xia Yufeng didn’t like those thoughts; they weren’t normal at all—since the first day they entered the military academy, the teachers had repeatedly emphasized the importance of the player system and the nature of synthetic humans. In Xia Yufeng’s eyes, Zhu Yanchen’s thoughts were almost diametrically opposed to those of the course materials.

Xia Yufeng was terrified.

The player system was the foundation on which they all depended on for survival. In the eyes of a teenager who saw things in black and white, at that time, Zhu Yanchen was no different from an anti-social element.

So he “swallowed his anger” and worked as an assistant for Zhu Yanchen for a year. When Zhu Yanchen allowed him to access his research materials, he immediately reported relevant information to Zhu Sheng. Zhu Sheng destroyed Zhu Yanchen’s research but didn’t commend Xia Yufeng. Instead, he put him on the bench and didn’t give him any important work until today.

‘This is all karma,’ Xia Yufeng thought bitterly. But at least he didn’t make a mistake in judging Zhu Yanchen—this person’s mental state was indeed not quite right. He was about to sit in the leadership position. He couldn’t afford to fake his death at a critical moment.

“What do you want me to do?” Without Zhu Yanchen’s reply, he repeated the question.

“Stay in my office for meals and lodging, except for necessary travel. My office is equipped with a single lounge.”

“Do I have any other options?” Xia Yufeng muttered dejectedly. “Even if you don’t require it, I still have to do it.”

“Prepare enough food in the lounge. I may have to replace you at any time. You will be locked in the lounge when I come back, so keep quiet.”

“……?!”

“That’s all for now. I’ll find a way to send the remaining instructions to the office computer.” Zhu Yanchen put down his gun. “I’ll have someone watch you all the time, so don’t try anything stupid.”

“Yes.” Xia Yufeng gritted his teeth and looked at Xia Liang—it didn’t matter if he, an unknown pawn, was treated this way, but he wanted to see how the “dead” Zhu Yanchen would threaten this popular singer.

“Ah, can I breathe a sigh of relief now?” Xia Liang almost instantly changed her tone. She put down the book covering her face, and her panic and weakness disappeared. “If you’re coming, you should at least tell me in advance, right? Feng Ge, let’s get along well in the future.”

Xia Yufeng looked at Xia Liang in horror.

Ah, they were working together from the start,’ Xia Yufeng thought in despair.

However, he wasn’t the only one who was shocked. Shu Jun looked at Xia Liang, then at Zhu Yanchen, and then at Xia Liang again. He hadn’t had a chance to speak when footsteps could be heard from outside the door.

Zhu Yanchen acted very skillfully. He hooked Shu Jun’s waist, and the two squeezed into Xia Liang’s wardrobe.

The visitor knocked on the door twice casually and entered the room without waiting for a response.

“…Father.” Xia Yufeng bit his tongue and quickly adjusted his emotions. He didn’t expect the first test to come so soon.

Shu Jun looked out through the crack in the wardrobe. Even if he didn’t care about the plot of <Erosion>, he still recognized that face.

The person who came in was Zhu Yanchen’s father, Zhu Sheng.


The author has something to say:

Miss Xia Liang sees through everything√

——

The capitalization of Sigma is ∑, which means summation ←


Kinky Thoughts:

Quite an apt name considering Sigma is the summation of many Erosion Swamps.

Shu Jun and Zhu Yanchen are two gays who act like straight boys. They really should get their gaydar fixed.


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

Criminal Psychology Ch208

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

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


Chapter 208

Since Tan Kang was killed, he must have done or prepared to do something that crossed the killer’s bottom line.

There were, of course, psychopathic killers who would just kill if they didn’t think you were pleasing to the eye, but obviously this was an extreme example that didn’t apply to Dr. Tan Kang’s murder. He was killed in a premeditated conspiracy, and they were all sure of that.

But being sure of this didn’t mean they had solved the case. It was just a direction; they still had to investigate who the killer was and why Tan Kang was killed.

Xing Conglian went with Wang Chao to search for clues before Tan Kang’s death at the Zhourui Pharmaceutical headquarters, while Lin Chen stayed alone in the hospital. The office wasn’t a place where one would want to hide secrets. The slightest movements and changes in emotions would be noticed, remembered, and discussed secretly. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. This was how social interaction works.

The staff at Zhourui Pharmaceutical had already prepared tea early on.

Xing Conglian sat alone in the reception room, listening to the other party politely offer to replace the green tea with coffee or any other beverage if necessary.

He didn’t seem eager to investigate the case, but instead smiled and asked if they also provided an alcohol menu.

The female employee in professional attire suddenly turned red when she heard this. Just then, the office door was pushed open again, and the female employee suddenly stood at attention and reverted to her professional routine look.

From the sound of the sharp high heels stepping into the office, Xing Conglian could probably guess that the person coming must be a cold and arrogant lady who didn’t tolerate nonsense. He took a sip of tea and said to the female employee in front of him, “Just green tea,” before turning to look behind him.

The fragrance of cold perfume, tall and styled black hair, high heels over 10 cm, and the pure black professional suit of the lady coming towards him were more terrifying than he had imagined.

Yesterday, after the case was reported, some police officers from the bureau had already conducted a round of investigations at Zhourui, and the two who came back told Xing Conglian that the manager of the public relations department, Zhang Min, was particularly…

They couldn’t think of any adjectives to describe her after saying “particularly”. Xing Conglian could now fill in the missing adjectives for these two people.

Manager Zhang of the public relations department at Zhourui Pharmaceutical was particularly precise, particularly meticulous, and particularly tough like a well-oiled machine on the assembly line.

Xing Conglian stood up and shook hands with the other party.

“Hello, Captain Xing, can the child who came with you wait in the lobby?” The first thing Manager Zhang asked was this.

Xing Conglian sighed secretly, knowing that the investigation work from Zhourui Pharmaceutical was really well done. He and Wang Chao entered the door one after the other, and the other party even knew that Wang Chao came with him. He sighed and half-jokingly replied, “Yes, my wife is not feeling well, and the child has no one to take care of, so I had to bring him to work with me.”

Manager Zhang didn’t look at him suspiciously but pointed out the problem directly. “You don’t seem to be old enough to be the father of a high school student.”

“Mainly because I have a baby face.” Xing Conglian replied.

A normal person would probably be choked and unable to speak after hearing such an obviously evasive answer, but Manager Zhang insisted on making herself clear. “If you’re here to investigate Zhourui Pharmaceutical with some secret personnel, there’s no need to do this. Everything in our company is open to the police.” She paused, then continued, “Of course, except for some commercial secrets. You need a search warrant from the court to see those.”

“Why bother?” Xing Conglian raised his voice. “Zhourui Pharmaceuticals pays so much tax to our city every year, and the higher-ups have already explained it to me. We must not be too difficult on our taxpayers. This is a routine investigation. You don’t have to worry too much.”

Manager Zhang crossed her arms and smirked coldly.

“So, Captain Xing, how do you plan to investigate?”

“I’d like to go to Dr. Tan Kang’s office first and see if his secretary is available to accompany me,” Xing Conglian said, thinking for a moment. “I’ll also need your cooperation to talk to the office staff and ask for their cooperation in the investigation. I might find some clues and need to ask someone a few questions…”

“Please rest assured that Zhourui Pharmaceuticals will definitely cooperate with the investigation,” Manager Zhang said confidently, gesturing to the side.

Xing Conglian tilted his head and smiled. “Then, would you please lead the way, Manager Zhang?”

With just a few words exchanged with the head of the public relations department, Xing Conglian was already missing Lin Chen. Without Lin Chen by his side, he could only deal with these difficult people himself during the investigation.

Xing Conglian walked along the corridor in the office area, smelling the faint scent of disinfectant in the air, and casually remarked, “Zhourui Pharmaceutical has had a lot of trouble recently. There was even an employee who held a doctor in Yongchuan hostage before and was killed…”

Manager Zhang suddenly stopped in her tracks, and Xing Conglian almost ran into her.

“Captain Xing, please speak plainly if you have something to say. Don’t beat around the bush,” Manager Zhang turned around and said coldly.

“Hey, hey. I was just talking casually. Don’t get excited. It’s not good for your health.”

“As a Zhourui employee, how could I not get excited? Captain Xing, aren’t you implying that our company has some shady dealings in the process of promoting our new drug, or even maliciously attacking the experts from the Food and Drug Administration during the review process? But have you ever thought about how this would have a more negative impact on our company than benefits? Do we have any reason to tarnish our new drug in this way? If we’re not careful, the drug could be permanently banned, and the billions of dollars in initial investment would be wasted.”

“That makes sense…” Xing Conglian rubbed his chin. “But now, your new drug—what’s it’s called—’Nordron’, has already been approved for marketing. It doesn’t seem to have a big impact, does it?”

Nordren,” Manager Zhang said directly. “Your conversation just now was full of ridicule. I can feel your bias against our company.”

In Xing Conglian’s impression, those in charge of the public relations department were usually soft-spoken and easy to talk to. Zhourui Pharmaceutical had a unique taste, since they had hired such a strong-willed person in charge.

“I wouldn’t call it bias. Look, for the sake of a drug, several people have died in your company. Even if I’m not a detective, ordinary people would be suspicious, right?”

“If you have any doubts about our company’s medication, you can apply for intervention from the Food and Drug Administration to investigate…”

“Well, I don’t really have any suspicions for now!” Xing Cong interrupted her. “Chemical medicine is something that really gives me a headache. Don’t make me look into that. What I mean is, you’ve been working here for so long, you must have a good eye for things, yet you didn’t find anything unusual, especially with Dr. Tan Kang…”

The female manager was about to speak, but Xing Conglian interrupted her again, his tone serious. “Think carefully before you answer. Answering too quickly will make it seem rehearsed.”

After speaking, he walked straight to the large office of the research and development department, not saying anything more to Manager Zhang.

As he walked into the office, at least a dozen pairs of eyes looked at him. Xing Conglian smiled and looked back at the most cautious-looking pair of eyes in the corner. The person quickly looked away, and Xing Conglian noted the position of that desk before he came to the door of Mr. Tan Kang’s office.

There was still a nameplate with “Tan Kang” on the door, and a police seal was posted on the side of the door.

In fact, this seal didn’t quite meet the standards, but Xing Conglian was mindful of it before the forensic police officers came here to do their work yesterday. He instructed the officers not to touch anything inside after collecting the evidence, put all the items back in their original places, take photos of the scene, and then post the seal before leaving.

He tore off the seal, walked into the office, and closed the door. There were no signs that the seal had been removed, and the office didn’t look like someone had sneaked in. This indicated that there might not be any important clues in Mr. Tan Kang’s office that the killer was interested in, which disappointed Xing Conglian. He put on gloves and sat in Mr. Tan Kang’s office chair.

The same was true of the desk. Lin Chen would probably make some character evaluations if he were here. In fact, with Lin Chen’s restless personality, he was probably lying in bed now, looking at the photos of the office taken by the forensic police officers yesterday…

Sure enough, just as he thought this, Lin Chen’s voice sounded in his ear. “Tan Kang’s is left-handed.”

“Didn’t we agree to focus on the medical examination?” Xing Conglian asked as he scanned the layout of the entire desk. There was a photo of Tan Kang working on the desk, and Dr. Tan Kang did indeed hold his pen with his left hand. The lighting and the placement of some important items on the desk all indicated this. Finally, his gaze fell on the mouse next to Mr. Tan Kang’s keyboard.

“Is it reasonable to have a left-handed mouse on the right side?” he asked.

“Of course not,” Lin Chen said.

This situation could only mean that after Mr. Tan Kang last used his computer, a right-handed person had also used it.

Thinking of Dr. Tan Kang being murdered, Xing Conglian asked, “Do you think the people from Zhourui Pharmaceutical deleted important information from his computer, or did they come over to check if Dr. Tan Kang had ‘smuggled’ company secrets out?”

“Anyway, we need to investigate to find out. I hope the forensics department has collected fingerprints from the mouse.” Lin Chen’s voice came through the earphones, making him feel itchy. Since he started dating Lin Chen, Xing Conglian felt that his enjoyment of life had been increasing day by day.

“Of course, we’ve collected them…” Xing Conglian was about to speak but was interrupted by a light cough on the earphone channel.

“Boss, there are two black-clothed bodyguards from Zhourui sitting ten meters away from me, monitoring me. Can you stop dating for a moment? Do you think they will do something to me?”

Only then did Xing Conglian remember that Wang Chao was still in the channel. He thought the teenager was probably playing games on the sofa in the lobby, and he was angry. “Do you look like you are worth someone doing something to you? I need to check the computer usage records of Tan Kang…”

“But I’m being monitored now.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Wang Chao dragged his tone. “First, please turn on the computer.”

Upon hearing this, Xing Conglian bent down to turn on the computer. The office door was pushed open by Manager Zhang, who was accompanied by Dr. Tan Kang’s secretary. Manager Zhang said sharply, “Captain Xing, what are you doing?”

“Tying my shoelaces.” Xing Conglian replied.

“I thought you were secretly checking the office computer of our company’s important developer,” Manager Zhang sneered. “This computer belongs to the company’s property. Its owner was the most senior R&D personnel of our company. Unless you confirm that there is evidence or clues closely related to the murder of Dr. Tan Kang, and obtain a search warrant from the court, you can’t…”

Xing Conglian smiled and raised his hand, “No, no…”

However, the computer’s startup sound betrayed him.

The screen suddenly lit up, and Xing Conglian glanced at the main interface. The only hope was that Wang Chao’s hand speed was fast enough. Zhang Min stepped on her high heels hard and rushed over at lightning speed. Xing Conglian had to pretend to stand up with too much movement and swept the mouse to the ground. In that instant, Zhang Min almost impossibly picked up the mouse; her gaze cold.

Xing Conglian took a step back and apologized, “I’m sorry to trouble you.”

Although he said so, there was no hint of remorse on his face. The female manager bent down to pick up the mouse, and Wang Chao’s comment “It’s done, but your acting skills are too poor, Boss” came through Xing Conglian’s earphones.

The computer was turned off again, and Xing Conglian began to wander around the office as if nothing had happened. He wore gloves, and his fingers swept across Tan Kang’s bookshelf.

Zhang Min was still emphasizing to him, “Captain Xing, the state has given us taxpayers the right to accept fair and just investigations. Our company has opened Mr. Tan Kang’s office to you, which shows our sincerity.”

Xing Conglian turned around and asked the female secretary, who had been standing by silently, “Why is Manager Zhang so nervous? Is there anything particularly strange on your boss’s computer?”

The female secretary rubbed her clothes’ corners with her fingers, hesitant to speak.

Xing Conglian shifted his gaze to Zhang Min. “Manager Zhang, this is still a problem for us police.”

“If you have anything to say, Mr. Police Officer, ask it,” Zhang Min said solemnly.

“No, Manager Zhang is very nervous because there are indeed some company secrets on the boss’ computer. Basically, all the materials from the R&D department and the medical department are collected by the boss. It’s really not because we don’t want you to see it.”

“Understood,” Xing Conglian said. “Do you have things like Mr. Tan Kang’s schedule? I want to take a look.”

“Yes.” The secretary ran out quickly and came back in a hurry.

Zhang Min stood with her arms crossed and supervised their conversation.

Xing Conglian flipped through the schedule book. Sure enough, Tan Kang’s schedule for yesterday was originally full of meetings, but suddenly it was canceled and changed to a day off.

“The boss suddenly proposed to take the day off. It was about 7 p.m. the day before yesterday. He suddenly called me and said that he had a severe cold and would take a day off tomorrow, canceling all his schedule.”

“Did he come to work on the day he asked for leave? Was there anything unusual happening?”

“The boss came to work that day. As for unusual things… there doesn’t seem to be anything… except that he left a little late.” Ms. Secretary fell into deep thought. “There was nothing special except that.”

Xing Conglian nodded and suddenly asked, “Seeing that Manager Zhang is so nervous about the computer, I suppose Mr. Tan Kang’s office is off-limits to outsiders, right?”

“Yes, if the boss is not here, we cannot enter. There are also surveillance cameras at the entrance. Indeed, there are too many commercial secrets involved here.”

“I see.” Xing Conglian put away the schedule book and asked, “Can I take this book with me?” He handed the notebook to Zhang Min. “Does Manager Zhang want to check it again to see if it involves any of your company’s commercial secrets?”

Zhang Min shook her head and handed it back, saying, “No need. Our company is not that secretive.”

Xing Conglian put the notebook in his pocket and walked around the office again. He suddenly stopped in front of a small book on the desk and flicked it with his hand. A loose-leaf notebook with the logo of Zhourui Pharmaceutical was scattered.

He pressed the notebook with his finger and asked the secretary, “Is this notebook exclusively for your boss? I see that the cover is the same as yours.”

“Yes, they are all distributed uniformly by the company.”

Xing Conglian looked at Zhang Min, casually flipped through the notebook, looked at the photo of a little girl inside, and silently put it back.

He symbolically looked around the office a few times and finally smiled and said to the two people in the office, “I’m done.”

“Captain Xing’s efficiency is indeed high.”

“Well, as I said, it’s just a routine matter, but Manager Zhang is so uneasy.” He walked to the door and said, “I’m very interested in Mr. Tan’s notebook. If Manager Zhang thinks the content is inconvenient, I can leave it, but can I take the shell?”

……

Lin Chen sat on the hospital bed, very surprised to hear Xing Conglian’s words.

“What did you find?” he asked.

Xing Conglian took a while before answering, “That woman is very powerful.”

“Boss, you can’t be afraid of women just because you’re gay!” Wang Chao said.

Then Lin Chen heard the usual sound of pulling hair and a scream, followed by the sound of the car door opening and closing.

He calmly peeled off the grape skin beside him and waited for the two to finish their war.

Finally, the voice of Xing Conglian sounded. “Have you ever seen a manager of a public relations department who can fight better than your brother Zhang Long?”

“So powerful?”

Lin Chen didn’t know when arrogant Comrade Zhang Long became a benchmark for fighting, but Xing Conglian added, “That kid is actually a coward.”

“I don’t quite understand,” Lin Chen said.

“That Manager Zhang’s reaction is too agile, and her posture and demeanor indicate that she is quite skilled,” Xing Conglian said.

“Boss, do you suspect that this terrible woman is the murderer who killed Dr. Tan Kang?”

“I didn’t say that, but I remember that large pharmaceutical companies have global security departments, and Wang Chao…”

Before Xing Conglian finished speaking, Wang Chao said, “Zhang Min, 2001 to 2016, served as a staff member, deputy director, and director of the security department of Zhourui Pharmaceutical…”

“So they specially found the head of the security department to deal with us police. Why are those in public relations never satisfied with their work?” Xing Conglian laughed. “What is Zhourui Pharmaceutical afraid of…”

“Boss, can you not laugh so sinisterly?”

“Can we access Tan Kang’s computer now?”

“I just set it to automatically turn on, and it should have already turned on.” Wang Chao paused and said timidly, “Boss, what do you want to check?”

“Only check the usage record of this computer. Are there any abnormal emails and external device usage records in the three to five days before Tan Kang’s death?”

“Hey, Boss, it’s not easy for you to use the term ‘external device’!” Wang Chao made a deadpan, sarcastic remark again.

Lin Chen stuffed the peeled grapes into his mouth and saved the teenager before he was beaten again. “Did you find anything?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“What does that mean?” Xing Conglian’s hand was still…

“Boss, there were no abnormal email and external device usage records.” Wang Chao said.

Lin Chen was very surprised. Although no one had mentioned it before, everyone was guessing in their hearts that Tan Kang was likely to have been killed because he had stolen company-related information and was ready to hand it over to relevant parties, just like in movies. But now, Tan Kang hadn’t used his office computer to steal any information, which was hard to understand.

There was silence in the communication channel. In the end, it was Wang Chao who spoke. “It’s also possible that Mr. Tan Kang used a lab computer, and the key information is not here?”

“Should we change our thinking?” Wang Chao said, “Maybe Mr. Tan Kang was a loyal person and was killed by a traitor. It’s like the game Legends of the Three Kingdoms*!”

*Chinese card games based on the Three Kingdoms period of China and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In the game, one of the roles is a traitor.

“Don’t guess for no reason,” Xing Conglian angrily said. After a moment of contemplation, he asked, “Who entered his office after Tan Kang left two nights ago, and what did that person do on the computer?”

“I can’t tell you who it was.” Lin Chen heard Wang Chao munching on potato chips in his earphones. “Because all the company’s surveillance cameras were out of order during that time. How unlucky.”

“What’s the answer to the second question?”

“From the time Tan Kang turned off the computer and left two nights ago until the day he was murdered, there was only one record of turning on the computer at 9:03 p.m. two nights ago. Oh, that big brother or sister did the same thing as us and checked the usage of external devices.”

“So…” Xing Conglian dragged his tone.

“Someone also suspected that Tan Kang had stolen company information?” Wang Chao exclaimed incredulously.

“Comrade Xiao Wang…” Xing Conglian began to speak.

“What the fuck?!”

“We should thank the computer for changing human life…” Xing Conglian said proudly.

“But how can you determine who the last person was that operated the computer?” Wang Chao asked.

“The mouse will leave fingerprints,” Xing Conglian said. “Thank you fingerprint identification technology.”

“What’s the use of fingerprints if you don’t have a comparison object?” Wang Chao began to pour cold water on it.

Lin Chen thought to himself, then said, “Did you get Zhang Min’s fingerprint… from the schedule book?”

“Hey, why are you so smart?” Xing Conglian said with satisfaction.

Perhaps it was Xing Conglian’s proud tone that left Wang Chao speechless.

Lin Chen continued with the first question, “Why did you suddenly stop the search just now? What’s wrong with Tan Kang’s own notebook?”

“Tan Kang’s notebook is a spiral notebook with loose-leaf pages.”

“Um…”

“And he’s left-handed. Left-handed people, because writing in a spiral notebook is uncomfortable, are more likely to get used to starting from the last page of a notebook and writing from left to right.”

Lin Chen was very surprised. “Are you saying that someone tampered with Tan Kang’s notebook but put the paper in the wrong order?”

“Thank you to the lefties. Even after death, they can leave so much evidence.” Xing Conglian changed the subject, and said very seriously to him, “Consultant Lin, your appointment for a physical examination should have started by now.”

“Mm, I’m putting on my shoes.” Lin Chen looked at the time and felt that Xing Conglian was really sharp.

“I’m going to the police station to deliver the physical evidence. It will take a while before I can come and accompany you.”

“It’s okay. It’s just a small matter, and you’ve mentioned it several times already.”

“No, it’s not a small matter for me. The proof of passing the physical examination is very important…” Xing Conglian raised his tone lightly, emphasizing the word “passing”.

Lin Chen understood the implicit meaning in his words and laughed.


Kinky Thoughts:

I mean… it’s not like using his hands or mouth would put Lin Chen at risk… or vice versa. Just saying…


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