After bypassing the great altar of Zhong Yi, Yin Ren’s expression turned pale. It wasn’t until he smelled the oily roasted duck that his soul slowly returned to him.
The Fu family’s manor was so big, and they were specially led to a semi-open dining room.
Under the antique cornices, bamboo leaves rustled against each other, and the gurgling of the mountain spring could be heard. Over a dozen beautiful and sturdy koi lazily swam in a clear pond. The rockery beside the pond was full of wild charm, and a black cat was lying on top of it with its belly exposed, basking in the sun.
The dining pavilion was cool, with four round tables arranged inside. The dishes ordered by everyone had just been placed on the table, with insulation pads underneath, and the aroma was so enticing that it made everyone’s mouth water.
…It would be even better if the painting in the pavilion wasn’t of Zhong Yi hunting ghosts.
What the hell is up with this Fu family?
Yin Ren grabbed his chopsticks speechlessly and found that the ends of the chopsticks were also dyed with colorful paint.
Yin Ren: “……”
Zhong Chengshuo: “Pfft.”
It may be that Yin Ren’s expression changed too quickly, but Comrade Xiao Zhong let out a rare laugh. Yin Ren gave him a sad glance and decided to divert his attention.
With great difficulty, Yin Ren moved his eyes away from the dazzling array of different dishes and roughly glanced at the other three tables.
There were five old people, three young people, and a middle-aged person sitting at the table. One of the woman’s facial features was very similar to Fu Xingchuan’s, but she didn’t have Minister Fu’s signature panda eyes. Her skin was well maintained, and her hair was permed in fashionable waves. The red dress she was wearing looked expensive.
That table was probably the Fu family.
The other two tables must be Shian’s special groups from Yandu and Linnan. Yin Ren felt there was at least one powerhouse at each table; most likely, they were coaches of their respective teams.
Those two were only a little weaker than Fu Xingchuan, which meant Shian shouldn’t be underestimated.
The smell of meat persisted in drilling into his nose, causing Yin Ren to retract his gaze and look at the roasted duck with its crispy skin. Lord Ghost King rubbed his chopsticks and anxiously waited for the last member to arrive…
Fu Tianyi had already sat at the Yandu’s table, but Fu Xingchuan was still missing. It wasn’t good to start eating before everyone was present.
“Are you sleeping to death?” Yin Ren was just thinking about whether he should steal some food with his hair when a sneer reached his ears. “Fu Xingchuan, are you feeling itchy? We’re all waiting for you, and you have quite the nerve to keep us waiting like this.”
The woman, who looked a lot like Fu Xingchuan, grimaced at the phone.
“Our parents are here. What are you doing?”
In less than thirty seconds, Fu Xingchuan flew into the pavilion with a levitation spell and almost fell on all fours on the smooth stone tiles.
“My alarm didn’t go off.” The black and blue under Fu Xingchuan’s eyes had faded a lot, and his voice had regained some strength. He slightly bowed to everyone at the nearby tables and said, Evil Smith”I’m sorry, everyone. Really sorry—please go ahead and eat!”
After speaking, he didn’t take his seat but stopped at Yandu’s table. “Hey, isn’t this Zhou Gong and Qiao Shang? What wind blew you two great gods here?”
“Haigu hasn’t competed recently, so we came to see if you’re still alive, right, Xiao Qiao?” The male coach from Yandu grinned—he was a round and chubby guy with a shiny bald head, looking especially festive.
Not far away, the female coach of Linnan nodded. “I heard that there has been a lot of unrest near Haigu recently, so I came to take a look.”
The responding voices came from the two strongest people at their respective tables.
They didn’t care about Fu Xingchuan’s lateness and talked enthusiastically with Minister Fu.
“Who are those people?” Yin Ren turned to Hao Wenzhe curiously, only to find that their senior had run away with his frozen dumplings and soda, along with his computer bag as well.
Hao Wenzhe was a dignified science post but he ran with agility and in such a low-key style that even the 1,000-year-old Ghost King couldn’t detect him.
Yin Ren: “……”
“Hao Wenzhe doesn’t like crowded places. It’s okay. Minister Fu knows his problem.” Lu Xiaohe rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache. “Let me explain.”
“Zhou Gong is the ‘#1 Evil Smith’ of Shian, and Qiao Shang is the ‘#1 Priestess’. Coupled with the ‘#1 Ghost General’ Fu Xingchuan, the three of them represent the apex of the three superior professions. If anyone in this era can become a true ‘Celestial Master’, it will surely be one of these three.”
After staying in Shian for a few months, Yin Ren was already familiar with modern classification methods.
There were three basic cultivation directions: ghost master, corpse servant, and spirit smith.
Those who were proficient in the occupations of both a ghost master and a corpse servant were called “Ghost General”. In contrast, “Evil Smith” corresponded with a corpse servant and spirit smith, while the “Priestess” combined the ghost master and spirit smith—only those who were proficient in all three branches of knowledge could be considered a “Celestial Master”.
These knowledge were interrelated and could produce countless variations when they collided. After becoming proficient in each of them, it took several more times as much time to polish and integrate them. It wasn’t as simple as adding one plus one to advance to the next level.
Fu Xingchuan was given the title Ghost General in his forties, which they considered to be young and promising. The other two powerhouses were over fifty, no matter how he looked at them.
Yin Ren knew the hardship involved, but young people may not realize it…
Ge Tingting asked curiously, “Isn’t there a genius like Xiang Jiang?”
Lu Xiaohe smiled wryly. “It takes a lot of time to gain battle experience and explore combat methods. It’s like studying—there may be young geniuses in math or art, but there are no natural prodigies in subjects like history. In fact, there hasn’t been a Celestial Master since Zhong Yi.”
The tempering of countless battles was the basic of the basics, which couldn’t be made up with “natural talent”.
Ge Tingting: “Wow, isn’t the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi very powerful? How did he do it?”
The tip of Yin Ren’s chopsticks trembled slightly.
Simple really. One just needed to live for 360 years. Although, to be fair, Yin Ren himself was also considered a genius. Unfortunately, he always adhered to the “good” habit of three days of fishing and two days of drying the net*, so the title of Celestial Master was purely a pile of messy nonsense. If he was replaced by Fu Xingchuan, it was estimated that he would become the so-called Celestial Master in less than two hundred years.
*(三天打鱼两天晒网的) Idiom means that someone isn’t consistent in doing something regularly or has an irregular work/study schedule. It comes from the idea that a person who fishes for three days and then rests for two will not be able to catch as many fish as someone who fishes for five days straight, which implies that someone who works or studies in an inconsistent way may not achieve as much as someone who works or studies consistently with regularity.
The reason why no new Celestial Master had appeared after him was assuredly because the lifespan of humans was too short.
Thinking of this, Yin Ren’s movement of holding the duck skin suddenly stopped.
The inexplicable bitterness rushed to his throat again, making his mouth uncomfortable.
The browned and crispy duck skin was covered with osmanthus granulated sugar. Yin Ren wanted to offer it to Zhong Chengshuo and persuade him to have a bite, but as he looked at the side of Zhong Chengshuo’s face, Yin Ren silently chewed on the duck skin and instead picked up a piece of lean meat to offer to him.
Training wasn’t arranged immediately after the meal. This time, the live-in attendant of the Fu family led the way and brought everyone to their guest room. The rooms of the Fu family were no different from a five-star hotel. They were all spacious and beautiful double rooms, with huge floor-to-ceiling windows facing the green mountain scenery.
He didn’t know whether it was intentional or not, but Ge Tingting and Lu Xiaohe had single beds in their rooms, while Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo were assigned to a room with only a queen bed.
Yin Ren sat by the bed and looked at the dreamlike mountain scenery outside. He stared at it for a while, then motioned his hand at Zhong Chengshuo, who was busy adjusting the angle of his toothbrush. “Zhong Ge, come here.”
Zhong Chengshuo obediently walked to the bed. Yin Ren maintained his sitting posture, put his hands around Zhong Chengshuo’s waist, and buried his face into the other party’s chest and abdomen.
“What’s wrong?” Zhong Chengshuo’s hands stopped a few centimeters above Yin Ren’s head, and he shrank back hesitantly.
“Nothing. Just wanted to hug you,” Yin Ren replied while still burying his face into Zhong Chengshuo’s loose t-shirt, making his voice muffled. “It may be that I’m nervous before the competition.”
Zhong Chengshuo: “……” Even he wouldn’t believe this kind of outrageous bullshit. For the legendary Celestial Master to be nervous, the contestants would have to be the six Evil Spirits led by Qi Xin.
Zhong Chengshuo: “There’s an introductory meeting in the evening. Just hold on until 4:30.”
Yin Ren: “Do you know it’s only 2 right now?”
“Yes.”
Yin Ren stifled a laugh, and when he had laughed enough, he sighed. “I kind of know why Fu Xingchuan chose the training location here… It turns out the Fu family reveres Zhong Yi very much, and I have shattered his illusion.”
“Nn.”
“But at least that kid has some conscience and knows to arrange a big bed for our room,” Yin Ren said. “At this point, on behalf of the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi, I forgive him.”
“…Pfft.”
“What are you laughing at?”
Zhong Chengshuo continued to maintain the posture of being hugged, trying to stretch his arms to reach for the remote control by the pillow. With a beep, the electric curtains slowly closed. The soft indoor lights came on at the same time, and the <Zhong Yi scattering flowers> picture on the curtains became particularly conspicuous…
The painting showed Zhong Yi with a smile on his face. His tiger eyes were slightly closed, and his long beard was fluttering as golden flower petals that symbolized good luck scattered from his hands. The embroidery was extremely fine and at a glance, one could tell it was expensive from a first glance.
Yin Ren: “……” What is this thing?!
“I just saw it when I was helping Huang Jin move his things. The single bedrooms don’t have this kind of curtain,” Zhong Chengshuo explained with a smile.
Yin Ren: “Fuck forgiving him!”
……
In the evening, Haigu Municipal Hospital.
“Hey, have you heard that the grandson of the Qiu family signed for early discharge… His family isn’t short of money, so why don’t they let him stay for a few more days?”
“His family business is quite good, so maybe he can’t afford to stay.”
“What? How come I heard that Mr. Xiao Qiu is a dandy and doesn’t care about the business.”
“Who knows what’s going on in other people’s homes?”
Sun Qi’an was sitting in the cafeteria with her ears filled with gossip of her colleagues. At this location, it just so happened she could see the vestibule of the hospital. Sun Qi’an raised her eyes and stuffed a chopstick of vermicelli with fried bean sprouts into her mouth.
She saw the figure of “Mr. Xiao Qiu”.
Mr. Xiao Qiu’s name was Qiu Fang. He was thin and tall and wore an ill-fitting high-end jacket. At this moment, he was staggering out, accompanied by a woman, who she was unsure of whether it was a nurse or a relative. From this angle, Sun Qi’an could only see the backs of the two.
As Qiu Fang walked past a flower bed, he brushed shoulders with a man in dirty clothes. The man swayed more violently than Qiu Fang and stumbled forward, his speed increasing.
One step, two steps.
The dirty man trotted up and rushed at the gate of the hospital. He took out an old-fashioned pair of iron scissors lodged in his chest and stabbed the doctor closest to him.
Sun Qi’an almost choked on her vermicelli. She put down her chopsticks and opened her eyes wide.
Amidst the screams, Qiu Fang accelerated his pace among the scattered crowd. His shoulders brushed against a couple who were tightly hugging, almost knocking him over.
One step, two steps, three steps.
The couple suddenly stood still and began to argue fiercely about something. The man suddenly slapped the woman, and the woman screamed and reached out to grab her boyfriend’s face.
The scissors left a hole in the dirty man’s chest, and he used his nails to open up the flesh, spraying dark red blood everywhere.
Qiu Fang cranked his neck and finally turned his head.
Ignoring the bloody conflict, he looked at the restaurant behind the reflective glass. The hospital cafeteria was installed with one-way glass, so it stood to reason that the interior couldn’t be seen.
But Sun Qi’an had a feeling that Qiu Fang had discovered her prying eyes.
The young Mr. Qiu’s neck bent unnaturally as he bared his teeth and gave Sun Qi’an a twisted smile.
The author has something to say:
Minister Fu: Who knows where my happiness is?
Even kissing feels awkward in this room, Xiao Yin.
#Even Xiao Zhong couldn’t help laughing at the decoration
There was a mess of noise coming from the headset. Xing Conglian didn’t have time to worry about whether it was a communication failure or something else. His brain was completely occupied by Lin Chen’s appearance, filled with countless possibilities that seemed like they would explode.
And one of the most terrifying possibilities was: If he couldn’t save Lin Chen, if Lin Chen had already sliced his neck with that blade, what should he do?
At that moment, Xing Conglian felt a fear he had never experienced in his life. He was as nervous as when he held a gun for the first time and killed someone. However, reality didn’t allow him to think about emotions or possibilities because he suddenly heard news from the headset.
“Boss, that’s a C4 explosive that detonates at a fixed time. It can’t be stopped.” In the headset, Ye Zhu’s voice held an imperceptible tremor.
“I understand.” Xing Conglian instantly regained his senses. He immediately put away his gun, ran downstairs, and said to the person on the other end of the headset in an extremely calm tone, “Zhao Hu, I’m going to T2 floor. Cover me.”
In the attic, the man who had just finished killing was folding his silk scarf. When he heard this, he almost tore the lilac silk scarf in his hand. “Boss, what’s the situation? Don’t take risks! Can you escape now if you rush over there?”
The same sound was transmitted simultaneously to several places where others were carrying out their missions.
Wang Chao was already sitting in the cabin, but Xing Conglian’s words made him stand up abruptly in shock.
There was a light screen in front of him, and there were changes in the 7 dots representing each person’s position. The red dot representing Xing Conglian really began to rapidly move towards the most dangerous area that was about to detonate. “Boss, calm down. What the hell happened? It’s over!”
The primeval forest, alarmed by the explosion and gunfire, began to tremble uneasily. Dark, cloud-like birds rushed to the sky, covering the sky.
Wang Chao looked at the factory area covered by a sky of smoke and dust in the distance. In his earphones, he heard the sound of wind, bricks, occasional gunshots, and the stable voice of Xing Conglian. “Lin Chen is in that building.”
In an instant, Wang Chao also experienced the feeling of having his heart stop after being electrified. After a moment of shock, he suddenly shouted, “How is this possible? This can’t be happening. Boss, don’t be impulsive!”
“He’s inside.”
The deep voice of Xing Conglian sounded like a cello playing in the darkness of night. Wang Chao instantly sobered up. He gripped the edge of the table tightly and tried to calm himself down, but how could he calm down? His muscles were tense and trembling all over. Why did this kind of thing happen?!
“Wang Chao, find someone to assist me. The others retreat according to the original plan.” Xing Conglian’s voice sounded again. Wang Chao didn’t know how his boss could still speak in such a firm tone in this situation. He took a deep breath and looked at the screen, saying word by word, “Kang An, maintain your current position. Move to T4 in 3 minutes and assist the Boss.”
……
The race against time was more exhausting than imagined.
A burst of gunfire sounded from the back of his head. Xing Conglian slammed down and rolled over a piece of rubble. The bullet caused a series of smoke and dust behind him, and a broken shrapnel slammed into his calf. In the case of extreme chaos, any small detail was enough to kill, but any attention to detail would slow him down.
“Zhao Hu!” Xing Conglian jumped up and continued to run.
“I’m sorry, Boss.” The gunman lying on the high-rise building pulled the trigger at an unprecedented speed. He didn’t even calculate the ballistics anymore and purely used instinct to kill all men in the space who dared to block the man running for life and death.
“Four minutes left.” Ye Zhu’s voice sounded again.
More and more Gaomeng people crowded into the ferry, causing the light ship to shake.
Wang Chao was still holding the corner of the table tightly. He was motionless, staring at the red dot on the light screen that was rushing towards the factory building that was about to explode without any tactical cover, wishing that time would slow down just a little, but he had long known that such physical phenomena in this world could never be shifted by human will. He could only watch and wait for the result.
After countless brushes with death, Xing Conglian finally came downstairs in the building. He was too calm to be calm any longer because he realized that it was also a good choice to die with Lin Chen. All the previous burning emotions were completely suppressed.
The entire factory area turned into cold, inorganic lines in his eyes. He knew very well the function of the factory that Lin Chen was in, which was the reason why he chose to blow it up in the end. Buried downstairs was enough explosives to blow up the factory building and kill all soldiers who tried to rescue it.
Sure enough, a small group of heavily armed Zaratul soldiers were trying to rush into the building.
Two of them had sharply turned their guns, but before they could pull the trigger, their foreheads had been pierced with blood holes.
Xing Conglian pulled the trigger. The gun fired bullets like whips, and the sound of flesh piercing suddenly sounded. At the same time, he was also hit on the shoulder by a bullet.
The intense secretion of adrenaline made him feel no pain. He finally reached the front of the building. Facing the corpses all over the floor, he looked up at the building with broken windows and rushed in without hesitation.
The floor plan of the factory building in the mining area quickly unfolded in his mind. He jumped to the last floor and found the laboratory at the end of the corridor, among the continuously extending lines.
“3 minutes.”
The countdown was broadcast again on the communication channel. No one spoke after.
Xing Conglian kicked the door open, and all he could see was darkness. With the faintly visible glass sliding door across his eyes, he raised his gun. Not giving a damn whether it was bulletproof or not, he pulled the trigger as he swept the muzzle from left to right.
The glass suddenly shattered, making a tooth grinding noise.
He rushed through the glass rain curtain, seeing an erratic mess of tables and chairs and collapsed experimental equipment. He calculated Lin Chen’s final position and kicked open a door.
Sunlight suddenly poured in. The group of monkeys roared, but the sounds and lights all disappeared. All he could see was the door at the end; the pure white wooden door with broken glass in its upper half.
……
Lin Chen was lying on the ground. The floor of the laboratory was a bit cold. Although the air conditioning had stopped, it was still cold.
He couldn’t help but curl up, thinking for a moment that he might be dead, but the feeling of being alive and dead was still different. At least it seemed like he could still think.
Of course, his thinking stopped completely as soon as he drove Duan Yang away. Now it had turned into a puddle of mud, everything about Xing Conglian once again filled all the corners of his mind.
Sometimes it was Xing Conglian who was smoking, sometimes it was Xing Conglian who was cleaning the room, and more often, it was Xing Conglian who was looking at him with his handsome face. His eyes were deep and calm, but he didn’t say a word. Those pictures glowed with some light; each frame was so clear that he could touch it, which made his fingers tremble slightly.
He always felt as if he were saying something to Xing Conglian. Maybe it was “I’m sorry” or “I love you”.
And until now, he had no time to think about whether Xing Conglian would accept his question when he came back.
It should still be possible.
He spent probably the most precious 30 seconds at the end of his life thinking about this question carefully and gave himself an answer as a form of self-comfort, thinking it was quite good.
But when he answered this question, the remaining questions followed.
—After Xing Conglian comes back, what will happen when he finds out about all this?
Although it was the best result to make Xing Conglian think he was missing and would never be found, given Xing Conglian’s personality, it was really possible he would follow all the clues to this abandoned mining area.
—So what if Xing Conglian finds his body?
For a moment, Lin Chen hoped that the ruins of this factory building would completely bury his body, so that the corrosion rate of the rainforest would quickly turn him into a pile of bones that no one would recognize. After Xing Conglian or Wang Chao found this place, he might not be found. Even if he were found, it wouldn’t be too sad.
He felt that he couldn’t imagine Xing Conglian being heartbroken. After all, in his concept, people like Xing Conglian shouldn’t be heartbroken, and he shouldn’t be the one who makes the other party heartbroken.
Lin Chen suddenly began to regret why he confessed his love at that time. If he hadn’t exposed these things, it might not have caused the person he loved so much pain.
Time couldn’t be turned back, and the decision made couldn’t be changed. Since he was a man, how could he be so irresponsible?
Although he was about to die, he suddenly discovered that he really didn’t want to die. He wanted to live.
If this world was really as <The Secret> said, then he wanted to live.
He braced himself against the ground, trying to stand up.
……
This was what Xing Conglian saw when he opened the pure white wooden door.
Although before that, he was even afraid of what would happen if Lin Chen wasn’t behind the door.
But the moment he saw the laboratory floor, all the scenes flooded in like a tide.
Lin Chen was curled up on the ground. His cheeks were slightly sunken, but his eyes were frighteningly large. His face, elbows, and all his exposed skin had abrasions of varying degrees, and shocking amounts of blood were dripping on the ground, but it wasn’t these wounds that worried Xing Conglian the most.
After seeing him, Lin Chen turned his head slightly and squinted his eyes. His out-of-focus eyes were full of doubts. He then let out a laugh. Xing Conglian clearly saw Lin Chen’s self-deprecating smile in his eyes, and his heart seemed to be tightly clenched by some external force.
He walked over step by step and squatted down, at a loss of how to pick Lin Chen up for a moment.
Suddenly, Lin Chen stretched out his hand and put it on his wrist. The temperature of the palm of his hand made him shudder. Xing Conglian slowly lowered his head and looked at the pale fingers resting on his wrist, like a struggling soul unwilling to enter hell, grasping its only lifeline.
The urging sound in the headset finally poured back into his ears.
“Boss, is it really A’Chen Gege?” Wang Chao asked.
“There are two minutes and thirty seconds left. Hurry up, Boss!” Ye Zhu let out a rare roar.
However, Xing Conglian’s movements were still slow. He held the back of Lin Chen’s neck with one hand while the other hand plunged into Lin Chen’s knee socket, holding the person in his arms with force. It was only at the moment he picked up Lin Chen that he felt the hot temperature of a soldering iron. How could a normal person have such a high body temperature?
At this moment, Lin Chen’s dark eyes, which had been staring at him, flickered slightly.
He heard Lin Chen ask in a hoarse voice, “Although it’s too much like a movie, am I dreaming?”
“It’s me.” Xing Conglian stood up while holding Lin Chen.
With just two words, he clearly saw Lin Chen’s eyes flushed and tears overflowed. As if to hide his sudden, fragile emotions, Lin Chen plunged his head into his chest. Xing Conglian couldn’t even tell whether the heat in his chest came from his emotions or Lin Chen’s tears.
He lowered his head and kissed the top of Lin Chen’s head. The smell of blood, dirt, salty sweat, and the clean and cold breath of Lin Chen’s mixed together, as if to soak into his soul.
He hugged Lin Chen tightly, turned around, kicked the monkey cage under his feet, and began to run out.
In the Hummer, Zhang Long was driving the vehicle at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour on the potholed road in the Dana Rainforest. The primeval forests on both sides regressed, and even the chimpanzees with cubs came out to make trouble. Of course, he didn’t know that he thought there was a slight flaw in his very arrogant and perfect action, but he couldn’t be blamed for this incident.
Comrade Ye Zhu was sitting next to him. He had just crawled out of the chassis and was dozing off at the moment, with no intention of helping him be vigilant.
Except for the intimidating name, Ye Zhu* looked like an ordinary college student next door who was cultured and harmless. Only a few people knew his true nature. Zhang Long dared to have Zaratul’s subordinates call him “dad”, but he didn’t dare wake up the person sitting next to him.
*His name translated is Wild Boar.
At this moment, the communicator sounded.
Ye Zhu opened his eyes gently with a clear expression as if he had never fallen asleep. “Boss.”
“Ship?”
“There are still 50 minutes until it docks.”
“Where are the goods?”
Ye Zhu glanced at the towering forest in front of him and said solemnly, “It’ll be delivered soon.”
He didn’t know what Xing Conglian said at the other end, but Ye Zhu looked like usual, and at the end he said, “Roger that.”
Zhang Long said nervously, “How did Zaratul anger the Boss? This is simply a dragon’s wrath!”
Ye Zhu only said two words, “Shut up.”
……
Xing Conglian released the fingers pressing the headset and stood on the highest point of the whole building with a stiff waist.
In the alleyway of the dilapidated factory building outside the window, Zaratul’s soldiers started a new day of aimless vigilance. The soldiers behind the bunker began to smoke habitually. The curling smoke rose with the wind, mixed with the laughter and discussion about the dead woman yesterday.
Bullets could fall from the sky at any moment and hit their foreheads, but these soldiers didn’t seem aware of it at all. This was also normal. In the area controlled by Zaratul, no one would dare to snipe.
Xing Conglian’s cold gaze swept across the main warehouse, and finally landed on the power plant of the mine.
Behind him, Zhao Hu was installing a military sniper rifle with a gentle touch that felt like he was caressing a woman. The sniper took out a 12x scope from his backpack and carefully wiped the gun barrel with a lavender-embroidered silk scarf from his pocket before quickly installing the scope with a decisive hand. Then he continued to wipe the gun barrel with the same silk scarf.
Xing Conglian frowned but didn’t say much.
In the underground space under the mine, where he couldn’t even see his fingers, Kang An, with a bruised nose and a swollen face, was sneaking towards the designated location carrying C4 plastic explosives “smuggled” in by Comrade Zhao Hu. How to escort hundreds of people to migrate with a 7-member team may be a headache for ordinary commanders, but similar actions weren’t unfamiliar to him. In the depths of the rainforest, where there was little interference from external armed forces, directly destroying the target force was obviously the most straightforward way.
He bit the flashlight, unscrewed the screws at the mouth of the lower pipe with a light technique, quickly climbed out, took out a hand-drawn sketch from his pocket, and installed it on the marked load-bearing wall according to the instructions of the explosives expert who was currently on the way.
At this moment, there was a slight commotion in the communication channel.
……
The sniper was still wiping the body of the gun as Xing Conglian held down the headset. He heard Xiao Wu’s voice coming from it, and the background sound was filled with the low-pitched yells of the Gaomeng people.
“Boss, I think the people of the rainforest haven’t seen the sun all year round, so their brains are really muddled.” The sniper looked up at him.
Xing Conglian retracted his gaze, turned around, and left.
In the factory space covered with colorful clothes, Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu, who were distributing weapons, had a dispute with the Gaomeng people.
The sturdy and muscular rainforest warriors glared at them, trying to ask Xiao Wu for an M16 rifle with a C-MORE light shotgun system. Comrade Xiao Wu, who had established friendship with the rainforest people, didn’t know how to solve this problem.
After seeing Xing Conglian’s figure appear, Xiao Wu snatched the gun and aimed it at the muscular man who had taken the gun. Behind that man stood seven or eight of the most combat-effective Gaomeng people; tall rainforest warriors standing in a row like stout trees.
“They killed our people!”
“We are going to take revenge!”
“Please let us charge in!”
The Gaomeng people were all talking at once, and because they had been exposed to the wind and rain for several days, their voices weren’t as loud as they had shouted.
Xing Conglian’s calm gaze swept across the faces of those who were carried away by hatred.
“Oh, here,” Xing Conglian said.
“Boss!”
“The M16 rifle without the shotgun system is worth $5,000 USD. Counting the complete set of accessories, you’ll be charged $30,000 USD, which is a cheap price. Do you have the money?” Xing Conglian asked lightly.
“We can repay with our lives!” the Gaomeng people said.
Xing Conglian thought it was funny, so he laughed. His thin lips curled a little. “Is your rotten life worth so much money?”
The Gaomeng people became enraged again. They clenched their fists as if they were going to fight their opponents with their bare hands.
The next moment, a Gaomeng man with an ivory pendant that was covered in blood fell to his knees. He raised his head and said to Xing Conglian, “My wife was raped and killed by them downstairs in this building yesterday. Please allow me to avenge my wife.”
Another Gaomeng man raised his pendant to his chest, revealing the photo of a little boy embedded in the pendant. “My child too. Please allow me to avenge him.”
Xing Conglian’s gaze was still cold and hard. He glanced at the riled-up Gaomeng people and said, “After walking out of this building, it will be a combat zone. If you don’t listen to my command, you will be killed.” Speaking in Gaomengnese, Xing Conglian said to the rainforest warriors, “I don’t think there’s any point in reasoning with you. If you believe that killing a few Zaratul people is more important than protecting your own people and leaving safely, then I respect your choice.”
……
The long, gentle wind blew through the primeval forest, causing the tips of every leaf to tremble.
The commotion started suddenly without warning. The shockwave caused by the explosion made the entire land tremble.
At that time, Duan Yang was pretending to pack up the laboratory while the masked man—ah, no—the Chinese named Lu Jia had just transferred a helicopter through security to send them off. Through Lu Jia’s example, Duan Yang deeply understood the importance of eloquence and acting skills.
He inserted the last test tube into the test tube holder and looked at the laboratory floor worriedly.
Lin Chen was curled up in the most sheltered corner of the entire laboratory. The turquoise blood vessels under his neck were vaguely visible. He was so weak that it seemed he could be crushed by just a pinch of snow.
Earlier, Lin Chen suddenly fell to the ground. After Duan Yang checked, he found that the high fever had finally put Lin Chen in a semi-comatose state. He was burning up like a soldering iron. Given Lin Chen’s situation, Duan Yang forced Lu Jia to change to a vehicle that could leave as soon as possible and demanded that Lu Jia find a helicopter. For this, they waited another forty minutes. While Lu Jia made a phone call in Gaomengnese that they didn’t understand, Duan Yang couldn’t help but admire Lin Chen’s meticulous thinking. If they hadn’t grasped Lu Jia’s weakness, just a simple phone call in Gaomengnese might have pushed them into hell.
However, just after Lu Jia hung up the phone, an explosion sounded. Duan Yang squatted down and pushed Lin Chen into the space under the experimental table. Just as he followed in, an incandescent lamp brushed past his back and crashed into the floor. The broken lamp tubes and powder made the floor a mess.
Not far away, the masked man hid under the table in distress.
In a short period of two or three seconds, there was only the stern roars of the rhesus monkeys in the entire space.
……
The people in the laboratory weren’t the only ones who were at a loss due to the explosion.
The Zaratul army, which was guarding the gate of the mining area from afar, was also subconsciously looking for a bunker to hide in. Then they started looking for the source of the explosion. When they turned on the communication channel, there was a chaotic buzzing sound, making it impossible for them to contact each other.
Even though Zaratul’s subordinates fought against primitive tribes in the rainforest year-round, it took a while to realize the problem of electromagnetic interference. In the area visible to the naked eye, the power plant building of the mine had been razed to the ground, and the broken bricks and soot rising into the sky had created a perfect smoke bomb. Beside the power plant building, two unprepared barracks were also riddled with holes.
Soldiers with blood on their faces crawled out of the barracks while more people were buried in them.
At this moment, a plume of smoke and dust also appeared on the road facing the door. The soldiers on the watchtower had just been stunned. Before they could accurately report the target, they were hit precisely by eight sniper bullets. The silver bullets made a beautiful arc mixed with red and white plasma as the soldier fell straight down while pulling the tarpaulin covering the machine gun down with him.
At a certain window on the upper floor, the sniper took out a lilac silk scarf from his pocket and kissed the scarf, signifying the successful completion of his first kill.
The modified Hummer crashed straight into the gate of the mines. Zaratul’s subordinates raised their rifles and began to fire back. No one expected that the driver of the Hummer wouldn’t slow down but would blatantly slam against the gate, moving at a fearless speed.
The iron gate suddenly opened, and at the same time the roof of the Hummer opened as well. A most primitive and reliable M2 machine gun poked out its life-harvesting head.
The man who manipulated the machine gun wasn’t one of those beefy machine gunners but a slim, svelte young man. His face was pale and wooden, but he didn’t hesitate to pull the heavy trigger of the M2 machine gun. As a classic weapon used for robbery during World War I, the M2 machine gun was commonly used to attack lightly armored targets and low-altitude air defense, and its killing power was evident.
Accompanied by deafening gunfire, a long steel whip quickly swept out from the muzzle of the machine gun, and flames and bullets hit all the surrounding moving targets. The M16 rifle was utterly useless under such heavy firepower suppression, and even the dilapidated factory building that was swept by the machine gun’s tail was instantly missing a corner and had a tendency to collapse.
Soon, the soldiers at the gate were cleaned up. The remaining soldiers hiding in the bunker looked up at the sky and prayed that the follow-up force wouldn’t be too terrifying.
No one expected that there would only be two men in a Hummer that brazenly challenged the Zaratul drug factory.
What was even more unexpected was that a light ferry with an Angodo Republic tourist company license plate and a capacity of 1,000 people quietly entered the mining area like a ghost.
On the light screen that displayed the location, the ferry entered the designated area. Ye Zhu released the trigger and, taking advantage of the gap, whispered into the communicator, “Area A1 cleared.”
……
The Gaomeng tribe, which had been besieged for many days, finally stepped out of the crumbling machine repair factory.
The rainforest warriors, armed with shotguns, rushed to the front. Zaratul’s subordinates hiding behind the sandbag bunker never dreamed that those Gaomeng people, whom they had been teasing like mice for many days, really dared to rush out of the factory and fight them to the death.
The fierce firepower collided with each other. Two rainforest warriors instantly fell. At the same time, ghostly sniper bullets shot from the sky again, and two Zaratul machine gunners with heavy weapons were instantly killed.
The Hummer had already rushed to the gate of the factory. The suppressed firepower of the M2 made Zaratul soldiers behind the sandbag bunker extremely suffocated. What was even more unexpected was that the bullets of the M2 machine gun easily penetrated the fragile bunker. Flowers of blood splashed on the sandbag.
More Gaomeng people poured out of the factory building. In the chaos, someone picked up an ivory pendant on the ground and gently closed the eyes of a dead warrior.
……
A second explosion sounded, and the earliest gravel factory in the mine fell, instantly blocking the remnants of Zaratul’s troops who wanted to pursue the Gaomeng people.
In the laboratory, where the power supply had been cut off, the successive explosions and deafening bullets caused everyone to fall into an extreme panic.
Duan Yang hid under the laboratory table and shivered slightly. He couldn’t see Lin Chen’s face clearly, but a hot hand kept holding his wrist tightly, as if relieved, causing Duan Yang to calm down.
This area wasn’t within the range of the electromagnetic interference. In the dark space, suddenly there was the passionate sound of a phone beeping. Lu Jia hurriedly connected the phone. On the other end of the line, a helicopter operator was roaring. The saying “where there’s a will, there’s a way” probably referred to such a situation. The C4 explosives installed by Kang An were gradually leveling the entire mining area, but miraculously, the helicopter landing site was preserved and intact.
What was even more fortunate was that Xing Conglian didn’t immediately order the launch of two smart bombs to destroy it since he saw through his binoculars that it wasn’t equipped with any ammunition compartment.
The light ferry docked at the pier.
Most of the soldiers stationed at the pier had already rushed to the front line to provide support, and the remaining sporadic soldiers who tried to attack the ferry with rocket launchers were mysteriously killed by a machine gun out of nowhere.
The heavy-firepower Hummer had cleared the way ahead, and the first batch of Gaomeng people ran frantically, arriving at the pier.
The captain of the ferry, named Bao Feng, had a full beard. He gently tidied up his suit and bowtie and walked politely to the deck to greet his guests.
The hatch opened.
……
In the laboratory, Lu Jia hung up the phone. The ceramic mask on his face had at some point fallen off. He hid under the laboratory table and shouted, “The helicopter is coming! Let’s go!”
The tooth-aching sound of bullets outside the window finally stopped temporarily.
Lin Chen’s slightly calm voice sounded. “Duan Yang, will I still have 12 hours if there’s no medicine?”
The young doctor looked stiff and said angrily, “What are you worrying about? Of course you do. Am I the doctor or you?”
“I understand.” Lin Chen smiled slightly, nodded, and released his hand from his wrist. “Go and assess the situation first.”
Duan Yang nodded. He plucked up the courage, crawled out from under the experiment table, and cautiously opened the door to the monkey room. The monkey cages had collapsed everywhere, and the screams of the rhesus monkeys almost pierced his eardrums.
Duan Yang stumbled and used a little glimmer of light from behind the curtains to figure out a way to the outside. His hands were constantly scratched by the monkeys’ sharp claws that were sticking out of the cages, but he didn’t make any cries of pain.
……
In the alleyway, a small group of Zaratul soldiers cut in from the rear, and bursts of machine gun fire quickly hit them at the end.
“Go ahead and leave me alone.”
Xing Conglian stood at the end of the migrating crowd. He said something briefly into the communicator, left the end of the team, and flashed into the factory building.
The police captain, armed with a gun, quickly climbed up to the fourth floor. Looking through a scope, a large number of Gaomeng people were still gritting their teeth as they ran hard. The depression in the middle of the group came from a pair of pure white stretchers. On the stretcher, Duan Wanshan’s eyes were closed, completely unaware of his surroundings.
Xing Conglian retracted the muzzle of the gun and pointed it at the Zaratul soldiers, who were gradually approaching the large group.
……
Duan Yang pulled down the curtains hanging horizontally on the wall of the monkey room letting the sunlight spill in, causing him to cover his eyes.
He looked back at the laboratory. Lu Jia had already followed him out of the innermost room, but Lin Chen’s figure didn’t appear.
Duan Yang rushed back again.
The sunlight from the monkey room caused a faint light to appear in the innermost part of the lab. Lin Chen was leaning against an experimental bench as the dim light cast a layer of blue-gray on his face.
Duan Yang tried to pull him up, but Lin Chen put his hand on his wrist and shook his head.
Although Lin Chen didn’t say a word, Duan Yang instantly understood what the consultant meant.
“No. Impossible!”
Lin Chen’s gaze was still clear and firm. There was a trace of tenderness in his eyes that made him immediately relax, as if agreeing to his request.
Duan Yang stopped talking nonsense. He carried Lin Chen on his back and was about to run outside.
Lin Chen suddenly said, “Are you asking me to be a target on your back?”
Duan Yang stood in place, panicking, as Lin Chen slipped off him.
Mr. Consultant supported himself on a lab bench and couldn’t even stand, but still said, “Help me walk out.”
Regarding Lin Chen’s sudden and willful request, Duan Yang didn’t doubt him. He could only hug Lin Chen’s armpit and drag him out.
When he was about to step through the door, Lin Chen suddenly coughed violently, bending his body. He said in pain, “Wait a minute. You pressed my wound.”
Duan Yang hurriedly let go. At the moment he let go of his hand, Lin Chen somehow mustered up enough strength to push him outside and quickly slammed the wooden door of the lab as quick as lightning.
Duan Yang fell heavily to the ground as the rhesus monkey near him screamed.
He climbed up desperately. He didn’t know what was wrong with Lin Chen, but he clenched his fist without hesitation, trying to punch and shatter the glass upper part of the wooden door.
Lin Chen’s weak figure was crumbling at the door. Looking at the calm face of this young man who wasn’t even a few years older than him, Duan Yang couldn’t help shouting, “Motherfucker. Don’t say you’ll drag me down. Let’s go together!”
Lin Chen had already calculated Duan Yang’s thoughts. He stood with difficulty, holding the wooden door. In his other hand, a cold glint from a scalpel appeared at some point. He easily pressed the scalpel to his neck.
“What are you doing?!”
Duan Yang’s tears flowed instantly.
With a second punch, the glass suddenly shattered. Lin Chen took a half step back and fell to the ground, but still held the scalpel firmly in place. He calmly said, “First, if you take me with you, you won’t reach the helicopter smoothly under the hail of bullets.”
“Second, I just discovered that the sound of the explosion from the factory is gradually coming towards the building we’re in. I briefly estimated the detonation time, and the building where we are will be blown up in about five minutes. With me, you’ll never be able to escape the explosion range in such a short period of time. There’s even a greater possibility you’ll be killed by someone. Be mature. Live and avenge me.” He blinked as he said solemnly, “I’ll count to three. Get out, now.”
……
Xing Conglian, who was in charge of covering the retreat, stood tall on the fourth floor of the factory building. He killed the last soldier in sight and prepared to evacuate.
He pulled the wooden table away and used the scope to lightly draw an arc, trying to confirm that all the targets had been cleared. It was this tiny arc that made his heart beat to its highest speed in an instant. All his blood rushed to his heart in such a short time that his limbs fell into extreme cold numbness, which made him feel as if his soul had popped out of his body.
He saw Lin Chen. Why the hell did he see Lin Chen?
Lin Chen was bent over and coughing. He had pushed away the man next to him and was leaning against the wooden door as he held a blade at his neck, as if he were talking to the person outside the door…
Xing Conglian thought it was an illusion after thinking about him day and night, so he bit the tip of his tongue hard to wake himself up. Lin Chen’s figure was gone. The young man gritted his teeth, turned his head, and left with tears streaming down his face, leaving only broken glass behind.
Xing Conglian felt that he was trembling all over. He pulled his collar and pointed the microphone at him as he tremblingly said, “Stop the detonation. Stop all the detonations. Stop the fucking detonation. Do you hear me!!!”
Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo crawled under the covers. The light from their phones illuminated from below, casting a ghastly shadow on their handsome faces.
Yin Ren didn’t buy new pajamas. Since they were similar sizes, he directly borrowed a set from Zhong Chengshuo. Unlike Comrade Xiao Zhong, who fastened all his buttons tightly, Yin Ren only fastened the two middle buttons. Now, as he crawled under the covers, one side of his pajama shirt on his shoulder almost got pulled off.
The end of his black hair stretched out its translucent wings unscrupulously, and Zhong Chengshuo gathered them into a ball and hugged them in his arms like a pillow.
In the past, this feeling of living in a small space with people was unbearable for him. However, Yin Ren didn’t have the unique metabolic smell of the living, which Zhong Chengshuo found to be quite pleasant.
The eyes of the two were glued to the phone screen at the same time.
After dinner, they quickly created a WeChat group, labeling it “Paid Love Counseling” and added Dr. Sun to it.
At two in the morning, Sun Qi’an finally responded.
[Let Me See Your Heart: What’s up with this group name?]
[Fruit Knife: Qi’an Jie has worked hard. It’s just a joke. I heard from Zhong Ge that you’re kind of like a matchmaker. Let’s chat together sometime in the future. 😊]
[Fruit Knife: Speaking of which, what happened tonight wasn’t serious, right? At that time, we saw you had a very bad look.]
[Final Fruit: How’s the patient?]
Yin Ren slowly stretched out his hand and pressed the phone in Zhong Chengshuo’s hand. Zhong Chengshuo gave him a suspicious sideways glance and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
“Let me do it,” Yin Ren said.
[Fruit Knife: Zhong Ge is just a little worried about your emotions. After all, you just started your job not long ago…]
[Let Me See Your Heart: I know how he speaks~]
[Le Me See Your Heart: Actually, it’s nothing serious. It’s just a wealthy businessman whose father has been staying at our hospital. Today, coincidentally, his grandson had a heart attack while his grandfather was also experiencing heart failure at the same time. This might be what they all call “the legendary heart connection between grandparents and grandchildren”.]
[Fruit Knife: How coincidental.]
[Let Me See Your Heart: The grandfather couldn’t hold on this time and passed away. The grandson arrived a little late and almost became brain dead but was saved by the efforts of the experts in the department.]
[Let Me See Your Heart: Nowadays, being young and strong doesn’t guarantee health. Life is unpredictable. Irregular lifestyles are the most dangerous, so the two of you should avoid staying up late. I’m going to sleep now. Let’s talk another day.]
[Fruit Knife: Good night!]
“A wealthy businessman, staying in Haigu Municipal Hospital, and his surname is Qiu.” Zhong Chengshuo threw off the blanket and was about to get out of bed and turn on the computer. As a result, he struggled for a long time and found that there was an extra bunch of black hair around his waist.
Zhong Chengshuo: “?”
“Go to bed early. We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Yin Ren said seriously. “Your body is important.”
Zhong Chengshuo looked at the hair around his waist, then at the computer, then back at the hair around his waist.
“Mm.” He slowly returned to bed and laid down properly. Even the hairball on his nightcap fell in the same position as yesterday.
In the dark, he stared at Yin Ren.
The latter understood. Yin Ren moved to the edge of the pillow, touching foreheads with the other person.
Zhong Chengshuo closed his eyes again, but Yin Ren couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. His deep red eyes emitted a faint light in the darkness.
Zhong Chengshuo’s warm breath blew over one breath at a time, like the tide.
It would be great if it could never really stop, like the tide.
This was the first time he had fallen in love with someone. Yin Ren didn’t think he was suddenly crazy. It was just that at this moment, in the feeling of freshness and happiness, there was also some bitterness.
Unlike the bitterness of the chocolate chips, he didn’t like the looming anxiety.
……
The next day, the brilliance in Yin Ren’s eyes disappeared.
Shian had sent a special car for the participants from the Haigu branch to Dongshan. Seeing the magnificent and bizarre Dongshan, which maintained the natural ecology, Lord Ghost King couldn’t help but feel disgusted from the bottom of his heart!
He had slept on mountains like this for at least eighty to a hundred times.
And no matter how he thought about it, there definitely wouldn’t be a cafeteria here.
Since they already disclosed their relationship, Yin Ren leaned on Zhong Chengshuo’s shoulder and said, “Isn’t the Fu family supposed to be very rich? Why aren’t they living in a luxurious penthouse in the center of Haigu with a rooftop swimming pool?”
The feeling of skin contact made Zhong Chengshuo stiff. Sensing the smell of Yin Ren, he relaxed his body again.
“The existence of non-science posts shouldn’t be known to ordinary people,” Zhong Chengshuo murmured. “The Fu family has lived here since 900 years ago, and their residence is extremely famous for its ancient architecture.”
Ge Tingting jumped out of the car with her schoolbag in her arms, followed by Huang Jin, who had a mixture of “I want to escape” and “But this is two million”. Lu Xiaohe was the last to get out, followed by Hao Wenzhe.
Who would have thought that the rear commander of the Emergency Management Department would have the worst face? Hao Wenzhe stared at the deep mountains and forests in front of him with an expression like a ten-year-old cat who was raised only indoors.
The next car was carrying participants from Shian’s B-level groups.
Bao Linlin and Wang Zhou got out of the car one after another, followed by Xiao Zhao, who was following the two of them. He was carrying so much equipment on his back that he suddenly lost his balance and fell into the mud. If it weren’t for Bao Linlin’s timely help, he would almost become the first member of Unit 7 to break their leg on this mountain.
After Zhao Shiyan, Wu Chiayi from Unit 6 also stepped out with his takeout box on his back. Comrade Xiao Wu looked at the distant mountain in shock and took a deep breath of the mountain air.
“Nice!” Xiao Wu’s voice turned into a string of echoes.
“B-level investigation team, Unit 7. Rear commander Zhao Shiyan, the science post Wang Zhou, and the non-science post Bao Linlin. Because the number in Unit 7 is too small, Unit 6’s Wu Jiayi is added as a substitute.”
Hao Wenzhe pulled a dead cat’s face as he announced in a lack of cadence.
“C-level investigation team, Unit 6. Rear commander Lu Xiaohe, science post Zhong Chengshuo, and non-science posts Yin Ren, Ge Tingting, and Huang Jin. These are the 9 participants. Over.”
He inputted everything on the screen of the tablet, then put it to sleep with a click.
“The coach of the Haigu team is Fu Xingchuan. He’s on vacation at home. You can meet him when you go up,” he added.
Yin Ren: “Oh…”
Before he could finish his sigh, he saw a string of updates in Shian’s app.
[Fu Xingchuan: Everyone can order whatever they want to eat. I’ll have the chef prepare it.]
[Hao Wenzhe: Can he make anything?]
[Fu Xingchuan: This is a retired master from a five-star hotel, so please feel free to order anything you like.]
[Hao Wenzhe: Then a bowl of *** brand frozen dumplings and sugar-free orange flavored soda.]
[Fu Xingchuan: ?]
When Yin Ren saw the words “five-star hotel”, the haze in his heart was swept away.
During the rest of the journey, Lord Ghost King was unusually cooperative. He held onto Zhong Chengshuo’s wrist without any reservation and happily led the way to the Fu family’s residence. Clear springs flowed around them, and the sounds of birds filled the air. The scenery here seemed frozen in time, as if it had remained unchanged for 900 years. While climbing the mountain, Ge Tingting kept exclaiming “Ahh” in amazement.
Even Huang Jin would give a second look at the scenery.
The Fu’s residence was located on the mountain with the steepest terrain. Taking a closer look, the magnificent building complex could be considered a small town. It could be seen that not many people were living there, but the various buildings were well maintained.
There were two vivid stone lions at the gate. Outside the courtyard, ancient vines and old trees grew against the wall, and the paintings on the wooden beams of the gate were simple and atmospheric, with no signs of wear and tear.
And there was a young man sitting on one of the stone lions.
The man was tall and had an assertive posture. His outfit was similar to that of Fu Xingchuan—a red robe. However, he wasn’t wearing a tassel earring. Instead, he had an exaggerated wooden mask on his face, engraved with runes unique to a sealing spirit weapon.
Very strong. Yin Ren made a judgment at a glance. This kid was young but was five or six points stronger than Fu Xingchuan, which was quite impressive.
In terms of cultivation strength, this person wasn’t much different from Xiang Jiang.
“Fu Tianyi, C-level, Unit 5 of the Yandu branch.” The man’s voice was a little youthful, and it sounded like he was twenty at most. “From Haigu? Welcome to my home.”
Yin Ren walked in the forefront and took a decisive step forward. “Yin Ren, C-level, Unit 9 of the Haigu branch.”
The masked man looked at him and then glanced at the members of Unit 9 behind Yin Ren.
“So the ‘good seedlings’ that second uncle mentioned are only at this level,” he commented loudly. “Let’s go. You should consider this a vacation.”
Yin Ren: “Okay.”
He really didn’t want to argue with this young and energetic kid. He was more concerned about the jujube wood-roasted duck and Mrs. Song’s fish soup that were prepared for lunch.
Zhong Chengshuo wouldn’t be provoked. He was busy observing the terrain near the Fu’s residence. Huang Jin’s face was numb, Lu Xiaohe kept smiling politely, while only Ge Tingting stomped her feet in anger.
She made a point to ensure he saw her roll her eyes at him.
Hao Wenzhe didn’t mince words. “So much useless drivel. Hurry up and lead the way. We’re all carrying luggage.”
Fu Tianyi snapped his fingers and waved his hand. At this moment, the gate of the Fu’s residence slowly opened. With thoughts of crispy roasted duck skin dipped in sugar, Yin Ren happily stepped into the manor.
A luxurious photo wall crashed into his retina at a speed of 80 miles per hour.
As a metaphysical family, the Fu family had a deep background. The wall behind the gate was especially grand. The wall was covered with colorful glazed tiles, and on it was a shiny relief of <Zhong Yi sealing an Evil Spirit>.
In the picture, the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi was stepping on Yellow Millet. His body was scattered with light, and the nine-ring sword was pointed directly diagonally to an Evil Spirit. The Evil Spirit was painted like a mass of rotten flesh, surrounded by countless strange armies of evil beings, as if they were dark clouds that were pressing towards the Great Celestial Master, who was alone.
The relief had some age to it, and the craftsmanship of the artisan was simply divine. One could see the lines were smooth and the colors were bright, with runes engraved on the glazed tiles, exuding a strong positive energy towards the outside.
Fu Tianyi deliberately stopped for a while, enjoying the expression of the group being impressed.
Unfortunately, the two at the head clearly didn’t have such intentions.
Yin Ren looked at his relief with difficulty, not quite ready to point out the faults—the army of evil things were all by his side back then.
Compared to <Zhong Yi sealing an Evil Spirit>, this was more like <A brawl for hot pot>.
How truly embarrassing. Yin Ren had a vaguely bad feeling and subconsciously looked at Zhong Chengshuo, facing his eyes that were full of scrutiny.
“Did you really look like that before?” he mouthed.
Yin Ren stared at Zhong Chengshuo faintly. He had a strange feeling that they weren’t in the Fu family’s manor but in a well-known medical spa in Haigu.
“Comrade Zhong Chengshuo, what you see now is my original appearance.” Yin Ren snorted. “But if you don’t like it, I don’t mind changing back to that look.”
Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes lit up.
Yin Ren: “Wait, are you serious…?!”
“No, I just want to know. Can you change into other forms, like—”
“It’s mealtime. Let’s go in, put our things down, and eat. There will be plenty of opportunities to watch after training.” Hao Wenzhe straightened his backpack and wiped the sweat off his round face. The outdoor environment seemed to make him particularly irritable.
Zhong Chengshuo immediately shut his mouth and took his suitcase, circling around the gate’s decorative wall.
But a few steps away, he stopped again and looked at Yin Ren with complicated eyes.
Yin Ren glanced at the wall again, then followed. “What’s the matter, Zhong Ge? Is there something…”
After seeing the situation in the first courtyard of the Fu family, he immediately shut his mouth.
In the middle of the Fu family courtyard stood a towering statue of Zhong Yi, with the highest quality incense burner and offerings in front of it. Looking to both sides, the wooden offering tables were piled high with fresh meats and fine wines, while uneven red candles dripped long wax tears.
The red streamers were flying, and the blue smoke was rising, as if an endless sacrifice were taking place.
The person for whom the offerings were meant for was numb.
Oddly enough, Yin Ren didn’t mind this sort of thing before. Even when he was in the Ant Nest, his reaction wasn’t very strong. But now, when he saw through Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes, he suddenly felt a bit of shame.
He quickly muttered something and tried to adjust his breathing.
Fu Tianyi pricked up his ears curiously and amplified the sound with a spell, listening to what his prospective opponent was mumbling.
What core metaphysical post of Haigu?! This C-level was clearly a layman—facing Zhong Yi’s sacrificial site, those in the know must at least show some respect.
He retracted his gaze, and the corners of his mouth behind the mask curled.
“These are just decorations,” he said.
“There’s a bigger Zhong Yi shrine at home, but it’s a no-entry zone.”
Yin Ren’s face completely collapsed.
This kid, Fu Xingchuan, was definitely doing it on purpose—!
The author has something to say:
Fu Xingchuan: But so what?
Before challenging your opponent, let’s accumulate some sense of shame first, Comrade Xiao Yin—
After the news of the competition was sent out, Fu Xingchuan slept peacefully for a long time.
Rather, to be precise, he slept for nearly a day.
Near the evening of the next day, Minister Fu woke up in his room at his old house. The setting sun cast the swaying shadows of the trees onto the ceiling, and the outline of the branches and leaves stretched diagonally, swaying in the orange-red halo.
Time seemed as if it were frozen.
Fu Xingchuan spread himself out on the bed and stared at the shadows of the trees without blinking. His phone was buzzing incessantly under his pillow. Based on Minister Fu’s past experience, he had at least a few hundred messages to deal with.
But Fu Xingchuan didn’t move.
After knowing that Yin Ren was most likely Zhong Yi, the boulder-like sense of crisis in his heart strangely disappeared. Even if he knew that Yin Ren was an evil being, he still couldn’t give birth to a heavy sense of crisis.
Ever since those two little brats entered Shian, Shian had been paying close attention to them…
As it turned out, the “popular idol” of the metaphysical world, the Great Celestial Master Zhong, once again appeared in the world, and not only did he not show any bitterness or deep hatred, but he didn’t delay in eating, drinking, and playing around.
Yin Ren was the kind of person who went out to the night market to buy snacks, came home to play games and watch third-rated dramas, and had a shopping list full of strange and cheap things that were “okay, but not necessary” to buy online. He was even dating a younger man.
If Yin Ren really wanted to tear up the spirit contract and unilaterally declare war, the flames of war would spread throughout Haigu. While the metaphysical cultivators would risk their lives and Shian wasn’t completely powerless in such a battle… facing such a “hypothetical enemy” really made him feel quite helpless.
Fu Xingchuan clamped the kicked blanket between his toes, wrapped himself up, and continued to lie on the bed.
As the genius of the Fu family, he had emerged in the metaphysical world since he was 14. At the age of 18, he officially joined Shian and was directly signed to an A-level special team. He had experienced countless metaphysical cases, large and small, and had passed through blood and fire in peaceful times. After running around in the dark for so many years, Fu Xingchuan experienced the real sense of “vacation” for the first time.
Ah, the situation was too difficult, and what he could do was too limited, so there was no point getting nervous.
Fu Xingchuan yawned and closed his eyes.
“Teacher roll call. Teacher roll call—” A special alarm rang, causing Fu Xingchuan to dip his hand under the pillow.
“Lao Li?”
“The investigation in Gengsheng Town is temporarily over. All the corpse samples in the Ant Nest have been transferred to the underground laboratory. A batch of information should be available in the near future.” Li Nian’s voice sounded a little suspicious. “What’s the matter with your voice? You haven’t gotten up yet, have you?”
“I’m still on annual leave.”
“…..” Li Nian was silent for a while. “Are you serious?”
“Weren’t you always nagging that I’m going to die suddenly? I’m just making up for it.” Fu Xingchuan yawned. “Why? Do you have any objections?”
“No,” Professor Li said. “Regarding Zhong Chengshuo, I asked Hao Wenzhe to coordinate with the police. This person isn’t simple. The only good news is that he and Yin Ren are semi-bound and don’t need to be monitored separately.”
“For the follow-up observation of those two people, do you have any other ideas besides the league?”
Fu Xingchuan pursed his lips and said, “Just watch the league. If they win, don’t we have a reason to give them a promotion and raise?”
Li Nian: “……?”
“They are not openly hostile to us now, and they are not pawns that can be controlled by external forces. It’s best to pursue peace.”
“You mean, an evil thing that has been famous for thousands of years that entered Shian incognito may have no purpose?”
“It’s hard to say.” Fu Xingchuan looked in the direction of the ancestral hall. “We can’t use decades of life experience to speculate on the thoughts of the super-elderly, can we?”
Thinking about it another way, Yin Ren seemed to have a normal mind for the time being. When he was discovered by Shian, he couldn’t necessarily shout at them, saying, “I’m the Ghost King who can control evil spirits” or “I’m the legendary Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi”—his destination would be either the bed in the underground next to Shian’s Evil Spirit or a special ward at Haigu Mental Health Center.
At least now they had data related to the “imitation” of the mountain town, so they wouldn’t be bumping around headlessly.
“Okay.” Li Nian didn’t delve further. “Has the league training location been set?”
Fu Xingchuan: “My home. I have trained here since I was a child and am familiar with the place.”
“…..” Li Nian was speechless.
Professor Li had a vague feeling that his partner had given up something very important in his life. As for what it was, he couldn’t tell at the moment. Li Nian thought for a few seconds, and when he spoke again, there was more hesitation in his voice.
“Fu Xingchuan, have you recently had a major conflict with your family?”
Considering the momentum of Unit 9 blowing everything up wherever they go…
“It’s fine. Look, they come into work every day, and isn’t the Shian campus still standing?”
The #1 Ghost General was answering in a tone similar to “believe in science and get rid of your superstition”.
“Speaking of which, today is a workday. Hao Wenzhe should have reported the situation of those two to you…”
“Yes, they went out for dinner.”
……
“Cheers!”
Lu Xiaohe held a glass of orange juice and spoke passionately.
“Congratulations to everyone in Unit 9 for your safe return!”
A group of people gathered in the hot pot restaurant where they had eaten before their departure. There were a lot of people this time, so Lu Xiaohe specially booked a private room…
In addition to the five members of Unit 9, Luo Bin and Qin Lele of Unit 8 also joined, and even Liang Shan and Sun Qi’an were also there—hearing that it was Lu Xiaohe’s treat, Yin Ren deliberately pulled a few more “outsiders” so he could find an excuse to pay the bill.
After all, Lu Xiaohe still had her mother to take care of, and her expenses were like flowing water.
…And strictly speaking, he and Zhong Chengshuo didn’t pass their “execution mission” smoothly. Yin Ren took a sip of his Coke, feeling desolation in his heart.
Fu Xingchuan really didn’t plan to let them go on living in peace. He and Zhong Chengshuo had been sticky all night. When they got up together, they saw the competition notice.
Amidst Dog Thing’s glowing barks, the warmth in Yin Ren’s heart instantly cooled.
Sure enough, Lu Xiaohe mentioned this in her next sentence. “Congratulations to our Unit 9 for qualifying for the league—Xiao Luo, Xiao Qin, don’t mind.”
Luo Bin and Qin Lele, the former who joined as a science post in Shian at the same time as Yin Ren, were assigned to Special Investigation Unit 8 and were now only a basic three-team group.
“Hey, you should go.” Lao Bin smiled and sandwiched a beef tendon ball between his chopsticks. “The work Unit 9 has done is impressive, and we admire it—we’ve been busy unclogging the sewers, but I actually discovered a new hallucinogenic fungus. I’ve been busy writing my dissertation paper and don’t have time to be an audience…”
The doctor in health toxicology mentioned his thesis with eyes full of brilliance.
Qin Lele had nothing to say. As an orthodox corpse servant of the Qin family, he was busy stuffing himself with beef tendon balls. “Look, candied hawthorns!”
Lu Xiaohe’s expression was complicated for a second.
Ah, this was a normal C-level investigation team. What the hell was she stuck with?
“Ms. Fang Yuanyuan came to me alone before.”
After Lu Xiaohe sat down, Ge Tingting quietly approached and turned her AI’s voice to a minimum.
“She asked me how I felt and if I wanted to transfer out to Unit 8 instead. She said that Unit 8 lacked combat strength and needed me very much. She even said Minister Fu had specially instructed her about this matter… Xiaohe Jie, does Shian think I’m not good enough? Is it because of my unauthorized actions before?”
Ge Tingting looked sadly at Luo Bin, whose hair was thinning, and at Qin Lele, a burly man who was holding two skewers of beef tendon, with rejection written all over her face.
Lu Xiaohe’s heart soured.
“It’s not your problem. Your previous performance was very good. I have been watching!” She patted Ge Tingting on the back. “What did you say?”
“I refused. I said that Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo are very good. They are obviously newcomers like me, but they are much better than me. I want to use them as my goal to catch up and continue to work hard.”
Ge Tingting’s AI whispered.
“So I don’t want to transfer away until I reach this goal.”
Knowing that two were good enough to be assigned an “execution mission”, Lu Xiaohe: “……”
Huang Jin, who knew even more, said, “…Why doesn’t Fang Yuanyuan ask me if I want to transfer?” He even dreamed of being transferred away.
“It’s not good to eavesdrop.” Lu Xiaohe picked up a slice of beef with her chopsticks.
“I can see what you’re thinking.” Huang Jin pointed to his eyes with a numb face.
Lu Xiaohe made a face at Huang Jin from a position he couldn’t see and didn’t respond back.
“What is this league you guys are talking about?” Sun Qi’an asked curiously. “Is it like a competition between different units to evaluate their performance?”
“Almost.” Lu Xiaohe took the opportunity to change the subject. “Oh, that’s right. Not everyone knows about what’s going on.”
Now that the competition was only tentatively determined to be held, the details hadn’t been released yet. It didn’t involve a confidentiality clause for the time being, so it was fine to talk about it.
Sure enough, upon hearing what she said, the newcomers simultaneously cast their gazes over.
“Shian has nearly 100 branches in different cities. There are no nominal headquarters, and the small branches are uniformly managed by larger branches.”
Lu Xiaohe picked up a piece of beef neck and dipped it in sauce.
“For example, in Gengsheng Town, where you went before, there’s a small branch in Luotian, the city closest to it. This Luotian branch is under the jurisdiction of Haigu—there are three such large branches in the entire country.”
“The Yandu branch in the capital, the Linnan branch in the south, and of course the Haigu branch. Every three years, these three major branches will hold a joint exercise competition, mainly composed of B- and C-level investigation teams in their division.”
Yin Ren picked up a piece of lean meat with his chopstick for Zhong Chengshuo. “A-levels aren’t participating?”
“A-level investigation teams have big cases to follow, and they can’t get away.” Lu Xiaohe shrugged. “Sometimes the whole department is busy, and there may be a shortage of players. Our Haigu branch didn’t participate for the first two seasons, so it’s not a big deal.”
Zhong Chengshuo tentatively picked up a few meatballs for Yin Ren. “It doesn’t sound very important.”
“Don’t underestimate it—if you pass and win the league, the C-level investigation team can be directly promoted to the B-level. The winning group will also have a bonus of two million per person, and the division will also receive more funds.”
Zhong Chengshuo: “That sounds good.”
Yin Ren bit the meatball bitterly and thought that Fu Xingchuan and his promotion plan had arrived—he had no doubt that if it weren’t for worrying about attracting attention, Fu Xingchuan would just directly promote them to an A-level investigation team.
“Two million…” Luo Bin showed a fascinated expression for a few seconds. “Forget it, forget it. This kind of fighting and killing is really unsuitable for us. If we have to go on another business trip, my girlfriend will break up with me.”
Speaking of this, he winked at his fellow member of the same period, Yin Ren. “Yin Ren, you should also pay attention to your personal affairs. You Unit 9 are busy every day and can’t get in touch with outsiders. You and Xiao Zhong are both handsome guys. It’s such a waste to just sit here.”
Yin Ren smiled at him. “I—”
“This is exactly the issue we’re talking about.” Zhong Chengshuo swallowed a piece of vegetable with a serious expression. “The situation is appropriate now. In order to reduce possible troubles and misunderstandings in the future, and to ensure…”
“Zhong Ge and I are in a serious relationship.” Yin Ren interrupted his lover’s tirade.
Crack.
Huang Jin’s sauce dish fell to the floor and broke in half.
Those who knew, like Lu Xiaohe and Sun Qi’an, controlled their facial expressions well, while Liang Shan whistled. Ge Tingting looked at the two in confusion before she finally realized.
Huang Jin: “You..he…you…fuck me…!”
Didn’t Zhong Chengshuo know that Yin Ren is an evil being? King Yama’s interest in evil things had reached this point?! Wasn’t this quite perverted? Wasn’t there any relevant law stopping this?
Luo Bin: “Come on, brother. It’s the modern era. Let’s be more open-minded. Anyway, we don’t have any restrictions on office romance.”
Huang Jin looked sadly at this doctor, who was full of “it’s so good to be in love”, and a small whimper escaped from his throat.
Fortunately, Sun Qi’an’s phone rang, temporarily rescuing Huang Jin, who was on the verge of collapse.
“Hello?”
Sun Qi’an picked up, and the smile on her face disappeared a little.
“…What? Slow down… I see. I’ll go back immediately.”
Sun Qi’an hurriedly picked up her purse and nodded to the crowd.
“Sorry, something urgent just happened at the hospital, so I have to go back immediately.”
Zhong Chengshuo: “Urgent?”
Sun Qi’an didn’t hide it and sighed. “It was a coincidence. The patient in our special ward suddenly had heart failure, and at the same time, his grandson was hospitalized for a heart attack. What can you say about this family… haa.”
She shook her head and made another call, speaking as she was walking out.
“Hello? Do you still have the number for Elder Qiu’s family? The hospital needs it…”
Yin Ren’s and Zhong Chengshuo’s chopsticks both froze at the same time.
For a city where no human had set foot in for 200 years, Shu Jun’s speculation was quite simple.
There were no green plants in the erosion zone. At most, some gray-white mutated plants grew sparsely. In the worst case, the city was crowded with mutant beasts. After so many years of fighting, Shu Jun had seen many city ruins on the edge of the erosion zone, and the situation was similar.
But he had never seen the scene in front of him.
It was a good thing that people couldn’t reach here. Even though Shu Jun could fight through the beasts and create a bloody rain, he was still briefly absent-minded for a few seconds when he saw the scene in front of him.
The city was still there, not reduced to ruins, but all the buildings were twisted and deformed, like a child’s playdough creation. There were black threads sticking in the gaps between buildings like dense spider webs that covered most of the sky. The streets were only black, white, and gray, but they were tidy. Four-legged monsters with human organs strolled leisurely on the streets, neither too many nor too few.
That was the relatively normal part.
There was no smog inside the city. Even standing at the entrance of the city, they could clearly see the appearance of the four-legged monsters—there were also soft threads like honey sticking behind them; countless threads swayed and mixed with the buildings, leading to the sky.
Shu Jun could see the end of those threads.
The soft threads led to the center of the city, where a half-hill-sized head laid.
Its skin texture was similar to that of the four-legged monsters, with human skin patterns but had a corroded luster. The head laid quietly on its side in the center of the city, with no obvious separation between the neck and the ground, like a pile of melted ice cream. The erosion seeped in all directions, pulling out countless sticky and soft black threads.
If this place was a weird insect nest, then it was the core of that nest.
The facial features of the head were much more regular than those of the four-legged monsters, but from a human perspective, the face was twisted and terrifying, as if it had been severely burned. Its eyes were slightly open, occasionally blinking, revealing a hint of murky white under the eyelids. Perhaps because the difference in strength was too great that Shu Jun couldn’t feel the breath or emotions coming from that head.
They can’t win.
That was Shu Jun’s first reaction.
Compared to it, whether it was himself, Zhu Yanchen, or the four-legged monsters around them, they were just ants. Even if it lay still and let him attack, he might not be able to destroy its brain with one fell swoop.
Is this a real alpha-level Erosion Swamp?
Zhu Yanchen raised his head and looked at the head from a distance. His face was covered, and Shu Jun couldn’t see his expression. The four-legged monsters around them were still busy and in high spirits. On the other side, the four-legged monsters that were originally in the city deliberately avoided them, and whispers could be heard from the surroundings.
“A’Yan,” Shu Jun reminded, lest the person observe too intently.
To be honest, Shu Jun didn’t know if the concentration of the erosion substance here could be measured. The air had become thick and viscous. Even with protective gear and medication, there were limits to human resistance. When dealing with ordinary storms, the waterproof function of raincoats and umbrellas still worked. But now their situation was more like falling into a pool, with the erosion substance surging from all sides and almost seeping into their bones.
Zhu Yanchen couldn’t hold on for long in this situation.
Fortunately, Marshal Zhu was aware of this too. He fiddled with the instrument in his hand and took the initiative to hug Shu Jun. “Let’s go.”
Shu Jun had already packed the supplies in his hands and was ready to flee at a moment’s notice since the illusion was lifted—they were currently at the door and still had a chance to escape. Once they got close to the head, it would be difficult to say.
He didn’t hold back, and the high concentration of the erosion substance actually helped him. A violent storm swept around, several times stronger than usual, and the four-legged monsters were blown away instantly. Shu Jun let Zhu Yanchen hug him, holding two bags of supplies in his hands, and flew hastily towards the path they came from.
However, things didn’t go so smoothly.
The sticky black silk wrapped around and condensed into a strangely shaped giant that was created out of thin air. It looked like it came out of a child’s crude drawing, with an extremely twisted body structure that completely defied biology—not long after it was created, it couldn’t support its weight. The flesh on the giant’s body burst open in clumps and fell to the ground along with its bones.
But it could still move.
Ignoring its splattering black blood, the giant opened its arms towards Shu Jun, trying to embrace the two escapees. Shu Jun narrowly avoided it, almost being hit head-on. The giant was just too big, with the thickness of its arms comparable to that of a lighthouse. Shu Jun didn’t want to imagine the consequences of being hit by it.
The most troublesome thing was not its size.
The sticky silk was wrapped around the giant’s body, and several strands stuck to Shu Jun. He could feel the freezing hostility that was transmitted through the silk, causing him to shudder as he tried to break free, but the spider-like silk stuck tighter and tighter, making it impossible for him to escape.
The four-legged monsters let out sharp cries, and more and more silk began drifting towards them.
Once caught, it would be over.
The dying giant was still flailing at the city gate. Shu Jun held his breath, flying nimbly in the air, doing his best to prevent more silk from wrapping around him. Zhu Yanchen freed up one hand and continuously fired purification shots at the few strands of silk that stuck to them. However, there was just too much erosion substance in the air, and the purification bullets were consumed near the muzzle before they touched the soft silk.
Shu Jun tried to assist with wind blades, but the effect was still pitiful—they looked like two fools insisting on washing their clothes in a mud pit.
Zhu Yanchen stopped moving and fell into deep thought.
“This is the first time I’m kiting in the literal sense. Any suggestions? I really need some advice now.”
Sweat dripped down Shu Jun’s cheeks as he used all his strength to control the wind. The soft silk threads that wrapped around him were becoming more and more difficult to dodge. On the other side, the giant started self-destructing in a bloody mess as soon as it appeared. Shu Jun didn’t even know where to start. It no longer had a human form and was now just a bloody skeleton, screaming in agony and struggling like a mad dog. Every time it struggled; it was a dangerous attack.
“Suppress your erosion substance,” Zhu Yanchen said. “It’s been tracking you, not me. Your previous guess was correct. Like those four-legged Erosion Swamps, it also identifies things based on their erosion substance.”
Even if those small Erosion Swamps were stupid, the one in the center of the city didn’t seem to be. Shu Jun didn’t think he could get past it with just substitutes created from blood and mud. He couldn’t control the concentration of erosion substance by frantically sucking up and spitting out water like Monday did either.
Shu Jun was at a loss.
“To give an analogy, the higher the concentration of erosion substance, the brighter the ‘light’ that activates. You’re the most noticeable light, and it just needs to follow your light.”
As if sensing Shu Jun’s confusion, Zhu Yanchen further explained. Despite being on such a fierce battlefield, his voice was calm and steady.
“Using a bloody bandage as a substitute is like creating a small bulb with equivalent brightness to impersonate yourself; diluting the erosion substance with water, is like directly reducing the brightness of the bulb. Now I suggest you turn off the light voluntarily.”
“How do I turn it off? By pretending to be dead?” Shu Jun tasted a hint of bitterness, barely dodging a bunch of silk threads aimed at his face.
“Let your erosion substance play dead.”
Here it comes again. Shu Jun felt bitter once again as Marshal Zhu started to assign him another impossible task.
“This is too abstract, Grand Marshal!” Shu Jun let out a cry of despair, barely dodging a cluster of silk threads coming towards his face.
“You’ve done it before.” Zhu Yanchen hugged his arm with some force. “Do you remember a few days ago when you carried me to the inn?”
“I remember.”
“I don’t know what you did, but you made the erosion substance in my body much calmer. Think back to what you were thinking at the time and try to do it more thoroughly.”
His thoughts?
His thoughts at that time were simple—Zhu Yanchen wasn’t feeling well and needed to rest, so he needed to stay as quiet as possible. If the surroundings could be quieter too, then that would be even better.
Could such an ordinary thought really work?
However, Zhu Yanchen was an expert in not wasting time with meaningless talk. Shu Jun didn’t continue to question and closed his eyes. The horrifying city was left behind his eyelids, and only darkness lay in front of him.
Don’t panic. Stay focused.
Everything had to remain quiet.
No, take it a step further. Everything around him must remain completely quiet, preferably without making a sound. The situation was a matter of life and death, and Shu Jun didn’t care where the outside noises were coming from. He didn’t know if this was considered staying focused, but he could confirm one thing—the desire was strong and genuine.
Suddenly, there was a soft snap next to him.
He didn’t know when, but the threads were snapped one by one. They floated aimlessly in the air, like snakes without a target. Shu Jun dared not breathe or make any unnecessary movements. He circled around the giant, still screaming in pain, and flew towards the outskirts of the city at his fastest speed ever.
Shu Jun could feel Zhu Yanchen’s tense body gradually relax as the air cleared.
“Go southwest,” Marshal Zhu whispered hoarsely. “You can’t maintain a suppressive state throughout the journey. There’s an old stronghold in the southwest where we can hide.”
“Okay.” Shu Jun finally breathed a sigh of relief. “What about you? The situation in X city is beyond expectations, and it’s probably a waste of time to investigate there.”
“I’ve taken a lot of pictures, and I need to send the chips out as soon as possible. The erosion here is too severe, and the chips will soon be obsolete. Then… I can help you test some data and stabilize your new skills.”
Zhu Yanchen’s tone was a little vague.
“There will also be some information in the base, and providing some supplementary data would be helpful… The situation in X City is beyond my expectations, and the trip to the seaside may have to be canceled.”
“I hope you mean going home early instead of camping here,” Shu Jun muttered. “Wait, are you talking about that stronghold?”
Flying at an extremely fast speed, it didn’t take long for the horrifying city to disappear from their sight. At first, there were some four-legged monsters wandering in the suburbs, but as they walked farther away, they could only see common mutant beasts wandering around the Erosion Swamps. Although the nearby erosion level was still frighteningly high, at least it was a familiar sight.
In the wilderness, the man-made buildings were particularly eye-catching.
Although it was a stronghold 200 years ago, it didn’t look much different from the present. Shu Jun slowly landed, not sensing any abnormal energy around him—to avoid being deceived by illusions again, he had circled around the stronghold in various patterns for a long time, even asking for Monday’s opinion.
Scared by the situation in X City, Monday’s mood was quite bad. “Get lost!”
“It seems there is no problem.” Shu Jun twisted his greatsword and finally ended his patrol. “I wonder if the rooms here are still usable.”
The answer was no.
The purifiers here had long stopped working. Strange mutant plants emerged from the cracks in the walls, and the bed sheets were covered in round, bulging mold that was black and white, like piles of eyeballs. Cups and jars were scattered all over the floor, covered in thick dust that completely covered the traces of human existence.
Shu Jun and Zhu Yanchen exchanged glances and started to descend underground.
The condition underground was better. The rooms deep underground still maintained their original state, without too many strange invasive creatures.
Shu Jun opened each door one by one and soon discovered the player storage area. Rows of hibernation pods lay quietly, like coffins. Shu Jun hesitated for a moment, then walked in first. The atmosphere between the two was a bit awkward for a moment.
This was the place where the first batch of “players” logged into the “game”.
Shu Jun originally thought he would see a lot of corpses, but when he looked at each hibernation pod, there were no bones or even a speck of dust inside.
Something was off.
As they walked along, they hadn’t seen any corpses. Although the erosion ability of the erosion substance was strong, it shouldn’t have been able to consume bodies to the point where not even bones were left.
“…Was this base shut down before the Erosion Swamp attacked?” Shu Jun searched around but found nothing. 200 years had passed, and even ordinary light bulbs couldn’t function properly, let alone precision instruments.
“This was Zhu Rong’s stronghold, and it must have been in use at the time.” Zhu Yanchen’s tone was a bit solemn. “It shouldn’t be this clean here. Let’s keep looking.”
Shu Jun nodded and searched each room with Zhu Yanchen, collecting dead rats, insect shells, and curled-up spiders. They even stumbled upon a dried-up fish tank, where a gray-white lump of flesh wriggled and filled the tank to the brim. With a numb expression, Shu Jun threw it out the door.
They had seen almost everything on their way down, but conspicuously absent were the skeletal remains of humans.
Until they reached the deepest part underground.
“If there’s still nothing here. Let’s cook dinner and take a break first.” Shu Jun waved the flashlight around. “I’m a bit tired. If we keep looking, I probably won’t be able to suppress the erosion substance anymore.”
“Okay.” Zhu Yanchen held another flashlight. The concentration of erosion substance wasn’t high here, and he seemed to have recovered a bit.
“I haven’t been to the deepest part of a stronghold before.” Seeing the other party’s condition improve, Shu Jun relaxed a little and began to find topics to chat about. “What’s usually in the deepest level?”
Zhu Yanchen was silent for a few seconds. “Synthetic human breeding equipment.”
…Okay, the atmosphere just got even more awkward. Shu Jun took a deep breath and went to push the door in front of him.
The door didn’t budge.
Shu Jun tried to use his erosion to form a hook so he could break the lock from the inside, but the strand of erosion substance flailed around for a while without making any sound of metal cracking. He frowned and swung Monday, but only got a scream from Monday, leaving no scratch on the door.
“Zhu Rong was the top biological expert at that time, and he did quite a bit of research on erosion. This used to be his laboratory, and the anti-erosion ability here shouldn’t be underestimated.” Zhu Yanchen touched the door panel. “As long as the erosion material is completely blocked, another alpha won’t be able to find you. It’s very suitable as a practice field for you to freely use.”
After speaking, he pulled out his gun. “But if there are no bodies even here…we can’t stay here for long unless we find a reason.”
“Don’t you have any guesses?”
“No.” Zhu Yanchen squatted down, took out a set of surgical tools from his briefcase-like bag, and began to pick the lock.
“…You really know everything. Seriously, why does a marshal need to learn how to pick locks?”
Zhu Yanchen didn’t answer. He fiddled with it for five or six minutes, inputted a few electrical currents, and the door slowly opened. A foul and wet smell instantly hit them, and Shu Jun covered his nose as he followed Zhu Yanchen into the room.
There were sluggish, sizzling sounds in the room. Shu Jun only heard a snap, and the large room was instantly lit up.
“There’s the sound of a motor here.” Zhu Yanchen stood in front of the switch. “The lights can still barely work.”
“It seems we don’t have to leave.” Shu Jun answered with a nasal voice.
A dry corpse sat silently in front of the table, with withered flesh tightly attached to the bones, and the white clothes on its body had become a decayed brown color. It had lowered its head slightly, and its hollow eye sockets faced the empty tabletop. There was a gun at the foot of the corpse, and the bloodstain on it wasn’t covered by the accumulated dust.
A name tag was hanging on the corpse’s clothes with the words “Zhu Rong” that was very striking.
“…Zhu Rong committed suicide?” Shu Jun looked at the state of the corpse for a while. “He shot himself in the mouth.”
“Our records here say ‘sacrificed in the disaster in X City’. Many people went missing during the evacuation process in X City at that time, and no one could go back to the erosion zone to search, so they were all declared dead.” Faced with his supposed ancestor, Zhu Yanchen didn’t show any extra emotions.
Shu Jun didn’t answer.
Behind the corpse was a glass observation window, from which he could see the tightly arranged breeding tanks inside. As a device that required a lot of electricity, the power to the breeding tanks had long been cut off, and the liquid inside was so murky that only the outlines of the contents could barely be seen.
They looked like swollen people, but not quite like people—rows of small bodies floated in the breeding tanks like a scene from a nightmare. Zhu Yanchen hesitated for a few seconds before going forward and pulling down the curtain. “…Don’t look.”
Shu Jun lowered his gaze and then quickly closed the still open door. “We’ll eat here and talk it out. <Erosion> barely mentioned anything about Zhu Rong. What’s his story?”
“Over two hundred years ago, purification in the surrounding area could only be done by humans themselves, leading to a large number of severely ill patients with erosion. The hibernation pod was for patients with severe erosion. At that time, medicine couldn’t relieve their pain, so it was better to put their minds into the virtual world—that was Zhu Rong’s original proposal.”
Zhu Yanchen glanced at the corpse.
“Later, some patients began to resist reality, subconsciously regarding ‘over there’ as the real world. It was just self-deception in despair.”
“But Zhu Rong was inspired,” Shu Jun said while crossing his arms.
“Zhu Rong had been researching highly tolerant experimental animals to replace humans in purifying the surrounding area. He started with mice, then dogs. But their intelligence was too low, and their lifespan was too short.”
As Zhu Yanchen spoke, he flipped through the items on the corpse. Shu Jun looked at his back and suspected that he was deliberately avoiding eye contact.
“After being inspired, he started using humans as materials. He fragmented the genes of highly tolerant humans, randomly selected and recombined them, and selectively supplemented them with gene fragments from other species—these hybrids had enough tolerance and intelligence. Except for their short lifespan, they had no other defects.”
So it turned out that they didn’t even have a template. It was just a random product of a jigsaw puzzle. No wonder Zhu Yanchen had said before that “the composite of each synthetic person is different”. Shu Jun snorted.
“As long as the hibernation pod is reasonably modified, allowing the synth to mistake the purification project for a game, they won’t have much resentment. Zhu Rong successfully used synthetic humans to replace ordinary humans, and the human death rate greatly decreased. Over the years, the player system has also been continuously improved, and the result is what you see.”
Shu Jun grunted.
For himself, this person was the originator of all nightmares, but for humanity, Zhu Rong was likely to be hailed as a hero. Thinking about it this way, the situation in front of him seemed even more strange. Could it be he found that synthetic humans had serious problems and committed suicide out of fear of punishment? After so many years, humanity still insisted that the tragedy in X City was a natural disaster and continued to use synthetic humans without any signs of exposing the problem.
“So what’s going on in this scene?”
“I don’t know.” Zhu Yanchen lowered his gaze. “The Zhu family records of Zhu Rong are also scarce. But this person was very clever. Since he chose to commit suicide here, there must be clues he left behind.”
However, it seemed that Marshal Zhu didn’t find anything—he stopped his search and took out a recording chip from the device to install it onto the messenger mutant beast. But before he finished, a device without a memory chip emitted a sound.
[Synthetic human personalities cannot be controlled and should not be mass-produced. We were supposed to produce a minimum to ensure the normal operation of the purification work. The current number of synthetic humans has seriously exceeded the limit… This is a dangerous and uncontrollable project that can only be used as a transitional means. Once humans have escaped the survival crisis, the player system must be abolished immediately.]
[My research on possible vulnerabilities and risks of the player system was forcibly terminated, but I have handed over my interim results to the people I trust.]
[I do not accept any further research on improving the player program, nor do I accept any threats against my parents on this basis. I cannot leave the Zhu family, but I can withdraw from the project in this way.]
[When you find my body, I am probably already decomposing. I do not need any appearance repair. Just let me leave like this.]
[I’m sorry.]
The voice was young and unfamiliar, calm but with suppressed pain. The message continued to repeat without any new information.
Suddenly, Shu Jun realized a problem, and a chill crawled up his spine. He was sure that Zhu Yanchen had also thought of the same thing.
According to the message, Zhu Rong deliberately closed the door and delayed the time for the discovery of the body so that he could leave with the most embarrassing appearance. But the premise of the plan was that people would eventually come to find him when they discovered something was wrong.
This only meant one thing—Zhu Rong had already died before the attack of the Erosion Swamp. People hadn’t had the chance to discover this and were driven out of the city.
Shu Jun thought Zhu Rong’s last words could solve some problems, but it only made the disaster in X City more mysterious. He lost his appetite and said, “Let’s go.”
“What?”
“The practice of suppressing the erosion substance, the sooner I can master it, the sooner we can leave here, right?” Shu Jun couldn’t help but look at the glass window. “The things you saw in the city, my blood sample, plus Zhu Rong’s last words. If you want to prove that the player system has problems, these should be enough, right?”
“…I’ll send out the data from this period first, and then we’ll start when we get back.” Zhu Yanchen stood up. “But there is still some missing data. I promise you that I won’t rashly approach X City until we figure out the current situation.”
“Okay.” Shu Jun watched Zhu Yanchen open the door. “Wait, I’ll take… A’Yan!!!”
It was no longer an empty corridor on the other side of the door, but a murky eye. It squeezed into the entire door frame and looked inside.
Zhu Yanchen reacted quickly. He tried to avoid it as soon as possible and threw the mutant beast and chip in his hand to Shu Jun. However, it was a room with no way out, and he was too close to the door. A strand of filament twisted into a long spear and directly pierced his abdomen.
“Keep it safe!” This was the first time Shu Jun had heard Zhu Yanchen shout so loudly. “Don’t worry, it didn’t try to kill me…urgh.”
Before he finished speaking, the eye retreated and pulled Zhu Yanchen out of the door. Shu Jun grabbed the chip in one hand and the sword in the other, then immediately swung forward. But before his sword could land, the eye disappeared.
What went wrong? Did he not hide his breath well enough?
Why did the alpha-level Erosion Swamp from X City personally chase after them?
Shu Jun didn’t take the stairs; he simply hacked open the concrete floor with his sword and rushed straight up. When he reached the outside, Shu Jun immediately threw the damn chip into the sky and watched the small mutant beast fly away. Then he turned to the giant skull not far away.
That thing was too big. Earlier, it had only stretched its eye like a snail into the corridor and stuffed it in, but now it was retracting it. Zhu Yanchen was strung up next to the eye, but he didn’t give up resistance as the sound of a purification gun was constant in Shu Jun’s ears.
But the opponent was like a mountain.
The eye of the skull retracted, and its terrifying human face took shape again. It didn’t open its mouth, but Shu Jun heard its voice. Unlike those four-legged monsters, the voice entered his brain and was as intense as piercing his heart, twisting his internal organs into a knot.
“Is he your friend?”
It wasn’t a thought that came through, but an actual human voice. The voice belonged to a young woman, and her tone was somewhat strange, as if she hadn’t spoken in a long time.
“He’s your friend, isn’t he?” Seeing that Shu Jun didn’t respond, she began to answer her own question.
Shu Jun’s hand holding the sword became cold. No matter how he looked at it, he was not her opponent.
But he had to rescue Zhu Yanchen. Aside from their cooperative relationship, if Zhu Yanchen had come alone to investigate as a human, he would only need to make a record and wouldn’t be targeted by these chaotic things. Since this thing had asked out loud, the target was obviously him.
“What do you want? Intelligence?” Shu Jun chose to answer directly with words, his eyes constantly searching for a loophole in the direction of Zhu Yanchen. “Let him go, and we can talk.”
The lips of the skull didn’t move, but a string of laughter smashed into his brain.
“I want you to be more serious,” she said. “You clearly have some ability, but as soon as you saw me, you ran away. That won’t do.”
She provocatively extended her soft threads and waved them in front of Zhu Yanchen’s face. Shu Jun drew his sword immediately, and Zhu Yanchen took the opportunity to fire several shots. However, those soft threads quickly swelled and turned into a large mass of pulsing flesh, and both the sword and the bullets felt like they were hitting cotton. Shu Jun watched helplessly as the other party was pulled away again and warm blood was flung onto his face.
It was like a cat playing with two mice.
“If you want information, come and take it. It’s just a little bit of flesh, and I’m not someone who can’t bear pain,” Shu Jun gritted his teeth.
“Show some respect for your elders.” Countless threads surrounded Shu Jun, each one glaring menacingly. “You’re a ‘player’ too—you should know that’s not what I want.”
The erosion matter piled up layer upon layer beside her head, emitting a disgusting, sticky sound.
“If you had asked me a hundred years ago, I would have wanted to go home.”
She said, her voice barely fluctuating.
“Now, I need you to kill me… What’s your ranking before death?”
“First,” Shu Jun dryly answered, and now that “first” was just a joke.
“How coincidental. I was first too.” The laughter in the voice of the erosion swamp grew even stronger. “You better put in your maximum effort—otherwise, I’ll just devour you and turn your friends into a snack.”
…This time, he might have bumped into his true kind.
They had underestimated the Erosion Swamp in X City. As a peak warrior from 200 years ago, she was definitely more familiar with the surrounding terrain than they were. If they fled directly, they would probably be discovered by her, as Zhu Yanchen had guessed. But if they disappeared completely, she might be able to guess where they were going to escape to.
From the moment she had locked onto them, they were destined to be unable to escape.
“Since you want to die so badly, you can work harder on your own. No need to go through all this trouble,” Shu Jun said, while delaying time and quickly thinking about tactics.
“It seems like the Erosion Swamp hasn’t affected you yet.” The laughter in the woman’s voice disappeared slightly. “It’s not that easy to deal with. If you want to live, that’s fine. If you want to die, that’s even better. The latter requires you to find stronger opponents—even if I don’t want to resist, it will take over my brain and fight with all its might. Unfortunately, I have encountered dozens of alpha-level Erosion Swamps, but I still won.”
She slightly widened her eyes, and her cloudy eyes were filled with longing.
“But you’re different. You have a mature brain and interesting abilities. You can even escape from my hands once.”
Yes, that’s it, keep talking. Shu Jun kept his gaze fixed on Zhu Yanchen and continued to consider possible solutions.
There it is.
“You…” Before the next words could come out, Shu Jun gathered the wind under his feet, becoming a blur as he charged towards the silk that trapped Zhu Yanchen.
[Be quiet.] He focused all his energy and stared at the silk that pierced through Zhu Yanchen, then swung his sword down fiercely.
This time the silk didn’t expand and was cleanly cut by the sword.
Without hesitation, Shu Jun grabbed Zhu Yanchen’s arm and immediately ran in the opposite direction. The remaining silks madly attacked, and Shu Jun dodged each one at his fastest speed. But he hadn’t run far when a soft, erosion wall suddenly appeared in front of him.
This time, it was Zhu Yanchen who made the move.
Taking advantage of the distance from the flesh wall, Zhu Yanchen took out two marble-sized objects and threw them out. Immediately, two large holes were blown into the erosion wall, and the explosion almost singed Shu Jun’s hair.
“Lead it to the ground.” Despite being seriously injured, Zhu Yanchen’s voice wasn’t weak or panicked. “That way, I can fight with you.”
“I can fly—”
“You can’t use the same move twice. If I’m not mistaken, we should be trapped under at least three layers of erosion nets. If you turn to deal with those nets, it can take the opportunity to attack you.” Zhu Yanchen took off his gas mask and stuffed a handful of medicine into his mouth.
Then he didn’t put it back on.
“I’ll make sure you’ll live.” Zhu Yanchen’s voice was quite firm. “Shu Jun, first draw its attention to the ground.”
“’Suppressing erosion’… Your ability is really interesting.” The voice sounded in his mind again, with a chilling joy. “I haven’t destroyed an alpha with this kind of ability before. You still have a chance, so please do your best.”
“This is our first on-site tactical cooperation, worth commemorating.” Shu Jun shook his head vigorously and charged towards the ground.
Zhu Yanchen didn’t answer. He took out several canister from his briefcase and put then put it aside carefully.
“We have three advantages. First, it seems to want to fight with you. I won’t ask why. The good thing about fighting between alpha Erosion Swamps is that there won’t be any mutant beasts involved in this level of battle. Your opponent is only it. At most, it can create temporary things.”
“Second, so far, it hasn’t taken me seriously.”
“Third, you’re stronger than it.”
“Are you serious?” Looking at the head the size of a small hill in front of him, Shu Jun couldn’t laugh or cry, and his voice changed a little.
Zhu Yanchen smiled instead, which was the second time Shu Jun had seen him smile. This time, his smile was more natural, with a subtle sense of satisfaction.
“The Erosion Swamp that you merged with is even larger than this. I adjusted your condition every day, and you are very solidly fused with it,” he said softly. “Although there are differences in fusion degree and experience, theoretically, you are stronger than it. Be more confident.”
Shu Jun scratched his gray hair and almost scratched off his scalp. “Forget it. At this point, it has to work—I can’t really drag you down. Even if I lose, I don’t want to lose so miserably.”
The erosion filaments suddenly shook, and the giant Erosion Swamp began to turn towards the ground to attack. Shu Jun and Zhu Yanchen jumped left and right, agilely dodging. Shu Jun couldn’t help but glance at Zhu Yanchen.
This man was clearly seriously injured, but he moved around as if nothing was wrong.
Zhu Yanchen’s movements were standard, but his trajectory was quite interesting. He used the terrain to move through the ruins like a ghost. Many filaments were trapped in the building gaps by him causing the giant head to have a slight deflection. The horrifying face tilted slightly downward.
Shu Jun instantly understood Zhu Yanchen’s intentions.
People couldn’t change their own physiological structural information. This Erosion Swamp retained the appearance of a human head, so the information must also come from a real human head.
There was a high probability that the location of its vulnerability was consistent with the location of the brain.
If he could use “suppression” properly, he might be able to break through that layer of defense and touch its brain. At present, they didn’t have many choices. Although it was unclear whether he could really defeat it after touching it, this was still a tactic worth trying.
Shu Jun immediately soared into the air, cooperating with Zhu Yanchen on the ground. He deliberately circled a few more times, flew high enough, and pretended to be looking for the erosion filament network in the sky, trying to distract the Erosion Swamp’s attention from Zhu Yanchen.
However, as a former warrior, the Erosion Swamp wasn’t easy to deceive. It quickly discovered its posture problem and began to adjust slowly. Shu Jun seized this gap, rushed down from a high altitude, and sprinted towards the temple of the head.
Over-concentrated mental energy made his head throb faintly. He rushed too fast, so the Erosion Swamp didn’t react in time, and it was too late to build up many defenses—
At least that was what it looked like on the surface.
The next second, the annoying laughter appeared again. Just as Shu Jun was about to swing his sword down, a liquid column pierced horizontally, directly piercing his right shoulder. Shu Jun suddenly lost his balance and was heavily impaled onto the nearby ruins, smashing up a large cloud of dust.
“Too direct.” The Erosion Swamp murmured, and more liquid columns followed, with the momentum of piercing Shu Jun into minced meat.
“Really?” Shu Jun propped himself up with his sword, stood up from the ground, and cut off the liquid columns that followed.
Then he slid down one of the liquid columns and once again rushed straight towards the temple.
Zhu Yanchen once said that the Erosion Swamps could be likened to a pack of wolves, with a giant Erosion Swamp resembling the alpha. This “alpha” in its mouth was most likely another alpha-level Erosion Swamp.
The creature in front of them, which seemed to be an Erosion Swamp, didn’t seem much stronger than Monday, but its’ intelligence wasn’t in the same league. Shu Jun never feared battle, nor was he afraid of such a strange creature. But “recklessness” and “bravery” weren’t synonymous, and he would only suffer if he attacked rashly in the midst of being blinded.
It was better to take a step back and take a page out of the Thirty-Six Stratagems*, so Shu Jun reached out to pull Zhu Yanchen, but the latter seemed to be nailed to the ground and didn’t move.
*Proverb referring to the thirty-six stratagems of ancient Chinese military tactics. It implies that sometimes retreat or avoiding conflict can be the most advantageous course of action.
Zhu Yanchen was good at fighting ordinary mutant beasts, but the fact that he lacked front-line experience meant that he was inevitably scared. Shu Jun rubbed his hands and was about to directly carry him away, but Zhu Yanchen neatly pulled out his gun and turned on the flashlight with his other hand.
…He was wrong. Marshal Zhu probably grew ten times more courageous.
The beam of light pierced through the thin fog, illuminating the face of the creature in front of them.
Although Shu Jun had seen many monsters before, he still shuddered in place. At this moment, he truly understood the saying, “Anything could appear in the ruins of a city that humans haven’t set foot in for two hundred years.”
The creature’s skin had a texture similar to that of humans, with a deep gray-black color. Despite its bent and twisted limbs, he could still vaguely make out the structure of its arms and legs. He couldn’t distinguish the teardrop-shaped body of where its head and torso were, and its gray-black membranes covered rib-like structures, with human facial features scattered randomly on the skin, like a jumbled puzzle.
One of the human eyes faced the beam of light and squinted slightly.
Shu Jun swallowed loudly. Compared to this thing, the previous mutant beasts were quite pleasing to the eye. Even the Corpse Parasite, which everyone called for extermination, was as docile and cute as a kitten when compared to this thing.
Even Monday expressed its feelings at the right time. “Wow.”
Only Zhu Yanchen nodded calmly, observing very carefully, as if facing a newly born foal. He even opened his briefcase on the spot, taking out more and more things with the air of a zoologist discovering a new species. Shu Jun could feel the monster’s suspicion, and for a moment, he understood its feelings.
The monster hesitated for a while, then took a few steps closer, slightly lowering its body and swaying ominously. Zhu Yanchen glanced at it and held his gun in his hand. His movements became faster as he operated the machinery, but he didn’t intend to leave.
“Let’s retreat first,” Shu Jun called out.
Zhu Yanchen, who was always calm, shook his head. He stared at the monster, with a hint of strange fanaticism in his movements. “Wait a little longer. It’s okay, this is not an alpha-level Erosion Swamp.”
After a long while, as if he had remembered something, he added seriously, “I won’t die.”
The monster got closer—only about ten steps away from Zhu Yanchen. Its eyes, which resembled those of a human, were vertical and blinked as it focused on Marshal Zhu. Shu Jun recognized the emotional fluctuations; it was the concentration before the hunt.
Shu Jun took a deep breath and then smoothly exploded—
He had seen the handcuffs in the briefcase earlier. Now, Shu Jun pulled out the handcuffs and swiftly put them on Zhu Yanchen. Marshal Zhu was caught off guard and was lifted by Shu Jun in the next second and pressed onto the cargo rail.
“Three days have passed.” Zhu Yanchen shook off the handcuffs as he saw Shu Jun quickly hoist the sail.
“It’s calculated according to the hours we’re chained together.” Shu Jun’s face turned dark as he activated his skills—they really didn’t need Uncle Xiong’s dogs. With the blowing wind in their sails, their sled was fast enough to fly, and the monster was instantly left far behind. “What were you doing just now? Are you courting death?”
“An alpha-level Erosion Swamp couldn’t lead the charge alone. That was a low-level Erosion Swamp; it couldn’t hurt you, and I wouldn’t be killed either.” Marshal Zhu corrected seriously.
“Yes, it couldn’t hurt me, but who knows what abilities it has? I may not be able to protect you. Even if we can escape in time, you may still get injured—your last injury hasn’t healed properly yet. Will just saying ‘I won’t die’ solve the problem?”
Shu Jun harshly threw the briefcase at Zhu Yanchen.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking, Marshal Zhu. ‘This is just a low-level Erosion Swamp. It doesn’t matter if I get hurt. After all, my death is imminent, and there’s no need to worry about post-traumatic complications’. ” Shu Jun’s face became serious, and he lowered his voice as he imitated Zhu Yanchen’s tone. “… Hey, why are you turning your head? Look at me!”
Zhu Yanchen turned his head back, and his lips moved. In the end, he just sighed and stared at Shu Jun.
“If you still consider me a friend, don’t perform stunts in front of me where you can get hurt. Thanks to you, I have sent away many people in the past ten years without knowing it. I’ve seen enough.” Shu Jun’s tone was unusually cold. “I don’t know why you can’t tell me your reasons, but at least consider yourself a human, okay? Do you really think I’m just being polite when I say, ‘I want to help you stay alive’?”
Making sure they were far enough away, Shu Jun found a large rock as cover and stopped the sled.
“If you want to study, you can. I’ll go first and check it out. Worst case, I’ll capture one for you. If you keep getting too close to them, I’ll tie you up.”
“We are only in a cooperative relationship. Don’t forget your position.” Zhu Yanchen tightened the chain of the handcuffs.
Shu Jun didn’t hesitate. “Position? If you really played me from the beginning, and you died so easily, wouldn’t that be worse for me?”
Zhu Yanchen: “…I understand.” There was some truth in those words, but they were still a bit painful. He wanted to laugh again. The shell that had enveloped him for more than ten years had been pried open by the other person’s anger, and it hurt with bitterness.
Round and round they went, but in the end, it was still the same person.
He thought for a moment, reached out and grabbed Shu Jun’s wrist, and spoke in a solemn tone. “I’ll pay attention next time.”
“That’s more like it.”
Shu Jun patted the mud off his body, made a casual gesture, and the wind started blowing in the opposite direction. The mud sled was fast and stable, much more comfortable than when they were running away.
“Now let’s go back and talk about what’s going on in X City. Don’t try to fool me by saying ‘I don’t know the target’ again—walking deep into the erosion zone without care and seeing that thing just now without being surprised—this is not a death-defying adventure at all. You know the situation in X City.”
“I really don’t know the specific situation in the city. I just guessed that there was something there.” Zhu Yanchen pondered for a moment. “I didn’t expect the Erosion Swamp in X City to appear so early either.”
“Uh-huh.” Shu Jun propped his arm on the mud sled railing, holding half of his face with his palm.
“Two hundred years ago, Zhu Rong completed the player system in X City. As the capital at the time, X City was the first city in human history to use synthetic humans. However, the player system at that time wasn’t perfect, and it was not as mature as <Erosion>.”
“Oh, later there was a natural disaster, and the Erosion Swamps migrated from the east to X City. The residents fled to Y City. X City became one of the most severely eroded areas that even the players couldn’t go there.” Shu Jun took over the conversation. “I know these things too.”
“If it was a natural disaster, the giant Erosion Swamp wouldn’t stay in the city for a long time. X City is relatively dry and not suitable for them to inhabit.”
“But you guessed there was something in X City.” Shu Jun frowned.
“Yes, I suspect that the Erosion Swamp at the time is still there, and it wasn’t a natural disaster that destroyed X City, but a man-made disaster. However, there is too little information on Erosion Swamps at present, and my idea is ultimately just a guess without evidence.” Zhu Yanchen held the briefcase in his arms and struggled to get up from a pile of luggage. “As long as the situation in X City is confirmed, I can… Ngh.”
Just as Zhu Yanchen had just sat down, he leaned forward and curled up in pain. Shu Jun looked around. The surrounding darkness was empty, without any anomalies.
“The concentration of erosion substance is wrong,” Zhu Yanchen said with difficulty.
They were still on the outskirts of the erosion zone, and they hadn’t even returned to the river they had come from. How could the concentration of erosion substance suddenly increase? Unless…
Shu Jun’s back ran cold, and he instinctively raised the wind to blow the mud sled away from the boulder. In the next moment, the boulder moved.
Laughter rang out again, and the “boulder” slowly disintegrated. The monsters released their hands and feet, which they had been holding together, and chased after the mud sled. If Shu Jun’s reaction had been a second slower, they would have been caught by that group of monsters.
The appearance of those monsters was quite uniform, almost like they were all made from the same mold as the one by the riverbank.
Zhu Yanchen endured the pain, raised his gun, and stood back-to-back with Shu Jun, who was wielding his greatsword. Before he could adjust his posture, the strong wind blew up, splashing mud and water everywhere. Shu Jun hugged his waist again, and the two of them rushed into the sky together.
“Shh,” Shu Jun whispered in Zhu Yanchen’s ear.
Trying to ignore the warmth beside his ear, Zhu Yanchen looked down.
If it were someone else, they might scream directly. There was clearly no open land around them, with four-legged monsters everywhere, just leaving them with one way out. A group of monsters ran behind the sled, while a few others were secretly pulling it, as if they were guiding it in a specific direction.
“I controlled the water to form a mirage, using illusions to deceive them. If we stay on the sled, we won’t be discovered.” Shu Jun muttered softly. “Just a little trick. Luo Duan likes to use this move.”
“You made a substitute out of erosion substance?” Zhu Yanchen saw the two… what could be considered mud men on the mud sled, with blood-stained bandages wrapped around himself and Shun Jun.
“No one has seen these monsters before. They suddenly appeared, probably coming for me. Since they mistook me for their leader, they probably recognized me based on the characteristics of erosion substance. With limited time, I dumped these substitutes and left some real parts behind. I hope they don’t find out too quickly.”
“No—” Monday’s hoarse shout came from far below.
Zhu Yanchen: “…”
“I can follow them first and retrieve it if necessary. How about you? Are you feeling better?”
“Let’s observe for a few minutes first, and then go back to the sled later.” Zhu Yanchen didn’t immediately answer his question.
“What?!”
“The erosion concentration near X City has always been high. I just wasn’t prepared earlier—there’s medicine in the briefcase. I’ll be fine if I take it in time.” Zhu Yanchen carefully studied the monsters’ route. “They’re taking us in the direction of X City. The speed is good.”
…Don’t make this scary situation sound like taking a taxi. Shu Jun was a little dazed.
“They mistook you for their leader, which means they do have a leader. Based on the current situation, they won’t dispose of us without their leader’s decision… I suspect the illusion started a long time ago. As for the Corpse Parasite and that individual monster, they are just used to test you.”
Zhu Yanchen paused. “The other party has laid such a long line, so they won’t act carelessly. The mud men will be exposed sooner or later. We might as well pretend not to know and take this free ride. You can also take the opportunity to rest and recharge your energy.”
“A’Yan.”
“Hmm?”
“If it weren’t for me, would your original plan have been so thrilling?” As Shu Jun carefully descended, he grumbled. “How about I lead them away first and you follow your original plan…”
“No need.” Zhu Yanchen’s voice sounded amused. “I came for them in the first place. It’s perfect, I don’t have to go looking.”
As soon as they got back on the sled, the crowded group of monsters disappeared instantly. If he hadn’t just looked down from above, Shu Jun would almost believe that they had already escaped. He simply drummed up some wind and let the invisible monsters pull the sled in front, conscientiously disguising the surrounding environment. The sled quickly glided across the “uninhabited” land that looked seemingly peaceful.
Out of sight, out of mind. Shu Jun silently recited, throwing a piece of meat to Monday to shut up its grumbling mouth.
Zhu Yanchen took his medicine and sat up straight, calmly staring in the direction of X City.
Shu Jun always had the feeling that this person’s temperament had changed. Surrounded by invisible monsters, Zhu Yanchen’s satisfaction seemed greater than his fear. He exuded an inexplicable radiance, which didn’t make Shu Jun feel at ease.
It was like fireworks at their most brilliant moment, and then there was only one ending—extinguishment.
‘Hopefully, my intuition won’t come into play this time,’ Shu Jun thought to himself. There was still another month that this person could live.
The four-legged monsters were quite capable. They managed to pull the sled to their destination in less than three days, which should have taken five days. Shu Jun and Zhu Yanchen pretended to be ignorant the whole time, and eventually became numb to their surroundings—they couldn’t see the monsters around them, and occasionally forgetting wasn’t a big deal. Shu Jun occasionally flew high in secret to confirm their location. Other than that, their journey was relatively peaceful.
However, the concentration of the erosion substance around them was too high. Zhu Yanchen took medicine constantly, which made Shu Jun’s stomach hurt.
It had been three days since the four-legged monsters took over the sled before they reached their destination. The illusion melted away like snow and they could fully see the exposed ruins of X City.
‘No matter what Zhu Yanchen’s previous guesses were, he was right,’ Shu Jun thought. There was more than just “something” in X City—the scene in front of him almost made his heart stop.
“A’Yan, quickly take a sample and record it.” Shu Jun took a deep breath. “Then I’ll take you away.”
Kinky Thoughts:
This is the last of the free chapters on jjwxc. If you’ve been enjoying the novel so far and are able to, please consider supporting the author by buying the raws. I used Google Chrome with their auto translate and this guide on how to buy novels on jjwxc. Remember, only with your (financial) support can artists continue to produce more great works.
This was the second time Luo Duan entered Y City. Just like the first time, Yi Ning’s assistant personally drove to pick him up and sent him all the way to Y City’s downtown headquarters. Through the car window, he could see silhouettes of people in the city, but that was all.
As the capital of this land, Y City was many times more prosperous than the stronghold. But compared with the “world” he lived in, it still looked a bit backward and poor. People would use sophisticated electrical appliances scavenged from erosion areas, as well as rough homemade crafts. There may be an oil lamp next to the ultra-thin computer that the boundaries of the times became blurred here.
Seeing the government’s car coming, the people would spontaneously give way and make room. Luo Duan originally thought it was preferential treatment for “players”, but now that he thought about it, the car passed by without stopping halfway meant there may be some deeper meaning in it.
The only place he could really set foot in was the courtyard of the Central Headquarters.
Luo Duan chuckled a few times, watched the assistant leave in a hurry, and waited in Yi Ning’s reception room.
Just like Zhu Yanchen was to Shu Jun, in terms of setting, Yi Ning was also regarded as his immediate superior. That was all for ordinary players. As the captain of the second-ranked team in the world , “Groundwater”, Luo Duan had the right to apply for a meeting with Yi Ning. Compared with Shu Jun, who treated his immediate boss like air, Luo Duan was softer and got along with Yi Ning quite amicably.
What used to be his usual behavior had now become an excellent cover.
The door of the reception room opened.
“Bitter Rain.” Yi Ning, with a perfect NPC image, called his game ID as usual. “There’s no task right now, but you came to see me especially. Do you have any other needs?”
“I want to apply for indoor practice.” Luo Duan smiled slightly.
Yi Ning frowned. “Indoor practice” was the nominal resident mission of <Erosion>. As the name suggested, the location was indoors, and the content was quite simple—players needed to fight mutant beasts of all levels and couldn’t bring backup. During the practice process, players still had the possibility of death and exit.
For the United Government, the “indoor practice” was a controlled, simulated battlefield, and researchers used it to collect combat data of synths. Ordinary indoor practice could be done at the border stronghold, but since Luo Duan specifically proposed…
“I’ve already played through the border strongholds.” Luo Duan continued, “I’ve read the information, and the high-level training ground is underground at headquarters. I want to apply for it.”
Yi Ning didn’t agree right away. “I hope you can think about it again. Your ability is partial to group support, not suitable for individual training. It’s really not worthwhile to hurt your body on impulse.”
To put it bluntly, Luo Duan was strong, but his physical condition was questionable—he was almost at the end of his synthetic lifespan, and it was difficult to say if he could still use his full abilities. Moreover, even if Luo Duan was already on the verge of being scrapped, it seemed like a waste to use such an important resource as cannon fodder in battles.
Luo Duan seemed to have anticipated his response and refused to budge. “My team is on vacation now, and I happen to have some free time. Sir, I am about to retire soon, and this may be my last visit here. I just want to… experience a little more.”
After he finished speaking, Luo Duan’s smile grew wider. His appearance matched well with his water-based ability—his facial features were soft, and he had a gentle and elegant temperament that made it hard for people to feel disgusted with him.
Luo Duan’s response was reasonable, and it would seem unnatural to push him away any further. Yi Ning had to follow the regulations. “Alright, I will arrange a room for you here. There will be someone to accompany you during your stay, and the mission can be interrupted at any time. If you are seriously injured, we will also forcefully interrupt the mission. Do you have any other questions?”
“What about normal injuries?”
“Treat them until you can fight again.”
“I understand, thank you.” Luo Duan politely extended his hand, which was covered with black gloves. “The application form has already been filled out. I appreciate your approval.”
Yi Ning reached out his hand and shook hands with him—Strange, did Luo Duan wear gloves before?
“See you tomorrow.” Luo Duan quickly withdrew his hand with a pure smile. “…I’m really looking forward to it.”
“If you are concerned about losing to the Blackbirds, I have to say that their captain hasn’t ever applied for this.” Before Luo Duan left, Yi Ning couldn’t help but add.
Luo Duan paused at the door for a few seconds but didn’t turn back.
“…That’s because he doesn’t like being indoors and prefers to charge in the wilderness. I don’t have such strong attacking power, so this training is just right for me.”
Meanwhile, Shu Jun was charging in the wilderness, but his mood wasn’t so good.
An hour ago, Uncle Pan had once again demonstrated his business acumen—when inquiring for information, Zhu Yanchen accidentally revealed their plan to buy a sled. As a result, just as they had packed their bags and were about to leave the inn, Uncle Pan had already found the sled merchant and guide for them.
“Here is their contact information. If you’re not satisfied, there are others. I only need a 10% fee for his introduction. He sells quality goods at reasonable prices and never cheats people. I can just add the total cost to your lodging, food, and sauce expenses, so you don’t have to worry.”
Zhu Yanchen was about to take out his wallet, and Shu Jun suspected that the Grand Marshal had never heard the phrase “shop around”.
He laughed it off, put down his luggage, and dragged Zhu Yanchen to the market for a round. As it turned out, Uncle Pan hadn’t lied—even including the introduction fee, the price he offered was still lower than the market rate.
In the end, they came back to the inn with two full bags of newly purchased supplies.
“Back already?” Uncle Pan greeted with a smile. “You two are new faces, so they won’t be polite to outsiders.”
Shu Jun: “…” They were wearing masks. How could they tell?
“Those who often go to the erosion zone outside have deformed bones. You two have straight spines, and you’re buying mud sleds and looking for a guide. It’s obvious you’re newcomers.” Uncle Pan seemed to have read his mind. “I’ll contact someone for you… Oh, it’s still the same guy. Come back next time, both of you!”
Zhu Yanchen paid quickly and then glanced at Shu Jun.
“What are you looking at?” Shu Jun raised his face. “Uncle Pan is an honest man. I have nothing to say… but I was just afraid you’ll be ripped off. Saving money isn’t wrong.”
He thought of the money he had saved for half his life in the so-called “real world”, now all worthless, and his heart felt tight.
Zhu Yanchen continued to stare.
“Save some money, so when we come back here, we can splurge and celebrate.” Shu Jun’s confidence wasn’t diminished.
Zhu Yanchen was stunned and his gaze softened—Shu Jun’s tone was quite certain, infectious as always. For a moment, he even had the illusion that he could survive.
But they didn’t need to waste energy on this. Marshal Zhu thought for a moment, canceled hiding the amount in his electronic wallet, and showed Shu Jun the string of numbers.
…Shu Jun’s eyes glossed over, and he didn’t speak to him for half an hour. When they had packed up their belongings again, Shu Jun muttered sadly, “If so much money is transferred out, won’t people think you were ‘kidnapped’?”
Zhu Yanchen’s tone was serious. “It will be fine. I usually carry this much.”
Shu Jun: “…”
An hour later, the two of them were racing through the mud in the erosion zone. The sky was a familiar leaden gray, with only a few scattered stones and dead trees on the gray-black ground mixed with mutated beast paw prints and sled tracks. It was unknown whether the recent events had affected them, but there were only them in sight, and the air had a touch of desolation.
The heavily eroded land was somewhat swampy and soft underfoot, with mud puddles everywhere, making it difficult for both walking and vehicles. Faced with this kind of road condition, the rich would take mud boats, and the poor would use mutant beasts to pull mud sleds. Over time, many people dedicated themselves to paddling mud boats and driving mud sleds and charged high prices as “erosion zone guides”.
The guide was also a bald, muscular man, similar in size to Uncle Pan. He had two lumps on his head, but they were brown. Shu Jun glanced at his appearance and wondered if Uncle Pan was really that honest—Did they really not get cheated?
“I heard from my brother that you two want to go east?” The guide had a gas mask on his face, but the laughter inside could be heard. “I can only send you two for two days but I won’t go any deeper.”
“Two days is enough,” said Zhu Yanchen.
“The south is also good. Someone dug up a jewelry store there not long ago. Why bother with the east? Actually, with the amount of luggage you have, you can take a small boat to the south. If you take the mud sled, you’ll have to add a cargo compartment, which would tire my dogs out, haa.” The guide obviously wanted to continue chatting.
The “dogs” he mentioned were pulling the mud sled. The pack of dogs was all black, with drool dripping from their split heads. They had six legs and were running on the mud like they were walking on flat ground. In front of their heads hung black and red meat, like a donkey being led by a carrot.
“Speaking of the road to the east, it’s not that I’m scared. I used to be able to send people on a three-day journey, but now it’s only two days at most. I don’t know if my brother told you. There has been trouble over there recently—it’s really evil. A group of people found a strange monster’s corpse…”
Now they knew where Uncle Pan’s endless information came from. Marshal Zhu slowly lay down and gave a look to Shu Jun, saying, “It’s up to you now”.
“What’s your name?” Shu Jun took over the burden and interrupted the chatter of the guide. “Mr. Pan…?”
“In fact, my brother and I are from the old Chen family. Our surname isn’t Pan. It’s just because of these two lumps on our heads.” The guide chuckled, “But in business, it’s best to have a name that’s easy to remember. You can just call me Uncle Xiong.”
Shu Jun: “…Uncle Xiong.”
The next two days were uneventful. Except for the unchanging physical examination given to Shu Jun by Zhu Yanchen, Zhu Yanchen seemed to have fallen in love with sleeping. Whenever he had time, he would take a nap. Shu Jun could understand his feelings—there was nothing to see in the heavily eroded area. Let alone the Erosion Swamp, the mutant beasts they encountered were only small cats and dogs. With an outsider by their side, they couldn’t speak freely.
Zhu Yanchen slept after work and worked after sleeping while Shu Jun could only go out to hunt a few mutant beasts to eat while Uncle Xiong was sleeping. After eating, he had to bring back some meat to feed Monday, so it wouldn’t be hungry and bark while Uncle Xiong was awake.
They thought they could endure for two days, but the problem arose on the second night.
On the second night, they encountered a river.
The water in the river was naturally not clear, but it was particularly conspicuous in the barrenness. When Uncle Xiong saw the river, he said, “This is the place. You have to sled by yourselves from here on.”
As he spoke, he took off the cargo compartment hanging behind the sled and helped them install it to the sled’s head. “Do you want to buy a few dogs? You’ll tire yourself out paddling. I can sell you a few dogs since I’m going back alone anyway.”
Before he finished speaking, Zhu Yanchen decisively pulled out his gun and shot the first mutant beast in front of him into two pieces.
“Hey, if you don’t want to buy, just say so. What are you doing—fuck me!!!” Uncle Xiong cursed halfway, and his voice changed tone—countless gray-black “straws” drilled out of the body and crawled towards the three of them.
A Corpse Parasite.
Shu Jun clicked his tongue, tore off the cloth that covered his greatsword, and drew it out. The sword was much more convenient than his claws—unlike Zhu Yanchen’s purification gun, its blade could cut through the fine limbs of the Corpse Parasite, which turned to powder and disappeared. With a few elegant slashes, Shu Jun severed a third of the Corpse Parasite’s limbs.
Monday: “Burp.”
Uncle Xiong’s expression changed when he saw the weapon.
“It’s high-tech, high-tech,” Shu Jun quickly explained. “My boss is rich, and we came out to do weapons testing. Right, boss?”
Zhu Yanchen, who was shooting at the Corpse Parasite, almost missed his target. Fortunately, Uncle Xiong was too flustered to inquire further. “Why don’t I take you back? There are Corpse Parasites here, which means there must be an Erosion Swamp nearby. No matter what you two are up to, your lives are more important.”
“It’s fine,” Shu Jun said, letting Monday happily turn the Corpse Parasite into powder. “You go ahead, we can handle it.”
Uncle Xiong didn’t hesitate and quickly pulled the reins, fleeing the scene.
Shu Jun wasn’t too nervous. This wasn’t their first encounter with a Corpse Parasite. It could only attack Zhu Yanchen, who wasn’t an easy target. As long as he kept guarding him, even if an Erosion Swamp came looking for them, Zhu Yanchen would be fine.
“A’Yan, follow me closely.” Shu Jun was much more relaxed without Uncle Xiong watching. This was just a routine battle, or so he thought.
However, at the moment the Corpse Parasite was completely disintegrated by the great sword, Shu Jun heard muffled laughter.
To be precise, it wasn’t a physical sound, but more like an emotion he sensed from the Erosion Swamp. Shu Jun shuddered and broke out in cold sweat.
The Erosion Swamps were like a swarm of bees or ants—a biological aggregate that followed instinct, with some simple emotions and thoughts at most.
Even if it was like Monday had stumbled upon valuable information by sheer luck and gained a brain, their emotions would still be relatively simple. But this laughter was different—it wasn’t the pure laughter of a child, but rather the light laughter of an adult who had been amused.
Suddenly, every nerve in Shu Jun’s body tensed up. He positioned himself in front of Zhu Yanchen, facing the direction where the laughter was coming from, and said, “We have to go.”
Unfortunately, it was too late for that.
A blurry figure appeared in the haze. It was about two meters tall and had the outline of some kind of insect. It had four limbs that were thin and long, with jointed structures that bent several times that lightly supported it on the muddy ground.
At the junction of its four limbs hung a droplet-shaped body. It stood less than a hundred meters away from them, moving slowly and resembled a dancing ghost spider.
Shu Jun was very sure that the laughter was coming from it.
[So it’s not the leader.] Its thoughts came through, without any exact language but with a clear meaning. [Well, of course the leader wouldn’t come to a place like this.]
[Where are your swamps?] It laughed again, throwing out one question after another. [Why do you look so strange?]
[Why aren’t you answering?]
It moved closer again. Cold sweat broke out on Shu Jun’s forehead. The thing’s thought process was too fast, and he had no idea how to respond—he had only had one successful exchange with an Erosion Swamp before, and it was a mindless expletive.
[We already have an alpha, and we only need one.] It said, [Since you’re not answering, you’re an invader.]
At eight in the morning, Zhu Yanchen woke up groggily.
He hadn’t slept so well in a long time. It wasn’t due to mental tranquility but rather a real physical change—in order to hide the lesions that had accumulated over the past decade, Ai Xiaoxiao had removed countless tumors and growths from Zhu Yanchen’s body.
She had kept them as research material, and according to Dr. Ai, there were enough of those things to make another adult.
Zhu Yanchen was well aware that, after countless surgeries, his body was like a patched-up puppet. It looked shiny and polished on the outside, but inside it was already in a state of disrepair.
Therefore, the pain had always been constant—not unbearable but endless, slowly crawling in every corner of his body. Because of this, Zhu Yanchen’s sleep quality had always been poor. He was more accustomed to fragmented sleep than to sleeping soundly. If he could sleep, he would continue sleeping, but if the pain woke him up, he would simply get up and work.
Zhu Yanchen had almost forgotten when he had last slept so long.
His diet hadn’t changed, and neither did the environment by much. It was possible that Shu Jun had done something, but if the other party had made any major moves, he wouldn’t have been completely unaware of it.
This was information worth recording.
Zhu Yanchen looked up at Shu Jun—Shu Jun hadn’t squeezed into his bed but was lying on the sofa next to the purifier. The sofa was a bit narrow, forcing Shu Jun to curl his body awkwardly, barely managing to lie himself down. He held the greatsword in his arms, his mouth half open, and his sharp canine teeth were visible from between his lips as he slept soundly.
The purifier was still running, making a buzzing noise, and there was a scent of pancakes in the air. Zhu Yanchen sat quietly for a while, then put on his coat and got off the bed.
The greatsword was fixed to the purifier by Shu Jun’s body, and it was extremely miserable. At this moment, it didn’t care whether Zhu Yanchen was a friend or foe, and it opened its mouth pitifully. “Help… Help…”
Zhu Yanchen: “……”
Zhu Yanchen ignored the sword’s plea and went to the briefcase on the table. With a light click, the metal buckle made a sound, and the next second, a cold wind blew over his skin, and the blade stopped close to Zhu Yanchen’s two fingers.
Zhu Yanchen didn’t move.
“It’s you.” Shu Jun yawned and put away the sword. “Sorry, I was half asleep. Are you feeling better?”
“Much better.” Zhu Yanchen took out a needle for collecting blood from the box. “Give me your arm. I need to take a blood sample.”
“Let’s have breakfast first. I bought pancakes and baked them on the purifier all night. They are still hot. The boss also gave me a bag of rock sugar, which I baked with them. I’ll mix it to make some sugar water later.” Shu Jun yawned again and released Monday, who was still shouting “Help!” in a rough voice.
Zhu Yanchen nodded politely while holding the blood-drawing needle still.
Shu Jun scratched his messy hair and sighed, extending his arm. After a few days, there was no sign of his physical mutation disappearing.
“Open your mouth,” Zhu Yanchen requested as he placed the blood sample into the testing machine.
But this time, he hesitated for a few seconds. “If you don’t like me wearing gloves, I can take them off.”
Having fabric put in his mouth wasn’t very comfortable, but Shu Jun firmly declined. “Wear them. I’m afraid that if I get hungry, I might bite your finger.”
Zhu Yanchen pulled off his gloves expressionlessly.
Five minutes later.
“…Everything is normal.” Zhu Yanchen looked into Shu Jun’s mouth and touched his mutated teeth for a while. The examination took much longer than last time, and Shu Jun’s jaw was a bit sore, but he could only endure it while looking at Zhu Yanchen’s focused examination.
“Your body has initially stabilized.” Zhu Yanchen took out his wet fingers. “If you feel uncomfortable, remember to tell me at any time.”
Shu Jun rubbed his chin and said sincerely, “The pancake is getting drier, and I’m feeling hungry. I had one last night, and it was really delicious. It also has sauce.”
He didn’t know if he was seeing things, but Zhu Yanchen’s gaze softened a bit. He packed up the briefcase and sat down obediently to eat breakfast. Ignoring the erosion marks, the room was still pretty well decorated. The two sat across from each other and ate breakfast, with a little bit of warmth.
There was a vague sense of déjà vu, and Shu Jun shook his head.
Zhu Yanchen knew nothing of Shu Jun’s psychological activities. “We’ll buy a large sled and go to X City in about ten days. With your physical condition, you don’t need protection to go to X City.”
Shu Jun stared at Zhu Yanchen’s eyes—his brow furrowed as he absentmindedly replied, “Mm.”
“I plan to survey X City for three weeks,” Zhu Yanchen continued. “Then we’ll continue east and walk all the way to the seaside. Finally, we’ll come back… as far as we can go.”
Shu Jun stirred his sugar water with a spoon. “Mm.”
“When I die, you don’t have to worry about the body. Just go back to Y City and find a female doctor named Ai Xiaoxiao. She’s my subordinate, and her research level is top-notch. Although she can’t treat you like me, she can still do a good job of wrapping up loose ends.” Zhu Yanchen spoke calmly, as if he weren’t talking about his own death.
Shu Jun stopped stirring his spoon.
Zhu Yanchen didn’t wait for that “Mm” and looked up. Shu Jun smiled at him and brought up a different topic. “The boss here just said yesterday that there were strange things happening near X City, telling us to stay away. You specifically want to go there, so what’s your goal?”
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“It’s because I don’t know what’s there that I want to confirm it in person. Anything could appear in the city ruins that humans haven’t set foot in for two hundred years.” Zhu Yanchen picked up his handkerchief and wiped his mouth elegantly. “What did the boss say to you? Please tell me.”
“He said my nails were too long and that young people shouldn’t follow this type of fashion.”
“……”
Shu Jun pushed the sugar water in front of Zhu Yanchen and said, “Just kidding. You can ask him yourself later. That uncle is quite talkative, but I can’t catch the main points. After all, I haven’t seen him for more than 200 minutes, so there could be new information that may appear.”
Zhu Yanchen nodded and hurriedly drank all the sugar water, planning to tidy up the cups and plates on the table. Shu Jun reached out his arm and directly grabbed his wrist.
“A’Yan.” Shu Jun’s tone was a bit unquestionable. “I would prefer it if you introduced Ai Xiaoxiao to me in person. To be honest, for the sake of your people, you’d better live longer.”
As he spoke, the smile on Shu Jun’s face disappeared. His vertical pupils shrank a bit, staring at Zhu Yanchen’s reaction.
“If my partner leaves too soon and there’s no more interest involved, I’m not sure what I will do.”
Zhu Yanchen stretched out his other hand and gently opened Shu Jun’s hand.
“I understand,” he said.
Only then did Shu Jun continue to nibble on his pancake, missing Zhu Yanchen’s silent whisper.
“…And I know what you will do,” Zhu Yanchen silently moved his lips.
In Y city.
Marshal Yi Ning’s mood wasn’t very good.
He just wanted to create a stumbling block for Zhu Yanchen at the stronghold, letting the mutant beasts invade from the outside to indirectly prove the necessity of “players” production—even the powerful Zhu Yanchen from a prominent family couldn’t protect himself, which demonstrated the shortage of troops.
If the plan went well, Zhu Yanchen wouldn’t have had any problems. At most, he would suffer some minor injuries and stay in the hospital for one or two months. Yi Ning had made adequate preparations and even reduced the defense of the stronghold, but something went wrong in the process.
They hadn’t released the mutant beasts from the outer circle yet, but one of them escaped from the inside and took Zhu Yanchen himself as hostage. It was like someone knew what they were planning and took the opportunity to act ahead of time.
After the incident, Yi Ning contacted the Tang family, who provided him with financial support. He only wanted ordinary the benefits of public opinion, not assassination.
However, the Tang family claimed they knew nothing about it.
Yi Ning sat back in his chair in annoyance and began to flip through the prepared speech. The rhetoric on it was impassioned, but it wouldn’t be used in the short term.
What is going on?
He came from a commoner background and his parents made a living by living on the edge of the erosion zone, where they licked blood from a knife’s edge every day. They died of chronic diseases caused by erosion when Yi Ning was only four years old. He survived alone, stumbling and suffering through countless difficulties, to climb to his current position. No one knew better than him what benefits the “players” production would bring to the people.
At present, “players”—synthetic humans—were only stationed at the strongholds and were under the jurisdiction of the United Government for purification and exploration outside. If his vision was realized, lower-performing synthetic humans could be stationed in the city as “life players”, contributing to labor. The less efficient ones could be sold in batches to wealthy people, and people wouldn’t need to venture into the erosion zone to mine for resources.
This way, people could completely get rid of jobs that have erosion risk, and the workload would be greatly reduced.
Truth management could be a hassle, but as long as the goals were established, the rest could be gradually resolved. Even if the synthetic people inside the city caused trouble, they could still be suppressed by the regular army.
The ordinary people quite liked this proposal. Not only did it reduce their workload, but no one wanted their loved ones to do risky work. On the other hand, Yi Ning, who came from a civilian background, was more likable than the young master of the Zhu family, thus his popularity among the people continued to rise.
However, Yi Ning didn’t relax his vigilance because of this.
Zhu Yanchen was able to hold on until now because of his deep and broad family connections, as well as his truly excellent tactical skills. Compared to those from big families who were all smooth talkers and focused on saving face, Yi Ning admired Zhu Yanchen as an opponent. In terms of ability, except for being too low-key, Zhu Yanchen had no other weaknesses to exploit.
Now that his opponent was gone, Yi Ning wasn’t happy.
On the one hand, he couldn’t understand—his plan was undoubtedly beneficial to the people’s livelihood. If Zhu Yanchen had a similar idea to him, he would even be willing to withdraw from the competition. Old Marshal Zhu had also expressed his appreciation for him in public, but Zhu Yanchen was like a stone that couldn’t be moved.
On the other hand, the loss of Zhu Yanchen was objectively a huge setback. Leaving aside the fact that they couldn’t find a replacement for him in terms of tactical planning, Yi Ning couldn’t find a suitable person to take over the management of the synthetic humans that Zhu Yanchen was responsible for.
Originally, he had planned to promote the production of synthetic humans as soon as possible, but now even cleaning up the mess had become a big problem.
Yi Ning pushed his speech aside and rubbed his forehead. As if things weren’t chaotic enough, the communicator began to beep and squeal.
“What is it?”
“Sir, it’s the synthesized human you’re directly in charge of, Captain Luo Duan of ‘Groundwater’… He wants to see you.”
Yin Ren turned his face sideways, half burying it in the soft pillow. The words that Dog Thing spewed out a few hours ago were still dangling in his mind.
……
[Siren: In terms of the strength gap, I am a mouse, the sniper is a wolf, and Qi Xin is a tiger.]
In the dim basement, Dog Thing made an aggrieved barking sound.
[Siren: She can eat me as easily as eating a melon seed!]
It even cranked up its vibrate mode and buzzed and bounced on the table, trying desperately to express its fear.
“That sniper may be ‘Mr. Qiu’,” Zhong Chengshuo interrupted. “She specifically asked us to be careful of this ‘Mr. Qiu’, which means we should have been in contact with him before.”
“Being sniped” was also considered a kind of contact.
Yin Ren said softly, as he tapped on the table with his phone, “Is that it? Nothing more? She ate the old mayor and called me a cub. How much do you know about this?”
[Siren: Let me think about it.]
A few seconds later, a “beep” sound was heard, indicating a message delivery.
[Siren: For her, “imitations” are dying meat, which won’t be fresh after death. She wants to eat it while it’s fresh.]
This time it learned how to behave and didn’t dare be vague, but tried to use its limited IQ to come up with a metaphor.
Yin Ren stopped tapping the phone.
He suddenly remembered that not long ago, in the file room, there was a clamor from Dog Thing to eat those “meaty xanthium” monsters.
It labeled them as “weak things that could be eaten”.
If Dog Thing could eat xanthiums and Qi Xin could eat Dog Thing and imitations, it sounded like…
Yin Ren subconsciously looked in the direction of Zhong Chengshuo.
After deciding to give Dog Thing to Zhong Chengshuo for research, he told Zhong Chengshuo about it. Sure enough, Zhong Chengshuo raised his eyes, and his pitch-black pupils looked directly at the phone on the table.
“Do the ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ you describe us refer to the position in the food chain?” Zhong Chengshuo took two steps forward and stopped beside Yin Ren.
Dog Thing slowly brought up a browser and searched for the definition of “food chain”. The two silently watched the phone switch pages for a long time, before waiting for the next text bubble to appear.
[Siren: It’s a bit close.]
[Siren: But it also depends on the individual.]
“Well, if the ‘predator’ at the top of the food chain is aging, sick, disabled, or just a cub, there’s a possibility of being reversely preyed upon by the ‘prey’… In this case, the definitions of strong and weak aren’t absolute. Is this what you mean?”
[Siren: Yes, I want such a brain.]
Zhong Chengshuo said cautiously, “Not giving.”
Yin Ren didn’t know whether to be serious or laugh. He twisted his face and brought Dog Thing closer.
They still didn’t know what Qi Xin and the sniper were, but Yin Ren had a vague idea in his heart.
Whether it was the meaty xanthium or Dog Thing, it obviously didn’t belong to “this world”. Whether based on Yin Ren’s experience or looking at Shian’s records, these kinds of things weren’t “evil spirits” in the conventional sense, let alone the sniper and Qi Xin, whose intensity was obviously beyond the standard.
They would exist in the “Archive” and would be attracted by Guo Wei, who was about to become a fierce ghost. The sniper’s bullet could restrain the power of a fierce ghost, while Qi Xin could directly swallow evil things containing tremendous evil qi, such as the mayor… These existences had countless connections with evil things.
But the relationship wasn’t clear enough.
Yin Ren looked at Zhong Chengshuo, who had also fallen into contemplation. His lover always reacted quickly, and he should have arrived at a similar conclusion.
He couldn’t help sighing and threw Dog Thing, who had stopped spewing words, back on the table.
Perhaps Zhong Chengshuo didn’t feel deeply about it, but as a person who had passed through thousands of years, Yin Ren could inexplicably understand Dog Thing that was clumsily expressing itself.
If he were sent back to the past and asked to describe principles like “chips”, “electricity”, and “the internet” to Huajisi in classical Chinese that he wasn’t familiar with, he might not even be as good as Dog Thing…
Even though he loved using the tablet while eating chips and surfing the web.
“Okay, tell me more about me.”
Yin Ren’s tone became softer, and the 1% battery on Dog Thing trembled and rose to 2%.
[Siren: I thought you were “weak” before. Now I’m not sure about your situation. You’re stronger than I thought, and it’s always changing.]
“I understand. You can’t determine Yin Ren’s position in your ‘food chain’.” Zhong Chengshuo fluently translated Dog Thing’s words.
He took out a piece of paper, grabbed a pencil from the toolbox, and drew quickly.
“This is what we know now.”
The gray-black nib rustled on the paper.
“The ‘special creatures’ like Qi Xin and Dog Thing have their own food chain… There’s too little information about this at the moment, so we have to study it later. Uh, we…”
He chewed on the word “we” slowly, as if it were some kind of delicious food.
“According to Qi Xin, the ‘death’ of the larval stage of these creatures becomes what humans call ‘Evil Spirits’… The power of the Evil Spirit can transform into evil qi. Whether it’s evil qi or Evil Force, it can give birth to or strengthen evil things.”
Zhong Chengshuo’s pencil stopped suddenly.
“What?” Yin Ren listened carefully.
Zhong Chengshuo turned his gaze. In the dim light, his eyes looked like black holes after poking through a paper.
“Irreversible deterioration and transformation. The distribution of food for the weak at the bottom, the use of different types of ‘nutrients’…”
Zhong Chengshuo was murmuring softly. The tip of his pencil was gently poking the paper, and the corner of his mouth showed an almost smiling expression.
“Yin Ren.”
He called to his lover in a low voice.
“Following that ‘meat’ analogy of Siren’s, assuming that the Evil Force of the Evil Spirits is the nutrient-rich ‘fresh meat’ and the Evil Spirits are the spoiled and deteriorated ‘rotten meat’… Adding the evil things that derive and grow from it. Doesn’t this process resemble the cycle of ‘corpse decay’?”
Yin Ren’s soft expression disappeared from his face.
He glanced at the white paper with a half-circular picture. The aura of the Ghost King from thousands of years ago was revealed, like the tip of an iceberg.
“It’s possible that the Evil Spirits appeared concentratedly during the hundreds of years of the Gong Dynasty. Before that, there weren’t many evil things. After the Evil Spirits came to the world, all kinds of strange evil things flooded it… Well, I may be regarded as one of them.”
“Evil Spirit” or “Divine Descent” were all names that humans came up with through observation.
Thinking about this, Yin Ren’s expression became a bit complicated.
“According to this theory, if ‘fresh meat’ was scattered all over the place by ‘Divine Descent’, what exactly is it then?”
Zhong Chengshuo stuck the paper with his thoughts to the wall next to Yin Ren’s information. “This is the most interesting place.”
Unfortunately, they didn’t have a seminar on the spot afterwards.
The two powerhouses looked at each other with affection and decided to continue to explore the mysteries of the world when Zhong Chengshuo received a call from Zhong Youde.
The old man’s voice was so loud that Yin Ren could hear it clearly without using his special abilities.
“You just returned from a business trip, but don’t know how to come home to visit, ah? How are you and Xiao Yin? Your mother and I have bought too many dishes, so why don’t we have dinner together today?”
In this way, King Yama received his first task after returning—his father ordered him to buy fresh beef from the nearby supermarket. Comrade Xiao Zhong looked shocked and stood at attention on the spot.
“You heard it. My parents called us to have a meal together,” he said. “They are probably trying to see if you have broken up with me.”
Yin Ren: “……”
He didn’t know whether the Zhong couple had too much or too little confidence in their son.
“They have cooked your favorite honey pork ribs and want to make beef stew,” Zhong Chengshuo said slowly. “You can go back first and eat while it’s still hot. I’ll clean up here and go buy the meat… Do you remember the way?”
“I do.”
……
As Zhong Chengshuo expected, the Zhong couple didn’t explicitly say anything, but seeing the tacit communication between the two “youngsters”, they both showed some relaxation. The honey pork ribs for dinner were glazed in an orange-red, looking quite attractive, and its sweet aroma gave off a warm taste of the world.
After a long day, they returned to the warmth of home again. Everything in the secret basement seemed like another world.
Yin Ren pulled himself out of his memories.
At this moment, Dog Thing was soaked in 75% alcohol and accepted its punishment. Yellow Millet didn’t have the phone to restrain it, so it was rolling around the living room, familiarizing itself with the environment.
The stewed “Zhong Family beef stew” was placed in the refrigerator. Zhong Chengshuo said he planned to use it to cook beef noodle soup tomorrow morning.
The curtains were still tightly drawn. Yin Ren had to admit that Zhong Chengshuo’s curtains were well picked, as they were excellent at blocking the light. With the moonlight blocked, inside was so dark that he couldn’t even see his fingers. On a dark and windy night like this, if it were a normal night, Yin Ren would probably have pulled out a strand of hair and rummaged through the fridge for a few pieces of beef.
Whether it was a kiss on the cheek or a new discovery, it was worth celebrating with two slabs of beef.
But Yin Ren couldn’t do it now.
The long memories were over, and Lord Ghost King had to face reality—
He was lying sideways on Zhong Chengshuo’s bed.
Zhong Chengshuo, who was wearing pajamas and his nightcap, was lying behind him, and his whole body exuded the unique water vapor and refreshing smell after taking a shower.
…And listening to Zhong Chengshuo’s breathing, it was obvious that he was awake.
He knew it was a bad idea! He knew they wouldn’t be able to sleep!
When he got home, Yin Ren took his pillow back to the sofa. After he finished eating an apple, it mysteriously flew back to Zhong Chengshuo’s bed again, and there was even an extra pillow next to it.
“I’m used to your breath, and I want to stay with you longer.”
Zhong Chengshuo was sitting on the side of the bed with an expression like he was holding a press conference.
“If you don’t want to, I’ll put it back…”
“Of course, I do, but we won’t be able to sleep.”
“Won’t.”
“Will.” Grand Master Zhong asserted in a divine voice.
“Verification is required,” Zhong Chengshuo pivoted and proposed a different excuse.
The verification results were freshly released, and at 3:30 in the morning, they were both wide awake.
Hehe, what did I tell you? Truly, old ginger was spicier. Yin Ren felt the depression around him. It seemed as if Zhong Chengshuo had transformed into a wooden stake, and except for breathing, he didn’t move at all.
Yin Ren began to count in his heart. When he counted to ten, Zhong Chengshuo was still imitating a stake. He didn’t mind breaking the silence and starting a conversation to make his bedmate feel awkward.
Ten, nine, eight…
The blanket rustled as Zhong Chengshuo moved. His movements were light, like a sparrow perched on a branch.
Seven, six, five…
The other’s body temperature got closer, and his heartbeat was a little faster than usual.
Four…
Yin Ren thought he would be hugged.
Zhong Chengshuo’s actions were even more… special. He leaned vaguely behind Yin Ren, and his forehead gently rested against his back. One of Zhong Chengshuo’s hands was attached to Yin Ren’s shoulder blade, with movement as light as a feather.
Yin Ren didn’t wear his pajamas properly, exposing a large area of his neck. Zhong Chengshuo’s forehead was pressed against Yin Ren’s spine, which wasn’t soft, but he still attached himself to it tightly.
Zhong Chengshuo once again froze and let out a small sigh.
“That’s great,” he said.
Yin Ren was silent for a few minutes.
He rolled over and confronted the man head-on. He shrank into the pillow and pressed his forehead against Zhong Chengshuo’s.
In the dark, Zhong Chengshuo was staring at him quietly. The two were extremely close, and those eyes didn’t blink. Without the protection of glasses, they looked a bit strange.
“Go to sleep,” Yin Ren said. “It will be better in the future.”
Zhong Chengshuo slowly closed his eyes.
At this distance, the two of their breaths entangled, and the atmosphere became a bit thicker than before. Even so, Zhong Chengshuo slowly fell asleep.
Yin Ren also closed his eyes.
In the living room, Dog Thing’s screen lit up.
A blood-red notification appeared on the internal app of Shian, and the screen switched to the notification content by itself.
[The 44th National Joint Exercise Competition of Shian Investigation Team—Entry Notice]
[C-level Investigation Team of Shian, Haigu Branch: Unit 9]
[Pre-match investigation & training locations: Fu Family’s Residence, Dongshan, Haigu.]
The author has something to say:
Damn it, why are they so innocent? I need to speed things up and get things hotter…!
Kinky Thoughts:
To re-explain the theory they proposed in case you’re confused, based on what Dog Thing said, Zhong Chengshuo thinks this is some kind of food chain, and it’s all related to Divine Descent.
During Divine Descent, “fresh meat” is scattered across the world, giving rise and birth to many evil beings. You can think of this as the animal kingdom in a human sense. These evil beings then develop into their own species and kinds (such as mammals, birds, reptiles, ect.) and they have their own food chain.
Dog Thing’s measurement of “weak” isn’t necessarily about strength but where these evil beings lie on the food chain (similar to the animal world). Even the strong (if they become weak) could get eaten by those lower in the food chain.
Evil Spirits (the label that humans gave them) are considered decaying corpses. Just like in real life, a dying/dead animal slowly rots, but it gives back nutrients to the earth (whether it be through carrion or fertilization). They give off evil qi and Evil Force, which you can think of as nutrients, to the spirit world, nurturing and giving birth to new evil spirits.
So overall, it’s basically an ecosystem, but for evil beings.
Kinky Translations 