Author: Kinky

Criminal Psychology Ch177

Kinky8 Comments

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

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

Chapter 177

Lin Chen thought about the possibility of turning around and leaving. If it didn’t look cowardly, he would’ve turned around without hesitation.

However, Huang Ze’s cold and quiet gaze had already swept over, reminding him of the small river in front of his bedroom window in winter. There were even snowflakes floating in the sky, indicating just how cold it really was.

He put his hand in his pocket and walked towards Huang Ze.

Perhaps it was because Huang Ze had been standing still at the door for so long that the door light had dimmed, so when he walked to the door, his footsteps knocked on the brick pavement, causing the door light to come on, illuminating everything brightly, as if to welcome him home.

Lin Chen stood in front of the vermillion door, but Huang Ze remained silent and kept examining him from head to toe.

Although he wanted to go in and get away from Huang Ze, Inspector Huang was quite skilled at blocking the door lock, so he could only stand in front of Huang Ze and be watched like a stone statue.

Finally, when the door light dimmed again, Huang Ze said, “Why didn’t you answer my call?”

In order to avoid being pursued by Jiang Chao and his wife and the bombardment of calls after he escaped from the hospital, Lin Chen had turned off his phone. Naturally though, the reason why he didn’t answer Huang Ze’s call wasn’t because of this. “Oh, because I blocked you, so I didn’t get it.”

There was an obvious fluctuation in Huang Ze’s eyes. “Why?”

Lin Chen was surprised that Huang Ze would ask why.

“I think you’re too annoying.” He could only answer him truthfully.

Huang Ze was so shocked by this answer that it rendered him speechless. In the end, Inspector Huang eased his tone and pointed to the wooden door behind, giving himself a way out. “Won’t you invite me in?”

Lin Chen’s fingers twirled half a circle on the key ring in his pocket and said casually, “It’s not convenient to invite guests into other people’s homes.”

Huang Ze sneered. “Really, you also know that it’s someone else’s home, yet you have the nerve to stay here for so long?”

“Excuse me.”

“Lin Chen, I found that I haven’t chatted with you for a long time, and you have become even more shameless than before.”

“How shameless is it to stay as a guest?” Perhaps because he had rested for a while and gotten a recent infusion, he actually had the strength to talk to Huang Ze. “The housing prices are so high, so I try to save wherever I can.”

“Staying as a guest in a place like this?” Huang Ze turned around and pointed to the door plate of Unit 3 on Yanjia Lane. “Do you know how much this old house is worth? Even an ordinary police officer can’t afford to live in a place like this. Use your brain!”

“Too lazy to move.” Lin Chen felt that this conversation with Huang Ze kept going in a weirder direction, and it was embarrassing to quarrel with another man in front of his home. “You can say whatever you want but keep your voice down. The neighbors are asleep.”

“So what’s the result of your laziness?!” The sound of frogs croaking could be heard in the air. There were hardly any lights on in Yanjia Lane. In such a tranquil environment, Huang Ze was surprisingly angry. “Are you pretending that the owner of this house is still inside? In reality, did they not want to just leave? Are you going to stubbornly wait here for them until they come back?” Huang Ze paused, then said coldly, “Do you know what you look like?”

The most miserable place in his heart was poked, making it difficult for Lin Chen to calm down, but when he looked up and saw Huang Ze’s angry eyes, he felt there was no need to get upset. “Do you know where Xing Conglian went?” He frowned. “How do you know?”

Huang Ze became even angrier. “As captain of the criminal police force, Xing Conglian has been absent from work for no reason. Of course I have to check his whereabouts.”

Lin Chen rubbed the door key and said solemnly, “If you have something to say, just say it instead of beating around the bush. If not, please leave quickly and don’t be so off-putting.”

“At Yongchuan International Airport, a special plane came to pick him up. The flight number and the route are confidential.”

Lin Chen sighed. “So you don’t know either.”

“Heh.” Huang Ze suddenly seemed to have found something to attack his weakness. “What does ‘also’ mean? In fact, he didn’t tell you where he went either, right?”

“Yes.”

After he finished replying, Lin Chen didn’t know how he had offended Huang Ze again, but Huang Ze got so angry that his expression turned livid, and he raised his voice. “I knew it. Does it look like he cares about you? He’s just playing with you. When he gets tired of playing with you, he will throw you out like garbage. Even your job was given to you by him. You will have nothing at that time, so how will you gain a foothold in society?”

The meaning behind Huang Ze’s words seemed to regard him as some kind of plaything for Xing Conglian. Lin Chen thought about it carefully and felt that the days of being taken care of by Xing Conglian weren’t bad. Still, he had to reply. “What can I do? Maybe go back and continue being a dorm manager.”

“You can obviously live with dignity. Why choose this kind of path?”

“What path?”

“Didn’t you already admit it on national television? You and Xing Conglian! You—” When it came to this point, Huang Ze couldn’t continue.

Only then did Lin Chen realize that Huang Ze actually believed the questions that Li Jingtian asked to humiliate him. He found this quite incredulous. “Huang Ze, I didn’t admit to anything.”

Hearing this, Huang Ze was taken aback, and then his eyes widened. They appeared to have regained some joy. He looked down at Lin Chen and calmly asked, “You have never slept with Xing Conglian?”

“No.” Lin Chen paused. Seeing Huang Ze’s lips curl, he continued, “Although I really want to.”

Before he could finish his sentence, Huang Ze had raised his hand abruptly. He put his fingers together, about to slap Lin Chen. Lin Chen raised his hand to hold back Huang Ze and took a step back, feeling pain in his wrist from the impact. Even a clay figure had a bit of anger. He sneered, “Inspector Huang, slapping someone is too girly.” He pointed to the surveillance camera mounted on the porch and added, “Pay attention to the consequences.”

In front of him, Huang Ze’s chest rose and fell, seemingly without any intention to calm down. It seemed that his mania was getting worse, so Lin Chen didn’t bother to say anything. He didn’t even look at Huang Ze, but turned around and left.

The next moment, he felt his arm being grabbed by Huang Ze, who then pulled him back and abruptly pushed him against the door. The back of his head slammed into the door panel as he stared at Huang Ze in a daze and was speechless. His lower back also painfully hit the copper nails on the door. He didn’t expect Huang Ze to forcibly pull his hands above his head and press himself against him.

……

Just as Huang Ze was about to lose his mind, neither he nor Lin Chen noticed the surveillance camera that was mounted under the eaves of Unit 3 on Yanjia Lane slightly moved.

As if they were watching a live broadcast, on the Dana River thousands of kilometers away, someone witnessed the events at the same time.

Wang Chao thought this matter was really fucking scary. In fact, just a few minutes ago, he was still swaying on a boat, quite scared by the rushing river on both sides. The banks of the Dana River, which cut through the rainforest, were lined with tall tropical palm and olive trees. Vines were intertwined along their trunks, forming a huge network. Occasionally, chimpanzees would swing back and forth on the vines. The atmosphere was hot and humid, giving off a fishy smell.

There were creatures such as water snakes or river eels in the swaying river. Their scales would brush against the dark green water, which made his hair stand on end.

Probably because he was so frightened by this unique ecological scene that he lay down on the boat and suddenly said to his boss, “Boss, do you want to check up on A’Chen Gege?”

At that time, Xing Conglian gave him a look of relief, as if he were saying, “This child has finally become more mature.”

As the water calmed, Wang Chao turned over and sat up. He took out his laptop from the waterproof bag and quickly pulled up the surveillance of the door where Lin Chen’s ward was in Yongchuan Second Municipal Hospital. At this time, it was quite late in China so there wasn’t anyone in the corridor, and they were basically staring at a wall thousands of miles away.

However, after staring at the ward for a while, Xing Conglian suddenly said, “He’s not in the ward.”

Wang Chao almost shouted, “Boss, what kind of special ability do you have?!”

“Switch the surveillance.” His boss coldly ordered.

In line with the principle of serving people, Wang Chao obediently began to switch through surveillance like a madman.

However, what he didn’t expect that Xing Conglian did was see Vice Captain Jiang’s beautiful wife suddenly rushing out of the ward in a panic, pulling a little nurse as if she were looking for someone.

He hurriedly adjusted the playback sequence to normal. Some time before that, his A’Chen Gege had changed out of his hospital gown and was dressed neatly. He then walked out of the ward graciously while there was no one in the corridor.

Wang Chao couldn’t help but be amazed by his boss’ intuition!

“What’s wrong with A’Chen Gege? He doesn’t like being in the hospital that much?” Wang Chao criticized solemnly.

But his boss just frowned, then he took out a cigarette and stuffed it in his mouth. Because the rainforest was too damp, the cigarette needed to be lit twice before it caught. At this point, Wang Chao realized his boss had become more irritated.

In the spirit of serving his leader, Wang Chao made the decision that he regretted for two hours and five minutes. He switched the surveillance to the door of their home as he said to his boss, “It’s okay. I think A’Chen Gege will return home. We…”

Before he got the chance to finish, Wang Chao was so frightened that he felt his soul would pop out of his body. Not even scary movies could scare him this much.

In the dark night, his A’Chen Gege, whom he hadn’t seen for many days, was indeed standing in front of the vermillion door of their house, but his posture couldn’t exactly be considered “standing”—because his A’Chen Gege was being pressed against the door and his hands were being locked above him head.

Thanks to the high-definition surveillance camera, from the side, he could clearly see the person who was holding his A’Chen Gege… The biggest dumbass in the world—Huang Ze.

Lines of barrage such as “Midnight affair”, “Why is a lonely young man kissing a stranger when his husband isn’t at home?”, and so on appeared in Wang Chao’s head.

However, he quickly returned to reality. “Boss, this shouldn’t be…”

As he was speaking, he was about to turn off the laptop, but at this moment, the picture changed drastically.

His A’Chen Gege somehow broke free from Huang Ze’s shackles and punched him with the hand that was still wrapped in gauze.

In the dark night, Huang Ze staggered back two steps and almost fell down the steps. He covered his cheek with one hand and looked ahead in disbelief.

On the other hand, His A’Chen Gege was calm and was standing upright, not at all like a boss who had just beaten up his boss, looking awe-spiring and invincible.

Without saying a word, or even a “fuck off”, the person who was forcibly kissed just stood on the steps, watching the dumbass Huang Ze, who was just injured, turn around and roll off into the darkness of the night.

The passionate scene was finally over. It took a long time for Wang Chao to calm down. He swallowed desperately for a while before he dared to look around.

From the position next to him, his boss took a deep puff of his cigarette and pressed it out on the edge of the boat. The feeling of anger had reached an unprecedented level, as if it were burning through the rainforest.

Wang Chao began to worry about the fate of the earth.

At this moment, Kang An, who apparently didn’t know the meaning of “death”, suddenly asked, “Wang Chao, Wang Chao, quickly step back and see if that was a kiss just now.”

‘Fuck.’ Wang Chao sincerely swore he had never seen such a blind person as Kang An in his life.

Sure enough, the face of his boss, who had just calmed down, turned livid again. He said in a cold tone, “Kang An, get off.”

Kang An glanced at the river in horror, then raised his head and said, “Boss, there are giant pythons in the Dana River. I’ll die.”

“I want you to die,” Xing Conglian scolded.

“Boss, calm down!” Wang Chao said as he rushed over and hugged the angry man’s waist, preventing him from kicking Kang An into the river.

“Get my phone,” Xing Conglian said coldly.

Comrade Xiao Wang was taken aback and hurriedly said, “Damn, Boss, please don’t use that kind of tone like ‘bring me my dragon-slaying sword’. What do you want to do?”

“It’s fine. I just want to find someone to do something.”

The author has something to say:

Wang Chao: Boss, what are you looking for someone to do?

Xing Conglian: Can you guess?

Kinky Thoughts:

My theory behind Huang Ze is that the author originally planned to write him as Lin Chen’s ex who had a falling out to do the incident that killed his sister which hasn’t been revealed yet, but decided not to or change it due to fans displeasure… since it seems the danmei fandom prefers pure first love (unrealistic really).

Because how can Huang Ze’s actions be explained? Even if Huang Ze likes Lin Chen, his actions so far are too inexplicable unless he’s really Lin Chen’s ex.

That or basically he’s the cannon fodder to stir up Xing Conglian’s feelings, which is a trope I’ve grown tired of. Maybe this will be explained later…

Speaking of pure first love, I really dislike how so many danmei always has to be the MC and ML never had any past relationships despite their age (I mean Lin Chen and Xing Conglian are close to 30 if I recall) before falling for each other (oh and how the gong is a stallion in bed with 0 experience). Perhaps I’m too old now and find this aspect not as romantic as my teenage heart used to envision. But I digress.

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

Evil As Humans Ch97

Kinky6 Comments

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 97: The Ghost King

At the entrance of the circular research building, flames burst out.

This time, they weren’t woven into fire dragons but turned into thousands of filaments. The flame filaments were intertwined, forming a fishing net-like structure that blocked the entrance tightly. The eye of Yellow Millet had just squeezed halfway in, but shrank back due to the fire net. Its pupil dilated and shrank in dissatisfaction.

As the huge eyeball receded, the dense light spots lit up in the darkness of the door frame. Without the “plug” of Yellow Millet, thousands of evil spirits poured down like a flood, cascading frantically towards the small research hall.

For a while, the detection machinery of the two science posts made a sharp warning sound.

Li Nian inserted the green willow whip into the ground, and countless root-like structures suddenly appeared in the grip. They clung to the stone crevices and tied Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo firmly nearby.

Immediately after, he took out some sticky notes that looked like talismans, walked along the edge of the hall, and stuck a piece on each of the mummified corpses. The horrific faces of the dead bodies were covered with a brand new talisman, creating an atmosphere that was unknown as to whether it was comical or spooky.

After the last talisman was glued, the hall abruptly shook.

Countless green vines sprang out from the talismans, adding a vine net to the fire net. The vines were like jade, verdant and lush, exuding a unique fragrance of plants.

The cold evil spirits and thick mist were all blocked from the outside by the vine net. The piercing alarm sound from their detectors finally stopped.

This peace lasted for about thirty seconds.

After a brief stalemate, hundreds of small, evil creatures rushed forward. They slammed into the fire net like moths to a flame, frantically aiming in the same position, trying to use their flesh as firewood to consume a breakthrough point.

Fu Xingchuan’s fingers flew like butterflies, as if he were forming a spell seal to cover the gap. The covering emitted layers of brilliance, as if there was a small sun at the entrance.

As the saying went, beat the master to death with your fist*. No matter how powerful Fu Xingchuan’s abilities were, he couldn’t hold back hordes of evil things that weren’t afraid of death. Considering he had to save some strength to escape, the flame net gradually dimmed.

*A colloquialism that refers to not following the rules and doing things on a whim. || In this context, it refers to these evil spirits have no fear of death, so they are not “following common sense” and will eventually overwhelm Fu Xingchuan through sheer chaos.

At the same time, Li Nian cracked his shoulders and neck and calmly gave instructions. “Analyze the readings and also sort out and retrieve legends regarding the figure in red from the Gong Dynasty period and send them all to me.”

He said all this into the headset.

Another swarm of evil things rushed up. This time, they crashed into the vine net. More newborn vines shot out from the gap in the net instantly, binding the evil spirits. Unfortunately, the vines were soft. The evil things behind used those in the front as a meat shield and continued to squeeze desperately in.

In less than five minutes, they had lost half the research hall.

Yin Ren protected Zhong Chengshuo and Qi Xin—they were standing at the farthest point from the evil things. Those twisted hands, feet, and limbs were clearly reflected in his red eyes.

Zhong Chengshuo couldn’t see too many evil things, but he could see a twisted net.

Judging from the law of physics, there had to be at least 500 evil creatures in front of them.

Not far behind the door, “Yellow Millet” stared fixedly with multiple circles of eyeballs.

Without only one eyeball, Zhong Chengshuo couldn’t distinguish any emotions. All the everlasting lights around it were extinguished, and its entire body was filled with thick darkness, leaving only the dim brilliance of the eyeball itself. The doorway was too narrow for it. The huge sphere tilted toward them, and its pupils passed through the small doorway, locking onto the five people tightly.

The colorful light oscillated in circles, flickering as if it were breathing in the dark, making it seem like an ominous creature under the deep sea.

The chains of corpses near the entrance snapped and were squeezed down by the wall of evil creatures. They weren’t sure if it was because of the residual influence of evil qi, but the corpses quickly “woke up”, turned into zombies, and joined the team of evil things that were trying to squeeze into the hall.

The corpses opened their mouths wide and moved their limbs jerkily, like stiff marionettes.

Something gushed from their eyeholes and kept dripping to the ground.

Evil things with entities were particularly difficult to deal with. Just after the zombies joined, the green vines were suddenly stretched half thin and gaps started forming as the vines were pulled and deformed. The withered fingers of the corpses frantically tore at the vines, and there was a strange noise coming from their mouths.

Zhong Chengshuo could imagine that in the vine net gaps, there were all kinds of strange limbs stretching out from there, constantly scratching.

The ground was trembling as evil spirits continued to rush in. They were trapped in a deep underground ruin, surrounded by evil things that were eyeing them. The two ministers looked calm, and there was no panic in their movements, as if everything was under control.

However, Zhong Chengshuo knew that they couldn’t possibly know more about the current situation than he did.

In other words, they were all confused.

Zhong Chengshuo looked at Yin Ren again.

Yin Ren was standing in front of a mural. He wore his favorite black shirt, and his hair was tied up into a neat ponytail. He stood still, as if he were part of the darkness.

…As if he would merge into the mural and disappear at any moment.

Zhong Chengshuo thought for a few seconds, then moved his hand that was resting on the sample box and used it to hold Yin Ren’s hand. The presence of the willow branches was especially noticeable when skin to skin contact was made.

The firelight hit the shadow of the vine on Yin Ren’s face. The soft lines of his face remained the same, but there was a subtle sense of vicissitudes between his brows, compared to Yin Ren’s previous heartless appearance.

The frontline was tense, but Yin Ren quietly turned his head and examined the mural from the corner of his eyes.

His expression was focused. The content of the mural was similar to the previous rooms—while the style changed with each dynasty change, the content underwent no substantial changes.

Zhong Chengshuo: “You’re not looking at the entrance?’

Yin Ren stared at the red dots all over the walls. “Whether I see them or not, they’ll still be there.”

A glance at the scene beyond the entrance was enough for him.

The evil things in Gengsheng Town seemed to be gathering here. With Yellow Millet as the core, their aura was extremely vivid. Adding a touch of red on the outside, it was like a reproduction of the mural scene.

The aura was aggressive, and the hostility was deep.

…and it was extremely familiar.

Yin Ren could hear the clicking footsteps of zombies among the evil creatures as well as hoarse whispers coming from their throats. They must have carried countless pains and despairs in their lifetime. Their bones were soaked in evil qi, so they all turned into evil things without exception.

It turned out that Sunken Society was several times more annoying than he imagined.

“The number of evil things near you has reached more than 600, and it keeps increasing.” Lu Xiaohe’s voice spoke quickly in their headset.

“The situation isn’t right. There’s an internal food chain among evil things. There aren’t so many evil things that value territory… Except for fleeing or being driven away, it’s impossible for them to act in such a unified manner.”

“But…” She stopped talking and swallowed her words.

Yin Ren could guess the content behind the “but”.

No one could drive evil beings like this. Even a ghost master could only use a single classification of “spirits”.

As far as Yin Ren knew, there was indeed no “person” who could do it. A skilled cultivator might be able to tame one or two evil creatures, but they wouldn’t be able to reach such a large number.

A dozen steps away, Li Nian didn’t get any effective feedback.

Hao Wenzhe quickly sent back the news that there was no information about the “figure in red” on the murals.

During the Gong Dynasty, there were no records of the “figure in red”. Whether it was <The Book of Exorcism> or the remaining official records, whether it was the unofficial history or information seized from Sunken Society, everything was clean without any trace.

The murals that had increased year by year in this Ant Nest seemed to be just a huge dream.

“It’s impossible, Lao Li. Under such a situation, this pile of cultural relics can’t be preserved.” Fu Xingchuan grimaced. “Human life is more important than preserving clues.”

Li Nian took a deep breath.

Murals, corpses, empty altars.

And the source of corruption that seemed to be everywhere but was nowhere to be found.

The characters on the murals gave no clues, the corpses needed time to be tested, there was nothing left on the altars, and the location of the source of corruption was a mystery.

Sunken Society had taken away all the key documents and items. If they relied on these things to guess what research was being conducted for the last thousand years, it wasn’t much different than just making up stories on the spot.

But if they only defend without attacking, their front line wouldn’t last. Not to mention there was Qi Xin, who had no combat power, that they had to protect. Faced with such a situation, Fu Xingchuan couldn’t spare enough energy to care about other things.

But if this place were destroyed, all clues would completely disappear into the darkness.

He had to quickly figure out a better way.

After all, this was a clue that Sunken Society owned, but Shian had no other clues…

“Xiaohe Jie.”

In the direction of the mural, a voice interrupted Professor Li’s thoughts.

Yin Ren grabbed Zhong Chengshuo with one hand and pressed on his headset with the other. There was just the right amount of trepidation in his voice. “The mist started as soon as we came here, and now it’s still chasing us, as well as evil things that are attacking us in droves. Could it be ‘someone’ is commanding them?”

However, there was no response for Lu Xiaohe.

“Xiaohe Jie?”

“She may be answering a call from Xiang Jiang.” Fu Xingchuan responded on behalf of Lu Xiaohe as he kept casting defensive spells. “It’s impossible for anyone to command so many evil things. Not even if it’s a group of people. If we can really do this, there won’t be much difference between ‘man’ and ‘god’.”

Yin Ren raised his hand and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.

“What about an evil thing?”

Zhong Chengshuo suddenly gave Yin Ren a sideways glance—Yin Ren was asking solemnly and purely, as if he didn’t have a clue.

“Can there be evil things that control other evil things?”

Yin Ren’s voice echoed in the wide research hall.

“I’ve always wanted to ask before… Since Evil Spirits don’t have the ability to think and are monsters that only know how to destroy, why is there a title of “Ghost King” in our information?”

This was recorded in black and white in <The Book of Exorcism>.

Professor Li wanted to respond but felt his answer wasn’t convincing enough.

In regard to evidence, this was different from the “figure in red”. There were many records in official and unofficial history…

The Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi sealed the six Evil Spirits, but no one had seen the battle. They only knew the Evil Spirits were going crazy and that thousands of evil beings had gathered. The evil things around the battlefield were so overwhelming that they forced all living things to retreat, leaving only a scene of hell.

…Just like the murals.

Thinking of this, Li Nian subconsciously looked at Fu Xingchuan, who was also looking back with a frown.

That red figure—could it be that it’s an Evil Spirit in human form?

But as they all knew, mortals couldn’t look at an Evil Spirit directly with their naked eye. In those times, “Science Posts” were rare, and Sunken Society was more of a cult in the style of “ascension to immortality”. It was difficult to attract non-believers, and it was even more unlikely that they would leave such thorough records that lasted thousands of years.

What was more, Evil Spirits were tantamount to natural disasters that walk on earth. Once born, they couldn’t hide from people’s eyes and ears. All metaphysical disasters in history had corresponding Evil Spirits. Six Evil Spirits were sealed one by one, without any mistakes or omissions.

“The Evil Spirits were attacked, so ten thousand ghosts came to their rescue.” Professor Li squeezed his brows hard and answered Yin Ren’s question in a low voice. “Ten thousand ghosts came…”

“Really?”

Yin Ren let go of Zhong Chengshuo’s hand.

He turned his back to the mural, and his eyes showed a hint of red in the shadows, which complemented the red brush strokes behind him.

“One person against a giant Evil Spirit, plus ten thousand evil things? Isn’t that Celestial Master too ridiculously strong?”

In the corner, where the two ministers had no time to pay attention, a pair of red eyes were slightly bent.

“It’s more reasonable to gather thousands of evil spirits to deal with an Evil Spirit together.”

“I’m a bit confused. Which side is the ‘Ghost King’ who summons evil spirits really on?”

Click.

The first vine net snapped.

The author has something to say:

Yesterday, I saw people leaving a lot of speculations! In fact, some are quite close to the truth~ Why do I feel like your brains are bigger than mine (?

As for any contradictions, even in the writing (?) All will be explained later!

Kinky Thoughts:

I have my own speculations, given this chapter, but to avoid any potential spoilers, I’ll say them when the mystery is revealed. You’re welcome to join my Discord server to discuss.

But here’s a potential clue: The Zhong in Zhong Yi and Zhong Chengshuo are the same character. (But keep in mind that Zhong Chengshuo is adopted and took on his adopted father’s last name, Zhong Youde).

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

Access Denied Ch4

Kinky8 Comments

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 4: Kidnapping

The two looked at each other for a moment.

Shu Jun was only interested in playing the game and had never bothered to think about the official plot. Compared with analyzing the complicated emotions of love and hate, it was more practical to look at more maps and watch more battle examples. In his mind, NPCs like generals and marshals only had names and didn’t match their image at all.

But even if Zhu Yanchen hadn’t shown his face much before, he could still recognize him at a glance.

The reason was simple. Marshal Zhu’s appearance was quite handsome—<Erosion> focused on a wasteland background, and players used their real looks. It was impossible for all the NPCs to be handsome and beautiful, but games were still games, so there had to be some good-looking NPCs to attract players.

Marshal Zhu was one such popular NPC. The female members of the Blackbirds would talk about him constantly in front of Shu Jun.

With this face, coupled with the striking marshal uniform, the name “Zhu Yanchen” seemed to be imprinted on his forehead. There weren’t many young marshals to begin with, so it would be difficult for Shu Jun not to recognize him.

The NPC who had just passionately tried to persuade Marshal Zhu, approached and saw Shu Jun on the edge of the window. He jumped back a few steps and drew his gun with trembling hands, as if he saw a poisonous spider crawling on the bedside.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t react much, but his expression was a bit complicated. Shu Jun didn’t have time to appreciate the meaning of this expression; he was trying to think of a decent way to escape.

Since he was discovered by a marshal-level NPC, it was too late to find equipment to contact the outside world. The distance between strongholds wasn’t far, so he could think of another solution…

The main thing was not to get captured again.

Shu Jun’s mind quickly turned. He loosened his hands, and wind accumulated between his body. He was going to try to escape in one breath, but Zhu Yanchen was even faster and managed to grasp his wrist.

Once a skill was activated, there was no way to instantly stop it. Shu Jun was stunned as he was blown away by the wind with an expressionless NPC hanging on his arm. In theory, NPC intelligence should be no different from that of a real person. Marshal Zhu was known for his strategic abilities and shouldn’t take such inexplicable and reckless actions.

However, the hand on his wrist remained tightly grasped. The violent wind swept the two people away and they flew directly out of the stronghold range.

Seeing that he was about to land, Shu Jun instinctively protected the other party and used himself as a meat cushion. It wasn’t until his back hit the ground that he realized the person in his arms was an NPC and not a teammate that he wanted to protect.

The siren from the stronghold sounded so sharp that he could faintly hear it from here.

“…The sample escaped! The sample escaped! It has kidnapped Marshal Zhu Yanchen. Repeat, it has kidnapped Marshal Zhu Yanchen…”

Shu Jun: “……”

Kidnapping? Wasn’t it this NPC’s fault in the first place*?

*Touching porcelain (碰瓷) Slang referring to a person intentionally causing an accident in order to extort money or compensation from others. It’s usually used as an expression for someone who deliberately sets themselves up to be a victim or to be taken advantage of.

The culprit didn’t continue to press on Shu Jun. Zhu Yanchen neatly stood up with not a single crease on his clothes, and he was even holding a decent-sized briefcase in his hand, as if he were about to step into a conference in the next second.

He simply scanned the surroundings and stretched out his hand to Shu Jun, who was lying on the ground. The hand was covered with white gloves, and there was a little skin exposed at the cuffs, that was almost the same color as the glove fabric.

Shu Jun waved his hands full of sludge and stood up on his own. Zhu Yanchen quietly retracted his hand and turned to pat the dust off his uniform emotionlessly.

Shu Jun decided to size up the other person along with his uniform.

It was the first time he got up close and personal with an important NPC who was famous. Marshal Zhu wasn’t wearing a gas mask at this moment. He was indeed handsome, but his brows were cold, as if they were soaked in frost, making him seem quite unapproachable.

And it looked as if he had facial paralysis. Just looking at his expression, Shu Jun couldn’t figure out what the other party was thinking.

After looking at this bigshot, Shu Jun didn’t feel any excitement but only hoped that this person would have higher-level authority so he could contact an official sooner. Considering the other party’s NPC status, he decided to rule out the reality issue and start from the game perspective.

“Why did you just… Hiss.” He forgot about his mutated fangs and bit his lips again.

“Excuse me.”

Zhu Yanchen stretched out his hand. His fingers moved to the corner of Shu Jun’s mouth naturally. The index finger that was covered with a glove touched the tip of his tooth and then the wound on his lip.

Shu Jun’s mouth was invaded by dry cloth. His tongue was astringent, and his cheeks tensed uncomfortably. If he wanted to, he could immediately shake off that hand. It was just that Zhu Yanchen wasn’t making any dangerous movements at the moment, so it wasn’t good to sour his relationship with an important character too quickly.

Fortunately, this process only lasted about five seconds.

Zhu Yanchen opened his briefcase. The lid blocked Shu Jun’s view. Watching the sporadic movements, Zhu Yanchen sealed the blood-stained gloves in a plastic bag and changed into a pair of longer gloves, which tightly covered his wrists.

Then he took out a dice-size cube, which quickly unfolded like a flower and turned into a familiar gas mask. After putting on the mask and buckling the goggles in place, Zhu Yanchen’s voice became a bit muffled. “There’s an eroded area ahead. The pursuers will catch up soon, so we must leave immediately.”

It seemed that this “deliberate accident” was going to continue. Shu Jun let out a sigh.

“Wait—”

“Mr. Shu Jun, I know you have many questions. You won yesterday, but you can’t leave the game. There’s no customer service representative to receive you in <Erosion>. The NPC’s attitude towards you is no longer friendly.” Zhu Yanchen’s tone was as if he were reciting a speech. “I don’t have time to explain too much now. If you still want to live, please follow my instructions.”

This time, Shu Jun didn’t stay stunned for long.

The situation had gone really wrong—NPCs should follow the settings and know nothing about things outside the game world. Words such as “game” and “customer service representative” shouldn’t have come out of Zhu Yanchen’s mouth, let alone Shu Jun’s real name.

A pile of virtual data suddenly broke through the limitations and had a good understanding of reality, which made Shu Jun break out in a cold sweat.

Zhu Yanchen quickly said, “Follow me.”

The battlefield was changing rapidly, so there was no time to dawdle. Shu Jun decisively hugged Zhu Yanchen’s waist and held him tightly by his side. “Where are we going?”

“Due north, ten kilometers.” Zhu Yanchen didn’t resist.

A hurricane rose.

Shu Jun was taken aback. This guy didn’t go to the front lines much, but he wasn’t “weak” at all. Zhu Yanchen’s waist was thin and strong, and his physique was just as good as his own. He was even slightly taller. In the shock just now, Shu Jun didn’t pay attention and underestimated the other’s weight, almost causing him to stumble.

“This place is a bit far away. You have to bear with it during the journey. If you need to throw up, let me know.” He was used to moving with the wind, but others usually couldn’t handle this transportation method.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t say a word, acting as honest as a dummy. Thanks to this, it took less time along the way than Shu Jun thought.

Their destination didn’t look very safe.

The gray mist rolled against the ground, and giant stalagmites poked out of the mist. There were oddly shaped caves abound, creating what seemed like a maze, and the creatures were strangely shaped to the extreme. This place was definitely a heavily eroded area.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Shu Jun didn’t let go of Zhu Yanchen’s waist, nor did he hide the suspicion in his voice.

“Mm.”

“Okay, can you explain now?” Shu Jun paused for a moment and added, “…Marshall Zhu? Sir?”

Zhu Yanchen shook his head and pointed to a certain cave in the gap between the stalagmites. “I can’t stay outside for too long. Let’s talk when we go in.”

After he finished speaking, he skillfully flew into the depths of the cave and opened a thick metal door. It felt like an unreal development. Perhaps this was all a dream. Embracing his longing to wake up, Shu Jun pinched his arm hard.

The dream wasn’t a dream, and the pain was real.

Before he could collect his emotions, he was sprayed with disinfectant spray in the isolation room. The two stood in silence for a few minutes before stepping into the real entrance.

There was a small safe house hidden behind the main entrance. It could be seen that no one had been here for a long time. The erosion was all blocked outside as the furniture inside still retained its bright colors. Zhu Yanchen took off his protective equipment and filled up two cups of water from the water filter.

“Have a seat.”

“……” Shu Jun glanced at the clean sofa and then at himself, covered in mud. “How much time do you need to explain?”

“It depends.”

“Is ten minutes enough?”

“Not sure.”

“Then I’ll take a shower first.”

The expression on Zhu Yanchen’s face finally twitched. “……”

“You don’t look like you’re conveying any good news based on this setup.” Shu Jun took the cup and drank all the water in one gulp. “It’s been a rough ride. I want to be as comfortable as possible while dodging bullets.”

“The shower cabin is over there, and there are spare clothes in it.” Zhu Yanchen sighed, unaffected by Shu Jun’s relaxed tone.

The shower cabin was extremely narrow, with only enough space for one person to stand. Shu Jun turned on the water to its maximum, allowing the water to beat down on his skin. Finally, his heart rate slowly began to stabilize.

In this situation, accompanying an important NPC, he appeared relaxed on the surface, but his nerves were already stretched to the limit. If things continued like this, he was unsure if he could appropriately respond—Zhu Yanchen was the most important character in <Erosion>. The current situation was so bizarre that Shu Jun didn’t want to make random mistakes.

Although he knew what was in front of him was an illusion, the warm water still made him feel better.

Is this really an illusion?

Shu Jun gave himself a self-deprecating grin. The nested bugs gave him a terrible headache, and he couldn’t distinguish between truth and fiction. He subconsciously wiped the water from his face and lowered his gaze.

The water rushed and splashed, scattering the remains of his clothes. The communication screen that came with it was still blinking. Wiping away the water mist on the screen, Shu Jun narrowed his eyes. The location tag belonging to “Smoke” was still glowing, unmoving near him.

……This may be the most terrifying “bug” he had ever encountered.

Three years ago, he and “Smoke” met while discussing strategic issues on a certain map. In the beginning, most of the topics were about combat, and Smoke always had some sharp opinions. He was also smart and humble, so it was easy to get along with him.

The two of them gradually became acquainted with each other and developed a relationship where they would chat every few days. Later on, chatting with each other became a regular occurrence.

It was impossible for Shu Jun to say he didn’t feel pressure, as he was known as the “Immortal Legend”. He spent almost all his time on work, and to maintain balance within the team, he couldn’t get too close to any particular teammate.

Slowly, Smoke, who didn’t belong to any team and was good at tactics, gradually became an oasis for him. Perhaps because of their matching personalities, this person could always give Shu Jun just the right amount of support and care. When it came to what kind of person he wanted to live with, Shu Jun’s first reaction was “someone like Smoke”.

After several years of contact, one could see a bit of character based on a person’s words and actions. He decided that Smoke was a girl who was a bit cold but gentle in nature. Even if it were a man, if the other party was willing, he would want to try to see where it went.

But he wasn’t an adolescent who would go crazy for some vague affection. Moreover, he was busy every day, and there was no need to rush to break the current understanding between the two of them as there was still plenty of time ahead.

Relying on text communication was still thin. He wanted to see the other after his career was over, confess his feelings, and everything would follow after that.

Shu Jun naturally thought about many situations where he would be unable to confess his feelings, such as if “Smoke” already had a lover or was already married. He even considered the possibility that “Smoke” could be an old man. Despite all his conjectures, not once did he guess that “Smoke” was an NPC in the game.

Shu Jun raised his face and let the water hit him heavily in the face. Leaving the gender issue aside, the object of his affection was just a pile of data.

…Or there was a possibility of something worse. Shu Jun didn’t want to think about it further until he fully grasped the current situation.

After eating a set of realistic combo punches in just one day, Shu Jun had the confidence to stay rational no matter what Marshal Zhu was about to tell him. After stabilizing his emotions, Shu Jun stepped out of the shower cabin and dried his gray hair with a towel.

“I’m ready,” Shu Jun said solemnly. He wrapped the towel around his neck, freeing his hand to grab a glass of water, with a face like death.

Zhu Yanchen looked him straight in the eyes and cut straight to the point. “Everything you have experienced isn’t a bug.”

“This world isn’t a game. Your world is.”

Shu Jun only felt that something in his mind had exploded. This wasn’t metaphorically, but rather realistically.

Pain surged like a tsunami, sweeping his nerves.

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

Access Denied Ch3

Kinky6 Comments

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 3: Eyes Facing Each Other

When Shu Jun woke up for the second time, he was met with a hungry stomach. The sky in the erosion zone was always overcast. The fog on the ground hadn’t dissipated, and the surroundings were as quiet as an old cemetery.

He yawned. The inside of his lips tingled, and the taste of blood filled his mouth.

Shu Jun frowned and touched the wound. Another problem was exposed—his canine teeth had become a bit sharp. If he really bit the mutant beast last night, he might actually be able to tear through its throat.

Yesterday’s mood was mostly helpless, but now, Shu Jun felt a bit of anger. There were more abnormalities in front of him, but there had been no feedback from the outside world for nearly 24 hours. <Erosion> shouldn’t have such a low-level problem.

His protective equipment was completely broken, and the physical and energy data were unknown. The air quality here was acceptable, but it was still in the scope of the erosion zone. He didn’t know what the consequences of dying in the game would be, so it was better to leave as soon as possible.

Shu Jun crawled out of the cave and began to move in the direction of the NPC stronghold.

Now that his condition was stable and his physical strength had recovered a little, he began to try to activate his skills. The originally calm air became turbulent, and the familiar whistling wind rushed into his ears. Since there was no problem with his skills and the stronghold wasn’t far away, even if he encountered an elite monster, he still had the ability to escape.

‘A beautiful vacation was just ahead,’ Shu Jun thought as he quickened his pace.

According to last night’s estimate, it would only take about six hours to reach that stronghold. The situation was smoother than he expected. There were no dangerous monsters on the road, and before he left the stone forest, human voices came from not far away.

Two NPC soldiers were patrolling nearby.

Shu Jun raised his hands in surprise and greeted them loudly. “I’m Shu Jun, captain of the Blackbirds, number S-001. Please take me to your stronghold. Also, if it’s convenient, can you lend me a communicator…”

Before he finished speaking, a bullet passed by, followed by a burning sensation on his ear. The gunfire didn’t stop. As a seasoned fighter, Shu Jun subconsciously manipulated the wind, and the sudden wind quickly pushed him away.

If he had been slower by half a second, the ensuing rain of bullets would have turned him into a sieve.

The fingers on his right hand twitched twice instinctively. Shu Jun gritted his teeth—the weight that should’ve accompanied him wasn’t in his hands. There was no greatsword and no mechanical armor—there were only tattered clothes that covered his shame* and provided no defense at all.

*Figuratively, as in his privates.

But no matter how embarrassing his image was, the NPC should always recognize him as an individual. This kind of offensive intensity was simply unreasonable. Shu Jun had to use his limbs like a real beast and hide himself behind a boulder. <Erosion> had emphasized many times that attacking NPCs would have serious penalties, so it wasn’t time to take risks.

“Hey!” Shu Jun raised his voice. “Stop attacking. I need to contact the game administrator—emergency contact code 4072…”

However, the patrols didn’t plan to let him finish.

He didn’t know what weapon the other side took out, but the boulder was directly shattered. Shu Jun planned to create some distance again but found that he couldn’t move.

There was a faint light shining under his feet. He recognized this thing. It was a top-tier hunting net used to capture large, elite monsters, and its price was quite staggering. The Blackbirds were one of the largest teams in <Erosion> and the number of top-tier hunting nets in their warehouse didn’t exceed three.

God knew how these NPCs had this kind of thing.

Faced with this thing, if he had equipment, he could still fight. Unfortunately, at the moment, Shu Jun was bare-handed and close to naked. The claws at his fingertips could tear fibers, but when the hunting net wrapped tightly around him, his struggle became futile.

A current flickered along the net, causing Shu Jun to arch his back. He forcibly tried to retain his consciousness under the continuous electric shocks as he tried to tear through the net.

“You’re seriously violating the ‘VR Game Management Regulations’—ah—”

Seeing that he was tearing too fiercely, the restraints bound his limbs tighter and gagged his mouth. Shu Jun became like a flopping fish caught in a net and could only raise his middle finger at the two NPCs.

“Erosion index?”

“It’s still the same as before. Maybe the machine is broken.”

The NPCs ignored him and spat out some words behind their gas masks.

“Take it back first. This kind of… thing has never appeared before.”

Judging from the results, Shu Jun entered the stronghold earlier than expected. It was just that instead of stepping through the doors with his own feet, he was pushed into a metal cage and transported in on a cart.

The metal cage bars were thicker than his wrist.

This was no longer a problem that could be solved by complaints. After he successfully withdrew from the game, he would find a lawyer—the prison cell was as narrow as a cargo box; certainly not as good as the cave he was hiding in before. Shu Jun’s limbs were firmly chained to the wall in an extremely uncomfortable position.

The group of NPCs didn’t even bother to give him some decent clothing.

Shu Jun looked around. The ground was wet without even a speck of dust that could be blown up. The cell observation window was made of reinforced glass, and two heavily armed guards stood on either side.

The pale white light poured down from the top of his head, and through the accumulated water on the ground, Shun Jun saw his current appearance clearly for the first time.

The game character was 100% true in line with reality, so his facial features hadn’t changed. His body was perfectly toned, and there were no strange blood vessels protruding or overly swollen muscles at the moment.

Not to mention the sharpened teeth and nails for the time being, the biggest change was his hair and eyes.

Shu Jun originally had normal black hair and eyes, but now his hair and eyes had turned ash-like gray, and his round pupils were lined with thin cracks. He had never seen anyone with a similar appearance, but at least he still looked human and not like a grotesque mutant beast. The NPC’s attitude was really suspicious.

He had to find a way to escape.

This place was similar to the cage where dangerous monsters were held in the game setting. Smoke was a meticulous strategist. After being inculcated for a long time, Shu Jun also had some understanding of this strange equipment. Such cages were usually equipped with physiological monitoring devices, so faking death or pretending to be sick was unlikely to be effective. His condition was already bad, and the longer he dragged it out, the more unfavorable it would become.

Shu Jun glanced at the surrounding surveillance cameras and suddenly had an idea. The wind swirled and violently twisted the camera off its bracket. The glass of the cell was smashed and rattled, and sirens blared incessantly.

The defense mechanism was immediately activated.

At first, it was an anesthesia bomb, but it was deflected by the wind and failed to hit Shu Jun. Then came the live ammunition. Shu Jung pulled up the chains on his wrist and barely managed to block his critical areas, though there were a few blood holes in his arms and shoulders.

The blood dripped and turned pitch black the moment it touched the ground.

At this moment, Shu Jun didn’t have time to observe the ground as there were more anomalies in front of him—was his ability always this strong?

The broken camera was thrown around by the wind like a large bullet and almost hit Shu Jun several times. It slammed against the observation window, leaving a spider web-like crack in the tempered glass. The chain-fixing bolt let out a shrill sound as Shu Jun tore off the chains.

Shu Jun was aware of his own physical strength. He didn’t have the energy to do such a feat again.

He took a breath and pulled the chain out with all his strength, hitting the center where the glass cracked. Shards of glass scattered around amidst the cracking sound. Shu Jun gathered the wind at his feet and ejected himself out of the cell.

The guards tried to stop him, but one was knocked out with his elbow while the other was kicked away. The two guards fell unconscious and slumped to the ground.

The entire process took no more than half a minute.

He went against his ban on attacking NPCs that he had compromised earlier since he found that it was pointless.

Not wanting to leave any room for hesitation, Shu Jun quickly stripped off the clothes of one of the guards, picked up the spoils, and ran. Before anyone arrived, the nearby surveillance and lighting were completely destroyed by the violent storm.

The NPC’s standard clothing didn’t fit him well. It was a little tight in the shoulders and a little loose in the waist, but it wasn’t a big deal.

In <Erosion>, the player’s residence was located in a stronghold on the edge of the contaminated areas. The structure of this stronghold was much the same, so it wasn’t difficult to find an escape route. But before escaping, he had to get some supplies first and also try to find a way to contact the outside world.

Since this was the cell floor, there had to be a lounge for the guards to change shifts nearby.

There was no time for him to breathe a sigh of relief. The alarm hadn’t reached its highest level yet, so it was prime time for action. Shu Jun braced himself and moved quickly down the corridor.

The lounge was empty.

Shu Jun swept all the gadgets he could use into his pockets and then turned on the contact light screen on the table. In response to unexpected situations, <Erosion> issued emergency contact codes to all players. As long as they reported the string of numbers to an NPC, an out-of-game customer service representative would intervene. Unfortunately, based on the situation not long ago, it seemed that the NPC route could be considered useless.

40721. A string of numbers flashed in the input box. Time moved slowly forward, but no customer service representative appeared.

Shu Jun quickly entered the team channel, but no one was online. Opening his friend list only showed all the names grayed out.

Wait. Someone’s name lit up. The system showed that the other party was online, and the waiting interface displayed the map and the location of where they were. The geometric patterns used for decoration changed around the map.

…Smoke was nearby.

Strange. Shu Jun raised his brows. Smoke always stayed in the inner city, out of the reach of combatants, and had never appeared in a border stronghold. Due to their distance from each other, the game never gave an exact location. Shu Jun always defaulted that he or she was a casual player.

How could a casual place run to such a place?

But since Smoke was nearby, it was better to go and meet first—the current situation was really abnormal, and a friend around him would make things feel more at ease. Since his account was abnormal, Smoke may be able to contact the outside world normally.

The game wasn’t reality, but there was no difference between the game character and the real person. Shu Jun smiled bitterly, thinking that this first meeting was quite embarrassing.

According to the positioning displayed, the point belonging to “Smoke” was moving to a certain room on the top floor. Shu Jun dexterously jumped out of the window and climbed to the top floor with the help of his wind.

“You should go back first.” An anxious voice rushed into his ears first.

“No need.”

“That thing ran out, and its erosion index hasn’t been determined. If the situation changes, this stronghold will probably be locked down. You just arrived here, and the special car hasn’t left yet, so it’s better you leave now.”

“I said, no need.”

The voice that responded was cold and sounded a bit familiar. Shu Jun grabbed the edge of the windowsill. The curtains completely obscured the indoor scene, and the sound inside wasn’t very clear.

Smoke’s location was just a few steps away.

…Looking at the frame, was Smoke an assistant to some bigshot?

The positioning stopped by the window, only a few steps away from Shu Jun. In order to hear more clearly, Shu Jun held his breath and climbed up the windowsill. The mutated nails made this a lot easier.

“In short, find it first. If I stay here, it’ll heighten your sense of alertness,” the cold voice continued. “I brought a lot of special equipment. There’s no way the entire base can’t catch a single mutant.”

The sound was getting closer, giving Shu Jun a bad feeling.

Swish.

The person in the room opened the curtain. The two looked at each other as their gazes met.

The anxious persuader was standing at the door, so there was only one person in front of the window, who was obviously not the casual player Shu Jun had guessed—the NPC in the uniform of the Marshal was staring directly at him; a trace of bewilderment flashed across his pale face.

Zhu Yanchen: “……”

Shu Jun: “……?”

Are the bugs in <Erosion> getting more serious?

The author has something to say:

The prologue is over (^ρ^)/

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

Access Denied Ch2

Kinky8 Comments

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 2: Virtual and Reality

When Shu Jun woke up again, he saw the cloudy sky that belonged to night.

He wasn’t in the place where he had fallen into the Erosion Swamp. The huge Erosion Swamp was nowhere to be found, replaced by jagged and weird rocks that surrounded him. As far as the eye could see, the world was only black, white, and gray. There was no one around; only deformed monsters that were pacing slowly in the stone forest.

Shu Jun was a little confused.

The mechanical battle armor had fallen into pieces, exposing his entire upper body, and his injuries were slowly healing. The communication device on his forearm barely functioned and emitted an occasional crackling static sound.

His gaze moved along the broken metal.

His skin should be a healthy wheat color, but now it looked like it was covered with a layer of dust, slightly whitened but also somewhat dull. Shu Jun subconsciously rubbed his forearm, and this action left a bloody mark on it.

His fingers weren’t right either. The nails that were originally trimmed had become sharp, a bit like the claws of a beast, and the color had turned opaque black.

Shu Jun gulped and swallowed. He did what any normal person would do—tried to open the communicator and contact the administrator.

However, the broken communicator only crackled with no intention of working.

Shu Jun, who had lost his goal, slowly laid back down and looked up at the night sky. If this was a dream, it was almost time to wake up. At some point, a contaminated mutant beast approached and looked down at him.

Shu Jun and that thing stared wide-eyed at each other for a while. The mutant beast blinked and gathered its six eyes into a pile. Its eyeballs were spinning as its saliva dripped onto Shu Jun’s face.

Shu Jun: “……”

It was too close. This distance wasn’t good to use wind. It was better to be gnawed on by this thing than to drown in the Erosion Swamp. He glanced around with the corner of his eyes but didn’t even catch a glimpse of the hilt of his greatsword.

The mutant beast opened its mouth, and a rancid smell washed over Shu Jun’s face. Shu Jun peeked at the thing’s throat, thinking about whether it was going to bite down, when the thing took its next step…

And firmly licked him.

Seeing that this thing had no intention of attacking, Shu Jun boldly stretched out his hand and decided to try the only thing at hand that could be considered a weapon—the claws on his fingertips.

As a result, as soon as his hand stretched about five centimeters, the mutant beast drooped its ears and ran away.

…The situation was getting more ridiculous.

Shu Jun stood up. Except for fatigue and pain from his wounds, there were no other abnormalities in his body. Once he got rid of this bug, he would definitely file a complaint with the <Erosion> officials.

The cold mud wasn’t suitable for resting. He found a cave that was a suitable size and was slightly higher in the stone forest. Shu Jun threw off most of his torn and tattered shoes and began to climb the weird rocks barefoot, collecting his thoughts during the process.

<Erosion> had been in operation for many years and always emphasized a realistic, immersive experience. They had never encountered such a serious bug before. However, now, when he tried to exit the game, he encountered failures, map errors, and model abnormalities. He only wanted to retire early, but he didn’t expect to receive a gift bundle of bugs in his face.

Shu Jun took a few deep breaths and cranked his neck.

…There was definitely someone out there trying to solve this issue. No matter what, he had to stay calm. Moreover, <Erosion> didn’t focus on an apocalyptic theme, so he wouldn’t be pushed to the brink of survival.

In the setting of <Erosion>, the world was once destroyed. Humans had revived a special life form from the polar regions. This microorganism named “Erosion Substance” accidentally leaked out and rapidly spread, devouring the entire human civilization at a terrifying speed.

They dyed the dead black, white, and gray and led creatures to abnormal mutation directions, which could be considered a type of “living radiation”. The so-called “Erosion Swamp” was a monster formed by gathering such things.

Fortunately, the survivors found a way to deal with it, and the purifier was invented in time to prevent the spread of erosion. The world was now in its first stages of civilized revival. It was easier to come up with interesting designs for the background of this era.

Players were the only group with abilities in the game and belonged to the United Government. Those who remained on the battlefield were mostly soldiers, who were on the front lines of purifying erosion.

The soldiers were equivalent to heroes in the game setting and were treated well. Even if combat players were trapped in the game, as long as they could find an NPC stronghold, they could comfortably wait for rescue.

He didn’t know which aspects the bug specifically affected, but he might be able to pass on some information to the outside world.

After determining his goal, Shu Jun felt a lot more relaxed. It was just that the situation was still a bit odd—there had been no major updates recently, so how could there be such a serious problem?

When it came to the plot update on the NPC side, he only heard one thing from his team members. The Grand Marshal of the United Government broke up with his girlfriend, whom he had been with for many years, but this kind of gossip plot shouldn’t lead to a program crash.

Thinking of the Grand Marshal of the United Government, Shu Jun couldn’t help but snort.

The game setting wasn’t important for these practical combatants. This NPC was their nominal superior, but he rarely appeared in person. Even if he did appear, he remained silent, wearing a gas mask on his face and revealing only a pair of eyes without much emotion.

The Grand Marshal of the United Government, Zhu Yanchen, was a formidable strategic talent in the game setting. His uniform was always tightly wrapped, and he covered himself completely with a mask, collar, and gloves. If it weren’t for the particularly cold look in his eyes when he glanced over, Shu Jun always felt that he was more like a robot.

The game designer really planned a girlfriend for such a person… or rather, an ex-girlfriend.

Shu Jun pursed his lips as he carefully climbed up the cave. The stone platform was cool but dry, which was much better than the muddy ground. The erosion in the heights wasn’t serious. He took a breath of the chilly night air, which dissipated the burning sensation in his lungs as if it had never existed.

A light shone through the stone forest beyond the horizon. That was probably a military stronghold in the game. After finding the destination for tomorrow, Shu Jun nestled into the cave and quickly fell asleep.

On the other side of the horizon, the interior of the stronghold was in chaos.

Zhu Yanchen sat at a desk, feeling as cold as an ice sculpture. No one wanted to stay in that suffocating office; only one person persistently rushed towards it.

“Miss Xia, you can’t go in. The Marshal, he’s now… uh, in a bad mood.”

“Even if we’re broken up, he won’t treat me as an enemy.” Xia Liang raised her teary eyes. “He needs me. Let me see him, please.”

The guard at the door choked, but in the end, he was no match for her tears offensive and let her in. The beautiful girl picked up her dress, thanked the guard pitifully, and disappeared on the other side of the door.

“Sir, is the scene cleared?”

As soon as the door was closed, that weak appearance disappeared instantly, and Xia Liang’s expression turned cold. She stared at Zhu Yanchen, who was behind the table, with an unhappy expression on her face.

“I told you in advance that I have a date with my girlfriend at this time. You specifically summoned your nominal ‘ex-girlfriend’, so the situation must not be good.”

“Something happened to Shu Jun,” Zhu Yanchen said concisely.

Xia Liang crossed her arms in a manner that was very inconsistent with her image and furrowed her brows tightly. “Haven’t you been discussing tactics with him all this time? How can something go wrong fighting that monster?

“In order for his team to win, he fell into the Erosion Swamp. I tried to intercede but couldn’t make it in time.”

“……” Xia Liang was silent for a moment. “Unfortunately, his way of dying leaves no bones behind. There’s no way to find him.”

“It was my mistake.”

Zhu Yanchen lowered his eyes. His handsome face was full of dark clouds.

Despite pretending to be a couple for several years, Xia Liang had never seen him show such obvious emotions. She only liked women, so in order to escape an arranged marriage by her family, she hit it off with Zhu Yanchen, who wanted to avoid a political marriage, and declared they were dating—one of them was a singer who performed all over the place, while the other had rooted himself in his office. They hardly ever met in person, which saved them the trouble of putting on their act.

If it weren’t for the two families urging marriage, they wouldn’t have released the news about their breakup.

Over the years, the two of them became acquaintances. On the opposite side, Marshal Zhu basically had no private life or hobbies and only worked mechanically day by day. Xia Liang thought this person’s feelings wouldn’t fluctuate by nature.

Having said that, Shu Jun was the most powerful humanoid weapon under Zhu Yanchen, so it wasn’t like his emotions were completely incomprehensible.

“If you ask me, you’ve been paying too much attention to that guy. It’s a pity that your weapon broke, but wouldn’t it be nice to get a new one?” Facing an acquaintance, she didn’t bother to hide her bad temper. “So, why did you call me over?”

“Shortly after he fell into the Erosion Swamp, it moved as a whole. The situation is quite abnormal.”

“I see. Those guys above will definitely pull you to study together. You want me to lead your personal team to investigate this matter privately.”

“Yes. Go with the Fourth Squadron to investigate this matter.”

After that, Zhu Yanchen took out a chip and put it on the table. “I called you here mainly because of this—the chip used in the plan. This is now under your care.”

“You want to continue to promote that plan? How troublesome. I should have guessed this day would come when we made that agreement.” Xia Liang put the chip into her satchel and then gave a standard military salute. “Yes, sir.”

Zhu Yanchen nodded. The emotions that seemed like they were illusions had long since disappeared. Xia Liang could tell this guy had sealed himself in a shell again.

However, they weren’t friends, and she wasn’t interested in Zhu Yanchen’s personal matters, so she didn’t intend to pry. It was just that, as a subordinate, she still had to fulfill her responsibilities…

“Oh, by the way, let me remind you. Since I’m now transferred to the Fourth Squadron, I need time to hand over what I have in hand. No matter how many people you have on your side, you have to find someone to guide the Blackbirds.”

Before going out, Xia Liang turned her head.

“There are quite a lot of people who keep in touch with Shu Jun. We can’t let them find out—”

“—They must not be allowed to discover that ‘over there’ is virtual, and ‘over here’ is reality.”

Kinky Thoughts:

Wait, what? The bombshell already dropped? This isn’t like Nian Zhong style. Usually, such huge bombshells are revealed 150+ chapters in.

Note: Zhu Yanchen is the gong in this novel. His alias is Smoke [Yanchen] (烟尘) which translated would be soot/smoke & dust. The Yanchen (延辰) in his name is different Chinese characters. Throughout the novel, Shu Jun would refer to either of them. To distinguish between them, Smoke will be used when he’s referring to the alias, while Yanchen will be used when referring to Zhu Yanchen himself.

Sometimes Shu Jun would call Smoke A’Yan (阿烟) as an affectionate way to address him. This will be kept in pinyin because there’s no good translation for it in English.

So while Shu Jun is talking, he may be referring to either Zhu Yanchen or Smoke, which is the same person. Just keep this in mind.

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

Access Denied Ch1

Kinky11 Comments

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 1: Game Malfunction

Fifteen minutes before the championship of the large-scale VR game <Erosion>.

The preparation room was set in the erosion zone of the game, with the smell of ashes floating in the wind. After checking his equipment for the last time, Shu Jun’s communicator rang. There was only one person who would send a message at a time like this…

[Smoke]: Remember the strategy discussion last night. Stability is the best policy.

When he saw the other party’s ID, Shu Jun couldn’t help raising the corner of his mouth.

[See You Tomorrow]: Understood, Chief Strategist.

[Smoke]: Good luck.

[See You Tomorrow]: When we win the championship, let’s meet up.

Shu Jun held his breath. This time, the other person’s response was more than ten seconds late.

[Smoke]: Okay.

Staring at the word “okay” for a few seconds, Shu Jun felt a little nervous.

This would be his last big game in <Erosion>. After the game, Shu Jun decided to announce his retirement two years early. Then he would fly to City A, where “Smoke” was located, as soon as possible and meet this person who spoke sparingly and confessed his feelings.

He had spent too much time in the game.

Although he just turned 27, Shu Jun had already spent a decade in <Erosion> and was one of the most experienced players among the older generation.

This was all due to the special provision in <Erosion>—once a combatant was killed in battle, he or she must retire from the battlefield to engage in other occupations. The operator stated that this was to give people a stronger sense of reality and a better experience of “another world”.

Players could only have one character, and there were no such things as save files or rollbacks. This provision directly led to the pitiful few senior combat players. Most combat powers that had persisted until now were close to monsters.

Fortunately, the provision prohibiting saving didn’t reduce people’s enthusiasm.

After all, the game was about the experience. The elite combatants at the top of the pyramid had both fame and fortune, and even their professional lives had their own interests.

On the other hand, the battle itself was harsh enough, and with hardship came income. The rules of <Erosion> were quite peculiar. It didn’t advocate hostility between teams. There was no PvP1 schedule for the championship; only a vast PvE2 arena. Personnel losses, resource consumption, and cooperation between teams must all be included in the evaluation. The team that could reasonably plan tactics and achieve their goal first would win.

1Stands for Player vs Player. It’s a multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between human players.
2Stands for Player vs Environment. It’s a term used for both single player and online games where players go against computer-controlled enemies.

Everything was ready and set for this moment. The championship was just around the corner.

Seeing that his crush didn’t reply to him, Shu Jun put the greatsword behind his back, donned a gas mask, and left the preparation room.

The duration of the championship was three days and nights.

Before the night of the third day came, the situation wasn’t ideal. Just like they had previously speculated, their opponent, Groundwater, was moving much faster than they were, and no miracle happened.

“If this continues, we’ll lose.” Vice Captain Hu Yan sighed.

“This map is full of swamps, and Groundwater is good at water-based abilities. Vice Captain Hu, Captain Luo of Groundwater is also a veteran. In such a shitty environment, there’s nothing to be ashamed of losing to the number one support,” a team member closest to him answered.

Shu Jun was good at controlling wind, with rare attributes and top-notch offensive and defensive capabilities. Unfortunately, his skills couldn’t be applied to the whole team. Vice Captain Hu Yan controlled rocks, but on a wetland map with rich water bodies, their opponent still had the advantage—the captain of Groundwater, Luo Duan, was recognized as the number one auxiliary, with enough experience that this was now literally in his element*.

*Like a fish in water (如鱼得水) Refers to someone who is completely at ease in a certain environment or situation, just as a fish is comfortable and happy in water. 

“Anyway, all actions will be counted towards the team’s contribution, so we might as well get any points we can,” another team member tried to encourage.

Shu Jun scratched his face and looked at Hu Yan. “Besides meeting with you, I have also discussed it for a few weeks with A’Yan*.”

*Using an [A] (阿) in front of a name signifies addressing someone affectionately or as a sign of familiarity. || A’Yan is referring to [Smoke], but I kept this pinyin because it doesn’t translate well to English. You can read my Kinky Thoughts in Chapter 2 for more details on this (when the gong is formally introduced).

Hu Yan: “What does sister-in-law… Smoke think?”

“A lot of tactics were discussed. Smoke thinks that we have no chance of winning, and if we’re lucky, we’ll tie at best.” Shu Jun sprayed his breath inside the gas mask.

“Right, just do our best. Groundwater won because of the advantage on this map. Next time—haa, well, you won’t be there. I was hoping for a nice win this match. I know you have a lot of tricks up your sleeves, but with this situation…”

There was no joy on Hu Yan’s face regarding being promoted from Vice Captain to Captain; instead, he looked extremely worried.

“Captain Shu, our team has won so many matches in a row. Can’t you choose a match where we have a higher chance of winning to retire? Can you think about it again?”

“Not all is lost. I just checked the latest terrain information and have some new ideas.”

Shu Jun opened the tent, scanned the grayish land in the distance, and his voice carried a hint of amusement.

“Don’t worry. We won’t lose.”

Outside the game.

The final viewing area was U-shaped and opened to the public. Tickets were more than ten times more expensive than paid live broadcasts. Several giant light screens hovered over the viewing area, filled with bleak and lonely images of the game world.

More than two days had passed, yet the cheers in the viewing area and the excitement were unabated.

As always, the arena was set in an unknown erosion zone in the game. In the game setting, the signal communication in the erosion zone was poor. Because the teams were too close to the center of the erosion zone, the screen would stutter and blur, which only enhanced the atmosphere.

Now, both teams were in the center of the erosion zone—near a monster called the “Erosion Swamp”—the images coming back on the big screen gradually became eerie.

Accompanied by the noise of electric currents, a dark, fluid object flashed past the edge of the screen. From time to time, deformed creatures would pass the cameras, facing the audience with features that couldn’t be distinguished. Even though the screen was filled with all kinds of anomalies, such scenes were still shocking.

On the land that had lost its color, there was a huge, pure black “lake”. Its surface was boiling in the windless world, with thin liquid columns extending towards the sky, slowly wriggling.

On the edge of such a huge Erosion Swamp, the people were almost negligible.

There was a humming sound of air conditioning running from the observation deck.

“As expected of the difficulty for the championship, this is the biggest Erosion Swamp I have ever seen.” It was late at night, but the enthusiasm of the host on the scene remained undiminished.

“It’s the third day of the championship. The scoring will stop after twelve hours. Now it seems that the most reasonable approach is to place purifiers in the surrounding area, as partial purification takes precedence over complete removal.”

As the full picture of the Erosion Swamp was unveiled, even a layman could see that the map was too difficult and complex to be prepared for a single match. There would be another major competition in six months, and the step-by-step processing of the large Erosion Swamp would be a good theme. It remained to be seen which of the two team leaders could steadily lay the foundation for future competitions.

“The decisive battle has entered a boiling stage…! Finally, the ‘Immortal Legend’ Shu Jun has led the Blackbirds to the center of the erosion zone.”

“The Blackbirds have no casualties, 25% of resources remaining, and their cooperation is impeccable, but their overall score is still behind Groundwater—under the leadership of Luo Duan, Groundwater has been purifying the surrounding area for more than five hours… and now, Shu Jun has taken action! Instead of following the usual procedure of purification, the Blackbirds have turned towards the cliff next to the Erosion Swamp!”

As if perceiving intruders, the monsters around the Erosion Swamp gathered and rushed towards the approaching Blackbirds team. In the blurred picture, the Blackbirds took up a defensive formation.

Shu Jun used his skill “wind walk” to float in the air. He wielded his greatsword with the help of the wind and was covered by his tight, but not bulky, mechanical armor. He looked like a knight stepping out of a wrong time and space.

People quickly discovered Shu Jun’s goal.

Several stalagmites stood in the center of the swamp. If the purification machine was installed there, it could force the huge Erosion Swamp into a ring shape so that those who came later could divide it further and break it down.

An incredible scoring opportunity, but it only existed in theory.

The location of those stalagmites was extremely dangerous. They were too far offshore and full of monsters. Only players like Shu Jun, who had the ability to control wind, could barely approach. However, approaching was one thing; reaching them was another. The Erosion Swamp would try its best to eliminate any threats. This Erosion Swamp was particularly powerful, and the monsters were particularly dense, so attacking alone was tantamount to suicide.

“Erosion Swamp… The Erosion Swamp counterattacked. The Blackbirds have blocked the erosion tide on the peripheral, but Shu Jun isn’t resisting, and his armor is beginning to peel off!”

The host’s voice was filled with shock.

“What the hell are the Blackbirds planning to do?! Will the myth of the ‘Immortal Legend’ end today?”

Like adding cold water to boiling oil, the viewing area instantly exploded.

In the image that was close to disappearing, Shu Jun was seen taking a direct hit from the erosion liquid ejected by the Erosion Swamp. Liquid bullets rained down heavily, but he wrapped himself in fierce wind, which formed a barrier of air, blocking most of the attack. Even so, his armor was still torn and tattered. His wheat-colored skin was exposed, revealing glaring burns.

Shu Jun didn’t stop. He firmly rushed towards the cluster of stalagmites. The purifier was firmly on his back, continuously humming.

Finding that it couldn’t block the enemy, the Erosion Swamp let out a sharp cry. The monsters went berserk. Anything with wings rushed recklessly towards Shu Jun. The latter picked up his greatsword and, with the help of wind, lifted the heavy piece of metal, splitting those monsters’ bodies as if he were chopping fruits and vegetables.

Minced flesh and black blood rolled up in the wind, creating a foul-smelling rain over the swamp.

Shu Jun was drenched in blood. The monsters’ corpses were swallowed by the Erosion Swamp while more monsters continued to attack. The liquid column of the Erosion Swamp became entangled, not daring to approach the purifier. It could only form a cage, trapping Shu Jun near the stalagmite.

There was still some distance away.

Shu Jun gritted his teeth and slammed directly into the liquid column. The battle armor turned into soft butter in front of the liquid column and was easily peeled off. As blood splattered, Shu Jun was almost split in half.

His skill was still running. The wind was still supporting Shu Jun, and he didn’t stop.

The Erosion Swamp seemed to sense the fighting spirit of the other side. It decided to abandon delaying tactics and instead crush its opponent before the purifier could fully activate. The liquid column began to deform and attack Shu Jun’s hands and feet.

More and more liquid columns became entangled. Shu Jun began to lose the feeling of his legs and feet. He was running out of time.

Shu Jun threw out his greatsword. With inertia and wind, Shu Jun advanced forward with it. After a grating sound, the greatsword was lodged in a stalagmite.

When he arrived at his destination, Shu Jun completely gave up his defenses and concentrated on activating the purifier. The Erosion Swamp entangled Shu Jun’s lower body and was quickly devouring him, moving upwards. Because Shu Jun’s face was covered with a gas mask, the audience couldn’t see his expression.

Everything happened all at once.

After just a few seconds, the dark fluid almost covered Shu Jun’s entire body; only the part above his chest was still exposed—his left hand clenched the greatsword nailed to the stalagmite to avoid being dragged away by the Erosion Swamp, while his right hand quickly activated the purifier.

Regardless of whether the purification function was successfully activated or not, there was only one fate for Shu Jun. This crazy guy was destined to be swallowed up. The difference only lay in “wasting his life” or “sacrificing himself to win the game”.

The audience invariably held their breath.

Finally, a pleasant beep sounded. Along with the humming sound of mechanical activation, the earth rumbled and shook, and everyone got their answer.

The purifier was successfully activated.

Shu Jun let go of his left hand and stopped resisting. The next moment, he was dragged to the bottom of the swamp.

In order to avoid the purifier, the huge Erosion Swamp turned into a ring, and more dangerous monsters were summoned to the area. The Blackbirds that were on the periphery of the Erosion Swamp caught a steady stream of them, as well as vital purification bonus points, causing their score to soar.

Groundwater also managed to tag a few elite monsters, but the points for this cooperative move would be credited to the Blackbirds. Even if the host didn’t announce it, any random spectator could tell the Blackbirds had won.

…With the price being the sacrifice of their own captain.

“It’s crazy. Shu Jun obviously still has two years before he reaches his retirement period…” After a moment of silence, the host finally found his voice. “The Blackbirds’ points have substantially overtaken everyone. The outcome has been decided.”

After a few seconds of dead silence, the buzzing discussion on the viewing platform became louder. First, there was sporadic applause that gradually turned into excited cheers.

Next, they just needed to wait for the hero of the Blackbirds to leave the VR pod and return to reality. The reporters were waiting in line near the players’ lounge. When Shu Jun appeared, he would be swallowed up by the crowd.

…But this wasn’t what Shu Jun was worried about at the moment.

He was still sinking.

The Erosion Swamp was the most dangerous source of erosion in <Erosion>. According to the game settings, he would undoubtedly die. It stood to reason that the game connection would disconnect, and he would immediately return to reality. However, Shu Jun didn’t see the familiar lights of the VR pod, and he continued to sink into the Erosion Swamp. The erosive substance that made up the Erosion Swamp bit his flesh, dissolving his skin giving him excruciating pain.

In <Erosion>, pain was realistic. Isn’t this a bit ridiculous to even simulate the process of death?

Shu Jun was able to maintain his thoughts at first. Soon, the severe pain beyond the limits of human endurance nearly boiled his brain. Suffocation and corrosive pain struck at the same time, and the cold and sticky erosive substance drilled into his mouth and nose, burning like strong acid.

For ten seconds, the connection wasn’t disconnected.

He was trapped in the depths of this dark foreign body, and even his bewilderment was swallowed by the excruciating pain.

If he really died in this shitty malfunction, it would basically be the same as working diligently all his life and dying the night before retirement, Shu Jun thought in a daze. He didn’t want to leave an image of an unlucky guy who made a fortune but didn’t get to spend it.

Thirty seconds passed, yet the connection still didn’t break.

He hadn’t seen Smoke yet. If he wasn’t sure whether his crush was a man or woman, his fate would truly end in tragedy. That group of bastards in his team even made a bet about it…

His beautiful vacation was gone. His free life was gone. Even his confession that he didn’t get to make was gone…

……

To die now would be too fucked up.

In severe pain, Shu Jun forced himself to hold his breath. He wasn’t sure what the end of his waiting would be, but he had employed a suicidal tactic. The number of people who were following the game from outside wasn’t low. Someone would eventually notice that he wasn’t in a normal state in the VR pod.

‘Have to hold on,’ he thought.

Persist.

Persist…

The surrounding Erosion Swamp made a strange cry, and his body almost completely melted. Shu Jun barely kept his consciousness and continued to wait.

Until he was completely unconscious.

Shu Jun failed to see that outside the game, another “Shu Jun” walked out of the VR pod and waved confidently at the reporters under the thunderous cheers of the viewing area.

The author has something to say:

As with tradition, the subject suffers bad luck at the beginning (x

This isn’t an e-sports novel. Repeating it to avoid misunderstanding √

Kinky Thoughts:

I sense a reoccurring beginning prologue theme in all of Nian Zhong’s works here…

As I’m a big fan of this author, I have decided to pick up this project up. Originally, it was translated by Strictly Bromance, but it seems that it’s been on hiatus for a while. I did contact Michelle (the translator) a while back, who told me to give her a chance to finish it before I decide to start on it, but there doesn’t seem to be much progress after that. I would still encourage you to read her version.

This novel is also known as Saving Unpermitted. With the official signing from a publisher, they have decided to call it Access Denied, so I’m going with that. Below is official artwork for the books. You can order Vol 1 here.

|| Table of Contents || >>>

Evil As Humans Ch96

Kinky6 Comments

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 96: Yellow Millet

“It seems to be me.”

Yin Ren shrank to Zhong Chengshuo’s side. His voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible. His breath sprayed on Zhong Chengshuo’s ear, giving him an itchy and warm feeling.

Li Nian walked to Fu Xingchuan, who was busy with his things, and whispered something. The green willow branches that locked the two of them gained a bit more strength and became tighter.

Zhong Chengshuo looked at the weird murals covering the walls, then turned to look at Yin Ren, then turned back to the murals. He really couldn’t match the figure in the murals that looks like the Ghost King to Yin Ren—the Yin Ren he saw most often only had two modes: “lying on the sofa” and “lying on the sofa”.

…But he had indeed seen a similar scene.

In the Archive, when Yin Ren went out of control, Zhong Chengshuo saw a “person” covered with red seals.

The three-meter-high, blood-red thing staggered in front of many evil things. The evil things behind it, no matter how big or small, all bowed their heads and walked in a regular manner, like loyal soldiers. But the thing moved very casually. A pair of pale barefoot feet stepped into the mud, lining the skin with its dark brown stains, almost turning it black.

It walked in the long-destroyed past, and there were soft sounds of fragmentary collisions on its body.

Embroidery, shackles, wooden talismans, and pieces of jade, together with the bell on the thing’s feet, intertwined into an ominous symphony. The red cloth and yellow talisman on its body were similar to Yin Ren’s “Evil Spirit” form.

What was hidden under those layers of seals?

If that was Yin Ren from thousands of years ago…

The red figure gradually shrank and blurred, completely overlapping with the person on the mural. Yin Ren, who was standing next to him, had a smile in his eyes. Behind him was layer after layer of hallucinatory research buildings.

Zhong Chengshuo held his breath for a while. Instead of speaking directly, he held Yin Ren’s hand and wrote quickly on his palm.

[Why do you say “it seems”?]

Yin Ren also took advantage of the situation and changed to written communication: [I haven’t been here before, so I can’t be sure. Sunken Society was very annoying before. When they came to me, I would hide if I could and beat them up if I couldn’t.]

Zhong Chengshuo was speechless. He conservatively estimated that the Yin Ren “before” was likely to have existed around the Gong Dynasty.

[But at that time, I was mixed with messy evil things, but it’s only me who’s covered in red.] Yin Ren’s strokes became heavier than before, as if there was confidence in his movements.

Zhong Chengshuo’s fingertips paused on Yin Ren’s skin. Yin Ren admitted too readily, so he was unable to ask.

What was he going to ask?

Why did Sunken Society focus on you?

Why were you involved with evil things?

…Why does it sound like when you refer to those groups of “evil things”, you seem detached from them as if they have nothing to do with you?

But Zhong Chengshuo also understood that no matter what the issue was, it certainly couldn’t be made clear with just a few words, let alone a detailed discussion right here and now. Yin Ren probably also knew this. They were always patient, so they could wait.

Zhong Chengshuo manicured and rounded nails pressed on the palm of Yin Ren’s hand, forming a little depression on the warm skin.

He knew in his heart the “correct” way to deal with it, but he always felt that he should ask something—anything at all…

“Does this red color have any special meaning?”

A few steps away, a voice suddenly sounded. Yin Ren’s hand instantly froze. For a moment, Lord Ghost King thought his “whispers” with Zhong Chengshuo had been discovered.

The person who asked the question was Qi Xin.

It could be considered that she was quite brave considering she was an ordinary person who was swept up in this nightmarish place and was “still able to take care of herself”. Qi Xin could be described as a fierce warrior among fierce warriors. With a pale face, she still managed to squeeze out some spare energy to ask questions.

She observed the murals calmly, without the curiosity that Zhong Chengshuo had. She just looked at them and asked her question casually with a flat tone, as if she were asking, “Why do you put bean paste in this dish?”

Qi Xin stretched out her hand. Her fingertips stopped a few centimeters away from touching the redness. Her pair of plain shoes stepped on a corpse’s feet, and next to the deformed monster’s feet there was an artificial leather surface that gave off a dim light.

Even Professor Li glanced at her quite unexpectedly.

“You guys are talking about your own things. I just want to try and help,” she continued. “And this minister is also wearing red clothes. Isn’t this a symbol?”

Before her words fell, Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo turned their heads to look at Fu Xingchuan.

“It’s festive,” Fu Xingchuan said. “And don’t people say that ghosts like to wear red? In case I die, I can become the fiercest ghost in Haigu.”

Li Nian couldn’t stand it. They could hear his teeth grinding in his voice. “Look at our situation. Be serious.”

“…How to put this… This custom was started in the Gong Dynasty.” Fu Xingchuan coughed twice and put away his joking expression. “The research department at that time found that evil things may not be able to remember human faces, but they were particularly sensitive to ‘red’ and ‘weird attire’. I’m not helping my opponents remember me.”

Qi Xin slowly turned her head. “If I understand correctly, as long as you stick to this outfit, once we encounter danger, you’ll be treated as the first target?”

“It’s a bit pretentious if I say that myself.” Fu Xingchuan scratched his head. “Anyway, it’s hard to say whether this person in the mural is a cultivator wearing red or a naturally red-clothed evil spirit.”

“Doesn’t your department specialize in dealing with these things?” Qi Xin turned her head again.

Fu Xingchuan was about to laugh when Professor Li interrupted, “The world was in chaos in the last years of the Gong Dynasty. At that time, many research information was lost in the flames of war, so our records have gaps.”

During a century of troubled times, papers and texts disappeared. Only the murals deep underground slept quietly, and only specious legends had been passed down for thousands of years.

‘That’s it,’ Yin Ren thought.

Huajisi was extremely concerned about the preservation of their archives, but he didn’t see any relevant records of the late Gong Dynasty in Shian’s library.

Mortals were always so fragile and short-lived.

Even though they were deep underground, the eternal light of Sunken Society was still on. Compared to that, the amount of people in Huajisi that sacrificed their lives left behind only an <Encyclopedia of Metaphysics>, which was now known as <The Book of Exorcism>, was such an understatement.

An encyclopedia existed, yet why weren’t the most important truths recorded?

Yin Ren lowered his head and looked at the muddy ground. In the darkness, a gauze-like mist quietly diffused out of the stone crevices.

…Light mist?

Yin Ren grasped Zhong Chengshuo’s wrist and rushed straight to Fu Xingchuan. The latter was taken aback, and the ponytail behind his head almost exploded. Minister Fu instantly assumed a defensive posture when he heard his subordinate yell—

“There’s a ghost!” Lord Ghost King shouted hoarsely.

Fu Xingchuan: “……”

Whether Yin Ren was a mole for someone else or not, he truly wanted to beat this kid up.

The moment he realized that the mist had filled the air, he used a levitating technique to lift everyone up.

Surrounded by the fire dragons, everyone rushed out of one of the large windows and flew straight towards the buildings above. The buildings and their gaps were filled with milky white mist, and they rose and fell like the tide, as if they were a living thing that was breathing.

The mist was cold, with a biting malice that rejected everything.

It spread out of the crevices of the stones, flowing out of the mouths and noses of the strange corpses. It gnawed at their toes, trying to crawl up their feet and legs, with a touch that was close to a cold leech.

Fu Xingchuan stabbed more than a dozen golden needles into the floor, and at the end of the golden needles, flames erupted. The surrounding fire dragons suddenly became five to six times thicker, causing the mist to instantly dissipate.

Everyone swayed through the doors and windows like pinholes, passing exaggerated corpses. Each room they passed had a round crimson altar in the middle, and the style of the murals would change, yet only the dazzling red was vaguely the same.

Oddly, they were sprinting upwards, but the rooms were endless, as if they were constantly copied and pasted.

As the room looked newer, the withered corpses became more human-like, and the red figures on the murals were getting denser. The spacious research hall was like a dismemberment scene, with every corner splattered with dense “bloodstains” of human figures.

The fire dragons were still moving forward.

“Fuck, is it human? A giant ghost wall can be so fast?” Fu Xingchuan, who was leading, cursed.

This was inherently difficult for people to move, not to mention the strangeness in the mist. Even if it was just a simple mist, it still greatly enhanced the difficulty of them finding a way out.

Seeing the mist coming from all directions from the west, Fu Xingchuan made a quick decision and stopped in one of the most structurally complete research halls.

“This is a good place to defend. Lao Li, arrange defensive measures. I’ll try to find a breakpoint.”

The tried and tested Minister Fu didn’t seem anxious, but it was false to say he wasn’t worried.

If the mist and maze were really manipulated by humans, that person’s strength was certainly above him, but as for the evil things… 1,000-year-old evil things wouldn’t play these kinds of tricks and prefer a direct confrontation.

For example—

“Minister, there’s a big eyeball over there,” Zhong Chengshuo pointed out. “I can see there is a physical evil thing there.”

However, Yin Ren didn’t turn his head. He turned his back to the direction Zhong Chengshuo was pointing and looked at the crimson dots under the everlasting lamps.

They were standing in a research hall two hundred years ago. The hall was circular, with a large door opening on one side.

On the other side of the doorway, there was a huge, strange eye. That eye was like a child’s inferior toy, with a myriad of colors encircling it. If it weren’t for the round pupils of the five people flying around, causing it to zoom in and out, no one would be able to judge that it was an “eyeball” from a glance.

It squeezed hard into the hallway. Its edges deformed softly, and it made a wet and piercing squeak, like some kind of inflatable toy.

Fu Xingchuan glanced at it.

He almost had to show some kind of respect for Unit 9. After working with this unlucky group for so long, he witnessed all kinds of strange things. No wonder no one could escape here alive. Even if there was no mist, this wasn’t something that could be dealt with by just fighting it.

Phenomenon A-A682, Yellow Millet.

One of the extremely dangerous and extremely rare physical evil things that feeds on the corpses of other evil things. Yellow Millet can turn its body into a liquid or gaseous state. Although it doesn’t eat humans, it has no feelings towards them either, making it difficult to deal with.

…Rumors had it that the Great Celestial Master, Zhong Yi, who sealed the six Evil Spirits, rode on Yellow Millet.

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

Evil As Humans Ch95

Kinky2 Comments

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 95: Murals

Above ground.

Headed by Xiang Jiang, who “survived the disaster”, the other three from Shian left the mines early and returned to town.

At this time, most of the townspeople were active outside. Looking at them from a hundred meters away, the town showed an idyllic scene, if they were to ignore the numerous dots of evil beings floating among the flow of people. Whether it was terrifying aliens that were particularly prominent in the crowd or the weird mist looming around them, it didn’t seem to bother the townspeople at all.

Based on how everyone was living, Ge Tingting was a little suspicious. Even if an evil spirit fell from the sky here, this group of people would probably carry their basket and simply step over it to buy vegetables.

And once the three members of Shian approached, the townspeople became like frightened herd animals. The laughter and chatter instantly died, and the townspeople quickly stopped their work. Dozens of eyes followed the three of them.

If it weren’t for those people who were still talking and living normally in the previous second, Ge Tingting would have thought that this place was a field of human sunflowers. The malicious gaze stung her as she took two steps forward and walked side by side with Xiang Jiang.

Just as Xiang Jiang hung up on a call, he unscrewed the cap of a mineral water bottle and took a few sips, ignoring Ge Tingting’s gesture. “We’ll go find the mayor later.”

Behind the two of them, Huang Jin frowned.

Despite being the mayor for many years, Ren Jiying wasn’t popular with the locals and had no prestige. To investigate the town’s past, it was better to use spirit weapons to disguise their identities and get close to the townspeople. These were all bad tricks used by the Nightwalkers, and there was no reason Shian wouldn’t know about them.

Did something bad happen? But seeing Xiang Jiang’s stinky face, Huang Jin couldn’t really ask this.

In his view, the only major event that could happen now was “the identity of Yin Ren’s being an evil being is exposed and King Yama and Shian tearing their faces apart”. He didn’t know who the hapless Shian forces meeting those two monsters underground were but Huang Jin sincerely wished them good health, both physically and mentally.

When Ren Jiying was called out from the town government office by Xiang Jiang, she was in a daze. However, compared to the stern-faced staff around her, she had a ruddy complexion and bright eyes, looking like a living person.

“Something happened,” Xiang Jiang bluntly stated. “The mine collapsed, and our people and Qi Xin fell into the depths.”

Ren Jiying’s face turned pale. “How did this happen?”

“There’s a high probability that it was a man-made attack. Everyone is fine for the time being. We need to thoroughly investigate the recent activities in the town, and we need your cooperation—it has nothing to do with the previous cases in town, and we don’t plan to go to the police.”

Mayor Ren rubbed her temples vigorously and looked around wearily. “Okay, I know. Don’t talk here. Go to my place first.”

After arriving home, Ren Jiying carefully locked her anti-theft door and checked it several times.

The homestay was no better than an ordinary residence. For someone like Ge Tingting, who was used to sleeping in abandoned buildings, no matter how well guarded this place was, there were always thousands of weak points for people to slip in. Mayor Ren’s behavior was more like giving herself psychological comfort than being cautious.

Zhong Chengshuo and Yin Ren’s luggage was still in its old position. Yin Ren’s suitcase was even opened carelessly. They leaned together, full of life, like their owners, who may come back at any moment.

Ge Tingting’s chest sank inexplicably. She looked away, sat obediently at the table, and waited.

Ren Jiying was preparing freshly blended honey water and well-packaged food for them as usual.

“Tell us everything about that mine.” Xiang Jiang got straight to the point.

“It’s a long story.” Ren Jiying took a sip of honey water and laughed dryly. “You must all know the development of this town. In those years, the media reported on it overwhelmingly… Everyone likes to watch glamorous legends, so I’ll just get to the chicken feathers* afterwards.”

*Term used to describe a mess of things. || In this context, she’s saying, I’ll just get to the part where things became a mess.

“This matter started 28 years ago.”

She lowered her gaze.

“28 years ago, there was a ‘landslide’ here. Soon after that, everyone was… Well, everyone was abnormal, including my parents. They began to exclude outsiders for no reason, while turning a blind eye to some strange things in town.”

Ren Jiying shook her head helplessly.

“Now I’m pretty sure that it’s that point in time—I once checked the economic information of the town. Since that year, there have been no foreign projects here.”

……

“28 years ago, there was a metaphysical natural disaster in and around Haigu, and Gengsheng Town was within the scope of being affected.”

Directly below the homestay, a few hundred meters underground.

While Fu Xingchuan was planning the route of the building, Professor Li used special equipment to take pictures of the murals while talking.

Zhong Chengshuo was still meticulously slicing and collecting samples, but Yin Ren could see that this guy’s ears moved, and he was listening intently.

The two science posts were well versed in their skills of being focused while multitasking. The research recordings seemed to be some kind of muscle memory for them, so they didn’t need to use their brains at all.

“Metaphysical natural disaster?” Yin Ren listened wholeheartedly.

After all, these were the two top people in Shian that were on full alert, so he didn’t dare stretch the tips of his hair too long. He couldn’t even scratch Zhong Chengshuo.

…And he really didn’t know what a metaphysical natural disaster was. 28 years ago, Yin Ren was still rolling wantonly around on a pile of bones, keeping his thousands of ears deaf, and was in a deep beauty sleep.

“This should be information that can only be accessed by B-level or above, but the experience of you two is comparable to that of an ordinary B-level, so it’s fine for you to know.”

Professor Li’s tone sounded like he was lecturing, but it was more inexplicably sarcastic than a lecture.

“That year, there was a ‘Divine Descent’ in Haigu—you can think of it as a large-scale eruption of unexplained Evil Force. After that, the mines in Gengsheng Town severely collapsed, resulting in a sharp decline in mineable reserves. Of course, this is just what it says on paper.”

After Li Nian finished taking pictures of the murals, he looked at the windows and door. They were stacked endlessly, but the corpses in them were different.

It was like a weird kaleidoscope.

“Generally speaking, after a Divine Descent, Shian will immediately dispose of the main sources of corruption, and the remaining corruption will naturally dissipate due to the flow of air and population.”

“But Gengsheng Town isn’t a plain city. The terrain here is special, and the population flow is very small. Under the deliberate interference of some people, the Evil Force here lingered for a long time, and it still retained the environmental characteristics of the ‘Divine Descent’ period.”

The air, the soil, and the flowing water were full of a faint Evil Force and corruption was everywhere.

Yin Ren lowered the corner of his mouth and looked at the dirty stone floor under his feet. Perhaps it was because he entered a familiar environment that he was suddenly blessed and could comprehend the source of that previous feeling of familiarity.

…It was the environment itself.

This mountain town was marinated in the aura of the Evil Force.

And this kind of environment, where every corner was filled with Evil Force, was similar to the era in which he lived. However, compared to the world in Yin Ren’s memory, the concentration of Evil Force in Gengsheng Town wasn’t that high.

Maybe it was because of this that he didn’t react the first time…?

Yin Ren bit his thumb unconsciously. The firelight bounced in the eye sockets of the strange corpse on both sides of him.

No. Something is missing. A certain key aura. A key taste. This kind of anxiety that he couldn’t remember was comparable to scratching an itch. Yin Ren hid a few strands of hair in his jacket and shook them with irritability.

A few steps away, Zhong Chengshuo stuffed a specimen into a box with a straightforward satisfaction on his face. He carefully put the box in his backpack and then stuck to Yin Ren’s back as he patted his shoulder.

With his lover close, those strands of hair had a target and quickly wrapped around Zhong Chengshuo’s little finger.

“The environmental characteristics of the ‘Divine Descent’ period? …What characteristic?” Zhong Chengshuo took the initiative to ask.

“The Evil Force continues to be active, which will give birth to evil creatures and wake up dangerous sleeping evil creatures. Of course, these changes aren’t obvious to us but are relatively intuitive to the metaphysic posts.”

Professor Li’s eyes were still locked on the mural, and he hadn’t noticed the weird intimacy between the two of them.

“According to our experience, if Sunken Society abandoned this undiscovered ‘Ant Nest’, it could only mean it’s highly corrupted or the evil things got out of control… There’s no trace of a strong concentration of corruption here. 28 years ago, something probably woke up here, and its activity has resulted in the destruction of the mineral deposits.”

As he spoke, Li Nian fell into contemplation at the murals.

Zhong Chengshuo also turned his gaze to the murals.

Given Sunken Society’s style, these murals wouldn’t exist only as decorations, but they didn’t intend to draw something that was too easy to understand. Looking at the murals in dim light, they could vaguely distinguish a “person” who was entangled with evil things.

The murals were mottled, and the paint had faded, leaving only the person as bright as ever.

In the picture, the limbs of the person were distorted, and the brushstrokes were abstract. The entire figure was painted red. He or she sometimes would stand on top of a giant, and sometimes they were surrounded by countless evil things. Each picture was interlocking; they were big or small and were put together in an irregular form. At first glance, it looked a bit like the stained glass of a religious building.

Under the brush of the painter of Sunken Society, the scarlet figure had a weird, evil nature that gave people faint chills.

In smaller patterns, the figure was simply reduced to a touch of red, like a few drops of blood splashed on the ancient mural.

As King Yama of the Nightwalkers, Zhong Chengshuo had indeed come into contact with the ruins of the Ant Nest. Murals were a common way of recording for Sunken Society, and the content was inseparable from the theme of the Ant Nest’s research. The latecomers of Sunken Society could take away the spirit weapons and recorded documents, but not the murals themselves.

This was a great starting point.

But Zhong Chengshuo had never seen Sunken Society distinguish between coloring pigments.

Thousands of years had passed, yet the figure was so distinct that it was hard to say what kind of emotions they had put in it.

He didn’t specialize in the art field, while Li Nian specialized in fields related to history and folklore. Zhong Chengshuo failed to come up with an answer and decisively turned his attention to Professor Li. “This is…”

Li Nian shook his head solemnly. He glanced at Fu Xingchuan, who was busy not far away, and for the first time, there was a feeling of worry in his eyes.

At the same time, Yin Ren gently tugged on Zhong Chengshuo’s ears.

“It seems to be me.”

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

Criminal Psychology Ch176

Kinky5 Comments

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

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

Chapter 176

In front of the student’s computer desk, there was an intimate photo of Duan Yang and his teacher. While Lin Chen still had some puzzlement, most likely this “teacher” Duan Yang mentioned was probably Mr. Duan Wanshan*, who supported the medical construction facilities in Africa. With reverence, Lin Chen carefully observed the older man in the photo.

*Note: Duan Wanshan (段万山) and Duan Yang (端阳) are not related. They are different Chinese characters.

Mr. Duan Wanshan looked like a typical scholar. In the photo, he was wearing a beret and a checkered scarf. Perhaps because he was holding an umbrella in his hand, it gave Lin Chen the impression that he once studied in England, revealing an elegant academic aura and making him even more admirable.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen turned his attention to Teacher Duan’s student.

The young man’s face looked a little red under the desk lamp. He had already retreated to the chair and sat down.

Lin Chen thought for a bit, then asked, “Do you or do you not want me to ask about your relationship with your teacher?”

The kitten in Duan Yang’s hand gave a gentle meow; its eyes were as blue as the sky, as if it were answering his question.

“Alright, I won’t ask,” Lin Chen replied seriously.

“No… It’s not what you think.”

“What do you think I think?”

Duan Yang was so tongue-tied at the moment that he couldn’t speak. Lin Chen smiled. Unexpectedly, he was in a good mood. He sat on the beanbag casually.

Duan Yang looked even more depressed than before. “Teacher Duan was my undergraduate tutor. Originally, he only supervised graduate students, but he made an exception and brought me in. During summer vacation of my junior year, he suddenly resigned and joined Doctors Without Borders in Africa. When he left, he didn’t even send me a text message.”

“How weird.” Lin Chen’s hand hung to the ground as he sat on the beanbag. He knocked on the floor and looked at Duan Yang.

“What’s weird?”

“Since your teacher didn’t say goodbye and didn’t send a text message, why did he suddenly contact you about adverse drug reactions many years later. Does your teacher have no former colleagues or friends? How can he leave such an important matter to a student?” Lin Chen asked.

“I!” Duan Yang’s face turned red again, looking extremely cute under the light.

“Hm?”

“I secretly inquired about it. How could teacher leave this kind of thing to me? He wouldn’t say a word to me.”

Seeing that Duan Yang’s gloomy expression wasn’t fake, Lin Chen started to get confused over this twisted relationship. “Inquired?”

“My former shijie went to work as a teacher in the Dana Region. I asked her to tell me some news about my teacher from time to time. She secretly told me stuff on and off. It was probably at the end of last year or the beginning of this year that my shijie and the others accidentally found that a paper by Professor Tan Kang was very close to a drug that my teacher had studied. At that time, Professor Tan Kang had already published his paper, so it’s difficult to prove that he may have plagiarized my teacher. They thought it was just a coincidence, but later, they realized that it might really be teacher’s research results that were leaked. Because the experimental conditions of the Dana Region were too poor, they would regularly send things to laboratories in big cities for analysis…”

“And some of those labs belong to Zhourui Pharmaceutical?”

“I don’t know the details. It could just be a laboratory that Zhourui invested in, but there’s no way to prove that my teacher’s research findings were actually stolen from a lab.”

“Unless you find a key person and admit that he leaked something, but even then, the other party has already obtained the drug’s patent rights, and patent ownership is difficult to verify.”

“Indeed, it’s very hard.”

“What happened after?” Lin Chen asked.

Hearing this, Duan Yang suddenly laid down on the bed and let out a long sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know what happened afterwards. My shijie didn’t stay in the Dana Region for long.”

“Why didn’t she stay there for long?”

“Because… Because my shijie kept sending me secret messages about teacher and when he found out, he drove her out and back to the country.”

Hearing this, Lin Chen suddenly dragged out his tone. “Student Duan Yang…”

“What?”

“There’s a word called idiot. Do you think this suits you?”

“Consultant Lin.” Duan Yang smiled bitterly. “Don’t make fun of me, okay? Don’t you have anyone you care about? You miss them all the time, but you never hear from them, so you have to beat around the bush to get news about them.”

Lin Chen thought, ‘I can’t even beat around the bush to get news now.’ He suddenly didn’t want to talk to Duan Yang about caring or worrying any longer. He continued with his unfinished question from earlier. “I still think there’s a problem here. According to what you said, you’re actually a nosy person. Since your teacher is aware that this new drug with serious side effects is about to enter the market, why didn’t he personally step forward? Even if communication problems exist in the Dana Region, he should have entrusted this to a third party.”

“This is also where I’m worried.” Duan Yang looked solemn. “I really don’t know what happened later, but I have been paying attention to academic journals at home and abroad. No one has published papers of an opposing nature. In academia, we still have to rely on experiments and data. I always feel that teacher’s experiment hasn’t been completed, so he hasn’t published his paper. I can only guess he didn’t expect Zhourui Pharmaceutical to complete Phase 4 of clinical trials so quickly, but I really don’t know what’s going on.”

Lin Chen nodded.

The problem now was that Zhourui Pharmaceutical intended to launch a new drug that may cause adverse reactions. The person involved was in the Dana Region making him difficult to reach. All that was left was a current veterinarian who was fired from a hospital trying to prevent this from happening, but that was like a mantis trying to stop a car.

“So why exactly did you invite me to your residence?” Lin Chen suddenly asked.

“I have something I want to give you. Can you get up for a bit?” Duan Yang said softly.

Lin Chen was taken aback for a moment before realizing that the young man had hidden something inside the beanbag he was sitting on.

“Why are you so careful?”

Lin Chen felt his legs were a little numb, so he didn’t immediately stand up.

“Just last month, I found that my computer seemed to have been moved. In the evening, there was a collective barking from the pets in the pet store. I went downstairs and found that the door was open, as if someone had snuck in. Since then, I have used a desktop computer to connect to the internet and kept all the data on a laptop that’s not connected to the internet.”

“So, what I’m sitting on…”

“Is my laptop,” Duan Yang replied.

Lin Chen hurriedly got up, but the moment he stood up, he suddenly felt dizzy. He held onto the wardrobe, but his knees softened, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Later, he was awakened by something licking him. The back of his hand was tingling, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on Duan Yang’s bed. He looked down and realized that it was the kitten that Duan Yang was holding that was licking his hand.

Lin Chen tried to sit up, and found it wasn’t difficult. When he sat up, he saw a needle in his arm, and Duan Yang was hanging up an IV bag.

Seeing him wake up, the young man hurriedly said, “Why are you in such poor health?!”

“I was in a hospital when you called me out.”

Hearing what he said, the young man said embarrassingly, “Sorry, I didn’t know.” He paused, and his expression changed, like a doctor looking at an indefatigable patient. “Your neutrophils are seriously decreasing. Did the hospital check on this? Can you show me your medical records?”

“Did you give me a blood test?” Lin Chen was speechless.

“We’re in a pet hospital. It’s not like we can’t do simple tests.”

Lin Chen looked at the liquid that Duan Yang gave him. “Then this is?”

“Glucose. The ratio is fine. It can be used on humans.”

Lin Chen resisted the urge to pull out the needle. He was afraid that if he did this, the young man in front of him would beat him.

In awe of the doctor, Lin Chen replied obediently, “I had my whole body checked. There’s nothing serious and the primary illness is slowly decreasing.”

“Then you must pay attention. The decrease in neutrophils can easily lead to repeated infections. It’s been hot recently, so make sure you don’t catch a cold or something. Also, what’s with that injury on your hand?”

Lin Chen looked down at the gauze around his palm. “Let’s talk about what you want to give me first.”

Duan Yang was someone who was easily distracted.

Hearing what he said, the young man let out an “oh” and took out a small SD card from the bedside table. “This is all the relevant data about the new drug. Some are the contents that my shijie passed on to me, and some are the results of my own animal experiments. There is also some scattered data from Zhourui Pharmaceutical that a friend obtained.”

Lin Chen frowned. “Friend?”

“Yes, he’s in management at Zhourui. He revealed a lot of inside information to me, but I can’t tell you who he is. Otherwise, his life may be in danger.”

Lin Chen looked at the small SD card in Duan Yang’s palm and said solemnly, “But I can’t take this.”

“Why?”

“There may be evidence obtained through illegal means. If I read it, then the relevant chain of evidence may not be admissible to the court.”

“But!”

“No buts.” Lin Chen put his feet down from the bed, lifted the adhesive tape that was fixed to the back of his hand, pulled out the needle, and then pressed the bleeding point with his other hand. “Have you given this thing to anyone else?”

“My friend also has one.”

“Don’t let others know that you have this material. Also, I suggest you make fake data and put them on your computer, then hide this SD card.”

“Because other people already know that I have this material, so the previous infiltrator was looking for this?”

Lin Chen asked, “Do you have anything else of value?”

Duan Yang shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

While speaking, Lin Chen had already put on his shoes and began to walk to the door.

Suddenly, the young man realized something and tried to stop him. “Consultant Lin, if you don’t want to look at it, fine, but that doesn’t mean you can go home now. You must show me your medical records tomorrow.”

“There are no records.” Lin Chen started walking downstairs.

“How can that be if you’ve just been hospitalized?”

“Obviously, because I escaped.”

Unexpectedly, Lin Chen was stopped by a huge tabby cat, allowing Duan Yang to grab his arm. “I’ll take you to the doctor tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you a doctor?” He turned around and asked the young man incredulously.

“Ah?”

“I’ll come see you tomorrow. I’m really tired now and want to go home and rest.”

“Then I’ll take you back. I’m worried about you when you’re like this.” While Duan Yang was talking, he started to look for his keys.

“No need,” Lin Chen said to Duan Yang. “We don’t know each other well. If you’re a bad person, wouldn’t I have revealed my address to you?”

Duan Yang’s mouth dropped open, unsure how to respond.

“Look, I just don’t like people coming into my residence. I live close by.” Lin Chen shook his phone and walked towards Yanjia Lane. “I’ll call you when I get home. Don’t worry…”

After he finished speaking, Lin Chen walked into the expansive night.

In fact, he didn’t lie to Duan Yang. When he left Duan Yang’s pet shop and turned left, he could hear the sound of water. After walking along the river for about eight minutes, he had reached home.

It was very late, so there was almost no one in the alley.

Perhaps it was because he just had an IV infusion or had lain down for a while, but he no longer felt dizzy. Rather, he was completely sober, so he could think seriously about the time he left home and whether he needed to change the sheets. At least before he saw the person waiting for him under the eaves, he felt he was still clear-headed.

In the night, the man standing under the eaves was neatly dressed. It was obvious he had been waiting for a long time.

Lin Chen suddenly regretted that he didn’t let Duan Yang take him home, because the person who was waiting for him on Yanjia Lane and was standing in front of Xing Conglian’s house was quite a troublesome man.

And this troublesome man happened to be named, Huang Ze.

The author has something to say:

Huang Ze: I heard that someone missed me?

Kinky Thoughts:

Guess we need a shura field…

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

Criminal Psychology Ch175

Kinky2 Comments

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

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

Chapter 175

This was the second time Lin Chen heard the keyword “Dana Region”. If it weren’t for Mrs. Jiang’s relationship, his knowledge of this area would be limited to “don’t ever go even if your life depended on it”. But now, because of Doctors Without Borders, he found his psychological distance from the Dana Region seemingly getting closer.

It seemed that one day he would set foot there.

He looked at the young man in front of him again.

Before entering the shop just now, he had been sitting across the road, observing him.

After all, there were too many bad people nowadays, and he had to use some method to confirm that this young man wasn’t someone with evil intentions. Based on his resume, Lin Chen specifically chose a meeting place near the high school the other party attended, which the young man wasn’t even aware of. When he couldn’t find him, the young man didn’t become angry but was just anxious and seemed at a loss.

These reactions made Lin Chen feel that this young man, who didn’t have much heart, was simple and persistent.

This was his current judgment.

However, for a person who didn’t have much heart, he just confided in him in a snack shop about the shady plot of a pharmaceutical company’s intention to kill approval experts and steal other people’s research results. Lin Chen felt he needed time to digest this information.

He lowered his head, picked up the spoon, and sipped on his hot soup.

“Consultant Lin!”

Seeing that he wasn’t speaking and was just drinking soup, the young man urged again.

“The clam soup here is delicious. I used to come here with my friends. You should try it,” Lin Chen said.

“I—!” The young man wanted to say more, but in the end, he became obedient. He bowed his head and sipped on the soup.

In the next moment, the young man almost spat out the soup. Lin Chen looked up and saw that he had barely swallowed a mouthful, yet tears were about to flow out of his eyes. Lin Chen looked down at the soup bowl in front of him, feeling as if they weren’t eating the same amount of spiciness.

The young man continued to cough. Lin Chen took a napkin from the table and handed it over, but his kindness was rejected.

“This kind of inferior napkin has excessive bacteria and fluorescent agent content. You should never use it.” As the young man said this, he coughed and took out his own tissues from his backpack. He handed one to Lin Chen and then covered his mouth.

Lin Chen looked at the tissue in his hand helplessly. From many details, it could be seen that this young man had a meticulous and considerate character. Although he had a slight obsession with cleanliness, a doctor would always prefer things to be cleaner.

The number of people in the shop gradually increased. When there were too many people talking, no one would pay attention to what they said.

Lin Chen lowered his head and took a sip of the soup. When he raised his head again, the young man’s cough gradually stopped. “Mr. Duan Yang, what does this matter you mention have to do with me?”

Hearing him ask this, there was obvious disappointment in the young man’s expression.

Lin Chen knocked on the table and was unmoved. “Regarding the clues about Zhourui Pharmaceutical’s deliberate murder of Director Li, I’ll inform Vice Captain Jiang of the Yongchuan Second Division. He’s Director Li’s husband and will be the one who’s more concerned about her safety than you or me. I also killed the murderer. Zhourui Pharmaceutical will launch a PR offensive to deal with me. At most, it was just for the sake of their corporate image. If I don’t care, then there’s no point.” Lin Chen glanced at the young man sitting across from him. “As for the theft of your teacher’s research results or what’s wrong with the drug, first, I have no power, and second, medicine is not my specialty. I really don’t think I can help you.”

The young man lowered his head slightly. Lin Chen didn’t know if it was because the soup was too spicy or something else, but the tips of his nose and eyes were a little red. “Yes, as you said, you can’t help.”

He said this to himself, then picked up his backpack and stood up.

Lin Chen didn’t stop him.

But when he walked to the door, he suddenly turned back and bowed to him, then said, “Consultant Lin, before you refuse me, please go somewhere with me.”

Looking at the bright eyes of the young man, Lin Chen finally felt some relief.

……

The municipal hospital was probably the place that Lin Chen really didn’t want to visit again, especially since he just killed a hostage-taker at a hospital. When he saw the whitewashed walls and smelled the scent of disinfectant, he became a little uncomfortable.

Duan Yang took him to the neurology ward on the tenth floor.

Without saying a word, the young man pulled him to sit down on the bench facing the ward. He was forced to look at an old man who was stumbling in the corridor of the opposite ward but insisted on holding onto the handrail as he struggled to move forward.

The old man walked slowly. His uncoordinated limbs showed that he had just experienced a stroke that almost took his life. The left half of the brain was infarcted or hemorrhaged, so his right side was completely useless.

At this moment, Duan Yang said softly, “Consultant Lin, I used to be a resident doctor here. There are a total of 150 beds in the neurology ward of Hongjing Municipal Hospital, which receives over 130,000 outpatients every year. Nearly 5,000 people are hospitalized here, and more than 50% of their hospitalization is due to cerebrovascular diseases. This proportion is more than 1.7 million in the country. When an elderly person lives here, it means that their life is gradually coming to an end. Please look at that grandpa across from you and imagine if, at this time, a new drug appeared on the market that claimed to gradually stimulate the repairs of neurons in his brain so that he could move normally as before he had a stroke. Do you think this drug is of epochal significance?”

Lin Chen was a little shocked. “This is impossible.”

“Why?” Duan Yang asked rhetorically.

“So far, scientific research has concluded that brain neurons will not continue to grow and cannot repair themselves, unlike skin, after minor damage. Moreover, cutting-edge technology in nerve repair research is now focused on neural stem cell transplantation. I doubt any drugs can achieve this effect.”

Duan Yang was a little surprised. “Consultant Lin, you have knowledge in this field?”

“Psychology is an interdisciplinary subject. Although I do not specialize in cognitive neuroscience, I have read a few books for my exams.”

Duan Yang said softly, “I also find it incredible that this new drug breaks through the traditional neurotropic drugs such as ganglioside1 and cytidine disodium triphosphate2 and directly claims that it can stimulate neuron repair. If such a drug appears, many elderly people will risk losing everything for this new drug.”

1Drug used in many countries and is thought of as a promising alternative treatment for preventing several neurological diseases, including cerebral ischemic injury. However, clinical efficacy in patients with ischemic strokes is still uncertain.
2Drug believed to be able to rectify membrane damage and provide benefit in CNS disorders and injury (including strokes). Clinical trials so far have shown inconclusive evidence of whether it’s effective for stroke patients.

“Wait, didn’t you say that your teacher discovered this drug?” Lin Chen couldn’t help asking. Although he hadn’t been to the Dana Region, he could slightly guess the research conditions there. It would be an incredible thing in and of itself if someone managed to discover this epochal new drug there.

“Actually… This is the problem. The drug discovered by my teacher doesn’t have the effects claimed by Zhourui Pharmaceutical. It’s more similar to ganglioside, but it’s more effective than similar drugs.”

“Then why do you think that Zhourui Pharmaceutical stole your teacher’s research results? Maybe they are two different types of things?”

“I’ve seen the chemical formula of Zhourui Pharmaceutical’s drug. It’s almost the same as the one my teacher discovered.”

“That is to say, there’s still a difference?”

Duan Yang nodded. “The problem isn’t the difference. It’s not that they may have copied my teacher’s research result, but that my teacher said this kind of drug has serious side effects. In fact, he was in the process of studying common diseases in the Dana Region when he discovered this drug by accident.”

Lin Chen felt a terrifying feeling approaching. “You mean, if Zhourui Pharmaceutical forcibly promotes this drug on the market, it may lead to large-scale adverse drug reactions?”

“Yes, it’s possible.” Duan Yang leaned on the bench a little dejectedly. He scratched his hair in irritation. “Even large-scale adverse drug reactions are only a possibility. There could be subtle changes in the molecular formula of such a drug that can cause adverse reactions. What’s more, I have no way to prove that the new drug developed by Zhourui Pharmaceutical did steal my teacher’s research results. Their related papers were published earlier than those of my teacher. Professor Tan Kang, who presided over the development of this new drug, has a much higher academic status in the industry than my teacher. If it weren’t for the anonymous letter I sent to Director Li, which was followed by a murder attempt on her, I wouldn’t have found there might really be a dark inside story to all this.”

Lin Chen listened carefully to the young man’s narration. He listened to his confusion and struggle and looked at the old man who was struggling to walk while holding onto the railing and asked, “Tell me first, what are the so-called side effects?”

“Long-term use can cause cognitive impairment and emotional problems.”

“Zhourui’s new drug has entered the approval process, indicating that they have passed Phase III of clinical trials. Not to mention early animal trials, didn’t they find this side effect?”

“Which is why I suspect the results of their clinical trials were falsified,” Duan Yang said solemnly.

Lin Chen fell into deep thought.

Now the problem had changed from pure scientific research plagiarism to the falsification of experimental results. If the former was still a moral issue, the latter involved the safety of patients. If Duan Yang’s suspicions were true, it would be a major public safety issue. But the problem was that the young man sitting next to him was questioning the research results of an academic giant and a famous pharmaceutical company. This in itself was a fantasy. If researchers in related fields could hear what was being said, they would probably get up and point at the young man’s nose and ask, “What qualification do you have to question this?”

At this moment, a similar voice sounded behind them.

“Yo, our great scientist is back!”

Lin Chen turned his head and saw a young resident doctor with greasy hair and a pink face walking towards them.

When Duan Yang heard this, he was like a little leopard that was fiercely aroused. He immediately clenched his fists and stared at the man with wide eyes.

However, to Lin Chen’s surprise, after the man taunted Duan Yang, he walked up to him arrogantly and said, “That guy was fired from our department. I suggest you don’t believe what he’s spouting. He has a pretty bad reputation around here.” As the man spoke, he tapped his own head and sneered, “He’s always thinking he knows some big scientific secrets and doesn’t do his job. Always thinking about trying to save the world. Ha ha.”

Lin Chen held down the angry young man who seemed to want to punch the guy and looked at the resident doctor standing in front of him and asked, “What do you mean by brain problems?”

“Of course, it’s a mental illness.”

“No,” Lin Chen said.

“What do you mean no?”k

“I mean that he’s not mentally ill.” Lin Chen stood up and said to the resident doctor in front of him, “As a doctor of neurology, you need to improve your medical literacy a bit.”

“What do you mean?”

Lin Chen turned around, gently pulled Duan Yang up from the bench, and asked him, “Do you understand what I mean?”

Duan Yang nodded.

Lin Chen pointed to Duan Yang and said to the resident doctor with oily hair, “He understands, but you don’t. Who do you think has a problem with their brain between you and him?”

Things like trash-talking must be said and then immediately walked away from, as one must never give the other person any chance to strike back.

After Lin Chen finished speaking, he immediately pulled Duan Yang out of the municipal hospital. It was finally dark. The long street was full of traffic and was brightly lit, but the young man next to him didn’t say a word.

Lin Chen had already read Duan Yang’s resume in advance. It was clear that the young man next to him was expelled due to medical malpractice when he was promoted from resident physician to attending physician last year. Now it seemed there may be another inside story to this.

“Let’s talk. What’s going on?”

“Consultant Lin, thank you just now.”

“That is not an answer to the question,” Lin Chen said coldly.

The young man scratched his head and looked embarrassed. “Zhourui Pharmaceutical has a very good relationship with our hospital. I was careless before and have been posting articles questioning Professor Tan Kang’s experimental results. It seems they found out it was me, so they maliciously retaliated.”

Seeing the young man’s indifferent face, Lin Chen couldn’t speak for a while. In the end, he could only say, “Why were you being stupid and getting so easily discovered?”

“I didn’t know the water here was so deep at first.”

“So why are you pretending to be a reporter to lie to me?”

“Ah?” The young man didn’t expect him to mention this matter again, which made him feel ashamed. “I was fired from the hospital, and now I’m working at a pet hospital. I thought…”

“You thought that your background didn’t have enough strength to speak, and it would be easier for me to believe you if you pretended to be a reporter.”

Duan Yang nodded.

The young man’s eyes were dark and clean.

Lin Chen said to him solemnly, “Status doesn’t mean much. Even if you become a beggar on the street, as long as you have a clear conscience about what you say, you can say it openly. Don’t be afraid.”

The young man suddenly stopped. He rubbed his eyes, turned around, and strode forward.

Lin Chen didn’t know how Duan Yang had been suppressed for more than a year, but when he saw the pet shop where the young man was working, he realized something.

It was a dilapidated two-story building very close to Yanjia Lane.

As soon as he entered the store, he was greeted by cats and dogs that barked in various volumes. There were more than a dozen cages in the small shop, which only made it seem more crowded as a result.

Duan Yang first let out the cats to relax, then hugged a long-haired puppy and led him up to the second floor.

“Actually, I sometimes think being a veterinarian is much easier than working in a hospital. You can charge 300 yuan for neutering, and I can even mark it up by 150. When it comes to spaying female cats and dogs, I can even earn more…”

Lin Chen listened to what the young man was saying casually while observing the structure of the room on the second floor.

“Are you doing drug testing here?” He was surprised.

Duan Yang opened his bedroom door and said, “No, no. I was doing it before but didn’t make any progress, so I just kept it as a pet for fun.”

The young man’s bedroom was the smallest of the three rooms. With a bed and desk taking up most of the space, there was only room for a beanbag. Lin Chen put on indoor slippers and walked into the room. At first glance, he was attracted by the whiteboard on the wall. It was covered almost entirely with dense pharmacological formulas, which made his scalp feel numb.

He subconsciously looked at the desk. Just as his gaze swept past, Duan Yang subconsciously wanted to cover something up. Lin Chen turned his head sideways; he had already noted all the things on the desk clearly. If he read it correctly, what the young man wanted to cover up seemed to be a picture frame on the table.

There were two men in the photo frame. One of them was a little older, and the other was Duan Yang when he was younger. He had his arms around the slightly older man and was smiling brightly.

“Is that your brother or father?” Lin Chen asked casually.

Probably even Duan Yang realized how guilty his actions were just now. After hearing this question, the young man became even more embarrassed.

“It’s my teacher.” The young man blushed as he answered.

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