Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 210: Visitors

While Yin Ren wandered outside and Zhong Chengshuo was consulting psychologist Qi Xin, the other people in the white room naturally couldn’t stay quiet.

After practicing continuously for several hours in the room, everyone could subconsciously imagine its existence and then had the freedom to move around comfortably. Fu Tianyi held Dr. Cat while everyone else gathered around him.

When the environmental pressure was high, having a soft and fluffy cat curled up in one’s arms was also a way to relax. Since this cat was their colleague and the most educated creature present, everyone could only watch attentively and dare not touch it.

“How did you come in?” Lu Xiaohe approached, her eyes fixed on her colleague’s fluffy tail.

“When the emergency situation was approved, you all were already rushing in.”

Qi Xin’s authority still held sway, and the black cat, unusually, didn’t show any strange behavior.

“While Qi Xin was holding the entrance, I jumped in by myself.”

“Emergency situation?”

As teammates, Fu Tianyi stroked the warm cat fur. Under normal circumstances, Dr. Cat would definitely swipe at him, but now it lay with its ears flattened, behaving obediently.

“Things have been unstable recently. The leaders of Yandu and Linnan haven’t left, so I’ve been staying at the Municipal Hospital…”

The inpatient department of the hospital was relatively quiet, and the garden was nice. Whenever Dr. Cat wanted to think quietly, it would always stroll around nearby.

“Recently, I’ve been considering matters related to the Primordial Elementals. Thanks to this kid Fu Tianyi, I also obtained higher browsing privileges.”

The black cat purred and explained.

“Do you know the essence of the abilities corrupted by Evil Force?”

Everyone looked at each other. Gaining special abilities from the influence of Evil Force seemed like a natural consequence. Apart from the science post that wasn’t busy, no one would contemplate such a question.

And this scientific post was not only not busy but not even human.

“Using Zhong Chengshuo’s analogy to the internet, if the biological brain is an independent device—the ‘Ghost Eye*’ branch is a mutation of observation ability. It’s like installing Windows or Android on an Apple system, which allows it to receive and process information that it couldn’t handle before.”

*Sixth sense, (or the ability to see ghosts).

“This is the most common corruption type caused by Evil Force. You have obtained the outermost perception ability of the ‘Elementals’, although they are only various incomplete fragments.”

Ge Tingting couldn’t help but nod. She, Huang Jin, and Liang Shan all belonged to this type. Those who possessed the ability of the “Ghost Eye” were the most numerous. They could gain strong clairvoyance or perceive information that didn’t belong to this world.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have any combat power at all.

“The ‘Resonance’ branch that affects others’ emotions and the ‘Obstacle’ branch that distorts cognition are the basic abilities of Elementals. It can be said that when organisms are corrupted, they develop superpowers. In essence, the organisms merely absorb the fragmented flesh of Elementals, gaining a diluted version of their abilities.”

“What about the ‘Infinite’ and ‘Charon’ branches?” Lu Xiaohe keenly sensed the missing pieces.

The “Infinite” branch, with its skyrocketing information processing ability, and the “Charon” branch, capable of traversing between realms, were extremely rare in numbers but also belonged to the corrupted abilities category.

“Charon is the most special one. Elementals cannot directly operate in the mortal world, just like fish can’t stroll on the road. But what if an animal that lives on land unexpectedly acquires the ability to breathe underwater?”

“…The abilities are still the same, but the adaptability of these animals surpasses that of fish.” Lu Xiaohe suddenly realized.

“Yes, that’s why Elementals dislike Charons.” Dr. Cat licked his paws. “Now, only the ‘Infinite’ branch, to which I belong, remains.”

“I know. People from the Infinite branch have particularly strong computational abilities, and their intelligence experiences great leaps,” Fu Tianyi interjected.

“The principle is simple.” Dr. Cat’s pupils narrowed into slits, and its tail swayed. “The physical structure of my brain hasn’t changed, but through this network called the Other Side, I can access other devices—meaning, I can access human brains.”

“During this process, I can retrieve or input simple information to the connected devices.”

Huang Jin was dumbfounded.

No wonder. During the previous competition, this cat could convey thoughts and calm everyone down. And now, it had never seen the white room before, yet it could still… It turned out that this cat treated its brains as mining rigs, constantly extracting bitcoins.

“Thank you for the enlightening knowledge.” Huang Jin pressed his temples, unsure if his intelligence would be reduced because of this. “So, after all these detours, what does this have to do with the ’emergency situation’ you mentioned?”

“Recently, when I was connecting, I noticed that many people’s brains were experiencing malfunctions.” Dr. Cat’s voice turned serious. “The cause is unknown, but they all see an ‘arm’ that ‘only they can see’.”

“This is different from the physical ailments and corruption caused by Evil Force that I’ve seen before. It makes me very uncomfortable. To investigate the situation, I had to come personally. I can’t rely on you people without the Infinite ability to investigate. You wouldn’t be able to see shit!”

In the end, its feline demeanor became stronger again, indicating that its spirit had recovered somewhat.

“You can look for your people, and I’ll investigate my matters. Let’s not interfere with each other.” It emphasized firmly.

“That being said, you shouldn’t wander around recklessly.” Fu Tianyi patiently held his teammate. “That Qi Xin doesn’t seem like a good-tempered person. She won’t care about your well-being. If you want to investigate, let us assist you.”

“Hmm.” When Qi Xin was mentioned, Dr. Cat’s ears pressed against its head.

With no cat to pet, Huang Jin squatted in the corner with dwindling interest, looking at Ding Lizi’s photos again.

He didn’t bother thinking about what abilities and operational issues were all about. Ding Lizi had Yin Ren, the powerful Elemental, protecting her, so she should be fine. If they could return safely this time, he would…

But in the next second, Zhong Chengshuo and Qi Xin suddenly appeared in front of him, almost stepping on him.

Huang Jin, let alone his thoughts, almost stopped breathing. His angry reprimand of “What are you doing!” got stuck in his throat, almost choking himself.

However, as he listened to their conversation, he wished he had choked for real just now—

“Let me have a taste.” Zhong Chengshuo stared at Qi Xin intently, like a person who had been hungry for three days staring at a bowl of steaming porridge. There was no familiarity, only “I need to eat.”

Ms. Qi’s expression was worse than the bottom of a pot, and if her hair hadn’t been tied up, it would probably have stood on end. “How dare you!”

With his “normal vision” suddenly restored, Huang Jin was still not accustomed to reading people’s expressions. But he could tell that this woman’s tone contained faint fear. It seemed that even if Zhong Chengshuo had lost power, his past aura of Fear still lingered.

Huang Jin slowly moved his body, trying to slowly leave the center of the storm. However, before he could move far, Zhong Chengshuo grabbed the back of his collar. “I’ll find you later.”

Damn it.

Huang Jin instantly slumped in the corner, too lazy to struggle. He couldn’t afford to offend King Yama, and the combination of Fear and King Yama was even more terrifying. He dared not defy it.

How did he let himself be blinded by money and not firmly transfer to another team?

“I only need the amount of six arms.” Zhong Chengshuo turned his head back and continued bargaining with Qi Xin. “And when I get what I want, I’ll also give you something in return.”

“Why don’t you ask Yin Ren?!”

“He wouldn’t like it.” Zhong Chengshuo fell silent for a few seconds. “And I’m not sure about the effect. This is just an experiment—now that we’re all on the Other Side, we need your protection. We won’t harm you.”

Qi Xin stared at him warily, while Zhong Chengshuo met her gaze calmly.

“…Fine.”

She squeezed out her response through her teeth.

“Just this once.”

Huang Jin had no interest in hearing any secrets or gossip about powerful Elementals. He was just about to cover his ears when the scene in front of him completely transformed into a vortex. The information overload unique to the Other Side hit him again, and Huang Jin’s brain buzzed.

But before he could imagine the white room, the scene stabilized once again—

It was a windowless, dim basement. Numerous metal cans shimmered on two rows of shelves. Various specimens were hidden deep within the shelves with their hollow eye sockets peering in all directions. A modified interrogation chair made of an armchair stood in the corner with its restraints hanging like candle tears.

It clearly wasn’t a legitimate place.

In this small basement, there were only Zhong Chengshuo, Qi Xin, and Huang Jin as living beings.

“This… This is…” Huang Jin tried to make his voice tremble less.

He didn’t know what the hell kind of place this was! Could this also be an ability of an Elemental?

“Just consider it a private little room,” Qi Xin responded lackadaisically. “Hey, can we get started?”

Zhong Chengshuo silently walked to the table in the center of the room. He drew out the Evil Fruit, and the circulating red light almost blinded Huang Jin. However, this talented spirit smith had experienced many hardships. Even if Zhong Chengshuo pulled out Fu Xingchuan from his pocket, Huang Jin wouldn’t be surprised.

Hmm, the legendary Evil Fruit, and then?

Then, Comrade Zhong Chengshuo firmly grasped the legendary spirit weapon and stabbed it into his left shoulder.

Huang Jin: “???!!!”

He recoiled and almost sat on the ground.

Zhong Chengshuo’s brow furrowed slightly. Like a skilled butcher, he smoothly disassembled his arm along the joints in just two seconds. When the fair and sturdy arm was placed on the table, the blood belatedly seeped out.

“Qi Xin,” Zhong Chengshuo said.

Qi Xin’s face tensed, and the corners of her mouth turned downward. She hesitated for a while before a mist-shrouded gray-black limb emerged seemingly out of thin air. She gestured for a while, then snapped it directly, followed by mashing it into minced meat. Clumps of minced meat were manipulated by her, suspended in the air, and floated near Zhong Chengshuo’s shoulder wound.

Just like a sponge absorbing water, they were quickly sucked clean by the wound.

Then, a short and thick baby’s arm protruded from the wound. It unnaturally expanded up and down, quickly transforming into an adult’s arm. Shortly after it fully regrew, Zhong Chengshuo, using the Evil Fruit again, disassembled it cleanly and placed it neatly next to the previous arm.

This cycle repeated six times.

As Huang Jin looked at the neatly arranged six left arms on the table, he stopped thinking.

Qi Xin was cutting her own body and using her flesh as food for the elderly, which he didn’t want to dwell on that matter. But Zhong Chengshuo’s style of eating-and-regrowing made it… difficult for him to accept.

After the seventh arm fully regenerated, Zhong Chengshuo moved his shoulder for a while. He looked up and down at the six arms on the table, and the Evil Fruit spun between his fingertips. “Huang Jin.”

“Here,” Huang Jin replied dazedly.

“As a spirit smith, you know techniques to maintain the vitality of limbs,” Zhong Chengshuo said with confidence. “I would like to ask for your help in preparing the procedure.”

Huang Jin struggled to turn his rusty mind.

Indeed, he knew those techniques. It was one of the fundamental skills of a spirit smith. Maintaining the vitality of biological material was essential to creating high-quality spirit weapons. But…

“But I’m a proper spirit smith,” Huang Jin said tremblingly. “Using human body parts to make spirit weapons… It’s still… a bit…”

“Not directly.”

Zhong Chengshuo lowered his eyes, and the glint of a knife flashed.

His movements were extremely swift. In an instant, the bone of that arm was smoothly removed. Before Huang Jin’s mind could fully react, only several piles of pristine white bones remained on the table.

Zhong Chengshuo skillfully sorted all the bones by size and rough categories. The human bones were neatly arranged together, resembling assembled parts to some extent. The peeled flesh and blood were piled on one side, clearly showing the structure of human fingers and wrists. Even Huang Jin, who had experienced many hardships, felt his scalp tingling.

This Zhong Chengshuo guy was truly not human.

While Huang Jin was desperately suppressing the urge to vomit, the fresh meat and blood were packed into a bag by Zhong Chengshuo. He handed it over to Qi Xin. Qi Xin had never encountered “leftover food” from Fear, so she took the bag and tightly held it in her hand.

“Animal bones are commonly used materials.”

Zhong Chengshuo turned to Huang Jin.

“These bones, could you please take care of them?”  

“Ah… Uh… Ah…” Huang Jin struggled not to look at the pile of bones while he remained tongue tied. “Wait, wait… Aren’t we unable to use spells here… I…”

“If it’s just a small area, I can adjust the environment.” Qi Xin hugged the bag. “Hurry up.”

Huang Jin pulled at his hair frantically. “But these are still human materials, and you’re a science post, so…”

“No. Although I am a science post, I’m also not human.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s face showed a subtly complex emotion that Huang Jin couldn’t decipher for a moment. All he could discern was a faint sense of melancholy and a peculiar determination.

“Animal bones are commonly used materials, aren’t they?”

Zhong Chengshuo adjusted his glasses. His newly grown arm was now covered by a phantom sleeve, and the bloodstains had been absorbed by the skin. His whole body was clean, as if nothing had happened.

Huang Jin dumbly responded in acknowledgement. In the illusory room created by Qi Xin, he instinctively dealt with the pile of bones.

Glistening white, hard, jade-like bones.

…Right, Zhong Chengshuo was a unique life form, a mixture of an Elemental and a human. His bones could still be used as materials. But what could they be used for? Huang Jin couldn’t think of anything, nor did he dare to imagine.

He just stared blankly as Zhong Chengshuo categorized the bones, leaving a segment of finger bone while packing the rest into an illusionary backpack. Bones stacked upon bones until they formed a small package.

“Alright.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded in satisfaction and slung the bag over his shoulder.

Qi Xin let out a breath and stuffed the bag of meat into her abdomen. Then, a sticky chewing sound came from beneath her clothes. After Huang Jin finished his eighteenth shiver, he wiped away the nonexistent cold sweat. “Is that it?”

“Remember to keep it a secret from Yin Ren.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded and stowed away the Evil Fruit. “If all goes well, I may need your help again.”

“But… What exactly are you planning to do?” Huang Jin once again pulled his hair frantically.

“I can no longer revert to ‘Fear’, and the combat power of a human body won’t help Yin Ren. And regardless of the human world or the Other Side, there is no knowledge that can guide me.”

“So, I need to research personally and find a way.”

Zhong Chengshuo opened his palm, the translucent white finger bone still warm, gently rolling in his hand. It resembled an ordinary lifeless object, much like Zhong Chengshuo himself, completely withdrawn.

Huang Jin released some of the tension in his breath. “That’s good, that’s good. No wonder you’re doing all this. It’s good to have a direction.”

“No,” Zhong Chengshuo solemnly replied.

“Huh? …Have you gone mad?!”

Huang Jin choked on his own saliva and coughed uncontrollably.

“You don’t even know if your own bones are useful, yet you did all this? You… at least should have a viable plan!”

“How can you wait until you know it will be successful before taking action when exploring the unknown?” Zhong Chengshuo looked at Huang Jin with some astonishment. “Even in the case of trial and error, there has to be a beginning. Everyone has to explore step by step.”

“Where did this ‘everyone’ come from?” Huang Jin covered his forehead, his tone fluctuating. “What kind of theory is this…”

“This is science,” Zhong Chengshuo replied.

“At this stage, it is my most powerful ability.”

Huang Jin opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to argue, but he couldn’t find the words to refute.

“Dr. Meiqiu is right. There are some experiments that only we ‘special researchers’ can do.”

Seeing that Huang Jin no longer spoke, Zhong Chengshuo tightened his grip on the segment of finger bone.

“To fight against the Primordial Elementals, this is an excellent scientific research site.”

……

“Hey, why did you bring a shoulder bag?” Yin Ren wondered.

He proudly dragged along a long string of Elementals, returning with a full load. However, as soon as he returned to the white room, he noticed that his lover had an eye-catching shoulder bag. The bag wasn’t large, holding at most three bottles of mineral water. Judging from its style, it seemed like the kind of bag science posts would use during field studies.

Here, items could be constructed based on concentrated imagination, but specifically creating a shoulder bag seemed a bit excessive.

“For storing the Evil Fruit and materials,” Zhong Chengshuo explained, opening a corner of the bag and letting Yin Ren see the red light of the Evil Fruit.

Indeed, Zhong Chengshuo needed samples. There was a chance that this person had already gone out to collect them in his absence.

Yin Ren nodded and eagerly picked up the string of Elementals. “Look at this! Can it be used as a sample?”

The Elemental he held resembled a black, worm-like carrot. The carrot wriggled frantically, and the “roots” at the tip swayed incessantly. It was even thinner than the intruders in the Archive, likely a species at the bottom of the food chain.

Zhong Chengshuo took the black carrot in his hands.

The touch of the small Elemental was peculiar, soft with a bit of resilience, somewhat like jelly.

As soon as Zhong Chengshuo grabbed it, the carrot seemed to be immobilized, instantly stiffening and not moving at all.

“Strange, why is it so obedient?” Yin Ren turned his head and stared seriously at the carrot. “When I released my aura earlier, these little things were the fastest to flee… Well done, Zhong Ge. You’re still as sharp as ever.”

“Its reaction is indeed interesting and worthy of study,” Zhong Chengshuo expressed sincerely.

In the palm of his left hand, the finger bone was held tightly, pressing against the body of the small Elemental, still warm to the touch.

Yin Ren was exhausted to the extreme, but he had no doubts. He piled up the small Elementals and lay down next to Zhong Chengshuo, like a fierce beast returning from a hunt. Yin Ren stretched out his limbs and soon closed his eyes.

His black hair scattered on the ground, emitting a faint aroma of sandalwood. Zhong Chengshuo lifted a strand of black hair and lightly touched it with his lips. The black hair hung naturally, slightly cool to the touch, just like real hair.

“Rest well,” Zhong Chengshuo said softly.

……

Shian Building, top floor office.

Li Nian and Fu Xingchuan sat at their respective desks, staring at each other for a long time.

“Is it just my imagination, or do you really despise me so much? What’s with that look?” Fu Xingchuan put his feet up on the desk. “It’s only been a few days, and you’re already missing that kid, Xiang Jiang?”

“I miss the days when we could catch him,” Li Nian said with a stern face. “Did you change your socks? There’s a strong odor coming from your feet.”

Fu Xingchuan quickly put his feet down from the desk. “Sorry, sorry. I’ve been busy lately and completely forgot.”

Li Nian snorted.

When Fu Xingchuan returned, his appearance was drastically different. His leg had healed, his back was straightened, and his dark circles were gone. However, shortly after starting his work, the dark circles returned to Minister Fu’s face.

There was no other reason but the troublesome corruption source case. Not to mention, right after they sent away Unit 9, they encountered new complications.

A few individuals claimed online that they had seen an “angel’s arm” and felt “comforting love”. They even claimed to have developed spiritual vision. Although most citizens were uninterested in such grandiose fantasy talk, Shian still dispatched people to investigate.

But they couldn’t find any clues.

Even the most advanced cultivators couldn’t see any “angel’s arm”. Even when the interviewees pointed frantically at certain places, indicating “right here”, the instruments only detected emptiness.

One wave subsided, and another wave arose—all these energy-consuming, time-wasting disputes.

Without uncovering the truth, they couldn’t close the case. At the moment, the desks of the two ministers were piled high with documents, enough to bury a person alive.

“Let’s go to the canteen for lunch. I want to eat braised pigeon,” Fu Xingchuan complained, shuffling through papers. “Lao Li, we’re at that age where we should take care of ourselves—”

He hadn’t finished speaking when the intercom phone rang.

“Hello?” Fu Xingchuan answered with one hand, activating the speakerphone.

“Minister Fu? There are people who want to meet with you and Minister Li,” the subordinate reported diligently. “They are two ordinary female citizens. I told them that they needed to register their visit, but they insisted on seeing you first.”

“Ah?” Fu Xingchuan took several seconds to react. “We don’t have time right now. Let them register according to the rules.”

The phone fell silent; presumably the subordinate had covered the microphone and gone to communicate with the two women.

“They said they originally wanted to find members of Unit 9 but couldn’t reach them, so they decided to contact you directly.”

In a moment, the voice of the subordinate returned through the phone. There was a hint of helplessness in their tone.

Fu Xingchuan and Li Nian glanced at each other. “Unit 9? …What are their names?”

“Wait a moment.”

A few seconds later, the subordinate cleared their throat.

“…It’s Ms. Lin Bei and Ms. Gao Mengyu.”

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Kinky Thoughts:

For those who forgot, these are the two characters in the first arc (case 1, the cat case).

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 209: Doubt

Yin Ren stepped out of that red door once again.

The terrifying sensation of weightlessness, the powerlessness to unleash his strength, coupled with the bombardment of a consciousness that made one lose oneself—in less than half a minute, he appeared again in the center of the white room, looking even more disheveled than the previous time.

At first, the members of Unit 9 were all on edge, but by the hundredth time the Great Celestial Master appeared in the center of the room, no one cast a glance anymore.

Except for Zhong Chengshuo.

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t need to practice, but it also wasn’t good to act alone without the team. After being rejected by Yin Ren, Zhong Chengshuo remained silent. He sat on the ground, hugging his knees, staring blankly as Yin Ren flashed back and forth.

Initially, Yin Ren could only stay “outside” for less than half a minute. With each attempt, the time he spent outside gradually increased, but it never exceeded five minutes.

Zhong Chengshuo had never seen Yin Ren in such a sorry state. Even after the battles with Mr. Qiu and Mr. Le, Yin Ren’s aura remained stable, without the current… helplessness.

Even Zhong Chengshuo was at a loss.

Even if Zhong Chengshuo wanted to help, he couldn’t turn bodily memory into explicit theory—just like a fish naturally knowing how to swim, even if it had exceptional intelligence, it couldn’t convey this instinct to humans through language.

So he could only watch.

In the beginning, when Yin Ren failed a dozen times, he would still smile a bit embarrassingly at Zhong Chengshuo. But later on, he wouldn’t even turn his head. His expression was filled with exhaustion and confusion.

Since Zhong Chengshuo’s “resurrection”, Yin Ren would occasionally glance at him, as if there was a red thread connecting them through their gaze. However, in these 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 57 seconds, to Yin Ren, he himself seemed no different from the other members of the group.

Zhong Chengshuo was surprised to find that he didn’t quite like this feeling. Whether it was Yin Ren’s persistence or his disregard, it was a subtle kind of sadness, like a black thread sticking to a piece of snowy white fabric.

So he shifted his body, moving closer to the center of the room. Close enough that when Yin Ren flashed for the hundredth time, he was right by Zhong Chengshuo’s feet.

One standing, one sitting, Zhong Chengshuo looked up at Yin Ren. However, Yin Ren only wiped the sweat off his face and strode toward the red door.

His figure was swallowed by the red door for the hundredth time.

Zhong Chengshuo felt a sense of melancholy as he took out a photo. Yin Ren was sleeping soundly in the photo. Even in his sleep, whenever Zhong Chengshuo leaned in, there would always be a warm strand of hair sticking to his skin, stretching lazily.

Zhong Chengshuo looked at his empty hands and tightened his fingers, lost in thought.

……

At this moment, Yin Ren was oblivious to Zhong Chengshuo’s unusual behavior. To be precise, he was too preoccupied with his own abnormality—forcing himself to immerse repeatedly in the Other Side’s environment, his perception had become completely tangled.

He tasted screams on his tongue, smelled the stench of rotting organs in his ears, and his nose was filled with the sickly sweet scent of expired sugar. The surroundings were a dizzying array of chaotic fragments. He couldn’t even figure out how to move, let alone find someone.

Yin Ren attempted to mimic his previous battles and block off his senses, but without Zhong Chengshuo’s guidance, he could only remain in a vegetative state for a few minutes.

It shouldn’t be like this.

He was the cub of “Fear” with the ability to move freely in this realm.

Yin Ren desperately tried to recall the grassy mountains and streams from a thousand years ago, then the cozy living room from a thousand years later. The impression of the “white room” that had been etched into his mind was fading. He forced himself to stay outside the red door, alternating between the “chaos” and the “emptiness” in his perception.

Over the years, Yin Ren had developed his own way of adapting to the unknown—

Pushing himself to the edge.

When facing imminent death, his hidden potential would naturally be squeezed out. This move had proven successful countless times in battles and hunts from a thousand years ago.

Information explosion, emptiness. Information explosion, emptiness… Yin Ren repeatedly opened and closed his senses, tempering his nerves time and time again. His mind was almost overwhelmed by the jumble of information. It felt as if he was being crushed into pieces and then pieced back together again.

…No wonder Qi Xin didn’t want to save people first. If Xiaohe’s mother had settled down, she would really want to escape from this place.

Yin Ren struggled to control his perception, as if steering a sinking ship in a raging storm.

Gradually, what lay before him was no longer a disorganized storm, but a merging of scenes.

Scenes belonging to others, scenes belonging to himself. Unseen scenes, scenes deeply ingrained in his memory. Light and shadow still appeared tangled, and Yin Ren felt as if he had fallen into the stomach of a colorful monster. The debris of the surrounding scenes rolled and ground against him, bringing a heavier sense of pain.

Amidst dizziness and intense pain, Yin Ren forced himself to think.

With his power, he could assist Qi Xin in protecting the city. Li Nian’s proposal for “sealing” also made sense… There were so many ways to find liberation, so why did he choose the most difficult one?

His mind was repeatedly battered by information, almost turning into a pulp.

Yin Ren became somewhat dazed for a moment. Amidst the vivid colors, his thoughts became increasingly elusive. He wasn’t sure if he had truly arrived on the Other Side or if he had fallen into a nightmare.

Even though he suppressed the thought of returning to the white room, various ideas of giving up continued to scream in his ears.

Right, he could cooperate with Zhong Chengshuo… Didn’t they work together so well in the previous battle against Mr. Le? In case of conscious corruption or emotional influence, he just needed to block off his senses and wholeheartedly trust… trust Zhong Chengshuo…

…

No.

Yin Ren abruptly snapped back to reality. Just as the first two notes of “Happy Birthday” played in his mind, he forcefully shifted his thoughts.

Although he came to the Other Side to fulfill his promise to Lu Xiaohe, did he truly have only that one promise to fulfill?

Not long ago, Zhong Chengshuo solemnly blew out a candle in front of him, and a warm glow flickered in those dark eyes.

[I hope that no matter what the future holds, we will be the best accomplices.] That person sincerely made a wish to him.

Becoming the most excellent humanoid weapon was indeed a method. Capable of fighting demons and disasters, proficient in various spells, and able to protect his comrades and transform into an eyeless blade.

But then what?

Perhaps Love would be sealed away, returning to the Other Side to balance Qi Xin. If he did that, would Qi Xin spare him and Zhong Chengshuo? Mr. Qiu was able to destroy Zhong Chengshuo’s physical body and take him away. When it came to battling the Great Primordial Elementals or self-preservation, these were the issues that Zhong Chengshuo needed to deal with.

Until the day Love and Sorrow vanished.

He would be responsible for the mortal realm, and Zhong Chengshuo would be responsible for the Other Side. It seemed fair, but it made Yin Ren extremely uncomfortable. He couldn’t forget the sight of that person losing his head, falling before him.

Like a wound, scabbing over, tearing away, and repeating the process. No amount of sweetness or warmth could heal it.

As soon as this thought arose, the debris of scenes around Yin Ren gradually turned blood red. His imagination quickly constructed the scene—the sunset and stone steps of that day appeared before him once again.

Whether it was the blood splattered on the walls or the moss between the stone steps, every detail was vividly present. Warm blood flowed over the stone slabs, and the stench of flesh and blood filled the air.

His memories of them were much deeper than that wretched white room.

How many times had he seen this scene?

Yin Ren reached out and touched the bloodstained wall. The scene froze with Zhong Chengshuo’s body stiffly leaning against the wall, covered in mangled flesh and blood. Even without a head, Yin Ren could still recognize that person from his figure alone.

Yin Ren crouched in front of the lifeless body, gently straightening Zhong Chengshuo’s disheveled and blood-soaked clothes. His lover’s chest wound was gruesomely torn open, and Yin Ren carefully closed it. But even after doing everything, the scent of death still lingered, viciously wrenching at Yin Ren’s heart.

Perhaps with revenge taken, the tragic state of Yin Village found peace in his heart. And in its place, this scene became a horrifying curse that sent chills down his spine with just a single glance.

This time, Yin Ren didn’t look away.

He gazed at the headless body—the bloodstains on his hands were as fresh as ever, not yet dried.

“The cart will find its way around the hill when it gets there*. Enjoying life in a timely manner is the most important thing. That’s always been my way of thinking. But if we split the responsibility in half and go on as we are… I don’t think that qualifies as the best accomplice.”

*(车到山前必有路) Idiom referring to things will eventually sort itself out.

That was the wish you made to me. How can I just brush it off?

Yin Ren traced the broken neck of the body. The severed flesh revealed a snow-white spine, resembling a pale seed.

“…A long time ago, I never used to consider the ‘future’.”

Yin Ren’s fingertips moved from Zhong Chengshuo’s mutilated neck to his ribs, feeling the lingering warmth of the skin. After a moment of hesitation, Yin Ren leaned forward and embraced him. Without the weight of a head, the body felt much lighter than he had imagined.

“But after awakening in this era, I’ve thought about the ‘future’ twice. The first time, I thought about how much I love you, and you’re human. If you were to grow old and die in the future, I would be devastated.”

“The second time, I thought about how much I love you, and you lost your original power. If there were another instance of feeling ‘powerless’… I wouldn’t even dare to imagine it.”

Yin Ren closed his eyes, and his nostrils were filled with the scent of blood and the moist smell of rocks.

And Zhong Chengshuo’s breath.

Pure and sharp like a mountain forest, with a faint hint of mint. It was Yin Ren’s favorite scent, but when mixed with the scent of blood, it transformed into a terrifying odor that chilled him to the bone.

“I think there might only be one way to be completely rid of this scene—”

Yin Ren tightly embraced the lifeless body, carefully closing off his senses. Between the sealed “shutdown” and the open “maximum firepower”, there were many subtle controls over his senses. He had forgotten how many times he had repeated this process, but Yin Ren was certain that he had vaguely found the invisible “knob” at its edge.

“—I must be able to build an indestructible ‘future’.”

Click.

The scent at his nose vanished, and the weight in his embrace dissipated like smoke.

It was as if he had found the correct password for a safe or tuned the radio to the right frequency. The environment around Yin Ren trembled lightly, and the lingering, excruciating pain dissipated into thin air.

……

“What are you trying to do?” Zhong Chengshuo said, stopping next to Qi Xin.

Yin Ren didn’t return for a long time, and it made Zhong Chengshuo’s knees stiff when he sat down. He had nothing to do but devote all his energy to worry and speculation, a feeling that didn’t need to be expressed in words.

Yin Ren didn’t know how to move on the Other Side, but Zhong Chengshuo did. Ten seconds after pushing open the door, he found Qi Xin, who was doing nothing.

“I made myself clear, didn’t I? I want ‘Fear’ to return.” Qi Xin floated in the air, casting a sidelong glance at Zhong Chengshuo. For some reason, she seemed reluctant to meet his gaze. “Of course, not referring to you.”

“…Can’t I do it?” Zhong Chengshuo was taken aback.

“You have integrated too well with humans. Anyway, you can’t.” Qi Xin lowered her eyes. “…But it’s understandable. You didn’t have thoughts before, so it’s inevitable that you wouldn’t grasp the gravity of things.”

Zhong Chengshuo stared at her for a while. “You remember what happened back then.”

“The period when you were hunted down was a grand carnival on the Other Side. Love, Joy, Disgust… They tore this place apart with gaps, just to trap you. Why, don’t you remember at all?”

“I only remember the pain.”

“Haha.” Qi Xin forced a laugh. “Forget about that. Old* Fear, you don’t seem like the type to engage in conversation with others.”

*[Lao] (老). I’m translating it because it sounds too weird given that I translated his “name”.

“Listen, even if you don’t have any abilities, at least none of the Elementals here—including me—can completely kill you. If you have something to say, go ahead and speak.”

As she spoke, her body instinctively tensed up.

“I feel like I’m useless,” Zhong Chengshuo said pensively.

Qi Xin: “Ah?”

Her defensive posture instantly crumbled, and a hint of confusion appeared on her face. What was this former dominant God of Death from the Other Side talking about?

“If Yin Ren only wanted to find the missing people, he wouldn’t have disregarded me as well. I can tell that Yin Ren wants to become the true Fear,” Zhong Chengshuo earnestly recounted.

Qi Xin gritted her teeth. This person’s account was irrationally infuriating, but she was indeed interested in this topic. “Go on.”

“At that time, I won’t be able to intervene in his battle with Love. Even if I were to forcefully join, I would only become a burden.” Zhong Chengshuo analyzed himself in detail. “Just the thought of it makes me feel somewhat sad.”

Qi Xin: “…” It was true that her essence was “Sorrow”, but seeking emotional advice from a Primordial Elemental seemed off somehow, although she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“I don’t think you need to be too sad.” Qi Xin cleared her throat. “I don’t know how things will turn out. That kid Yin Ren can only take it step by step. To be honest, he may not necessarily become the true Fear.”

“What do you mean?” Zhong Chengshuo’s expression immediately turned solemn.

Qi Xin casually pointed to a distance—a dozen or so steps away, two white Primordial Elementals were engaged in a fierce fight. One had already been mostly consumed by the other but was still struggling desperately. Judging by their appearance, those two little creatures were undoubtedly of the same kind.

“Normal Elementals should be born on the Other Side under the influence of ‘Satisfaction’. If there’s enough food after their birth, they can survive by feeding on emotions alone. Cannibalism within the same species only occurs in famine-like environments.”

“As for Primordial Elementals like us, we must inevitably kill the previous generation after being born… After all, resources are limited, and as long as the previous generation is alive, they will unconsciously absorb emotional nutrients, causing the new generation to quickly perish due to malnutrition.”

Qi Xin gestured casually.

“But according to your accounts, first, Yin Ren was born in the mortal realm without the intervention of ‘Satisfaction’, which is unprecedented. Second, he has yet to consume you, who occupies an empty position, but he is quite healthy.”

The more Zhong Chengshuo frowned, the tighter his brows knitted. “Are you saying that Yin Ren isn’t a normal Primordial Elemental?”

“Yes. I don’t know what he will become.” Qi Xin rolled her eyes, and the dark abyss of her eyes squeezed at the corners. “But he looks like Fear, his aura is that of Fear, and his destructive power is no different from Fear. To me, he is the cub of ‘Fear’.”

Zhong Chengshuo remained silent.

“As long as he can solve the problems on the Other Side, I don’t care about his bloodline purity. In the current situation, it seems like I don’t have a choice either,” Qi Xin said. “So no one can predict what will happen in the future, and it doesn’t matter if you mind.”

“Yin Ren’s condition is even more unstable than expected, and you don’t have a way to restore my powers,” Zhong Chengshuo dryly summarized. “I can’t possibly not mind.”

“I can’t help you, and I don’t care.”

Qi Xin averted her gaze.

“For the Other Side, you are now no different from a dead thing, Mr. Fear.”

Zhong Chengshuo raised his gaze. The two small white Elementals had finished their fight. The silhouette of one had disappeared without a trace, while the other floated lightly as if nothing had happened.

The one that had been consumed didn’t even leave a trace behind.

On the Other Side without Fear, only this kind of “death” existed. Even if he stood here now, he couldn’t interfere with anything.

Zhong Chengshuo took off the glasses made of “illusions” and raised his pitch-black eyes. When the tiny entity floated away, his hand reached towards his lower back. Beneath his loose white linen clothing, a touch of crimson was hidden.

Perhaps due to the infiltration of Yin Ren’s blood, the Evil Fruit wasn’t an illusion but was brought in for real. The crimson flowed on the blade was captivatingly beautiful. Zhong Chengshuo pressed his fingertip against the blade, and a trace of chill seeped from the razor-sharp edge.

Qi Xin couldn’t offer any effective advice, and the information from Shian was limited.

‘This couldn’t go on,’ he thought.

Since Yin Ren wouldn’t slow down, he had to catch up.

……

Yin Ren opened his eyes.

He found himself in an exceptionally wide tunnel with countless scenes and fragments crowded on the black-gray walls of the tunnel, like walls adorned with festive lights. This passageway resembled an ant nest, with no visible beginning or end, and branching out into innumerable forks. Everything in the world intersected here, dazzling to the point of breathlessness.

Like an endless celebration.

Yin Ren imagined a solid ground, and the next moment, he felt an appropriate weight under his feet. He wasn’t sure if this was the true form of the Other Side, but at least for now, his body was no longer in pain.

Yin Ren quickly recited a mantra, but things didn’t go as he wished. He couldn’t even produce a spark.

…Well, he had to take things one step at a time. Yin Ren curiously took a step forward, observing everything around him.

“Oh, right. Almost forgot about you.”

Just as Yin Ren took a step forward, he suddenly slapped his forehead. He took out the trembling Dog Thing from his pocket and tapped on its surface with his knuckles.

“You were scared to death, but Qi Xin already knew about your existence. So, do you have anything to say now?”

[Home! Home! Home!]

The excited thoughts of Dog Thing came through.

[Can I go home?]

“…Go. Now that Qi Xin is watching, it’s pointless for me to keep you here.” Yin Ren chuckled. He extended his hand, and the cellphone floated on its own in midair.

[Go home—!!!] Dog Thing cheered.

In an instant, a mass of black oozed out from the cellphone. Its surface appeared watery and leaden gray, covered in densely packed and regular pores. Around its round body, spider-like long legs emerged.

The thing floated lightly in the air, resembling a variation of Saturn with insect-like legs forming its rings. Those legs moved rhythmically, and the spherical body drifted in the air.

“So this is the ‘Anxiety’ with such a distinguished appearance.” Yin Ren rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. “Alright, stop lingering and go already.”

[Thank you.]

Dog Thing circled around Yin Ren with its small legs pedaling happily.

[Goodbye.]

Moving gracefully like a jellyfish, it drifted towards one of the branching paths in the tunnel. Yin Ren had no idea how these things navigated, and he shook his head with a smile.

Next, all he had to do was find Qi Xin. The beginning was always the hardest, and he had already completed the most troublesome step!

Yin Ren began to move along the tunnel.

In the first hour, he held his head high and walked with confidence.

In the second hour, his steps grew heavier, and his brows furrowed.

In the third hour, he lay down on the ground.

This place was too vast, like an infinitely flawed space. Trying to find Qi Xin here was more challenging than panning for gold in a riverbed with bare hands. But if he went back to the white room like this… Yin Ren felt a tinge of resentment, as if he were rolling back to the spawn point in a game.

Qi Xin shouldn’t have gone too far from the white room, right? After all, how was this damn place even supposed to be navigated?

Yin Ren lay on the ground, looking at the radiant colors in all directions with millions of white structures, unable to discern the way back.

…Oh well. If he couldn’t find Qi Xin within an hour, he would reluctantly roll back. If he stayed away for too long, Zhong Chengshuo would surely worry.

Yin Ren let out a long sigh and was about to get up when he saw something round and rolling quickly towards him from the distance. A circle of familiar, small legs surrounded it.

“Dog Thing?!”

[Ahhhhhhhh!!!]

Before Dog Thing even reached him, a string of screams pierced through Yin Ren’s mind. Startled, he jumped up and saw the massive pursuers behind Dog Thing—

Various black and gray entities twisted together, forming a black tornado. They jostled and raced straight towards Dog Thing. The legs of Dog Things were about to break, and its surface pores oozed a transparent liquid—whether cold sweat or tears, Yin Ren couldn’t tell.

[Help! Help! Help! Help!] Dog Thing shouted desperately. It squeezed into Yin Ren’s hand on its own, transforming into a cellphone. Immediately, the unfortunate cellphone started vibrating endlessly in Yin Ren’s hand.

Yin Ren: “You—”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was engulfed by the swarm of black entities.

The familiar pain returned. Only this time, it was external, not internal. These damn things were devouring him!

Yin Ren turned around in horror, trying to escape, but these Elementals crowded around him, making it impossible for him to move an inch.

He attempted to imagine the white room, but these unidentified Elementals were releasing intense emotions, turning his mind into a chaotic mess, rendering him unable to focus.

Unable to escape and unable to use his abilities, was he going to sink in the gutter?! Yin Ren covered his head, fully convinced that if this continued for a few more minutes, he would be skinned alive.

Was this how Qi Xin “took care” of a cub?

…Wait a minute. He was the cub of “Fear”, the highest level of emotion in theory, so he could simply consume them.

Yin Ren thought and acted swiftly. He grabbed one of the slippery entities and took a bite. He didn’t know what emotion this was, but it tasted somewhat like tortoise jelly.

Not bad.

Yin Ren felt revitalized and started devouring them even faster. Tearing off a piece here, swallowing a whole Elemental there. Soon, as if realizing that using a mouth was too slow, Yin Ren instinctively unleashed his true form and consumed them with his entire being.

As his true form emerged, the Elementals froze in place as if under a petrification spell.

In the next second, they once again twisted into a black tornado, but this time, they dashed in the opposite direction.

“Thinking of running away?”

Yin Ren, who had already expended quite a bit of energy, had just satisfied his appetite. He directed his body forward and pounced, closely pursuing the black tornado while voraciously absorbing it.

Something inside him was awakening. His true form became lighter and faster, akin to darkness itself. Like a tidal wave, Yin Ren swept towards the horde of Elementals, and with a crashing black wave, only a few survivors remained. The rest were engulfed and vanished into the darkness.

He was satisfied with his meal, but it left an unsatisfying taste in his mouth.

After confirming that the surroundings were completely cleared, Yin Ren leisurely restored his human form. It was said that a full stomach would put one in a good mood. Lord Ghost King strolled for a while to aid digestion and decided to return openly and honestly. He tightly clenched Dog Thing in his right hand and carried a few leftover Elementals in his left hand, intending to bring them back for further study with Zhong Chengshuo.

It could be considered returning with a full load, and Lord Ghost King’s mood improved slightly.

Not far away, within a certain shadow, a pair of human eyes blinked without pause, with the pupils following Yin Ren’s movements.

“An evil being? A Primordial Elemental? Or…”

The person muttered to themselves.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen something this interesting.”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

When I first looked up tortoise jelly (guilinggao) I thought it was grass jelly, but it turns out it’s made from turtle shells, commonly from the golden coin turtle in the past, which is currently critically endangered, but now from other turtles.

Personally, I rather eat grass jelly…

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 208: Power

Xiang Jiang was awakened by the smell of poor-quality candles.

When he woke up, he was wearing loose work clothes, and his limbs were covered in talismans. His brother, Xiang Hai, had only slightly better treatment, but Xiang Jiang could recognize the aura of ghost-suppressing techniques even with his eyes closed.

The room they were in was filled with densely packed local deity figurines, and on the ceiling, human hair was braided into ropes to suspend the figurines in the air. Underneath various smiling faces, everything was surrounded by darkness, and the small figurines swayed like hanging ghosts, adding a touch of eeriness.

In the center of the room, there was a pile of brightly colored red candles melted together. Within the melted wax, black ashes floated up and down. The candle flames flickered without wind, and the shadows of the figurines in the entire room varied in length, crawling around like living creatures.

Seeing these folk-style deity artifacts, Xiang Hai curled up in pain next to Xiang Jiang, folding his wings inside his body. The two clung tightly to each other, and it was hard to tell who was the living person and who was the deceased.

“Don’t be afraid.” Xiang Jiang forced himself to speak.

He tasted the taste of blood on his lips. His throat was dry and burning, and his muscles and bones all ached. Even the treatment given to condemned prisoners in Shian wasn’t this bad. A bitter smile gradually appeared at the corner of Xiang Jiang’s mouth; he knew where they were.

The territory of Sunken Society.

In the back mountain behind the school, Ge Tingting and Huang Jin suddenly turned against each other under the control of Love. Xiang Jiang naturally looked for an opportunity to escape, but just as he and Xiang Hai had escaped from the encirclement of Shian, several spells suddenly exploded, and he lost consciousness in an instant.

In the last memory, they were being dragged by someone towards a dark gap.

…Just like at this moment.

A black gap split open out of nowhere, causing the figurines to tremble incessantly. The space shook, and in the ripples resembling water waves, a figure broke through the air.

The person was tall and handsome, loosely draped in a reddish-brown robe. Illuminated by the candlelight, the robe faintly revealed patterns resembling fine blood vessels. There seemed to be something wet and shimmering at the corners of the robe, resembling human eyes.

Xiang Jiang leaned against the wall filled with figurines, and his body shrank with vigilance.

He recognized that face.

Everyone who defected from Shian was on a list of the Emergency Management Department, and this “Shen Mo” bore an identical resemblance to the person in the old photo.

Shen Mo, a former member of the Emergency Management Department, was responsible for guiding skilled cultivators like Fu Xingchuan. Xiang Jiang had seen this person’s information before. He used to be an extremely talented ghost master, although he didn’t possess the label of “genius” and belonged to the type who diligently studied.

During the Divine Descent, Shen Mo and Jiao Lian obtained complete “Charon” abilities. Jiao Lian obediently cooperated with Shian for research on the Other Side, while Shen Mo betrayed Shian and directly joined Sunken Society.

Since then, he had practically vanished from the metaphysical world, never appearing openly or engaging in activities.

At this point, looking at the “reddish-brown robe” on the person’s body, which still showed faint signs of breathing, and the black gap behind him, Xiang Jiang could probably guess what Shen Mo had been doing in recent years.

Shen Mo was likely researching the Other Side using a more “radical” approach.

The robe emitted the aura of a powerful cultivator and a suffocating sense of despair. Xiang Jiang was familiar with this state. During the Bai Yongji case, living people also merged into objects like this, unable to seek survival but unable to seek death.

Xiang Jiang’s limbs turned cold, and his thoughts raced frantically.

Is he going to become the next “clothing”? If so, would the other person take action here?

…At the very least, he had to find a way to save Xiang Hai. Xiang Jiang clenched his teeth and stared fixedly at Shen Mo.

“We can be considered senior and junior in this field. You don’t have to be so nervous.”

As if seeing through Xiang Jiang’s thoughts, Shen Mo pulled over the nearest figurine and sat on it like a chair. His body and voice were youthful, but his eyes carried the madness typical of an elderly person.

“I have some understanding of your situation with the Other Side. Not bad, being noticed by the Other Side is considered fortunate. If you have time, shall we chat?”

Xiang Jiang: “…”

At this moment, he had nothing, except perhaps time.

He continued to tense his body, wishing he could blink less.

In contrast, Shen Mo’s tone was relaxed to the point of being irritating. “I am a Charon. The things from the Other Side have always had some grievances with me—they don’t like having humans meddling in their affairs. Whether it’s Fu Wuyan from the Fu family or your Minister Jiao, they all failed because of this. That kid Wei Huaqian kept yearning to become a Charon, but no amount of persuasion could dissuade him.”

‘Isn’t this hitting oneself?’ Xiang Jiang thought with a bitter smile. Even if he and Xiang Hai were at their peak, they couldn’t defeat a true Charon.

So he could only remain quietly huddled, slowly shifting his body to block Xiang Hai even more.

“…Let’s stop the small talk here. I roughly know what you want to do. I specifically invited you here to introduce you to some friends from the Other Side.”

Shen Mo casually shifted his posture, turning his body towards Xiang Hai.

“They have a connection with Sunken Society. There’s no need to go through me.” Xiang Jiang finally spoke.

“Come on, it’s purely a business connection.” Shen Mo shrugged. “They provide the source of corruption, and we provide the research results. There have been a few unpleasant incidents during the process—I understand, after all, Sunken Society is not capable on its own; it’s only fit to be a research institution for them.”

Xiang Jiang mechanically responded, “So what?”

“A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse*. After so many years, the contacts and experiences accumulated by Sunken Society, they need them to some extent. You should understand this deeply. Humans themselves are the group that understands human vulnerability the most.”

*(瘦死的骆驼比马大) Idiom referring to even though something or someone may be in a weakened or disadvantaged state, they still hold more value or significance compared to others who may appear stronger or more capable. It emphasizes the relative importance or worth of a situation or individual, regardless of their current condition.

Shen Mo slowly stroked his own living robe.

“If you want to do something in a foreign land, it’s always easier to have a local guide who’s familiar with the territory… I only need one meeting—to meet the person you’re connected with.”

“Why?” Xiang Jiang remained silent for a long time before weakly questioning.

“As long as the corruption source is spread, Sunken Society will have as much business as they want. Contacting the Other Side inevitably comes with an additional cost.”

“Because I want more.” Shen Mo smiled without speaking. “Of course, it’s a trade. I will provide the best ghost sacrifices from Sunken Society for your brother. As for you, I will help you become stronger—so that you won’t have to rely on corruption and can use your special abilities.”

Shen Mo leaned forward and extended his hand. Amidst the dancing candlelight, his five fingers were still stained with bright bloodstains and suspicious mucus.

“Our goals align.” Shen Mo smiled arrogantly.

Xiang Jiang stared at Shen Mo for about half a minute. Shen Mo patiently held out his hand, which showed no signs of trembling, as if he had turned into a statue. And around Shen Mo, various strange figurines were illuminated by the candlelight, with shadows curling at the corners of their mouths, laughing in a creepy and unified manner.

Shen Mo seemed like one of them.

After a silent moment, Xiang Jiang grasped the offered hand.

“You want everyone to go insane, don’t you?” Shen Mo spoke softly. “Rest assured, I’ll make you the strongest propagator of madness.”

……

“I will take full responsibility for training in the upcoming investigation of the Other Side.” Qi Xin clapped her hands. “All of you, remember this place well in your minds.”

The Other Side Expedition Team—Unit 9, along with Fu Tianyi and Qi Xin—was standing in a peculiar white room.

The floor, walls, and ceiling were all pure white, causing discomfort to the eyes. The walls of the room were made of an unknown material, and the floor was remarkably soft when stepped on, with no wrinkles or dirt on the walls. The monotonous piano tune of “Happy Birthday” played on a loop within the room, and the air was filled with a suffocating scent of soap.

The environment was monotonous yet striking, like an ice pick stabbing into the brain. If it weren’t for the large number of people entering at once, this place could be considered the top-level containment room for the most severe mental patients.

Or the kind where the most insane patients of the year were confined.

In this eerie setting, everyone dared not breathe too heavily and unintentionally took smaller steps. Without coordination, they walked towards the center of the room, where several dark-colored patches could be seen on the floor—

There, six photographs were neatly arranged.

The photos were facing upwards, each one a solo portrait of every member of the expedition team.

Ignoring the confusion and unease of the others, Qi Xin paced around the room and emphasized, “You must remember the size and appearance of this room well. You should be able to recall it completely with your eyes closed.”

“What’s there to remember?” Huang Jin whispered.

Knowing that he was going to the Other Side, he had written a transfer application overnight. Whether it was due to drafting too much or Huang Jin’s exceptional performance, the application was heartfelt and brought tears to people’s eyes.

Faced with this application that was over 10,000 words long, Fu Xingchuan replied with only this:

“If you insist on the request, I will definitely approve it. However, if this exploration is successful, it will be a significant achievement. We will report the situation and, depending on the circumstances, remove your ‘prisoner’ status.”

In the office, Fu Xingchuan tore a piece of paper and swiftly wrote down a string of zeros.

“There will also be a substantial bonus, which can be provided from the research funds of the Other Side. This is an important task related to social stability, and the reward must not be meager.”

Huang Jin paid no attention to it.

Prisoner status? He would rather stay in prison than do this life-threatening job. He had suffered enough and would not be deceived by Shian’s tricks again. As for the money… Huang Jin let out a cold snort and glanced at the paper with the strings of zeros.

“I’m going to prepare for the mission,” Huang Jin said loudly. “I will withdraw the application.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Huang Jin answered decisively.

That was what he said, but last night Huang Jin tossed and turned and couldn’t bring himself to delete the text. He saved it as a document, placing it prominently in the center of his computer desktop, which made him feel a bit better.

Sure enough, as soon as the investigation took its first step, things started to get weird. Huang Jin looked left and right in the white room, which was as organized as a computer model, and there were no memorable details worth remembering. The only thing worth mentioning was the room’s door—

That was the only door in the room, painted in a glaring bright red, a color so pure it was blinding. No matter where he stood, the red door seemed to emit a series of screams, capturing attention at every moment.

Huang Jin shook his head, crouching down cautiously. He picked up his own photograph.

In the photo, Ding Lizi was playing the guitar in the sunlight of a hospital room, and he had chosen the most suitable position for a “selfie”, capturing a group photo that didn’t look like a group photo. Both their faces carried smiles amidst the gentle warm tones.

The photo had a slightly stiff and heavy feel to it. Huang Jin flipped it over and saw a thin board attached to the back of the photo, as if it were a menu clip used by waiters to take orders.

To see the back of the photo, he had to carefully lift the rigid photograph and look through the V-shaped gap between the plastic board and the photo.

On the back of his photo were five lines of text. These words were written on thin paper and carefully pasted. At first glance, it was almost impossible to detect any traces of pasting.

[Girlfriend? Fu Tianyi]

[Candid shots are not good. Ge Tingting]

[Wishing Miss Ding a speedy recovery. Lu Xiaohe]

[Ding Lizi, guitar, Huang Jin. Zhong Chengshuo]

[When will you confess? Yin Ren]

They were evaluations and signatures from each of his companions, but Huang Jin didn’t know what significance they held. Were they supposed to bring this inside? Wasn’t it said that dead objects couldn’t be brought to the Other Side? Huang Jin had a sense of unease. Having this photo with him was similar to a sign of “returning to his hometown to get married after the war”.

Looking at the photos of the others—

In Yin Ren’s photo, Zhong Chengshuo was running around the kitchen with a pot, as if searching for something. Yin Ren was biting into a small lamb chop, proudly making a “V” sign.

In Zhong Chengshuo’s photo, Yin Ren was taking a nap on the sofa. Zhong Chengshuo carefully leaned his head over, taking a serious selfie.

Lu Xiaohe’s photo was a childhood picture with her mother. Ge Tingting’s was a selfie taken while eating hot pot with Unit 9. Fu Tianyi’s was taken in front of their family’s Great Celestial Master shrine, where he had his hands clasped together with a subtle expression, showing a kind of resignation.

Huang Jin had seen all these photos and had written a sentence of evaluation as requested. Shian had collected their personal photos in advance, so Huang Jin thought they would be used for the Schrödinger’s Awards ceremony, but who knew they would be used here.

Unable to figure it out, he let it go.

Huang Jin glanced at the “Candid shots are not good” written on the back of the photo and was about to find Ge Tingting to clarify a few things when Qi Xin froze him in place with a look.

“Take your own photos with you and keep them close to you,” she said. “I’ll explain everything to you when we arrive on the Other Side. Have you all remembered the room?”

Everyone placed their photos in a safe place and nodded in succession.

“Very well.” Qi Xin took the lead towards the red door. “Now it’s time to go.”

The white room was built underground in Shian, and the temporary passage wasn’t far away. When they caught sight of the passage, Yin Ren hitched his breath.

The passage was roughly spherical, presenting a uniform black-gray color with a small round point of pure black at the center. Coupled with the strange sense of rotation around it, the entire passage resembled a vortex.

It had a diameter of about one and a half meters and was locked in the middle of a snowy white laboratory.

Just like a dark gray pupil.

Yin Ren had a strange feeling—not that they were staring at it, but that it was staring at them.

Unlike the tranquility of the gap, just standing next to it felt as if one’s entire body was being licked by a cold, viscous tongue. Even someone as strong as Yin Ren felt a momentary dizziness.

Yin Ren quickly took half a step back and took a few breaths with Zhong Chengshuo beside him, before quickly regaining clarity.

Qi Xin took the opportunity to step forward. She grabbed a small white mouse from a cage and reached her hand through the passage.

A hissing sound ensued, and the poor white mouse screamed in agony. In full view of everyone, its body was torn apart and elongated by the rotating space. When Qi Xin withdrew her hand, she held a lump of distorted flesh—a mixture of facial features and limbs twitched incessantly.

Ge Tingting couldn’t bear to look and turned her head away, while Fu Tianyi’s gaze gradually became dull.

Qi Xin looked at the deformed mouse in her hand for a while, making clicking sounds with her tongue. Then she took two steps forward and touched the edge of the passage.

In the next moment, Qi Xin’s entire body stretched and deformed, as if being pulled into a vortex. Her body continued to extend and rotate, connecting head to tail. In a matter of four or five seconds, a twisted human body firmly framed the entrance. Limbs and facial features were twisted into a mass of flesh, like a nightmare.

The sense of rotation at the entrance gradually disappeared, replaced by an eerie sense of stillness.

Ironically, Qi Xin herself acted as if nothing had happened, moving her lips, which had elongated to the length of a palm. “I’ve stabilized it. Let’s try again.”

According to the plan, this time it was Yin Ren who picked up a mouse and reached into the vortex. This time, the mouse’s body remained intact, with not a single hair out of place. However, after returning to the human world, it seemed a little dazed, with an infinite dullness and confusion in its small black eyes.

“Alright,” Qi Xin said. “Everyone, go in. Close your eyes for now, I’ll make the arrangements.”

The feeling of passing through the entrance was very strange.

Yin Ren felt a lightness all over, as if stepping into a pool without the sensation of liquid. In the next instant, countless sensations exploded on his nerves like fireworks on a festive day.

He heard muffled news and popular music, smelled the fishy smell of fish guts and the leather in the carriage, felt the soft fur and scales of small animals brushing against his skin, and tasted the sourness of black coffee and the warmth of hot broth on his tongue, all at the same time.

Yin Ren’s five senses were completely disoriented, and his body lost its balance. He couldn’t tell if he was falling, floating up, or staying in place. His senses seemed to have been put into a juicer and blended into messy mud.

Yin Ren subconsciously tried to reach out to Zhong Chengshuo but couldn’t find his own arm. He tried to use his techniques to protect himself, but no matter how he formed the hand seals, the techniques had no effect, with no response from his surroundings.

Until…

[Imagine that white room.]

The thoughts with Qi Xin’s voice directly entered his mind.

[Open your eyes after you hear the music.]

In an instant, that white room surged from his memory. The simple and soft walls, “Happy Birthday” playing in the background, and the strong scent of soap.

The next second, gravity returned, and Yin Ren once again stepped on the soft ground. The melody of “Happy Birthday” continued to play in his ears, and the scent of soap dissipated the various chaotic smells.

Yin Ren opened his eyes.

White walls, red door. Beside him were his startled companions and Qi Xin, who had returned to her original state.

She was wearing a more dignified clerk uniform, just like the day they first saw her. Yin Ren blinked and shifted his gaze, noticing that everyone’s attire had changed slightly.

Huang Jin wore slightly larger work clothes, Ge Tingting wore a commemorative shirt from Shian, Lu Xiaohe’s T-shirt had the words “Social Animal Ground*” printed on it, and Fu Tianyi wore that set of peculiar red clothing and mask.

*(社身畜地) It’s a self-deprecating term expressing one’s current working status and the environment one lives in. 

As for Zhong Chengshuo… Zhong Chengshuo’s loose white-lined shirt seemed to be etched in Yin Ren’s mind.

These seemed to be the outfits that each person wore most often or left the deepest impression. Now everyone was collapsed, gasping for breath, except for Zhong Chengshuo, who stood in place as if nothing had happened, carefully observing the surroundings.

“Is this the Other Side?” Ge Tingting finally managed to catch her breath and asked tremulously.

As the words came out, she herself was startled. The words came straight out of her mouth, clearly enunciated, logically coherent, and the symptoms of the ravings had completely disappeared. Huang Jin also looked around in shock, his eyes filled with complete astonishment.

“This is indeed the Other Side,” Qi Xin said.

“Why is it like this?” Ge Tingting pressed on with her questions.

Qi Xin glanced at her, then floated into the air, looking down at everyone.

“The so-called Other Side—using your previous analogy—is a ‘brain network’ composed of the brains and neural structures of all living beings.”

“The perception of visual and auditory senses in living organisms is essentially electrical signals transmitted to the brain. In general, everything that living beings perceive is the information returned by the ‘body’ shell, processed and unified by consciousness.”

Yin Ren listened with a confused mind, while Zhong Chengshuo nodded in agreement.

“Under normal circumstances, a living being’s autonomous consciousness operates within the ‘brain firewall’. However, more basic and fundamental information, such as fear of pain or death and other so-called ‘instincts’ flow within this ‘brain network.'”

Qi Xin explained slowly.

“Now that you have intruded into this place, you are like a kind of virus. Until you learn how to control yourself, you will indiscriminately absorb information. It’s manageable if your perception is chaotic, but if the situation worsens, you may experience a breakdown or disappear completely.”

“‘Imagination’ essentially helps you focus and eliminate other information interference. If you can’t handle it, you can collectively imagine this room.”

Huang Jin swallowed his saliva loudly.

Zhong Chengshuo appeared pensive as he took a step closer to Yin Ren. “I see. Those exaggerated perceptual characteristics are meant to help you remember.”

“Are you okay?” Yin Ren whispered back.

“No, it’s probably muscle memory,” Zhong Chengshuo honestly replied.

Yin Ren opened his mouth but then pursed his lips together. Theoretically, he was a Primordial Elemental, but on the Other Side, he seemed ignorant and clumsy. The situation was worse than he had imagined; not only could he not save others, but he couldn’t even act independently.

It felt as if he were a tiger cub raised in a zoo, with no problems in health or strength, but certain death awaited him if he were thrown directly into the wild.

He hadn’t felt this “weak” in a long time.

“Let’s stop here for today. Over the next twenty-four hours, you’ll need to constantly imagine this room until it becomes a conditioned reflex.” Qi Xin shrugged her shoulders. “When you’re stable, I’ll teach you how to use the photos.”

“Can’t you just bring the missing people here directly?” Lu Xiaohe took two steps forward, but she still didn’t dare look up in front of Qi Xin. “We’re closer to the entrance now, so we can take them out first…”

As soon as she said this, almost everyone looked at Qi Xin.

Indeed, “Joy” and “Disgust” had already perished, and “Love” was squeezed in between. Qi Xin, as one of the top four emotions on the Other Side, was unrivaled. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have taken the risk to bring Yin Ren, this little cub, back to his homeland.

Qi Xin smiled.

Her smile had always made people uncomfortable, as if a wooden mask had been stretched over her face, exuding a chilling coldness reminiscent of lifelessness.

“Of course, I can do that.” Qi Xin flicked a strand of hair behind her ear. “But what benefits would I gain from doing so? Clearing the path for you, teaching you knowledge, and finding people for you—if ‘Fear’ were to retreat and run away like that, wouldn’t I lose out?”

Lu Xiaohe was speechless.

Qi Xin leaned down in front of Lu Xiaohe, tilting her head stiffly without blinking.

“When humans train small animals to bite, they often use a little meat bait or toys. For the ‘Fear’ cub, looking for those humans is good training.” Her smile became increasingly apparent, almost revealing all her teeth. “What a win-win approach, don’t you think?”

Lu Xiaohe’s breathing suddenly became chaotic and fragmented, her body trembling lightly. But she managed to hold back her emotions and didn’t reply.

“Young lady, you should learn to be grateful.” Qi Xin’s voice lowered slightly. “Otherwise, I can kill you right now, and not even ‘Fear’ will be able to do anything to me.”

“For example, someone who sneaked in here without manners.”

Qi Xin’s arm suddenly stretched out and flicked towards a corner of the room. A sharp scream followed, and a black mass was squeezed in her hand.

Dr. Cat struggled dissatisfied in her grasp, opening its mouth and hissing. Previously, everyone’s attention was on Qi Xin, and no one noticed the small black mass in the corner of the white room.

“Meiqiu?!” Fu Tianyi couldn’t sit still. “That’s impossible. You didn’t even enter the white room just now. How…”

“An infinite ability user. No wonder.” Qi Xin looked at the black cat panting frantically and casually tightened her fingers. “You guys really have all sorts of wonders over there.”

With its throat held by Qi Xin, the black cat extended its claws and scratched, but to no avail. Fu Tianyi’s face turned pale. He desperately tried to use his techniques, but like Yin Ren, Fu Tianyi couldn’t produce even a spark.

“Qi Xin.”

Yin Ren stepped forward with a stern face, grabbing Qi Xin’s wrist.

“I understand your dissatisfaction. However, this is our colleague, so I hope you won’t harm it.”

Although it was a world of consciousness, Yin Ren’s palm still exuded a hint of sweat. Qi Xin was right; in this cursed place, even if she killed Dr. Cat, he couldn’t necessarily stop her.

…This was terrible.

Qi Xin’s one eye shifted to her temple as she looked at Yin Ren for a moment. In the end, she snorted and casually threw the cat aside.

Yin Ren held the soft and fluffy Dr. Meiqiu, who regained its ability to speak. Its fur bristled all over its body as it nestled in Yin Ren’s arms, cursing in a soft voice.

“It’s not only one that sneaked in without saying hello.”

Qi Xin smiled ambiguously, her crooked eye directly facing Yin Ren.

“…Forget it. I’m going out to stretch my muscles. Since you guys brought in things indiscriminately, don’t blame me if you lose them.”

Yin Ren still held Qi Xin’s wrist, and for a moment, the room fell silent.

Qi Xin casually shook her wrist, and her arm instantly turned into a pile of thin, withered bones. She effortlessly pulled it out of Yin Ren’s palm and walked straight towards the red door.

Yin Ren grasped empty air, slowly tightening his palm and forcefully embedding his fingertips into his palm.

“Wait, I have something to say to you!”

Unable to stop her with his hand, Yin Ren tried to command his hair to stop Qi Xin. However, for some unknown reason, his obedient hair remained motionless, gently hanging down, as if it were real hair.

“If you can get out of this door, then I can have a chat with you,” Qi Xin replied without looking back.

Her figure disappeared behind the red door.

Once Qi Xin left, everyone, except for Yin Ren, let out a collective sigh of relief.

In the human world, they hadn’t felt it, but on the Other Side, Qi Xin’s slender body exuded an indescribable sense of oppression that instinctively kept people at a distance.

Dr. Cat crawled to Fu Tianyi, swiftly climbing onto his shoulder, finally catching its breath and grooming its fur. However, after licking for a while, it ended up licking the fabric on Fu Tianyi’s shoulder.

“I’ll go out for a while.”

Yin Ren walked briskly towards the red door that Qi Xin had left from. What was beyond this door were countless shades of gray and white substances that wriggled incessantly. Yin Ren walked straight ahead, as if he hadn’t seen them.

The red door closed automatically.

After a few seconds, a panting Yin Ren reappeared in the center of the room, nearly bumping into Ge Tingting. Lord Ghost King wiped his face and muttered a curse under his breath.

“Let’s practice first.” Ge Tingting quietly advised. “According to what she said, we need to adapt to the environment first. Yin Ge, why don’t you…”

Zhong Chengshuo patted the little girl’s shoulder, shaking his head at her.

“Yin Ren, give me your hand.”

Zhong Chengshuo extended his hand, naturally extending an invitation.

“I’ll take you to find her.”

Yin Ren reflexively reached out his hand and relaxed his eyes. However, the next moment, his expression stiffened.

“No.”

Yin Ren retracted his hand.

“I’ll go by myself.”

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 207: One Night in This World

The next day, after work.

Near Ping’an Manor, the night market was as lively as ever. With the change of seasons and the decrease in temperature, the street stalls underwent many changes. The chilled noodles and red bean shaved ice that Yin Ren loved had disappeared, replaced by street-side roasted duck and various fried snacks.

The cool evening breeze carried a mixture of oil fumes and water vapor, making the scene appear several times more vibrant than before.

Zhong Chengshuo had finally retrieved his phone. At the moment, he was holding a large pile of discounted vegetables from the supermarket with a box of fresh eggs in his other hand. Yin Ren also had various gifts in his hands. With a grilled squid in his mouth, he carefully carried a bag of crispy fried small fish—the kind Zhong Yude and Cheng Xuehua liked to have with their drinks.

Various cheap light strings flashed incessantly, and people came and went, chatting and laughing. The loudspeaker of a beverage shop played music with extremely poor sound quality, and the water stains on the roadside reflected shimmering neon lights.

Yin Ren sniffed the sweet fragrance in the air and turned towards the beverage shop. Just as his foot was about to step into the shallow puddle, a thin and weak boy fell into the water. Dirty water splashed in all directions, splattering onto Yin Ren’s sneakers.

The school uniform on the boy looked somewhat familiar—it was the style of Haigu Secondary School. The sewage from the night market instantly stained the fabric of the uniform brown, emitting an unusually strong fishy smell. The boy had just opened his bubble tea, but now half of it fell into the dirty water, and the straw was covered in filth.

The pinkish-white liquid dripped out of the straw and quickly mixed with the brownish-black sewage.

“Here, let me show you.”

The tallest boy deliberately twisted his body and imitated a high-pitched voice.

“Sweetheart Strawberry Milk Tea, my sisters must not miss it, so delicious it’ll make you stamp your feet~”

Amidst the laughter, the boy spat towards the smaller boy in the dirty water. “Is that sentence so difficult? I’ve said it too. Let’s entertain everyone. Why are you pretending to be high and mighty? You buy this stuff every day, but others can’t make jokes about it?”

The smaller boy didn’t say anything, but his face turned bright red.

“One of these days, we’ll bury you too, you sissy.” A group of several teenagers near the beverage shop jeered. “You have no face, Little Strawberry.”

They shouted and made a commotion around the boy.

The smaller boy tried to get up but was pushed down by the approaching students and thrown back into the muddy water. Under the warm yellow light, his face turned a terrifying shade of purple.

The nearby vendors were busy with their stalls, and pedestrians continued to chat and laugh. Whether intentional or not, people ignored the commotion in this small corner.

Something was silently changing in this bustling and warm night market.

Yin Ren frowned. Just as he was about to intervene, he saw a sudden change in the boy’s expression.

The humiliation and anger from earlier vanished without a trace, and his face showed only a dazed and relieved look, as if someone was embracing him. Something translucent and white flashed across his shoulder.

It looked like a human arm.

The smaller boy stood up again, picked up the bubble tea from the dirty water, and disregarded the dirt on the straw as he absentmindedly took a few sips before walking away.

As he left, his clothes were still dripping water, but there was a serene smile on his face.

The reaction of the others was quite strange. The group of boys who had been bullying him looked at each other, shrugged, and muttered, “He must be crazy.” Then they moved on to a nearby skewer stall.

“What just happened?” Zhong Chengshuo struggled to push aside the large stalks of green onions in front of him.

“…A momentary surge of Evil Force, but after that, the boy’s aura remained pure.” Yin Ren watched the swirling milk tea in the dirty water for a while. “Strange, I couldn’t see clearly.”

“Mm, we’ll report it tomorrow.” Zhong Chengshuo pulled back behind the various vegetables again.

“Hu Tao.” Yin Ren casually summoned his own ghost. “Follow that boy from earlier at a distance. When he falls asleep, come back and tell me what you’ve observed.”

Miss Hu Tao accepted a few grilled squid as a bribe before muttering to herself and setting off.

Before leaving the night market, Yin Ren stood at the street corner for a while.

A few young people passed by in a group, and one of them had a talisman hanging from their backpack, emitting a faint Evil Force. Yin Ren waved his hand and absorbed most of the Evil Force.

Then, he quietly watched the lights that he had longed for all these years.

The group of students who had just eaten their skewers were now chatting and laughing with expressions filled with innocence. The skewer vendor happily chatted with them, as if the previous bullying had never happened.

Behind the skewer stall, there was a makeshift and simple shrine. The gold paint on the God of Wealth’s hat shimmered in the mirror and emitted sparkling lights.

After watching for a few minutes, Yin Ren threw the skewer of the grilled squid into the trash can and left with Zhong Chengshuo.

Under the streetlights, the two of them carried their bags, appearing as ordinary pedestrians.

……

“What does this mean? Are you two going on another business trip?”

Zhong Yude saw the gifts they were carrying and instinctively frowned. The old man had just rushed out of the kitchen, still wearing an apron, and emanating the hot and sour aroma of sweet and sour dishes.

“Yes, starting tomorrow, we’re going to another city to investigate environmental issues,” Zhong Chengshuo honestly replied.

Yin Ren struggled to control his expression—stripping away the hundred layers of Zhong Chengshuo’s bluff, the investigation into the “Other Side” would begin tomorrow.

Through the Love identification spell on the corruption source, Shian had created a small passageway. It wasn’t stable, but with the assistance of Qi Xin, a “local”, they could barely make it through.

Considering that corruption sources were widespread in the outside world, Fu Xingchuan and Li Nian would stay in this world. Apart from tour guide Ms. Qi, there were only the members of Unit 9, plus Fu Tianyi, who was there to assist. After all, Ge Tingting and Huang Jin have some degree of mental distortion, so Unit 9 needed a 100% natural and healthy cultivator.

Qi Xin was quite supportive of this research. Judging from her subtle expression, Yin Ren suspected that she wanted to test the depth of the two “Fears”.

“An investigation in another city? That’s fine.” Cheng Xuehua breathed a sigh of relief. “My mother used to say that it’s good for young people to be ambitious, but there should be a limit. If your promotion at Shian requires you to take risks every day, it’s better to take it slow every now and then.”

Cheng Xuehua, the former captain of the criminal investigation division, smoothly ignored the fact that she used to take risks every day herself. She patted her chest emotionally and looked at the two “youngsters”. “Let Mom take a good look. All those long missions have made you both lose weight…”

She paused.

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo had smooth and radiant skin, and their faces had a healthy flush. Zhong Chengshuo stood up straight, and Yin Ren’s vitality was even more abundant than before. For those who didn’t know, they would think they were having lavish meals at Shian every day.

Cheng Xuehua coughed twice. “…Go wash your hands first! Dinner is ready. Let’s eat, let’s eat.”

The table was once again filled with steaming home-cooked dishes.

“I heard that you guys got promoted. Not bad.” Zhong Yude opened a bottle of white wine. “Son, you’ve made quite some progress. Remember to learn from Xiao Yin on how to interact with colleagues and superiors.”

Yin Ren: “…”

It seemed like they didn’t need to consider workplace relationships anymore. As for superiors, the members of Unit 9 had already undergone numerous trials and hardships, forging their spirits like steel.

Ge Tingting was studying metaphysics as usual. Just a moment ago, he had answered her WeChat message. Lu Xiaohe was busy preparing materials and bombarding plans for their trip to the “Other Side”. Regardless of the fears of the Other Side, Yin Ren was certain that even if the Heavenly King Laozi himself came, Lu Xiaohe would still ask him endless questions.

Even Huang Jin hadn’t blocked them.

But when he heard his parents’ requests, Zhong Chengshuo responded solemnly, “I will learn from Yin Ren.”

After saying that, he instinctively picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork and put it into Yin Ren’s bowl.

At this point, Yin Ren suspected that Zhong Chengshuo’s “learning from Yin Ren” had a different meaning. However, the sweet and sour pork was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a delicious sweet and sour taste, so he decided not to think too much about it.

“It’s good. Seeing you like this, I can finally feel at ease.” Zhong Yude raised his glass and let out a long sigh. “I never expected that I would witness the younger generation getting married and establishing their careers…”

His face turned rosy from the alcohol, and his eyes gradually became moist.

Zhong Chengshuo’s chopsticks paused for a moment. He looked at his foster father, who was having a drink, and casually dropped a bombshell.

“Dad, Mom, I want to see what Sister left behind back then.”

Zhong Yude choked on his drink, and Cheng Xuehua’s chopsticks paused. However, she managed to maintain her composure and asked, “Why do you suddenly want to see that?”

“Sister’s disappearance case is very similar to the case we are investigating.”

Zhong Chengshuo raised his eyes.

“In recent years, I have been investigating her case. But no matter how much I investigate and how deep I dig, there is some information that only you know.”

Cheng Xuehua took a few deep breaths. She had always shown strength, but now a hint of helplessness appeared on her weathered face.

“You can see it if you want, but it has been almost thirty years since that happened.” Zhong Yude forced a smile. “All the relevant information is there, and as for the ‘only we know’ information, I guess…”

“Chengshuo just wants to understand a bit.” Yin Ren quickly chimed in. “Shian have their ways.”

“I understand.”

Cheng Xuehua cleared her throat conspicuously, trying to make her tone sound light.

“We are family, so there is no need to explain so much. The small house Fengfeng rented back then—your father and I bought it. Everything inside is arranged exactly the same… I’ll take you to see it tomorrow.”

Zhong Chengshuo nodded earnestly.

Yin Ren played with the sweet and sour pork in his bowl. “I have another question. Have the two of you ever dreamed of Chengfeng Jie?”

Zhong Chengshuo turned his head slightly, looking at Yin Ren with a puzzled expression.

Zhong Yude’s face showed a trace of disappointment. “At first, I dreamt of her a few times, always finding Fengfeng… or she never had an accident in the first place. But then the dreams became less frequent. Fengfeng was, after all, a young girl, and she was closer to her mother. Maybe she didn’t have time to bother about her old man.”

After saying that, he downed the remaining wine in his glass.

“Ah…”

Cheng Xuehua sighed deeply.

“Even now, I still occasionally dream of her.” The old lady’s voice was filled with sadness. “I just keep dreaming of that morning…”

“She told me, ‘Mom, I’m leaving. I’ll remember to come back early.'”

……

“Why did you suddenly ask that?” In the night, Zhong Chengshuo skillfully hugged Yin Ren.

“Luo Xiaohe mentioned before that Zhang Hejun accurately dreamed of her mother. Whether that was the manifestation of Love or not, the depth of a deep dream can reach the Other Side, so this should be true.”

Yin Ren leaned against his warm lover, narrowing his eyes. The tips of his wings at the ends of his hair fluttered intermittently. Now they were no longer translucent black, but closer to pure black. However, the touch remained soft and warm. Zhong Chengshuo had gotten used to embracing them in his arms.

“…Do you think missing people who disappeared during the Divine Descent might still have a chance of survival?” Zhong Chengshuo thumped a few times and retrieved his phone from under the pillow. “It’s a matter of great importance, so it’s better to inform Shian.”

“No, it’s just a hunch—at most a conjecture. We still don’t know what the Other Side is.”

Yin Ren held Zhong Chengshuo’s waist tightly.

“I was just asking casually. It’s not good to give everyone too much hope. Let’s first focus on finding the most recent missing individuals and then reassess the situation.”

“Oh.” Zhong Chengshuo stopped typing. He changed his position with Yin Ren, sliding his finger on the screen to browse.

Yin Ren snuggled against Zhong Chengshuo’s chest, feeling drowsy. However, he noticed that Zhong Chengshuo’s heartbeat had quickened. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the sound of a notification from Zhong Chengshuo’s phone.

Another incident?

He poked his head out of the covers, and another screen lit up.

The bright red apple profile picture was fixed at the top, and the message notification was clear. The message was indeed from Zhong Chengshuo, as Yin Ren had suspected.

Yin Ren opened it, and in an instant, the slight warmth of sleepiness disappeared. Their chat history showed that the last message he sent Zhong Chengshuo after the “sacrifice”, was still there.

[Fruit Knife: I should have told you more times, I really like you. I’ve never felt this miserable in my entire life! 👊]

[Fruit Knife: Why don’t you believe these things? If you believe, you can definitely come back.]

[Fruit Knife: Say something to me.]

[Final Fruit: I’ve already come back, right by your side. 😊]

“And I really like you too.”

Zhong Chengshuo put down his phone and tightened his arms.

“If there comes a day when you really need to devour me, just give me a heads up.”

Yin Ren: “There’s no need for that, Zhong Ge.” Although he didn’t know how this idea came about for Comrade Xiao Zhong, his emotions seemed genuine.

“What if it’s necessary?”

In the darkness, those familiar eyes blinked incessantly.

“Do you know something?” Yin Ren instantly dropped his smile and leaned on Zhong Chengshuo with all his force.

“Just like what I said earlier, it’s just a hunch—at most a conjecture. It could also be my baseless worries. Speaking about it will only add to your troubles.” Zhong Chengshuo brushed Yin Ren’s hair. “Once it’s confirmed, I’ll be the first to tell you.”

Yin Ren looked down at those dark eyes.

“Your dad asked you to learn from me—but he didn’t say to learn so quickly.”

A faint sense of satisfaction appeared on Zhong Chengshuo’s face in the darkness. Helplessly, Yin Ren lowered his head and bit down on the other person’s lips.

.…..

Late at night, the fierce ghost Hu Tao gnawed on the tentacles of grilled squid while floating outside the window of the young boy.

This kid seemed perfectly normal, and Hu Tao didn’t understand why Yin Ren wanted her to follow him. She had already made up her mind that once she finished these skewers of squid, she would head back.

After all, Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo were going to visit the elders, and they wouldn’t know when she got off work.

Hu Tao calculated contentedly, floating in the air, indulging in various ways of biting the squid. After finishing the last skewer, the student was still doing homework under the desk lamp. Hu Tao let out a spirited yawn and slowly turned around…

A hand rested on her shoulder.

The weight, body temperature, and touch were all very familiar.

In the next instant, Hu Tao’s hair flew wildly, and her body was covered in blood. Amidst the carnage, her broken lips trembled, “Oh, so you know how to come back? Weren’t you running away so fast before? You—”

“I’m waiting for you on the Other Side.”

That voice, which she despised to the core, spoke.

“I’m waiting for you on the Other Side, honey.”

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 206: Unfinished

“Are you sure?”

“The person who came to negotiate conditions with you that day is indeed lifeless.” Shen Mo stretched his limbs on the sofa in the meeting room, in a relaxed posture. “Unfortunately, they fought too fiercely, and I could only watch from a distance. If I had gotten closer, maybe I could have seen more.”

“……”

Wei Huaqian’s face darkened.

“They can fight against those things? Since when does Shian have such a trump card…”

Seeing Wei Huaqian pondering with a solemn expression, Shen Mo chuckled. He poured himself a cup of hot tea. “It’s already this late, and you’re still worried about Shian’s trump card. No wonder Sunken Society has been declining year after year. Xiao Wei, if you don’t want to be a Charon, you’re better off running an underground workshop.”

Wei Huaqian took a few deep breaths and suppressed his anger gracefully. “What do you think?”

Shen Mo waved his hand casually, and an arm disappeared crisply into thin air, revealing a deep darkness where it used to be.

“The more corruption sources we release, the easier it is for us to come into contact with the Other Side. Even if you’re only half a Charon, you must have noticed something.”

“Those things on the Other Side want to merge the two worlds and control the human world?” Wei Huaqian’s response showed a hint of impatience.

“That’s why I said you’re more suited to be a boss of an underground workshop. The Other Side is similar in nature to the internet. Do you think the internet needs any ‘merging of two worlds’?” Shen Mo spoke while retracting his hand, which had disappeared into the void. His movements were slow, and the muscles on his arm were tense, as if he had caught something heavy.

“Controlling the human world… that statement is somewhat relevant. I think Shian will eventually realize that our collaborators from the Other Side can’t rely solely on Sunken Society to diligently spread corruption sources. Do you think those formidable things would leave the initiative in the hands of the inept Sunken Society?”

With a thud, a bloodied, naked body fell onto the carpet. Xiang Jiang’s eyes were tightly closed, his breathing shallow, as if unconscious or asleep. And beside him, Xiang Hai crouched closely. Only a faint shadow remained of the fierce ghost. Even so, it still opened its huge mouth and vigilantly exuded a ghostly aura.

“The Other Side definitely has other means to influence the human world, so I specially invited our esteemed guest.”

Shen Mo retracted his hand, and his face revealed an undisguised interest.

“Enough with the detours. You don’t really have a sense of existential crisis for humanity.” Wei Huaqian glanced at the fallen Xiang Jiang without much care. “Since you know that the Other Side has an ace up its sleeve, the more you know, the faster you’ll die.”

“If we are willing to assist them at all costs, they won’t be foolish enough to turn against us.”

Shen Mo shrugged his shoulders.

“We’ve come this far in the conversation, you surely understand, right? Xiao Wei, our interests are aligned.”

Wei Huaqian: “…”

He looked up and down at the handsome man in front of him, whose smile was full of charm.

Yes, he had long known that Shen Mo would never be satisfied with the current Sunken Society. After gaining the abilities of a Charon during the Divine Descent, Shen Mo betrayed Shian without any warning, assisting Sunken Society in stealing a large amount of classified information and precious spiritual weapons from Shian.

At that time, Shen Mo held a significant position in Shian. He even produced the “Evil Fruit” knife that was sealed by Shian.

A person like him could easily utilize his abilities to escape abroad and sell everything, living a more prosperous life than anyone in Sunken Society. However, Shen Mo chose to join Sunken Society and devoted all his energy to exploring the Other Side.

Wei Huaqian’s greatest ambition was to become a Charon, obtaining an extraordinary lifespan and formidable abilities. But what Shen Mo desired was something even more insane—

“You want to assist the Other Side and completely disrupt the existing order.”

Wei Huaqian moved his lips.

“…You want the current situation to turn into chaos.”

Without Shian’s suppression and police jurisdiction, powerful cultivators could roam freely in the dark corners of society, indulging in their nature and desires through the law of the jungle. Under the corruption, more people would see evil creatures and even awaken their own abilities, plunging further into madness.

With these creatures running rampant and the world in chaos, someone like Shen Mo would become a legendary figure, surpassing billions of people, almost like a myth.

Just like the legendary Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi.

Faced with Wei Huaqian’s speculation, Shen Mo didn’t answer. He merely tugged at the corner of his mouth with a burning and pure gaze, as if questioning—

Is it not allowed?

So Wei Huaqian gave his answer.

“Our interests are indeed aligned. Do as you please. I don’t care.”

……

“Ah? Do as you please. I don’t care.”

After Yin Ren was awakened by Zhong Chengshuo’s shaking, his spinal cord bypassed his brain and gave an automatic response.

He fell asleep, but he couldn’t be blamed. The meeting in Shian had been going on for nearly six hours, and Professor Li and Fu Xingchuan had argued internally at least ten times. Of course, the main focus was on the handling of the subsequent situation, which inevitably involved Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo.

Not long ago, Minister Li Nian of Shian officially introduced the two of them—

Yin Ren, the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi from a thousand years ago, and the master of Shian’s founding ancestor. Mr. Yin was a senior evil with a thousand years of experience, recently forced to switch to being a “Fear” Elemental cub. He could fight—very well in fact—but seemed reluctant to do so.

Zhong Chengshuo, the former Fear who was kicked out of the retirement home on the Other Side, currently deeply fused with a human body. The advantage was that he couldn’t be killed no matter what, but the downside was that, apart from this advantage, his combat power was quite limited. He held a master’s degree from A University, currently passionate about scientific research while searching for his sister, and if possible, he still wanted to publish research papers.

Also, the two of them were currently in a passionate cohabitation relationship, and their relationship was relatively stable.

For a moment, the meeting room fell silent—including Qi Xin. She looked at Zhong Chengshuo with an extremely complicated expression that almost distorted her features.

Zhong Chengshuo innocently locked eyes with her, as if he were only a step away from wearing a sign around his chest that read “Purely Innocent”. Beside Zhong Chengshuo, Yin Ren couldn’t bear the long meeting and tilted his head on Zhong Chengshuo’s shoulder, blatantly taking a nap.

Good news, two Fears.

Bad news, they both seemed useless.

Watching Qi Xin’s face grow increasingly displeased, Zhong Chengshuo decided to wake Yin Ren up. Yin Ren’s first reaction was not to check on Qi Xin but to scan his companions.

Ge Tingting had a serious expression, seemingly calm in the face of “everyone being formidable”. Lu Xiaohe looked at Zhong Chengshuo with a complicated expression, but there was no hidden anger on her face. Huang Jin—Huang Jin covered his face with both hands, emitting an aura of despair, as if he had lost all hope and no one knew what he was thinking.

Fu Tianyi, who was next to Huang Jin, was unconscious.

So this was the case. Yin Ren calmly withdrew his gaze. It seemed that everything Shian needed to say had been said while he was dozing off.

“I really don’t mind. I can cooperate with any work.” Faced with the various expressions of his colleagues, Yin Ren quickly patted his cheeks and straightened his posture.

“…It’s not that simple.”

Li Nian rubbed his temples, not bothering to conceal the weariness in his tone.

“The corruption outside is spreading, Xiang Jiang has betrayed us, and Fu Xingchuan personally defeated him. I can, for the time being, request his reinstatement. But whether it’s your and Zhong Chengshuo’s identities or Qi Xin’s situation, it’s difficult to coordinate them in a short period of time.”

“Mm, the opponent has become clever.”

Fu Xingchuan added, supplementing his old partner.

“If it were the Divine Descent twenty years ago, the situation would be critical, and decisions would be made quickly. Now, the corruption is simmering, seemingly under control. If your situations were to be reported, who knows how long it would take to resolve them.”

Yin Ren rubbed his temples. “So?”

Li Nian fell silent for a moment and then spoke with some difficulty. “My suggestion is to wage a protracted war. Since Love intends to continue its continuous assault on the gaps to interfere with the human world… We should utilize the power of Yin Ren and Qi Xin to reinforce all weaknesses and seal Love on the Other Side. During this time, we’ll mobilize all of Shian’s forces to completely destroy the sources of corruption. Love will be trapped in the gaps, either retreating back to the Other Side or deteriorating within the gaps. We just need to persevere through generations, and we will eventually find better solutions.”

‘Orderly and moderate, not much different from sealing,’ Yin Ren thought. In the past, he had sealed the Six Evil Spirits at the request of Huajisi because he couldn’t completely eliminate them. After so many years, it seemed that Shian’s approach to handling things hadn’t changed much.

“The way I see it, Love clearly has other ambitions, and delays can lead to unforeseen changes.”

Fu Xingchuan took a sip of tea and cleared his throat forcefully.

“According to Qi Xin’s statement, a new Joy and Disgust will be born, and Love can still persuade them to return. I suggest fully supporting Yin Ren to become stronger and deal with Love in one go.”

With the leader of the Human Harvesting Project gone, the next Love wouldn’t have the aura of a “Hero that slayed Fear”. It was hard to say what the situation would be on the Other Side. If the Elementals continue to cause chaos for tens of thousands of years, humans may disappear on their own in the river of history.

“But if Yin Ren becomes the main force, the higher-ups will certainly be concerned about this ‘new threat’ posed by Yin Ren,” Li Nian said helplessly. “His life will be severely affected.”

Fu Xingchuan smiled calmly. “Well, we can’t beat Yin Ren right now anyway. When the time comes, we can bring out the ‘Great Celestial Master’ card and scare those administrators—there are different ways to deal with strength.”

“You can do whatever you want, but I have only one request,” Qi Xin chimed in elegantly, turning her head to the side. “Once things are settled here, I want the Fear cub to willingly come back with me and restore order on the other side.”

As they spoke, Yin Ren’s mind was filled with endless chatter, like a never-ending parent-teacher conference. He stood up straight, causing the chair to emit a sharp creaking sound.

The arguments in the meeting room came to an abrupt halt.

Zhong Chengshuo: “Yin Ren?”

“Let’s eat. I’m hungry,” Yin Ren said in a deep tone. “Unit 9’s mission is to find the missing people; investigating the school’s corruption is just a side task. Now that Mr. Le, who was planning the school corruption, is dead, the mission on this side is complete.”

Lu Xiaohe suddenly raised her head, and even Li Nian was visibly taken aback. “You…”

“Unit 9 still has work to do. The missing people case hasn’t been solved yet, and the passage to the Other Side has been established, hasn’t it?”

Yin Ren waved his hand.

“You guys can argue about the follow-up tasks all you want. I’m definitely going to continue investigating the missing people case. Once the assignments are settled, we’ll do the assigned tasks and calculate the bonuses accordingly. I’ll cooperate.”

His tone was not much different from any other Shian employee, just with a touch of weariness, as if this was a regular work report meeting.

“Ma… Master Yin, this decision affects the future direction of humanity. In the worst-case scenario, the whole world could descend into chaos! How could you—”

Fu Tianyi finally caught his breath and exclaimed incredulously.

His hair was still standing on end from his “fortunate participation in an important mission to safeguard the world”.

“I was never interested in the bigger picture, and I don’t remember when I became a superhero. Let humans deal with their own affairs.”

Yin Ren forcefully rubbed his face.

“But I promised Lu Xiaohe that I would save her mother. Now, does anyone have anything else?”

“There’s a special sale at the supermarket tonight, so I need to leave work early.” Zhong Chengshuo stood up as well. “Now that the situation has been explained, can I have my ‘relic’ phone back?”

After speaking, he solemnly nodded to several members of Unit 9 and sincerely apologized for keeping them in the dark, saying, “The situation was special, and I’m sorry for hiding it for so long.”

However, only Ge Tingting was able to respond with stable emotions, while Lu Xiaohe covered her mouth and her eyes turned red in the flickering light.

As soon as the two of them reached the door, the roots of the willow tree trembled as if afraid of being burned, and they moved aside. No one in the meeting room spoke until they left the room.

“Hahaha, I told you!” Fu Xingchuan punched Li Nian and laughed out loud. “Does that guy look like the type who cares about the world?”

Li Nian’s expression was somewhat complex, with a mix of surprise and melancholy, as if he had a bitter feeling that he couldn’t express.

“It seems we can’t come to a conclusion for now.”

“Well, it’s not urgent for the next day or two. Let’s take it step by step.” Fu Xingchuan shrugged his shoulders. “Yin Ren is right. The case of the missing corruption sources hasn’t been resolved yet.”

……

In the early evening of the dark autumn and winter days, the sky was already adorned with faint stars.

In Shian’s cafeteria, Yin Ren served himself six pieces of pan-fried duck breast. The six pieces of meat piled up into a small mountain on his plate, sizzling and emitting the aroma of oil and spices. Next to the duck breast were steaming fish-flavored shredded pork, scrambled eggs with scallions, and braised tofu skin with vegetables. With a side of piping hot multigrain rice and a simmering white fungus soup, it was another hearty work meal.

“What are you thinking?”

Yin Ren took a bite of the duck meat. The crispy duck skin released the flavor of the spices, while the tender duck meat oozed with juices, making him close his eyes in satisfaction.

“What do you mean, what am I thinking?”

Zhong Chengshuo was still faced with a plate of garlic-flavored boiled vegetables and a soft-boiled egg, but now there was also a dish of piping hot stewed beef with potatoes. He was currently using a spoon to mix the mashed potatoes and meat broth into the rice with an expression just as serious as if he was conducting an experiment.

“About what’s next.” Yin Ren puffed out his cheeks and his voice was slightly muffled. “Fu Xingchuan and Li Nian want to maintain the bigger picture, while Qi Xin wants to save the Other Side in her own way. They all have their own stances.”

Zhong Chengshuo paused his chewing motion and lifted his gaze, looking intently at Yin Ren.

Yin Ren picked up a piece of braised tofu skin with vegetables and held it out to him. “The problem is, you are the real party involved; it’s a murder case related to you. Now that things are clear, as the victim, what do you think?”

As the “Fear” on the Other Side, he had no thoughts, surviving solely on instincts. Since the inception of the Other Side, he lived a regular and comfortable life, eating and sleeping. But one day, he was suddenly trapped in a sack and beaten mercilessly, his body torn apart, and then left to die in the interstitial space.

He may not have had thoughts initially, but he felt pain. Perhaps one of the motivations was the chaotic rabbit climbing the cliff, fighting against endless pain.

If the two of them hadn’t met by chance, Fear would probably have perished in ignorance a thousand years ago.

“To be honest, I just don’t like everyone turning into lunatics. But I don’t believe I have an obligation to prevent all disasters.”

Yin Ren lowered his voice.

“But someone tried to murder my target, and now that I’ve found the culprit, of course, I want to ask about their intentions.”

“…Honestly, I don’t have any particular thoughts.”

Zhong Chengshuo bit onto the tips of his chopsticks thoughtfully.

“When I was being hunted by them, I didn’t have thoughts yet, nor did I harbor any hatred. Even if I did, prey resisting predators is only natural. If you want to seek revenge for me, personally, I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“Hmm.” Yin Ren played with the end of his hair.

“But I do have some thoughts about the Other Side. No matter what decision we make, it wouldn’t be wise without proper investigation.”

Zhong Chengshuo toyed with the vegetables on his plate with a faint gleam shining in his black eyes.

“You want to fulfill Lu Xiaohe’s wish, and I want to conduct ecological research. Yin Ren, let’s go to the Other Side together.”

Yin Ren blinked in surprise.

Familiar location, familiar person. The only difference was the sight of fallen leaves and bare branches outside the window, compared to the vibrant green trees and sunshine back then. Compared to the Zhong Chengshuo he had first met, the person before him now exuded an indescribable liveliness.

At this moment, Zhong Chengshuo still looked at him with seriousness in his eyes. However, there was a hint of anticipation and barely detectable unease on his face. For this guy, the human crisis, the battle of the Elementals, and everything else probably paled in comparison to the importance of “finding Zhong Chengfeng and giving an account to the two elders”.

He truly deserved to be the cute accomplice he had personally chosen.

“Yes, we should definitely go together.”

Yin Ren took a bite of the last piece of duck breast, hiding the sudden surge of laughter.

“If the science post isn’t there, I can’t go out to do field work.”

……

Haigu Municipal Hospital.

Sun Qi’an opened her eyes, and the hospital’s snow-white ceiling welcomed her. She instinctively moved her head, but immediately winced—it was just a slight movement, yet her head throbbed painfully.

Her previous memories were hazy and vague. She racked her brain to recall but couldn’t make sense of anything.

She was working normally when suddenly there was commotion in Zhang Hejun’s ward. She went to see… to see… and then what?

Right, how is Zhang Hejun doing? The little girl’s condition remained poor even after being rescued. Earlier, her father was investigating her case and mentioned that the main suspect was particularly troublesome… The main suspect? Who was the main suspect again?

Her memories became increasingly chaotic, and the pain in her head intensified. Sun Qi’an gritted her teeth and let out a muffled groan.

Could it be that the tumor in her head worsened? Enduring the excruciating pain, she reached out her hand towards the nurse call button.

A hand pressed it down for her.

Yes, a hand, connected to a lone floating arm in mid-air.

The hand was fair and rosy, with a gentle and beautiful shape. The arm it was connected to had an extremely graceful curve, and the overly elongated arm gradually became transparent at the end, disappearing into thin air. However, just when she wanted to observe it more closely, the hand seemed to be enveloped in clouds and mist, obscuring the details from her view.

Shouldn’t she scream?

Sun Qi’an stood frozen in place, forgetting her headache completely.

The hand seemed to sense her tension. Its fingertips slowly left the nurse call button and gently caressed Sun Qi’an’s head. She stiffly withdrew into the covers, and the hand tucked her in with movements exuding utmost tenderness.

It was the same way her mother would tuck her in with the blankets.

Sun Qi’an tightly shut her eyes as a chill ran down her spine. Just when she didn’t know what to do, the door creaked open, and a nurse hurriedly walked in.

Upon hearing the footsteps of a living person, Dr. Sun forced her eyelids open, cautiously scanning her surroundings.

That arm had vanished in the blink of an eye.

The nurse seemed completely unaware of it, and only a black cat silently stared from the doorway, standing still for a while.

---

The author has something to say:

This arc is over!!!

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Arc is over. Summary below.

With Yin Ren’s memory uncovered, Sunken Society moved on to implement their next phase—a mass spread of corruption sources from Evil Force all over Haigu. With the spread of corruption source, Haigu saw a rise in crime and reckless behavior.

One such case was Lu Xiaohe’s mother, who, upon coming into contact with a corruption source, vanished out of thin air. This led Unit 9 to start investigating the case, which seemed connected to the rise in corruption sources that were spreading across Haigu.

While investigating, they stumbled upon Haigu Secondary School, which seemed to be a mass source of corruption and also a high-profile case of a live burial of a middle schooler. The mastermind behind the burial was Luo Chunlei.

In order to go undercover, Yin Ren used Yellow Millet to project a middle school version of Zhong Chengshuo while he remained invisible, sticking to Zhong Chengshuo’s side. While Zhong Chengshuo investigated the classroom, Ge Tingting and Huang Jin investigated the school and stumbled across an old janitor.

It was later revealed that the janitor is actually a Primordial Elemental representing “Joy” from the Other Side and had been providing the corruption sources to Sunken Society, which then distributed them across Haigu.

Yin Ren devised a plan to lure out the Primordial Elemental and eventually faced off in a confrontation against Joy in the interstitial space. It was then revealed by Joy the true background of the Other Side and why the events of the Divine Descent of over a thousand years ago happened (which I summarized in the previous chapter). The spread of corruption sources from the Other Side was to plummet the human world into madness and chaos, which would allow humans to produce twice as much emotional resonance that would feed the Elementals of the Other Side, which was going through famine.

Eventually, Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo were able to defeat Joy, who then sacrificed himself to Love (the true mastermind behind everything). They were able to narrowly escape with the help of Sorrow, who wants to restore order on the Other Side by reinstating the Fear that was killed.

Meanwhile, Xiang Jiang turned out to betray Shian, and he faced off against Fu Xingchuan. With the help of Ge Tingting and Huang Jin, they were able to subdue him until Love interfered, allowing Xiang Jiang to escape with the help of Shen Mo.

With things coming together, Unit 9 now plans to embark to the Other Side to rescue the missing people with the help of Sorrow.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 205: Escape

Shit.

The snow-white arms stretched out in unison, forming a horrifying flood of flesh. Although it was only a portion, its momentum far surpassed that of the previous Mr. Le. It was most likely the legendary “Love”.

Yin Ren desperately dodged those arms. His instincts were frantically warning him. Once influenced by those arms, things would likely spiral out of control.

Even the presence of “pure thoughts”, a human-made item, was enough to throw off his movements. Now he was working with Zhong Chengshuo. If they were to be affected by the genuine “Love”…

Yin Ren was exhausted, and the spirit of the Primordial Elemental within the vortex was at its peak. If they blindly fought, he might end up as a side dish to Mr. Le.

In an instant, Yin Ren suppressed his fighting spirit and focused all his energy on evading and escaping.

He dodged layers of swinging arms, swiftly shrinking his body to take on the appearance of Zhong Chengshuo. Amidst the thousands of extended arms, Yin Ren wrapped the real Zhong Chengshuo in red silk and hoisted him up, running toward the spot where the gap had appeared earlier.

Gaps like these only appeared in weak points of space. Even if it had somewhat recovered now, the space there was still weaker than elsewhere.

Obviously, Love was aware of this too, as more arms surged toward Yin Ren from the opposite direction. Yin Ren squeezed out his remaining strength, building layer upon layer of defense, stubbornly inching forward.

Perhaps due to his nature, Mr. Le wasn’t as easily digested as Mr. Qiu. After hastily consuming a large amount of the pale “Joy”, Yin Ren’s body felt uncomfortable, and his steps became heavier. More arms pressed against his defenses, making it increasingly difficult for Yin Ren to advance. If it weren’t for Zhong Chengshuo giving him his eyes, Yin Ren doubted he would be able to move at all.

Is he going to fail?

They’ve come this far, haven’t they?

Yin Ren held Zhong Chengshuo tightly, almost grinding his teeth to pieces. Explosions resounded around him, breaking through a layer of defense, which he added another. If his strength waned, he burned his flesh and blood.

Just a little bit more, just a little bit more… Zhong Chengshuo’s life was in his hands, and the purpose of the Other Side had yet to be revealed. He couldn’t allow himself to be trapped and die here.

Step by step, even if it was as slow as a snail, Yin Ren kept pushing aside the overwhelming arms, resolutely moving towards the exit. The “turtle shell” couldn’t chew him up. The snow-white arms swiftly descended from the clouds, piling up like mountains against Yin Ren.

They had reached their destination!

One of Yin Ren’s hands transformed into a winged sickle, fiercely cutting through space. At the same time, he madly activated his hair to transmit messages, preparing his companions outside to assist him in tearing open the gap. However, for some reason, his transmitted messages seemed to vanish into thin air, and there was no response from Fu Xingchuan.

The joy of surviving a calamity had just ignited, only to be extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

What’s going on?!

Did he have to fight head-on?

Yin Ren stopped at what should have been the exit and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He was nearing exhaustion, and he didn’t even have a chance to communicate and delay. The massive Primordial Elemental in front of him clearly wasn’t as easy to deal with as Mr. Le. Its movements carried a strong intent to kill, and countless palms pressed down fiercely from above Yin Ren.

Bang!

Before Yin Ren could react, a dull sound rang out.

A thick barrier of corpses had risen beside him.

…No, perhaps it wasn’t truly corpses in the literal sense.

Countless small whirlpools emerged around Yin Ren, revealing legs and feet of various creatures. They maintained their normal size but became twisted and entangled, like intricately woven knots. Numerous legs and feet intertwined and remained motionless, emanating a chilling silence.

From the depths of the entangled limbs, various subtle mournful sounds could be heard. They were like sighs, like murmurs, and just a few earfuls of hearing them were enough to bring tears to one’s eyes.

The barrier in front of Yin Ren writhed incessantly, barely forming a human shape. Decaying and withered limbs sprouted fleshy membranes, and a human face slowly emerged.

It was Qi Xin’s face.

“The presence of Joy on the Other Side has disappeared.”

She moved her pupil-less eyes and revealed a satisfied smile.

“Not bad, cub. You still have some use.”

Yin Ren had no time for questions and took advantage of Qi Xin’s protection. He clawed at the space, tearing it apart with all his strength. At the same time, Qi Xin’s power was fully unleashed. The previously fragile space was vigorously torn apart by the two large Primordial Elementals. The space emitted a grating sound, and they managed to tear open a gap of over a meter.

Yin Ren plunged headfirst into it, and Qi Xin quickly followed, making their escape.

In the next moment, the sea of white arms surged forward, but unfortunately, it missed its mark.

Yin Ren held onto Zhong Chengshuo tightly as the two of them crashed heavily onto the ground of the school’s back mountain. The dust settled, and Yin Ren no longer had the strength to maintain his disguise, reverting back to his true form.

Finally, it was over. Yin Ren wearily stood up. “Fu—”

Before he could finish speaking, the tone changed. Just a few steps away from Yin Ren, Fu Xingchuan’s two white tigers were facing off against Ge Tingting and Huang Jin.

Behind Fu Xingchuan stood Zhang Hejun and Dr. Sun. One held a utility knife, the other gripped a shovel handle. Together with Ge Tingting and Huang Jin, all four of them wore the same gentle and chilling expression on their faces.

Love.

This was definitely not a simple emotional influence. Setting aside the others, Huang Jin could never reveal such a maternal expression.

Right, Love was different from the other Elementals. It existed between the gaps, closer to the “human world”, naturally having more ways to interfere with living beings… Yin Ren knew that he had left someone outside to provide support, and it seemed that Love had also kept an ace up its sleeve.

Yin Ren’s entire body felt almost powerless, but he still struggled to gather what little strength remained, hiding it in the palm of his hand.

Fu Xingchuan might have never encountered so many “traitors” in his entire life. He didn’t know whether to take action or not. The two white tigers were circling around him. Moreover, judging by their physical condition, Fu Xingchuan and Yin Ren were almost the same—his long robe was stained with blood and dirt, and the skin of one of his hands was completely missing, exposing the bright red muscles.

Fu Xingchuan was breathing heavily, and his strength was extremely unstable. It was clear that he was at his last breath. Judging from the scene of the battle and the residual evil qi around him, there should have been a powerful person here before. Now that powerful person was nowhere to be found; perhaps they had escaped.

A little further away, Li Nian and his A-level investigation team were standing. The sealing techniques in their hands were ready to be unleashed, and it was a critical moment. Everyone’s gaze was focused on this side, showing varying degrees of astonishment.

Yin Ren: “…”

Well, it turned out Shian was already prepared, but his appearance was untimely.

However, when it came to the lives of their companions, it was better to resolve the matter sooner. Yin Ren subconsciously wanted to take action, but Qi Xin easily grabbed his wrist and pulled it aside like squeezing a balloon.

Then Qi Xin extended both hands and made a twisting handkerchief gesture.

Ge Tingting, Huang Jin, Sun Qi’an, and Zhang Hejun felt as if they had been hit by a heavy blow. They held their heads expressionlessly, tears streaming from their eyes. In front of everyone, the four of them curled up in place, and the hostility around them dissipated in an instant.

“I smell the scent of a Charon. Those from Sunken Society are watching the show.”

Ignoring the piercing gazes of Shian and the others, she whispered to Yin Ren with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Yin Ren covered Zhong Chengshuo’s head tightly with a red silk spirit weapon, concealing his empty eye sockets. Qi Xin glanced at the nearby humans and once again extended both hands, gently twisting them.

A faint sadness, like moonlight, enveloped everyone present. All the spellcasters came to a unified pause, and in that moment, Qi Xin’s figure flickered and disappeared without a trace.

“It’s okay. I’ll come find you again.”

With that, Qi Xin’s presence neatly disappeared.

Yin Ren stood in a daze in the same spot, watching as Ge Tingting and Huang Jin were controlled by Shian. He felt his nerves relax, and exhaustion and pain washed over him. Yin Ren exerted all his strength to hold Zhong Chengshuo tightly, finally losing consciousness.

……

When Yin Ren woke up again, he was still holding Zhong Chengshuo in his arms.

But the surroundings were a bit strange. The room was decorated in Shian’s style, with no windows, and cameras quietly attached to the corners of the room, but they weren’t active.

Beside him, Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes were already covered with gauze, emitting a faint medicinal scent. Comrade Xiao Zhong maintained his strong composure, still indifferent even if the sky were to collapse, and fell asleep while being held like this. His expression was extremely relaxed, as if he were sleeping in the safest place in the world.

As one of the villains in the fairy tale, this person really had no self-awareness… But then again, neither did he.

Yin Ren took a deep breath and lay there dazed for a while.

The expression before Mr. Le’s demise kept spinning in his mind—

If Mr. Le brought Luo Chunlei here, it wasn’t for escape but to conveniently offer himself to “Love”, right?

When he was killed by his own hands, Mr. Le’s reaction wasn’t particularly surprising. His own downfall was probably within Mr. Le’s expectations… Rather than waiting to be devoured by the enemy, Mr. Le left his remains to his companion.

If it weren’t for Qi Xin’s timely intervention, both Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo would have lost more than their lives. Their strength had already been thoroughly discovered by Mr. Le.

Fortunately, they held on until the end and kept their final card—at least for now, Love still didn’t know that there were two true “Fears”.

“Two tigers, two tigers, run fast…”

Yin Ren hummed a song as his palm caressed Zhong Chengshuo’s cheek. The latter murmured a couple of words in his sleep and gently leaned into Yin Ren’s hand.

“One without eyes… Hmm, can’t be without eyes.”

Yin Ren’s palm covered Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes, and he propped himself up slightly, leaning in for a kiss.

The crisis was averted, and there was no one around. Yin Ren gathered the Evil Force on his tongue and transferred it into Zhong Chengshuo’s body. Zhong Chengshuo was startled awake by his actions, and he gently embraced Yin Ren’s waist, turning it into a real kiss.

A hazy warmth, a kiss that could make all the troubles in the world fade away.

The two of them kissed affectionately for a few minutes before Zhong Chengshuo reached up to undo the bandages. He cautiously opened his eyelids stained with blood, revealing two new, pitch-black pupils.

Yin Ren: “…” The left pupil of this person was as small as a button, while the right pupil almost filled the entire eye socket. Behind the pitch-black pupils, one could vaguely see something surging.

Yin Ren coughed desperately. “The sizes of the left and right sides are different, adjust them again.”

Zhong Chengshuo acknowledged and went to the bathroom to find a mirror. When he came back, he returned to the “ordinary human” appearance familiar to Yin Ren—handsome face, smooth and clean skin. Zhong Chengshuo also brushed his teeth and took a shower, emitting a refreshing scent of shower gel.

After completing all of this, he poured two cups of warm water and even compared the water levels of the two cups. Seeing that both identical cups were filled with the same amount of water, a faint sense of satisfaction appeared on Zhong Chengshuo’s face.

He really wanted the Elementals from the Other Side to see this. Yin Ren reluctantly took the warm water.

Having gone to great lengths to eliminate Fear, the result was that Fear didn’t disappear but instead became two Fears—one deeply engrossed in studying, the other longing for a vacation. It was hard to say whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Yin Ren slowly laid back on the pillow, stretching out like a character.

However, Lord Ghost King didn’t have much time to rest before a familiar person knocked on the door.

Fu Tianyi looked at Yin Ren absentmindedly. “Second Uncle has been going in and out of the hospital again. Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

Yin Ren: “…”

Yin Ren: “Just say it.”

“Professor Li is looking for you.”

……

When Yin Ren arrived, Huang Jin was watching a slideshow of his life in the isolation room.

After returning to Shian, he and Ge Tingting were separated into two isolation rooms for treatment. Even though he didn’t know the specific regulations of Shian, he could tell the level of secrecy here. The ones who came to inquire about them were none other than Li Nian and Minister Jiao with her portable phone.

The questions asked were all about what had happened before.

Huang Jin recounted everything in detail.

Not long ago, Yin Ren personally wrote a tranquility talisman for Ge Tingting and Huang Jin, who volunteered to act as bait. He also added a protective talisman with his own hair, worried that they might encounter life-threatening situations. If that happened, the warning talisman from Lu Xiaohe’s side would immediately ignite, and Yin Ren would personally take action.

Despite all this, Yin Ren was still very worried.

“The opponent’s strength is unknown, and my protective talisman may not be able to completely protect you. You have to think it through.” He emphasized it repeatedly.

Fortunately, their predictions were quite accurate. Killing them directly or throwing them into the gap would trigger extreme circumstances, as Shian could sense their “death” through his techniques. Mr. Le only took away their phones and left Huang Jin and Ge Tingting in the office, leaving them to fend for themselves.

The next steps were simple. Yin Ren successfully rescued both of them and instructed them to hide their presence near the pavilion in the back mountains and act accordingly. Fu Xingchuan was aware of this matter.

As for Fu Xingchuan’s confrontation with Xiang Jiang and their opportune attacks, it could be considered successful.

The problem arose after arresting Xiang Jiang.

Huang Jin remembered that they were supposed to assist Fu Xingchuan in controlling the spells and help Yin Ren escape in time. However, just before he could handcuff Xiang Jiang with a spirit weapon, he lost consciousness.

All he remembered was the excruciating pain in his head.

When he regained consciousness, Huang Jin found himself kneeling on the ground, shedding tears uncontrollably. His heart was filled with an overwhelming, inexplicable grief. The A-level investigation team from Shian surrounded him with unfriendly gazes.

…No matter how he looked at it, the situation was quite dire.

Did he kill someone? Did he kill someone important to him? No, for him, the most important person was only Ding Lizi… Could it be because Shian erased another important person?

After all, when Huang Jin recalled the entire case, he realized that there were large gaps in his memory. It would have been fine if he didn’t think about it too much, but the more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. It seemed like someone had disappeared from the case, and he couldn’t remember who it was, no matter how hard he tried.

Huang Jin had applied to see the case files before. There was a name among them, and all the information related to it became unreadable. The words were right there on the paper, but no matter how hard he tried, those lines of text couldn’t enter his mind.

It’s over. Everything’s over. He had landed himself in big trouble.

Huang Jin curled up in a corner, holding his head, filled with regret.

What the hell was going on! If he had known, if he were given another chance by fate, to go back to the time when he only needed to worry about the high-interest loans from Sunken Society—he should have taken a submachine gun and fired it at the members of Sunken Society, rather than joining Shian under reformation.

As Huang Jin tearfully wove this tragic story, Yin Ren couldn’t bear it any longer and pounded on the glass.

“The door has been open for fifteen minutes! Come out!”

“My brain is broken.” Huang Jin stared at the corner of the wall. “The previous case feels wrong… Someone is missing, and I can’t remember… “

“○○○, right? When someone is directly devoured by a creature from the Other Side, it can cause this phenomenon.” Yin Ren explained with patience as he tapped his head against the glass. “Let’s not talk about you as a black seal not remembering her, even Li Nian doesn’t remember her. That case is closed, and it has nothing to do with you.”

Just like the mayor of Gengsheng Town, when Love devoured Luo Chunlei, everything related to that girl was erased from their “cognition”.

Her desk and stationery were still there, her room and clothes were still there, and her chat records in the anonymous chat group were still there.

But people would simply scan over them with wide eyes, unable to leave any trace in their minds. In this world, it seemed that only Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo still remembered that arrogant and domineering little girl.

Even if someone like Huang Jin was aware that there was a “role vacancy”, they couldn’t obtain any more information and would only be truly frightened.

“I lost a long stretch of memory too! I woke up crying in pain!” Huang Jin clung to the corner of the wall, refusing to move.

“That’s because you were under the control of a Primordial Elemental from the other side.” Yin Ren patted the glass again. “We’re still investigating the specific reasons, but I can assure you that you’re safe now.”

“…Oh.” Huang Jin wiped away his tears.

Was he really okay?

No, it couldn’t be that simple. After all, the Great Celestial Master himself was here, and he couldn’t escape even with ten legs. Huang Jin, in a daze, followed Yin Ren out of the room and into a meeting room.

This meeting room was a bit special, with tree roots covering the walls. The areas without roots were filled with deliberately drawn red-brown liquid filled with talismans. There were no windows inside, but also no electrical appliances; only an oil lamp flickered on the table. Along with the eerie surroundings, this place was like a scene from a horror movie.

The people present were all familiar faces.

Li Nian and Fu Xingchuan, the two leaders, and Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo, the two beasts. They were always involved in every troublesome situation.

Lu Xiaohe and Ge Tingting were also present… Well, after all, they were colleagues from Unit 9. Fu Tianyi was there, probably because he was an informant and had collaborated with them before, so it was understandable.

However, sitting in the darkest corner of the long table was a slender woman.

She had tightly bound her hair into a bun, slender eyes and brows, with a hint of pale red at the corners of her eyes, as if she had just been crying. She was securely tied up to the chair with ropes, and each rope was adorned with powerful sealing weapons imbued with a strong Evil Force.

Even though she was tied up like a zongzi, her thoughts were calm and content. Huang Jin had seen that shape of thoughts before in Gengsheng Town.

…Qi Xin.

Huang Jin turned to leave, but in the next instant, the door slammed shut in front of him. Countless tree roots extended rapidly, sealing the door tightly.

“Can I not participate?” He painfully pressed against the wall.

“Unfortunately, no.”

In the flickering fire, Qi Xin stretched her neck nonchalantly and narrowed her slender eyes. As Huang Jin looked at her elongated figure, a wave of goosebumps spread across his back.

“You and that girl have the same brain damage.” Qi Xin pointed her head at Ge Tingting. “Maybe there could be some good use.”

He was wrong, Huang Jin thought dazedly.

Now, he truly had landed himself in big trouble.

“In the following matters, I will find an opportunity to inform the leaders of the Yandu Branch and the Linnan Branch. The situation is highly sensitive, and it should not be disclosed to ordinary employees until countermeasures are determined.”

Li Nian cleared his throat and spoke first.

“Considering the remarks made by Xiang Jiang during his betrayal, combined with the testimony obtained by Yin Ren from Mr. Le, along with the recent activities of Sunken Society… I believe we can ascertain the intentions of the Other Side.”

For the next ten minutes, Huang Jin’s mind went blank.

The Other Side had been providing sources of corruption to Sunken Society, and the creatures from the Other Side had found a way to stably infect humans using Evil Force.

The next step was to fully corrupt humanity, causing the human population to descend into madness to some extent. This would increase the production of various emotional energies and solve the problem of famine caused by the explosive increase of Elementals from the Other Side. For this purpose, the leaders from the Other Side came to the mortal realm.

Among them, “Love” showcased great determination, personally opening up the gap between the Other Side and the mortal realm, facilitating the influence of their companions on the human world.

Should he say it’s touching? After living for so many years, Huang Jin felt the absurdity of being “a bystander listening to agricultural news in the farmland” for the first time.

“No,” he muttered dazedly.

“If Mr. Le is prepared for self-sacrifice… Mr. Qiu is gone, Mr. Le is gone, and Ms. Qi is here—without someone to guide them, how can Love continue with its plans?”

“And after all that has been said, why is ‘Sorrow’ here? By betraying the Other Side, she won’t gain anything!”

In a sense, this could be considered the Primordial Elemental side of “crime against one’s own kind”. Huang Jin pressed his temples frantically. Sharing a room with Qi Xin, he didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly, fearing that his own tears would choke him in the next moment.

“Oh. You haven’t told them yet, have you?” Qi Xin smiled and looked at Yin Ren.

“I haven’t betrayed the Other Side—I came here to restore the true ‘order’.”

……

Shen Mo hummed a tune as he returned to the underground office of Sunken Society.

“Feeling good?”

Wei Huaqian asked indifferently.

“After watching such a great show, I feel really good.” Shen Mo laughed heartily. “Fu Xingchuan is getting old after all. If he were twenty years younger, Xiang Jiang wouldn’t last five seconds against him. But now, Xiao Fu still needs to shed some skin… Xiao Wei, time doesn’t spare anyone.”

Wei Huaqian, with a face full of wrinkles, didn’t even bother to lift his head. “Is that all?”

“Of course not.”

Shen Mo leaned in his young face full of smiles.

“Xiao Wei, we’re in for a great time.”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

The breakdown of the world of the Other Side is basically in the beginning, there was Satisfaction and Fear. From Satisfaction, other Primordial Elementals were born, while Fear played the role of death.

With the rise of humans and their emotions, certain Primordial Elementals that reflect human emotions became more powerful, such as the main four that was categorized by Shian: Love, Sorrow, Joy, and Disgust (I think Disgust is supposed to replace Hate as the top 4 emotions classified by Shian, so you can think of it as also hate/malice.)

[Side note: The rise of Disgust is most likely attributed to the rise of the internet. With the protection of anonymity, people can type pretty disgusting things online without fearing repercussions. A prime example was all the comments made to the girl who literally escaped from being human trafficked and was still bullied.]

Love, seeing its elemental compatriots dying to Fear, wanted to end the cycle, and thus, joining with the other great Elementals, they managed to defeat Fear and scatter its body through the “gaps”. One such gap fell in the Valley of Bones, where Yin Ren made his residence, and thus that is how Zhong Chengshuo first met Yin Ren… explaining the events of the “dream history arc”.

However, without Fear, and thus death, the Elementals continued to grow unchecked, and famine started. They began to eat each other (forming that food chain). Unable to bear the situation, Love devised a plan to plunge the human world into insanity. When humans become insane, they give off more potent emotions, twice as much as normal, which could feed the never-ending birth of Elementals.

Like always, everything in the previous arcs ties in with the main story… And this is why I love Nian Zhong.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 204: Fall

Everything was still going according to plan, but the plan itself wasn’t easy.

If there was one thing in Yin Ren’s career as a “wild animal” for over a hundred years had taught him, it was that no matter how formidable he may be, to survive, he must never underestimate any opponent.

Especially when it came to the terrifying visitors from the Other Side with formidable strength.

Yin Ren exerted all his strength to devour Mr. Le, making every effort to replenish his own power. Even though he weakened his perception, the pungency of the toxin still stimulated every nerve in his body.

Indeed, Mr. Le soon realized that something was amiss.

The young cub was consuming more and more, yet it showed no signs of being affected by the toxin. A quarter of Mr. Le’s body that had squeezed into the interstitial space had already disappeared, and his feet had turned into half-broken skeletons. No matter how he trampled, the young creature always narrowly avoided him. If things continued like this, he would gradually be worn down.

The situation was different.

Mr. Le immediately ceased the secretion of the toxin, and the countless feet that were trampling collapsed into dirty foam.

Accompanied by thudding sounds, more foam descended from the Other Side.

Mr. Le’s true form was becoming more squeezed, yet it always evaded Yin Ren. No matter how hard the mass of darkness tried to get closer, Mr. Le managed to keep his body away. At the same time, the surrounding foam became more and more dense, and Mr. Le used his own flesh to build a cage, trapping the dark and fluttering young cub in the center.

The physical-level biological toxin named “Joy” transformed into a spiritual toxin. Since one had no effect, he used the other. The two toxins intersected continuously, always forcing the cub to reveal its true nature.

Mr. Le no longer allowed the cub to touch his body. His enormous true form kept rotating, causing the foam to burst incessantly. With painful convulsions, Mr. Le relentlessly squeezed and wrung the bubbles of his true form.

His body structure was loose and lightweight, so this method was like forcing his body into a meat grinder—indescribably painful. Mr. Le was already weakened for nearly a hundred years. If he continued to destroy himself like this, it would take him a few hundred years to recover.

…But it was worth it, he thought.

They had come all this way, sacrificing so much; a little more wouldn’t matter.

This cunning cub could conceal its identity and single-handedly challenge the flourishing “Disgust”. If they didn’t use all their strength, it would undoubtedly become a scourge in the future.

Dirty bleak joy condensed into thin threads; the biologically manufactured forbidden drug coated with poison of extreme bliss. The thin threads shot out like piano strings, bombarding the mass of darkness from all angles, leaving no blind spots—

The mass of darkness desperately tried to evade, but it was surrounded by Mr. Le’s body. Even if it tried to devour on the spot, it couldn’t quickly find a place of refuge. Several threads pierced through the cub’s body, causing it to tremble a few times before completely collapsing.

Pain.

This sensation filled Yin Ren’s mind completely. Even without sensory perception, the pain still felt like being tortured with a hot knife. His body was instantly pierced, and Yin Ren almost lost consciousness.

After the pain came an almost ecstatic bliss.

Ice and fire intertwined, capable of cracking even the toughest of objects. Yin Ren’s movements stalled for a full second before hundreds of torturous cycles ensued.

Now Yin Ren understood why Mr. Qiu hadn’t used emotional influence in their previous encounter.

Disgust was useful for causing chaos but using it on an enemy was simply inviting discomfort upon oneself. It was different for Mr. Le; even with Yin Ren retaining only a slight awareness, the occasional invading pleasure made him instinctively relax. In a state of relaxed consciousness, Yin Ren could only choose to read the thoughts of Zhong Chengshuo and “blindly strike” with his body.

Let alone the current situation…

Satiated with selfish pleasure, mixed with the euphoria induced by drugs. More emotions were directly injected into his body, and if Yin Ren hadn’t experienced such suffering before, he would have likely perished in this attack.

In the midst of chaos, Yin Ren forced his body to continue evading according to Zhong Chengshuo’s instructions. The piercing threads continued to cut through his body, and even when he successfully moved, more poisonous threads pierced him.

What’s happening outside?

Yin Ren exerted all his strength to devour, desperately avoiding each attack, yet the intense pain and extreme bliss mercilessly twisted his body, and the situation didn’t improve. Gradually, a hint of panic crept into his movements.

That was right… He and Zhong Chengshuo weren’t alone, and Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t an infallible machine either.

Was this a mistake?

Could Zhong Chengshuo have made such a mistake?

In a situation where he couldn’t perceive the outside world, such a predicament was especially terrifying. If it weren’t for centuries of experience keeping him steady, the tremendous pressure would have driven Yin Ren insane. Amidst the deluge of ecstatic euphoria, Yin Ren struggled to maintain a shred of clarity. But the pain was like an anesthetic, dulling his control over his body, and the small wings on his surface trembled uncontrollably.

Why hadn’t Zhong Chengshuo given him a strategy to change the situation? Could it be that this attack also injured him?

The will to survive churned Yin Ren’s thoughts, causing countless ideas to uncontrollably surface. He received signals from the outside through his hair—Huang Jin and Ge Tingting’s mission was going smoothly, and the mortal world’s reinforcement was ready.

Why not go all out and create an opening to escape?

The situation was worse than they had anticipated, and if they escaped now, they could all survive. Why did Zhong Chengshuo not recommend escape?

He had already exerted all his strength just to deal with the current battle… If things continued like this, could the plan really progress?

Yin Ren mentally clenched his teeth and pushed those thoughts deep into the recesses of his mind.

Don’t doubt. Don’t stop your actions. Zhong Chengshuo was his best accomplice; they made an agreement. According to the agreement, he must give it his all.

Sensing Yin Ren’s fear, Zhong Chengshuo gently curled up and lightly bit into the darkness at the corner of his mouth. Yin Ren happened to be pierced by a few threads of euphoric poison, and his thoughts began to falter.

[What are you doing?!] Yin Ren finally couldn’t hold back and mustered the energy to ask.

[Give me all your pain, panic, and fear—don’t leave a single bit.] Zhong Chengshuo commanded during the intervals, his thoughts incredibly clear.

[Brother, I’m reaching my limit. If you lose focus for even a moment, we’re both done for.] With the situation having reached this point, Yin Ren no longer had the strength to conceal his condition. His thoughts were fragmented, and his mental communication became sporadic.

[Give it to me.] Zhong Chengshuo’s thoughts calmly continued. [And then devour my eyes.]

With the situation being so tense, it took Yin Ren a full two seconds to react to that statement. [What?]

[The outside is narrow, the attacks are dense, and my vision can’t keep up.] Zhong Chengshuo’s thoughts instantly imprinted into Yin Ren’s mind. [My eyes haven’t fused with the host. If you devour them, it can help you recover a little.]

Yin Ren attempted to use his rusty thoughts to find the logic, but he couldn’t find it.

[Think again. I’m not at that point yet.] Yin Ren mustered his spirit, attempting to hide his weakness.

[Helping you recover is one aspect, but I can’t change my perception like you can. I can only abandon my organs.] Zhong Chengshuo calmly explained. [I’ve already taken out my eyes, so the situation has improved somewhat.]

[……]

[But I need more darkness, more pain, more of a sense of crisis that can push your instincts to the limit. This pain isn’t enough, far from it.]

[……Why are you…]

His consciousness was like a bird in a torrential rain, causing him to become disoriented. For the first time since the battle began, he didn’t feel like following Zhong Chengshuo’s commands.

Although the battlefield was ever-changing, Yin Ren had never seen anything like Zhong Chengshuo’s sudden mental and physical self-torture.

[Having walked this land for so long, it’s hard to express in thoughts ‘how to swim’. Only when you fall into the water can your body remember that feeling… Yin Ren, a long time ago, I was also a Primordial Elemental of the Other Side. But you transformed from a human and lack the instincts shaped by the Other Side’s environment.]

Yin Ren fell into silence.

[This might be the only thing I can teach you as an Elemental. Next, my commands might completely change.]

Zhong Chengshuo reached out his hand and touched Yin Ren’s body with two moist orbs.

[Do you trust me?]

[…That’s needless to say!] Yin Ren reluctantly pushed back his thoughts.

[Even I feel like it’s a bit risky.] Zhong Chengshuo touched his lover with blood-stained hands.

Smack! A small wing popped out from the top of Zhong Chengshuo’s head and lightly tapped his scalp.

[Why are you still hesitating at this point?!] Yin Ren exclaimed.

In the next instant, Yin Ren fully opened up.

[Just do whatever needs to be done. Later, consume more ‘Joy’ and regenerate your eyes.]

Pain, panic, confusion… darkness.

Their consciousness merged completely, plunging together into the depths of agony.

……

The new tactic worked, and Mr. Le was pleased.

The black cub was being sliced and wounded by the threads, and its movements became slower.

Initially, it would still crash into the wall formed by Mr. Le’s flesh. Whether it was because the compressed flesh was too tough to chew or it had simply run out of strength, the struggles of the cub weakened before his eyes.

Above the flesh prison, a giant foot took shape once again. The infant creature, pierced by countless threads, was barely breathing and unable to make any more movements. Its wings collapsed completely and turned into a soft and lifeless mess, no longer displaying the momentum from when the space was torn apart.

…It’s almost over.

Mr. Le dragged his painfully injured body and let out a long sigh.

Considering the current losses, things were going more smoothly than he had imagined.

This giant foot was more solid than before. It transformed into a foot wearing sturdy shoes, and the heavy sole was directed towards the trembling cub.

[…Why…]

Just as the foot was about to step down, a deeply sorrowful groan came from the cub.

[…It was you who attacked me first and destroyed my head… I was only defending myself at the time…]

[I infiltrated Shian only to gather information, not to be loyal to humans… We’re of the same kind, so why treat me like this… I don’t understand…]

The cub’s questioning carried a hint of despair; its voice was filled with inconsolable sadness.

Mr. Le’s actions came to a halt.

An innocent cub, who had separated from the group early on, was now crying before him. Its death had already been predetermined, and the current situation was brought about by his own hands.

But…

[Even if you want to kill me… let me understand why…] The cub painfully whimpered.

Above the sky, the vortex continued to rotate leisurely, and the pounding sound still persisted. The dirty foam compressed and burst, and Mr. Le fell into silence for a long time.

Another thread pierced through the cub’s body, but this time, it brought not the poison of euphoria, but a memory.

Their thoughts connected closely, and Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo almost simultaneously received the information—

It was a story that borders on a warm fairy tale.

Long ago, the Other Side had its peculiar “day” and “night”. Based on their respective origins, they were called Satisfaction and Fear.

Their origins could be considered the oldest and most primitive emotions of all living beings. For other Primordial Elementals, their scale was like that of a human in comparison to the ocean. Perhaps due to their primordial nature and exaggerated size, they were closer to some kind of inorganic natural phenomenon than ancient life forms.

Regardless of whether they represented relatively powerful emotions like Sorrow and Joy, or more complex and subtle emotions, the smaller Primordial Elementals would eventually be swallowed and annihilated by Fear.

For countless billions of years, the night-like Fear washed over the Other Side. Each time the darkness swept through, it would take hundreds and thousands of lives. Age and strength made no difference; its destruction was impartial and resisted no rebellion. And when Fear subsided, the pure white Satisfaction would silently flow, giving rise to new Primordial Elementals in various emotions.

The ebb and flow, the cycle of life and death.

As time flowed on, with the proliferation of life, countless nerves and brain marrow constructed a broader world of consciousness. The Primordial Elementals swam in the sea of consciousness, living and dying with the “day and night”, and everything was relatively peaceful—there was no reproduction or aging ailments. The Elementals only needed to consume and would perish by devouring each other.

Until the emergence of humans.

Disgust and Love rapidly grew in strength due to the birth of humans. Perhaps because they absorbed too many emotions originating from humans, they possessed more human traits compared to other Primordial Elementals.

Such as “thoughts”.

As the original wise Elemental, “Love” couldn’t tolerate the large-scale randomness of death caused by Fear. It convinced Disgust and Joy, which were of comparable strength, to ultimately discover the secret of Fear—

It was nothing more than an ancient entity, larger than them and with almost no consciousness.

[Kill it, so that no one needs to fear anymore… Having to worry about the end of life every day, such a life is too burdensome. We don’t need this.]

Love proclaimed.

[Moreover, humans reproduce rapidly, providing an enormous quantity of emotions that we cannot consume. ‘Fear’ is merely a calamity of indiscriminate destruction and must be eradicated… It is time to bring an end to this chaos.]

That battle lasted for hundreds of years. Countless Primordial Elementals followed Love and ultimately dealt a severe blow to that ancient and immense Fear—space was torn apart by the clashing forces, and Fear fell into a trap constructed by gaps. Its body was shattered into pieces, and its remnants scattered throughout the Other Side and the present world, immobilized and destined for extinction.

The night would no longer come.

There was no need to worry about death suddenly descending. The lives of the Primordial Elementals have become much more contented. They could plan their lives as they please, and their beloved comrades wouldn’t suddenly disappear. Humans had multiplied and developed rapidly, and food was abundant everywhere. The chaotic Other Side had transformed into a utopia in the truest sense.

[…] Astonished, Yin Ren finished interpreting the memories and turned to Zhong Chengshuo—so, it turned out that the silly and naive rabbit, who could stop a child’s nighttime crying, had a much greater background than he had imagined. It could be considered a walking weapon of mass destruction.

What was even more intriguing was that with all the commotion on the Other Side, he had inadvertently become a younger and more intelligent “Fear”. No wonder Mr. Le had gone to great lengths to kill him. In the eyes of the Other Side, “Fear” could be seen as Death that harvested lives in one fell swoop.

[This is blind destruction of the ecosystem.]

The former “Fear”, who once lacked thoughts, made such a comment. Zhong Chengshuo’s thoughts emitted a faint scholarly dissatisfaction.

[When Love awakened, it coincided with the peak of human civilization’s explosion, generating resources that were indeed sufficient for the Other Side to consume. However, even after global population stabilization, the Other Side still lacked an appropriate ‘death’ mechanism, which will only lead to widespread famine.]

Indeed, Zhong Chengshuo’s speculations were perfectly reproduced in Mr. Le subsequent memories.

When shortages first appeared, Love established many rules, from the allocation of emotions within the groups to the punishment of non-compliant Primordial Elementals by devouring them.

The situation improved for a while, but Satisfaction continued to give birth to new Elementals incessantly, and famine continued to expand. The Primordial Elementals started devouring each other due to hunger, and if this continued, there would be large-scale chaos on the Other Side.

Love couldn’t bear such a tragic situation and shifted its focus to “food crops”—the human realm.

[They only need to descend into madness, and they will double the production of various emotions.]

Love came up with a solution once again.

[Don’t worry, the total number of humans won’t decrease too much. I understand humans—when all humans go insane, it’s as if no humans have gone insane. They will only adjust and establish new orders, which will have no impact on us.]

[We only need to invest a portion of our bodies into the ‘Other Side*’ and guide them… There is no need to worry about the gaps restoring themselves autonomously. As long as someone holds on in the gap, it will not close so easily. Didn’t Fear fall into the gap back then and create many weak points in space?]

*Clarity: Human side. They’re both technically “the other side” depending on the speaker’s perspective.

Like when they dispersed the night, Love’s expression remained gentle and confident.

[You ask who will hold it up? Of course, it will be me.]

[I will break through the space just like Fear did, creating opportunities for all of you. However long you need, I can hold on for that long. Whether it’s a hundred years or a thousand years, you will always succeed… If you need power, you can take my body and exchange it with humans.]

As the hero of the Other Side, Love’s thoughts were incredibly gentle.

[…The greatest responsibility for the current situation lies with me. I will never let our homeland fall into chaos. Please trust me.]

……

After Mr. Le imparted the memories, the cub indeed calmed down.

It must have deeply understood its own fate—given the great price the Other Side had paid, it was impossible to allow this young Death to return and undo all their previous efforts.

By whatever means necessary, they had to reclaim that carefree time—a golden era without Fear, filled with abundant emotions.

The giant foot rose to an unprecedented height and ruthlessly stomped down on the silent youngling.

The might of that foot shook the heavens and earth. Just as Le Mister’s spirits loosened slightly, they tensed up again abruptly.

Something was off about the sensation.

It seemed like the foot had not crushed flesh.

In an instant, countless black threads emerged from the gaps of that foot. They rapidly spread along the giant foot, displaying none of the clumsiness and inexperience from before.

[What…?]

Mr. Le was engulfed by excruciating pain.

The previous cub had only nibbled with its baby teeth, but this devouring undoubtedly came from an even older and more mature Fear. In an instant, the flesh on the giant foot exploded into a fine mist, which was then absorbed almost completely by the spreading darkness.

The threads turned into streams, and the streams turned into an ocean.

That mass of darkness seemed to transform instantly into a strong acid. It surged within the flesh prison constructed by Mr. Le, rapidly corroding the flesh until nothing remained.

He fell into a trap.

…The cub had set him up!

After all, he wasn’t facing the mindless ancient Fear from a thousand years ago, but a more cunning and deadly enemy born from humans. In the blink of an eye, Mr. Le couldn’t react in time, and half of his being turned to ashes.

[Thank you for your information. I understand the cause and effect now… I understand the difficulties you all face.]

As it devoured the gap, the cub’s aura instantly stabilized, no longer resembling its pitiful appearance from earlier.

[Unfortunately, I’m a person who has never had much insight and doesn’t care about grand principles…]

In the narrow interstitial space, darkness spread madly, like the deepest of nights.

[…I only know that I don’t like living in a world of lunatics, and I don’t want my friends to become insane either.]

The cub’s body exploded, and darkness covered the filthy foam that filled the air.

[Hehe.]

In response to Yin Ren, there was a relieved smile.

[As expected of Fear…]

The foam quickly tightened and surged in one direction—

Encasing Luo Chunlei within a cocoon of flesh.

Snap.

The cocoon ruptured, and before Luo Chunlei could even open her eyes, she was instantly enveloped by countless bubbles. The bubbles rapidly merged into her body, like clear water seeping into a dried sponge. When she opened her eyes, the colors within her pupils melded together, revealing a fish-like white.

Completely identical to those filthy bubbles.

The girl died, silently and soundlessly, less substantial than a bubble popping. In her final moments, she was probably still intoxicated by this legendary experience, envisioning a future that no longer existed.

It made sense, after all. Mr. Le, as a great Primordial Elemental, had no reason to be so intimate with a human girl—perhaps he was confident they wouldn’t actively kill her, making her the perfect “escape pod”.

Squeezing his remaining body into a human vessel, was this his preparation for returning to the human world and seeking survival?

Without hesitation, Yin Ren regained consciousness and rushed towards the replaced girl. The external seal was already being taken over by his own allies, Mr. Le… No, Ms. Le could not escape.

He wouldn’t let sentimentality get in the way because of this appearance.

Just as he dealt with Mr. Qiu back then, as long as he captured Mr. Le’s true form, he would let destruction follow its body, chasing it all the way to the Other Side. Now, he was confident he could kill it and devour it completely.

The timing and conditions were perfect; he couldn’t let it escape.

But “Luo Chunlei” merely looked up and smiled at him.

That smile carried a sense of relief and sorrow, looking almost like…

Like a “hero” in the human sense.

In the next moment, “Joy” leaped into the void, soaring straight towards the vortex in the sky. The center of the vortex surged instantly, bursting with countless snow-white and emaciated arms. They gently opened, embracing the girl’s small body. Just by their movements, those arms did their utmost to cradle the girl tenderly in their palms. They closed slowly, resembling human fingers coming together—

Accompanied by a sigh, a chilling and horrifying chewing and devouring sound echoed from the gap.

Occasional scattered bubbles emerged from the gap, quickly disappearing. Meanwhile, the snow-white arms gained some color of blood and rapidly became plump and healthy.

“Joy” vanished at that moment.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 203: Broken Cocoon

At that time when Mr. Qiu launched an attack on the Fu residence, Fu Xingchuan was punished and demoted to a combat consultant. He looked at the list of potential successors provided by Shian and dialed Li Nian’s private phone number.

“Lao Li, I want Xiang Jiang to replace me,” Fu Xingchuan said, exhaling a puff of smoke.

“He’s not on the candidate list,” Li Nian replied. “In the execution mission, he seemed to have leaked information to Sunken Society and his performance wasn’t satisfactory. From what I gathered, they’re considering transferring him out of the Emergency Management Department—without you, it will be difficult for a newcomer to handle the pressure.”

“Well, they want to send him to a cold palace until retirement. I get it.”

That night, Fu Xingchuan sat in the long corridor of the Fu residence, gazing at the full moon in the night sky.

“According to the regulations, this is indeed the most secure approach.”

Li Nian on the other end of the phone fell silent, and after a few seconds, he spoke calmly, “What are your plans?”

“I want to see what Xiang Jiang is planning.”

Fu Xingchuan pressed his cigarette butt against the stone decoration.

“By leaking information during the execution missions, Xiang Jiang wanted us to die in Gengsheng Town. Once the wind gets out on his side, we’ll catch him red-handed… It seems he’s not very skilled either. Don’t you find it intriguing, Lao Li?”

“Xiang Jiang and Sunken Society don’t have a long-standing close cooperative relationship,” Li Nian responded.

“Right, I’ve been keeping an eye on him. His accounts are clean—he doesn’t take private jobs. But then he suddenly pulls out a killer move on us. How can I not feel that the mastermind behind this isn’t Sunken Society?”

“That’s just your speculation,” Li Nian said. “It’s also possible that Sunken Society made him a promise. After the Gengsheng Town incident, Hao Wenzhe couldn’t find any abnormal communication from him. He can’t simply be labeled a traitor without evidence.”

“Right, it’s just my speculation—my intuition.”

Fu Xingchuan sighed bitterly.

“In any case, there are only two possibilities—”

“Either Xiang Jiang was just momentarily confused and has become honest after his failure. As a minister, he’ll be under closer supervision, and he has to follow the regulations. Keep an eye on him for me, and he won’t cause any major trouble.”

Professor Li remained silent.

“Or Xiang Jiang is in contact with ‘other forces’, but he’s hiding it well. We’ve just experienced the power that can break through space and make contact with people out of thin air, haven’t we? I was just taken down by Shian. If I were him, I would definitely take advantage of the situation.”

“…You want to expose his motives through deception, of course, assuming he actually has any ‘motives’.”

“Don’t put it so harshly.” Fu Xingchuan chuckled. “It’s only because you’re partnered with him that I can use this plan with peace of mind. Anyway, I’m going to recommend Xiang Jiang. His rank and abilities are sufficient, and he would be in compliance as an interim minister.”

“Just because of your intuition?”

“Just because of my intuition.” Fu Xingchuan blinked at the moon in the sky while replying in a brisk tone. “Everyone else follows the rules to make judgments. What do they need people like us for?”

“Tell me, what do you need me to do?” Li Nian pondered for a moment before replying in a steady voice.

“Two things.”

Fu Xingchuan lit another cigarette.

“First, during work hours, keep an eye on him. If it’s a regular decision, he definitely needs your approval… If it’s you, you’ll surely be able to discern if things aren’t right. Arrange accordingly when the time comes.”

Li Nian: “And the second?”

“When he goes on field assignments, give me a heads up.” Fu Xingchuan slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, which lingered in the air, obscuring the moonlight. “I must be nearby.”

“I understand,” Li Nian said. “You owe me a favor.”

“Well, that means I owe you 178 favors, and you owe me 173. I’m keeping track.”

“Nonsense.” Li Nian dismissed his old partner’s banter. “I have one more question.”

“Go ahead.”

“If you want to monitor Xiang Jiang’s movements, removing him from the picture is also an option. But instead, you’re promoting him. Fu Xingchuan, are you giving him another chance?”

“…Lao Li, you and I both know his situation.”

Fu Xingchuan held his cigarette and gazed blankly into the void.

“What if I say I am?”

……

At this moment, Fu Xingchuan’s worst speculation was coming true.

“…Why, of all people, did you choose to cooperate with the Other Side?” Fu Xingchuan stared at his “half-student”.

Xiang Jiang still wore exaggerated earrings, designed to attract the attention of evil creatures and protect the surroundings. Shian didn’t have specific dress requirements, and this was undoubtedly an imitation of Fu Xingchuan.

However, now he was leading the fierce legion of ghosts and stood in opposition to Fu Xingchuan.

Upon hearing Fu Xingchuan’s question, a fleeting look of surprise crossed Xiang Jiang’s usually emotionless face. He made a gesture, and the surrounding ghosts dispersed, surrounding the sealing spells and making it impassable. Ghostly figures hovered around, their elongated limbs ethereally extending. Xiang Jiang stood among the dead, his face seemingly no different from a corpse.

As the sun rose, the mist on the mountainside surged even more.

Fu Xingchuan stood still as the mist engulfed the back of his feet. Countless skeletons emerged from the ground behind him. Brown and yellow animal carcasses pieced together, forming two massive skeletons.

Yellow talismans ignited between Fu Xingchuan’s fingers, turning into ashes. In an instant, the surrounding ghosts wailed, and pale ghostly figures emerged from the mist, entwining themselves around the two assembled skeletons. Within a few breaths, four blue lights ignited, and two giant white tigers, with carcasses as bones and fierce spirits as flesh, crouched on either side of Fu Xingchuan.

Their eyes burned with blue flames as they roared silently. Freezing ghostly energy surged from their fangs, instantly turning the surrounding mist into ice shards. Dark ghostly spells flickered around the claws of the two giant tigers, poised to strike.

“What does it matter even if you know? It’s already too late.”

Xiang Jiang raised his eyelids and asked calmly.

“The situation with Shian, the situation with the Other Side, the rules of the world… Over the years, the Other Side has already figured you all out.”

Behind Xiang Jiang, the fierce spirits stretched their limbs, embracing and pulling at each other, forming an incredibly large cocoon. Xiang Hai floated in front of the cocoon, like a recently emerged poisonous butterfly. Countless spells revolved around Xiang Jiang, all of them defensive in nature.

“I’ll tell you what will happen next.”

Xiang Jiang spoke softly.

“After the battle inside ends, there will be nothing that can truly resist the Other Side. When the source of corruption goes out of control, just playing hide and seek with the Other Side will deplete Shian’s energy.”

“Sunken Society will have a wild celebration, and the authorities will fall into chaos… As the chaos continues, everyone will reveal their true nature. Isn’t it great? No need to pretend to be a civilized society anymore. It’s nauseating just to think about it.”

“I guess humanity won’t go extinct, and the world will continue to spin. Internal strife or war, which do you think will come first? Well, of course, this tense ‘peace’ is also quite interesting.”

After speaking, a hint of longing appeared on Xiang Jiang’s face.

Fu Xingchuan chuckled. “Anyway, as long as everyone goes crazy and all emotions become extreme, it will be a bountiful harvest for the Other Side, right?”

Flames gradually flickered in the mist, revealing golden light. The two white tigers scratched at Fu Xingchuan’s feet, as if they could pounce at any moment.

Xiang Jiang smiled. “No, no.”

He adjusted his asymmetrical collar and raised the corners of his mouth, revealing an icy and chilling smile.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re crazy or not… People themselves haven’t changed; I’m just helping everyone reveal their true nature. Just like you, Minister Fu. Haven’t you realized that you’re already insane? Don’t you resist?”

Xiang Jiang opened his arms, and Xiang Hai fluttered his butterfly wings behind him, wearing the same smile as Xiang Jiang.

“You’re spouting so much nonsense because you don’t want to attack me proactively and save the cub inside. Let me think. If it were to escape directly, it would bring forth a great Evil Force, corrupting the surroundings—it’s a school, a residential area. Even if you know that the cub is the hope to fight against the Other Side, you still can’t bring yourself to trade the lives of these people for its survival.”

“What big picture and righteousness? You’re just a hesitant mortal. As the former leader of Shian, isn’t it crazy that you’re making this judgment?”

The two white tigers at Fu Xingchuan’s feet roared more urgently, digging up countless clumps of dirt with their claws. Fu Xingchuan sighed heavily as his face showed some fatigue.

“I can still break the seal and take control myself.”

“Just go ahead and try.”

The white tigers pounced. At the same moment, Xiang Hai dove toward Fu Xingchuan, his butterfly wings trembling. A chilling wind blew, emitting endless despair from the crying faces. The size of the white tigers swelled, and they pounced toward Xiang Hai from both sides.

Fu Xingchuan trembled and produced two rows of talisman papers with both hands. The talisman papers were stiff and straight, with edges as thin as razor blades, transforming into two long swords. Crimson flames covered the surface of the talisman papers, creating streaks of fire in the air. Xiang Jiang reached into his pocket and took out a handgun without hesitation. The gun was engraved with chilling symbols, and Xiang Jiang raised the barrel and began firing wildly.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The talisman papers intercepted the flying bullets, diverting their trajectory as if effortlessly. Fu Xingchuan rushed towards Xiang Jiang like a cannonball, and the flames seemed to be about to touch Xiang Jiang’s chest—

Ding!

Xiang Jiang swiftly swung the cloth bag he carried with him, blocking Fu Xingchuan’s blade made of talisman papers.

The bag was burned by the talisman fire, revealing a fist-sized sphere covered in human skin talismans.

The talisman papers created a small notch on the human skin talismans, and in the next instant, the talisman papers quickly decayed, turning into ashes. The human skin talisman, centered around the notch, rapidly withered and wrinkled, revealing a faint glimmer of golden light.

It was a brilliant, translucent bubble.

It emitted an extremely stable Evil Force, as if it was “alive”.

Without stopping, Fu Xingchuan swung another talisman paper longsword. However, Xiang Jiang didn’t dodge, ignoring the long sword that pierced his shoulder and directly pouncing at Fu Xingchuan, who held the sword.

With his left hand tightly grasping the bubble, he pressed it against his chest. Xiang Jiang threw away the gun in his right hand and directly grabbed Fu Xingchuan’s wrist.

“I’ve got you…”

Blood dripped from his wounds, but Xiang Jiang’s smile became even more radiant. Xiang Hai smelled the scent of blood and let out a roar, instantly pouncing back to Xiang Jiang’s side but abruptly stopping three or four steps away. The two white tigers followed suit and, as if fearing something, whimpered and retreated a few steps.

“What Ghost General, what Ghost Master. We’re just maggots on their rotting flesh.”

Holding the bubble tightly, black blood oozed from Xiang Jiang’s seven orifices. Under the influence of Evil Force, he gasped rapidly, and countless dark purple blood vessels bulged on the hand holding the bubble.

“Teacher, you know… that praying to the gods for their attention… sometimes grants even stronger abilities…”

Xiang Jiang grinned, squinting his eyes.

“Teacher… I…”

“What bullshit ability. You’ve been corrupted.”

Fu Xingchuan made every effort not to look at the seemingly creature resembling an Elemental. He frantically manipulated his right hand, and the skin on his left wrist began to ripple. With a slide of Xiang Jiang’s hand, only a layer of bloody human skin remained in his grasp.

In the next instant, Fu Xingchuan had already retreated dozens of steps away. The previously grasped left wrist had lost its skin, appearing bright red and glaring.

This man didn’t waste the blood that gushed out. Blood talismans and flames exploded together, and in the air, hundreds of bloody javelins appeared, emitting a gruesome scent, descending like meteors towards Xiang Jiang.

Xiang Jiang wiped his face full of black blood, burst into laughter, and threw out a blood talisman with one hand. The brilliance of the spell flashed, and Xiang Hai flashed in front of Xiang Jiang, shaking countless tears of blood from his wings. The javelins diminished and disappeared with a hissing sound, ultimately failing to reach Xiang Jiang.

There were only a few remaining human skin seals on the bubble, yet Xiang Jiang kept holding the bubble with both hands. In his hazy eyes, a reflection of golden light shimmered. Xiang Jiang clearly stared at it, yet he remained unharmed, as if it were a part of his own body.

“They are watching me.”

Xiang Jiang said almost relaxedly.

“How wonderful. ‘Resonance’ suits me better than ‘Charon’.”

His asymmetrical clothes were stained red with blood, and both sides of his face had their own roles—one side filled with endless sorrow, the other with a mad smile. The exhaustion and aging in his features vanished, replaced by a hint of abnormal purity.

“Teacher, I will explain everything to you now…” Xiang Jiang ignored the incoming talismans and reached out with both hands.

Fu Xingchuan had no interest in chatting. He took out a bunch of talismans once again. Amidst the blazing flames, the two tigers intertwined and merged, forming a circular giant shield that was about to envelop him—

Brilliant golden light filled the heavens and the earth.

Countless fragments carrying intense emotions entered Fu Xingchuan’s mind.

“Be good, and mommy will give you a kiss!” In front of a kindergarten, a young mother held two identical children in her arms, with a face full of happiness. “Be good today and listen to the teacher!”

“Okay~” The two children shouted together.

…Is this Xiang Jiang’s memory or Xiang Hai’s memory? Light and pure joy echoed in his chest, while Fu Xingchuan struggled to stay clear-headed.

Regardless of whose memory it was, Fu Xingchuan knew what would unfold next.

Over twenty years ago, there was a child abduction case in Haigu. A pair of twins snuck out to play in the rain and one of them went missing. This story wasn’t unique; like countless other families, the parents never gave up searching for their child, succumbing to pain and self-blame early on.

The remaining child named “Xiang Jiang” became an orphan, relying on the elderly in the family for survival. He dropped out of school early and entered the workforce.

Whether it was obsession or a curse, Xiang Jiang took care of his critically ill grandmother while continuing to search for his brother, just like his parents did—these were summarized in official records, but Fu Xingchuan didn’t know the details.

He only remembered that the child excelled in his studies. If there hadn’t been any mishaps, if that family had continued to prosper and live in harmony, Xiang Jiang might have become an outstanding university student.

It was a great pity.

At this moment, another wave of happiness swept over.

Now Fu Xingchuan could confirm that it was Xiang Hai’s memory. In Xiang Jiang’s recollection, there shouldn’t be a secluded and dilapidated mountain village like this. Yet, within that dusty setting, radiant happiness flowed.

“Tell me more about the outside world.” A girl with a limping foot faced Xiang Hai.

“Let me talk about the movies I’ve seen. What do you want to hear?”

The girl’s eyes were youthful, but her features showed premature roughness, making it difficult to determine her age. When she spoke, a faint glow of youthful vitality flickered in her gaze, but it lacked luster and liveliness. Xiang Hai appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen years old, with a withered and emaciated face that bore the signs of malnutrition, and his eyes were unnervingly clear.

They wore worn and dirty clothes, hiding in the darkest corner. The girl vividly described the world outside, and Xiang Hai listened with fascination, his eyes filled with longing.

These scenes flowed by, and Xiang Hai transformed from a young boy into a frail adult.

“I was too young when I arrived, so I don’t remember much. But I remember that my name is Xiang Hai, and I have a brother.” One day, Xiang Hai said with conviction. “I will find my family sooner or later.”

“Haha, no wonder they call you an unfamiliar dog.” The girl laughed. “I told you before, right? I came here after middle school. Compared to others, I’m lucky, only having my leg broken—though in this cursed place, you can never be too careful. I’ve been observing you for three or four years before daring to talk to you.”

“Talk to me?”

“One person definitely can’t escape, but two people can.” The girl’s dark and rough face revealed a sharp and piercing paranoia in her eyes. “I’ve been trapped here for nearly ten years, and I know a few ways out of the village.”

Xiang Hai’s joy flowed like a clear and bright river, murmuring incessantly. Even if it was only through words, the joy of freedom swelled in his chest, flowing through his veins.

“Your adoptive family doesn’t like you. Once they had their own son, they treated you like a beast of burden, not allowing you to study or leave the village. I’ve seen it all.” The girl straightened her dry hair and lowered her voice. “If you still side with them, I’ll blame myself for being blind. So, do you want to escape together?”

Xiang Hai looked at his slightly older friend, and his eyes began to well up with tears.

“Of course!” Xiang Hai answered firmly.

“Sister, what do you want to do after we get out?” He immediately asked, his voice filled with almost overflowing anticipation.

“I don’t know. I used to be good at dancing, but now I can’t anymore.” The girl paused for a moment and revealed a somewhat inexperienced, soft smile. “But I used to have excellent grades, so continuing my studies shouldn’t be a problem. How about you?”

“First, learn how to read.” Xiang Hai scratched his head. “If I study, I won’t catch up to you… Maybe I’ll open a small business. As long as my parents and siblings don’t reject me, it’ll be fine.”

“Ambitious!”

“I heard you have four children…”

The girl’s face instantly turned ugly, and her dry lips trembled for a moment. “The children of a rapist, it’s none of my damn business.”

“That’s true.” Xiang Hai pondered for a moment, nodding in agreement.

With a companion who shared the same aspirations and a way to escape, the happiness they felt was indescribable. The so-called “family” in the village was filled with pain, contrasting the overwhelming sweetness of happiness in their hearts.

The joy of the desperate was enough to dissolve everything. Fu Xingchuan’s mind grew foggy, and his thoughts became fragmented. He… He knew what would happen next.

Outside the mountains, relatives from the village received the news and came to intercept them. Caught between two groups of people, with freedom within reach, the two young people found themselves trapped.

“I’ll lead them away, alright?” Xiang Hai said.

“The road outside is clear, but I don’t know how to ride a bike. Once you escape, come back and save me.”

“But you…”

“Sister, I know. If you’re caught and taken back, you’ll definitely be killed,” Xiang Hai replied with a smile. “I’m still a young man. Even as a sacrificial animal, I might be of some use. Who knows, maybe I can survive.”

“What if you guessed wrong?” The girl’s lips trembled. She clenched her fingers, her features twisted with fear and worry.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it… Besides, I’m in good health. I might be able to hold out in the mountains for a few days.”

Xiang Hai patted his chest, his voice lighthearted.

“The fastest runner should go first. Who told me I can’t ride a bike?”

The girl closed her eyes.

“I’ll bring people to rescue you as soon as possible.” She promised.

……

Xiang Hai guessed wrong. The family of the “kidnapped wife” was especially furious, and Xiang Hai was beaten within an inch of his life on the spot. The subsequent “family members” saw him injured and immediately turned back, clamoring for compensation along the way.

Xiang Hai’s body was indeed strong, so strong that he survived with serious injuries in the desolate wilderness for an entire day. When the people from the outside world found him, he had just breathed his last breath.

Xiang Hai returned home as he had wished—he turned into a small urn of ashes and returned to his brother’s side.

However, that urn of ashes was always surrounded by a faint obsession. Over time, as news spread throughout the country, those obsessions slowly gathered, becoming the faint shadows in Xiang Jiang’s dreams.

Two months after the incident exploded, that slender young man appeared in the dreams of his brother. Xiang Hai hid in the distance, so frail that he could dissipate at any moment. He shyly observed his unfamiliar blood relative, cautiously confirming his own obsession.

The memories of joy abruptly ceased, and darkness descended along with it—

[Where are Mom and Dad?]

[They’re no longer here.]

[What about my friend? The sister who escaped with me.] A hint of confusion appeared in the question, and the resentment on Xiang Hai’s body grew slightly stronger.

[She…]

Even in a hazy dream, Xiang Jiang still knew that this was a topic that shouldn’t be brought up. However, whether it was the connection between twins or the overwhelming power of his deceased brother, Xiang Jiang’s memories were directly ripped out.

Xiang Hai couldn’t read, but he could directly sense Xiang Jiang’s thoughts, and unnumbered sentences rushed into his mind.

[Did you see, brothers? This is what happens to a lickspittle.]

[I think it was the woman who seduced him first, finding a little lapdog to do the work.]

[You don’t understand the thrill of taking someone else’s wife?]

[This is what happens when you take a woman seriously.]

Shortly after the incident, the comments in the comment section became “lighthearted”.

[I’m a mother, and even I think it’s not right. After all, she considered cheating, right?]

[They willingly sacrificed themselves, how romantic.]

[Some people won’t let you say anything? The criminals have been caught, what’s wrong with expressing a few feelings? Her being trafficked doesn’t conflict with her taking advantage of other people’s feelings.]

[Don’t just gossip. My acquaintances have insider information.]

……

The news was highly dramatic and attracted national attention, with discussions on various websites lasting a long time. People tirelessly speculated, and after the incident was resolved, regret turned into contemplation, and contemplation turned into curiosity.

Xiang Jiang had visited the girl at the center of the storm. Her mood wasn’t very good, but she had expressed a positive desire to continue her studies. Unfortunately, after ten years, her parents had given up, each starting their own families.

She never got to continue her studies.

Perhaps because of her age, her classmates were already active in the workforce. Perhaps because of her current awkward status, her parents were concerned about other people’s opinions. Perhaps because the “’relatives’ children” in the mountains kept harassing her. Perhaps because of those never-ending topics.

Two months after being rescued, she leaped from the rooftop of her residence, just as determined as when she had escaped. Only this time, she was alone.

Xiang Hai silently absorbed all the memories.

He didn’t understand, he didn’t comprehend. She could endure so much; she had escaped from hell.

Xiang Hai embraced his obsession and fell into greater and deeper confusion. Perhaps that mountain had been etched into his blood and embedded in his nerves. On the day he struggled in agony before his death, he heard the wailing of countless lost souls in the mountains. They left with his body and had nowhere to go.

Xiang Hai pondered day and night, until a chilling and ferocious joy swept over him.

…So that’s how it is. This place must still be a part of the mountain, and they haven’t successfully escaped yet. There would always be people smiling happily, their gazes sweeping over as if they were some kind of inhuman object.

Inside and outside the village, objects were still objects, just with a difference in usefulness and interest.

Xiang Hai wasn’t good at thinking. His thoughts had long been buried under the daily chores. Things were too complicated, and now he didn’t want to know the reasons or bother to understand the motives. He just knew that the ending shouldn’t have been like this.

He just didn’t want them to laugh anymore.

Countless grievances gathered in his dreams, breaking through the wings of the human-faced butterflies. On that day, the most powerful and fierce ghost in recent years was born. From the depths of golden joy, black mildew began to grow.

From this point on, he knew the rest. Fu Xingchuan had experienced all of this, but who…

Who was he?

Memories and emotions surged. His name should be Xiang Hai… right?

Beyond the illusion.

“Teacher, when they were watching me, I couldn’t help but think—”

Xiang Jiang picked up the gun from the ground again.

“—I couldn’t help but wonder; I want to know how he lived before. After all, my life seems to have so little meaning. And then, I was told this.”

Xiang Jiang muttered, pointing the gun at the absent-minded Fu Xingchuan.

His brother had become obsessed after his death. While he had only had this one obsession while alive. If a vengeful spirit lost its obsession, it would disappear, but what about a living person?

“I understand your feelings. It must be confusing, right? Even now, I often can’t distinguish who I am… But I am certain that every time I see you all earnestly maintaining this ‘civilized order’, I feel uncomfortable.”

The white tigers weakened, and Xiang Hai was busily destroying them. Xiang Jiang took a deep breath and slowly pressed the trigger.

Bang!

A human body hit the ground with a heavy thud. Xiang Jiang fell forward, still tightly holding the bubble in his arms. As the Ghost Master fell, Xiang Hai couldn’t help but hesitate for a moment. In that instant, he was pounced on by two white tigers whose breaths were barely there.

Where Xiang Jiang fell, two figures wearing red veils, acting suspiciously, were revealed.

“I’ll take care of Fu Xingchuan!” Ge Tingting swiftly dashed out, frantically applying a reinforced tranquility talisman to Fu Xingchuan’s body. Huang Jin retracted his club and kicked Xiang Jiang on the ground with the tip of his foot.

“I hope we didn’t kill him.” He murmured, still trembling with fear.

Around Huang Jin’s wrist was a strand of pitch-black hair, and his body was covered in red veils adorned with sealed spirit weapons, erasing all traces of sound. Now Huang Jin hastily removed the red veil and covered it over Xiang Jiang—there was a strong Evil Force swirling around Xiang Jiang, in desperate need of isolation.

Without Xiang Jiang’s command, the surrounding ghostly figures scattered. Not far away, Fu Xingchuan, covered in applied talismans, sat up and stayed on the ground for a while to recover. Before he could stand up, a chain of fire shot out and bound Xiang Hai securely.

“Are you both okay?” He wobbled as he got up.

“We’re fine.” Ge Tingting also removed her red veil. “What about you…”

“Everything that needed to be confirmed has been confirmed.” Fu Xingchuan glanced at Xiang Jiang, who was covered by the red veil. “Zhang Hejun and Dr. Sun are also under the control of Shian. Their situation is a bit different from Qi Xin’s and Qiu Fang’s. They have been affected to a lesser extent, making the situation a bit difficult to handle.”

Ge Tingting sighed, feeling a bit down.

“You both continue with the plan. I’ll take care of this thing. Don’t you both have a strand of Yin Ren’s hair? If it’s okay, then he’ll be okay.”

Fu Xingchuan pinched his brow and looked at the protective spell left by Xiang Jiang. He took a deep breath and deliberately lowered his voice.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

……

The interstitial space.

Countless giant feet stomped down fiercely, and the terrified cub struggled beneath the lifting and dropping steps. The escape route was sealed from the outside, turning this place into a complete dead end.

Mr. Le accelerated the movement of his giant foot.

Mr. Qiu had been too indecisive before, attempting to fight with only a portion of his body. Facing him was the cub of ‘Fear’—the Fear that annihilated everything.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Accompanied by the impacts, his companions briefly connected to the other side to assist him. Mr. Le mustered his strength and squeezed most of his body into this narrow interstitial space. He had to crush this cub into mud, consume it completely, and eliminate any possibility of “Fear” regenerating in a short time.

Unfortunately, under his trampling, that small patch of darkness was slippery and elusive, wriggling like an eel. The wings on its surface opened and closed, occasionally cutting out large chunks from the adjacent giant foot. Once it succeeded, it would quickly devour the spoils, becoming even more enormous.

No matter what kind of emotional disturbance was inflicted upon it, it remained undeterred, only madly wreaking havoc and feeding.

A dead end.

Mr. Le was quite patient. He carefully synthesized toxins within his limbs. To avoid alarming the “Fear” cub, he administered a very mild poison.

This cub named “Zhong Chengshuo” parasitized a human body, so even if it could consume his own Evil Force, it would still react to biological toxins!

He wanted it to gradually become numb, slow and sluggish, and eventually turn into a black paste.

[How does it taste?]

Zhong Chengshuo’s clothing had transformed into red garments, and his hair had been elongated by the illusion. He remained in human form, securely enveloped within Yin Ren’s body.

[It’s spicy, but it doesn’t have much effect.] Yin Ren responded with his thoughts. [There are no living components inside me anyway.]

In order to isolate emotional influences, he decisively abandoned most of his perception. Just like in the Valley of Bones in the world of dreams, within endless emptiness, there was only him and Zhong Chengshuo. Naturally, he couldn’t fight normally in this state—retaining only a slight sense of touch, he didn’t even know the enemy’s position.

The premise was that he was alone.

Currently, beside him, Zhong Chengshuo opened his pitch-black eyes, and the remnants of his original body continued to operate within his eyeballs. He couldn’t exert any power… but he could still see, touch, and transmit his thoughts completely to the other party.

For example, taking over this battle in terms of consciousness.

[Alright, continue.]

Zhong Chengshuo embraced his lover’s body.

[Everything is still going according to plan.]

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 202: Traitor

“Sorry about this, cub.”

As soon as Mr. Le’s words fell, the surrounding oppressive aura dissipated. Yin Ren’s gaze contracted, and he quickly stood in front of Zhong Chengshuo, releasing a formidable Evil Force. In the next moment, it collided head-on with Mr. Le’s Evil Force as they clashed.

A wave of explosions erupted in the peaceful back mountain.

The grating sound of tearing echoed through the sky, completely leveling the nearby area with the surging forces of the two. There was no longer any pavilion or withered trees in place; only a pale expanse of land remained. The four individuals who clashed were pushed away by the force and turned into two figures in the billowing smoke and dust.

As the smoke cleared, Yin Ren’s black hair and red clothes flew alongside Zhong Chengshuo. He floated back behind Zhong Chengshuo while his hands hovered over the man’s shoulders. Countless restraining spirit weapons formed a chain, constantly revolving around the two, creating a spectacular display of blood-colored brilliance.

Meanwhile, several steps away, Luo Chunlei tightly held onto Mr. Le’s long robe. During the explosion just now, Mr. Le undoubtedly protected her. Despite the dense Evil Force lingering around them, the only things evident in the young girl’s eyes were astonishment and an increasingly intense fascination.

“So that’s how it is.”

Looking at the two figures clinging together opposite him, Mr. Le coughed a few times, and he spoke with emotion.

“Zhong Chengshuo, right? No wonder, no wonder. You, a mere cub, hidden under our noses for so many years, only revealing yourself recently… So you’ve been cultivating your own formidable Evil Force.”

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t answer.

He merely reached out his hand and gently touched Yin Ren’s hand resting on his shoulder.

Yin Ren’s lips curled into a cold smile, and his aura surged like a blazing fire on an icy peak. His free hand formed countless seals, turning the sealing techniques that suppressed the Evil Force into barriers. Dust churned, and dull thuds resounded as layer upon layer piled up between the two parties.

If a Primordial Elemental wanted to reveal its true form, relying solely on the mortal realm wouldn’t suffice. Just look at the lesson learned from Dog Thing; at best, they could engage in battles in places like the Archive or the Corpse Cage. Without exception, these places were interstitial spaces between the mortal realm and the Other Side.

As long as the battlefield was forcefully kept in the mortal realm, Mr. Le’s combat strength would be greatly diminished.

Yin Ren’s seals became faster and faster, with countless crimson threads piercing through the heavens and earth, as if stitching this space firmly in place. In this way, even a slight gap couldn’t be created, let alone relocating the battlefield.

“Using a fierce hound as a tool indeed has its uses.”

Mr. Le’s gaze swept over Yin Ren as he reached out to pat Luo Chunlei’s head, letting out a soft sigh.

“Unfortunately…”

In the next moment, a sweet-scented warm breeze swept through the red threads. It was like the most fresh and beautiful flowers, blending the March spring breeze with sunlight, intoxicating anyone’s heart.

However, Yin Ren’s gaze hardened. He waved his red clothes, and his right sleeve danced in the air, enveloping Zhong Chengshuo within his embrace. That warm, transparent breeze effortlessly penetrated Yin Ren’s layers of protection and brushed against his red clothes.

Yin Ren immediately encased his body with his Evil Force, but unfortunately, he was a step too slow.

Under the gentle breeze, the vibrant blood-red clothes disintegrated in an instant. Yin Ren’s exposed skin sizzled, as if immersed in an invisible, strong acid.

But it didn’t hurt.

His right arm’s flesh and skin dissolved, and an inexplicable sense of joy surged through his nerves, piercing directly into his mind. It felt like an overdose of painkillers, and Yin Ren felt like he was floating on cloud nine. He couldn’t even summon any fighting spirit, let alone murderous intent.

Even though he put up a strong defense, that sense of joy permeated every pore, flooding his nerves like warm water. In the dizziness of joy, Yin Ren felt like every pore was opening up.

Forget it, forget it. Happiness is what matters most.

In life, isn’t this fleeting moment of joy what we all seek?

The operation of his techniques gradually slowed down, and Yin Ren’s grip on Zhong Chengshuo’s arm became increasingly loose, on the verge of letting go. Zhong Chengshuo silently took out his phone and pressed a certain audio clip—

“Is work more important to you than me?” A certain person’s voice was clear and loud.

Yin Ren’s movements instantly froze. He forced himself to take out a sheet of talisman paper and slapped it against his forehead with a loud smack. The crisp sound was earth-shattering, and the talisman paper still bore a few red fingerprints tinged with shame.

Produced by Huang Jin, it was an enhanced version of the Tranquility Talisman developed by the Great Celestial Master, capable of treating all overwhelming emotions.

After completing all of this, Yin Ren breathed a sigh of relief with lingering fear. Mr. Le was indeed not to be underestimated. Fortunately, they had made sufficient preparations in advance. Otherwise, if they kept falling into the same pit, his title as the Great Celestial Master would be forfeited.

Everything happened in just a few seconds. Mr. Le on the opposite side casually said, “Oh,” with evident interest—

The fierce ghost glanced at the blood-drenched wound on his right arm and bit down on Zhong Chengshuo’s shoulder and neck. Several streams of blood flowed down Yin Ren’s mouth and seeped into the depths of Zhong Chengshuo’s shirt. At the same time, wisps of white smoke emanated from the wound on Yin Ren’s arm, rapidly closing up.

Zhong Chengshuo remained calm, as if he had lost his sense of pain. Although Yin Ren was clearly sucking his blood, he merely turned his head and rubbed his cheek against the man’s black hair.

In the next moment, the protective barriers surrounding the two became even more complete. Layers upon layers of runes emitted a faint glow, and only the outlines of Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo could be vaguely seen.

“What are they doing?” Luo Chunlei asked curiously.

“Feeding,” Mr. Le leisurely replied, pointing his finger through the empty space. “To raise such a fierce ghost, ‘Anonymous’ always needs to provide it with power.”

The flesh and blood of Primordial Elementals were the purest source of Evil Force, making it the most efficient way to feed fierce ghosts. It was unclear who taught this cub about such knowledge regarding the Other Side…

But speaking of which, the Other Side certainly wasn’t lacking in traitors. At least, in the next second, a certain companion with the surname Qi appeared in his mind.

“The warm-up is about done.” Mr. Le made the final gesture in the empty space. “Cub, it’s time for you to take action. If you linger like this, someone might stab you in the back.”

“…Bring it on.”

The emaciated man closed his eyes; his voice could even be called gentle.

—Boom!

Accompanied by a thunderous tearing sound, the earth trembled slightly. Countless red threads, traversing space under Yin Ren’s control, snapped at the same time, creating a fissure in the sky over ten meters long, even more spectacular than the one in the abandoned hospital building.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Inside the fissure, a peculiar rhythm-like sound could be heard. It echoed in perfect harmony with the sounds Yin Ren had heard in his dreams but was much clearer. After each vibration, the fissure would crack open a bit more, like a pod unable to contain its beans.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The fissure continued to expand, resembling a giant mouth. Yin Ren cut his wrist, and numerous blood threads pierced through. Unfortunately, those threads were unable to stitch up the self-opening fissure—

“There are two opponents.” Zhong Chengshuo frowned. “Retreat!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Finally, the gap abruptly collapsed, like a flood bursting through a dam. The surrounding space twisted and distorted, and sharp sounds resounded incessantly. The gap widened like it was being torn and shoved by some force, almost forming a circular shape, like a giant mouth devouring the entire area.

Luo Chunlei let out an excited scream as her eyes widened. Yin Ren, with Zhong Chengshuo, quickly retreated but was still swallowed whole.

In an instant, all sounds of wind and bird chirping disappeared, replaced by the silence unique to the interstitial space.

At that moment, the expansion of the enormous gap abruptly halted. The opening to the mortal realm suddenly lost its power, and the space autonomously closed at an astonishing speed.

Amidst the sharp sound of space compression, Yin Ren opened his eyes.

The surrounding grass and trees distorted ceaselessly, flickering like poorly modeled objects in a video game. Further in the distance, the scenery remained the same, faintly revealing the school’s teaching building; except those buildings appeared bright and new, emanating an uncomfortable, icy aura.

There was no doubt that this was the transitional area between the mortal realm and the other side.

Mr. Le and Luo Chunlei were nowhere to be found. In their original positions, only a brownish-red cocoon remained, like a tumor attached to the ground, large enough to envelop a child. Faint, rapid heartbeats could be sensed from within the cocoon; it was likely that Luo Chunlei was inside.

Surrounding the cocoon floated numerous colorful, translucent bubbles. Each one was the size of a fist and resembled the plastic balls in an amusement park, giving a delightful feeling. Each bubble emitted Mr. Le’s aura—could these things be his true form?

The bubbles floated leisurely, resembling soft eggs with constant flickering inside, containing countless fragments of transformation.

Puppies frolicked on the lawn, cats stretching lazily under the sun, birds pecking at sweet fruits on branches, two wet wolf cubs licking each other… Children eating freshly baked pastries at a stall, adults laughing and chatting by a chessboard, kids gathering together chattering and playing games, families gathered around the dining table…

They were so vivid.

Among them, there were also dim ones, exuding a dirty deathly pallor, unmistakably human—kicking at a struggling and screaming animal, confidently spewing rumors, reaching out to steal others’ wealth and efforts, laughing at those around them who had collapsed due to misfortune…

The bubbles continued to float and scatter, with the vibrant ones constantly bursting, producing fragments of indistinct laughter. Among the bubbles that filled the sky, the number of dim-colored ones increased.

Stealing, slandering, insulting, using illegal drugs… even directly trampling upon others.

They were no longer scattered bubbles but had turned into a cluster of rapidly expanding, filthy foam. They proliferated on the surface of the earth like falling snow, seemingly intending to fill the entire world.

Yin Ren cautiously stood in place while numerous red threads formed a net to isolate the erratically flying bubbles outside. He could feel the bubbles lightly touching the threads and then bouncing away effortlessly. Each touch from the vibrant bubbles brought him a fleeting sense of relief.

The successive waves of interference made it difficult to maintain composure and engage in combat.

At the same time, the dirty foam continued to proliferate, piling up along the ground. The surrounding scenery was devoured by the countless bubbles, and the air carried a maddeningly sweet and rancid odor.

“Zhong Chengshuo, quickly!” Yin Ren attached two more tranquility talismans to his body and held Zhong Chengshuo’s neck tightly.

Zhong Chengshuo extended his hand, and a layer of transparent black gel appeared on his right hand. They quickly gathered together, solidifying into a soft and pliable cluster of wings. In the next second, the largest wing suddenly opened, and its edges became hard and pitch black, resembling a small sickle.

Without hesitation, Zhong Chengshuo struck into the void.

The sound of tearing arose for an instant, but the gap created by the cluster of wings quickly closed.

“It’s Shian’s defensive technique.”

Upon seeing the recently perfected spell specifically designed to counter gap attacks, Yin Ren gritted his teeth.

“Damn it, there’s a traitor!”

Simultaneously, all the bubbles floating in the air came to a sudden stop. They rotated from various angles, and their surfaces instantly became murky and wrinkled, resembling flesh.

Black spots of various shapes emerged from these flesh-like balls, resembling pupils as they turned towards the cluster of wings.

[Indeed… this aura… I haven’t felt it in so many years…]

Mr. Le’s sigh reverberated among the different flesh balls.

[It’s a “Fear” cub. Truly a “Fear” cub…]

Those flesh balls desperately crowded towards Zhong Chengshuo.

[You must never go back…]

Boom!

The dirty gray-white foam transformed into a torrent, devouring the two individuals like a crushing force. They spun wildly, centered around Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo. Within the whirlpool, intermittent screams and laughter could be heard. The turbulent, filthy foam continued to surge and rapidly multiply.

It was like a carnival.

Amidst the fluctuating ups and downs, violence and madness permeated the surroundings. The vibrant bubbles were entirely consumed and rotted into a murky gray. All the scenes in the interstitial space were shattered, leaving only the remnants of ecstasy in the world. After an unknown period of time, the bubbles gradually calmed down, resembling the still surface of a windless lake.

A long sigh resonated from an unknown source, filled with a profound sense of nostalgia and regret.

As the bubbles gradually tightened, a black tender sprout suddenly emerged in the center of the murky vortex.

A pair of small wings emerged at the top layer of the foam, flapping lightly twice.

Swish, swish.

It no longer resembled its previous translucent appearance but had turned nearly opaque black.

In an instant, a fierce wind rose, tearing apart the foam. A pure black burst opened up and blossomed passionately like a flower. The wings blended into the darkness, while the darkness surged and countless indescribable, distorted dark streams shimmered on its surface.

[You… Are you about to materialize?!] Mr. Le’s heart sank. The cub had been forced to reveal its true form, and the situation was worse than they had imagined.

The darkness didn’t answer his startled question.

Deep within the darkness, a faint red hue was faintly discernible. This darkness tightly protected the fierce ghost it had nurtured, just as he protected the human cub named Luo Chunlei.

This is impossible.

Mr. Le swung his body, attempting to further crush the cub with his true form. Anything that came into contact with his true form would undoubtedly fall into a state of irrational ecstasy. Whether it was a living creature, an evil creature, or an Elemental, none could escape his influence.

Even the mighty “Fear” lineage, even on the verge of materialization, it was still just a cub!

Why isn’t it going mad?

The young darkness was spinning itself, akin to a meat grinder, destroying the surrounding bubbles. Mr. Le could feel that his true form was being rapidly shredded and consumed on the spot. Apart from biting the enemy, the darkness extended countless wing-like scythes, madly disrupting the surrounding space as if seeking a way out.

Ironically, as the representative of joy, he often felt sorrow.

[Initially, I thought you were “his” successor… I should have let you die in bliss, without any suffering…]

The gray-white foam surged once again, leaving the sky and earth suddenly empty. The bubbles crowded around from all directions and simultaneously burst, disappearing into nothingness. Mr. Le’s aura not only didn’t weaken but grew even stronger.

Without the support of the surrounding bubbles, the mass of darkness fell to the ground, and the wings on its surface curled up in confusion.

And everything around it began to change.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The pounding sounds from the Other Side gradually intensified, and the sky in the interstitial space transformed into a black-gray vortex. Drip, drip. More foam dripped from the vortex onto the ground. The once indistinguishable interstitial space violently fluctuated, rapidly collapsing and turning into a misty gray.

The empty gray-white color rushed in from all directions, and the foam coalesced into gigantic human legs that walked incessantly around.

Men’s legs, women’s legs, children’s legs, elderly legs.

Walking incessantly, step by step.

The darkness roiled with bubbles the size of adults. The mountain-like giant legs casually stepped down, causing the bubbles to emit a music-like, melodious scream. One of the legs stepped on the wings that had emerged from the darkness, causing the cluster of wings to instantly shatter into minced meat.

Amidst the intense pain, all the extended wings suddenly retracted.

In the ethereal heights of nothingness, within the dense fog above those legs, Mr. Le’s voice could faintly be heard.

[Apologies.]

He said.

……

Outside the gap, small cracks had just appeared, but they were instantly sealed by sealing techniques, and the space quickly returned to its original state.

In the area where Yin Ren was located, Xiang Jiang’s sealing techniques enveloped layer upon layer. Not only could evil qi not escape, but even Evil Force couldn’t seep out. If the gap that had just opened was an exit, it was sealed shut, and these seals could be likened to pouring concrete. It was sealed tightly on the outside as well.

Confirming that there were no loopholes, Xiang Jiang withdrew his hand and turned around.

Behind him, Xiang Hai’s back had the wings of a butterfly spread wide. Fierce ghosts covered the sky, and ghosts from the nearby areas continuously gathered. They numbered in the thousands and were swept up by the Evil Force, forming a formidable army of spirits.

Compared to when he was in Gengsheng Town, the wings on Xiang Hai’s back had grown several times larger. The butterfly wings, adorned with countless faces, gently fluttered, and bloody tears flowed from the faces. Amidst the wailing of women and children, scales resembling the palms of elderly hands rose up.

Those emaciated hands opened their five fingers, and the sharp fingertips pointed straight ahead, directed at the person in front of Xiang Jiang.

“To be honest, I’ve always wanted to say that your brother resembles a ‘Ghost General’ more than I do. It’s a pity that if you had been following me all along, we could have formed a duo like Heibai Wuchang*.”

*Two deities in Chinese folk religion in charge of escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld. As their names suggest (Black and White Impermanence), they are dressed in black and white, respectively.

Fu Xingchuan straightened his coat, his tone filled with emotion.

Xiang Jiang snorted as a cold smile appeared on his face.

“Xiang Jiang, I thought you were just young and confused for a moment. I thought you were just burdened by inner struggles and chose to be passive and unproductive… I thought you really cared about innocent, ordinary people. We gave you a chance, more than once. Even before you set foot here, you could have turned back.”

Fu Xingchuan’s fingers twitched, and between his fingertips, the yellow talisman automatically stirred without wind, emanating a scorching fighting spirit. His face still wore the usual smile, but his eyes held no trace of humor.

“At first, I thought if you were colluding with that banal group, Sunken Society, you might have some hope of being saved. Honestly, when you sat in my position and I couldn’t find any communication from you to the outside, I was somewhat happy. Who would have known… Haa.”

Fu Xingchuan halted his words and let out a long sigh. His burgundy coat continued to burn, transforming into a blood-red long robe.

“…Why, of all things, did you choose to collaborate with the Other Side?”

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 201: A Set Up

Schools, like hospitals, were considered special places. The current situation was unclear, and Li Nian couldn’t mobilize the same manpower that surrounded the hospital like before. He could only do his best to deploy several teams to evacuate crowded areas near the school and cut off all access routes to the school.

Xiang Jiang, on the other hand, commanded various special task forces to set up sealing arrays around the school. Although Xiang Jiang had never directly fought against a Primordial Elemental, he had made significant progress in “sealing gaps and corruption”.

Before the protective measures could be fully prepared, a Shian police car honked, attempting to enter the school area.

At a glance, Li Nian recognized the license plate of that car.

He waved off the staff and approached personally. “…Fu Xingchuan, have you gone mad?”

“Good morning, Lao Li. Want some fried dough sticks? I have one left.” Fu Xingchuan rolled down the car window.

He wasn’t wearing a red uniform and was dressed casually, with a breakfast bag in his arms. “I was actually going to ask what madness you’re up to, wandering around outside for no reason… Or did Unit 9 cause trouble again? There’s no need to mobilize the Emergency Management Department for that, right?”

Li Nian neither took the fried dough stick nor responded to his remarks.

Fu Xingchuan glanced at the surrounding sealing measures and made clicking sounds with his tongue, expressing sentiments like, “Only witness the laughter of newcomers, but never see the tears of the old¹” and “It’s heartbreaking to be this cautious²”.

¹Proverb conveying the idea that people often focus on the positive and happy aspects of new or unfamiliar situations, while ignoring or being unaware of the challenges, hardships, or difficulties faced by those who have been through similar experiences before.
²Saying that conveys the sentiment that investing a great amount of effort, time, or resources into preparing for something can lead to emotional distress or anxiety.

“There’s a suspicious situation, and there may be a gap risk. Xiang Jiang and I happen to have some free time, so we came to take a look around.”

Li Nian pressed the veins on his forehead while his gaze swept toward the back seat of the sedan—Sun Qi’an and Zhang Hejun were sitting there, wearing identical expressions of confusion.

“Ah, gap risk?” Fu Xingchuan patted the steering wheel and raised his voice. “Hey, Dr. Sun, it’s not appropriate to go back to school now. Why don’t you persuade Xiao Zhang to wait another day if she has any questions? She still needs to take care of her health. It’s not urgent.”

Without hesitation, Sun Qi’an turned around. “Hejun, the authorities are still investigating. Shall we go back for now?”

Zhang Hejun stared at the school gate, not answering.

“It was against the rules for you to come out this time. But you kept insisting, so the hospital made a concession by having me accompany you.” Sun Qi’an sighed. “Considering your physical condition, in case… if your parents start causing trouble later, it won’t be easy for me either.”

“I want to see Luo Chunlei. I must see her.”

Zhang Hejun finally responded.

“I have hallucinations every time I close my eyes. In those hallucinations, she keeps throwing dirt at me, sprinkling it all over my brain… I have to talk to her face-to-face. I must see her…”

Zhang Hejun’s eyes were wide open, unblinking like a cold-blooded animal. Her gaze was directed into emptiness, and her tone carried a peculiar excitement typical of a patient, sending chills down one’s spine.

Seeing this, Sun Qi’an shook her head helplessly.

“See?” Fu Xingchuan shrugged at Li Nian. “I went to the hospital to check on my leg, and I saw this little girl rushing out like she had gone mad. To be honest, her case doesn’t have much direct relation to the corruption source. I thought since I had nothing else to do, I would bring her here.”

“Her physical recovery is going well, but there are some issues with her mental state. If it continues like this, something might happen, and the hospital can’t do much about it. Minister Li, can you make a compromise?” Sun Qi’an tidied her slightly messy hair and turned to Li Nian.

“And what about Luo Chunlei’s safety? She’s still a minor, and this behavior is simply reckless.” Li Nian pointed out directly.

“We’ll let her into the school, and she’ll come out later. Mr. Fu and I will keep an eye on her.” Sun Qi’an stepped out of the car, lowering her voice. “We won’t let them meet for sure. Bringing her here is just an attempt to calm her down… Look, this is the certificate from the hospital.”

Li Nian observed it for a while.

“Li Nian.”

Not far away, Xiang Jiang impatiently interjected.

“Fine, go ahead.” Li Nian stepped back from the car. “You can move around within the campus, but you’re not allowed to enter classrooms, the playground, or the back mountain. Fu Xingchuan, keep an eye on them.”

“Got it.” Fu Xingchuan stepped on the accelerator.

Li Nian watched the black sedan slowly move forward and head towards the school gate. After a while, he faintly saw Fu Xingchuan rolling down the car window and talking to the security guard.

Fu Xingchuan’s maroon jacket was slightly wrinkled, indicating that he hadn’t had time to change clothes yesterday.

Yesterday afternoon.

As usual, Fu Xingchuan was investigating the corruption source near the school, diligently fulfilling his duties as a consultant. However, he couldn’t dress too conspicuously while patrolling the streets, so he wore this maroon outfit.

At least that was how Mr. Fu was dressed when Li Nian arrived. At that time, the two of them met in a noisy private room of an internet café, looking as if they were about to engage in some illicit activities. Li Nian subconsciously searched for the color red and glanced at Fu Xingchuan three times without stopping.

“Yin Ren contacted me suddenly, using a strand of hair.”

Fu Xingchuan dragged his old partner into the conversation without beating around the bush.

“There’s a large Elemental inside the school, and there seem to be other Elementals cooperating outside the school. Sun Qi’an and Zhang Hejun from Haigu Municipal Hospital… well, they have some ‘unfavorable background’.”

Li Nian: “…”

It was known that the Evil Spirits were monsters formed from the remains of a Primordial Elemental, and Shian had to exert all its strength to control them. It was also known that two powerful Elementals were lurking near the school, and Qi Xin, who was wandering outside, had not been found yet. Including the deceased Mr. Qiu, there were enough Elementals who had descended to form a table of Mahjong.

At this point, what else could their Haigu branch do?

Li Nian suddenly felt an eerie calmness. “Go on.”

“According to Yin Ren, the Elemental he killed before represented ‘Disgust’, and Qi Xin represents ‘Sorrow’. If his information is correct, the Elemental in the school represents ‘Joy’, and the external cooperation is most likely…”

“’Love’,” Li Nian completed the sentence. It was the missing piece of the four classifications separated by Shian from emotional data. Fantastic! The four leaders from the Other Side came to inspect.

“So, why did Yin Ren contact you?” Professor Li politely swallowed back the words, “What use do you have?”

“It’s similar to Mr. Qiu. These bastards just poked their fingers over here. Their true bodies are still on the Other Side, and the avatars here are not invincible.”

Fu Xingchuan lowered his duckbill cap, wearing a mischievous smile on his face.

“If they could truly be invincible, why would they specifically target this school and set up a trap for Yin Ren and the others?”

In a split second, Li Nian realized.

Humans didn’t have the means to kill these Elementals, yet Mr. Qiu died unexpectedly, spreading fear to the Other Side. Before dealing with external threats, those Primordial Elementals wouldn’t let go of the “unknown kind” lurking in the shadows.

And Unit 9, this unfortunate group—especially the two cunning individuals who weren’t entirely human—always represented Shian’s frontline in dealing with imminent crises. They were also present when Mr. Qiu died. Even if the unknown Elemental wasn’t part of Unit 9, it was closely related to Shian.

If he was an Elemental from the Other Side, he would probably come up with the same plan.

Boldly showcase the school as a special area, openly declaring one’s existence. Shian’s investigative team would undoubtedly relay the message, and sooner or later, that hidden Elemental in Shian would notice the information.

They wanted to lure that highly aggressive “unknown kind” out into the open.

Seeing Li Nian’s changing facial expression, Fu Xingchuan slyly winked and cleared his throat, “Our esteemed Professor Li is indeed quick to react. Impressive, impressive.”

“…” Li Nian rubbed his face. “Speak up. What other ideas do those two have?”

“It’s simple. Go along with the Other Side’s intentions.” Fu Xingchuan’s smile gradually faded. “But I called you here for another matter—”

“Xiao Ge and Xiao Huang volunteered… Ah, no, Xiao Ge volunteered to be the bait. She said if the Elemental doesn’t find any flaws, they’ll be more cautious. To ensure that everything goes smoothly, it’s best for them to sell a flaw.”

The expressions of “approval” and “disapproval” mixed together in Fu Xingchuan’s eyes, engaging in a passionate dispute.

“And to confirm Yin Ren’s speculation, probing is necessary.”

“If the Other Side doesn’t have ill intentions towards Yin Ren and the others, they wouldn’t disturb Shian’s ‘patrol sentinels’. If they do have ill intentions, it could potentially cause an incident and escalate the impact. There is a risk of death for the bait.” Li Nian muttered to himself. He naturally knew what these young people were thinking, and Professor Li felt his headache worsening.

Fu Xingchuan chuckled bitterly. “So, that’s why I came to find you—reporting is secondary. The Great Celestial Master needs to prepare protective spells, and the small shop doesn’t have the ingredients.”

“You’re using me as a delivery person?”

“And also, ah… Xiao Zhong and Xiao Yin have worked so hard. We can take advantage of being associated with a big tree and enjoy the shade while bringing a net along the way.”

……

Yes, since yesterday, Li Nian’s headache hadn’t stopped.

At this moment, he watched the car disappear into the campus while his face grew longer.

“Our protection isn’t enough! Surrounding security comes first. Sort that out before discussing anything else!” He turned around, raising his voice. An A-level special task force hurriedly ran in the direction Li Nian pointed, earnestly performing their spell.

“It’s almost done.” Xiang Jiang’s hazy pupils turned towards Li Nian.

“It’s far from enough. You yourself said to be careful with the accident rate. I see that the southwest corner is still lacking.” Li Nian glanced at him sideways. “It’s surrounded by residential areas, and the type of disappearances those two had is very dangerous. This was your own judgment.”

“I also said that those two lives are also up to fate.”

Xiang Jiang’s expression was extremely grim.

“You can continue hesitating here; I’ll take my team in to investigate first.”

“…Fine, you can go.”

Li Nian closed his eyes, and his expression was tinged with bitterness.

“But as partners, I suggest you stay. You said you want to follow the rules, so carry it through to the end.” Professor Li emphasized each word. “Of course, it’s not mandatory.”

Xiang Jiang didn’t answer.

He tugged at his asymmetrical windbreaker and walked towards the school without looking back.

The sun rose, and the sky turned pale. A faint mist emanated near the school, gliding along the ground, hazy like a dream. When Li Nian opened his eyes, Xiang Jiang had already disappeared from his sight.

Li Nian raised his head and saw a group of drones flying towards the back mountain.

“…Forget it.” He sighed at them.

These unmanned drones were slightly smaller than birds, gliding through the morning sky and quickly reaching the back mountain.

The back mountain was supposed to have a water pavilion, but the pond was dry. A bit of muddy soup accumulated at the bottom, and it looked more like an ordinary construction site. The pavilion was partially built, with sparse vegetation and piles of soil between construction materials, resembling countless mounds.

Haigu Secondary School once planned to develop and build on the back mountains, but funding issues arose when half of it was already constructed, leaving the construction awkwardly halted. The students loved this unfinished style. Even though the school strictly prohibited it, students still frequented the area from time to time.

The place where Zhang Hejun was buried alive wasn’t far from here.

Zhong Chengshuo painfully swallowed two energy bars for breakfast and slowly walked towards the pavilion. The seating area of the pavilion was covered in floating dust, so Zhong Chengshuo looked around for a while and decided to stand upright beneath the pavilion.

Yin Ren, as usual, completely sealed off his aura and stuck to Zhong Chengshuo’s back like a spirit.

Before long, Luo Chunlei appeared.

She wasn’t wearing a school uniform but a pricey-looking dress. With her left hand holding a thermos cup and her right hand gripping the phone hidden in her bedroom, her fingers swiftly danced across the screen. Her shoes were polished to a shine, but after taking a few steps in this place, they quickly became covered in dust.

[Good morning, I’m livestreaming now.]

Yin Ren lowered his head, and Dog Thing quickly displayed the messages from that anonymous group.

[After Brother Cockroach dies, those who doubted me should livestream themselves eating cockroaches 😘.]

After typing that, Luo Chunlei stopped in front of a patch of withered grass, adjacent to a dead decorative tree. She locked her phone, and a sweet smile bloomed on her face.

“Alright, I’ve informed my parents.”

Luo Chunlei’s killing intent wasn’t particularly strong. At this moment, it seemed that she still thought everything in front of her was just a game.

“Come here. I buried the evidence under the tree… What? Do you expect a girl to dig it up herself?”

As she puffed up her cheeks, a dissatisfied expression filled her face.

A childish and clumsy trap. Zhong Chengshuo scanned the patch of grass with a calm expression. He only made a sound of acknowledgment and obediently walked over.

As soon as his right foot touched the patch of grass, the ground beneath him suddenly gave way. In the next moment, everything spun around.

Beneath the grass was a deep pit left from construction.

Zhong Chengshuo almost instantly reached out with his hands and clung tightly to the uneven walls of the pit. The collapsing grass fell to the ground, revealing the tangled steel bars at the bottom of the pit. The steel bars were thin and sharp, even more dangerous than the previous elevator shaft.

Luo Chunlei didn’t waste any words. She immediately unscrewed the thermos cup and poured the scalding hot water onto Zhong Chengshuo’s hands. Zhong Chengshuo clenched his lips, executed a beautiful somersault, and voluntarily jumped into the thicket of steel bars. The thorny steel bars surrounded him, but miraculously, Zhong Chengshuo emerged unharmed. He lifted his head and looked straight at Luo Chunlei.

She casually kicked the loose soil at the edge of the pit, causing it to fall down with a rustling sound.

“Wow, this angle is really nice—actually, I really wanted to take some photos, but if I post them in the group, it would be troublesome as evidence.”

Luo Chunlei kicked the soil a few more times and squatted down at the edge of the pit. Judging by her expression, she was genuinely troubled by this.

“Your expression isn’t as entertaining as Zhang Hejun’s back then. She was so scared that her face turned pale—people’s faces can actually turn that pale. It’s especially thrilling.”

With another kick, a large pile of soil fell down.

“Do you know you’re killing people?” Zhong Chengshuo disregarded the piles of soil embedded with steel bars.

“Of course I know, and I also know that I won’t be caught. Even if I were caught, I’m not even fourteen yet.”

Luo Chunlei seemed to be wary of Zhong Chengshuo’s words as she panted and pushed out a wheelbarrow from the debris, starting to pile up soil at the edge of the pit.

“Besides, my family is wealthy. My parents run around doing errands, and they can’t imprison me anyway.”

Her smiling face could be described as innocent.

“…My parents once told me that life is precious.” Zhong Chengshuo reached out and touched the nearest steel bar. The sharp end lightly grazed his skin. “You—”

“No way, you want to lecture me now?”

Luo Chunlei laughed even more.

[Hilarious, Brother Cockroach is going to die, and he still wants to preach to me.] She held up her phone with hands covered in dirt.

“I know what you want to say—you want to say that when I grow up, I’ll regret these things and lose sleep at night. You want to say that when I become vulnerable and get bullied, I’ll understand the feelings of Zhang Hejun and you.”

[Moral bitches will always be moral bitches.]

“Haha, you crack me up. Look at those adults. Do the kind-hearted ones become rich or take advantage of others? They’re constantly feeling down and upset over this and that, unable to live well themselves but constantly worry about others. Let me tell you, people like you are the ones who get eliminated through natural selection.”

Zhong Chengshuo remained silent, tilting his head slightly. His eyes were fixed on Luo Chunlei, who was in a good mood.

[It’s not interesting to sacrifice heroically. I will definitely make him cry w.]

Luo Chunlei squatted down. “Let me tell you what I’ll be like in the future. I’ll eat whatever I want and buy whatever I want. Even if I don’t work, I’ll live better than my stupid classmates. Why should I make myself feel miserable? Am I doing it just because I’m full?”

“If I’m unlucky and get bullied in the future, I’ll only hate the people who bully me, right? What does that have to do with me bullying you? I don’t care about your feelings. Whoever makes me feel bad, I won’t let them off easily. It’s that simple.”

She made a grimace at Zhong Chengshuo in the pit.

“Only the pitiful ones who get bullied would dream of waiting for others to realize their mistakes. When I’m old and think of you, my impression will definitely be like, ‘Wow, I’m more amazing than most people. I could deceive a group of adults when I was a child’.”

“The teacher always said to live happily, and this is how I live the happiest.”

[It feels so refreshing to speak my mind. When I was with Sister Cockroach, I couldn’t speak so openly, missing out on so many dramatic effects]

Next, Luo Chunlei paused for a long time. She looked at Zhong Chengshuo at the bottom of the pit expectantly. Her eyes were fixed on his lips, unblinking.

“My parents once told me that life is precious.”

“Not again.”

“…But I don’t consider your life within the realm of ‘precious’. Well, I’ve made up my mind, I won’t save you either. From now on, take care of yourself.”

[Oh, a little twist~]

Luo Chunlei clicked her tongue. “Fine, so you have superpowers, what do you think? I know about it anyway. Well, I… I…”

Under her gaze, Zhong Chengshuo reached into his pocket and pinched Yellow Millet. With a pop, the illusion dissipated.

The adult Zhong Chengshuo adjusted his glasses and looked at Luo Chunlei with eyes devoid of warmth. And behind him floated the most beautiful “ghost” Luo Chunlei had ever seen in her life.

With his long hair flowing and a smile in his crimson eyes, Yin Ren wrapped his arms around Zhong Chengshuo’s neck; his chin resting on his lover’s shoulder. The red robes around Yin Ren fluttered, exuding a strong ghostly aura.

The temperature dropped suddenly, and white vapor formed around Luo Chunlei’s mouth and nose. Two hands emerged from under Yin Ren’s ribs, hugging Zhong Chengshuo’s waist tightly, effortlessly lifting him out of the deep pit.

The two of them gently stopped in front of Luo Chunlei, only two or three steps away from her.

Her opponent suddenly transformed into two adult men. After a moment of confusion, Luo Chunlei shuddered and instinctively took a step back. She took a deep breath and, without hesitation, pulled out the compact mirror, fiercely smashing it onto the ground.

“Save me!” Luo Chunlei screamed. “Kill them to silence them!”

The mirror instantly shattered into countless pieces, each reflecting the pale red dawn. In the next moment, numerous cracks appeared in space, accompanied by a burst of vacuum suction, and the school janitor with heavy eye bags stepped out of the rift, coughing miserably.

He was no longer wearing the gray school uniform but instead a long gown resembling a comedian’s outfit, and his feet were clad in a pair of worn-out cloth shoes.

“Joy,” Zhong Chengshuo said with a confident tone.

The man took a few breaths and revealed a faint smile, ultimately acquiescing.

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t act recklessly. He stood upright on the barren land, assuming a vigilant posture. Behind him, Yin Ren’s ghostly aura grew so dense that it was suffocating. The ground around them frosted, and the once yellowed grass withered and turned black, crumbling into dust.

The might of the thousand-year-old Ghost King quietly revealed a glimpse of his power.

“Kill them quickly!” Luo Chunlei rushed over and grabbed the janitor’s sleeve. “We agreed that you would send them back, and I will personally bury them!”

The janitor, Mr. Le, lowered his head and glanced at her. He reached out his withered and cracked hand, gently patting the head of the young girl.

“Yes, I will kill them,” he said. “You are the one I have chosen, and I will protect you well.”

With that, he turned to Zhong Chengshuo. His gaze became particularly complex. Despite being born of “Joy”, the sadness in his eyes resembled that of a human.

“Sorry about this, cub.”

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