Chapter 123

Lu Yan looked at the box in his hand.

It was a plain, dark black cardboard box, devoid of any other markings.

He weighed it in his palm. It was very light.

After a moment's thought, he willed an extra segment of bone to extend from his index finger. The razor-sharp nail sliced through the packaging with ease.

The cross on his "son's" tongue was now studded with all thirty-one days the system had mentioned.

Late on the thirty-first night, Lu Yan opened a seam in his palm. He saw the dense rows of fangs lining the edges, and the knucklebone, now almost fused to the root of the tongue.

The golden cross had melted away, revealing a segment of white bone hidden within the gold—sharp, like an eagle's talon.

Though nothing seemed outwardly different, Lu Yan knew with absolute clarity: King Fish had lost consciousness. It would likely never again form a heart shape with its tongue-tip for him, or reel his nearly-detached head back into place.

But he could also feel it—his control over his own body had increased.

Like now. He could limit the aberration to a single finger. The newly-grown segment of bone was incredibly convenient for opening packages.

He couldn't shake the feeling—if he took an X-ray of this newly-articulated fourth knuckle, it would probably look identical to the one currently piercing his "son's" tongue.

He opened the shipping box. Inside was only a single certificate.

[X City Good Taste Slaughterhouse - Employee ID]

Name: Zhu Tu

Species: Three-River White Pig

Position: Senior Meat Processing Technician

Certificate No.: ******

(Do not lose. No replacements issued.)

The ID bore a photo of the pig-headed butcher. Back then, Zhu Tu must have just started the job. He wasn't yet covered in grime, his porcine face plump and pale, with a simple, almost endearing expression.

[Back then, Pig-Head Butcher rushed 07 to Luochuan Botanical Garden overnight. Ended up getting roasted by 07 into a charcoal-scented suckling pig.]

[Karmic Flames purified everything. Only this ID card remained in the world.]

[Holding this work permit grants free access to the slaughterhouse. You will be recognized as a colleague by the staff and will not be actively attacked.]

The card was slick with grease and stained with old, darkened bloodstains.

Fortunately, the system said it was waterproof. He could wash it.

Donning a pair of medical gloves, Lu Yan scrubbed the ID with a brush. "Is Qin Woyu the only one going to sign the contract?"

[No. Headquarters contacted many people. Tang Xun'an, Bai Ze, and Bai Qiushi are all going.]

"Euthanasia is different," Lu Yan said. "But even after Qin Woyu returns from death, he'll have a long period of weakness."

[He volunteered.]

[Some people suffer misfortune and decide the whole world owes them. Once they gain power, they draw their blades against those weaker still. Others endure hardship yet remain willing to sacrifice and dedicate themselves to their convictions. The former are villains—suffering is no excuse. The latter are saints, destined to be misunderstood by many. Most people just get swept along between these two extremes, carried by fate.]

Lu Yan shook the water off the card and set it on the table to dry. "Why did Zong Yan tell me not to go to X City?"

[01 agreed to exchange for 09, on the condition he gets to see how his other companions are doing. But besides the experimental subjects, you're also on that list. The reason given is that 07 wants to see you.]

[Tang Xun'an objected to bringing you. He said you just finished an S-Class mission and shouldn't be sent on another assignment so soon. But 01's stance was firm. Three rounds of negotiations failed.]

[01 wants to take the other experimental subjects, and seize the chance to kill you.]

Lu Yan's eyes narrowed slightly. "He seems… fixated on me?"

Being good-looking, Lu Yan had encountered his share of obsessives throughout his life. But 01's fixation felt different.

After all, previous stalkers usually wanted to "possess" him, not "possess his life."

[He thinks Tang Xun'an has had it too easy all these years. We're all experimental subjects. Why did only Subject 10 get to leave the First Research Institute? Just because he had a well-connected father?]

[He wants Tang Xun'an to spend the rest of his life in agony, to feel the same pain he does.]

Lu Yan fell silent. He used Hellfire to peel an apple, planning to have it for breakfast.

But he was lost in thought. By the time the apple was peeled, it had already begun to oxidize and turn brown. He hadn't taken a single bite.

"System."

[I'm here.]

Lu Yan lowered his gaze. His deep red pupils reflected no light. "Is there a way to deal with 01?"

You can't guard against a thief forever.

01's relentless desire for his life made Lu Yan restless. After all, if they met alone, he genuinely couldn't defeat Gu Zheng.

So it was better to find a way to put 01 six feet under.

This time, the system thought for a long while.

[01 was injured back at the First Research Institute. Later, to extract the serum for injection into 07, he drew from his own essence. His injuries haven't fully healed. Pollution value sits around 14,000.]

[Tang Xun'an's spiritual power threshold is thirteen thousand. Against 01, he can fight. But 01 has the Phoenix talent. Very hard to kill.]

[Unless,] the system said slowly, [07 can regain consciousness and is willing to burn 01 to death when he's off guard.]

Just as Lu Yan's regeneration had limits, 01's Phoenix talent had restrictions. It required the user to retain at least one intact cell. Chopping someone to pieces with a blade might not erase every cell, but fire could.

[Oh, forgot to tell you. 07 was injected with a modified serum by 01. Gong Weibin's invention. He's about to go from little firebird to little firedog. A tiny dog with bird wings… why does that sound so familiar?]

[Because the injection contains part of 01's pollution source, 07 will lose his consciousness but become fiercely loyal to 01.]

If Lu Yan remembered correctly, when Gu Zheng was still an experimental subject, he was injected with the same drug.

He understood the pain it caused, yet he still inflicted it upon Zong Yan.

Clearly, compared to Zong Yan as a comrade, Gu Zheng preferred an obedient dog.

[Normally, there'd be no saving him. But lucky for him, you have Talent 14.]

*

Lu Yan slept for four hours and arrived at the hospital feeling refreshed.

The familiar scent of disinfectant in the air lifted his mood considerably.

Director Lu hadn't shown up for work for two consecutive months. His colleagues, spotting him suddenly in the office, were collectively startled.

Especially the three assistant doctors assigned to him by the hospital director. Their vision darkened as memories of being dominated by sixteen-hour non-stop surgeries flooded back. They immediately considered calling in sick.

Having been away from the scalpel for so long, Lu Yan's movements were more cautious than before.

Just as he was starting his eleventh surgery, the Prevention and Treatment Center finally called.

He could only regretfully hand the freshly-anesthetized patient over to another doctor.

After changing out of his scrubs and disinfecting, Lu Yan pushed open the door to his office.

Inside, Director Li and Minister Wang had been waiting for some time.

Director Li made the introductions. "Doctor Lu. This is the current Minister of the Special Operations Department."

Minister Wang wore a warm smile. "Just call me Old Wang. Thirty years ago, I was Mr. Tang's liaison officer."

"Doctor Lu, the reason for our visit is actually to discuss a matter with you."

Minister Wang detailed the negotiation process with 01, concluding with, "Ultimately, it depends on your decision. Whatever you choose, we will accept it. Please don't feel pressured."

Lu Yan didn't deliberate for long. "I agree."

Minister Wang visibly relaxed, his smile widening. "If you agree, then that's excellent. Thank you very much. This will also make it easier for us to report back to Mr. Tang."

Tang Xun'an's codename was Tyrant, and his talent's side effect was Wrath, but his temperament wasn't irritable or explosive.

However, he had worked for a very long time, and his reputation was formidable. Many of the current staff had grown up hearing stories about him. Facing Tang Xun'an, they couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.

The system remarked, [Clearly, while the Dog Dragon is a dog in front of you, he's still a dragon to everyone else.]

According to Director Li, the departure time was set for tomorrow morning. Everyone would assemble at the Prevention and Treatment Center in X City.

Lu Yan thought it over, went back and finished his remaining surgeries. At 7 PM, he slowly walked home, groceries in hand.

He hadn't cooked in a long time. His fingers were itching for it.

What he didn't expect was to find Tang Xun'an waiting at his doorstep.

His expression showed surprise. "Why didn't you call when you were coming?"

"Just arrived." Tang Xun'an paused, a faint smile touching his lips. "The bow the Third Research Institute custom-made for you is finished. They needed someone to deliver it. So I came."

He lifted the military-style case in his hand.

[He's lying to you again.] The system let out a cold laugh. [He's been here half an hour. Studied the black carbon deposits on the corridor wall for a long time, confirmed they were evidence of a pollutant with a fire talent visiting. He even measured the residual pollution value. Based on your return time, he concluded the visiting pollutant was probably 07.]

Zong Yan had come this morning. Due to his inherent nature, he'd left charred marks on the wall.

Lu Yan hadn't had time to clean them.

Such traces left by pollutants usually couldn't be scrubbed away anyway. Probably needed replastering. A hassle.

His neighbor had died during the K City Parasitic Fish incident. No one else lived on this floor yet.

So, Lu Yan had left without worry. He hadn't expected Tang Xun'an to rush over from out of town.

"Wasn't he looking for Shen Qingyang?"

Shen Qingyang had vanished into the abyss, three thousand meters down. Impossible to track.

Lu Yan opened the door, his voice calm. "Perfect timing. I bought groceries today."

Dinner was three dishes and a soup: tomato meatball soup, braised beef brisket, chilled eggplant salad, and stir-fried greens. The presentation was impeccable, the aroma rich and inviting.

Tang Xun'an had been worried his high aberration level might ruin his appetite, but the food tasted surprisingly good. He found himself finishing two bowls of rice, something he hadn't done in a long time.

After the meal, he automatically started washing the dishes. He was still adjusting to his strength, however—two bowls shattered in his grip.

Meanwhile, Lu Yan opened the weapons crate.

A product manual and a set of blueprints slid out first.

[To Lu Yan, Personally]

- Greetings. I am Ji Wen, the chief designer of this weapon. Thank you for your trust in our Third Research Institute.

- For portability, both the bow and arrows are designed to be collapsible. The bow's full length when deployed is 1.6 meters.

- We experimented extensively with materials for the bow. Many S-Class materials were consumed, but we could never achieve the perfect balance of hardness and flexibility. Ultimately, with Mr. Tang Xun'an's permission, we selected "dragon bone" as the primary material.

- Tang Xun'an, codename Tyrant. The only currently active S-Class Awakener, serving since age 19. Possesses Talent #9: Dragon Bone, granting his skeleton a hardness unmatched by most S-Class materials.

- In combat against pollutants, Tang Xun'an sustained severe injuries requiring major surgeries. The material for this bow comes from a section of his spine extracted during a procedure 27 years ago. (A new spine has since regenerated, please rest assured. Due to his aberrant traits, he periodically undergoes molting-like processes during growth.)

- We excised the afflicted section, fused it with other materials, and completed the forging. We have named the bow "Dragon Bone." As Tang Xun'an possesses Talent #3: Time, arrows loosed from this bow carry certain temporal properties.

- The bowstring is fashioned from the tendon of an A-Class deep-sea pollutant, the Mosasaur Fish.

- The fletching uses feathers from A-Class pollutants known as Man-Eating Birds from the Floating Isles, granting the arrows auto-tracking capabilities. They ignore air resistance and buoyancy, and are operable underwater.

- The arrowheads are a special alloy produced by the Fifth Research Institute. The standard kit includes 10 arrows and 15 arrowheads.

- With the exception of the arrowheads, all components are crafted from unique, one-time-use materials. Securing identical raw materials from the various institute reserves would be exceedingly difficult. Please use them judiciously.

- The total cost, calculated at 1,783,000 contribution points, has been deducted from your account.

- For any adjustments to the weapon's specifications, please contact my student, Xiao Bing.

Lu Yan paused, then lifted the black cloth covering the crate.

Dragon Bone was a white bow, devoid of ornate decoration. Unlike any other bow, its body was segmented, folding in on itself. When collapsed, it was remarkably compact—it could probably fit in a large satchel.

He unfolded it, locked the segments into place, and plucked the string. It vibrated with a sharp, clean hum that cut through the air.

It was an excellent bow.

[Do you like it?] the system asked.

Lu Yan ran his fingers along the bow's length, reluctant to let go. "Yes."

[After all this time by your side, this is the first time I've heard you say you like something.]

As much as he liked it, Lu Yan had no intention of testing it at home. He was worried an arrow might punch straight through the load-bearing wall.

His own apartment collapsing was one thing. The entire building coming down would be a much bigger problem.

By the time everything was put away, it was ten at night. Time to sleep.

Lu Yan's apartment had three bedrooms and two living areas, but he'd always lived alone and never imagined being in a relationship. Aside from the master bedroom, the other two rooms had long been converted into a workshop and storage space. There were no extra beds.

He turned to Tang Xun'an. "You'll sleep with me tonight."

Tang Xun'an's expression froze for a second. "Okay."

For Awakeners, especially high-ranking ones, worldly desires tended to fade. Appetite, drowsiness, even sexual desire—all grew muted.

At least, as Lu Yan lay in bed, he felt a deep sense of calm. Maybe it was because the pajamas were too thick.

Winter was almost here, after all.

Tang Xun'an simply held him, silent.

Drowsiness settled over Lu Yan, nestled in the other man's arms. He was on the verge of sleep when a quiet question pierced the stillness.

"Yanyan... are you asleep?"

"...Hm?" Lu Yan let out a soft, nasal sound.

"You agreed to go to City X... it wasn't because you want to see Zong Yan, was it?"

Lu Yan: "...Huh??"