Chapter 124

124

It was common knowledge that Lu Yan had once been Zong Yan’s doctor. The two of them had spent a cumulative total of at least twenty-four hours together in the same small, dark room.

Tang Xian’an’s speculation wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

After all, the message from 01 had specifically stated Lu Yan should be brought along because 07 wanted to see him.

Lu Yan answered with a blank expression. “You’re overthinking it.”

Tang Xian’an: “Oh.”

Neither spoke again.

Around 3 a.m., just as Lu Yan was drifting back to sleep, the system’s grating voice shattered the quiet.

[No way, no way! I went offline for a full six hours to give you two some space! And you just… sleep under the same blanket?!] The system lamented, its tone one of profound disappointment. [At this rate, when will you ever conceive a little puppy-dragon hybrid!]

Lu Yan, rudely awakened, felt a headache coming on. “You’re annoying.”

The system’s voice turned despondent. [Now that you’re in a relationship, I’m just annoying. Once you get married, will you tell me to get lost?]

Lu Yan had no desire to answer that.

His current daily sleep requirement was about four hours. When necessary, he could go sixty hours without it.

Tang Xian’an’s required sleep was likely even less.

Yet, strangely, whenever the two of them shared a bed, they both slept deeply.

Lu Yan woke feeling languid, his bones softened by rest. He glanced down. The familiar draconic tail was coiled possessively around his waist.

He held still for a moment, then gave in to the impulse. He scratched gently at the base of Tang Xian’an’s tail. While most of the appendage was sheathed in hard scales, the section near the root was surprisingly soft, fleshy, and pliant beneath his fingers.

He was enjoying the sensation when he looked up and met a pair of open golden eyes. Tang Xian’an was watching him intently, clutching a pillow.

It made Lu Yan feel strangely self-conscious.

The black tail trembled slightly in his grasp, its tip curling into a delicate hook. “Not continuing?”

[He’s seducing you!! Shameless old man!!]

Lu Yan withdrew his hand. “We should get going to X City.”

Making a deal with a pollutant was an inherently risky proposition. There was no precedent.

But for the tens of thousands of survivors in Changjia, and for the Awakened who had held the line this long, Headquarters had to try, danger be damned.

Lu Yan tucked the Pig-Head Butcher’s work ID into his pocket, along with his weapons, sedatives, specialized medication, and several dozen walnuts harvested from the Brain-Blossom Tree.

He split the walnuts, stuffing half into the pockets of Tang Xian’an’s coat.

The system spoke up abruptly. [When a person carries fear in their heart, they become hesitant and timid.]

[Before he met you, Tang Xian’an knew no fear. But after meeting you, he hasn’t used Huang Chen to its full potential for a long time.]

[Because he’s afraid. Afraid that pushing his contamination level too high, even for a moment, might turn him into a monster. He still wants to see you a few more times.]

[But you completed the Divine Kingdom operation alone. That probably… put his mind at ease.]

Lu Yan paused. “At ease about what?”

[At ease enough to believe that even if he’s gone, you’ll face this world with tenacity. That you don’t need anyone’s protection.]

Lu Yan’s brow furrowed slightly. “Why bring this up now?”

[I just remembered. If I don’t say it, and he doesn’t say it, you’ll never know. Someone loved you across decades, long before you were even born.]

*

Third District.**

Michael snapped a casual selfie, a few golden feathers gleaming amidst his white wings in the sunlight.

The incident at Crohman Manor had stripped him of nearly all his golden plumage. He’d found his wings too unsightly to post anything for ages.

After taking the picture, he set his phone down, prepared a star-gazy pie for himself, and picked the device back up. As expected, his notification count read 999+.

- Lord Michael is so handsome!!

- Hubby, I love you! I’ll bear your little angels!

…

Scrolling through, a hater’s comment popped up.

- Seriously? Awakened all over the world are working non-stop. The Tyrant in the First District hasn’t taken a vacation in 82 years. Michael works one job and chills for half a year, and you all still simp for him??

Michael clicked into the profile, blocked them with practiced ease, and glanced at their bio: Protecting the world’s best Tyrant ♂.

Michael: “…Fuck. Old Tang and I have been friends for years. You think you can drive a wedge between us?”

Come to think of it, that Awakened from the First District, Lu Yan, had registered an account on the social network too. Michael checked “Lu Yan’s” feed every night, comforted to see the other man’s popularity was only half of his own.

Just then, a notification banner slid down from the top of his screen.

Despite his love for surfing the web, Michael allowed push notifications from only one app: the Special Operations Department app.

Messages like this usually meant a mission required his participation.

After Crohman Manor, he’d lazed around for nearly two months, attending Wurilei’s funeral and then doing nothing. He probably should take a mission. Wouldn’t want the little haters accusing him of slacking off.

However, upon reading the mission name, Michael couldn’t help but narrow his eyes slightly. “…The Slaughterhouse?”

*

First District.**

The detective pushed open the door to Zhou Qimeng’s office. “Boss! XX International Game Expo invited our company to exhibit!”

Zhou Qimeng’s face lit up with joy. “Really?! I thought they only invited giants like Bludstorm, Tenqun, Sonay, Ninvento! How did this happen?!”

“Our new release, Global Evolution, is selling like crazy on the Steam platform!” the detective exclaimed. “Domestic AAA is on the rise, boss!”

Zhou Qimeng had loved video games since childhood. His unfortunate fate was to grow up and become a game company CEO and producer.

His greatest dream was to lead domestic AAA games to conquer the universe.

The XX International Game Expo was considered the industry’s Oscars. There was no way Zhou Qimeng would refuse.

He slapped the desk and stood up. “Fantastic! I’ll book the tickets immediately. Where’s the expo being held this year, anyway?”

“Right in X City! It’s super close!” The detective’s expression was utterly sincere.

Zhou Qimeng made a surprised sound. “That is close. Hey, the Special Ops Department sent me a mission assistance request earlier, also for X City. Let me see what it is, might as well take it while we’re there.”

He pulled out his phone.

“…Holy shit. The Slaughterhouse??”

*

A City.

Yan Bei sat in his spacious, sunlit studio. His long hair was immersed in a container of nutrient solution beside him, sipping from it every now and then.

The liquid level in the container slowly dropped. Hours later, it reached the bottom.

The staff member monitoring the feed saw this, picked up a fresh bottle of nutrients, and quietly pushed the door open, careful not to disturb Yan Bei’s creative process.

She carefully replaced the empty bottle. A small white flower bloomed from the tips of Yan Bei’s hair.

“Auntie Li,” Yan Bei said suddenly. “Thank you.”

Most of the time, Yan Bei was quiet, especially when painting. He seemed deaf to the outside world and often forgot to eat.

Li Ping was startled, then smiled. “Nothing to thank me for, child. Auntie is just doing her job.”

It was different. Perhaps those engaged in creation were more sensitive to the emotions of others. Yan Bei could feel the distinction.

Some people treated him as just a duty. Others genuinely cared for him.

Even though he was over a hundred years old, having lived longer than most of those tasked with his care.

Before being selected as Yan Bei’s liaison, Li Ping’s profession had been that of a university professor.

Headquarters had sought her out because she bore a resemblance to Yan Bei’s mother.

Li Ping was forty-seven, childless. Seventeen years ago, she had taken her son to an amusement park. They encountered a B-Class pollutant, the Teddy Bear. She was rescued. Her child never got the chance to grow up.

Later, her husband demanded she have another child. Li Ping refused. They divorced. She never remarried.

Many called her a fool, for tying her life to a sunken ship. But the guilt was too heavy. If she hadn’t taken him to the park that day, would her son have grown up healthy and strong?

When she looked at Yan Bei, it was like looking at her own child. Sometimes, in a daze, she imagined her grown son might have been much like him.

Her boy had loved drawing too. On her birthdays, he would paint her portrait with his clumsy, childish strokes.

Yan Bei set down his brush and turned. “Please inform Headquarters. They wanted me to go to X City. I agree.”

Despite being one of the earliest subjects released from the Psychological Rehabilitation Center, Yan Bei rarely interacted with other Prevention Center staff and never accepted missions.

Headquarters understood. Even after release, the test subjects couldn’t be without resentment. Yan Bei simply never voiced his.

Just like Subject No. 5, Yuan Chen. After being released from the experimental pod, he still preferred to shut himself in small, dark rooms, not speaking for days on end.

“Also, this is for you.”

Yan Bei tore a page from his watercolor pad and handed it to her.

Yan Bei painted everything—oils, traditional, watercolors. All he needed was paper and a brush.

But his subjects were either Lu Yan, landscapes, or occasionally the other test subjects like 01, 02, or 07.

This painting, however, was of her.

Li Ping looked at the painting, slowly sank to her knees on the floor, clutched the paper to her chest, and suddenly began to weep, tears streaming down her face.

*

X City.

Lu Yan’s private jet touched down on the tarmac and was immediately swarmed by a dense cloud of flies.

The flies seemed to have multiplied in the months since his last visit.

A thick, cloying stench of decay hung over the entire city, a metallic, coppery smell that coated the back of the throat. It was the same smell that used to waft from the mutton shop on his walk to school, the smell of fresh slaughter on winter mornings, of carcasses steaming on iron hooks.

[Due to the Slaughterhouse, X City has been undergoing a slow, steady evacuation for years. The current population is one-fifth of what it was three decades ago.]

He’d reported the deteriorating conditions here to Headquarters after his last visit. The replies had been polite, respectful even, but no meaningful action ever followed.

[Well, not entirely. The Awakened team assembled for this contract signing is… exceptionally formidable.]

[Their opponents are 01, 07, and Lu Zhi. But these three pollutants rarely manifest in the world, and two of them only became pollutants this year. Headquarters has no clear gauge of their true strength. Then there’s the army of butchers from the Slaughterhouse itself, and the hounds from the Kennel base.]

[If the opportunity presents itself during the signing… they will strike.]

[If not, they’ll just have to sign the contract and pray it holds.]

Lu Yan’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled it out. A mission notification from the Special Operations app.

[Mission Code: S-04]

[Operator: Lu Yan (A-Class, Psychic)]

[Team Designation: S1]

[Team Members: Tang Xian’an (S-Class, Combat, Captain); Odin (A-Class, Combat); Michael (A-Class, Combat); Bai Qiushi (A-Class, Combat); Yuan Chen (A-Class, Combat); Qin Guoyu (A-Class, Healing); Zhou Qimeng (A-Class, Special); Bai Ze (A-Class, Psychic); Yan Bei (B-Class, Support)]

[Mission Overview: To reclaim Changjia for the light of day, we must secure Volunteer No. 9, Ye Liangshan, from the pollutant known as the Hound. Through Headquarters’ negotiations, the Hound has agreed to a transaction. It insists the exchange take place in X City, utilizing the innate talent of the pollutant Yamata-no-Orochi.]

[Primary Objective: Secure the safe return of No. 04 Zhan Yihan and No. 09 Ye Liangshan.]

[Secondary Objective (Conditional): Eliminate Yamata-no-Orochi and the Hound.]

[Alternate Objective: Ensure the safe completion of the contract signing.]