Chen Shushu realized that he had been staring at the youth for quite some time.
Perhaps because the recent narrow escape had been too thrilling, his heart was still pounding rapidly. He used his hands to support himself as he stood up from the ground, noticing that although the youth’s face still had a hint of youthfulness, his height was almost the same as his own, and even a bit taller.
When those crimson eyes looked at him, the white eyelashes drooped slightly, resembling frost sweeping across.
He felt like his heartbeat was getting faster and faster.
“Phew… Thank you for saving me.” Chen Shushu suppressed the sound of his pounding heart, revealing his signature smile. “It was really dangerous just now. If it weren’t for you, I would have been pierced by the nurse’s syringe. Young man, you are my lifesaver!”
“I’m Chen Shushu. May I know your name, my savior?”
While speaking, Chen Shushu observed the youth.
The face that had crashed into his heart looked more and more familiar.
– There was a resemblance to Shen Jie, about thirty percent.
He clapped his hands in his mind, thinking, indeed, he looked just like Shen Jie’s son.
Perhaps he really was Shen Jie’s son?
After all, Shen Jie had also come to the Psychological Treatment Center today, bringing his son along, so it wasn’t impossible…
At the thought of this, Chen Shushu was on the verge of tears. So, his crush not only had a partner but also a grown-up son?
When Chen Shushu asked for his name, the youth pursed his lips and remained silent for a moment.
Chen Shushu thought he might not want to say.
After all, judging from the youth’s strength, he was obviously a high-level superpower user, but Chen Shushu hadn’t heard any reports about him on TV, indicating that he kept a low profile and didn’t want to attract attention.
In this regard, the personality also seemed quite similar to Shen Jie’s. So Chen Shushu quickly said, “It’s okay if you don’t want to say…”
“Zong Lian.”
The youth spoke, uttering a name.
Chen Shushu blinked.
Surname Zong, not Shen?
He still felt that the youth must be related to Shen Jie.
Although not having the surname Shen wasn’t surprising, it was no longer necessary for children to take the father’s surname in today’s era of childbirth between spouses. Of course, the traditional idea of males carrying on the family line still existed, a mindset that had continued for thousands of years from feudal times and couldn’t be changed overnight.
But Shen Jie didn’t seem like such a conservative person. Moreover, when he mentioned going on a honeymoon, there was a rare hint of a smile in his eyes and brows, indicating a deep affection with his wife.
Chen Shushu glanced at the white-haired youth again.
The more he looked, the more it resembled.
His heart pounded faster and faster in his chest.
Oh no.
Mom, it seems like he is fallen in love again.
[Chen Shushu seems to regard you as your son] the system suddenly spoke up, [Not only does he see you as your son, but there’s a high probability he also wants to be your son-in-law.]
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Shen Jie was wiping the blood off his knife, “How do you know?”
[The protagonist’s behavior, with just a glance, I know what he’s up to. Ha, shallow admirer of beauty.]
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Vtfc Alf ibbxfv ja Jtfc Vterte jcv rjlv ilutais, “Aera mjii wf ys ws cjwf.”
Jtfc Vterte rwlifv fnfc wbgf tjqqlis, tlr ygbkc tfvuftbu-ilxf tfjv mbwqifwfcafv ys fsfr rqjgxilcu ilxf atbrf bo j Kfvvs qeqqs, “Ibcu Oljc, sbe mjc mjii wf Vterte.”
Shen Jie looked towards the iron door behind Chen Shushu, “What are you doing here?”
He remembered that both Chen Shushu and Aunt Jiang should have been in the lobby of the Psychological Treatment Center before.
Although the mist space and the original Psychological Treatment Center couldn’t be considered the same place, the location where each person ended up after entering the mist was still somewhat related to their previous position.
Moreover, perhaps because Lin Ze had been lurking in the Psychological Treatment Center for many years, the layout of the “Despair Hospital” was very similar to that of the original Psychological Treatment Center. For example, the above-ground building had the same 33 floors. It’s just that each floor’s size was several times larger than before, and the distribution of corridors and treatment rooms was even more chaotic. The layout intertwined like the characters “回” and “井”, making it easy for people to lose their way.
Chen Shushu scratched his head and said, “I wanted to help others lead the aliens away and, in the process, go upstairs to find someone. But I got lost while running and ended up here.”
“Go upstairs to find someone?” Shen Jie asked, “I was just upstairs. Who are you looking for?”
Chen Shushu was somewhat surprised and quickly said, “I’m looking for a little girl named Jiang Ting Ya. She’s about this tall, wearing a red coat, and very cute.” He gestured with his hand to indicate Xiao Ya’s height. “She’s the daughter of an aunt I know and was receiving treatment at the Psychological Treatment Center today.”
Shen Jie replied, “She’s not here.”
The nurses on the upper floors had been mostly cleared out by him, and he had also encountered many survivors hiding in the treatment rooms. They were all patients who had come for psychological testing, but there was no sign of Xiao Ya.
Strangely, apart from the patients, all the original psychologists in the treatment rooms had disappeared without a trace, and it was unclear where they had been transported by the mist.
“Really none?” Chen Shushu grew anxious. “She should be in treatment room 2239 on the 22nd floor. Could you have missed it?”
Shen Jie replied, “There really isn’t.”
In order to preserve as many survivors as possible, he had used an AR calculation template to create a spatial map, recording all the corridors traversed and rooms opened, trying to clear out the aliens on each floor as thoroughly as possible.
So he distinctly remembered that treatment room 2239 was an empty room with no one inside.
The system interjected, [I think she’s probably been transferred to the ‘Underground Experimental Chamber.’]
Shen Jie asked, “Underground Experimental Chamber?”
[Yes.] The system explained, [Unlike the above-ground hospital structure, the Underground Experimental Chamber is the core area of “Despair Hospital.” The true body of the Undead Soul Corpse possesses an extremely rare “Undead” characteristic. Even if destroyed by high-level ability users, they can reconstruct and revive in a short time, making them extremely difficult to kill.]
[To eliminate this trait, one must delve into the core area and destroy the “Soul Box” that maintains the “Undead” characteristic. However, this is where the cunning of the Undead Soul Corpse lies. While their true body is exposed, the “Box” is hidden deeply, and no one knows where it is located. The quickest way to completely destroy it is to strike it all at once, eradicating it and its domain in an instant, denying it the chance to reconstruct its body. However, by then, all survivors trapped in the hospital will also be sacrificed.]
Shen Jie: “So, in the original plot, the reason why only a few people escaped from the hospital in the end wasn’t just because everyone inside died. It was to destroy Lin Ze, and the city had to carry out indiscriminate attacks.”
[System: Yes.]
Shen Jie: “Who was the executor?”
The system hesitated for a moment before saying, [It was your partner, Zong Lin].
Thinking of Zong Lin who is now outside, it hurriedly added, [However, Zong Lin’s situation back then was different from now.]
Shen Jie: “Different?”
The system, which had always held a negative opinion of Zong Lin, surprisingly spoke well of him at this moment: [In the original plot, seven years ago, Zong Lin was severely injured and sent back to the research institute, almost falling into corruption. In order to control his infection value, the institute injected him with the genetically engineered drug ‘SCB-03,’ which was still under development. The cost was that he would enter an unconscious state when using his abilities and could only follow pre-set ‘instructions.’]
[Upon regaining consciousness, the drug would erase his memory of using his abilities at high intensity, thereby minimizing the impact of his abilities on his mind. So, the real issuer of the command should be the city, not himself.]
[Currently, Zong Lin has not yet been injected with SCB-03. I believe that, out of his feelings for you, he would never resort to the most extreme means to eliminate the mist.]
Shen Jie couldn’t help but rub his fingertips together.
For Shen Jie personally, he rarely experienced emotions such as fear, despair, confusion, anger, and the like.
Although he had been studying for seven years, he still didn’t understand many human emotions.
But everything that had happened before flashed through his mind.
The way Xiao Ya looked at him and called him “brother.” The Underground Experimental Chamber. The people sacrificed by the city. The clone sent back to cover up the truth. Lin Ze’s desperate and insane laughter.
The research institute. SCB-03.
Zong Lin.
A faint voice echoed through countless spaces, ringing in his ears.
“The human world doesn’t seem as colorful as we imagine, worth experiencing.”
It was his own voice.
Shen Jie raised his hand and rubbed his temples.
“Get out.”
But the voice continued, carrying a faint chill.
“We both know that, no matter how much we restrain ourselves, it will ultimately lead to the end.”
“Every time you lose control, you bring the end closer.”
“And the fact that I appear means you are wavering.”
Shen Jie closed his eyes tightly, and the voice disappeared from his mind.
The system remained oblivious.
Shen Jie lowered his hand and spoke calmly, “So, how do we enter the Underground Experimental Chamber?”
The system replied, [Unlike the building above ground, the Underground Experimental Chamber has many high-level aliens, with complex species and greatly increased danger. Moreover, unlike the purely labyrinthine terrain on the upper floors, Lin Ze, in order to conceal the ‘Soul Box,’ has made the underground space extremely chaotic, with folding and overlapping situations. For safety reasons, I really don’t recommend you go there.]
With a tired yet resolute sigh, the system continued, [Of course, I know you definitely have your own ideas. But whatever you decide to do, please be careful. You are the hope of saving the world, and I don’t want to lose you.]
Saving the world.
Shen Jie still didn’t know how the system had chosen him as the candidate to save the world. From his perspective, it was really hard to evaluate.
But he indeed needed the system’s help now. The “Life Egg” that could lower Zong Lin’s infection value.
His hands could destroy and annihilate, adept at assimilation and infection, but they lacked the ability to heal humans.
“Tell me how to enter the Underground Experimental Chamber.”
The system responded helplessly, [Well, behind the door in front of you is a special fire escape passage that exists on every floor of the hospital, connected to the Underground Experimental Chamber. But the doors of each floor’s passage are securely locked, and to open them, you need to first find the ‘key’ in the hands of the head nurse.]
[The typical location of the head nurse: the infusion hall on the first floor of the hospital.]
Beside him, Chen Shushu’s face had already twisted into a bitter gourd.
If he couldn’t find Xiao Ya, it would be hard to explain to Aunt Jiang. But if Xiao Ya wasn’t on the 22nd floor, then where could she be?
He looked at Shen Jie: “What should we do now?”
The white-haired youth raised the knife in his hand and pointed downwards.
“To the lobby.”
—-
Outside the hospital.
Torrential rain washed over the entire city, as if it could cleanse all filth.
Lin Ze stood at the top of the Psychological Treatment Center building, with a large mass of black tentacles wildly flailing behind him.
The dense blue mist almost emanated a blue hue, drifting out from his heart area.
Below the building was a chaotic crowd and blaring sirens.
The lights of helicopters crisscrossed, shining on Lin Ze’s face.
Rainwater streamed down his face as he looked up at the gray sky through his glasses, murmuring softly, “Tong Tong…”
This was the border between reality and the domain. To enter the domain, one had to pass through his blockade.
At this moment, in the void, a white spear suddenly tore through the night sky, piercing into the heart of his chest with the force of thunder.
Black blood and chunks of flesh splattered, blending with the pouring rain, then washed away.
It was excruciating.
Truly excruciating.
The sensation of the aliens was no different from that of humans.
Yet Lin Ze burst into laughter.
His entire chest had been pierced by tremendous force, leaving a horrifying large hole, only to be filled with frantic influxes of black substance.
Looking at the man with white hair clinging to his stern face, his eyes blood-red, Lin Ze sneered, “It’s useless. Unless you destroy my domain with a single blow, my body will never be truly destroyed by you.”
“But what about your partner inside?”
“He’s stained with my blood. According to estimates, he should have become an alien by now. You’re welcome to destroy this place, along with your partner.”
With a sudden change in tone, Lin Ze continued, “However, you could also choose to join us. Maybe you and your beloved could become a loving couple and live happily together.”
“Transcend all obstacles, break free from all chains, cast aside everything that once belonged to humanity, and embrace the destined end.”
“The world will eventually belong to us, to the Judgment Society, to the Supreme Eternal King—!”
Zong Lin said coldly, “Nonsense.”
In the pocket of his windbreaker was still his phone, with the last message from Shen Jie.
[Lovely Baby: I’ve been kidnapped by a doctor.]
[Lovely Baby: He seems to have fallen victim to a pyramid scheme. Whatever he tells you, don’t believe him. I’m fine, don’t worry.]
Pyramid scheme!!! (人´∀｀)｡ﾟ+ KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK LOL loved it!
Thanks for the chapter! The last message was the funniest thing I read this week!
Thank you for the chapter 😂
Chen Shushu easily fall in love 😂
Glad Shen jie sent a reasuring message
i wonder how the aliens would feel if they knew that their long awaited King has no desire for world domination?? 😆😆 he just wanna live in peace with his husband and make lamb stew 😏😏
And thinks of them as a dumb pyramid scheme 😆
fvck the pyramid scheme just let the “family of three” live in peace!!!
First of all, bitch boy, they’re already a loving couple. Secondly, this is the worst cult recruiting strategy I’ve ever seen.
… am I the only one kinda rooting for the aliens rn??? I mean obviously they shouldn’t be mindlessly killing humans but lowkey I kinda see where they’re getting at. Like, idk, another universe where Shen Jie ascended as the Alien King and Zong Lin merged with the Pale King sounds pretty interesting.
I feel like both Zong Lin and Shen Jie don’t actually have that strong of a bond with humanity and would be willing to side with the aliens if they didn’t think that their lover would be harmed by it.
I think the problem here is that when you become an alien, your personality also changes, whether you want it or not (which was shown by the example of the mutated consciousness of ML). If it wasn’t for that, I don’t think it would be such a problem as it is now.
Not that humanity doesn’t have their extreme corruption in these stories either, but it’s usually a choice and their motivations/emotions/thoughts are their own rather than a collective so they have people who rebel and try to change things
Pyramid scene BWAHAHAHAHAHA
I want Zong Lin to see their “son” so bad 😭
Not the pyramid scheme lmao