Shen Jie’s voice faltered, and his slightly dazed eyes from being slightly drunk suddenly cleared up.
The sound of the violin in the restaurant also stopped abruptly because of this change.
“What’s wrong?”
“What was that sound?”
“What’s going on outside?”
The diners in the restaurant began to stir, talking in hushed tones.
Soon, the alarm blared throughout the city.
Wuwuwuwuwuwu——
The alarm sounded in a regular pattern of three longs, two shorts, and one long.
Zong Lin said in a low voice, “It’s a level-one alert.”
A level-one alert meant that a major disturbance had occurred in the city.
His crimson pupils turned to the direction of the explosion at the research institute, his brows furrowed deeply.
This night was destined to be anything but peaceful.
—-
Ten minutes ago, Ability Center Annex, Ability Hotel.
Most of the ability users invited to participate in tomorrow’s Ability Training Institute were staying here.
Su Shiyu was specially arranged to stay in a luxury suite on the top floor.
The cleanliness of the luxury suite was much better than the dilapidated hotel that the system booked yesterday, and the decoration was magnificent.
The first thing Su Shiyu did after entering the room was to check for surveillance equipment around him. Perhaps the warning to the two inspectors had worked. This time, the Ability Center did not use those crude methods to monitor his condition.
After confirming that it was safe, Su Shiyu went to the bathroom to clean the entire exoskeleton, leaned on the head of the bed, closed his eyes, and entered a power-saving state. His attention returned to the main body and had dinner with his partner.
While the exoskeleton didn’t need food or drink and relied on an energy card, it shared sensory experiences with the Shen Jie, as they shared the same consciousness.
He had never been interested in food, but he was very interested in spending time with Zong Lin.
At this moment, he heard a knock on the door.
Su Shiyu opened his eyes and saw a very familiar black flyer being pushed under the door—
He raised an eyebrow slightly.
Based on his observations along the way, the security at the Ability Hotel was much tighter than the previous motel, and random people were all intercepted by guards outside. Entry and exit were all registered legitimate ability users.
Can flyers even be shoved into this place?
With a turn of his thoughts, the entire exoskeleton rose from the bed like a blade and arrived at the door with astonishing speed.
Su Shiyu opened the door.
The person who was bending over to stuff the flyer froze for a moment, then immediately tried to run. Their ability activated swiftly, enveloping them in a layer of energy, and they vanished in an instant.
This is… an ability that can make people invisible?
Su Shiyu narrowed his eyes. Facing the empty air in front of him, he reached out his hand with lightning speed.
—Caught.
The other person still tried to escape, desperately trying to break free, but the exoskeleton’s strength was immense. Instead of loosening their grip, it tightened, causing the invisible person’s hand bones to make a cracking sound.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!”
A young voice echoed in the air.
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.
“Dgb, ifa ub bo wf! P kjr pera tjcvlcu bea oisfgr!”
Ve Vtlse: “Po sbe kjca wf ab ifa ub, atfc vfjmalnjaf sbeg jylilas olgra.”
“Yxjs, bxjs, bxjs, bxjs, bxjs—”
Ktf qfgrbc kjlifv, jcv j sbecu oluegf jqqfjgfv lc atf jlg.
Ve Vtlse tjv rbwf lwqgfrrlbc bo tlw.
—Lf kjr atf sbecu ues klat yibcv tjlg ktb tjv yffc lc atf mgbkv lc ogbca bo atf afralcu gbbw ja atf Cylilalfr Jfcafg klat Jtfc Vterte.
The blond guy was about to have his bones broken. He looked at Su Shiyu with fear evident in his expression.
Su Shiyu scrutinized him, his deep green eyes casting a gloomy and dangerous gaze, carrying an unspeakable hostility.
When he looked at people, it didn’t seem like he was looking at a person, but rather at something that could be easily crushed.
The blond guy couldn’t bear his oppressive aura anymore and begged, “Bro, I really was just handing out flyers. It’s not illegal to distribute flyers, is it? I’m really sorry for disturbing your rest. Could you please let me go today? I promise I won’t bother you again!”
Su Shiyu: “Did you also send out flyers yesterday??”
“Ah?” The blond guy uttered a confused sound. “No. It wasn’t me. I didn’t. I just found this part-time job today…”
“Part-time job? You came to the Ability Center for testing today, yet you had time to find a part-time job handing out flyers?” Su Shiyu said.
“Indeed… When did I find a part-time job?” The blond guy seemed puzzled. “I don’t remember, but the flyers must be distributed… distributed… distributed until finished…”
As the blond guy spoke, he suddenly became stuck, like a stuttering tape. If one observed closely, there were some black root-like objects slowly wriggling out around his pupils, looking very much like—
—The eye symbol on the black flyer.
At that moment, there was suddenly a loud explosion from outside.
—-
“Explosion! Help!”
“Quick! Run—”
The research institute was in chaos.
Multiple explosions occurred simultaneously, one of which was in the dormitory area of the research institute. One of the dormitory buildings in the north was directly blown in half, and a raging fire had already started.
A choking haze filled the dormitory. Steven snatched a damp towel, the coolness a fleeting relief against the rising heat. With the acrid smoke stinging his eyes, he pushed through the doorway and into the pandemonium. A sea of white lab coats swirled around him, researchers fleeing in a desperate exodus.
After finally escaping the dormitory building, Steven doubled over, gulping in air, his lungs burning. Barely a moment passed before the horrifying sight met his eyes: flames were already engulfing District 4.
District 4 was the Alien Observation Center, his work area.
“Damn!”
Steven cursed. He straightened up and prepared to rush back to the research institute.
“That area is dangerous! What are you doing?” A colleague from the Alien Observation Center nearby hastily grabbed him.
Steven’s eyes reddened. “My research data is over there—!”
His colleague leaned in, trying to shake him awake. “What research data? Aren’t we responsible for feeding the aliens? Can you gain insights from feeding them?”
Steven vigorously shook his head. He couldn’t tell his colleague that while feeding the aliens, he had secretly taken some alien genes for private genetic research, spending years writing a thesis on gene fusion.
The thesis was almost complete! Just a little bit more!
His thesis, along with experimental images and data, were all still hidden in his office—
He forcefully broke free from his colleague’s grip and dashed into the research institute amidst a crowd of fleeing researchers, appearing extremely out of place.
The flames in District 4 spread from another location. Time was of the essence. Steven pushed through the chaos, his breath ragged, his body a mess of bumps and bruises. He burst into his office, snatched a metal box from a storage cabinet, and bolted back out.
As he ran, he thought, luckily his thesis materials were safe. Otherwise, all his years of effort would have been in vain, and he might have been tempted to jump off a building! After all, he wasn’t one of those geniuses who could produce a high-quality paper in just two or three days.
All roads lead to Rome, and some people were born already in Rome, like Ke Xi Ya.
And like his father.
Steven grew up hearing about his father’s exploits.
His father, Shi Chen, was the director of the research institute and the city’s most brilliant scientist. He invented various purification and biological gene drugs, making significant contributions to humanity’s resistance against the aliens.
One of the most famous inventions was the infection prevention and treatment pills.
Shi Chen was a hero in the city, and his portrait was displayed all over. Steven used to be proud of this.
“Look! That’s my dad!”
He pointed to the portrait with excitement.
“Really?”
Many people would express surprise and admiration. But many others would ask him,
“But why didn’t you inherit your father’s talent?”
Steven didn’t understand either why he didn’t inherit his father’s talent.
So when he graduated from college and said he wanted to work in the research institute, his father just gave him a cold look and said,
“You’re not suitable.”
Not suitable.
Hmm.
At that time, he didn’t yet understand that there were indeed differences in people’s talents, and on the path of scientific research, this difference alone could determine the endpoint one could reach.
He was just unwilling and stubborn, thinking that his father said he was unsuitable, his teachers said he was unsuitable, everyone said he was unsuitable, but he insisted on proving that he was suitable!
In the flames,
Steven ran desperately with his iron box.
As he ran, he thought,
When the thesis was published, would his father finally look at him differently?
When he ran out of the institute’s gate, the cool night breeze dispersed the heat of the flames, and the feeling of surviving a disaster made Steven want to shout loudly.
He harbored numerous thoughts, yearning to convey them to the world.
The next moment, an egg smashed into his face.
The egg white and yolk flowed down his face, sticky.
Steven stood there, bewildered, gazing ahead.
At the entrance of the research institute, why are there suddenly so many… people?
The crowd appeared out of nowhere, forming a dense mass, each face displaying intense emotion.
Hands held high, black flyers waved like banners.
“Oppose the institute’s illegal experiments!”
“Release the ingredients of the infection prevention and treatment pills immediately!”
“Oppose concealing the Bait Plan from the public.!”
“Publish the list of cloned replacements immediately!”
Amidst the angry cries spiraling out of control, more eggs rained down.
On his face, on his body. Even on his metal box.
Steven’s white lab coat was marked with one egg stain after another.
“You have completely betrayed the trust of the ordinary people!”
“Reveal the truth! Clarify the rumors!”
“Reveal the truth! Clarify the rumors!”
—-
City Defense Bureau. Lower-level prison.
Tick. Tock.
The sound of dripping blood.
Gu Nian’an held a black whip in his hand, his gaze heavy as he looked at the muscular young military officer bound to the wooden frame, covered in wounds.
“Not talking yet?” he asked.
Luo Yu was the first betrayer to be discovered, but obviously, there were more than one betrayer in the City Defense Bureau.
The man on the wooden frame was Tang Ran, a dismissed inspector who had been responsible for patrolling the Psychological Treatment Center area for over ten years.
As an alien, Lin Ze had managed to infiltrate the city for many years, and Tang Ran played an indispensable role.
Unable to expose Tang Ran’s accomplices, when Lin Ze’s actions were discovered, Gu Nian’an officially released news of Tang Ran’s dismissal but actually immediately imprisoned him in the City Defense Bureau’s prison, and sent an “undercover” ability user to impersonate Tang Ran and return to his residence.
And afterwards, his ostensible pursuit of illegal intruders into the city was just an excuse. In fact, after briefly appearing at the survivor’s camp yesterday, he returned here and had been interrogating Tang Ran ever since.
“Tell me, who else are your accomplices?” Gu Nian’an demanded.
Tang Ran kept his eyes closed, silent. Due to excessive interrogation, his breathing had become very weak.
“Tang Ran,” Gu Nian’an walked over, using the handle of the whip to lift his chin, “I remember that your parents were killed by aliens. The day you joined the City Defense Bureau, you swore to fight against the aliens to the end. I don’t understand, why did you betray humanity?”
“Why,” Tang Ran finally spoke, “Captain Gu, don’t you understand? My parents were never my real parents. My beloved died in the abyss to save me. Yet, you persist in concealing the truth from me.”
“What is the truth?” Tang Ran asked hoarsely.
“You, me, and Luo Yu, we are all survivors from back then, who have glimpsed the madness and chaos at the end of destiny.”
As he said this, he suddenly laughed, then, with great force, he knocked the back of his head backwards.
It was like a switch. The soft scalp collapsed inward due to the impact, and something exploded due to the pressure—
It was a pill.
The medicine surged out, rapidly expanding as it absorbed blood from the brain, and an orange egg dropped from Tang Ran’s eye sockets.
“We all know this world is beyond saving, that’s the truth.”
—-
In the city, there were many people making the same gesture as Tang Ran.
—-
Western business district, revolving restaurant.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of the high-rise, following the fireworks from the research institute, several misty blooms of different colors began to unfold throughout the city.
– It’s mist.
The nearest mist was right around them.
An alien revealed its true form, vines climbing up the tall building and smashing the windows with their flailing.
The tips of the vines were covered in many eyes, chattering incoherently with words like “Your Highness” and “Welcome”.
Zong Lin stood up, his enormous bone wings spreading out, pulling his lover into his arms and protecting Shen Jie.
Let the madness descend!!
Thanks for the chapter
Yeah, it makes sense that Gu Nian’an wasn’t actually pursuing the intruder cause his biggest lead would be Zong Lian and he never contacted him.