Chapter 17

Chapter 17

No wonder Wu Yin had been unable to find any trace of the Black Knight for so many days; it turned out the name had been changed and it was hidden in the heavily guarded core station.

"Why call it Cerberus just because it has two heads?" he asked.

Wu Yin still preferred the name "Black Knight." Before coming, he had seen a photo of this two-headed dog, its size twice that of a regular Golden Retriever, resembling a leopard, with sleek, glossy black fur, sitting majestically beside its mate—a Border Collie from a meteorite. Truly embodying its name, a black knight guarding the princess.

"It's named after the three-headed guardian of the underworld, Cerberus," Jie Linyuan looked at him puzzledly, "This is a myth even I know, don't you?"

"I don't," Wu Yin retorted with justified indignation. "Is that a problem?"

Jie Linyuan didn't pursue the matter further, "What do you want with Cerberus?"

"Black Knight," Wu Yin corrected the detail.

"…" Jie Linyuan painfully closed his eyes, taking two seconds to adjust to his public, sunny, and cheerful persona, instantly changing his mood, "Alright, Professor, what do you want with the Black Knight?"

"I've been commissioned to bring it home."

Jie Linyuan was not surprised to find the Black Knight was a domesticated, non-wild mutant dog; he had suspected as much when reviewing the research report on this two-headed dog.

The military-stronghold shelter of Langyan has always upheld a peculiar form of bandit logic, not unrelated to their leader's formidable governance philosophy, such as anything they can't outrun is found, and what's seized becomes their own.

The report gloriously mentioned capturing it in the wild, but it was an open secret, likely the Pioneer 1 team, coveting the two-headed dog, had snatched it from someone's backyard.

"What do you plan to do?" Jie Linyuan asked.

Wu Yin pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "I don't know."

His answer was half-true, half-false. Wu Yin had actually thought of a method, the only one available to him—find a ruler qualified to decide the fate of the Black Knight and parasitize them, using their identity to legitimately transfer the dog.

But the problem was, he hadn't yet decided on whom to parasitize.

Thus, his outward response was succinctly summarized in three words: I don't know.

Jie Linyuan: "..."

"You seem to have thought of a method?" Wu Yin quickly changed the subject before the half-mechanical being could have a cerebral thrombosis, "Care to share?"

"I do have a method, but for it to work smoothly..." Jie Linyuan glanced at Wu Yin suggestively, "it depends on what exactly your ability is."

Wu Yin took another sip of his tea, realizing he had been awaited here...

Jie Linyuan crossed his legs, keeping his gaze steady on Wu Yin's reaction, "Since we're to cooperate, mutual understanding and at least a basic level of trust are necessary. I've shown you my sincerity to the greatest extent, now shouldn't you also give me an idea of what you're capable of?"

"You're right," Wu Yin put down his cup, "My ability allows me to control someone's actions upon direct contact, the duration depends on my physical and mental state at the time. In a good state, it can last up to several tens of seconds, nearly a minute; in a bad state... two or three seconds at most."

"Can you control multiple people at the same time?"

"No."

"Then, can you control multiple people consecutively?"

"…It’s best not to," Wu Yin with a look of someone trying to dodge work.

Not outright denying it means it's possible; Jie Linyuan knows too well how to interpret Wu Yin's way of speaking. The situation is as he speculated, neither good nor bad. Of course, he would have preferred if Wu Yin could control multiple people with his mind for hours on end, but everyone knows that's impossible, too miraculous.

Despite the blonde's bad temper, low intelligence, sluggish mind, and being hard to please, the special ability he possesses is undeniably powerful.

“I received a message yesterday,” Jie Linyuan said. “After tomorrow's 'Big Sweep' of experimental subjects, it's highly likely that the Black Knight will be transferred from the core station to the third floor of the frontier prison, to wait for the anesthesia and other drugs in its body to be mostly metabolized before being slaughtered, its fur used for clothing, and its flesh consumed.”

Wu Yin: "..."

His complexion suddenly worsened: "Don't tell me... the meat in the cafeteria comes from there?" He had specifically instructed Xin Rong to get some meat dishes whenever possible, cost notwithstanding. Fortunately, meat was really scarce in the shelter, and in over a week, Wu Yin hadn't had meat more than twice.

Jie Linyuan glanced at him: “No, the meat from experimental subjects mostly goes to the black market, sold at high prices to people living in metal shacks in the outer areas. You wouldn’t even get to taste it.”

“…” Not the least interested in eating mutant animals.

Speaking of the Black Knight, Jie Linyuan’s tone inadvertently carried a hint of empathy and regret: “Since its capture, the Black Knight has always been uncooperative, biting and injuring no less than ten researchers and soldiers in experiments. Therefore, the core station has subjected it to experimental overload, excessive medication, and irreversible research methods, severely depleting its lifespan. In just five months, such a prime mutant beast has already lost its research value, which shows that it…”

Jie Linyuan's voice suddenly got interrupted by a knock on the door, and he seemed to realize just then that he had said too much, his gaze shifting as he promptly shut his mouth.

Without waiting for Wu Yin to speak, the person outside boldly stepped in. Nate, quite presumptuously, inquired: “Wu Yin, the meeting’s over, what are you doing in here…”

He finally noticed there was someone else in the room. Initially, Nate only caught a glimpse of Jie Linyuan's half-profile, nearly whistling at the sight of his exquisite and handsome features. But when Jie Linyuan turned around, revealing his pitch-black eye sockets, Nate choked on his own saliva: “Who, cough, who is this?”

“Z1932,” Wu Yin introduced openly, “an experimental subject from the Mechanical God Project.”

…So, it's man-made, no wonder his face looks like that, Nate thought. He had heard about this "war machine" the shelter had acquired two months ago but had never seen him in person.

“Hello, Z1932.”

“Hello, Nate Floren sir,” Jie Linyuan switched personas in a second, even standing up from his chair to bow slightly to Nate.

Nate couldn't help but look at Wu Yin and ask, "What are you two doing?"

"Giving him a check-up," Wu Yin somehow conjures up a set of blood-drawing equipment out of thin air, "Can't you tell?"

"Haha, I really couldn't tell," Nate, ever the joker, quips effortlessly, "With you two so close in the office, if you hadn't said it was a physical examination, I would've thought you were having an affair."

"An affair?" Wu Yin asks, genuinely puzzled.

Nate gives him a 'keep pretending' look, then turns to say something jokingly to Z1932, but unexpectedly, the subject flinches at their eye contact and even purses his lips, appearing somewhat guilty.

As a seasoned player, Nate instantly gets the hint, his heart skipping a beat, inwardly exclaiming in shock, though still a bit incredulous, yet reflexively smirking suggestively, "Oh~ so it's a 'physical examination'~"

Wu Yin silently observes Z1932's subtle reactions, not quite getting Nate's insinuations, but clearly understanding the sarcastic tone. The cause of Nate's sudden outburst seems to be related to Z1932.

Conclusion: Z1932 is up to something.

"Roll up your sleeve," Wu Yin says with a smile, "Place your arm on the table."

Z1932 pauses, surprise flickering in his eyes, astonished that Wu Yin actually intends to draw his blood?

Wu Yin's smile deepens, having taken the opportunity to observe how other researchers draw blood from subjects after returning from the frontier prison last time, noting the entire procedure to avoid any slip-ups.

"…" After about three seconds of contemplation, Z1932 steels his heart and rolls up his right sleeve. Bringing back a blood test report would be good, at least it would make his visit to the research institute for a check-up seem more legitimate.

Tourniquet, iodine disinfection, locating the vein at the crook of the elbow, needle insertion—

No blood comes out.

Z1932: "…"

Nate: "…"

Wu Yin: "?"

He calmly pulled out a needle, wiped the skin surface again with a cotton swab, and injected—

Still no bleeding.

Another moment—

Not only did it not bleed, but a small lump swelled up, and carelessly, blood spurted when the needle was pulled out, splattering dots of blood on Wu Yin's white coat.

"I'm sorry." Jie Linyuan whispered with full remorse, "I've dirtied your clothes... Let me wash them for you."

The apology was too steeped in formality for Nat to bear, "Enough, Palmer, with your clumsy skills, don't practice on people. I'll call someone competent to help."

As soon as he left, Jie Linyuan immediately dropped his anxious facade, leaned over the desk, grabbed Wu Yin by the collar, and threatened with bared teeth, "Are you doing this on purpose? How does tormenting me benefit you? Don't think I can't handle you..."

Before he could finish, Nat had already returned with an elderly female colleague.

Inside the office, Wu Yin sat calmly in his chair, tidying his collar, while Jie Linyuan stood opposite him, eyes and brows expressing submissive warmth, "Hello, thank you for the trouble."

The female colleague, clearly having decades of experience as a nurse in a hospital, drew blood with clean, swift expertise, extracting half a tube in the blink of an eye without any pain, and reminded Jie Linyuan to apply pressure and a hot compress to reduce swelling before she left.

Wu Yin believed there was no difference in their methods, yet the problem was significant.

While waiting for the blood test results, Nat seized the moment to be alone with Palmer, whispering slyly, "Damn, brother, your tastes are getting heavier, getting hard for a semi-mechanical being? What's underneath? Metal, machinery, detachable?"

Wu Yin dreaded discussing these incomprehensible topics with Nat, especially since the latter never strayed from related themes, often employing metaphors, symbols, or ellipses, making everyone but him seem to instantly understand, leaving him clueless about where to even start asking.

"Haha." Wu Yin decided to respond to everything with unchanging calm.

"Pretending again with me?" Nat nudged him with an elbow, "With that shy and timid look of his just now, no dog would believe there's nothing between you two."

"Haha."

"Laughing at what, exactly? I'm telling you, there's something sinister about this cyborg. I heard it was bitten by a contaminant; it wasn't fully infected but was still affected. It appears normal most of the time, but occasionally it goes berserk and kills anyone it sees. There are nine recorded incidents of it losing control and committing murder within the shelter. Aren't you afraid it might suddenly snap and kill you too while you're in bed with it?"

"I'm aware of his condition," Wu Yin said. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"Alright then, just be careful," Nate said, no longer trying to persuade him or joking about getting a share of the action.

After all, the idea of getting involved with a half-contaminated cyborg seemed too extreme for anyone considered normal.