Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Everything happened too fast, leaving Jie Linyuan no time to react. His consciousness wasn't gradually returning; it was more like a sledgehammer striking directly into his forehead.

Just a second ago, Jie Linyuan was writhing in agony on the ground; the next, he found himself clutching Wu Yin's arm, mouth agape in an almost dislocated jaw posture, ready to bite down on Yang Mo's neck.

Regaining one's senses in such a posture was indeed a bit awkward.

But no matter how bizarre the situation, they had to face it. Jie Linyuan awkwardly closed his mouth, his abnormal mechanical arm retracting to its normal shape. Standing upright, his left palm turned into a metallic mirror, and he quickly glanced at his current face — his eyes had returned to normal, only some sinister black veins remained on his cheeks, like a curse left by a demon, but they were also fading.

Even if a cure for the calamity's contamination were developed one day, it couldn't possibly work as instantaneously as Wu Yin's method, could it?

Jie Linyuan looked sideways at Wu Yin, hesitatingly: "You... Are you alright?"

Wu Yin, possibly due to overuse of his abilities or some other reason, lacked strength in his body, leaning weakly against Jie Linyuan's arm, his eyes unfocused on his collar until Jie Linyuan called his name several times before he snapped back to reality.

He slowly lifted his gaze, his facial expression one of bewildered uncertainty about the present moment, and let out a low moan of complaint, seemingly puzzled by why his shoulder hurt so much.

But just as his confused gaze fell on Jie Linyuan's face, Wu Yin's pupils dilated, and he let out a sharp, terrified scream. In a panic, he pushed Jie Linyuan away and turned to run, but due to his limbs being weak and limp, he fell to the ground in a clumsy heap just after breaking free.

Jie Linyuan stepped forward to help him up, only to see Wu Yin avoiding him as if he were a flood or a fierce beast, unable to stand and instead scrabbling backward on all fours, legs kicking frantically in fear, nearly crying.

The humanoid head of the Black Knight drooped, looking down at the trembling man on the ground. The more it watched, the more it felt something was amiss. Moving closer in curiosity, it sniffed lightly with its nose, which elicited a hysterical scream from the man, scaring the Black Knight into tucking its tail between its legs.

Its dog-like head also sensed the anomaly. Compared to its other calm and steady head, this one reacted violently, barking furiously at Wu Yin, as if to prove whose bark was louder, only to be silenced by its own paw once again.

Seeing the Black Dog, as large as a bear with two heads, each capable of killing him thrice over, barking fiercely at him, Wu Yin screamed, his eyes rolling back in terror as tears streamed down his face, about to faint the next second.

The tears were too real, and Jie Linyuan finally emerged from the confusion of "Why is this guy still acting?", "What exactly is he acting?", and "When is he going to stop acting?" He changed his way of thinking and suddenly realized an incredible possibility—

Could the young man with black hair before him be... Yang Mo himself?

As it turned out, that was indeed the case. After Jie Linyuan's face had mostly recovered, he tentatively called out the name Yang Mo. The person on the ground, still trembling with fear and covered in tears and snot, shakily responded, "You... you know me?"

It was indeed Yang Mo himself.

So, the question arose: where was Wu Yin, who had been parasitizing inside him, now?

With this thought, Jie Linyuan suddenly looked up, only to see Bilel frowning nearby, hands on the supreme command device, engrossed in tapping away on the screen of this phone-like object, tapping away... If one didn't know he was struggling with how to transfer command permissions, it really looked as though he was playing Tetris.

Jie Linyuan: "......"

The leader of the shelter had all his subordinates eagerly waiting for his orders, but Bilel was completely immersed in his own world, only focused on playing with his "phone."

Finally, Reagan couldn't help but ask. To his surprise, Bilel roared, "What are you asking for! Can't you see there's a crisis? Hurry up and prepare a SUV with a full tank, three boxes of chocolate, a box of sugar, and a box of dog food! Then let them leave peacefully!"

This was the first time Jie Linyuan had seen such a stunned expression on the always solemn-faced officer with a beard.

Bilel angrily pounded the ground with his scepter: "Don't just stand there, go!"

Although his guard team was puzzled by the order, they had been taught to unconditionally obey all of the leader's commands since taking their positions, so they complied and carried out the orders immediately.

While Reagan was bewildered by everything happening, his brain hadn't stopped working completely. Seeing him furrowing his brows as if he was about to realize something unusual, Wu Yin, parasitizing inside Bilel, quickly gestured to him. Then, leaning close to his ear, Wu Yin whispered, "I have a secret concerning the life and death of the Wolf Smoke Shelter in their hands, a secret I've only shared with you. Don't spread the word."

Reagan: "......"

Reagan's gaze turned even colder: "Then we cannot let them go."

"Yes," Bilel's eyes also flashed dangerously, "I'll first throw out some sugar-coated bullets to numb them. Watch for my signal and don't act rashly."

"Okay."

Jie Linyuan: "......"

The shelter's resources, accumulated over many years, proved sufficient, and everything Wu Yin requested was prepared within ten minutes. Jie Linyuan was the first to get on the vehicle, folding down the rear seats before letting the Black Knight in. The little beauty's mineral water bottle was placed in front of the passenger seat, cheerfully swaying like a car decoration.

After Jie Linyuan also jumped into the car, Yang Mo still stood beside it, looking bewildered at everything, until the driver's side window rolled down, and Jie Linyuan looked at him expressionlessly: "I suggest you get in with us, otherwise, you'll definitely be taken by the core station for dissection, Mr. Murderer."

Yang Mo had no reaction to the first two sentences, but at the word "murderer," he jumped into the car as if his butt was on fire, tremblingly asking, "You, you know I killed someone?"

For a moment, Jie Linyuan wondered how such a cowardly guy had the courage to kill Palmer in the first place.

After the transport vehicle started, Jie Linyuan briefly checked the engine and brake system, finding no issues. Then, suddenly, the passenger door opened from the outside, and a camouflaged man with a limp and a cane jumped in.

With a cold face and ignoring the discouraging voices behind him, he forcefully closed the door, then collapsed into the seat as if revealing his true self, weakly urging, "Let's go, let's go. His willpower is stronger than I imagined; I can't hold on much longer and will have to return his body to him."

Jie Linyuan floored the gas pedal and thoughtfully raised the partition between the front and back seats, then, while steering, asked, "What do you mean 'return to him'? So, if you parasitize someone with strong willpower, you could be pushed out?"

"......" Wu Yin didn't answer him, panting in the seat for a while before taking out the supreme command, continuing to fiddle with its functions.

The reason Wu Yin delayed so long before parasitizing Bilel was firstly because of physical constraints; the interval since last parasitizing Yang Mo was too short. The cost of forcing a second parasitism was being unable to completely suppress Bilel's thoughts, risking being overthrown at any moment, along with other severe side effects.

The second reason was that Wu Yin didn't know where the supreme command was, so he wanted to wait for Bilel to take it out for use before parasitizing him. He hadn't expected Bilel to brazenly demonstrate how to use it, making Wu Yin feel that not parasitizing him would be an injustice to Bilel's well-intentioned efforts.

Seeing Wu Yin's silence, Jie Linyuan's gaze dimmed, and he said in a low mood, "You really don't trust me?"

The burly man with a full beard in the passenger seat lazily lifted his eyelids, glancing at him sideways.

Jie Linyuan looked straight ahead, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel, the tendons on the back of his hands bulging from the effort, "You and I are in the same boat. My supreme command will also belong to you. I can never harm you, yet you still hide everything from me, as if I have ulterior motives no matter what I ask."

He glanced at the rearview mirror. Behind their vehicle, a convoy of transport vehicles loaded with long and short guns closely followed, the lead vehicle being the one with bearded Reagan, whose gaze was locked on the passenger seat, waiting for the leader's instructions.

"Wuyin, I'm not a fool. I've seen the extent of your power with my own eyes. Following you has brought me nothing but benefits, no downsides. If I am destined to have a master, then it must undoubtedly be you." Jie Linyuan's voice was strong and resolute, very determined.

After speaking, he waited a while but still received no response from Wuyin. His passion quickly faded, turning into gloom and loss: "Wuyin...what do I need to do for you to fully trust me? Without knowing your situation, I can't cooperate with you, I can't help you, and if this continues..."

"Shut up," Wuyin coldly tapped the screen, "Anymore and it's just annoying."

Jie Linyuan paused, feeling unjustly accused, and slammed the steering wheel hard, "You just refuse to trust me, thinking I'm deceiving you, right? Wuyin, how do you want me to prove my loyalty to you? With your attitude, I can't deal with you in the future... You're just a numbered test subject too, yet you don't see me as a person?"

Finally figuring out how to use this supreme command, Wuyin smiled, turned his head, and looked at the silver-haired man whose chest heaved with emotion: "Jie Linyuan, want a chance to prove yourself? Of course, I'll give you that opportunity now, but if you disappoint me...you will pay a price you absolutely cannot afford."

"..." Jie Linyuan still looked ahead, not making eye contact with Wuyin. A chill ran through him; Wuyin did not deny his 'you're also a test subject,' proving he likely was a human experimental product.

A price too painful to bear? Does it mean he will be parasitized if found to be betraying?

What exactly are the conditions for parasitism? What kind of strong willpower is needed to prevent Wuyin from fully parasitizing?

—How can this parasitic test subject be completely killed?

Numerous questions twisted through Jie Linyuan's mind, but his face showed none of it, only a calm and gentle smile, highlighting his harmlessness: "Wuyin, please believe me, I won't let you down."

The smile at the corners of Wuyin's lips deepened, as if he had found a source of great amusement, eagerly starting his actions. He first adjusted the supreme command device to voice prompts, with a mechanical female voice reading out each item he selected.

—Transfer of Z1932 supreme command authority.

—Now confirming the current holder's identity, please place your face within the recognition frame.

—Confirmation complete.

"Now, please scan the transferee's face within the recognition frame."

"Jie Linyuan."

Hearing his name, Jie Linyuan instinctively slowed the car and turned his face, seeing Wu Yin pointing the high-command operator's front camera at him, with the facial recognition crosshairs locked onto his surprised expression on the screen.

After a crisp beep, came the mechanical voice of a woman, devoid of any emotion.

"Identity confirmation complete."

"Now, beginning the transfer of authority."

Wu Yin said with distinct pleasure, "Now, you're your own master."

"Don't let me down."

[Line 16 appears to be either gibberish or a formatting placeholder and does not translate into coherent English.]