Chapter 62

Chapter 62

A mutant? Jie Linyuan was momentarily surprised, but it was just that—a moment. His deep red pupils dropped, coincidentally meeting Wu Yin's raised jade-colored eyes, like two beautiful, transparent glass beads striking crisply against each other. In that instant of their gazes meeting, he inexplicably felt a sense of stability through Wu Yin's calm eyes, as if no matter what happened next, the slender and tall man before him had a solution.

This was a strange feeling because, in most situations, it was Jie Linyuan who brought a sense of security to others, shouldering trust and expectations amidst danger, accidents, and adversity, seeking a lifeline.

Moreover, he was naturally wary, finding it hard to trust others, and being inherently competitive, he was reluctant to entrust his life to someone else.

Perhaps only now, faced with a field he was not skilled in, and a powerful, unfathomable unknown creature on the same side as him, did Jie Linyuan allow himself to take a breath, entrusting everything to the person standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

He moved his gaze away imperceptibly, showing nothing on his face.

With the term "mutant" coming from Wu Yin's mouth, all the anomalies in Xue Hongyi's previous behavior seemed to strip away their superficial veil, laying everything bare.

Xue Hongyi's unreasoned fondness for Wu Yin, his exaggerated admiration, and bizarrely enthusiastic attitude all had a reasonable explanation. From Wang Sui to Yang Mo, and then to Fifteen, the targets of Xue Hongyi's eager attentions followed the hosts inhabited by Wu Yin, constantly changing.

Such obvious anomalies, yet Jie Linyuan, preoccupied with some unspoken petty concerns, remained oblivious.

He silently fell into introspection but quickly found an excuse for himself—

Perhaps those strange emotions appeared too suddenly and were incredibly fascinating. Jie Linyuan liked these feelings that made him feel more like a normal human, indulging in them, his attention completely captured. Busy matching wits with the person bringing him these emotions, he had no spare energy to notice another outlier hidden among the crowd.

"Fortunately, in terms of sensing the calamity's pollution, Wu Yin was much more perceptive than him. Even when he let his guard down, someone was there to cover for him."

"In contrast, Xue Hongyi looked considerably worse. He felt as if he had just lifted a mysterious mask to gamble big at a card table, only for the dealer next door to flip his cards and broadcast his ID number on a giant screen."

"You know about mutants?" he asked warily.

"Humans infected by the calamity become polluters, among which some mutate into aberrations due to unknown reasons, gaining intelligence and significantly enhanced physical abilities."

"Among these aberrations, there is a very special and rare existence. They are aberrant polluters with human appearance and intelligence, virtually indistinguishable from normal people, known as mutants."

"Even Wu Yin found it difficult to identify mutants among a crowd. However, when he was in Wang Sui's body, he vaguely felt something odd about Xue Hongyi. Only after returning to his synthetic body and observing Xue Hongyi's seamless goodwill towards Wang Sui, Yang Mo, and Fifteen, did he confirm Xue Hongyi's identity as a mutant."

"For certainty, he used verbal cues to encourage further contact between Xue Hongyi and the mutant golden-winged sparrow, hoping to verify the extent of Xue Hongyi's enhanced physical abilities through the not-so-bright bird."

"Seeing the golden-winged sparrow proudly carrying Xue Hongyi flying outside the 27th-floor window, Wu Yin seriously contemplated how to induce the sparrow to speak. Little did he expect, a casual stroke under the sparrow's neck would make this noisy bird spill everything about his new master."

"...And it did so in a tone of pride, 'My master is super amazing, he can do this and that and that...'."

"Xue Hongyi thought no one saw in the deep forests. In his pursuit of the elusive golden-winged sparrow, he freely used his inhuman abilities."

"...The mutant bird was indeed caught, but Xue Hongyi’s secrets were laid bare."

"I know more than you think, Xue Hongyi," Wu Yin said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I actually admired you, even knowing you're a humanoid catastrophe hiding in the safe zone. I had no plans to exploit this. But you insisted on recklessly provoking... Well, now I have no qualms about using it."

Before he finished speaking, Xue Hongyi suddenly lunged, reaching out to grab Wu Yin's shoulder. But before his hand could touch the fabric, a sharp long knife slashed towards his hand. If not for Xue Hongyi's quick reflexes, he would have lost a hand right there.

Barely dodging the attack above, Xue Hongyi suddenly felt a sharp pain in his ankle. Looking down, he saw the two-headed dog ferociously biting, one head menacingly barking at him, the other tearing at his left leg through his pants.

Xue Hongyi lifted his foot and grabbed the Prince's neck, the mutant's strength enough to crush a normal person's skull. The Prince yelped in pain, then was viciously flung against the wall.

When he looked up at Wu Yin again, his eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, and several black veins spread from the corners of his eyes like mysterious tribal tattoos, signifying his eerie power.

Jie Linyuan, guarding Wu Yin, slowly backed towards the door, gave him a look, and Wu Yin immediately opened the door, called out to the Prince, and dashed out swiftly.

"Fifteen!" Xue Hongyi roared in anger, wanting to chase but forced to retreat by a sweeping barrage of bullets, bending down to find cover. Amidst the gunfire, Jie Linyuan laughed lightly, "His name isn't Fifteen, you fool."

"Wu Yin's allure to mutants was something Jie Linyuan knew all too well. Rare aberrations gathered around him, mutant animals almost obedient to his word, and even Jie Linyuan, a half-mutant, felt a natural affinity towards him."

"Let alone Xue Hongyi, a pure mutant."

"'You don't even know his name' was undoubtedly a fatal provocation. Xue Hongyi, instantly enraged, snatched the Beretta from the table and lunged forward."

"The mutant's movement was incredibly fast and powerful. Jie Linyuan dodged two bullets with his left arm transformed into a shield, only to be overpowered by Xue Hongyi, who bent the tough mechanical shield by sixty degrees."

"Without hesitation, Jie Linyuan kicked Xue Hongyi away and quickly repaired the damaged components of his cyborg body. As he saw Xue Hongyi raising his gun again, Jie Linyuan swiftly pulled a sharp dagger from his left arm and hurled it at his gun-holding right hand."

"The dagger, capable of piercing a human brain, missed Xue Hongyi by a whisker, leaving only a deep cut on his hand as the bullet veered off, shattering the concrete wall behind Jie Linyuan."

"Pollution level 90%!"

"A red warning popup suddenly appeared in Jie Linyuan's left eye, displaying a familiar yet long-unseen value. The number had skyrocketed from a stable 35% to 90%, and a crimson exclamation mark screamed a system alert."

"He was momentarily stunned, his heart racing like an overloaded, old computer, its casing emitting a strained hum. Amidst the tense standoff, his right eye, which he had been ignoring, felt like it was burning in fire, causing Jie Linyuan to wince in pain, unable to close his bulging eye, his eyelashes stabbing into his eyeball, adding to the torment."

"Panting, Jie Linyuan looked up to see Xue Hongyi, realization dawning in his eyes, lowering his gun, understandingly saying, 'You're a mutant too, no wonder he could tell I'm one.'"

"Jie Linyuan remained silent, black veins spreading down from the corner of his eyes. Perhaps because Wu Yin had been suppressing him, the long-dormant pollutants in his body took this opportunity to retaliate, the pollution level increasing rapidly, jumping another 1% in the blink of an eye."

"'Z.' Xue Hongyi stepped forward, 'As a fellow mutant, you can feel it, right? His scent... it's simply irresistible.'"

"Jie Linyuan kept a cold face, but his Adam's apple moved unconsciously, a swallowing motion."

"'You like it too, right?... How about we collaborate?' Xue Hongyi's eyes, invaded by red blood vessels leaving barely any space for his black pupils, continued to tempt, 'Those people around him are such eyesores, aren't they? Let's imprison him, keep him in a place only we know about.'"

"His impassioned words were abruptly interrupted by a mocking laugh. Jie Linyuan sneered and shook his head in disdain, causing Xue Hongyi's face to darken in anger, 'You're courting death.'"

"'Stop dreaming, Captain Xue.' Jie Linyuan flicked his left hand, reverting the cyborg arm back to its metallic normalcy. His face twisted slightly in severe pain from his right eye, yet he managed to remind him leisurely, 'You think I haven’t considered this? But you and I can't outplay him. He has a natural advantage over our kind... So, let's be more tactful and progressive.'"

"Having said that, he turned and dashed towards the window, smashing through the glass and jumping out from the fifth floor."

"Xue Hongyi didn't hesitate and followed suit. Unlike Jie Linyuan who landed directly on the ground, creating a deep crater, he lightly bounced off the protruding platforms between floors before reaching the ground. Once he landed, all signs of calamity pollution on his face disappeared, leaving only his ordinary black and white eyes and wheat-colored skin."

"He briskly moved through the startled crowd, heading towards his old car. Pulling out a walkie-talkie from his waist, he tried to contact his team members in Feihong."

Suddenly, Xue Hongyi stopped in his tracks with a stern face, hanging up the buzz of the intercom, and locked eyes with Xia Yangyan, who was leaning casually against the door of a classic car.

Xia seemed oblivious, lazily crossing his arms. Upon seeing Xue, he casually waved and yawned, exuding a relaxed air.

Xue Hongyi scanned the surroundings warily, not spotting Shi Wu. Jie Lin Yuan appeared nearby, covering his right eye. Spotting them, he immediately halted and vanished into hiding.

Most crucially, the mutated golden-winged bird and the two-headed dog were nowhere to be seen.

"Xia..."

As Xue Hongyi approached, he saw Xia Yangyan's lips curl into a smile, without any intention to conceal his identity. "Captain Xue," he greeted.

Xue Hongyi's expression was grave, his fingertips trembling uncontrollably with excitement. "You..." he gasped, the intense heat in his eyes almost igniting into flames, "What is your name?"

"That's not important, Captain Xue," the entity residing in Xia Yangyan, Wu Yin, said with a gentle smile. He turned to Jie Lin Yuan, silently appearing beside him. "I can't drive, and Jie Lin Yuan isn't in a state to drive either, so we'll have to trouble you to take us out of the Southern Camp."

"Do you not understand the situation?" Xue Hongyi stepped closer. "Did you think letting the mutated bird carry the two-headed dog out from the northern mountain would go unnoticed?... I don't plan on letting you go either now."

"It will be noticed," Wu Yin admitted. "That's why I plan to create a major distraction in the south, so they won't have time to attend to the north. For instance, revealing that the esteemed Grand Marshal Xue Yue’s grandson is actually a mutant, and causing a scene, how about that?"

"You—"

Wu Yin swiftly grabbed Xue Hongyi's hand, which was attempting to restrain him. Black veins spread rapidly from his palm to his shoulder like fissured ground in an earthquake, climbing up to Xue Hongyi’s neck, resembling a blade at his throat.

"I wonder if Grand Marshal Xue Yue knows that his grandson has become a contaminated mutant?"