Chapter 152

Chapter 152

The wind was strong at the edge of the cliff, making it hard for Jie Zai, with his full head of silver hair, to walk. The golden-winged bird spread one of its wings to shield him from the wind, and Jie Linyuan quickly stepped forward to support him with his right hand.

Jie Linyuan's left arm transformed into a chain, tightly binding the boatman from head to toe, leaving him face down and buttocks up, completely losing face, barely able to squirm on the ground.

"Professor, are you alright? Did the boatman and Jia Chen do anything to you?" Jie Linyuan asked with concern, "It's dangerous here, please don't come any closer."

"They didn't do anything to me," Jie Zai shouted back tremulously against the wind, "It was my foolish hope that a prodigal son would return for the sake of father-son affection... I've caused you trouble."

"Why would you say that?" After saying these polite words, Jie Linyuan immediately shut his mouth tightly, fearing that Wu Yin might actually agree.

Wu Yin indeed instinctively wanted to agree, if it weren't for Jie Linyuan's preemptive positioning putting pressure on him not to speak.

"I think we need a code word, in case you get parasitized," Jie Linyuan cautiously said. "Professor Jie, you surely wouldn't have told your son the code word, right?"

Professor Jie showed an embarrassed expression: "I was just a bit muddled, not senile."

Jie Linyuan chuckled lightly: "So... what's the name of the green vine?"

"...I knew it would be this question," Professor Jie sighed with difficulty, "Pretty girl."

Both the reaction and the answer confirmed it was indeed Jie Zai. Wu Yin relaxed his guard, and off-topic, asked in Jie Linyuan's mind: "Is that name really that bad? Why did he make that face?"

It's just not a good name. Jie Linyuan, with high emotional intelligence, chose to remain silent.

"I have something to ask him," said Jie Zai, now serious, pointing at the boatman after proving his identity.

"Let's ask back home, it's too windy here," Jie Linyuan advised. "You first let the golden-winged bird take you away. I have to go help Xue Hongyi soon and can't look after you. Jia Chen hasn't shown up either, the situation on the ship is unclear, it's dangerous everywhere."

Ignoring the advice, Jie Zai continued towards the boatman with a very determined look. Jie Linyuan, unwilling to be rough with him, quickly stepped forward, picked the boatman up from the ground, and brought him in front of Jie Zai.

Upon seeing the face of the disheveled boatman, hatred instantly flared in his eyes, spitting out the dirt in his mouth: "You old bastard—"

Before he could finish, a piercing scream suddenly returned, hitting Wu Yin's brain like a hammer, causing him to lose focus and making Jie Linyuan's heart skip unexpectedly.

"Wu Yin, what's wrong?" Jie Linyuan asked urgently.

He noticed the golden-winged bird also became restless, flapping its wings and crying out. His first thought was that the boatman's reinforcements had found them and activated a backup ultrasonic sensor, "Golden!"

Before Jie Linyuan could get a response, a flash of light caught his eye. Instinctively dodging, he didn't expect the attack wasn't aimed at him but the person in front of him, as a sharp dagger was driven into the heart with undeniable force.

The sound of flesh and skin being torn, the boatman gasped, disbelievingly wide-eyed. Under the adrenaline rush, he felt no pain, just shockingly looked up to see Jie Zai staring back emotionlessly, his deep wrinkles hiding eyes that were cold, disdainful, and contemptuous.

Looking down, he saw the dagger fully embedded in his chest, with dark red blood quickly spreading across his cotton jacket. Jie Zai held the knife handle firmly, twisting the blade.

The boatman's mouth overflowed with blood, his eyes showing surprise and fear of death, his gaze weakly seeking help from Jie Linyuan.

Jie Linyuan was also shocked by Jie Zai's sudden action but with only one hand free, he couldn't stop Jie Zai from pulling out the knife, "Professor! Professor, he can't die yet, we haven't got the exact location of the experimental island!"

Jie Zai, ignoring him, calmly pulled out the knife.

"Save, save me..." the boatman weakly begged, limp from blood loss. Jie Linyuan, holding him tight, urgently demanded, "Coordinates of the experimental island! Tell me."

The boatman's pupils dilated, lips begrudgingly moved, bargaining even on his deathbed, "First, save... save me..."

Wu Yin, equally stunned as Jie Linyuan, but in a split second, a deep-seated instinct clutched at his throat, trembling electricity and endless sonic pain enveloped him. Wu Yin struggled uncontrollably, squeezing out a faint urge through a crack in his sanity: "Go, go now!"

Nerve currents crackled explosively within, Jie Linyuan following his instincts decisively dropped the barely alive boatman. The chains that bound him also followed his will, slithering like snakes over the blood-soaked clothes, the metal tip rapidly morphing, flying towards Jie Linyuan's open left arm.

But at that moment, a wrinkled hand pressed on his shoulder, a clear metallic click sounded, Jie Linyuan looked sharply at his left shoulder to see a beetle-shaped sensor attached, its long spikes digging into his metal arm.

Sparks flew as Jie Linyuan's functioning left eye suddenly went dark, turning into a black screen. The metal chain, losing its command mid-transformation, instantly turned into mundane heavy iron and dropped to the ground.

Now, what could Jie Linyuan not understand? He suddenly kicked Jie Zai away with speed beyond human, gripping the metal object locked on his shoulder in disbelief, turning towards Jie Zai who was spat out blood from being kicked away.

"...Yi'er?"

Xie Zai's aged and decrepit body trembled weirdly like a malfunctioning machine, with only his head awkwardly lifted at a ninety-degree angle from his shoulders, his eyeballs bulging, black veins spreading rapidly from the corners of his eyes, and a sinister smile curling at his lips: "Too late, oh, Z1932."

Xie Linyuan's right hand drew a pistol from his waist, flipped off the safety, but just as he aimed at Xie Zai and was about to pull the trigger, he felt a slight resistance on his index finger, along with Wu Yin's voice, suppressed with immense pain: "Don't...kill, that's Professor Xie..."

"Wu Yin!"

In his call, Xie Linyuan heard a heart-wrenching scream.

It was hard to imagine what kind of pain could make Wu Yin scream like that.

At that moment, Xie Linyuan felt helpless for the first time in his life.

He held a gun in his hand, the magazine filled with bullets; a knife was tucked at his waist, sharp enough to slice through hair.

He considered himself invincible, born for slaughter, but with his lover screaming inside him, he was powerless. He didn't even know what was happening or what means the enemy was using to torture Wu Yin.

Black filthy blood streamed from the corners of Xie Zai's eyes, trickling down his wrinkles like two lines of tears, "Why did you run away? Leaving him alone, lying in the cold nutrient solution... How lonely."

He slowly closed his eyes, his voice softening: "Wu Yin, you're finally whole."

In an instant, the silence around Xie Linyuan was terrifying, the heavy sense of fulfillment in his chest vanished, replaced by an emptiness as if filled with wind.

Wu Yin has disappeared...?

How is that possible?

With his right eye sore and reddened, he searched every leaf, every inch of soil.

"Goldie, Goldie..." Xie Linyuan looked towards the golden-winged sparrow shaking its head non-stop to dispel the ultrasonic waves, "Where is he? Can you sense him?"

The golden-winged sparrow seemed to understand something, emitting a pained cry.

Xie Linyuan once again looked to the ground, where Xie Zai's chest rose and fell slowly, his body convulsing non-stop, vomiting fresh blood.

His eyes no longer held the sinister pleasure of before, only age, regret, guilt, and endless sorrow remained—this was the real Professor Xie.

Xie Linyuan slowly approached, kneeling beside him, "...Professor Xie."

In a situation where Wu Yin himself was in dire straits, he still expended his last bit of energy to stop him from firing because he knew if Xie Linyuan took that shot, it would be as if he had personally killed the mentor who had given him his name.

Xie Zai opened his mouth, dirty black blood pouring out non-stop, "Home..."

Xie Linyuan bent down, turning his ear towards him.

"Home..."

Black blood continued to stream from the corner of his eyes, Xie Zai's pupils growing more turbid. He strained to open them wider, wanting to see Xie Linyuan's face clearly, "...home, my home."

Xie Zai remained with his eyes wide open, gradually ceasing to breathe.

Xie Linyuan paused, then realized Xie Zai had died. He had only met the real Professor Xie twice; the first time, he was given a name, and the second, a final wish.

Not far away, the boatman lay on the ground in a twisted posture, dying with disbelief.

Jie Linyuan had praised Wu Yin for his divine foresight, saying he could always predict anything in advance, but this time he miscalculated—Jia Chen was not Yir.

It was this single miscalculation that plunged him into the abyss.

……

Lu Ti hurried towards Tongjia Islands on a lifeboat, praying all the way to catch up. As he neared the shore, he couldn't wait to dock and jumped into the sea to swim to land.

Stepping on the sharp reefs, soaked, he saw Xue Hongyi cradling Jie Zai's corpse, with the Golden Winged Bird walking beside them, head tucked in, followed by the silent Jie Linyuan.

Lu Tie heaved a great sigh of relief: "That's settled then! Well done."

He thought the gloominess was due to their shock at discovering Professor Xie, whom they deeply trusted, was actually a traitor. So, he quickly walked over, hoping to change the subject and break the ice: "Commander Xue, Xie Linyuan, there's some good news you wouldn't expect. Inside the northern camp, the rebels have long harbored resentments. We just hinted that the ferryman wasn't on board, and the immunes couldn't hold back and directly attacked the research vessel. Now, the ship is in complete chaos, a case of dog eat dog."

"The Bai sisters are also safe. When they first got to the fourth floor, they were indeed bewitched by Room 5 and lost contact. But by the time I boarded, they had already come to their senses and retreated in time. I told them not to rashly go to the fourth floor, but to wait for the right moment."

He said a lot, but Xue Hongyi hardly reacted. Lu Tie looked at him puzzled, then turned his gaze toward Xie Linyuan not far away.

It was then that Lu Tie suddenly noticed Xie Linyuan's left eye twitching non-stop, then it completely went out after a few instances.

"What's going on?!" he asked in astonishment.

Xue Hongyi sighed and whispered something in his ear. Lu Tie's pupils constricted, looking at Xue Hongyi in disbelief: "How is that possible?"

His mind raced: "Impossible, I can't believe Xiao Hu would die so easily. He can parasitize. I've never seen a creature as bizarre as him... He must still be alive. Il must have taken him away. Where would Il take him?"

"Experiment Island," Xie Linyuan said. "Il could only go there."

"Then let's go there too!"

"I don't know where the island is," Xie Linyuan's left eye twitched again before dimming unwillingly. "The only one who knew the coordinates, the ferryman, has been killed by Il."

Lu Tie opened his mouth, as if realizing something, but then hardened his heart to deceive himself: "There must be others who know. There are so many people on the research vessel."

“……”

"Don't look so devastated!" Lu Tie roared at Xie Linyuan, "Shouldn't you be brimming with murderous intent, swearing to scour the ends of the earth and dig three feet under to find that island?"

Xie Linyuan's eyes instantly reddened, and he clenched his teeth: "I'm powerless, utterly powerless. 68 tortured Wu Yin right before my eyes, and all I could do was listen, seeing nothing, unable to do anything. I didn't even know where he was..."

"There has to be a way, there's always a way." Lu Tie calmed down, walked up to Xie Linyuan, and gently cupped his face with one hand. "Look at me, Xie Linyuan. There will be a way. You still have us. Even if you're out of options, together, we'll surely find a solution."

Xue Hongyi secured Professor Xie's body to the back of a golden-winged bird, then slowly approached them, arms wide open, offering a sincere hug: "Let's first get someone to remove this thing from your arm. Rest assured, Xie Linyuan, with me around, the entire southern camp has got your back."

……

In the midst of emptiness, Wu Yin opened his eyes.

The room he found himself in this time was even more spacious than the last time he had opened his eyes, an endless expanse of white.

Wu Yin looked around and unexpectedly saw a strange man behind him, who seemed to have been sitting there the whole time, staring intently at him for a long while.

"...Who are you?"

The man moved his eyebrows meaningfully but remained silent.

Wu Yin found him somewhat familiar, then suddenly, a scene flashed through his mind: a man banging on the laboratory's glass door, yelling something at him.

"...Gui Si?"

The name seemed to surprise the man: "You actually recognize me?"

"Why shouldn't I recognize you." Wu Yin stood up emotionlessly, looking around. "Where is this?"

"...You're so different from Wu Yin." Gui Si showed a hint of displeasure. "You're nothing like how Wu Yin described you. He said you were well-behaved, adorable."

Now it was Wu Yin's turn to raise an eyebrow at him: "He said I was well-behaved, adorable?"

"He also said that when he secretly cried out of fear at night, you would intentionally move a bit to comfort him."

Wu Yin had no recollection of such events and found it absurd, suspecting the real scenario was likely him being annoyed by Wu Hu's crying, viciously kicking him to signal him to shut up.