Chapter 155

Chapter 155

Dawn broke, a golden light piercing through the thick clouds, gradually illuminating the dark, ink-like sea surface, spreading ripples that dyed it a soft golden hue.

The deep gray mini submarine surfaced, slowly approaching the shore.

The unattended dock, after years of erosion by seawater and rain, showed cracks in the concrete ground filled with weeds. The salty sea breeze, carrying the roars of unknown wild beasts, echoed in the distance, deterring any rash approach to the island by underwater machinery.

Wu Chen was the first to leap ashore, turning back to assist Yi, still in the submarine. Then, two distorted mutants emerged from behind the lighthouse, their bodies adorned with remnants of fabric beyond recognition, one comically wearing a sea-blue cap.

Yi stepped onto the ground, his current body borrowed from the driver when Wu Chen negotiated for the mini submarine from the rebels, a naive young man unaware of the world, thinking this was just a brief and simple voyage, not realizing it was a one-way journey.

The two mutants, not having seen a living person for a long time, quickly approached Yi and Wu Chen, their plump cheeks swaying like the waves with the wind, greedy eyes shining through their murky gaze.

Even as the mutants drew near, Yi remained unruffled, methodically putting on gloves, not even bothering to spare a glance at their appearances.

Wu Chen pulled out a transparent glass tube from a cold metal box he carried, inside was a black and red artificial meat core, thick polluted blood clinging to the tube's sides. Holding the tube in his palm, he looked up at the mutants.

The mutants instantly halted, pacing restlessly on the spot, both reverent and fearful, not daring to step further.

Yi exhaled a breath of white mist, walking silently ahead. Wu Chen gripped the glass tube tightly, glancing back at the other lurking, eager mutants in the shadows, one even wearing the tattered uniform of a researcher, instantly recognized despite its dilapidated state.

Three years ago, WuYin and GuiSi plotted a massive fire on the island, intending to escape. Unfortunately, the plan failed, and GuiSi's core was parasitized by YiEr, but things went awry midway. Preferring destruction over compromise, GuiSi destroyed his own core when he foresaw no escape, throwing YiEr, who had parasitized GuiSi, into a period of confusion, unable to smoothly parasitize WuYin.

During this time, the ferryman responsible for transporting supplies to the experimental island grew greedy. Seeing the island's weakened state, he conspired with other fishermen and hired thugs to land on the island, intending to loot amidst the chaos.

YiEr had no choice but to temporarily freeze WuYin's original body and hide it in a secret room, hastily fleeing, leaving the deserted experimental island to the mercy of the ferryman and his barefoot researchers.

Had it not been for the creation of the mutants on this island, the ferryman would likely not have given up this oceanic island blessed by nature and risked landing on it.

The experiment center at the heart of the island stands silently, its white walls marred with blotchy black stains. In front of it, a quiet plaza stretches out, and through the large glass windows, one can see the grandeur and advancement once held by the center's interior, where towering electronic screens have completely replaced the walls.

YiEr emotionlessly crosses this majestic building to reach a small, red two-story structure behind it. He stops in front of a locked room on the first floor, draws his pistol, and blows the lock off before dragging out a dust-covered generator.

WuChen takes it from him, carrying the package silently behind YiEr as they continue onwards, circling the decaying lake behind the experiment center and leaving the research area to tread a seldom-used path into the deep forest.

About twenty minutes in, YiEr halts in an unmarked part of the woods. He looks around, kicks away the ground leaves, squats to brush off the topsoil, and after feeling around, finds a recessed area which he opens to reveal a square metal door.

Beneath the metal door lies another door with a black screen welded on. YiEr takes the generator, prying behind the screen to extract several wires, which he connects to power the metal door.

WuChen silently watches, suddenly looking up as a fine snowflake falls into his palm, "It's snowing."

YiEr doesn't respond, activating the passcode door after years, entering the code. With a crisp unlocking sound, he twists open the hefty metal door, greeted by a rush of cold air, but unfazed by the chill, he reaches in to pull out a transparent coffin lid.

WuChen squats down to assist in dragging out the coffin, the two of them barely managing to pull it entirely from underground.

Ice-blue snowflakes fall on the coffin, eagerly brushed off by YiEr as he gazes through the glass at the man sleeping inside.

WuChen observes the transparent coffin, still operational and continuously pumping in cold air. Behind the glass lies the face he knows all too well, frosted over, eyes closed, obliviously sleeping in the narrow, less than a meter wide, cryogenic chamber.

This is WuYin, the person he most aspires to become, both then and now.

Yet now, looking down at the sleeping man, WuChen finds him somewhat pitiful.

After thoroughly checking the coffin's operation and confirming 'WuYin's' physical condition, YiEr cautiously hits the defrost button, initiating an 8-hour countdown on the electronic display.

He stands the coffin up, intending to push it to a safe place, but refuses WuChen's offer to help.

"I'll do it myself," he says without turning back.

WuChen says nothing more, simply moving aside to look up at the gray sky and the growing snow.

……

"A dog?" GuiSi strokes his chin thoughtfully. "What does a dog look like? I've only seen fish, whales, sharks, and dolphins."

WuYin sketched a simple dog on the ground with his finger: "Denxiang is quite special; it has two heads."

GuiSi asked in confusion, "Then does it argue with itself?"

"Yes, and often," WuYin replied. "After arguing, it even comes to me and JieLinYuan for judgment."

"Do you and JieLinYuan ever argue?"

"Yes."

"He dares to argue with you?" GuiSi asked with the indignation of a protective relative. "Who usually wins?"

"I do," WuYin said without hesitation.

"Good, good, you haven't let us down," GuiSi nodded, his values skewed, "Next time he dares to have even the slightest objection to any of your orders, just send him away."

"His body structure is quite unique; it's impossible to fully parasitize."

"Can't be parasitized?"

……

This quiet discussion woke JieLinYuan from his light sleep in the cabin; he abruptly sat up from the recliner, his coat slipping to the floor with the movement.

Outside the round porthole, fine snowflakes fell in a shower, swallowed by the endless blue sea. JieLinYuan glanced at it, picked up the coat from the chair, and left the room.

Next door, Lu Tie and the princess, who were quietly discussing something, turned their heads simultaneously—one frowning, asking why not sleep a bit longer, and the other gesturing with a claw, typing to ask if the satellite surveillance feed could be zoomed in further.

Three hours earlier, Xie Linyuan had modified part of his left arm to create a temporary satellite surveillance monitor, which he handed over to Lu Tie, instructing him to continue monitoring the island's activities while he rested.

Unexpectedly, shortly after Xie Linyuan fell asleep, a sneaky submarine docked at the port of the experimental island. Soon, a stranger and Yan Guangyu disembarked from the submarine.

Considering that Xie Linyuan had been working non-stop for three days without a moment of rest, Lu Tie did not immediately inform him of this development, choosing instead to closely monitor Yi Er and 'Yan Guangyu's movements on the island.

"I'm feeling very alert now," Xie Linyuan said as he sat down next to the princess, took the monitor, and instantly, two data cables grew out from the back of the screen, automatically connecting to his left arm like living entities, his pupils disappearing, replaced by rows of data and code.

His Highness sat behind him, each of his heads peeking out from one side.

Soon, the relatively blurry surveillance footage gradually became clear. In the woods, Yi Er was seen digging up a long, transparent crystal coffin from the ground, his back to Yan Guangyu.

The footage zoomed in again until Yi Er stood the coffin upright, allowing everyone to see its contents clearly—a frozen Wu Yin, his features distinct, as if he were merely sleeping.

"How much longer until we reach the experimental island?" Xie Linyuan opened the cabin door and shouted to Xue Hongyi, who was watching the snow on the deck. The latter turned around and gave a precise answer: "Eight hours."

……

Yi Er had a dream.

It was a very peaceful dream. When he opened his eyes, everything in the dream receded like the tide, leaving nothing behind.

The snow continued to fall outside the window, accumulating a thin layer on the ground.

Wu Chen seemed not to have noticed he had woken up, silently gazing out the window into the distance until Yi Er asked him the time. Wu Chen then came back to reality as if waking from a dream, "…It's 4:10 PM. In fifteen minutes, Wu Yin's body will be completely thawed."

"Hmm," Yi Er nodded expressionlessly in response, "What were you thinking about just now, Wu Chen?"

"Me? ..." Wu Chen's gaze returned to the window, where Yan Guangyu's reflection appeared on the glass. He paused for a few seconds before slowly saying, "I was thinking, it seemed like many years ago, you were resting in the room, and I was daydreaming by the window, and the day just passed like that."

"You've really changed a lot," Yi Er spoke, "You used to never say anything, but now you express your thoughts."

"People always change," Wu Chen said with a smile.

Yi Er didn't continue the conversation; instead, he walked slowly to the center of the room, tapping his finger lightly on the transparent cryogenic chamber. With each crisp tap, the countdown marched second by second towards its end.

Outside the tightly closed windows, the wind and snow howled, whipping up towering waves that battered the cliffs and rocks surrounding the island.

Wu Chen faintly heard the grotesque howling of aberrations. He frowned and turned to check that the glass tube containing the artificial nucleus was still standing properly on the table.

Yi Er sat on the cryogenic chamber, staring intently as the body of Wu Yin inside had completely thawed, shifting from a rigid posture to a soft, flat lying position. Although his complexion remained pale, there was a hint of vitality, as if he might open his eyes at any moment.

He would not let Wu Yin awaken. The best time for parasitism was in the interval between the body's thawing and Wu Yin regaining consciousness.

Suddenly, Wu Chen heard the howling of the aberrations again, this time closer. He moved uneasily towards the window, straining to see into the distance, "Sir... Sir, I feel—"

A sharp cry of a bird interrupted him, confirming Wu Chen's premonition, followed by a howl that echoed across the island. They had actually been followed, and in such a short time, their pursuers had traced them all the way to the island.

Yi Er realized this too, but the fact that Xie Linyuan could obtain the coordinates of the experimental island so quickly greatly exceeded his expectations. Before he could figure out where the leak had occurred, a loud explosion from a very close location shook the ground, and Yi Er immediately terminated the thawing process, which had only 10 minutes left, choosing to open the cryogenic chamber immediately.

"Come help me!" Yi Er called out, but when he turned around, he saw Wu Chen standing there, dazed, looking towards the door, confused.

Yi Er also felt something, a powerful attraction stemming from the power within their blood, calling out to him.

It was Wu Hao.

Wasn't Wu Hao already killed by the Immunes? Why is he here?

After all, Yi Er is not a true parasite; Wu Hao's genes have a limited attraction to him. No longer relying on Wu Chen, he forcefully breaks open the cryogenic chamber and drags Wu Yin's body out with effort.

High-frequency ultrasonic waves follow closely, causing Wu Chen to snap back to reality. He then covers his ears with a terrified cry, "Sir!" He rushes towards Yi Er for help, but Yi Er, ignoring him, picks up Wu Yin's body and swiftly moves away in the opposite direction.

Wu Zhe, wearing a rain cloak, sits atop His Highness, with Lu Tiào behind him, wrapping his arms around him for wind protection. However, due to Geng Wu's absence from his body, Wu Zhe still nervously grips the dog's fur beneath him until Geng Wu reappears five minutes later, only then does Wu Zhe's face relax into a smile.

"You should learn to be alone," Geng Wu says coldly in his mind, "Wu Zhe, I won't always be with you, especially after the calamity's contamination is controlled, my mission will be over."

Wu Zhe doesn't respond; he just clutches His Highness's fur, staring ahead.

Where his gaze lands, Xie Linyuan kicks open the sealed room door, a mutated green vine on his shoulder, its leaves and roots tightly winding around an ultrasonic sensor, with Xue Hongyi leaping down from the Golden-winged bird, entering the room with him.

Inside, the door of the cryogenic chamber is wide open, empty.

Yan Guangyu sits on the floor alone, hand propping his forehead, frowning at Xie Linyuan and Xue Hongyi, "You two...where is this? What's going on?"

Xie Linyuan and Xue Hongyi exchange glances, the former turns off the ultrasonic sensor, his left pupil scanning the room quickly, then he follows another door out of the room, while the latter squats in front of Yan Guangyu, raising an eyebrow, "Let me tell you a ghost story."

……

"If you were to rank them by your preference, what order would the pretty boy, the handsome guy, and the beautiful girl be in?"

“……”

"Which one do you like more, the Black Knight or His Highness?"

“……”

"If Xie Linyuan wasn't in the picture, would you be with Xue Hongyi or Lu Tiào?"

“……”

"Why don't you smile anymore? Were you born not liking to smile?"

"Wu Si, do you believe me—" Wu Yin clenched his fist, ready to punch this noisy parasite, but at that moment, he suddenly heard an ethereal call, calling his name, the voice as if coming from a distant other shore.

He abruptly lifted his head, then turned to look at Wu Si: "Did you hear that? Someone is calling me."

Wu Si suddenly became quiet, listening intently with Wu Yin.

Wu Yin—

"Called again," Wu Yin said. "Did you hear it?"

But Wu Si composed himself, shaking his head, "I didn't hear anything."

Wu Yin, puzzled, locked eyes with him, quickly hearing the call again, confidently stating, "It's not an illusion, someone is really calling me."

Wu Si laughed indifferently: "Could it be someone outside really came to rescue you? Is it your Xie Linyuan calling for you?"

"No..." Wu Yin whispered, "The one calling me... seems to be Wu Hu."