Chapter 51: Station 22: Twelve

Chapter 51: Station 22: Twelve

Man Du was a delicately crafted wooden puppet.

With its long limbs hanging limply, it measured only the size of an adult's palm.

All its articulations were precisely replicated from a human body in a one-to-one scale, consisting of seventy-eight joints that could be manipulated smoothly, even performing actions beyond the human capacity.

However, at this moment, no particular joint movement was required.

Ming Yiyang tapped Man Du's tiny head twice.

Man Du "click-clicked" as it sat up in his palm, as if coming to life, bringing its elongated hands to its mouth as if whispering a message to someone.

Ming Yiyang spoke to Man Du,

"Chi Zihe, we're trapped inside. Hurry and come to open the door."

Within seconds, Man Du transformed again with a "click-click," cupping its right ear as if listening attentively to some sound.

Then, from within its abdomen came Si Shuhao's voice:

"Almost there, Boss Chi is currently arguing with the hotel staff. Just wait three more minutes, we'll be right there!"

After these words vanished, Man Du resumed its dignified posture, legs crossed and hands resting on its knees, falling into a state of stillness.

"Alright, three more minutes."

Ming Yiyang tucked Man Du into his pocket, assessing Yan Qiling's condition to ensure he was still relatively normal. Then, he turned around, keeping his hands busy.

He explored the thick alloy door, swiftly locating a mechanical component.

Seeing Ming Yiyang twist it back, Yan Qiling asked,

"What's that?"

With tense muscles, Ming Yiyang exerted force, causing the door to emit a series of clicks. A narrow opening appeared behind the alloy door.

Surprisingly, there was a wrench wrapped in green sponge within the opening.

"The freezer's safety lock — if you accidentally trap yourself inside, you can use this to open the door from within."

He reached out and gave it a firm twist, only for the green lever to snap with a crisp sound!

Or rather, it was already broken.

It had merely been glued in place to give the illusion of functionality.

Ming Yiyang was initially taken aback before he started laughing.

But the smile didn't reach his eyes; it held a chilling undertone.

What an ingenious safety feature.

The presence of the lever was a cruel joke, designed to instill despair in anyone trapped within the freezer. It offered a false hope to those with specialized knowledge who believed they could rely on this last resort, only to discover that it had been severed. In the end, they would be doomed to become a frozen mass in the icy confines, filled with desperation.

Ming Yiyang began inspecting the original safety mechanism for any issues.

Initially, he had merely been bored and wanted to open the door himself, but now it had become a challenge he felt compelled to overcome.

"You see, this mechanism is actually functional."

He examined it with delight, his smile carrying a hint of childlike innocence, much like a little boy discovering a new transformation for his self-assembled Gundam model:

"The design is ingeniously cunning. The structure is sound, but the wrench is fake. For those who have disengaged the safety, it's practically useless. It's just one wrench short... Without it, you'd tear your fingers apart trying to escape."

Yan Qiling watched him nonchalantly as he removed the bamboo pendant hanging around his neck, which then transformed in the young man's hand into a wooden wrench.

Yan Qiling softly sighed, "This weapon suits you well."

"I agree, it feels incredibly intuitive to use," Ming Yiyang replied without humility, his tone laced with a hint of subtle pride.

"For someone like me, equipped with a multitude of professional skills, this weapon was made for me."

"Yes, after all, you're the company's CEO. Nobody else could fulfill your role."

The unexpected compliment left Ming Yiyang unusually at a loss for words.

The soft tone of his companion flowed through his heart like a gentle stream, imparting a sensation akin to the adrenaline rush after a sprint.

This feeling was somewhat alien to him. The only thing he could discern was the sincerity in the other person's words, which was at least not an unpleasant presence.

He lowered his head and swiftly attached the "wrench" into the safety mechanism, his silver eyelashes dusted with a faint frost.

With a warm breath hovering in the air, the frost quickly melted away, only to thinly re-form moments later.

The entire process was somewhat draining for Ming Yiyang, mainly due to maintaining the weapon's "wrench" form.

He turned the wrench, and this time, the valve lifted slowly, the locked mechanism loosening.

Ming Yiyang was eager to escape the small space where Yan Qiling was present.

He wasn't sure why he needed to evade, but being alone with Yan Qiling always led to an odd dynamic. He disliked this inability to control himself, to the extent that he had already forgotten the initial ease he felt when facing this person.

Merely as he managed to pry the heavy alloy door open a narrow gap, he found himself unable to push it any further.

"Damn it."

Ming Yiyang finally lost his patience and cursed:

"Those idiots have barricaded the door. They really have faith in our abilities."

He had no idea what those fellows had piled up outside, but it was enough to prevent him from forcing the door open, despite his efforts. However, he could faintly hear some arguing voices.

"Chi Zihe seems to be having a rough time," Yan Qiling commented. "The hotel staff is determined to freeze us to death here."

"It's alright. Freezing to death takes time, and Chi Zihe won't last that long."

Feeling his strength draining away too quickly, Ming Yiyang didn't attempt to force the door open again.

In this environment, he could endure, but the person with a body temperature low enough to freeze fish was another story.

Turning back, he found Yan Qiling already leaning against a nearby counter, looking exhausted and resigned to their fate.

Ming Yiyang was startled and hurried over in a few strides.

"What's wrong? Are you cold?"

He had completely forgotten that just seconds ago, he was still contemplating how to escape.

When Ming Yiyang bent down to press this person's head into his embrace, he didn't really think it through.

It wasn't until he held the person tightly in his arms that he became aware of what he had done.

Although the situation was extreme, he should have sought Yan Qiling's consent and considered whether his own body heat was enough to warm someone who seemed to be freezing from the core of the earth.

He could have let go and gone through the process again.

But Ming Yiyang pretended as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

For some reason, holding onto this person gave him an odd sense of fullness.

His stomach was warm enough to make him sweat, and despite the frost clinging to the person's hair, he didn't feel cold at all. Instead, he wanted to hold on even tighter, to fully feel the contours of the other's body.

What on earth does this mean?

Ming Yiyang felt that he had never been so emotionally troubled since his birth.

Still lost in thought, the person in his arms suddenly wriggled and spoke calmly,

"Ming Yiyang, I'm not cold. You don't have to do this."

Just three short sentences.

They pushed Ming Yiyang, who was already grappling with confusion and contemplation, to the brink of irritation.

"No."

Despite his irritation, Ming Yiyang didn't let go; instead, he defied reason and held on even tighter,

"Stay still, don't move. I've lost a lot of strength, and I'm very tired now."

Yan Qiling took these words to heart and ceased struggling.

After a moment, he asked,

"Why would someone so young take on such a dangerous job?"

Ming Yiyang wasn't sure if the man was trying to ease the awkwardness by changing the subject.

Strangely, although the image of them hugging was a bit hard to picture, he didn't feel awkward at all. If anything, he was more alert now than when he was picking the lock.

"You mean being a bodyguard for people?"

There was no concern in his tone as he replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "I don't have any other skills. I just have a bit of a talent for suppressing evil spirits, so of course, I have to earn money with it."

"I mean... wouldn't your family be devastated if something unfortunate were to happen to you?"

When the man spoke, his chest vibrated slightly, a sign of life distinct from his bodily warmth.

To his surprise, Ming Yiyang found himself enjoying this experience—Yan Qiling was talking, and he could clearly sense a part of the man functioning vividly.

In this process, he experienced an illusion of intimacy, a deception that he surprisingly enjoyed.

The previously inexplicable sense of fullness seemed to be gradually taking on a clearer shape.

"Dead is dead," the youth scoffed nonchalantly.

"I don't have any family to support anyway, so it doesn't matter."

Yan Qiling sensed something amiss in his tone:

"Didn't you mention your family when you were at my place that day?"

"Family? I have plenty of them."

The young man tilted his head, gently resting his cheek against the soft, fluffy crown of the other's hair. His warm breath formed a vapor-like mist, resembling smoke and snow as he spoke:

"I not only have a father and a mother, but also over a dozen stepmothers. If my father wanted to care for his sons, he'd have his hands full... Do you know what my ranking is among my father's children?"

He chuckled again, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret:

"I'm twelfth! He has so many kids that we could form a soccer team."

Yan Qiling never would have imagined such a family dynamic in modern times. He was taken aback:

"Given your father's age, didn't he receive any restrictions on childbearing?"

The young man spoke with an air of nonchalance and disdain:

"He's Indo-Dutch, with businesses in Southeast Asia. Originally, our family was Catholic, but later we assimilated and changed religions."

"Legally, he could marry up to four wives, all of them legitimate. As for extramarital affairs, there are even more – the old man has money, so he can have any woman he wants. If they get pregnant, they give birth – he can afford it anyway."

Yan Qiling was left speechless by this revelation.

Ming Yiyang didn't go into further detail, but from this information alone, one could already imagine the incredibly complex family dynamics at play.

Polygamy and numerous offspring are not always blessings, especially for the elite, where it can be more of a curse than anything else.

The glamorous facade displayed to outsiders often conceals a bloody reality, with sibling rivalry and power struggles being daily occurrences behind closed doors.

The young man embraced him and said casually, "My mom says I resemble my maternal grandfather more. He was Han Chinese, while my grandmother was Russian, so my mom is also mixed-race. My grandfather was Dutch and married the daughter of a local chieftain, which resulted in my dad. How do I put this? Have you heard of those 'dragon overlord' protagonists in novels, the ones born with various bloodlines?"

"I'm like that, but the experience hasn't been particularly enjoyable. As a result, I don't have strong feelings towards either side of my family."

His silver eyelashes fluttered as he partially closed his eyes, "But my mom is still better than my dad. She took me back to our country, found me a great master, and chose our domestic identity because both my master and senior apprentice brother are here. Anyway, anywhere is better than returning to my father's side."

He didn't shy away from any details, recounting everything as if it were someone else's story.

In truth, he didn't often share these things with others; they weren't particularly interesting, and those who didn't care would likely find them tedious. However, Yan Qiling had an indifferent demeanor most of the time, and when a rare spark of curiosity emerged, he couldn't help but want to satisfy it.

Yet, he received an unexpected embrace.

Previously, it had always been him holding the other person, but now, the man's palm circled around his shoulder and patted him, saying,

"Don't worry, I won't let you die."

Ming Yiyang's spine stiffened under the patting, and he found the words both amusing and frustrating:

"Hey, get your facts straight. It's me protecting you right now. Just make sure you don't freeze to death."

Body heat was slowly transmitted through the down jacket, and Yan Qiling, who was usually icy cold, felt a long-lost gentle warmth touch his body.