Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Gu Lin's face turned pale at the warning sound. He took a few steps back, creating distance from Chu Ya and launched a mental attack at him.

But Chu Ya didn't think of dodging; his only thought was to kill him!

He continued to lunge forward. The moment he was hit by the mental force, there was a deafening explosion in his head, as if something had suddenly detonated. His vision filled with blinding white light, and all external sounds vanished.

In the absolute silence, he distinctly heard a beast's roar—low, majestic, brimming with rage and ferocity. It seemed to come from another dimension, bypassing his ears and naturally appearing in his mind.

Chu Ya closed his eyes but could see a black snake darting towards him like an arrow, its menacing scales and fangs dripping venom. He also saw another large predator leap out from beside him, soaring into the air.

It was a massive wolf, its silver-white fur like silk, its pitch-black eyes filled with murderous intent. In mid-air, it tensed its body, each muscle taut and powerful, its claws glinting coldly.

The black snake and the silver wolf met in the air. The black snake bit the silver wolf's foreleg, but its own body was pierced by the wolf's claws.

The silver wolf landed, raised its head, and let out an angry howl, revealing long, white fangs. It tore the black snake off its leg and bit down on its vital spot.

Sss...

The black snake writhed on the ground, thick black smoke rising from its body.

Gu Lin seemed to be under immense pressure, spreading his legs to maintain balance. He reached for the gun at his back, his hand moving inch by inch as if bearing a thousand-pound weight.

Finally, he grabbed the gun and aimed it at Chu Ya with all his might. But at that moment, Chu Ya suddenly opened his eyes, and a powerful invisible force erupted from him, surging outward uncontrollably.

Everything in the room flew outwards. With a loud crash, Gu Lin slammed into the wall and fell to the ground.

As the dust settled, the room was in ruins.

Objects were shattered, and the metal table, which had been intact, now looked as if it had been repeatedly run over by a truck, its frame twisted and deformed. The walls of the White Castle, made of military-grade materials, remained standing but had lost their outer layer, revealing dark inner walls. The windows were shattered, rain dripping through the metal bars.

Gu Lin, covered in white dust, tried to stand up but failed twice, falling to the ground and spitting out blood.

The black snake, pinned by the silver wolf, stopped struggling and silently disappeared into thin air.

Chu Ya, hunched over with his hands hanging, walked towards Gu Lin amidst the alarm of the mental force detector. The silver wolf followed him, both their eyes equally dark and filled with murderous intent.

Gu Lin finally managed to stand up, leaning against the wall, but Chu Ya pounced on him again, his hands tightening around his neck.

Gu Lin struggled to pry the hands off his neck, but Chu Ya continued to tighten his grip.

"Mom shouldn't have pulled you out of the abyss. You're a devil, and you should have died there! Why did you kill them? Why..." Chu Ya gritted his teeth, his expression a mix of pain and ferocity, and bit down hard on Gu Lin's neck.

Gu Lin, unable to make a sound, kicked at Chu Ya, his face turning from red to a deathly blue-white.

Suddenly, Chu Ya froze, his limbs bound by an invisible rope, collapsing weakly. Gu Lin took the opportunity to break free, rolling away and gasping for breath.

The silver wolf lunged at Gu Lin, baring its sharp teeth, but the black snake reappeared, intercepting it. The two beasts tangled and bit each other.

Chu Ya tried to lunge at Gu Lin again, but his body wouldn't move. He realized he was under the mental force restraint of a guide; Jin Gao, Gu Lin's guide, had arrived.

The door burst open, and a tall, lean officer rushed in, a basin-sized red spider leaping at the silver wolf. Gu Lin, infused with renewed strength, slowly stood up and walked to Chu Ya's side, delivering a heavy punch to his left leg.

The guide's mental force restraint lasted only a few seconds, but Chu Ya heard the snap of his leg bone breaking. He endured the sudden pain, grabbing a metal shard and slashing at Gu Lin's throat, but his arm was restrained, and the shard fell to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Jin Gao asked.

"I'm fine." Gu Lin licked the blood from his lip. "The sentinel's breakthrough was too powerful; my mental domain was disrupted. Luckily, you came just in time."

Chu Ya directed a mental force strike at Gu Lin, but he no longer possessed the same overwhelming power. The mental force sword barely pierced before hitting an invisible, hard barrier.

Gu Lin kicked Chu Ya's uninjured right leg, and the A-level sentinel used all his strength. Chu Ya flew back with the sound of bones breaking, crashing into a pile of furniture debris.

The intense pain caused Chu Ya's face to be drenched in cold sweat, but he gritted his teeth and stared at Gu Lin with bloodshot eyes.

"B+ sentinel, first breakthrough and already B+." Gu Lin turned to look at him, his gaze cold as he uttered three words: "Can't keep him."

The silver wolf tried to rush over but was intercepted by the red spider and the black snake. Though fierce, it couldn't withstand the combined assault of two A-level quantum beasts, emitting black smoke and roaring in anger.

Chu Ya crawled to the left, where his fallen dagger lay. Gu Lin followed him slowly.

"Can't kill him yet, right?" Jin Gao asked from the side.

Chu Ya breathed heavily, his right hand inching towards the dagger.

Gu Lin squatted beside him, stroking his head. "When I said we can't keep him, I didn't mean killing him. He must stay alive."

As Gu Lin spoke, Chu Ya felt as if steel needles were piercing his flesh and skull, stirring violently inside his head.

He saw the familiar snowfield, ice mountains crumbling, and cracks forming on the flat snow, sinking into endless depths.

His body felt as if millions of insects were gnawing at it, even hearing the sound of ants devouring his flesh.

The dual torment of his mental domain and physical pain made Chu Ya emit an unbearable scream. The silver wolf could no longer maintain its form and dissipated along with the collapsing ice field.

Despite the extreme pain, Chu Ya could still hear Gu Lin's voice, like a demon's whisper from hell.

"...Everyone looks down on me, even you don't take me seriously. You're so high and mighty, but without Uncle, what are you really..."

Chu Ya fell into unconsciousness, the pain continuing, tears streaming down his face, and his body twitching occasionally.

Gu Lin squatted beside him, watching for a moment before standing up and loosening his collar.

"Your neck is injured?" Jin Gao asked from the side.

"Yeah, he bit me."

Jin Gao immediately left the room and returned half a minute later with a medical kit.

"Take off your clothes. I'll treat your wound."

Gu Lin took off his upper garment, revealing his bare chest. There was a wound on his neck where Chu Ya had bitten him, the flesh torn and bleeding.

Jin Gao applied medicine to the wound while Gu Lin looked down at his forearm. There was a black line there, like a long, clear birthmark, starting above his wrist and fading halfway up his forearm before disappearing.

Jin Gao glanced down at the line, his voice laced with concern: "It seems to have grown a bit longer."

Gu Lin lowered his arm, then after a few seconds of silence, he suddenly asked, "Jin Gao, do you think Aunt will be disappointed in me?"

Jin Gao did not answer. It seemed Gu Lin did not expect an answer either, only turning his head to look at the dark window, speaking almost to himself: "I don't want to hurt Aunt, but I don't want to die... What can I do? What else can I do?"

Jin Gao put down the medical kit and touched his face: "No one in this world can make you die. Everything you do is just self-defense."

"Yes, no one can make me die," Gu Lin's eyes lost their confusion, his gaze turning cold again: "Not anyone."

Jin Gao turned to look at Chu Ya, who was still convulsing: "What about him?"

"He has broken through, but his mental domain has been destroyed by me. He's useless now."

"Then..."

Gu Lin pushed Jin Gao aside, walked to Chu Ya's side, and looked down at him: "I've already said it, I won't kill him. He's my cousin, and I need him to get that thing."

Gu Lin raised his hand, looking at the black line on his forearm. The lightning reflected in the metal windowpanes shone into his eyes, making the cruelty and madness in them all the more evident.

"Inject another dose." Gu Lin slowly curled his lips: "My uncle-in-law wants to cut off my path to survival. If I really become a demon, then let his son accompany me to hell."

Chu Ya felt as if he were floating high in the sky, light as a breeze, weightless as a feather, unable to feel his body. Then he felt as if he were sinking deep into a swamp, weighed down by damp mud, every pore sealed shut.

"Can we inject the dose? Both his legs are broken. Can he handle it? Colonel Gu said he mustn't die."

"It should be fine. Although his mental domain has been destroyed, his body is still that of a sentinel, very resilient."

"Alright, then inject it."

...

The pale light illuminated the operating table. Chu Ya's consciousness was scattered, his eyes slightly open, the light reflecting in his dilated pupils, then flowing away.

His wrist was held by a hand wearing surgical gloves, the needle piercing his vein, pushing in the clear liquid slowly.

The needle was withdrawn, the empty syringe placed in a nearby case. A red spot slowly formed on his wrist, the blood quickly clotting, but the spot gradually turned black, like a dot of ink on white paper.

"Done. Everything is taken care of. We can take him back."

The bed wheels rolled on the floor, and Chu Ya was wheeled out of the room. His mind was foggy, but he could gradually feel the white light falling on his retina, hear the creaking of the bed wheels, and the sudden sharp alarm.

"...The alarm is ringing. Someone is breaking into White Castle."

"There are many people. It's bad, they're from the Morning Star Club."

"Don't worry, Colonel Gu has prepared for this."

...

Gunshots and screams kept penetrating Chu Ya's ears, along with some tense or fierce shouts. But those sounds were muffled as if through a layer of deep water, leaving no trace in his mind.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After a series of explosions and chaos, the white light in Chu Ya's vision disappeared, replaced by darkness, gunshots, footsteps, and heavy breathing.

"Deputy Yun, the Sunburn Club is here too."

"We've already rescued Chu Ya. Let's withdraw."

"What about the people locked up here?"

"Break the locks. Those who want to escape can do so."

...

Chu Ya could feel his body jolting, the cold rain on his face. Then came the roar of an engine, speeding forward amidst gunfire.

"Turn at this fork; it leads to the Hongfeng landing field."

"...Deputy Yun, our transport has been intercepted by the Sunburn Club. What should we do?"

"There's a transport ahead that's already started. Hide Chu Ya in it, and we'll lead the others away."

"But that's a garbage disposal company's transport. It will take him to the abyss."

"Once we lose them, we'll go to the abyss to pick him up."

"Alright."

Chu Ya felt the cold rain again, heard the deafening roar, and a hoarse voice continuously entering his ears.

"Xiaoya, no matter what happens, you must survive. I will come for you as soon as I can. Do you understand? You must find a way to stay alive."

Stay alive... Stay alive...

Chu Ya's consciousness was blurred, but in the constant jolts, he imprinted these words in his mind.