Chapter 16 The Fool Has Nothing (16)

Chapter 16: Fools Own Nothing (Part 16)

That earlier glimpse had already exposed the other's disguised identity to Xu Jiu—it was the inspector whose cover he'd blown the day before.

It—how did it track me here? Did it come specifically to kill me?

Xu Jiu’s palms were drenched in sweat. He clutched tightly onto one of Number Six’s dangling oral arms in front of him, as if doing so could steady his nerves.

He didn’t understand the differences between jellyfish individuals, and Number Six couldn’t explain it clearly either. But one thing Xu Jiu instinctively grasped was the distinction between Number Six and its opponent.

Number Six was still immature, inexperienced—perhaps its accumulated energy hadn’t reached the required threshold. It couldn’t seamlessly switch between its true form and its disguise, nor was its speech as fluent as the alien before them. This alone proved it hadn’t even fully developed vocal organs...

“I thought it was strange,” the alien spoke again. “Why does he carry such a strong scent of pheromones yet remains uneaten? How could he see through my identity at a glance? So it’s you—leaking our secrets to him.”

“Time to fix this mistake.”

Xu Jiu murmured, “Number Six…”

It grinned.

“Ah, he even gave you a name. Pathetic. Can’t you sense it? The fragments with actual self-respect have already embraced a unified identity.”

“Humans call me by various names—some refer to me as Koschei, others as Osiris,” it explained amiably. “But to me, these are meaningless relics. So, I chose ‘Shi Yesheng’ instead. After all, it belonged to a brilliant, invaluable brain—and it was delicious.”

“Shi Yesheng” split its jagged maw, emitting a warped, echoing laugh.

“I hope your human is just as tasty as that brain.”

Number Six didn’t respond. The next second, it coiled around Xu Jiu’s waist and flung him clear across the room. Xu Jiu was thrown unexpectedly toward the door, rolling head over heels before coming to a stop.

“Number Six!” he shouted.

“Fine,” Shi Yesheng murmured to itself, every syllable emerging from its body like swamp bubbles popping thickly. “I’ll devour you first, then go after him.”

“Run!” Number Six roared with an inhuman voice, its mutated arms whipping out at a speed barely visible to the naked eye. Those appendages had already hardened to steel in preparation, ready to slice through any enemy.

Yet, such a thunderous assault was completely blocked. Number Six slashed at high speed, and the opponent parried just as swiftly. The screeching clashes tore through the hall like a torrential downpour. In mere seconds, their battle had escalated to fever pitch.

Xu Jiu’s eyes widened. He couldn’t keep watching—he knew he had to run. Staying would only burden Number Six. But where? How?

Trembling, he clawed upright before sprinting desperately into the bone-chilling dark.

“The human’s gone,” Shi Yesheng suddenly said. “Now, can you focus?”

Before the words even faded, it bat aside effortlessly the tentacles piercing toward it from all directions. The remaining flailing oral arms twisted together into a single whip, slamming Number Six back like a ragdoll.

Number Six crashed into a hall pillar, shattering it into rubble before tumbling to the ground, covered in dust. Its form flickered, parts dissolving, causing the follow-up strike to miss. Before Shi Yesheng could close in again, it surged forward, its arms coalescing with cobalt venom—a nest of gleaming serpents—shearing through pillars like wet paper, nearly teleporting right in front of Shi Yesheng.

“Die,” it said.

But Shi Yesheng vanished.

Number Six also struck empty air. Warily, it scanned its surroundings, its countless oral arms twisting and coiling like razor-sharp blades.

It searched the air for scents. Among Homoforms, there was supposed to be a shared sensory link—in theory, it should’ve been able to quickly locate its enemy. But clearly, its opponent was of a much higher rank.

More refined organs meant superior concealment. It couldn’t rely on one-sided “shared perception” to pinpoint Shi Yesheng’s hiding place.

It couldn’t afford to delay. Number Six knew this well—the time it had bought for its host was limited. The host had already seen through the identity Shi Yesheng used for disguise. If the enemy deemed silencing witnesses more important than fighting it, then Shi Yesheng would undoubtedly hunt down the host.

In the darkness, the killing intent was so dense it choked the air. Number Six's layered defenses of blade-like tentacles gradually shifted out of position, exposing several fatal gaps, within which glimmered a blue-diamond depth of light.

Yet it seemed utterly unaware, continuing to prowl slowly through the empty hall, searching for an enemy that could lurk in any corner.

From the shadows of a pillar came a faint sound—fainter than a falling sheet of paper. Number Six instantly caught the anomaly and whirled around. The moment it turned, a net-like gale roared behind it, descending like an inescapable trap.

In a thousandth of a second, Number Six moved.

Like mercury scattering or water flowing, it completed a transformation in an instant—its faceless visage caved inward, contracted, then rapidly reformed at the back of its head. In that split second, it faced Shi Yesheng head-on, like lovers reunited, feverish to clasp each other.

Shi Yesheng's surface quivered, as if a raindrop had struck a still lake.

A single raindrop multiplied into thousands, then swelled into a tidal surge of stabbing force! The tremendous wind pressure shrieked through the air. Had a steel wall stood before Number Six, it would have been shredded into iron shards in the blink of an eye, scattered like a blizzard.

The tendrils drilled like bits, viciously burrowing into the Homoform's flesh, twisting several times near its core. Number Six had used itself as bait, luring the enemy in. With sheer brute force, it even managed to suppress the more evolved Homoform in an all-out assault!

Yet the moment of advantage was precious and fleeting. The next moment, its sharpened appendages thrust forward again, but the impact rang out clear and crisp—like sword meeting shield.

Shi Yesheng had hardened its body as well. It swung meter-long limbs with whip-like force, capable of crushing ten bodies to pulp. But Number Six swiftly altered its outer shell, becoming like water split only to reunite seamlessly, leaving no trace of injury.

The two clashed and recoiled simultaneously. Dazzling droplets of uncanny azure blood gathered along Number Six's bladed limbs, trickling down before being reabsorbed into its translucent skin.

That was Shi Yesheng's blood.

Shi Yesheng lowered its gaze to the countless wounds covering its body. Under its watch, these seemingly fatal gashes writhed and sealed at an alarming rate, vanishing without a trace.

"You... are good."

It raised its head, its tone now laced with something murderously cold.

No matter how its corpse had been desecrated into this form, Shi Yesheng in life must have been uncommonly beautiful. The jellyfish had taken his appearance, warped his body—yet as bloodthirsty monsters, the eyes they mimicked were eerily delicate... like rain-drenched orchids, exuding a fragrance as deep and vast as the tide in the dark.

But now, that illusory beauty dissipated like mist, revealing the carnage-laden grotesquerie beneath. Shi Yesheng's face was ghastly pale, contorted like a vengeful spirit's. Its slender frame hunched slightly, its expression caught between a smile and something else—an eerie, almost affectionate look.

It was the starving leer of a predator beholding its prey.

The two circled each other slowly, probing for weaknesses. Number Six appeared unharmed, but its energy reserves dwindled next to its opponent's. In this war of attrition, it would inevitably be the first to falter.

Yet before they could resume their assault, an explosion roared outside—dozens of cluster rockets streaked through the air, trailing smoke before detonating in a blaze of fire!

Even with surveillance disabled and no witnesses, the sheer scale of the two Homoforms' battle had drawn the swift response of armed forces. Beta Squad lay in wait, ready to storm in once the flames died down.

But when they charged into the crumbling hall, they found no sign of life.

"Keep searching!" The squad leader's voice was grim beneath his mask. "This night marked their sole large-scale exposure in all this time. We *must* get answers!"

"Sir!"

The team fanned out in a cautious formation, backs pressed together as they swept the area. One member approached the leader and murmured, "Sir, we still have one eyewitness."

The leader paused, then nodded. "Where is he now?"

In the confinement room, Xu Jiu stared blankly into the darkness, his mind a chaotic void, unsure what to think.

When he fled the building, his first instinct had been to head for crowds. The polar station had indeed become the jellyfish's hunting ground, but he remembered Number Six's words clearly.

Disguise—they still needed it. That meant they couldn’t afford to cause unrest openly, nor could they appear in public recklessly.

So Xu Jiu had aimed for the packed mess hall. But he’d forgotten one critical detail: by the time Number Six and "Shi Yesheng" had faced off, the mess hall had already closed. Having squandered vital seconds, he had no choice but to turn and sprint toward the dormitory instead.

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side this time.

Xu Jiu's running footsteps were detected by the guards, and unsurprisingly, they caught him. Meanwhile, the heavy boom from the lab building's hall resonated through the night like an ancient bronze bell.

Thus, the night patrol guards immediately linked him to the unidentified disturbance in the lab building and, without question, took him to the detention room. The nearest Beta Team was scrambled, swiftly cordoning off a 50-meter perimeter around the lab building.

All of this happened within just ten minutes.

A crisp unlocking sound made Xu Jiu instinctively turn his head.

The blinding fluorescent light flicked on, forcing him to shut his eyes tightly. It took several seconds before he could open them again.

In his blurred vision, the pockmarked concrete floor, the peeling lead-gray walls, and the cold steel doorframe flashed by. Finally, his gaze settled on the hulking Biomech squeezing through the doorway, leaving him momentarily speechless.

“Is this him?” the captain asked.

“Yes, it’s him.”

[Good.] He gave a nod, then switched to a different language mode as he turned to Xu Jiu. “Now, answer my questions, low-level employee.”

Xu Jiu slowly clenched his fingers.

Perhaps due to infrequent use, the Biomech’s speech was slurred and muffled, like a caged beast's growl.

“Don’t exaggerate, don’t dress it up, and most importantly, don’t lie—because you can't handle the consequences of lying.” He said, “Answer whatever I ask.”

“Tell me, what did you see?”

Author's Note:

Xu Jiu: *Pitiful, lost, overwhelmed by grief* Number Six—my Number Six—where are you—

A research station employee: *Passing by, hosing him down* Scram, loiterer!

Another research station employee: *Passing by, dumping dirty laundry on him* Take these and wash them!

Yet another research station employee: *Passing by, hitting his head with a broom, shooing him like a cat* Shoo! Shoo!

Still Xu Jiu: *Huddled helplessly in a corner, sniffling wetly, crying*