Chapter 49

Chapter 49

1

Second Captain averted his gaze, speaking coolly, "I neither like nor dislike him. On the contrary, as a team member, your most fundamental principle is to obey orders and trust your captain unconditionally."

Deputy Captain gave Second Captain a deep look, then suddenly smiled, rose, and departed.

"Second Captain is right. I was overthinking it."

Watching Deputy Captain's retreating figure, Second Captain's brow furrowed in a serious expression.

He wasn't sure if he should warn Wang Qiu.

Or rather, he wondered if Wang Qiu would even listen to him now.

—

Ultimately, Second Captain did not seek out Wang Qiu. He was unsure what standing he had to offer this "kindness."

As time wore on, everyone had lost their fighting spirit amidst the monotonous repetition of days. Perhaps due to the lethargy induced by the nights, their eyes grew vacant, and some seemed disoriented, almost delirious.

Their brought-in food was depleted, and water had long been rationed to the bare minimum. In this enclosed Deep Pool Valley, they were like trapped prey—unable to escape, unable to find any trace of survival in this lifeless, dense forest.

If this continued, everyone would eventually suffer a mental breakdown.

Now, only Second Captain persisted in venturing out daily to search for a way out.

Wang Qiu, however, seemed detached from the group, often secluded in a corner or even vanishing without a trace.

Another day dawned, repeating the pattern. No one ventured out anymore; instead, they huddled in a small clearing, their eyes vacant, staring blankly ahead.

It was then that Wang Qiu rose and silently departed.

Seeing Wang Qiu's retreating back, Deputy Captain, who had been observing for a long time, quietly stood up and followed him.

Stepping into the icy lake, feeling the cold water envelop his body, Wang Qiu finally let out a sigh of relief and satisfaction.

He was growing increasingly insatiable. His long-suppressed desires, once unleashed, had become a bottomless pit.

Like an addict deprived of their fix, he grew agitated, anxious, and unbearably craving.

Wang Qiu sat by the lake, his gaze unfocused as he watched the shimmering surface.

"Ah Chan."

At his call, the water rippled and surged into a small wave that crept up his thigh.

The cold water soaked through his pants, seeping into his skin through the fabric like a caress, a tease.

A dazed expression appeared on Wang Qiu’s face.

This scene horrified the Deputy Captain who had followed him.

He never expected to uncover such a terrifying secret.

Soon, he saw Wang Qiu reach his hand out, lifting his head, looking lost, as if someone stood before him.

But there was clearly nothing in front of him.

Hidden in the shadows, Deputy Captain swallowed hard, watching Wang Qiu mutter to himself, his face pale with fear.

What happened next nearly stopped his heart.

Wang Qiu opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, revealing a well-concealed tongue piercing starkly under the sunlight, the strands of saliva glistening with a lewd hue.

The former Wang Qiu was like a sharp sword, cold snow, a solid shield, a tightly shut clam.

Every cold and hard word could be applied to Wang Qiu.

He was always impeccably dressed, rarely even undoing the collar button. The only part of him exposed were his distinctly bony hands—yet those long, elegant hands were often stained with blood, that never evoked any association with desire or beauty.

Let alone that golden tongue piercing. Wang Qiu was as restrained and meticulous as his uniform, never revealing even a hint of himself.

No one knew Wang Qiu hid such a debauched object.

But now, Wang Qiu was like a clam slowly opening under scorching heat, willingly revealing its moist, soft flesh and the sticky, wet pearl within.

Watching this, Deputy Captain’s wide eyes filled with disbelief and indescribable horror.

If Deputy Captain had stepped closer, he would have seen a faint reflection on the lake surface, leaning down to meet Wang Qiu’s lips.

Wang Qiu tilted his head back, eyes slightly narrowed, his face showing complete infatuation.

He was lost in it, loving it, aching for even more intense satisfaction.

Just as he was lost in ecstasy, a rustle from the bushes made him open his eyes and look over, but he only saw a blurry figure.

He stared intently for a moment, then continued sinking back into his dazed intoxication.

The chill, damp mist enveloped him from head to toe, possessively swallowing him whole.

On the rippling lake surface, Wang Qiu was lost in passion, while another pair of eyes—belonging to a monster—stared deeply at him.

Wang Qiu’s sweet scent equally captivated it.

—

The moment Second Captain returned, he noticed something off about Deputy Captain.

Deputy Captain wasn’t exactly someone with strong nerves, or perhaps the shock of what he had witnessed was overwhelming, leaving him completely unable to control himself.

He was pale, more disoriented than those with high fevers.

Yet he acted immediately, reporting the news to HQ.

However, the scene was too horrifying. Out of fear, he didn’t go into detail, only mentioning that Wang Qiu had been bewitched by a variant.

The watch on his wrist was grabbed by someone. Second Captain snapped, his expression grim, "What did you do? You have a communicator—you can contact the outside world!"

Deputy Captain didn’t resist the watch being taken. He turned to Second Captain, dazed, and said, "The message has already been sent."

Suddenly, his expression twisted into something strange—filled with incomprehensible anger, fear, and disgust.

"He… Wang Qiu, actually with a variant…"

And such a vicious, terrifying monster at that.

He couldn’t finish his sentence, as if every word was too disgraceful to say.

Second Captain seized his wrist, piercing him with a gaze as he said, "How are you able to contact the Intelligence Bureau directly? You were sent by the Intelligence Bureau—you’re spying on Wang Qiu!"

He spoke the last sentence with absolute certainty.

Deputy Captain wrenched his hand away from Second Captain and said coldly, "This is none of Captain Chen’s business. As a captain, as the hope everyone’s counting on for survival, as the backbone of the Intelligence Bureau—what is he doing? He actually located T39, yet he’s left everyone stranded here!"

Hearing this, Second Captain couldn't help but feel annoyed.

These words again.

Hope, backbone—Second Captain was tired of hearing it all.

He had long grown disillusioned with the Intelligence Bureau over time, along with the so-called "faith in protecting humanity." These words had no effect on him and didn't stir any sense of shared purpose.

"What exactly is your goal? Why did the Bureau order you to surveil Wang Qiu?"

"I didn’t expect Captain Chen to care so much about Wang Qiu."

"Don’t change the subject. I don’t want to hear this."

Deputy Captain snorted coldly. "Captain Chen, there’s no need to overreact. You just need to know that you are the captain of Second Team, and you always will be."

"What’s that supposed to mean!"

"Nothing…"

Deputy Captain’s words suddenly caught in his throat. He stared ahead, his eyes filled with unconcealed fear.

Wang Qiu’s figure slowly emerged from the depths, his icy blue eyes coldly fixed on them.

No one could face the aura Wang Qiu radiated.

Deputy Captain took a step back, then turned and ran without looking back.

He remembered the look in Wang Qiu’s eyes when he killed the two-headed wolf—devoid of pity, hesitation, only an indifferent apathy toward life.

It terrified him.

To him now, Wang Qiu was no different from a monster.

Taken aback by the sudden retreat, Second Captain froze for a moment.

Turning to see Wang Qiu’s cold, colorless eyes, Second Captain wasn’t sure if Wang Qiu was fully conscious at that moment, only feeling suffocated by the pressure emanating from him.

"No. 3, find him and bring him back."

Wang Qiu ordered, his face blank.

No. 3 had grown much thinner recently and, like the others, seemed somewhat disoriented. But upon hearing the order, she immediately stood up, her gaze sharpening instantly.

"Yes."

A dark braid flashed by as No. 3’s agile figure vanished.

Sensing the tension mounting, many people sat up and turned their attention to Wang Qiu.

Second Captain watched Wang Qiu, his brow furrowed tightly.

He couldn’t quite understand what Wang Qiu was thinking.

—

No. 3 failed to find Deputy Captain before nightfall. To avoid passing out in the open and risking danger, she returned to camp early.

"Captain Wang, there’s no trace of Number One."

No. 3’s eyes were unfocused, clearly struggling against the effects of the approaching night.

Wang Qiu gazed at the moonlight filtering through the trees and said softly, "Hmm."

With a thud, No. 3 collapsed.

Second Captain quietly watched Wang Qiu’s figure but ultimately didn’t resist as darkness swallowed his consciousness.

The quietly awakened Deepsink Valley began to shimmer with scattered points of light. Everyone fell into a deep slumber amidst the silence, leaving only Wang Qiu standing alone.

He watched the gently swaying grasses and trees, the rustling sounds seeming to carry a lively, light laughter.

The dense thicket ahead parted to reveal a clear, visible path. These "spirits," awake only at night, gently pushed against his calves with flowers and vines, seductively showing him the way.

Wang Qiu watched quietly for a moment before taking long strides onto the flower-filled path.

As he ventured deeper, pairs of icy blue eyes transformed into scattered points of light, illuminating the darkness. Wings as thin as cicada wings fluttered in the air, following the direction of the light.

In this dreamlike scene, Deputy Captain—somehow still awake—was cowering in terror in the thicket, his limbs tightly bound by vines, unable to move.

Seeing Wang Qiu approach, he immediately cried out in panic, "Captain Wang, Captain Wang!"

But when he noticed Wang Qiu surrounded by those flowers and vines, his voice caught in his throat, horrified by the bizarre sight.

His face pale with fear, he nearly stopped breathing, unsure whether the figure before him was human or some unknown monster.

Only when Wang Qiu stopped in front of him and asked, "Is there anything you want to say to me?" did his cold tone briefly revive Deputy Captain’s senses.

He looked up, struggling to recognize the familiar "savior" in Wang Qiu, and hurriedly said, "Captain Wang, save me! I didn’t betray you—I only reported our mission progress to the Intelligence Bureau. I didn’t say anything else!"

Wang Qiu looked down at the fear-paled face and said quietly, "You were monitoring me."

Though Wang Qiu did nothing, the escalating pressure emanating from him felt like a festering disease invading Deputy Captain’s heart.

Gazing into Wang Qiu’s abyssal eyes, he felt as though he were staring into a cold, deep well.

This Wang Qiu was different from any he had seen before—familiar in his indifference, yet strangely eerie and somber.

He couldn’t bear to look any longer and quickly averted his eyes.

After a long pause, he managed to say with difficulty, "I don’t know why the Intelligence Bureau ordered me to monitor you. I only knew they wanted me to keep an eye on whether you showed any unusual behavior. Beyond that, the Intelligence Bureau gave no other orders. Except… except…"

Deputy Captain looked up at Wang Qiu’s unreadable face and said through gritted teeth, "Recently, the Intelligence Bureau selected a new agent to train intensively, saying… they were preparing them to take your place."

After speaking, Deputy Captain trembled uncontrollably, his heart clenched to the extreme, as if awaiting judgment.

But after he finished, Wang Qiu fell silent and did not speak for a long time.

The crushing silence felt like knives slowly slicing through his heart. Just as he was nearing breaking point, Wang Qiu finally asked, "Finished?"

He quickly looked up. "Yes, that’s really all there is!"

Wang Qiu glanced up and walked off without a backward glance.

His eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

"Captain Wang, Captain Wang!"

Feeling those vines crawling over his body, rage, fear, resentment, disgust—all these intense emotions flooded his trembling body.

Eyes blazing, he shouted, "Wang Qiu, how dare you, how dare you just leave like this!"

His weak, powerless body couldn't resist; he trembled as if he might collapse or lose control at any moment, unable to even concentrate enough to use his superpowers.

He stared intently at Wang Qiu's disappearing figure.

"I hate you!"

"Wang Qiu, I hate you!"

"You cold-blooded, heartless murderer!"

The swaying floral vines on Deputy Captain's body seemed like mischievous children, emitting soft, rustling laughter.

They taunted his trembling body playfully, finding amusement in his fear and anger.

Just as they were frolicking, a sudden, chilling mist enveloped the area above. The giggling floral vines immediately fell silent and quietly retreated.

The surroundings fell dead silent, as if even the air had stopped flowing.

Deputy Captain, face pale, looked around at the bizarre environment and then at the suddenly quiet flowers and trees. He cautiously straightened up, but in the next moment, a column of water condensed from midair pierced through his mouth and out his body.

His eyes widened; the blood surging inside him churned in his throat, gurgling, choking off his breath.

He tilted his head back, watching as pairs of wings, thin as cicada wings, fluttered before his eyes, and glowing eyes under the towering trees appeared as beautiful as fairies.

Writhing in agony, he painfully turned his head to look in the direction Wang Qiu had left.

In truth, he had once greatly admired Wang Qiu. Like the newcomers now, he had joined the Intelligence Bureau because of Wang Qiu.

Under the Bureau's promotion and propaganda, Wang Qiu was their idolized hero, the force that strengthened their faith.

But Wang Qiu was too distant from him. He thought joining the Bureau would bring him closer to Wang Qiu, but aside from knowing what missions Wang Qiu had completed or which new tasks he had taken on, he had hardly ever seen Wang Qiu's face.

Slowly, that admiration faded with the distance, and he experienced the situation many "old-timers" faced within the Bureau.

It was a very complex emotion.

There was awe of Wang Qiu, jealousy, longing, and a hint of resentment that was hard to put into words.

Because of Wang Qiu's presence, External Operations Team 1 only took on the most difficult or otherwise unachievable missions.

Thus, External Operations Team 1 had the highest mortality rate.

Yet, whenever there was a vacancy in External Operations Team 1, it would immediately be filled by personnel from other positions.

The team once had nine members but had been reduced to four now, not only because no one could fill the empty spots but also because the turnover under Wang Qiu was too high—so fast that no suitable candidates could be selected anymore.

And everyone who joined External Operations Team 1 would have their name stripped away, replaced by cold code names that represented the last remnant of their identity.

Without a name, they were merely tools, expendable at any moment.

Every year, watching the naive enthusiasm of new recruits, they felt mocked and even harbored the darkest malice.

The more they admired Wang Qiu now, the more they would later avoid him like the plague, just as they did.

They were the lowliest of ants beneath Wang Qiu, losing their ability to survive under his powerful protection while being forced as tools with no choice to fill the deadly positions around him.

Everyone was confused about the meaning of their existence.

The more they thought about it, the more trapped they felt, and twisted emotions began to emerge.

Bright red blood, like boiling magma, gushed out of Deputy Captain's mouth, and his eyes grew vacant.

In truth, everyone in the Intelligence Bureau went through such a process regarding Wang Qiu, including Second Captain.

It was just that Second Captain had been there longer, thought more, and his feelings toward Wang Qiu were the most complex.

In Second Captain's view, they were all tools forged by the Intelligence Bureau, and Wang Qiu was no longer a mere person but a cold, hard weapon.

There was no difference between them.

It was just that the labels attached to Wang Qiu were more glamorous.

But Deputy Captain hadn't figured it out, nor could he.

He did whatever the Headquarters told him to do.

After all, his fate was sealed.

With a "thud," he fell backward onto the ground, his wide-open eyes losing their light.