Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The communication from the hotel cut out abruptly amidst the screams of the bodyguards.

Yan Gui pressed against his earpiece, frantically shouting, "Shen Hui!"

His anxious, fearful cries echoed through the deep and abandoned underground lab, causing dust to shake loose from unknown corners.

Nothing but static responded. Yan Gui immediately turned to rush back to the hotel, but after just two steps, he suddenly realized he had been abandoned by Shen Hui once again.

Immense disappointment and fear enveloped the alpha, as the blazing hospital fire from three years ago roared back to life in his mind.

Did he really want to leave him that badly?

Yan Gui trembled, breathing out scorching air like a giant whose spine had been shattered, finding it difficult even to stand.

"I can't believe you actually dared to leave Shen Hui alone and rush in here so recklessly."

Chen Shenzhi's voice echoed from all directions in the darkness. "Is it because Number One is gradually robbing you of your sanity?"

The bodyguards couldn't locate the voice's source and immediately formed a protective circle around their boss with cautious vigilance.

They seemed to be in a vast, open area. Even high-lumen tactical flashlights could only faintly illuminate the dilapidated, mottled walls a hundred meters away.

"But if it helps you recognize A Hui and willingly die here, that's not so bad." Chen Shenzhi's voice reverberated through the space, distorted and eerily unsettling.

Yan Gui lowered his head, his expression unreadable in the darkness.

"Since you've given up struggling, return what belongs to me."

Whether it was Number One or A Hui.

The moment he finished speaking, a chilling sound of metal axles grinding echoed from all directions, followed by faint but heavy panting.

There were people!

Yan Gui had brought along elite bodyguards stationed overseas, many of whom were battle-hardened veterans. They instantly sensed that something dangerous was approaching—and in large numbers. They quickly formed a tight circle, shielding Yan Gui with their backs turned outward.

"Boss! We're surrounded!"

But their boss seemed to have lost the will to live, crushed by the blow of his wife's running away.

Are we really going to die here?

The approaching footsteps were light and dense, sounding like an entire mercenary army!

Damn it! G Country's security is so full of holes it makes a sieve look good—this is a death trap!

The bodyguards remained vigilant, their flashlight beams sweeping through the darkness, but they found no one. It was as if they were dealing with ghosts!

Just as their nerves were stretched to the breaking point, a deathly pale face suddenly lunged at one of the bodyguards. Skeletal fingers grabbed his wrist, and an immense force dragged him into the darkness.

The others had no time to react before their comrade was pulled dozens of meters away, his screams swallowed by the night.

That speed was inhuman!

"Mon... monsters!" A less experienced bodyguard panicked, revealing an opening, and was immediately seized. Just as he was about to be dragged away, a powerful hand anchored him like a pillar, while another hand swiftly snatched the "monster" from the darkness and slammed it to the ground, crushing it underfoot.

The creature let out a piercing shriek that made their scalps crawl.

Flashlights immediately focused on it, revealing not a monster but a person who resembled a skeleton.

They seemed drained of flesh and blood, with only the gland on the back of their neck swollen like a tumor, red veins extending from it and pulsing beneath their skin throughout their body.

"What... what is this?!"

"Failed experiments." Yan Gui's entire demeanor was icy. He fired a shot, shattering the gland on the back of the creature's neck. The experiment subject's struggles and screams ceased abruptly, leaving a suffocating silence in the darkness.

"How... how do we fight these?" They had come in a hurry and weren't equipped with infrared gear. Even if they had, aiming at these "people" with their speed would be nearly impossible.

Yan Gui sneered, "You think these scraps can take me down? Who do you take me for?"

Rustling sounds approached again. The bodyguards braced themselves, only to suddenly see a burst of light emanating from behind them.

!

Their boss was holding a ball of red flame in his hand. He casually tossed it upward, and the fireball struck the ceiling, cascading down like fireworks along the beams and pillars, illuminating the entire space.

But when they saw their surroundings clearly, they gasped in horror. The plaza, as large as a dozen basketball courts, was densely packed with hundreds of these tumor-ridden people!

It would have been better not to see!

Dozens of bodyguards felt despair creeping up their spines. Yan Gui, who had been surrounded, strode to the outer edge. He raised his hand and unleashed a fiery dragon, forcing back the approaching tumor-people. The dragon roared, carving a path through the dense crowd and revealing the bodyguard who had been dragged away earlier.

"Take him and retreat. Find Shen Hui and follow his orders."

The bodyguards, loyal and disciplined, moved with professional precision to carry their severely injured, unconscious comrade and began retreating. Some of the tumor-people, driven by a desperate hunger for flesh and blood, tried to charge forward.

But no matter which direction they came from, they were instantly incinerated by flames that appeared out of nowhere. As the bodyguards neared the edge of the plaza, the creatures could no longer restrain themselves and prepared to swarm.

Yan Gui saw through their intentions instantly. As the bodyguards made their escape, a blazing wall of fire erupted from the ground, reducing anyone who stepped past it to ashes.

Once he confirmed the bodyguards had left, Yan Gui lost all patience. Immense flames erupted around him, hot enough to melt steel, surging like a tsunami to engulf the tumor-people.

They didn't even have time to scream before their miserable lives ended.

Chen Shenzhi watched the nearly perfect Number One through the monitor, his gentle eyes filled with undisguised admiration, which soon turned to anger.

Peony, standing behind him, was also shocked by Yan Gui's power. He was far more formidable and domineering than any experiment subject she had seen on the training grounds—perhaps even Number One would be no match for him.

But that had nothing to do with her. "Are you just going to let him burn everything? The lab will collapse in less than five minutes."

"You go." Chen Shenzhi turned to her in the darkness. "Just leave him with a breath of life."

Peony laughed as if she'd heard a joke. "You mean, let him leave me with a breath? Does he look like a good person to you?"

Chen Shenzhi's expression remained gentle, his eyes smiling, but his tone brooked no argument.

Every time Peony met his gaze, it felt like staring into the eyes of a venomous snake. She averted her eyes fearfully. "Fine, I'll go. Remember what you promised me."

Chen Shenzhi smiled faintly. "Of course."

Peony vanished into the darkness in the blink of an eye. Chen Shenzhi turned back to the screen.

The flames around Yan Gui were now uncontrollable—a sign that his pheromones were spiraling into chaos.

"Be sure to keep the gift I've prepared for you. Consider it a return gift for stealing A Hui away."

He casually pressed a button, and the entire plaza began to shake violently. Yan Gui fell into the darkness.

Now, a height of a hundred meters was no different from a small step to him. As he landed steadily, a blinding light suddenly illuminated his surroundings.

Yan Gui instinctively shielded his eyes, but a familiar, youthful voice reached his ears.

"Can you promise to be good to me alone from now on?"

Yan Gui froze. Slowly lowering his hand, he saw the six-year-old Shen Hui looking up at him, eyes filled with nervous hope.

"I..." Yan Gui instinctively reached out.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch young Shen Hui, a bullet pierced through his chest.

Blood splattered, and his vision was overwhelmed by red and black.

*

At the same moment, back at the hotel, Shen Hui felt a sudden, dull pain in his chest, as if sensing something. He slackened his foot's pressure, giving Nathan the chance to scramble up and retreat to the doorway, cautiously on guard.

What else was Chen Shenzhi hiding from him?!

But Shen Hui paid him no mind. The abrupt, dull pain in his chest gave him a terrible premonition.

Yan Gui had gone to find Chen Shenzhi—he should have realized it sooner.

Suppressing his irritation, he had assumed Chen Shenzhi would avoid Yan Gui for now, especially since he himself had clearly taken Yan Gui's side.

But Chen Shenzhi understood him all too well, just as he understood Chen Shenzhi. So, deliberately doing the opposite, Chen Shenzhi had set up this choice for him:

Yan Gui, or the innocent younger brother you dragged into this?

He could almost see the mockery and malice hidden behind that smiling face.

"Chen Shenzhi!" Shen Hui gritted his teeth, wishing he could tear the man to pieces.

As he pondered a foolproof plan, Nathan suddenly convulsed, his face contorting as he collapsed to the floor.

Shen Hui looked over, puzzled, and saw that Nathan's gland had swollen into a terrifying fleshy mass, with red gland nerves spreading like a spiderweb from his neck down into his collar.

"Hel..." Nathan seemed to be choked by an invisible force, unable even to cry for help. His robust *alpha* physique withered visibly, like a drug addict on the verge of death.

Even Shen Hui couldn't help but gasp. "Side effects?"

No, it seemed more like a failed gland evolution.

No wonder—Shen Hui suddenly understood why Chen Shenzhi had gone to such lengths to lure them here. Yan Gui had been right; his experiment was missing a crucial component—and that component was himself.

Shen Hui used Nathan as a test subject, carefully controlling the dosage until Nathan reached a critical state where he could move but not fight, then dragged him up like a dead weight.

"Chairman Nathan, there's an old saying in my country: 'A wise man knows when to yield.'"

Having just survived a life-or-death struggle, Nathan naturally understood that Shen Hui had saved him—and why.

"I can take you to Mr. Yang," Nathan said weakly, gasping, "but you have to cure me completely."

"You have no leverage with me," Shen Hui stated calmly. "I could save any of your men outside instead. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to testify against your involvement in illegal gland modification experiments."

Nathan fell silent, suddenly realizing from Shen Hui's calm and commanding presence why Chen Shenzhi and Yan Gui were so desperate to claim him.

This was a treacherous beauty who could rule from behind the scenes!

With Nathan serving as a human shield, Shen Hui quickly found the cell where Yang Bai was held. It resembled an old wartime prison, with dozens of cells lined up on either side.

Aside from a few corpses whose glands had drained them dry, there were no signs of life.

Shen Hui’s intuition told him that Chen Shenzhi wouldn’t kill Yan Gui, but the scent of blood in the dungeon still filled him with worry.

As Nathan used his authority to unlock the cell, Shen Hui hurried to Yang Bai, who had his back turned, and patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Xiao Bai, are you okay?"

Yang Bai turned around fearfully, and the moment he saw Shen Hui, his strained nerves snapped. He threw himself into Shen Hui's arms, weeping bitterly.

"Brother! You finally came to save me! I thought I was going to die!"

Yang Bai wept as if he'd never stop.

Shen Hui’s worried heart finally relaxed. He patted Yang Bai’s back soothingly. "It’s okay now. I’m here..."

Yang Bai choked out between sobs, "You have no idea how scary it is here! There are so many experimental subjects—I was so afraid I’d end up like them!"

Shen Hui’s eyes darkened, but he continued to comfort softly, "I won’t let that happen to you."

"Really?" Yang Bai looked up, tears streaming down his face.

Shen Hui nodded seriously.

Yang Bai’s tears gave way to a smile as he clung tighter to Shen Hui’s waist. In the shadows where Shen Hui couldn’t see, a sinister smile spread across his face. "You’re lying."

Shen Hui was startled by his chilling tone.

"You don’t care about me at all! Die!"

Yang Bai gripped a dagger and thrust it toward Shen Hui’s back!

"Look out!" Nathan screamed in panic.

In an instant, blood splattered. Shen Hui stood still, his hands covered in blood, his expression cold and detached.

'Yang Bai' clutched his nearly severed wrist, crashing through the cell door to put distance between them, glaring furiously at Shen Hui. "How did you figure it out?"

Shen Hui looked up at him indifferently. His steps were steady and light as he advanced, and the temperature in the cell plummeted to freezing. Corpses turned into ice sculptures, and their breath misted visibly in the air.

His pale, slender fingers clenched mid-air, and frost obeyed his will, coalescing into a simple, translucent black-ice Tang blade.

Shen Hui gave the blade a shake, and a palpable chill radiated from it, making him look like a rakshasa from a frozen hell.

The rakshasa spoke softly, "When Xiao Bai cries, he can’t utter a single word."

Author's Note: Yang Bai: Seriously, bro? You’re dragging my name through the mud like this?!

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