Chapter 42: Aborted

Chapter 42: Aborted

Jiang Yi's hands were bound to his waist, and he hated the feeling of being trapped.

1

“I’ve already agreed to go with you. Do you really have to tie me up?” Jiang Yi said.

Qiu Xing held the silver whip and shrugged. “It is necessary. I’m afraid you won’t want to leave that little wild wolf behind.”

“Master!”

Ke Lin was restrained by Jiang Yi’s *Mental Restraint* and wanted to rush over but couldn’t move.

He watched helplessly as Jiang Yi was bound by the silver whip and followed the Espers, step by step, as they led him away.

Ke Lin’s eyes reddened instantly, his sharp wolf teeth bared, and he let out a roar of anger and despair. His golden vertical pupils locked fiercely onto the Espers ahead, as if he wanted to tear them all to pieces.

“This little wolf is quite fierce,” Qiu Xing clicked his tongue and shook his head.

Seeing Ke Lin like this, Jiang Yi’s heart twisted. He said to Qiu Xing, “Let’s move faster.”

Just as Jiang Yi and the others were about to leave the military academy, Ke Lin found he could move again.

He immediately picked up Jiang Yi’s scent and took off after him.

The wild wolf’s speed was extremely fast, and within seconds, he caught up with Jiang Yi and the others.

“He’s following us again!” Qiu Xing cursed under his breath and signaled for his companions to block Ke Lin.

Two defensive Espers moved to the back of the group and simultaneously set up several layers of defensive barriers, trapping Ke Lin inside.

These barriers were formed from solidified Esper energy, like iron walls.

Ke Lin continuously clawed and slammed at the barriers with his wolf paws, the pads of his front paws bloodied from the energy’s backlash.

Watching the usually obedient and adorable little wolf trapped and struggling desperately, Jiang Yi’s heart twisted in pain. He sent a telepathic message to Ke Lin, “Ke Lin, go back. I’ll be fine.”

Ke Lin shook his head sadly at him and continued attacking the defensive barriers.

As the barriers were attacked, they automatically retaliated with bursts of Esper energy, leaving Ke Lin with more and more injuries.

Jiang Yi said to Qiu Xing, “You promised you wouldn’t hurt him!”

“I really didn’t intend to hurt him. He’s the one who won’t stop attacking the barriers,” Qiu Xing said helplessly.

Hearing this, Jiang Yi’s remaining Esper energy erupted violently, stretching Qiu Xing’s silver whip slightly and allowing him to pull his hands free.

Seeing this, Qiu Xing thought Jiang Yi was trying to escape. He took a sedative from his backpack and, while Jiang Yi was distracted, slapped it against the back of his neck, injecting the drug.

Jiang Yi had overused both his mental and Esper abilities today and had almost no resistance to the drug.

Within seconds, his head tilted to the side, and he passed out.

Qiu Xing supported Jiang Yi in his arms and said to his companions, “Ignore that wild wolf. Let’s go quickly.”

Seeing Jiang Yi injected with an unknown drug, Ke Lin instantly recalled the torment he had endured in the containment facility.

He let out a sorrowful and furious howl toward the sky.

He actually awakened a psychic ability then and there.

The sudden surge of psychic power shattered all the barriers before him.

Ke Lin's gaze locked onto Qiu Xing, and a brown-yellow wolf form shot toward him like a speeding arrow.

No living creature should have been able to move that fast.

In the blink of an eye, Ke Lin pounced in front of Qiu Xing, his sharp fangs aiming for the arm with which Qiu Xing supported Jiang Yi.

Qiu Xing hadn't expected this wild wolf to be capable of such speed and failed to dodge completely.

Ke Lin's sharp front teeth left two deep, bloody gashes on Qiu Xing's arm.

Blood fell to the ground like raindrops.

Anger flared in Qiu Xing's eyes—it had been a long time since he had suffered such a direct and bloody wound.

Without hesitation, he retaliated against Ke Lin. He could use his lightning ability even without the silver whip.

At the same time, several other attack-type espers also launched their attacks.

They had promised Jiang Yi not to harm Ke Lin.

But they weren't about to let Ke Lin attack without fighting back.

Moreover, this wild wolf seemed extremely protective of his abdomen, willingly taking heavier injuries elsewhere rather than let his belly come to any harm.

The esper warriors, seasoned in battle, quickly identified their opponent's weakness and began focusing their counterattacks on it.

Under the combined assault of so many espers, Ke Lin was soon a mass of wounds.

Blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, several parts of his body were charred from lightning strikes, and the once glossy, smooth fur that Jiang Yi loved so much was now filthy and matted.

Qiu Xing had never seen a creature so stubborn. They had already said they wouldn't harm his master, yet he still insisted on following.

If the fight continued, they ran a real risk of killing this wild wolf.

Killing a wild wolf was one thing, but Jiang Yi's future retaliation was another.

Jiang Yi valued this wolf so highly. If he ever inherited the Director's mantle, he would surely come looking for trouble.

Just thinking about it gave Qiu Xing a headache.

Qiu Xing ordered his team to change tactics. Four members used special chains to seize the opportunity and restrain Ke Lin's limbs, while a psychic esper performed "hypnosis" on him.

Unable to struggle any longer, Ke Lin was successfully hypnotized and collapsed heavily to the ground.

"Finally dealt with. Let's go," Qiu Xing said.

The two teams quickly withdrew, leaving only chaos and debris behind at the military academy.

Ke Lin felt as if he were trapped in darkness.

He couldn't find his master, nor could he see the path ahead.

Images of his master losing consciousness before him kept flashing through his mind.

He struggled to breathe, his heart aching as if being wrung.

Suddenly, Colin felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen.

A wave of inexplicable panic hit him, as if something vital within his body was slowly draining away.

He clutched his lower abdomen, tears welling up and spilling over.

Master was just taken away, please, don't you leave me too.

No!

No...

"Wake up, Colin, wake up. It's alright now."

Colin heard a soft voice calling to him.

He struggled to open his eyes, his vision blurred by tears he hadn't realized were there.

He blinked a few times, dazed.

As his awareness returned, he sat up abruptly. "Where's Master?"

Tian Rui, Hera, Zuo Lai, and several doctors in white coats were gathered around the bed.

Colin had been crying, repeatedly murmuring "no" and "don't go" in a low voice.

He seemed trapped in a nightmare, so Tian Rui had no choice but to wake him.

When they heard Colin's first words upon waking,

no one had the heart to answer him.

"I have to find him!"

With that, Colin threw off the covers, trying to get out of bed.

He had just been through a battle against overwhelming odds and was hurt all over. As he moved, a strange pain shot through his lower abdomen.

This pain seemed to pierce straight to his heart, forcing him to stop his movement. He gripped the sheets tightly, his gaze filling with despair and fear.

He could feel it.

His baby was gone.

Seeing Colin's expression, even Tian Rui's usually cold face showed a flicker of compassion.

He had deliberately left during the Esper Team's invasion, taking most of the elite forces with him.

This was his test for Colin and Jiang Yi. Even his own biological son had to pass a trial to earn his complete trust; it was also his responsibility to his corps.

Only if they proved they would fight to the death would the Wild Wolf Corps fully accept them.

And in that process, a bitter fight was inevitable.

Given Jiang Yi and Colin's abilities, they certainly wouldn't lose their lives, but getting injured, even suffering a "miscarriage," was to be expected.

This was also the solution Tian Rui had devised for Colin's false pregnancy.

Having grown up amidst the endless bloodshed of the underground beast-fighting arena, Tian Rui was harsh on himself and instinctively chose a violent method to resolve his son's false pregnancy.

Since he was unwilling to abort the "child," he should give it up to protect his clan and his master.

But he hadn't expected two Esper Teams to show up at the same time.

Moreover, according to Zuo Lai, the second Esper Team was even more powerful and was there to capture Jiang Yi.

Tian Rui had originally thought that as long as Jiang Yi and Ke Lin passed the test, he'd keep them in the Wild Wolf Corps permanently.

At their core, both of them shared his desire for the Minority Race to receive better treatment.

They could have worked toward that goal together.

But now Jiang Yi had been taken away, and Ke Lin's demeanor had turned gloomy since that day.

When Jiang Yi woke up again, he found himself seated in a distinctive high-backed chair.

His hands and feet were tightly bound with leather straps, inside an obviously reinforced, sealed room.

Before he could even call out, the door opposite him automatically slid open.

A white-haired, gaunt-faced old man with exceptionally bright eyes approached Jiang Yi in a motorized wheelchair.

He wasn't in a hurry to speak. He simply stopped in front of Jiang Yi, quietly observing him, his gaze slowly sweeping over Jiang Yi's facial features.

His expression was as if he were looking at a long-lost treasure.

Jiang Yi also narrowed his eyes to size him up. After a moment, he spoke, "Are you... the Director of the Federal Research Institute?"

"Very clever, my son," the Director said with a smile.

Jiang Yi agreed with the first part of his statement, but upon hearing the latter part, he felt like he'd been struck by lightning.

He was the son of the Director of the Federal Research Institute?

No.

Not him, but the original body.

The original young man who had been beaten to death in that dark alley.

He had no memories from the original body. He couldn't explain why, if the original body had such a powerful father, he would have ended up on the streets, nor did he know what the original body had experienced before.

Jiang Yi couldn't possibly tell the other about his transmigration, so he could only feign amnesia.

"If I'm your son, then you really look quite old."

Jiang Yi's current body was just twenty-one, but the other man looked to be over eighty.

He fathered a kid at over sixty?

Talk about staying power.

"I preserved my genes very early on. You are from my ninth batch of descendants," the Director offered.

This guy had kids in *batches*!

Jiang Yi didn't speak, but his eyes had already cursed for him.

"So, with so many children, it's understandable if one or two weren't properly cared for and ended up on the streets, isn't it? But the one who got away happened to be you, my most talented son. That is something I cannot tolerate."

Iddis has been in power for many years, his face aged but his presence just as imposing.

Anger flashed across his face. "So I threw all those who once cared for you into the experimental pool, watching their bones slowly dissolve into foam. They were truly useless—so many of them, yet not a single drop of Life Elixir was produced. Son, are you satisfied now?"

Iddis's words made Jiang Yi's skin crawl. It was so messed up, and how was that *his* problem? If anyone was unsatisfied, it was this old man.

Now he got it. This was why Professor Bonasen hated the institute so much, and why Senior Xin Ziyu had refused to stay after a single visit.

Seen this way, it made sense the institute would back the policy of forcing all Minority Races to wear neck rings implanted with mental restraints.

Seeing Jiang Yi ignore him, the Director showed no anger and mused aloud. "I know life was hard for you after you went missing and ended up in the slums. But it doesn’t matter, son. Your talent is one in a million. Once you inherit my position, the whole world will be at your feet."

"What if I refuse?"

"Son, refusal is not an option."

Author's Note:

Ke Lin, baby, don't cry.