Chapter 58
Having his hand slapped away, Fu Suxi simply took the opportunity to wrap his arm around Yu Zhi’s shoulders. Yu Zhi tried to struggle, but Fu Suxi was incredibly strong. Rather than calling it an affectionate embrace, it was more accurate to say he pinned Yu Zhi in place.
Yu Zhi couldn’t break free. Sensibly, he gave up resisting.
Those around them couldn’t perceive the undercurrents between the two. They only felt that their intimate and ambiguous behavior was jarringly out of place and repulsive, especially to those who had just watched Fu Suxi gun down their friends and family. They stared, wishing they could tear the pair apart limb by limb.
The hatred in the curly-haired woman’s eyes was almost tangible. Her chest rose and fell violently with rage and grief. Suddenly, she sprang up from the ground, rushing toward Fu Suxi. “I’ll kill you—!”
Before she could reach him, two soldiers blocked her path.
Tears overflowed from her eyes as she screamed hysterically at Fu Suxi, “You murderer! You pervert! You—you’ll get what’s coming to you—”
Her sharp, piercing voice echoed in the air. The others from the convoy gradually began to weep as well. Their sobs spread throughout the area near the wall’s gate, becoming a chorus of crying and wailing.
No one had expected their loved ones, their traveling companions, to die right at the doorstep of the safe zone. And now the killer stood there, smiling and flirting as if nothing had happened.
The ability user tasked with handling the corpses discreetly glanced at Fu Suxi. Knowing the new minister’s temper, he feared he might vent his anger on these innocent people. Hastily, he commanded the soldiers to take them into the other testing room for checks.
The soldiers were all tall, armed, and imposing. The convoy members had just witnessed Fu Suxi brutally gun down so many people. Now they wouldn’t dare resist, fearing that if they refused testing, they might be the next to die. They had no choice but to comply.
More than twenty people were taken away for testing, leaving only the burning corpses in the open area. A faint, charred smell drifted through the air.
Yu Zhi watched the burning bodies, somewhat dazed.
All this time, he’d dealt only with pollution entities and sources, never having seen humans killing humans—never having witnessed such cruelty among people. At this moment, he finally felt the harsh reality of the end times. Not only were there pollution sources and monsters lurking in the shadows, but humans themselves could be as insignificant as ants, their lives as cheap as grass.
In his trance, he noticed the corpse closest to him: the shirted man’s body. Its outer layers shrank and turned black, becoming charred. Suddenly, several lumps swelled on its surface. The charred skin cracked, and two black cockroaches covered in human grease crawled out. In the next instant, the flames swallowed the cockroaches whole.
Yu Zhi snapped back to his senses and glanced at the semi-transparent interface.
[Title “War Mantis” is now active.]
He looked at the other corpses, all of which were those who had given him strange looks and seemed afraid of him earlier. They must have been frightened because of his title. They had all been contaminated.
Yu Zhi paused, stunned.
“Scared?” Fu Suxi’s leisurely voice sounded by his ear.
Yu Zhi turned his head. Fu Suxi had released his grip on his shoulder and was now holding a cigarette between his fingers, the ember glowing scarlet. Pale smoke lingered around him as if a veil separated him from the rest of the world.
Noticing Yu Zhi’s startled look, Fu Suxi reached out to touch his face, which was pale as paper: “Look at you, scared white.”
His voice carried a hint of warmth, completely different from his earlier ruthlessness. The soldiers standing nearby couldn’t help but look over, surprised.
“….”
Acting again, the damn dog.
Yu Zhi tilted his head away to avoid his touch and said calmly, “I’m not scared.”
Fu Suxi raised an eyebrow.
Yu Zhi added, “I’m broke.”
Fu Suxi: “….”
The show apparently over, Fu Suxi became aware of the lingering blood on his fingertip. Without thinking, he curled his finger and wiped the blood onto Yu Zhi’s cheek.
Yu Zhi’s mouth twitched. Displeased, he grabbed Fu Suxi’s sleeve and started vigorously wiping his face on it.
Fu Suxi tried to yank his hand back, but when their gazes met, he paused momentarily. In those clear, jet-black pupils, there was a calm and tranquil clarity, as still as a serene lake. It gave off a sense of inner peace, as though touching one’s soul.
No fear or panic at his killings, no hatred or disgust for the mass murder he’d committed.
It was as if—
Fu Suxi narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice: “You knew they were contaminated?”
Yu Zhi retorted, “Didn’t you know too?”
Fu Suxi replied coolly, “I made it up out of thin air.”
Yu Zhi gave a light “Oh,” and said, “Then I imagined it out of thin air as well. After all, we’re siblings with different parents.”
“…”
Fu Suxi stared at him.
[Accessing personal information… Unable to view target’s information]
[Unable to view]
[Unable to view]
[Unable to view]
The same four words repeatedly appeared. Annoyed, Fu Suxi frowned and turned away, walking off. Out of sight, out of mind.
Yu Zhi watched his retreating figure, puzzled.
Fu Suxi didn’t ask how he could tell those people were contaminated?
It didn’t look like he knew about the title. If he left in such a hurry, maybe he had to… pee? Peeing—what a distant concept…
While his mind was drifting, he overheard a conversation.
Yu Zhi looked up. The ability user who handled the corpses was talking to a soldier, “When the bodies finish burning, send the ashes to the testing hospital for unified disposal.”
The soldier hesitated. “Captain Wang, were they really contaminated?”
Captain Wang, the ability user, wasn’t sure either. He mumbled, “They should be.”
Yu Zhi noticed that only the bodies were burning. Possibly the flame came from an ability, so the fire didn’t spread, it just burned the corpses.
After Captain Wang finished instructing the soldier, Yu Zhi couldn’t help asking, “How did you deal with those parasitically contaminated before?”
Captain Wang: “Before, we’d wait for the test results. Ability users on duty would take them alone to a hospital incinerator. During that time, they wouldn’t come into contact with others.”
“In other words, we kept it secret to prevent panicking the ordinary people.”
He paused, then asked hesitantly, “Hey, can you talk to Minister Yu? Whether they’re actually contaminated or not, it’d be best to wait for the test results. That way we’d have evidence. Even if the minister’s using some ability to determine it, ordinary people don’t have any concept of abilities…”
Yu Zhi shook his head. “I can’t persuade him.”
Captain Wang initially wanted to say, “You’re his brother,” but recalled the rumors between them and swallowed the words back. He sighed, “Ah, you’ve got it tough.”
Yu Zhi nodded in agreement. “Very tough indeed.”
[User “Pure Love Warrior” appreciates your shamelessness.]
[User “Cyber Bodhisattva” praises your brazen attitude.]
[User “Arrogant Rich Young Master” sympathizes with your plight and tips you 0.1 universal coins.]
For the entire day, Yu Zhi was forced to remain at the wall gate with Fu Suxi.
From 9 AM until 5 PM, over twenty more people came through. Fu Suxi killed several of them. Each time he did, he wouldn’t forget to make some ambiguous gesture toward Yu Zhi, cementing their suggestive relationship in the eyes of others.
By the end, Yu Zhi felt the soldiers looking at them strangely, as if they were a pair of disreputable lovers who shouldn’t be provoked.
When Shang Yu arrived, Fu Suxi had just dealt with three more parasitically contaminated individuals.
Their bodies burned fiercely, black smoke with a charred odor rising into the air. The ground before the testing room was stained with patches of bright red and dark red blood.
Shang Yu’s face changed subtly. After a moment’s thought, she quickly approached Yu Zhi, pulling him aside to speak softly: “I came after hearing the news. Many people in the safe zone heard the gunshots. There’s a rumor going around that the Bureau is using the excuse of dealing with parasitic contamination to indiscriminately kill innocents.”
“Brother Yu, be honest with me: Were they really contaminated, or did they commit some other crime?”
Yu Zhi glanced at Fu Suxi not far away, feeling a bit surprised. It seemed the people in the Bureau didn’t fully trust Fu Suxi, either.
He spoke frankly, “They really were parasitically contaminated, and all of them had insect-type contamination.”
“Insect-type?” Shang Yu’s face darkened further. “Cockroach pollution from Z Province?”
Yu Zhi: “I did see a few cockroaches. Are you talking about the ones from H City?”
Shang Yu nodded: “So far, the only known parasitic pollution in the Huadong region started in H City.”
Yu Zhi couldn’t help but frown. “Wasn’t the pollution source in H City already cleared?”
Shang Yu gave a wry smile: “The cockroach-type pollution spreads too quickly. The pollution wasn’t completely eradicated in time and has now spread from H City throughout all of Z Province. Minister Yu even dealt with a second-generation pollution source. Fortunately, there’s only one of those so far—if there were more, the entire Huadong region would be done for.”
She then pulled back to the main point: “Since Minister Yu killed people who were indeed contaminated, didn’t he explain it properly?”
Yu Zhi thought for a moment. “He did say they were contaminated, but that’s about it—just that one sentence. It probably sounded perfunctory rather than explanatory.”
“True, given Minister Yu’s personality…” Shang Yu sighed, lowering her voice. “By the way, do you know why Minister Yu suddenly chose to deal with the contaminated in front of everyone?”
Yu Zhi blinked and pieced together all of Fu Suxi’s actions. It wasn’t hard to guess the reasons.
On one hand, it could intimidate other people in the safe zone, making them fear and respect the Special Operations Bureau. In these last days, trust was collapsing and morality was decaying; using violence to enforce order was the simplest and most effective method.
On the other hand, Fu Suxi was deliberately letting everyone know about the “brothers” situation so that Meteorite Biotechnology’s people would pay attention.
What felt strange to him was that Fu Suxi hadn’t tried to distance himself from the matter. Instead, he chose to get involved personally and become the target of everyone’s anger.
Wouldn’t that just be a thankless task?
Suddenly, Fu Suxi’s voice sounded behind them, cold and abrupt: “We’re leaving.”
Shang Yu immediately signaled the armored vehicle driver to bring the car over.
Following behind Fu Suxi, she carefully chose her words: “Minister Yu, after today’s events, plus what happened a few days ago with Zhang Tianlei and his group, rumors about the Special Operations Bureau are spreading in the safe zone.”
Fu Suxi glanced at her. “Who’s Zhang Tianlei?”
Shang Yu: “The man with a scar on his face who blocked the road and broke into the Special Operations Bureau.”
Fu Suxi: “Don’t bother. Someone’s behind this, fanning the flames.”
In other words, trying to handle it would be futile.
Shang Yu was startled. She quickly said, “But if we let this go, the people will definitely grow dissatisfied with the Special Operations Bureau…”
Fu Suxi said calmly, “I only need them to obey the orders of the Special Operations Bureau absolutely.”
Shang Yu opened her mouth, hesitated, then asked, “What about in the future?”
Fu Suxi’s expression didn’t change. He continued walking forward, leaving them only his back.
“If they live to see the future, then we’ll talk.”
“There can’t be a single parasitic contaminant in the safe zone. Better to kill a hundred by mistake than let even one slip through.”
The order “Better to kill a hundred by mistake than let one go” spread through the entire Special Operations Bureau like a whirlwind, accompanied by two more bombshells—one: the bureau now had an S-level ability user; two: this S-level ability user had some indescribable entanglement with the new head of the Operations Department.
One bomb after another plunged the Special Operations Bureau into turmoil. Even though Shang Yu had previously forbidden anyone from gossiping about Yu You and Yu Yi, as soon as the topic of shooting parasitically contaminated individuals came up, Minister Yu inevitably entered the conversation. Talking about Minister Yu led to mentions of his elder brother, the Bureau’s first S-level ability user, and their ambiguous relationship.
Some building rooftop in the safe zone.
“All the news is true.”
“I’ve checked the materials the deputy minister intended to send to the Central Bureau. Yu You is an S-level ability user, though his ability is still unclear. We can’t find any info on Yu Yi’s background—it’s probably classified archives. Most likely, he’s also an S-level ability user.”
In the corner of the rooftop, the shadows seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, growing darker and thicker. After a moment, a man in a black robe appeared. He cared less about the S-level ability users and more about another matter: “He and his younger brother commit incest?”
“…It seems forced. They’re not actually blood-related brothers.”
The black-robed man: “Could they be cousins?”
“…Not sure.”
The black-robed man stepped to the edge of the rooftop, looking out toward where the Special Operations Bureau was located. A spark of excitement flashed in his eyes, and suddenly he burst into laughter: “Interesting.”
“The bond between brothers is deeper than that of ordinary lovers. A man doesn’t risk pregnancy, and it only heightens the taboo thrill of forced violation.”
Abruptly, he stopped laughing and let out a quiet sigh, “What a pity. Why don’t I have a brother?”
“???”
This is the main point here?!
