Chapter 119: Imminent
Today, Bai Zhouyun was once again assigned to clean the blood-soaked arena, where disgusting chunks of flesh still clung to every corner. He had only just arrived, so he hadn't witnessed how gruesome the previous match had been.
But he had been dragged here to watch countless times before.
At first he had been terrified.
Later he became numb.
Now...
He felt absolutely nothing.
As long as he wasn't the one being forced into the arena, everything else was acceptable.
He quietly scrubbed the platform.
He hadn't realized it at first, but now he knew very well that there were many rooms like this throughout the facility.
Many arenas.
Many people like him cleaning them.
Officially, they claimed it was to "build his courage."
At this point, however, he had become so accustomed to scenes like this that they no longer stirred any emotion in him.
Yet no one had ever assigned him anything more important.
While cleaning, he accidentally overheard several people discussing contribution points.
After spending so much time here, he had learned that many members of this organization shared circumstances similar to his own.
They had all been discovered after taking prohibited drugs.
The organization had rescued them.
And afterward...
They had nowhere else to go.
When too many people gathered together...
Problems naturally arose.
For example—
What happened when funding became insufficient?
Simple.
Reduce the population.
Those at the very bottom...
The weakest...
The ones contributing the least...
Would simply be abandoned.
And Bai Zhouyun understood perfectly well...
He currently occupied the lowest rung in the organization.
If he didn't find someone powerful to back him...
Or contribute something truly valuable...
He was finished.
Outside these walls lay the Empire.
If the organization discarded him, then with his current wanted status, no money, and no legal identity...
He had no idea how long he could survive alone.
Once discovered...
Death was inevitable.
Unless everyone he encountered happened to be weaker than him.
But that was impossible.
High-Tier Ability Users were actually quite common within the Empire.
Take the Royal Military Academy on the Capital Star, for example.
For natives of the Capital Star, admission requirements weren't particularly strict.
As long as a family met the necessary status requirements, they could send their children there.
Getting in was one thing.
Graduating was another.
Graduation standards applied equally to everyone.
If your final results failed to meet the required standard...
There was only one outcome.
You left the academy alongside that year's graduating class.
The difference was...
Everyone else received a diploma.
You received nothing.
It was as though you had spent years there only to leave empty-handed.
Because of this...
People throughout the Empire didn't consider the academy's lower admission standards for Capital Star natives unfair.
Whether you could actually graduate still depended entirely on your examination results.
Failure meant failure.
The academy would expel you immediately.
There wasn't even an opportunity to repeat the year.
That was simply how they operated.
And for decades...
No exception had ever been made for anyone.
Therefore...
Bai Zhouyun knew that if he were thrown out now...
He would certainly die outside.
He didn't even know how he could possibly hide himself well enough to survive.
In other words...
Aside from this place...
He had nowhere else to go.
Lost in thought, Bai Zhouyun splashed water across the bloodstained floor with his bucket.
After washing away the pools of blood, he scrubbed the floor with a brush until the arena was spotless.
Only then did he move below to clean away the filthy wastewater.
It took nearly two or three hours before everything was finally finished.
Today's work had taken longer than usual.
Because he had spent the entire time wondering whether he should reveal something valuable to the organization.
No matter how much he hated Nan Yu...
No matter how deeply resentment born from unrequited love had consumed him...
Nan Yu was still one of the Empire's greatest treasures.
The organization might have rescued Bai Zhouyun.
But capturing Nan Yu?
That was another matter entirely.
Nan Yu's daily routine left almost no openings.
Not to mention that Yu Lanfeng's legion had already assigned personnel to protect him.
Bai Zhouyun had even heard that Nan Yu had reached an agreement with Yu Lanfeng's legion.
Once he graduated...
He would officially join them.
His future was limitless.
His potential was immeasurable.
Even the Imperial Family had already concluded that Nan Yu would one day become a High-Tier Mental Power User.
As a result...
They treasured him even more.
Sometimes Bai Zhouyun couldn't help wondering...
If he had never become involved with Yun Feiyu...
Would none of this have happened?
Someone as outstanding as Nan Yu...
Should have belonged to him.
The more deeply Nan Yu had loved him before...
The more deeply he probably hated him now.
And Bai Zhouyun...
Had begun to hate Nan Yu as well.
If Nan Yu had loved him so much...
Why couldn't he just keep loving him?
It wasn't as though Bai Zhouyun had no heart.
After realizing just how deeply Nan Yu loved him...
He would have come back.
As for Yun Feiyu...
That relationship had only been for fun.
The more Bai Zhouyun thought...
The more confused his mind became.
Returning to his tiny room, he lay down on the bed, unsure what he should even do.
Sleep?
Someone with his status had already been warned.
Other than cleaning duties and walking through designated public areas...
He was only allowed to remain inside his own room.
He wasn't permitted to wander elsewhere.
If he saw something he shouldn't...
Heard something he shouldn't...
Or learned something forbidden...
He would die.
Bai Zhouyun still didn't want to die.
He had spent his entire life living as a pampered young master.
Being forced to do this sort of work now...
The psychological gap was simply too great.
To the point that...
Even he realized something was wrong with him mentally.
So he began fantasizing.
How many secrets would he have to reveal before he could regain the luxurious lifestyle he once enjoyed?
Perhaps...
He could even leap directly into management.
Learn how the organization's upper ranks operated.
Wouldn't that return him to the position he once held?
Rubbing his hands together excitedly, he began listing everything valuable he knew.
The Capital Star's defensive deployments...
Military installations...
Unfortunately...
From beginning to end...
He couldn't think of very much.
In his previous life, during the later years, he had indeed known the complete defensive network of the Capital Star, along with military deployments across much of the Empire.
But everything he remembered...
Had come after he and his trusted right-hand men had completely restructured the Empire's military.
The current deployments were undoubtedly very different.
If he revealed those old arrangements now...
Much of the information wouldn't match reality.
Forget earning a better life.
He would probably lose his own life instead.
After thinking it over repeatedly...
Bai Zhouyun finally realized something.
Other than the fact that Nan Yu possessed a stalk of Nianshen Grass...
Everything else he knew was practically worthless.
Random students from the military academy probably knew more than he did.
He suddenly felt discouraged.
Should he really reveal that secret?
If he did...
The organization would very likely capture Nan Yu...
Along with the Nianshen Grass.
And then...
Wait...
Bai Zhouyun's eyes suddenly widened.
At that point...
Having contributed such an enormous secret...
He would undoubtedly receive tremendous rewards.
He could return to the life he once enjoyed.
Besides...
Nan Yu had loved him so deeply.
If he simply claimed that Nan Yu had revealed the secret because he loved him so much...
Then...
Then the organization wouldn't be able to discard him after using him.
After all...
Once they brought Nan Yu here, they would still need Bai Zhouyun to help calm him down.
His own status would naturally rise as well.
"Hehehehehe..."
Lying on the bed, Bai Zhouyun let out an increasingly deranged laugh.
He didn't even notice that his room door hadn't been fully closed.
Perhaps because the laughter sounded so unpleasant...
Someone passing by found it irritating and casually pushed the door shut.
Bang.
The sound abruptly cut off Bai Zhouyun's laughter.
He shot upright and stared at the now tightly closed door.
Only then did he realize...
He really had entered the room in a daze earlier.
A serious mistake.
Fortunately...
Everything he had just considered had remained inside his own head.
He hadn't spoken a single word aloud.
Otherwise...
Someone else might already have reported the secret before he even had the chance.
After straightening his appearance slightly, Bai Zhouyun prepared to meet that person.
He desperately wanted to regain his former lifestyle immediately.
But...
He also knew he couldn't rush.
...
Nan Yu slowly took a deep breath.
He remained lying on the sofa without moving.
Ever since Zhang Wei had left the room...
Neither of them had returned.
Nan Yu himself had no intention of going outside either.
He simply stayed quietly inside.
After calculating the time...
He realized Yu Lanfeng still needed more than nine hours to reach his location.
Nine hours...
Anything could happen in that amount of time.
What if he couldn't survive until then?
For the first time...
He began wondering whether every decision he had made had been wrong.
But there was no turning back now.
He could only grit his teeth and wait.
He wanted to take out the temporary communicator from his spatial button and contact Yu Lanfeng.
But...
Either of those two could walk into the room at any moment.
If they entered while he happened to be communicating...
Wouldn't everything be over?
After all...
No matter how many reinforcements were coming...
Right now...
He was alone.
Ye Xing had somehow slipped past everyone in the hospital...
Even the guards stationed outside...
Quietly entered his room...
And abducted him without anyone noticing.
If Ye Xing could accomplish something like that...
Then perhaps he also knew exactly what Nan Yu was doing inside this room at every moment.
The more Nan Yu thought about it...
The more anxious he became.
He had absolutely no idea what he should do.
Sometimes...
He found himself staring fixedly at the door.
Other times...
He realized there was no point.
If they wanted to come in...
They could do so whenever they pleased.
And even if he remained on guard...
With his current abilities...
He had absolutely no chance of resisting them.
So...
What was he supposed to do?
Eventually...
Nan Yu concluded that the only hope left...
Was that the two of them would voluntarily let him leave.
Sure enough...
For a Mental Power User to fight two Ability Users...
Was simply unrealistic.
He made up his mind.
If they truly pushed him too far...
He would detonate the mental power sphere hidden inside Zhang Wei's Mental Sea without hesitation.
Of course...
The only one who would suffer would be Zhang Wei.
Ye Xing himself probably wouldn't be harmed.
Nan Yu clenched his teeth.
At worst...
They would all perish together.
He refused to surrender without a fight.
After reaching that decision...
He finally relaxed a little.
Half lying on the sofa, he quietly watched the hours pass.
Another two or three hours went by.
Still...
There wasn't the slightest movement outside.
Nan Yu found that rather strange.
The walls...
The ceiling...
The floor...
Even the door...
Had all been constructed from special soundproof materials.
Inside this room...
Even if the neighboring room were hosting a concert...
He wouldn't hear a thing.
Which meant...
Nan Yu had absolutely no idea what was happening outside.
Maybe...
Ye Xing had already escaped with Zhang Wei...
Leaving him behind alone.
Unable to resist his curiosity, he considered going out to check.
But then another thought occurred to him.
What if they hadn't left?
What if they were sharpening their knives, preparing to kill him?
Standing before the door...
He hesitated.
Should he go out?
Or remain inside until Yu Lanfeng found him?
After thinking it over repeatedly...
He decided he should take a look.
If they intended to attack him...
One extra step wouldn't change anything.
If they didn't...
Then leaving the room should also be safe.
Summoning his courage, he reached out and opened the door.
After opening it...
He remained perfectly still, listening carefully.
At first...
He heard nothing.
But after extending his mental power to enhance his hearing...
He finally detected something unusual.
There were...
Very strange sounds coming from outside.
He couldn't tell exactly what they were.
But something definitely felt odd.
So he slowly stepped forward.
To avoid being discovered...
He released his mental power around himself.
With it wrapped around his body...
Even the faint sounds of his footsteps became almost impossible to detect.
The house was tiny.
After taking only two steps beyond the doorway...
He could already see into the living room.
Standing quietly at the corner...
He witnessed...
A pair of shameless lovebirds wrapped tightly around each other on the sofa, kissing and acting intimately.
Well then.
Here he was...
Locked inside his room worrying about this...
Panicking about that...
Terrified the two of them were outside plotting exactly how and when to kill him.
Yet instead...
They were...
Busy doing something much more intimate.
After struggling internally for a moment...
Nan Yu decided not to make a sound.
He quietly returned to his room and gently closed the door.
He suddenly felt there was no reason to worry anymore.
Those two clearly weren't planning to attack him.
If anything...
It almost seemed as though they already knew what their own ending would be...
Yet had deliberately chosen to remain here.
Nan Yu couldn't help wondering again.
Did they somehow know Yu Lanfeng was coming to rescue him?
Were they intentionally waiting here?
He immediately shook his head.
No...
That couldn't be right.
If they knew...
Then after everything they'd done to him...
Weren't they afraid Yu Lanfeng would simply kill them?
Wait...
From their perspective...
They probably had no idea he and Yu Lanfeng were already together.
Nan Yu blinked.
The corners of his lips slowly lifted into a smile.
When Yu Lanfeng arrived...
He was absolutely going to act affectionately with him right in front of those two.
He wanted to see whether their jaws would hit the floor.
...
The instant Nan Yu returned to his room and closed the door...
The two people embracing on the sofa immediately separated.
Ye Xing looked rather embarrassed.
His face was slightly red.
Zhang Wei, on the other hand, remained perfectly composed.
"He went back."
Ye Xing nodded.
"So he probably isn't worried anymore that we'll attack him."
"But... was all that really necessary?"
Zhang Wei smiled.
"Didn't it work?"
Ye Xing hesitated.
"It did..."
"But..."
"Just do as I said, A'Xing."
"This way..."
"Not only will the two of us survive..."
"We won't have to face the Empire's pursuit."
"Nor the hunts organized by the other countries."
"Isn't that a good outcome?"
Ye Xing opened his mouth before speaking with difficulty.
"You never should have been dragged into any of this."
"Everything is my fault."
"Let them come after me."
Zhang Wei smiled helplessly.
"Didn't you do all of this for my sake?"
"If I ignored everything after that..."
"Wouldn't that make me a complete scumbag?"
This time...
Ye Xing had no response.
After remaining silent for a long moment, he finally asked,
"Are you serious?"
"Are you really willing to be with me?"
Zhang Wei nodded.
"I told you before."
"We're genuinely well suited for each other."
Ye Xing's expression dimmed slightly.
"So..."
"You don't actually have many feelings for me."
"You just think we're compatible?"
"A'Xing..."
"Don't get hung up on that."
"Feelings need time to grow."
"If I told you right now that I'd already fallen in love with you..."
"Would you really believe me?"
Ye Xing fell silent.
Because he knew...
Everything Zhang Wei said was true.
He had simply trapped himself in unnecessary doubts.
"Then..."
"We'll take it slowly."
"We'll slowly build those feelings."
"Eventually they'll become—"
Before he could finish...
Zhang Wei gently reached over and ruffled his hair.
"I know."
"You're more sincere than anyone."
He had even been willing to make enemies of every nation in the world for Zhang Wei.
If Zhang Wei's Mental Contamination hadn't already reached such a terrifying level...
If those periodic mental power outbreaks hadn't left him running out of time...
Ye Xing would probably have kidnapped every capable Mid-Tier Mental Power User he could find—except High-Tier ones.
At that point...
He truly would have become the enemy of the entire world.
To say Zhang Wei wasn't moved...
Would have been a lie.
But had he truly fallen in love with Ye Xing?
Not exactly.
Those feelings weren't there.
Still...
He believed affection could grow over time.
If they lived together long enough...
They would naturally develop feelings unique to the two of them.
So he wasn't worried at all.
It was only that...
Ye Xing still seemed somewhat reluctant about the plan.
Fortunately...
He could be persuaded.
And deep down...
Ye Xing didn't seem inclined to reject such an opportunity.
Ye Xing asked worriedly,
"Are we really not leaving?"
"I'm afraid the people the Empire sends won't be easy to deal with."
Zhang Wei nodded.
"I know it won't be simple."
"But if we leave immediately..."
"Even if they rescue Nan Yu safely..."
"They'll still issue wanted notices for us."
"Nan Yu saved my life."
"Would you kill him now?"
Ye Xing answered without hesitation.
"No."
"Even knowing that if we escape, he'll reveal our appearances and everything else after returning, leading the Empire to place bounties on us?"
"No."
"He saved you."
"That makes him my benefactor too."
Zhang Wei continued,
"The countries you've offended before weren't weak."
"But compared to the Empire..."
"They're small."
"If the Empire joins the hunt..."
"How long do you think we can keep running?"
Ye Xing was confident he could escape forever.
If he were alone.
But bringing someone else...
He wasn't nearly as certain.
Nor did he want Zhang Wei living as a fugitive because of him.
So he simply remained silent.
Zhang Wei smiled.
"Don't worry."
"I know him."
Ye Xing blinked.
"Who?"
"You'll find out when the time comes."
"Just remember..."
"When that person arrives..."
"Stand behind me."
"Don't come forward."
"He isn't someone to be taken lightly."
"If you step out..."
"He probably won't even bother listening."
"He'll simply burn you until not even ashes remain."
Hearing that description...
A certain figure immediately appeared in Ye Xing's mind.
He asked nervously,
"It can't be..."
"Is it really him?"
"He'll personally come here?"
"For Nan Yu?"
Zhang Wei smiled.
"A'Xing."
"Why do you think Nan Yu was staying in the top-floor suite of that hospital?"
"Who are those rooms normally reserved for?"
Ye Xing suddenly froze.
Those suites...
Were always reserved for the most important person.
And in Yu Lanfeng's legion hospital...
Who held the highest status?
The answer was obvious.
Yu Lanfeng himself.
Which meant...
That room had never been prepared for Nan Yu.
It belonged to Yu Lanfeng.
Then why had Nan Yu been living there?
At that moment...
Ye Xing realized something astonishing.
A question he had somehow never considered before.
Unbelievable.
He had been incredibly foolish not to notice it sooner.
Coming back to himself, he let out a bitter smile.
"It looks like..."
"We really can't leave."
"Yu Lanfeng..."
"Doesn't have a very good temper."
Most public reports portrayed Yu Lanfeng as an icy, untouchable figure.
But older reports from his younger years told quite a different story.
Not to mention...
Zhang Wei had actually known the young Yu Lanfeng personally.
The two of them shared a small connection from long ago.
That was why Zhang Wei had decided to gamble.
Ye Xing quietly said,
"I don't regret it."
If he had politely asked Nan Yu for help...
He would certainly have failed.
If he had abandoned Nan Yu and gone searching for the Mental Power User in another country whom he had originally planned to find...
The result would almost certainly have been the same.
He neither wanted...
Nor dared...
To imagine that ending.
Because if he had failed...
Zhang Wei wouldn't be sitting here before him now.
He would already be dead.
Zhang Wei knew there was no changing Ye Xing's mind.
"So..."
"Why don't you hurry and cook Nan Yu another proper meal?"
"If he meets Yu Lanfeng on an empty stomach..."
"The Marshal will probably be even angrier."
"What do you think?"
Ye Xing nodded.
He completely agreed.
...
Thus...
Completely unaware of everything...
Nan Yu was greeted with yet another lavish meal.
His first thought was...
These two were plotting something.
Could this be...
His last meal?
Were they feeding him well before killing him?
Nan Yu stared at the luxurious spread in disbelief.
"What are you trying to do?"
"Don't think giving me good food means I'll forgive either of you."
"Or have you finally decided to kill me?"
"Once I'm dead, you'll be free to leave without restraint and start your new lives."
"After all, Ye Xing is obviously very good at escaping everyone's pursuit."
Neither of them had expected...
That such an elaborate meal would immediately make Nan Yu suspect they had sinister intentions.