Chapter 52: Doing Bad Things
"We have to report it. Duan Feiye has already organized a team to investigate."
Ling Yanzhi spoke lazily, "Let’s see the results first. Worst case scenario, we’ll just have... have what’s-his-name change his testimony."
He gave the person strapped to the experiment table a half-lidded glance.
He hadn’t even bothered to remember the name.
Jian Yu pursed her lips.
She leaned in, pulling the plush blanket tighter around herself, and whispered a reminder in Ling Yanzhi’s ear, "Teacher Xuzhou."
Xi Yu’s gaze softened. "Good girl. My baby doesn’t need a teacher like that."
He leaned over and ruffled Jian Yu’s hair.
Pei Yin couldn’t stand it anymore. Bristling like an angry cat, he pointed at the main door.
He snapped, "If you’re going to be all sickeningly sweet, then get out, out, out!"
His hand shot up, and a multi-layered bracelet slid down his wrist, making a crisp, ostentatious sound.
The eye-catching end of the chain, gleaming with a golden light, casually brushed against his long, well-defined fingers.
The pale blue veins on the back of his wrist made the skin of his arm look even colder and fairer.
Jian Yu stared, unblinking, and unconsciously pictured him as a beautiful male consort, lounging on a chaise longue and spitting out melon seed shells.
"What are you looking at? Staring at me won’t make me give it to you!"
Pei Yin shot her a sidelong glance, his expression condescending.
He fiddled with the chain with his right hand.
With a click of the clasp, he unfastened the surprisingly heavy, fine chain and tossed it over.
It landed right in Jian Yu’s lap.
Jian Yu’s expression was dazed.
"You’ve got good taste." The tips of Pei Yin’s ears turned red as he spun around.
He started fiddling with one thing, then another, busying himself with nothing in particular.
Ling Yanzhi sensed a threat.
When he lifted his eyes, his gaze was filled with a casual disdain, the curve of his lips a mocking smirk.
Xi Yu, who had eyes for no one else, picked up the chain and began sizing it up against Jian Yu.
"Does my baby like it? I’ll put it on for you."
Jian Yu didn’t dare wear it, but she couldn’t pull her hand back either.
She tried to refuse, "I—"
Just as she was about to speak, Pei Yin slowly turned back around.
He shot her a subtle look, one that was both commanding and, it seemed, faintly expectant.
’Expectant? What is he expecting?’
Jian Yu was a little bewildered. She said uncertainly, "It’s very tasteful? Really beautiful?"
She was met with two cold snorts.
One came from Pei Yin, as if to say: ’I knew you were coveting my things.’
The other came from Ling Yanzhi, from right above her head. Its meaning was unclear, his emotions unreadable.
"..."
In a daze, Jian Yu felt a cool sensation on her wrist.
"Baby’s hands are so fair, so pretty." Xi Yu kissed the back of her hand, then took her fingers and began to play with them.
His gaze was clingy, almost lifeless. "My baby is too thin."
Jian Yu looked down. The bracelet was cool to the touch, and it glittered. It really was beautiful.
[Regarding sample sq-459369, the component analysis report is complete.]
Pei Yin turned off the external speaker.
The walls folded away, gradually revealing the cold, dark expanse of Lab 3.
He swiped his finger through the empty air beside the experiment table.
The table depressed downwards, carrying Xuzhou into the inner laboratory.
It was time to clear the room.
Jian Yu straightened her back.
Ling Yanzhi lifted her up slightly.
The moment he rose unhurriedly, she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.
The next second, she was sitting securely on his left arm.
Jian Yu lowered her gaze, her right index finger gently touching her left arm, which had stopped bleeding.
The dozen or so cuts from the mantis arms had produced a lot of blood.
Pei Yin hadn’t wasted any of it. He had carefully extracted the blood from the gauze for analysis.
Now, he held the results.
Pei Yin’s answer was simple.
Just two words.
"A match."
Jian Yu’s eyes drooped, unsure whether to feel happy or worried.
’I can’t compete. An Awakener could crush me with a single finger.’
’But I can’t just lie down and give up, either. I’m worried some underground evil organization will pop up and haul me off to be dissected for research.’
Ling Yanzhi took the report and gave it a lazy glance.
[After triple verification, the toxin components in the extract from sample ST-739 have a 99.99% match with sample sq-459369.]
His expression didn’t change as he casually tossed it to Xi Yu.
His movements were languid and relaxed, as if nothing in the world was worthy of his attention.
He chuckled. "This is a good thing."
Observing this, Jian Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
She didn’t have high expectations for them, and even less confidence in herself.
’I’m still too passive, but I can’t find a way to break through.’
’If I could get into the interstellar Hundred Schools Beast Taming Competition, I should be able to get close to Alien Beasts.’
Her body felt awful. Jian Yu sniffled uncomfortably, a chill running through her.
’I’m so tired. I just want to let it all rot. Maybe I should prepare some poison for myself and just end it if things get too bad.’
"It is indeed a good thing." Xi Yu didn’t even look at the report. He immediately destroyed it, using his spiritual power to crush it into dust that scattered in the air.
He looked perfectly serious, yet he grabbed Jian Yu’s hand and clapped their palms together. "My baby has a way to fight back. This calls for a celebration."
"A good thing?" Pei Yin frowned. "Her situation... it can’t be the result of a union between a human and a Primordial Beast..."
Huh.
A behemoth with a gaping, bloody maw, covered in strange spines, commanding hordes of beasts.
No matter how intelligent or advanced a mutant beast like that was, he couldn’t imagine how Jian Yu could possibly be related to one.
If word of this got out, the entire interstellar community would be shocked.
"So she’s not pure human. Are any of us pure human?" Ling Yanzhi said, his eyelashes half-lowered, his tone laced with annoyance.
"Whose genes haven’t been altered by assimilation with a Soul Beast?"
"Those nobles do even more disgusting things to continue their family’s legacy."
"Xu—"
Ling Yanzhi paused, still unable to remember the name.
But he trusted that Pei Yin would understand and handle the cleanup.
"I’m leaving the person in there to you."
Ling Yanzhi held Jian Yu, his head slightly lowered, emanating a "do not disturb" aura.
He didn’t leave immediately.
Or rather, he walked out, suppressed his presence, and secretly circled back.
Ling Yanzhi elegantly adjusted the blanket around her.
He spoke slowly, "I’ve thought about it. I’m afraid Pei Yin might be careless and accidentally leak something about my baby. So, let’s just listen in from here. If he can’t handle it, we’ll go help him."
Jian Yu felt like they were treating her like a fool.
Just like a typical heroine.
’They don’t take me seriously at all!’
Jian Yu was furious.
And just as quickly, her anger faded.
She couldn’t understand his actions or figure out their intentions.
But strangely, Xi Yu seemed to greatly appreciate Ling Yanzhi’s move.
He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, a smirk playing on his lips.
Jian Yu could even sense the dark aura around Xi Yu intensifying.
They were like two people up to no good.
"ARGHHHHH! WOOO! BAA~ AWOOO! HSSS~"
A man’s scream, interspersed with a bizarre medley of animalistic howls.
Not being able to see was the most terrifying part.
Jian Yu’s imagination ran wild for a moment, and her expression froze.
She clutched the blanket tighter, her blood running cold.
"Bad timing. He’s probably grafting some beast limbs onto someone again." Ling Yanzhi hugged her calves, testing their weight.
"Tsk, after all these years, it’s still his only hobby."
The corners of his eyes lifted, and his voice carried its usual lazy drawl.
Xi Yu saw through the act but said nothing.
He reached under the plush blanket and gently placed a hand on Jian Yu’s knee. "It’s about time. Let’s head to the cafeteria first, and get that medical patch changed."
Pei Yin heard their voices.
The door flew open.
Eight eyes met.
"..." Jian Yu offered an awkward but polite smile.