Chapter 51: Playing Mind Games
Jian Yu secretly studied their grave expressions.
She couldn’t help but recall her crafty answer from Professor Lin’s class.
’A Level 3S Awakener’s evolution allows them to selectively devour the genes of a kindred Primordial Beast...’
’If the Primordial Beasts really are related to me, practically kinsmen, then I’m being so wonderfully filial.’
Jian Yu recalled that Ling Yanzhi had shown her the research materials on Primordial Beasts.
’This doesn’t quite match the current situation.’
She asked, "Are the instruments broken?"
As if guessing what she was about to say, Ling Yanzhi tilted his head and fixed his eyes on her.
Jian Yu tilted her head, not understanding the look in his eyes.
Xi Yu understood, though.
He scooped Jian Yu up with one arm and covered her mouth with his other hand. "Baby’s getting sleepy. Time for a little nap."
Jian Yu hugged his neck tightly, her body twisting slightly.
Her languid eyes widened slightly, darting around.
Xi Yu lowered his head to give her a quick kiss. "You’re so cute, baby."
Duan Feiye found this strange.
His eyes narrowed. "What do you think you’re doing? What was she about to say?"
Pei Yin didn’t look up, but his hands paused for several seconds.
He spoke nonchalantly. "She’s always saying there’s something wrong with my instruments. You’ll get used to it."
"Is that so?" Duan Feiye didn’t press the matter.
He lowered his gaze, his long, dark lashes concealing the deep thoughts within.
After a long silence, Lin Yu spoke up. "I actually think Jian has a point."
Lin Yu froze as the gazes of several chiefs turned to him.
’Why did I have to stick my neck out?’
He regretted it instantly.
Pei Yin gave him a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
"Haha, what I mean is," Lin Yu said with an awkward laugh.
He decisively cited his grandfather. "My grandfather said that Primordial Beasts are the most powerful species within the Alien Species Beast Groups. They can’t just command other Alien Beasts; if their poison enters a human’s bloodstream, death is certain."
He glanced at Xuzhou’s miserable state. "I’ve never heard of a Primordial Beast so weak that you can survive its poison just by cutting off an arm."
Jian Yu pressed her lips together tightly.
’He not only stole my line,’ she thought, ’but he also managed to subtly diss me.’
Ling Yanzhi walked over, leaned down, and pressed his cheek to her forehead. "Want to go back to sleep?"
Jian Yu shook her head. "I’m not sleepy."
"I’ll put my baby to sleep," Ling Yanzhi said with a light chuckle, holding out his arms.
Jian Yu looked back at Xi Yu’s darkening expression.
"Baby, don’t look at him." Ling Yanzhi’s gentle smile slowly vanished.
He had originally planned on taking a gentle approach, waiting for Jian Yu to decide for herself who she leaned toward.
But then Sheng Yue had appeared, proactively shielding Jian Yu.
And Xu Shaoqing, as if she had foreseen it, had been convinced that Jian Yu would steal Sheng Yue away.
Ling Yanzhi had snapped out of it then, realizing just how foolish his passive, non-confrontational approach had been.
Lifting his gaze, he looked coldly at Xi Yu. "It’s my turn."
Jian Yu frowned, the situation giving her a headache.
Seeing her troubled expression, Xi Yu silently and slowly loosened his hold.
Ling Yanzhi took her with both arms, then shifted to holding her with just one.
Pei Yin looked away, his expression souring. "You, continue."
Lin Yu swallowed audibly. "As far as I know, Primordial Beasts rarely release their toxins directly. Most of the time, they use poisonous gas."
His grandfather was a Vice Admiral in the Alliance and also one of the survivors of the mission to the Planet of Ruin.
Pei Yin glanced at the pensive Duan Feiye next to him.
He nodded, going along with the new theory. "Right, the instruments are broken. I don’t think it’s a Primordial Beast, either."
Duan Feiye looked up.
His gaze swept past Jian Yu to land on Ling Yanzhi and Xi Yu. "Do you two think so as well?"
Caught off guard by his dark, heavy gaze, Jian Yu almost forgot to breathe.
A hand cupped her cheek, and she turned her head.
Ling Yanzhi raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer.
Xi Yu remained silent, his gaze dark and cloying.
Not wanting the silence to become awkward, Lin Yu forced himself to speak up. "Chief Duan, did I say something wrong?"
"No, you’re not wrong. But we can’t rule out a Primordial Beast based on those two points alone."
Duan Feiye leaned forward slightly, unable to fathom what Xi Yu and the others were thinking.
Primordial Beasts don’t enter human territory, but years ago, the Alliance frequently trespassed into their habitats to develop new medicines, search for ingredients, and capture Alien Beasts.
The seven of them had a significant Level advantage; even if they were exposed to a Primordial Beast’s poison, they could expel it from their bodies, unlike others who could only wait to die.
Thus, the task of escorting the professors naturally fell to them.
Lin Yu had never fought a Primordial Beast, and his grandfather probably didn’t know much more, so his ignorance was understandable.
’But Xi Yu and the others... surely they know, right?’
’I can’t believe that after one trip, my own brothers are starting to play mind games with me.’
’Don’t tell me they’re raising a Primordial Beast?’ Duan Feiye cut off his own ridiculous train of thought.
"Fine, have it your way. But just in case, I’d better go patrol the area."
Duan Feiye let out a scoffing laugh and jumped down from his hover chair.
He landed with a THUD.
You didn’t need to see his face to feel his displeasure.
As he passed Lin Yu, Duan Feiye offered a polite explanation.
"A Primordial Beast’s toxins and poisonous gas are controllable. If it had only targeted Xuzhou’s arm, the poison wouldn’t have spread to other parts of his body."
Lin Yu bowed his head. "Thank you for the clarification, Chief."
When he looked up again, everyone was gone.
He glanced down, and even Xuzhou, who had been on the floor, was gone.
Ling Yanzhi’s voice echoed in the air. "Let her out in two hours. Dead or alive, throw her back to the Xu Family."
Lin Yu glanced at the time.
’So, she has to freeze for another two hours,’ he thought.
Countless avatars of the Red Snake swarmed out of the air vent.
The sight was horrifying, sending a chill down his spine.
Lin Yu rubbed his arms and turned on the thermostat in the outer room.
All the students of Weis Lan Academy saw this scene.
Jian Yu saw it on the academy forums, too.
She was sitting on Ling Yanzhi’s lap, nestled in his arms as she scrolled through the trending posts.
When she saw a post cursing her out, she immediately locked the thread, issued a warning, and blocked the user in one smooth sequence.
Perhaps because she’d banned so many people, no one else dared to try their luck.
Title: Who Pissed Off Our Number 6?
Poster: Your Ultimate Senior—Lin Yu.
Jian Yu blinked, subconsciously looking up at Ling Yanzhi.
"I told him to post it." Ling Yanzhi stared at the title, pushing his tongue against the inside of his cheek, his aura turning dangerous.
"I guess it’s more of a conversation starter this way," Jian Yu said, mentally lighting a candle for Lin Yu.
She clicked on the video Lin Yu had uploaded.
It really made a difference that he was there in person; the recording was crystal clear.
The first half of the video showed Xu Shaoqing and Xuzhou being pushed in. Ting Ying tore a bloody hole in Xuzhou, who was then thrown into inner chamber 177 to soak in water.
The middle part was clearly self-serving, featuring a fight between Lin Yu and Xu Shaoqing that seemed calculated to highlight Lin Yu’s combat prowess.
In the second half, when slowed to minimum speed, you could just barely see Xu Shaoqing get flicked into the inner chamber by the blurred afterimage of a tentacle to soak in ice water.
Xu Shaoqing was covered in blood as Lin Yu took her away.
At the end, thousands of the Red Snake’s avatars surged forth.
Their forked tongues flicked rapidly in and out, their slimy bodies intertwining and piling up, a writhing, undulating mass.
Some were entirely red or entirely black, while others alternated between the two colors. Under the light, their scales shone with a cold, slick, eerie gleam.
Jian Yu turned off the video, her scalp tingling with horror.
Xuzhou woke up with a bloodcurdling scream. "URGH-AHHHHHHH!"
He gasped for breath repeatedly, pained whimpers forcing their way from his throat, exceptionally piercing in the silent research institute.
"Be quiet." As Pei Yin moved about, the clinking and clanking of the items he carried masked the ugly wails.
Xuzhou, thinking he was about to become an experimental subject, began to struggle violently.
One of Xi Yu’s tentacles shot out, flinging a glob of slime onto Xuzhou’s face.
He was instantly knocked unconscious.
Pei Yin attached two cloned arms to Xuzhou. "The toxin in his body has been confirmed. It’s from a Primordial Beast."
He turned, his gaze falling on Jian Yu. "So, what’s the plan? Are we reporting this up the chain?"
Jian Yu’s breath caught in her throat.