Eclipse Hunter V1C2: A Past in Darkness

Eclipse Hunter Volume 1: Brothers

Original novel in Chinese by: 御我(Yu Wo)

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Chapter Two: A Past in Darkness—translated by Trespasserby (proofread by Arcedemius & Minthe; C/E edited by lucathia)

“Gēge, don’t go. Play with me for a little more. A little more, O.K.?”

Three-year-old Ri Xiang Ye, whose name was often shortened to Ah Ye by Ri Xiang Yan, always called out in this way every time his brother had to leave.

“Can’t! Ah Ye, Gēge has to go to class. Otherwise, the scary economics teacher will be angry, and then Gēge will be miserable.” At that point, Ri Xiang Yan couldn’t help sticking out his tongue. Saying these sorts of things, would his little brother not dare to take economics later?

Hearing that his big brother wouldn’t stay longer, Ah Ye lowered his head. His small mouth pouted like a duck’s. He looked pitiful, like he had been wronged.

Ri Xiang Yan couldn’t help smiling in resignation and shouting, “Fine! Fine! I’ll play for another ten minutes. Don’t be such a rascal.”

Ah Ye lifted his small head, his happiness fully displayed on his face, and ran to the toy box in excitement. He picked up a few of the rubber balls his brother had given him and cheerfully shouted, “Let’s play catch!”

“Playing with the balls again? You’ve smashed my face flat. Horrible little Ah Ye, you’re definitely out to ruin your Gēge’s looks.”

As Ri Xiang Yan spoke, he made all sorts of ugly grimaces and pulled all sorts of faces, teasing Ah Ye until he was unable to stop giggling. The ball flew out of Ri Xiang Ye’s hand…

“Ah! My face! Stupid Ah Ye!~”

“Hee hee.”

The two brothers were playing happily. It was rare for anyone to open the door, but it unexpectedly opened. Standing outside the door was the person Ah Ye feared the most—their father.

Following behind him was the economics teacher who had tattled to their father.

Seeing his father’s icy face, Ri Xiang Yan still wasn’t scared, and even cheekily stuck out his tongue. After all, his father loved him so much that he wouldn’t even scold him much, so there was nothing to worry about.

“Ah, I completely forgot to go to class.” Ri Xiang Yan still looked mischievous. After indulgently rubbing his little brother’s head, he strode out of the room.

Their father was the last to leave, and he coldly glared at Ah Ye. Ah Ye was so scared his expression was full of dread. As his father closed the door, he also turned off the light. The room abruptly fell dark, but Ah Ye didn’t show any response. He had grown used to this action from his father a long time ago. So, he just climbed up into his little bed and buried himself in the blankets.

“Dark… I’m scared.”

Ah Ye used all his might to curl up into a ball. Hiding in the blankets, only his small face poked out. All the terrifying stories the nanny often told him floated to the surface of his mind.

Although the three-year-old child wasn’t too sure of what demons and ghosts were, it was as though the nanny had specially wanted to scare the child and always described these things terrifyingly. This made Ah Ye always hate being in the dark. Whether unwittingly or intentionally, when the adults left, they would always turn off all the lights. Furthermore, with the height of a three-year-old, there was no way he could reach the light switch.

As a result, his brother’s arrival was like the arrival of light itself.

He would always turn on the lights. Then, little Ah Ye would jump up from the bed, and without fail, would see his brother’s bright smile and hear his happy voice.

“Ah Ye, let’s play!”

How many days like this had passed?

Ah Ye didn’t have much concept of days. Although his brother had taught him how many months, weeks, and days were in a year… For a child who had lived in a tower since he was little and rarely went out, things like “days” really didn’t have much meaning.

In reality, for Ah Ye, the meaning of every day was to wait for his brother to come and play with him or teach him things… Anything was fine, as long as his brother came to be with him. No matter if it was playing or learning, it was all the same to Ah Ye.

Just being able to see his brother was good enough!

He only remembered that after he turned three, he had received four presents from his big brother: building blocks, a toy car, a box of markers, and the last item was an entire set of children’s books. Children’s books… He still hadn’t finished reading them!

He remembered that at that time, he had been reading about a long-haired girl. In the end, had the long-haired girl ever escaped the tower?

By this time, Ah Ye’s height already allowed him to reach the light switch on his own, and he no longer had to live in the dark. But who knew that true darkness was about to arrive…

“Where are we going?”

Ah Ye looked in fear at the man who was dragging him along and pulling his hand without letting go. Even if Ah Ye refused to budge, the other person would forcefully drag him. Although this was his father, there was also nothing else that scared him more…

“To the place where you belong.” His father callously said without even a glance at Ah Ye.

“What about Gēge? Will Gēge come?” Ah Ye timidly asked.

But his father never replied.

“Ouch! It hurts! It hurts so much!”

Ah Ye constantly cried. He was strapped to a metal chair, his body riddled full of tubes that connected to the surrounding complicated apparatus.

The white-clothed people off to the side seemed not to hear. In twos and threes, they still discussed:

Is the body strong enough?

The age seems too young. Can he survive the operation?

What sort of supermetal alloy would be the most suitable? There has to be a balance of strength and malleability…

“Gēge, Gēge… Ah Ye hurts so much, Gēge…”

At this time, a large hand lightly brushed Ah Ye’s forehead. It was very warm, just like his brother’s hand.

“Hello, are you called Ah Ye?”

A pair of gentle, dark green eyes appeared in front of Ah Ye. Ah Ye used his eyes, swollen from crying, to take a look. Besides the dark green eyes, there was also beautiful blue hair, like what Ah Ye had seen through the small window at the top of the tower and had yearned for since he was little—the color of the sky.

“I am An Te Qi. I’m Ah Ye’s doctor.” The man was wearing white clothes like the other people off to the side, but he was clearly different from those people. His face was filled with a smile.

Just like Gēge! This is what Ah Ye thought.

But in reality, Ri Xiang Yan and An Te Qi didn’t have the slightest bit in common. As for what they shared… It was that they would both smile at Ah Ye.

“Ah Ye has a gēge?” An Te Qi asked as gently as he possibly could.

Ah Ye nodded.

“Does Ah Ye like Gēge a lot?”

Ah Ye resolutely nodded. “A lot! I like Gēge the most.”

An Te Qi smiled. “Then, you have to be good. Ah Ye is sick, so you can’t go see Gēge. Ah Ye has to be brave and let the sickness be treated. Then, you can go see Gēge.”

“Really?” Hearing that he could see Gēge, Ah Ye’s small face immediately filled with hope.

An Te Qi resisted the impulse to look away, and with a trembling voice, said, “Really. Really…”

“O.K. I’ll be good. I won’t cry anymore.” Ah Ye really did try to stop his tears with much effort. It didn’t matter that the pain grew worse. He did his utmost not to cry out.

“Ah Ye, good boy…” An Te Qi finally turned away, his heart pounding. He couldn’t help but take out a cigarette to smoke, but the hand that clenched his cigarette shook in a way that a professional surgeon’s never should.

Who would have thought that I, a scum of a doctor who only treats people for money… Would be the person with the most conscience here? An Te Qi laughed self-deprecatingly. If these words ever reached the ears of the families of those patients he had left to die, it was guaranteed that none of them would believe them.

Thinking of this, An Te Qi took a long drag on his cigarette and swore, “F***. That’s just a seven-year-old kid. What the hell is this place?”

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Ah Ye desperately held in his screams, forcing himself not to make a sound. It was just that after the surgery, his entire body was in pain, and he was forced to recover in a short amount of time. This was pain that even adults couldn’t bear, let alone a child who hadn’t even turned ten.

Again and again, he fell. Again and again, he stood up… Ah Ye didn’t need people to force him on. He would tenaciously stand up on his own. His hands and feet no longer felt like his own. Every action took an unknown amount of energy and strength. Several times he could almost no longer bear it. After collapsing, what would surface was the loss of any hope that he could ever get up anymore…

I have to get better soon to see Gēge!

Ah Ye constantly thought this. Except for the memory of his brother’s smiling face, he didn’t care about anything else.

Once he thought of Gēge, he would stand up once more, only to fall down once again and crawl back up.

“Doctor An Te Qi, how many more surgeries before I will be cured and can go see Gēge?”

How long has it been since I saw Gēge?

Ah Ye’s sense of time blurred even more than it had before. In the past, at least his brother had come once a day to visit him and would give him a birthday present once a year. But for a long time now, Ah Ye had had no idea how old he was.

An Te Qi’s hands jerked, and he forced on a smile. “This is the last time. Really.”

“Really?” Ah Ye was ecstatic but he didn’t say anything more.

This was a habit he had acquired in the past few years. In these years, he had rarely spoken unless the white-clothed people around him required him to run tests. Apart from Doctor An Te Qi, there was also no one who would talk to Ah Ye.

It’s true that this is the last operation!

An Te Qi took a drag of smoke. One final neurosurgical operation to implant the microchip in the child’s brain. After that, he won’t be human anymore, just a robot. Ah Ye will be gone forever, just leaving behind a super-bodyguard called Dark Sun.

“Doctor An Te Qi.” Ah Ye turned his head to look at the doctor.

An Te Qi replied absent-mindedly, “Hm?”

Anyway, in just a few more minutes, this child won’t exist anymore. I don’t have to continue comforting him. I don’t have to face him with a smile. He’s going to die soon anyway!

“Thank you, Doctor.” Ah Ye looked at An Te Qi a little strangely. He didn’t know why the doctor wasn’t smiling today, but he wouldn’t dislike the doctor because of that. After all, if Doctor An Te Qi hadn’t occasionally talked to him and given him encouragement during the time he had spent here, he might have already fallen to pieces.

Thinking this, Ah Ye opened his mouth to say, “Doctor, after I go back to Gēge, you have to come visit me! Doctor will definitely like Gēge.”

When An Te Qi heard this, his eyes began to sting. He hastily turned his head away.

Seeing that, Ah Ye was very surprised. Although An Te Qi had turned his head quickly, Ah Ye had still seen his glistening eyes. He asked doubtfully, “Doctor, are you crying?”

“I-Idiot! It’s just dust. Some dust just got in my eye. Hurts like hell, damn it! The operation is cancelled!” An Te Qi hastily left, the palm of his hand never leaving his face the entire time.

An Te Qi walked far away. And from a great distance the sound of someone speaking could be heard, “Damn it, I’ve suddenly got a plan. Seems like I have to find those theorists and talk it over with them. How annoying…”

Highest priority master confirmed.

“Dìdi… It’s Gēge.”

“You are not Dark Sun! You are ‘Ri Xiang Ye,’ my only dìdi.”

Intent to assassinate highest priority master. Eliminate.

“The child of darkness who brought harm to his mother and death to his father…”

Tears are flowing out. Scanning system for errors. Lacrimal gland system. Facial expressions system…

You still are my dìdi… I have sworn that I will protect you… This time, I’ll definitely protect you!

Received command. Turning on emotions. Transferring all stored memories… System overheating… Danger… Emergency system shutdown…

Gēge, you finally came.

Eyes open. Analyzing environment. An ordinary living room of thirty-three square meters. Lying on a bed. An organism detected next to the bed. Verifying identity of organism. Golden hair, red eyes. Appearance is that of the highest priority master.

Gēge… No, he’s the highest priority master!

But Master is Gēge… What about me? Who am I? Dark Sun. No! I’m Ri Xiang Ye.

Ah Ye…

Ri Xiang Ye cradled his head, his mind in a complete mess. On one hand, he was as logical as a robot. On the other hand, he was just a crying boy.

My head hurts! However, Ri Xiang Ye only let out a muffled groan, and then no longer paid attention to the pain which was threatening to make his head explode into pieces. He slowly extended his hand. Only then did he discover that his hand was unexpectedly trembling. What’s going on? Is there a problem with my arm muscles or supermetal alloy bones?

Although the microchip in his brain suggested that he should conduct a self-inspection, Ri Xiang Ye didn’t want to follow the suggested action. His hand slowly reached out toward his brother, who was sitting next to the bed with his upper body resting on the bed. His trembling hand landed on his older brother’s head, and he felt his brother’s familiar, soft hair.

“Gēge—”

Ri Xiang Ye couldn’t help calling out even though the microchip in his brain was constantly warning him not to disturb the highest priority master and also that he should not address his master in such a way.

The man next to the bed shifted and murmured sleepily, “O.K., O.K. Ah Ye, be good. Let Gēge sleep a bit more. I’ll play with you later.”

Ri Xiang Ye immediately fell silent. Regardless of his reasons, the highest priority master had already given an order. He wanted to sleep, and Ri Xiang Ye was not to disturb him.

He remained motionless just like that, not even moving away the hand he had placed on Ri Xiang Yan’s head. He only watched Ri Xiang Yan with wide eyes. Even just that was more than enough for Ri Xiang Ye. He had never been this happy in so many years!

Although Ri Xiang Ye hadn’t made any sound, the man lying on the side of the bed suddenly stiffened and then abruptly lifted his head. A pair of wine-red eyes with the clarity of rubies saw that the person on the bed had already woken up. Ri Xiang Yan froze, seemingly at a loss for words.

“A-Ah Ye.”

Ri Xiang Yan found it difficult to speak. The expression on his face was both fearful and hopeful. If the Sun Emperor’s subordinates or his enemies saw him at this moment, none of them would believe that this was the Sun Emperor. After all, to most people, the Sun Emperor was like the sun, always high above in the sky, and with a faint smile on his face, looking down disdainfully upon the people.

At this moment, Ri Xiang Ye was in the midst of a predicament. He didn’t know what to call Ri Xiang Yan.

Master? Gēge? At the same time, he also wasn’t sure who he was. Dark Sun? Or Ah Ye…

“Ah Ye, what’s wrong? Are you all right?” Ri Xiang Yan asked extremely anxiously. But the question he truly wanted to ask was, Have you actually come back?

Was the robot Dark Sun or his beloved little brother Ah Ye in front of him?

“Nothing is wrong, Master…” Ri Xiang Ye frowned.

Hearing the word “Master,” Ri Xiang Yan’s pupils abruptly shrank. The word “Master” was like a sharp blade stabbing through his heart. The agony from his heart flowed to his entire body… Had he still lost his little brother, Ah Ye?

Thinking of this, Ri Xiang Yan clenched his hands into fists, filled with a fury he didn’t know who to vent on. He suddenly stood up. The only person left he could unleash his wrath on was An Te Qi!

He won’t like the punishment that will befall him. The expression on Ri Xiang Yan’s face was cruel and pitiless.

“… Gē. Master Gēge.”

Ri Xiang Yan stopped where he stood. The cruel and pitiless expression his face had been set into vanished in an instant, replaced by a good big brother who was worried about his little brother. He turned, moved, and leaned forward onto his little brother’s bed, the three actions accomplished in a single breath, anxiously watching Ri Xiang Ye.

“What did you just call me? Say it one more time.” Ri Xiang Yan had a longing expression.

“Master Gēge.” Ri Xiang Ye had finally found a compromise. Since Master was also Gēge, then he would simply just say them together. He didn’t care how strange this title sounded.

Gēge! Ah Ye called me Gēge. Ri Xiang Yan revealed a foolish-looking smile that good older brothers specialized in. At the same time, he also automatically ignored the word “Master” as though he hadn’t heard it.

“Ah Ye, call me that one more time?”

“Master Gēge.”

“One more time.”

“Master Gēge.”

“One more…”

This was the scene that greeted An Te Qi when he walked into the room.

The person they said had the most influence of anyone on Earth was wearing a silly expression. Each time he heard the word “Gēge” he would become intoxicated by his own fantasies. After a few minutes had passed, he would have the other person call him Gēge again, and then spend the next few minutes continuing to be intoxicated…

This is the Sun Emperor?

An Te Qi’s face looked stricken. If he wasn’t worried about the numerous bodyguards standing outside that would come rushing in with submachine guns, he would have really considered chucking the flower vase next to him while yelling, “You’re noisy as hell! Stop getting Dark Sun to call you Gēge, you bro-con who likes hearing people call you Gēge!”

But it was too bad that this brother fanatic was currently the most influential guy in the world, and he himself was just a pitiful little doctor. After An Te Qi bitterly smiled, he emphatically coughed, trying to get the brother fanatic’s attention.

However, the first person to notice him was actually Ri Xiang Ye. He lifted his head and said, “Doctor An Te Qi.”

An Te Qi strolled to the bedside. In his hands were a record-keeping folder and a pen. He automatically said, “Report the state of your body and microchip.”

“Understood.” Ri Xiang Ye returned to his expressionless mode and tonelessly replied, “Body contains no anomalies. Microchip contains no anomalies.”

An Te Qi nodded and wrote a few things down, asking again, “After retrieving your memory and turning off the emotion-suppressing switch, have there been any problems with the microchip?”

“Memory has no problems. However, after turning off the emotion-suppressing switch, there have been several instances of conflicts with previous orders…”

Ri Xiang Ye stopped, looking helplessly behind An Te Qi’s back. An Te Qi clearly didn’t notice anything was off. He only used his pen to scratch his head, having some difficulty with how to record this.

An Te Qi raised his head and asked again, “What kind of conflict? Dark Sun, explain or give an example.”

Ri Xiang Ye blinked before saying, “For example, Master Gēge is emitting a killing intent behind Doctor An Te Qi. Previous orders state that Dark Sun must obey any of Master Gēge’s commands. Therefore, Dark Sun should ask Master Gēge whether he would like Doctor An Te Qi killed… However, with emotions, Ah Ye wants to warn the doctor to look out behind you.”

An Te Qi suddenly went rigid, finally noticing the terrifyingly murderous intent behind him. A drop of cold sweat dripped down from his forehead…

“What were you just doing?” Ri Xiang Yan revealed a faint smile.

“Checking Dark Sun’s condition.”

An Te Qi stiffly raised his hands in surrender. At the same time, he replied with great caution. This was because he could already feel that behind him was a very lethal, small object… This tiny object, this very cute object, this object which had slain the entire research team, was the delicate, silver derringer.

“What did you call my brother?”

“Ah!” An Te Qi finally realized what he had done wrong. He hastily corrected, “Ah Ye. Of course, it’s Ah Ye!”

Ri Xiang Yan hmphed, clearly not very satisfied.

“Master Gēge, should I kill him?

Ri Xiang Ye lifted up the quilt. The nails on his right hand abruptly extended, even reflecting a cold light. Just by extending his hand, these deadly nails were apathetically placed against An Te Qi’s neck.

An Te Qi didn’t even dare to swallow. After all, almost all of Dark Sun’s operations were performed by him. There wasn’t anyone who understood better than him how lethal Dark Sun was! An Te Qi was certain that Ri Xiang Yan only had to say either “Yes,” or “Kill,” and he would only be able to be a ghost doctor in Hell.

Seeing the look on An Te Qi’s face, Ri Xiang Ye let his expression soften, and he said with some distress, “But Ah Ye doesn’t want to kill Doctor An Te Qi. Commands and emotions are in conflict again.”

“Ah Ye, don’t kill him!” Ri Xiang Yan cried out worriedly. He was deeply afraid that if he wasn’t careful, he would cause his little brother to kill a person and suffer again.

Hearing this shout, Ri Xiang Ye simply retracted his nails and slowly lowered his hand until it hung by his side, no longer showing an intent to attack.

An Te Qi finally heaved a sigh of relief. He would rather be shot with Ri Xiang Yan’s gun than attacked by Dark Sun. At least the former option gave him a chance of survival, but the latter was a one-hit kill.

“Dìdi!”

Not caring the slightest about An Te Qi, Ri Xiang Yan leapt toward his little brother, snatched his brother’s hand, and intensively examined it. No matter how he looked at it, it looked the same as a regular person’s hand. Just how had he extended those long nails?

“In the future, you can’t just extend your nails at random, understand?” Ri Xiang Yan nagged. The look on his face changed to worry. “Otherwise, if someone finds out that you aren’t the same as most people, then what? That won’t do. Whoever discovers this, I’ll kill them!”

Ri Xiang Ye nodded and incorporated Master’s command “Do not extend nails at random” into the microchip.

Hearing Ri Xiang Yan give Dark Sun this order, An Te Qi fell silent. He didn’t know whether or not to tell Ri Xiang Yan that he was afraid the fingernails were the most human-like aspect of his little brother…

Whatever. I’m not going to go out of my way to court death!

An Te Qi logically decided not to further antagonize the man holding the derringer. He lightly smiled and said, “It looks like Dark… Ah Ye is in excellent condition! Although he said that there are some conflicts with previous commands after turning off the emotion suppressing switch, as long as Mr. Ri gives the command to have Ah Ye choose not to suppress his emotions in that sort of situation, to follow what he wants to do, there shouldn’t be any issues.”

Ri Xiang Yan immediately repeated An Te Qi’s words anxiously, and while he was at it, he also added, “In the future, just call me Gēge. Don’t add the word ‘Master.’”

“Understood, Gēge.” Ri Xiang Ye nodded, completely obeying orders.

Gēge… Ri Xiang Yan revealed an intoxicated expression again and then continued living in his “Gēge and Dìdi” fantasy world. Off to the side, An Te Qi exasperatedly pushed his small spectacles up the bridge of his nose. It was like he was being treated like air again.

“Mr. Ri, what do you plan to do with Dark…”

An Te Qi was suddenly being ruthlessly glared at by Ri Xiang Yan’s blood-red eyes. After being scared into breaking out in a cold sweat, he forced his heart to stop violently beating out of sync. With an expression as though nothing had happened, he said, “What do you plan to do with Ah Ye? After all, I am Ah Ye’s surgeon. I know a lot about his condition. If you consult with me, I can give you an appropriate assessment.”

Ri Xiang Yan was quite impressed by An Te Qi’s courage. It should be known that his mighty aura was the result of long years of maneuvering at the top of the business world. It wasn’t the sort of thing ordinary people could withstand. He had intimidated more than a couple of people into wetting themselves on the spot in fear.

“I want to let Dìdi go to school. He’s already fifteen, but he hasn’t spent a single day in class. It’s unacceptable!”

Ri Xiang Yan had decided early on that he wanted his brother to return to an ordinary lifestyle. And an ordinary fifteen-year-old would of course go to school.

An Te Qi pursed his lips and with great caution, said, “However, Ah Ye’s microchip has stored a vast amount of knowledge and abilities. In fact, going to school is unnecessary.”

“Do these abilities include interpersonal relationships? Do they include how a normal boy should behave?”

Unconsciously, Ri Xiang Yan raised his voice louder and louder. He was angry, but it wasn’t directed at An Te Qi. Rather, it was his late father whom he resented. He hated him for being unwilling to grant his little brother even the life of an ordinary boy.

An Te Qi fell silent. In accordance with the wishes of his former employer, all of Dark Sun’s abilities were made for an ultimate bodyguard. This was the complete opposite of a “normal boy.”

“I want to let Ah Ye live the life of a regular boy. Doctor An Te Qi, as long as you help me with returning Ah Ye to a normal boy, whatever you desire, I can give you!”

Ri Xiang Yan faintly smiled with self-confidence. He was completely aware of the bargaining power he had. He could use thirty percent of the world’s strength to search for a boy. Investigating a doctor who had his license revoked was a simple matter. Therefore, he already knew what An Te Qi’s weakness was.

Basically, this man was a mad scientist through and through. So he needed money, equipment, and all sorts of rare subjects and materials to experiment on. In other words, he needed endless amounts of money in order to perform his experiments.

An Te Qi pushed up his glasses, his eyes gleaming brightly. Without the slightest hesitation, he responded, “I want a perfect laboratory and a research budget with no upper limit.”

“That’s simple. I’ll give it to you right now.” Ri Xiang Yan lightly replied, “Only, if I find that you don’t have the capability to treat my brother, then the research funds might possibly be cut or even stopped completely. You understand, don’t you?”

An Te Qi’s lips trembled, but he still accepted the conditions. He nodded and said, “I understand.”

“Then…” Ri Xiang Yan turned around to face his brother, immediately turning into a smiling, good older brother. He gently asked, “Ah Ye, what school do you want to go to? Gēge will help arrange everything for you no matter which school it is!”

Ri Xiang Ye opened his mouth, but he didn’t know how to answer his brother. He had been shut away in the laboratory for so long and had never thought about going to school.

However, even though he wasn’t thinking about it, the microchip in his brain activated on its own, performing a high speed search of every school’s information and beginning an analysis of which academic institution would best assist him in his obligations.

After several minutes, Ri Xiang Ye told his brother, “Yelan Academy. Combat department.”

Ri Xiang Yan’s smile froze on his face right then. His heart grew heavier. His little brother had already been modified into a robot, and if he went to the combat department, in order to not be exposed… A lot more effort would be required.

However, Ri Xiang Yan didn’t want to refuse his little brother’s request. Last time, when he had refused his little brother’s request to stay by his side, he had caused his little brother to endure seven years of pain… Ri Xiang Yan had already decided that no matter what the request was, he would never refuse his little brother!

“O.K.!” Ri Xiang Yan resolutely replied.

This shocked An Te Qi, who was standing off to the side. He quickly said, “It’s not O.K.! Ah Ye is too strong. He’s really strong. You don’t understand how powerful he is! If he goes to this department, he’ll definitely be discovered! Didn’t you want to let him be a regular bo…”

After saying that last bit, An Te Qi suddenly froze, as though something had just occurred to him. He actually stopped halfway through his words before staring blankly.

“What is it?” Ri Xiang Yan frowned, appearing faintly displeased. Few people dared to suddenly blank out while speaking to him.

The look on An Te Qi’s face was very strange. He kept starting and stopping while replying, “The life of an ordinary boy you were talking about… I think it’s completely impossible! You’re the Sun Emperor. The most powerful person on Earth. There’s no way your little brother could live the life of a regular boy! Honestly speaking, having the identity of a cyborg is nowhere near as eye-catching as being your little brother.”

Ri Xiang Yan was stunned. He had completely forgotten about this problem. He abruptly sat down and buried his face in his hands. If he were the reason his little brother couldn’t be an ordinary person, then that would be the most ruthless blow of all to Ri Xiang Yan.

“We just won’t say…”

“Huh?” An Te Qi hadn’t heard properly.

Ri Xiang Yan lifted his head. His eyes shone with determination. “I said, we just won’t reveal I have a younger brother! We won’t let other people find out about this.” As Ri Xiang Yan said the last sentence, he looked at An Te Qi, his eyes filled with threats.

How many times have I been threatened already? An Te Qi bitterly smiled. He casually waved his hand. “I won’t say anything. Relax. I have no interest in playing around with my life… Not only because of the Sun Emperor’s authority, but more importantly, I understand how strong Ah Ye is. Right now, you don’t understand it yet. What you don’t understand is how fearsome the weapon you hold in your grasp is!”

Ri Xiang Yan tensed. He was unhappy with the way An Te Qi had described Ri Xiang Ye. But he could see from the expression on An Te Qi’s face that he was speaking the truth… However, Ri Xiang Yan would never use his little brother as a weapon! He believed that with the power he currently had, he wouldn’t ever need Ah Ye to lift a finger.

He would never let his Dìdi have to fight!

“Ah Ye…” Ri Xiang Yan slowly opened his mouth to speak, and Ri Xiang Ye turned his head to watch his older brother, awaiting his brother’s words.

“Gēge’s going to change your name, and you can’t tell anyone else that you’re my little brother, O.K.?”

Ri Xiang Ye nodded. In reality, he would never refuse one of his brother’s requests. No matter if it was because of the microchip in his brain or the emotions in his heart, he would not turn against his most important Gēge.

Although their appearances weren’t similar, the way the two brothers treated each other was exactly the same.

“O.K. I’ve got a lot of things to do. I have to buy some headquarters, then have a tunnel dug between the headquarters and my and Ah Ye’s house so I can go between work and home without being discovered… Hm, do I need to buy Yelan Academy under a different name?”

Ri Xiang Yan stroked his chin, thinking over these matters.

Are you crazy? Do you have to go to those extremes? The corner of An Te Qi’s mouth twitched several times. He thought to himself, Are all rich people this insane?

Ri Xiang Yan clapped his hands and said, “That’s right. I also have to get Dìdi some more clothes. I should buy a suitable designer!”

Buy a designer… An Te Qi’s expression was one of utter exasperation.

“Speaking of which, will we need a tutor for extra lessons? I should also buy a teacher while I’m at it.” Ri Xiang Yan frowned, his expression that of a parent concerned about their child possibly lagging behind in their homework.

There’s no need! An Te Qi had an irrepressible urge to flip his middle finger. Extra lessons my a**! In the combat department, your little brother could be a teacher and then some!

Ri Xiang Yan pulled out his cell phone, dialed a number, and without further consultation, began saying, “Bill? I want a designer who specializes in clothes for the aristocracy. Also a new headquarters and a new house some distance away. Yes, yes. A regular house. Also, get the covert ops team to dig a tunnel between the two structures. Right, and while you’re doing this, ask if Yelan Academy is up for sale. Also, buy an admissions letter too…”

An Te Qi finally couldn’t take it anymore and shouted at Ri Xiang Ye, “Hey! Ah Ye, tell your brother to show some self-restraint and stop buying random things!”

“I can’t command Gēge.” Ri Xiang Ye shook his head. Right after, he asked, “Gēge, can I also have a practice range? And also a lot of weapons?”

Ri Xiang Yan, who was currently speaking on the phone, stopped and then resumed talking into the cell phone, “Under the regular house, build a completely soundproof basement. Yes! It has to be very large. Also, start a weapons development team. Whenever they come up with any new weapons, send them to the basement. They have to be all sorts of weapons!”

“You two really are brothers…” An Te Qi buried his face in his hands, completely giving up on trying to persuade this pair of brothers.