Eclipse Hunter V3C10: Loss

Eclipse Hunter Volume 3: Angel, Slaughter

Original novel in Chinese by: 御我(Yu Wo)

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Chapter Ten: Loss—translated by Trespasserby (proofread by Arcedemius & Minthe; C/E edited by lucathia)

Ri Xiang Yan felt as though his heart was about to shatter. He shouted in grief, “Ah Ye, Ah Ye!”

He whirled around, eyes completely bloodshot and roared at Bai Lian Yue, “What did you do to Ah Ye? Didn’t you only want to see me suffer? You didn’t really kill him, did you?”

“I…”

Bai Lian Yue was even more at a loss. He had originally thought that the explosion was Ri Xiang Yan’s work. However, as soon as Ri Xiang Yan realized the explosion had happened in the dome that his little brother was in, he passed out for several seconds in fear and then cried out for his little brother heartbrokenly. He can’t possibly be faking. He can’t!

“Ah Ye …”

Ri Xiang Yan staggered in the direction of the dome where Ah Ye was.

Bai Lian Yue hastily grabbed him, calling out, “What are you doing? The suspension bridge was destroyed in the explosion. You can’t cross it!”

“Let go of me. I have to find Ah Ye!”

Ri Xiang Yan desperately struggled with unexpected strength. Even Bai Lian Yue, who had trained in martial arts for many years, almost couldn’t keep a grip on him. With no other choice, Bai Lian Yue used his hand to deliver a chop to the back of Ri Xiang Yan’s neck. Following which, Ri Xiang Yan fell unconscious.

Bai Lian Yue laid Ri Xiang Yan on the sofa. Then he turned his head to look in the direction of the half-destroyed dome. He muttered in confusion, “Dark Sun, what exactly are you doing? However, even if you truly did survive that kind of explosion, you wouldn’t even have the strength to move. Furthermore, you were already injured.”

However, he couldn’t relax. The explosion definitely had to be the work of Dark Sun. Although he didn’t know what Dark Sun was planning, he knew that Dark Sun would never abandon Ri Xiang Yan and choose to flee on his own. That was the only thing he was certain of. Therefore, all he had to do was guard Ri Xiang Yan.

After commanding the modified humans to guard the surroundings, Bai Lian Yue slowly sat down on the sofa. He lowered his head to look at the unconscious Ri Xiang Yan and reached out to stroke his supple golden hair.

He absent-mindedly murmured repeatedly, “Ah Yan, I’ll never let you go. Never!”

“Ah Yan. Never let you go. Never…”

Eli leapt up on a thick branch and quietly said the information he had read. The expression on his face was strange.

Hearing that, Death stared with wide eyes, not understanding the situation.

“… Looks like the Sun Emperor and Bai Lian Yue are definitely in there. Are there any other people?” Elian was off to the side, his mouth hooked in a mirthless smile.

Eli shook his head, saying, “There aren’t any other people. However, there could be modified humans. I can’t read modified humans’ thoughts.”

“Is that so?”

Elian was very distressed. According to An Te Qi, Bai Lian Yue was very strong martial artist. If there were modified humans on top of that, then they would be unable to launch a surprise attack to seize the Sun Emperor. If they botched the attempt, then they might even injure the Sun Emperor, which would certainly have consequences.

“All we can do is wait for an opportunity. Eli, carefully listen to the situation inside. Once there’s a chance, we’ll immediately…”

“Hey!” Death suddenly warned.

He hadn’t even finished speaking when the window beside the three of them was suddenly sent flying. A humanoid shape brushed past them, then tumbled straight down, repeatedly snapping numerous branches and sending up a cloud of leaves and broken twigs everywhere…

“…”

The three people wordlessly looked down at the hole that had been smashed through. Then Elian lifted his head to look at Eli. Eli revealed a rare expression of embarrassment as he said, “It wasn’t that I wasn’t listening. That was definitely a modified human without thoughts. Otherwise, that was something Dark Sun did.”

Hearing that, Elian said emotionally, “Ah! I really miss the days when only humans were capable of murder.”

At this moment, Bai Lian Yue’s furious shout came from inside the building. “Dark Sun! I won’t let you take Ah Yan!”

It’s Ah Ye!

Elian wanted to call out to Eli and Death, then rush in to help Ah Ye, but Eli quietly called out, “Elian!”

Then he used his hand to point in the three o’ clock direction.

Elian’s gaze followed his finger. The suspension bridge had a whole line of modified humans currently running toward the central complex. Seeing that, Elian couldn’t help but gasp, and he promptly made the decision, “Get on the bridge. We’ll use the chokepoint to hold them off.”

After he finished speaking, the three of them, in addition to their two modified humans, immediately leapt over to where the suspension bridge was, securely sealing off the pathway in the nick of time. Taking advantage of the moments before the modified humans arrived, Elian glanced back at the central building. He nearly cried out in shock. He saw Dark Sun covered in injuries blocking Bai Lian Yue from the front. And behind him was the Sun Emperor’s unconscious body lying on a sofa.

Although Elian wanted to help Ah Ye, he knew that they couldn’t let the modified humans on the bridge into the building or they would all be doomed.

“Hold them off, Death, Eli!”

“Does that need to be said?” Death crankily replied. He was beginning to think that the reward of ten battles was much too little.

Ri Xiang Ye dodged around, breathing heavily. But Bai Lian Yue’s whip was like a cunning serpent and kept up an unrelenting pressure. In addition, there were the modified humans to the side watching carefully, so all he could do was dodge. Although his microchip had determined that after he retreated, he could use heavy objects to attack, he couldn’t leave the sofa’s side. Otherwise his brother would be vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks.

“How unexpected. You could actually still escape under those circumstances.” Bai Lian Yue showed a beautiful smile. “However, what good are you like this?”

Although he had been caught off guard by Dark Sun’s attack to the point that Dark Sun had even forced him away from Ri Xiang Yan’s side, when Bai Lian Yue took a closer look, he realized Dark Sun was covered with injuries. The originally distorted right hand had been twisted back into place, but the angle still wasn’t quite right. It also explained why Dark Sun had yet to use his hands to attack and just kept dodging.

Bai Lian Yue coldly chuckled and commanded, “Modified humans, attack the person on the sofa!”

As soon as the order was issued, the modified humans instantly changed directions to swing their weapons down at Ri Xiang Yan, who was unconscious on the sofa. Ri Xiang Ye was forced to abruptly turn around to protect his brother, but Bai Lian Yue’s whip wrapped around his ankle and forcefully pulled him to the ground.

“Stop! Suppress the enemy on the ground instead.”

The modified humans immediately stopped, each of their weapons poised just above Ri Xiang Yan’s head, and turned around to suppress Ri Xiang Ye.

As Ri Xiang Ye was restrained by the modified humans, unable to move, he felt a deep sadness. I’m sorry, Gēge. I still couldn’t save you…

“You really have been naughty.” Bai Lian Yue strode a few steps forward. He used the tip of his shoe to repeatedly kick Ri Xiang Ye’s cheek. “Look at you. Your cute face has become all dirty. Just how heartbroken do you think your brother would be if he saw this?”

Bai Lian Yue coldly laughed. Calm in the midst of the chaos, he looked at the three people battling against a whole row of modified humans outside and shouted, “The three of you outside! If you don’t stop, Dark Sun’s head and body will be going separate ways!”

Hearing that, Elian and the others stiffened. Although they wanted to stop, the modified humans weren’t stopping their attacks! How could they stop?

Bai Lian Yue naturally was aware of the plight they were in, but he didn’t feel like telling the modified humans to stop. Instead, he relished seeing them suffer.

“Still not stopping? Then I’ll just…” Bai Lian Yue gave a sickly-sweet smile and sent a heavy lash down upon Ri Xiang Ye’s back.

Ri Xiang Ye stifled a groan. Soon after, the whip hit him even harder but he no longer made a sound. This only enraged Bai Lian Yue further. He screamed, “How dare you ignore me!” as the whip lashed down harder and faster.

“Ah Ye!”

Hearing the sounds of the lashing whip hitting Ri Xiang Ye’s body, Elian was extremely panicked. He quickly looked back to see Ri Xiang Ye’s situation.

“You trying to die?!” Death growled and helped block a blade for Elian. Otherwise, that blade would have split open his skull.

Although Elian had looked back and saw Ri Xiang Ye being beaten, the sentence that came out of his mouth was strangely, “Great. He’s here—”

At this moment, a massive fist swung down from the side, aimed at Bai Lian Yue’s face. Bai Lian Yue almost didn’t notice until the very last second and was forced to dodge. Although he had dodged the brunt of the attack, after the gust from the fist had blown past, a line unexpectedly appeared on his cheek with blood trickling down.

“Who are you?” Bai Lian Yue shouted in astonishment as he turned his head.

That person slammed his fists together, causing the metal gauntlets on his hands to clang with a sound that reached the skies. With a cold laugh, he shouted with his fists extended out, “Heh. I’m yer daddy!”

Hearing that, Bai Lian Yue was ablaze in fury. He brandished the whip in his hands and began battling the person with the gauntlets.

Eloise had rushed over and began fighting the remaining modified humans on one side, each of her punches blowing away another modified human.

Off to the side, Ri Xiang Ye blankly watched the person fighting with Bai Lian Yue. He almost couldn’t believe it as he called out his name, “E… Ezart?! You’re awake?”

Despite hearing that shout, Ezart never stopped swinging his fists. Instead, he glared at Ri Xiang Ye from the corner of his eye and irritably said, “Idiot! How’d you end up looking like a piece of charcoal?”

“Y-You really are awake…” Ri Xiang Ye’s eyes grew moist. He almost started spouting tears.

Ezart grumpily said, “No shit. If I wasn’t awake, wouldn’t I just be sleepwalking right now?”

At this moment, Ri Xiang Ye tried to get up, but his hands and feet didn’t have much strength. His knees went soft and he sat on the ground right where he was.

His initial injuries had already been so heavy that he wasn’t fit for battle, but he had repeatedly forced himself to pull one dangerous stunt after another. First, he had used his plasma hair strands, the only thing not under restraints, to slice open the sleeping cabin. Then he had stealthily thrown the bomb inside his body outside the sleeping cabin, which had caused a huge explosion that blew apart the four modified humans guarding him.

Although he was protected by the sleeping cabin and had minimized the injuries he had received, he still couldn’t help adding to his injuries.

Then he had taken advantage of the moment Bai Lian Yue had been looking down at Ri Xiang Yan to kick open the window, and send one of the modified humans flying with another kick. Then he began battling Bai Lian Yue’s four remaining modified humans.

He had long been covered in wounds, so much so that a quarter of his body was even smoking black from the blast earlier. That was why Ezart had made the comment that he looked like a piece of charcoal.

“Ah Ye, sit still. I’ll help treat your injuries.”

Ri Xiang Ye froze. That voice is…

“An Te Qi-bàba.”

An Te Qi gave an “Mhm” in reply. His expression was grave as he looked at Ri Xiang Ye’s injuries. The muscles on Ri Xiang Ye’s left hand were completely destroyed. His right elbow was a bit crooked, looking as though it had been twisted out of place and then forced back in. Although the tibia and fibula in his legs hadn’t snapped, the flesh around them was split open.

“Luckily none of your bones really broke, or we’d be in trouble.”

An Te Qi took hold of Ri Xiang Ye’s right hand and began using a cylindrical apparatus he had placed to the side, saying, “I’m first going to adjust the angle of the bones in your right arm and spray some hemostatic agents on your injuries. The rest will have to wait to be tended until we can get back to the lab.”

“O.K., but don’t use any anesthetics.” Ri Xiang Ye hastily said, “Otherwise, I won’t be able to move my right arm afterward.”

“Then you’ll have to bear with it.”

An Te Qi nodded and pressed several buttons on the apparatus. He allowed the apparatus to do its work as he picked up the hemostatic spray. At first, he looked for injuries on Ri Xiang Ye’s body to spray, but in the end, he realized that he couldn’t find a single place that hadn’t been injured. So he just sprayed Ri Xiang Ye completely from head to toe.

On the side, Ezart yelled, “I’m ready to rumble!” Then he swung his fists and engaged Bai Lian Yue in battle. Bai Lian Yue could see that this person had alarming strength. If he took a hit, his internal organs would be completely ruptured. So he dodged more than he counterattacked.

Bai Lian Yue’s fighting style was similar to his son’s, Bai Lian Xing’s, except that he was more cunning and even swifter. However, Ezart was no longer the same old Ezart. His speed had also leveled up considerably, and the strength behind his fists had also multiplied several times over. Time after time, the fists merely brushed past, but the wind from the fists’ passing had already torn Ezart’s opponent’s clothing to shreds. His strength truly was like that of a hurricane.

As Ri Xiang Ye allowed An Te Qi to treat his wounds, he watched the battle, unable to tear his eyes away. He even gasped in admiration, “Ezart’s become really strong!”

An Te Qi was busy treating Ah Ye’s injuries as he also said with disbelief, “I heard that he drank my drug and somehow didn’t die. That guy really is tough. My drug can bring out a person’s innate potential and substantially increase their strength and speed, but in my experiments up until then, most of the experimental subjects died soon after drinking the drug.”

By this point, Elian, Death, Eli, and An Te Qi’s two modified humans had completely dealt with the modified humans outside. Several people immediately went back to help Eloise deal with the remaining modified humans.

“Damn it!”

At this moment, Bai Lian Yue knew the tides had turned. He smashed apart a window next to him with a flying kick. Ezart shouted for him to stop and then followed suit.

Seeing that, Elian was concerned that Ezart wouldn’t be able to defeat Bai Lian Yue and rushed to the side to say to Death, “Death, I’ll have to ask you to follow. Coordinate with Ezart to subdue the enemy and then bring them back.”

After rolling his eyes, Death said, “And this is the last order?”

“Yes, the last one.” Elian nodded.

Death nodded in satisfaction. Then he went in pursuit in the direction Bai Lian Yue and Ezart had taken.

“Ah Ye, are you O.K.?” Elian asked in concern.

“My adorable Ah Ye! You’ve been bullied to the point you look like this… Sob sob, it’s so tragic!” Eloise looked at Ri Xiang Ye’s half-charred body and began wailing loudly.

“Eloise, I’m fine.” Ri Xiang Ye hurriedly leapt up to reassure Eloise.

As soon as he jumped up, the bandages wrapped around half his body loosened instead. An Te Qi rolled his eyes at that. But he thought, Whatever! Anyway, the hemostatic agents have just about finished stopping the bleeding. The rest will have to wait until we get to the lab to do a complete overhaul.

“Just as long as you’re fine.” Elian smiled in relief. Although Ah Ye’s appearance was really a ghastly sight, if Ah Ye could leap up to console Eloise, and An Te Qi, who was nearby, wasn’t worried, then there really shouldn’t be any major problems with Ah Ye.

At this point, Ri Xiang Yan, who had been lying on the sofa up until this point, slowly opened his eyes. He sat up and immediately saw Ah Ye giggling and chatting with Elian and the others. The tension in his heart relaxed in an instant. In that moment, he was dazed. His brain was only filled with, Ah Ye is alive. Ah Ye is alive.

“An Te Qi!”

Ri Xiang Yan suddenly caught sight of An Te Qi. His gaze turned fierce. He absolutely could not allow a person who jeopardized Ah Ye’s safety to remain alive. He absolutely, absolutely did not want to ever again experience the despair and pain from realizing Ah Ye had died.

Without anyone noticing, he walked to a drawer in the study. He knew this was where Bai Lian Yue had kept his gun. He pulled out the silver derringer and aimed it at An Te Qi. He coldly sneered, “For Ah Ye’s sake, you have to die!”

Bang!

“Gēge, don’t!”

Ri Xiang Ye loudly cried out as he darted in front of An Te Qi, using his arm to take the bullet instead.

“No!”

Seeing that, Ri Xiang Yan gasped. The pistol in his hands clattered to the ground. A chill went through his stomach. I hurt Ah Ye. I actually hurt Ah Ye!

Ri Xiang Ye didn’t pay any attention to the bullet hole in his arm. A bullet from this sort of small gun couldn’t even pierce through his muscles. He plucked the bullet stuck in his arm and angrily shouted, “Gēge, why do you have to kill An Te Qi-bàba?!”

Smack!

Ri Xiang Yan fiercely slapped his younger brother. Ri Xiang Ye appeared to be stunned and helpless as he caressed the cheek that had been hit. Gēge… Hit me?

Ri Xiang Yan screamed in fury, “Killing An Te Qi is to protect you! Do you realize how much I’ve sacrificed until now in order to protect you? You, you repeatedly let yourself be hurt, not caring the slightest about your own self!”

Ri Xiang Ye blankly stared at his older brother. B-But I was hurt because I wanted to protect Gēge…

“Why can’t you be a good kid? Obediently stay under my protection and just obediently be an ordinary boy?”

After Ri Xiang Yan had finished shouting bitterly and sorrowfully, he crumpled into a sitting position on the ground. He buried his weary face in his hands and thought, Ever since I rescued Dìdi, how many times has he been hurt? Why is it that even under my protection, he never stops being hurt?

This time, I was even the one who opened fire and wounded Ah Ye!

“Gēge…”

Ri Xiang Ye watched him and timidly called out. “I-I’ll be good from now on. Can you not kill An Te Qi-bàba?”

At first, when he had heard his little brother calling, Ri Xiang Yan felt his heart soften. But once he heard the words that followed, he became enraged again. He couldn’t help roaring at his younger brother.

“No! He has too much influence over you yet doesn’t care about you at all. He could betray you at any moment. Leaving a person like him by your side, don’t tell me I’m supposed to wait for him to betray you again, or even worse, to hurt you again?!”

Off to the side, An Te Qi had ducked behind Elian and Eloise. The three of them awkwardly stood where they were, not knowing if they should interfere in this argument between the brothers.

Seeing that his older brother was holding firm, Ri Xiang Ye grew nervous. He tried hard to plead, “Gēge, I really will be good. Don’t kill An Te Qi-bàba, O.K.?”

At first, Ri Xiang Yan nearly caved in. But his rationality pulled him back. If he didn’t execute a traitor like An Te Qi, who would take him seriously? If he didn’t kill An Te Qi, then if he betrayed them again, Ah Ye would be hurt once more!

Thinking of this, Ri Xiang Yan wanted to refuse his little brother’s request. But he had second thoughts. Was there any need to refuse to his little brother’s face and break his heart?

After all, the experiments An Te Qi conducted were highly dangerous. Who knew when he would just drop dead in the middle of his lab, right?

Ri Xiang Yan faintly smiled as he pacified his little brother, “O.K. I won’t kill An Te Qi now. Is that all right, Ah Ye?”

Ri Xiang Ye didn’t immediately agree. Instead, he stared with wide eyes at his own brother, causing Ri Xiang Yan to experience a sudden feeling of foreboding.

On the sidelines, Elian and the others looked sideways at Ri Xiang Yan. Even they didn’t believe Ri Xiang Yan was really going to pardon An Te Qi.

“Gēge, you’re lying to me again, aren’t you?”

I was actually found out. Ri Xiang Yan’s smile froze.

“Gēge always lies.” Ri Xiang Ye’s head drooped.

“What? I haven’t…” Ri Xiang Yan’s eyes widened. Except when left with no choice, how could he have lied to Ah Ye?

“When father was taking me away, Gēge clearly said he would protect me. But I waited a long, long time and Gēge never came! Back then, only, only An Te Qi-bàba would smile at me. If An Te Qi-bàba hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been able to hang on!”

Ri Xiang Yan stilled and thought back to Ah Ye’s life seven years ago. Those days must have been unbearable…

“I don’t want An Te Qi-bàba to die, but no matter what I say, Gēge wants to kill An Te Qi-bàba. Yet you say you haven’t lied to me!”

Ri Xiang Yan was unable to refute his little brother at all. He could only direct his anger toward An Te Qi. “It’s all your fault! Why did you betray us?!”

An Te Qi finally stepped out from behind Elian and Eloise. He faced Ri Xiang Yan and icily responded, “If I didn’t help Bai Lian Yue modify humans, would I still be alive? Furthermore, I thought that with your protection, Ah Ye couldn’t possibly be harmed by the modified humans, so I easily agreed to Bai Lian Yue’s requests. How could I have guessed you’d let Ah Ye run away from home?”

Ri Xiang Yan was left speechless. It really was his fault. Ah Ye could tell that he wasn’t actually going to save An Te Qi and might even kill him, so Ah Ye had run away from home. So if he had sincerely promised Ah Ye that he would not have killed An Te Qi, and stayed true to his word, then Ah Ye wouldn’t have run away.

When it all came down to it, if he hadn’t gone to negotiate with Bai Lian Yue, hadn’t become a hostage, then Ah Ye might have successfully fled home with An Te Qi!

Finally, An Te Qi said indifferently, “The two of you brothers, one has a Gēge to protect you, the other has a Dìdi to protect you. I only have myself. I just want to survive. Is that wrong?”

“An Te Qi-bàba…” Ri Xiang Ye hesitantly called.

An Te Qi turned his head to look at Ri Xiang Ye. He sighed and said, “Ah Ye, for the sake of our previous ties, please help stop your brother for a moment so that I can escape. After this, you won’t have to care about me anymore. And especially don’t ever run away from home again.”

“Wait! An Te Qi-bàba, don’t go!” Ri Xiang Ye cried out in alarm, “Don’t go. I’ll convince Gēge not to kill you!”

An Te Qi bitterly smiled. He didn’t believe that Ri Xiang Yan would forgive him. If he continued staying with the Ri family, someday he would die without even knowing how.

Ri Xiang Ye turned his head to look at Ri Xiang Yan. His tone was even more pleading as he said, “Gēge, please don’t kill Bàba!”

Ri Xiang Yan’s face was rigid. He thought, If I refuse Ah Ye’s request, wouldn’t that be breaking my promise that I would give Ah Ye anything he wanted? But if I pardon An Te Qi, what would become of Ah Ye’s safety and the traitor’s punishment?

While he was stuck in this difficult dilemma, a pitiful cry suddenly came from the doorway, “Ri Xiang Yan!”

Ri Xiang Yan turned his head to look. He froze and murmured the person’s name: “Bai Lian Yue…”

Half of Bai Lian Yue’s body was covered in wounds. However, Bai Lian Yue paid no attention to the condition of his injuries and held a pistol aimed at Ri Xiang Yan. In a frenzy, he shouted, “If I can’t have you, I’ll just kill you! I’ll kill you!”

Ri Xiang Yan’s expression darkened after he heard that. He was about to icily reply when he realized Bai Lian Yue’s eyes held no trace of killing intent, only an imploring look, and two trails of tears silently flowed down Bai Lian Yue’s cheeks…

If he really wants to kill me, why hasn’t he fired yet?

Since the beginning, Bai Lian Yue had so many chances to kill him, but he had never taken the opportunity to strike each time. He had never even lashed the whip at him once.

When you smile at me with your pretty face and those eyes, how can I possibly hit you?

Ri Xiang Yan suddenly understood. No matter what, Yue Ya’er would never hurt him. Even pointing a gun at him was just Yue Ya’er’s way of begging him to send a glance his way. He would never fire.

He sighed and said, “All right. Just put down the gun. From now on, you’ll be by my side as a secretary like Bill.”

A dazed expression came across Bai Lian Yue’s face as he heard that. How could this be? The only choice Ri Xiang Yan would give to a traitor was death, much less an enemy!

Seeing Bai Lian Yue look at him with mistrust, Ri Xiang Yan added, “I swear on the name of the Sun Emperor, I will not kill you. I will let you remain by my side as my secretary.”

He sincerely meant to forgive Bai Lian Yue. He thought, The turncoat An Te Qi won’t be killed anymore. And since even An Te Qi, who might betray us again, can be pardoned, what reason would I have to kill Bai Lian Yue, who would never betray me?

“Ah Yan…”

Hearing those words, Bai Lian Yue simply couldn’t believe it. He unconsciously slowly lowered the gun in his hands.

Ri Xiang Yan looked at Bai Lian Yue, faintly smiling as he nodded. This only made Bai Lian Yue feel even more like it was all a dream.

Since I’m planning on having him be my secretary, naturally I have to give him some benefits so that he’ll pour everything into his work just like Bill. Heheheh! After all, Bai Lian Yue controlled the Purple Moon Alliance for so long with such good results, so it’s clear he has a lot of talent!

It just so happened that he had also been a little worried that if Bill continued working so hard, he could collapse from exhaustion. Who would help him deal with all that work then?

“Ah Yan…”

The gun in Bai Lian Yue’s hands trembled, tears pouring down his face. He couldn’t believe that things had turned out this way. He had been forgiven by Ri Xiang Yan and received his attention. And in the future, he was even going to be able to stay by Ri Xiang Yan’s side…

“Ah Ye, stop!”

At this moment, An Te Qi suddenly cried out. But everything happened so quickly. There was no time!

While Ri Xiang Yan distracted Bai Lian Yue, Ri Xiang Ye snatched up the silver derringer on the ground with lightning speed. A sound of a gunshot rang out, and Bai Lian Yue swayed. His eyes were full of anguish with the realization that he had been tricked after all…

But as he glanced at Ri Xiang Yan one last time, he saw Ri Xiang Yan’s stunned expression, as though he didn’t understand what was happening.

Seeing that, Bai Lian Yue tranquilly smiled.

It seems like you weren’t the one who wanted to kill me! But even if you truly did want me to die, at least you were willing to show me that dazed expression. I don’t have any regrets…

A trickle of blood came out of Bai Lian Yue’s temple. Then he closed both his eyes, and his body slowly toppled to the ground. He didn’t move again.

At this moment, Ri Xiang Ye took several steps forward until he was next to Bai Lian Yue. There wasn’t the slightest trace of emotion in his eyes. He lifted up the gun, intending to fire again at the person on the ground, who he wasn’t sure was dead, to ensure his demise.

“Ah Ye, what are you doing?!”

Ri Xiang Yan suddenly came back to his senses. He rushed to his little brother and smacked the gun out of his hands.

Ri Xiang Ye froze. His face went from being expressionless back to his naïve look. He timidly replied, “I-I’m protecting Gēge!”

Ri Xiang Yan shouted, angry and distressed, “Didn’t I promise Bai Lian Yue I wouldn’t kill him? Why did you kill him? Do you like murder that much?”

At this moment, Ri Xiang Ye realized he had done something wrong. His eyes went wide and he explained, flustered, “But, but Gēge also promised me that you wouldn’t kill An Te Qi-bàba. Except you were just tricking me. I thought, I thought Gēge was lying to Bai Lian Yue to divert his attention so I could have the chance to defeat him.”

That was the conclusion the microchip had come to! Gēge was only tricking that person. That was the best time to strike. Take out Gēge’s enemy… but I was wrong!

Ri Xiang Ye’s tears fell down one by one. He cried as he shook his head, “I don’t know! I don’t know when Gēge is telling the truth or when you’re lying! I don’t know!”

After he said that, he turned around and ran out the door.

Ri Xiang Yan’s expression changed. He yelled, “Ah Ye, come back!”

Hearing his brother’s shout, Ri Xiang Ye went rigid. But he still kept running.

Seeing Ah Ye wasn’t listening to him again and had run from his side once more, Ri Xiang Yan stood where he was, stunned. Only once his little brother’s figure had disappeared behind the door did Ri Xiang Yan finally snap out of it. He hurriedly rushed forward several steps, running to the door, but tripped over Bai Lian Yue’s body.

He glanced at the corpse and abruptly stopped. Bai Lian Yue had a smile on his face!

He had tried to kill An Te Qi to protect Ah Ye. Ah Ye had killed Yue Ya’er to protect him.

“I only wanted to protect you, Ah Ye. And you only wanted to protect me.”

Ri Xiang Yan suddenly began laughing wildly. Ah Ye and I truly deserve to be called brothers! Even our actions were exactly the same. We just wanted to protect each other. We just wanted to protect each other!

“Haha! But why do we keep hurting each other instead? Why—Ha! Isn’t it just ironic? Hahaha—”

Haha… Heheheh. Sob… Ah Ye!

“Sun Emperor…” Elian called out hesitantly.

Hearing that, Ri Xiang Yan stifled his tears.

How can a king be seen crying?

Even if the world were to collapse, he could only faintly smile… even if his laughter would sound more like weeping.

At this moment, An Te Qi slowly walked to Ri Xiang Yan’s side. He looked at the door Ri Xiang Ye had left from. He hesitated for a moment but didn’t follow. Instead, he lifted up the walkie talkie from his waist and said, “Ezart, Ah Ye ran out. He’s not quite right. Follow him to see how he’s doing.”

“Ah Ye!”

Ezart came out, chasing after him. Luckily, Ri Xiang Ye hadn’t been running at full speed or there would have been no way Ezart could have caught up.

Hearing that shout, Ri Xiang Ye staggered forward a few more steps but didn’t continue running.

“Ah Ye, what are you running for?” Ezart grumpily said as he caught up.

“Ezart…”

Ri Xiang Ye turned around. His eyes were full of tears, and he was shaking slightly as he asked, “Am I the spawn of a demon?”

“Huh?”

Ezart froze. What the hell is that question? How come every time the brat asks a question, it’s weird as hell? Last time it was about how he looked. This time it’s about being a demon or not. I really don’t get what goes on up in that brat’s head.

“Why? Māmā died. Father died too. Ezart nearly died. Then it was An Te Qi-bàba. I even almost caused Gēge to die. Now I even killed someone Gēge didn’t want to die!”

Ri Xiang Ye said, almost in a daze, “Will everyone who’s connected to me die?”

“What are you talking about? I’m not dead! Your An Te Qi-bàba also isn’t dead. Your big bro is alive and well enough to bicker with you!” Ezart irritably replied, “And if I randomly drink things and almost do myself in, what the hell has that got to do with you?”

But it was like Ri Xiang Ye hadn’t heard him. He kept asking himself questions and then answering them. “Gēge wanted to kill An Te Qi-bàba because he was a traitor… But An Te Qi-bàba only wanted to live. Gēge wasn’t wrong. An Te Qi-bàba wasn’t wrong. T-Then whose fault is it?”

“How would I know?” Ezart scratched his face as he said. From the beginning, he hadn’t really understood what was going on. He just knew that Ah Ye and his brother had been kidnapped and he had come to rescue them.

“I’m the one who’s wrong!” Ri Xiang Ye came to this conclusion.

That’s right! Of course it’s my fault. If I didn’t exist, then Māmā wouldn’t have died.

If I didn’t exist, then how could Gēge have hurt the father he loved so much?

If back at school, I had followed my microchip’s decision instead of following my feelings and insisting on seeing the Principal, then An Te Qi-bàba wouldn’t have been taken away because he came to deliver the weapon for me.

If I hadn’t run away from home and then been captured by Bai Lian Yue, then Gēge wouldn’t have been captured by Bai Lian Yue.

Everything is my fault. It’s all my fault!

Ezart frowned. There’s something completely wrong with this guy. He shook Ri Xiang Ye by the shoulders and asked, “Ah Ye?”

If “Ri Xiang Ye” didn’t exist, would things be better?

Is it like Father said? Anyone the demon’s spawn touches will encounter misfortune?

“So I will use Dark Sun as a seal to shut away the spawn of a demon like you. Only like this will you not harm your elder brother, my beloved child, my great Sun King.”

“Ah Ye, what are you thinking so much for? Let’s go back and find your bro and Elian and the others.” Ezart forcefully patted Ri Xiang Ye on the shoulder.

Go back… Ri Xiang Ye froze. He remembered that when he had rushed out, his brother had yelled for him to come back.

The master’s command is to return.

No! I don’t want to. I don’t want to go back. Gēge said I can do what I want to do. If I go back, I’ll hurt Gēge…

B-But Gēge was the one to tell me to come back. He said I can do what I want, but I don’t want him to kill An Te Qi-bàba, yet he’s not willing to let him go, so why should I comply?

I don’t know. I don’t know…

The master’s orders cannot be disobeyed!

“Ah Ye?”

Seeing Ri Xiang Ye standing in place but uncontrollably shaking, Ezart frowned and shouted, “Hey! What are you doing? It’s just an argument with your brother. Just head back and say you’re sorry. Your bro’s not gonna eat you. What’s the point in shaking in fear?”

Return to the master’s side. The master’s command is to return. Dark Sun, obey the command!

But Ah Ye is the spawn of the demon. If I go back, sooner or later I’ll hurt Gēge.

”Use Dark Sun as a seal to shut away the spawn of a demon like you…”

If Ah Ye is sealed away, then I won’t hurt anyone? I just have to let Dark Sun go back!

Ri Xiang Ye suddenly stopped trembling. The emotion in his eyes slowly faded away. His face gradually turned expressionless.

“Ah Ye?”

The more Ezart watched, the more he felt something wasn’t right. Although Ri Xiang Ye had stopped shaking, he felt even more strongly in his gut that things were far from good. There’s definitely something wrong with this brat!

Finally, he simply spun Ri Xiang Ye around forcefully. Ri Xiang Ye turned around, but at the same time, his hands pushed outwards, shoving away Ezart’s hands.

Ezart froze. He had suddenly seen Ri Xiang Ye’s frigid expression—No, it isn’t Ri Xiang Ye at all!

“Dark Sun?!” He asked, baffled. Why is Dark Sun suddenly here?

“The master’s command is to ‘return.’” Dark Sun’s voice was monotone as he spoke. He slightly cocked his head, his motions as stiff as a robot’s.

“Ah Ye? What the hell are you doing?” Ezart questioned, eyes wide.

“Return to protect the master. Return. Protect…”

Dark Sun jerkily staggered past Ezart, as though his limbs were unable to coordinate with each other. At the same time, his mouth constantly repeated the same phrases, like a broken record.

Ezart used a hand to grab Dark Sun’s shoulder. By now, even a blind person could see something was completely wrong with the brat. But unexpectedly, as soon as he pulled, he didn’t just cause Dark Sun to stop but his entire body toppled backward. Ezart was completely caught off guard. It wasn’t until Dark Sun had fallen more than forty-five degrees that he just managed to catch him.

“Ah Ye?”

Ezart adjusted his position and then slowly placed Ri Xiang Ye’s ninety-kilogram body on the ground. Then he finally had time to check what had happened.

He only saw that Ri Xiang Ye’s eyes were tightly shut and his brows were furrowed. Every now and then his body would twitch.

“What the hell’s going on?” Ezart was stumped. He had no idea what this current condition was.

Eventually, Ri Xiang Ye slowly grew dormant. His body stopped twitching, but he didn’t open his eyes.

“Ah Ye?” Ezart shook Ri Xiang Ye but didn’t get any response. He couldn’t help muttering, “This isn’t good! Don’t tell me he’s kicked the bucket?”

He offhandedly picked up Ri Xiang Ye with one arm. Ri Xiang Ye wasn’t a light load, but with his current strength, it still wasn’t a big deal.

Ezart power walked back to the room where Ri Xiang Yan and the others were.

He had just walked back to the door when he saw Ri Xiang Yan was still sitting in the same spot, his face buried in his hands.

Meanwhile, An Te Qi was fiddling with the corpse by the door. Elian and the others were at a loss. They didn’t know what to do.

Ezart shouted, “Hey! Ah Ye’s big bro and old man, there’s something not quite right with Ah Ye.”

“What’s happened to Ah Ye?”

Hearing those words, Ri Xiang Yan hastily tidied up his appearance and then stood up. He anxiously walked toward Ezart, frowning as he saw Ri Xiang Ye who was being carried by Ezart. He had gotten halfway there when Ri Xiang Ye suddenly opened his eyes.

“He’s awake.” Ri Xiang Yan saw that and relaxed.

Ezart looked down at the person he was carrying and faintly felt something was off. Since when has Ah Ye’s expression been so cold? Or is it because he’s still mad at his brother?

No! This isn’t Ah Ye. He’s missing that dorky aura. Even if Ri Xiang Ye’s mad, he can’t cover up that dorky feeling coming out from deep in his bones. Ezart glanced at him another few times and then bluntly said, “You’re Dark Sun.”

Ri Xiang Ye, or rather Dark Sun, nimbly leapt out of Ezart’s arms to the floor. His posture was just like that of a constantly vigilant leopard. Then he walked over behind his master and stood there, straight and unmoving.

“Ah Ye?” Ezart and Ri Xiang Yan said at the same time.

At this moment, An Te Qi, who had been crouched on the ground fiddling with the corpse, also lifted his head up. He frowned as he assessed Ri Xiang Ye.

“What happened to you?” Ri Xiang Yan hastily turned around. He worriedly grabbed onto his little brother’s shoulders. He just wanted to see any sort of emotion on his brother’s face. Even tears would be fine!

Hearing the master speak, Dark Sun immediately began to conduct a self-scan. Then he reported, “Parts of the body are damaged. Repairs recommended. Microchip has no abnormalities.”

Hearing that kind of response, Ri Xiang Yan was completely frozen.

At this moment, An Te Qi walked over. He reminded, “Tell him to turn off the emotion suppressing switch.”

“ Is it because the emotion suppressing switch is on? I command you to turn it off! Do you hear me?! Turn it off!”

“Yes, Master.”

Dark Sun was silent for a moment. Strings of numbers flashed across his eyes. Finally, he reported, “Report: the emotion suppressing switch cannot be turned off due to Ri Xiang Ye following a prior order by the master. If emotions and commands conflict, emotions are prioritized. As a result, he has voluntarily chosen to turn the emotion suppressing switch on and refuses to turn it off. Forced attempts were unsuccessful.”

Hearing that, Ri Xiang Yan was shaken. How could this be? Ah Ye refuses to turn off the emotion suppressing switch? He doesn’t want to have emotions?

“An Te Qi!” He spun to the doctor at the side and in a panic, shouted, “Hurry and think of a way to save Ah Ye! I swear, I swear with everything I own, no matter the circumstances, I will not kill you!”

An Te Qi reluctantly said, “Even if y-you say so, I don’t know what’s happening to Ah Ye right now. I can only head back to the lab first and gradually examine him.”

But the microchip’s workings had always been highly complex. With the current completely conflicting situation, even as Dark Sun’s head surgeon, he didn’t know what to do.

Seeing that An Te Qi was completely unsure, Ri Xiang Yan felt his heart freeze. He turned his head to look at his beloved little brother. Although he didn’t like to see Ah Ye weeping and brokenhearted, he was even more unwilling to see him without any expression just like a robot!

“Was it really that painful? So painful that you gave up your emotions, Ah Ye…”

Is the Dark Sun in front of me still Ah Ye?

No! Of course, this emotionless robot isn’t Ah Ye. Then where has Ah Ye gone? He refused to turn the emotion suppressing switch off… Does this mean that Ah Ye won’t ever appear again?

Ah Ye… Have I destroyed you with my own hands?

“NOOOOOOOOOO—“