Eclipse Hunter V3C4: Prison of Love

Eclipse Hunter Volume 3: Angel, Slaughter

Original novel in Chinese by: 御我(Yu Wo)

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Chapter Four: Prison of Love—translated by Trespasserby (proofread by Xuan; C/E edited by lucathia)

The four of them half escorted, half forced Ri Xiang Ye to go home. It wasn’t long after, that Ri Xiang Yan came home via the secret tunnel. As soon as he entered the living room, he found his little brother curled up on the sofa with his eyes red from crying. Elian had brought over a basin of clean water and was trying to wipe away the bloodstains that had run from Ri Xiang Ye’s knee down to his calf.

As soon as he saw Ah Ye’s tears and blood-streaked calf, Ri Xiang Yan was both heartbroken and furious. His heart ached because of Ah Ye’s tears, and he was furious because even under his protection, Ah Ye had suffered once again. No matter if it was the people who abducted An Te Qi or even his own careless self, they all deserved to die!

“Gēge!”

At this moment, Ri Xiang Ye realized his brother had returned. He suddenly stood up and threw himself into his older brother’s arms, crying as he said, “Gēge, An Te Qi-bàba. H-he’s been taken!”

Ri Xiang Yan nodded. He pulled out a handkerchief and tenderly wiped away his little brother’s tears as he soothed, “Ah Ye, don’t worry. An Te Qi will be back soon.”

“Gēge, I’m fine.” Ri Xiang Ye forcefully brushed away his tears. “Gēge, don’t worry about me. Hurry and save Bàba.”

“Relax. Bill is already searching.” Ri Xiang Yan frowned. It really wasn’t too difficult of a search. It was very likely that the people who had taken An Te Qi had been sent by Bai Lian Yue. He was the only one who could have possibly discovered An Te Qi’s existence during the past few modified human incidents.

Who would have thought that as soon as he had become a little soft-hearted toward Bai Lian Yue and wanted to go easy on him, a huge incident like this would happen? The Sun Emperor let out a cold chuckle. Had he become too soft recently? Soft to the point that people had forgotten how the Sun Emperor’s ruthless reputation had come about? Hehe…

Elian and the others felt their hair stand on end from watching the Sun Emperor icily laugh. They quickly and quietly told Ah Ye, “Ah Ye, go hug your brother so he quits laughing like that.”

“Oh?” Ri Xiang Ye didn’t quite understand. What’s wrong with Gēge’s laugh? He often laughs like that… But since everyone was saying to do it, Ri Xiang Ye still obediently went to hug his brother.

Just as expected, the hug really did divert Ri Xiang Yan’s attention. The sneer on his face instantly vanished as he gently smiled and rubbed his little brother’s head. He warmly said, “Don’t worry. I have informants everywhere in this city. No matter where they run, they won’t be able to hide from me. Just be good and wait at home for news, O.K.?”

After Ri Xiang Ye heard those words, he hesitantly asked in a small voice, “Gēge, I can help. Last time, I also…”

“Last time?” Ri Xiang Yan smiled brilliantly as he asked, “You mean the time when you had An Te Qi and Bill hide the fact that you ran off to exterminate the modified human laboratory from me, and I very nearly sent the two of them off to the afterlife?”

“…” Everyone observed a moment of silence for the two souls.

Ri Xiang Ye lowered his head, almost not daring to look his brother in the eye.

“Don’t worry, Ah Ye.” Ri Xiang Yan calmly said, “I’m not called the Sun Emperor for nothing. No matter who it is, I won’t let them off this time. They’ll be annihilated until there isn’t even a sliver of them left.”

“I don’t want people annihilated. I just want An Te Qi-bàba back…” Ri Xiang Ye replied softly.

“I’ll have Bill place An Te Qi’s rescue as the number one priority.”

Ri Xiang Ye could only nod, but he was still extremely worried. The way he saw it, Gēge was always trying to shoot Bàba to death. Their relationship never seemed to be very good, and it didn’t seem at all like Gēge would try very hard to save Bàba.

“Ah Ye, stay at home. I’ll send people to guard here.” Ri Xiang Yan put his hands on his little brother’s shoulders. He gravely said, “This time, you are not to go running around outside. I forbid you from using Dark Sun’s identity again to go kill people, and you absolutely are not to get hurt again. Do you understand?”

Even though he had just been thinking of sneaking out to save An Te Qi, under his older brother’s stare, Ri Xiang Ye had no choice but to nod and agree.

“I understand, Gēge.”

When An Te Qi came to, the first thing he noticed was the pain in his stomach. Then he felt his whole body ache. As soon as he tried to move, he discovered that he wasn’t able to move his arms or legs at all. He was obviously tied up. Based on the cold feeling on his wrists, it should be something metal. Although he had opened his eyes, everything was dark. He had been blindfolded with a black cloth.

“Although we had an X-ray scan confirm that your body is indeed unmodified, one can never be too careful. Wouldn’t you agree, Doctor An Te Qi?”

An Te Qi reflexively tried to locate the source of the voice by turning his head back and forth. He could immediately tell that this low, raspy voice had probably been altered with a machine and wasn’t his kidnapper’s true voice.

“Especially when going against the Sun Emperor, one has to be as careful as possible.”

An Te Qi was silent. The kidnapper already knowing his name wasn’t anything strange. After all, they knew how he looked. They would only have to do a search to find out. At the same time, they had also said they were going against the Sun Emperor. So most likely, this was the person that had sent the modified humans.

Though of course, the Sun Emperor had many enemies. There was a high probability that An Te Qi was mistaken, but his gut feeling was that he was right.

“What do you want with me?” An Te Qi asked.

“Heh! There is no need for you to do anything. Being a hostage is sufficient.”

“Is that so?” An Te Qi insipidly replied, “It looks like you haven’t been the Sun Emperor’s enemy for very long; otherwise, you would have known that the Sun Emperor has never cared whether others live or die. I think that instead of keeping me as a hostage to negotiate with that person, you would be better off directly negotiating with me.”

“Heh heh! I’ve already kidnapped you. What qualifications do you have to negotiate with me?”

An Te Qi serenely said, “Dark Sun is my creation.”

After those words were said, the other person was silent for quite a while. Then, they suddenly exploded with laughter, laughter that reverberated for a long time.

“That certainly is enough qualifications to bargain with me! As long as you can create a Dark Sun for me, I can give you whatever the Sun Emperor has given you or even double that!”

“Rather than having me create a second Dark Sun, I think it would be better if you let me improve your modified humans first.” An Te Qi lightly said, “Dark Sun is indeed a flawless masterpiece, but it cost a lot of time and money. Money may not be a problem for you, however, if you’re going against the Sun Emperor, do you have the time to wait for me to create a second Dark Sun?”

“How long does it take?” the other person curiously asked.

“The previous attempt took eight years. This time, I would need at least five years and I can’t guarantee success.”

“Hmph! If you can’t create another Dark Sun, then what use are you to me? I already have modified humans.”

An Te Qi knew very well how to handle this kind of business person. They only wanted results. So as long as he could make an attractive enough proposition, he wasn’t worried that he wouldn’t be able to hook them.

“Give me two modified humans and half a month to modify them. After they’re modified, the two modified humans together can beat Dark Sun.”

The other person was silent. But An Te Qi wasn’t worried. Although he couldn’t produce a second Dark Sun, as long as the two modified humans could defeat Dark Sun, why would they need to insist on making another Dark Sun?

“How do I know you’re not lying?” the other person finally asked.

“Why would I trick you?” An Te Qi laughed. He helplessly said, “What’s the difference between working for the Sun Emperor or for you? Right, my other conditions are unlimited research funds and the highest state of the art laboratory.”

“Hehehe. You’re quite reasonable, Mr. An Te Qi. I’ll give you the half a month. After the half a month is up, I want to see the two modified humans who can defeat Dark Sun.”

“No problem.”

An Te Qi readily agreed. But in that instant, a smiling face calling him “An Te Qi-bàba” flashed through his mind…

Ri Xiang Yan had gone back to his office. As always, Kyle was sitting to the right side of the office. His desk was an arc formed by pushing three tables together, with three computers on it operating simultaneously. All sorts of documents had also been stacked on the desk. Even though there was so much stuff that the three large office tables were all covered, it was all rather organized and did not give a feeling of messiness.

As Ri Xiang Yan walked in, Kyle was focused on issuing all sorts of commands through his computer. His three monitors displayed more than twenty chat windows. Who knew how he was able to simultaneously discuss business matters with all of these people and not mix up the contents of their conversation?

“Where is An Te Qi?”

Kyle raised his head. He had already prepared an answer, “Understood. Mr. An Te Qi is currently held captive in the Purple Moon Alliance’s underground laboratory in the suburbs not far from here. Although we have enough strength to launch a successful assault, we cannot guarantee Mr. An Te Qi’s safety.”

Ri Xiang Yan frowned and asked, “Has the Purple Moon Alliance issued any demands?”

“No, Sun Emperor.”

Ri Xiang Yan sat at his office desk. His fingers beat a slow rhythm against the desk’s surface, and he muttered to himself for some time before he asked, “Do we have any spies in that lab?”

“No. Everyone in that laboratory is an expert in their field. They do not have a lot of personnel either. The importance of this laboratory had not been made known before this, so no spies were arranged to be there.”

Ri Xiang Yan felt a wave of frustration. His complexion was ugly as he issued the command, “Tell me the best way to deal with this.”

Kyle looked a little oddly at Ri Xiang Yan. Normally, the Sun Emperor needed no suggestions from other people, but this time he had even directly issued an order for advice. Although Kyle felt that it was rather strange, he still did as ordered and said the optimal method, “I suggest directly attacking. Extracting the hostage would be the top priority; however, should rescue be impossible, then the focus should be to eliminate the hostage. As for Young Master Ri Xiang Ye’s future maintenance…”

Ri Xiang Yan icily glared at Kyle from the corner of his eye. As soon as he had spoken, Kyle knew he had said the wrong thing. Although his back was covered in a cold sweat from fear, his expression didn’t change as he continued to speak.

“For Young Master Ri Xiang Ye’s future medical treatment, we can gather up people with the relevant skills to form a medical team to treat him. If it only involves normal care and treatment and does not involve his modifications, there should not be a problem.”

After Kyle finished speaking, Ri Xiang Yan didn’t say a word. Kyle continued to handle issues over his computer. He had only been in discussion with the Sun Emperor for a few minutes, but more than ten emails requiring his reply had been added.

Though he thought deeply about the issue for several minutes, Ri Xiang Yan still had no choice but to admit that Kyle’s suggestion was the best way to handle things. It was how he also would have handled things from the beginning. Of course rescuing An Te Qi would be great, but if he couldn’t be rescued, then at the very least he had to be killed!

After all, An Te Qi knew too many of Ri Xiang Ye’s secrets. Moreover, if his skills fell into someone else’s hands, it would be highly troublesome for the Sun Alliance.

But I can’t do it! Ri Xiang Yan sighed and said, “But Ah Ye really likes An Te Qi. If An Te Qi were to die, he would be very sad.”

As Kyle dealt with matters, he reflexively replied, “Children forget pain very easily.”

But Ri Xiang Yan frowned, saying, “It doesn’t matter if Ah Ye will forget or not. I already said I wouldn’t let him be hurt anymore, Bill.”

“Yes.” Kyle stopped doing things on the computer and silently awaited the Sun Emperor’s orders.

“Place An Te Qi’s rescue as the highest priority. No matter the cost, that bastard has to come back alive.”

“Understood. Please set the highest acceptable cost.”

“Do not jeopardize my or Ah Ye’s safety.” Once Ri Xiang Yan finished speaking, he frowned once more and thought for a while. He added, “Also don’t jeopardize your own safety.”

“Understood.” Kyle nodded.

The tone of Ri Xiang Yan’s voice suddenly turned severe as he said, “In addition, send the most elite troop to guard the house. If Ah Ye wants to leave, they are to follow closely behind him. If the troop lets him suffer even the tiniest scratch, they will all pay for the mistake with their lives!”

“Understood.”

Ezart casually stepped onto Ri Xiang Ye’s doorstep. As soon as he pressed the doorbell, the person who came out obviously wasn’t An Te Qi nor was it Ri Xiang Ye, but an unfamiliar buff guy. Upon seeing Ezart’s appearance, his expression immediately became wary. Of course, the way he said, “State your purpose,” also wasn’t very nice.

“Dropping off Ah Ye’s homework!” Ezart irritably replied.

“Ezart! Ezart, is that you?”

From behind the buff guy came the sound of hurried footsteps and then Ri Xiang Ye’s shout. The buff guy was pushed out of the way, but he still tried to stay between the two of them. However, a cyborg’s strength was not one to be scoffed at, and he was still easily shoved aside by Ri Xiang Ye. With no other choice, he could only say, “Y-Young Master, we still haven’t searched this person.”

“You! Out of the way!” Ri Xiang Ye stubbornly yelled at the buff guy.

Oh, when’d the brat get an attitude? Ezart thought with his eyebrows raised, though he did not say it aloud.

The buff guy still stubbornly stuck to his duty and turned to face Ezart. With the tone of a soldier issuing a command, he said, “If you are carrying any weapons, please turn them over.”

Ezart shrugged and wordlessly removed the gloves on his hands. Then he tossed them along with his backpack at the buff guy and asked, “This O.K.? But make sure to return the backpack to me. Ah Ye’s homework is in there.”

The buff guy carefully examined the backpack and didn’t find any dangerous items. He looked over Ezart. Ezart was wearing pretty simple clothes: a T-shirt and jeans. He could possibly have hidden a small knife, but definitely wouldn’t have been able to conceal a gun.

From the perspective of the troop stationed around the house, a small knife didn’t pose any threat to the young master’s safety. He returned the backpack to Ezart and allowed him to enter. Of course, he didn’t forget to trail closely behind the two of them. After all, compared to the robust Ezart, the young master was so dainty. This guy might be able to snap the young master’s neck with just his bare hands!

“Hmph!” Ri Xiang Ye’s annoyance was written across his entire face. He dragged Ezart toward the living room, with no intention to listen to the buff guy.

“You’ve only been gone from class for a couple days, but your temper’s really grown.” Ezart looked him up and down a little oddly, and said as though he didn’t recognize him, “Decided not to be a good little boy for your bro anymore?”

Ri Xiang Ye stiffened. He stubbornly replied, “I don’t care about Gēge. He doesn’t come home and he won’t let me go save Bàba.”

So it’s just a kid throwing a tantrum… Ezart scratched his face. Wasn’t he always the well-behaved type before?

The two of them had only walked past the front door and through a short hallway, but they had already passed over a dozen guards standing watch and each armed to the teeth. It was clear from a glance that every bodyguard had been through specialized training. They all had the precise movement of a soldier, and each of them stood with strict discipline while stationed at… An ordinary house. The house seemed more like a battlefield.

The more Ezart saw, the weirder he thought it was. He couldn’t help shoving Ri Xiang Ye’s shoulder. “Hey! Is your house having a military…” Drill?

Ezart hadn’t finished speaking before the surrounding bodyguards moved in a crisp, synchronized motion to aim their guns at him, provoked by his shove.

Deserving of the title of Yelan Academy’s long-reigning god of destruction, Ezart didn’t show any signs of panic despite having over a dozen guns pointed at him while having no weapons in his hands. His hands remained brazenly crossed in front of his chest as usual. Only his raised eyebrows indicated that he was aware of the dozen or so guns aimed at him.

“Put the guns down! You’re not allowed to hurt Ezart!”

Ezart didn’t react, but instead, like an angry little cat, Ri Xiang Ye shouted at the bodyguards around them. The bodyguards didn’t move until the bodyguard who had originally opened the door for Ezart gave the sign. Then in sync, they put their guns down and returned to their original positions.

Ri Xiang Ye furiously pulled Ezart along. He didn’t look at the bodyguards around them and charged straight to the living room.

Once they reached the living room, Ezart unceremoniously spread himself out on the sofa. Then he offhandedly asked, “What’s going on at your house?”

“Gēge said these people have to protect me.” Ri Xiang Ye sat down next to Ezart and explained a little unhappily.

“Protect you? Hahaha!” Hearing that, Ezart began laughing loudly. He was still laughing as he said, “Relying on those guys with guns? They better not come crying to you to protect them later!”

After hearing what Ezart had said, Ri Xiang Ye tilted his head and imagined those gun-wielding, stiffly standing bodyguards pleading with teary expressions. His bad mood vanished completely, and he couldn’t help but to let out a “pfft.” Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the soldiers standing by the living room entrance. There was no way they hadn’t heard Ezart’s words, but their rigid faces showed no emotion, remaining just as stiff as ever. The contrast made Ri Xiang Ye laugh even harder.

“Here! Your homework.” Ezart tossed over a couple books that had crumpled from being crammed in his backpack.

Ri Xiang Ye hurriedly took the homework. Even though homework was usually pretty boring, at least it was better than just idling around the house. As soon as he opened the textbook, he found a piece of paper stuck inside. The handwriting on the paper was neat and proper. It didn’t seem to be Ezart’s handwriting, as his handwriting was as bold as his personality and had no relation to propriety.

However, Ri Xiang Ye was able to quickly read between the lines to figure out it was written by Elian. After a few lines of a simple greeting at the top, it directly got to the point. It turned out that the Principal had assigned the first mission to Dark Sun. The mission even had a time limit on it. Elian’s hands were tied, and all he could do was write a letter informing Ri Xiang Ye to see if he wanted to turn down or accept the mission.

Ri Xiang Ye thought for a bit. Although he had been unwillingly forced by the Principal to join the Elite Combat Class, at the moment, he really wanted to accept the mission. This was because his brother had forbidden him from going out for a whole week already, and he was stuck day after day with these stiff-faced soldiers. It was extremely hard to tolerate. As long as he could head outside, anything would be fine.

But Gēge definitely won’t let me go out.

“What’s with that cranky face?” Ezart stretched Ri Xiang Ye’s cheeks.

“Gēge won’t let me go save An Te Qi-bàba and won’t let me go outside.” Ri Xiang Ye pulled his cheeks away and massaged them to make the pain go away.

Ezart tugged on his messy hair and shrugged, saying, “Nothing we can do. Who told your dad to get kidnapped in the middle of the street? It’s been six or seven days now and there’s still no news.”

But Ri Xiang Ye shook his head and said with certainty, “There has to be news, but Gēge’s just not telling me!”

Ezart shrugged.

Ri Xiang Ye looked at the soldiers standing on guard by the door and thought that he shouldn’t mention anything about the Principal’s mission in front of them. Otherwise, if his brother found out the Principal had sent Death and Elian to beat him up and force him to accept five missions, he didn’t know what kind of fate would befall Yelan Academy…

“Let’s go to the basement. There’s toys we can play with there.”

“Toys…?” Ezart didn’t even hide his look of disgust. “Xiao Ai wasn’t enough for you? Still playing with toys at this age…”

Having said that, he suddenly stopped talking. Wait! Based on his own conclusions, the brat’s mental age wasn’t even ten years old?!

“No! They’re not the same as Xiao Ai.” Ri Xiang Ye vigorously shook his head and explained, “They’re guns, explosives, battle simulators, and a lot of stuff like night vision goggles and skeleton keys.”

“How are those toys…”

“Come on, Ezart.” Ri Xiang Ye stood up and forcefully tugged on Ezart, wanting him to get up too. Seeing that Ezart still didn’t seem to be in the mood, he could only hint, “Let’s go talk about El-gē. I really miss him.”

Ezart gave an “oh” as a reply. Then he unhurriedly got up. Ri Xiang Ye was about to tell him that the armchair was actually the basement “elevator” when a bodyguard by the door voiced an objection.

“Please wait a moment, Young Master. For your safety, I must prevent you from bringing another person with you to the weapon-filled basement.”

“It’s Ezart, so it’s no problem!” Ri Xiang Ye insisted, “If you don’t believe me, you can ask Gēge. Gēge would definitely let me bring Ezart down there.”

He bodyguard frowned as he listened. Then he pulled out a cellphone and began asking his superiors for instructions.

He simply and clearly explained the situation to his superior, then passed the cellphone to Ri Xiang Ye. Ri Xiang Ye was a little nervous as he took the phone, afraid that his brother wouldn’t let him bring Ezart to the basement.

“Ah Ye.” The sound of Ri Xiang Yan’s voice came over the phone. He sounded a bit tired. “I’ll let you bring Ezart to the basement, but you have to promise me that you absolutely won’t let yourself get hurt.”

“Oh, O.K.” Ri Xiang Ye nodded and to reassure Ri Xiang Yan, he also added the guarantee, “Gēge, you don’t have to worry. Ezart can’t beat me.”

Listening off to the side, Ezart shot him an annoyed eye roll.

“That’s good. If you want, you can let him stay at our house for a sleepover,” Ri Xiang Yan generously offered from the other end of the line. He thought, If Ezart’s at home to keep Ah Ye company, then he won’t think about trying to escape to save An Te Qi.

Having gained his older brother’s permission, Ri Xiang Ye returned the cell phone to the bodyguard. He saw the bodyguard listen to the phone while replying with an unending stream of “yessir, yessir.”

Ri Xiang Ye dragged Ezart. Then he explained to him how to use the “elevator.” This time, the bodyguard did not try to stop them.

The two of them soon arrived at the basement. Ezart went right to the point and asked, “Hey! Are you taking the Principal’s mission? That El guy wants me to tell him by tomorrow. If you’re not taking it, the Principal’s going to have him and Death do it.”

Ri Xiang Ye nodded and said, “I want to accept it, but Gēge won’t let me go out.”

Hearing that, Ezart scratched the back of his neck. “Your house looks like a military camp. If you ran off, your bro would definitely know. I think you’d better not take it. Your bro going crazy after catching you going out wouldn’t be a normal sort of problem!”

“But I really want to go out…” As Ri Xiang Ye spoke, his voice grew softer and softer. His face slowly turned more downcast.

Ezart rolled his eyes and irritably said, “You’re thinking of going to rescue your dad?”

Once Ri Xiang Ye heard that, he was silent for a bit. But in the end, he still nodded acquiescingly as confirmation.

“Ha! Even by randomly guessing, I got it right. Your bro definitely knows how you are. I think he didn’t send the people up top to protect you but instead to keep an eye on you. You would’ve definitely run off otherwise.”

Ri Xiang Ye froze. Then finally seeing the true picture, he exclaimed, “Ah! It’s like that? Gēge’s so sneaky!”

“So, you shouldn’t run off. Just be good and wait for your bro to rescue your dad,” Ezart offhandedly said while strolling aimlessly around the room. He browsed through the various firearms displayed all around the room.

Ri Xiang Ye anxiously replied, “But An Te Qi-bàba isn’t Gēge’s Bàba. Gēge also always tries to shoot Bàba. I’m scared Gēge won’t try very hard to rescue Bàba.”

“Oh… That’s true. Your family situation’s really complicated.” After Ezart shrugged, he pointed at the guns in a display case and asked, “Hey! Can those guns really be fired or are they just there for decoration?”

Ri Xiang Ye nodded and replied, “The guns here can all be fired. The bullets are next to the guns.”

Once he heard they could be fired, Ezart went ahead without asking and pulled open the display case. He pulled out a large caliber gun that looked like it had a lot of firepower. Although he didn’t use guns often, he still handled it without much trouble. He had a rough idea of how to load bullets into the gun. After he took the box of bullets off to the side and loaded them, he straightforwardly lifted the heavy gun toward the firing range. Without even putting on the earmuffs to prevent hearing loss, he fired a shot.

Ezart didn’t assume a proper stance and staggered back a step from the force of the gun’s recoil. Of course, the bullet didn’t even hit the edge of the target. But he didn’t think anything of it. With a loud laugh, he said, “Ha! This gun feels pretty good to shoot!”

After he finished speaking, he tossed the gun over to Ri Xiang Ye and said, “Why don’t you fire a few rounds?”

“Oh.”

Ri Xiang Ye nodded. He adopted the standard way of holding a gun as he walked to the shooting line. He got into position, lifted the gun, and fired, almost as one motion. His movements were so fluid and natural that it almost seemed like he was born with the ability. After the sound of the gunshot rang out, the center of the target had a hole the size of a fist in it.

Seeing that, Ezart let out a whistle. “That gun’s firepower isn’t too bad.”

“Mm. But its bullet capacity is too low. I’ve been wanting to improve it, but I haven’t found a way yet.”

“Hey! Lemme see you fire a few more. You make it look so easy. Maybe if I watch a few more times, I’ll pick it up too.” Ezart cocked his eyebrow and looked like an insufferably arrogant bad boy.

Ri Xiang Ye smiled and replied, “O.K.”

And so, the two of them took turns firing several shots. Ri Xiang Ye hit the bullseye a hundred percent of the time, while Ezart’s probability of hitting the target remained at zero.

“Heehee. Ezart, you haven’t hit it at all.” Seeing this, Ri Xiang Ye began giggling.

Ezart fired another shot, but the target sheet remained spotless. He unhappily tossed the gun back to Ri Xiang Ye, retorting, “Why do you care? Can’t I just shoot for the heck of it?”

“Yup.” Ri Xiang Ye took the gun, then locked his eyes on the target and began shooting.

Although Ri Xiang Ye’s movements were still beautifully precise, Ezart was already tired of watching. His eyes wandered the room. He noticed a cup on the table. It looked like there was soda in the cup. He swiped it and brazenly downed it in one gulp. He asked, “Ha! This tastes pretty good, but it’s a bit bitter. Hey! What kind of drink is this?”

“Drink?”

Ri Xiang Ye froze. He stopped firing and turned his head to look. He honestly said, “There aren’t any drinks in the house, only water and Bàba’s coffee. Ezart, do you want water or coffee?”

“Then what’s this? Coffee? It didn’t taste like it.” Ezart lifted up the cup and frowned as he examined it. He clicked his tongue and said, “This cup’s really weird looking. It even has measuring lines on it.”

Ri Xiang Ye blankly looked at the cup and said, “You’re right. It’s a really weird cup. It looks a lot like the beakers An Te Qi-bàba uses in experiments…”

Once he said that, the two of them fell silent and stared at the cup. At the same time, they let out an “ah” of comprehension. This cup looks like a beaker, because it is a beaker… Beaker?!

Both of them blankly stared at the beaker. Only two or three drops of brownish unknown liquid remained inside. The rest of it had all been… Drunk by Ezart!

“Ezart!”

Ri Xiang Ye cried out in alarm, “Q-Quick! Spit it out!”

“It’s already been so long since I drank it. What’s there to spit out?” Ezart incredulously shouted back, “What was your dad’s experimental beaker doing over there? And what was even in that cup?”

“I don’t know either!”

Ri Xiang Ye was in such a panic he didn’t know what to do. An Te Qi-bàba’s experiments have nothing to do with the word “safety!” He couldn’t help but remember the wretched corpses in the laboratory that were incapable of reincarnation. Ezart won’t end up like that, right? I don’t want that!

The more he thought, the more panicked he grew. In the end, he steeled his heart, clenched his right hand into a fist, and sent it into Ezart’s stomach.

Ezart wasn’t expecting to be punched. In addition, Ri Xiang Ye was so anxious that he had made it a very heavy punch. Furthermore, he had precisely hit the stomach. Ezart began endlessly vomiting on the ground right there.

“T-Throwing it up is good.”

Seeing this, Ri Xiang Ye let out a sigh of relief. Like this, Ezart probably wouldn’t become like one of the cadavers in the laboratory.

As Ezart vomited, he occasionally lifted his head up to glare at Ri Xiang Ye. He cursed as he puked, “Blearghhhh. You little brat, are you tired of living… Hurk! I’m gonna kill you later!”

Although Ri Xiang Ye was being cursed at, he beamed. If Ezart could still swear at people, then he should be fine. He gently patted Ezart on the back, helping him feel more comfortable. Of course, Ezart sent him plenty of complimentary glares.

“I’ll bring you some water to rinse your mouth.”

Having dirty looks shot at him, Ri Xiang Ye tactfully pulled back his hand. He walked to the water dispenser in the corner and picked up a cup to fill with water. As he filled it, he heard some strange groans and panting. He immediately stopped filling the cup and looked back. Ezart was still kneeling on the ground, but he had stopped vomiting. Although he wasn’t vomiting anymore, his shoulders were heaving up and down. Looking more carefully, his entire body was slightly shaking.

Seeing this, Ri Xiang Ye shouted in an odd voice, “Ezart?”

“Uh.” Ezart didn’t even raise his head. It seemed like upon hearing his name, he had responded as a reflex. But after responding, there was a series of muffled groans.

Ri Xiang Ye dazedly held the cup. He didn’t know if he should continue filling up water or walk back to see how Ezart was doing. As he was hesitating, the situation instantly changed. Ezart suddenly lifted his head and roared at the ceiling. His face was feral, and his eyes had rolled back until only the whites were showing. He didn’t seem at all like he was conscious.

“Ezart?”

Ri Xiang Ye was scared witless. It wasn’t until the cup in his hand fell to the floor and smashed into a pile of fragments that he suddenly snapped out of it. By then, Ezart was clutching his head in pain and rolling about on the ground. Ri Xiang Ye didn’t know if he was seeing things, but he thought he saw the muscles on Ezart’s body begin to squirm…

As time passed minute by minute, the muscles on Ezart’s body clearly writhed. His roars grew increasingly ferocious, and the expression on his face couldn’t possibly be any more pained. He kept rolling about on the ground until finally, his entire body looked like a lump of dough being kneaded. His body was severely deformed.

“Ezart! … Ezart!”

Ri Xiang Ye ran to Ezart’s side. He didn’t know what to do, so he desperately hugged Ezart while sobbing, hoping that putting enough pressure on the deformed areas would make them go back to their normal positions. He only wished that he could end Ezart’s pain.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when Ezart finally grew still. His muscles also finally stopped grotesquely squirming, and the deformed areas had returned to their normal appearance. The only thing off was that his skin was as red as fire. No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t seem like he was completely fine. No matter how much Ri Xiang Ye called him, Ezart didn’t have the slightest response.

“Ezart? Ezart?”

Ri Xiang Ye carefully examined Ezart. His chest was heaving up and down, so Ri Xiang Ye didn’t need to examine him to know he was still alive. However, he didn’t know why he couldn’t wake him up.

At this moment, a soldier from upstairs came down to the room and dutifully notified him, “Young Master, dinner is ready.”

Hearing that, Ri Xiang Ye raised his head in a daze. He looked at the soldier with streaks of tears down his face. At a loss, he asked, “I can’t wake up Ezart. What do I do?”