Chapter 28 Part 1

Li Yang went mad.

The next morning, Lin Juan received news from Zhuang Yufeng.

“How did you know? Is his madness related to weird phenomena?” Lin Juan could only think of that possibility.

“Yes,” Zhuang Yufeng said over the phone amid some background noise. “At the prison where we’re holding Li Yang, the police notified us early this morning that weird phenomena might have appeared. Li Yang’s situation involves President Lu, so you need to come over.”

“Got it. We’re heading there right away.”

“I’ve already sent someone to pick you up.”

After explaining the situation to Lu Yanzhou, who nodded in understanding, they arranged company matters and got into the car heading to the prison together.

The driver was an ability user. He explained, “Doctor Zhuang is busy, so he sent me to pick you up.”

They soon arrived at the destination. Lin Juan got out first, then helped Lu Yanzhou down. The ability user took a wheelchair from the trunk and pushed it over.

Lin Juan helped Lu Yanzhou sit down. “Is your leg any better now than before?”

“Much better. In a little while, I won’t need the wheelchair anymore.”

“That’s good.”

During this time, Lu Yanzhou felt much more strength in his legs. That bizarre phenomenon from the bathroom that day never reappeared. He’d indirectly asked Director Liu and Zhuang Yufeng about it many times, and they both said that only when the pollution value in one’s body exceeded a certain threshold would physical mutations occur.

Ordinary people and ability users of different ranks had varying tolerances for pollution value. The higher the rank of the supernatural ability, the higher the ability user’s tolerance. In a way, the emergence of ability users stemmed from their exposure to pollution, but they were fortunate enough not to devolve into pollutants.

They retained human consciousness, emotions, and sense of self.

Lu Yanzhou’s pollution value had always been very low—lower than that of ordinary people who hadn’t encountered weird phenomena. Under normal circumstances, he shouldn’t experience any mutations.

Lu Yanzhou had observed himself many times afterward, and the same thing never happened again.

He had considered telling Lin Juan, but every time the words reached his lips, a deep-seated will from within stopped him.

After several attempts, he knew that he currently couldn’t speak of it.

Li Yang was locked in a solitary room. All furnishings had been removed, and he was strapped to a single bed, letting out terrified roars one after another.

“There’s a monster!”

“Don’t come over!!”

“Don’t get near me!”

“Aaahhh! Bugs! So many bugs!”

The cries grew more shrill by the second, as if countless bugs were swarming him from all directions. But in reality, the room held only Li Yang himself.

“We tested him with the latest pollution detector. His pollution value is very high.” Zhuang Yufeng walked over to them, holding a square box the size of a phone.

It was a portable version developed by the Experimental Base based on the original pollution detector. Tests showed high accuracy.

Most importantly, it was lightweight and compact, easy to carry. Next, the Experimental Base planned to increase production to equip every ability user with one.

“Has he been polluted? When did it happen?” Lin Juan observed the man strapped in the room for a moment. “He was fine when we came yesterday.”

“That’s what we don’t understand. We checked the prison where he was held, and there were no traces of weird phenomena.” Zhuang Yufeng’s expression was grave.

“What about the people who were housed with him? Have you checked them?”

“We have. They’re all fine.”

No problems were the biggest problem. Pollution didn’t appear out of nowhere—somewhere in the prison, weird phenomena had to be lurking.

Zhuang Yufeng expanded the search range, but strangely, they still found nothing. Time ticked by, and Lu Yanzhou had an afternoon meeting he needed to attend at the company.

Lin Juan checked the time. “I’ll go with Lu Yanzhou to the meeting first, then come back. Contact me immediately if you find anything.”

“Okay.” Zhuang Yufeng pinched the bridge of his nose in a headache. “You two go ahead.”

He had originally thought that with his rebirth, even if he didn’t have 100% control over the future, he’d have at least 70-80%. But in reality, while he avoided some situations, even more unexpected ones cropped up.

The only silver lining was that this time, they had made more preparations in advance. Unlike his previous life, where they crossed the river by feeling out the stones, with much of their experience bought at the cost of blood and lives.

Lin Juan and Lu Yanzhou headed to the company, while Zhuang Yufeng continued leading the team to investigate the prison.

A young police officer who had dealt with Lin Juan before followed his master around, bustling about.

The sudden takeover of the prison by a group of unfamiliar faces left the young officer full of questions.

At lunchtime, he couldn’t hold back anymore and quietly asked his master, “Master, what’s the deal with those people? Isn’t Li Yang crazy? What are they investigating?”

After those people took over the prison, the officers could only stay on the periphery and weren’t allowed near. He couldn’t make sense of it.

“Some things you shouldn’t ask about—don’t.”

Lu Yanzhou’s afternoon meeting was an online international conference. The Lu Corporation had expanded overseas early on, and Lu Yanzhou’s biological mother—Old Master Lu’s second wife—was a overseas Chinese.

However, some events from years ago had left Lu Yanzhou with a distant relationship to that side.

One of the participants in this meeting was a member of that family.

After the meeting ended, that person kept trying to talk to Lu Yanzhou, who ignored him.

Lin Juan curiously glanced at the man a few extra times.

Blond hair, but upon closer inspection, his facial features bore some resemblance to Lu Yanzhou’s.

The man spoke in French, which Lin Juan couldn’t understand, but he could see the agitation in his expression—like he wanted to burst out of the screen.

Seeing Lin Juan’s curiosity, Lu Yanzhou took the initiative. “Curious who he is?”

“Yeah.” Lin Juan saw no reason to hide it. “He looks a bit like you.”

“He’s a relative on my mother’s side. An irrelevant person—no need to pay him any mind.”

Lu Yanzhou’s tone was indifferent, but Lin Juan caught the underlying disgust.

In all the time he’d known Lu Yanzhou, he’d never seen him show disgust toward anyone just from talking to them.

But he didn’t ask.

“Oh.” Lin Juan changed the subject. “Should we head straight to the prison now?”

“Any new discoveries there?”

“Not sure if it counts, but they’ve narrowed it down to the inmates, focusing especially on Black Bro.”

Before Black Bro was caught, Li Yang had been fine. Apart from occasional outbursts of cursing, his mental state hadn’t been this unstable.

All the anomalies started after Black Bro moved into the cell.

Zhuang Yufeng interrogated Black Bro, but he was tight-lipped—not a single useful word came out.

“It’s not just stubbornness; he might genuinely not know.” Zhuang Yufeng said.

“He did it, but he doesn’t know?” Lin Juan was puzzled. “Does he have a split personality?”

“I have a hunch in mind that needs verifying. Interested, Mr. Lin?”

Lin Juan was indeed curious. “How do you verify it?”

“Spend a night in the cell.”

Lin Juan: “Huh?”

“I plan to recreate last night’s environment but swap Black Bro’s cellmate for one of ours—see if anything turns up.”

“Lu Yanzhou, should I send you back first?” Lin Juan admitted he had a taste for adventure. The nine-to-five routine of going to work with Lu Yanzhou had started feeling a bit dull; he needed something exciting to spice things up.

“I’ll stay too.” Lu Yanzhou replied without hesitation.

“There might be danger.”

“With Xiao Juan here, would I be in any danger?” Lu Yanzhou countered.

“Of course not.” Lin Juan had that much confidence.

“Compared to going back alone, I feel safer staying with Xiao Juan.” Lu Yanzhou said earnestly.

Lin Juan felt a bit embarrassed by his words. “Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”

Who would’ve thought that after coming to this world, he’d one day end up in prison—and with the big villain, no less.

In the prison’s single-person cell, Lin Juan sat cross-legged on the bed, with Lu Yanzhou sitting beside him.

Across from them were Zhuang Yufeng and Black Bro.

Black Bro had seen Lin Juan and Lu Yanzhou before, so to avoid suspicion, Zhuang Yufeng brought in an ability user who briefly altered their appearances.

B-rank ability [Chameleon], specialized in disguise.

Lin Juan stared at himself in the mirror—short hair, average features—and sighed. “You really can’t tell it’s me at all.”

He turned to look at Lu Yanzhou.

Lu Yanzhou’s new look was a buzz-cut burly man with a scar on his forehead, giving off a fierce vibe.

“What about the wheelchair?” Zhuang Yufeng asked, now in his disguised form.

“He doesn’t need it every moment. The wheelchair is just for show.” Lin Juan didn’t explain further.

With that, Zhuang Yufeng understood.

Lu Yanzhou wore a tank top he rarely sported, revealing well-defined arm muscles. Lin Juan poked his arm appreciatively. “This look suits you too—totally different style.”

In a suit, he exuded restraint and dominance, the aura of a superior. In a tank top and work pants, he was rugged, brimming with testosterone.

Lin Juan imagined Lu Yanzhou in his original appearance wearing this outfit—it would be super attractive too!

Lu Yanzhou leaned close for some reason, murmuring in his ear, “Xiao Juan likes it? I’ll wear it for you when we get back.”

The low, slightly husky voice burrowed into his ear, hot breath sending a shiver through him. Lin Juan’s ears turned red. “N-No need.”

Lu Yanzhou stared at his flushed ears, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.

Zhuang Yufeng suddenly felt like a third wheel and quickly interrupted. “Ready? Time’s about up.”

Lin Juan had lived in many places, but prison was a first.

While Black Bro hadn’t arrived yet, he curiously poked around, touching this and that, and murmured, “The living conditions aren’t bad. No worries about heavy rain or strong winds.”

Zhuang Yufeng was doing a final check of the specially arranged cell and didn’t hear Lin Juan.

Lu Yanzhou was nearby and caught it. Thinking of the background report on Lin Juan’s life he’d seen from his father, a wave of heartache spread through him.

Before joining the Lu Family, what kind of life had Lin Juan lived in those mountains?

Had he gone hungry, poorly clothed, and poorly housed?

Orphaned young, how had he survived and raised himself in the mountains?

From his sigh, his previous places weren’t even as good as prison—just a tiny room like this. What sort of places had he lived in before?

Did wind chill him? Did rain soak him? How had he endured scorching summers and bitter winters?

Feeling the increasingly odd gaze on him, Lin Juan turned and met Lu Yanzhou’s eyes, full of heartache.

Lin Juan: ?

What? Why was he looking at him like that all of a sudden?

“Lu Yanzhou?” Lin Juan waved a hand. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

It was like he was some pitiful kid with a tragic backstory.

He’d never heard Lu Yanzhou was the bleeding-heart type.

Lu Yanzhou closed his eyes briefly, suppressing the emotion. “It’s nothing. From now on, you’ll live in the best houses, eat the finest food, and do what you love.”

The past couldn’t be changed, but with him there, he could ensure Lin Juan never suffered again.

“Why say this all of a sudden?” Lin Juan tugged at the hole in his prison uniform. “It’s not real anyway, and we’ll change soon.”

They were all in standardized prison garb.

“Yo, new faces today.” Black Bro walked in from outside, showing no sign of being in prison. “Brothers, what’d you do to end up here?”

“Hurt someone.” Lin Juan straightened his clothes. His scrawny frame didn’t sell it much.

Black Bro clearly thought so too and laughed heartily. “You? Hurting someone? I’d buy it if the big guy next to you said it.”