The Picked-Up Little Tentacle Begs Me to Take Responsibility 16

Chapter 16

Members of both the Anomaly Management Bureau and the Esper Monitoring Department were permitted to carry weapons. Most preferred firearms for ranged attacks, minimizing the risk of being splattered by Variant fluids.

Shi Xu, however, favored a slender, Miao Dao-like sword, modified to shrink to the size of a military dagger.

Tan Xiao had heard that Shi Xu was proficient with various weapons, his ranged attacks formidable, but his close-quarters combat even more so. Creatures that got too close usually ended up dismembered.

Lin Zhi wasn’t dismembered, but he was in a sorry state, covered in sword wounds. Shi Xu had somehow immobilized him, leaving him helpless on the floor, unable to even crawl, only his shallow breaths and twitching lips indicating he was still alive.

Despite the pain of each breath, Lin Zhi stubbornly continued to speak, his words barely audible beneath his gasps.

Shi Xu, however, heard them clearly.

“Mine…”

His desire to possess and control Shi Xu hadn’t faded, the obsession deeply ingrained.

To Shi Xu, it was just the delusional ramblings of a dying man.

Not worth his attention.

Having cleaned his sword, Shi Xu found some disinfectant and a clean handkerchief among the scattered debris, calmly continuing to clean his weapon while recounting the events.

The situation wasn’t complicated. Lin Zhi was the first to know about Zheng Xin’s son being parasitized. He used the pollutant to achieve his own goals.

He set the stage, framing Qi Yu, using him to force Shi Xu’s confession, then attempting to control Shi Xu with illusions.

Lin Zhi’s plan failed because he believed Shi Xu was blindly obedient to Shi Yan.

After listening, Tan Xiao wasn’t as surprised as he initially was. In a world with pollutants and Variants, twisted individuals weren’t uncommon.

His focus shifted to Shi Xu. He wanted to know how Shi Xu extracted this information from Lin Zhi.

There were many rumors about Shi Xu, one being his exceptional interrogation skills. He could make even the most tight-lipped criminals confess.

Tan Xiao was curious about his methods, but knew Shi Xu wouldn’t reveal them.

“Vice-Captain Tan.”

Snapped out of his thoughts by Shi Xu’s voice, Tan Xiao asked, “What is it?”

“I haven’t been cleared of suspicion. My interrogation isn’t conclusive. You can question him again. I’m sure he’ll confess honestly.”

Shi Xu smiled, casually kicking Lin Zhi. Lin Zhi cried out in pain, blood seeping from his wounds.

Tan Xiao suspected it was a deliberate act of frustration.

“I believe you, Captain Shi,” Tan Xiao said respectfully. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take him back to the bureau and report to Director Shen.”

“Yes,” Shi Xu replied lazily.

Tan Xiao’s subordinates brought a stretcher, carefully placing the barely conscious Lin Zhi onto it.

They were experienced, having seen worse, but they had never seen such a look.

Despite his injuries, Lin Zhi stared at Shi Xu with a mixture of greed and longing. They couldn’t understand why he would look at his attacker with such an expression.

He didn’t seem to hate Shi Xu, but rather, to be obsessed with him?

What was going on?

…

Both subordinates had been present during Shi Xu’s recounting of Lin Zhi’s actions. Despite his crimes, Lin Zhi was still officially a vice-captain.

They carefully carried the stretcher downstairs.

Away from the bedroom, away from Shi Xu, Lin Zhi became agitated. His body screamed in pain, his voice weak.

“Don’t… go…”

He didn’t want to leave!

He didn’t want to leave Shi Xu!

Even if his plan failed, he wanted to drag Shi Xu down with him.

The two subordinates heard him, stopping and looking back. The sight shocked them.

Lin Zhi’s eyes were no longer gold, but completely red, a shadow flitting across his pupils.

One subordinate asked his partner, his voice trembling, “D-Did you see that?”

His partner didn’t answer, Lin Zhi’s contorted face too terrifying. He looked at his partner instead.

“Why aren’t you…” His voice died in his throat.

The shadow wasn’t his imagination. It darted from Lin Zhi’s eyes to his partner’s, turning them red.

He dropped the stretcher in fear. Before he could flee, he saw his partner’s neck snap, a black silkworm emerging, pushing his partner’s head aside.

“Ah—”

He ran, but his partner’s head rolled ahead, tripping him.

He fell, face to face with his partner, seeing the red in his eyes clearly.

The shadow flashed again, entering his eyes…

Guo Han owned a clothing store in the city center. It went bankrupt after only six months.

Dejected, she went on a seven-day trip. Upon returning to clear out the store, she noticed a mannequin was missing.

The store’s surveillance was broken. Nothing else was missing, which puzzled her.

The next day, the mannequin reappeared.

Guo Han didn’t believe in ghosts. She assumed she had been mistaken.

This afternoon, she returned to the store. As she opened the door, the most handsome mannequin suddenly came to life, running past her. After a hundred meters, it stopped and turned back.

The mannequin, with its stiff movements, bowed to the stunned Guo Han, its unmoving lips uttering a clear, pleasant voice.

“My wife is in trouble. I need to save him. But I can’t go like this, it would anger my wife. Can I borrow this? I promise to return it safely.”

Guo Han: “…”

The mannequin’s golden eyes were pleading.

Before she could process the situation, she agreed. “O-Okay.”