Chapter 43 Part 2
During interrogations, he liked to stare intently at his subjects, their resolve crumbling under his intense gaze.
Compared to others, Gu Sui succumbed even faster, confessing readily.
“I’m thinking… can I… kill Shi Yan?”
He had no secrets from Shi Xu, even sharing such a shocking thought.
“No need.”
He said “no need,” not “you can’t.”
He was calm, Shi Yan’s life or death inconsequential to him.
If he wanted Shi Yan dead, he could have easily killed him after their confrontation.
He let him live, not because of any lingering familial affection, but because he didn’t want him to die so easily. His siblings’ suffering deserved more than that.
Gu Sui hugged him tighter, murmuring, “But… I want to… I don’t want… Wife… to suffer… anymore…” He couldn’t help Shi Xu then, but he wanted to protect him now.
“No need. I have my own plans. Being with me is the best revenge.” Shi Yan valued his image above all else. His son being with a pollutant, his most hated creature, was the ultimate humiliation.
Gu Sui loved hearing that, even if Shi Xu’s affection wasn’t entirely genuine.
“Okay, we’re… together~”
He swayed back and forth, hugging Shi Xu, nibbling on his ear, as if casting a spell. “Together… forever!!!”
The next morning, Shi Xu received a call from Qi Yu.
Lately, calls from Qi Yu only brought bad news.
This time was no exception.
“Uncle Zhou is dead.”
Shi Xu paused. After what he did, a prison sentence, perhaps even death, was inevitable. He just didn’t expect it to happen so soon, before he even had a chance to confess.
“You met him at xx coffee shop yesterday?”
Shi Xu: “You already know. Why ask? Do you think I’d lie to you?”
“Just routine questioning. Don’t be so defensive.” Qi Yu chuckled nervously, then turned serious. “He was killed by a pollutant.”
He told Shi Xu that after leaving the coffee shop, Uncle Zhou went to the cemetery in the West District.
Ah Cheng’s body wasn’t recovered. Uncle Zhou collected his belongings, burying them in the cemetery, visiting him there since he could no longer see him through the pollutant.
He left the cemetery at 9 pm, encountering a pollutant on his way down, becoming its victim.
“Coincidentally, Team B was hunting that pollutant. They recovered his partially digested body. I tried to contact your… I tried to contact Shi Yan, but his phone was off, so I called you.” Uncle Zhou had no family, Shi Yan his only contact.
“I see. I’ll inform him.”
“Thank you.” Qi Yu sighed. “He was a good man. I didn’t expect this…”
Shi Xu didn’t argue with the “good man” assessment. Good people could do bad things. In his eyes, Uncle Zhou wasn’t entirely good. He had made many mistakes. This was his fate.
“He told me a lot yesterday. I recorded it. I’ll send you the file. You can decide what to tell Director Shen.” Qi Yu didn’t ask for details, ending the call after a few more words.
Shi Xu sent him the recording, then opened his contacts.
After their falling out, he hadn’t blocked Shi Yan’s number, not because he cared, but because he hadn’t thought of it, and it seemed unnecessary.
It would appear as if he cared.
He called Shi Yan. The phone was off.
He decided to visit Shi Yan personally, wanting to confront him again.
He had wanted to do this since hearing Uncle Zhou’s story yesterday.
He couldn’t kill him, but he could at least vent his anger.
After lunch, he left for the Shi estate, refusing Gu Sui’s offer to accompany him.
Uncle Zhou’s death was suspicious. He died right after revealing his secrets, and the pollutant that killed him was coincidentally captured and executed.
Too many coincidences.
He knew the golden egg’s importance. Sui Sui, newly hatched, was still vulnerable. He didn’t want any accidents.
“Stay home and watch Sui Sui,” he ordered.
Gu Sui swallowed his desire to follow Shi Xu, tearing off a golden tentacle, rolling it up and placing it in Shi Xu’s pocket.
Shi Xu watched him coldly. “What’s this?”
Gu Sui: “I… can’t be… with Wife… so… my fragment… will be…” He blushed when he said “fragment.”
Shi Xu: “…”
He wanted to return it, but remembering Gu Sui’s pained expression when he tore it off, he decided against it.
He kept it, just in case.
Gu Sui walked him to the door, grabbing his sleeve.
Shi Xu: “I’m just going out. You’re acting like I’m going to die.”
Gu Sui’s expression changed. He covered Shi Xu’s mouth. “Don’t… say… that word! We… promised… to be… together… forever! You have to… live! Don’t even… think about… dying!!!”
Shi Xu: “…”
The dialogue was familiar. Wasn’t this a scene from the cheesy drama Gu Sui watched recently?
Was he acting?
Gu Sui hugged him, his voice choked with emotion. “Wife, I… and baby… will wait… Come home… soon…”
Shi Xu, his face expressionless, played along. “I know, I will.”
Gu Sui: “Think… about me…”
Shi Xu: “Yes.”
Gu Sui: “Always… think about… me… I’ll think… about you… every second…”
Shi Xu: “…”
Unable to bear his clinginess any longer, he pushed Gu Sui away, quickly leaving, ignoring his pleading gaze.
Gu Sui’s voice followed him.
“Wife, come home… soon~ Wuwuwu… Wife, I… miss you…”
Shi Xu: “…”
He had only been gone for five seconds.
Really?
To maintain the vast estate’s pristine condition, Shi Yan employed numerous staff. The path from the entrance to the villa was swept daily.
Today, however, the path was covered in fallen leaves, an unusual sight.
Even when Shi Yan was away for weeks, the staff never neglected their duties.
The closer he got to the villa, the stronger the chilling aura became.
A typical horror movie protagonist, despite sensing danger, would still enter the creepy house alone. Shi Xu wasn’t a typical protagonist.
He called Qi Yu.
“Are you busy?”
Qi Yu: “Didn’t you just give me a task? Holy shit, I can’t believe Uncle Zhou was…”
Shi Xu interrupted his rambling. “I’m at Shi Yan’s estate. Something’s wrong.”
Qi Yu’s voice turned serious. “A pollutant?”
Shi Xu: “Yes, send someone over.”
Qi Yu immediately agreed. “Okay, I’m on my way. Wait outside, don’t go in.”
“I know.”
Being the captain of the Anomaly Management Bureau, strength was important, but so was caution.
Shi Xu wasn’t impulsive. He was rational. After ending the call, he didn’t enter the villa, going to the gazebo in the yard instead, sitting down.
Under the midday sun, shadows had nowhere to hide. The curtains in the villa were drawn, obscuring the view inside.
In the shadows, unseen eyes watched him.
His hand rested by his side, ready to grab the hidden dagger, to deliver a fatal blow to any attacker.
The approaching figure seemed to know his capabilities, not bothering to conceal its presence, the crunching of leaves under its feet a deliberate provocation, drawing his attention.
The golden tentacle in his pocket poked out, its tip gently rubbing against his hand, a silent reassurance.
Shi Xu glanced down at it.
It was more interesting than the approaching figure.
The figure entered the gazebo, its shadow falling over him. Shi Xu slowly looked up, seeing Shi Mu, whom he had met recently.
Shi Mu’s expressionless face hadn’t changed. He greeted him in his still slightly childish voice. “Brother.”
Shi Xu didn’t waste time on pleasantries. The change in the atmosphere of the estate was palpable. He asked directly, “What happened?”
“I locked Father up.” Shi Mu’s tone was flat, devoid of emotion, as if he didn’t think his actions were unusual.
Shi Xu wasn’t surprised, seeing a reflection of himself in Shi Mu’s cold, indifferent eyes.
Despite their lack of blood relation, they looked like brothers at this moment.
Human weapons, devoid of emotions, trained by Shi Yan, their creator’s fate inconsequential to them.
If Shi Yan were present, he would be furious.
“Really?” Shi Xu said calmly. “Why?”
Shi Mu: “Because he’s not my father.”
Shi Xu finally reacted. “If he’s not your father, then who is?”
“A father is strong. He’s too weak. He’s not my father.” A sinister smile curved Shi Mu’s lips. “I have to eliminate him for my real father.”
Uhhhhhhhh….eeeep????