Chapter 25: Green Eyes (25)

The System thoughtfully gave Shen Qiuxun some time to rest. He’d expected him to sleep until dawn, but he woke up after just three hours.

Outside the window, the wind and sand howled. Shen Qiuxun rubbed his eyes and asked, ‘When do we go?’

[Now.]

‘Wait, wait.’ Shen Qiuxun threw off his blanket and stood up. He looked around, but found nothing much worth taking. He tidied his belongings into the cabinet, including the bracelet on his wrist. Then he folded his blanket, locked the door. After all that, he reached out his hand, thought for a moment, and transferred all the remaining money in his lightbrain to Ellie. He attached a message: “Take care.” She didn’t reply; probably still working overtime.

[Aren’t you going to say goodbye to Mama Ellie in person? Or go take one last look at that grilled sand rat shop?]

“No point.”

Human connections were just a matter of a few moments. Regardless of the past or future, having those few moments was enough. Everyone eventually leaves. At the end, a person is still alone.

He yawned. There was still an apple on the steel cabinet, bright red and quite appealing. Shen Qiuxun looked at it for a moment, then picked it up and took a bite. Sweet juice flooded his mouth. He sighed. ‘Can’t you give me another rich identity, like in those novels?’

[Outside authorization scope.]

‘Then at least find a place where I can see the sun.’

The System didn’t answer him.

Shen Qiuxun slowly finished his fruit. Suddenly recalling something, he found a slip of paper, wrote a few words on it, and stuck it on the cabinet.

The System looked at those words and was silent for a moment. [Does the Host hate this mission’s target?]

“A bit. But it’s okay. After all, I lied to him, he lied to me. We’re even.”

[Mn.]

Shen Qiuxun yawned again. “Hope the next mission goes smoothly. Hope I meet someone who’s less trouble.”

[Summarize your experience from this mission.]

Shen Qiuxun thought for a moment. It was a really difficult question. “Uh… do a lot of heroic rescues, show off my cool and handsome side, and then… what else.”

[.]

Shen Qiuxun lay down peacefully on the bed, hands clasped over his chest, looking like he was halfway into the grave. “The winds of life have battered me for two or three years, add them together, that makes five.”

[The Spacetime Fluctuation will cause symptoms like dizziness and vomiting. Bear with it.]

“Let’s go.”

…

On the starship, Xu Zhiyuan stared in the direction of the rental house, lost in thought. The cold wind whipped at his black, upright combat uniform. An unease settled in his heart. He attributed it to worries about the tough battle ahead.

He and Shen Qiuxun’s hearts were connected, he thought. These five days would be their last separation. From now on, they would be together forever.

“Leave enough men. Ensure Shen Qiuxun’s safety at all costs.”

“Yes.” Qin Zhe acknowledged.

Xu Zhiyuan took one last look, then resolutely turned and stepped into the command room.

The moment the hatch closed, the black wrist guard strapped to his arm snagged on a piece of metal on his suit, pulling a thread loose. The coarse, low-quality fiber unraveled as smoothly as flowing sand. In the blink of an eye, only half remained, the yarns tangling chaotically in the air.

His heart suddenly felt empty, as if a piece had been gouged out. A chill pierced through him. A panicked feeling, like something had suddenly been lost forever, momentarily seized his mind. He looked back without hesitation. The starship had already jumped into space. That dim, gray Lower Planet shrank into a single grain of sand amidst the vast cosmos.

But it was undoubtedly the most important grain among the sky full of stars to him.

“Head of the Family?” Qin Zhe asked softly.

Xu Zhiyuan gathered the loose threads into his hand. He took off the wrist guard and tucked it into the inner pocket of his shirt, closest to his heart. He steadied his emotions and said coldly, “It’s nothing.”

They encountered three attempted assassinations just on the journey to the Capital Planet. He had anticipated this. When he set foot on the Capital Planet’s soil again, he thought he’d feel something, but he didn’t.

Unlike the towering hatred when he’d left three years ago, he looked out the starship’s porthole at the distant skyscrapers, the massive orbital tracks, the various fancy sports cars and flying ships, and only thought: Shen Qiuxun would probably like it here. He’d promised to show him fireworks. He, who could be so content with a single apple, would definitely be happy.

He just wanted to resolve things here quickly and reunite with his beloved.

His uncle, Xu Changlu, had deep roots on the Capital Planet. But his two juniors were utter fools. By the time Xu Zhiyuan reached their doorstep, they were still mired in internal strife. The once-great Seville Group had been made a mess by the two heir candidates’ power struggles.

In the Estate Banquet Hall—the very hall where Xu Zhiyuan’s Pheromone Disorder had once been exposed—he saw Xu Changlu in person for the first time in three years. The man looked impossibly old. During countless dark, lightless nights, it was his hatred for his uncle that had sustained Xu Zhiyuan, the thought of grinding his bones to dust and reclaiming everything his family owned replaying in his mind over and over.

“You’re back,” Xu Changlu said with a kindly smile.

Seville Group was already firmly in Xu Zhiyuan’s grasp. All that remained was settling the score of hatred, and a formal declaration.

But Xu Zhiyuan found it meaningless. Even less interesting than coaxing Shen Qiuxun into eating a kiwi.

His calm, composed demeanor infuriated Xu Changlu. In his expectations, even in defeat, he had planned to drag Xu Zhiyuan to hell with him. He was well-versed in driving Xu Zhiyuan mad. Even if his nephew took over Seville Group, he intended to ensure he’d never know peace for the rest of his life.

Then let his good nephew die in the mania and madness caused by his Genetic Defect.

Xu Changlu spoke softly, uttering carefully prepared words designed to pierce the heart. But within those murky, yellow-green eyes was nothing but ecstatic, hysterical malice.

Storm clouds stained his pupils. Images of his parents’ corpses flashed through Xu Zhiyuan’s mind… That sharp, screeching tinnitus, like a demon’s scream, enveloped him again. Murderous intent spread. His mental power erupted, violently blasting the man away.

Xu Changlu slid down the wall, coughing up a mouthful of blood. He was an A-Rank Alpha, naturally a prodigy among men, but society was this cruel… Before an S-Rank, he was utterly powerless to resist!

Even in death, he would drag Xu Zhiyuan to hell.

There was still too much to do. If Xu Zhiyuan suffered a Mental Rampage now, it would lead to irreversible consequences.

And… at least on the surface, Xu Changlu, as Xu Zhiyuan’s biological uncle, couldn’t die by his hand.

Qin Zhe activated the Buffer, bracing against the terrifying pressure of the S-Rank Alpha as he struggled forward. “Head of the Family… Mr. Shen is still waiting for you.”

Xu Zhiyuan closed his eyes. He latched onto those three words with crystal clarity. The tearing agony lessened slightly. He looked at his uncle, crumpled not far away. Silently, he walked forward and watched him for a long time before speaking softly. “Go to hell… and beg their forgiveness.”

Ignoring Xu Changlu’s hate-filled gaze, he raised his hand. His terrifying mental power condensed into a spear. His palm pressed down. The spear shot straight into Xu Changlu’s Mental Domain, unstoppable. The domain that an A-Rank Alpha prided himself on was thus shattered with contemptuous ease.

“Board meeting, top floor of HQ, five o’clock.” Xu Zhiyuan left those words behind, climbed the steps alone, and his figure vanished around the corner of the third floor.

Taking over Seville Group was simple after that. He worked through the night handling critical matters, then impatiently began the return journey.

He’d never felt a single day’s journey was so long. He held the wrist guard in his hand, inhaling its scent deeply just to regain some semblance of sanity, using the time while the starship traveled through space to deal with other affairs.

Finally, that dusty, gray planet was within sight. Xu Zhiyuan took a quick shower, straightened his attire, and checked himself in the mirror to ensure every detail of his reunion appearance was perfect, down to a single hair or a shirt button. He remembered that night during the Midyear Festival, when they’d chatted together under the metal shed.

What he needed to do was done. The future was only about being with Shen Qiuxun. He had plenty of money now, soon it would be theirs together.

Shen Qiuxun would be happy.

At last, the starship touched down on that familiar ground. Xu Zhiyuan disembarked. Someone came forward to report to Qin Zhe.

Qin Zhe paused. Under Xu Zhiyuan’s gaze, he pondered for a moment before answering cautiously, “Mr. Shen seems to… not have left his home for four days.”

Xu Zhiyuan’s brow furrowed. “Four days?”

That vague fear that had loomed over him since his departure seemed to reveal a shadowy corner, only to be ruthlessly suppressed by himself. The joy between his brows dimmed slightly. He thought to himself, “Perhaps he’s tired… he loves to sleep.”

Shen Qiuxun always looked like he hadn’t fully woken up. Vacations were mostly spent sleeping. Sometimes a whole day passed without seeing him. It was normal.

Xu Zhiyuan couldn’t wait any longer. He rushed to the rental house and opened the door. The living room was as usual, unchanged. The arrangement was identical to how it was before he’d left. He went to twist the handle of Shen Qiuxun’s bedroom door: locked.

He didn’t have a key. Xu Zhiyuan pressed against the door panel. The room was very quiet, unnervingly so.

Liquor-scented pheromones seeped uncontrollably through the crack under the door, rushing into the room like a puppy reunited with its long-lost owner, celebrating wildly… The pheromones climbed over the bedding, the pillow, the cabinet. The familiar, faint, threadlike scent was now barely perceptible.

Xu Zhiyuan suppressed his racing heart. He turned, found a piece of wire from a cabinet, and, as Shen Qiuxun had taught him, poked it into the keyhole. His hand trembled inexplicably. He took a deep breath, finally caught the small latch, and lifted. A faint click sounded, and the door opened. The room was empty.

Very clean. The few pieces of furniture sat quietly in place. The bedding and pillows were perfectly smooth. Even the items usually scattered messily on the cabinet were neatly put away inside. It looked just like a display room in a model home, untouched.

No one was there. Where had Shen Qiuxun gone?

Xu Zhiyuan’s head swam. His heart felt like it had been smashed to pieces by a hammer’s dull blow. The joy of reunion solidified, then transformed into an icy knife slicing at his heart. The sharp blades tore through his chest. The bone-deep agony nearly made him unable to stand straight.

Wait… the robot. Shen Qiuxun took that robot with him.

A thread of hope surged in Xu Zhiyuan’s heart again. He pulled open the steel cabinet. There it was—the robot with the mirror embedded in it. The clear mirror reflected his own twisted face, his eyes rimmed red, already looking like a demon possessed.

The metal bracelet lay alone beside the robot, its warmth long since dissipated.

Somehow, he triggered the robot’s switch. In the silent air, a comical electronic voice suddenly rang out: “Hello, little friend! I’m Happy Robot! Nice to meet you!”

Xu Zhiyuan closed his eyes. The veins on his arm bulged. Crack! The robot broke into two pieces in his hand. The X Crystal, which should have glowed with a faint blue fluorescence, had lost its luster.

He suddenly saw something. He crouched down and pulled a slip of paper from the bottom of the cabinet. It was Shen Qiuxun’s handwriting. Written on it were the words:

“No one will ever love you.”