Hui Tian Ch41

Chapter 41

Who is the traitor?

---

Clack, clack, clack.

The sound of footsteps echoed from the end of the Supervision Office hallway. Inside the guard room, Chu Yan turned her head sensitively, looking toward the open door.

Immediately after, a tall figure appeared in the doorway.

It was a very tall Nordic man. His gray suit was immaculate, his silver hair was combed back, and his ice-blue eyes were stern and cold. On the back of his left hand was a deep, blood-red letter: S.

Several supervisors in the office stood up in shock simultaneously. “Director… Director General?!”

Chu Yan’s fingers, hanging by her side, curled slightly. Her perception was extremely acute; she sensed a very, very ominous aura coming from him—cold and displeased, like black clouds pressing down on a city before a storm.

But not much emotion could be read on Nielsen’s face.

Ignoring everyone else completely, he stepped forward, bent down on one knee, and looked calmly into the young girl’s eyes. “Are you that animal empath?”

“…” Chu Yan prudently remained silent, only nodding once.

She then saw Nielsen extend his hand, palm open, in a gesture of invitation:

“Are you willing to guide me to find that genetic resurrection-type evolutionist, Rong Qi?”

“I must go kill him immediately.”

---

Evolutionary Hospital, Underground Laboratory.

Shui Ronghua’s phone rang suddenly. Seeing it was Chen Miao, she answered, “Hello?”

Three seconds later, her eyelid twitched heavily. “What?!”

The research director turned at the sound, wearing a suffocated expression that said he couldn’t handle any more bad news. He watched as Shui Ronghua hung up the phone in a daze and slowly said, “Nielsen went to the Supervision Office and took Chu Yan away…”

“Huh?”

“…He is rushing over to kill Rong Qi.”

Shui Ronghua’s expression was complex. The research director opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words. “This… If the Director General can kill the Daydream caster, the dream realm would indeed dissolve immediately. But Rong Qi is a Genetic Resurrection type, after all…”

In a battle between evolutionists, the outcome didn’t just depend on who had the higher rank, but also on the counter-attributes of their abilities—for instance, a Water-type has a very low chance of winning against a Lightning-type. Nielsen, nicknamed the “Wolf of Odin”, was recognized as the world’s number one ability user, but against Rong Qi, who possessed the ability of undying resurrection, it was hard to say if he could truly kill him.

“…Having said that, Nielsen’s ‘Tyrant’ ability has never been fully triggered. It is said that when fully activated, it can even suppress other S-class evolutionists. Perhaps there is a chance of winning.” Shui Ronghua frowned, hesitating for a moment before speaking slowly, “Now we can only hope Nielsen really can kill Rong Qi. Otherwise, Supervisor Shen and Bai Sheng will…”

Following her gaze, the screen displayed real-time brain scans of the two dreamers.

Shen Zhuo’s index remained stable. He had fallen into a deep hallucination, but the areas of his brain governing pain and stimulation had not been awakened, perhaps because the dream hadn’t yet progressed to a fatal stage.

But Bai Sheng’s index was already terrible.

He had been delayed in the dream for over 24 hours, completely ending the golden window for treatment. Every minute and second that followed was extremely dangerous; acute neural necrosis could erupt at any time, unpredictable as an avalanche.

“…Come back quickly,” Shui Ronghua murmured, narrowing her eyes as she watched the fluctuating indices. “Do you intend to chase after him and bring our Supervisor back with you?”

But S-class abilities wouldn’t recover that fast, while Bai Sheng’s brain was constantly deteriorating. Everything was like a high-stakes gamble in the fog with no guarantee of return—

Drip!

A water droplet in the darkness glinted as it fell from a height, splashing near Bai Sheng’s feet.

Qinghai Test Site, Zone A.

From the surface, it looked like just a desert cave, but venturing deep into the cavern revealed an elevator that led to fortifications more than ten meters underground.

An indescribable smell permeated the narrow, dark tunnel. Fu Chen led the way at the front, Su Jiqiao brought up the rear, both carrying equipment packs weighing dozens of kilograms. Only Shen Zhuo was protected in the center, carrying a light, thin field case, looking down at the rugged path beneath his feet.

This secret experimental base was built in the middle of the last century and had been abandoned for many years. The heavy steel gates were rusty, and the original colors of the floors and walls were unrecognizable due to large patches of mold and dust.

Half a month ago, a meteorite with strong radioactivity was discovered in the nearby desert. A black market gang attempted to steal it but was caught red-handed by supervisors who rushed to the scene. In their panic, the criminals fled into this underground fortification. After a fierce firefight with the supervisors, they were completely wiped out. However, when the supervisors attempted to retrieve the evolutionist source, they discovered the meteorite possessed terrifying radioactivity and was highly likely to explode violently during transport.

The meteorite had to be temporarily left in this underground testing ground. Subsequently, Shen Zhuo, as a top expert in this field, was sent to execute the recovery mission, while Fu Chen and Su Jiqiao accompanied him for protection.

“One o’clock direction, fifty meters. Energy radiation reaching peak value. The meteorite we’re looking for should be nearby.” Fu Chen, holding a searchlight, turned back and reached out to Shen Zhuo. “Careful.”

However, Shen Zhuo waved his hand, signaling that it wasn’t necessary, and leaped directly over a breach in the tunnel.

No one sensed that Bai Sheng, standing in the darkness beside Shen Zhuo, waved his hand and used an air current to gently support him.

Shen Zhuo’s mental strength was indeed too formidable. The moment he stepped into Bai Sheng’s dream, he was unstoppable, razing towering seas of fire to the ground in the blink of an eye. Conversely, when it was Bai Sheng inside Shen Zhuo’s dream, he became a transparent ghost; no one could see his existence.

Fortunately, he could use his abilities.

Bai Sheng couldn’t physically touch anything in this dream—he couldn’t even use his hand to steady Shen Zhuo, as it would pass right through him—but there were few restrictions on using his abilities. This was perhaps a bug caused by an outsider forcibly breaking into a second layer of a dream.

The sharp pain deep in his brain had turned into a dull ache of exhaustion. It was his S-class brain power fighting back against the all-encompassing strangulation of the Daydream, gradually gaining the upper hand. Recovering at this speed, it was entirely feasible to use Causality to forcibly crush the Daydream. However, Bai Sheng’s mind had to consider a critical question:

Will Causality affect Shen Zhuo’s mental world?

How can I bring Shen Zhuo back to reality with 100% safety?

“This is it,” Fu Chen stopped walking.

The view before them opened up; it was a spacious underground dome, likely an abandoned testing hall. Not far away, on a rusty operation console, a dazzling, ghostly blue fluorescence flickered, encased in a transparent temporary protective device.

The intense radiation felt like countless hot, fine needles pricking the skin. Instruments weren’t needed to measure it; this was the evolutionist source meteorite they had come to find.

Shen Zhuo took out a pair of plain glasses and put them on, ordering concisely, “Step back.”

Both Fu Chen and Su Jiqiao retreated two steps. Shen Zhuo stepped forward, opened the silver field case he had carried all the way, and took out small surveying equipment. Then, without using any protective measures, he opened the protective cover with his bare hands and took out the meteorite.

For any gene capable of evolving, this level of bare-handed contact would certainly have triggered a reaction, yet there was not a single movement from Shen Zhuo. His deep, beautiful features were exceptionally clear under the fluorescent glow.

“Class I radiation source.” A moment later, he looked up from the equipment, frowning.

Fu Chen was noticeably gentler when facing Shen Zhuo. “What does Class I mean?”

“It is extremely sensitive to drastic changes in surrounding energy. Collisions, friction, strong light, and sudden changes in temperature or humidity are all forbidden.” Shen Zhuo gently placed the evolutionist source back into the protective device. ” Additionally, Class I radiation sources exist in some unknown superposition state. Try not to interfere with it using intense emotions.”

Fu Chen: “Huh?”

“Class I radiation sources can sense energy changes in the surroundings, including human physiological reactions. Excessively intense emotions will induce it to explode. So, for the next few hours, please maintain emotional stability until I finish the interference desensitization process for it.”

Shen Zhuo made a “please” gesture. The movement was very cold and elegant, indicating the several huge equipment packs Fu Chen and Su Jiqiao had hauled all the way there.

“Now you can help me take the equipment out.”

Shen Zhuo was someone who had likely grown up accustomed to countless people trying their best to please him; the line of people waiting to do his bidding could probably circle the research institute. As a result, his commanding of others now felt particularly smooth and natural. Fortunately, both Fu Chen and Su Jiqiao were from the same profession and were no strangers to lab equipment. They quickly set up a temporary laboratory. Shen Zhuo calibrated a high-frequency ray and began the irradiation treatment on the evolutionist source.

The desensitized evolution source could temporarily increase its tolerance to environmental changes, achieving the goal of safely transporting it back to the Central District Supervision Office. But this process would take several hours, and night fell quickly in the desert.

The wind blew across the vast desert like a sharp whistle. The dark, empty bunker emitted the sound of slight drafts, sounding strange and shrill from a distance. Only the searchlight emitted a faint, dim glow.

Shen Zhuo leaned alone in the corner to rest, while the other two took turns watching the evolutionist source. Su Jiqiao seemed to be in high spirits, constantly chatting with Fu Chen about this and that, mostly amusing anecdotes from missions the two of them had gone on alone previously.

Shen Zhuo showed no interest, and it was impossible to tell if he was even listening. He leaned at the boundary of light and shadow, eyes closed in a light nap.

Bai Sheng gently embraced his shoulders from the side, although his insubstantial arms could only pass faintly through Shen Zhuo’s shoulders.

The twenty-six-year-old Shen Zhuo was very different from the Grand Supervisor of Shen Hai later on, especially when he closed his eyes and leaned there. His lowered eyelashes were extremely long, possessing a butterfly-wing softness. He wasn’t as thin as he would become later; the line of his cheek was still somewhat soft, and the corners of his lips weren’t habitually pressed tight as they would be later, but slightly parted, thin and faintly red.

Despite the treacherous environment and the danger lurking everywhere, when Bai Sheng gazed at him like this, a trace of scorching emotion surged through his heart, something even he couldn’t describe in words.

How strange, Bai Sheng thought.

The first time he saw Shen Zhuo with his own eyes, a strong curiosity he had never felt before arose, immediately evolving into urgent desire and clamoring possessiveness. Like the uncontrollable instinct of a male lion seeing rich prey, wanting to clamp down on the fatal throat, wanting to carve his own mark into the other’s flesh and blood.

But after that increasingly crazy desire burned to its peak, it melted instead into scorching magma—deep, heavy, flowing slowly, permeating from the depths of the soul outward.

He wanted to possess this person’s entire mind and attention, yet he also wanted the whole world to know that every inch of his fur and every sharp claw belonged only to this person. He craved to devour this person completely, soul and all, merging into one, yet he felt that holding him like this, letting him rest against his chest with eyes closed, filled him with immense joy and satisfaction from the bottom of his heart.

The only figure capable of trampling through a sea of fire to arrive gracefully, yet appearing forever high above, like a pure white deity.

Bai Sheng leaned down and wrapped Shen Zhuo completely in his arms, greedily burying his nose in the crook of his neck, wanting to inhale every bit of his scent.

I will take you away from this dream, he thought.

Bai Sheng opened his eyes, his gaze cold, looking toward the timer on the operation console not far away.

9:16 PM. There was still over an hour before that earth-shattering explosion. Action had to be taken before then.

Whoosh—

At this moment, the wind swirled through the cracks in the wall. Shen Zhuo shivered slightly in the shadows.

Not far away, Su Jiqiao’s voice stopped abruptly.

A moment later, he said with a smile, “Professor, are you shivering?”

Fu Chen immediately turned at the sound. Presumably lacking Fire-type abilities, he stood up and took off his uniform jacket, intending to come over and drape it over Shen Zhuo.

“No need.” Shen Zhuo brushed it aside, hugging his arms over his clothes, his voice hoarse. “Convulsions.”

His body temperature wasn’t actually low because Bai Sheng was virtually hugging his entire body in the void, carefully maintaining heat with his ability. Su Jiqiao made a sound of surprise, “Huh? Dream convulsions? Was Professor scared by something?”

Fu Chen gazed at Shen Zhuo, his eyes somewhat worried. “Two days ago, someone snuck into the research institute and poisoned Director Shen’s cup. Fortunately, the guards were careful, so nothing happened.”

This was the third assassination attempt in two weeks; news had long spread through the institute. Yet Su Jiqiao acted as if he had just learned of it, covering his mouth in surprise. “Ah? Why? Because of that mole?”

It was an open secret among the higher-ups that the HRG project’s progress was repeatedly leaked by a mole. This question didn’t need answering. Shen Zhuo only glanced at him indifferently.

Su Jiqiao’s psychological resilience was outstanding; he didn’t feel embarrassed at all by Shen Zhuo ignoring him. “That’s truly terrifying. Professor is the most critical force in the HRG project; nothing can happen to you!”

Then he thought for a moment, frowning gently and inevitably. “Has that mole still not been caught? Then what happens next?”

Hearing this, Fu Chen couldn’t help but frown as well. After hesitating repeatedly, he couldn’t hold back and discussed in a low voice, “Shen Zhuo, after we get back, I’ll move into the research institute. If the HRG project continues, these things will only become more frequent, and the Intelligence Division still can’t find a lead on that mole…”

“It’s fine,” Shen Zhuo refused decisively. “I already have a plan for that. We’ll talk about it when we get back.”

The Intelligence Division was in an uproar and couldn’t find a clue, yet Shen Zhuo could come up with a plan?

Fu Chen wanted to ask something, but this clearly wasn’t the place to talk. Faced with Shen Zhuo’s obviously cold attitude, he had to let it drop.

The three sat quietly in this abandoned testing ground, listening to the wind weeping and complaining as it passed through the deep tunnel, blowing into the unknown darkness.

There seemed to be a stalemate in the air. No one spoke again. After a while, Su Jiqiao was heard propping his chin up in boredom, murmuring, “It’s not even ten o’clock yet…”

He suddenly had a whimsical idea. “By the way, it’s so cold underground. Let’s do something else to kill time!”

Fu Chen asked, “What do you want to do?”

Conversations between Fu Chen and Su Jiqiao were always initiated by Su Jiqiao and answered by Fu Chen. This back-and-forth seemed very natural.

But for some reason, when Bai Sheng examined this experience from an outsider’s perspective, he always felt a faint, peculiar flavor, though he couldn’t say where that strangeness came from.

Sitting in the corner hugging Shen Zhuo, he narrowed his eyes and stared at Su Jiqiao. He watched Su Jiqiao pull a small flat flask of wine from the inner layer of his equipment pack—likely carried to ward off the cold—followed by a die and an iron round spoon.

“Let’s play a game,” he proposed with a beaming smile. “The name of the game is ‘Who is the Traitor.’ How about it?”

The air suddenly solidified.

Shen Zhuo raised his gaze. Fu Chen’s eyes fixed on him. The mournful sound of the wind in the dark tunnel suddenly became exceptionally clear.

“…What?” After a long time, Fu Chen narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly.

“Just to see who among the three of us is actually the traitor. It’s very fun.” Su Jiqiao scanned back and forth between Fu Chen and Shen Zhuo, speaking with great interest, “Just to kill time. Why? Is someone not playing?”

He tossed the die lightly and smiled.

“Is it that you don’t dare?”

Support me on Ko-fi