Seeing the blade buried in his body, the intense pain escalated. In his twenty-five years, he had never suffered such an injury or felt such pain.
The sudden pain from a family member brought confusion and anger.
“F*ck you,” he cursed, tightening his grip on Qiu Yu’s wrist.
Qiu Yu’s face twisted in pain, and the sound of his wrist bone breaking was a mix of dullness and clarity. He let go of the knife.
Xing Bi kicked the door open, grabbed Qiu Shi by his clothes, and pulled him back. Before Qiu Yu could do anything else, Xing Bi kicked him in the chest, sending Qiu Yu flying back and crashing out the window.
“What happened?” Hu Xiaoling shouted, rushing in and freezing.
Xing Bi had already laid Qiu Shi on the bed.
Seeing the knife in Qiu Shi’s chest, Hu Xiaoling’s eyes turned red with rage. “Where did that bastard get a knife?”
“Probably from under the table,” Qiu Shi said, frowning and struggling to speak. “He got in first.”
“Damn it!” Hu Xiaoling’s voice was hoarse as he felt around under the table, pulling off a strip of adhesive. He rushed to the window and looked down. “He’s gone! Must have been taken by their people! What the hell is this cursed place?”
“Calm down,” Qiu Shi said through gritted teeth.
Hu Xiaoling snapped out of it, suddenly fell silent, and turned to move towards the bed, but stopped after taking a step, looking at Xing Bi.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop a couple of degrees in the few seconds of silence.
The killing intent slowly seeping from Xing Bi permeated the small space, making Qiu Shi feel like his breaths were filled with coldness.
Since entering the room, Xing Bi hadn’t spoken or asked about Qiu Shi’s condition. He silently tore open Qiu Shi’s shirt to check the wound.
“Xing Bi,” Qiu Shi called.
“Do you know where their medical room is?” Xing Bi looked at Hu Xiaoling.
“I… I don’t know! But!” Hu Xiaoling stammered, “They have a few connected buildings, with several layers of walls. It’s… off-limits. Should be in there!”
“Go get the car,” Xing Bi said.
“Okay!” Hu Xiaoling jumped up and dashed out, the sound of his chaotic footsteps echoing down the stairs.
“Hold the knife,” Xing Bi bent down, lifted Qiu Shi from the bed, and carried him out.
“I should…” Qiu Shi held the knife handle. As the initial shock and anger subsided, the numb and sharp pain from the wound made it hard for him to breathe. “I won’t die.”
“You won’t die until tomorrow without treatment,” Xing Bi said, using the same method as before to go downstairs, crossing to the railing and sliding down.
“…Damn it.” Hearing this, Qiu Shi immediately felt like he was in a race against time for his life.
It was hard to speak with the shortness of breath, each word making the knife tip wobble in his chest, but he still tried to find something to say.
One reason was to avoid focusing too much on the wound, and the other was to break through Xing Bi’s enveloping killing intent.
Donglin had symbionts. If they took advantage of Xing Bi’s unstable state…
But it was evidently difficult.
Just as he was about to speak, Xing Bi interrupted him: “Don’t talk.”
Hu Xiaoling had already started the car. Xing Bi placed Qiu Shi in the back seat: “Take your hand off.”
Qiu Shi released his grip on the knife, and Xing Bi held it firmly. Qiu Shi raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Are you going to pull it out?”
“Drive,” Xing Bi said.
Hu Xiaoling drove the car towards the deepest part of Donglin Town.
Qiu Shi understood why Xing Bi had to hold the knife for him. Speeding on such a bumpy road, only a bioroids’s reflexes and control could keep their hand steady.
After driving for a while, they saw the restricted area ahead, with high walls and at least two layers of them. From the entrance of the outer wall, only the inner wall could be seen.
Before they could get close, a few people appeared on the walls and in the treehouse watchtowers on either side, all holding guns and aiming at them.
Then, a few people walked out of the walls and approached them quickly.
“It’s Mayor Luo and Chen Dang,” Hu Xiaoling said.
“Drive through,” Xing Bi said.
Hu Xiaoling drove the car straight towards those people.
The guards on the walls and in the trees fired their guns as they approached, a row of bullets hitting the ground in front of the car, kicking up a cloud of dust.
“Stop,” Xing Bi said.
Hu Xiaoling eased off the gas.
“Xing Bi!” Chen Dang shouted, “Don’t do this!”
“We need the medical room!” Hu Xiaoling also shouted, “Move aside!”
“I’ll arrange for someone to take you there!” Mayor Luo raised his hand to stop them. “This is a key area of Donglin Town. Outsiders can’t just enter, but I’ll arrange for Qiu Shi to be treated…”
“I don’t trust your people,” Xing Bi said.
The guards raised their guns slightly, aiming at their car and the people in it.
“This is a misunderstanding,” Chen Dang said. “Solving anything takes time. You can’t just…”
Chen Dang didn’t finish his sentence, suddenly looking at Xing Bi in surprise.
Among the circle of guards aiming at the car, half of them suddenly turned their guns on their own people.
Xing Bi looked at Chen Dang. “The jamming system isn’t back yet. Do you think I can’t make you die right now?”
“Let them in,” Mayor Luo, recognizing the situation, raised his hand to let the guards pass.
Hu Xiaoling drove the car through the wall, took a half turn, and entered the second layer of the wall.
“Half turn to the left,” Xing Bi said.
“Have you been here before? You…” Hu Xiaoling started to ask but quickly swallowed the rest of his words after glancing back at Xing Bi.
There were three layers of walls, and the entrances were staggered, but it wasn’t complicated.
Inside were several small wooden buildings.
Following Xing Bi’s instructions, Hu Xiaoling parked the car in front of the rightmost building. Xing Bi got out, carrying Qiu Shi, and went straight inside.
“Shit,” Hu Xiaoling, holding a gun, followed, looking around, “It’s like he’s been here before.”
It’s probably because he can see.
Qiu Shi’s chest pain was getting worse, the suffocating feeling growing stronger. He didn’t want to speak.
But he knew Xing Bi could now control other symbionts, even top-tier ones like Chen Dang.
The medical room was on the second floor, with several rooms. Through the windows, they saw various medical equipment, and some rooms had people lying there receiving treatment.
Mayor Luo must have contacted the people here because, as Hu Xiaoling was checking the rooms with his gun, a man came out of a room at the end, saying, “Here.”
Hu Xiaoling immediately pointed his gun at the man. Not just Xing Bi, he also completely distrusted anyone here.
This room had only one machine, like a hood, connected to a bunch of wires and tubes of varying thickness.
“This machine is…” The man started to say, but Xing Bi interrupted.
“Get out,” Xing Bi said.
The man paused, then turned and left without continuing.
Qiu Shi was placed on the table, and Xing Bi quickly removed his shirt.
The hospital in Yun City had impressive facilities, and the machine he was lying on now, though it looked old, seemed more advanced in function than those he had seen in Yun City.
“No anesthesia. You need to be awake,” Xing Bi pulled a mask from above and put it on Qiu Shi’s face. “We’ll have to leave before they block the symbiote bio-signals.”
“Okay,” Qiu Shi replied.
Xing Bi pulled Qiu Shi’s hand to his side and pressed it down. An automatic clamp, like a handcuff, locked his wrist.
“Damn,” Qiu Shi closed his eyes. “Is this going to hurt?”
“I don’t know,” Xing Bi said, pressing a button beside the table. The transparent hood lowered, covering Qiu Shi.
Then a mechanical arm extended inside the hood, aimed at the wound on Qiu Shi’s chest, disinfected it, and clamped the knife.
It pulled out the knife steadily and quickly.
But the pain didn’t diminish with the precision of the operation. Qiu Shi kicked the hood in pain, his hands clenched so tightly they turned white.
“Xing Bi,” Hu Xiaoling’s voice was tense, “Are you sure you can use this machine?”
“I’ve used it before,” Xing Bi said.
“Oh,” Hu Xiaoling responded, watching the mechanical arm begin to treat Qiu Shi’s wound. “How long ago?”
“Over a hundred years ago,” Xing Bi answered.
Hu Xiaoling glanced at him in shock, then quickly looked away.
“The jamming system will be repaired soon,” Mayor Luo stood in the inner courtyard, looking towards the second floor of the medical building. “He won’t be able to control the symbionts then. It will be much easier.”
“Let them go,” Chen Dang said.
Mayor Luo turned to look at him.
“They won’t cooperate. Without the ability to control the symbionts, we’ll suffer greater losses,” Chen Dang said. “Xing Bi is different from us. We’ve been living in this world for years… When he chose to lock his memories, he made his choice. Even if he changes, it’s not going to be now.”
“Are you sure it was his choice?” Mayor Luo frowned.
“Yes,” Chen Dang replied. “Information intercepted from the general confirmed it. While we can’t completely rule out the possibility of it being misleading, this does seem like Xing Bi’s style.”
Mayor Luo didn’t respond.
“As for Qiu Shi,” Chen Dang continued, “he’s not what we expected. He has no feelings for his family and never desired one. He has even less sense of belonging towards the immune humans you consider kin. Even if he stayed, it would be hard for him to act entirely in your interest. And now Qiu Yu has done this…”
“What are Qiu Yu’s thoughts?” Mayor Luo asked. “If we don’t handle the body immediately, the brain might…”
“Let him have his way,” Chen Dang said. “He’s gone to such extremes. You humans will do anything for your desires.”
“Then you go,” Mayor Luo said. “I’ll wait here for them to come out. Yun City is just a hollow shell now, no rush. They’d probably welcome an alliance with us.”
“Damn his ancestors…” Qiu Shi managed to say through gritted teeth.
The mechanical arm finished treating and disinfecting the wound before retracting.
The hood opened upward, and Hu Xiaoling helped Qiu Shi up while Xing Bi quickly bandaged his wound.
“Put your clothes on,” Xing Bi said, injecting a painkiller into Qiu Shi’s arm.
“How? You tore them all,” Qiu Shi said, slowly getting off the table.
Xing Bi turned and walked out.
“How are you feeling, Brother Shi?” Hu Xiaoling’s voice rose, sounding relieved now that Xing Bi had left.
“Not bad, I won’t die,” Qiu Shi replied.
“Xing Bi is terrifying like this… what’s wrong with him?” Hu Xiaoling asked. “Is he angry? I thought bioroids didn’t have such strong emotions. It feels like he wants to kill everyone in this town.”
“I think so too,” Qiu Shi said, “but he hasn’t.”
This was what surprised him. Xing Bi, who could punch through a bioroids, only kicked Qiu Yu out of the window. Whether he died from the kick or the fall, at least Xing Bi didn’t crush him directly.
During the confrontation, Xing Bi didn’t strike, not even using the symbionts to fire a warning shot.
Xing Bi soon returned to the room, carrying a set of folded clothes, which he handed to Qiu Shi.
“Alright,” Qiu Shi looked at the clothes, wondering where Xing Bi had gotten them. They were new and thicker than his previous ones.
Dressing was difficult, as raising his arms pulled at his chest wound. Hu Xiaoling helped him, taking a while to get him dressed.
“Let’s go,” Qiu Shi said, gritting his teeth.
Xing Bi didn’t reply, just picked him up again.
“I’m…” Qiu Shi was a bit unaccustomed to this. He had never been carried like this before. “Is it because there’s no box here?”
“Do you want one?” Xing Bi asked, carrying him out of the room.
“No,” Qiu Shi said.
Downstairs stood Mayor Luo and his two subordinates, surrounded by guards in a strange standoff.
Several guards aimed their guns at Mayor Luo, while others aimed at these guards.
“Qiu Shi,” Mayor Luo called out to them. “I have a message for Mr. Long and the general.”
Xing Bi stopped, and Qiu Shi turned to look at him, “Depends on my mood.”
“Communication in Donglin Town is temporarily down, but we’ll find a way to contact Yun City soon,” Mayor Luo said. “Please convey our situation to them. I believe Yun City is facing similar troubles. Regardless of our positions, the symbiont army is our common enemy now…”
“Too much to remember,” Qiu Shi said.
Xing Bi turned to the car and placed Qiu Shi in the back seat.
“Qiu Yu is dead,” Mayor Luo said. “We didn’t expect him to do this. It goes against our original intent.”
Hu Xiaoling started the car.
“There’s a car prepared for you at the town entrance. Your belongings have been placed in it,” Mayor Luo said. “No one will stop you from leaving.”
“I’m taking this car too,” Hu Xiaoling said.
“That’s fine,” Mayor Luo replied.
The car turned towards the outer walls. As they passed Mayor Luo, he looked at Qiu Shi, “Qiu Shi, if one day… your family, your kin, will be waiting for you to return.”
“Screw off,” Qiu Shi closed his eyes.
No one in Donglin Town stopped them from leaving. Even if they wanted to, it would be difficult. Even without controlling the symbionts, Xing Bi, in his current state, could fight his way out at any cost.
And they quickly changed their attitude, turning to seek an alliance with Yun City again.
“If a fight breaks out,” Qiu Shi leaned back in his seat, watching Hu Xiaoling excitedly drive the all-terrain vehicle, “I’m not sure Yun City can match Donglin.”
Xing Bi didn’t respond, silently driving.
“Xing Bi,” Qiu Shi turned to look at him. “Say something.”
“One, three, five, seven…” Xing Bi started.
Qiu Shi laughed.
“I’m fine,” Xing Bi said.
Indeed, after leaving Donglin, the murderous aura had vanished.
“But you have something on your mind,” Qiu Shi said. “As your partner, I shouldn’t pry, but as a friend, I usually ask.”
Xing Bi glanced at him.
“We’re in this together,” Qiu Shi patted his shoulder, wincing from the pain in his chest and quickly pulling his hand back. “You can talk to me about anything.”
Xing Bi remained silent.
Qiu Shi didn’t speak further, closing his eyes to rest.
Just as he started to drift off, Xing Bi spoke, “Qiu Yu is your brother.”
“Yes,” Qiu Shi responded.
“But he wanted to kill you,” Xing Bi said.
“Yes,” Qiu Shi seemed to understand how Xing Bi felt.
Because Qiu Yu harmed his partner, Xing Bi needed to kill Qiu Yu. But since Qiu Yu was his brother, he didn’t use the most straightforward or brutal method.
Family ties were probably the one human emotion Xing Bi couldn’t fully grasp.
“Would you kill him?” Xing Bi asked.
“Yes,” Qiu Shi replied. “He was trying to kill me.”
“I shouldn’t have left the room,” Xing Bi said.
“Who could have predicted this?” Qiu Shi said. “Even I didn’t expect it.”
“I’m not you,” Xing Bi said.
“What?” Qiu Shi glanced at him. “You think you’re better than me?”
Xing Bi didn’t reply, but the corner of his mouth twitched into a small smile.
This small smile made Qiu Shi breathe a sigh of relief. He sighed and said, “Xing Bi, you don’t need to think about these things. I’ve never thought much about family. To me, Zhao Lü, Hu Xiaoling, and the others are like my real brothers. As you know, relationships are built through time, not assigned by someone.”
“Yes,” Xing Bi replied.
“Before… those people before the great war, they must have been different, right? Like having families and such,” Qiu Shi said.
“I didn’t have contact with ordinary people,” Xing Bi said.
“Whoa!” Qiu Shi exclaimed.
Xing Bi glanced at him.
“So now you’re down and out,” Qiu Shi said. “Not only are you in contact with ordinary people, but your partner is also a corpse collector.”
Xing Bi chuckled but didn’t say anything.
“That’s tragic,” Qiu Shi laughed but stopped because of the pain in his chest. “The painkiller you gave me doesn’t seem to work.”
“You almost died,” Xing Bi said. “It’s normal for the pain to persist.”
“I won’t die,” Qiu Shi said. “When I realized he wanted to kill me, I knew I wouldn’t die because Xing Bi was just outside.”
Xing Bi turned to look at him.
Hu Xiaoling suddenly stopped the car.
Just as Qiu Shi was about to remind Xing Bi, their car bumped into the back of Hu Xiaoling’s car, sending Hu Xiaoling flying forward and crashing to the ground.
“Did your radar malfunction?” Qiu Shi asked Xing Bi.
“I was distracted,” Xing Bi said.
“A level-one hidden guard like you can get distracted?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Occasionally,” Xing Bi said, opening the car door and getting out.
“What the hell!” Hu Xiaoling got up from the ground. “I just wanted to stop and pee! Now my bladder feels like it’s about to burst!”
“Go pee,” Xing Bi said.
“Are there any snacks? I’m a bit hungry,” Hu Xiaoling asked.
“Pee first, then eat,” Xing Bi said.
Hu Xiaoling stared at him for a moment before turning to leave.
Qiu Shi clutched his wound, silently laughing. “You shouldn’t say those things in one breath.”
“Are you hungry? Take a rest,” Xing Bi said. “Get enough rest before nightfall.”
“Are we traveling at night?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Yes,” Xing Bi said. “It’s safer to move at night when attacks are harder.”
The cargo hold contained everything they had brought to Donglin, plus a crate of weapons and several boxes of supplies from Donglin Town as a goodwill gesture.
Food, water, medicine…
And clothes.
Maybe Mayor Luo saw Xing Bi taking the clothes.
“The symbionts in Yun City,” Qiu Shi sipped some water but couldn’t eat. “If it were you, could you handle them?”
“Seven of them, yes,” Xing Bi said.
“A one-on-seven fight?” Qiu Shi was puzzled. “Is the capability gap that big among level-one elites?”
Xing Bi looked at him for a while before asking, “Why would seven level-one hidden guards enter the city and act together?”
“Oh,” Qiu Shi realized. “Yeah, with your experience as a level-one hidden guard, what do you think they’re here for?”
“To find someone or something,” Xing Bi said.
“Mr. Long? The general? An assassination?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Possibly,” Xing Bi said.
“That would be tough,” Qiu Shi said. “Especially the general. He’s so mysterious, like he’s hiding. Sometimes I wonder if he even lives in Yun City.”
“Possibly,” Xing Bi said.
“Have you seen the general?” Qiu Shi asked. “When he locked your memory, did you see him?”
“No,” Xing Bi said. “No one has seen him.”
Qiu Shi was stunned. “Which generation?”
“No one has seen any of the generals,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi fell silent.
“Didn’t Li Feng say he’d contact you when it’s done?” Hu Xiaoling asked, poking his head in while eating.
“Yes,” Qiu Shi said. “It should be about time now.”
“But he hasn’t contacted you,” Hu Xiaoling said. “Could something have happened?”
“Even if Mr. Long died, Li Feng might not be in trouble,” Qiu Shi said. “He’s that kind of person.”
There was only one last dot left on the screen, and everyone was staring at it.
That was the last symbiont. Lin Sheng was rapidly approaching the dot.
Clearing this symbiont shouldn’t be a problem given the current situation. What everyone was concerned about was Lin Sheng’s actions after completing the task.
After the dot disappeared, Lin Sheng’s voice came through the earpiece.
“Target eliminated, except for three who escaped the inner city. The rest are cleared.”
“Return to the starting point immediately,” Colonel Xu said.
Lin Sheng began moving on the map and soon appeared on the path where they had started.
“Done,” Curator Wu said.
Li Feng yawned, feeling so drowsy that his vision was starting to blur.
“Director Li! Director Li!”
“What is it?”
“He seems to have fainted…”
