Mr. Long was momentarily unable to determine the meaning behind Li Feng’s words—was it meant literally, or was it some metaphor for his relationship with his “partner”?
He looked at Li Feng. “What do you mean?”
“…Literally,” Li Feng replied. “If you check the records, you’ll see that relationships between humans and bioroids were quite common in the past.”
Mr. Long remained silent.
Li Feng turned to one of the bioroids. “Right?”
The bioroid clearly hadn’t expected to be pulled into small talk in the middle of this tense standoff. It hesitated for two seconds before answering, “Yes.”
“I never questioned that,” Mr. Long said, a little irritated.
“Then what are you questioning?” Li Feng asked.
“Colonel Xu sent Team Three to Xima Town because she didn’t know the Northwest Nest had been destroyed. She believed the movement over there would be enough to keep them occupied—”
Before Mr. Long could finish, Li Feng cut him off.
“When she contacted me, she never mentioned she was sending Team Three,” Li Feng said. “At that time, I hadn’t reported the nest’s destruction to you yet. I couldn’t disclose such critical information before informing you.”
“This only further proves Colonel Xu’s lack of experience and blind overconfidence,” Colonel Yu finally spoke. “A commander needs to assess all intelligence and perspectives. A frontline commander’s role is crucial.”
“Captain Yang did oppose the decision,” Li Feng said solemnly. “But his objections were ignored.”
“No need to say more,” Mr. Long sighed. “I understand what everyone is getting at. I see your intentions.”
“Mr. Long,” Li Feng did not back down. “We must reach a conclusion today. If we leave this room without one, someone is going to die.”
The threat in his words went beyond what was typical for his usual discreet style. He didn’t want status—he simply wanted to leverage the ambitions of the people around him to gain power.
And these people—including Mr. Long—would never believe that all he wanted was something so simple, something they considered trivial and insignificant.
Whenever he realized that, he felt deeply alone.
“Then tell me, Deputy Director Li,” Mr. Long sighed. “What result are you looking for today?”
“Effective immediately, Colonel Xu is to be removed from her command, stripped of her authority, and transferred out of the action team. The General has always prioritized the big picture. Even if Colonel Xu was personally recommended by him, given such a major failure, I trust the General will make the correct decision,” Li Feng said. “Colonel Yu should take over all of her duties. He and the action team must have full authority over all military operations outside the city.”
“And you?” Mr. Long asked.
“I remain Deputy Director,” Li Feng said. “I will continue advancing our cooperation with Donglin Town and expanding Yun City’s northern influence. I will also report all external operations to you regularly.”
Mr. Long stared at him in silence for a long time before finally picking up the phone. “Get me the General. Transfer it to the conference room.”
The dismissal of Colonel Xu required a discussion between Mr. Long and the General. As he got up to make the call, no one in the room stopped him.
Li Feng also showed no emotion.
He needed the General.
If word ever got out that every generation of “Generals” was actually the same preserved brain locked away in a secret chamber, Yun City would collapse overnight. There would be no need for any external enemy—the city would self-destruct.
Likewise, Mr. Long could have used the truth about the General as leverage to destroy Li Feng’s plans completely. But in the end, their goals still aligned—at least for now.
So they would continue maintaining this fragile balance.
—
When Mr. Long returned from the conference room, his face was grim, but he activated the projector and displayed an official document before them.
“The General and Mr. Long’s broad-minded leadership is truly admirable,” Minister Liu said.
“Yun City’s two leaders,” Li Feng added, “are undoubtedly wise and strategic in their decisions.”
Mr. Long shot a sharp glare at Minister Liu, annoyed. The Emergency Affairs Department had always been his most trusted agency, yet it had been completely infiltrated.
He should have realized this earlier—Minister Liu had fully cooperated with Li Feng’s “hero campaign” from the start. He had let his guard down.
“Colonel Xu will return to Yun City’s base immediately. Colonel Yu, please begin your work as soon as possible,” Mr. Long said. “The situation in Xima Town is volatile. We need someone capable of steering it in the right direction at all times.”
“Then,” Li Feng stood up, “this meeting is concluded. Thank you all for your efforts on behalf of Yun City. And thank you, Mr. Long and the General, for making the right decision.”
Mr. Long clenched his teeth so hard he nearly cursed Li Feng out on the spot.
—
“They’re coming out,” Qiu Shi saw a few soldiers exiting the company building, followed by the bioroids and Li Feng, walking briskly in the middle of them.
He quickly straightened up, glanced down at his clothes, and then wiped his mouth.
Xing Bi looked at him.
“What?” Qiu Shi asked. “I don’t have nerves of steel like you.”
Xing Bi also straightened up, adjusted his clothes, and then wiped his mouth as well.
“You’re an idiot,” Qiu Shi laughed.
“Lock,” Xing Bi said.
“What?” Qiu Shi didn’t understand.
Li Feng reached the car and grabbed the handle to open the door.
It was only then that Qiu Shi finally realized. But before he could unlock it himself, Li Feng had already pulled on the door—only to find it locked.
Li Feng knocked on the window.
“F*ck,” Qiu Shi muttered under his breath, unlocking the door.
Li Feng climbed into the car.
“How did it go?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Pretty smooth,” Li Feng glanced back at them. “Now we need to take the bioroids to the lab for psychological and physiological evaluations—some fine-tuning. Should take about two hours.”
“Mm,” Xing Bi responded.
“And after that…” Li Feng started the car. “Let’s finish this first, then I’ll explain.”
“After what?” Qiu Shi asked. “Just how many things do you have on your plate in a day? I’m starting to think anyone who gets involved with you should forget about sleep.”
“I’ll explain at the lab,” Li Feng said. “If all goes well, you two can take the bioroids to Xima Town tomorrow.”
“I’m just a corpse collector,” Qiu Shi said. “Deputy Director Li, can we please get that straight?”
“Really?” Li Feng said. “Do you even believe that anymore, ‘corpse collector’?”
Qiu Shi pinched the bridge of his nose and looked out the window. His good mood from earlier had all but disappeared thanks to just a few sentences from Li Feng.
He knew he couldn’t shake this man off, but there was still always that faint hope.
But if Li Feng ever did say, Go back to the shelter. You don’t need to do anything anymore, Qiu Shi knew he wouldn’t be able to accept that either.
People were contradictory like that—resisting getting dragged into a war with no guarantees, yet also resisting being completely detached, watching from the sidelines as everything unfolded.
—
Back at the lab, Curator Wu looked exhausted, though it was hard to tell whether it was due to the stress of being forced to activate twenty untested bioroids at once.
“Just psychological evaluations and physiological adjustments,” Li Feng instructed. “No control procedures. They need to remain completely independent individuals.”
“I want Xing Bi present,” Curator Wu said. “For my own safety.”
Li Feng looked at Xing Bi.
“Alright,” Xing Bi agreed.
After he and Curator Wu entered the lab at the end of the corridor, Qiu Shi slumped into a chair and leaned back. “Alright, spill it, Director Li.”
“Deputy,” Li Feng corrected, leaning against the table across from him.
“You pulled off a whole coup, and you’re still just a deputy?” Qiu Shi scoffed. “I half expected you to come out of that building as the new head of Yun City Mining.”
“Impossible,” Li Feng smiled. “I have no interest in that—it’s too much work.”
“Not to mention the risk of getting assassinated by another director,” Qiu Shi added.
“Exactly,” Li Feng nodded.
“Alright, go on,” Qiu Shi said. “What else is there? What kind of pit did you dig for Xing Bi this time?”
“It’s not about Xing Bi,” Li Feng said. “It’s about you.”
“I’m barely human anymore,” Qiu Shi said. “How else are you planning to screw me over?”
“Someone in Donglin wants to meet you,” Li Feng said. “We’re at a critical stage in negotiations, so…”
He looked at Qiu Shi and frowned slightly. “It’s up to you.”
“Donglin?” Qiu Shi was momentarily stunned. He slowly sat up, taking a long moment before he finally asked, “Qiu Yu… is he still alive?”
“Yes,” Li Feng confirmed.
“How the hell is that possible?” Qiu Shi shot to his feet. “Xing Bi crushed his internal organs with one kick! He—f*ck, did he get enhanced? No, did he get fully modified?”
Li Feng sighed. “Other than his brain, I don’t think there’s anything left of his original body.”
“God f*cking—” Qiu Shi was too shocked to even finish his sentence. “Who decided that? He was dead. Who decided to bring him back in such a fucked-up way?”
“He did,” Li Feng said.
Qiu Shi stared at him in silence.
He had tried to forget most of what Qiu Yu had said to him that day. Anything connected to the pain of being betrayed by his own brother—he had done his best to erase from his memory.
But he did remember the bitterness in Qiu Yu’s voice when he spoke about not being wanted.
Thinking about it now, it wasn’t surprising that Qiu Yu had chosen enhancement once before—and now, full transformation.
This world was already insane. Some people just chose to live even more insanely than the world itself.
“Why does he want to see me?” Qiu Shi asked. “To kill me again?”
“The Blackbloods from Xima Town,” Li Feng said. “There are still a lot of them wandering south. And Qiu Yu—well, technically you—are of the same…”
Li Feng paused, as if searching for the right term.
“Just call it ‘kin,’” Qiu Shi said. “That’s what the old man called it.”
“Blackbloods are kin, yes, but the ones who don’t follow the fungal faith are another…” Li Feng clicked his tongue, seeming frustrated with the terminology. “Let’s say, another branch. The Blackblood faction sees you as their rightful leader.”
Qiu Shi finally understood what Qiu Yu was trying to do. He frowned. “I’m not going to work with him. I’m not going to recreate what my parents did—creating a god all over again. Whether it’s me or Qiu Yu, we’ve both already died once. And yet, the only thing he still wants is a little bit of power and recognition? I almost feel sorry for him. What a waste of a death.”
Li Feng chuckled. “This is exactly why I chose you to be Xing Bi’s partner.”
“Shut the f*ck up,” Qiu Shi said. “Back then, I just wanted to collect bodies in the outer city. You were the one who kept dragging me into this shit. Don’t start pretending you made some wise decision now—I don’t give a f*ck about your praise.”
“I’m serious,” Li Feng said. “The old director had a sharp eye for people. I think I do too.”
“And yet somehow, this still turns into you praising yourself in the end,” Qiu Shi scoffed. “Does Donglin and Yun City’s deal depend on Qiu Yu’s stance?”
“Not entirely,” Li Feng said. “But he is a symbol. The leader of the immune humans. Against symbiotes, who can easily turn humans into mindless infected puppets, immune humans are a crucial force. If we want to unite all possible allies, some compromises and concessions are inevitable.”
“This isn’t even up for debate, is it?” Qiu Shi asked. “You never actually give me choices.”
“This time, I am giving you a choice,” Li Feng said. “I’m persuading you—to meet Qiu Yu and work with him. His people aren’t few, and they’re better suited for defense than our soldiers.”
“Tell Curator Wu to hurry up with developing long-term suppressants,” Qiu Shi said. “Less time messing with bioroids, more time working on real problems.”
“Ah,” Li Feng smirked. “Pushing me again, huh?”
“So what you’re saying is, I have to go to Donglin again?” Qiu Shi was getting irritated.
“The secure route between Yun City and Donglin is mostly established now,” Li Feng said. “They’re stationed at the northeastern forest’s edge—that’s their new base.”
“Fuck,” Qiu Shi muttered.
“Once Xing Bi finishes up, you meet Qiu Yu,” Li Feng cleared his throat. “Then you two… can return to the dorm for rest. Tomorrow, you’ll take the bioroids to Xima Town.”
Qiu Shi stared at him for a long time before finally asking, “Did you bug your car?”
“What were you two doing in my car?” Li Feng looked genuinely surprised.
“Nothing!” Qiu Shi snapped.
“I never said you did anything,” Li Feng smirked.
“You better f*cking mean that,” Qiu Shi said.
—
Li Feng was always efficient.
During the Xima Town battle, negotiations with Donglin had progressed smoothly. Both sides had cleared obstacles along the route, establishing a secure passage, with stationed troops on either side.
A thirty-minute drive north through the forest now led to Donglin’s base, with more camps still under construction.
Qiu Shi followed Li Feng into one of the buildings, guarded on all sides.
The room was sparsely furnished, clearly serving as a command post—maps, a conference table, and some equipment.
And a few people standing by the table.
“We’ve all met before,” Li Feng said. “No need for introductions.”
Mayor Luo, Chen Dang, and another man.
“Long time no see,” the man stepped around the table and extended his hand toward Qiu Shi.
To be honest, those four words weren’t exactly pleasant for Qiu Shi. Every single time he had heard them, the memories attached were filled with pain and anger.
And hearing them come from this particular mouth—Qiu Yu’s—made it even worse.
Qiu Shi didn’t take his hands out of his pockets. He just looked at Qiu Yu.
Other than the face, there was nothing left of the original Qiu Yu. Maybe he had been too dissatisfied with his previous frail body—because the one he had chosen now was… massive. Tall, broad-shouldered, built like a soldier.
Counting his head, he was about ten centimeters taller than Qiu Shi.
The proportions looked a little off.
“Brother,” Qiu Yu still held his hand out.
“Don’t,” Qiu Shi shoved his hand aside. “Stay away from me, or I won’t be able to tell if you’re holding a knife.”
Qiu Yu chuckled. “If I really wanted to kill you now, I wouldn’t need to be this close.”
“That confident, huh?” Qiu Shi glanced at him. “Go ahead, then. Kill someone.”
Qiu Yu just looked at him, silent.
“Oh, right—you can’t kill anyone,” Qiu Shi strolled over to the table and sat down. “Guess I have to remind you—not replacing your brain was a mistake.”
The tension in the room made Mayor Luo visibly uncomfortable.
But Li Feng didn’t seem to mind at all. He sat beside Qiu Shi. “Let’s get started. The south still needs Qiu Shi, and time is short.”
Mayor Luo took a seat across from them, glancing at Qiu Yu before turning to Qiu Shi. “Qiu Shi, I assume Deputy Director Li has already told you the purpose of this meeting?”
“Yeah,” Qiu Shi said. “So just get to it.”
“I need to send an invitation to the fungal believers in your name,” Qiu Yu said. “To get them to join the immune human forces and fight against the symbionts together.”
“In my name?” Qiu Shi rubbed his temple. “You can do that without my permission. I don’t even know those people.”
“It’s different,” Qiu Yu said. “Your agreement is what the intermediary requires.”
“Intermediary?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Deng Yeye and her squad.”
Qiu Shi had heard from the old man that Deng Yeye had ties to the Blackbloods. But he hadn’t known she had a squad.
That squad better not include Li Datou…
It probably didn’t. If Li Datou were part of it, that squad would have fallen apart long ago.
“I’ll just talk to Deng Yeye directly,” Qiu Shi said.
“She only communicates with Donglin through a single channel,” Qiu Yu said. “I doubt you’d even be able to find her.”
Qiu Shi clicked his tongue.
“I need a token from you,” Qiu Yu said.
“A token? What, are we acting in a play?” Qiu Shi scoffed. “How about I find you a corpse? A corpse collector’s token.”
Qiu Yu didn’t respond.
Qiu Shi glanced at Li Feng. The bastard had remained silent the entire time—hadn’t even given him a heads-up on what direction this conversation was supposed to go. With Li Feng not stepping in, Qiu Shi just had to wing it.
“Forget about the token for now,” Qiu Shi said. “How exactly do you plan to work with these people? You gather them up under my name—then what?”
“They’ll be integrated into the immune human forces,” Qiu Yu said. “They won’t be treated differently, and their beliefs won’t be interfered with as long as they don’t affect others. Our common goal is the symbiotes.”
“You’ll be leading them?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Yes,” Mayor Luo spoke up. “Chen Dang will assist him with management.”
“Their integration should only last for the duration of this war,” Qiu Shi said. “Once it’s over, they must be given back their freedom. Whether they stay or leave has to be their choice. If you don’t want them staying, then there needs to be a proper relocation plan—after all, if they join you, they’ll be abandoning their previous lives.”
“That will be ensured,” Qiu Yu said.
“Write it down,” Qiu Shi said. “Words mean nothing. And you better give me a damn token too.”
Qiu Yu handed him a knife.
Qiu Shi stared at it, holding back the urge to throw it back in his face.
It was the knife.
The one Qiu Yu had used to try and kill him.
“This knife has been with me for over twenty years,” Qiu Yu said. “No matter what I’ve used it for, it represents me.”
Qiu Shi frowned.
“And yours?” Qiu Yu asked.
I don’t f*cking have one.
It was only then that Qiu Shi realized—he had nothing on him that had been with him forever. When the old man brought him to Yun City, the only thing he had left was the clothes on his back—not even a belt.
A belt…
Qiu Shi pulled off his scarf and tossed it onto the table.
“A new one?” Qiu Yu glanced at it.
“Are you stupid?” Qiu Shi scoffed. “You think I’ve been using the same scarf for twenty years?”
He pulled a knife from his boot, cut his hand, and pressed it onto the scarf, leaving a bloody mark.
“Good enough?” he asked.
“Thank you, brother,” Qiu Yu said. “Looking forward to working together.”
Qiu Shi didn’t respond. He stood up and walked out of the building.
—
“How was it?” Li Feng handed him a gauze pad on the way back to the lab.
“What do you mean how was it?” Qiu Shi pressed the gauze to his wound. “You didn’t give me any direction, so I just went with the flow.”
“I wanted you to handle it,” Li Feng said. “What do you think?”
“Tonight, I’m going back to the bunker to rest,” Qiu Shi said.
“Hm?” Li Feng turned to look at him.
“If Deng Yeye really is the intermediary, she’ll probably come find me when she gets the scarf,” Qiu Shi said. “If I stay in the inner city, she won’t be able to get in with all the security.”
“Why would she come looking for you?” Li Feng asked.
“With fresh blood on that scarf?” Qiu Shi smirked. “For all she knows, Qiu Yu just killed me and took it off my corpse.”
Li Feng laughed. “You catch on fast.”
“Yun City needs these people,” Qiu Shi said. “Curator Wu’s inhibitors? Who knows how long those will take. Even if they work, what if the supply chain breaks? We can’t rely on Qiu Yu alone. If he holds all the power over them, that’s not a good thing.”
“Are you backing out?” Li Feng asked.
“I just want to hear what Deng Yeye has to say,” Qiu Shi said.
—
Back at the lab, Curator Wu had finished all the tests and adjustments on the bioroids. Everything was stable—no issues.
Xing Bi sat in a chair, standing when Qiu Shi and Li Feng entered. He immediately noticed the injury. “How did you get hurt?”
“You already know?” Qiu Shi looked surprised.
“I can smell it,” Xing Bi’s eyes flicked to his left hand, then to Li Feng.
“Nothing to do with me,” Li Feng said immediately. “He cut himself.”
Qiu Shi clicked his tongue and explained the situation to Xing Bi. “If Deng Yeye comes looking for me, we might get some intel.”
“Qiu Shi,” Xing Bi said quietly. “Do you know what this means?”
“What?” Qiu Shi looked at him. “That I’m getting dragged even deeper?”
“Maybe,” Xing Bi said.
“I thought about that too,” Qiu Shi said. “But… there really isn’t another option, is there?”
“Once you have a goal,” Xing Bi said, “all your choices will move toward it.”
“What do I do?” Qiu Shi suddenly felt lost.
“What do you mean?” Xing Bi asked. “You make the choices. The rest—I’ll handle.”
Qiu Shi laughed. “Damn, you sure have a big mouth on you, ancestor.”
Wow, that was messed up—having to meet his brother again like that…
Thank you for the update!