EM CH33

Chapter 33: Five-Virtues Youth

“Let me ask that another way.” Zhao Ran pinched the silver band from Yu An’s palm. “Do you know what it signifies?”

Mystified, Yu An waited for his answer.

“If you can’t state the meaning of a gift, then don’t give it,” Zhao Ran replied. “Accepting a ring means simultaneously accepting the giver’s restraint. You’re still a bit short of the qualifications.”

“It’s pretty. Suits you.” Leaning against his side, Yu An toyed with Zhao Ran’s earlobe, which hadn’t fully gone down in swelling. The newly pierced black stud was stuck to the healing wound; draping himself across Zhao Ran’s back, Yu An mercilessly worked the metal post back and forth to loosen it.

Because the interviewer never removed his gloves year-round and forbade anyone from touching his hands, Yu An burned with an even fiercer desire to lay claim to the man’s fingers. This ring he had hammered and polished by hand was a national flag planted squarely upon a newly discovered continent.

He was never stingy with intimate, skin-to-skin contact, which sometimes left Zhao Ran wondering whether such gestures held any meaning for him at all. Fortunately, the boy was poor at socializing, and his communication barrier prevented him from clinging onto strangers.

“Interviewer, since you know so much, are you married?”

A sharp sting throbbed from his pierced earlobe. The temperature of Zhao Ran’s ear rose, a hot crimson flushing out in stark contrast against his pale complexion as he replied meaningfully, “Not yet.”

“Why not?”

“Uh… haven’t found a partner strong enough.”

“Are you looking for a partner or an opponent?”

“Both,” Zhao Ran chuckled.

Lightly rubbing the glossy silver surface of the band, Yu An lay back leisurely, his head hanging upside down off the edge of the bed with one leg slung over Zhao Ran’s shoulder, looking so thoroughly self-assured it left one bewildered.

“So what else do I need to do?” Yu An asked just like that.

“What?”

“If I do well and make you happy, you put it on.” The silver band flipped nimbly between Yu An’s fingers before closing inside his palm. “Deal?”

“Then go do some good deeds.”

“What counts as a good deed?”

“From now on, unless someone is a mission target, you are only permitted to lay hands on them in self-defense.”

“…Self-defense…” Weighing it inwardly, Yu An figured this didn’t violate his personal principles, so he agreed: “Mm.”

“Also, Underground Railway’s core duty is protecting citizens. No indiscriminate killing of innocents, and no standing by coldly as a bystander.”

“Oh. Anything else?” Yu An sprawled flat like a pancake along the edge of the bed, his pajama hem riding up nearly to his chest and his shorts slipping low enough to expose his hipbone.

“No proper sitting posture at all. Time to eat.” Grabbing him by his slender ankle, Zhao Ran hoisted him upside down and strolled effortlessly toward the dining room.

“What about the spent cores you promised to find for me? Any coins or anything? And the guns confiscated at exam security—they said those were handed over to you for safekeeping… Let me go home after dinner…” Still thinking about the diary back at his apartment, Yu An was dragged away with his hands scraping across the floorboards.

“You stirred up a mess this huge and still want to go home? Wait until we confirm the news hasn’t leaked.”

Quiet fell over the bedroom. Yu An’s shoulder bag lay tossed carelessly on the floor, its zipper inching open bit by bit.

Straining with all her might, the beauty standee pushed the zipper apart, attempting to make a break for it.

“Little lunatic, laying me flat on the ground as a bear trap—you win, I’m sneaking out first…”

Exerting every ounce of strength, Miss Bo finally folded her upper body to a right angle and sat up out of the backpack, only to discover she was completely surrounded.

A ring of little hands encircled the backpack, sizing her up with intense curiosity while whispering and chattering among themselves.

Miss Bo sheepishly folded herself back down into the backpack.

Excuse me, way too many people here.

…

Early the next morning, Zhao Ran heard birds chirping outside the window as an elderly man strolled past the lane out front whistling a tune, heading from a morning walk in the park toward the supermarket for groceries.

The coded whistle signaled a rendezvous request from an Underground Railway undercover operative, with the drop location set at a nearby convenience supermarket.

On the other side of the bed, Yu An was twisted together with the duvet like a dough twist, curled into a ball and still fast asleep.

Propping his head on his hand, Zhao Ran watched him for a while. Curving his eyes in a faint smile, he rubbed his wrist across the boy’s messy, bedhead hair before picking up the shirt by the bed to get dressed for work.

By the time he had changed into casual clothes, put on a cap, and prepared to head out, Yu An was already waiting by the entryway. Wearing the Pure Black Hood outfit, he straddled a chair backward, hugging the backrest and rocking back and forth: “I’m coming too.”

Zhao Ran tugged the hood up and pulled it down over his head: “From now on, whenever we go out, don’t let anyone see your face.”

The instant the hood went up, decorative jet-black cat ears and a cat tail flashed briefly on the outfit before vanishing.

“What the…” Zhao Ran paused in surprise, then found an excuse to turn around with a straight face, covering his mouth to savor the fleeting manifestation that had just appeared and disappeared.

Two blocks down and around a bend stood a chain supermarket. Early morning was peak rush hour for aunties and uncles scrambling for poultry, eggs, meat, and produce, packing the store to capacity.

Grabbing a shopping cart, Zhao Ran strolled idly through the empty snack aisle, tossing in a couple of bags of puffed snacks, candies, and bread now and then.

Yu An trailed alongside, sipping from a carton of milk.

“Underground Railway maintains a network of undercover operatives embedded across all walks of life to feed us intel. There’s likely been a breakthrough on the Grey Crow Game Company commission.”

Tucked behind a loaf of bread on the shelf was a tiny microchip. Pressing his fingertips naturally against it, he stuck it to his glove and slipped it into an inner pocket.

An auntie pushed her shopping cart past them. Sitting obediently inside her cart basket was a Yorkshire terrier wearing tiny braids. Brushing past Yu An, who was absorbed in his milk carton, the little dog locked eyes with Yu An across the aisle.

By the time Zhao Ran pushed his cart toward the checkout lanes, Yu An was sitting inside the cart basket as well.

After paying, Kaopu carried the grocery bags and scurried back home.

Since it was still early before office hours, Zhao Ran took Yu An for a stroll through the bustling morning market nearby.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Yu An curiously inspected trinkets on the street stalls until his gaze was drawn to a stall selling puppies.

A fine wire cage sat in front of an electric tricycle, housing several fluffy two-to-three-month-old puppies scrambling over one another—looking remarkably similar to the little dog belonging to the auntie in the supermarket earlier.

Yu An recalled noticing a peculiar tattoo printed on that passing auntie’s wrist, closely resembling a puppy’s paw print.

Stepping forward, Zhao Ran bent over to brush the back of his hand against a puppy’s nose, asking the vendor, “How much?”

The vendor waved a broad hand: “Fifteen thousand.”

Zhao Ran let out a light scoff: “Fifteen grand for a mixed-breed Yorkie? You’re pricier than a legitimate kennel.”

“Can you buy pups capable of recognizing a master at a regular kennel?” Casting Zhao Ran a sideways glance as if scorning his ignorance, the vendor hoisted one up for him to feel. Coarse fingers pressed against the puppy’s belly; with thin skin, sparse flesh, and delicate bones, a round, hard core could be distinctly felt growing inside its body.

An Aberrant Core. This entire litter of puppies were Aberrants.

“Our stock costs money too, pal. Fifteen thousand firm, no haggling. Don’t go touching them if you aren’t serious about buying—if one imprints on you, you’ll have to pay up.” Seeing no intent to buy, the vendor impatiently stuffed the pup back into the cage.

“Stock,” Zhao Ran sneered coldly, the tips of his fangs peeking out. “Buying radioactive waste to dump into a newborn litter’s nest and raising them into Aberrants to sell counts as ‘stock’?”

What the vendor called “recognizing a master” meant having the puppy leave a totem mark on its owner. That way, once it grew into its cocooning stage, the owner only needed to slay it to trigger successful Butterfly Transformation, becoming its contractor.

Afterwards, the creature would devote its entire life to protecting its contractor; so long as the owner lived, it would never die.

Getting a puppy to develop trust and reliance on a human was effortless—even a simple pat or feeding it a few kibbles could make it willingly imprint a totem onto an owner. Moreover, no matter how berserk it became upon entering the cocooning stage, instinct would restrain its urge to harm its master, owing to its tiny stature, low-tier core, and innate loyalty.

It sounded reasonable on paper, yet reality was far different.

While a puppy Aberrant wouldn’t attack its owner, there was zero guarantee it wouldn’t attack anyone else.

Many people made the decision lightly, only to find themselves unable to bring down the blade to kill a beloved pet they had raised for years once the critical cocooning stage arrived. The moment that window was missed and the cocooning pup went unslain, allowing it to eclose and rampage, even the weakest puppy Aberrant held the potential to inflict severe casualties.

Zhao Ran pulled out his communicator: “Urban Patrol Team, attention. Quite a few ‘fine goods’ have slipped into the Shenghua Street morning market in the West District. Are you people only good for eating free meals without doing any work? Get people down here within five minutes to sweep this street inside and out, notify the Peeping Eagle Bureau, and haul every involved vendor in for interrogation.”

Realizing he had pitched his illicit wares straight to an Underground Railway executive, the dog vendor’s face drained to an ashen gray. Vaulting onto his electric tricycle, he bolted at top speed, abandoning his stall entirely.

Pet vendors up and down the entire morning market broke into a mad sprint as if city enforcement had just descended on them.

Treating it as none of his business, Yu An remained squatting before the puppy cage with his elbows on his knees, slacking off.

The puppies huddled together in terror in the far corner away from Yu An. Barely two or three months old, the pups didn’t understand much, yet they instinctively sensed the intense, repelling aura of dominance radiating off Yu An.

The primary function of an Aberrant’s totem mark was to warn other Aberrants away from laying claim to its chosen contractor.

Only when the interviewer nudged his backside with the tip of his boot did Yu An look back and tilt his head up, seeing Zhao Ran jerk his chin toward the direction the dog vendor had fled.

Yu An finally stood up. Weaving nimbly through the dense crowd, he leaped onto the cargo bed of the electric tricycle, ultimately sweeping his leg across to kick the vendor clean off the driver’s seat, dragging the man back by his collar to report to Zhao Ran.

“Only struck the mission target. Not dead, and didn’t break his body.” Yu An displayed the apprehended suspect from multiple angles to the interviewer with utmost professionalism.

“Very good.” Nodding, Zhao Ran turned his attention to the puppies in the cage.

Tossing aside the bruised and swollen vendor, Yu An cradled the puppy cage in his arms. Gripping a sharp knife snatched from a neighboring fish stall, he pointed it at the trembling pups inside and asked, “Kill them?”

A flash of unmistakable displeasure crossed Zhao Ran’s expression.

“…” Backhanding the knife back toward the fish stall, the blade sank accurately into the narrow gap between two live fish, scaring the fishmonger into throwing both hands in the air.

Lifting the cage, Yu An pressed his face close to the whimpering puppies, analyzing diligently which exact traits had earned the interviewer’s tender pity.

Whimpering softly, soft and fluffy, licking affectionately, and wagging their little tails vigorously.

Lesson learned.

…

The patrol team arrived promptly, carefully fitting containment domes over the litter of puppy Aberrants and loading them into a transport van bound for headquarters.

Since it was getting late, Zhao Ran hitched a ride back to the company with Yu An as well.

Upon arriving at headquarters, Zhao Ran summoned Xiao An to keep Yu An company in the office for a bit while he went to brief Team Leader Yuan on the incident.

Yet barely moments after Zhao Ran stepped out, a black-suited bodyguard knocked on the office door.

“Intern Yu An.” Stepping inside, the bodyguard stood ramrod straight in the center of the room, speaking with polite gravity: “Mr. Kong wishes to see you. Please accompany me upstairs for a moment.”

Lounging on the sofa playing on his phone with his head hanging upside down off the cushions and his legs propped over the backrest, Yu An was too lazy to move and pretended not to hear.

Xiao An bowed apologetically to the bodyguard with a forced smile, nudging Yu An with her knuckles: “Yu An, sit up properly. Stop lying around all crooked.”

“Mr. Kong. Never heard of him. Who?”

Xiao An whispered urgently: “That’s the big boss!”

Finally lowering his phone while keeping his head hanging upside down, Yu An lifted his eyelids, locking a cold gaze onto the tall, burly man in sunglasses standing nearby.