EM CH35

Chapter 35: Receiving a New Mission

Leaving the cleanup of the mess to his subordinate Xiao Qi, Zhao Ran made a brief appearance before the media before hurrying back to the company.

Taking the elevator down into the company’s interior, Zhao Ran flashed his ID card perfunctorily as he passed the black-suited bodyguards, his trench coat still carrying the chill of the wind outside.

The bodyguards stood ramrod straight, cold sweat trickling down their foreheads to their temples. Only when Zhao Ran completely vanished around the end of the corridor did the black-suited guards heave heavy sighs of relief, sweat having already soaked dark patches across the backs of their heavy suits.

Zhao Ran stepped into an elevator reserved exclusively for upper management. The doors parted to both sides, revealing four bodyguards standing station against the walls of the spacious cab.

Rather than moving strictly vertically, the elevator glided horizontally. Upon reaching a designated point, the doors on the opposite side slid open, leading into an antique-styled corridor completely distinct in decor from the main hall. Display shelves lining both sides held celadon porcelain and lacquerware—all prized collectibles of the big boss.

Soft, warm yellow light filtered down from a cloud-patterned coffered ceiling. Stepping onto the mahogany floorboards, the air was permeated with the light, refined fragrance of thousand-year-old cypress incense.

Passing an unlit side corridor leading toward other chambers, deep and shrouded in shadow, Zhao Ran keenly sensed something and sidestepped slightly.

A dark shadow lunged out from the blackness, crashing straight into Zhao Ran’s chest. Zhao Ran stumbled back several paces, staggering with the little monster that had hurled itself into his arms, his back slamming open the washroom door.

Wearing the Pure Black Hood completely obscured Yu An’s features; hiding in unlit spaces allowed him to blend seamlessly into the dark, leaping out without warning to give people a massive fright.

“No fear of death at all. If I didn’t know outsiders can’t get into the boss’s office, just based on that ambush you pulled, your head would already be rolling five or six meters away.” Zhao Ran simply pulled the washroom door shut, locking out the bodyguards who had hurried over at the commotion.

Only after lecturing him on the immediate offense did Zhao Ran remember there was a far graver matter he intended to criticize.

Just as he opened his mouth to scold him, he saw Yu An standing with his head bowed, his hood still dripping water. Soaked from head to toe, patches of blood remained unwashed here and there, while damp strands of hair poked out from beneath the hood like a ruffled stray kitten fished out of a dumpster during a rainstorm.

“…Why are you so wet?”

“Washed my clothes.”

“You washed yourself into this state?”

“I washed them while standing inside them.”

Anger surged straight to the top of his skull. Setting his face into a stern expression, Zhao Ran refused to be fooled by the kid’s pitiful act this time. Lifting Yu An’s chin, he scolded in a low voice: “What did I teach you?”

“You told me to kill Zeng Rang.”

The hood slipped back off his head, revealing Yu An’s face beaded with droplets of water. He wore little expression, yet his eyes clearly brimmed with the sly cunning of someone who had exploited a loophole in an order.

Zhao Ran looked around for something handy to discipline the brat with, but the washroom was completely bare. Raising his hand to slap him, Yu An instinctively squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips together, waiting for the palm to land against his cheek.

His hand froze midair. Looking down at his own palm, Zhao Ran ultimately tucked it into his coat pocket and turned to walk out the door. What was with that thoroughly thrilled look on the little pervert’s face? The kid was already prone to growing up crooked; spurred on by the big boss’s guidance, who knew which twisted nerve might snap into place?

Yet a pair of arms suddenly reached out from behind, locking tightly around his waist, dragging him back into the washroom and kicking the door shut.

Gripping the Armor-Piercing Awl in his right hand, Yu An rested the blade tip lightly against Zhao Ran’s neck, pressing his body flush against Zhao Ran’s back while placing his left hand over his chest.

“I did what the big boss asked, and this is the reward he gave me. I like it a lot.” The sharp, compact switchblade twirled twice between Yu An’s fingertips. “Look—with this pressed against you, even you don’t dare move. It really is a fine piece of gear.”

Ordinary blades and bullets couldn’t harm Zhao Ran, yet this weapon was clearly different; an Aberrant-powered blade inlaid with a Tier 2 Red core could slice through virtually any living creature.

“Hmph… A single little knife is enough to buy your life?”

“My life costs extra.”

Zhao Ran let out a light, derisive laugh: “If someone tries to buy my life from you in the future, will you take the job?”

“Yes.” Lowering his head against the back of Zhao Ran’s shoulder, Yu An answered, “So long as they can offer something I like even more than you.”

During their scuffle, they inadvertently bumped the washroom’s overhead light switch, plunging the room into darkness. Yu An was drenched through, yet the heat radiating from his body seeped through the wet fabric, turning the air humid and the darkness in the corner thick and clinging.

The dimmer the light grew, the more vivid Zhao Ran’s colors became; unable to see him clearly, Yu An could only faintly discern his crimson silhouette.

The trousers of the Pure Black Hood suit were tight-fitting, and a distinct bulge was gradually pushing outward. Yu An could only press himself closer against Zhao Ran to conceal the physical reaction.

Zhao Ran remained silent for a long moment. Yu An thought he had genuinely angered him, yet his knife-wielding wrist was abruptly seized. In the dark, unsure how Zhao Ran had broken free, Yu An was spun around and slammed heavily against the icy tiled wall.

With a single hand, Zhao Ran easily pinned both of Yu An’s wrists together like sturdy handcuffs: “It’s not that I don’t dare move—I’m just afraid that if I dislocate your arm, I’ll have to coax you to stop crying all over again.”

Back pressed against the wall, Yu An tilted his chin up in defiant rebellion: “Interviewer, why are you angry? I’m curious. Not even my biological father ever tried to keep me in line.”

“If your biological father didn’t keep you in line, I will. If you want to follow me, you play by my rules.”

“I came here to work. As long as the boss is satisfied, why do you care whether I walk the straight and narrow? The boss said you weren’t any kind of good person back in the day either.”

“Interviewer, do you like guys?” Yu An curled the corners of his lips upward slightly, his eyes brimming with ruthless desire. “You kissed me when I bit you. You like me acting like this, don’t you?”

The Armor-Piercing Awl ended up in Zhao Ran’s hand. Weighing the sharp blade, Zhao Ran slid it sideways between Yu An’s lips, edge facing inward, lifting the base of his tongue and forcing him to clamp his teeth around it: “Shut your mouth. Drop it and I’ll beat you.”

His left hand, clad in a thin leather glove, reached between Yu An’s legs and squeezed firmly.

“Mmph!” With the Armor-Piercing Awl clamped between his teeth, Yu An couldn’t utter a sound. Because the razor-sharp edge faced inward, he could only press the tip of his tongue gingerly against the flat of the blade; the slightest slip would slice his tongue open.

Within a few minutes, Yu An’s frame began swaying slightly, his legs turning so weak he could barely muster any strength to stand.

After a while longer, Yu An threw his head back against the wall in agony. With both hands trapped and unable to move an inch, he could only tilt his head upward and pant through his nose and mouth, saliva mingled with threads of blood trickling from the corners of his lips down to his chin.

“Can you behave now?” Zhao Ran asked.

Veins standing out along his neck, Yu An nodded with immense difficulty.

Zhao Ran released his grip. Like a lump of waterlogged clay, Yu An slid down against the wall, propping a hand on the floor as he spat out a mouthful of blood-streaked saliva. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the interviewer standing completely immaculate—only the glove on his left hand was soaked through, moisture still dripping from the fingertips.

That single sight sent another hot rush surging straight downward through Yu An, only to make the tight trousers dig in even more painfully.

Leaning against the sink counter, Zhao Ran fished a cigarette pack from his trench coat pocket, slid one out between his lips, and tossed his lighter onto the floor before Yu An.

Gritting his teeth, Yu An picked up the lighter. Enduring the weakness in his knees, he braced against the wall to pull himself upright, flicking open a flame with trembling hands and extending it forward.

The warm glow illuminated Zhao Ran’s face, causing his eyelashes, irises, and hair to rapidly drain of color. The bangs and lashes closest to the flame bleached almost snow-white, as though a devil from the mire had shed his cloak to reveal a pristine, untainted facade.

“Stop pretending.” Abruptly snatching the cigarette from between Zhao Ran’s lips and holding it between his fingers, Yu An cupped both hands around his neck, gathering strands of hair into his grip as well. “Date me.”

“Date what? An office romance?” Leaning down, Zhao Ran exhaled a plume of smoke directly toward him. “Who was it that made solemn vows in front of me last night, only to go back on his word first thing the next morning? You commit a screw-up this big, and I’m supposed to offer myself up to you?”

“What do you even like about me?” Resting both hands on the edge of the sink, Zhao Ran looked down at him.

“The feel, the scent.”

“We’ve only known each other for a few days.” Zhao Ran laughed. With his own totem imprinted on Yu An’s body, it inevitably exerted an emotional pull on him; being involuntarily drawn to him was completely expected. Yet Zhao Ran actually wanted to hear a more interesting answer, though he couldn’t quite articulate what he was hoping for.

“Doesn’t matter.” Yu An gazed up at him with burning eyes. “Whenever I see you, I want to do it. Yes or no?”

“Ha… fuck.” The blunt confession made Zhao Ran exhale sharply. His lips parted slightly to reveal the white tips of his fangs as a flush crept up his ears. Being cornered against a wall and propositioned point-blank by a mentally unstable junior was certainly a first.

He turned to walk out of the washroom, only for Yu An to dart in front of him and block his path: “Interviewer?”

Helpless, Zhao Ran tugged the hood back down over Yu An’s face: “Call me Ran-ge.”

Zhao Ran walked into the big boss’s office and sank into the soft leather sofa.

Looking up from behind the tea table, the big boss saw Yu An standing obediently beside Zhao Ran, silently looking down and playing with his fingers—though he appeared to have acquired a few extra bloodstains and water marks.

“Kid, step outside for a moment.”

Once Yu An reluctantly walked out the door, the big boss poured a cup of tea and chided Zhao Ran: “I say, why lose your temper so fiercely? Have some chrysanthemum tea to cool down that internal heat.”

“Annoyed that he never learns his lesson.” Zhao Ran rested an elbow on the sofa armrest. “Boss, if you want to promote Yu An, it’s best not to groom him into an assassin.”

The big boss narrowed his eyes in a smile, the fine chain on his gold-rimmed glasses swaying: “Spoiling him that much? If an Aberrant-hunting company doesn’t teach killing, should we teach charity work instead?”

“This kid is different. He just hasn’t shown his true colors in front of you yet. Once he goes bad, it’s like floodwaters bursting a dam. I barely managed to snuff out the spark, and you went ahead and fanned it right back up.”

“And you even spilled my old dirt in front of him—how am I supposed to keep him in line now?”

“The kid loves listening; he kept pressing me with questions. Since today happened to be quiet, I shared a few extra stories from the past.” Always good-natured, the big boss nodded while rolling his southern red agate beads, clearly not taking a single word to heart.

“It’s normal for young people to make mistakes; just cut him some slack. How is the Grey Crow Game Company commission coming along?”

True to his status as the boss, even his deflection sounded warm and magnanimous. Unable to press the previous topic further, Zhao Ran could only answer:

“According to our tallies, there are nearly a hundred victims, all reporting interference while playing various games. The vast majority are gaming streamers, alongside a smaller portion of debtors, hospital patients, and the like. High-popularity streamers experience interference frequently, while ordinary individuals encounter it rarely. We’ve conducted multi-angle investigations and confirmed it’s the work of an Aberrant. It possesses the ability to travel through digital data and is easily drawn to hatred or fanatical obsession.”

“Resolve it as quickly as possible.” The big boss spread his hands. “I have high hopes for Grey Crow: Dollhouse—I invested in it the year before last, and to think something like this would happen right during its promotional launch.”

“Invested?” Zhao Ran knew well enough how trendy his boss could be. “We’ve already devised a response plan. The Security Technology Team and Mechanical Logistics Team are working overtime to rush-build a linking apparatus. The only unresolved hurdle right now is that we need someone to step up and publicly play the game using a streamer’s account so our technicians can lure the Aberrant into a designated scene and lock it down. However, Grey Crow tactfully informed us that no streamer dares take on this assignment.”

“Use one of our own people.”

“We don’t know how to play games… look how old we are already.” Zhao Ran swept back his hair. “Let’s grab an intern.”

“Now that you mention it, something just crossed my mind.” Rummaging through a drawer, the big boss pulled out Yu An’s resume—

Special Certifications: Holder of 100% completion achievements and speedrun world records across one hundred horror games.