EM CH31

Chapter 31: Reward

“Ngh—” Yu An struggled desperately to free his right hand to reach for the Core Storage Analyzer, yet before his fingers could even brush the lid, a hand clamped down on his wrist and wrenched his arm behind his back.

A pair of hands cupped his jaw, fingertips prying open his left eyelid to slowly dig out the x-ray core embedded inside the socket.

The neural link between the Aberrant Core and the flesh of his socket peeled apart bit by bit, bringing an excruciating, needle-like sting.

Stripped of vision in his left eye, a scorching, powerful hand pressed down over his face, plunging his sight into total darkness.

With a audible meow from the zipper, his jacket was tugged off his shoulders, leaving him clad only in a black sleeveless undershirt.

Blind and completely immobilized, Yu An could only feel hundreds of hands roaming across the surface of his body, like swarms of ants crawling over and nibbling at a lump of rock sugar.

The sole comfort he could draw in this moment was the faint, austere scent of aged wood radiating from them—a forgotten sense of security buried deep within past memories, easing the terror of being swallowed alive by unknown creatures.

Accompanied by a sharp slap, a heavy smack landed squarely on his thigh. Startled, Yu An’s body tensed instantly, followed immediately by a fiery, stinging burn spreading across that patch of skin.

Guardians always loved using this stubborn, crude method to discipline naughty children; wanting to hoist them up for a thorough thrashing yet worrying about breaking something, they settled for whipping whichever fleshy spot was thickest to vent their anger.

“Mmph… ngh!” Thrashing his head and twisting his torso wildly, Yu An suddenly found an opening to part his lips, biting down ruthlessly onto the web between the thumb and index finger of the hand muffling his mouth.

Bitten until it bled, the hand jerked back in pain and shook twice in midair. Yet it seemed to grow all the more exhilarated by this, proudly flaunting the bite mark to the surrounding severed hands. Scuttling over to the coffee table, it tugged open a drawer, dipped a sewing needle into red pigment, and tattooed the shape of the teeth marks right onto the web of its hand. The rest of the hands grew feverish as well, plunging into chaotic frenzy.

Yu An’s struggle bought him only a few fleeting seconds to gasp for air before more fingers forced their way into his mouth, pinning down his tongue and propping open his jaws. Some mischievous hands even pressed simultaneously over his mouth and nose, tormenting him to the brink of collapse on the edge of suffocation time and again.

…

The fugitive intern, Zeng Rang, never emerged through any of the standard exits.

Seemingly well-versed in the architectural layout of Underground Railway, he had crawled through the ventilation ducts to slip outside the examination arena.

To leave Underground Railway, one had to hold an ID card. However, his own card had already been traced and locked down; he needed to secure a replacement card before he could escape.

Yet his arranged contact failed to arrive on time. Checking furtively to confirm his surroundings were clear, Zeng Rang dropped silently to the floor, edging cautiously toward a shadowy corner to seek temporary cover.

Deep within the dim, cavernous corridor, unseen dangers seemed to lurk. Zeng Rang shook his head hard, shaking off the terrifying illusions in his mind.

Suddenly, a hand darted out from the shadows without warning, clamping around Zeng Rang’s neck like an iron vise, impossible to pry loose.

Backing up in sheer terror, Zeng Rang discovered that what had latched onto his throat was a severed hand, a pair of tiny sunglasses dangling from its wrist.

Lipu slapped itself over his mouth while Kaopu pinned his wrists behind his back with one hand, dragging him silently into a secret passageway. A concealed wall panel rotated quietly, sealing Zeng Rang inside, while the exterior corridor appeared completely undisturbed.

Zhao Ran was standing in another hallway near the exam arena, chatting casually with the Mechanical Logistics Team Leader.

“My intern was a bit out of line. Did Ji Nian get hurt?” Lighting a cigarette, Zhao Ran offered the pack to the Mechanical Logistics Team Leader.

“Kids are young; what’s a little bump or tumble? Good for him to learn a lesson anyway.” The Mechanical Logistics Team Leader laughed magnanimously. “Since we’re both free, how about grabbing a bite together?”

Exhaling a casual plume of smoke, Zhao Ran scanned the Mechanical Logistics Team Leader’s demeanor out of the corner of his eye, searching for any crack of anxiety.

Yet Team Leader Li remained completely composed, showing not a trace of abnormality in his expression or gaze, leaving Zhao Ran doubting his own suspicions.

Sensing Zeng Rang’s capture through the tactile link of his hands, Zhao Ran flicked away his cigarette ash: “I’ll pass. I need to clock out early and go check on my kid’s injuries.”

Whenever Zhao Ran dispatched specific hands on an assignment, he temporarily severed his sensory connection with the others, focusing solely on the touch of one or two hands so extraneous sensations wouldn’t distract him. Thus, he remained completely oblivious to the rough pandemonium unfolding back at his house.

Returning to his office, Zhao Ran grabbed his trench coat and car keys, preparing to head home.

He had originally arranged to pick Yu An up so they could leave together, never anticipating that Zeng Rang would slip away. That was unacceptable: Yu An’s ability to swap cores had already been exposed. If Zeng Rang escaped Underground Railway carrying this intelligence, Yu An would face endless poaching offers and assassination attempts for the rest of his life.

The turn of events had truly caught him off guard. He had assumed Yu An wouldn’t care about exam rankings in the slightest, figuring the most likely scenario was that the kid would track down Zeng Rang right after leaving the written test, find a quiet corner to entertain himself alone—satisfying both the big boss’s demand for Zeng Rang’s gruesome end and keeping Yu An from getting too bored during the hours of the strength test.

“Was it because I said I wanted him to take first place?” Zhao Ran raked a hand through his hair, pale strands slipping between his fingers. “I was only joking. My fault, knowing full well how stubborn he is.”

Starting the car and backing out of his parking space, Zhao Ran unexpectedly ran into Xiao An returning to fetch something near the underground garage entrance.

“Hey, hold it.”

Rolling down the window, Zhao Ran leaned his head out to call the girl over: “You haven’t left yet?”

Xiao An halted in her tracks: “Ah, I dropped him off at home. I told him I’d come inside to keep him company, but he locked me outside and wouldn’t open the door no matter how much I called.”

Zhao Ran’s expression shifted slightly as he slapped the steering wheel: “You could have called me.”

“I did call, you didn’t answer… Um, did something happen?” Xiao An wore a look of apology and panic. She had figured Yu An was already an adult; what danger could he possibly run into inside the team leader’s own house?

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Ran tossed out two words—”Pay docked”—before rolling up the window and flooring the accelerator out of the garage gate.

Xiao An was an investigator under Zhao Ran and a human Vessel as well. Concealed beneath her bangs, a red-grade Functional Core—Purple Qi From the East—was embedded between her brows, granting immunity against evil and supernatural entities. She functioned as something of a mascot for the squad; had she stayed inside the room with Yu An, those hands wouldn’t have dared act so recklessly.

The severed hands were conscious projections of Zhao Ran; their behavior directly manifested the single strongest emotion surging inside him.

The instant he saw Yu An expose his ability, fury had indeed surged within Zhao Ran, magnifying his anxiety and worry tenfold. He himself could maintain rationality and put himself in the kid’s shoes, but those severed hands could not; they only knew how to vent that rage and anxiety in unbridled frenzy.

Not bothering to pull into his home’s underground garage, Zhao Ran hurried to push open the front door and stride inside.

The living room was empty, eerily silent.

The closer he approached the bedroom, the clearer the commotion behind the door became—chaotic rustling and the thud of a heavy weight rolling across the floor.

The wooden door was kicked open with a resounding crash. Inside the bedroom, silence fell instantly, quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

Severed hands were tangled densely in the center of the room, nearly weaving into a solid cocoon, on the verge of crushing and tearing apart the boy trapped within.

As Zhao Ran stepped inside, the severed hands scattered at once. Those too slow to flee were instantly detonated into crimson mist, dissipating into thin air.

Yu An lay collapsed on the floorboards, every inch of exposed skin covered in flushed finger marks, particularly along his inner thighs and lower back.

Hurrying to crouch beside Yu An, Zhao Ran carefully hooked his arms beneath his armpits and gathered him into his embrace.

Yu An let out a cry of pain. Pausing in surprise, Zhao Ran swiftly ran his hands over his body, discovering a cramped, misaligned tendon behind his knee. Coaxing him in a low voice, he reached behind the crook of his knee and deftly snapped the sinew back into place while the boy was distracted.

Thankfully, he hadn’t sustained any severe injuries, though he had surely been frightened half to death.

Kaopu and Lipu scuttled into the bedroom right behind him, dragging the runaway hands out from the corners and slapping them one by one.

“The floor is cold; don’t lie here.” Supporting his legs, Zhao Ran lifted him up.

Yu An began resisting on instinct. Struggling to lift his eyelids, he blurrily made out Zhao Ran’s face. His weak, helpless gaze abruptly turned fierce; gritting his teeth, he shoved Zhao Ran’s head away with all his strength.

Helpless, Zhao Ran leaned closer, only for his face to be pushed away again by both of Yu An’s hands.

“What were those?” His voice was hoarse, demanding with a faint choke.

“…My hands.”

“You hit me.” Yu An stared at him coldly.

“Then do you know what you did wrong?”

“What?” Straightening his torso, Yu An bolted out of Zhao Ran’s arms despite his bruised body, slamming a fist against his chest. He glared straight into his eyes, fury, disappointment, and hostility intertwined—identical to the day he had been caught and disciplined for plotting to murder his university counselor.

Pouncing suddenly, Yu An tackled Zhao Ran down, straddling his waist and landing two punches on him. Zhao Ran didn’t strike back, letting him vent his anger freely.

Yet Yu An gradually stopped swinging. Bending forward, he slumped against Zhao Ran’s chest and buried his face in the crook of his arm, looking as though overwhelming agony had swallowed him whole. Yet when Zhao Ran tilted his head to look closely, the boy was simply staring blankly without expression.

Zhao Ran knew him well: this blank expression meant he was on the verge of exploding with rage, the region of his brain responsible for anger having overloaded and short-circuited.

“I was wrong, An’an.” Sitting up, Zhao Ran paced around the bedroom cradling him, feeling the stiff, guarded body in his arms gradually soften until it went completely limp, wrapping his arms around Zhao Ran’s neck and resting against his chest.

Supporting him with one arm, Zhao Ran walked into the washroom to fetch iodine and gauze, turned off the light, grabbed a set of Luo Xiaohei pajamas from the wardrobe, turned off the bedroom light, and spoke in a gentle tone: “Tell me, why didn’t you go kill Zeng Rang, and instead fought the investigators for the top rank?”

Yu An turned his head away, refusing to answer.

“Very impressive, first place.” Zhao Ran patted his back lightly, wiping away the dried streak of blood at the corner of his left eye with his thumb. “In all the years since Underground Railway was founded, you broke the all-time high score record for the intern strength test.”

Unsure whether he ought to praise him, Zhao Ran didn’t actually approve of Yu An’s ruthless, win-at-all-costs tactics. Still, Team Leader Duan had made a fair point: young people today were different from the past; they required positive reinforcement, and frequent praise made kids happy and work harder.

Yu An remained silent, yet Zhao Ran could feel his heartbeat gradually steadying, the arms looped around his neck softening further.

“Why did you hit me?” With his legs hooked around Zhao Ran’s waist, faint red handprints visible on his backside, he rested against Zhao Ran’s shoulder and demanded fiercely, refusing to let the matter drop without an explanation.

Without realizing it, Yu An had automatically projected the “he” from the diary onto Zhao Ran. Since the “he” in the diary disapproved of his disregard for human life, Yu An had naturally adjusted his mission priorities, placing Zeng Rang’s assassination behind taking the exam seriously.

So what if his core-swapping ability was exposed? That never entered Yu An’s considerations; he didn’t fear death, leaving him entirely uninhibited.

And it was precisely this reckless, devil-may-care attitude that had infuriated Zhao Ran to no end.

“No reason.”

Forget it. Ensuring his own intern’s safety fell within a team leader’s duties anyway.

“No reason.”

The hands supporting Yu An’s thighs suddenly tightened their grip, swelling flesh squeezing through his fingers. The rough texture of the gloves rubbed against the bruised skin, sending a fresh wave of sharp pain through him.

Yu An trembled in agony, his toes curling tight, his fingernails nearly digging into Zhao Ran’s shoulders.

“I just wanted to mess with you; why do I need a reason?” A faint scarlet glow surfaced in Zhao Ran’s pale eyes, his lips parting slightly as sharp fangs gradually revealed their tips.

Lifting his head, Yu An aimed for the corner of Zhao Ran’s mouth and bit down.

Neat human teeth couldn’t pierce his skin, leaving behind only a spiteful row of teeth marks slowly beading with tiny drops of blood.

Seemingly pleased by the coppery sweetness, Yu An simply latched onto the other’s lips, the tip of his tongue prying open the sharp teeth to probe deep inside.

“Hiss…” Zhao Ran stiffened abruptly, a scalding flush surging straight to the tips of his ears. Holding out for a long moment, he bowed his head and pressed down, eagerly returning the kiss.

This could hardly count as a proper kiss—one driven by vengeance, the other by apology.

Ultimately, the flames of vengeance were extinguished by tender remorse. Kissed breathless, Yu An pushed Zhao Ran away, gazing at him with a look of astonishment.

“From now on, I’ll only take you as my student. I won’t take on any other interns.” Zhao Ran ruffled the crown of his hair.

Yu An pursed his lips: “What’s that got to do with me?” Then he slumped against Zhao Ran’s shoulder, sulking in silence.

“Forgot the exam reward you asked for yourself?” Pulling out his phone, Zhao Ran showed Yu An their chat history.

—What do you want?

—You.

He had originally intended to tease Yu An into blushing, yet the kid’s eyes locked straight onto the contact nickname bar at the top, his newly softened mood visibly souring once more.

Hopping down to the floor, Yu An turned and flopped onto the bed, burying his face into the pillow.

Not even a minute had passed since coaxing him back into a good mood, and somehow he had offended this little ancestor all over again. Zhao Ran called out softly, “An’an.”

Yu An shook his head: “Who’s that? My name is [Emergency Order Internship Squad 1, Yu An].”

“…” Helpless, Zhao Ran sat by the edge of the bed, flipped him over, and handed over the phone. “Change it to whatever you like.”

Paying zero attention, Yu An idly held up his score sheet, folding it into a traditional awning boat one moment, a paper crane the next, before finally crumpling the wrinkled paper into a ball.

“Fine, fine, I’ll change it.” Truly at his wit’s end with him, Zhao Ran pondered briefly and changed Yu An’s contact nickname to “House-Wrecking Coal Ball.”

Looking up after saving the edit, he discovered Yu An had already fallen fast asleep, curled sideways into the pillow, his exhausted frame covered in bruises, his lowered eyelashes damp with barely perceptible droplets of moisture.

Zhao Ran carefully dabbed iodine across his wounds, gently cleaned his left eye socket, and wrapped gauze over his left eye to shield it from dust and bacteria.

…

That same day, Team Leader Duan was conducting positive reinforcement education with Huo Yangui.

Outside, Huo Yangui had put on an air of proud stoicism, yet the moment he returned to the team leader’s office, he broke down completely. Leaping up to cling onto Team Leader Duan’s back, he wiped his eyes with his forearm and wailed: “Master, I can’t accept it… I really can’t accept it… I didn’t even get to throw a punch, how could that count as elimination…”

Duan Ke blasted him three meters away: “You’re burning me to death, you little brat! Get lost!”