MCL CH16

Chapter 16: I’ll just quietly listen to you make up excuses…

Lin Xi finally understood why he had been brought onto Yan Xingzhou’s helicopter.

The private treatment room, exclusively for the CEO of Wanyuan Corporation, from its decor to its furnishings, was comparable to the most luxurious suite in a five-star hotel.

Lin Xi lay on the bed, absentmindedly letting two healing-type ability users treat his wounds.

Along the way, apart from the greeting when he first boarded the helicopter, Yan Xingzhou had not said another word to him.

This casual attitude seemed as if he didn’t care about him at all, but Lin Xi knew very well that it was absolutely impossible for this man to just happen to be taking the same plane as him.

After the ability users from the medical team had finished the current stage of treatment, Yan Xingzhou, who had been sitting patiently on the sofa, finally spoke. “Thank you for your hard work. Just give me the diagnostic report.”

The two healing-type ability users exchanged a glance and handed over the treatment records. “Yes.”

They subconsciously took another look at Lin Xi and, very tactfully, closed the door to the ward when they left.

Yan Xingzhou lowered his head to look through the diagnostic report. For a moment, the only sound in the ward was the rustling of paper being turned.

Finally, he slowly looked up. “Is there anything you want to say to me?”

Lin Xi detected a hint of “confess and be treated with leniency, resist and be treated with severity” in his tone. He seamlessly transitioned into a look of obedient repentance. “Of course, I know it was wrong of me to hide my identity as an ability user before.”

Yan Xingzhou unhurriedly crossed his long legs, this time adopting a “I’ll just quietly listen to you make up excuses” posture.

Lin Xi: “.”

Back then, when those people complained to him about Yan Xingzhou’s various evil deeds, how come he never realized this guy was so infuriating?

“But, I really do have my own difficulties.” Lin Xi sighed, lowering his head just enough. “I’m sick, a very strange illness.”

Yan Xingzhou still did not respond.

After starting this performance, Lin Xi didn’t really expect this person to play along. He continued, “When I first awakened my ability, I was really happy. But I don’t know why, one day, all my abilities just disappeared without warning.”

“For this, I went to several hospitals and even went to the relevant agencies to ask the researchers in the ability field, but I still couldn’t get the answer I wanted.”

“They told me that this is a very strange phenomenon, possibly a new disease appearing in ability users. But because there have been no previous cases to support it, no one knows what it will turn into.”

His words, one sentence after another, fell clearly in the silent treatment room.

“I was very scared, really.” Lin Xi took a deep breath after speaking, as if trying hard to calm down. “I don’t know if I’m still considered an ability user after losing my ability, nor do I know what will happen if my condition continues to develop. That’s why, when I encountered the fissure incident, I couldn’t be sure if I would be contaminated like an ordinary person. Just in case, I chose to stay in the quarantine zone for observation.”

Yan Xingzhou had originally not intended to speak, but when he inadvertently met Lin Xi’s gaze, their eyes met, and the color in his eyes flickered slightly. In the end, he spoke, “But even so, you still entered the fissure again.”

“That’s because the accident in the quarantine zone brought my ability back.” Lin Xi said, raising his hand. A faint flame appeared in his palm, burning and flickering. “Although I can’t be sure if it’s related to the contact with the contaminant, during my treatment with the action team, I found that I seemed to have recovered some of my abilities. I need more attempts to prove this guess, so I went to the office to try my luck and see if there was a chance to enter the fissure. That’s how I met Brother Gang there.”

Clearly a little scared, when he said this, the flame in his palm flickered distinctly. “But I never expected that something would happen…”

When Yan Xingzhou’s gaze fell on that flame, he seemed to be in a daze for a moment. Then he stood up from the sofa, walked to Lin Xi, and looked down at him. “Something ‘happened’ again. I have to admit, this story is very meticulous from all aspects. Even I can only say that Mr. Lin’s previous encounters were too unlucky.”

Lin Xi smiled helplessly and replied quite compliantly, “I am quite unlucky, and extremely so.”

As if hearing a very funny joke, a hint of teasing appeared in Yan Xingzhou’s eyes.

“News has already come from Captain Qi’s side. All the contaminants in the fissure have been cleared, not only the larvae outside, but also the C-class mother insect in the deepest part. And the combined contamination value of these contaminants has completely exceeded the judgment standard for a B-class fissure. A total of 8 people entered the fissure this time, a team only capable of dealing with a D-class fissure. And such a team, after completing the cleanup of this inner world, still has two survivors.”

As he spoke, Yan Xingzhou slowly leaned down. Like countless interrogations he had experienced before, at such a close distance, he looked at Lin Xi openly and directly. “So what exactly happened in the fissure? Can you elaborate?”

Yan Xingzhou’s pupils were very deep. Under his gaze, Lin Xi could clearly see his own reflection in the black pupils.

He slowly opened his mouth under this gaze. “If President Yan is interested, I suggest you ask Brother Gang this question instead. You should have seen it just now, my ability is really very weak. Before entering the fissure, I could barely achieve the function of a lighter. It was only after coming out of this fissure that my ability strengthened a little, but at best, I can probably only handle a barbecue. With my strength, I was able to come out of the fissure alive entirely because Brother Gang saved me.”

A few seconds of silence felt unprecedentedly long. Finally, Yan Xingzhou slowly opened his mouth, “Should I believe you?”

Lin Xi smiled, not avoiding the direct scrutiny at all. “Then President Yan, what part of me do you think is not trustworthy? You tell me, and I’ll change.”

As his voice fell, a brief silence fell over the surroundings.

Their gazes, so close, intertwined in mid-air, silently waiting for one side to back down.

A sudden knock on the door broke the stalemate inside.

Yan Xingzhou finally lowered his eyelids and stood up straight again. “Come in.”

The assistant Ju Ze pushed the door open from outside. He was slightly stunned by the strange atmosphere and, after glancing at Lin Xi on the bed, looked at Yan Xingzhou. “President, the meeting is about to start.”

“I know,” Yan Xingzhou said, but he didn’t rush to move. Instead, he looked back at Lin Xi. After a moment of silence, he said, “If I were you, I would definitely find a way to prove my trustworthiness, not test other people’s patience. You probably didn’t notice who entered the fissure at that time. Besides me and Qi Xian, there was also the new head of the United Administration assigned to N City, Su Qiuyin. At that time, I took you from Qi Xian in front of him.”

After a subtle pause, he smiled silently. “Even if you don’t know who he is, I think you must have heard of the glorious deeds of the Third Administration. My relationship with Su Qiuyin has always been a bit delicate. The person I specifically asked for, he would probably be very willing to take over and conduct some more in-depth exchanges.”

After speaking, Yan Xingzhou strode out of the treatment room.

Ju Ze watched Yan Xingzhou leave and didn’t rush to follow. He stood at the door and bowed to Lin Xi. “Hello, Mr. Lin. I am the President’s assistant, Ju Ze. If you need anything during your treatment, you can come to me at any time. I hope you have a pleasant stay here. I’ll go attend to my duties now. See you later.”

Lin Xi nodded at Ju Ze and watched the door of the treatment room close with a calm expression. As the tense atmosphere in the surroundings finally dissipated, he cursed under his breath, “I was still played by that guy Yan Xingzhou.”

[Eh, are you talking about that Su Qiuyin? If I remember correctly, I should have met him, right?]

Lin Xi slowly lay down on the bed. “You did indeed meet him. Three years ago, it was the Third Administration that was responsible for my annihilation. I almost splattered Su Qiuyin with my blood when I self-destructed. If that guy knew I am still alive, it will indeed not be a good thing.”

At this point, he clicked his tongue. “Yan Xingzhou deliberately made the Third Administration notice my existence. He’s forcing me to have no choice but to stay by his side for protection.”

[So Yan Xingzhou really was targeting you from the beginning?]

Lin Xi chuckled. “I guess so.”

[Then why were you spouting all that nonsense full of loopholes just now?]

“You don’t understand Yan Xingzhou. For someone like him, the more you deliberately avoid something, the more suspicious he becomes,” Lin Xi said, looking at the ceiling with a calm expression. “If I’m not mistaken, he probably already asked Qi Xian for my blood to be tested back at the action team. And the fact that he can still be here calmly negotiating with me means he doesn’t have enough evidence yet. As I said before, I am not a mutated species. He can’t detect what he wants from my blood… because from the very beginning, his direction was wrong.”

At this point, Lin Xi suddenly smiled. “Calamity, haven’t you figured it out yet? The one Yan Xingzhou has been looking for all along is not me, but you. He still remembers what I told him. He wants to make sure you—completely disappear from this world.”

[Looking for me? Hee hee, that’s right. After all, with the tragic state of that explosion back then, no one would have been lucky enough to believe you survived.]

[I’m suddenly a little curious. If he knew you were still alive, what would his reaction be?]

What kind of reaction?

Lin Xi’s eyelashes trembled slightly. He closed his eyes without a sound. “Don’t make pointless assumptions.”

At the same time, in the corridor, the two figures had already reached the elevator door.

Yan Xingzhou noticed Ju Ze’s tardiness. “You seem to be paying a little too much attention to that Lin Ni.”

“I only pay extra attention to people who are special to you,” Ju Ze smiled humbly. “The blood sample we got from Captain Qi has already been tested, right? Since there are no problems, perhaps you can soften your overly harsh attitude towards Mr. Lin. After all, a less harmonious way of getting along might affect the future development of your relationship.”

Yan Xingzhou: “…”

“You’re overthinking it. I was just…” Just then, the elevator arrived. Yan Xingzhou stepped into the elevator, his gaze falling in the direction of the treatment room. The figure of Lin Ni seemed to gradually overlap with someone in his mind. His brow furrowed slightly. “It’s just that I’ve been a little neurasthenic lately, and it always gives me some foolish illusions.”

Ju Ze smiled and nodded. “Understood.”