Inside an office on the top floor of Building A, headquarters of the Special Execution Unit.
"You still haven't found him?"
"No." Lu Qian felt slightly uneasy and snuck a glance at the man across from him.
Everyone knew that the boss of Dragon Scale had a bad temper. The words "Retire Soon" were blatantly displayed on his desk. It was said that he was angry because the former boss ran away and he was forced to take over.
Zhu Fengting frowned and clicked his tongue, ignoring the smoking ban sign plastered on the door as he pulled out a lighter and lit up a cigarette.
After a while, he spoke up. "I would like to apply for field work."
Lu Qian startled, clutching tightly onto the thick stack of documents in his hands. "B-but..."
It was not that he was worried that Zhu Fengting would use the field work as an excuse to skip work. It was just that this person had never been serious. Every time the organization had to spend a lot of energy to deal with the aftermath, everyone had to work overtime and complain.
The higher-ups also intended to temper his temperament, hoping that he would be able to shoulder the heavy burden of the dragon's scale. That was why they acted first and asked him to be promoted to this position. They hoped that he would be able to restrain himself a little and not cause trouble all day long like a child.
But Zhu Fengting remained forever eighteen years old.
"But what? Qin Wenzhou went missing and we didn't even get the formula for those gene stabilizers. Are you telling me to sit here and wait?" Zhu Fengting leaned back in his chair with his cigarette dangling from his mouth, casually picking up a documents from the pile on the table and flipped through it twice before throwing it back.
"Never mind the formula, its authenticity still needs to be verified, but Qin Wenzhou— 001—is the closest thing to the God Making Project that we have. How much effort did it take to finally produce him after all those years? How many talents were sacrificed along the way? If he met with some mishap or was captured, causing the resurrection of the God Making Project, I'm afraid there would no longer be any need for Dragon Scales. They could just disband on the spot, allowing me to retire early and save everyone above us from worrying about this and that."
Lu Qian struggled to pull out a thin letter from his arms. There was neither an address nor a postmark on the envelope. It seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
He tried to interrupt Zhu Fengting in a low voice. "Brother Zhu, that…"
"I've suggested destroying 001 six years ago, yet someone insisted—" Zhu Fengting's head exploded at the mere thought of this person, and he couldn't help but throw the documents down once more, "Insisted on keeping that idiot around and raising him within the Dragon Scales! And then they ran off, leaving everything behind! If things really do come to that point, I swear I'll dig up every inch of earth to make sure that bastard comes back to finish what he started..."
He suddenly noticed what was in Lu Qian's hand. "What is that you're holding?"
"A letter."
"I'm not blind. Who sent it?"
In this day and age, very few people still wrote handwritten letters, especially when the mailing address was unclear.
Zhu Fengting asked despite knowing the answer; before Lu Qian could respond, he removed his cigarette and extinguished it in the ashtray, then pinched at the crease between his brows. "Forget it, give me the letter."
Lu Qian handed over the letter.
The person had picked up Zhu Fengting as a young experimental subject, but only cared to take him in, not raise him. So he spent all day following Zhu Fengting, who was eight years older than him, until ten years flew by in the blink of an eye.
In fact, he was not afraid of Zhu Fengting. It was just that his personality made him a little shy. He was also the only one who dared mention "Chu Yao" in Zhu Fengting's presence.
"What did Boss Chu say in the letter?" Lu Qian leaned forward curiously, only to be slapped away by a stack of documents.
Without even lifting his eyelids, Zhu Fengting lightly brushed his fingertip against the signature on the bottom of the letter. After a pause, he spoke again, "He said the public security situation in F City has not been good recently."
--
Holding a bag of medicine, Pei Zhuo stood in a dimly lit alleyway.
"Robbery?" He looked at the tattooed thug with a big gold chain around his neck in confusion. "Who are you robbing? Me?"
"Who else can it be if not you? Stop dawdling and quickly hand over your valuables! "The tattooed thug spat and squinted his eyes." You… are an Omega?"
"Yes."
"Oh, my luck today is pretty good." The tattooed thug's eyes lit up as he stared at Pei Zhuo's slender white neck. "Come over if you know what's good for you! Let me touch you and I'll let you pass, hehe..."
Pei Zhuo tightened the plastic bag so nothing would fall out later. "Don't you check the lunar calendar when you go out?"
"Lunar... what?" Though the tattooed thug wasn't particularly intelligent, he could still tell which words were spoken to him were vulgar or courteous. After some deliberation, he snapped angrily, "You're calling me names?! You're courting death!"
Suddenly, a dagger appeared in the hands of the tattooed thug, so short it looked somewhat like a nail clipper.
"You won't know you're dead till your tears fall, I'm going to—"
A gust of wind swept through the alley.
It was very gentle, its presence barely noticeable until plastic bags began to rustle behind them. The small dagger had changed hands at some point and now rested between slender fingers, which twirled it around like a bird spreading its wings.
"D-level talent, Object Manipulation." Pei Zhuo lowered his lashes, as if merely playing with a toy, testing the feel of the weapon with a few spins. "Is this really enough for you to rob people?"
The tattooed thug knew how to read the situation, and when he saw that things weren't going well, he quickly begged for mercy. "Yes, yes, I was blind. Big brother, please be generous and let this little brother go..."
"Hand over all your valuables."
The tattooed gangster: "?"
"It's my turn now." The ruthless gangster said.
--
Pei Zhuo returned home with his unexpected gain.
Upon entering the bedroom, he saw the frail and helpless alpha curled up in a ball beneath the quilt, only a small tuft of silver-gray hair could be seen.
Pei Zhuo thought for a moment before deciding not to wake Qin Wenzhou, instead opting to place the plastic bag at the bedside, then went to the study where he turned on the computer, logged into the black market, and selected local commissions from F City.
The page flashed, revealing over a hundred new commissions that had been published within the last week.
F City is a remote and underdeveloped region, so there were few local commissions, most of which were petty and stingy. They ranged from beating someone up during the night or stealing the best-selling product from a rival shop, to sending threatening letters, and such—rarely did they involve kidnapping.
There seemed to be no obvious connection between these newly posted commissions, but their locations followed a clear pattern.
Pei Zhuo moved the mouse, pondering when suddenly the page refreshed automatically, and one commissions was cancelled.
He was slightly startled. He quickly tapped the keyboard twice and opened the computer's instant replay function to look at the canceled commission.
He couldn't see anything from the title, but the location… was on the street where he lived.
Pei Zhuo returned to the black market website and randomly clicked on one of the commissions to view its details.
The commission was very strange. There was no specific target. It only asked to rob a random person. The higher the talent level of the robbed person, the more generous the reward. If they failed, they could also receive a portion of the money.
There were also burglary, kidnapping, and even… murder. Without exception, the reward was linked to the talent level of the victim.
Rubbing the mole by his earlobe, Pei Zhuo opened N's internal network. Sure enough, he received a new message:
"Standby in F City."
It seemed that his work of hiding was successful—the organization hadn't yet discovered that the luxurious penthouse they assigned him across the street in G City was empty.
He closed the website and confirmed one thing.
N was looking for someone.
Using this method to stir up the waters in F City, gradually narrowing down the scope and targeting the most frequently reported areas. Then, they would send him, an illegal experimental subject, to capture the target in one fell swoop.
Then...who was N's target?
As he pondered this, something warm and soft brushed against the back of his neck all of a sudden. Pei Zhuo's entire body tensed, and without thinking, he elbowed forward.
"Bang!"
Something hit the wall and slid softly down to the floor.
Pei Zhuo turned around. He stood up from his chair, picked up the disoriented alpha, and examined him closely for a moment. In that instant, his broken train of thought seemed to mesh with gears clicking together, then began to revolve with a loud rumble.
What could be more enticing to N than the sight of 001, who had vanished for six years straight, seemingly dead?
Nothing.
Qin Wenzhou's fever still hadn't receded; he was already dizzy from the lingering heat, but after being scrutinized by Pei Zhuo, he felt even fainter.
The unique minty scent carried a hint of subtle spiciness, enveloping his senses with warmth, so close it felt as if he'd once been tightly wrapped within such a fragrance before, like a soda on a scorching summer day, soothing all pain and irritation away...
...too close.
Trapped between the narrow walls and the omega, Qin Wenzhou inadvertently shifted his gaze slightly upward, catching a glimpse of Pei Zhuo's throat bobbing.
His gaze traveled downward, faint glimpses of collarbones disappeared beneath the wide collar, and warm minty scents wafted out with his movements, gently caressing his cheeks.
"Pei Zhuo," he was finally completely overwhelmed by the mint smell and whispered, "You're so close, do you want to kiss me?"
Pei Zhuo: "?"
Pei Zhuo stopped thinking, carrying this delusional alpha back to his bedroom with one arm and tossing him onto the bed without hesitation. "Filthy."
Qin Wenzhou fell as he was engulfed by the quilt, then slowly turned over, feeling somewhat aggrieved but unable to pinpoint why. From what he remembered, mint-scented omega shouldn't have rejected him.
A rustling sound came from the head of the bed. Qin Wenzhou turned his head and saw Pei Zhuo opening a pack of pills and taking out a newly bought glass. There was also a big gold chain in the open plastic bag.
Qin Wenzhou reached over and picked it up, weighing it in his hand—it was very light, likely just a decoration, yet not quite the style Pei Zhuo usually preferred.
Pei Zhuo didn't have a boyfriend, and there was no third person in the house.
...
"Take your medicine." Pei Zhuo came back with the water and found Qin Wenzhou trying on the gold chain he took, "…What are you doing?"
Qin Wenzhou was confused. "Didn't you buy it for me?"
"What dream are you having?" Pei Zhuo stuffed the pills into his mouth. "I only bought fever reducers and nutritional supplements to aid recovery."
"Oh," Qin Wenzhou made a noise of acknowledgment, downed two mouthfuls of water with the medication, then handed back the gold chain before collapsing back onto the bed, heartbroken.
Pei Zhuo tidied up the cup and plastic bag, sat back down at the edge of the bed, and activated the optical computer on his wrist, opening the contacts app and tapping a few times.
The drug took effect quickly; Qin Wenzhou felt so drowsy that his eyelids kept drooping shut. After a moment, he stubbornly rolled over to Pei Zhuo, curled under the quilt like a pupa, and leaned forward to ask, "Who are you chatting with?"
"My landlord."
"Isn't this your house?"
"No."
"Is it expensive? How much do you pay per month?"
"300 yuan." Pei Zhuo entered his fingerprint, which confirmed the transfer, then neatly closed out the chat interface. "You talk too much."
As soon as he finished speaking, the black bracelet left as collateral on the nightstand began buzzing, followed by a special notification: "Received 300 yuan from dear wife."
Pei Zhuo: "…?"
Qin Wenzhou: "?"
Qin Wenzhou: "!!!!!"
--------------------
Qin Wenzhou: Damn it, I knew this was my wife!
0 Comments