You’d actually dare, wouldn’t you?

Before entering⁠​⁠​‍‌‌​​​‌​‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌​‍⁠​ the Brain lab, An Yu encountered several people in isolation suits in the hallway. Upon seeing him, they widened their eyes in terror, took a dramatic detour, and hurried away.

“What’s up with them?” An Yu asked, confused.

“They’re recently transformed Aberrants who are about to undergo the final test of human will,” Yan Xi explained.

“Oh…” So, they’re his future “colleagues.” 

An Yu scratched his nose. “They seem to be avoiding me.”

“Yes, probably because they read today’s trending post and are afraid of getting influenced by you.” Yan Xi replied, pulling out An Yu’s temporarily stored terminal and bringing up today’s forum headlines.

[Lighting a cigarette.png Anyone want to discuss what they found in the saved footage from District 84?]

In each mission, any newly encountered aberration or chaotic phenomenon captured by the recorders was stored in the database by the Ladder for Protectors to study and stay up-to-date.

Due to the confidentiality level of An Yu’s ability, below the 190^th floor, the mission footage was heavily edited this time, with only two short segments released. One showed the giant fish-headed statues crumbling as fishmen frantically attacked worshippers. The other was of a huge fish-man sphere gradually shrinking and vanishing layer by layer in midair, until only An Yu remained.

Someone had slowed the second clip down to a thousandth of its speed, analyzing it frame by frame in the choppy, low-res video, but they still couldn’t figure out exactly how the entities experienced “nano-death.”

Three things, however, were clear: first, An Yu had never lifted a hand; second, he had been bitten quite a bit by the little aberrants; and third, he had stood at the eye of the storm, wearing a chilling smile.

After over a thousand posts in the discussion thread, the Protectors, though lacking in technical knowledge but rich in imagination, had coined a term for An Yu’s ability here:

[Death Command]: Aberrants under his mental influence willingly approach him, dying before him in a way that satisfies him.

An Yu scrolled further down the thread in bewilderment.

– Why did he smile while the aberrants bit him? That’s terrifying.

– Not that surprising; doesn’t he supposedly have a bit of a masochistic streak?

– In the face of absolute strength, maybe we can ignore the minor quirks. Thanks.

– In the first clip, wasn’t An shouting something to An Yu?

– Wait, An can actually speak?

– Finally, someone brings it up! I found this way scarier than the fish-ball vanishing.

– Who is so remarkable that they made An speak?

– I had the honor of participating in a mission with Lord Xide for six days, and An didn’t utter a word. Ning relayed everything.

– I also teamed up with An once. So he’s not mute… fascinating…

– They say that during one mission, when Lord Xide was seriously injured, An summoned twelve white spirit butterflies, so I always assumed twelve was his limit.

– Wait… let me go back and count how many he summoned for An Yu…

– Don’t bother. I’ve already wasted three hours of my life doing that.

Immediately, the second skill entry they compiled appeared—

[Passionate Harvest]: This ability ignites a fervor among all healing-type supporters, causing each one to burn out their life force completely, leaving not a drop behind.

An Yu hadn’t even had time to feel shocked when the system notified him of a new tag. A bright yellow label, “God of Socializing,” had nudged out “Healer harvester,” “Poor to death,” and “Humble Powerhouse” to take the top spot.

An Yu stared blankly at the terminal until the screen dimmed.

His dazed face was reflected in the darkened screen.

Even as he settled into the soft massage chair, preparing for a gene injection, he was still pondering his life. It seemed as if his life had spiraled completely out of control.

The tester spoke gently, “Mr. Corner, I’m Echo, the bio-genomics tester from the Brain Lab. I’ll be conducting this genetic test for you. Please try to relax. Since we prefer not to use restraint devices, I’ll secure the injector to your arm and leave the room. Ten seconds later, the needle will automatically penetrate your skin. Medical staff are monitoring your vital signs from the next room via the chip, and you can speak with us anytime. I speak on behalf of humanity in thanking you for your cooperation.”

The genetic reagent was contained in a finely crafted injection device, a small drop of dark red liquid.

An Yu nodded. “Very thoughtful. Thank you, Miss Echo.”

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Once the device started, only An Yu remained in the lab. He quietly watched the countdown on the small screen. At zero, a sharp, tingling pain struck as the needle hit his skin. In the glass tube, the dark red reagent turned to vapor and then slowly dissipated.

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Through the earpiece, Echo’s careful voice asked, “All your vitals are stable. Did you feel anything activated?”

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“What does that mean?”

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The voice line fell silent, as if Echo was consulting others on whether she could reveal the information. An Yu waited quietly, staring off into space.

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He was about to ask what an aberration related to a book meant, but then, through a trance, he suddenly saw into Echo’s beautiful green eyes through the mirror.

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Qin Zhilu sat in the chair he now occupied, speaking to Echo: “I can’t express any of Codex’s traits. He doesn’t seem to be infectious.”

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“No, as you requested, you went first.”

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After returning from the Equality Zone, he was entangled in official matters again. An Yu hadn’t seen him since he returned to the Main City. Even the scolding for not writing good task documents was though the phone.

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On a small table nearby, there was a small black box.

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Qin Zhilu black eyes swept over the small box, replying indifferently, “He doesn’t take orders from his commander seriously, so no gifts.”

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An Yu, still stunned, looked back at the one-way glass—in that moment of eye contact with Echo, he seemed to have accessed her memory.

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Inside the black box lay two small, rice cakes.

As An Yu left the lab, he held a box in one hand and a half-eaten sticky rice dumpling in the other, absentmindedly stuffing it into his mouth.

Yan Xi was supposed to be waiting for him at the door, but after passing through two isolation gates, there was still no sign of him. An Yu kept chewing on the sweet and chewy rice dumpling, walking out alone.

A figure stood upright in the corridor.

Qin Zhilu nodded slightly when he saw him. “Finished with the test?”

Though a few days had passed, his stance was as upright as always, but he seemed somehow colder.

“Commander?” An Yu paused, instinctively glancing at the half-eaten rice dumpling in his hand. The bunny head was gone, leaving only its body and tail.

Qin Zhilu turned and began walking alongside him. “It was your first time undergoing a gene injection test. I came to pick you up.”

“Oh…” An Yu swallowed the snack in his mouth. “It wasn’t too bad. Compared to the gene induction experiments, this was hardly painful.”

Qin Zhilu acknowledged, “I know.”

An Yu sighed softly. “Most people wouldn’t understand how excruciating those gene induction experiments are.”

“I’m aware.”

An Yu finished the bunny rice dumpling and hesitated. “There’s one more. Are you hungry?”

Qin Zhilu raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“Uh…” An Yu found himself in a dilemma.

It seemed he had seen some things he probably shouldn’t have through Echo’s memories.

Yet Qin Zhilu didn’t even glance at the box. “How’s my bread?”

An Yu replied instantly, “It was baked by noon; we can pick it up at the store.”

The first thing he did after returning from District 84 was rush to the shop, throw away the Polish starters that were over-fermented again in the refrigerator, and replace them with new ones.

The Commander’s favor was his last immunity card in the Main City. While fifty-five million credits were invaluable, they couldn’t compare to the immunity card.

The thought of nearly offending the Commander for the sake of the mission left him anxious.

“Let’s pick it up tonight. First, let’s go find Huang Zhou. High Peak has agreed to let us handle him as an aberrant incident, but they require my presence,” Qin Zhilu said. “By the way, what is this ‘Space Confinement’ you mentioned in your report?”

“Uh… it’s a bit complex. I could demonstrate, for instance, I could place you…” An Yu glanced down at the box in his hand, hesitating to finish his suggestion.

Qin Zhilu seemed to understand suddenly. “If you even think of using me for a demonstration—” He paused, frowning. “You’d actually dare, wouldn’t you?”

An Yu quickly shook his head. “I wouldn’t dare.”

Qin Zhilu fell silent for a long time.

An Yu, unnerved by his gaze, couldn’t help but glance at the Commander’s empty gun holster by his waist. Fortunately, the Commander hadn’t brought his gun.

He came back to his senses and looked up, catching a faint glimmer of amusement in Qin Zhilu’s dark eyes.

“It’s getting harder to manage,” Qin Zhilu remarked indifferently.

Author’s Note: