The living room fell silent in an instant.
Yin Chen stared at him for a long while. Every unnecessary expression vanished from his handsome face, and his dark gaze slowly drifted into empty space. His thin lips parted. “Impossible.” What a strange reaction.
Song Zang pursed his lips and went along with it. “Then stop being angry. I really, really only care about you.”
“I don’t believe you,” Yin Chen muttered.
Seriously. He was the one who flatly insisted it was impossible that he was jealous, yet every word he said clearly sounded jealous! This was difficult. How exactly was Song Zang supposed to coax him?
Comparing the two sides, Song Zang suddenly realized an important problem while thinking it through. Recently, his relationship with Yin Chen had become too good, better and better.
He knew Yin Chen would not casually hurt him, so he had gradually relaxed, and Yin Chen had even spoiled him into developing an inappropriate kind of laziness.
In everyday interactions, he had become increasingly too lazy to think, so he had chosen the wrong method of communication.
After all, Yin Chen really was not an easy person to get along with, and his thought process differed from ordinary people.
When communicating with Yin Chen, he absolutely could not fall into the trap of proving himself. Quite the opposite, Song Zang needed to turn the questions back on him, make demands of him, raise his own emotional needs, and actively ask Yin Chen for what he wanted.
He had discovered that even though Yin Chen never said it aloud, deep down he liked being intensely “needed” by Song Zang. He liked Song Zang asking for more, more, and even more from him.
Song Zang did not think this was a particularly healthy relationship dynamic. But there was no helping it. He had to coax this ancestor into a good mood first.
“Look, I’m making you a bracelet. No one else gets one.” Song Zang shook the half-glued string of little white shells in his hand and deliberately turned the accusation back on him. “You say you don’t believe me, but you haven’t even given me a little present. Then I won’t believe you either.” Yin Chen was not remotely intimidated. He merely sneered. “The gift exchange hasn’t even happened yet. How do you know I didn’t prepare anything?”
“The gift has to be handmade.” Song Zang retorted righteously, “Half the day is already gone, and I’m still drilling holes into shells by hand. But you haven’t made anything at all.”
“I finished mine ages ago. You don’t believe me? Fine, I’ll let you see it early.”
Yin Chen spoke irritably. His long fingers closed around empty air, and he pulled a slender pure-gold chain from his system inventory. It had a double-wrap design and was very beautiful.
Before Song Zang could speak, Yin Chen sat up straighter, hooked one hand beneath Song Zang’s knee, and slowly rolled up the loose leg of his lounge pants, personally fastening the delicate, understated gold chain around his ankle.
The chain had just the right amount of drape, resting lightly around Song Zang’s slender, pale ankle.
Its brief chill vanished quickly beneath his body heat, becoming pleasantly warm and almost impossible to feel.
Song Zang blankly shifted his leg. The two thin strands of chain brushed together and made an almost imperceptible, delicate sound. It felt strange.
“Yin Chen, you…” Song Zang quietly called his name, but he did not know what he wanted to say.
Yin Chen was seriously admiring his handiwork. His fingers idly stroked the elegant line of Song Zang’s ankle bone, and he curved his lips in satisfaction. “Gold suits you. Don’t wear cheap accessories in the future. They aren’t luxurious enough.”
Song Zang fell silent. He had never been luxurious to begin with. A few months ago, he could not even afford meat… Exactly how distorted was Yin Chen’s impression of him? But Song Zang said nothing, and Yin Chen said nothing either. Warm fingertips lingered around Song Zang’s pale calf, continuing their focused appreciation for a long time without leaving.
The afternoon sunlight spilled more and more freely across the room, filling the living room with brightness. Song Zang stared dazedly at the even sharper line of Yin Chen’s nose when his head was lowered, at the shadow cast beneath his long lashes, and suddenly felt hot, as though his entire body were heating up.
“D-Don’t keep touching me. It feels weird…”
“Do you like it?” Yin Chen raised his eyes and glanced at him with a faint smile before slowly withdrawing his hand.
“Mm, it’s very pretty.” Song Zang pressed his lips together. “Where did you get the gold?”
“Fished it out of the sea.”
“What? There’s gold in the sea?!” Song Zang instantly forgot his embarrassment and stared in astonishment, completely lacking common sense.
“That isn’t the point.” Yin Chen pulled him back into his arms and asked leisurely, “So? Do you believe me now?”
“Yes, of course I believe you. I just didn’t expect it to be so expensive…” Song Zang paused midway, then hesitantly suggested, “Compared with this, my gift seems really cheap. Should I make something else? Maybe I can go fish some gold out of the sea too?”
“No. Cheap, my ass. Finish that bracelet today. If you don’t give it to me, who are you planning to save it for? The one calling you ‘baby’?”
Song Zang: …
He understood. “Song Zang’s” endless long-distance declarations of love really had done a number on Yin Chen. No matter how calm he looked on the surface, deep down he was still furious enough to explode the instant anyone touched the fuse.
Of course, Song Zang did not soften his attitude this time just because he felt guilty. He continued sitting calmly on Yin Chen’s lap, deliberately facing him. Then he folded his arms and looked down from above. “Why are you being so fierce? You’re not allowed to be fierce with me. I’m your baby!”
Yin Chen froze, then Song Zang’s attitude made him laugh in disbelief, leaving him speechless for a long moment.
“What are you staring at? Call me baby.” Song Zang extended one pale finger and poked Yin Chen’s tense cheek, ordering him imperiously.
Yin Chen pressed his lips together and tried to dodge, but Song Zang poked him again.
“Hurry up!” Song Zang urged fiercely.
Yin Chen finally became visibly uncomfortable. He lowered his gaze and struggled for a moment before reluctantly compromising in a hoarse voice. “…Baby.”
Never mind Yin Chen being uncomfortable. Song Zang was uncomfortable too. So cheesy. So strange. What even was this…? Song Zang pinched the soft flesh of his own arm and nearly failed to maintain his domineering expression.
To avoid exposing himself, he hurriedly ended the topic, turned back toward the coffee table, and continued fiercely, “That’s better. I still have shells to string. Stop causing trouble for me.”
“Mm.”
Yin Chen answered quietly. He stared silently at the back of Song Zang’s head, then at the gold chain faintly visible around his ankle, and fell into deeply self-doubting contemplation.
＊
Meanwhile, the fishing livestream continued in full swing.
Xiao Xiao was best at facing the camera and could easily carry a broadcast. She sat lazily on deck chatting with viewers, deliberately creating a relaxed atmosphere as she selectively answered questions from the livestream.
“Sea monsters? There’s no such thing. The fish aren’t poisonous either. They aren’t monsters. We’ve been eating them for days.” “Aberrants are real, but they aren’t that frightening. The stronger you are, the weaker they are. We’ve got Sister Chi and President Yin here. No need to panic.”
“Don’t ask me why the police aren’t doing anything. Why don’t you go ask City A’s acting mayor why he sent both his daughters into a den of wolves, and why he’s getting along so well with Eldest Young Master Lu, who committed tax evasion? I’ll tell you the truth. Even if he isn’t an Aberrant, he’s definitely an inside man working for them.”
“Believe it or don’t. Look up for yourselves. Isn’t the sun coming back out? Stop spreading panic and rumors in the livestream.”
“We aren’t like the Northern Hemisphere over here, and we aren’t one of those countries where the president swears on a Bible when taking office. Why are you afraid of God? We’ve got the underworld handling things. God doesn’t get a say.”
Xiao Xiao went on at length, performing an attitude of casual disdain. Naturally, most of her lines had been arranged by Chang Mei Jiang. All she had to do was listen to the prompts through her earpiece and perform properly.
To emphasize the casual atmosphere, Xia Zhi Zhi had even taken on the role of attendant, holding an umbrella and fanning Xiao Xiao while happily running around doing everything for her with a foolish grin.
Chi Yan wore sunglasses, lifted a glass of wine, and reclined leisurely in a deck chair. Her gaze seemed to follow the fishing float drifting outside the yacht.
In reality, she was extremely busy. The livestream was only one of the things she had to do. At the same time, she was discussing something else with Chang Mei Jiang in the group chat, discussing whether they should contact the government to cooperate, and how many enhanced nuclear missiles and anti-missile systems they should purchase. That was right. The Aberrant who looked exactly like Song Zang did not seem evil. He was even excessively innocent and straightforward, almost lacking schemes entirely. Yes, he was very powerful, and yes, he had shown that he liked Song Zang enormously.
But Chi Yan would never trust him, not even slightly. At most, she could say she temporarily trusted Yin Chen’s judgment.
Even if “Song Zang” solved the cloud problem, once that troublesome issue disappeared, an even more troublesome one would remain: who would be responsible for killing a “Song Zang” that powerful?
They had to prepare several backup plans in advance. Otherwise, the consequences would remain endless.
Meanwhile, Wang Ming Yue sat on a small stool, calming herself and fishing seriously. The bucket beside her feet already contained several lively fish, their strong tails repeatedly striking the bucket with loud bang, bang sounds.
Even before she had been recognized by the Wang family, Wang Ming Yue had been perfectly capable of supporting herself. The fishing bait she personally mixed could fetch excellent prices among anglers and easily provide enough for food and clothing.
Naturally, many livestream viewers were also watching her and discussing wealthy-family gossip, including all kinds of rumors about her and Wang Bao Zhu. By this point, whether receiving her father’s love and the identity of a Wang family daughter had been fortune or disaster was impossible to say.
Wang Ming Yue had no idea people were discussing her. She was extremely focused and not particularly sensitive to the camera. Less than five minutes later, she suddenly saw the fishing float move. Then it sharply sank along the thin line. It felt extremely heavy. Definitely something huge! Wang Ming Yue immediately clutched the rod, leaned backward, and carefully began reeling in little by little so that the fish would not thrash and break the line.
Unexpectedly, the “fish” did not struggle. It drifted heavily and peacefully in the depths, slowly being drawn by Wang Ming Yue toward the slightly transparent blue surface…
Sunlight scattered like broken gold across the rising waves and clearly illuminated the shape of the “fish.”
It was not a large fish at all, but the swollen corpse of a middle-aged man.
Following the fishing line downward, the sharp silver hook coated in delicious bait was buried perfectly in his grotesquely swollen throat. Not a drop of blood emerged, only yellow-white fragments of decomposed flesh slowly coming loose and drifting away with the current.
Wang Ming Yue’s face turned deathly pale. Her entire body began trembling violently, and a miserable whimper squeezed from her throat. Her normally delicate voice now sounded more like the howl of a wounded animal.
Hearing the strange sound, Chi Yan immediately stood. She strode to the edge of the deck and pulled Wang Ming Yue into her arms.
Feeling the suppressed, desperate trembling of the girl’s shoulders, Chi Yan softened her voice. “Close your eyes. Don’t look. Don’t think. We can take revenge. No. You will take revenge with your own hands.”
“…Okay.” Wang Ming Yue forced the distorted sound through clenched teeth. She did not cry, nor did she fully obey Chi Yan.
Her bloodshot eyes remained wide open. She forced herself to carve the scene before her into her memory. The corpse of the middle-aged man she had hooked from the sea was her real father.
Wang Ming Yue recognized him immediately. Pinned to his torn and faded shirt was still the tiny cat brooch she had jokingly given him several months ago.
Without that brooch, Wang Ming Yue would never have been able to connect the horrifying corpse before her with the father she remembered.
The corpse had bloated into a grotesque giant form after soaking deep in the sea. He had obviously been dead for a long time.
Long before she had started fussing about wanting to join the dating show, her father had already died.
At least her father had never wanted to kill her. Wang Ming Yue suddenly gave a tiny laugh. Her voice was hoarse and fragmented. “Sister Chi, I’m okay. I can handle it. Please help me bring him up. Can you?”
“Of course.” Chi Yan sighed quietly.
“Thank you.”
Wang Ming Yue closed her eyes briefly, stepped away from Chi Yan’s embrace, and strode directly toward the camera. “Wang Li Ming, acting mayor of City A. Wang Li Ming, chairman of Wang Corporation. He’s a liar. He’s an impostor. Every single word he says is a lie. He killed my father.
“That so-called volunteer rescue team is also a scam. The missing victims from the plane crashes are all dead! Dead! Stop dreaming! Any idiot who keeps believing him will end up exactly like my father!”
Her voice broke with tears as she shouted. Then she grabbed a huge fishing net from the stern and skillfully flung it out. It landed perfectly around the corpse floating in the water.
Afterward, she turned expressionlessly toward Chi Yan and politely said, “Sister Chi, please help me.” The sunlight was brilliant. The dazzling golden beach once again became broad and beautiful.
With ironclad evidence directly before them, the livestream had completely exploded. Comments reported that protests and riots in City A were becoming increasingly severe, while the side mission completion rate repeatedly jumped back and forth.
Meanwhile, three thousand kilometers away, “Song Zang” had already crushed every eyeball. His seemingly thin pocket was stuffed full of writhing larvae.
He stretched lazily, hunger flashing coldly through his pure black eyes.
“I get to fill my stomach, and I get to make Baby even happier. You all died for such a worthwhile cause.”
“Song Zang” murmured softly. He reached one seemingly fragile hand into his pocket and slowly began squeezing.
The foul-smelling larvae struggled more violently, as if sensing their approaching deaths, yet they had no ability to resist.
Their fat bodies twisted miserably as they were slowly and cruelly squeezed, kneaded, compressed again… until finally they became one small round ball, plump and elastic, like a strange black gummy candy no larger than a palm.
With one aahm, it disappeared into the youth’s bottomless mouth.
The next instant, the system interface began frantically throwing up nearly a million new notifications. They flooded every player’s vision so quickly that the system nearly froze.
Song Zang stared in shock and almost snapped the shell bracelet he had just finished. He quickly restrained his strength.
“Oh my God. So many Aberrants died all at once!” He looked delightedly at Yin Chen.
There really were a lot. Even while he spoke, the new notifications still had not finished scrolling. Yin Chen was expressionless. “Mm. This homewrecker is pretty capable. His efficiency is a little higher than mine when I’m not using the blade.”
“Hey. Who are you calling a homewrecker? I’ve tolerated you for long enough.”
An annoyed, spoiled young voice suddenly sounded directly in front of them.
One second earlier, he had still been wandering high in the sky. Now “Song Zang” had instantly teleported back from three thousand kilometers away, effortlessly, like a ghost.
Without hesitation, Yin Chen pulled Song Zang protectively into his arms, his expression dark. “You.”
The black-clad youth huffed and strode toward them. He did not even look at Yin Chen. Instead, he immediately complained to Song Zang. “Baby, look at him. I just killed so many bugs and nearly worked myself to death, and he’s still insulting me…”
“…You did great. That must’ve been exhausting.” Caught in the middle, Song Zang struggled to control his expression as he answered.
“I’m out there working diligently for you. What does he do? He just sits on the sofa and takes advantage of you!”
“Mm. You’re very capable.” Song Zang forced himself to continue praising him.
“If Baby likes him, I can reluctantly tolerate him existing. But I refuse to be the homewrecker. My identity is very special. I can only be the official one!”
Song Zang: …
How had things become like this? What kind of nonsense was this? The entire topic had truly been dragged completely off course.
Of course, feeling mentally chaotic was one thing. Extracting information from him was another. Song Zang neither agreed nor disagreed immediately. Instead, he cautiously asked, “Why do you have to be the official one? What does ‘special’ mean? I don’t understand.” “Baby still doesn’t understand?” The black-clad youth proudly curved his eyes. “I’m the incarnation of love. No one can love you more than I do, and no one’s love is more legitimate or purer than mine.”
The incarnation of love… A spark suddenly flashed through Song Zang’s mind.
“Y-You’re Cupid?” His eyes widened.
“That’s only a name stupid humans arrogantly invented. Their bodies are weak and their minds are weak, so whenever they encounter powers they can’t understand, they place those powers on a pedestal and force them into gods that never belonged to them.
“They arrogantly bow and pray. Arrogantly create nonexistent images and embellish them however they like… It’s all fantasy.”
At that point, “Song Zang” abruptly stepped closer. His exquisite porcelain face nearly touched Song Zang’s as he complained aggrievedly, “You can’t think of me as the Cupid humans imagine. I’m definitely not that stupid, fat little baby. Absolutely not…”
Bang!
Before “Song Zang” could finish, Yin Chen’s patience finally reached its limit. He drew his blade and attacked with almost no restraint.
The black-clad youth instantly flashed two meters away, nimbly avoiding the snow-white edge.
The displaced force swept through the room like a tsunami. It sliced through “Song Zang’s” thin black shirt, split the wall-mounted television completely in half, and gouged a deep trench across the blue-and-white wall.
Song Zang instinctively protected the shell bracelet in his hand. After half a second of blank shock, he saw the simple ceiling lamp overhead begin creaking violently, then fall to the floor with another bang. Yin Chen stood in front of the sofa, shielding Song Zang from the flying dust. His face was expressionless. “Song Zang. If I decide to kill him right now, will you stop me?”
“No.” Song Zang pressed his lips together and answered without hesitation.
He had always been perfectly clear about which one mattered more.
“Baby, you’re so heartless.” The youth’s clothes were torn, and he looked aggrieved, yet he was still smiling. “But it’s okay. I’ll love you without reservation. That’s how magnanimous the official spouse should be.”
Yin Chen’s temples throbbed. For once, he felt not merely angry but absurdly speechless. He could not understand any of this. His hand tightened around the blade. “What exactly do you want?”
Hearing the question, “Song Zang” finally spared him a glance and huffed disdainfully. “I want Baby to be happy, joyful, safe, and healthy. I want every wish he makes to come true. What else would I want? To compete for affection like you?”
Seeing that Yin Chen was about to die of anger, Song Zang immediately stood and pointed out the contradiction. “No. I remember you were jealous at the beginning too. You even demanded to know why a third person was interfering in our love.”
“Baby, you’re so heartless.” The black-clad youth wilted and muttered aggrievedly. “I love you. I’m willing to change myself for you. But even the purest love needs time to slowly grow. As long as I still love you, how could I possibly have no possessiveness at all…”
Help. Why was he becoming increasingly reasonable? Only a few hours had passed, yet Song Zang felt as though he were watching him gradually mature. He no longer resembled the obsessive, extreme thing that had screamed endlessly into Song Zang’s ear that morning. To put it harshly, he currently seemed almost more normal than Yin Chen.
The new ability from Song Zang’s upgraded special title was, in a certain sense, absurdly powerful.
Of course, Yin Chen’s opinion remained the most important thing.
Countless thoughts churned inside Song Zang, but his face remained calm. He gently took Yin Chen’s hand and soothingly stroked it.
Then he deliberately sighed with exhaustion and made himself look weak. “I only have one question. Do the two of you have to fight right now? Before all the remaining Aberrants are dealt with, can’t you coexist peacefully?”
Yin Chen wanted to say no, but before he could, “Song Zang” interrupted.
“You’re at least somewhat capable. I’ll permit you to remain beside my baby temporarily,” the youth said quietly, wearing an expression of aggrieved sacrifice.
“I need your permission?” Yin Chen curled his lips into a cold smile. The killing intent he had been brewing for a long time was unmistakable. “What are you?”
The youth slowly raised his eyes. Deep within black irises identical to Song Zang’s flashed a trace of mockery. “But I really am powerful. Right now, I can do more for Song Zang than you can.
“As long as you continue clinging to that stupid, fragile human body, you can’t surpass me. And don’t even think you can kill me easily.”
Song Zang’s heart jumped. “What do you mean, clinging to a human body?” He had wondered about this for a long time, because “Song Zang” constantly referred to Yin Chen as a “stupid human.”
But if “Song Zang” had truly followed them around and secretly observed everything these past few days, then he should know perfectly well that Yin Chen had already proven he really was not human. He could not be parasitized by Aberrants either.
Those facts obviously contradicted each other. Song Zang had waited a long time. Finally, “Song Zang” had slipped.
“Song Zang. This has nothing to do with you.”
Yin Chen abruptly became calm. All the hostility and irritability churning in his phoenix eyes vanished, becoming a deep, still ancient pool.
He did not look at Song Zang. Instead, he lowered his gaze and spoke quietly. “I’m going to talk to him. You leave first. Go play with Chi Yan and the others. Stay out of this.”