Chapter 57: The Devil’s Sacrifice (07)
What a familiar voice.
Not long ago, as a polite mourner, a gentle and kind brother-in-law, Nie Hongshen had expressed his sincere apologies to Yu Jiao.
But now, in this hot and secret space, this hypocritical man, with his back to Yu Jiao, his broad shoulders relaxed, his arm casually resting on the armrest of his wheelchair, two well-defined fingers nonchalantly holding a cigarette, said in the tone of a superior:
“Come here.”
Nie Hongshen’s deep, rich voice no longer held any friendly smile, as if it were suppressing a thick displeasure. A sign of a coming storm.
From the moment Yu Jiao had received the text message, she had known that she would have to deal with this mess sooner or later. Yu Jiao just hadn’t expected her brother-in-law to turn into her lover.
Nie Hongshen took a long drag from his cigarette. The glowing ember was like a ticking timer… Nie Hongshen didn’t get the expected response. Nie Hongshen let out a heavy cloud of smoke, his voice growing even lower and huskier, sounding cold.
“Have you grown your wings in just two months at the Yu family? You—”
Yu Jiao smelled danger.
A series of questions aimed at Yu Jiao was about to begin, and every question was one she couldn’t answer now. Yu Jiao decided to strike first:
“I’m pregnant.”
Yu Jiao’s voice was cold and calm, yet it was like a block of ice, thrown into a glass of sparkling water, making the stuffy, surging heat in the room pause for a moment.
Yu Jiao’s long eyelashes were lowered, hiding the emotion in her eyes.
No matter whose child Nie Hongshen thought it was, Yu Jiao could get some information from his reaction.
—So, how would he react?
“…”
A moment of silence.
Nie Hongshen stubbed out his cigarette on the armrest, burning a light-colored mark into the grey metal.
“Oh?”
Nie Hongshen just let out a sound that was almost a question. Neither attacking nor defending, extremely cunning.
Another silence.
Nie Hongshen lit a new cigarette, tilted his head up slightly, and blew out a cloud of smoke.
From Yu Jiao’s angle, Nie Hongshen’s broad knuckles and chiseled features were like silent, rugged rocks, blurred by the mist. Unreadable.
The room was hot and humid. Yu Jiao felt beads of sweat begin to form on her skin, and the wounds that should have healed were now sending out a stinging, itchy pain.
The increasingly thick smell of smoke, steamed by the heat, was almost making Yu Jiao dizzy.
Yu Jiao decided to take a risk.
A very short, cold laugh.
“Is this how Mr. Nie treats a pregnant woman? Is this how he treats his little sister-in-law, who is carrying a posthumous child?”
Yu Jiao deliberately emphasized a few words, as if she were full of resentment and grievance.
The emotionally charged words fell to the ground. In the uneasy silence, a bead of sweat on Yu Jiao’s temple rolled down.
Nie Hongshen suddenly let out a low laugh.
As if Nie Hongshen had once again become the suave, refined brother-in-law.
Nie Hongshen tapped the armrest, and the wheelchair slowly turned around. As if a mysterious curtain had been drawn, Yu Jiao met a pair of deep, rich, violet, smiling eyes.
Yu Jiao’s heart relaxed slightly.
Regardless of how much of Nie Hongshen’s smile was genuine, he was at least willing to face her. Yu Jiao’s complaint seemed to have closed the distance between them.
“So you’re throwing a tantrum.”
With a half-true, half-false intimacy, like a family elder, gently scolding a child.
Nie Hongshen extended his broad hand, his voice also gentle and thick. “Come here.”
Yu Jiao had no reason not to take the out.
Yu Jiao’s face was still tense, and she turned her head away slightly, as if in a fit of pique.
The short walk, Yu Jiao took it unhurriedly, her mind racing.
Yu Jiao didn’t know how the original owner had gotten along with this lover, but a superior like Nie Hongshen was clearly not willing to look up at people.
So Yu Jiao couldn’t stand before him, high and mighty.
And based on Nie Hongshen’s reaction just now, although they were called lovers, their status was not equal, and they were not very intimate in private.
So Yu Jiao couldn’t just climb into his lap and add to the burden on his already disabled legs.
Troublesome.
No matter how unwilling Yu Jiao was in her heart, she had already gotten close.
Yu Jiao looked down at Nie Hongshen’s slightly damp trouser legs and sneered inwardly: What an act. Who wears a suit and leather shoes to take a bath?
With that thought, Yu Jiao softened her body and leaned against Nie Hongshen’s pretentious, suit-and-leather-shoe-clad legs.
Yu Jiao’s soft arms climbed his knees, like a fragile flower. Yu Jiao looked up at him pitifully, as if she wanted to say something but was holding back.
Nie Hongshen’s gaze deepened.
“What?”
The ash on the cigarette between Nie Hongshen’s two fingers was about to fall.
Yu Jiao looked at Nie Hongshen without a word, reached out, and took the cigarette from his hand, throwing it far away in a fit of pique.
The spark was extinguished by the water vapor.
Nie Hongshen smiled good-naturedly. “You’re pregnant, and your temper has grown quite a bit.”
Yu Jiao didn’t blink.
The change in Yu Jiao’s personality would be discovered sooner or later. The hormonal changes of pregnancy were the best cover.
Nie Hongshen didn’t pursue the matter, as if it were just a casual remark, and began to slowly and deliberately tidy his clothes.
Every move was filled with a superior contempt. Nie Hongshen’s hands, with their slightly larger-than-normal knuckles, were waving in front of Yu Jiao. Then, very naturally, Nie Hongshen lifted her face.
As if Yu Jiao were also a part of his appearance.
Nie Hongshen’s violet hawk eyes looked at Yu Jiao with a scrutinizing gaze, and he asked very coolly, “Whose is it?”
The hand on Yu Jiao’s chin was warm, but the movement was forceful. The ring on Nie Hongshen’s thumb was also cold and uncomfortable.
Yu Jiao feigned a pout and lowered her eyes. “Don’t you know?”
Yu Jiao’s tone was hard and sarcastic. After she spoke, her long eyelashes trembled imperceptibly, showing a hint of vulnerability.
“…”
Nie Hongshen’s sharp features softened slightly. Nie Hongshen gently caressed her cheek with his thumb. “Be good. I know. You’ve been wronged.”
—The way men coax women is always so pretentious.
Yu Jiao sneered inwardly, but on her face, she put on a moved expression and softly fished for information. “Everything for you…”
Just as Yu Jiao had expected, Nie Hongshen continued, “Now that Yu Fenghe is dead, as long as we get Helan Duo’s experiment… we can take down the Apocalypse Cult, avenge you, me, and us. Hmm? Just hold on a little longer, okay?”
Nie Hongshen’s voice was as rich as fine wine, his eyes as deep and affectionate as flower nectar, intoxicating, drowning.
A glint flashed in Yu Jiao’s eyes, and she softly agreed.
Seeing this, Nie Hongshen praised her with a magnetic, guiding voice, “Good girl.”
The faint satisfaction was addictive, like a reward treat when training a dog.
But Yu Jiao was unmoved.
As the corners of Nie Hongshen’s eyes curved, Yu Jiao could almost see him ticking off an item on his to-do list.
The two, each with their own ulterior motives, looked at each other with deep affection.
Nie Hongshen raised his hand and, with a tender touch, tucked a strand of Yu Jiao’s hair behind her ear. His movement suddenly paused.
Yu Jiao was wearing a silk bathrobe. The fabric was smooth, but it covered her body tightly. Only a section of her snow-white neck was hidden in her loose hair. Now, with his touch, it was finally exposed.
A few wounds snaked down Yu Jiao’s neck and disappeared into her collar.
Nie Hongshen stared at the dark red marks and, with his still-smoky fingers, pulled open her collar.
The loose robe was like an ancient scroll. The deep and shallow, horizontal and vertical, and clustered marks crisscrossed, telling a suggestive story.
Nie Hongshen looked at it indifferently for a few moments, and as he turned his gaze away, he met a pair of watery eyes, on the verge of tears.
In the warm red light, the tears refracted the light in Yu Jiao’s grey pupils, dyeing them a light red, like a dull, dusty ruby, inviting one to wipe them clean.
Nie Hongshen’s heart skipped a beat.
As if possessed, Nie Hongshen bent his finger, and his sharp knuckle traced over the marks, as if he were re-creating and rewinding.
“…”
Nie Hongshen’s touch was heavy with thought. It became a living thing, crawling on Yu Jiao’s body. Its ugly shell was twisted and paranoid. When it brushed against her open wounds, it made her shiver.
Nie Hongshen suddenly came back to his senses.
Nie Hongshen withdrew his hand and, nonchalantly, wiped the hand that had touched Yu Jiao on his clothes.
After the mental disgust had faded a little, Nie Hongshen assessed her and let out a sliver of concern. “What did those guys do to you?”
Yu Jiao lowered her head and tied her collar. Hearing this, Yu Jiao silently shook her head.
A look of refusal to talk.
Nie Hongshen could only see Yu Jiao’s butterfly-wing-like long eyelashes, impenetrable, not a single emotion showing. Even her tightly pressed lips, her straight nose, and her sharp chin had a stubborn quality.
Nie Hongshen felt that something was slipping out of his control.
Annoyance and impatience rose, and Nie Hongshen no longer had the mind to coax her.
“…”
While Yu Jiao was ignoring him, she was also thinking.
Yuan Cang, Helan Duo, Nie Hongshen. The unreadable words, the changing gazes, and the ambiguous attitudes…
What secret was hidden in all of this?
Yu Jiao’s vacant gaze fell on her reflection in the water. The swaying ripples distorted her face. Just then, the crystal lamp changed its color, gradually transitioning from pinkish-purple to reddish-orange.
Looking at the reddish water, something flashed in Yu Jiao’s mind, and then, with the ripples of the water, it was gone in an instant.
As Yu Jiao was lost in thought, the light changed again, and a dark color flashed across the water.
Neat ripples spread out. Yu Jiao was taken aback.
A fish?
The next moment, the dark shape stopped in front of Yu Jiao, motionless, as if it were quietly studying her.
The ripples of the water also distorted its silhouette. Yu Jiao could roughly see that it was only the size of a palm, with a long, pointed muzzle that took up half its body, like a shrunken needlefish.
The “fish” slowly swam over, getting closer. The moment the light hit it, with a splash! it actually broke the surface of the water—
Yu Jiao was suddenly face to face with it. Its long, pointed muzzle was less than a foot from her nose.
Before her thoughts could catch up, Yu Jiao met its eyes.
Or rather, its eyes.
The fish’s two-finger-wide face was densely covered with eyes.
Yu Jiao immediately remembered the experience from the afternoon. The fish’s eyes and Yuan Cang’s eyes overlapped. Yu Jiao couldn’t catch her breath and almost fainted.
But it wasn’t over.
The next moment, the fish’s long, pointed muzzle split open, like a blooming flower. The “petals” were covered with round suckers, and inside the suckers were rings of sharp, small teeth.
—The strange fish’s teeth also overlapped with Yuan Cang’s shark-like teeth.
Yu Jiao was really going to faint.
Losing her balance, Yu Jiao fell backwards, away from the terrifying strangeness.
Wait! Behind her was also a pool, connected to the one in front of her—if she fell in, wouldn’t she be a sheep, entering the tiger’s mouth?
Just as her scalp was tingling, a broad, large hand seized Yu Jiao’s arm. Yu Jiao was pulled by the force and fell onto a pair of familiar, pretentious, suit-and-leather-shoe-clad legs.
A rich voice, laced with a smile, sounded above Yu Jiao’s head. “Hmm? Scared?”
Yu Jiao’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Yu Jiao feigned calmness and shook her head, but her hands were clutching his shirt.
Nie Hongshen raised an eyebrow and teased, “You’ve been living here for two months, and you’re still not used to the Holy Sound Fish?”
…Holy Sound Fish?
The strange fish was still jumping around, its eyes all fixed on Yu Jiao. Its mouth was wide open, letting out a strange, shrill cry. It looked very impatient.
The scales on its body were shining. It did indeed look similar to Helan Duo’s Holy Sound Bell.
【Main Quest: Uncover the secrets hidden by the cult and survive (Progress: 15%)】
Nie Hongshen said leisurely, “This thing is priceless. After all, it’s a rare treasure that can purify pollution without any side effects. The guests who came today are all fighting for every second to take a bath and heal. But you seem to dislike it.”
Yu Jiao clearly hadn’t recovered yet. Her small face was pale, her delicate brow furrowed, her entire body screaming resistance.
Nie Hongshen let out a soft laugh.
This stubborn look no longer made Nie Hongshen annoyed or impatient. This little interlude had broken their “cold war.” Nie Hongshen pinched her earlobe. “Go back. Get some rest.”
Nie Hongshen paused and added with a smile:
“Don’t forget. The experiment.”
***
The moment Yu Jiao left the bathroom, she met Fu Sheng’s closed mechanical eyes.
Fu Sheng did not bow. Her childish face had a maturity that was beyond her years. “Today, you—”
A blue light flashed above her head. The AI butler’s voice sounded, “Detecting that the Madam has finished bathing. A route has been planned for you to avoid others.”
The honeycomb-like white walls shifted, and the position of the corridor changed.
Fu Sheng closed her mouth, lowered her head, and followed Yu Jiao, following the blue light back to her room.
The moment the door closed, Fu Sheng immediately said, “eleven, activate privacy mode. The Madam is going to rest.”
“Alright.”
The next moment, Yu Jiao felt the blue light ‘look’ at her. The electronic, baritone voice said gently, “Madam, I wish you a sweet dream. Please call me at any time if you need anything.”
The blue light went out. Fu Sheng’s aura changed. Fu Sheng opened the Smart Brain on her wrist with a dark face. After a strange red light had enveloped the room, Fu Sheng looked at Yu Jiao and said in an almost accusatory tone, “You were too careless today. You actually put such an important matter out of your mind! Luckily, the sir did not pursue it… Don’t be complacent. Although because of your special appearance, the sir will not easily abandon you, but our company’s biotechnology is the best in the industry. Skinning and changing faces is very simple.”
After her sinister threat, Fu Sheng seemed to have calmed down a little. Fu Sheng began to lecture her. “I know you and the sir have some… private relationship. But who doesn’t know that the sir has already given his heart to someone else? Completing the mission, faking your death, getting the bonus, and starting a new life is the right path. The sir has issued a new mission today. I will assist you in completing it. We need to speed up and strive to return to headquarters as soon as possible.”
No matter how earnestly Fu Sheng spoke, Yu Jiao remained silent, looking as if she were deeply in love and would not be moved. But in her heart, Fu Sheng’s words had stirred up a storm.
Fu Sheng was exasperated. “The sir has been in love with that person for over ten years. Don’t be a fool. He’s taking revenge on the Yu family because of that person. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the sir and Yu Bingci are a respectful couple on the surface—”
Thump!
A muffled sound cut Fu Sheng off.
There was a third person in the room?!
Fu Sheng’s face grew cold as she looked at the source of the sound.
“Come out.”
After a moment, a small figure crawled out from under the bed, trembling.
A maid’s uniform, a long, black braid, a mechanical mouth.
It was Ruo Meng, who had been sent away by Fu Sheng earlier!
Ruo Meng’s face was colorless. Ruo Meng trembled as she held up a small jar. “I… I didn’t mean to listen. The scar-removing ointment Dr. Helan gave me fell under the bed…”
Ruo Meng was so scared she was about to cry.
“I didn’t hear anything! Really, I, I… I can help you!”
But to her surprise, Fu Sheng stepped forward and helped Ruo Meng up, saying gently, “It’s alright. I know you won’t tell anyone…”
Ruo Meng’s eyes were filled with gratitude. “Fu Sheng, I will definitely—”
“Shh.”
Fu Sheng gently caressed Ruo Meng’s face and wiped away her tears. Then, like a magic trick, a small bottle in the back of her hand was flipped over, and a drop of red liquid accurately landed on Ruo Meng’s face.
“Ah!”
A shrill scream sounded.
Ruo Meng curled up on the ground in pain. Starting from her face, her skin began to crack, inch by inch, like a blooming flower of flesh and blood. Dense ‘stamens’ grew out.
They were blood-red eyeballs, as if they were filled with resentment and bitterness.
The constantly growing eyeballs were connected to purple-blue blood vessels, as if they had sucked all her life force. Ruo Meng collapsed into a heap, like a melting ice cream. The mechanical parts on her face were squeezed off, revealing her original mouth. Ruo Meng glared at Fu Sheng with a venomous look, her mouth open as if to say something, but the next moment, large and small eyeballs poured out of her throat, like bubbles.
Ruo Meng was drowned.
All of this had happened in just a few seconds.
Fu Sheng indifferently took two steps back and returned to Yu Jiao’s side. Fu Sheng said without looking back, “I told you, our company’s biotechnology is the best in the industry.”
“…”
In Yu Jiao’s complex gaze, Fu Sheng adjusted her expression and cried out in alarm, “Eleven! Someone has aberrated!”
…
The next day, under Fu Sheng’s escort, or rather, her compulsion and surveillance, Yu Jiao went to Helan Duo’s laboratory under the pretext of ‘getting a new scar-removing ointment’ and ‘checking if she had been affected by the aberration wave’.
Avoiding the ubiquitous eleven, Fu Sheng instructed Yu Jiao coldly, “At all costs, find the experiment [Z0]. ‘At all costs’ means using everything you’ve learned at headquarters. Intelligence gathering, psychological analysis, eavesdropping and surveillance, infiltration and combat… and, seduction.”
Fu Sheng’s gaze swept over Yu Jiao’s body, and a hint of pity was mixed with the contempt in her eyes.
“Those are the sir’s exact words.”