Chapter 100
The man who held the title of a so-called top-tier Alpha, like a broken doll discarded like a worn-out shoe, rolled once on the ground and bumped into the feet of the teammates following Yu Xingxing.
A loud cry broke the silence that had formed from shock and terror.
The sudden change disrupted the Ice Sculpture Park, or perhaps the tranquility of the entire region. Peace and serenity were gone; screams of children and terrified sobs rose and fell. As the after-shock set in, whimpers and cries for help came in waves.
Mass panic made it impossible for people to control their emotions.
Untrained glands continuously released sweet and rich pheromones.
“Not good.” Yu Xingxing’s expression was grave.
This alluring scent piled up from countless Omegas was practically poison. The black creatures blocked outside Shu Ci’s barrier were deeply attracted. They no longer dispersed but huddled together, slamming against Shu Ci’s barrier laced with pheromone spikes, rushing forward madly.
Shu Ci let out a muffled groan.
His gland was connected to the pheromone barrier; at this moment, it felt like it was being violently impacted and torn. But his figure didn’t waver. Behind him were ordinary people whose legs were too weak to walk, and that little Omega girl hiding in her parents’ arms.
“Reinforcements!” Yu Xingxing shouted loudly, simultaneously releasing pheromones to precisely kill the black creatures approaching the crowd.
The teammates who had returned to their home field in the Seventh District followed closely behind, establishing a massive barrier amidst the crowd as instructed.
Their division of labor was clear. The assault squad quickly began a slaughtering pursuit of the black creatures scattered everywhere; one team swiftly bagged the corpse of the escaped felon; other squads, coordinating with the assault team’s cover, began an orderly evacuation of the civilians in the Ice Sculpture Park.
“Xingxing, it’s trying to escape!”
Shu Ci shook off the mass of black creatures blocking his vision and glimpsed the silver-white mass in the air gathering together. Like a swimming fish, it drew an arc in the sunlight and vanished from sight in a flash, seemingly drifting far away.
Pheromones condensed into a curved bow. Shu Ci aimed and released the string in a breath.
The sharp arrow flew toward the silver fish. He clearly saw the tail tissue being shot down by him, transforming into new swimming fish, while the massive main body disappeared into the horizon.
Sure enough, it was more intelligent than its black counterparts. It could judge that the current situation was unfavorable and fled faster than anyone. But the male lead was dead; was there any way for the plot to continue?
“Don’t chase yet.” Yu Xingxing supported Shu Ci’s body as he leaned back from inertia. “I can’t watch you risk your life.”
The youth seemed to have been tempered into a piece of steady jade. He didn’t even call him “Brother Ci” anymore; his originally lively brow was filled with worry.
“Shouldn’t you be in the Central District?” Shu Ci rubbed his temples. “Why did you come back?”
Yu Xingxing looked silently at the sky. Shu Ci followed his gaze and faintly heard the hissing sound of electric currents coming from the clouds.
The next second.
“Dear citizens, hello. You are now listening to the Seventh District Emergency Broadcast. Due to attacks by unidentified creatures appearing in various locations, all twelve districts have entered a state of alert. Please cease personal activities as soon as possible and proceed to the nearest shelter marked with a flag.”
Accompanying the broadcast, countless golden flags rose from the ground, fluttering in the sunlight.
Central District, the First District near the capital.
The district-wide broadcast was also rotating overhead. Shen Ti, with a sullen face, supported his waist as he stood in the elevator, watching the numbers jump up one by one. Reaching the top floor, the elevator doors opened. After walking only two steps, he saw his “sucker” husband in uniform, standing solemnly at the door of the Chief’s office, ready for battle.
The moment he saw him, Cui You couldn’t hold his expression. “Didn’t you hear the broadcast? Why aren’t you sheltering? What are you doing here?”
He looked nervously at Shen Ti’s abdomen.
“I’m here to do what you’re doing.” Shen Ti walked straight past Cui You, knocked on Shen Lin’s door, and used his most business-like voice, “Chief, are you ready?”
“Come in,” Shen Lin’s voice came from inside.
Shen Ti glanced at Cui You sideways, then pushed the door open, crossing his arms to make way for the staff following him to enter. They held simple lighting equipment and began setting up in front of Shen Lin’s desk.
Indiscriminate attacks by mutant creatures had plunged the entire territory into panic. As the Chief Executive, Shen Lin had to step forward. With the calmest demeanor and the most concise method, he had to tell everyone what they were facing and what to do.
He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. The moment the livestream went out, his clear voice covered all twelve districts.
Without the inherent aggression of Alpha councilors, Shen Lin’s gentleness was the firmest strength. He explained all publicizable data from the military research institute to the masses in the most easy-to-understand way.
“…Please do not panic. Look for the golden flags, follow commands, and protect our compatriots and future together.”
“At the same time, I need to remind the major families: no matter what survival methods you use, you are not permitted to do so at the expense of ordinary citizens or abandon any civilians.”
“Twelve Districts, please maintain contact with the Chief’s Office at all times and update the number of people in shelters. This livestream will continue until everyone has entered the shelter zones. I am here, standing with you.”
“You could have just arranged for someone else to handle the global livestream, why did you have to…” Cui You pulled Shen Ti outside the door, lowering his voice. But his lips moved, and seeing the glisten in the corner of Shen Ti’s eyes, he swallowed the rest of his words.
He wasn’t just the father of a child; he was also Shen Lin’s brother, and the head of the entire national media department.
Shen Lin wouldn’t retreat, and neither would Shen Ti.
This terror that suddenly shrouded people’s hearts needed him to control public opinion and civic emotions even more.
Suddenly, Shen Ti turned to look at him, his voice calm. “Shelter zones have been opened across the entire territory, and even the distribution range of the golden flags is extremely rational. Did you anticipate this day a long time ago?”
Cui You hadn’t been looked at like this by him for a long time. He touched the tip of his nose, suppressing his heart that was about to jump out.
“After the cruise ship incident, Old Lu sent researchers to District 3 and the maritime areas to investigate. They found traces of mutant creature residue on the lithosphere, as if they wander between the crusts. Whether sea or land, once they appear, no place can be spared.”
Shen Ti looked at him fixedly, then slowly said, “No wonder he used you to perform surgery everywhere.”
Shen Lin knew all too well what selfish faces the entrenched noble families in various districts would show in the face of disaster. Once intelligence on mutant creatures was given to the districts, it would likely cause panic and resource snatching in advance.
Whether central or local, a major purge was needed, and he needed a spokesperson who would obey orders without asking reasons.
Cui You was from the Seventh District, knew mutant creatures best, and had the richest combat experience. At the same time, he had the title and status inherited from the Cui family, making people stand in awe.
Shen Ti had handled a lot of negative public opinion regarding Shen Lin and Cui You recently, but he hadn’t understood why these two were suddenly acting so rashly and impulsively. Only now did he realize it was all silent preparation for a rainy day.
Without the long period of being scolded recently, there would be no golden flags standing high today.
Cui You pursed his lips. “I wasn’t the only candidate. I volunteered.”
He did it for himself, to be able to make him return to their home.
“Um, wait.” Shen Ti fell into his own train of thought and didn’t hear what he said, subconsciously grabbing Cui You’s cuff. “Then Lu Wanqing going to the Seventh District… was he really just there for a marriage leave?”
Cui You’s gaze fell on the cuff. “Of course not.”
Originally, they only knew that mutant creatures had a probability of appearing after abnormal pressure appeared in a certain area. Later, the institute’s meteorology team expanded the analysis range globally and found that whenever the creatures appeared, a certain center of cold high pressure would appear in a fixed location.
Subsequently, the geology team also found fixed crustal movements at the same time nodes.
“They suspect the location of the fixed cold high-pressure center is the base camp breeding these mutant creatures, spreading to the locations where they appear along with the crustal activity.”
Seventh District, the shelter near the Ice Sculpture Park.
As soon as the dark blue uniform and golden epaulets appeared, the chaotic emotions in the crowd gradually stabilized. The older generation of the Seventh District had walked out of civil unrest; they had almost no hesitation, comforting the youth and children, neatly packing things, and accompanying them to the shelter points.
Shu Ci held the candied hawthorn that had shattered into crumbs, lowered his eyes, and followed Yu Xingxing. Soon, a wide-screen TV dropped down in the shelter, and Shen Lin’s figure appeared on it.
“Is it breaking out everywhere?” he asked in a low voice.
“Yes, it actually started earliest in the Central District.” Yu Xingxing sighed. “Boss and Councilman Shen… Chief Executive Shen, were always uneasy about his imprisonment. We sent people to observe the movements at the Northern Suburbs Prison constantly. On the day Bai Yue went to visit, a brief small earthquake occurred. During the earthquake, we killed a few mutant creatures nearby.”
Shu Ci supplemented for him, “According to what Gu Lanzhu told me just now, the abnormal climate and geological activities were probably caused by him.”
Yu Xingxing blinked in surprise. “I’m not too clear about that. However, that day, before we could go in to check the situation, Bai Yue walked out of the meeting room limping, covering his face and crying. He has always followed Gu Lanzhu unconditionally. I was afraid he received instructions to do something detrimental, so I paid extra attention to his movements.”
The result was Bai Yue coming to the Seventh District!
This was too strange. As the lofty young master of the Bai family, he had always held a contemptuous attitude toward the remote regions. Except for filming, he almost never left the Central District.
Yu Xingxing reported it in passing, but he didn’t expect the higher-ups to assign the tracking task directly to him.
“Actually, I just arrived today. Seeing him come to such a famous scenic spot, I thought it was for tourism, so I let my companion watch him for a while.” A hint of shame appeared on Yu Xingxing’s face. “I originally thought about going to say hello to the Boss first.”
Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at the base, Lu Wanqing received that help call on Shu Ci’s dedicated line from the passerby couple. Simultaneously, serious incidents of mutant creatures attacking passersby broke out everywhere. Marshal He convened an emergency roundtable meeting of the twelve generals.
Lu Wanqing couldn’t leave immediately, so Yu Xingxing rushed over with people to make up for his mistake.
Shu Ci thought of what Gu Lanzhu said and instantly realized something. “The one who came out of prison that day probably wasn’t Bai Yue, but Gu Lanzhu. And Bai Yue was left behind as Gu Lanzhu. The earthquake and collapse of the Northern Suburbs Prison today might be to cover up this fact.”
According to Gu Lanzhu, Bai Yue stimulated the destruction of his gland, and the Plot Consciousness merged with him at that time.
In a world shrouded by the plot, the plot is God. Gu Lanzhu, having obtained the power of the Plot Consciousness, naturally found it easy to deceive everyone and escape.
He thought they were just using the people in the park to threaten him into submission, but he didn’t expect it was the life and death of Omegas across the entire territory. But the problem was, Gu Lanzhu was dead. The final ending the plot wanted couldn’t be realized at all. Why were the mutant creatures still raging?
“I don’t want to die—”
“Wow, these people really are…” Yu Xingxing looked not far away at a grown man crying his heart out while watching the livestream. “Usually they have no fear, but at the critical moment, he’s not even as calm as the O beside him. Being an A for so many years was a waste; go get reincarnated.”
Shu Ci froze for a moment.
The Plot Consciousness also had no fear, didn’t it? Lu Wanqing repeated his life so many times without affecting the actual plot. This time everything had deviated from the established track, but couldn’t it start over again?
Lu Wanqing said that every time he started over, it was when the story reached its ending. Then, with the male lead dead, the ending of the story… what should it be?
No, there was one time that wasn’t like that.
Lu Wanqing slashed his own heart. At that time, the story shouldn’t have reached the ending. But when he woke up, he returned to his boyhood. And it was precisely that time he followed Lu Wei to the Seventh District, participated in the Seventh District civil unrest, changed the stance of Yu Xingxing and his father, and climbed to the position of General.
Lu Wanqing was the only variable in this world who awakened self-awareness and tried to break through the settings, like… an hourglass that could turn back time.
If the Plot Consciousness wanted to start over, it actually just needed to force Lu Wanqing to death again to return to when nothing had started, right?
Shu Ci grabbed Yu Xingxing, a tremor he didn’t even notice in his voice. “Where is Lu Wanqing? Where is he right now!”
“I’ll ask for you.” Yu Xingxing picked up his communication device and turned away.
A moment later, he returned, his eyes flickering slightly. “Boss is at the base, preparing to hold a press conference.”
“Xingxing, you can’t tell lies.” Shu Ci raised his hand, pressing on his shoulder. The silent pressure even overshadowed all the Alphas nearby. “Do I look like I believe that?”
With Shen Lin’s territory-wide livestream, there was no need for Lu Wanqing to hold a press conference. Receiving his cry for help but not appearing proved he must be in a more dangerous place.
Yu Xingxing’s scalp went numb. He had never seen such a fierce side of the Boss’s partner. Resisting the urge to beg for mercy, he maintained his dignity as a Golden Shield.
“Boss said, if you ask, tell you he is at the place where you first met.”
Clouds gathered, surging in the sky, golden skylight leaking through the gaps.
The ice plain was covered with winding cracks. The cracked ice layer melted slowly. A man in a dark blue uniform stepped lightly on the shattered ice, his posture agile. The skylight sprinkled on him like a spotlight on a stage, outlining his lonely figure.
“Bring everyone out at sea back safely and send them to the shelter area,” he said, looking through binoculars.
The elite team members around him obeyed the order and scattered.
Only the media reporter following behind remained trembling in place. “General Lu, didn’t… didn’t you say you were going to hold an exclusive press conference? In this kind of place?”
Lu Wanqing walked to the front of the cave, gazing at the sparkling Chengxin Sea in the distance, and couldn’t help but chuckle.
“This kind of place? Returning to your old lair, shouldn’t you be happy?”
As Lu Wanqing’s voice fell, he released pheromones, knocking off the reporter’s broad hat opposite him.
“What should I call you? Ruler of the World? Plot Consciousness? Or… Reporter Zhao Qinfeng?”
The hat landed slowly on the ice surface. Hair blown by the sea breeze, Zhao Qinfeng raised his head. A wisp of silver-white, smoke-like substance drifted slowly out of his eyeball.
Silver-white creatures hiding in the clouds on the horizon gathered toward him at high speed.
“As expected of the person who climbed to the position of General outside of my attention.”
Zhao Qinfeng rolled his neck. His lips gradually lost color, turning silver-white, and a faint light flickered in his dissipating eyeballs. “How did you find me?”
Lu Wanqing smiled. “My husband, who is also my marked partner. Do you understand now?”
Zhao Qinfeng’s pupils trembled.
“You’ve already marked him?! That’s impossible. Except for Gu Lanzhu, he shouldn’t be able to be marked by anyone!”
He seemed a bit berserk; silver-white creatures circled around him, spinning madly.
“Yes, I also thought it was impossible. But he is just such a person who turns all impossibilities into possibilities.”
Lu Wanqing’s eyes held a smile, as if savoring something.
“After marking, his pheromones blended with mine. All his attacks leave traces that only we can detect on each other. When they escaped and returned to your main body, what else could I be unsure of?”
Recommended Reads
