Breakfast ended in a silence so heavy it felt almost frozen.
After clearing away the dishes, Chu You and Lin Mo sat at opposite ends of the long sofa, as if an invisible chasm stretched between them.
Chu You took a deep breath, as though making some kind of resolution.
She glanced in Lin Mo’s direction, and, receiving a barely perceptible nod from him, let her gaze fall to the small syringe resting on the coffee table before her.
Within the syringe, the pale purple liquid shimmered with an eerie luster under the light.
Just as her fingertips were about to touch the syringe, Lin Mo’s fingers tapped lightly on the coffee table, producing a crisp sound that broke the silence.
“Senior,” he began, his voice steady yet carrying the gravity of a final confirmation, “I have to remind you one more time… Are you certain you can handle the aftereffects of using this prototype drug?”
Hearing this, Chu You’s grip on the syringe tightened slightly.
Her fingertip lightly traced the cool surface of the glass tube.
Aftereffects… Awakening a creature’s instinctual urge to reproduce?
She thought to herself—Isn’t it just a period of discomfort?
When the time comes, she’d fill the bathtub with ice water, soak herself in it, grit her teeth, and get through it.
No big deal.
With that thought, she no longer hesitated.
She looked solemnly at Lin Mo and nodded, then deftly pulled off the seal at the tip of the syringe, revealing the fine needle.
Chu You skillfully flicked her vein with her fingers, held her breath, aligned the needle with the clearly visible blue vein at the crook of her arm, and resolutely pierced it in, slowly injecting the pale purple medicine into her body.
A wondrous, indescribable, yet oddly familiar power began to surge and race through her veins with the entry of the drug.
After a few moments, Chu You suddenly felt heat spreading inside her body, especially along the skin of her cheeks and neck, bringing waves of tingling and itchiness, as if countless tiny electric currents were coursing just beneath her skin.
She instinctively reached up to touch her cheek.
Beneath her fingertips, she could clearly sense muscles and tissue beneath the skin shifting and rearranging in subtle, almost imperceptible ways.
The strange sensation lasted for about a minute or two before the surging power in her blood gradually subsided, and the odd feeling in her body faded away.
She looked up, casting a slightly anxious glance at Lin Mo.
Lin Mo’s gaze was already on her face, examining her for a moment before, as expected, nodding with objective approval: “It worked well. Very stable.”
At his words, Chu You immediately shot up from the sofa and almost dashed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.
She strode to the sink, braced her hands against the cold marble countertop, then abruptly raised her head to look at the mirror on the wall—
A strange face stared back at her from the mirror.
Chu You blinked in disbelief, leaned in, and studied herself carefully.
The changes to her facial features weren’t drastic—her eyes were still her eyes, though the curve at the corners had subtly drooped, losing a bit of their original liveliness; her nose was still the same, but the bridge was less defined…
Yet, these seemingly insignificant details, when combined, had a profound effect, transforming the entire look of her face.
The once eye-catching, slightly aggressive beauty was gone, replaced by a face so utterly ordinary it bordered on plainness.
Thrown into a crowd, she’d absolutely pass as a generic NPC.
Chu You tried pulling the corners of her mouth in front of the mirror.
The unfamiliar face responded with a stiff, utterly nondescript smile.
Success.
With this face, if Gu Qiancheng could still recognize her, there could be only one explanation—Gu Qiancheng was a freaking cheat!
About five minutes later, Chu You left the bathroom and sat back down on the sofa, still unconsciously touching her now unfamiliar cheek.
At that moment, Lin Mo placed a small, compact terminal on the coffee table.
The screen lit up, displaying a dense chart outlining the detailed plans for their next moves.
“Senior,” Lin Mo tapped on the terminal’s screen, beginning his explanation, “your identity remains unchanged—you’re still my personal assistant. However, your background needs some adjustment.”
His fingertip traced a dotted line on the chart.
“You grew up in the orphanage back in my hometown, a few years younger than me, raised and supported by me personally… The reason you enrolled at Binhai Experimental School was at my request, to secretly investigate the school’s abnormal experiment cases.”
“After all, this time we’re up against Gu Qiancheng. Your previous enrollment record wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny—too many holes. This mix of truth and fabrication is actually more secure.”
“For these two days over the weekend…” Lin Mo circled the area on the map centered around their neighborhood, “stay home as much as possible, and don’t go beyond this range.
I’ve taken direct control of all surveillance cameras in this area—if Gu Qiancheng tries any surprise attacks, I’ll know immediately and be able to respond at once.”
With that, Lin Mo sat up straighter, summarizing, “That’s the general plan.”
Chu You listened intently and nodded.
“Got it… So when should I call the homeroom teacher to ask for sick leave?”
Lin Mo pondered briefly, then replied calmly, “Call on Sunday night and ask for a week off. The reason: your last illness hasn’t fully recovered and you need to remain hospitalized for observation.”
“In any case, until the investigation team leaves Binhai, you must keep up your current appearance. Going to school is out of the question.”
“Mm, okay,” Chu You agreed.
With business concluded, the air fell silent again.
Chu You looked at Lin Mo, while Lin Mo turned his head to gaze out the window. It was as if an invisible film separated the two of them.
After a moment, Chu You seemed to finally make up her mind.
She turned her head toward Lin Mo and spoke, her voice lower than before, “Actually… what I said last night wasn’t what you think.”
Lin Mo slowly turned his head back to look at Chu You.
Then, in a very flat, almost businesslike tone, he replied, “I understand.”
With that, he got up and went straight to his room.
“…”
Chu You watched his brisk, decisive departure, a wave of suffocation and frustration rising in her chest.
She lifted her hand in annoyance and punched the soft sofa cushion, producing a dull thud.
…
The setting sun painted half the sky red.
Binhai, military railway express station.
A silver-black special train with hard, angular lines rumbled to a halt, stopping steadily at the platform.
On the platform, a dozen or so Swordbearers led by Zhao Dongyuan, head of Security at the Binhai Division, stood in neat formation on either side, all eyes fixed on the tightly closed train door.
After a moment of silence, the carriage door slid open with a hiss of pneumatic pressure.
A figure strode out with unhurried steps, setting foot on the platform—the sunset’s rays seemed especially partial to him, casting his wine-red wavy hair in a striking glow.
A gentle, spring-like smile hung on his face.
He even lazily raised a hand to stifle a small yawn, a relaxed gesture sharply contrasting with the Gold Crow medal on his chest—a symbol of both merit and power.
His left hand was casually shoved into his pocket, while his right hand held a cup of iced cola.
He walked at an easy pace, stopping directly in front of Zhao Dongyuan.
Zhao Dongyuan lifted his gaze slightly, calmly observing the man before him—who was nearly half a head taller, appeared harmless, and even a little lazy—and slowly spoke: “I am Zhao Dongyuan, head of Security, Swordbearer Binhai Division… Now, please state your name, position, and purpose.”
The man lazily raised the cola to his lips and took a slow sip, letting out a contented sigh.
He set down the cup, his gentle smile deepening a notch, but his eyes, sharp as a probe, settled on Zhao Dongyuan’s face, his voice languid yet every word clear.
“Gu Qiancheng, Special Commander of the Northwest Defense Line, Gold Crow-class Swordbearer… Now, as leader of the special investigation team dispatched by headquarters, let me make myself clear—”
Here, Gu Qiancheng’s smile faded a touch, a hint of sharpness glinting in his gaze.
“I came to Binhai to ferret out the monsters hiding here.”
His eyes swept over Zhao Dongyuan and the Swordbearers standing ready behind him.
“Did you all hear me clearly?”
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