The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
Given the scene before her was enough to cause blindness, Jian Lan's gaze wandered aimlessly, only to suffer even more. She took two steps closer and said, "Chen Ge, the density of wanted criminals here is too high. With just a casual glance, I can spot at least two I recognize!" She looked up at the dome, "My hands are itching to catch them."
"What's wrong with you? I've never seen you so eager during missions before?" Ling Chen raised an eyebrow, "Besides, you're my hired private bodyguard now. Please be professional."
Jian Lan rubbed her nose, "Then boss, what are we doing now?"
Ling Chen didn't answer but instead asked Jiang Mu through the communicator, "Is Harrison still in his room?"
"Yes, but his two subordinates guarding the door are trying to contact the four people in the lobby. They'll soon find out those four are already dead, wait." Jiang Mu's voice paused, "One-Eyed Old A is coming out of the elevator with his men, heading to Harrison's door, and going in."
Ling Chen's expression sharpened, "Are you sure it's One-Eyed Old A?"
One-Eyed Old A was the boss of Red Lion. He initially made his fortune by running a casino and later got involved in the arms trade, thriving in it. Now, he's one of the top three illegal arms suppliers in the four districts, with immense influence.
Jiang Mu confirmed, "Yes."
Ling Chen led his team to stand behind a Roman column, his lips brushing against Ye Xiao's hair and whispering like a lover, "I've changed my mind. Let's not stir up trouble yet. Let's see what Harrison and One-Eyed Old A are up to."
Ye Xiao softly replied, "Okay."
Jian Lan stood seriously beside them before suddenly whispering a reminder, "Old G is watching you."
But she immediately regretted it because she realized she had just provided Ling Chen with a perfect opportunity to act shamelessly with a straight face!
Ling Chen leaned close to Ye Xiao's ear and said, "Cooperate with the Captain, okay?"
Ye Xiao nodded.
Then, Ling Chen placed his hand on Ye Xiao's waist, pressing him between himself and the wall until their bodies were tightly pressed together.
Ling Chen lowered his head until their noses touched and created the illusion of a kiss, while softly saying, "Good, lift your right foot and rub it against the Captain's calf."
Ye Xiao complied.
Jian Lan felt it was too much to watch. If it weren't for the inappropriate setting, she would have risked being beaten to shout, "Why is it so hard for you to just act like a decent human being!"
With their bodies pressed together, Ling Chen felt the tickling sensation on his calf before realizing that it was Ye Xiao's foot rubbing against him, and he almost immediately reacted. Closing his eyes, Ling Chen cursed under his breath, realizing he had dug his own grave, and it was a deep one.
Ye Xiao hadn't noticed Ling Chen's change yet, with his arms wrapped around Ling Chen's neck and his head buried in the other's chest, diligently rubbing his foot against Ling Chen's calf.
Ling Chen couldn't take it anymore, he picked Ye Xiao up before wrapping Ye Xiao's legs around his waist. He pressed his forehead against the wall while breathing heavily. After reciting a self-criticism in his mind, his anger subsided a bit, and he put Ye Xiao down.
Jian Lan maintained her stoic bodyguard expression while squeezing out four words through her teeth, "A beast in human clothing."
Before Ling Chen could react, Ye Xiao spoke up seriously to correct her, "The Captain is not a beast."
Ling Chen was amused.
Hearing Jian Lan remind him that Old G had left, he leaned his head on Ye Xiao's slender shoulder with his hand sliding down to grasp his ankle and remove the foot that Ye Xiao had propped up on his leg.
In the communicator, Jiang Mu's voice sounded again, "Harrison and One-Eyed Old A had a heated argument in the room. Both sides drew their guns, and now they're in a standoff, with no action yet."
Ling Chen held Ye Xiao's fingers, kneading them one by one to ease the restlessness surging in his heart, while recalling the information about One-Eyed Old A in his mind.
For so many years, the Second Division had not touched the Red Lion because One-Eyed Old A was clever enough. Although he ran a large casino, made money from arms dealing, and had blood on his hands behind the scenes, he preferred money over killing. He was extremely passionate about making money and rarely involved himself in other matters. This time, Ling Chen wanted to buy weapons and came to the Red Lion—here, as long as you had money, you could buy what you wanted.
He only needed to play the role of a rich, naive second-generation heir and exchanging money for goods on the spot. The Red Lion wouldn’t delve into his background or investigate the specific use of the weapons he bought, making it very convenient.
So he hadn’t expected that One-Eyed Old A would have contact with people from the Holy Judgement.
Jiang Mu continued the live update, "Neither side has put away their guns. One-Eyed Old A lit a cigar, and Harrison remained standing and not sitting down… then One-Eyed Old A ordered his men to open a box."
Ling Chen nuzzled Ye Xiao's temple with his nose and asked, "What’s in the box?"
Jiang Mu replied, "A new S53 machine gun. One-Eyed Old A probably wants to use it as a peace offering."
Ling Chen said, "So the two were negotiating but couldn’t reach an agreement. One-Eyed Old A doesn’t want to make enemies with the Holy Judgement or Harrison, so he’s offering something to appease them?"
Jiang Mu confirmed, "Yes, but it didn’t work. Harrison took the box but didn’t put away his gun. His subordinate told him something, and he drew his gun before pointing it at One-Eyed Old A’s other eye."
Ling Chen laughed, "So I added fuel to the fire? Harrison discovered that the four subordinates he left guarding the lobby were gone and thought One-Eyed Old A was behind it? They didn’t see me in the surveillance?"
"No, I edited the surveillance footage and removed you from the scene. When they checked the footage, they’d only see that the four men died suddenly."
Ling Chen added, "Killing someone in the Red Lion without a trace—only the boss of the Red Lion has that kind of power."
Jiang Mu said seriously, "I didn’t mean to."
In the background, Jiang Cancan muttered softly, "Oh no, oh no, my adorable little brother is being corrupted by Chen Ge..."
At that moment, a gunshot rang out abruptly from upstairs. This time, Ling Chen didn’t need Jiang Mu to tell him—things had escalated.
Originally, a big game had started at the main gambling table in the inner hall, with dozens of people gathered around and shouting hysterically in excitement. But the moment the gunshot sounded, the entire room fell silent.
Every place has its rules.
In the Red Lion, whether you were there to gamble or buy weapons, whether you were a fugitive or a wealthy elite, no one was allowed to resort to violence. Otherwise, you’d be making an enemy of One-Eyed Old A. But when the gunshot came from the second floor, everyone knew something major had happened.
Old G reacted swiftly as he led his men upstairs. The gamblers, with their keen sense of danger, quickly realized that money was not worth their lives. Cursing and grumbling, they dispersed. In no time, the once bustling casino was completely cleared.
Jiang Mu's voice remained calm as ever, "Harrison shot and shattered One-Eyed Old A's arm... No, something's off."
"What's off?"
"Harrison only brought three people into the room. Now Old G is leading his men upstairs, and the numbers are heavily skewed. After the fight started, Harrison's two subordinates quickly took down over twenty of Old G's men." Jiang Mu's voice lowered, "These two didn't bleed when shot, and they even dug the bullets out of their flesh themselves."
Hearing this, everyone fell silent.
Several points in Ling Chen's mind suddenly connected into a line.
The Mantis Humans and the Rafflesia in the Biological Research Institute of D Zone, the Leopard-man mentioned by Soaring Dragon and the experimental samples the Command Center demanded to retrieve...
Ling Chen's expression turned serious, "Take a closer look. Is there anything unusual about these two?"
"No," Jiang Mu replied, clearly thinking along the same lines. "They're human, but their movements are extremely fast. They didn't use weapons; they just reached out and gouged Old G's eyes. The blood seemed to excite them, increasing their lethality."
Ye Xiao suddenly spoke up, "Pay attention. Are their pupils vertical?"
The sound of Jiang Mu typing on the keyboard came through the earpiece, and he quickly confirmed, "Yes."
Ling Chen noticed that upon hearing Jiang Mu's confirmation, Ye Xiao's face turned pale. He gripped Ling Chen's hand tightly, his lips trembling, "Captain, we need to leave. Now."
Seeing the fear in Ye Xiao's eyes, Ling Chen didn't ask further. He pulled Ye Xiao into his embrace, "Alright, the Captain will take you away." He then quickly ordered, "Can Can and Xiao Mu, come and provide backup."
After closing the door of the Sabertooth Tiger's compartment, Ling Chen swiftly removed his coat and shirt, putting on a tank top and then his combat uniform, transforming back into the Ling Chen Ye Xiao was familiar with.
Sitting beside Ye Xiao, Ling Chen gently touched his palm, "Feeling better?"
Ye Xiao, with a milk candy in his mouth, nodded at Ling Chen.
He held onto Ling Chen's fingers with one hand and gripped the scabbard tightly with the other. After a while, he finally spoke, "I know what those two are."
Ling Chen: "Vertical pupils?"
"Yes."
Ling Chen had a gut feeling that this was related to Ye Xiao's past. He first signaled Jiang Mu and the others with a glance, then comfortingly patted Ye Xiao's back, "Go on."
Ye Xiao lowered his eyelashes, hesitating before speaking, "When I was six, I entered the training base of Silver Blade. At twelve, along with the other nine who survived, I was sent to another training room."
This simple statement inexplicably left a bitter taste in Ling Chen's mouth.
He had heard about the conditions in those mercenary organization bases designed to train killing machines.
They would lock people in cages with hungry lions, providing no weapons and forcing them to fight the lions like beasts. Or they would confine dozens of people who hadn't eaten for two or three days in a narrow room, offering only one tube of nutrient solution, with only the last survivor having the right to consume it.
He suddenly remembered asking Ye Xiao before if his past had been hard. Ye Xiao had replied, "A little hard."
Ye Xiao didn't notice the change in Ling Chen's expression.
He stared at Ling Chen's fingers and spoke in a calm tone, "In that training room, there were originally forty-six people. Including me and nine others, there were fifty-six in total. On the first night, one of the nine was taken away. Three days later, he was brought back with his eyes now glowing with slit pupils."
Jiang Cancan thought of the Mantis Human they had encountered earlier and edged closer to Jiang Mu.
Ye Xiao pursed his lips, "But he died that very night. When he died, his arms grew snake scales, and those scales pierced his skin, causing numerous wounds and a lot of bleeding. The people around commented that he was just another failed experiment."
Ling Chen gently stroked Ye Xiao's hair, "Were there any successes?"
"Yes," Ye Xiao nodded, "Many succeeded. Out of the fifty-six, thirteen were failures, but the remaining forty-two succeeded. They became incredibly powerful—some had immense strength, while others could stand behind you without you even sensing their presence."
He glanced at Ling Chen and added, "I was an exception. I didn't succeed, but I didn't fail either."
Hearing this, Ling Chen didn't ask further. Instead, he pulled Ye Xiao, who was shivering all over, onto his lap and held him. Ye Xiao didn't resist and, after a moment of hesitation, leaned into Ling Chen's embrace.
Ling Chen gently patted Ye Xiao's back and said to Jiang Mu and the others, "So, from what we know now, Holy Judgement must have mastered this technology after Silver Blade was destroyed and obtained successful experimental subjects."
Jiang Mu pulled up the surveillance footage they had saved earlier, "These two individuals have extremely strong combat abilities. Either one of them could probably match Chen Ge in a fight, or even win."
Feeling the person in his arms tremble, Ling Chen held him tighter, "What do you think Harrison's purpose is in coming to Red Lion this time?"
Jiang Cancan patted his uneven buzz cut and muttered, "It's definitely not just to buy weapons properly."
Jian Lan thought for a moment, "Could it be to recruit?" Seeing everyone look at her, she rubbed her nose, "Holy Judgement has successfully infiltrated the upper echelons of the military and is trying to get their hands on the Regional Core of D Zone. Their ambitions are clearly huge. If I were the leader of Holy Judgement, I would use every means to eliminate forces within the military and elsewhere—either they submit or they're destroyed. Especially since I have this capability and secret weapons like the Slit-Eyed People."
Jiang Mu nodded, "That makes sense. Harrison came under the guise of buying weapons to seek cooperation with One-Eyed Old A. Old A has always been cautious and wouldn't take risks when the situation is unclear, so he rejected Holy Judgement's recruitment. The two sides fell out, and since the recruitment failed, Old A is definitely going to die."
Just then, a loud "boom—" echoed from afar. Jiang Cancan looked in the direction of the sound, his eyes wide, "Holy shit, did the casino just blow up?"
Jiang Mu replied, "Probably.”
For a moment, no one in the car spoke.
After a while, Ling Chen instructed, "Everyone, rest for now. Can Can and Jian Lan will take turns driving. We'll proceed to D Zone as planned."
Jiang Cancan acknowledged and took the passenger seat. Jiang Mu put on noise-canceling headphones and began analyzing the surveillance footage.
Ling Chen turned his head and softly asked Ye Xiao, "Do you want to sleep for a bit?"
Ye Xiao was listless and nodded weakly before closing his eyes.
Ling Chen let Ye Xiao rest his head on his thigh and draped his combat uniform jacket over him. He covered Ye Xiao's eyes with his palm and whispered, "Sleep, the Captain is here."
After Ye Xiao fell asleep, Ling Chen also leaned against the carriage wall and closed his eyes to rest.
He had suspected earlier that Holy Judgement must have used some kind of bait to get the military district's higher-ups and the Command Center to cooperate with them. This bait might be the technology of enhancing individual combat capabilities by merging animal genes.
No, he corrected himself, it couldn’t be that simple.
The higher-ups in the military district weren’t fools. Without absolute benefits, they wouldn’t agree to cooperate with Holy Judgement.
Thinking of this, Ling Chen couldn’t help but recall what Ye Xiao had said earlier—that he was an exception. The experiment on him hadn’t succeeded, but it hadn’t failed either. Could that be the reason Holy Judgement wanted to capture him?
Suddenly, Ling Chen felt a slight coolness on his thigh. He opened his eyes and looked down to see Ye Xiao’s eyes tightly shut, but tears were streaming down from the corners of his eyes and sliding along his nose and temples before soaking Ling Chen’s pants.
Ye Xiao was silently crying with his breathing barely changing, but his hand gripping the Long Blade was clenched so tightly it was spasming. Afraid of startling him, Ling Chen called his name in a low voice, "Ye Xiao, Ye Xiao—"
Ye Xiao heard someone calling him. He stood still while looking around in confusion, unsure of where he was. His gaze suddenly froze—he saw someone lying on the ground.
His legs felt like they were filled with lead, unable to move an inch. His mind seemed to have been emptied, his thoughts interrupted and unable to continue. Many voices screamed in his ears, "That’s Ling Chen, he’s already dead! You’re too late again!"
He knew he must be dreaming and reliving the events of his last Rewind.
Unlike the first Rewind, the second one had started much later, and the progression of events was different from the previous time. Jian Lan and the others still hadn’t survived, but Ling Chen had successfully obtained the Regional Core.
Worried that something might happen, Ye Xiao had chased after him and finally caught up with Ling Chen the next day. But when he arrived, Ling Chen was ambushed. The three attackers all had glowing yellow vertical pupils and terrifying combat strength. Ling Chen fought one against three, killed one, but was severely injured himself with his blood soaking his back and dripping down his clothes.
Ye Xiao rushed in with his blade to help and successfully took down one enemy while sustaining minor injuries. But when he turned around, he saw Ling Chen lying on the ground with blood pouring from his mouth.
Ye Xiao’s heart was in chaos. He watched as Ling Chen desperately restrained the last enemy, pulling the pin on a grenade while smiling at him, saying, "Thank you, run."
After the deafening explosion, Ye Xiao temporarily lost his hearing, and the world fell into complete silence.
Nothing remained.
Ling Chen, I can’t find you.
I don’t want your thanks, I just want you to live.
Then Noah’s voice appeared, "In three seconds, you will die from a sniper shot. The second Rewind will begin, 3—2—1—"
Seeing that Ye Xiao’s tears wouldn’t stop, Ling Chen frowned and raised his voice, "Ye Xiao, you’re just dreaming. Wake up and look at me. Don’t be scared, Little Fuzzball, it’s okay—"
After the sentence was repeated several times, Ye Xiao's damp eyelashes fluttered, and he finally opened his eyes, which were still filled with lingering despair and fear. His pupils were constricted to the size of pinpoints.
Hearing the familiar voice, he cautiously raised his hand and gently touched Ling Chen's cheek.
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