193: 5.3 Parasite

5.3 Parasite

Wait, one of them? So there were two?  2

Before he could pull the answers out of 666, his attention was soon diverted as Yves gave a signal for them to scatter. Lu Yizhou led two thirds of the group through emergency stairs whilst Yves led the rest to the escalator. They would employ an indirect approach. Yves would be attacking from the front whereas Lu Yizhou would take a detour and take Edin off guard from behind. 

The sixth floor of Wria Plaza was a spacious food court with floor to ceiling windows as one side of the wall, overlooking the scenery of the city from high above. The open area made it difficult for Lu Yizhou to inch closer with the risk of being discovered. In the end, he along with a bunch of Unit Oakenwind's soldiers could only hide behind the emergency exit door. Lu Yizhou pushed the door ajar with his forefinger, just enough for him to observe the situation. If Edin had the same sight and hearing as he had — Lu Yizhou recalled Yves saying something about two senses — he might have noticed their arrival.

Fortunately, Edin seemed to be preoccupied at the moment as he had his gun pointed at a young man around twenty, wearing a simple creamy T-shirt and washed up jeans. Edin was throwing one insult after another, his face flushed with rage and his hold on the assault rifle was plain worrying. He was shaking so much that Lu Yizhou suspected he would make a shot by mistake sooner or later.

The young man was the only one standing when everyone else was crouching and huddling together in a small circle. His eyes were a brilliant shade of green, stubborn and determined whilst holding a sliver of fear, glaring sharply at Edin even with the gun muzzle pointed right to his chest. His features were attractive too, clean and elegant, and the way he fiercely protected the sobbing child behind him whilst disregarding his own safety was enough to move everyone's heart — except Lu Yizhou of course.

Don't tell him…

Lu Yizhou caught sight of Yves' head poking out behind the counter across the room and saw the latter's eyes transfixed on the young man as if it was the first time he saw the sun. 

Lu Yizhou almost facepalmed on the spot. He didn't need 666 to tell him to know that the young man must be the other male protagonist. [What about the villain?] Lu Yizhou scanned the crowd and even though there was no need for him to strain any effort, he still double checked and scrutinized each face closely, fearing that he would miss one important person. Nonetheless, Lu Yizhou knew that there was no way he could miss his lover as his attention would always gravitate toward the other.

666's words confirmed his doubt.

[666: Err… the villain's circumstance is a bit complicated to explain. But no, Host, he's not amongst the hostages. He's not even in this city. Yep, right now you are separated by tens of miles, stretched across seas and mountains, yearning to meet yet unable oh! How tragic!]

Lu Yizhou gritted his teeth. [Fucking tell me that sooner!] Then he needed not to be so enthusiastic in this mission, thinking that he would meet his lover only to see the moment when the two male protagonists had their fateful encounter! He swore he would send Admin God a request to make the system a physical body so he could beat it up someday, uncaring if it would drain his entire points. Sensing its Host's dangerous thoughts, 666 let out a squeak and promptly went offline. 

He caught Yves' eyes in midair and gave the other man a scowl. The Lieutenant startled and immediately schooled his expression. His somber look returned, heavier this time albeit it didn't look as convincing with the blush that bloomed on his cheeks. Fortunately, Yves soon recovered and proved his ability as a lieutenant, gesturing one command after another to the soldiers behind him, although Lu Yizhou could sense that part of his eagerness involved the young man in front of them. When Yves' eyes turned to him again, he gestured toward Edin. His body, to be exact. When Lu Yizhou realized what Yves was trying to tell him, he grimaced in disgust.

He had no idea what the parasite entitled but one glance at Edin was enough to tell that the texture of his skin was… unusual. Like Yves had said, there was a thick slimy layer on his skin and it made Edin look like he had just drowned in a bathtub filled with aloe vera gel. Just thinking of touching him was enough to send shudders down Lu Yizhou's spine. He heaved a frustrated sigh and gave Yves a sign to go ahead. Without any hesitation, the Lieutenant jumped out of his hiding place and bellowed, his gun pointing at Edin. "Don't move!"

Edin flinched in shock. Alas, he took everyone by surprise when he moved with a reflex so fast that even Lu Yizhou's super sight struggled to follow it. He grabbed the young man's arm and circled his neck, his gun pressed tightly below the latter's chin. Before everyone could even blink, the young man had been held at gunpoint, his bewildered look mixed with pain as the hard muzzle of the gun dug into his skin hard. 

A twisted smile appeared on Edin's face. His breath quickened and his body seemed to produce even more liquid. "Don't think I have no idea that you have been hiding there. Your stupid unit and association should know better than pointing a gun at me. That is, if you don't want to die." 

Yves looked even more furious, especially as he saw tears gathering on the corner of the young man's eyes. "Let go of him, bastard! You are nothing but a parasite, a brain sucking leech that can't do anything on your own besides hiding inside Edin's body!" 

"You!" Edin's eyes bulged out unnaturally, so huge it was like they were going to pop out of the sockets in the next second. His hold on the gun shook violently and the young man shut his eyes, his face drained of all colors and his body grew slack in resignation. 

Good, Edin's back was facing him now. It meant he still hadn't realized Lu Yizhou's presence behind him. He turned to give his men a signal to prepare themselves whilst he poked his gun out of the gap of the door and without even needing to aim—

Bang!

Edin's back tensed and a sharp gasp escaped his lips. Lu Yizhou spent no time rushing out of his hiding place and just as Edin started to turn, gripped his head in place and tore the gun out of his hold… only to have the man's whole arm ripped off altogether. Instead of crimson blood, what spurted out of the wound was greenish viscous liquid, a few drops of it splattered onto Lu Yizhou's shiny black boots. 

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