389: 7.79 I Know Your Secret

7.79 I Know Your Secret

It was easy to sneak into the area of Cobalt Fang's basecamp, even if the number of guards were twice as many as the ones in Moshe's mansion. Different from Moshe's prison-like building, Cobalt Fang retained the traditional feel, almost like the Japanese yakuza's residence. Lu Yizhou eyed the brightly lit estate from afar.2

[Is Cruz really here?]

[666: That's right, Host! He has been hired as Cobalt Fang's head doctor since the time when he saved Zion's life and now, he is the main doctor who is attending to Zion. 666's source of information will not be wrong!]

Lu Yizhou's brows almost raised to his hairline. The bug had somehow become the main protagonist's doctor when he was in a coma, huh? It was no wonder that Zion had somehow gained spiritual transcendence to glimpse upon the real world. Who knew what kind of drug Cruz had injected into him while he was unconscious?

Lu Yizhou clicked his tongue. Why couldn't the protagonist just die due to overdose? Wouldn't it solve everyone's problem? [Let's go.]

[System notification: You have purchased a special skill 'Invisibility Cloak'! For the next ten minutes, you will be unseen by the world! Countdown until the skill cools down: 9 minutes 57 seconds. The remaining points you have is 1411. Thank you for your patronage!]

As the cloak fluttered around Lu Yizhou, he instantly dashed out from his hiding place straight toward the mansion, easily using the nearby tree as a leverage to jump over the wall. What was in the protagonist's mind when he built such a low wall? Or was it his lover who was too paranoid to have electric spikes around his mansion? 

The guards only felt a soft breeze when Lu Yizhou passed by. They looked around in confusion. "What was that?"

"Should be the wind." The other shrugged and rubbed his own arms for warmth. "Earlier this evening, there's a loud thunderclap. Careful, it might rain tonight."

"Geez… I hate the rainy season!"

Lu Yizhou maneuvered his way through the backyard, his footsteps leaving no sound save from a slight rustle of grass that could be mistaken as the stray breeze. He followed the direction 666 pointed out, rounded the front building and headed toward the inner area. 

A small, almost private house appeared in front of him. The paper wall was illuminated by the brightly lit lamps and shadows of many people hustling and bustling around were clearly defined. There seemed to be a commotion inside. Lu Yizhou approached the ajar door and his sharp ears caught small snippets of conversation.

"...still can't reach him?!"

"Where the fuck is he?! Don't tell me that everyone is annihilated!"

Lu Yizhou let out a quiet scoff and rushed past the crowd of people arguing in the main hall straight to the inner hallway. 

[666: Almost there, Host! Turn left then climb up the stairs. The first door to the right must be where the protagonist and the bug are now!]

Lu Yizhou nodded then looked around to make sure that nobody noticed anything. Good thing that Zion's men were too unnerved with Hector's sudden disappearance that they left the inner area bereft of supervision. The CCTV in every corner of the wall blinked in red dots and as Lu Yizhou passed by, the dots flickered before completely disappearing.

Well so far, everything had been going smoothly. He arrived at the inconspicuous door and paused, carefully straining his ears to hear any sign of activity inside. Nothing.

[666: Host, the effect of your temporary skill is wearing out in 30 seconds!]

Lu Yizhou reached out to knock on the door. 

"Who is it?" A gruff voice responded. "I have told you not to disturb me tonight."

He knocked again, more insistently this time.

There was the sound of a chair being dragged back, the clutter of metals and then the door swung open to reveal the scowling expression of a tall man who carried with him the heavy scent of decay and disinfectant. Lu Yizhou's nose wrinkled in disgust. Yes, there was no mistake, this was the man who had appeared many times in Regius' memory, Cruz.

"What do you—" Cruz was stunned when he found no one outside. He craned his neck to look out. At the same time, Lu Yizhou shed off his 'Invisibility Cloak' and shoved his arm across Cruz's neck, pushing the man inside the room again and closing the door behind them. 

"Don't make a sound," he hissed. "Or else I will snap your neck off right now."

Cruz coughed, taken aback as he was suddenly slammed against the wall. His eyes that had been wide in surprise widened even more when he caught a clear sight of Lu Yizhou's face. "I know you…" Lu Yizhou knitted his brows. But before he could say anything in reply, Cruz continued, "You're the one whom Zion wanted to teach a lesson to. For some reason, Regius often talked about you too." He showed no fear at being held at such a disadvantageous position. Instead, the corner of his lips tilted into a considering smile. "Moshe's pet, Aiden. Am I right?"

"How did you get here?" Cruz asked again, sounding truly curious and the tone he used was too damn casual as if he was conversing with a friend. What a weirdo! "Are you here to kill Zion?"

"No." Lu Yizhou pressed forward harder and Cruz choked on his breath, his hands fumbling to scratch and slap Lu Yizhou's arm away. His face quickly reddened due to the lack of oxygen, so did the rims of his eyes. "I am here to kill you."

"You… can't… kill me…"

Lu Yizhou snorted. "Who says?"

Cruz wheezed out, "I–I know… your secret…" His face was slowly turning blue and thick veins strained against his neck. He dug his nails into Lu Yizhou's arm, leaving a trail of bloody lines. Even then the eyes that were staring at Lu Yizhou held no fear whatsoever. On the contrary, Cruz looked excited — as much as how a half-dying man could be.

Lu Yizhou narrowed his eyes. [What secret is he talking about?]

[666: Err… 666 is not equipped with mind reading ability, remember? But don't you think it sounds kinda fishy, Host?]

Lu Yizhou considered his choices and finally decided to loosen his arm. Well, he could always kill Cruz before the man could even make a sound. "Speak. What secret are you talking about?" 

Cruz took in huge gulps of air, coughing hard. His heartbeat was so loud that Lu Yizhou could hear it from where he was standing. But instead of fear, the man's expression portrayed nothing but giddiness and excitement. "I–I have always believed in existence higher than ordinary humans. God, satan, angel… you name it. Humans have a hidden capability to become a higher entity than what we already are, we just have no idea how to evolve. But you… you are already at that level, aren't you? The level I have been trying to reach for almost more than a decade…"

His nonsense was too powerful that Lu Yizhou couldn't help blurting out, "Pardon?" 

Not to mention how he proudly exposed his unethical experiment on how to make humans become a God, he had even accused Lu Yizhou of being one? What the fuck?

Cruz let out a hoarse chuckle. "Do not pretend anymore. I have seen the surveillance footage of the resting lounge that day. Zion has clearly known the effect of the drug and was adamant on forcing it down your throat to teach you a lesson. But in the end, what happened? He drank it himself! In front of you, he poured the drug into his glass and drank it himself! Willingly!" Cruz's eyes shone in a manic glint, his body shaking in unrestrained laughter. His gaze that zeroed in on Lu Yizhou was filled with crazy obsession. "It was as if you were taking control of his mind and body! No ordinary human will be able to achieve such a feat! Tell me, am I wrong?"

"You're wrong," Lu Yizhou lied with a deadpan look, simply because he didn't want to agree with whatever this madman was saying. 

"Bullshit!" Cruz spat out angrily. "I know you—"

Lu Yizhou had had enough of this nonsense. His silver eyes quietly gained a crimson glow as his permanent skill 'Devil's Whisper' was active. "Shut up," he snapped harshly. "You want to see this right? Then I will let you have a taste too."

Cruz shut his jaws with a click and his eyes quickly turned dazed.

Now this was better. Lu Yizhou carefully took a few steps back, all the while keeping a portion of his attention to Cruz. Then he scanned the room he was in. It was more of a private medical chamber than a bedroom. There was a huge cabinet filled with bottles of medicines, a metal tray lined up with small scissors and scalpels, and in the middle of the room, laid an unconscious Zion. 

He looked like he was only sleeping, if one ignored the tubes that were connected to his body. The heartbeat monitor beeped steadily, recording the persistent life force of this scum of a man. 

"You." Lu Yizhou turned his attention back to Cruz with an ever growing smile, one which 666 always cried about because it was so scary. He pointed at the metal full of sharp tools and gave a succinct, undeniable order, 

"I want you to take that scalpel and stab Zion right on his heart. Again and again, until he finally stops breathing. Now."

He couldn't kill the protagonist but it did not mean the bug couldn't, right?

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