TIC Chapter 38

 Chapter 38

“Why? Did you mess something up again?”

“No! I saw two...”

A shadow suddenly loomed over him; someone pressed down on the communicator on Xiao Yan’s wrist, cutting off the connection. His heart clenched abruptly as he slowly raised his head; one of the two men he had just mentioned was standing there, smiling down at him.

“I’m the new researcher, Lyle. And you?”

The man wore a benevolent expression, yet in his eyes, Xiao Yan saw a bloodthirsty, murderous intent.

“Why do you look so scared? I’m not a zombie—I won’t eat you.” The man’s voice was terrifyingly gentle.

“...” At that moment, Xiao Yan was utterly speechless.

“Do you know where Lieutenant Colonel Casey is? We have a research project we need to discuss with him.”

“...He’s in the lab.” Xiao Yan struggled to keep his voice from trembling. Casey should actually be in the conference room right now; Xiao Yan wasn't sure if his lie would be believed.

Casey—he was the target of these guys!

“Thanks.”

The smile vanished from the man’s face as his hand reached behind his back. Realizing there was no escape, Xiao Yan slammed his finger down on a specific button on his communicator.

Instantly, alarms blared throughout the entire research institute.

“Damn it!”

The man moved with ruthless brutality; Xiao Yan didn't even have time to react.

A sharp blade pierced his body, skewering his internal organs. The excruciating pain made it impossible for Xiao Yan to breathe; warm blood gushed out continuously as the man planted his foot on Xiao Yan’s abdomen and violently yanked the blade free.

“Hey! What the hell is going on? How did you trigger the alarm?”

“It was this guy!”

The blade flashed upward again; Xiao Yan had no doubt the man intended to sever his neck.

“Don’t waste time! Go find Casey!”

The blade froze mid-swing, and the two killers hurriedly fled the scene.

Xiao Yan slumped to the ground, clutching the profusely bleeding wound in his abdomen. His strength drained away, and his vision began to blur.

Outside the cafeteria, panicked screams rang out as researchers scattered in all directions, while the two killers continued to swing their blades relentlessly. What a bunch of fools... Hurry up and seal off the corridors—lock them all inside!

I wonder... did Casey manage to escape?

The excruciating pain, once unbearable, gradually began to recede; both his vision and hearing grew dim and blurred.

This time, he truly was going to die.

Not at the hands of zombies, but at the hands of his own kind—it felt somewhat tragic.

There were still so many things he hadn't done... His research remained unfinished; he still wanted to travel to the Amazon for field studies; he still wanted... still wanted to see...

At that very moment, a Special Task Force aircraft touched down outside the Central Academy of Sciences, and over a dozen special forces operatives stormed inside.

Hein, accompanied by Liv and Mark, advanced steadily down the corridor, passing—every few steps—the sprawled, lifeless bodies of researchers, their blood pooling and flowing across the floor.

"Move it!"

Hein burst violently into Casey’s laboratory. Pitch darkness greeted him, followed instantly by the whistling descent of a blade through the air. With a sharp *clang*—the sound of metal striking metal—Hein’s own blade deflected the surprise attack.

The duel in the darkness had begun—yet, in an instant, it was over.

When the laboratory’s emergency lighting flickered back to life, the scene revealed Hein’s blade driven clean through his assailant’s chest, pinning the man to the wall behind him.

Hein gripped the hilt with cold indifference and slowly withdrew the blade. The moment the body slumped to the floor, he swung his weapon with ruthless precision, severing the man’s head.

"One left."

Mark and Liv immediately split off in opposite directions to hunt down the sole remaining assassin.

Hein walked calmly out of the laboratory, his blade still in hand, and proceeded down the corridor.

He remained on high alert, knowing that the assassin could burst out from the shadows at any moment.

As he approached the door to the cafeteria, a crimson liquid seeped out from the crack in the half-open door, pooling into a flowing stream. Just as the tip of his boot was about to touch that vivid pool of red, he froze.

His eyes turned instantly cold and hard. Chin raised and senses on high alert, he edged sideways through the doorway. But the moment his eyes fell upon the figure lying on the floor—a figure whose abdominal wound had ceased its bleeding—his pupils constricted violently. The blade in his hand nearly slipped from his grasp.

He lunged forward—charging with a speed he had never displayed before. Xiao Yan thought he could no longer feel anything at all; yet, despite lacking the strength to open his eyes, he knew with absolute clarity in that moment that someone was pressing down hard on his punctured wound.

You fool... it’s no use...

Most of the blood had already drained away. Whoever you are—thank you for trying to save me...

Someone cupped his face, forcing his lips apart.

A scorching tongue surged in, sweeping through his mouth and licking wildly at everything within. A trembling, visceral panic spread and intensified amidst this earth-shattering entanglement—an invasion utterly without reserve, sparing not a single inch.

Xiao Yan’s numb heartbeat suddenly leaped to life; every cell in his body tensed abruptly, feeling as though it might shatter and scatter the very next instant. His senses were fully ignited; his spine arched upward, taut to the point of nearly snapping.

His arms, which had hung limply just moments before, now clung to the other man’s shoulders; his tongue responded in kind, expressing his desperate yearning with every ounce of its being.

It was like an icicle plunging into a flame—evaporating instantly, losing all sense of self.

He found strength from some unknown source, leaning into the other man with all his might. He didn't realize he was being pulled upright, didn't realize he had been drawn completely into another's embrace, didn't realize how tightly he was clinging to the other man—and least of all did he realize that, in the end, the other man had closed his eyes, parting his lips ever so slightly to let Xiao Yan take whatever he desired.

Xiao Yan knew that someone was holding him tightly—hands pressing against his body, locking him securely within their embrace.

“Boss—we found the guy! He’s taken Lieutenant Colonel Casey hostage!”

Mark’s boisterous voice blared through the comm-link.

The very next instant, Xiao Yan was shoved away, stumbling back to land hard on the ground.

His breathing had yet to steady; his vision remained unfocused and blurred.

The lingering pressure of the other man’s forceful kiss still lingered on his lips, while the yearning deep within his heart remained utterly unfulfilled.

“Are you satisfied?”

A cold voice rang out, and Xiao Yan’s scattered thoughts snapped instantly back to reality.

Hein stood before him; nothing could ever bow that proud, unyielding spine. He lowered his gaze slightly, one eyebrow arching upward. Xiao Yan pressed his palm against his abdomen; there was neither a wound nor any blood—the agonizing pain that had left him numb had vanished completely.

What on earth was going on?

He lifted his clothes to find that there wasn't even a scar on his abdomen. Could it be that the memory of the assassin skewering his gut had merely been a hallucination?

"I'm on my way."

Hein replied to Mark on the other end of his communicator. As Hein’s gaze fell upon him, Xiao Yan found himself unable to utter a single coherent word; he could only prop himself up on his elbows like a dazed fool. To his utter astonishment, Hein actually dropped to one knee before him, placing his palm over the very spot where Xiao Yan had been impaled—as if to verify that the wound had indeed healed completely.

Xiao Yan’s breath caught in his chest; he didn't dare make a single move.

The warmth radiating from Hein’s palm was higher than that of an average person—a stark contrast to the cold, aloof impression he usually gave off. It felt steady and restrained, filling Xiao Yan with an inexplicable sense of security. Strands of golden hair fell across Hein’s forehead, making it impossible for Xiao Yan to decipher the expression in his eyes.

Like a mere illusion, the hand resting upon him seemed to tremble—quivering with suppressed emotion—as if reaching out to grasp something, yet unable to exert any force.

Just as Xiao Yan let out a soft, shaky breath, Hein abruptly rose to his feet and walked away without a single backward glance.

Xiao Yan lowered his gaze to the large pool of blood staining the ground and gasped.

He simply couldn't believe it—after losing that much blood, he was actually still alive!

Could it be that his wound had vanished because of Hein...?

As Hein’s voice—asking, "Are you satisfied?"—echoed in his ears, Xiao Yan felt his blood rush instantly to his heart, threatening to burst it wide open!

He vividly remembered how he had gone mad with desperation, losing all control as he kissed someone. That person must have been a Special Forces operative; otherwise, there would have been absolutely no way for his wound to heal.

There was no doubt about it: that person was Hein Burton!

Why had Hein allowed him to kiss him? If kissing him had been a spur-of-the-moment decision made to save his life in a crisis, then why hadn't Hein pushed him away once he had lost control?

No! This wasn't the time to be thinking about that! Where was Casey? Those two thugs—Casey was their target! Xiao Yan sprinted through the corridor; upon seeing the countless bodies of researchers strewn about, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

When he burst into Casey’s laboratory and saw the backs of Mark and Liv—along with the blade pressed against Casey’s throat—he froze in shock.

“Casey…”

“Xiao Yan, don’t come any closer!” No sooner had Casey spoken than the blade pressed even harder against his windpipe.

“Hey! If you’re going to kill him, just kill him! All this stalling is getting really tedious!” Mark shouted impatiently.

Liv remained silent, merely furrowing her brows as she waited for the right moment.

The assassin gave a low scoff. “I certainly *could* kill him, but he’s far more valuable to you alive.”

“You’re overthinking it!” Mark shrugged. “Our Special Operations Unit has never really gotten along with the Central Academy of Sciences. Why should *we* be out there wading through blood and gore while *they* just sit in their labs sipping tea, only to waltz right into the core of the military-political establishment? If you kill this kid, you’d actually be saving us a lot of trouble!”

Xiao Yan swallowed hard; he wasn't entirely sure if Mark was truly voicing his honest thoughts.

Liv shifted her stance ever so slightly, poised to lunge forward at any moment. This heightened the pressure on the assassin, causing him to take a half-step back while still holding Casey.

In that very instant, the glass in the second-floor observation room shattered. Hein plummeted from above, his razor-sharp blade slicing clean through the assassin’s neck.

Landing silently, Hein gave his blade a swift flick, sending a spray of blood flying through the air; the assassin’s headless body slumped to the ground with a thud.

Casey stood frozen in place, seemingly unable to process what had just occurred, until Xiao Yan rushed forward and pulled him into a tight embrace.

“Casey!”

“…Ah… Ah…”

It was the first time Casey had ever witnessed a human corpse, and he let out a terrified scream.

Xiao Yan quickly covered his eyes and began leading him away. “Don’t look.”

Hein walked over to the severed head lying on the floor and lowered his gaze. “Mark, take their heads and deliver them to the Criminal Investigation Unit.”

“Understood.”

Mark grinned broadly as he scooped up the blood-soaked head.

Meanwhile, Casey clung tightly to Xiao Yan’s embrace, his face drained of all color, too terrified to even open his eyes. Hein sheathed his twin blades. As he passed by Xiao Yan, he lifted his chin slightly, his sharp gaze landing on Casey’s shoulder. "How long do you intend to keep up the act?"

Xiao Yan was baffled; who was acting? And acting about what?

At that moment, Casey—still cradled in Xiao Yan’s arms—lifted his head and glared fiercely at Hein. "What business is it of yours?"

Xiao Yan looked down at Casey; there wasn't a shred of the fear he had shown just moments ago—instead, he looked like a bristling little wild beast.

Hein paid Casey no mind whatsoever; yet, the instant his gaze brushed past Xiao Yan, it felt as though the rest of the world had been completely shut out from Xiao Yan’s senses. It lasted only a split second before Hein turned his face away and walked off.

Casey turned back to look at Xiao Yan, wearing an expression that suggested he hadn't done anything wrong at all. "I just wanted to enjoy your concern for a little while! This isn't the first time I’ve been targeted by a *Tide Surge* assassin... so this really isn't a big deal."

Xiao Yan sighed helplessly, though his heart immediately went out to Casey—especially after hearing him say, "This really isn't a big deal." In terms of age, Casey was still just a boy; it was his extraordinary talent that had forced him to mature far too soon.

"As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters."

The heads of the two assassins were delivered to the Criminal Investigation Unit. They proceeded to interrogate the assassins' brains, and the intelligence extracted from them was immediately classified as top secret.

Xiao Yan and the surviving researchers walked through the corridors, gazing upon the bodies of colleagues they had once known so well, their feet treading through pools of blood at every step.

The Central Academy of Sciences had suffered a truly devastating loss this time around.

Of Casey’s twelve researchers, seven had perished.

Hein returned to the headquarters of the Special Operations Force. As he approached the door of a specific office, the liaison officer stationed outside immediately snapped to attention and saluted the moment he caught sight of him; Hein merely gave a slight nod in return.

The door slid open automatically, revealing a vast, spacious room containing nothing but a single desk—so immaculately tidy that it felt almost unsettling. Seated behind it, a middle-aged man watched with a faint, knowing smile as the stern-faced Special Forces operative approached him. “I’m very relieved you made it back to Shire in time; otherwise, the Central Academy of Sciences... would have suffered an even more catastrophic fate than it did.”

There wasn’t a ripple of emotion in Hein’s gaze, as if everything the other man said had nothing to do with him. “Major General, I have already submitted my mission report.”

“I heard you saved a research assistant.” Major General Gordon leaned back against his chair, a playful smile playing on his lips. “I read your report; that research assistant was on the brink of death. How exactly did you save him?”

“That is irrelevant to the mission objectives.”

Major General Gordon shook his head with a hint of resignation, speaking in a measured, unhurried tone: “I’m merely curious. You see, Lieutenant Colonel Wallis’s unit is to be stationed in Shire, tasked with overseeing the researchers involved in several of the Central Academy’s critical projects. And the very individual Lieutenant Colonel Wallis has requested to oversee happens to be the research assistant you saved.”

Hein’s expression remained utterly unperturbed; he simply replied with cool detachment: “In that case, Major General, perhaps you should be questioning Lieutenant Colonel Wallis’s professional competence.”

“True. While Jane Wallis possesses exceptional combat capabilities, he is far too self-centered. But you... you are different.”

Major General Gordon was about to say more, but Hein took a step back, snapped a crisp salute, and departed with swift, decisive movements.

“Sigh...” Major General Gordon shook his head in exasperation. “Couldn’t you at least let me finish what I was saying?”

Just outside Major General Gordon’s office, the liaison officer stood frozen in astonishment at the scene unfolding before him.

Colonel Burton—a man so habitually aloof that one might question whether he possessed any human emotions at all—was leaning heavily against the cold metal of the corridor wall. His elegant eyelashes fluttered almost imperceptibly; he tilted his chin upward, stretching his neck into a vulnerable, exposed curve, and clenched his right hand into a fist. As he drew in a sharp, ragged breath, he slammed that fist forcefully against his chest, right over his heart. The liaison officer parted his lips, but before he could utter a single word, Hein had already turned his back and strode away; each step was firm and resolute, as if the agony and turmoil of the moment before had been nothing more than a figment of the liaison officer’s imagination. Casey calmly and composedly directed the researchers to back up their data and organize all the research samples. Walking close behind him, Xiao Yan furrowed his brows and whispered, "Their target is you, Casey."

"I know. It’s because I’ve been conducting research on the X-virus... and because I reported to my superiors that we might achieve a breakthrough this month. Are they planning to kill me?" Casey clenched his fists.

"...Perhaps it’s more than just that. If their objective were merely to eliminate you, they wouldn't have needed to act with such brazenness. The Central Academy of Sciences has lost one-fifth of its elite personnel... For the Sharl, this represents an irreparable loss that will set back various research projects significantly. Furthermore, the fact that they were able to infiltrate the heavily guarded Central Academy suggests that someone on the inside must have aided them."

"Are you saying... there’s a traitor among us?" Casey looked startled at first, but his expression quickly settled into one of grave composure. "I imagine... the high command will reach the same conclusion. I fear that every surviving researcher will now be subjected to internal quarantine and interrogation."

"Alright, let's not dwell on that for now... You really ought to eat something." From the moment the incident broke out until now, Casey hadn't consumed so much as a single ration biscuit.

As the two of them rounded a corner, they—just as expected—came face-to-face with officers from the Interrogation Unit.

"Are you Lieutenant Colonel Casey?"

"I am." Casey’s expression turned grim.

"We’ve uncovered several leads regarding this assassination attempt, and we require your assistance. Please come with us."

Xiao Yan felt a sudden surge of anxiety; he had heard rumors that the "cerebral interrogation" methods employed by the Interrogation Unit could leave many victims with deep-seated, lingering psychological trauma.

He was just about to step forward and grab hold of Casey when one of the Interrogation Unit officers placed a hand firmly on his shoulder.

"Xiao Yan, you do not need to come with us."

Xiao Yan stood frozen in bewilderment.

"Colonel Burton’s operational report has already detailed your involvement in this incident with sufficient clarity."

"Don't worry, Xiao Yan. They won't do anything drastic to me." Casey tapped a finger against his temple, smiling—as always—with the playful innocence of a kitten. "Because the Sharl needs my mind."

And just like that, the Interrogation Unit officers led Casey away.

"Hey, Xiao Yan."

A languid voice...

As the sound rang out, Xiao Yan turned around—only to find Jane Wallis, arms crossed, leaning against the wall!

“...What are you doing here? Weren’t you out on a mission?”