Chapter 597: Killing Intent (Two-in-One)

That night, after leaving the gathering, Chen Hong was completely drunk.

She staggered toward home, planning to sleep it off, but as if possessed, her footsteps veered off course. She wandered over to where Chen Nian was kept under house arrest. "Ninth Young Miss."

The two retainers guarding the door bowed slightly at her late-night arrival.

"Mhm, is he inside?"

Chen Hong looked at them.

"He is, he is."

Assuming she was just here for an inspection, the two nodded repeatedly.

"Open the door. I'm going in to take a look."

Chen Hong said.

The two retainers exchanged hesitant glances.

"This... this doesn't seem to follow protocol..."

The guard on the left muttered softly,

"Fourth Young Master went in a few days ago and got caught. We weren't the ones on duty then."

"I heard those two guards... they..."

The man's face paled. Clearly, the previous guards hadn't met a good end after letting the Fourth Young Master inside.

But the alcohol was surging through Chen Hong. She yelled that she would kill them on the spot if they didn't let her in.

Left with no choice, the two gave in. They unlocked the door, allowing Chen Hong to see her fifth brother, whom she hadn't laid eyes on in a long time.

At first, she didn't even notice Chen Nian.

Or rather, she noticed the figure but failed to recognize him as Chen Nian.

The figure slumped on the ground had clearly undergone a severe Mutation. Massive, chaotic tangles of Electronic Tentacles sprouted from his hands and feet, while one of his eyes had been completely overtaken by Mechanization, the pupil glowing with a crimson light.

"Ninth Sister."

The figure spoke, his voice as raspy as rusted iron.

Visibly startled, Chen Hong stared at the man, utterly unable to believe this was Chen Nian.

She took several steps back.

Reaching the doorway, she genuinely wanted to leave.

But Chen Nian's voice rang out again.

"Ninth Sister, help me..."

Chen Nian spoke softly, his words bordering on a murmur,

"Your fifth brother really has no other options."

"I... I can't help you with anything..."

Chen Hong retreated to the door and grabbed the handle.

But the damn handle was stuck.

"You can. Just do me one little favor."

As if oblivious to her fear, Chen Nian looked at her,

"My legs aren't working well right now. Carry me to the roof so I can take a look."

"Just a quick look is enough."

Chen Nian tilted his head up, and only then did Chen Hong notice something else wrong.

Chen Nian's other eye was gone as well.

Though it hadn't undergone Mechanization like the first, it was clearly blind.

Right now, he could only hear.

Chen Hong breathed a sigh of relief.

A blind man was far less of a threat.

Mustering a bit more courage, she stepped closer to him.

"Fifth Brother, how did you end up like this?"

Chen Nian offered a faint smile.

"Do I look scarier than before? I'm conducting an experiment."

Chen Hong curled her lip.

"What experiment? Fifth Brother, just admit it. You let that woman go to your head."

"You aren't the man you used to be. Stop bragging."

As soon as the words left her mouth, a strange feeling washed over her.

Before today, she had never spoken to Chen Nian with such a tone.

Yet their conversation today felt incredibly natural.

Was it the alcohol?

No, Chen Hong felt she was fairly sober.

Looking at Chen Nian, she finally realized why she had grown so bold.

The man before her.

He was no longer the monster he used to be.

He wasn't even a senior with more power than her anymore.

He was just a pathetic wretch.

People always feared the strong, while showering the pathetic with magnanimity and pity.

Everyone was the same.

Faced with Chen Hong's words, Chen Nian fell silent for a few seconds before laughing.

"...Perhaps. Hehe, Ninth Sister, just do me this favor..."

"Fine."

After a brief thought, Chen Hong reached out to grab him.

She figured she wouldn't have anything to do with Chen Nian after this anyway. Carrying him on her back would just be repayment for how he used to carry her when she was little. However, Chen Nian's body was much heavier than she had expected.

It took her quite a bit of effort to heave him onto her back.

An icy sensation instantly slithered up her neck.

"Keep your head away from me."

She blurted out instinctively.

Chen Nian complied.

Chen Hong looked up at the pitch-black ceiling.

"You want to go up to the roof?"

"Yes. Just put me on the roof, and you can leave."

Chen Hong agreed. With Chen Nian on her back, she nimbly scaled the rafters.

"Thank you, Ninth Sister..." Chen Nian's voice drifted from behind, but Chen Hong felt nothing.

She truly felt nothing at all—neither disgust nor warmth.

"I still remember carrying you back then. Not much time has passed, and now you're the one carrying me."

"Don't ever tell anyone you carried me again," Chen Hong said, gripping the beam tightly.

"Just pretend none of that ever happened."

"...Alright."

Chen Nian agreed once more.

Soon, Chen Hong broke a hole wide enough for one person through the ceiling, and the two leaped onto the roof.

The night sky draped over their heads. Chen Nian tilted his face toward the stars, as if he could actually see them.

Chen Hong also looked up, failing to understand what was so appealing about the stars, but...

"Thank you," Chen Nian said with a smile.

"Thank you, Ninth Sister."

This wasn't too bad... Deep down, Chen Hong actually thought the atmosphere was quite nice. It would be even better if the Chen Nian beside her didn't look so hideous.

Suddenly, she looked down and her pupils contracted. She spotted a figure.

It was Third Sister.

Standing a few hundred meters outside the small courtyard.

And the woman had clearly spotted her.

Her relationship with Third Sister was the worst out of all the sisters.

If anyone found out she was hanging around Chen Nian, she'd be doomed.

Worse still, the woman in the cheongsam smiled directly at her.

Without a moment of hesitation, Chen Hong kicked Chen Nian as he gazed at the night sky.

The kick was brutal. Caught completely off guard, Chen Nian was sent tumbling off the roof, crashing down right in front of the two retainers.

Just as the two guards stared in shock at Chen Nian writhing in agony on the ground, Chen Hong dropped down from the roof and punched him squarely in the face. "Still trying to run?!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"I'll show you how to run! I'll show you!!!"

Then came another punch.

If the first punch was just an act, there was no telling what drove the ones that followed.

Punch after punch, she battered him until chunks of his Electronic Tentacles snapped and flew everywhere.

Chen Nian curled up on the ground in excruciating pain, his face completely mangled.

The two guards stood in silence until the woman in the cheongsam appeared at the door.

"Ninth Sister, what brings you here to check on Fifth Brother so late at night?"

"What are you talking about, Third Sister?" Chen Hong stomped ruthlessly on Chen Nian's chest.

"I just got here to see if this sinner had learned his lesson, only to catch him trying to escape. Good thing I acted in time."

Sinner—this was the "designation" bestowed upon Chen Nian by the grand patriarch himself.

The woman in the cheongsam covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Is that so... I saw you two up on the roof just now... I thought you were chatting and admiring the moon."

"Admiring the moon?"

Chen Hong laughed.

"Don't make me sick, Third Sister. Just looking at those Electronic Tentacles makes me want to kill him..."

"Growing such disgusting things on his body... I wouldn't even want to touch him..."

Chatting back and forth, Chen Hong and the woman in the cheongsam walked out the door together.

In the corner, Chen Nian clutched his stomach until the two retainers picked him up and tossed him back into the room.

Thinking back on it now, Chen Hong still didn't feel she had done anything wrong.

Anyone—absolutely anyone in her position—would have made the exact same choice.

At that thought, Chen Hong's reminiscing came to an abrupt halt.

She stopped running.

Not because the memories had moved her, but because she couldn't run anymore.

The chains around her body had dug deep into her flesh.

She had been too overwhelmed by the thrill of surviving a disaster to remember the chains binding her. Now, after her frantic sprinting, the chains had completely embedded themselves into her flesh. The agonizing pain nearly made her pass out.

She collapsed heavily to the ground, convulsing as she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Only now did she understand why Chen Nian had let her go.

The chains shackling her ensured that every single step she took brought unbearable torture.

Blood sprayed around the chains.

Her body temperature skyrocketed like a severe fever, and her thoughts began to turn sluggish.

In her hazy stupor, she seemed to recall her childhood.

A past unknown to others.

When she was little, she frequently caught fevers.

Every time, the higher-ups would write her off, convinced she wouldn't survive the illness.

The only cure was Blood Value.

And not just a tiny amount, either.

It also had to share the same root and origin.

This was the Pure Blood Heavenly Kingdom.

In the Pure Blood Heavenly Kingdom, no one was willing to sacrifice their own Blood Value.

"Use mine."

That figure who normally kept quiet would always step forward during these times.

And while donating Blood Value, that figure would always shoo everyone else out of the room.

In that cramped little room, Chen Nian would slit his own wrist and aim the dripping blood directly into her palm.

"I know what you're up to..."

As the blood pooled in her hand, she felt her body gradually growing stronger, but Chen Nian, sitting beside her, spoke softly and shattered her secret.

"Stop this, Ninth Sister."

"Trying to cultivate using someone else's Blood Value is a dead end."

Chen Hong shuddered all over.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Brother."

The figure across from her wore an icy expression.

"Your body is too weak. Even if you cultivate with Blood Value of the same origin, your body will still suffer from obvious rejection."

"Waiting for me to save you every single time simply won't work."

Chen Hong's face froze.

She never expected her petty schemes to be seen through.

At that moment, what filled her mind wasn't remorse or fear, but a surge of indignation.

His condescending posture, his forceful attitude—it truly infuriated her.

Did he even know what lengths she went to just to get stronger?

Ever since she was a child, everyone around her told her she had to get stronger, stronger, stronger.

She had already done enough.

Why did he have to see through it, and why did he have to expose it?

Besides, why wouldn't he keep saving her?

He was so strong, and she was so weak.

But she didn't voice any of this. She just buried her resentment deep in her heart and tearfully promised never to do it again.

The matter ended.

Everything seemed to return to normal.

But the seeds of fury had been planted.

She hated him.

She knew it.

It was just that beneath the hatred, she feared him even more.

So she didn't dare speak out.

The parts of her memories she had used to lie to herself all finally made sense once this deeply buried truth was factored in. The gradual estrangement.

The enraged punches.

The silent mockery.

Chen Hong lay crumpled on the ground, sobbing from the pain.

Why did she have to be treated like this?

Hadn't she suffered enough?

She had obviously tried so hard!!!

She only wanted to get stronger! What was wrong with that?!

"I was wrong, Fifth Brother. Let me go, I know I was wrong..." Chen Hong's entire body had been pierced through by the chains.

She collapsed on the ground, wailing incessantly.

"Fifth Brother, Fifth Brother..."

Back in the room, the woman seemed to hear Chen Hong's cries and looked at Chen Nian.

Chen Nian's expression remained tranquil.

"Ninth Aunt, please go tell Ninth Sister that if she strips away those foreign bloodlines in her body and swallows this mechanical core, she can save her life." The woman bit her lower lip.

She knew Chen Hong would never do it.

And she knew that Chen Hong would only end up hating Chen Nian even more.

Chen Nian's face remained utterly calm.

"Tell her that, just like back then, some things can only go this far."

The woman left.

Yan Jing sat with his legs crossed, reclining into Wen He's embrace as he chuckled.

"Mr. Chen's path of machinery goes much farther than I imagined."

"To figure out how to counter Weng Lingxiao's book in such a short amount of time, Mr. Chen's Tier is definitely not as simple as the Sixth Tier." Chen Nian smiled.

"Of course it's the Sixth Tier."

"But even within the Sixth Tier, there are the strong and the weak."

Yan Jing laughed.

This was the first time he'd ever heard Chen Nian speak so arrogantly.

In his impression, Old Chen had always been rather calm and composed. Clearly, changes in position and relationships caused different facets of one's personality to emerge.

"If it were me, that woman would have died on the spot."

Yan Jing chuckled.

Chen Nian shook his head.

"Then Mr. Fourth surely doesn't have any brothers or sisters."

Yan Jing grinned.

"I actually do."

"Many?"

"Lots of them." Yan Jing thought for a moment. Mao Si had two, Yi Ji had six...

"Did you kill them all?" Chen Nian asked, successfully leaving Yan Jing stumped.

Chen Nian smiled faintly.

"You aren't someone with heavy killing intent. I can tell. No, rather, I should say Mr. Fourth is quite a gentle person."

"Then you're completely mistaken."

Yan Jing flashed a vicious grin.

"Cat Fourth Master has never blinked when killing a man. Ouch!"

He was pinched from behind by Wen He.

Acting tough and lying were strictly forbidden during a heart-to-heart. Breaking the rules meant facing the referee's punishment.

Fuming but not daring to speak out, Yan Jing indignantly rubbed his rather obscure cat-waist. He looked at Chen Mingkai lying on the floor and asked, "And what about this one? How do you plan to handle him?"

"This is my seventh brother..."

Chen Nian smiled as he walked toward the utterly despairing Chen Mingkai.

Watching Chen Nian approach, Chen Mingkai broke out in a terrified sweat.

"Fifth Brother, Fifth Brother! It's true that I wronged you back then! I admit I was blinded by greed! But Fifth Brother, please just give me one chance! I'll turn over a new leaf from now on, I swear... Splurt! "

Blood sprayed across the room like a fountain.

Yan Jing manifested an Umbrella in his hand, holding it over himself and Wen He.

Amid the rain of blood, Yan Jing watched Chen Nian standing in the downpour.

Streams of gore stained his white hair.

And the expression on his face was one of profound sorrow.