Zhou Jiao hadn't expected Jiang Lian to show up.
While the "man" went berserk sniffing around like a bloodhound, she quietly opened a browser on her personal terminal and began reading online rumors about Biotech.
One account caught her attention: @WhenWillBiotechCollapse.
For the past two years, this account had posted nothing but pictures of homeless people—no captions, no commentary, just a single candle emoji beneath each one.
Zhou Jiao saved several of the images. Using her Special Bureau credentials, she ran a scan—and found that every one of those homeless people had been reported missing in Yucheng. Some had even been officially declared dead.
What was strange was that in their entire recorded lives, there wasn't a single trace of Biotech.
That made no sense.
Biotech was a monopoly. Beyond pharmaceuticals, gene engineering, and biochem chips, they had their hands in medicine, energy, logistics, security, and media.
In Yucheng, no one could truly avoid Biotech.
Sure, you could choose not to use their products. After all, Biotech wasn't the only monopolistic giant—there were two other mega-corps that influenced people's lives, directly or indirectly.
But could you guarantee that when you bought something online, the seller wouldn't ship it through Biotech logistics?
Even if you specified "no Biotech delivery," could you be sure the truck itself wasn't owned by Biotech?
And even if you somehow dodged all that—there was one thing you could never escape: Biotech's biochem chips.
Modern life was built on chips: ID chips, credit chips, neuro-vision chips, communication chips... Without them, you couldn't make a call, pay a bill, check the time, weather, or your health. You couldn't even scan a billboard QR code.
And Biotech? They owned nearly all the patents.
But these homeless people—
They didn't even have Biotech-made ID chips.
That wasn't just strange.
That was a message.
They weren't hiding from Biotech. They were being used as a billboard:
"Yes. We killed them.
But you can't pin it on us.
Because they never used our products.
Not even our chips."
The rumors about Biotech's illegal human experimentation?
Probably true.
The account had stopped updating in June of this year.
Its second-to-last post was on May 1st, 5:45 a.m.
For the first time, it wasn't a photo. It was a wall of pure, deranged text:
"I can't take it anymore.
I'm surrounded by MONSTERS!!!
Why am I the only one who can see what they really are?? Are you all blind?!
That man—he wants to turn the whole damn world into MONSTERS!!!
If you all keep sleepwalking like this, it's only a matter of time before you become monsters too!!!!
Don't you get it?! I'm scared to death every single day!!!
I KNOW they're poisoning us in the ■■■!!!
HAHAHAHA bet you didn't expect that, huh?
The moment ■■ was invented, the gears of the conspiracy started to turn!!!
Use too much ■■, and you have to take ■■■—
and BOTH are owned by THEM!!!
They'll rule the world eventually, hahahahaha—everyone's screwed anyway!!!!!!"
Zhou Jiao scrolled through the replies. There were only a few:
— "New paranoid lit just dropped. I'm stealing this."
— "Who doesn't want the world to end?"
— "Wait, you're alive? I thought this was some auto-image bot."
— "Bro what's ■■ and ■■■? It's 2075. Can riddleposters leave Earth already?"
At 7:00 a.m., the account made one final post:
"I found a way to bring Biotech down.
When the god descends, it'll all be over."
This time, it included an image.
But the platform had censored it.
Unlike the previous post, which barely got engagement, this one had over five thousand comments. Zhou Jiao was about to open the thread when a hot splash hit her cheek.
It reeked of blood and metal.
She touched her face—it was the thick, bluish blood that only mutant creatures bled.
All around her, the "security officers" from Biotech—actually mutant hybrids—were dead.
Zhou Jiao looked up, stunned, and saw a figure she hadn't expected.
Jiang Lian stood not far away, draped in his gray-white coat, tall and slender, cold and beautiful—
If not for the terrifying, frozen malice on his face.
Zhou Jiao was speechless.
She'd planned to use Biotech's invitation to sneak into their tower and uncover the truth.
But Jiang Lian's sudden arrival had completely derailed her plan.
Still… she had a gut feeling.
His appearance—or rather, the emergence of the monster inside him—was somehow connected to that account: @WhenWillBiotechCollapse.
If she wanted to learn what had really happened to the account owner…
If she wanted to see that censored image…
She needed to get inside Biotech's tower.
But everyone who could've brought her there—was now dead.
Zhou Jiao's eye twitched.
No.
Not everyone.
She narrowed her gaze at Jiang Lian.
He was staring right back at her.
Something flashed across his eyes—bloody red veins swelling in his sclera. His face, usually stoic, twisted into something far more unnerving than usual.
Of course.
Jiang Lian could take her inside Biotech.
And no one would be able to stop him.
Zhou Jiao smiled at him. The corners of her eyes lifted in a seductive, devilish arc—the same smile she gave him the first time she realized he could be her plaything.
His stare stayed glacial, almost hostile, but dropped slightly… landing on her lips.
Zhou Jiao felt a chill crawl up her spine.
But it wasn't fear.
It was the way he looked at her.
She could sense, vaguely—perhaps because of the tentacle she'd consumed—that he wasn't just some mutated man.
He was from the ultra-abyssal zone of the deep sea.
The harshest, deadliest environment on Earth—eternal darkness, freezing cold, silent death.
He held no regard for humans.
Not out of arrogance or contempt—
But from a kind of natural law–like a 3D being would never care about the wars or passions of a 2D drawing.
After all, humans can destroy a 2D world with a single stroke.
But no human would ever be obsessed with 2D lifeforms.
And yet, Jiang Lian—an entity so far above humanity it couldn't even communicate with them—
Was obsessed with her.
Right now, he wanted to look away.
But his gaze clung to her lips like glue, refusing to budge.
Zhou Jiao laughed softly.
Watching a supreme being lose control like this over her—
It was exhilarating.
She even forgot that he'd almost killed her the night before.
In this moment, all she could think about was how to deepen his obsession.
How to etch her presence into those lofty, indifferent eyes.
She lowered her gaze and thought, "I really must be insane."
Just last night, she had stared into his monstrous true form—an uncontrollable, undefeatable horror.
Today, she wanted to conquer him.
And still…
She wanted to kill him too.
Something inside her had broken loose.
She had never been content with a quiet, ordinary life.
She craved danger—thrill—madness.
Jiang Lian's inhuman nature didn't scare her.
It excited her.
Just then, a shadow fell across her.
Jiang Lian stepped up, his voice cold:
"Why are you smiling?"
He paused, then added flatly:
"You're dying. Without the energy I give you, you'll starve."
Zhou Jiao almost said, "You won't let me die."
But thought better of it.
Knowing this creature, he might kill her just to prove her wrong.
No need to test his patience now.
After a moment, she smirked and twisted the tension back at him:
"You're dying too."
Jiang Lian replied calmly:
"I won't die."
He said it with neither pride nor disdain—just the absolute conviction of a scientific fact.
Zhou Jiao shook her head.
"No—you will. You pissed off the company."
Jiang Lian's brow creased slightly, attention caught:
"The company?"
Zhou Jiao didn't dare overact. She kept her tone as natural as possible, trying not to raise suspicion as she said,
"Yes, the Company. You're not human, so you don't understand how terrifying the Company really is. Let me put it this way: fifty years ago, there were nearly two hundred countries in the world. People used to introduce themselves by saying which country they were from. Now? They only say which corporation they belong to. And as for the unemployed or those working for small firms—they don't even qualify to introduce themselves."
Jiang Lian didn't blink. "So humanity just found a new way to divide its social groups. That's your business, not mine."
"It wasn't your business before, but now it is."
Zhou Jiao tilted her head and looked up at him with a deliberately innocent expression, meeting his cold gaze:
"You killed so many of BioTech's security personnel. You must've already caught their attention. This city is full of BioTech surveillance cameras. Everyone has a BioTech chip implanted in the back of their neck... They control life and death here. They're the real gods."
"Gods?"
Zhou Jiao nodded. "What is a god? A god is immortal and all-powerful. Once the Company masters the technology to extend human life, they can create gods."
She gestured at the mutated corpses on the ground. "These things are proof of that. The Company is testing the limits of the human body. They want to make humans as durable and long-lived as these mutants."
Jiang Lian didn't respond.
"Maybe you are the most perfect creature on Earth—something close to a god. But you're just one. How could you possibly fight off a whole army? BioTech employs tens of millions. If they want you dead, it's as simple as snapping their fingers."
His expression didn't change, but his gaze dropped to her lips again. His Adam's apple bobbed more rapidly now.
She was getting through to him.
Zhou Jiao lowered her eyes, hiding the glint of cunning behind her lashes, and continued,
"Of course, with current human technology, they can't kill a being like you. But sometimes... living can be worse than dying."
"When the Company realizes they can't destroy you, what do you think they'll do—worship you like a god? No. They'll do everything they can to capture you, study you, dissect you. They'll try to extract whatever makes you immortal and implant it in their executives."
Jiang Lian said nothing, but the rapid rise and fall of his throat told her she'd struck a nerve.
Perfect. The seed of doubt had taken root.
And even though she was manipulating him, every word she'd said was true.
If the Company learned of Jiang Lian's existence, their first reaction would absolutely be to eliminate him—if they could.
But the reality was, even the Company's billion-dollar combat machines were helpless before Jiang Lian.
If they couldn't kill him, they'd study him.
The Company's people would swarm him like termites.
Even a massive dam can collapse from a tiny leak—and while Jiang Lian might easily annihilate mutants, the Company's arsenal wasn't limited to those. They also had cyborgs and war robots that hadn't even been deployed yet.
Thinking of this, Zhou Jiao suddenly wasn't so sure Jiang Lian could take on these megacorporations.
She needed a backup plan.
Just as the thought flashed through her mind, two fingers grabbed her chin.
An overwhelming pressure descended on her.
Jiang Lian's eyes moved slowly, and behind the lenses of his glasses, his gaze was like a knife slicing inch by inch down her face.
It made her skin crawl.
Had he figured out she was trying to manipulate him?
Did he hate being schemed against so much that he was going to kill her with a flick of his hand?
Even worse, the air around her began to feel thick and humid, as if invisible tendrils were squirming and stretching out, blocking her escape.
Her palms broke into a cold sweat. She steadied herself and decided to come clean.
"Okay, fine. I admit I was trying to—" use you to fight BioTech.
But before she could finish, Jiang Lian suddenly said,
"You smell even better now. Why?"
...Huh?
Zhou Jiao froze. "What?"
"You ate my tendril, but I couldn't control you. Why?" Jiang Lian's eyes pinned her in place, his gaze as stifling as hot air. "You're lying to me. You want to use me to hold off your 'god.' You want us to destroy each other. But more than that—you want me dead."
"You don't fear me. You want to get away from me. You hate me."
He stared at her. Behind the gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes appeared calm and deep—but something about them felt… off.
Cracked.
As if they could split open at any moment and reveal something unspeakable underneath.
"But still," he said slowly, "I'm drawn to you even more. Why?"