Deus Ex Machina: Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Zhan Feng had an androgynous face.

In Yang Jin’s memory, Zhan Feng always had short, neat hair and the traits typical of a tech person: intelligent, calm, and tenacious. His performance in every mission was exceptional, being versatile enough to provide Yang Jin with any needed support, making him a trustworthy and reliable person.

But the person before him now had outrageously long hair, making his face look even more delicate. His gaze was cold, completely different from before.

Seeing someone who was supposed to have died eight years ago appear in front of him left Yang Jin dazed.

“Who’s Zhan Feng?” Feng Mang asked again.

“An old… friend,” Yang Jin replied.

“Zhan Feng?” Shi Yixi, almost instinctively, uttered the name while being restrained. The man behind him paused, and a pen appeared in his hand, the tip pressed against Shi Yixi’s neck. He asked menacingly, “How do you know my name? Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“I… I…” Shi Yixi stammered, “I’m here to rescue you.”

Zhan Feng remained unmoved, pressing the pen further against Shi Yixi’s neck.

“Yang Jin,” Shi Yixi asked, “Do you remember that name?”

Zhan Feng was silent.

“Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” Shi Yixi asked again.

“Why should I believe you?” Zhan Feng retorted.

“0327,” Shi Yixi said. “It’s a date. That day, you officially became teammates with Yang Jin in Qianfan. You said from then on…”

“From then on, we’ll go together and return together,” Zhan Feng murmured to himself, then focused his gaze on Shi Yixi and questioned, “Where is he?”

“Outside,” Shi Yixi said. “I’ll take you to him.”

“Heh,” Zhan Feng chuckled. “Leave?”

Shi Yixi nodded. Zhan Feng swiftly delivered a karate chop to his neck, causing him to black out.

“What happened?” Bai Yunci asked Yang Jin. “Why did…”

“He knocked Shi Yixi out,” Yang Jin replied.

Bai Yunci said, “Time is running out!”

“Who is this guy, really?” Feng Mang kept asking.

“He is Zhan Feng, I’m sure of it,” Yang Jin said.

“But didn’t you blow his head off with a shot eight years ago?” Bai Yunci couldn’t believe it. “Don’t tell me someone who’s confirmed dead can come back to life!”

“But he mentioned something only the two of us knew,” Yang Jin insisted.

Bai Yunci said, “Who knows if they replicated him somehow using some method?”

“But can memories be stolen from the dead?” Yang Jin asked.

“No…” Bai Yunci was at a loss for words.

“So he is Zhan Feng,” Yang Jin said. “The plan has changed.”

In a room dominated by white, Shi Yixi slowly regained consciousness on the floor. His neck still hurt, and his head was buzzing as if it was out of tune. He wasn’t sure how long he had been unconscious, but judging by the current situation, he was certain he had missed the scheduled time.

“Awake?” Zhan Feng stood by a cabinet, casually placing something he had taken from it onto a table.

“You…” Shi Yixi rubbed his head, struggling to form words.

“No outsiders are allowed here,” Zhan Feng said. “Especially not underground. Do you know what this place is?”

Shi Yixi shook his head.

Zhan Feng suddenly asked, “Are you a friend of Yang Jin?”

When the doors opened again, coincidentally, there was a man standing outside.

This man had sharp features, wavy dark brown hair, and a tall, imposing build. He had a natural aura of intimidation standing in front of the elevator. However, he was smiling, a typical playboy smile, especially when he saw Zhan Feng.

“Zhan Feng, hello there,” the man greeted, but his gaze shifted to Shi Yixi. “Who is he?”

“A new intern,” Zhan Feng said without stopping, pulling Shi Yixi along.

“I heard there’s an intruder in the lab today,” the man turned and said. “Black hair, inconspicuous. Have you seen him?”

“No,” Zhan Feng replied.

“Where’s the new raw liquid?” the man asked with a smile.

“On my office desk.” With that, Zhan Feng had already walked away with Shi Yixi.

“What now?” Bai Yunci asked. “They’ve found out.”

“Wait,” Yang Jin said. “Let’s see what Zhan Feng plans to do… Shi Yixi’s mind is in chaos right now.”

Zhan Feng led Shi Yixi around a small garden. Behind the garden was a dark doorway. He entered a series of commands on the wall’s keypad, causing noises from inside, and the door slowly opened. He said to Shi Yixi, “You can get out from here. Don’t ask, just go.”

“Okay.” Shi Yixi nodded.

Just as he took his first step, a loud roar sounded behind him. Zhan Feng also looked back in disbelief. Two teams were converging on this location from two directions, armed with weapons. The main thoroughfare had been blocked off by barriers, preventing anyone from entering this area.

It seemed they were about to carry out a crucial extermination mission. At this moment, without thinking, Shi Yixi sprinted towards the door with all his might.

Zhan Feng realized something as well and shouted, “Leave the stuff behind!”

Shi Yixi felt his heart was about to leap out of his chest. The door was so close, yet it seemed he couldn’t reach it. He had never felt like this before, as if emotions long dormant were awakening one by one. It was his first time stealing something, and he was terrified. Yang Jin had told him to do it and promised to come and rescue him.

Behind him, Zhan Feng’s shouts were getting louder. He didn’t have time to look back, but he knew Zhan Feng had been caught and pinned to the ground.

“Child, don’t run,” the man’s voice boomed, echoing around. “Interns aren’t off duty yet.”

Shi Yixi saw the door slowly closing in front of him. He hadn’t even reached the gap before everything went dark.

Then, numerous red lights illuminated around him. He turned around, dazed, with his mind blank.

He really was clumsy, even incapable of stealing properly.

A red dot slowly moved toward him, finally resting on his forehead.

The man stood behind him, stepping on Zhan Feng’s head, grinning as he asked, “What should we do with an intern who steals? Kill him…”

“You…” Zhan Feng, pinned down by two men, could only squeeze out words through gritted teeth.

The man moved his foot away, crouched down slightly, and leaned closer to Zhan Feng, whispering, “Yang Jin didn’t die in that big explosion. Very interesting. Let’s capture him, shall we? You must miss him, right?”

He raised a hand, making a slight adjustment to the red dot on Shi Yixi’s forehead, as if waiting for instructions.

“Boom!”

A massive explosion outside caused everyone to sway. The roar of engines filled the air, and everyone started to retreat. Looking up, they saw a ship diving down.

The commotion quickly alerted the Inner City residents. People scattered in all directions, and the defense system automatically activated, targeting the ship.

“Height restriction!” Feng Mang said. “The interference here is too strong, we can’t hover for long. Yang Jin, I’ve blown a hole in the wall. There’s a barrier inside. I’m looking for the launcher… ah, found it! Locked and destroyed!”

Another “boom” sounded, tearing open a gap in the combat area, but no one thought of running in to find death.

Feng Mang asked, “Have you located Yixi yet?”

Outside, artillery fire and smoke filled the air, with screams and roars barely noticeable amidst the cold flames.

“Yang Jin?” Feng Mang called out, “Where are you? Did you get blown up?”

Dalia impatiently said, “Relying on that dead man is worse than relying on a pig! I’m going to save Xixi!”

Ying Si said, “So, are you a pig?”

Dalia immediately aimed her cannon at Ying Si, who raised his hands in surrender.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Zhan Feng knocked away the two people beside him and charged at the man. The man, seemingly prepared, dodged and drew a gun from behind, aiming it directly at Zhan Feng’s forehead.

“Want to get shot again?” His smile remained unchanged, still so leisurely despite the situation. “Who saved you? My queen?”

Just as he pulled the trigger, his keen hearing picked up a slight difference in the noise. Almost instantly, his wrist was in excruciating pain, blood splattering everywhere, and the gun fell to the ground.

Through the thick fog, a streak of blood light appeared, and a rapid burst of gunfire forcibly separated the man and Zhan Feng.

“Yang Jin, stop showing off!” Feng Mang shouted, “The hover time is running out!”

“I’m going down.” Dalia, ignoring everything, jumped directly down, the heavily armored girl charging into the fray.

“Send another person down to the lab. Lao Bai, you go,” Yang Jin said. “Dalia, you go tie up Zhan Feng. I’ll find Shi Yixi. I know where he is.”

“Why!” Dalia protested, “I want to save Xixi!”

A sharp sound, like rushing air, shot past Dalia’s face.

“Stop speaking nonsense!” Yang Jin ordered.

“He came to save you,” the man, standing at a distance with blood pouring from his wrist, said to Zhan Feng, waving his hand. “So boring.” Without looking back, he walked away.

He had more important matters to attend to and no time to play games with Zhan Feng.

Everyone was looking for Shi Yixi, who was running around like a headless chicken amidst the crossfire, stray bullets flying everywhere. His mind was buzzing. He knew he should find Yang Jin, but he couldn’t control himself. It was as if many voices were speaking to him, shouting “Where’s that little demon?” “Get rid of that little demon.” He knew they were talking about him, but he couldn’t tell where the voices were coming from.

His head hurt terribly, and gradually, he saw the laboratory.

The headless chicken without direction ran back to the starting point.

“That kid’s over there!” someone shouted. They had spotted Shi Yixi, and several guns were aimed at him. Shi Yixi ran and dodged, bullets grazing his clothes. He thought the next shot would kill him, but nothing happened.

“Don’t be afraid,” a voice appeared in his mind, “I’m here.”

Shi Yixi’s eyes widened as the enemies in front of him were pierced by invisible “bullets,” falling one by one. He turned around and saw Yang Jin, with a gun slung over his shoulder, emerging from cover amidst the smoke and flames.

“Come with me.” Yang Jin grabbed his wrist.

“There are many things inside,” Shi Yixi said, “Maybe… maybe they’re what you want.”

Two helicopters hovered in the sky. Yang Jin looked up and saw the man in the leading helicopter, holding a controller.

“Goodbye,” the man said with a smile, pressing the controller.

Yang Jin swiftly fired a shot, but Shi Yixi’s weight threw him off, causing him to hit the trailing helicopter instead. It exploded and crashed.

“Run!” Yang Jin shouted, dragging Shi Yixi forward as the lab behind them exploded from its self-destruct system. The blast was so strong that even the hovering ship was affected. Feng Mang switched to manual mode, pulling the ship up to prevent it from crashing.

“Are you all okay?” he asked with concern.

“What exploded?” Dalia screamed, “Scared me to death! Also, I caught the long-haired guy.”

“Yang Jin?” Feng Mang asked, “Bai Yunci?”

“Cough…” Yang Jin slowly got up from the ground, fire blazing behind him, the heat searing his skin. Dizzy from the blast, he looked down at Shi Yixi beneath him, patted his face, and asked, “Are you alright?”

Shi Yixi’s eyes were vacant.

“Scared stiff?” Yang Jin pulled him up and asked over the comms, “Old Bai? Are you dead?”

“Evacuated,” Bai Yunci replied steadily, “And got some stuff too.”

“Lucky,” Yang Jin said.

He glanced around at the ruins. The once peaceful town had been mostly destroyed by the explosion, with flames soaring in the Inner City and chaos likely reigning outside.

But there was nothing he could do; sometimes sacrifices were necessary.

“Crazy Blind Man, come pick us up,” Yang Jin sighed. He looked down at Shi Yixi, who seemed soulless, vacant. Without asking further, he patted Shi Yixi’s head, picked him up, and said, “You did great. It’s okay now, we’re going home.”

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