Deus Ex Machina: Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The ship entered stealth mode in the air, with Feng Mang’s advanced and cunning design ensuring they wouldn’t be easily found.

Having just come out of combat, everyone was in a disheveled state.

Feng Mang, who had long operated within the dark world of underground trading, was essentially a tech guy. He had only ever seen scenes of war on the news. A weapons dealer had never experienced real warfare firsthand; he always imagined that charging into battle was heroic—until he witnessed it for himself…

His hand, holding a coffee cup, trembled slightly, nearly spilling the coffee.

“Did you all… did you kill anyone?” Feng Mang asked.

Yang Jin leaned back in his chair, his head tilted upward, and said, “Fan Fan, casualty report.”

“No civilian deaths recorded,” Fan Fan replied. “Ten dangerous targets eliminated.” He paused before continuing, “Additionally, Yang Jin, the Intercontinental Alliance has raised your restriction level by two tiers. Are you sure you don’t need to contact them? They might already be suspicious of you.”

“Tell them I was kidnapped by the Sanctum,” Yang Jin said. “Let them think I’m dead.”

Feng Mang asked, “Is this how your missions always go… in places where civilians live? Innocent people could get caught up in this! Their lives are shattered in an instant—what happens to them afterward?”

Yang Jin replied, “If you think it’s a problem, you can use the money you’ve made from selling weapons over the years for charity. Maybe they were chasing us just now with your guns, so why are you suddenly playing the good guy here? A saint doesn’t belong in this place.”

“But that’s different!” Feng Mang protested. “Heroes are supposed to protect everyone. How can you justify causing destruction?”

“No one ever said they were a hero,” Yang Jin said coldly. “Sacrificing one person to save a hundred—that’s the fairest trade-off we can make. There’s no other choice.”

A scoff came from a distant corner—it was Zhan Feng.

His hands were bound, courtesy of Dalia, who thought Zhan Feng had treated Shi Yixi poorly and thus considered him a bad person. She had even dragged him onto the ship by his hair.

“Xi Xi, your skin is all scraped up,” Dalia said eagerly to Shi Yixi. “Let me apply some ointment for you.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Bai Yunci interjected, stopping Dalia. “Let him be by himself for a while.”

Dalia exclaimed, “Do you have any humanity?”

Bai Yunci smiled faintly, “No.”

Shi Yixi raised his arm blankly. During the explosion, Yang Jin had knocked him down, leaving him with several scrapes. However, his blood clotted quickly, and the wounds had already scabbed over.

“I’m fine, just a bit dizzy,” he said, then pointed to Zhan Feng.

Yang Jin walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat down, his gaze fixed on Zhan Feng. His expression was somewhat complicated, but Zhan Feng showed little emotion. Yang Jin dared to look at him, and Zhan Feng dared to look back.

“You…” Yang Jin began.

Zhan Feng interrupted, “Are you wondering why I’m still alive?”

Yang Jin nodded.

“Probably everyone wants to know why I’m still alive,” Zhan Feng sneered. “I want to know too.”

“Why didn’t you come back to find me?” Yang Jin asked again.

Zhan Feng remained silent, turning his head away slightly.

Yang Jin gestured for Shi Yixi to come over. Shi Yixi handed Yang Jin something—a small bottle of an unknown liquid he had taken from Zhan Feng’s office. It was clearly important, or Zhan Feng wouldn’t have chased after Shi Yixi.

“Xing Bao is a well-known drug on the black market,” Yang Jin said. “How much do you know about it?”

“A lot,” Zhan Feng replied, “probably everything. But why should I tell you?”

Yang Jin frowned and asked, “Have you joined the Sanctum?”

“Does it matter whether I have or haven’t?” Zhan Feng said. “If you want, I could join you anytime.”

Everyone’s eyes shifted between the two, unsure of what history they shared. Even Bai Yunci, as a member of Qianfan, only had surface-level knowledge of Zhan Feng. He knew that Yang Jin and Zhan Feng had been close friends years ago, performing exceptionally well in multiple missions. The two were as dazzling as twin stars and were the most solid partnership in Qianfan.

Until one day, Yang Jin reported in a mission debrief that he had shot and killed Zhan Feng in the Stellari Desert.

“Do you believe me?” Zhan Feng looked directly into Yang Jin’s eyes and softly asked, “Yang Jin?”

Yang Jin just stared at Zhan Feng, deep in thought, saying nothing. Everyone then turned to look at Shi Yixi, hoping he might understand what Yang Jin was doing.

Shi Yixi looked at everyone in confusion, not understanding their intentions. However, deep down, he had a vague feeling that Yang Jin was unwilling to reveal his thoughts to him.

So, he didn’t know.

“I believe you,” Yang Jin uttered two words, then pointed at the bottle and said, “Now tell me what this is.”

Only then did Zhan Feng slowly begin to speak, “The Kodo Laboratory is affiliated with the Sanctum. They are developing a potential enhancement serum. The Xing Bao you know is a byproduct of that research.” He nodded towards the bottle with his chin, “This is the latest version of Xing Bao’s original liquid. There are only two vials.”

“Where is the other vial?” Yang Jin asked.

Zhan Feng looked at Shi Yixi and said, “It’s inside him.”

Once again, everyone’s attention shifted to Shi Yixi. Yang Jin immediately recalled the moment when Zhan Feng had attacked Shi Yixi, causing him to lose consciousness for a long time. Perhaps it was then that Zhan Feng had done something to Shi Yixi.

He wanted to question him, but someone else was clearly more concerned.

“What the hell did you do, you lunatic!” Ying Si shouted, standing up for his friend. “Do you believe I’ll kill you?”

Bai Yunci had already pressed a blade to Zhan Feng’s neck, his voice cold as he asked, “What did you do to him?”

“Just testing out the new Xing Bao,” Zhan Feng ignored Bai Yunci and looked at Yang Jin instead. “Why do you keep such weak people around you? The Xing Bao can help ordinary people unlock their potential. Isn’t it a nice gift?”

Yang Jin pushed Ying Si aside and pulled Zhan Feng closer, almost bringing them face to face. His movements were so quick that Bai Yunci’s blade sliced Zhan Feng’s neck, drawing blood and cutting off a lock of hair.

The black hair fell slowly, mingling with the blood, but Zhan Feng remained indifferent.

“A gift?” Yang Jin stared at Zhan Feng. “Why didn’t you consider returning to me as a gift?”

“I couldn’t,” Zhan Feng’s expression softened, his tone losing its sharp edge, now filled with a trace of sadness. “Yang Jin, I couldn’t…”

“You two take your time catching up. I’m going to check on him,” Bai Yunci said as he led Shi Yixi away.

No one was interested in this reunion of old friends, especially after Zhan Feng admitted to experimenting on Shi Yixi. This only made Dalia and Ying Si despise him even more—they were itching to tear Zhan Feng apart. However, it seemed that Yang Jin wasn’t planning to do that, as he was clearly intent on protecting his friend.

Considering this, Dalia’s hands itched, making her want to hack Yang Jin down as well.

Feng Mang nudged the two of them and tried to ease the tension, “Alright, alright, let’s not worry about them. Let’s go check on Yixi.”

A door separated two worlds, leaving only Yang Jin and Zhan Feng on this side.

Yang Jin released Zhan Feng, who then rubbed his elbow. Realizing that Yang Jin’s gaze hadn’t left him, Zhan Feng looked up and asked, “What else do you want to know?”

“Tell me everything you know,” Yang Jin said. “What happened during these eight years?”

“There weren’t eight years,” Zhan Feng smiled faintly. “There was only one year.”

“What do you mean?”

“I only have memories from this past year.” Zhan Feng’s smile turned a bit bleak, as if he was caught in painful and conflicted memories. “When I woke up, I was inside a large, sealed container. My mind was in chaos, as if I had slept for a very, very long time. I felt extremely exhausted when I finally woke up. For a long time after that, I couldn’t figure out who I was or where I was. Later, they kept me in a lab for a while. Once my memory started to return, they took me to Shacheng and began involving me in the Xing Bao experiments.”

Yang Jin listened intently and raised a question, “You still have your memories. Why would they trust you?”

“Because you killed me,” Zhan Feng said calmly. “I should be filled with hatred towards you and Qianfan.”

“Zhan Feng,” Yang Jin took a deep breath, “Do you hate me?”

Zhan Feng fell silent, then said somewhat helplessly, “I don’t know.”

Yang Jin didn’t know what to say either. At that moment, he felt a wave of pain, something connected to Shi Yixi in the next room.

“Keep going,” Yang Jin said. “Tell me about your involvement in the Xing Bao experiments.”

“They analyzed samples from Hai Yan. So far, most of the elements have been deciphered, except for one very special substance that no one knows what it is. It’s something no one has ever seen before, and they don’t even know if it exists in the material world. They tried many alternatives, but none were ideal—until I appeared. The reason is simple: I’m from Qianfan.”

“Hai Yan?” Yang Jin immediately connected these events, his expression wavering. “Did they experiment on you?”

“Not entirely,” Zhan Feng said. “They had me participate in the process.”

Yang Jin didn’t question whether Zhan Feng’s actions contradicted his beliefs when he first joined Qianfan. He didn’t know what had happened over the years, nor could he understand the circumstances Zhan Feng had been through. Zhan Feng’s words revealed too much unavoidable helplessness, so Yang Jin couldn’t simply focus on the results and question Zhan Feng’s actions.

He was willing to keep listening, perhaps simply because this person was Zhan Feng.

“Xing Bao is the result of that process,” Zhan Feng said. “It’s circulating on the black market. Later, I realized that its existence is indeed necessary.”

“What do you mean?”

Zhan Feng didn’t answer the question, instead deflecting, “Do you remember Qianfan’s retirement regulations?”

Before Yang Jin could think about the details, Bai Yunci hurriedly came out and pulled Yang Jin aside, saying, “Come take a look.”

“What’s going on?” Yang Jin, confused, was led away by Bai Yunci. Inside, Shi Yixi was curled up in pain on a chair.

“It’s strange,” Bai Yunci said. “Whatever Zhan Feng used on him is having some uncertain effects. His genes were already undergoing a sudden shift, and when I just hooked him up for a checkup, there was a strong stress reaction. Now, all his vital signs are in disarray.”

“Is there any way to stabilize him?” Yang Jin asked.

Bai Yunci shook his head. “I don’t dare to continue using medication to control him right now; the results would be unpredictable. Besides, his body is starting to reject external examinations.”

Yang Jin crouched down, holding Shi Yixi with both hands, and asked, “How do you feel now?”

“There’s a lot of talking,” Shi Yixi’s face was pale, and he spoke in a very faint voice, “So many voices, it’s chaotic.”

Yang Jin asked, “What are they saying?”

Shi Yixi shook his head. “I don’t understand; my head hurts.”

Faced with the various abnormalities happening to Shi Yixi, they were all at a loss, only able to watch him sink into a murky no-man’s land where no one could reach out to help. Zhan Feng slowly walked over from behind, leaning against the doorframe, and said, “You’d better find a way to make him sleep. If he enters a growth state, sleep is the best solution.”

“Is that so?” Yang Jin asked.

“You don’t trust me?” Zhan Feng countered.

“I do.” Besides trusting Zhan Feng, Yang Jin didn’t have any other better options. He turned to Bai Yunci, “Is there a way to make him sleep?”

“An injection would be the quickest,” Bai Yunci replied.

Yang Jin asked, “Any side effects?”

Bai Yunci said, “Anything we do now could have side effects.”

Yang Jin moved Shi Yixi to the bed, letting him rest his head on Yang Jin’s lap, and then rolled up his sleeve, exposing his arm. Bai Yunci quickly administered a dose of sedative. The spectrum on the monitor gradually stabilized, and Shi Yixi slowly closed his eyes, appearing less distressed. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Yang Jin’s hand naturally rested on Shi Yixi’s cheek, the warmth from his palm providing a faint, comforting heat.

“Don’t be too tense,” Zhan Feng said. “It’s just a change that ordinary people can’t easily accept. If it were used on you, it probably wouldn’t have any effect at all.”

“How do you know he’s an ordinary person?” Bai Yunci glanced at Zhan Feng in the distance, his question carrying a vague implication. Then, as if he didn’t intend to pursue the topic further, he pulled a monitor closer and said, “I found some data in the Kodo Lab.” He pressed a button, and the screen immediately began rapidly scrolling through a list of names and information. “Does it look familiar?” he asked.

“Of course it’s familiar,” Yang Jin replied. “You and I are in there too.”

Bai Yunci said, “This is a complete list of Qianfan members. Look, at the top are Wan Hong, Guan Jincheng, and Pony. Below that are the branch organizations and members, including the Shadow Moon Operations Group. But below that, there’s a section that’s greyed out and encrypted, so we don’t know what it’s categorized as yet. The fact that this list was found in that lab—don’t you find that strange?”

“Could this further prove that the Qianfan incident is related to Sanctum?” Yang Jin analyzed. “All of our information here is unencrypted, and it doesn’t include members of the Nufeng Academy. If that’s the case…” He began searching for information on Zhan Feng, but the search returned empty. “The list doesn’t include those who are deceased or removed,” he continued, staring at the screen, then quickly corrected himself, “No, only the deceased are missing. If someone has been removed or retired…”

“They’re not within their target range?” Bai Yunci asked.

“Then what is the target? What is the purpose behind everything they’re doing?” Yang Jin looked at Zhan Feng with intent. “Can you tell me?”

Zhan Feng replied, “Yang Jin, you should at least show some humility when asking for something.”

Yang Jin softened his tone, “Xiao Feng…”

Suddenly, the spaceship jolted violently, the display screen flickered with scrambled information, and alarms blared throughout the room. The system calmly announced, “Please hold on and remain seated to avoid any collisions…”

“What kind of idiot AI system is this!” Ying Si cursed. “Is your spaceship a bus? What just happened?”

“We’re under attack!” Feng Mang shouted.

TN:

I don’t like this Zhan Feng.

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