Art Gallery

Chapter 30

Two people were sitting in the reception room nearest the corridor, and they turned in unison to stare at Lan and Shen Wang as they came upstairs.

A man in a tailcoat and a magician's top hat smiled as he spoke. 'What's going on today? We've had quite a few new VIPs walk in.'

'The VIP section hasn't seen a new face in a long time.'

A student-type teenager next to him lifted his head and gave them a cold look before adding, 'A few people from the Anti-Contamination Center got in a while back. These are probably the follow-up scouts. It's only natural a couple of them are strong.'

'Whoa.' The Magician pulled an exaggerated face and gestured. 'The mighty Anti-Contamination Center! You Anti-Contamination Center types would actually sell someone out just to stay alive?'

He flashed a wicked grin. 'So you're just like us, then.'

Shen Wang looked at his glittering glass-bead eyes and gave a slight frown.

'A Grade B Contaminant?'

'Not necessarily Grade B, maybe not even a Contaminant at all — he just has a pair of glass eyes, that's all.' Lan sized the Magician up and down before continuing, his tone offhand. 'You can stay on the second floor as long as you bring in a batch of victims after being released to hunt. But that doesn't mean you won't be contaminated — at best, you're just an Aberrant who's managed to hold onto your own consciousness.'

The Magician and the Male Student's faces both turned ugly as they looked at Lan.

Reading their expressions, Shen Wang knew Lan had guessed right.

Shen Wang wasn't surprised at all.

He'd seen too many terrible people. During the last days there were even scammers who'd bring a dead baby to the hospital to frame them for malpractice. The hospital refused to take the blame, of course, so it got escalated to the Security Bureau.

An overwhelming desire turned that dead infant into a Contaminant and caused a small-scale disturbance.

Back then, his attending physician, The Doctor, told him: “In this world, the two strongest desires humans have are not wanting to die, and wanting to die way too much.”

Clearly these two fell into the first category.

'What's that supposed to mean?!'

The Magician let out a cold laugh. Compared to the Male Student beside him, he was far more agitated and furious — clearly more severely contaminated, already struggling to keep his mental state under control.

He strode forward until he was right in front of Lan.

'And who the hell do you think you are? You really believe just because you're with the Anti-Contamination Center you're some god descended from the heavens, superior to everyone else? Let me tell you — everyone who makes it to the second floor has done something terrible. That goes for Anti-Contamination Center people too!'

'You're just as rotten as the rest of us!'

'Oh?' Lan gazed at him. 'I don't think I ever said I was from the Anti-Contamination Center.'

The Magician gave him a dismissive look. 'If you're not from the Anti-Contamination Center, then you must be—'

His voice cut off mid-sentence.

'G-gurgle...'

Lan had never had a kind personality — you could even call him terrifying. He'd do whatever it took to achieve his goals, no matter how horrific the consequences.

That was precisely why he'd landed on the Wanted List so decisively, and near the very top of it.

In this dreadful environment, Lan opened his book and looked as though he found it quite pleasant. But he'd always been gloomy, his expression never approachable, and now it looked downright eerie.

The Magician was suspended in midair. An invisible grip had him by the throat, hoisting him up so he couldn't make a sound.

The Magician finally realized this was someone he couldn't afford to provoke — but now he couldn't even beg for mercy.

'The book says: humans are creatures of desire. Desire can help them rise or drag them down. Those who rise fulfill their desires; those who fall are swallowed by them.'

'And I despise people who are ruled by their desires.'

Lan's tone was even. 'Maybe I should just dispose of you both right now.'

'Urk... urk...' The Magician's eyes flew wide with terror, and the violent suffocation wrested a sound from him.

He was still human. He didn't want to die. The whole reason he'd deceived countless audience members and sent them all into the Art Gallery was precisely so he could survive on the second floor to this day.

The Male Student tried to flee but ran headfirst into a wall of transparent glass. He crumpled to the floor, trembling in terror.

'What do you want to know?!' the Male Student shouted desperately. 'I'll tell you everything I know!'

'Is that so?' Lan turned his head toward him, his pale eyes completely devoid of emotion.

'Too bad. Now I don't want to know.'

'No, you can't do this!' The Male Student clearly sensed the killing intent radiating from Lan. 'I'm a VIP Guest of Hundred Eyes! We're second-floor residents! You can't kill me!'

Lan watched him, the Male Student's reflection floating in those pale eyes, and his voice was flat and terrifying.

'There's nothing I don't dare kill.'

'You're just two Aberrants. Even the Anti-Contamination Center wouldn't consider you victims.'

The Male Student shrieked and tried to flee in another direction, but unfortunately Lan's talent involved space now. He controlled every inch of it, blocking every escape route.

The Magician, still hanging in the air, was struggling less and less. Asphyxiation was stealing his strength, his vision whitening out.

Against a Grade S Mutant, these two Aberrants stood no chance.

Shen Wang stepped back, not planning to get involved. Lan could handle these two Aberrants easily enough.

Just then, the communicator Shen Wang had been wearing in his ear crackled to life.

'Can you hear me?' The voice coming through was familiar.

'I'm at your ten o'clock.'

Shen Wang looked in that direction and, sure enough, saw a woman in a black combat suit give him a small wave before ducking back into the corridor.

It was Baihe.

'Don't say anything. Just making sure you can hear me is enough.'

'First thing I need to tell you: the person beside you isn't one of our teammates. Stay calm — don't panic or give yourself away.'

Shen Wang glanced at Lan and wondered if Lan had already seen this coming when he'd read that book before they entered.

But Baihe seemed to think he'd mistaken a stranger for an ally. She hadn't realized he and Lan were in on it together.

Yeah, this could still be salvaged.

Once she was sure Shen Wang had heard and understood, Baihe went on: 'In one minute, I'm going to stir up a small commotion. The moment it happens, you seize the chance and break away — run toward me.'

'Remember, make sure to get away from him!'

Shen Wang turned to look at Lan.

Lan noticed his gaze. He looked back at Shen Wang, and the instant their eyes met, something flickered in Lan's expression — thoughtful.

'Oh? A new development?'

Before he could open his book to confirm, the Male Student abruptly stopped screaming. The silence was unnervingly off, his glass eyes hollow and empty.

Without any reason, he spun around and charged at Lan like a string-pulled puppet.

'For Hundred Eyes!'

'Kill the intruders!'

He chanted, ramming into an invisible air wall. He didn't stop — he just kept hurling himself against it, again and again.

A crack formed on his face with every impact. His glass-bead eyes popped free from the force, and blood streamed from the corners of his eyes. He never paused, not even when he started vomiting eyeballs.

Lan, still controlling the air wall, turned his attention toward Shen Wang. Shen Wang flashed him a hand signal, then turned and ran.

The gesture meant he needed to step away for a moment.

Lan tilted his head, a flicker in those pale eyes.

The instant Shen Wang disappeared from sight, the Male Student collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut, sprawling unconscious on the floor.

Lan was silent for a few seconds, then snapped his fingers. The Magician, who'd been hanging in the air, dropped to the ground right beside the Male Student.

As if nothing had happened, Lan continued flipping through his wordless book.

'That's some girl.' He read as he went. 'Using Empathy to seize control of a parasitic Contaminant that originally belonged to Hundred Eyes, then sending them to attack me so she could create an opening to take my little brother away.'

'As expected, every member of North Star is someone to watch out for.'

'Dangerous, yes — but with my little brother tucked away in a squad like that, I really don't have to worry about his safety.'

'A good choice. As expected of my little brother.'

/

Shen Wang ran into a winding corridor. It took him a little time before he finally met up with Baihe.

Baihe was looking a bit ragged by now. There was dust on her cheeks, traces of sweat at her brow, and even dried blood visible on her black combat suit.

She'd probably been through quite a lot to get here.

'Oh, thank goodness. You're the first survivor I've run into.' Baihe let out a long breath. 'Are you hurt?'

'I'm fine.' Shen Wang shook his head. 'What about you? You look way worse off than I am.'

'It's just some dust, nothing serious.'

Baihe wiped her face with her sleeve. 'Who was that man earlier? Why were you moving around with him?'

'We ran into each other on the first floor. He said he was a surviving combat operative from the Anti-Contamination Center, and he even knew my name.' Shen Wang lied without blinking. 'Before you warned me I had no idea he wasn't one of our teammates. His Contamination Level was only 40.'

'Not a Contaminant?' Baihe thought for a moment. 'An unaffiliated Mutant from Outside the High Wall?'

'No, that's not the main issue right now.'

Baihe looked at Shen Wang seriously. 'Do you know where the squad captain is? I have something very important to tell him.'

Shen Wang thought: out of all the questions, you asked the one I actually don't know the answer to.

All he knew was that Lan had locked Zhou Xiangzhe away somewhere — he had no clue where.

'I don't know.' Shen Wang told the truth. 'We were together for the first two paintings, but we got separated during the third. I haven't seen him since we entered.'

'Really?' Baihe pressed her fingers to her temple, a bit frustrated. 'That makes things difficult.'

'What's going on?'

'There's a strong chance we're going to end up facing Hundred Eyes directly.' Baihe said, 'I found a Science Academy Researcher on the second floor — someone who accidentally wandered into the gallery. But unfortunately, the data I'm looking for wasn't on him.'

Shen Wang raised an eyebrow. 'Not on him?'

...Then hadn't Lan made this trip for nothing?

'Saying it's completely not on him isn't quite right. The storage card with the complete data on it wasn't on him.'

Baihe's voice turned cold.

'To save his own skin, the Researcher gave the storage card to Hundred Eyes and made sure to tell her it contained extremely important data. As long as Hundred Eyes held onto it, there'd be a steady stream of people entering the gallery to retrieve it.'

'All the operatives who died entering the gallery this time — their deaths should be pinned on him.'

'That's why he ended up on the second floor of the gallery.'

That was a bit unexpected. A lab Researcher handing the data over to a Contaminant?

Was that for real?

Shen Wang didn't buy it, so he stayed quiet for a moment before speaking. 'He should be the lab's lead, right?'

'Yeah.' Baihe nodded. 'The Science Academy's main base and labs are all kept hidden — specifically to prevent defectors from taking revenge. That's why none of us ever know where the Science Academy sets up its labs. But this time, the Academy identified this location as the most critical. That can only mean the person who ended up here is the lab's main principal investigator.'

Shen Wang clicked his tongue, his tone cooling. '...The Science Academy entrusted something this important to a guy who'd sell out so easily?'

Baihe turned to look at Shen Wang.

'What do you mean?'

'Ming Guang once said there are two groups of lunatics in this world — one in Sector S, the other in the Science Academy. The Academy's lunatics would do anything for their research, even die for it. Would someone like that really hand over such crucial results to Hundred Eyes?'

'Isn't it more likely he doesn't trust you and was just bluffing?'

Baihe was quiet for a moment, then frowned. 'He doesn't trust a North Star member like me?'

'Because Zhou Xiangzhe and the Science Academy don't exactly get along. It might not be that he doesn't trust you personally, more that he wasn't willing to hand the data over to you.'

Shen Wang's tone was mocking. 'He just didn't expect that once you found out he didn't have it, you'd leave him behind on the spot.'

'He probably figured no matter what, you'd at least bring a victim out of this gallery.'

Baihe slammed a fist against the wall. 'He wanted North Star to save him, but he didn't want North Star to get the data. That bastard!'

Shen Wang stood up. 'Let's go find him again.'

Baihe nodded. 'Fine. The captain's not around anyway. We should gather as many leads as we can before he shows up.'

Once they'd settled on a plan, Baihe immediately led Shen Wang toward the Researcher's location.

Within North Star they trusted one another, even if Shen Wang was just a new recruit — especially since Shen Wang's reasoning did carry a degree of weight.

They passed through the corridors and arrived at the southern reception room. Inside, a man sat anxiously. There was a crack across his cheek with a half-open eye inside it, but his own eyes were still in their sockets and his physical Aberration wasn't severe.

Moderate Aberration. When he got out, he'd be sent to a containment center for treatment.

When the man saw Baihe return, a flash of delight crossed his face, but he quickly masked it. Too bad — both Baihe and Shen Wang caught it.

'Looks like I guessed right.' Shen Wang said quietly.

'Yeah.' Baihe's eyes were sharp. 'No wonder the captain hates the Science Academy so much.'

They walked into the reception room. The man immediately grew guarded when he noticed the extra person with Baihe, but after seeing the dispatch team combat suit and the North Star insignia on the newcomer's chest, the guarded look quietly faded.

He gave two quick, pointed coughs.

'You're back.' He glanced at Baihe. 'So you've finally understood what I was saying?'

'I'm a Senior Researcher from the Science Academy. My knowledge and expertise are worth far more than any ordinary person.'

'As long as you keep me alive, what does it matter if a handful of people die? That's an acceptable price to pay!'

A vein bulged on Baihe's forehead; she clearly wanted to deck him. Shen Wang now fully understood why even someone as even-tempered as Baihe had left him behind the moment she'd confirmed he didn't have the data.

This was probably the most extreme disgust Baihe could manage.

'Hello, I'm Shen Wang from North Star.' Shen Wang stepped in front of Baihe with a smile. 'I just ran into my teammate and she filled me in a bit.'

'If I understand correctly, you gave the lab data to Hundred Eyes, right?'

The Researcher's expression went a little off, but he nodded firmly. 'That's right! I had no choice in order to protect myself.'

'And it's only natural you'd come for the data eventually. I just tricked Hundred Eyes a bit — that's hardly a heinous crime.'

Shen Wang's appearance really wasn't intimidating at all. He looked harmless, with beautiful, gentle peach-blossom eyes, lips naturally curved into a faint smile, and an overall air of amiable calm — like the most peace-loving person on earth, the kind who'd huddle in a corner and weep when things got tough.

'Oh, I see.'

Sure enough, Shen Wang nodded earnestly, looking as though he completely believed him.

The Researcher gloated inwardly, thinking the Anti-Contamination Center's Mutants really were all thick-headed — even North Star was the same. They'd never abandon a victim, especially one like him who'd made such contributions to humanity.

Once he got the experiment data back safely, his standing in the Science Academy would rise even higher!

*Click.*

Before the Researcher could finish his pleasant daydream, the crisp sound of a safety being released shattered the fantasy.

The Researcher reflexively looked up — and in that instant his smile froze on his face, because Shen Wang had already efficiently and decisively pressed the muzzle of the safety-off gun against his head.

Shen Wang smiled, his tone as gentle and harmless as ever: 'Since you don't have the data, please go ahead and die.'

'What?!' The Researcher's eyes went wide with terror. Even Baihe stiffened in surprise.

'Die.' Shen Wang said. 'The Anti-Contamination Center sent us to retrieve the lab data. If you had the data on you, we'd be responsible for escorting you out. Pity you don't have it.'

'So to keep you from interfering with our data recovery, please die.'

The Researcher scrambled under the desk in a panic. 'You can't do this! I'm a Senior Researcher from the Science Academy!'

Shen Wang very casually sat on the desk he was hiding under, even playfully tapping the gun against it. 'Is that so? You're a Senior Researcher from the Science Academy?'

'In that case, you're elite talent. You should have special privileges.'

'Yes! I have privileges!'

'Wrong.' Shen Wang smiled and fired a shot into the desk. The gunshot was immediately followed by the Researcher's terrified shriek.

'What are you doing?! What are you doing!!'

Shen Wang rapped the desk again. 'You're not the only one with privileges. We in North Star have them too. Guess whether your Science Academy would go up against North Star over you if I killed you right here? A word of warning — our captain is a Grade S Mutant, and he's fiercely protective of his people.'

Baihe: ...?

Protective? Who? Zhou Xiangzhe? Had she misheard?

Shen Wang caught Baihe's is-this-real-life look, but he ignored it completely and carried on with his threat.

'Plus, this is the territory of a Grade A Contaminant. Guess whether people would think you died from Contamination or were murdered if your body turned up here.'

The Researcher was trembling all over. 'No, no, you, you can't do this.'

'Why not? You don't like us, we don't like you.' Shen Wang asked Baihe, 'Baihe, it's just the two of us right now — do you agree to me killing him?'

Baihe thought about it seriously for a few seconds, then nodded with complete approval. 'I agree.'

'See? Consensus reached, 2 to 1.'

'No, no, no!' the Researcher cried out. 'The storage card is still on me! I didn't give it to Hundred Eyes! Don't kill me!'

He crawled out from under the desk and fished out a small card from beneath several layers of clothing. 'See? This is the data card with the experiment results — it's still on me.'

'I'm the only one who knows the password, so you can't kill me!'

Shen Wang and Baihe exchanged a glance. Shen Wang smiled, and Baihe shook her head slightly, the corner of her mouth lifting.

They'd actually bluffed it out of him.

After taking the storage card from the Researcher, the man immediately dove back under the desk, as if afraid they'd still kill him now that they had it. He just kept muttering, 'I'm the only one who knows the password, you can't kill me.'

Baihe silently mouthed to Shen Wang: 'Who taught you that move?'

Shen Wang recalled the disbelieving look she'd had just moments ago. He broke into a grin — the kind of grin where the mischief was plain as day.

He mouthed back: 'Zhou Xiangzhe.'

Baihe's smile shattered.

Who? Zhou Xiangzhe? He could put on an act and threaten people like this?!

Before Baihe could fully process that, a blur brushed past her. She felt the storage card snatched from her hand, and when she looked again, it was already gone.

Lan stood in the doorway with his blue-tinged hair and pale eyes, examining the data card in his hand. He and Shen Wang briefly locked eyes. Shen Wang flicked his fingers at him in a quick gesture that meant 'take it and go.' Lan couldn't help a small laugh.

Such an adorable little brother.

Guiding his path and even helping him get the data — it made him want to dote on him even more.

But he couldn't reveal their connection. His little brother's teammate was still here.

So Lan kept his smile in place as he held up the data card. 'Thank you so much for finding this data for me.'

Baihe instantly dropped into a defensive stance, frowning at Lan. 'Who are you?'

Lan's smile faded. 'Someone with a grudge against the Science Academy.'

Before Baihe could grasp his meaning, the Researcher poked his head out, his eyes bulging in terror. 'Lan?!'

'A Grade S defector?!' Baihe was even more on edge than before. 'It's him!'

Lan pocketed the data card and turned to leave. 'Well then, goodbye.'

'Don't let him go!' The Researcher scrambled out, his fear of being killed by Shen Wang now completely forgotten. 'Lan's whole goal is to destroy the lab and the experiment data! I went through hell to get that data card out — if he takes it, he'll destroy it immediately!'

'Go after him! Get the data back!'

No one in the room moved.

The Researcher raged, 'Why aren't you moving?!'

'If your brain's broken, don't drag us into it.' Shen Wang shot him a disgusted look. 'He's a Grade S Mutant. Neither Baihe nor I is any match for him. Chasing him would be suicide.'

Baihe shut her eyes and sighed. 'Shen Wang's right. I'm Grade A, but I'm purely a support-type Mutant — I hardly have any combat ability.'

'No! Even if you die, you have to get that data card back!' the Researcher shouted. 'You have no idea how important that experiment data is!'

'I don't know how important it is, but I do know that human lives matter most.' Baihe said gravely. 'We in North Star are not allowed to make sacrifices for some greater good. That's North Star's rule!'

Shen Wang turned to look at Baihe.

He hadn't really believed the principles Zhou Xiangzhe spoke of, since Zhou Xiangzhe's attitude toward him was clearly unusual. But coming from Baihe, he believed it.

A squad that forbids sacrificing yourself for others... Ming Guang made that rule, didn't he? He made it for Zhou Xiangzhe, right?

After all, you had to figure Zhou Xiangzhe's whole operation of devouring the Deer God had left Ming Guang with serious psychological scars.

/

Elsewhere, Lan walked away as he destroyed the data card in his hand, the tiny card gradually melting into his palm.

Only after he was certain the thing was damaged beyond any possible recovery did he drop it to the floor.

The pitiful remains weren't done yet — flames ignited from it, and they wouldn't go out until it was burned to ash. Lan never underestimated the Science Academy, and he never took their experiment results lightly.

Now his task was complete. What remained was the issue of food for Shen Wang.

Hmm... what were Hundred Eyes's weaknesses?

Tap, tap.

Lan stopped in his tracks. He stood in place, lifting his head slightly, his pale eyes gazing emptily at a point in space.

The footsteps didn't stop.

'Just as expected of the strongest Mutant in Central City.' Lan said. 'Breaking through the barrier that easily.'

Zhou Xiangzhe approached step by step. A black, chocolate-like fluid slid down his wrist and dripped from his fingertips. Intense, suffocating Contamination erupted throughout the space.

Once a Contamination Level reached a certain threshold, it could cause mental abnormalities. Strong Contamination could also warp a person's very presence.

At this moment Zhou Xiangzhe still looked the same as always — his silver hair tied up in a ponytail, his golden eyes still beautiful — but that refinement was now stained with coldness and an eerie quality from the overwhelming Contamination.

He was no longer gentle. He was more like a block of ice.

Sensing that Contamination, Lan's eyes widened slightly.

'Contamination this intense — are you trying to kill yourself?'

'It's not so easy to die.' Zhou Xiangzhe finally spoke. 'You should be worrying about yourself.'

What a hassle.

Lan flexed his wrist, and in the next instant he was facing Zhou Xiangzhe. Those brilliant golden eyes were filled with sheer cold.

'Are you upset because I took Shen Wang away?' Lan's mouth twisted. He wasn't happy either.

'I'm not handing him over to you.'

This annoying man who was trying to steal his little brother.