Free Web NovelChapter 92: He’s Harmless
Three days later, Sector Two had officially been swallowed and declared a Red Zone.
Guanguan City stood at its center as the dead city holding the red zone rift.
The evacuation had been successful. And with the Rift Bureau and the Sovereign Faction united, the rebuilding began as members of the Sovereign Faction possessed one thing in abundance.
Money. An absurd amount of it.
Funding poured into temporary shelters. Food distribution. Water systems. Medical support. Construction projects.
Entire communities were relocated.
Lin Wenzhi had personally suggested that future agricultural projects be moved away from containment zones entirely.
Several new locations had already been approved.
Workers had begun preparing the land. Everyone was... adapting.
Meanwhile, Xinyuan remained unconscious for the past three days and nobody knew how much longer it would last.
His forced shutdown had bought everyone time. Nothing more. Because his body was still saturated with corruption. An amount that should have killed him several times over.
Guides had been warned repeatedly to stay away due to the hostility of his wavelength.
Because everyone knew if Xinyuan woke up, the result would be catastrophic.
Wenzhi had spent those three days searching and avoiding Xinyuan had been surprisingly easy. Mostly because he had thrown himself into another problem.
Doctor Ruixin.
Wenzhi still remembered the last time he saw her.
The day she resigned from the CEA. The day she jumped from headquarters alongside him.
She was probably exactly the person he needed.
The problem was finding her.
Sector Two had been evacuated.
Everyone had scattered. Including her.
Rain poured steadily from grey skies. The city bustled despite the weather.
People hurried beneath umbrellas. Vehicles moved through flooded streets. And through it all, Wenzhi rode his motorcycle.
The engine finally died as he pulled into a narrow alleyway.
Rain drummed against his helmet as he stepped off and removed the helmet. His damp hair immediately fell across his forehead.
Wenzhi pushed it back with one hand. Water rolled down the sleeve of his jacket.
His watch vibrated. He tapped it. "I’m here."
Zhaohe answered instantly. "You should’ve let me come with you, asshole."
Wenzhi rolled his eyes. Even through the connection he could hear her annoyance. "I’m touched by your concern."
"You should be."
"I’m actually not."
"You never are."
Wenzhi disconnected before she could continue.
The building in front of him looked harmless.
It was a tattoo salon with bright lights and music playing softly inside.
Wenzhi stepped through the door.
The scent of disinfectant and ink greeted him immediately.
Several customers occupied chairs throughout the shop. Most already covered in tattoos. Some receiving new ones. Others chatting casually.
Nobody paid him much attention.
Then a black haired woman approached him. Tattoo sleeves covered both her arms. She had a lip piercing, an eyebrow piercing and a confident posture that matched the sharpness in her eyes.
She smiled. "Hello, gorgeous. Here for a tattoo?"
A smirk tugged at Wenzhi’s lips. He removed his rain-soaked black leather jacket. "Not exactly."
His gaze drifted briefly across the designs displayed around the shop. "Though I wouldn’t mind seeing some."
The woman laughed. "Looking for inspiration?"
"Maybe."
Her smile widened. "But if you’re not here for a tattoo—"
She tilted her head. "What are you here for?"
Wenzhi pulled out his phone, opened a photograph and held it toward her. Doctor Ruixin’s face appeared on the screen.
"I’m looking for her."
The woman’s smile disappeared completely like it had never existed.
Every trace of friendliness vanished.
Her eyes sharpened dangerously and Wenzhi noticed how her hand moved slowly... toward her back. Toward a concealed weapon.
The room fell silent as the customers had stopped talking, moving. They had stopped pretending not to listen.
"Why?" The woman pulled out her gun and pressed against his forehead.
Neither of them moved or looked away.
Wenzhi smiled. "I wouldn’t do that if I were you."
The woman narrowed her eyes. The grip on her weapon tightened.
Wenzhi’s smile never faltered. "Tell her Lin Wenzhi is here."
The woman looked unimpressed. "What exactly would you want with her?"
The gun pressed harder against his head.
Wenzhi slowly raised both hands. "Because the world is ending soon."
The woman’s face darkened. "What kind of nonsense...."
"Lusi."
The room froze.
The woman immediately turned.
Wenzhi followed her gaze and there she was.
Doctor Ruixin. Standing behind the curtain. Dressed in colorful casual clothes.
Her dark hair was gathered into a loose bun and she was looking nothing like a former CEA researcher.
Her eyes landed on Wenzhi. Recognition flashed immediately.
"Lusi." Her voice remained calm. "I know him."
The tattooed woman blinked. "You do?"
Ruixin smiled. "He’s harmless."
Her gaze settled on Wenzhi. "Aren’t you?"
Wenzhi looked down at the gun still pointed at his forehead. Then back at Ruixin. "She’s the one with the weapon."
Ruixin nodded.
Lusi looked between them and slowly lowered the gun.
A heavy sigh escaped her. She looked like she wanted to apologize to Wenzhi.
Instead, she simply walked away.
Wenzhi respected that.
Ruixin approached him with her arms folded across her chest. "This is an unexpected visit."
Wenzhi immediately got to the point. "Do you still have the research files on Xinyuan?"
The question made her pause. A small frown appeared. "Yes."
Then her eyes narrowed. "Why?"
Wenzhi didn’t bother softening it. "Because Xinyuan is going to kill all of us."
The color immediately drained from her face. "What?"
For the first time since appearing, Ruixin looked genuinely alarmed. "What do you mean?"
"It’s a long story." Wenzhi ran his fingers through his hair. "Can you help or not?"
Ruixin immediately turned around. "Yes. Come with me."
She started walking. "And explain everything."
The tattoo shop turned out to be exactly what Wenzhi expected.
A front.
They moved through hidden hallways. Past secured doors and down underground staircases until the laboratory finally appeared.
It was lit up with bright lights, filled with equipment, data screens, and records. An active lab hidden beneath a tattoo shop.
Wenzhi wasn’t even surprised.
As they walked, he explained everything.
The Red Zone. The rift. Sector Two. The shutdown. His health. The imprint. Xinyuan’s condition. Everything.
Ruixin listened silently. Her expression growing more serious with every sentence.
By the time he finished, she was already moving through holographic records. Searching rapidly.
Dozens of files opened around her. Lines of data streamed past.
Her fingers moved faster and faster.
Then, she stopped. "What about Xinyuan’s suppressants?"
Wenzhi frowned. "What?"
"Suppressants." She looked up. "The ones prepared for Xinyuan."
Wenzhi stared. "He doesn’t have suppressants."
Ruixin immediately looked annoyed. "Xinyuan always has suppressants."
Wenzhi blinked. "What?"
"They never work properly though." She continued scrolling. "But he always carries them." freewebnøvel.com
Another file appeared. "I prepared a new batch after he returned from the Red Zone."
Her eyes flicked toward him. "When everyone thought you were dead."
Wenzhi genuinely didn’t know what to say. Because suddenly dozens of memories felt different. The periods where Xinyuan disappeared. The moments where he looked exhausted.
The times he insisted he was fine. The times he smiled and lied.
That idiot.
"Will suppressants help?"
Ruixin shook her head. "No."
"Then why bring it up?"
Ruixin finally stopped scrolling. Her expression turned grim. "If Xinyuan forced himself into a shutdown, that only buys us four days. We are currently on day three."
The room suddenly felt smaller.
"I need the supports, Doctor." Wenzhi stepped closer. "Can you make them?"
Ruixin looked at him for a long moment and suddenly the concern in her eyes became obvious.
"We need tests." Her voice softened. "A lot of tests."
Wenzhi looked irritated. "We don’t have time."
"No." Ruixin agreed. "We don’t."
She lowered the holographic records. "Which is exactly why we need to stop pretending this is only about Xinyuan."
