Evil As Humans, page 136
It was called an introductory meeting, but the people from different branches didn’t really communicate with each other. B-level and C-level groups competed separately, and the only C-level group from Yandu and Linnan shared the same room with them.
Just looking at the number of people, the Haigu branch had the largest.
There were only two people from Yandu’s C-level group; one was Fu Tianyi, and the other was a thin woman in her forties. However, there was also a black cat lying on their table, which looked like the one that was sunbathing during the day.
“What are you looking at, idiot?” The black cat snorted at Zhong Chengshuo, who was staring at it, and spoke in a soft and delicate voice.
Zhong Chengshuo: “……”
Lu Xiaohe gave the black cat a very complicated look.
“That’s the only non-human in Shian out of all our rear commanders.” Lu Xiaohe explained in a low voice. “Don’t judge it by its appearance. It actually has a special doctoral degree in quantum physics from C University.”
As “King Yama”, Zhong Chengshuo knew this Dr. Cat.
When it was a cub, it survived the corruption of an Evil Force and gained the ability of the “infinite” branch. Those with this ability have a significant increase in their brain’s information processing capacity. In other words, their intelligence was noticeably superior to that of their peers.
Dr. Cat scoffed at the various metaphysical theories of mankind and wouldn’t be frightened by the horror of its human characteristics due to this phenomenon. Given that cats didn’t have their own metaphysical system, Dr. Cat, despite its psychic abilities, had developed into a kind of… distorted science post.
[Yandu C-level group: Fu Tianyi (orthodox cultivator), Auntie Tao (unknown science post), Mei Qiu* (cat, infinite branch ability)]
*Its name translated is Coal Balls (quite apt given how it’s a black cat).
In the gap between memories, Zhong Chengshuo wrote down stroke by stroke in his notebook.
……
Miraculously, there were also only two people in the C-level special group of the Linnan branch.
One of them was Miss Luo Wanxiang, who was known as a “mechanical genius”. Even when she was eating, she had machinery stuck to her arm, and a robot dog was lying at her feet. Her partner was a blind girl who wore a colorful shaman-style dress, and the texture of her cane was like animal bones. The role of the rear commander was assumed by Luo Wanxiang’s AI program and had no entity.
[Linnan C-level group: Sang Jie (shaman), Luo Wanxiang (top mechanic), AI rear commander]
The tip of Zhong Chengshuo’s pen paused.
Except for Haigu, everyone was dressed uniquely. Fu Tianyi wore an old-fashioned red tunic and mask, Luo Wanxiang wore an oily work uniform, and Sang Jie was dressed like a shaman. Even Auntie Tao, who was a science post, wore an old nurse’s uniform.
No matter which one was taken out, they could be used as a “protagonist” of a movie.
…On the other hand, on their side, Ge Tingting and Huang Jin were wearing standard Shian uniforms, while Lu Xiaohe was wearing a shirt with “The weather is great, but I have no money*” written on it and sweatpants that were convenient for hiking.
*It’s a humorous quip implying the weather is great, but that person has no money to enjoy it (as in, their financial situation is limiting their ability to do so).
Yin Ren once again showed “big problems of the leader’s heart*”. Zhong Chengshuo was dressed properly, but his high-collared, long-sleeved linen shirt covering his scar looked quite strange in the summer.
*(领导心腹大患) Idiom which refers to a major hidden danger or problem that is close to one’s superior or leader. || In this context, it refers to something important or sensitive that is only known to the speaker or their superior or leader, which could potentially cause trouble if it were revealed or mishandled (as in, Yin Ren’s true identity, which is only known to him and Fu Xingchuan).
Compared to the other two teams, they seemed more like ordinary people who were trying to win through quantity rather than quality.
Fu Tianyi let out a very loud tsk.
“I originally heard that Haigu was participating in the competition, so I was looking forward to it.” He didn’t deliberately lower his voice.
Yin Ren was facing a bronze statue of Zhong Yi in the center of the table, lost in thought, he had no time to pay attention to him. Ge Tingting was unable to speak directly, and her face turned red. As for Lu Xiaohe and Huang Jin, one had the calm and composed look of an adult, while the other had the look of affection of an adult.
Since Yin Ren had lost his combat effectiveness, Zhong Chengshuo needed to keep the conversation going.
“We’re very good,” he replied.
Fu Tianyi: “……”
Fu Tianyi opened his mouth and fired off a barrage of words. “I’ve seen your mission records, and you really dealt with a lot of big cases, but, except for the Gao Mengyu case, later on, you were simply caught up in them and had to escape. It can’t be considered real combat experience, can it?”
Zhong Chengshuo said calmly, “Well, we’re also very good at escaping.”
It was a pity that Fu Tianyi wasn’t a wicked person, and he couldn’t infer the countermeasures of the opponent from their performance. Zhong Chengshuo tilted his head and looked at Fu Tianyi for a while, wondering how he would smooth things over if he were Yin Ren in this situation.
Yin Ren said that he should be sincere to people who were younger than him.
Zhong Chengshuo adjusted his breathing a bit. “You are from the Fu family, so you’re confident. The reason you’re in a C-level group might be due to severe lack of practical experience. I’m looking forward to our match.”
Fu Tianyi remained silent. After a while, he let out a heavy snort and turned his body around, exuding sharp hostility. While he was sulking, Dr. Mei Qiu dragged out a drumstick from its plate and took a couple bites.
[There were no special circumstances at the introduction meeting, and everyone got along well.]
Zhong Chengshuo reviewed his own speech and believed he was friendly enough. His tone was more confident than Fu Tianyi’s.
After finishing this sentence, Zhong Chengshuo turned his head and glanced at Yin Ren, who had buried his nose in his pillow and was still sleeping soundly.
[So far, I have maintained my love for “Yin Ren”, and this feeling has a tendency to grow over time.]
[Today’s body temperature is 36.2℃. There’s no change in height, and weight has increased by 100g. The fluctuation is within a normal range. There is no obvious discomfort in the body, and everything feels normal.]
The tip of Zhong Chengshuo’s pen hovered over the word “normal” as he frowned slightly. He looked at the hand that was stroking Yin Ren’s hair.
[*There is a slight sense of rejection when touching. Follow-ups need to be watched…]
Halfway through writing, Zhong Chengshuo pursed his lips and scratched out the entire line into a long black block.
[*There is no follow-up to the mayor incident in Gengsheng Town, so we will continue to follow up.] He wrote a completely different message under the black bar.
“Zhong Ge—” Yin Ren finally woke up. He was wrapped in the blanket and gave out a loud yawn. “You get up so early. Wait for me for five minutes, and we can get breakfast together.”
“No need to rush. I’m planning to shower first.”
Zhong Chengshuo closed the hardcover book and put it in his backpack.
“Have you seen my phone?” Yin Ren said as he got out of bed. His hands were already scouring the bed to search for his phone.
“Your phone ornament dragged your phone under the bed. It doesn’t seem to like it here.”
There was a faint “puff” under the bed.
……
Fu residence, the central ancestral hall.
“…So you don’t feel anything special,” Fu Xingchuan said.
“Yes, I don’t have any special feelings.” Fu Wuya, the director of Huajisi from 900 years ago, repeated solemnly. “Did you really bring that evil thing in? How did he react?”
Fu Xingchuan: “He looks ashamed. It’s not like you don’t know how our home is decorated…”
“So it can come in.”
The giant eye on Fu Wuya’s tree trunk turned, and its black hole-like pupils almost swallowed his eyeballs, giving off a very uncomfortable feeling.
“Yes.”
“It seems that that kid has no malice towards mortals if he can pass my exorcism array. Well, it should be said that so far, he doesn’t have too much malice, which isn’t common in evil beings. He also brought in Yellow Millet, right? Its aura is very obvious.”
“Yes…” Fu Xingchuan touched his chin. “Many thanks, Ancestor.”
“Dear grandson, would it be too much if I intervened in the league as well?”
“Fortunately, even if that person isn’t Zhong Yi, these young brats should still get a taste of the real deal… There are more movements from Sunken Society, which probably means there will be a big mess to come.” Fu Xingchuan waved his hand. His eyes regained clarity after a long time of being sleep-deprived.
Fu Wuya’s giant eye turned faster.
He didn’t comment on Fu Xingchuan’s overall deduction but cleared his throat with difficulty.
“Dear grandson… Did you come down this time without bathing after burning incense?”
“…I’m leaving now.”
Evil As Humans Ch120
Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
* * *
Chapter 120: The Competition Begins
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and it was Sunday.
As night fell, Yin Ren climbed into bed as usual. Zhong Chengshuo was already lying in bed, but someone disrespectfully dove forward, landing exactly on his stomach.
Zhong Chengshuo almost turned into Yellow Millet #2 as he let out a loud “puff”.
Fortunately, Lord Ghost King was able to control his weight. He felt the soft abdomen of his lover for a while, got up slowly, and kissed the tip of Zhong Chengshuo’s nose.
Now Comrade Xiao Zhong was quite good at facing this level of intimacy. He held down the back of Yin Ren’s head and rubbed Yin Ren’s nose with his cold nose, like two animals who were attached to each other.
Zhong Chengshuo’s pajamas were loose and soft, with a low collar. Even if he buttoned every button, his collarbone was still exposed. Yin Ren looked at the smooth skin stretched on the bones and suddenly had a subtle appetite.
He wanted to take a bite.
…But thinking about it…
This was the Fu residence, and Zhong Chengshuo looked too calm… Yin Ren now understood a bit how Zhong Chengshuo felt when he said “not daring to make mistakes” at the beginning.
Reason told him that they could slowly get to know each other, but the unexplained anxiety surrounded him at all times, urging him to deepen the relationship as soon as possible.
Perhaps it was because Yin Ren froze on Zhong Chengshuo for too long that the latter tilted his head slightly and kissed Yin Ren on the corner of his lips. “The competition begins tomorrow. Let’s go to bed early.”
“It doesn’t even say what time it’ll start. What if we oversleep?”
Yin Ren muttered as his hair wrapped around Zhong Chengshuo’s arm.
“I’ll call you when I wake up,” Zhong Chengshuo said solemnly. “I have packed the necessary luggage and equipped it with two bags of your favorite chocolate chips.”
“Nn.”
Yin Ren laid on the edge of the pillow. Reason and sensibility were still fighting for 800 rounds in his head.
They even had an audience.
At this moment, Yin Ren’s head was full of all kinds of “Great Celestial Master Zhong”. In recent days, they had surrounded him from 360 degrees. Half of them were a direct comparison to the laziness of the original, while the other half quietly emanated an aura of righteousness, making Yin Ren himself appear particularly arrogant and extravagant.
At this moment, reason was raising questions in his head with logic and evidence.
“Aren’t you familiar with humans? Isn’t it something that should be worked on slowly? You two haven’t fully understood each other yet. You’ve already surprised Fu Xingchuan with your actions. How do you know if Zhong Chengshuo has any other concerns?”
Yin Ren’s sensibility showed no weakness. ‘What’s wrong with wanting to get close to someone you like! The spring night is short*!‘
*(春宵苦短) Idiom referring to time flies quickly, especially when one is enjoying oneself, so they should cherish every moment.
“Once you break up, it’ll be awkward—”
“I just want to kiss him, and we won’t!”
Deep in his mind, the different forms of the Great Celestial Master Zhong booed in unison.
In the midst of their illusory boos, Yin Ren fell asleep in a daze. A soft strand of hair crawled over the pillow on its own and rested on Zhong Chengshuo’s lips.
Zhong Chengshuo’s forehead was still touching Yin Ren’s.
In the dark, Zhong Chengshuo stared at Yin Ren solemnly. As the second hand ticked away, Zhong Chengshuo lifted his hand slightly, wanting to place it on Yin Ren’s waist.
Yin Ren didn’t cover himself with the blanket, and his loose pajamas were wrinkled, revealing the tight skin on his waist. Zhong Chengshuo’s fingers dangled on the skin, and after a few minutes, he put his hand down as if he had made up his mind, and his palm touched the slightly cool skin.
Yin Ren made a vague “mm” sound.
Zhong Chengshuo closed his eyes and quietly felt the touch of his palm. The temperature washed over his mind, bringing up the wonderful longing that swept his heart with soft hair, but under that desire, there was something sharp hidden.
A trace of cold vigilance, like glass shards in fine sand.
Zhong Chengshuo didn’t put his hand away this time. He stubbornly rested his hand on Yin Ren’s waist and slowly closed his eyes.
……
Yin Ren was awakened by a smell that filled his nose.
For a moment, he thought he was being thrown into a trash can by Fu Xingchuan, who had completely gone crazy. Yellow Millet was whispering frantically in his ear, while Dog Thing didn’t warn him and was lazily pretending to be a phone.
Unfortunately, Yin Ren’s heart was as hard as steel. When he reached out his hand, he immediately grabbed at his side—
Empty.
Yin Ren sat up abruptly. He opened his eyes, and a pair of red pupils passed through the darkness and quickly scanned the surrounding environment.
This was definitely not the Fu residence.
There was the sound of dripping sticky water all around him, and he felt the “mattress” under him had a mixture of softness and stiffness. It was chilly, and it made his heart flutter with fear.
“Zhong Chengshuo?” Yin Ren called out as his nose sniffed the stench.
Before he could close his mouth, a pale hand grabbed him from behind and threw… a chocolate chip into his mouth.
“The competition has begun.”
Zhong Chengshuo was barefoot and wearing his usual pajamas and nightcap. He held a small suitcase in his hand and stood not far from Yin Ren.
“I felt a little wind in the morning—we didn’t open the window, so there shouldn’t be any wind. Unfortunately, I only had time to grab a suitcase. If this was an enemy attack, they wouldn’t have bothered to send in your phone too…”
Yellow Millet: “Puff…”
“And your phone pendant,” Zhong Chengshuo added with a stern face.
It was pitch black where they were. From Zhong Chengshuo’s perspective, most of what he could see was a pair of red eyes in the darkness. Yin Ren touched his face and settled down, kicking away the pillow covered with an unknown liquid.
He should have known earlier that this was the setup for the competition.
They were thrown to this ghost of a place in the middle of the night. The person who did this must be a master, as Yin Ren didn’t notice anything was wrong—this showed that the person who did this didn’t show the slightest malice towards them.
Was this “excessive concern leads to chaos*”? Yin Ren glanced at Zhong Chengshuo and took out his hair band from his pajama pockets and tied his hair up in a ponytail.
*(关心则乱) Idiom referring to excessive worry and concern can lead to unnecessary anxiety and confusion, and sometimes it’s better to maintain a calm and rational mindset.
There were no competition instructions, and no rules were emphasized.
[When a real battle comes, no one will give you the opportunity to prepare in advance.] Shian really did as they proclaimed.
However, since Shian’s spells could affect Zhong Chengshuo, it was likely that it was a “large-scale teleportation” similar to what the ghost market used and didn’t require targeting individuals. In other words, this place was reality and wasn’t a dream or illusion.
“It’s temporarily safe nearby. I haven’t sensed any abnormal energy,” Yin Ren said immediately.
“Nn.” Zhong Chengshuo started to change his clothes in front of him.
Comrade Xiao Zhong naturally unbuttoned his shirt and changed into lightweight and breathable sportswear. In the dark, the scar swayed majestically in front of Yin Ren’s eyes, clinging to the undulating muscle lines. Against the surrounding darkness, this person was simply dazzling.
It was very strange. Compared to Yin Ren’s first time seeing Zhong Chengshuo’s body, the “uncomfortable” side was completely changed. When he took off his pajamas, Yin Ren blushed, gave a dry cough, and turned around.
“I don’t know what happened to Ge Tingting and Yellow Pants*,” Yin Ren said.
*Clarity: Yin Ren was in the middle of saying Huang (yellow) Jin, but because he was preoccupied with Zhong Chengshuo changing, he said Pants instead of Jin.
Zhong Chengshuo, who was holding his pants: “……”
