Evil As Humans, page 221
In a split second, Li Nian realized.
Humans didn’t have the means to kill these Elementals, yet Mr. Qiu died unexpectedly, spreading fear to the Other Side. Before dealing with external threats, those Primordial Elementals wouldn’t let go of the “unknown kind” lurking in the shadows.
And Unit 9, this unfortunate group—especially the two cunning individuals who weren’t entirely human—always represented Shian’s frontline in dealing with imminent crises. They were also present when Mr. Qiu died. Even if the unknown Elemental wasn’t part of Unit 9, it was closely related to Shian.
If he was an Elemental from the Other Side, he would probably come up with the same plan.
Boldly showcase the school as a special area, openly declaring one’s existence. Shian’s investigative team would undoubtedly relay the message, and sooner or later, that hidden Elemental in Shian would notice the information.
They wanted to lure that highly aggressive “unknown kind” out into the open.
Seeing Li Nian’s changing facial expression, Fu Xingchuan slyly winked and cleared his throat, “Our esteemed Professor Li is indeed quick to react. Impressive, impressive.”
“…” Li Nian rubbed his face. “Speak up. What other ideas do those two have?”
“It’s simple. Go along with the Other Side’s intentions.” Fu Xingchuan’s smile gradually faded. “But I called you here for another matter—”
“Xiao Ge and Xiao Huang volunteered… Ah, no, Xiao Ge volunteered to be the bait. She said if the Elemental doesn’t find any flaws, they’ll be more cautious. To ensure that everything goes smoothly, it’s best for them to sell a flaw.”
The expressions of “approval” and “disapproval” mixed together in Fu Xingchuan’s eyes, engaging in a passionate dispute.
“And to confirm Yin Ren’s speculation, probing is necessary.”
“If the Other Side doesn’t have ill intentions towards Yin Ren and the others, they wouldn’t disturb Shian’s ‘patrol sentinels’. If they do have ill intentions, it could potentially cause an incident and escalate the impact. There is a risk of death for the bait.” Li Nian muttered to himself. He naturally knew what these young people were thinking, and Professor Li felt his headache worsening.
Fu Xingchuan chuckled bitterly. “So, that’s why I came to find you—reporting is secondary. The Great Celestial Master needs to prepare protective spells, and the small shop doesn’t have the ingredients.”
“You’re using me as a delivery person?”
“And also, ah… Xiao Zhong and Xiao Yin have worked so hard. We can take advantage of being associated with a big tree and enjoy the shade while bringing a net along the way.”
……
Yes, since yesterday, Li Nian’s headache hadn’t stopped.
At this moment, he watched the car disappear into the campus while his face grew longer.
“Our protection isn’t enough! Surrounding security comes first. Sort that out before discussing anything else!” He turned around, raising his voice. An A-level special task force hurriedly ran in the direction Li Nian pointed, earnestly performing their spell.
“It’s almost done.” Xiang Jiang’s hazy pupils turned towards Li Nian.
“It’s far from enough. You yourself said to be careful with the accident rate. I see that the southwest corner is still lacking.” Li Nian glanced at him sideways. “It’s surrounded by residential areas, and the type of disappearances those two had is very dangerous. This was your own judgment.”
“I also said that those two lives are also up to fate.”
Xiang Jiang’s expression was extremely grim.
“You can continue hesitating here; I’ll take my team in to investigate first.”
“…Fine, you can go.”
Li Nian closed his eyes, and his expression was tinged with bitterness.
“But as partners, I suggest you stay. You said you want to follow the rules, so carry it through to the end.” Professor Li emphasized each word. “Of course, it’s not mandatory.”
Xiang Jiang didn’t answer.
He tugged at his asymmetrical windbreaker and walked towards the school without looking back.
The sun rose, and the sky turned pale. A faint mist emanated near the school, gliding along the ground, hazy like a dream. When Li Nian opened his eyes, Xiang Jiang had already disappeared from his sight.
Li Nian raised his head and saw a group of drones flying towards the back mountain.
“…Forget it.” He sighed at them.
These unmanned drones were slightly smaller than birds, gliding through the morning sky and quickly reaching the back mountain.
The back mountain was supposed to have a water pavilion, but the pond was dry. A bit of muddy soup accumulated at the bottom, and it looked more like an ordinary construction site. The pavilion was partially built, with sparse vegetation and piles of soil between construction materials, resembling countless mounds.
Haigu Secondary School once planned to develop and build on the back mountains, but funding issues arose when half of it was already constructed, leaving the construction awkwardly halted. The students loved this unfinished style. Even though the school strictly prohibited it, students still frequented the area from time to time.
The place where Zhang Hejun was buried alive wasn’t far from here.
Zhong Chengshuo painfully swallowed two energy bars for breakfast and slowly walked towards the pavilion. The seating area of the pavilion was covered in floating dust, so Zhong Chengshuo looked around for a while and decided to stand upright beneath the pavilion.
Yin Ren, as usual, completely sealed off his aura and stuck to Zhong Chengshuo’s back like a spirit.
Before long, Luo Chunlei appeared.
She wasn’t wearing a school uniform but a pricey-looking dress. With her left hand holding a thermos cup and her right hand gripping the phone hidden in her bedroom, her fingers swiftly danced across the screen. Her shoes were polished to a shine, but after taking a few steps in this place, they quickly became covered in dust.
[Good morning, I’m livestreaming now.]
Yin Ren lowered his head, and Dog Thing quickly displayed the messages from that anonymous group.
[After Brother Cockroach dies, those who doubted me should livestream themselves eating cockroaches 😘.]
After typing that, Luo Chunlei stopped in front of a patch of withered grass, adjacent to a dead decorative tree. She locked her phone, and a sweet smile bloomed on her face.
“Alright, I’ve informed my parents.”
Luo Chunlei’s killing intent wasn’t particularly strong. At this moment, it seemed that she still thought everything in front of her was just a game.
“Come here. I buried the evidence under the tree… What? Do you expect a girl to dig it up herself?”
As she puffed up her cheeks, a dissatisfied expression filled her face.
A childish and clumsy trap. Zhong Chengshuo scanned the patch of grass with a calm expression. He only made a sound of acknowledgment and obediently walked over.
As soon as his right foot touched the patch of grass, the ground beneath him suddenly gave way. In the next moment, everything spun around.
Beneath the grass was a deep pit left from construction.
Zhong Chengshuo almost instantly reached out with his hands and clung tightly to the uneven walls of the pit. The collapsing grass fell to the ground, revealing the tangled steel bars at the bottom of the pit. The steel bars were thin and sharp, even more dangerous than the previous elevator shaft.
Luo Chunlei didn’t waste any words. She immediately unscrewed the thermos cup and poured the scalding hot water onto Zhong Chengshuo’s hands. Zhong Chengshuo clenched his lips, executed a beautiful somersault, and voluntarily jumped into the thicket of steel bars. The thorny steel bars surrounded him, but miraculously, Zhong Chengshuo emerged unharmed. He lifted his head and looked straight at Luo Chunlei.
She casually kicked the loose soil at the edge of the pit, causing it to fall down with a rustling sound.
“Wow, this angle is really nice—actually, I really wanted to take some photos, but if I post them in the group, it would be troublesome as evidence.”
Luo Chunlei kicked the soil a few more times and squatted down at the edge of the pit. Judging by her expression, she was genuinely troubled by this.
“Your expression isn’t as entertaining as Zhang Hejun’s back then. She was so scared that her face turned pale—people’s faces can actually turn that pale. It’s especially thrilling.”
With another kick, a large pile of soil fell down.
“Do you know you’re killing people?” Zhong Chengshuo disregarded the piles of soil embedded with steel bars.
“Of course I know, and I also know that I won’t be caught. Even if I were caught, I’m not even fourteen yet.”
Luo Chunlei seemed to be wary of Zhong Chengshuo’s words as she panted and pushed out a wheelbarrow from the debris, starting to pile up soil at the edge of the pit.
“Besides, my family is wealthy. My parents run around doing errands, and they can’t imprison me anyway.”
Her smiling face could be described as innocent.
“…My parents once told me that life is precious.” Zhong Chengshuo reached out and touched the nearest steel bar. The sharp end lightly grazed his skin. “You—”
“No way, you want to lecture me now?”
Luo Chunlei laughed even more.
[Hilarious, Brother Cockroach is going to die, and he still wants to preach to me.] She held up her phone with hands covered in dirt.
“I know what you want to say—you want to say that when I grow up, I’ll regret these things and lose sleep at night. You want to say that when I become vulnerable and get bullied, I’ll understand the feelings of Zhang Hejun and you.”
[Moral bitches will always be moral bitches.]
“Haha, you crack me up. Look at those adults. Do the kind-hearted ones become rich or take advantage of others? They’re constantly feeling down and upset over this and that, unable to live well themselves but constantly worry about others. Let me tell you, people like you are the ones who get eliminated through natural selection.”
Zhong Chengshuo remained silent, tilting his head slightly. His eyes were fixed on Luo Chunlei, who was in a good mood.
[It’s not interesting to sacrifice heroically. I will definitely make him cry w.]
Luo Chunlei squatted down. “Let me tell you what I’ll be like in the future. I’ll eat whatever I want and buy whatever I want. Even if I don’t work, I’ll live better than my stupid classmates. Why should I make myself feel miserable? Am I doing it just because I’m full?”
“If I’m unlucky and get bullied in the future, I’ll only hate the people who bully me, right? What does that have to do with me bullying you? I don’t care about your feelings. Whoever makes me feel bad, I won’t let them off easily. It’s that simple.”
She made a grimace at Zhong Chengshuo in the pit.
“Only the pitiful ones who get bullied would dream of waiting for others to realize their mistakes. When I’m old and think of you, my impression will definitely be like, ‘Wow, I’m more amazing than most people. I could deceive a group of adults when I was a child’.”
“The teacher always said to live happily, and this is how I live the happiest.”
[It feels so refreshing to speak my mind. When I was with Sister Cockroach, I couldn’t speak so openly, missing out on so many dramatic effects]
Next, Luo Chunlei paused for a long time. She looked at Zhong Chengshuo at the bottom of the pit expectantly. Her eyes were fixed on his lips, unblinking.
“My parents once told me that life is precious.”
“Not again.”
“…But I don’t consider your life within the realm of ‘precious’. Well, I’ve made up my mind, I won’t save you either. From now on, take care of yourself.”
[Oh, a little twist~]
Luo Chunlei clicked her tongue. “Fine, so you have superpowers, what do you think? I know about it anyway. Well, I… I…”
Under her gaze, Zhong Chengshuo reached into his pocket and pinched Yellow Millet. With a pop, the illusion dissipated.
The adult Zhong Chengshuo adjusted his glasses and looked at Luo Chunlei with eyes devoid of warmth. And behind him floated the most beautiful “ghost” Luo Chunlei had ever seen in her life.
With his long hair flowing and a smile in his crimson eyes, Yin Ren wrapped his arms around Zhong Chengshuo’s neck; his chin resting on his lover’s shoulder. The red robes around Yin Ren fluttered, exuding a strong ghostly aura.
The temperature dropped suddenly, and white vapor formed around Luo Chunlei’s mouth and nose. Two hands emerged from under Yin Ren’s ribs, hugging Zhong Chengshuo’s waist tightly, effortlessly lifting him out of the deep pit.
The two of them gently stopped in front of Luo Chunlei, only two or three steps away from her.
Her opponent suddenly transformed into two adult men. After a moment of confusion, Luo Chunlei shuddered and instinctively took a step back. She took a deep breath and, without hesitation, pulled out the compact mirror, fiercely smashing it onto the ground.
“Save me!” Luo Chunlei screamed. “Kill them to silence them!”
The mirror instantly shattered into countless pieces, each reflecting the pale red dawn. In the next moment, numerous cracks appeared in space, accompanied by a burst of vacuum suction, and the school janitor with heavy eye bags stepped out of the rift, coughing miserably.
He was no longer wearing the gray school uniform but instead a long gown resembling a comedian’s outfit, and his feet were clad in a pair of worn-out cloth shoes.
“Joy,” Zhong Chengshuo said with a confident tone.
The man took a few breaths and revealed a faint smile, ultimately acquiescing.
Zhong Chengshuo didn’t act recklessly. He stood upright on the barren land, assuming a vigilant posture. Behind him, Yin Ren’s ghostly aura grew so dense that it was suffocating. The ground around them frosted, and the once yellowed grass withered and turned black, crumbling into dust.
The might of the thousand-year-old Ghost King quietly revealed a glimpse of his power.
“Kill them quickly!” Luo Chunlei rushed over and grabbed the janitor’s sleeve. “We agreed that you would send them back, and I will personally bury them!”
The janitor, Mr. Le, lowered his head and glanced at her. He reached out his withered and cracked hand, gently patting the head of the young girl.
“Yes, I will kill them,” he said. “You are the one I have chosen, and I will protect you well.”
With that, he turned to Zhong Chengshuo. His gaze became particularly complex. Despite being born of “Joy”, the sadness in his eyes resembled that of a human.
“Sorry about this, cub.”
Evil As Humans Ch202
Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
* * *
Chapter 202: Traitor
“Sorry about this, cub.”
As soon as Mr. Le’s words fell, the surrounding oppressive aura dissipated. Yin Ren’s gaze contracted, and he quickly stood in front of Zhong Chengshuo, releasing a formidable Evil Force. In the next moment, it collided head-on with Mr. Le’s Evil Force as they clashed.
A wave of explosions erupted in the peaceful back mountain.
The grating sound of tearing echoed through the sky, completely leveling the nearby area with the surging forces of the two. There was no longer any pavilion or withered trees in place; only a pale expanse of land remained. The four individuals who clashed were pushed away by the force and turned into two figures in the billowing smoke and dust.
As the smoke cleared, Yin Ren’s black hair and red clothes flew alongside Zhong Chengshuo. He floated back behind Zhong Chengshuo while his hands hovered over the man’s shoulders. Countless restraining spirit weapons formed a chain, constantly revolving around the two, creating a spectacular display of blood-colored brilliance.
Meanwhile, several steps away, Luo Chunlei tightly held onto Mr. Le’s long robe. During the explosion just now, Mr. Le undoubtedly protected her. Despite the dense Evil Force lingering around them, the only things evident in the young girl’s eyes were astonishment and an increasingly intense fascination.
“So that’s how it is.”
Looking at the two figures clinging together opposite him, Mr. Le coughed a few times, and he spoke with emotion.
“Zhong Chengshuo, right? No wonder, no wonder. You, a mere cub, hidden under our noses for so many years, only revealing yourself recently… So you’ve been cultivating your own formidable Evil Force.”
Zhong Chengshuo didn’t answer.
He merely reached out his hand and gently touched Yin Ren’s hand resting on his shoulder.
Yin Ren’s lips curled into a cold smile, and his aura surged like a blazing fire on an icy peak. His free hand formed countless seals, turning the sealing techniques that suppressed the Evil Force into barriers. Dust churned, and dull thuds resounded as layer upon layer piled up between the two parties.
If a Primordial Elemental wanted to reveal its true form, relying solely on the mortal realm wouldn’t suffice. Just look at the lesson learned from Dog Thing; at best, they could engage in battles in places like the Archive or the Corpse Cage. Without exception, these places were interstitial spaces between the mortal realm and the Other Side.
As long as the battlefield was forcefully kept in the mortal realm, Mr. Le’s combat strength would be greatly diminished.
Yin Ren’s seals became faster and faster, with countless crimson threads piercing through the heavens and earth, as if stitching this space firmly in place. In this way, even a slight gap couldn’t be created, let alone relocating the battlefield.
“Using a fierce hound as a tool indeed has its uses.”
Mr. Le’s gaze swept over Yin Ren as he reached out to pat Luo Chunlei’s head, letting out a soft sigh.
