CH 74

“If you had listened to me earlier, then you wouldn’t be in this mess. Look at you, after all this time, not even a single branded clothing. Let me tell you, this is a big client we’re dealing with this time. As long as you obediently accompany him, I guarantee your future will be smooth sailing…”

Li Zhuo, the agent, sarcastically criticized Si Huaixi’s attire.

He thought that after suffering a loss, this time Si Huaixi would flatter and cater to him properly. But all he did was glance at him indifferently, like a majestic lion in the wilderness looking at ignorant prey daringly provoking it, unaware of the impending danger.

A sudden bizzare sense of intimidation sent shivers down Li Zhuo’s spine.

However, when he regained his composure and looked again, Si Huaixi remained cold and silent. He hadn’t uttered a single word since they arrived.

Li Zhuo, the agent, grew somewhat annoyed.

Considering the importance of the task assigned by this esteemed client, and the reward of a few hundred thousand interstellar credits left to secure, in order to find better medical experts to treat his own excruciatingly painful strange disease, he had to endure Si Huaixi’s presence, no matter how much it bothered him.

Once he brought Si Huaixi to the side of the esteemed client, he didn’t believe that the honored guest who would meet them on the Angelina Cruise Ship would be a good person. Si Huaixi, without power or influence, and with his strikingly handsome Beta appearance, might not be able to escape the confines of the Angelina Cruise Ship.

“Well, you wait here for now. I’ll notify the client to send someone to pick us up,” Li Zhuo said to Si Huaixi, his dark eyes narrow and crafty, clearly expressing his lack of trust, afraid that Si Huaixi would escape while he was preoccupied with making the call.

Speaking of the client, the whole affair was cloaked in secrecy. Until now, Li Zhuo had no idea about the client’s name, nor the specific location of the meeting. All he received were a few invitation letters for the Angelina Cruise Ship, requesting that he bring Si Huaixi here.

Li Zhuo dialed the client’s phone, expecting it not to be answered so quickly. However, to his surprise, the call connected after just half a ring.

Before he had a chance to greet the person on the other end with flattering words, he was hastily interrupted.

“Where is he?”

The client’s tone sounded nervous and urgent, deliberately lowering his voice.

Li Zhuo paused for a moment, suddenly realizing that this anxious and mysterious client was referring to Si Huaixi. It puzzled him a bit. After all, Si Huaixi was just a background actor with no significant status. What’s there to be so concerned about? If it weren’t for his slightly above-average looks and the fact that a wealthy sponsor took an interest in him, he would have liked to be in this line of work himself.

“Are you referring to that small actor? He’s waiting at the entrance of the Angelina Cruise Ship. May I ask where you would like to arrange the meeting? We are open to any location.”

Li Zhuo squinted his narrow eyes, looking like a greedy hyena.

“I didn’t expect you to actually bring him here,” the person on the other end murmured in a low voice.

For a moment, Li Zhuo couldn’t quite make out what the client was saying. With a mocking face, he asked, “What do you want to know?”

“Nothing. Is he nearby?”

“Yes, he is. Would you like to talk with him?”

The person on the other end immediately panicked and exclaimed, “No, no need!”

Li Zhuo looked puzzled. After all, Si Huaixi was just a small actor. Did he really deserve such nervousness?

But for the person on the other end of the phone, Si Huaixi was more than just a minor celebrity. If he wanted to, he could hold the entire empire in the palm of his hand.

If it weren’t for the fact that information about him was concealed for the sake of the empire’s security, no one would have known that the cause of the empire’s chaos, the person who single-handedly undermined the entire empire’s military forces, weapons, and mechs, was this terrifying individual hiding among the masses.

A short, erratic breath came from the mysterious and strange client on the other end of the call, like a high-voltage wire about to snap.

The esteemed guest seemed to have noticed something amiss and slowed down his tone as he explained to the agent, Li Zhuo, “I don’t like interacting with people outside, even through phone. You don’t have to call him, nor reveal any information about me to him. I’ll have someone bring you and him over later.”

Agent Li Zhuo nodded in agreement, smiling warmly, and cautiously asked when he would receive his compensation.

The guest on the opposite side paused for a moment, and in no time, his StarNet Bank account showed a transfer of 800,000 Interstellar Coins.

Agent Li Zhuo’s eyes lit up at the sight of this substantial sum, and his pale face, plagued by illness for a long time, turned excitedly rosy.

Little did he know that this enormous amount of money he had received was a matter of life and death for him, not mere spending.

Indeed, someone came to pick them up.

Agent Li Zhuo looked at the two slender and tall men, one of whom was cultured and wore black-framed glasses, while the other was slightly older, a middle-aged Beta who didn’t seem like a bodyguard but more like an assistant to an important person.

Oddly enough, these two men looked at Si Huaixi with gleaming eyes, as if they were the esteemed guests who had come to find Si Huaixi, completely oblivious to the fact that they were the ones being sought.

The two men led Agent Li Zhuo and Si Huaixi into the Angelina Cruise Ship and took a VIP-exclusive elevator.

At first, Agent Li Zhuo remained composed, but as he saw the elevator continuously descending and the numbers increasing rapidly, dropping from the 1st floor to the 10th floor in an instant, he started to feel a bit anxious.

He didn’t want to accompany Si Huaixi to the slave black market on the 11th floor and below. Who knew if they would encounter those perverted clients?

Agent Li Zhuo nervously spoke up, “Um… I’ve already brought the person. How about I leave myself, and you can take care of the rest?”

The two men exchanged smiles and looked at Agent Li Zhuo with eyes shining coldly, as if they were observing an experimental specimen in a container, displaying an arrogant superiority.

They rejected Agent Li Zhuo’s request.

The middle-aged man fake-smiled politely and said, “Your request puts us in a difficult position. Our superiors mentioned bringing both of you together, but rest assured, nothing will happen to you, and we’ll let you go.”

Agent Li Zhuo wanted to say something more, but the two men didn’t allow him to open the door. Even if the elevator didn’t open, he couldn’t escape.

Feeling that things were becoming suspicious, Agent Li Zhuo anxiously looked at Si Huaixi, who was in the same elevator. Si Huaixi seemed indifferent to the terrifying things that were about to happen to him, with his sea-blue eyes half-lowered, carrying a listless weariness. The elevator’s light cast on his thick, raven-like hair, unexpectedly giving a sense of tranquil innocence.

He resembled a naive and ignorant beautiful fool, unknowingly walking into an abyss filled with traps.

Compared to Si Huaixi’s ignorant appearance, Agent Li Zhuo felt somewhat relieved in his heart. He no longer pestered the two men with questions, thinking that even if something happened, it would be this young star who suffered first, not him.

When they reached the 11th floor, the elevator requested the VIP card, and the two men presented a special black card.

After confirming their identities through the scanning device, the elevator continued its descent in silence.

11…12…15! 16! 17!

18!!!

Agent Li Zhuo froze upon seeing this number. How did they end up on the 18th floor? He had only heard about a few floors after the 11th floor on the Angelina Cruise Ship, the rest were beyond his knowledge. What would happen on the 18th floor?

Just speculating about it made his heart race with fear.

“Passengers heading to the 19th floor, please place your palm on the device for biological and genetic testing.”

Why were they going to the 19th floor?

Li Zhuo, the agent, felt his head spinning. Beyond the 19th floor was the private domain of Duke Basalom. Could it be that Si Huaixi had caught the attention of Duke Basalom?!

If that were true, it would be incredible luck!

Even if it wasn’t Duke Basalom himself, only those with close ties to him could enter the private area beyond the 19th floor.

Jealousy overflowed from Li Zhuo’s narrow, cold eyes as he muttered to himself.

No wonder that benefactor was so generous. It turns out there’s a connection to the imperial aristocracy. Si Huaixi’s future is truly boundless now.

Driven by envy, Li Zhuo, the agent, approached Si Huaixi and whispered in a resentful tone, “You’re really lucky. One patron is gone, and now you’ve found an even bigger one. Don’t forget about me, the water-carrier, when you make it big.”

Si Huaixi’s cold gaze flashed with mockery, but he didn’t reply.

Li Zhuo, the agent, still felt dissatisfied.

Suddenly, the elevator doors opened.

Caught up in their conversation, they hadn’t noticed which floor they had reached.

Two men extended their hands, signaling for them to step out. One of them, a bespectacled man, approached Si Huaixi with an unexpectedly respectful and warm attitude, saying, “Please proceed straight ahead. Once you reach your destination, we won’t accompany you any further. We don’t have access to the area ahead.”

Li Zhuo, the agent, felt ignored and cursed the bespectacled man under his breath. Nonetheless, he followed the man’s instructions and moved forward.

He had expected Duke Basalom’s private domain to be luxurious and extravagant, but instead, the entire place had a cool, sterile atmosphere, like a room just disinfected.

A long corridor lay before them, with walls, floors, and ceilings made of seamless metallic silver material. Each section of the corridor was sealed off by a steel door positioned about 15 centimeters behind.

As Si Huaixi and the others approached, the steel doors seemed to open as if they had eyes, revealing another featureless corridor.

They walked through such corridors for more than ten minutes.

Li Zhuo, the agent, felt weak and sweaty, cursing inwardly the person who had brought them here.

Who on earth would create such a place in a leisure and entertainment facility? It was bizarre and inexplicable!

It seemed they were reaching the end.

Suddenly, Si Huaixi’s gaze hardened as he looked at the final door.

“Mr. Si, my body is up ahead, but there’s something strange about it. It seems there are intense psychic fluctuations ahead…” Irin’s tone grew excited, followed by confusion as she alerted him.

Si Huaixi made a low “Hmm” and, along with Li Zhuo, who was completely unaware of what lay behind that door, entered.

To Li Zhuo’s surprise, there was no one inside. The lighting was dim, resembling the faint yellow glow of streetlights at night. However, on both sides of the corridor, there were numerous enormous cylindrical glass tanks, each standing taller than a person.

Because of the dim lighting, he didn’t immediately realize what was inside. He assumed it was some rich person’s eccentric hobby, collecting large fish tanks to house rare species.

Li Zhuo looked around for a switch, wanting to at least brighten things up a bit, but he couldn’t find one. Out of curiosity, he approached one of the glass tanks for a closer look.

However, the next second, he was nearly scared out of his wits.

In the dim water, a human head emerged, with clearly defined facial features. The person’s eyes were closed, and their eyelashes swayed gently with the water’s ripples. Their face, pale from being submerged, floated serenely with disheveled black hair.

It was impossible to tell whether they were alive or dead.

If all the glass tanks here were filled with people, there would be roughly fifty or so…

Li Zhuo, the agent, turned pale, pointing at the blurry glass tanks, trembling lips uttering, “There are people inside! People submerged in them!”

Si Huaixi’s expression remained cold, even as he leaned in closer to the airtight glass tanks, as if speaking to himself, he asked, ‘Which one is you?’

Irin replied with slight excitement, “The one on the left, the thirteenth.”

They arrived at the glass tank Irin had mentioned.

‘How do you get in?’ Si Huaixi asked.

Before Irin could respond, Si Huaixi saw the brown-haired girl in the glass tank open her eyes, bubbles escaping her mouth as she mumbled a greeting.

‘Mr. Si, thank you.’

Si Huaixi responded with a cold grunt and calmly shifted his gaze to a wall where there was no one to be seen.

His sharp, perceptive eyes penetrated straight into the heart of someone filled with anxiety and panic.

Kyle Odysseus, who had escaped and returned, watched Si Huaixi on the concealed surveillance, looking directly at him with those cold eyes that had entangled him in countless nightmares—watching him!

Kyle paled, his hand gripping the wheelchair’s handle tightly, veins bulging on his arm as he sternly questioned Dr. Brown, who was excitedly observing Si Huaixi.

“Dr. Brown, are you sure he won’t discover us hiding here?!”

Dr. Brown continued to jot down data in his experimental notebook, visually measuring Si Huaixi’s physique, height, weight, and various other data, like a mad scientist who had found the perfect subject for his experiments.

While writing down the parameters, Dr. Brown, relying on his years of research on subjects with psychic abilities, confidently stated, “Don’t worry, even if this psychic is the strongest I’ve ever encountered, this special room was specially constructed. It’s infused with psychic energy extracted from psychic individuals, covering the entire room, rendering it imperceptible to all psychics. It’s impossible for him to discover us!”

However, Kyle remained restless, his trembling pupils fixed on the screen displaying Si Huaixi, as if recalling the nightmare of that day once again.

Rooted in bone-deep fear, it would entangle and torment him for the rest of his life, just like his disabled legs.

But Dr. Brown didn’t know.

In a world devoid of psychic abilities, the sudden appearance of a place covered in psychic energy was too obvious.

And the room he claimed could shield psychics, perhaps it could withstand some low-level supernatural abilities driven by instinct.

But for Si Huaixi, a high-level psychic honed in the apocalypse, it was nothing more than a feeble defense.

Si Huaixi effortlessly pierced through this psychic barrier.

Even before boarding the Angelina cruise ship, he had already seen Kyle Odysseus, who should have been dead, appearing on the spacecraft.

How did Kyle manage to evade his psychic detection by feigning death?

Si Huaixi thought of Prince Edward’s strange demeanor that day, as well as the nonexistent presence of Consort Katie. A cold smile tugged at the corners of his thin lips.

That was no longer important.

Dying once might be simple for Kyle Odysseus, but dying a second time… It wouldn’t be as easy as he had anticipated.

The author wrote the next few chapters quite long, and a lot of unexpected things are going to happen. So, I split the next few chapters. (Ch 77 and 78 were particularly lengthy, with around 7000 and 5000 words each).

Starting tomorrow, releases will be on alternate days. However, the split chapters will be released in just one day, with a 4-hour gap.

Also, there’s a ‘little’ surprise tomorrow.

Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ