Chapter 67: “Falling for Someone Else”

Xia Mi brought Liao Tianhua, Mi Xiangyan, and Qiu Hailan to the Confidential Archives Room and, following the game’s sequence, rescued Jiao Xingjian in time.

Because she’d prepared in advance, Xia Mi stopped Little Autumn Bear from trying to destroy the Zhuo-mutated monsters this time, and she didn’t break a bone from kicking Little Autumn Bear away.

Maybe because Liao Tianhua had already become Xia Mi’s boyfriend and had been kissed and healed by her many times, he had shaken off some of Xiao Feng’s control. Seeing that there was another Jiao Xingjian in the basement, he didn’t shout about going to the 17th floor to confront Fake Old Jiao. Instead, he stared at Jiao Xingjian’s face for a moment and said coldly, “Old, wrinkled, and ugly.”

Jiao Xingjian, who had just regained his human form: “…”

He’d been happy to see his three capable subordinates, but he hadn’t expected Qiu Hailan to want to kill his Zhuo-mutated self the moment they met, or Mi Xiangyan to doubt his identity. He could understand those two reactions, since they came from his Zhuo mutation, but Liao Tianhua!

Why start with a personal attack on his looks the moment they met?

Jiao Xingjian really had aged quite a bit over the years, but whenever people saw him, they would at least politely say things like, “You don’t look fifty at all, you seem to be in your early forties,” or “Age has only made you stronger,” or “Deputy Director Jiao really has such bearing.” No one had ever said something like that to his face before!

Even Xia Mi affectionately patted Liao Tianhua on the head and chided, “What kind of truth are you spouting? Don’t you want to go into politics anymore?”

After that, she even helped him apologize to Jiao Xingjian: “Old Jiao, sorry. Xiao Liao was controlled by the monster sent by the Immortal Foundation and mistook you for Fake Old Jiao. He wasn’t talking about you.”

Xia Mi kept saying “truth” and “Old Jiao” over and over, and a vein throbbed in Jiao Xingjian’s temple.

Jiao Xingjian blurted out, “…You’re not exactly doing better yourself!”

Mi Xiangyan looked at Jiao Xingjian with some surprise. In her eyes, Jiao Xingjian was a very smooth, very worldly leader.

He would retire in another two or three years, with no room left to move up. All he wanted was to retire in peace.

So Jiao Xingjian never offended his superiors, never squeezed his subordinates, and kept a friendly manner with everyone. He rarely showed any emotional outbursts.

Polite, gentle, but distant. There was no one in the office who was truly his confidant, and no one he was close to.

But the way he’d just spoken to Xia Mi sounded more like the tone he would use with his own younger relatives.

His tone was harsh, but clearly he was treating Xia Mi like one of his own.

There was even a touch of the grumpy old child in that attitude.

Xia Mi treated others in her own way. She never wronged herself, never bullied others, and did things her own way, yet somehow she always made it possible for others to connect with her as equals.

That was probably Xia Mi’s charm.

After settling the four of them in place, Xia Mi instructed, “Don’t leave here for now. I’ll go deal with the enemy. Group Leader Mi, Deputy Team Leader Qiu, stop doubting Xiao Liao. He didn’t seduce me, I fell for him because I liked how capable and dependable he is and wanted him to be my boyfriend, understand?”

Mi Xiangyan: “…”

Qiu Hailan: “…”

They were still under Xiao Feng’s mental control, so they still found Liao Tianhua unpleasant. But because Xia Mi had already stepped into the entire communication network, and her consciousness now stood above Xiao Feng’s, when Xiao Feng wasn’t fully controlling them, they were more willing to believe Xia Mi.

Seeing that the two of them agreed, Xia Mi took Liao Tianhua’s hand and reminded him, “I’m not tying you up this time. Remember to keep liking me and thinking about me. If you still like Fake Old Jiao, then look at the real Old Jiao’s dried-up orange peel face and use that to suppress your feelings.”

Jiao Xingjian said, “I’m right here, and I can hear you!”

Seeing Xia Mi about to leave, Liao Tianhua felt a little disappointed. He looked at Xia Mi and said, “From the way you’re talking, you’re not a rookie cop. I knew you before, and I liked you, but I don’t remember you. Can I still remember you?”

Seeing the confusion in his expression when he thought about the past, Xia Mi comforted him, “Amnesia isn’t that big of a deal. I used to not remember that you were my boyfriend either. More important than memory are the feelings you have now and the experiences you’ll have in the future.

“Of course, I’ll do my best to get your memory back. But if I can’t, don’t beat yourself up. Just look ahead and make more memories in the future.”

Hearing Xia Mi’s words, Liao Tianhua gradually settled down.

Countless “sweet” memories with Fake Old Jiao still lingered in his mind. He didn’t know if he could love Xia Mi properly.

Fortunately, Xia Mi was open and never got trapped in self-torment. She wouldn’t fret over what she’d lost. The living, breathing Xia Mi before him outweighed the memories in Liao Tianhua’s head, and even with the mental control still there, he’d already shifted his affections to Xia Mi.

The lair shook for a moment, then returned to normal.

But this time, Xia Mi faintly felt that something was different.

She suddenly had the feeling that this lair belonged to her.

As soon as she closed her eyes, images from every corner of the lair appeared in her mind.

She could even open a slit and send the people around her away.

It was Liao Tianhua.

Liao Tianhua was the true master of the lair. His feelings had completely shifted to Xia Mi, so she was now, in a vague sense, becoming the master of this space.

If Xia Mi wanted to, she could break this lair open right now.

There were several benefits to becoming the master of the lair.

First, she could let Jiao Xingjian, Mi Xiangyan, and Qiu Hailan leave the lair and return to a safe place.

That way, even if the final outcome of Xia Mi’s battle with Xiao Feng were mutual destruction, no one else would be caught in the crossfire, and the damage would be kept to a minimum.

However, Liao Tianhua couldn’t leave. He was the center of the lair. If he went, the lair would disappear.

Second, she could trap Xiao Feng.

If Xiao Feng controlled the lair, then the moment things looked bad, he could leave it. But now that Xia Mi controlled the lair, Xiao Feng absolutely couldn’t escape unless he killed both Xia Mi and Liao Tianhua.

Third, and most importantly, erosion, that is, the right to control.

“Zhuo” could control people’s spirits by causing the people in the lair to become Zhuo-mutated, stirring up the desires in their minds and unleashing emotional energy.

Now that Xia Mi controlled this lair, she could erode Xiao Feng’s consciousness. Through the Consciousness Threads, she could stir Xiao Feng’s emotions and pry more information about the Immortal Foundation out of his mouth.

But all of this required a huge amount of energy.

The energy that had been sustaining the nest before had come from Xiao Feng. Now it was Xia Mi’s turn.

Xia Mi could clearly feel the 5,525 Zhuo Coins on her slowly draining away at a rate of 10 Zhuo Coins per minute.

Either she had to finish this fast, or she had to steal energy from Xiao Feng. Otherwise she’d be drained dry in no time.

Xia Mi said hurriedly, “I’m going to send the three of you out.”

“Can we open the nest now?” Mi Xiangyan asked.

Xia Mi said, “I don’t have time to explain. Something happened, and now I can control this nest. After the three of you get out, if Xiao Liao and I still can’t make it out in the end, remember to help us apply for first-class merit and have us posthumously promoted to deputy division chief, all right!”

“How can you even make your last words so infuriating? Can’t you say something touching, something heroic?” Jiao Xingjian was both angry and pained, angry that Xia Mi was so mercenary, and pained that she always decided to sacrifice herself so easily.

Xia Mi said, “Touching words aren’t worth money. Better to say something practical. Old Jiao, you’re a deputy bureau chief, so your word should carry more weight than Xiao Liao’s. If you say yes, I’ll take it seriously.

“Oh, and if the two of us can’t get out, remember to help us hold a wedding ceremony afterward!”

The three of them were all left speechless by Xia Mi.

Old Jiao was about to say something else, but Xia Mi saw that in just those few sentences, another 30 Zhuo Coins had vanished. She was in no mood to say goodbye to them, so she simply waved a hand and sent them out.

She squeezed Liao Tianhua’s hand, quickly kissed his lips, then said, “Be good and wait for me here. I’ll go help you kill the person who’s both your rival and mine, and once we leave the nest, we’ll get married.”

Liao Tianhua: “…”

We’re about to face the final showdown, so don’t say things like that and plant a death flag[^1], he wanted to say.

He also wanted to say that since Jiao Xingjian and the others had already left, and since he’d die if Xia Mi died anyway, he might as well fight alongside Xia Mi. There was no need for him to stay here.

He had a lot he wanted to say, but Xia Mi was in such a rush it was like she was racing death itself. As soon as she finished, she shot out like a gust of wind.

Xia Mi took the elevator to the 17th floor as fast as she could. The moment she stepped out, she saw Fake Old Jiao standing in the hallway with a dark expression, clearly already aware that the nest had changed hands.

“What have you been doing all this time?” Fake Old Jiao asked.

Xia Mi said, “Xiao Feng, don’t use that face anymore. I don’t like it.”

Xiao Feng froze for a moment, then reached up and wiped his face. When he lowered his hand, he was back to his handsome male-model look.

He wasn’t wearing heavy makeup, and his features were absurdly young. Old Jiao had put on middle-aged weight and was a little plump. On Xiao Feng, the police uniform was a bit too big, hanging loose on his frame and making him look even younger.

Xia Mi sighed. “Just how old are you, anyway? Are you really eighteen?”

Xiao Feng said, “I’m seventeen.”

Xia Mi said, “Then when I met you four years ago, you were only thirteen?”

Xiao Feng said, “That was four and a half years ago. I was twelve and a half then, not even thirteen yet. Do you still remember what happened when we first met?”

Xia Mi said, “I just remembered. How did you get into the country?”

Xiao Feng said, “The family this identity belongs to is from Yunnan.”

Xia Mi said, “You sneaked across the border? You’re making life very hard for the border guards, you know.”

Xiao Feng said, “I have a way to turn into one of them and slip in. They won’t be able to tell.”

Xia Mi said, “Then what happened to the original owner of this identity? Did you kill him?”

Xiao Feng said, “You mean An Mufeng? He ran off a long time ago. His dad drank every day and beat the kids, and he had a sick younger sister. He ran off to join a scam ring² when he was sixteen. I don’t know if he’s dead or alive now.

“When I got to that house, I could still beat up his father and give his sister some money for treatment. Even if I really killed him, it’d still be better than what he’d done himself.”

Hearing that no innocent person had died because of Xiao Feng’s impersonation, Xia Mi felt a little more at ease.

She glanced at the time. Ten minutes had already passed, and 100 Zhuo Coins had just flown away like that.

Xia Mi knew she couldn’t waste any more time, so she said directly, “Xiao Feng, is there any chance you’d surrender, cooperate with us and tell us everything you know about the Immortal Foundation, and be willing to join the Supernatural Handling Bureau under our supervision, atone for your crimes, and help us root out the Immortal Foundation?”

Xiao Feng looked at Xia Mi coldly and asked in return, “What do you think?”

“Then there’s no choice,” Xia Mi said. “In that case, let’s fight. I’ll make you talk.”

Xiao Feng said, “You think that because you’ve absorbed the energy from the fake Zhuo-fied humans in the building, you’re invincible? You’re dead wrong. You’ve already fallen into my trap!”

He spread his net like he did in the game, trying to activate the anchor points inside Xia Mi and capture her.

Who would have thought that his ability would sink without a trace?

There wasn’t a single anchor point inside Xia Mi.

“How could you… You clearly swallowed the bait I put out!” Xiao Feng said in alarm.

Xia Mi clenched her fist and said, “You’re out of tricks, aren’t you? Then it’s my turn.”

She lifted her hand slightly and traced the symbol “8” lightly in the air.

Countless “Silkworms” burst from Xia Mi’s body, firmly locking onto Xiao Feng.

Translator’s Notes