Chapter 130: Farewell

Genes? Humans?!
This thing actually possesses a portion of human genes?!
Chen Xiao could only think that the person who created such a monster must be out of their mind!

White Gloves's tone was somewhat excited: "Did you see its body? It looks very much like it has been pieced together, right? That is correct! It was indeed pieced together! And what is more, it pieced itself together! This kind of biochemical beast possesses a remarkably unique ability, one that resulted from a mutation triggered by the synthesis of genes from multiple creatures! Its ability is cellular fusion! It can fuse cells from any different species together! As you can see, many parts of its body are pieced together. Well... it did all of that by itself! It seems to have had a great deal of fun playing around in this zoo... Look, it knew to choose the hind legs of a wolf and a deer for its own legs, because the hind legs of these two animals are strong and powerful, and their shape and proportions are the most ideal! It chose crocodile skin for its skin, because such skin is sufficiently tough and resilient while not impeding agility of movement. Oh, goodness!!"

White Gloves suddenly let out a laugh of pleasant surprise: "Did you notice its head? Haha! What a clever fellow, it gave itself a pair of gills! Haha, it must have hunted down some large underwater creature and then grafted it onto itself! Turning itself into an amphibious creature!"

White Gloves laughed heartily with excitement, while Chen Xiao stood to the side, watching the mantis-like monster in the distance with an indescribable feeling in his heart.

He felt as though he had stepped into some science fiction movie world...

Although it was also a biochemical beast, the owlbear from last time at least still resembled an animal more... whereas the giant mantis walking before him like a human... was truly rather terrifying!

Well... Can it freely reassemble its own body? Possesses the ability to fuse cells of other species?

Chen Xiao immediately recalled the day Officer Xu took him to the autopsy room to see the carcasses of the dead animals. Indeed. It was said that many of the dead animal carcasses were partially missing... Now that he thought about it, they had probably been taken by this monster to "piece together"...

This giant mantis seemed completely unconcerned with the car in front of it; instead, guided from afar by the scent of urine, it appeared somewhat restless and slowly approached the lion in the distance.

Its gait was slightly clumsy, but it was walking upright nonetheless! Beneath the moonlight, it seemed just like a butcher wielding a cleaver, advancing slowly.

When it approached to within less than ten meters of the lion, the lion was already visibly struggling to restrain itself. Although the druid driver continuously chanted some sort of incantation, as if attempting to soothe the lion's agitated emotions, the lion had already arched its back, continuously emitting low growls toward the distant giant mantis, its paws deeply scraping the earth.

What caused Chen Xiao to stir inwardly was... from the sound of the lion's low growls, besides vigilance and anger... there seemed to be a bit more of... fear?

Yes! Exactly! Chen Xiao focused his mind and listened closely. Although this sensation was bizarre, he could be certain that he detected a certain emotional undertone of fear within the lion's roars.

What on earth! The king of beasts, a lion, was actually afraid of a mantis?!

The lion had already stood up, opened its jaws, and bared its fangs, yet it still did not dare to pounce directly, and even retreated step by step.

The incantation being chanted by the druid driver grew faster and faster, a string of harsh and strange syllables bursting from his mouth.

Finally, he suddenly fished a strange black powder from inside his coat and swiftly scattered it onto the lion's body...

Boom!

A cluster of green flames suddenly surged from the lion's body! That green flame-like entity did not seem to be burning, but rather resembled some sort of luminous powder. Yet, seeing a lion glow green all over in the dead of night was still quite startling.

Once enveloped by the green light triggered by this handful of powder, all of the lion's ferocity and fighting spirit were instantly ignited! It was no longer timid or fearful, suddenly lifting its head to let out a roar, baring its fangs, opening its blood-ripping jaws, and lunging forward with a bound!

The lion's pounce was exceptionally swift and fierce, while the mantis, walking forward step by staggeringly clumsy step, looked so awkward that as the lion closed in, Chen Xiao expected the mantis to be knocked down by the impact. Yet unexpectedly, at that very moment, a single action of the mantis left Chen Xiao stunned!

The two long bone blades on the mantis's upper limbs suddenly crossed in front of it, forming a shape resembling a cross, and then the mantis immediately bent its body downward by a fraction...

This... this was clearly a posture of striving to resist!!

Bang!

The lion's lunge struck directly against the mantis's forelimbs, but to Chen Xiao's astonishment, the mantis was not knocked down. Its pair of upper limbs forcefully pushed forward, and the next moment, the lion was flung directly away by the immense force!

It was as if the creature being thrown away was not a male lion, but a mere kitten!!

What tremendous strength!

Chen Xiao's eyes lit up instantly!

Then, watching the pair of sharp bone blades on the mantis monster, he immediately recalled those animal carcasses he had seen previously, their cut edges sharp and neat... At the time, he had guessed that the "person" wielding the blade must possess formidable strength!

Now it seemed that although this mantis was not human, its strength was truly terrifying!!

Facing the frontal charge of an adult male lion, it was actually capable of sending the opponent flying?!

The lion's body tumbled in midair, and upon landing, it rolled on the ground and quickly stood up, yet it did not dare to advance, instead emitting low, threatening growls before moving laterally and slowly searching for its opponent's openings.

As for the mantis... with two sharp clicks, it had already raised both long blades vertically.

The friction of the bone blades produced a metallic clanging sound.

Then, the giant mantis suddenly assumed a lunge-like posture...

It was going to charge!

Such a thought immediately flashed through Chen Xiao's mind. And the next instant duly confirmed his guess!

The mantis suddenly took a stride forward, its body shedding the clumsiness of its previous walk as it rushed forward at lightning speed! At this moment, its movements were as swift as a violent gale!

Although the lion tried its utmost to dodge, Chen Xiao watched with his own eyes as this giant mantis swept past the lion's body, its hand rising and the blade falling!

Clack!!

Splat!!

A torrent of foul-smelling blood spewed wildly into the air! A lion's head soared high into the heavens!!

What blistering speed!

What formidable strength!!

A mantis—how could it possess such formidable upper-body strength?!

Chen Xiao's eyes widened in disbelief!

"In the skeletal composition of this biochemical beast, metallic elements account for a large proportion, making its skeleton extremely hard with exceptionally strong support. Naturally, its strength is not small either." White Gloves gazed at the scarlet blood. Although sitting inside the car meant he could not smell the stench of blood at all, he still instinctively used his handkerchief to cover his nose.

Having dispatched a male lion with a single strike, the mantis immediately turned its body around to face the druid driver standing before it.

The druid's biological manipulation incantation seemed to have little effect on this giant mantis. The driver also abandoned his previous leisurely attitude, cautiously retreating step by step while rapidly repeating the exact same incantation over and over again.

Soon, an extraordinary event occurred!

The green radiance that had originally covered the slain lion seemed contagious; the moment the mantis lopped off the lion's head with its blade, the green dust quickly stained the mantis's blades. In no time, like a wildfire sweeping across a plain, it spread wildly!

Only after seeing the mantis completely engulfed by the green light did the druid driver seem to exhale a breath of relief, his tone shifting abruptly. The previously hurried incantation transformed into a deep, slow cadence—a rhythm that resembled some sort of...

Hypnosis?

Sure enough, the mantis's body swayed as if unable to support its weight, struggling to take a couple of stumbling steps forward. The druid driver retreated rapidly, his voice growing louder as he chanted the incantation.

The mantis appeared to be struggling, the blades in its hands lifting and falling. After struggling for a moment, it suddenly burst forth, leaping through the air in a lunge!

This final struggle seemed to catch the driver off guard. By the time the edge of the bone blade reached him, it was too late for the driver to dodge; he could only swerve his body rapidly to bypass his vital organs!

Crack!!

An arm soared into the sky! The driver let out a miserable scream, rolled away across the ground several times in succession, and astonishingly managed to stand up despite the excruciating pain. Soaked in sweat with half of his body dyed red with blood, he continued to chant the incantation in a trembling voice!

"What a pity..." White Gloves inside the car spoke as though entirely indifferent to his subordinate's severe injury, sighing, "What a pity... Although the supernatural ability of a druid is useful, none of my other subordinates are higher-level druids. Alas, recruiting a high-level druid is no easy task..."

"A druid... could it be..." Chen Xiao frowned.

"Druids are an ancient lineage; Europe possesses an ancient supernatural organization with a history spanning a millennium, which happens to be one of the oldest supernatural organizations in the world... The Druid Association." White Gloves smiled faintly: "Hmph, those high-level druids within the association are the true powerhouses. I went to great lengths just to recruit this low-level druid; his supernatural ability is indeed quite useful, but his rank is simply too low."

Finally, following the mantis's desperate lunge, it seemed to exhaust all its ferocity. Its massive body collapsed, quickly curling up into a ball—just like a pill bug, contracting into an oval-shaped, dark, boulder-like mass.

Only then did White Gloves push open the car door and snap his fingers toward the darkness. Several figures in black suits immediately emerged from the surroundings, swiftly unfurling a fishing-net-like apparatus to wrap the giant mantis tightly layer by layer.

Meanwhile, the one-armed druid struggled through his agonizing pain to reach the mantis, once again grabbing a handful of strange powder from his robe and scattering it over the creature.

"It's done... It will sleep for at least forty-eight hours." The driver's complexion was as pale as paper.

White Gloves walked up to the mantis personally. From a box held in both hands by a subordinate, he retrieved a collar of the type Chen Xiao had seen before, stretching it in his hands to automatically adjust its width.

Click.

After his subordinates pried open the curled body of the mantis, White Gloves personally fitted the collar around the creature's neck. The row of metal mesh upon the collar rapidly sprouted a circle of fine, wheat-awn-sharp spikes that pierced deeply into the mantis's flesh...

Simultaneously, several indicator lights atop the collar flickered briefly.

"That will do." White Gloves looked at the injured driver and pondered for a moment: "You did well. Upon our return, a new arm will be fashioned for you. Can you still hold on?"

"Thank you." The driver nodded. Though he was nearly fainting from pain, he clenched his teeth and said, "I can still hold on."

The men in black suits promptly hoisted the net enclosing the giant mantis and loaded it onto an approaching off-road vehicle.

Chen Xiao looked at the dead lion on the ground in the distance... and then turned his gaze to the driver reputed to be a druid.

"Druids are supposed to be wielders of the power to manipulate nature. Although I have never dealt with a druid, I have heard that druids ought to cherish natural life above all." Chen Xiao's face was dark.

The driver glanced at Chen Xiao, his face deathly pale: "I... am a druid who has fallen into the darkness!"

Hmph.

Chen Xiao felt a trace of disdain.

Corruption was corruption! What need was there to invent excuses for oneself?

Darkness? It was nothing more than betraying one's faith to satisfy selfish desires. Why dress it up in such pleasant-sounding words?

"Then... the matter is concluded, I suppose."

Stepping back into White Gloves's car, the driver in the front had been replaced by someone else.

White Gloves looked at Chen Xiao beside him: "Are you reassured now?"

Chen Xiao frowned.

Yet deep in his heart, a lingering sense of strangeness persisted.

Although this giant mantis was somewhat astonishing... it was not truly formidable to an outrageous degree. With Gonggong's strength, dealing with such a biochemical beast should have been effortless.

Why, then, had Gonggong acted as though facing a formidable enemy? Refusing to divulge this commission to anyone and repeatedly demanding that Chen Xiao keep it secret?!

"Considered concluded." Chen Xiao suppressed the doubts in his heart and looked at White Gloves: "In that case, I shall begin my mission immediately."

"Very well. Since that is settled, I will give you one night to prepare. Tomorrow morning, I will send someone to the café to pick you up. I will arrange an identity for you so you can get close to your protection target. Then, over the course of the next month, you must ensure the absolute safety of the target!" White Gloves's tone suddenly shifted: "If the mission fails, then the conditions I previously fulfilled will no longer be valid! Moreover, there will be other unpleasant consequences!"

"There is no need for your threats." Chen Xiao said flatly: "Tomorrow morning? It's a deal!"

That evening, Chen Xiao returned to the café to pack his things, then went home to retrieve a few changes of clothing.

When he returned to the café, the three old men were already waiting there.

"You've decided to accept the commission?" Old Tian sighed.

"Why?" Zhurong was utterly baffled, and warned Chen Xiao simultaneously: "Kid! Those fellows in the club are not to be trifled with! Those bastards are like lingering ghosts; once you get entangled with them, shaking them off later will be impossible!"

"Can I shake them off right now?" Chen Xiao suddenly asked with a faint smile in response.

Zhurong was left speechless.

"The time for running away has come to an end." Chen Xiao adjusted his glasses. His expression was unprecedentedly solemn as he looked at Zhurong, then back at Old Tian: "Actually... all this time, I have been too cowardly. Truly too cowardly. I thought I could continue living the life of a normal person, and I was even terrified of turning into a monster. But..."

He smiled: "After visiting Homeland Island that one time, I finally confirmed that I had been a supernatural being all along! It's just that my parents used some method to suppress my mutation, making me live like a normal person for my first eighteen years. However... I increasingly feel that matters are far from as simple as I once believed."

He suddenly lowered his voice, looking at Zhurong and Old Tian: "Sometimes, I even harbor a suspicion—a suspicion that terrifies and frightens me."

"What suspicion?" Old Tian frowned.

"My parents... they were originally truly ordinary people." Chen Xiao's voice was exceedingly soft: "Just before I was born, their research field was not bio-engineering, let alone gene-engineering... Why is it then that a few years after I was born, they abruptly shifted their research topics, and subsequently relied on brilliant research achievements to be recruited by the club? I even occasionally reminisce: could it be that back then, my mother and father... did it for me? Did they turn to genetic engineering solely to cure my illness?!"

As Chen Xiao spoke, tears quietly streamed from the corners of his eyes.

To live beneath the free, azure sky...

These were the final parting words left to him by his parents, and also their dying wish!

What did those words mean?

Previously, Chen Xiao had never understood.

But now, he understood!

His parents did not want him dragged into this world of supernatural beings! Especially after entering the club and witnessing too many "experimental subjects" like Yaya being kept like laboratory mice, his parents desired even less for him to be pulled into that world!

Therefore, curing him! Allowing him to become an ordinary person once more, had been his parents' ultimate goal!

In the end, they had succeeded!

The purification serum had succeeded!!

Yet... it had brought about their deaths!

Chen Xiao raised his head once more. He looked at Old Tian and Zhurong: "In the past, I didn't understand these principles, so I could comfortably continue running away. But now, I understand... can I continue to run away like this?"

He suddenly smiled faintly: "A young woman once said something to me."

Pausing briefly, he softly recited:

"You, me—us! Our blood, our lives, were originally different from most individuals in this world. This is our destiny. Since destiny has chosen us, running away is impossible. Do not wallow in self-pity, nor ponder whether this is fair. Because this world has never been fair—it never was in the past, and—it never will be in the future."

"What is it that you want to do, then?" Zhurong frowned.

"I don't know."

When Chen Xiao said "I don't know," his expression was completely calm, his demeanor remarkably relaxed. With a faint smile, he said: "I don't know what I ought to do. I don't even know what I am capable of doing, or what I am allowed to do. But I know at least one thing: I cannot keep running away! I must stand up, instead of continuing to hide behind others!"

Both Old Tian and Zhurong fell silent.

As for Gonggong, she finally spoke up.

At this moment, standing beside Zhurong, Gonggong still wore a solemn expression, no longer deliberately feigning that timid demeanor, but instead staring fixedly at Chen Xiao with utmost gravity for quite a long time.

"Take care!"

Chen Xiao smiled gently: "I will! Oh, that's right... that matter regarding the commission has been called off." Chen Xiao looked at Gonggong: "I imagine this must be good news for you."

"What commission? What called off?" Zhurong immediately demanded angrily.

Chen Xiao and Gonggong exchanged a glance: "A man's secret."

Early the next morning, Chen Xiao left the café. Because he would be away for a month, he temporarily transferred the management rights of the café to Champagne.

As for Yaya, she was temporarily left in the care of Old Tian and the others.

Watching Chen Xiao walk away into the distance down the street with a travel backpack...

"Old Tian, I have a rather bad premonition." Zhurong took a sullen puff of a cigarette, then viciously threw the butt onto the ground and ground it out with his foot.

"What premonition?" Old Tian asked leisurely, crossing his arms.

"I have this lingering feeling... that once Chen Xiao goes on this trip, he might truly leave us for good! Furthermore..."

"Furthermore what?"

"I have a feeling... might he, or might he not, end up joining the club?!"