IWYTBW - Chapter 15

 Chapter 15

Gossiping About Others Behind Their Backs Will Definitely Be Discovered, Isn't This Common Sense in the Universe?

“Two nights from now, you will have dinner with Miss Ling’s classmates,” Anji said to Yi Zhen quietly. “You must understand that, without a doubt, they will be the children of Empire’s real powerhouses. Even if they are not yet the designated heirs to their family’s power, they are far from ordinary people.”

How did Ai Ling come to know these people? Yi Zhen wiped his mouth and decided that he couldn’t stomach any more of his meal. It would be better to tidy up his appearance a bit more.

Anji pondered for a moment: “I suppose you should know about Mr. Rong’s career...”

“I don’t know,” Yi Zhen said bluntly, “nor do I care.”

Anji was a bit taken aback: “Oh, how unexpected...”

While speaking, he pressed his fingers, which were held behind his back, against the light-brain, inputting his mental energy before sending a message.

【Wow, the man-eating flower declares it has no interest in Heiqiqi[e/n: the chatroom’s name for Rong Hongxue, one translation being ‘pitch-black paint’, could be a reference to his previous Mecha Great Dark Sky as well].】

The silent chat room erupted in excitement.

【Yay! Fast forward to the bloody plot twist where you love me, I don’t love you, I love him, and he loves you!】

【The reporter on the front-lines should continue to broadcast urgently, I’m begging you! Hurry up, don’t waste the precious time we’ve sneakily carved out for slacking off!】

【Man-eating flower! \ Cheers / Man-eating flower! \ Cheers /】

【Charge! Overthrow the exploitative capitalists, and return to a 48-hour workweek!】

Ignoring the peculiar messages that flooded his screen in an instant, Anji’s expression remained unchanged as he explained, “Because Mr. Rong controls nearly half of the mineral energy extraction rights of the Azote Empire, the consortium he owns is called ‘the Empire within an Empire’. He himself is also a conferred Super S-level Mecha Pilot. Therefore, as Mr. Rong’s only younger sister…”

Anji tried to say something but stopped, leaving an unspoken trail of words hanging in the air.

“So how dare they do something like this?” Yi Zhen raised an eyebrow. “Can we charge these students with attempted murder?”

Anji shook his head: “To big shots, this was nothing but a prank that got out of hand. As for murder charges, of course they wouldn’t work. Although they shielded the telemetry signal with electromagnetic equipment before the simulation room shut down, Miss Ai Ling’s light-brain was equipped with an emergency distress beacon. However, the distress signal was delayed by four minutes and twenty-one seconds because of the interference from the electromagnetic equipment...”

“This is a declaration of intent to murder.” Yi Zhen asserted, “Speak, didn’t Rong Hongxue send you here with a purpose?”

Anji was speechless.

For some reason, even though his own mental prowess far surpassed that of his boss’s rumored partner, whom his colleagues had jokingly nicknamed “the man-eating flower,” he still felt a sense of “a scholar encountering a soldier,” helpless against the blunt and brutal... or rather, perfectly accurate conclusion.

“No, the truth is, you cannot treat the children of princes, officials, and high-ranking ministers with the same attitude you reserve for murderers. Although, you are entirely free to think so in your heart...”

“Alright, I understand that they attempted murder. They also understand that they attempted murder. They also know that I know that they attempted murder, and I also know that they know I know that they attempted murder – but we just aren’t able to say outright that ‘you guys attempted murder!’. Very well, I understand. Does Rong Hongxue have anything else to advise me on?”

Anji opened his mouth: “...”

【Hurry, stream it live! Why’s there no sound?】

【I wonder if the man-eating flower will eat him? Oh dear, the poor little thing...】

【Because it’s very possible that Heiqiqi had actually been beaten by the man-eating flower, I couldn’t tell whether the colleague upstairs was joking or gloating…】

【What the...!】

【What the…？】

【Stop spouting nonsense. Remember last time our Empire’s Morning Star, Rainbow Alice, engaged in battle[e/n: they’re talking about a mecha battle between Rainbow Alice and Great Dark Sky/RHX]? Didn’t the opponent’s wings get battered to oblivion by Heiqiqi’s assault, making it flee like a dog? We saw it with our own eyes. What level is this Man-Eating Flower supposed to be at? Just an ordinary person. Don’t believe every rumor you hear.】

【Reporters, reporters, say something reporters!】

【Little--Jour--na--list--】

【Charge! Overthrow the exploitative capitalists, and return to a 48-hour workweek!】

Anji steadied his mind, and slowly typed: 【Don’t make a fuss, let me steady myself first......】

His expression turned serious as he spoke cautiously, “It’s like this. Mr. Rong assigned me to investigate the guest list for the gala on the day after tomorrow, along with their family backgrounds, their positions within the family, and who they could possibly reach out to in their network—I’m to inform you of this information, every last bit of it.”

Yi Zhen fell into deep contemplation.

If it hadn’t been confirmed that Tai’a’s concealment work was very good, the fact that the spy sent by Rong Hongxue to monitor the Rong family still thought that he was locked in the training room every day to learn the postpartum care tutorial of sows was proof enough. Staying true to the little beast’s inertia of not being a human being, this detailed information is really like a hit list…

My hands itch to grab it.

“Alright, let’s discuss this tomorrow. For now, let the butler arrange a room for you, I’m sure it’s been a tiring trip.” Yi Zhen nodded. “I still have class, so I’ll be off.”

Anji said, “Ah, but according to Mr. Rong’s arrangement, we should proceed now...”

“But why, what more does he want? I’ve already thanked him. Does he really expect me to obediently comply?” Yi Zhen found this utterly inconceivable.

“You should understand. According to our relationship, as soon as I see him, I’ll definitely spit in his face, and he’ll chop off my head on sight. Even though I know this perverted psychopath will sever my head, it won’t stop me from spitting in his face—do you understand?”

He looked at Anji. “Now, you should go to sleep. It’s very late. Your job description shouldn’t include continuing to work for him when it’s past your time to leave, right?”

A thousand words were blocked in his throat. Anji looked at Yi Zhen in shock. At this moment, language was so pale and powerless... He couldn’t help but mutter: “Charge! Take down the exploitative capitalists, and go back to the 48-hour work week...”

Yi Zhen: “?”

Anji: “I understand, I just... I’m so moved! Wuwu!”

Yi Zhen was a bit confused, but still said, “Uh, thank you?”

He stood up, hesitated, and walked toward the training room. As he was walking, he kept looking back. He really found it hard to comprehend. Rong Hongxue wouldn’t be so immature as to send this assistant who was throwing a tantrum to hold him back, right?

Behind him, Anji kept passionately exclaiming, “Man-Eating Flower, you’re amazing! Such obstinate resistance, and the courage to fight is something worth learning for migrant workers all over the world!”

【Workers of the world, unite!】

【Rise up!】

【So powerful! Ah!-Oh my god... oh my goodness, the dark lord is here to inspect our work! I’m so sorry, my friends and colleagues, I need to go now!!】

【What the hell are you doing, you coward… Shit! I can hear the adjutants! Quickly close the chatroom!!】

Inside the training room, Tai’a stated plainly, [Did you know that while you were engaged in a conversation with Rong Hongxue’s assistant, the latter was also communicating with another party at the same time?]

Yi Zhen’s hand paused, “What do you mean? He’s reporting my words to Rong Hongxue in real-time?”

With this in mind, the alien friend, who had once been handsome, suddenly became hideous……

[No.] Tai’a said, [He was discussing about you in private with his colleagues, and Rong Hongxue didn’t know about it—or maybe he did know, but didn’t care.]

“Oh,” Yi Zhen relaxed, “This, he can go ahead and discuss it, doesn’t matter.”

[Aren’t you curious as to how they perceive you?]

“Absolutely—not.” Yi Zhen waited for the equipment in the training room to be replaced. “Given the nature of NPCs in this world, and some absurd but real law, they were undoubtedly discussing my romantic and intimate life with Rong Hongxue. Unless they are not NPCs, but players instead...”

At this, Yi Zhen froze: “Wait, were there players among the people talking to him?”

[You’re reading too much into it. According to the literal meaning of the discussion record, there is nothing like that.] said Tai’a, [And I have to admit that what you said is correct. They were either talking about Rong Hongxue, or you, or they were talking about both of you at the same time.]

Yi Zhen shrugged, taking out the bloodline worm box, sealed in wax, and examining it for a while.

Ignoring everything else, he flipped open the 《 Book of Poisons 》 and skimmed down the index until he reached the page on bloodline worms.

“Filarial worms that hide in the day and come out at night, dormant during fall and winter and active in spring and summer...They prefer dark, warm environments...Press against the skin, seeping in slowly like water into sandstone...Hmm, let me guess. It must have two types of bodily fluids: numbing and corrosive, so that it can enter the human body directly through the skin... Interesting.”

He continued to read aloud: “Toxic?... oh, minor. It’ll just circulate with the bloodstream into the heart and lungs… Heart and lungs? Wait.”

Yi Zhen flipped back rapidly: “Found it, Heart-Withering Gu Poison! No, the refining time is more than a month… Never mind, there isn’t that much time anyway.”

He ceased reading and fell into deep contemplation. A long while later, he opened the stone box, controlled his internal force, and slightly melted a layer of wax seal. The crimson parasitic worms on the outermost layer quickly quivered once, like spider silk, beginning to circulate and transform.

Yi Zhen had cultivated the 《 Jade Alchemy of the Eastern Sea 》, a supreme technique and an unparalleled antidote scripture. After mastering it, his skin became as tough as jade, allowing him to grasp live spiders and scorpions without concern. Naturally, he would not fear a mere insect.

He offered his finger. The worm sensed the breath of a living person and promptly lifted its needle-like head, touching Yi Zhen’s fingernail. From a distance, it looked as if Yi Zhen was holding a thin, red string. The contrast of colors was unexpectedly beautiful.

“Let me think... Though I can’t refine that Heart-Withering Gu Poison, there shouldn’t be any issues strengthening it by a little, speeding up its success.”

He opened another small box, and billows of white steam gushed out. Unafraid of the low temperature, he retrieved a refrigerated jade bottle from inside.

——Among the unusual poisons rewarded by the system was Jade Toad’s Saliva.

Like the cold-water venomous snake, the jade toad’s saliva is also a cold-type poison. It’s just much gentler compared to the domineering and violent nature of the former, where you die as soon as it touches you. Not only that, it is also an extremely excellent nourishing agent for raising the activity of a Gu poison. Many poisonous creatures like to swallow it to refine their own toxicity.

Because of that, Yi Zhen hadn’t extracted its concept.

He filled a glass bowl with half a liter of distilled water, then carefully separated out half a drop of milky white Jade Toad’s Saliva with his mental energy and stirred it into the distilled water to dilute it.

“Come, drink!”

He extracted a bit with a dropper and then carefully touched it to his fingernail, drawing a tiny arc. Even though it was diluted to a tiny fraction of the pure thing, the water in the bowl still seemed to emit a faint chill.

When the bloodline worm sensed the presence of something valuable, it no longer insisted on burrowing into Yi Zhen’s skin. Instead, it endeavored to immerse itself in the droplet of water. With Yi Zhen’s current keen vision, he could clearly discern its slender body, not much thicker than a strand of hair, slowly beginning to swell.

Droplet by droplet was absorbed, and then another was added; gradually, nearly half of the dropper had emptied. Yi Zhen held his breath, and even his voice was soft, fearing that even a slightly louder exhale might blow the tiny insect away.

“So voracious.” I read in the 《 Book of Poisons 》 that Bloodline Worms do not differentiate between male and female. If more than two reside within a human body, they will breed with each other. If this continues, within less than ten days, the person will be drained dry... I was somewhat skeptical before, but unexpectedly, their appetite is indeed vast.”

［Do you fancy such things?］ Tai’a inquired.

Yi Zhen shook his head, “If it were the person I loathe most in this life, perhaps I might choose to end his life slowly in this manner. But for the majority of the time, I wouldn’t resort to such... mild poison; it’s not as if I have nothing better to do.”

As they spoke, the bloodline worm could no longer absorb water. It stiffened for a moment at the fingertips of Yi Zhen, suddenly curled up into a ball, and then violently tumbled onto the table. After rolling around for a while, it lay motionless. Yi Zhen was taken aback and exclaimed, “Damn, could it be that just this bit of medicinal potency was enough to cause it to burst, directly poisoning it to death?”

[Take another look.]

Yi Zhen employed both his internal and mental energy in unison, probing for the vitality of the bloodline worm. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally relaxed, exhaling a sigh of relief: “It’s still alive, but it’s uncertain if it can pull through.”

[What do you plan to do with the enhanced bloodline worms?]

Yi Zhen said, “I have a... very interesting hypothesis that I plan to test on those people.”

He watched the time closely, silently waiting for the bloodline worm to either complete its metamorphosis or perish directly.

“The quantity is still too scant,” Yi Zhen said. “Double it for me, and I’ll be able to set up three experimental control groups, with two left over for backup.”

［Are you sure that everyone from that small group will come?］

“I believe there’s a 99% chance,” Yi Zhen said, “The remaining 1% accounts for the possibility of them encountering a sudden car accident or being struck on the head by an object falling from a great height on their way here. With Rong Hongxue’s status, their parents would undoubtedly have commanded them to attend this dinner as a form of apology. Even with the brain of a bloodline worm on the brink of death, I could have figured that out.”

Tai’a warned: [Before you attempt to think with the brain of a worm on the brink of death, first wipe off the mixed solution from its body. Otherwise, it will soon not be merely at death’s door but truly dead.]

“Oh shoot!”

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