Chapter 00164: Regret of Meeting Too Late
# Regret of Meeting Too Late
Chapter 164
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 164: Regret of Meeting Too Late
What a pity.
The grandeur didn't quite come through.
Just as Ji Jue counted to four, a scream echoed from the end of the corridor.
An Jiexiu, who had been running frantically, suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground.
Struggling to get up from the dizziness, he realized that his left foot had fallen off his leg like a rotten fruit.
Then, layers of skin began to peel off from his hands and limbs.
It was as if a strong acid was raging inside his body, eroding his organs and flesh from the inside out.
By the time his nerves registered the pain, it was already too late.
"What... what is this..."
He stared blankly, his vision going dark as his shattered eyeballs fell from their sockets.
He couldn't see his rapidly mutating limbs.
The large amount of ashes mixed with shrapnel and mercury began to spread and mutate after being activated.
With such a quantity, he might have lasted two or three days outside the Time Ruins, dying in agony and despair.
But here, in the Time Ruins filled with the aura of mutation, the process was unbelievably fast.
His blood mutated under the influence of the miasma, rapidly decomposing his flesh like acid.
In the collision with the matrix and blessings, large amounts of blood fused with metal, forming sharp prisms that pierced through his body.
Soon, amidst the rising stench and thick smoke, only a twisted metal shell remained, resembling a piece of postmodern art, with bizarre crystals jutting out.
It was like a silhouette from hell.
A sinner suffering eternal torment in pain.
In the end, a small pushcart bumped into it, and it shattered into pieces, scattering across the floor.
"Solved?"
Ji Jue looked up at Tong Hua, who was excitedly dancing behind the corner, and couldn't help but shake his head: relying on invisibility, poison, and support, she had only taken down two, yet she was this proud?
Could it be that she had never gotten a single kill while working at the Security Bureau?
Look how excited she was!
Actually, not getting kills was the norm—someone like Tong Hua, a useful Ether baby, should be carefully put back in a safe after the initial search and investigation, locked with two keys for safety.
Only then would the rest of the team feel at ease charging into the enemy's lair to wreak havoc.
On the scene?
Are you crazy?
The hard and dirty work was for the likes of Huang Xu, Da Qun, and Bai Lu, the foot soldiers, right?
Ji Jue sighed, looking around, still feeling no real sense of accomplishment.
Too dull.
Completely uninteresting.
Shouldn't such an encounter be thrilling, a battle of wits and courage, fighting and retreating, constantly probing, and finally turning the tables in a desperate situation?
But now, there was no challenge at all!
A full team of three, with damage, control, and tank roles, was taken down like chopping vegetables.
After finishing, they didn't even break a sweat, as leisurely as if they were retired.
Is this how the North Mountain District Security Bureau usually operates?
Too decadent!
How can one grow in such a comfortable greenhouse?!
No, such a useful... teammate must be kept around.
Ji Jue's thoughts raced, and his gaze towards Tong Hua softened, filled with tenderness, his eyes sparkling with an irresistible sweetness.
He had to seize the opportunity, find a way to hold more leverage over her!
Miss Tong, you wouldn't want...
As Ji Jue pondered, Tong Hua, who had been happily grinning, suddenly turned her head in suspicion, "Are you thinking something bad again?"
Tsk...
"Not at all, I'm just happy for you!"
Ji Jue clapped his hands with enthusiasm, even the ghost fetus on the ground waved its four little hands in applause, "Congratulations, Tong Hua, you've grown!"
In the eerie wind, a man in a white coat and a grotesque ghost creature clapped around her, the blood from the corpse on the floor spreading, and a drug-addled man foaming at the mouth and convulsing.
No sense of gratitude, only a chill.
"Getting weirder and weirder!"
As the two conversed, a low voice suddenly came from the end of the corridor.
Footsteps.
The two exchanged glances, and Ji Jue quickly reloaded her pistol, tossing it to her before she disappeared into thin air.
Only Ji Jue remained, turning to look towards the source of the footsteps.
From the chaotic, low sounds, one stiff figure after another, like zombies, moved straight towards them, drawn by the scent of blood.
After turning the corner and noticing the unexpected figure, they suddenly stopped.
Their pale, expressionless faces resembled corpses, their eyes rolled back, devoid of any spark, their movements stiff and mechanical, drool slowly dripping from their mouths.
More importantly...
They were all alive!
But now, though alive, they were like corpses, unresponsive, turned into puppets.
Literally, walking dead.
"Hmm?"
Seemingly surprised, a vague voice came from the crowd.
From among the zombie-like puppets, a slightly hunched figure slowly emerged.
His pale face lifted to glance at Ji Jue, then quickly his gaze fell on the invisible Tong Hua.
After a while, he nodded in understanding.
He bowed his head and spoke, "Please don't be nervous, I'm just a researcher, passing by."
"What a coincidence."
Ji Jue smiled, "Me too."
"I know, such a cute little thing... how did you make it?"
The newcomer crouched down, reaching out to play with the hungry ghost fetus, examining it carefully, "Hmm, though the biological part is a mess, the spiritual preservation is quite unique. Ah, I see... the same style, those spiders earlier were your doing too, right? I thought bugs had gotten into the sterile room, I was quite upset for a while."
As he spoke, he didn't notice that one of his fingers had been bitten off by the ghost fetus, instantly chewed and swallowed.
But he just waved it off indifferently, and a new finger grew back.
With that, he casually set the ghost fetus aside, kicking it away.
He gestured towards Ji Jue.
Ji Jue waved his hand, not making contact.
Now examining the newcomer, he felt no malice, but remained cautious, not taking action, only asking, "What should I call you?"
"Xie Lan, Xie as in gratitude, Lan as in mountain breeze."
Without hesitation or concealment, he straightforwardly gave his name, even pulling out a business card from his pocket, handing it over with both hands.
Chief Physician at Yacheng Sports Medicine Center, Director of Xinxiang Sanatorium...
The string of titles made Ji Jue's eyebrows twitch.
Why so many titles?
Then, right in front of Ji Jue, the hunched body slowly straightened, the sound of bones cracking as his face changed, peeling off like old wallpaper, flesh squirming as it reformed into a friendly face with a warm smile.
"The ember inheritances in Yacheng are few and far between, you don't seem like the type to sell hooks, nor are you from any prestigious family... hmm, perhaps a disciple of the master from Chaosheng Workshop?"
He nodded in understanding, decisively saying, "It must be Mr. Ji, right?"
"..."
Ji Jue's expression twitched uncontrollably, "Am I that famous?"
"After all, you're the genius who rediscovered fluid alchemy. I've done similar research, so I'm quite interested, looking forward to reading your paper soon."
Xie Lan grinned, "Rest assured, if we're talking connections, I'm somewhat a junior of Mr. Zhang, so I wouldn't start a fight with the Security Bureau here."
He paused slightly, then a strange eye that kept splitting and merging looked behind Ji Jue, his smile mischievous, "I just didn't expect that even the Tian Ting Tong family would be as unlucky as a common chosen one like me."
Twice he looked towards Tong Hua's position, and so confidently stated her background.
"Know him?" Ji Jue asked, slightly turning.
Tong Hua didn't appear, only saying, "We've met once."
She wanted to say, this guy's a vortex-system nutjob, you better be careful.
But then she thought, you're a nutjob too!
Maybe two negatives make a positive.
She, a mere mortal who only knew how to watch the drama, was trembling in fear, no need to worry about others!
"You've done me a great favor this time."
Xie Lan glanced at the corpses on the ground with a smirk, "When these guys came to persuade me to join some Holy Spirit's ranks, they were quite aggressive... If it weren't for you, they probably would've barged in next. I'm not good at fighting."
"Exactly, same here, us cultured folks always get the short end of the stick."
Ji Jue nodded empathetically, agreeing without hesitation, sighing deeply.
We're all researchers, how could we be good at fighting?
Usually, we're the ones doing things to others...
During the brief exchange, Tong Hua was completely numb.
Watching these two nutjobs, after confirming they were allies, so quickly start flirting beside the corpses, you compliment my child, I compliment your companion, their favorability skyrocketing.
After some chit-chat, they deepened their understanding, strengthened their friendship, exchanged contact info, and invited each other to visit someday.
"Meeting is fate, Brother Xie."
Ji Jue reluctantly held onto Xie Lan's hand, "Interested in joining us?"
"Sorry, no time."
Xie Lan decisively shook his head, glancing back at the 'zombies' behind him, "So many rare cases, it's the first time I've seen them since returning from the hospital, no time for anything else. Besides, since I've taken them for experiments, I should take them out intact... the research isn't done yet, it'd be a shame if they were damaged."
"True."
Ji Jue nodded, sighing regretfully.
"By the way, if you just want to leave, just wait a bit longer."
Before leaving, Xie Lan looked down at the only survivor still convulsing on the ground, "Thanks to these guys, this Time Ruin won't last much longer. But if you're planning to go to the inpatient building, be careful. It's a heavily contaminated area, and there's a bunch of cultist nutjobs... who knows what chaos they'll cause."
"Safety first, safety first, of course we won't just barge in."
Ji Jue nodded in agreement, the two sharing a smile, waving goodbye, taking two steps before both turned back to wave again.
Repeating this, looking back every three steps.
Until they reached the elevator.
As the elevator doors closed, before Tong Hua could吐槽 how quickly you nutjobs got cozy, she saw Ji Jue's face fall.
Just like Xie Lan's in the corridor outside.
"Tsk!"
Two simultaneous sighs echoed in the ghostly hospital.
So many materials, and no chance to make a move?
"What a pity..."
(End of Chapter)