MMPS Ch. 31

Content Warning: Physical Assault

Chapter 31: Reward

“Mm—” Yu An struggled desperately, reaching out with his right hand to touch the Core Analyzer. Just as his fingers brushed the cover, his wrist was seized and twisted behind his back.

A pair of hands cradled his chin then, almost tenderly. Calloused fingers lifted his eyelid, exposing the faint glint of the transparent core embedded within his left eye socket.

The detachment of the Aberrant Core from the tissue inside his eye socket was slow and unbearably painful.

Yu An lost vision in his left eye as a burning, powerful hand covered his face, completely cutting off his sight.

The sound of a zipper echoed as his jacket was pulled off, leaving him in just a black sleeveless tank top.

Unable to see or move, Yu An could only feel hundreds of hands crawling across his skin, like an army of ants swarming over a lump of sugar, biting and devouring it.

The only slight comfort came from the faint woody fragrance the hands exuded, a forgotten sense of security buried deep in his memories that somewhat eased his fear of being overwhelmed by unknown creatures.

A loud slap suddenly struck his thigh, the pain sharp and searing. Yu An flinched in shock, his body stiffening, and the skin throbbed with a fiery ache.

It was the kind of stubborn and crude punishment parents often used on mischievous children—beating the thickest part of the flesh to vent their anger without causing serious harm.

“Mm… mm!” Yu An shook his head violently, twisting his body to break free. Seizing a brief opportunity, he opened his mouth and bit down hard on the hand covering it.

The bitten hand recoiled in pain, blood seeping from the wound as it flailed in the air. Yet, it seemed to grow more exhilarated, flaunting the bite mark to the other disembodied hands, which joined in excited chaos.

It scurried to a nearby coffee table, opened a drawer, and grabbed a sewing needle. Dipping the needle in red pigment, it tattooed the bite mark onto its flesh, igniting further frenzy among the other hands.

Yu An’s struggle only bought him a few seconds to catch his breath before more fingers pried his mouth open, pinched his tongue, and wedged his jaws apart. Some mischievous hands pressed down on his nose and mouth simultaneously, repeatedly pushing him to the brink of suffocation.

*

Meanwhile, Zeng Rang, the runaway intern, hadn’t emerged from the exam venue’s designated exit.

Apparently familiar with the subway’s architectural layout, he crawled through the ventilation ducts to escape.

To leave the underground network, he needed an ID card, but his own had been locked and tracked. He needed to get a new card to make his escape.

Dropping silently into the dimly lit corridor, Zeng Rang pressed himself against the cold wall, creeping into the shadows of a darkened corner. The hallway stretched endlessly, cloaked in an oppressive darkness. It felt alive, thrumming with unseen tension. His nerves screamed as his mind conjured flickers of imagined horrors.

A sudden, chilling touch snapped him back. A hand shot out from the void, its fingers curling like iron around his throat. He clawed at it, gasping, only to realize with dawning terror that it wasn’t attached to a body. A dismembered hand clung to him, its severed wrist dangling a pair of small sunglasses like a dazzling decoration.

The corridor offered no reprieve as another hand emerged, followed by the steady sound of mechanical hinges. A hidden door rotated open in the wall, revealing a secret passage. The dismembered hands worked in silent synchronization, dragging Zeng Rang into the abyss and sealing the door behind them.

Nearby, Zhao Ran lingered in another hallway, engaged in polite conversation with the head of the Mechanical Logistics Unit. He exhaled smoke from his cigarette, his attention split between the conversation and scanning the man’s demeanor.

“My intern’s been acting up. Ji Nian didn’t get hurt, did he?” Zhao Ran asked casually, offering the man a cigarette.

The logistics lead waved him off with a grin. “These kids are young, they bounce back. Nothing serious. Better he learns a lesson early. Say, care to grab dinner?”

Zhao Ran exhaled a puff of smoke and declined with a thin smile, his eyes sharp as they traced the man’s unaffected composure. No tells. No cracks in the facade.

“I’ll pass. I’ve got to get home—check on that kid’s bruises.” Zhao Ran replied, flicking ash from his cigarette.

When Zhao Ran dispatched specific hands for tasks, he temporarily disconnected from the sensations of the others to focus solely on one or two. As a result, he remained unaware of the chaotic frenzy happening back at his home.

Returning to his office, Zhao Ran grabbed his coat and car keys, ready to head home. He had planned to pick up Yu An after work, but Zeng Rang’s escape had thrown everything off course. Yu An’s core-switching ability had been exposed. If Zeng Rang leaked the information, Yu An would face endless job offers and assassination attempts.

The situation was truly unexpected. He had originally thought that Yu An wouldn’t care at all about taking any kind of test. It seemed most likely that Yu An would leave the written exam room, go looking for Zeng Rang, then find a quiet place to play by himself. That way, not only would the big boss’s demand for Zeng Rang to suffer be satisfied, but Yu An also wouldn’t be too bored during the few hours of the skill test.

“Is it because I said I wanted him to place first?” Zhao Ran ran a hand through his hair, pale strands slipping through his fingers. “I was joking. My fault—I should’ve known he’d take it seriously.”

Starting his car, Zhao Ran backed out of the parking spot. At the exit of the underground garage, he unexpectedly ran into Xiao An, who had returned to retrieve something.

“Hey, stop.” Zhao Ran called out, lowering the car window. “You’re still here?”

Xiao An stopped in her tracks. “Oh, I dropped him off at your place. I told him that your orders was to stay with him, but he locked me out. He wouldn’t open the door no matter how much I knocked.”

Zhao Ran’s face darkened as he slammed the steering wheel: “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I did, but you didn’t answer… Did something happen?” Xiao An looked worried, apologetic. She reasoned that Yu An was an adult—surely nothing dangerous could happen in Zhao Ran’s home.

Zhao Ran took a deep breath and muttered, “I’ll dock your pay,” before rolling up the window and speeding out of the garage.

Xiao An, a member of Zhao Ran’s team and a carrier embedded with a Red-Tier Core—Purple Qi Rising—was immune to malevolent forces. She was a good luck charm for the group. If she had stayed with Yu An, the disembodied hands wouldn’t have dared act out.

The severed hands were projections of Zhao Ran’s subconscious. Their actions reflected his most intense emotions at any given moment.

When he saw Yu An’s abilities exposed, Zhao Ran’s anger and anxiety surged. Though he remained outwardly calm and rational, the severed hands couldn’t suppress their frenzy, unleashing his bottled-up rage and panic.

Abandoning his car at the entrance, Zhao Ran rushed into the house.

The living room was eerily empty and silent.

The closer he got to the bedroom, the louder the muffled sounds of scuffling and heavy objects rolling on the floor became.

With a forceful kick, Zhao Ran broke open the wooden door. The room fell silent instantly, so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

A dense mass of severed hands tangled together in the center of the room, forming a cocoon-like structure. At the center was Yu An, on the verge of being crushed.

As Zhao Ran stepped in, the hands scattered. Those too slow to retreat exploded into bursts of blood mist, dissipating into the air.

Yu An lay crumpled on the floor, his exposed skin covered in angry red fingerprints, especially around his thighs and lower back.

Zhao Ran quickly crouched beside him, gently supporting him by the armpits to pull him into his arms.

Yu An let out a pained cry. Zhao Ran froze, carefully feeling his body for injuries. Discovering his knee joint had dislocated and cramped, Zhao Ran softly coaxed him, then quickly set the joint back in place while Yu An was distracted.

Luckily, the injuries weren’t too severe, though the ordeal had clearly frightened him.

Li Pu and Kao Pu entered the bedroom, dragging out the remaining severed hands hiding in the corners and slapping each one as punishment.

“The floor’s cold. Don’t lie here.” Zhao Ran hoisted him up, cradling him.

Yu An instinctively resisted, struggling weakly. He squinted to make out Zhao Ran’s face, his vulnerable gaze quickly hardening with anger. Gritting his teeth, he pushed Zhao Ran’s head away with all his might.

Zhao Ran leaned closer, only for Yu An to shove his face away with both hands again.

“What were those things?” Yu An rasped, his voice hoarse.

“…My hands.” Zhao Ran replied after a pause.

“You hit me.” Yu An said coldly, glaring at him.

“And? Do you realize your mistake now?”

“What?” Yu An straightened up, dragging his battered body out of Zhao Ran’s arms. He punched Zhao Ran in the chest, glaring at him with a mix of anger, disappointment, and hostility—just like the day “he” had caught him plotting to kill the counselor.

Yu An suddenly tackled Zhao Ran, pinning him down at the waist and punching him twice. Zhao Ran didn’t dare fight back, letting Yu An vent his frustration.

Eventually, Yu An stopped, slumping forward and burying his face in the crook of his arm against Zhao Ran’s chest.

It seemed like he had lost control, consumed by pain. Yet, as Zhao Ran tilted his head to observe, he saw that Yu An’s face was blank—emotionless, lost in thought.

Knowing him, Zhao Ran understood his expression meant he was about to explode from anger, his brain’s anger-regulating region overloaded and short-circuited.

“I was wrong, An An.” Zhao Ran sat up and carried him, pacing back and forth in the bedroom. He felt the stiffness and wariness in the body held in his arms gradually soften until it completely relaxed, slumping against him, arms wrapped around his neck, lying on his chest.

Supporting him with one hand, Zhao Ran walked into the bathroom, grabbed iodine and gauze, turned off the light, then went to the wardrobe for a Luo Xiaobei pajama set. He switched off the lights again and returned to the bedroom, his voice gentle: “Tell me, why didn’t you go kill Zeng Rang and instead competed with the investigators for rankings?”

Yu An turned his head away, ignoring him.

“Impressive, first place.” Zhao Ran lightly patted his back, using his thumb to wipe away the streak of blood hanging from the corner of Yu An’s left eye. “The Underground Metro has been around for so many years, and this time you broke the all-time highest score for the intern skill test.”

Zhao Ran wasn’t sure if he should praise him. Deep down, he didn’t approve of Yu An’s opportunistic approach—using any means necessary just to win. However, Team Leader Duan had said something that resonated: young people these days are different; they need encouragement and praise. A few compliments here and there could motivate them to work even harder.

Yu An remained silent, but Zhao Ran could feel his heartbeat gradually steadying. The arms around his neck became softer.

“Why did you hit me?” Yu An’s legs hung around Zhao Ran’s waist, the faint red palm mark on his backside still visible. Perched on Zhao Ran’s shoulder, he demanded an explanation angrily and persistently.

Unconsciously, Yu An had already projected the “he” from his journal onto Zhao Ran. The “he” in the journal disapproved of his disregard for life, so Yu An naturally adjusted his task priorities, placing the serious exam ahead of killing Zeng Rang.

What did it matter if his ability to swap cores was exposed? That wasn’t something Yu An considered. He wasn’t afraid of death, so he had no scruples.

It was precisely this nonchalant attitude that made Zhao Ran utterly furious.

“There’s no reason.”

Forget it. Ensuring the safety of his intern was, after all, part of his responsibilities as a team leader.

“There’s no reason.”

The hands supporting Yu An’s thighs suddenly tightened, causing the swollen red flesh to press out between his fingers. The rough surface of the gloves scraped against the injured skin, intensifying the pain.

Yu An’s legs trembled from the pain, his toes tensing, and his fingernails nearly digging into Zhao Ran’s shoulders.

“I just wanted to mess with you—does there need to be a reason?” Zhao Ran’s pale eyes flickered with a faint red light, his lips parting slightly as sharp fangs slowly emerged.

Yu An raised his head and bit Zhao Ran’s lips in retaliation.

His neatly aligned human teeth couldn’t pierce through Zhao Ran’s lips, leaving only a few revengeful teeth marks that slowly oozed tiny beads of blood.

Seemingly pleased by the metallic taste, Yu An held onto Zhao Ran’s lips, his tongue prying open the sharp teeth and delving deeper.

“Hiss…” Zhao Ran stiffened abruptly, a burning heat rushing to the tips of his ears. After holding out for a while, he lowered his head and responded fervently to Yu An’s lips and tongue.

This could hardly be considered a proper kiss—one side was retaliating, while the other was apologizing.

In the end, the flames of retaliation were extinguished by the warmth of remorse. Out of breath from the kiss, Yu An pushed Zhao Ran away, staring at him in surprise.

“From now on, I’ll only take you as my student. No more other interns.” Zhao Ran said, ruffling Yu An’s hair.

Yu An pursed his lips. “What does that have to do with me?” Then he flopped onto Zhao Ran’s shoulder, sulking in silence.

“Did you forget the reward you asked for after the exam?” Zhao Ran pulled out his phone and showed Yu An the chat logs.

—What do you want?

—You.

He’d only meant to tease Yu An into blushing, but the boy’s gaze fixated on the contact name in the phone, and his barely improved mood seemed to sour again.

Yu An jumped off and turned to lie face-down on the bed, burying his face in the pillow.

Barely a minute after coaxing him, and Zhao Ran had somehow upset him again. “An An,” Zhao Ran called softly.

Yu An shook his head. “Who’s that? My name is [Emergency Order Unit 1, Yu An].”

“….” Zhao Ran sighed helplessly, sitting by the bed. He flipped Yu An over and handed him the phone. “You can change it to whatever you like.”

Yu An completely ignored him, idly folding his score sheet—first into a sampan, then into a paper crane—until the crumpled paper was finally rolled into a ball.

“Fine, fine, I’ll change it.” Zhao Ran relented. After a moment of thought, he changed Yu An’s contact name to “Home-Wrecking Coalball.^[1]”

When he looked up again, he found Yu An already fast asleep, curled up sideways on the pillow. His exhausted body was covered in wounds, and his lowered eyelashes were damp, clinging to faint, almost imperceptible droplets of water.

Zhao Ran carefully dabbed iodine on his wounds, gently cleaned the area around his eyes, and wrapped his left eye with gauze to protect it from dust and bacteria.

*

Meanwhile, Team Leader Duan was busy conducting “encouragement education” for Huo Yangui.

Despite his outward show of arrogance and resilience, the moment Huo Yangui returned to the team leader’s office, his composure shattered. He hung onto Team Leader Duan’s back, rubbing his eyes with his forearms and complaining tearfully: “Team Leader, I’m not okay with this… I’m really not okay with this… How can I be eliminated without even getting a chance to act…?”

Team Leader Duan flung him three meters away. “You little brat, you’re burning me! Get out!”