MMPS Ch. 59

Chapter 59: The Cunning Boss

The alarm clock beeped, signaling the end of the timer. Zhao Ran silenced it, picked up the Level 1 Silver Core Picture Within the Painting from the velvet pad on the bedside table, wiped it clean with a towel, and tilted Yu An’s chin up. He pressed the core against the left eye socket and slowly pushed it in.

The spherical Aberrant Core met slight resistance from the orbital bone, but the flesh inside the socket automatically generated silver, thread-like tendrils to welcome the core into the core slot. Yu An’s body trembled slightly, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, his fingertips digging into his palms until they turned white.

A few seconds later, the hand pattern on the core’s surface lit up with a silver glow, indicating a successful link. Yu An relaxed.

Embedding a high-level Aberrant Core was highly stimulating for the carrier, and the first time was especially excruciating. The pain that most carriers endured only once in their lives, Yu An had to endure repeatedly.

He’s quite resilient to pain, isn’t he? So why does he cry so much in bed?

Remembering how the brat had sulked and complained that Zhao Ran hadn’t kissed him or called his name during their intimate moments, Zhao Ran reflected carefully. What would his reaction be if he were satisfied?

There was a knock on the bedroom door, and Ha Bai peeked in, turning on the ceiling light.

The sudden brightness caused Zhao Ran’s colors to fade to white instantly. He had been leaning over Yu An’s neck, sniffing and licking, his mouth split open to his cheeks, a crimson tongue sliding out from between jagged teeth. Two pairs of slender arms extended from his ribs, propping him up on the bed like a multi-legged insect.

Caught in the act of his perverse behavior by his older brother, Zhao Ran straightened up, the extra pairs of arms retracting awkwardly into his body. His teeth closed, and he slowly returned to a proper sitting posture.

Ha Bai’s mouth hung open for a few seconds, his mind racing through Zhao Ran’s life, wondering if there had been early signs of psychopathy that he had failed to nip in the bud. Suddenly, he felt a pang of sympathy for the young human lying on the bed.

“I didn’t mention this earlier at the table.” Ha Bai said, changing the subject. “You killed the magician and took his world-class magician’s Professional Core. That’s playing with fire. Why were you so impulsive?”

“The boss probably had a hand in it.” Zhao Ran said, standing up and putting on his coat. “The magician and Fang Shixiu had planned to ambush me at the cemetery. They’d buried a batch of corpses and activated them with drugs to wear me down. Judging by the state of the corpses, they’d been buried for almost a week. I thought about it. Today’s Thursday. I only killed that gun-wielding pet Aberrant smuggler in the circus on Tuesday. The Circus Illusion Chamber couldn’t have formed before Tuesday. Even if Li Xing betrayed us, how did he know to ambush me near the circus in advance?”

“Thinking about it, the task of personally clearing the pet Aberrant smuggling line was assigned to me by the boss. Only he knew the Circus Illusion Chamber might appear.”

“So your boss leaked the location, wanting to use your hand to kill the magician.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple.” Zhao Ran said, raising his hand in farewell. “It’s better to play dumb in front of the boss. I’m off. I’ll come back for him later.”

The interns’ mission was likely coming to an end. It was time to put an end to this terrifying joke for the young ones.

Just then, Zhao Ran’s phone buzzed with a message from the boss.

“Return to the company immediately.”

*

In the elegantly understated boss’s office, Zhao Ran knocked and entered. The boss, dressed in a long robe, was lounging in his chair, leisurely facing his computer. A vintage tape recorder played a soft melody beside him.

Zhao Ran approached and saw that the computer screen was displaying a live stream of a game. In the game, five pixelated characters were desperately fighting a massive boss. The hanging man, “Xiao Ming.”

The five characters were distinct: one tall and burly, one slim and handsome, one jumpy and nervous, one frail and bespectacled, and one perpetually scowling one-eyed character dragging a fire axe. The last one looked unmistakably like Yu An.

“The live stream from the transmission chip has a delay. The first round isn’t over yet.” the boss said casually. “The question segment earlier was quite thrilling. Too bad I can only see the text bubbles above the pixel characters’ heads.”

Zhao Ran frowned slightly. The young lady was busy leading a team to search the city for illegal broadcasting equipment, trying to minimize the number of viewers and reduce the pressure on the interns in the game illusion chamber. Meanwhile, the boss was here leisurely watching the stream.

“Did you call me here just to watch this?”

“Yes.” the boss said, turning to him. “How long have you been working for me?”

“Fifteen years.”

“Fifteen years, and you still haven’t figured out my temperament. I don’t know whether to call you foolish or too clever.”

Zhao Ran remained expressionless, his gaze shifting to the automatically locked office door. “I’ve always been slow.”

“Let’s not dwell on that. Did you get the magician’s Level 3 Silver Professional Core?”

“Was the magician sent by you? Specifically to cause trouble in the Circus Illusion Chamber?” Zhao Ran raised an eyebrow.

The boss raised his hand, thumb and forefinger about an inch apart. “Of course not. I just gave them a little hint about the location. You’ve always wanted to kill him, so I gave you a reason. Revenge for your disciple’s death. What a great excuse.”

“I don’t think I wanted to kill him as much as you did.” Zhao Ran said with a light scoff.

The boss laughed. “Entertainment news says the magician was preparing for a wedding. After some investigation, I found out the bride is the Scorpion Woman, that little Aberrant leader who often appears in the outskirts. I heard she’s nearing the cocooning stage and looking for a contractor. This wedding is probably just a contract deal between a human and an Aberrant.”

“Letting these little Aberrant leaders, who often wreak havoc in the city, successfully undergo metamorphosis? The cost of maintaining the city afterward would be too high. The government won’t give us more money.”

“Relax. Drift Racing hired the magician, and they’re the ones who told him about your weakened state. The Scorpion Woman will likely hold a grudge against them first.”

Zhao Ran narrowed his eyes. “Is that so?”

“Now, let’s watch the stream together. Yu An keeps surprising me.”

The boss stroked his chin thoughtfully. “He should already know Ji Nian is problematic, right? Why hasn’t he done anything to him? Did they develop some kind of bond during the skill test?”

“Too bad we can’t hear their conversations.” the boss said with a regretful smile. “He should understand that keeping Ji Nian around will only make the J.S brothers stronger.”

“Unless he has a reason to let them grow stronger.” the boss analyzed logically.

Zhao Ran suddenly remembered that Yu An’s Picture Within the Painting Core had fallen off midway, and he had likely switched to another core in the game illusion chamber.

Before losing consciousness, Yu An had instructed Zhao Ran to switch back to the Picture Within the Painting Core after an hour and a half. This likely meant the new core he had acquired had a time-limited enhancement ability.

The boss, intrigued, picked up the phone on his desk and dialed the security tech team. “I have a great idea to stir things up for Drift Racing.”

*

Drift Racing’s headquarters was located in the eastern district of Hongli City. A dazzling glass tower rose from the ground, a testament to the extravagant tastes of Boss Xiong, who clearly enjoyed the immense profits of the Aberrant hunting business.

A man sat on the sofa, his arm resting on the backrest, holding a page of briefings.

Boss Xiong was broad-shouldered and long-legged, nearly two meters tall. His massive frame was clearly defined even under the oversized shirt he wore.

“The magician is dead?” His voice was deep.

Mr. Fang stood nearby, sighing. “Li Xing dared to feed us false information. It seems Zhao Ran’s strength hasn’t diminished at all. This reckless move has cost us dearly.”

“Speaking of which, who is Yu An? Just a carrier who can switch cores. Rare, yes, but Zhao Ran went all out to protect him. I was there. When Zhao Ran opposed us before, he always kept a polite demeanor. This time, he lost his temper and was ready to fight us to the death.”

“Li Xing is unreliable.” Boss Xiong said, putting down the briefing and pinching the bridge of his nose. “But he’s not completely useless. If the game illusion chamber can make those interns, especially Yu An, disappear without a trace, it’ll count as him making up for his mistake.”

“Aren’t you afraid Li Xing will pull another trick? After all, he’s still the head of Underground Metro’s Mechanical Logistics Unit. If he double-crosses us again, we’ll be in trouble.”

“His son is critically ill. Bring him here. We’ll take good care of him.”

Mr. Fang immediately understood the boss’s intention and quickly sent someone to handle it.

During their conversation, the tech department suddenly sent an email. The text read: “The number of live stream viewers has surged. The tech team investigated and found that someone exploited a link vulnerability to add three words to the live stream.“

The email included a clip of the live stream. Everything else was normal, except for one change: above the scowling, one-eyed pixel character’s head was an ID name—”Coal Black.”

Although Coal Black had only been streaming for a few days, it was worth noting that in a highly anticipated game that had been removed from all platforms, Coal Black was the only one who could stream it. The speed at which he gained followers was unimaginable.

Thanks to the promotion by the famous streamer Huang Qi, anyone following the game knew about Coal Black. His speedrun and impressive gameplay had been widely circulated, and even the game’s developer had openly praised Coal Black for having a unique understanding of the game.

Drift Racing had spent a fortune bribing major platform streamers to simultaneously broadcast the footage from Ji Nian’s transmission chip, aiming to maximize the number of viewers and amplify the fanatical emotions.

Now, not only was the live stream captivating, but the words “Coal Black” clearly indicated that the player controlling the one-eyed character was none other than Coal Black himself.

Who wouldn’t be excited?

Only Drift Racing was left in confusion. The tech department exchanged puzzled looks, each suspecting a colleague of being behind it. Some were already preparing to celebrate.

Boss Xiong gripped his water glass, pondering whether Underground Metro was secretly stabbing them in the back.

“Don’t worry. Whether this succeeds or not, the fire won’t reach our company. Even if something goes wrong, the transmission chip in Li Xing’s disciple’s brain has a self-destruct program. With no evidence, they can’t pin it on us.”

A secretary hurriedly knocked on the door. “Boss Xiong, a woman has barged into the lobby. She’s wearing silver headpieces and claims to be the Scorpion Woman. She wants to have a word with you.”

Boss Xiong rubbed his scalp wearily. “It’s not like I killed the magician… Quick, call my wife… I can’t handle women.”

As night fell, Drift Racing’s headquarters descended into chaos.

——

Omake:

Many years ago, when Zhao Ran first arrived in Hongli City, he wandered through the urban ruins and eventually found Yu An’s home.

Using his older brother’s money, he bought a bouquet of roses, knocked on the door, straightened his collar, and waited politely for someone to answer.

After a while, the door opened a crack, and a child peered out, looking up at him with dark eyes without saying a word.

Seeing the child’s face, Zhao Ran froze on the spot.

A small lump of coal? What’s going on? This can’t be right. Did I arrive too late?

Heartbroken, he asked the child, “Is… is your father home? I… I’d like to see him.”

The child turned and called out. Yu An’s father, wearing a tank top and sporting a beer belly, walked out, picking his teeth. “Who the hell are you looking for?”

Zhao Ran: “.”

This is even more wrong!

Finally, Zhao Ran looked down and carefully examined the child’s face, overlaying it with the image of the cold, handsome young man in black he had in his mind.

…

Oh no, I’m too early!!!

(So he had to work part-time while waiting for his love interest to grow to a normal size.)