After Picking Up the Rival Boss, It Smells Really Good - Chapter 11

“Qin Gou.”

Lu Lian’s voice came through the communication device. Qin Gou froze for a moment before quickly activating the device.

“Blaise is here.” Lu Lian’s voice remained as monotone as ever.

“Why would he come at this time?” Qin Gou frowned deeply. “I’ve already obtained the item. Wait for me.”

“Beep” The communication device was cut off. Sensing something was wrong, Qin Gou hurried back.

Blaise slowly approached Lu Lian and 096, still wearing that snake-like smile: “Just thinking about the three experiments left undone keeps me awake at night. Perhaps the darkness will bring me new inspiration.”

He glanced at 096 and ordered directly: “Restrain him.”

096 hesitated, took two steps toward Lu Lian, but ultimately didn’t act.

“?” Blaise finally showed confusion. “What are you afraid of? Where’s the other guard?”

No one answered. Blaise paused, then laughed: “It seems you’ve been quite busy while I was away.”

He sensed something was wrong but continued stepping toward Lu Lian: “But have you ever heard – don’t cause trouble on someone else’s turf!” As he spoke these words, he suddenly raised his arm and forcefully thrust the syringe downward.

096’s eyes widened in terror. The next second, an overwhelming gray-black Mental Sea erupted, violently throwing both him and Blaise backward!

He was thrown hard against the glass wall before falling to the ground. Ignoring the pain, he stared in shock toward the source of the Mental Sea.

As the center of the Mental Sea, Lu Lian stood surrounded by dense gray-black energy. He stepped forward slowly, the entire gray-black Mental Sea moving with him. His tone was calm yet carried undeniable authority: “So what if I cause trouble?”

Blaise, having taken the full force of the Mental Sea impact, was much more severely injured than 096. Wiping blood from his lips, he revealed an almost insane smile: “Mental Sea!” What a perfect Mental Sea! What a treasure I’ve acquired! No matter how you infiltrated this place, you will become my most perfect experimental subject!”

“Your imagination is truly admirable.” Lu Lian swiftly manipulated the massive Mental Sea power beside him to press down on Blaise.

Blaise sneered, seemingly unfazed: “Did you think I would be completely unprepared for this situation?”

As he spoke, red light rapidly filled the Experiment Pod again, attempting to suppress Lu Lian’s Mental Sea. The light emitted from surrounding instruments reflected through the glass windows, almost instantly enveloping the entire Experiment Pod. The gray-black Mental Sea was temporarily suppressed by the red light.

“Every Experiment Pod has a system to suppress Mental Sea. What a pity you didn’t investigate the situation here thoroughly before infiltrating.” Blaise hissed like a venomous snake. “Now you can properly become my experimental subject.”

However, the next moment, Lu Lian’s gray-black Mental Sea suddenly convulsed violently. With a loud crash, all the glass walls of the Experiment Pod shattered. The red light flickered twice before completely extinguishing.

“System malfunction, system malfunction.” A mechanical female voice sounded as Lu Lian slowly emerged. He tilted his head to glance at Blaise. “It seems Boss Blaise’s equipment isn’t sturdy enough.”

The black Mental Sea rapidly expanded again, pressing down on Blaise like a thousand-pound stone, forcing him to his knees. Lu Lian grabbed him by the collar and frowned, his peripheral gaze drifting toward the direction Qin Gou had departed.

It seemed drastic measures were unavoidable.

2:49:54. Qin Gou arrived at the Experiment Pod to find it completely destroyed. The floor was littered with corpses of illegal Restricted Nucleus Creatures – swarms of bats, agile wolfhounds, even massive grizzly bears. The place had become a slaughterhouse.

Qin Gou’s heart sank.

Suddenly a massive object came crashing toward him. Qin Gou instinctively dodged, and 096 slammed into the wall again, vomiting blood with a retching sound.

“096!” Qin Gou quickly reached to support him.

096 spat twice before clearing the blood from his mouth. Even through his face shield, his horror was visible. “073, your partner is too fierce. He’s nearly wiped out Blaise’s entire Pet Legion single-handedly. Though he’s so bloodthirsty he can’t distinguish friend from foe.”

Understanding the situation, Qin Gou immediately released his grip. 096 collapsed to the floor, unable to stand, and promptly lost consciousness.

Qin Gou narrowed his eyes and stepped into the Experiment Pod. Instantly, he was enveloped by an ash-gray Mental Sea. Lu Lian was currently choking a powerful black mountain lion, its red Mental Sea nearly completely swallowed by the ash-gray one. Though still restless, the lion couldn’t suppress its primal fear, struggling frantically.

The next moment, Lu Lian’s hand tightened with a crisp crack. The lion went limp and was discarded on the floor like trash.

Sensing something, Lu Lian turned to look at Qin Gou. He still wore that black steel bite inhibitor, but now he truly resembled a beast king, cruelly holding his prey’s life in his hands.

Enduring the discomfort from the Mental Sea, Qin Gou called out, “Lu Lian…”A tremendous sense of crisis flashed through him as Lu Lian struck out with a palm infused with psychic energy without hesitation.” Qin Gou barely dodged sideways.

“Lu Lian!”

Lu Lian’s gray eyes seemed unfocused, completely ignoring Qin Gou’s shouts as he threw another punch without hesitation.

Qin Gou narrowly avoided the blow, the powerful Mental Sea aura nearly splitting his head with pain. Without further delay, he grabbed a nearby table and smashed it toward Lu Lian, using the moment to create distance.

With a bang, Lu Lian shattered the table and turned to Qin Gou again, looking at him as if he were prey.

He’s lost control again. The increased distance lessened the Mental Sea’s pressure, giving Qin Gou breathing room. This episode was worse than the last, likely influenced by the numerous Artificial Forbidden Cores.

Lu Lian’s Mental Sea Level was extremely high. If this dragged on, Qin Gou stood no chance. Realizing this, he didn’t hesitate any longer, pulling a Mechanized Gun from his coat.

The PK-5997 Helium Energy Gun was the first firearm Qin Gou developed after reaching adulthood. When Lu Lian heard Qin Gou mention his childhood experiences, he had thought Qin Gou shouldn’t have resigned himself to fate. In truth, Qin Gou never did. This Helium Energy Gun remained the only technology capable of penetrating the Mental Sea. By directly striking the target’s Core Inhibitor with helium energy, it could deliver a fatal blow.

From the very day Qin Gou found Lu Lian, he had carried this Helium Energy Gun with him. Though their interactions appeared peaceful on the surface, neither ever let their guard down around the other. They could cooperate when mutually beneficial, yet were equally prepared to turn on each other at any moment.

Qin Gou pressed his lips together and pulled the trigger.

Bang! The bullet shot forth, piercing through the Mental Sea as it hurtled toward Lu Lian’s chest. Though Lu Lian seemed devoid of conscious awareness, he still swiftly detected the approaching danger, sidestepping with agile grace to evade the projectile.

Qin Gou retreated behind the shattered glass wall, putting distance between them. As Lu Lian turned, he fired another bullet toward the right.

Lu Lian tilted his body and raised an arm, dodging it once again.

What kind of inhuman speed is this? The bullets can’t even touch him. Qin Gou gritted his teeth. If this continued, he would soon exhaust his ammunition.

He had to find another way.

Qin Gou swiftly scanned his surroundings and made a decisive move, darting toward the massive experimental refrigeration unit in the corner. Lu Lian’s gaze, cold and inorganic, shifted in his direction. The Mental Sea surged violently toward Qin Gou as Lu Lian charged forward.

Qin Gou turned and fired another round. The bullet’s shockwave tore through the Mental Sea, shooting straight for Lu Lian’s eye!

When it was mere inches away, Lu Lian jerked his head aside with brutal precision. A streak of blood welled along his left cheek, yet he remained utterly unfazed.

Qin Gou frowned deeply, his grip on the gun tightening. Lu Lian had completely lost his sanity. If this dragged on, Qin Gou would undoubtedly be killed.

He watched as Lu Lian advanced with his terrifying Mental Sea, then nimbly leaped onto a lab instrument. Spinning around, he kicked the device straight at Lu Lian. Lu Lian didn’t evade he simply shattered the instrument with his Mental Sea.

Qin Gou’s lips pressed into a tight line. Lu Lian’s current thought process was clearly driven by primal instinct. Perhaps an irrational Lu Lian would be easier to handle than his usual self.

Kill him.

Reason screamed that Lu Lian had to die.

He shut his eyes briefly, tightened his hold on the gun, and circled around again, luring Lu Lian toward the refrigeration unit.

Lu Lian stared at Qin Gou as if he were already dead. The blood on his cheek had drawn a vertical line downward. Lu Lian tilted his head, and a drop of blood fell from his chin.

An even vaster Mental Sea spilled from him, devoid of the precise control Lu Lian usually wielded. It felt more like a raging, uncontrollable tempest.

Qin Gou was nearly swallowed by the Mental Sea, his head splitting with pain. The physical agony and mental suppression made him instinctively want to submit to Lu Lian.

“Submit…” Qin Gou’s lips bled where he’d bitten them. He fought to free his consciousness from the Mental Sea’s grasp, forcing his hand to rise as if lifting a thousand-pound weight. He pulled the trigger once more.

The Mental Sea scattered for a split second before coalescing again. Seizing the opportunity, Qin Gou fled behind the massive refrigeration unit. Without hesitation, Lu Lian lunged toward it, his immense Mental Sea in tow.

The moment the Mental Sea surged toward the refrigeration unit again, Qin Gou fired another shot. Lu Lian tilted his head and casually dodged it.

With a bang, a large hole was blown through the massive refrigeration unit, and a torrent of bone-chilling ice water poured directly over Lu Lian’s head.

The freezing water engulfed him, momentarily blinding him with the deluge and forcing him to halt his movements for an instant.

The next second, a handgun was pressed against Lu Lian’s chest.

“Have you come to your senses?” In a state of extreme tension, Qin Gou barely managed to steady his trembling arm. His finger was already on the trigger, ready at any moment to erase the world’s only S-Class Restricted Nucleus User. “If you can’t regain clarity, I’m afraid I’ll have to lose a partner.”

Lu Lian was drenched from head to toe, his gray hair plastered limply to his skin. For some reason, it reminded Qin Gou of the day they first met also in a downpour, forceful yet seemingly fragile, full of contradictions.

His finger remained firmly on the trigger.

Lu Lian’s eyes were tightly shut, the veins on his pale neck trembling violently. It seemed as though he was exerting immense effort to restrain something, a level of agony that rarely made him lose composure.

Slowly, the trembling subsided. The turbulent Mental Sea was gradually drawn back into his body, eventually fading into nothingness.

Qin Gou eased the pressure on the trigger slightly.

The next moment, Lu Lian opened his eyes. His gray pupils, like shattered ice lakes, reflected Qin Gou’s image. Then, a dangerous smile curled on his lips as he spoke slowly, “Qin Gou, is there still a bullet left in your gun?”