The Eleventh Year of Making Hate with My Lover - Chapter 17

Wu Que was walking back from the adjacent street carrying a shopping bag. As he cut through the narrow alleyway, he could see from a distance that his front courtyard was entirely crowded with people.

These individuals wore the intimately familiar black uniform, specialized badges pinned to their chests identifying them as the Disciplinary and Interrogation Department, the branch explicitly tasked with enforcing punishments within the Base.

“Chief Inspector.” The man leading the squad offered a respectful, formal salute, though his spoken words carried a different weight: “An anonymous report has been filed, alleging your involvement in an illegal deployment of a supernatural anomaly. Please cooperate and accompany us back to the Base for investigation.”

The operatives flanking him carried specialized riot gear at their hips, signaling their readiness to deploy coercive measures if the situation demanded it.

“The Interrogation Department expects to take me into custody without presenting a single shred of physical evidence? What if I choose to decline?” Wu Que shifted the shopping bag to his other hand, his tone carrying a trace of an amused smile. The operatives on the field tightened their grips on their weapons, visibly tense; everyone at the Base was well aware that this top-tier Evoker was temperamental, thoroughly unpredictable, and volatile. If a physical conflict genuinely erupted, their numerical advantage wouldn’t guarantee a victory.

No one dared to initiate a strike, plunging the scene into a highly friction-laden stalemate.

“If there is nothing further, I will head inside.” Wu Que tapped the shoulder of Qi Ming, the deputy head of the interrogation squad. “I assume I don’t need to invite you all to stay for dinner?”

“Chief Inspector!” Qi Ming called out anxiously, intercepting his path. “These are direct directives from the upper echelon. Please do not make things difficult for us.”

A rudimentary report containing a vague event location was, of course, fundamentally insufficient to authorize the Interrogation Department to apprehend an individual who commanded such monumental contributions to the Base and the entire world. Furthermore, not a soul truly believed he would intentionally loose an anomaly.

The Evoker Alliance controlled more than a single base, but an individual of Wu Que’s caliber was entirely singular. His structural contributions were paramount to maintaining the Tianshu Base’s prestige and authority within the global alliance. The ruling upper echelon had long desired to “invite” Wu Que back; they had simply lacked a functional pretext until now.

Stopping in his tracks, Wu Que turned his head back with a flat, indifferent smile: “Then you may return to headquarters and receive your disciplinary penalties.”

Before the sarcastic smirk could even fade from his features, he spotted Shen Wang being escorted out of the front door. The youth idly jingled the silver handcuffs clamping his wrists together, delivering a thoroughly unconvincing performance: “They claim I am an accomplice.”

He even adopted a look of profound bewilderment, inquiring: “What exactly did you do to break the law?”

“……” Wu Que stared deeply at the individual projecting total innocence. His eyes held a trace of confusion, a flash of anger, and an almost imperceptible layer of hurt. He lapsed into a heavy silence for a long moment before raising his arm, tossing the freshly purchased groceries directly into Qi Ming’s arms.

Then, maintaining absolute eye contact with Shen Wang, he extended both hands in an act of total compromise, allowing the cold silver cuffs to snap securely around his slender, pale wrists.

The interior of the helicopter was choked with absolute silence. The members of the Interrogation Department kept their eyes pinned warily on the two formidable figures, terrified that they might experience a sudden change of heart and initiate a high-altitude conflict. With two S-rank Evokers on board, neutralizing the escort and hijacking the aircraft would be an effortless exercise.

Yet, their psychological anxiety proved entirely redundant.

Both targets remained exceptionally quiet throughout the flight. Wu Que kept his eyes closed, his brow slightly knit, making his refusal to interact with the environment entirely clear. Shen Wang simply leaned against the plexiglass window, lost in his own thoughts.

The skyline ahead appeared to be darkening rapidly.

Approximately half an hour later, the natural pale blue of the sky was completely devoured by a heavy expanse of ash-gray. Raindrops the size of beans began slamming against the cabin windows, the thunderous rattling sounding as though it might crack the glass shell. Detecting a slight shift beside him, Shen Wang turned his face slightly. Through his peripheral vision, he noted Wu Que restlessly shifting his wrists, the skin chafing beneath the metal rings already rubbed a vibrant, raw red.

Only now did a minor sliver of Shen Wang’s conscience surface; after all, he had typed out that anonymous report letter syllable by syllable himself. Just as he formulated an opening line to de-escalate the oppressive atmosphere, the entire aircraft jolted with massive, violent friction.

The helicopter had breached a line of severe thunderstorm clouds tracking along their return flight path. Caught in the clutches of a powerful convective current, the airframe began pitching and rolling uncontrollably.

Shen Wang instinctively pivoted his torso, attempting to extend his arms to steady the situation, only for the handcuffs to severely limit his operational window. In the next split second, the individual beside him who had been actively nursing his silent fury was hurled off-balance by the kinetic force, collapsing directly into his chest while carrying a wave of his crisp, cool fragrance.

Though Wu Que was remarkably light, the sheer momentum of the impact left Shen Wang’s chest feeling slightly crushed. The other man clearly bore the worst of the collision his head slammed hard against the crook of Shen Wang’s neck, his lips colliding sharply against the ridge of the collarbone. To make matters worse, Shen Wang’s locked handcuffs pressed directly into his abdomen, drawing a low, pained groan from his throat.

The body cradled in his arms instantly went rigid, Wu Que evidently failing to anticipate that he would plunge across the space in such an unglamorous fashion.

“Careful,” Shen Wang murmured softly, his breath brushing past the crown of Wu Que’s head. He could feel the frame within his grasp stiffening to an even greater degree as the man initiated a physical struggle to pull away.

Regrettably, given that both were securely bound, neither possessed a free hand to establish leverage against the interior structure. An operative seated nearby hesitated, debating whether to offer physical assistance, but was promptly terrified into total submission by a ferocious glare from Wu Que forcing the guard to look straight down at his own boots, adopting a posture of total sensory detachment.

Forget it, I didn’t witness a single thing…

The two individuals remained locked in that tense configuration. After a protracted pause, the face buried against his chest finally lifted. The natural line of Wu Que’s tightly pursed lips was compressed into a rigid line, his lower lip visibly swollen from the impact giving him a distinctly vulnerable appearance. His anger hadn’t dissipated in the slightest as he demanded viciously: “You were truly that desperate to return?”

One didn’t require a genius intellect to deduce exactly who had submitted that anonymous report.

Shen Wang looked down into his face, shifting his hand slightly to let his thumb lightly brush against the man’s cheek. The gesture carried an undeniable layer of intimacy, functioning like a subtle peace offering born from a perpetrator’s lingering guilt: “I have a reason that dictates I absolutely must return.”

Wu Que ignored the gesture, yet neither made a move to disrupt their configuration, maintaining the posture until the aircraft finally executed its descent.

Shen Wang’s gaze pierced through the rain-streaked glass. In the near distance, the sprawling architecture of Tianshu City steadily resolved through the churning fog. Tianshu served as the premier metropolitan hub reconstructed by humanity following their triumphant victory over the abyssal entities of the extreme polar regions. It was a floating citadel suspended high in the clouds, engineered entirely by Evokers commanding specialized architectural constructs. The population consisted primarily of political executives, commercial barons, and elite, high-tier Evokers. The Central Base established by the Alliance sat anchored at the dead center of this domain.

Spanning an operational footprint of roughly two hundred thousand square meters, the Central Base housed dedicated sectors for scientific research, military infrastructure, academic training, and medical operations. Shen Wang’s Tactical Enforcement Division and Wu Que’s Disciplinary Inspection Division both operated under the umbrella of the military branch.

The helicopter executed a smooth landing, though it bypassed the standard tarmac entirely, touching down directly on the pad anchoring the Interrogation Department. The entirety of the structure looked to have undergone a highly recent renovation, the engineering bearing distinct markers of a rushed project. Certain floors still carried visible structural scars where parts of the facade had been cleanly blown away.

Shen Wang was guided into a secured chamber; he and Wu Que were to be audited in separate interrogation rooms.

Right before crossing the threshold, Wu Que seemed to register an external signature, casting a brief glance back over his shoulder. A orb of pure white radiance was drifting lazily from the direction of the Base’s residential dormitories, its presence completely undetected by the surrounding security detail.

As the interrogation commenced, Wu Que’s gaze drifted right past the primary officer seated before him, locking onto the wall behind the man’s shoulder where the white radiance was smoothly condensing into a deeply familiar human silhouette.

Simultaneously, within the confines of an adjacent chamber, a sharp system notification echoed directly across Shen Wang’s mental sea.

【Your countdown timer has entered its final 30 minutes. Congratulations on completing Phase 1 of the objective. The mental erasure protocol has been officially terminated.】

It’s finally over… but why is it specified as Phase 1?

【Next Phase: Please investigate the Phoenix Research Institute and neutralize their active research initiatives.】

There’s an additional phase?

Shen Wang let out a cold mental sneer: 【So is this assignment going to levy my life as collateral again?】

The system paused to run a brief search matrix before responding: 【No self-destruct sequence is attached to this directive. It does not operate as a mandatory assignment; however, successful execution will yield highly corresponding task rewards.】

【This assignment utilizes an incremental milestone framework. Every time your exploration metric matches a specific threshold, a randomized task reward will be automatically disbursed.】

According to the system’s analytical output, the Phoenix Research Institute was explicitly dedicated to the cultivation and domestication of supernatural anomalies. Securing corresponding intelligence would require him to venture into and harvest data from the pollution domains of various entities. Conveniently, this aligned perfectly with the baseline parameters of his official job description; executing it would essentially be a matter of convenience.

Regarding the rewards, the system indicated the pool included methods to elevate his primary abilities, procedures to restore his fractured mental nucleus, and various high-tier spiritual tools. Every option held an undeniable appeal for Shen Wang particularly the prospect of reconstructing his mental nucleus.

As he weighed his options, the reinforced door of the interrogation chamber swung open once more. A man roughly in his mid-thirties stepped inside, his features carrying a naturally aggressive edge, defined by sharp inverted-triangle eyes, chestnut hair, and striking amber pupils.

“Oh? Look who we have here. What a rare and distinguished guest… How on earth did Captain Shen manage to fall into my jurisdiction?” His tone was distinctly sharp, vibrating with immense irritation.

Shen Wang’s eyes narrowed slightly. Could this be an established adversary of the host from his previous tenure at the Base?

If so, my luck truly is spectacular…

“An anonymous tip alleges that you, testing your limits…” The man scanned the printed report sheets with an incredulous glare: “Apprehended a C-class anomaly from City C and proceeded to deploy it under the cover of night into City D…? Furthermore, you supposedly executed this alongside the Chief Inspector of the Third District?”

He clearly found the contents completely absurd: “…Are you out of your mind? What type of total garbage is this…?”

It is absolute garbage, Shen Wang thought silently. The entire narrative was a complete fiction he had thrown together by patching random historical case files. He had simply placed a high-stakes bet that the Base was merely desperate for any functional pretext to “invite” them back so they could handle the catastrophic backlog of active files.

Evidently, the man before him didn’t care a single whit about the ludicrous nature of the report itself. Instead, he raised his sharp eyes, his face painted with unvarnished disbelief: “What? Wu Que actually managed to coexist with you in a state of absolute psychological peace? Which two lunatics were responsible for completely blowing away my Interrogation Building during their last physical dispute?”

…Ah. So, the destroyed wing Li Lan had mentioned previously belonged to this man’s department.

No wonder his tone was dripping with such profound dissatisfaction; they shared an established historical grievance.

Shen Wang kept his lips sealed, remaining completely silent. Watching his detached presentation, the man’s fury surged to an even greater height.

“Why are you acting like a mute?” He slammed his palms flat against the tabletop, leaning forward to glare at him with absolute anger: “Playing the cold and aloof card… You vanish off the face of the earth for months, failing to transmit a single communication line…”

“Do you even consider me a friend anymore? Huh? Shen Wang, look at me and speak!”

“……” Shen Wang blinked, completely blindsided by the revelation. He hesitated for a fraction of a second before opening his mouth: “Who exactly are you?”

“! You motherf…” The man’s face flushed an absolute crimson with raw fury. He roared out: “I am Guan Heng, the Head of the Interrogation Division!” He surged to his feet in a fit of rage, abandoning the audit entirely as he stormed toward the exit, slamming the reinforced door behind him with a thunderous rattle: “Lock him in confinement!”

The solitary confinement cell proved vastly more spacious than his baseline expectations, and outside of his standard meal rations, no one surfaced to disrupt his peace. A day later, Guan Heng returned to visit him.

Having officially verified that Shen Wang’s cognitive faculties were genuinely fractured rather than an elaborate deception, Guan Heng’s anger completely evaporated. He spent the visit cursing out whatever degenerate had engineered such a ridiculous fabrication to slander his reputation, reassuring him that the situation was a minor speed bump. He simply needed to execute the standard administrative protocols, and he would be cleared for release within two days.

Shen Wang remained quiet, a faint, amused smile tracing his lips.

Through the course of their conversation, he gathered that Guan Heng shared an exceptionally close relationship with the host; their private quarters were located in close proximity, and the duo frequently grabbed meals together following the conclusion of high-risk assignments.

Guan Heng spoke through the reinforced viewing glass: “Once you’re cleared to exit this block, the drinks are on me.”

Shen Wang offered a polite nod of agreement. Given their established level of intimacy, extracting strategic intelligence from this individual wouldn’t present a significant hurdle.

By the following afternoon, Shen Wang was formally discharged from the confinement sector. Finding himself free of duties, Guan Heng drove his private vehicle directly to the exit gate, intending to escort Shen Wang out of the facility.

Seated in the passenger side, Shen Wang inquired casually: “What about Wu Que? Was he cleared for release today as well?”

“Oh, his situation operates under a highly distinct parameter… He’s still locked down in the deep blocks. Forget about him… Let’s move. Time for drinks, time for drinks.” Guan Heng mashed his foot against the accelerator, steering the vehicle out through the Base’s southern portal.

“We’re heading to our usual spot. I have no idea if your brain still retains the memory, but their crawfish preparation is absolutely spectacular.”

Shen Wang didn’t offer a vocal response, his consciousness drifting elsewhere. Logically speaking, Wu Que’s file shouldn’t have triggered any unique administrative restrictions, considering the anonymous report had painted both of them as equal partners in the exact same infraction.

Unless… the Base simply wanted an excuse to keep him detained.

Having spent months separated from his companion, Guan Heng initially displayed a trace of awkwardness. However, after throwing back a few glasses of alcohol, his conversational floodgates burst open, and he began aggressively venting about the chaotic internal politics that had plagued the facility during his absence: “Sigh, brother, you have no concept of how toxic this place has been without you. It’s a non-stop headache every single day…”

“Ever since the leadership matrix of the upper echelon underwent that structural shift, everyone’s baseline existence has become miserable. Recently, a new high-ranking executive was air-dropped straight into our sector. Damn it, just thinking about that parasite makes my blood boil… He possesses zero innate abilities, a literal civilian, commanding authority purely because his family commands immense background leverage…”

“What does a baseline human even comprehend about the architecture of an Evoker…? The tactical directives he hands down are absolute garbage. He regularly orders deployment squads into high-risk pollution domains without authorizing a preliminary scouting sweep first. Last week, he ordered a squad of B-rank Evokers straight into an A+ rank domain, resulting in several casualties within the division…”

“Furthermore, to manufacture a fraudulent reputation within the Alliance, he handpicked a selection of his personal cronies to form a specialized tactical unit. Every premium resource and high-tier asset is systematically funneled to his group, while they are explicitly shielded from any dangerous assignments. The absolute millisecond an external squad brings a lethal operation to the brink of completion, he orchestrates a structural transfer to insert his cronies at the zero hour to hijack the credit. Tell me, is that not exceptionally shameless?”

Shen Wang lifted a portion of food to his mouth, chewing slowly as he absorbed the data. He raised his eyes: “He sounds like a certified piece of trash. Has no one filed a formal grievance?”

Guan Heng let out a bitter snort: “He has injected an astronomical amount of capital funding into the Base’s infrastructure. The management matrix chooses to keep one eye firmly shut.”

“I see,” Shen Wang murmured, offering a flat, neutral nod of acknowledgment.

Guan Heng raised his glass: “Enough about my grievances. What exactly did you encounter during these past few months that proved so treacherous? My communication lines couldn’t intercept your signal a single time.”

Shen Wang lightly tapped his glass against the other man’s, his brow hitching slightly: “I don’t remember. The moment my consciousness initialized, I was already resting within the ruins of the black market.”

The statement didn’t technically operate as a fabrication; his revival had occurred amidst the literal debris of the black-market sector. Had his soul failed to integrate, that physical vessel would have been delivered straight to an incineration facility for disposal.

“The black market…” Guan Heng ruminated over the data for a brief moment. “I don’t recall you accepting any official assignment targeting that specific sector.”

“Let’s bypass those details,” Shen Wang offered a mild smile. “I have lost far too many historical data points.”

He raised his eyes, fixing his gaze on Guan Heng: “I want to ask you something. What type of individual… was I before this incident?”

Guan Heng froze momentarily, rubbing his palm against the back of his neck: “What type of person…?”

“Your operational output was exceptional, your interpersonal presentation was highly functional, dedicated to the discipline… and your romantic prospects were remarkably abundant…” As his brother-in-arms, their standard interactions consisted entirely of trading sharp barbs; offering genuine praise felt distinctly unnatural.

Guan Heng sighed: “Regrettably, your entire system was driven by an absolute infatuation.”

Shen Wang: “.”

Unconvinced by the assessment, Shen Wang pressed once more: “Are you entirely certain?”

The host was… an absolute infatuated fool?

In Guan Heng’s estimation, his companion possessed near-flawless attributes—his appearance and character metrics left zero room for criticism. The solitary flaw in his programming was his absolute fixation on pursuing that volatile Inspector Wu from the Third District: “Is that not an objective fact? Weren’t you actively mounting an aggressive campaign to re-court that specific individual? And the Chief Inspector routinely treated your advances with absolute coldness.”

Guan Heng shook his head: “I yield the point that his aesthetic presentation is striking, but his temperament is atrocious; he is fundamentally incompatible with your systems. I stand by my original assessment—once a divorce is finalized, it’s finalized. What functional purpose does engineering a reconciliation serve?”

Shen Wang kept his mouth closed, offering no vocal response.

The narrative was profoundly bizarre. To an external observer, it appeared he and Wu Que had been divorced for years, existing in a state of mutual psychological aversion. Guan Heng likely possessed a slightly deeper layer of data, viewing him as the party executing a unrequited campaign for reconciliation. In summary, their relationship was universally documented as toxic.

Yet, through his live interactions with Wu Que, the dynamic clearly broadcasted a completely separate reality.

Noticing the dark, unreadable expression settling across his features, Guan Heng hesitated for a brief second before opening his mouth once more: “To give you the unvarnished truth, someone is intentionally pulling administrative strings to keep him locked in custody. Furthermore, rumor has it…”

He dropped his voice to a low whisper: “The upper echelon intends to deploy him to neutralize a massive, macro-scale pollution domain.”