Evil As Humans

Chapter 246: Two Years Later

Two years later, at the peak of summer, in Haigu.

[Recently, the police launched a comprehensive investigation into the Coral Reef Group. Numerous unauthorized modifications were discovered in the underground spaces of the company building. After confirmation, it was revealed that the Coral Reef Group is linked to several criminal cases…]

[The Coral Reef Group is one of the longest-standing companies in Haigu, with business operations spanning across media, daily necessities, and various other sectors. Through the investigation, it has been determined that the actual controller behind the group is a person surnamed Wei. The police have already arrested him…]

[Next news. In early July, the police successfully dismantled a criminal hideout, and currently, three individuals are on the run…]

“Okay, brother, turn off the TV!” Lu Nana put on her red fedora.

Lu Hui hurriedly complied and turned off the TV with a snap.

After two years of dedicated training, the Lu siblings were about to undergo their employment physical examination at Shian. This time, they felt fully prepared and even walked with a lighter step. Upon reaching Shian’s campus, there was still some time left before the physical examination.

The scenery at Shian’s campus remained the same, except there was now a statue in the center of the fountain.

At first glance, Lu Hui didn’t recognize what it was.

From the silhouette, the statue seemed to depict a person sitting sideways. The figure was carved with light gauze, adorned with chains and simplified talismans. Since the statue was meticulously carved from a single piece of stone, it was entirely black with a somewhat casual design. At a glance, the two couldn’t tell if it was a deity or a modern-style artwork.

The “head” of the stone statue faced the newly expanded juice bar.

Under the scorching sun, the ice cream posters at the juice bar were truly tempting. The Lu siblings exchanged a glance and decided to relax before the physical examination. However, within the shade of the juice bar’s umbrella, there was already a figure.

It was a modestly dressed girl. She tied her hair up in a high ponytail, and her appearance was ordinary, but her appropriate light makeup gave her a certain elegance. When she saw the Lu siblings, who were somewhat sunburned, she politely nodded.

The Lu siblings placed their orders and joined the girl at her table.

“Lu Hui. This is my cousin, Lu Nana,” Lu Hui introduced. “Are you here for the physical examination as well?”

The girl smiled shyly. “Yes.”

Lu Nana’s spirits lifted. “Perfect! Are you a cultivator or…?”

“I’m a physics graduate student from A University, Gao Mengyu.” The girl raised her head. “I’m still studying and preparing for a summer internship.”

Lu Nana exclaimed, “Ah, a science post. The last time we came here, there was also a graduate student from A University. It’s been two years; I wonder what level Mr. Zhong has reached.”

“When we pass the physical examination, we’ll meet familiar faces sooner or later,” Lu Hui said confidently, patting his sister on the back.

“Two years… Mr. Zhong? Zhong Chengshuo?” Gao Mengyu clasped her hands together.

“You know him?”

“Um, he’s pursuing a Ph.D. at A University. I’ve met him before,” Gao Mengyu said.

“What? Zhong Chengshuo went back to school?” Lu Nana was surprised. “A University is in Yandu. Could he have transferred to the Yandu branch?”

Lu Hui adjusted his vest solemnly. “We’ll ask familiar faces when we pass the physical examination.”

“…That’s enough, brother!”

……

“The Lu siblings have made significant progress.” Li Nian put down his thermos. “Gao Mengyu has a special relationship with the Lonely. After she graduates, she can immediately become a regular employee. Besides these three, there are seven new recruits… The situation looks good this year.”

Fu Xingchuan lay face down on the sofa, silent.

Li Nian: “Are you finally dead?”

“Unfortunately, not yet.” Fu Xingchuan replied with a weak voice. “It’s been two years, Lao Li. We finally caught a glimpse of Sunken Society, but now there are so many problems… The Coral Reef lawyers are so annoying, and Wei Huaqian, that bastard…”

Li Nian sneered. “They have legitimate industries, so this was always going to be a prolonged battle. I remember someone being confident and saying, leave everything to the Emergency Management Department.”

“At that time, it seemed like the Other Side was more important…” Minister Fu’s voice sounded increasingly guilty.

“Sunken Society is bad enough, and the Xiang Jiang and Xiang Hai case from back then haven’t made any progress at all. Now someone has taken this case upon themselves.”

“We lack clues. There’s nothing we can do…” Minister Fu’s voice was feeble. “That’s why I need my old partner’s help.”

“Tsk.”

After delivering a fatal blow with a tongue click, Li Nian didn’t continue to mentally attack Fu Xingchuan.

Indeed, after the battle on the Other Side, most of Shian’s manpower was devoted to research and support for the Other Side. For this reason, Shian established the “Special Management Department”, with two troublesome experts appointed as ministers.

As one of the troublesome experts, Zhong Chengshuo’s work was considered responsible.

Every time there was an operation on the Other Side, that guy would always bring back a pile of research materials. Within a year after the war ended, Zhong Chengshuo had published several papers, such as “An Analysis of the Formation Principle and Food Chain of the Other Side” and “Research on Ancient Microscopic Elemental Fusion Organisms Based on the Other Side’s Ecology”. His science rank skyrocketed, far surpassing that of ordinary science posts. As an “employee of Fear” still in service, he had the right time, place, and people on his side, exploring depths beyond the reach of ordinary science posts.

In order to gain more knowledge, he returned to A University to pursue a doctorate.

Working remotely brought many inconveniences. Considering that Zhong Chengshuo, as a “God”, could travel to the Other Side and take a shortcut home, Shian turned a blind eye.

As for the more dangerous one of the troublesome experts, Yin Ren’s situation was unusually peaceful.

Yin Ren’s strength was truly exceptional, and he had almost detached himself from ordinary missions, solely responsible for the ecological management of the Other Side. To be honest, the top level of Shian still maintained some vigilance towards this “God” with immeasurable power. To appease Yin Ren, Shian would allocate a special sum of money each year to give him a bonus.

And after two years, it turned out that the people of Shian were just overthinking. Aside from using the Other Side as a springboard to visit Yandu and play with Zhong Chengshuo, Yin Ren never used his “god-level” power.

The ecological balance on the Other Side didn’t need daily intervention. This guy basically came to Shian to punch in, have meals, and besides that, he secretly played games and watched dramas in the office or found a sofa to sleep on, truly embodying the essence of “slacking off”.

For this reason, Lu Xiaohe didn’t spare him any reprimands—Miss Lu might be the least polite person towards Yin Ren in all of Shian.

Like now.

“If you won’t write the report, at least show up for work?!” Lu Xiaohe’s shout came from the corridor—the office of the Special Management Department was next to the Emergency Management Department, so they were close.

“I’ll work later! I’m accumulating energy right now,” Yin Ren retorted on the spot. “Besides, I made an appointment with my teammates. I can’t go back on my word. It’s important.”

“Teammates? Those student teammates of yours who are still on summer vacation?” Lu Xiaohe gritted her teeth. “What are we, Minister Yin Ren?”

“You can’t say that. We’re all good teammates,” Yin Ren murmured.

“Zhong Chengshuo, you should manage him… You’re playing too?!”

“He’s missing a healer,” Zhong Chengshuo calmly replied.

“Don’t spoil him, alright?!” Lu Xiaohe’s voice carried a touch of sorrow.

“Ge Tingting and Huang Jin are both working hard. You can distribute their efforts more evenly for us mentally,” Yin Ren said solemnly. “Look, I’m different from you all. I’m clearly past the age of retirement…”

“……”

“How about you join us, Xiaohe Jie? We can also invite Xiao Ge and Da Huang on the weekend. They’re always on field assignments, so it’s just the three of us in the office, which is quite empty…”

“I’m not playing. I’m going to read a book,” Lu Xiaohe said softly. Was it really empty? She suddenly felt a bit redundant. The golden light on the two fingers almost blinded her eyes.

“Ah…” Yin Ren sighed disappointedly.

Li Nian approached and closed the office door. Instantly, the noise from the next room turned into silence.

“She’ll get used to it,” Fu Xingchuan said.

“Yeah, it reminds me of when I was young.” Li Nian’s voice turned cold. “Someone was too lazy to write battle reports, and got used to someone ghostwriting it for them.”

“Yin Ren said he wants to work today?” Fu Xingchuan changed the subject.

“Yeah, the time has come.” Li Nian looked out the window.

Today was a good day; clear skies without a cloud, and the blazing sun of summer covered everything in a layer of white. As time passed, dusk approached, and the glaring white gradually took on an orange hue.

In the adjacent room, Yin Ren stretched with a big yawn. He bid farewell to his companions in the game one by one and stood up. Zhong Chengshuo took off his glasses and carefully placed them in a glasses case. He opened his bag and took out the flickering Karma Lantern.

Lu Xiaohe’s expression turned serious. “Be careful on the way.”

Yin Ren narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, we’ll be back before the end of our shift.”

Zhong Chengshuo stood by his side, and the two of them interlocked their fingers. In the next moment, they completely disappeared into thin air.

Lu Xiaohe surveyed the empty office for a while and suddenly felt that it was a bit deserted.

…Should she download that game and give it a try?

The Other Side.

Qi Xin leaned against a Lonely, gazing at the colorful world of the Other Side. She knew that in a little while, dusk would come to the human world.

The appointed time was approaching.

Swish, swish.

In the distance, a low, tide-like hum sounded, and the Lonely cats instantly came running from all directions. They wrapped their kittens in tablecloths and sheltered them beneath their bodies, forming a huddled group.

Qi Xin leaped up and sat at the top of the ball formed by the Lonely cats.

Swish, swish. The sound grew closer. In the eternal daylight of the Other Side, a gentle red light appeared. It spread like an evening glow, gradually engulfing everything within sight.

Following closely was a thin veil of red clouds.

They obscured the ever-changing barriers of the Other Side, making everything ambiguous and hazy. Beneath the drifting red veil was a warm night composed of pitch-black wings. The vision seemed to dissolve, and the Other Side in Qi Xin’s eyes was gradually swallowed by darkness.

It had arrived.

A night of destruction that was even more powerful and gentle than the previous “Fear”.

Amidst the swirling red veil, in the darkness ahead, stood a gigantic figure cloaked in red. Countless intricate decorations adorned its body, and a huge silver bell hung from its chest. The beautiful monster moved forward slowly, with the bell on its chest tinkling softly, while boundless darkness followed closely behind.

Its two arms hung motionless, while the other two were crossed in front of its chest. In the palm of the giant hands lay a small, setting sun.

…It was a human figure with pitch-black eyes, carrying a lantern.

The lantern continuously emitted a warm radiance reminiscent of the setting sun, like a nighttime prelude, yet also like a lighthouse pointing the way. Every creature illuminated by that radiance froze in place as if petrified before being completely engulfed by darkness.

As if sensing Qi Xin’s presence, the giant monster paused for a moment, and the head under the red veil nodded slightly towards Qi Xin.

Qi Xin stood up, placed her hand on her chest, and performed a formal salute.

“Thank you for your hard work, both of you,” she said.

And so, night fell.

Darkness completely swallowed the Other Side just before dusk. Qi Xin saw “Fear” turn around and say something to the gigantic monster.

What was it saying? Qi Xin sat back on the soft Lonely and pondered.

Probably something serious about the rules of the Other Side, she thought.

In reality, not long ago…

“Today, Gao Mengyu, Lu Hui, and Lu Nana passed their employment physicals,” Zhong Chengshuo whispered.

“After work tonight, let’s treat them to hot pot. It’s been a while since we had hot pot,” Yin Ren replied in a low voice. “It’s quite commemorative. As a senior, I’ll treat them.”

“Okay, I’ll make the reservation later.”

“Remember to include Xiao Ge, Da Huang, Xiaohe Jie, and Liang Shan.”

“No problem.”

……

In the human world, at night.

“We’ve finally made it ashore, wuwuwu! Starting tomorrow, we’ll be part of Shian!” Lu Hui sobbed uncontrollably.

“You’re embarrassing, crying in front of so many seniors.” Lu Nana took off her red fedora and fanned herself.

“These are tears brought out by the spiciness.” Lu Hui blew his nose loudly. “Speaking of which, what level are Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo? They never say; could it be A-level?”

During the hot pot meal, Lu Hui had asked Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo about their levels, but the responses from the members of Unit 9 were varied. The summary of their answers was, “You’ll know once you get in, eating is more important.” Lu Hui couldn’t pursue the matter further and had to give up.

“They seem to be in good spirits, and it doesn’t seem like they are working hard… But those two, they seem to be wearing matching rings like a couple,” Lu Nana recalled the situation at the table.

Lu Hui finally regained some presence of mind from the overwhelming emotion of passing the exam, and he was about to be shocked—

“Help!!!”

A cry for help came from nearby. The Lu siblings glanced at each other and quickly rushed towards the direction of the scream.

It was the old part of the city, with complex streets and alleys. It took them five minutes to find the source of the scream—a young girl was hiding in a corner of an alley, disheveled and trembling.

Next to her was a small van. In the bright moonlight, darkness filled the interior of the vehicle, emanating a stench of garbage and filth.

“Ah… Ah…” The girl stuttered, pointing towards the depths of the alley.

Lu Nana supported the girl, while Lu Hui stood guard in front of them, looking towards the darkness. In the shadows, a crimson pool of blood slowly crawled out, with scattered limbs strewn about and a rolling head with an expression of extreme terror on its face.

“What’s going on?” Lu Hui instantly pulled out a talisman and tightly gripped it in his hand.

He recognized that face—it had been shown on the news in the morning, seemingly one of the recently wanted fugitives.

“Just now… Just now, I was going home… and those three people suddenly got out of the car and pulled me into the vehicle… and then…” The girl stammered in fear.

Lu Hui took out a spherical spiritual object and threw it directly into the alley. Instantly, bright light illuminated everything within the alley.

Two young men stood in the center of the blood pool and scattered body parts.

They had handsome and pale faces, wearing old-fashioned robes—one in red and the other in white. Sinister facial patterns could be seen through their robes. The young man in red played with a severed head, while the one in white held a piece of severed limb and was carefully nibbling on it.

Under the bright moonlight, the two of them had no shadows, but there was no doubt that they were causing ripples in the blood pool. They were evil beings, devoid of any aura… extremely dangerous individuals.

Lu Hui froze in place, desperately thinking of a strategy.

“Shian’s people?” the young man in red spoke.

“So what if we are?”

“Give my regards to Senior Fu.” The man smiled slightly. “Unfortunately, we can’t kill everyone now, so we’ll have to go after the ones we dislike the most.”

“Let’s play hide-and-seek, Shian.”

The young man in red tossed the severed head into the air, and before the head landed on the ground, the two youths in the pool of blood disappeared without a trace.

Lu Hui sat down on the ground.

“What should we do?” Lu Nana shivered.

“…Let’s report to the police first.”

They were now official employees of Shian. Someday… Someday, they would catch such formidable evil.

The sky was filled with surging dark clouds, and rain started to fall once again.

The author has something to say:

Main text complete (/ω＼)

I didn’t expect to be struck by COVID just before reaching the final chapter, nor did I expect to be sick for so long… I apologize for keeping everyone waiting!

Please take care of your health.

The extras that follow may not be updated daily, but I might randomly make some corrections to typos or minor issues~

This piece turned out longer than I imagined, but this is probably my limit for length _(:з」∠)

————

The Western fantasy-themed “Stray“, the apocalyptic-themed “Happy Doomsday“, the wasteland-themed “Access Denied“, and the historical xuanhuan “Sendoff” have all been completed. You can check them out in the author’s column~

Please click on “Favorite this author” in the column if you enjoy them (〃ω〃)

The next book, “Full Server First Kill“, is tentatively scheduled to be released in the first half of this year!

————

Preview of the next work as usual:

When Xu Yue woke up, he found that he had become a monster.

To the left, there were two slimes—the old couple next door. To the right, there was a young dragon—the junior high school student downstairs. They all met and were equally bewildered by their different races.

It wasn’t until Xu Yue accidentally opened his personal status bar.

(Former) Game Developer Xu Yue: ……

His game successfully launched, but something seemed off.

A holographic game in which a whole community is trapped in, striving to find a way out (?).

Kinky Thoughts:

This marks the end of the main story. I really did enjoy it. If you like Nian Zhong, you can check out her other works she mentioned (all of which I have translated/is in the progress of). I highly recommend Stray, as that is the novel that made me fall in love with her work.

If you enjoyed it, please consider supporting the author by buying the raws. You can use Google Chrome with their auto translate and this guide on how to buy novels on jjwxc. Remember, only with your (financial) support can artists continue to produce more great works.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone for your comments, encouragement, help with my translations, and ko-fi donations. It in part fuels my motivation to release so frequently and try to finish this novel as soon as possible.

Below is the arc summary:

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo finally figured out what Love’s plans were. It plans to invade the human world and essentially become a “God” (a true “Divine Descent”). However, not just any body would do for it to possessed. It wanted to build a powerhouse body to store its essence in, which required time and planning (which it had been doing for the past decade).

In the meanwhile, it worked with Sunken Society to provide corruption sources in order to harness emotional energy from humans to feed the Other Side. Its current plan to spread mass amount of corruption sources was to plummet Haigu into chaos. It then planned to possess Sun Qi’an to basically become a savior in order to influence the human world.

With this plan in mind, Xiang Jiang sacrificed himself and turned into a fierce ghost, and together with his twin brother, he wanted to wreak havoc in Haigu. Fortunately, they were stopped by Fu Xingchuan, and with the help of Huang Jin (possessed by Qi Xin) was able to fend off the twin ghosts as well as Love.

Meanwhile, on the Other Side, Yin Ren finally managed to control his powers and, with Zhong Chengshuo, was able to subdue Love and essentially destroy its essence (main body).

No longer able to fulfill its plan, Love escaped, using its last remaining bit of itself in Sun Qi’an into an interstitial space while capturing Fu Xingchuan, Ge Tingting, and Huang Jin. It wanted to bide its time to recover and then return again, thinking Yin Ren wouldn’t be able to find the interstitial space it was hiding in.

Unfortunately, Ge Tingting, who still hadn’t made her wish that Yin Ren promised to grant when she helped him find Zhong Chengshuo’s body, now made her wish. It essentially acted as a beacon, calling to Yin Ren, who then found Love’s hideout.

With the help of Zhong Chengshuo, they sealed Love’s essence into Sun Qi’an’s brain tumor, which it would eventually die once Sun Qi’an died (provided she doesn’t remove the brain tumor first).

Meanwhile, Meng Huai’s team battled it out with Shen Mo. As a Charon, he had the ability to teleport, traversing between the Other Side and the human realm. Unable to gain an advantage, Meng Huai forcibly merged herself into Shen Mo. Using Elemental flesh as bombs, she indiscriminately started blowing them up, forcing Shen Mo to use up all his teleportation. With his final teleportation, he forced Meng Huai to sever herself from him, under the threat of taking out all her team, then teleported away once she cut herself off from him.

Unfortunately, she severed quite a bit of her body mass that was still attached to him. As he was going through the teleportation process, he miscalculated the mass he had, which messed with Shen Mo’s teleportation travel, causing him to be forever buried in the Other Side space.

With things resolved and the Other Side taken care of, we reached a happy ending for everyone. Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo would manage the Other Side, restoring natural order as Qi Xin wanted, Huang Jin got together with Ding Lizi, Li Nian was reunited with Meng Huai, Ge Tingting became Fu Xingchuan’s disciple, the Zhong elders were reunited with Zhong Chengfeng, Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo essentially got married…

And finally, Yin Ren got what he wanted… to live as a salted fish mooching off of Shian.