Evil As Humans

Chapter 84: Vomiting

Lu Xiaohe sat alone in the office of Unit 9.

The huge office felt a bit empty. Data on the big screen kept jumping, but Lu Xiaohe couldn’t concentrate.

After completing their mission, Ge Tingting and Huang Jin had been recuperating. Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo were sent to quarantine for five days, and then got nearly half a month’s vacation.

They could rest until late August, but someone still had to finish Unit 9’s work.

Like the investigation and the follow-up report after the mission was over.

The mission in the Archive was completed, and Guo Laifu returned to normal. He woke up from deep anesthesia, sitting like a dead thing, unwilling to even move his fingertips. He had lost his vision and most of his hearing, so Shian could only give him information through bone conduction.

Hearing the news of his death sentence, Guo Laifu was calm, like a plant.

Lu Xiaohe didn’t know what Guo Laifu had forgotten, but that memory must have fundamentally destroyed him. It was gone, but its devastating effect on him was still there.

Three days ago, Guo Laifu was executed in accordance with the law.

It was also three days ago that she pretended to be a reporter and visited the group of teacher and students that Yin Ren urgently dreamed up, in accordance with regulations.

They all had the same dream.

They dreamed that Guo Wei was standing on a tree-lined street, holding an ebook in his arms. He was just as they remembered him—slightly scruffy hair dressed in a clean school uniform. He waved at them, turned around calmly, and walked towards the end of the street, step by step.

Except for this similar dream, they had no physical abnormalities. Lei Xiurong’s spirit had improved, and she hadn’t been taking sleeping pills recently. She cursed for half an hour in the conversation with Lu Xiaohe, emphasizing that Guo Laifu deserves death by a thousand cuts.

Everything seemed to have settled.

Lu Xiaohe put the last period on the report and let out a long exhale. She grabbed the coffee can nearby; it was empty, with only a slightly bitter aroma left at the mouth of the can.

She massaged her aching leg and stood up, limping out the door—in Shian, if she wanted a specific canned drink, she had to go to the non-office area to buy it.

As soon as she went out, she almost bumped into Ge Tingting.

Ge Tingting was still wearing her rustic t-shirt. She was holding a lot of books and looked at Lu Xiaohe with complicated eyes, full of desire to say something.

A few moments later, there were two more people in the non-office rest area.

Lu Xiaohe took a sip of her coffee mocha while Ge Tingting stared at the passion fruit sparkling water in front of her with a tangled face.

In the Archive, Ge Tingting wasn’t substantially harmed. She woke up earlier than Huang Jin and had been reading all this time.

Shian had opened many courses for these preparatory employees with special circumstances, ranging from compulsory courses in popular basic education to elective courses explaining various metaphysical knowledge.

Ge Tingting ticked off almost all the elective courses, stuffing her schedule to the brim.

During her lunch breaks, Lu Xiaohe had bumped into Ge Tingting several times in the rest area. Even when she came to buy something, she was still reading with her headphones, extremely focused. Lu Xiaohe didn’t know what stimulated her, but Ge Tingting couldn’t wait to spend all her free time studying.

“Anything you’re worried about?” Lu Xiaohe tried to hint.

On the low leisure table, Ge Tingting laid out her test results. Her grades were barely passable, and she couldn’t find a paper with a good score.

Her efforts didn’t seem to be having much effect.

“Will Shian think I’m unqualified?” The AI synthesized voice spoke for her. Ge Tingting stared at the ground without meeting Lu Xiaohe’s eyes. “I broke the law, so my personal situation is troublesome, and I don’t have any great talents yet. After a while, will Shian not want me anymore?”

“Don’t worry. That’s 100% impossible, unless you deliberately do bad things.”

Lu Xiaohe’s face was serious.

“By the way, why do you have such an idea? Do you think there’s something wrong with you?”

“I’m not good anywhere. I don’t know what to do.” Ge Tingting was silent for a while, still looking at the ground.

Lu Xiaohe’s hand holding her cup froze.

Ge Tingting’s sister, Ge Jiaojiao, worked part-time to support herself and was unable to support her younger sister. Ge Tingting’s physical condition was special; she was basically unable to communicate with others normally before, so it wasn’t surprising that the two sisters were like strangers.

The little bit of beauty in her life only came when her parents were still alive. Now that this girl had no elders and was living alone in a strange environment, it was easy for her to sink into a dead corner.

Lu Xiaohe wiped the drops of water on her hand and gently pinched Ge Tingting’s face.

“Shian will not judge people as being unqualified casually, so be confident.”

She glanced at the rows of test papers again.

“It’s not a problem that you’re kind. Let me think about it… Hey, if I were you, I might learn lip reading first, and then look for a better substitute for vocalization. You’re quite adaptable, so you’ll do fine!”

Ge Tingting: “But I’m far behind Yin Ge and Zhong Ge. I feel like I’ll never catch up with them.

Lu Xiaohe: “……” Thankfully Huang Jin is absent.

Compared with those two troublemakers, Ge Tingting was really good at choosing her goals.

“Listen, do you know Xiao Xiang from the Emergency Management Department?”

Ge Tingting honestly shook her head.

“Just like you, he only has a junior high education and stepped out early into society,” Lu Xiaohe said solemnly. “He only joined Shian in his twenties and didn’t do well at first. Now he’s a genius ghost master—Xiang Jiang’s situation is special, but it shows there’s possibility.”

“As far as I know, Shian will never accept people without potential. Take your time and don’t worry too much.”

Ge Tingting fell into contemplation, pinching the straw in her hand from time to time.

“Lu Xiaohe, the minister is looking for you.” A few steps away, a male voice sounded.

Xiang Jiang, still dressed in his asymmetrical mix-and-match outfit, stood listlessly in the shadow of the rest corner. He was nearly two meters tall and extremely thin. The proportions of his figure looked a little uncoordinated, like a lifeless wooden hanger.

“I just handed in the report.” Lu Xiaohe became vigilant.

It was just the final report of work. Logically, her immediate supervisor, Hao Wenzhe, should have read it. As a result, the Emergency Management Department actually sent their number one ghost master. Did she accidentally die from exhaustion and not realize it?

Lu Xiaohe pinched her thigh urgently and sighed.

“Business regarding Unit 9.” Xiang Jiang ignored her little movements. “Follow me.”

Hearing “Unit 9”, Ge Tingting raised her head and looked at Xiang Jiang solemnly. Xiang Jiang just glanced at her and retracted his gaze expressionlessly.

Seeing that it had nothing to do with her, the little girl gathered up her tests dejectedly.

“Thank you, sister. I’m going to class first.” Accompanied by the electronic sound, she checked the time and left.

Xiang Jiang didn’t raise his head.

“Look, she just joined not long ago, so at least I’m trying to give good face.” Lu Xiaohe lowered her voice. “I just used you as a positive example.”

“A positive example.” Xiang Jiang’s cloudy eyes stopped on her, and his tone made people uncomfortable.

He didn’t continue, but Lu Xiaohe always felt that, based on his tone, the words “I am worthy” should be followed. She didn’t know if it was because of too much pressure from work, but everyone in the Emergency Management Department had their own peculiarities. Compared to that, Fu Xingchuan was a normal person with a temper.

Lu Xiaohe decided to speak cautiously and avoid provoking the almighty*.

*Breaking ground on the head of Tai Sui (太岁头上动土) Idiom referring to offending people and things beyond one’s ability. 

Three minutes later.

“I disagree!” She smacked Tai Sui’s skull with a shovel*.

*Clarity: It’s a play-on of the metaphor above, referring to not dig above Tai Su. Originally she didn’t plan to provoke her superior, but now she’s thrown all that out the window.

Lu Xiaohe stood propped up at the table. Her hair was like a hen’s nest, and opposite her was Professor Li Nian, who was pointing with his fingers.

“Okay, you disagree,” Professor Li said. “So, let Hao Wenzhe do it for you.”

Xiang Jiang snorted, with a less obvious sneer in his voice. He leaned against the door of the minister’s office with his arms crossed, vividly displaying his impatience.

“This is not a question of whether to replace or not,” Lu Xiaohe said in disbelief. “You’re asking us to take over the responsibility of the Emergency Management Department? This is at least a Class A mission, and we’re only Class C! Let alone that two of our members are newcomers. I—I can’t handle this level…”

“Fu Xingchuan and I will accompany them secretly,” Professor Li said. “Like I said, if you don’t go, we have Hao Wenzhe.”

“Are you crazy? Forget Huang Jin, Ge Tingting is only sixteen! She’s still a minor! Wasn’t the Archive worrying enough? You—”

Having said that, she suddenly reacted. Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo were abnormal; she had always noticed this.

Lu Xiaohe knew that further testing would be a matter of time, but she didn’t expect Shian would be so decisive in making their move.

“Execution mission? Are you going to assign an execution mission to Unit 9?” Lu Xiaohe said in a daze.

“Yes.”

“You asked the field staff to come together. Is it because of…”

Li Nian: “The attitude towards vulnerable teammates is the key item of the investigation. If Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo are innocent, this can be regarded as a difficult operation for Unit 9, and there will be rewards afterwards.”

“You’re the rear commander and have no direct contact with the field team members. In theory, you can be replaced,” he specially empathized.

Lu Xiaohe pretended she didn’t hear.

Lu Xiaohe: “Yin Ren’s origin is unknown, and there are two accidental coincidences surrounding him, so the investigation is reasonable. Zhong Chengshuo’s background is very clean. Just because he has some emotional issues, he gets assigned an execution mission? Isn’t this too much?”

The corner of Professor Li’s mouth twitched as he pushed the investigation report in his hand.

Lu Xiaohe glanced at it briefly. It was full of daily reports of investigators watching the two of them, which were full of blood and tears.

In the past two weeks, the two of them have either gone out to eat and buy groceries or they have been watching movies and ordering takeout at home, living a life more comfortable than retirees. The investigators worked overtime only to watch others enjoy their paid leave so their resentment was reflected between the lines.

The two weren’t particularly shy about holding hands and leaning on each other in public, but they didn’t show any particularly sticky intimacy, just like a modern, reserved couple.

…Couple. Lu Xiaohe thought blankly.

“Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo are now in a romantic relationship,” Li Nian said. “Coupled with Zhong Chengshuo’s abnormal emotions, the connection meets the conditions.”

Lu Xiaohe opened her mouth for about ten seconds, remembering how amused and worried she was with the high “Like” readings of the two.

Those two lunatics actually fell in love in the Archive.

Having said that, this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in Shian. In order to stabilize their position in Shian, it was common to seduce colleagues of an investigation team or kill fellow members of Sunken Society.

This wasn’t the first execution mission in history. Facts had proven that whenever such a mission was assigned, the relevant team members more or less were concealing something.

No one was innocent.

And the companions of those team members would think their teammates would be a “special case” at first. The two months of getting along, whether that was considered long or not, wasn’t short. Maybe it would be easier to leave the matter to Hao Wenzhe, as Professor Li said, but…

“I’ll participate.” Lu Xiaohe took a few deep breaths.

Li Nian still had on his cold, indifferent look. “Reason?”

“First, because I think they are innocent. They have caused too much trouble, and people from Sunken Society wouldn’t be so conspicuous about their actions,” Lu Xiaohe replied. “Second, I know Hao Wenzhe’s style. If he’s serving as the rear commander, Ge Tingting will only be a simple ‘grading tool’ in this investigation.”

Professor Li looked at her speechlessly.

“She will notice.” Lu Xiaohe’s shoulder tensed. “She shouldn’t be subjected to that.”

“Okay, this is the mission information.” Li Nian didn’t say much as he pushed over some more files.

As soon as she read the first line, Lu Xiaohe crumpled the paper.

……

“We have to go to work tomorrow,” Yin Ren groaned bitterly.

In the past period of time, except for going to Guo Wei’s place to practice his ability every night, he had been killing time with Zhong Chengshuo. The two of them didn’t go out much, and after seeing Guo Wei off, Yin Ren was glued to the sofa 24 hours a day, watching dramas and eating his fill while hugging his lover.

He had to admit, that was truly the life.

He was so happy that he almost forgot about their execution mission.

“Work tomorrow.” Yin Ren slid down from the sofa to the floor and spread out his limbs on the carpet. “Zhong Chengshuo, think of something.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “……”

He walked over, dragged the collapsed Yin Ren back to the sofa, and silently tucked him in with a cooling blanket. After that, he returned to his desk and continued reading a large biology book full of bird language.

Yin Ren snorted and slid to the ground again.

“We should make some preparations,” Zhong Chengshuo said after thinking about it. “You’re right.”

“That’s right!”

Zhong Chengshuo: “We can make an appointment with our relatives and friends first. In case we get exposed, this is also a good opportunity to say goodbye.”

This wasn’t the direction that Yin Ren expected… but there didn’t seem to be a problem with it either, Yin Ren thought deeply.

King Yama acted amazingly. He opened Shian’s work group in an instant.

[Final Fruit: Do you all have time tonight?]

[Ear Person: Yes.]

[Ten Thousand Taels: 1.]

[Milky Way: What’s wrong?]

[Final Fruit: Dinner together.]

[Fruit Knife: The previous mission was so exciting that we haven’t had a private meeting yet. We have to come back to work tomorrow, so let’s have some hotpot first, yeah? ]

[The River Flows Eastward: You Unit 9 guys are gathering, but I’m working overtime. I can’t make it.

[Milky Way: Okay.]

[Ear Person: I’m in.]

[Ten Thousand Taels: I’m busy tonight.]

[Ten Thousand Taels withdrew a message]

[Final Fruit: ?]

[Ten Thousand Taels: Nothing, I’ll go.]

Yin Ren picked a well-known, trendy hotpot restaurant in the city center.

After Ge Tingting sat down, she started to read diligently, making full use of every ounce of her time. Huang Jin still had his gloomy “leave me alone” appearance, but there was more stagnation in his gloom.

Lu Xiaohe was the last to arrive. Unlike the casual outfits before, this time she dressed up rather seriously and put on light makeup. Sensing Yin Ren’s probing gaze, she smiled. “I happened to be doing other things before.”

“Come on, let’s celebrate the completion of the mission in the Archive! Xiaohe Jie has worked hard.”

Yin Ren smiled and shook his glass of Coke.

“We’re also celebrating Tingting and Xiao Huang’s recovery—”

The five people clinked glasses in a decent manner, and the ice cubes inside collided lightly, making a soft clattering sound.

Ge Tingting didn’t like to use her AI to speak in public, while Huang Jin kept to himself. But what was rare was that Lu Xiaohe had nothing to say today. All of a sudden, the table was quiet. The hotpot meat and vegetables that should have been eaten were left alone.

Zhong Chengshuo looked around. Even he could sense that subtleness in the atmosphere.

So he directly asked, “Lu Jie, what’s the matter?”

“Not much.” Lu Xiaohe smiled and picked up a piece of corn. “I’m just a little tired after work today.”

Yin Ren blinked. “With such a heavy workload, it seems we have a new mission?”

Lu Xiaohe’s chopsticks froze for a moment.

She herself had a friendly appearance, and when such people were worried about something, it was difficult to hide their expression.

“Well, yes. We’ll talk about it with the company tomorrow.” Lu Xiaohe’s face turned bitter.

[Ear Person: Will Huang Jin and I participate?]

Lu Xiaohe looked at the curling steam above the bone broth. “Yes, this is a group task and considered a business trip.”

Ge Tingting’s brows stretched for a moment, but within a few seconds, she pursed her lips again, as if she recalled something.

[Ear Person: I will try my best.] She finally typed this seriously.

Huang Jin’s expression became a little more gloomy again. Yin Ren suspected that if it weren’t for this person wearing the electronic shackles on his feet, he would definitely be thinking about escaping at this moment. In the next few seconds, Huang Jin repeatedly looked up at Lu Xiaohe, presumably trying to read her thoughts.

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo looked at each other. They probably knew in their hearts. Their execution mission was already assigned, and most likely it was a difficult one.

…With Lu Xiaohe dressed so formally, this didn’t mean that it was their last meal, right? Yin Ren thought in shock, “What’s going on with this science post?”

“Speaking of which, how are Lao Bin and the others doing?” Lord Ghost King cleared his throat and naturally guided the conversation to the newcomers. “I remember them…”

“Bang!” A loud noise came from the next table.

“Motherfucker. What did you say? I’ve put up with you for a long time.” A drunk man kicked away his stool and grabbed another man who was red all over his face and neck.

Two middle-aged men and an old man sat in the booth next to them. They had ordered a lot of extra dishes, and the table was full of bones. They were talking loudly before, so Yin Ren was forced to listen to their chatter. It was a pair of brothers with their old father.

Now they seemed to be arguing over the responsibility of the elderly.

All of a sudden, swearing and cursing at the next table flew together. The waitress rushed up to stop the fight but was shoved unceremoniously to the ground by one of them. She could only back away with tears in her eyes.

Yin Ren retracted his gaze. Sure enough, his boyfriend had already moved to call the police.

Lu Xiaohe poked the meat on her plate absentmindedly. Huang Jin saw that Zhong Chengshuo had called the police and didn’t bother making any further moves. Ge Tingting stared at the void solemnly; the evil qi in the air fluctuated slightly.

“I’m going to… Fuck! What the fuck?! Bugs, there are huge bugs!” One of the men yelled, pulling on his hand hard, scattering a few chicken bones that fell out of his clothes.

His brother wanted to take the opportunity to hit him, but suddenly his face tilted and he fell to the ground with a groan, falling to the position where he had pushed the waitress just now.

The man kicked off his shoes in embarrassment, finding a piece of broken bone inserted in his toe.

Yin Ren used the steam to cover his gesture as he gave the little girl across the table a thumbs up. Ge Tingting’s mouth curled, and she let out a deep breath.

“Stop arguing.” As soon as the two men were quiet, a weak voice came from the next table. “Stop arguing… Stop… Help…”

The old man’s voice was a bit hoarse, as if he had been repeating it for a long time. He opened his muddy eyes, and there was deep fear on his thin face.

‘How pitiful,’ Yin Ren thought, but this matter could only be handed over to the police.

Thinking so, he picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and sent it neatly to his mouth. It tasted a bit off.

The fresh beef was boiled tenderly and should have melted in his mouth, but Yin Ren chewed on it for a while, only feeling that he was chewing on soaked, rotten dough.

Next, Yin Ren’s stomach churned.

Yin Ren forcibly suppressed his retching desire, and under Zhong Chengshuo’s shocked gaze, he rushed into the bathroom.

For the first time in his life, Yin Ren locked himself in the bathroom stall and vomited in the toilet.

His body had already digested all the food, so naturally he couldn’t spit anything out, but discomfort swept through his body. Yin Ren’s limbs were numb, and his head was a little dizzy.

…What’s going on?

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Xiao Yin: Then I will take advantage of the situation and ask for sick leave (×