Xiang Lie felt uneasy under Mr. Yi's gaze, which seemed to pierce through his skin and reach his muscle fibers.
He felt less like a person and more like a rare, high-quality snowflake beef waiting to be dissected on a cutting board. And Mr. Yi was the top chef wielding a ruler and scalpel.
Mr. Yi immediately realized his own indiscretion.
He withdrew his overly intense gaze, and a gentle smile reappeared on his face, as if the previous look had been nothing more than Xiang Lie's imagination.
"I'm sorry, I was too abrupt," he said with an apologetic smile. "I imagine you've been traveling all night and must be tired. Let me have Xiao Lin arrange a room for you first. You can rest properly, and we'll discuss this later."
These words were like music to Xiang Lie's ears.
His mind was a jumble of confusion, and he desperately needed a quiet place to process all the bizarre events that had unfolded over the past 24 hours.
"Alright, thank you." Xiang Lie nodded hurriedly and followed a silver-haired girl named Xiao Lin out of the room as if escaping.
Watching Xiang Lie's slightly flustered yet imposing figure disappear at the door, Mr. Yi's smile slowly faded. He walked to the porthole and fell into deep thought.
"Squeak—"
A faint mechanical grinding sound echoed as Ling maneuvered her wheelchair in silently.
A ultra-thin tablet lay on her lap, its blue screen glowing faintly, illuminating her beaty yet expressionless face. Complex data streams flashed rapidly across the screen.
"I found it," Ling said flatly, as if stating a fact, "I temporarily hacked into the internal database of the Giant Tower Academy."
She turned the tablet toward Mr. Yi, and Xiao Lie's personal file immediately popped up on the screen.
"Xiao Lie, Giant Tower Academy, Mechanical Engineering Department, Class of 02. Average grades, neither good nor bad. Simple social circle, with only one close fitness partner. Ordinary family background, both parents are ordinary workers in the city. No special skills recorded, except..."
Ling paused, her tone growing peculiar: "Except for an almost obsessive passion for fitness, especially for the trapezius muscles."
Mr. Yi didn't turn around, merely saying indifferently, "Data is sometimes the most deceptive thing in the world."
His gaze fell on the chair where Xiang Lie had just sat, his expression deep.
"His physical condition, his strength, and... his almost instantaneous self-healing ability—can these be reflected in the data? Mo's 'militarization' consumes the host's blood and energy. An ordinary person wouldn't even have time to heal; they'd be drained dry on the spot. Yet he acts as if nothing happened."
"Perhaps we could recruit him."
Ling furrowed her delicate brows slightly upon hearing this, swiping the screen to pull up another document.
"Mr. Yi, I don't think it's likely." Her tone was calm, brimming with rational analysis. "He has friends in the city, a normal family, and a social circle. What about us?"
She gave a self-deprecating smile: "In the Bureau's records, we're defined as an 'uncontrolled hazardous organization.' Why would he give up his stable life to join us in this shadowy den, living a precarious existence?"
"Illegal?" Mr. Yi suddenly snorted coldly, turning around.
In that instant, the gentleness in his eyes vanished, replaced by a rare, icy anger that seemed to lower the temperature of the entire room.
"Hmph, those high-and-mighty gentlemen!" His voice was not loud, but it carried a bone-chilling chill. "They view us, the 'Weapon Clan,' as resources and tools to be freely disposed of! Once they capture us, they use those filthy methods to brainwash us, erasing our consciousness and turning us into mindless killing machines that only obey orders!"
"And yet they dare to call themselves 'just'!"
Ling was stunned by his sudden outburst of anger and remained silent for a moment. She rarely saw Mr. Yi lose his composure like this.
The room fell into dead silence.
After a long while, the anger in Mr. Yi's eyes slowly faded, giving way to deep fatigue and despair.
He turned his head, gazing at the darkness outside the window, and spoke in a tone tinged with self-mockery: "Haha... Yes, I forgot."
"Eating people... is our original sin. It's an unchangeable fact. We just have different stances, that's all."
His shoulders seemed to have shed a heavy burden, slumping slightly, his back appearing somewhat desolate.
Seeing Mr. Yi's rare expression of despair, Ling felt a pang of unease. She bit her lip, her usually quick mind racing to come up with a solution.
Suddenly, she seemed to think of something, and her silver eyes, which usually carried a hint of coldness, suddenly lit up!
"Mr. Yi!"
"Hm?"
"I have an idea!" Ling maneuvered her wheelchair to Mr. Yi's side, her face breaking into a sly, fox-like smile.
"Why don't we... let Mo give it a try?"
Mr. Yi froze, not understanding her meaning.
Ling's lips curled into a playful smile. She lowered her voice and spoke with the certainty of someone who had discovered a new continent:
"The way I see it, that tall guy... seems a bit... well, you know..."