"I understand."
Texas accepted the boss's commission without hesitation.
"But you have to investigate this quietly," the Emperor warned. "Don't make a fuss. And don't tell anyone else."
It wasn't favoritism toward Texas—everyone else simply couldn't keep secrets. If Su Yi realized the Emperor had told anyone about his resignation, he might very well grab a bucket and run in the middle of the night.
A plan succeeds through secrecy; words ruin it through leakage.
Until they uncovered the real reason Su Yi was leaving, a fourth person absolutely could not be allowed to know.
"Got it," Texas said, nodding. She left the private room.
The moment she returned to the bar counter, she heard Su Yi saying, "Earlier on deliveries, I saw two dishes with really interesting names. One was 'Sauce-Fragrant Braised Meat-Meat,' and the other was 'Meat Sausage Egg Willow.'"
Exusiai struggled not to laugh. "Has it occurred to you that it's actually braised meat, sausage, braised jelly, meat-and-egg, and meat strips?"
"Oh! That makes so much sense," Su Yi said, suddenly enlightened.
The girls burst into laughter at once, the whole counter instantly filled with cheerful, lively air.
If she'd seen Su Yi acting foolish like this a few minutes earlier, Texas would probably have let out a quiet chuckle too.
But now she understood clearly: Su Yi was just playing dumb to make people laugh.
Hah. Men's mouths—deceitful ghosts.
He'd already handed in his resignation to the boss, he was about to leave them… and he could still act like nothing was wrong.
"Texas, what did the boss want you for?" Exusiai asked casually when the gray wolf returned.
"He assigned me a task," Texas replied, offering nothing more.
No one paid it any mind. This aloof gray wolf had never been talkative.
"If you need help, just say so anytime," Su Yi offered. "Don't be polite. We're partners."
Over the next two days, Texas secretly observed Su Yi—and discovered he really was preparing to leave.
He bought military compressed biscuits, repeatedly asked about other countries' local customs and how livable they were, kept track of cross-border transportation costs… and beyond that, he started paying attention to the living conditions of infected people in the slums, learning about each country's policies and attitudes toward the infected.
Where was he going?
What was he trying to do?
After two full days of investigation with no real progress, Texas couldn't help growing anxious.
That night, after finishing dinner, Su Yi tossed the disposable bowls and chopsticks into the trash, dusted off his hands, and said, "I'm heading out for a bit."
"Take the trash with you," Croissant said. "And when you come back, grab some drinks for us. You still remember what we like, right?"
"Of course," Su Yi replied.
With that, he lifted two large bags of garbage and strolled out the door.
Texas stared after his back until it vanished completely into the night.
…
Elsewhere, at the LGD.
"They talked?" Chen Hui-jie sprang up from her desk, asking excitedly.
Xingxiong nodded hard. "They talked. I honestly didn't expect it—human experimentation. Right here in Lungmen."
Following the lead Snowy Goose had provided, they traced the chain and caught an "insider" hiding in the nightclub. After two days and two nights of interrogation, the man finally confessed: he'd been supplying materials needed for biological experiments to a research organization.
Their best guess was that the group came from Columbia.
After incidents like the Loken water tank, the Flame Demon affair, the logging camp, and more, Columbia's biological experimentation scene had been battered by public pressure—some groups disbanded, some went bankrupt.
A stubborn minority simply moved in secret to other countries and continued their work.
This land had always run on a simple principle: the victor writes the rules.
If an experiment succeeded, reputation, wealth, status, power—everything would come rushing in. Humanity and ethics could go stand in the corner.
"Once I cross the pass," the saying went, "there will be great scholars to justify me."
"Good! Very good! Excellent!" Chen Hui-jie said, barely able to contain herself.
She immediately called Su Yi, eager to share the good news.
But on the other end, Su Yi was unexpectedly calm. He only said "Congratulations," and told her that if she needed anything, she could come to him anytime—because he would be leaving Lungmen soon.
"Leaving Lungmen? Why?!" Chen Hui-jie blurted.
She had never imagined separation would come so early—so fast.
"Life is a wilderness," Su Yi said. "I want to go see more of it."
"Will you come back?" she asked.
"Maybe. Maybe not."
The call ended.
Su Yi exhaled slowly, twisted his body, and arrived in front of an abandoned warehouse.
He pushed the door open.
Inside, a Siracusan Lupo was bound tightly, ropes crisscrossing his body. An Originium knife was embedded in his shoulder, and black crystals had erupted all over him.
The Lupo—previously listless—saw Su Yi and instantly began struggling, making muffled mmph-mmph sounds through the filthy rag stuffed in his mouth.
"So it's confirmed," Su Yi said coldly. "That knife of yours really was polished from Originium shards."
He stared at the black crystals crawling over the man's body.
"What a waste. If you weren't growing those damned stones, I really would've let you live."
That night, after Texas left, Su Yi had called the police and had every Siracusan involved in the attempted assassination arrested.
Except this one.
This bastard had tried to ruin Texas—and ended up accidentally cutting Su Yi with an Originium shard blade.
Su Yi stepped closer and pulled the dirty rag from the Lupo's mouth.
"Come on!" the Lupo cackled, eyes wild. "Torture me some more! You're infected too—your day will come sooner or later!"
"I've already died once," Su Yi sneered. "You think I'm afraid of that?"
He leaned in slightly, voice flat.
"Say whatever last words you've got. I still need to contact the professionals to dispose of you."
Anyone who killed for a living knew the rule: when an infected person dies, their body collapses—turning into active Originium dust, a fresh source of infection.
"You and Texas are close, aren't you?" the Lupo hissed, grinning like a madman. "I'm really curious—if she finds out she's the reason you became infected, what face will she make? I can't wait… I really can't wait…"
He was completely broken. Two days without food or water, his senses stripped away, all he could feel was the Originium crystallization slowly, relentlessly eating him alive.
Compared to him, even a clown would look mentally stable.
"She won't find out," Su Yi said.
"I already know," a voice answered.
Texas stepped out of the darkness. Her expression was complicated as she looked at the white-haired, handsome young man. Her fist was clenched so tightly her nails dug into her palm.
Let it hurt. Let it hurt more—maybe then her heart would feel a little less unbearable.
"You followed me?" Su Yi's eyes flickered. Then, almost immediately, he pieced it together. "The Emperor told you about my resignation."
"…Yeah," Texas admitted.
She walked toward him slowly, guilt and shock and regret and grief and disbelief all surging together inside her.
A woman who never wasted words asked the one question she already knew the answer to:
"You really… became infected?"
"I wish I hadn't," Su Yi said with a smile. "But if you can get cut by Originium shards and not catch Oripathy, then I should be hauled off and sliced into samples for research."
-------
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