His Cold and Stern Face Was Devoid of Expression, But His Thumb Lightly Brushed Against His Lips
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All day today, Jiang Lian was in an extremely irritable state.
When Zhou Jiao was by his side, he felt irritated.
When Zhou Jiao was not by his side, he felt even more irritated.
When Zhou Jiao was by his side yet carried the scent of another man, his irritation was like oil poured onto a raging fire, nearly driving him to the point where his eyes turned red.
But after completely enveloping Zhou Jiao within himself, that violent irritation disappeared, leaving only an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
Jiang Lian lowered his eyes.
Perhaps because Zhou Jiao’s head was very close to this body’s heart, his chest cavity swelled, and a dense, tingling sensation spread through him.
For a beast, any sensation it has never experienced before would trigger intense vigilance. Because in the wild, such feelings often signal poisoning or illness.
But Jiang Lian knew that this sensation came from Zhou Jiao.
She always brought him inexplicable and unfamiliar feelings.
Jiang Lian lowered his head even more.
His gaze darkened as he stared at Zhou Jiao. The blood vessels in his eyes would occasionally flood with red, only to recede just as quickly; but upon closer inspection, one would realize that they were not blood vessels at all, but engorged, writhing tendrils, restlessly contracting and extending within his eye sockets.
—He had to know what this sensation was.
Zhou Jiao finally managed to break free from Jiang Lian’s “embrace.”
Still shaken, she looked at herself, then at Jiang Lian.
…What the hell just happened?!!!
The moment she was pressed into Jiang Lian’s embrace, it was as if she had lost both her hearing and vision. All she could perceive was an indescribable warmth and security, as if she had fallen into a deep and unfathomable black slumber.
In that instant, she forgot where she was and only wanted to close her eyes and remain in that dark, comforting safety for eternity.
After escaping from his “embrace,” her chaotic mind instantly regained clarity, and the corners of her lips twitched slightly—there was no need to guess, it had to be that tentacle she had eaten acting up again. Now that the tentacle had returned to its main body, how could she not feel safe?!
But she didn’t want this kind of safety!
Zhou Jiao wiped her face with her hand. Because of her agitation, a strange flush surfaced on her cheeks.
Jiang Lian stared at the flush on her face, and the tingling in his chest cavity became even more pronounced.
His expression unreadable, he wondered—why is it that when her cheeks become flushed, I feel numb here?
Zhou Jiao remained on high alert, watching Jiang Lian closely. When she saw him take a step closer to her, she immediately stepped back. Before she could say anything, he had already reached out and gripped her neck with one hand.
Unlike the previous times when he had tried to kill her, this time, he merely held her throat—not exerting force, but not letting go either.
Like a top-tier predator keeping its prey within reach. The prey was not in immediate danger, yet the pressure was suffocating enough to make her scalp tingle.
Jiang Lian’s gaze remained fixed on Zhou Jiao’s throat. He knew that with just a little force, her face would quickly turn red, even purple.
But he could not bring himself to do it.
That was not the kind of redness he wanted.
Then what was it?
Jiang Lian’s expression gradually turned cold and grim. This feeling of not being able to find an answer made him irritated once again.
His fingers slowly moved from Zhou Jiao’s neck to her hair, gripping the back of her head.
Killing intent, irritation, and an indescribably viscous emotion crawled from his chest cavity to the tips of his fingers like ants, making his fingers so numb that he could barely grasp her hair.
—If he killed her, would this feeling disappear?
He thought indifferently, yet he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers.
Zhou Jiao was completely baffled by his action.
In the past two days, she had already become very accustomed to kissing him. Seeing him lean in, she instinctively extended her tongue, brushing it against the edge of his lips.
She had thought he would wait as before, letting her feed him her saliva; but this time, he moved like a hunting snake, swiftly capturing her tongue and sucking on it with rough, savage intensity.
Zhou Jiao’s tongue root ached from his forceful sucking.
He was like a traveler who had been parched for ten days and ten nights, tugging at her hair, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed her saliva with desperate thirst.
Not a single drop was wasted.
A thin strand of saliva trickled down from the corner of her lips. Jiang Lian caught sight of it from the corner of his eye, and at that instant, a crack split open on his body—a tentacle suddenly shot out and caught the droplet.
Zhou Jiao was nearly suffocated by his kiss.
She had no idea how much time had passed. Just when she was about to lose her breath, Jiang Lian finally released her.
His cold, stern face was expressionless, but his thumb lightly wiped his lips.
After spending some time with him, Zhou Jiao had already learned that he only made this gesture when he was extremely hungry.
Zhou Jiao’s eyelid twitched: “???”
No way? Her saliva had practically been sucked dry, and he was still hungry?
—It wasn’t hunger.
But it was a burning sensation just as intense, making his throat tighten unbearably.
The numbing fragrance that had overwhelmed the root of his tongue before was now completely gone, replaced by a near-terrifying emptiness—as if only by tearing her apart and swallowing her whole could he truly be satisfied.
Jiang Lian pressed his thumb against his lips, staring gloomily at Zhou Jiao for a long, long time, as if contemplating how to deal with her.
Something in the air seemed to be repeatedly pulling and stretching, the tension growing tighter, almost solidifying.
After a long moment, Jiang Lian spoke coldly: “Go wait for me outside.”
“…?”
Zhou Jiao felt that he was acting extremely strange today—completely unreasonable—but then she remembered that he wasn’t human, and she let go of all doubts, stepping outside to wait for him.
Almost the moment Zhou Jiao stepped out, writhing purple-black tentacles spread across the walls, floor, and ceiling.
Had Zhou Jiao turned back at this moment, she would have realized that these tentacles were ten times more terrifying than when they were in front of her—even the fine cilia on their undersides had turned as sharp and menacing as a shark’s teeth.
Jiang Lian pushed open the door to the operating room.
Xie Yueze was packing up his things, preparing to leave. Upon hearing the door open, he abruptly looked up and froze:
“…Jiang—Doctor Jiang?”
He had not expected Jiang Lian to enter, completely catching him off guard. But he was, after all, a special agent cultivated by the Biotech division. He immediately reached for the communicator in his ear, ready to report the situation to his superiors and request backup.
However, before his hand could even reach his ear, a tentacle suddenly shot out, seizing his wrist.
Xie Yueze raised his eyes in shock, only to see that the entire room was covered in purple-black tentacles. They churned, intertwined, and wriggled along the walls, floor, and ceiling. Anyone witnessing this scene would feel a chill down their spine, even though, as the tentacles squirmed, they emitted a phosphorescent blue glow, as beautiful as bioluminescent algae.
Xie Yueze opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Jiang Lian did not give him the chance.
A sharp, explosive crack rang out—his throat bone snapped.
His entire body went slack, and his head, now without support, drooped at an unnatural and terrifying angle.
At the same moment, Xie Yueze’s communicator flashed wildly, as if desperately trying to establish a connection with Jiang Lian.
Jiang Lian didn’t even spare the communicator a glance.
He closed his eyes slightly—not enough.
Killing him hadn’t alleviated the irritation in his heart.
He would try killing a few more.
On the other end of the communicator, the higher-ups watched everything unfold with deep suspicion.
These people were all agents of the Biotech Division. Unlike ordinary employees, their chips were customized combat implants designed to react to their hormone levels, allowing them to activate different enhancements. Some could even increase neuromuscular recruitment efficiency, enabling their muscles to exert over 95% of their full strength.
In short, their bodies had all undergone biochemical modifications—some to such an extreme degree that they could no longer be classified as “humans” in a biological sense.
It was impossible for them to die so easily.
And yet, Jiang Lian slaughtered them as effortlessly as cutting grass.
The higher-ups could only watch helplessly as, with every room Jiang Lian entered, the chilling sounds of screams and snapping necks followed.
Some tried to resist. They moved in a tight formation, standing back to back—one hand gripping a firearm, the other holding riot shields. With trained precision, they unleashed a storm of bullets toward Jiang Lian.
These bullets were not ordinary rounds but high-temperature alloy projectiles heated to over a thousand degrees. Upon impact with a target, they would instantly release ultra-low-temperature liquid, causing rapid cooling.
Even the sturdiest mutated creatures’ exoskeletons could not withstand such an attack.
—If Jiang Lian were an ordinary mutant, it would have been nearly impossible for him to survive such an airtight assault.
But he was not.
A tentacle suddenly shot into one of the agents’ bodies. In less than two seconds, it had pierced through every single person in the group, including their riot shields. The tentacle swung them up and down like ragdolls, sending blood splattering in all directions. The sickening sound of bones snapping echoed continuously—it was a scene straight out of a horror film.
The higher-ups’ expressions shifted wildly as they watched.
—They had still underestimated Jiang Lian’s power.
There was no time to lose. They had to quickly synthesize Zhou Jiao’s scent in order to deal with Jiang Lian.
With that thought, the higher-up slammed the monitoring screen shut.
Thus, he did not see it.
The first person who had been impaled by the tentacle suddenly jerked his head up in a stiff, unnatural motion. His gaze flickered as he stared toward the door, frame by frame, like a broken machine.
“So… fragrant…” he murmured. “So fragrant, so fragrant, so fragrant… She smells so good…”
Jiang Lian’s expression turned terrifyingly cold in an instant.
His voice was icy as he said:
“—You dare to covet her?”
As his final word fell, every bone in the man’s body bulged beneath his skin, as if some horrific force was forcing his skeleton to separate from his flesh.
One by one, his blood-soaked joints tore through his skin, breaking free inch by inch.
The man didn’t even have time to let out a scream before he lost all his bones, his body collapsing into a thin layer of human skin that drifted lightly to the ground.
At the same time, Zhou Jiao was outside, waiting, feeling a bit bored.
Amid the endless piles of garbage, she spotted a Christian light sign—its neon tubes forming the figure of Jesus.
She wanted to laugh but couldn’t.
This wretched city, even the suffering Jesus was pieced together from the neon lights of a nightclub.
Maybe, in the end, her final resting place would be just like this Jesus—lying in a pile of trash.
Or maybe, her fate would be even worse.
Zhou Jiao was a person with a firm will.
From the moment she discovered Jiang Lian’s true nature, she knew exactly what her goal was.
—To survive.
She had to survive in the hands of this monster.
But to survive, should she cooperate with the company?
On one side was a man-eating monster.
On the other side was a man-eating corporation.
Who would truly harm her?
Where should she aim her blade?
For several minutes, Zhou Jiao stared at the neon-lit Jesus amidst the garbage heap, motionless.
She didn’t know how much time had passed—perhaps only a few seconds—when a silver light flashed in her eyes.
She sent Xie Yueze a message:
【I’m willing to cooperate with you, but you need to offer me enough favorable conditions.】
Two minutes later, she received a reply:
【One week from now, at 8 PM, bring Jiang Lian to Pier No. 7. We’ll be waiting for you there. Once the job is done, we’ll transfer fifty million New Yen into your account—enough for you to live worry-free for ten lifetimes.】
Zhou Jiao looked at the message and raised an eyebrow slightly.
At that moment, a cold weight pressed against her. A chill spread across her back—Jiang Lian had walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her from behind, burying his head into the crook of her neck and taking in a deep breath.
Zhou Jiao caught a strong scent of blood, her pupils constricting slightly—Jiang Lian had killed someone.
At that moment, she finally confirmed her own thoughts.
That’s right. Up until now, only Jiang Lian had made her feel an indescribable thrill.
And she knew very well—this kind of thrill was something only Jiang Lian could give her.
But she couldn’t spend her entire life letting Jiang Lian grip her throat just for the sake of a fleeting excitement.
Cooperating with the company was no different from making a deal with a tiger.
But if she didn’t try, how would she know who would end up wearing that tiger’s skin in the end?
Just then, a damp chill brushed against her ear—it was Jiang Lian’s cold breath.
He asked, “…What is skin hunger?”
Zhou Jiao: “………………”
Shit.
She had almost forgotten about that!