Chapter 48: Preview
Li Jiahong didn’t even have time for a shred of resistance before signing an unknown contract without reading a single line completely. Lin Ling called it a labor contract, but Li Jiahong clearly saw the words “body” and “contract” in the top line of the title on the contract document.
That was definitely a deed of sale!
Li Jiahong knew he had no choice and could only accept his fate. Afterward, led by the gentle Wei Jiang, Li Jiahong went to the employee office to pick up his one-of-a-kind work clothes.
After Li Jiahong left, Yu Lianyun glanced at Haimofen, who politely deferred with courtesy: “Ladies first. If you have business, please go ahead.”
Yu Lianyun smiled slightly, nodded, and didn’t stand on ceremony with the great musician. She then mustered her courage, stepped forward, and asked Lin Ling respectfully: “Boss, I’d like to ask, are Yao Zhenzhen and my father… are they okay?”
“You mean those two incarnations of blessing?” A strange smile appeared on Lin Ling’s face. “They won’t die. They’re just temporarily dispersed in body. They’ll come back someday.”
Hearing Lin Ling’s words, Yu Lianyun breathed a sigh of relief. “I see…”
“Looks like you like them a lot now?” Lin Ling asked with a smile.
Yu Lianyun gave an awkward smile, neither denying nor admitting it. She just said: “I’ve gotten used to their being around. If they’re not by my side, I’m pretty uncomfortable. And… they can help me investigate cases and guard against danger.”
“Don’t worry, they like you a lot too—like enough to eat you up.” Lin Ling winked at her. Seeing her shiver with fear at his words, he smiled even more happily, thoroughly satisfied. Then, as if suddenly remembering something important, he said, “Oh yeah, almost forgot to feed the new little cutie. Otherwise, it’ll starve to death…”
Lin Ling stretched his arms and walked to the counter. Yu Lianyun gritted her teeth and followed. She was very curious about this “new little cutie.” It sounded like a pet.
But she remembered Lin Ling already had a cat, and he seemed to love that cat a lot—often holding it. So she thought he was a cat lover, and the first new pet she could think of should also be a cat.
However, after following him, Yu Lianyun discovered that a large section of the display cabinet behind the small shop’s counter had been cleared out at some point, replaced by a huge fish tank—square and square. The water inside was clear and clean. At the bottom of the fish tank lay a model of a black city ruins. A strangely shaped octopus the size of an adult fist floated in the center of the fish tank.
The reason it was called strange was that this octopus didn’t look like the familiar ones everyone knew. Its tentacles were even denser, and even one tentacle had what looked like soaked seaweed—dense with many smaller tendrils. Some tentacles were tangled together, forming a limb structure like a quadrupedal reptile.
Of course, the tentacles were just one of the strange parts of this octopus. Most eye-catching was its huge head. The head wasn’t smooth and full like a common octopus; instead, it was covered in pimples of protrusions, with slit-like wrinkles on the protrusions. Just looking at it made one’s heart crawl.
Yu Lianyun felt that the octopus’s appearance and the ecological environment set up in this fish tank were overly familiar, so much so that before she could even fully see the octopus’s appearance, she started thinking of backing out. But that curiosity of the ignorant, ignoring life and death, made her unable to resist and she still followed behind Lin Ling, leaning in to look closer.
The octopus floated quietly in the water with dull eyes. When it saw someone approaching—especially Lin Ling’s gentle, sunny smile—its dazed eyes slowly filled with fear. It twisted its body excitedly, constantly spitting bubbles, and frantically squeezed toward the edge of the fish tank, terrified as if seeing a natural enemy.
After clearly seeing the frightened octopus’s appearance, Yu Lianyun’s emotions surged just like the octopus’s. She panicked and stepped back, accidentally bumping into the counter. Her elbow hit the potted plant on the counter, and she hurriedly steadied it. But when she saw the lycoris radiata on the potted plant she was holding—the one that had given her countless nightmares—her heart collapsed even more.
Suddenly, the lycoris radiata sprouted thin flesh strips from root to flower. In the dim flower core, a shiny black eyeball suddenly opened. Yu Lianyun forgot to breathe, clutched her choked throat, and staggered. Fortunately, Haimofen stepped forward to support her.
“Are you okay?” Haimofen asked with a smile. The cold blade gloves reflected chilly light, and the gentle knife back softly brushed the tears from the corner of her eye.
Yu Lianyun forced an ugly smile. In comparison, Haimofen’s elegant killer image was even more reassuring.
Look, when wiping tears for the frightened girl, he even used the knife back to avoid hurting her. He was so gentle and gentlemanly. He really… Yu Lianyun wanted to cry to death.
“Kuthuen…” After coming out of the employee office, Li Jiahong saw everyone gathered around a fish tank. When he noticed the creature moving in the fish tank, his facial expression changed.
Although General Zeng’s divine weapon descending like a god to “subdue demons and monsters” was impressive, that didn’t mean Kuthuen hadn’t left him with heavy psychological trauma.
“Sigh, don’t be scared. Just treat it as a mutated octopus fished out from the East Sea nuclear wastewater area. No big deal.” Lin Ling comforted casually. He used tongs to take a pile of black rule fragments from a collection box next to the fish tank and said, “I’ve even removed its wings. It can’t fly out of the fish tank.”
“…Boss, you’re so thoughtful,” Li Jiahong said with a stiff smile.
Lin Ling said naturally: “My neighbor Old Liu used to say I was a gentle, sunny big boy too. You can see it, which means you’re like Old Liu—good judge of character.”
Everyone: “…”
After saying that, Lin Ling tossed the wings into the fish tank, then picked up the collection box and poured the distinctly granular spherical objects inside, which emitted an unidentified foul smell, into the fish tank.
Seeing one ferocious eyeball after another sink a distance into the water tank before floating up like balloons, Yu Lianyun’s spirit collapsed completely, and her figure suddenly vanished from the spot.
“Huh?” Haimofen was stunned. He’d thought there was a chance tonight to have a good chat with the beautiful female forensic doctor, but she disappeared just like that.
Seeing this, Lin Ling couldn’t help sighing: “Sigh, scared off already? Looks like her training in the mysterious group isn’t enough.”
Then he looked at the frowning Li Jiahong with a grin and remarked: “Still, our shop’s Xiao Li performed well. As expected of the employee I picked. That mental fortitude is tough.”
Hearing Boss Lin’s praise, Li Jiahong’s smile twisted even more. His gaze then glanced at the fish tank and saw Kuthuen, now a small octopus, frantically tearing and biting at the things Boss Lin had just poured in—whether eyeballs or wings.
If the wings were Kuthuen’s own, then the eyeball feed was probably self-sufficient too.
Noticing Kuthuen’s wrinkled head again, he could almost confirm that those shriveled, sunken wrinkles were eyes that had lost their eyeballs one by one.
Thinking of the dimensional monster that had once single-handedly destroyed a city of a dimensional civilization, now reduced to such a mindless, lowly evil beast, Li Jiahong didn’t find Boss Lin’s methods cruel. Instead, he felt Boss Lin’s abilities were heaven-defying, and his respect grew even more.
Lin Ling looked Li Jiahong up and down. His original full head of white hair had been specially dyed black. Plus, after resting and recuperating these days, his complexion was ruddy, his forehead full, and health brought more vitality to his appearance, making him look much younger. Now with this brown long robe and a deep blue vest over it, he actually had the air of a promising merchant from the modern era.
“Looks good. This is your employee uniform from now on. How does it feel? Satisfied?” Lin Ling asked with a smile.
Li Jiahong pulled his gaze from the fish tank and said sincerely: “Very fitting, very satisfied. It’s like it was tailor-made for me.” He couldn’t help touching the clothes. Though they looked like cloth, the texture felt smoother than a woman’s skin, light as if he weren’t wearing anything.
“Good. From now on, wear this every night and mind the shop here on duty,” Lin Ling said with a laugh.
Li Jiahong nodded in agreement.
Finally finding a chance to speak, Haimofen stepped forward and said: “Boss Lin, from what you say, does that mean you’ll have time to go out more in the future?”
“Yeah, always cooped up in one place gets uncomfortable. I’ve had enough of being a shut-in.” Lin Ling let out a light sigh, as if recalling his past. “The places I stayed were either pitch black or dim. Sometimes I want to come out and see the world.”
Hearing this, Haimofen’s eyes lit up. He placed his left hand on his right shoulder, bowed, and said: “In that case, if you don’t mind, I hope you’ll come to my concert. My humble work may not be as pleasing as the heavenly music you’ve heard, Boss, but it’s my heartfelt creation. Please give me some pointers after listening.”
“Concert?” Lin Ling blinked, then smiled. “Sure, but are you holding a midnight concert?”
“Yes, this will be a concert specially prepared for you, Boss. The time is naturally chosen with special care.” Haimofen said seriously. “Next time I visit the small dwelling during the day, I’ll bring tickets. Oh right, may I ask when you plan to go out, Boss, so my driver can pick you up?”
“No need to trouble the driver. No need for special tickets either. Just save me a seat, and I’ll show up as promised.” Lin Ling waved his hand and said with a light laugh.
Haimofen had 100% trust in Lin Ling’s words. Since Boss Lin said so, he would respect his wishes.
Then, Haimofen looked at Wei Jiang and Li Jiahong and said with a smile: “If you two have time, you’re welcome to come listen to my concert too.”
Wei Jiang waved with a smile: “I’ll pass. There’s a lot to do in the shop, and I’m restricted every time I go out. Can’t just go casually.”
Li Jiahong gave a bitter smile too: “I have night duty, so probably no chance.”
Haimofen nodded understandingly to Wei Jiang, then smiled at Li Jiahong: “My concert is a full-region tour. Boss Lin is hearing my final stop in Laitai City. I can invite you to some of the other shows.”
“Really?” Li Jiahong’s eyes lit up. He already loved Haimofen’s works and counted as Haimofen’s fan. Plus, the daughter he adopted now shared his interests and liked Haimofen’s classical music too. With a chance to hear the master perform live, he was naturally thrilled.
Then, Li Jiahong said a bit embarrassed: “Teacher Hai, I have a daughter too. She really likes your music. Would it be okay if…”
Haimofen caught Li Jiahong’s meaning and laughed readily: “Of course no problem. I’ll send you two tickets. If you want, I can even send tickets to my entire full-region tour.”
“Ah, no need… One show is enough. Any performances closer to Shenzhou City?”
“Besides the finale in Laitai City, the closest to Shenzhou is the one in Cuizhu City.”
“Then please send me a ticket for that concert.”
“Minor matter. Welcome you and your daughter to come savor the music then.” Haimofen smiled, confidence in his eyes. He swore the upcoming concert would be his greatest so far—and humanity’s greatest. The piece he played would be humanity’s greatest work.
Though he’d endured countless unknown pains these years, that painful experience had let him witness the “charms” of countless “exotic music.” Genius that he was, he’d already analyzed and deconstructed many of the sound symbols he’d heard then, perfectly integrating them into his brand-new work.
“Teacher Hai, may I ask the name of your new work? Can you reveal it?” Li Jiahong asked full of expectation.
To this, Haimofen indulged his fan service and smiled: “The new work is called…《 Curse》.”
……
“Damn mysterious group!” The man glared furiously, roaring hoarsely, slamming his fists on the table, sweeping the wine glasses and famous wine on the table to the floor.
In the dim room, bright red candles illuminated three people at the round table. They were outstanding in appearance, dressed in gorgeous clothes, adorned with jewels—clearly from wealthy families, young elites of great houses.
“Now we’ve lost another abnormal god we worship.” Next to the table-pounding man, a beautiful woman in a red one-shoulder long dress said in a cold voice, gripping her goblet tightly and swirling the blood-colored red wine in it.
“This isn’t good.” A middle-aged man with a beard looked wolfish, his expression stern. “Don’t forget what our three major conglomerates’ capital was built on. The mysterious group is digging at our roots.”
“Then we’ll dig at their roots too.” The table-pounding man said viciously. His gaze swept over the other two, who both nodded in agreement.
Begging for collections, tickets, etc.~~~~
