Chapter 91 - 86: Hidden Event: Chi Hai

Chapter 91: Chapter 86: Hidden Event: Chi Hai

Yin Zhen activated her Super Sensing to sweep the area, confirming they weren’t being followed. She then pulled out an electronic signal jammer and switched it on, and finally spread a layer of Spiritual Barrier around the two of them.

Only once all that was done did she nod at Zoe to go ahead.

"Ella told me — Jenny didn’t actually want her to say anything. May, can you use your current Identity to get me into the Guard Corps Building? I need to get Ian out."

"I’m sorry, but Ian knows all my secrets. Now that he’s been arrested, that Identity is burned. I’m a fugitive too at this point — just one who hasn’t been formally hunted down yet."

Zoe’s brow furrowed. "Then what do we do?"

"Why haven’t you gone to the Rebel Army?"

Zoe’s expression became troubled. "Ian isn’t one of their members. They won’t sacrifice their own people for him."

Yin Zhen stepped forward and gripped Zoe by the shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes.

"I’ll help you with Ian, but there’s something I need your help with in return. Both of those things depend on us trusting each other."

"May, what are you even talking about? Of course I trust you. I’ve been doing some reading lately, and I’ve come to a new understanding of what we are to each other — from a biological genetics standpoint, we should be family."

Yin Zhen gave a small nod and released her grip. "Alright. What I’m about to tell you might be hard to wrap your head around, but every word of it is true. Ian’s arrest is a trap — the person pulling the strings is after you. You are the protagonist of this world, and if you die in your own world, the entire world will be destroyed along with you."

Zoe’s pupils flickered.

"I’m an intruder who came into your world, and in the same way, your world is currently invading mine. I’ve already made my choice — I’m going to protect my world. But the protagonist of my world was indirectly responsible for the deaths of my family, and I intend to kill her. I’ve figured it all out. The only way to save my world and get my revenge is to kill her here."

Zoe opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"So our goals align — rescue Ian, and take out the person behind all of this. To do that, I need to pretend I’m on her side, and I need you to act as bait so we can land a killing blow at the critical moment."

The shock in Zoe’s eyes slowly gave way to confusion, and then confusion shifted into a focused, concentrated effort to understand.

"I wish Ian were here." Zoe lowered her head, her expression heavy with sadness. "He’d know how to explain all this complicated stuff with the simplest analogy."

Yin Zhen gripped Zoe’s shoulders again.

"Zoe, no one can be your crutch forever. When you’re backed into a corner, the only person who can save you is yourself."

Zoe nodded, still a little dazed.

"I understand. May, I know you’re looking out for me, just like Ian does. So what do we do next? Specifically?"

"Victor and Ian go way back — Ian may be interrogated, but his life won’t be in danger. For now, I need you to sit tight and wait while I figure out exactly what the person behind this is planning before we make our next move."

Yin Zhen paused, then lowered her voice.

"One more thing — since you got back from the drilling platform, have you seen that white creature again?"

"You saw it too?" Zoe’s eyes went wide.

Yin Zhen nodded. "Yes. Do you know what it is?"

Zoe nodded, then shook her head, looking conflicted. "I brought it up with Ian once. I told him it felt familiar to me — warm, like... a mother. But Ian said the mother who created us is somewhere in the deepest level beneath the Saint Group. He also said that creature might be connected to the origin of the Blood Plague."

"He said that over twenty years ago, the three great families dredged a crimson skeleton up from the ocean floor. While studying it, they discovered the secret to human immortality, and then..."

Zoe scratched her head in frustration.

"Anyway, it was because of that crimson skeleton that the Blood Plague broke out. The entire world was plunged into darkness for three full days. Under blood-red moonlight, all of humanity fell into a spreading sleep. Those who woke first became Vampires and bit the others, and that was how human civilization collapsed."

"Ian said the white creature might be trying to find that crimson skeleton. Both you and I carry biological genes from it — and the only way to unravel that mystery is to go to the deepest level beneath the Saint Group. Ian was originally working on a plan to find a way to sneak me in. He knows far more of the details than I do."

The moment Zoe finished speaking, a system chime sounded in Yin Zhen’s head.

[Hidden Event Triggered: Chi Hai]

Yin Zhen: ???

That’s it? Where’s the actual event description?

Didn’t think it through again? This thing reads like a dropped web novel with no ending.

Whatever. Deal with the most pressing problem first — there might not even be a chance to complete this hidden event.

"Got it. Does the Rebel Army know any of this?"

Zoe shook her head. "Ian told me not to tell them. But I wanted to tell you."

Yin Zhen nodded. "Take me to whoever’s in charge of the Rebel Army. If the person behind all this wants to muddy the waters, I’ll help her stir them into a storm."

"Okay. Follow me."

Zoe pushed open the glass door of the hair salon, and the little bell above it gave a soft chime.

The shop had no customers. A tall, middle-aged woman stepped out from the back room — she had a head of vintage, voluminous waves, mixed-heritage features, and an air of composed, seasoned elegance.

"Jenny, this is May. My best friend."

Yin Zhen handed over the business card the Mechanic’s boss had given her. Jenny’s gaze lingered briefly on the black mechanical mask covering Yin Zhen’s face, then she gestured toward one of the styling chairs.

"Let’s change your hair color first. What color do you want?"

Yin Zhen glanced at Zoe. "Red. The same red as Zoe’s."

Jenny called toward the back room, "Ella, mix up a batch of red dye."

"On it, boss."

Zoe broke into a smile. "I’ll go help — matching it to my hair will get the color right."

Yin Zhen glanced toward the back. Through the curtain, she could only make out a woman working busily at some kind of machine — no way to see her face.

A stranger walks into the shop and she doesn’t even come out to take a look? Someone that timid could only be a... Player.

Jenny walked to the front door and flipped the sign to Closed. The previously transparent glass instantly turned a frosted, opaque white. She settled into the seat behind Yin Zhen, made no mention of the mask, and lifted her hands to examine Yin Zhen’s hair.

"You need to rescue Dr. Ian."

As Yin Zhen spoke, she erected a Spiritual Barrier to ensure that her conversation with Jenny couldn’t be overheard by Ella in the back.

Jenny raised an eyebrow but made no move to break through the Spiritual Barrier. "We tried to recruit him, but he refused. His allegiances were never clear — he was never on our side. We have no reason to sacrifice our own people for him."

The Rebel Army lacked a reason to rescue Ian. So Yin Zhen would give them one.

"He’s already found a way to cure the Blood Plague and turn the Blood Clan back into humans."

"What did you just say?!"

Jenny’s voice cracked with barely contained shock.

Yin Zhen ran her fingers through her short black hair in front of the mirror. "You want to overthrow the Eternal Council. You want to restore this world to what it was — no Blood Clan, no Dusk People, no Blood Feeding Grounds. That’s what you’re fighting for, isn’t it?"

Jenny said nothing.

Yin Zhen tried a different angle. "Then ask yourself — why would the Council suddenly order the arrest of a doctor who is critically important to the company, who oversees several major research projects, and who happens to be a sworn brother to the Deputy Commander of the Guard Team? Doing that means making enemies of three factions at once. Why would they risk it?"

Jenny’s brow tightened, then smoothed out. Something shifted in her eyes.

"The Saint Group has always refused to release its Blood Plague research data. If Ian really had found a way... so that’s why he was suddenly arrested. He’d struck at the very foundation that the entire Blood Clan society is built on."