87: out of control

Jincheng New District.

Inside a secluded villa.

You Jinghong lit a cigarette, and the room was filled with smoke, obscuring his face, leaving only a pair of cold eyes visible.

He extinguished the cigarette butt, then You Jinghong pulled out his phone and decisively dialed a number.

The call connected, but there was no sound on the other end, only silent breathing.

“The higher-ups are about to find this place. Either stop the experiment and clean up the evidence, or I’ll personally arrest you,” You Jinghong said, his voice devoid of any emotion.

“You Jinghong, did you take all those years of money for nothing?” A sneer came from the other end of the line.

“How much of the resources for your Beast Taming growth were provided by our money? Just stall for us for three more days! I’ll have someone send you another batch of resources.”

You Jinghong said, “It’s too late. The inspection team just arrived in the New District this morning. And don’t think this can threaten me. We only have a purely transactional relationship, and I’m not your subordinate! I’m calling you out of respect for our decades of cooperative friendship, advising you to look out for yourself.”

“Three days! No, two days, just give me two more days!” The voice on the other end was somewhat frantic.

Decades of effort, and success was almost within reach.

How could he bear to give up something he had worked on for nearly half his life now? How could he be willing!

“If the inspection team finds you, it’s not just you; I’ll be finished too,” You Jinghong said chillingly. “I’m giving you one last day. If you can’t handle it after one day, I’ll handle it for you!”

He cut the call.

You Jinghong closed his eyes and lit another cigarette for himself.

Actually, he didn't like smoking.

Although nicotine could make him feel excited, this kind of overwhelming excitement easily affected his judgment.

He only smoked occasionally when under immense pressure.

The wisps of smoke from the burning cigarette tip drifted past his nose, obscuring his vision, and with his eyes bloodshot, he fell into a memory.

In a small, idyllic countryside town, during the hot days of July, a group of children whose faces he could no longer clearly remember gathered together.

The child in the very center was holding a very large frog-like Beast Taming, and the frog-like Beast Taming had a slender small snake in its mouth.

He enviously reached out and secretly touched it, but was discovered by a tall boy next to him.

Grabbing his arm, “Wang Dazhuang, You Aizi touched your Beast Taming.”

“You orphan, born but not raised by a mother, who told you to touch my Beast Taming!” The chubby boy in the middle glared.

“I heard Bird-eating Frog can eat animals. How about we put his head in?”

“That’s not good, is it?”

“It’s fine, just scare him. It’s his fault for touching it.”

The causes of childhood bullying were always inexplicable: being poor, ugly, timid, unsociable… even the bullies’ desire to show their superiority counted as a reason.

You Jinghong’s hand, holding the cigarette, trembled slightly as he exhaled a deep puff of thick smoke.

“What are you doing?!”

With a shout, the children surrounding him scattered like birds, and his head was removed from the Bird-eating Frog’s mouth.

He only felt a pair of large hands cup his shoulders.

Dazed from the Bird-eating Frog’s large mouth, he looked up and only saw a weathered, creased face, and a dazzling star above his head—so bright!

“Whose child are you? Who are your parents?”

“My mother is You Qin.”

“Oh, a child from the You family. I’ll take you home.”

“Mm.”

Looking down, he suddenly saw a dying small snake on the ground nearby.

He carefully picked up the small snake from the ground and put it in his pocket.

“Hmm? Is this your Beast Taming?”

“My… mine.”

The officer chuckled and said nothing.

The moon shone through the window onto the small bed, and the child by the bed carefully applied medicine to the small snake on the table with a cotton swab.

Having recovered some energy, the black-scaled small snake turned its head and quietly looked at the child, then glanced at the medicine bottle nearby.

Flicking its tongue, the small snake was unusually quiet.

Early the next morning, the child found the small snake on the table had disappeared, and stood up from the bed in a panic and disappointment.

The rustling sound behind him made him turn sharply, only to see a slender black shadow quietly emerging from the gap beside his pillow.

“Cough, cough, cough… Mom only worries about one thing: what will you do after I’m gone?”

The dying woman on the bed took out a passbook and placed it in the youth’s hand.

“All of Mom’s money is saved here. The password is your birthday.” The woman gasped for breath, as if using her last strength, “Jinghong, you must live well. Mom… Mom is sorry. You are so smart, so sensible, you shouldn’t have been born into my family, you shouldn’t have had me as your mother.”

The woman’s rough hand tightly gripped the youth’s hand, and even at the end, she didn’t close her eyes.

The youth stood by the bed with a sorrowful expression, tears still warm dropping onto the woman’s hand, yet unable to bring back her warmth.

His pale lips trembled incessantly, “I… I won’t cry anymore. I’ll never cry again. I must become a person above others. I will, I will… I will build the most glorious tomb for you in front of everyone in town. And I will make that man kneel before your tomb, Mom!!!”

He fiercely extinguished the cigarette butt with his thumb.

The scorching pain, instead, brought a hint of satisfaction to You Jinghong’s face.

He tried to calm his quickening breath.

So many years had passed, and he had thought he no longer cared, but the deeply etched memories were like wounds on his heart.

The more he scraped, the more it hurt.

He hadn't climbed higher yet, so how could he allow anyone to destroy his vow?

You Jinghong’s eyes were sinister, like a cold viper.

He decisively pulled out his phone and dialed a number, “Hello, is this the inspection team? I am You Jinghong, Deputy Director of the Jincheng New District Tactical Department! I want to apply for self-examination and report… myself! I am willing to surrender all ill-gotten gains and provide valuable intelligence to atone for my crimes.”

After hanging up the phone, You Jinghong muttered to himself, “Chairman Shen, we’ve known each other for so many years, just help me one last time.”

The project leader walked in from the hall and said to the young researcher, “Pack up, pack everything valuable.”

“So fast?”

The young researcher was stunned. Although he had thought it might blow up, he didn't expect it to be so soon. He hadn't even been there for half a month, had he? Was the company going to be gone?

“It’s not really related to us, is it?”

The young researcher worried if he would be arrested.

Boom!

A huge explosion sound came from deeper inside again.

The project leader urged, “Pack up all the valuable things in the lab. We’re leaving directly.”

The young researcher seemed to realize at this point that his mentor was telling him to leave directly with him?

Was he preparing to run away?

“Hmph, I never thought I would be deceived and lured here by unscrupulous entrepreneurs to conduct illegal experiments!” The project leader said with deep remorse.

“I wasn’t involved in the core business, only responsible for some external work, which is why I was kept in the dark until now. You can testify for me, right?” The project leader suddenly looked at the young researcher.

The young researcher opened his mouth, “Mm.”

“Then hurry up and pack. The experimental equipment here is not cheap. They are all high-end products on the market. Any single set taken out is enough to cover half a year of your salary.”

“Human.”

The hawk-faced, human-bodied monster, with shackles on its feet, spoke.

“Hmm?” The young researcher, who was packing, paused and looked back at the monster.

“Danger.” The hawk-faced, human-bodied monster said hoarsely.

As soon as the words fell.

Boom!!!

An even louder explosion, far exceeding the previous one, came again.

The ceiling rattled, and the lights in the laboratory flickered erratically.

Buzz—

A piercing alarm sounded in the laboratory.

Not trying to whitewash, but I feel that every character is multifaceted, and childhood is the most important period for shaping a person's character.