118: Chapter 118 Social Anxiety and Social Ox

Hearing the screech of brakes, Supervisor Song looked up and saw that besides Li Yu and Chen Qing, his sister was also there.

He said nothing, simply nodding at Li Yu.

"Get them settled first. I'll wait here for you and smoke a cigarette while I'm at it."

He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, shook one out, and stuffed it into his mouth with trembling fingers.

"Alright."

Li Yu did not press for details; he knew that the more serious the situation, the more evident it was.

Entering the company, one could see unconscious and injured beasts being wheeled toward various corridors or elevators everywhere, the thick stench of blood filling the entire lobby.

"Let's go, let's head upstairs."

Li Yu said, walking in front, with Chen Qing and Li Meng following closely behind.

Seventh Floor, Hall 5.

As soon as Li Yu walked in, he saw several Breeders changing into white lab coats and striding outside. They greeted Li Yu as soon as they saw him.

"Li Yu, you're here too."

"Yeah, how's the situation?" Li Yu asked.

"Not good," a middle-aged man wearing pajamas under his white lab coat said with a wry smile. "There are too many out-of-control beasts. Every breeding institution, company, and even small beast clinic in Ningyang City has been forced to open. All Breeders are on duty, but even so, there aren't enough hands."

The middle-aged man was named Xu Ming, the man with dark circles under his eyes who had been the most energetic when Li Yu first came to Hall 5.

"Is Zhou Ya here?"

"She is, she just arrived too," Xu Ming pointed inside. "My patient is still waiting, I'm heading over."

"Alright, go ahead."

Bidding farewell to Xu Ming, Li Yu entered Hall 5. Others saw Li Yu and greeted him enthusiastically, some complaining about their "beauty sleep being ruined" or "what a sin."

Li Meng followed behind, eyes wide with surprise. After a long while, she tugged on Chen Qing's arm and whispered, "Hey, Sister Chen Qing, my brother seems quite important here."

The last time she came with Li Yu was when treating the Spirit Probing Armor; at that time, Li Yu hadn't been officially promoted yet.

"He is the only Senior Cultivator in Hall 5; his rank is above the others," Chen Qing explained.

"So that's how it is. My brother is awesome!"

Li Meng nodded blankly, subconsciously puffing out her chest, telling herself not to show weakness and not to lose face for the family's Senior Cultivator.

Li Yu went straight to find Zhou Ya, who had just put down her backpack and was hurriedly putting on her white lab coat.

"Zhou Ya."

"Li Yu, good evening."

"I'm afraid it's almost daytime," Li Yu said. "I need your help with something."

"Go ahead," Zhou Ya said, looking serious.

"Help me look after my sister. Also, her beast has a few broken ribs; please treat it. Until I return, have her stay with you."

Although the crisis inside the room had been resolved, there were out-of-control beasts everywhere outside.

His sister's injuries hadn't fully healed, and her beast was unconscious. Li Yu really wasn't at ease leaving her home alone, but he would be busy now and probably wouldn't be able to take care of her.

Leaving her with Zhou Ya was just right... except for the social anxiety.

"Ah? Me?"

Zhou Ya was suddenly startled, pointing at herself with a hint of panic in her eyes.

Getting along with people had always been a major difficulty for her.

Otherwise, why would it be that when Li Yu was her assistant, the two of them barely spoke a word all day?

Suddenly being asked to look after someone, it was impossible not to panic.

"Yes, you," Li Yu said sincerely. "I don't trust anyone else. Can you do it?"

This is... trust?

Li Yu's sudden trust caused Zhou Ya's brain to crash; she had no time to think about her social anxiety or whether she was capable of the task.

Just like that, before Zhou Ya even understood the situation, she agreed.

"Okay, no problem."

"Really? That's great! Thank you, Zhou Ya. When this is all over, I'll treat you to a meal."

Li Yu was overjoyed and turned to instruct Li Meng: "Her name is Zhou Ya, my assistant, and also a Junior Cultivator. Stay with her the whole time until I come back. She's a very good person, just a bit socially anxious. Don't scare her, understand?"

"Socially anxious, huh..."

Li Meng's eyes lit up, her pupils darting slightly, and a strange light appeared in her gaze as she looked at Zhou Ya.

"Did you hear me?" Li Yu frowned.

"Got it, got it." Li Meng chuckled, turned, and latched onto Zhou Ya's arm, introducing herself: "Hello, Sister Zhou Ya, I'm my brother's sister. Please take care of me."

In an instant, Zhou Ya stiffened, goosebumps rising.

Li Yu didn't notice this. Seeing the two of them "getting familiar" so quickly, he took Chen Qing out of Hall 5. As she left, Chen Qing looked back.

She saw the "SOS" signal in the eyes of Zhou Ya, the big social anxiety sufferer. Unfortunately, she was just a weak Guardian, unable to help.

She could only pray silently in her heart that Zhou Ya wouldn't be played to pieces by Li Meng.

...

Arriving downstairs at the company, they found Supervisor Song, who looked grave, enveloped in a cloud of smoke—he looked like the ancient Greek god in charge of secondhand smoke.

Li Yu looked at the seven or eight cigarette butts at his feet and frowned.

"What happened?" Li Yu asked.

Supervisor Song turned his head, saw the two of them, snuffed out the cigarette in his hand, tossed it aside, and said: "Let's go first, I'll explain on the way."

Going to the parking lot, Supervisor Song wanted to drive, but was stopped by Li Yu. After all, Supervisor Song currently had one arm wrapped in a bandage.

Driving with one arm—Supervisor Song might dare to drive, but Li Yu didn't dare to ride.

"Chen Qing, you drive."

"Alright."

"Supervisor Song, get in!"

"Alright, sorry for the trouble."

After getting in, following the car's navigation, Chen Qing started the vehicle.

Supervisor Song and Li Yu sat in the back.

Supervisor Song looked at the driver's seat and sighed inexplicably: "The most correct thing I've done this year is finding you a good Guardian."

Chen Qing: "..."

Li Yu: "..."

Let's just say, he really didn't know what had happened, otherwise, he wouldn't have said such a thing even if it killed him.

A good Guardian?

It really is good, coming for his own life.

If they hadn't developed feelings, who knows if he would even be able to be pieced back together right now.

"Don't disbelieve it," Supervisor Song glanced at Li Yu's blood-stained clothes. "If it weren't for the Guardian, I'm afraid neither you nor your sister would have necessarily survived tonight's attack."

"Yes, yes, yes," Li Yu nodded, pressing further: "So what exactly happened? Why would beasts ignore the contract and riot, harming people? And what about your arm?"

Li Yu had his guesses, but they were just guesses after all.

"The matter is simple..."

Supervisor Song told them what he knew.

It was about the same as what Li Yu had guessed.

Caused by a beast tide.

But the more detailed and accurate information was: a powerful blood-red monster arrived at the northern wall. After the monster was killed, its flesh dissolved, triggering a massive explosion.

The exploded flesh contained something suspected to be a neurotoxin, which blocked the contract mark, twisted the beasts' consciousness, and caused the beasts to fall into a frenzied state.

Thus causing this catastrophe.

It was the north side, not all the walls. One-fourth of the participating Beast Tamers had their beasts lose control.

"As for my arm..."

Supervisor Song's expression darkened, and he said, "My beast also got contaminated by the toxic blood and went crazy. I couldn't bear to kill it, so I let it bite off a few chunks of flesh."

Li Yu watched the chaotic scene flashing by outside the window and asked: "Where are we going now?"

"The Research Institute, for a meeting." Supervisor Song's expression was serious: "We need to deal with this damn toxin!"