100: Chapter 100 is all coincidences, but it's not a coincidence.

In the conference room, no one spoke for a moment.

It was as if someone had sucked all the air out of the entire underground command center.

The thermos in Chen Jianguo's hand froze in mid-air.

Ye Zhiwei lifted her head slightly.

The white cloth covering her eyes moved without a breeze, its edges trembling slightly.

Su Yao's complexion changed in an instant.

It wasn't just pale.

It was an emptiness as if the color had been forcibly drained from her face.

She stared at the communicator in Executive Jiang Xu's hand, her voice sounding as if it were squeezed through her teeth.

"What did you say?"

On the other end of the line, Gu Lang sounded as if he were hiding in some narrow corner.

In the background, the students' discussions about surviving the disaster could be faintly heard.

Someone was asking if the tsunami was really gone.

Someone was complaining about the price hike of bread at the convenience store.

And someone else was asking why the restroom smelled so bad today.

Gu Lang lowered his voice.

But no matter how much he lowered it, he couldn't hide the terror in his tone.

"I said, Su Yun might be The Rancher from the East Sea."

Boom.

This sentence didn't actually produce an explosion.

But falling in the conference room, it felt heavier than when the Mirage of the Sea Kingdom plunged into the sea earlier.

Su Yao stood up abruptly.

Her chair was knocked back half a meter, the legs scraping against the floor and making a harsh sound.

"Impossible."

She said it too quickly.

Too fast to be a judgment.

It was more like a sister instinctively denying a nightmare.

Executive Jiang Xu did not speak immediately.

He just lowered his eyes to look at the phone screen.

The expression on his face didn't change much.

But his fingers gripping the dark gold spear slowly tightened a fraction.

The dark gold patterns on the spear shaft writhed gently like a living creature.

The gravity inside the conference room sank for a moment.

Chen Jianguo's thermos finally landed back on the table.

Thud.

The sound was very light.

Yet it felt like it struck everyone's heart.

Executive Jiang Xu's voice dropped.

"Reason."

On the other end of the line, Gu Lang took a deep breath.

He knew that every word he said next could push him into a very awkward, and even very dangerous, position.

But not saying it now was even more dangerous.

He was sitting next to Su Yun.

Sitting at the same table as a forbidden entity that might have just swallowed a Half-step King Level Strange Tales and casually eaten six S-level disasters.

This was no longer being an undercover agent.

This was packing himself up and delivering himself next to a monster's dinner plate.

Gu Lang whispered: "First, before the East Sea monster appeared, Su Yun disappeared from the classroom."

"It wasn't a normal departure."

"He didn't ask for leave, didn't greet the teacher, and no one saw him go out the door."

"He just suddenly vanished."

Executive Jiang Xu's eyes flickered.

Su Yao gripped the edge of the table.

Gu Lang continued.

"Second, after the tsunami ended, he came back."

"He said he went to buy food, and also gave similar reasons like going to the restroom."

"But I went to the restroom to sniff."

"There was absolutely no scent of Su Yun recently in there."

Conference room: "..."

The atmosphere, which had been suffocatingly heavy, was suddenly torn open by a very strange gap by this sentence.

Chen Jianguo looked up at Executive Jiang Xu.

Then looked at Su Yao.

Finally, he chose to look down at his thermos.

He felt it was best not to express any opinion on the matter of "Gu Lang going to the restroom to sniff."

Because that wasn't the point right now.

Ye Zhiwei's lips seemed to twitch very slightly.

But she quickly returned to calmness.

Su Yao's expression became even worse.

Not because Gu Lang's reasoning was flawed.

It was because although this evidence was bizarre, it indeed fit the ability characteristics of Gu Lang's Sequence 033 Corpse-eating Dog.

Executive Jiang Xu was expressionless.

"Continue."

Gu Lang gritted his teeth.

"Third, the black paper crane sent by the Neon Strange Tales was delivered directly to Su Yun."

"The other party addressed him as King."

"It wasn't a test, not a misunderstanding; it was a fanatical, pilgrimage-style form of address."

"Fourth, the Sequence 033 Corpse-eating Dog inside me showed instinctive submission and fear multiple times when facing Su Yun."

"That kind of fear wasn't from facing a strong person."

"It was more like a low-level Strange Tales facing its source."

He lowered his voice a bit when he reached this point.

"Fifth, I used Corpse Peering on him."

In the conference room, the temperature seemed to be pressed down by an invisible hand.

Su Yao's pupils shrank slightly.

Ye Zhiwei's fingers also froze in mid-air.

Gu Lang said, word for word: "He died a long time ago."

The air was terrifyingly quiet.

Even the humming sound of the instruments running seemed harsh.

Chen Jianguo looked at Su Yao.

The back of Su Yao's hand, resting on the edge of the table, tightened, her knuckles turning white bit by bit.

Gu Lang continued: "The death record is very clear."

"D-Level Weird Tale, Slit-Mouthed Woman."

"Cause of death: throat laceration, massive blood loss, termination of vital signs."

"And the time point is very specific."

Executive Jiang Xu finally spoke.

"Around the time of Su Yao's Rebirth."

Su Yao turned her head sharply to look at him.

"Executive Jiang Xu."

This utterance already carried a clear warning.

Executive Jiang Xu did not avoid her gaze.

His voice remained very calm.

So calm it was almost cruel.

"Gu Lang reported this before."

"I tentatively classified Su Yun as a special Awakened, or an abnormal survivor after the Slit-Mouthed Woman incident."

"Now it seems, that might not be the case."

Chen Jianguo slowly put down the thermos.

He looked at Su Yao, his voice very soft.

As if afraid that a slightly heavier tone would completely shatter something.

"Captain Su."

"You can Rebirth."

"Then after your brother died and came back to life, he became something else..."

He didn't continue.

Because Su Yao was already staring at him.

That gaze was very cold.

So cold that Chen Jianguo's back tightened, and he immediately shut his mouth.

He was just speaking the truth.

But some truths are indeed easy to get hit for.

Especially when telling a sister that her brother might not be human.

Su Yao said, word for word: "My brother is an ordinary person."

When this sentence fell, no one in the conference room replied.

Executive Jiang Xu looked at her.

After two seconds, he asked: "Do you believe it yourself?"

Su Yao didn't answer.

She couldn't answer.

Because in that very instant, too many images crowded into her mind.

After the Slit-Mouthed Woman incident, Su Yun was excessively calm.

Having experienced the edge of death, he should have been afraid, should have collapsed, should have been traumatized.

Yet he just acted like he had slept, continuing to go to school, continuing to eat, continuing to bicker with Su Qing at home.

In the Pseudo-Human Examination Room, he used a set of absurd, outrageous fallacies to force a B-Level Weird Tale to a logical breakdown.

At the factory in the south of the city, that indescribable monster unfolded a web of flesh in the darkness.

Deep in the reservoir, a Half-step King Level giant wolf had its five senses tampered with, self-mutilating and devouring itself.

Beneath the East Sea, groups of scarlet eyes opened, and that voice declared Linhai to be a ranch.

And at the dinner table at home, Su Yun lazily picked up food, complained that the soup was bland, that Su Qing was noisy, and that English words were hard to memorize.

Two images overlapped.

One was her brother.

The other was the monster that would destroy the world in the future.

Her chest felt like it was blocked by something.

No.

Impossible.

If Su Yun was that monster.

Then what had she been guarding all this time?

A brother?

Or the source of the world's destruction in the future?

If he was no longer Su Yun.

Then who was the person sitting at the dinner table every day, calling her sister?

Executive Jiang Xu turned to Ye Zhiwei.

"Can you perform a remote detection?"

Ye Zhiwei raised her hand.

White light emerged from her fingertips, unfolding like countless tiny threads in the air.

"I can try."

"But if he truly is The Rancher, my investigation will be swallowed in reverse."

She paused, her tone lighter than usual.

"At best, I'll fall into a coma."

"At worst, I'll suffer mental corruption."

"It's even possible that the moment I see him, he will also see me."

Chen Jianguo's eyelids twitched.

"Doesn't that amount to knocking on a monster's door through the internet?"

Ye Zhiwei did not deny it.

"Pretty much."

Executive Jiang Xu said: "Only take peripheral information."

"Do not touch the core."

"Confirm his current location, confirm his life form, and confirm if there are any Abyss rule fluctuations."

Ye Zhiwei nodded.

Just as she was about to unfold her Omni-dimensional Vision, Su Yao pressed down on her wrist.

"Don't check."

Ye Zhiwei stopped.

The white threads hung in mid-air, slowly fading away.

Executive Jiang Xu frowned.

"Su Yao."

Su Yao looked at him.

Her gaze no longer resembled that of the calm Investigation Bureau Captain.

It was more like a sister forced to the edge of a cliff, yet still desperately protecting the family behind her.

"I'll go."

Executive Jiang Xu's voice turned half a degree colder.

"Your emotions are unstable right now."

"If you go, you'll only startle the snake."

Su Yao let out a laugh.

The laugh was light, but held no hint of amusement.

"If he really is The Rancher."

"Do you think that scanning him secretly through a screen doesn't count as startling the snake?"

Executive Jiang Xu fell silent.

Because she was right.

If Su Yun really was that entity.

Any probing they did now might have already been sensed by the other party.

So-called concealment, in the face of a gap in level, was very likely just a fig leaf for humans to deceive themselves.

Su Yao picked up her coat.

"I will go and see for myself."

Chen Jianguo stood up immediately.

"Captain Su, calm down."

Su Yao did not turn back.

"I am very calm."

When she said this, her voice was indeed very steady.

Steady like a blade about to break.

Executive Jiang Xu watched her back.

"What if it's true?"

Su Yao's footsteps paused.

No one in the conference room dared to breathe.

Even Chen Jianguo subconsciously held his breath.

After two seconds.

Su Yao said: "Then I must see it with my own eyes first."

She pushed the door open and left.

The sound of the door closing wasn't heavy.

But falling into everyone's ears, it felt like a floodgate slamming shut.

Executive Jiang Xu looked at the screen that had gone black and picked up the phone.

"Gu Lang."

The call hadn't ended yet.

Gu Lang's lowered voice came from the other end.

"I'm here."

Executive Jiang Xu said: "Do not provoke Su Yun."

"Do not probe for core secrets."

"Do not bring up The Rancher."

"Do not let other students get close to dangerous topics."

"Stall him."

Gu Lang was silent for half a second.

Then, in a very calm but nearly cracking tone, he said:

"Captain Jiang, this mission of yours is a bit like asking me to stop a nuclear bomb with a toothpick."

Executive Jiang Xu said: "You are the Lone Wolf."

Gu Lang was expressionless.

"A lone wolf is not an orphan."

Executive Jiang Xu: "..."

Ye Zhiwei turned her head away.

Chen Jianguo coughed, almost spitting out the goji berries in his thermos.

Executive Jiang Xu said coldly: "Execute."

Gu Lang sighed.

"Understood."

...

Linhai No. 2 High School.

Outside the men's restroom.

Gu Lang hung up the phone and stared at it for three seconds.

He regretted it now.

Very much regretted it.

Regretted it so much that his intestines were about to turn into the dog leash of Sequence 033.

If he had known the transfer student mission would be this thrilling, he should have applied to go to Dahuang Prefecture to be bait.

At least a King Level Strange Tales wouldn't sit at the same table as him.

And certainly wouldn't return to have English class with him after eating a Half-step King Level Strange Tales.

Gu Lang raised his hand to rub his temples.

He felt that his entire career plan had completely derailed from the moment he entered Senior Year Class 2.

His original mission was to lure out the reservoir monster.

Now, this was great.

The monster might be right next to him.

And asking him if he had finished his homework.

How was this any different from throwing bait into a fish's mouth and then asking the bait to calmly observe the fish's chewing habits?

Gu Lang took a deep breath and returned to the classroom.

The atmosphere in the classroom hadn't fully recovered yet.

The rain outside had stopped.

The pale light from the horizon shone in, making everyone's face look a bit ghostly.

Some students were still leaning against the window, looking into the distance.

Some were scrolling through news on their phones.

Some were passionately analyzing what exactly that monster in the East Sea was earlier.

Of course, more people, after the lingering fear, suddenly realized they were hungry.

Su Yun was lying on the desk, looking at a bag of bread packaging.

His expression was very serious.

As serious as if he were studying some Half-step King Level Strange Tales core.

Li Hao leaned over.

"Brother Yun, what are you looking at?"

Su Yun flipped the packaging over.

"Production date."

Li Hao was surprised.

"Expired?"

Su Yun shook his head.

"No."

Li Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Yun added: "But it increased in price."

Li Hao: "..."

Brother.

The city was almost destroyed outside just now.

Half of Linhai was almost washed away by the tsunami.

And you're obsessed with the price of bread until now?

Chu Youwei sat nearby, watching Su Yun, her eyes still filled with lingering worry.

She wanted to ask Su Yun where he had gone just now.

But the words reached her lips, and she swallowed them back.

Because Su Yun looked too normal.

Normal to the point of being abnormal.

As if everything that happened outside had nothing to do with him.

As if he really had just returned late because he had to take a detour during the disaster at the convenience store.

Gu Lang sat back in his seat.

He didn't speak immediately.

He kept Captain Jiang's orders in mind.

Do not provoke Su Yun.

Do not probe for core secrets.

Stall him.

The problem was, how should he stall him?

Ask him if he wanted to do math papers together?

Or ask him if he had any research on ranch economics?

Gu Lang was still thinking.

Su Yun had already glanced at him.

"You were in the restroom for so long?"

Gu Lang's body stiffened.

"My stomach isn't good."

Su Yun looked at him, his tone very sincere.

"Eat less."

Gu Lang was stunned.

"Eat less of what?"

Chu Youwei next to him seemed to suddenly think of something, and her expression changed slightly.

Then, she silently moved her chair a little to the side.

The movement was very light.

But the insult was very strong.

Su Yun sighed.

Did this guy really have to make him say it so clearly?

He put down the bread and said seriously: "Eat less of the things inside the restroom."

The air went quiet.

Dead silent.

The bread in Li Hao's hand dropped onto the table with a "plop."

"!!!!!"

Gu Lang's pupils shook.

"!!!!!"

He almost sprang from his seat.

"I didn't eat it!"

This shout was too loud.

At least half the class turned to look over.

Gu Lang's face stiffened.

He suddenly realized that his defense, in the current context, might be more damaging than silence.

Su Yun's expression was calm.

"You can deceive others, but don't deceive yourself."

He paused, then added: "People who go to the restroom usually don't have such a strong scent on them."

Gu Lang: "..."

His mind instantly flashed back to the scene in the men's restroom where he had inhaled deeply at the air to confirm whether Su Yun had been there.

At that moment, he suddenly felt that life had no meaning anymore.

The dignity of the Corpse-eating Dog sequence was also shattered to pieces in this second.

He was clearly executing a mission.

He was clearly screening for forbidden disasters for human civilization.

Why did it end up sounding like he had performed some unspeakable eating behavior in the restroom?

Li Hao turned his head slowly.

Looking at Gu Lang with eyes that saw a worldview collapsing.

"Brother Gu..."

His voice was trembling.

"Aren't you a wolf?"

Gu Lang's eyelids twitched.

"Shut up."

Li Hao swallowed and asked cautiously: "Do wolves like to eat shit too?"

Gu Lang: "..."

His fists clenched.

Really clenched.

If this wasn't a school.

If Captain Jiang hadn't just said not to provoke Su Yun.

If he didn't still have to maintain his persona as an ordinary transfer student.

He would definitely make Li Hao understand right now whose was harder: the fist of a quasi-S-level Strange Tales sequence or the skull of an ordinary high school student.

Chu Youwei silently moved further away.

Gu Lang looked at her gloomily.

Chu Youwei felt a bit guilty under his gaze and quietly moved half a seat to the side.

"Brother Gu, I'm not disgusted by you."

She paused, then said very seriously:

"I just respect the diversity of the food chain."

Li Hao gasped.

"You put that so elegantly."

Chu Youwei whispered: "Being polite is better than just saying it's disgusting."

Gu Lang: "..."