Chapter Ch106.1 - Emotional Lock

translator: xiin

editors: apricot & juurensha

The shortie was soft and carried a light, sweet fragrance when he stood up on tiptoes.

Wei Shi took a few steps back, acting as though he’d just been scalded. His face seemed to have been covered by soft, floating marshmallows, and it made his entire head feel numb.

Debauchery! Unbridled! This––what kind of crooked trick was this!

The youth was about to yell at Wu Jin, but he suddenly turned around and stormed away.

Wu Jin hurried to chase after him with his short legs, trying to pull at the big boss’s hand as he went.

Wei Shi tried to fling him away, but his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. His feet moved faster and faster, and towards the end, he was practically running.

Wu Jin was bouncing and jumping as he ran behind him, “Wei Shi, Wei Shi Wei Shi Wei Shi…”

The two of them ran and chased each other across the training ground. A grey-clothed youth, who was solemnly working on his arm strength on the parallel bars, saw them, “……”

The two of them wound around the dark, smoky buildings, then once again appeared at the training ground. Wei Shi finally slowed down and was side to side with Wu Jin, who was still delighted, “Wei Shi! Big brother! Wei Shi Wei Shi!”

The youth practicing flips on the parallel bars: “……”

By the time the two of them walked out of the woods and back to the training ground, Wei Shi’s expression was proud and reluctant. Wu Jin tugged on his sleeve and pleaded, “Can I train with you…”

The lonely youth in grey on the parallel bars finally opened his mouth to remind them loudly, “Wei Shi, you’re not allowed to have a secret relationship in the base!”

Wei Shi turned and looked at him coldly.

He and the little shortie had a pure pet and owner relationship, which shouldn’t be dirtied by this boy’s words. Besides––it had nothing to do with him.

Wei Shi: “Shut up, Mao Dongqing. Take care of your younger brother first.”

Wu Jin looked curiously at the youth in grey. Compared to the serious Mao Dongqing in reality, he was more like a Red who hadn’t dyed his hair, and it seemed that he and the big boss knew each other––it should be some kind of temporary alliance.

At this time, Mao Dongqing’s expression was particularly complex. He wanted to watch the show, and he also wanted to fight against the big boss at the same time.

Wei Shi elbowed Wu Jin.

Wu Jin turned back.

Wei Shi narrowed his eyes and asked, “What are you looking at him for?”

Even before Wu Jin could react, his wrist was caught, and he was dragged out of the training ground by the big boss.

“It’s now 12:40.” Wei Shi looked at his watch and gave the little shortie an order, “I’m going to go train. Don’t bother me for two hours.”

Wu Jin let out a little lost-sounding ‘oh’, “Then, what should I do?”

Wei Shi: “Go and eat by yourself!”

Wei Shi glanced at the small, fluffy curls. He could tell at a glance that the curls weren’t decent at all. The little shortie was like an outdated mechanical pet rabbit; not only did he run around at night, he also couldn’t eat on his own! It was like he would only move once per time he was wound up.

As the one taking care of this pet, it was really hard work!

Wei Shi coldly left Wu Jin on the spot and disappeared around a corner. Wu Jin sat down on the grass, then stretched out his head and watched. After the big boss disappeared, he suddenly rolled around on the lawn.

So… so cute!

Wu Jin rolled into a fluffy trainee ball in the sun. A while later, he sat up and rubbed his face, carefully setting aside the green card and stuffing it into his pocket before running off to the gun training room.

He was going to hide behind the window and peep.

The afternoon sun was bright in the gun training rooms. At first, Wu Jin was still ducking and sneaking around, but he soon remembered that he was now 14 years old and short!

So, Wu Jin unscrupulously went from window to window to look through the rooms, but was unable to catch a glimpse of the figure of the big boss.

Wu Jin’s eyelids twitched.

He quickly got in touch with the lab, and a static electric connection came in.

“… The fluctuations are stable. Well done. First focus on consolidating his trust, and don’t rush to take action. Wait for the second transformation––how are you?” Researcher Song spoke from the other side of the communication, “You can’t find him? He’s not in the gun training room?”

“Go look in the North District…”

In front of the low building in the North District, the genetically modified who’d just finished courses came out in twos and threes.

Wu Jin squatted behind a low wall and tried to search through the crowd. A thread of conversation drifted over from close by.

“Did Wei Shi go to CR7 to do an emotional lock fitting?”

“As I said, how could he have that gun? That’s a gun! ––If it was mine––”

“Shut up. There are many people who’ve failed to adapt to the locks. Who the hell would go for the emotional lock for the sake of a gun––”

“It’s not just the gun. Could it be that you don’t want to become stronger? That’s his choice.”

Wu Jin’s eyebrows went up, and his heart thumped violently.

He didn’t hesitate to run towards CR7.

In the R-Code Base, the emotional lock was like a remote control chip that was embedded in the genetically modified that made any instructions given to them override their own will. According to the data provided by Mao Dongqing, the genetically modified would have the lock installed somewhere between the fourth and fifth transformations, and there would be an adaptation process before the lock was embedded.

He knew that the big boss had paid a high price for the gun, but he’d unexpectedly agreed to be fit for the emotional lock in advance––

The sounds from the electric current were intermittent. Researcher Song’s agitated voice cut in, “Little Witch, what did you say?!”

“Emotional lock fitting––you mustn’t let him have the lock put on. This is the fourth course of treatment, and we can only move forward, not backward––don’t worry, it’s fine, it’s just a fitting––”

In front of the CR7 building, Wu Jin was stopped by an instructor who appeared out of nowhere.

“Wei Shi? He just finished.”

The door opened from the inside.

Wu Jin’s pupils abruptly contracted.

Wei Shi stood by the entrance. He was only one step away from the blazing sun, but his face was white, and his lips were pressed tight. He looked quite different from the proud teenager he’d been 20 minutes ago.

His fingers dug into his palms, and his arms shook all the way from his shoulders down.

Wei Shi’s fists clenched even tighter after he noticed Wu Jin.

The little shortie ran over as expected, the rims of his eyes red.

“Go away.” Wei Shi scolded in a low voice. It was unclear if the look in his eyes was disgust or just a facade. “I said before, two hours… don’t come bother me…”

Wu Jin didn’t say a word as he hugged Wei Shi.

The big boss’s arm was cold and sweaty. Even if it wasn’t the same as embedding the lock, it was still enough to arouse all one’s negative emotions.

He was clearly out of strength.

Two hours––Wei Shi had been determined to avoid Wu Jin and hide the matter of the lock.

The youth’s forehead was full of sweat as he stubbornly refused to look at Wu Jin. It seemed that the embarrassment of being found in this state was more humiliating than the torment he’d just endured, and he stayed that way all the way until he was helped into the shade.

“You…” The little shortie’s voice was trembling.

The strong sunlight was blocked out by the crown of the tree, and Wei Shi finally came back to his senses. The youth tried to raise his chin like a lone wolf caught in the swamp and maintain the last shreds of his dignity, “I’m fine…”

His heart was beating faster than usual, and the breath he exhaled was cold. “It-it’s just training. Go away…”

His cold body was suddenly covered by a little shortie who gave off warmth.

Wei Shi’s words were suddenly interrupted, and his breathing was disorderly, his head bowed. Wu Jin tried to stretch himself out to hold him, his soft arms wrapping around Wei Shi’s cold shoulders and arms. His head stuck close to his chin, and his neck was covered with small curls––

The little shortie was struggling to warm him up.

Wu Jin carefully tried to use his own warmth to fill up the Wei Shi who was near collapse, going from the youth’s trembling palms to his forearms, to his shoulders. Wu Jin’s body didn’t run hot. When he cooled down, he would run out to the sun and warm up before rushing back to cover up the big boss.

Wei Shi suddenly fell silent.

A long time later.

“Hey.” He used the last bit of his strength to speak up, “I’m fine, I’ll be fine.”

The sun tilted down, and the shadows lengthened.

Wei Shi suddenly opened up his eyes.

He found himself covered with two sets of training clothes, and the little shortie sat there drowsily beside him.

His consciousness gradually recovered. The aftereffects from the emotional lock fitting a few hours ago were still throbbing like a concussion in his brain, suppressing all his senses. Wu Jin immediately woke up completely.

“Let’s go.” Wei Shi looked at the time and estimated how much strength he’d recovered. He pulled up the little shortie, “Let’s go have dinner.”

There was a lot of noise in the canteen. As soon as Wei Shi stepped in, over a dozen gazes swept their way. The youth’s back was straight, and Wu Jin, who was shorter than he was, followed behind him as he traded green cards for two standard meals.

Wei Shi frowned slightly when the first bite of rice entered his mouth, but his expression soon returned to its usual coldness.

However, Wu Jin quickly remembered the information that Researcher Song had given him. Emotional lock adaptation would cause chaos with perception, and the most basic rice and water would cause the root of the tongue to taste bitter.

Indeed, Wei Shi only ate a few bites before setting down his chopsticks.

Wu Jin finished his meal in several quick gulps, then used the excuse of washing his hands to dart over to the exchange port before running back––

Wei Shi bowed his head. The little shortie was protecting a bowl of caramel pudding as he squeezed back through the crowd.

Wu Jin heaved a sigh of relief when the dessert made it over safely. He was full of expectation as he handed it to the big boss––

“You didn’t have lunch?” The youth’s voice was hard.

The little shortie only had one green card in his pocket.

Wu Jin hesitated.

He glanced at Wei Shi. The youth’s face was still pale, and he’d only taken two bites of his meal, yet his first reaction upon seeing the pudding was to demand if he’d eaten lunch.

His chest suddenly felt sour.

Wei Shi was brimming with anger, and he was just about to teach a lesson to the little shortie who’d hidden his hunger from him, but when he saw Wu Jin standing there in a daze with the pudding in his arms, his heart suddenly gave a fierce thump.

The little shortie was sad.

Wei Shi paused for a few seconds, and then finally reached out for the pudding.

The little shortie must be sad about no longer having a green card.

“Hey.” Wei Shi was immediately panicked even though his expression didn’t change at all, “After I’ve finished the transformation, I’ll move to a bigger dormitory. You’ll live there, and nobody will dare to bully you with me there. At that time, we’ll get eight green cards a day. You won’t be allowed to run around and can stay at home to watch over all the exchange cards.”

Wei Shi gave this order with a straight face, and even purposely made a gesture for ‘eight’ with his hands, “Did you hear me clearly?”

Wu Jin spoke sullenly, “What about you?”

Wei Shi: “After the second transformation, I’ll be able to accept missions. I’ll take care of you…”

He paused suddenly, and then immediately emphasized, “Except for me, nobody else will support you! Do you understand?! If you do, then come and eat some pudding.”

Wu Jin squeaked and handed the spoon that he was holding in his chubby little hand to Wei Shi, his eyes sparkling and bright.

Wei Shi scooped up a piece and placed it in his mouth. The sweet sugary treat slid along the tip of his tongue as he returned the spoon to Wu Jin.

Wu Jin also scooped up a small piece and chomped it with bulging cheeks.