Melodramatic Past

Looking at the charred corpse on the test chair.

Dr. An knelt on the ground, a strange, raspy sound escaping his throat. Rather than laughter, it was more like a roar of agony that had been suppressed for far too long.

His entire body trembled, his face covered in tears and snot, yet bearing a twisted expression of satisfaction from having finally exacted his revenge.

For this very day, how many years had he wagged his tail like a dog?

How much effort had he expended to coax this man into sitting on the test chair?

However, at this moment, the surrounding security personnel could no longer afford to care about what Dr. An had done.

They were all aiming and firing at the man exuding a metallic luster at the doorway.

Bullets were fired.

The clinking and clanking sounds rang out endlessly.

The bullets poured like rain onto the man whose entire body gleamed with a metallic sheen.

But the man merely laughed and said, "Come on! Give me more!"

The bullets struck him without leaving even a single scratch.

"Is that all?"

Tie Nan grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. "Didn't you eat? Put some back into it! You're too weak to even scratch my itch!"

Before his voice faded, he charged forward like a humanoid tank.

Bang!

He dropped them one by one like little kids.

The security personnel were sent flying like bowling pins, crashing into various precision instruments and sending sparks flying everywhere.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to Tie Nan, several cold flashes of light shot out from the walls without warning.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Several security guards hiding behind cover felt as if they had been hit by a massive truck. Their bodies were sent flying and pinned firmly to the wall by throwing knives.

Following closely behind were various bullets.

Despite the solid walls, the bullets and throwing knives somehow penetrated right through them.

In less than half a minute, all the armed security personnel lost their combat capability, while Dongfang's squad had not lost a single hair.

This was the synergistic effect of an all-ability squad.

In any branch of Yanhuang Awakening, this group of people would be considered the elite of the elites.

Tie Nan clapped his hands and looked at the groaning security guards scattered across the floor. He curled his lips. "Not even enough for a real fight. That didn't even count as a warm-up."

Dongfang Shuye ignored his complaints. Upon entering the room, he first glanced at the charred corpse that had been repeatedly blasted by lightning. The body was curled up, as if enduring an inescapable supreme punishment even after death.

Then, he looked up and saw Dr. An kneeling on the ground.

"You're here."

Dr. An slowly raised his head and haphazardly wiped his face with his sleeve, revealing an eerily calm smile. "I am An Dongshan."

"We know." Dongfang Shuye's voice lacked the slightest ripple, as if he were reciting an archival record that had nothing to do with him.

"An Dongshan, file number A-00231, former Chief Ability Researcher of Yanhuang Awakening. Twelve years ago, due to conducting illegal live-body enhancement experiments that resulted in the deaths of all test subjects in the Ascension Project, you were stripped of all duties and ordered to remain under supervision within Tianjing City."

Every word from Dongfang Shuye was like a small hammer striking Dr. An's heart.

Dr. An smiled and nodded. "So there are still people who remember me. I thought I had already been swept into the trash bin of time."

"Not quite."

Dongfang Shuye continued, "Your supervised life was supposed to be quite leisurely—raising fish, planting flowers, and living out the rest of your days. But one night, twelve years ago, your entire family disappeared."

He paused, staring into Dr. An's eyes.

"Your wife, and your thirteen-year-old daughter, Anya."

Hearing the name Anya, Dr. An's body jolted violently. The calm facade he had just put up shattered instantly.

He clenched his fists, his nails digging deeply into his palms. Drop by drop, blood seeped through his fingers and fell to the floor.

"Yes, disappeared..." His voice was as hoarse as a battered bellows, every word carrying the scent of blood.

"My wife, my little Ya... on that very night, they all died! Why am I the only one left alive! Why!"

He pounded his fists against the floor until his knuckles were a bloody mess. Yet, as if feeling no pain, he merely repeated neurotically, "Why am I the only one left alive..."

His frantic, crazed crying abruptly stopped.

He looked up, tears streaking his face, but his lips curled into a bizarre smile.

"But it doesn't matter anymore. I lived just for today."

He staggered to his feet, the last shred of humanity in his eyes utterly consumed by burning hatred.

Pointing at the charred corpse on the test chair, he said, "His name is Ning Yunxin. I believe you should know who he is."

Dongfang Shuye's pupils suddenly shrank.

A squad member next to him frowned. "Ning Yunxin?! The main culprit of the Fire Cloud Case? The files stated he was burned to death at the scene long ago! How is this possible!"

An Dongshan smiled and nodded, his grin becoming increasingly twisted. "That's right. He was alive just moments ago, but now, he is dead."

He held out his hand and stared at it obsessively, as if the sensation of pressing the button still lingered on his fingertips.

"I personally ended his sinful life. He thought I would use the transfer device to shift that girl Ning Qingcheng's ability onto him, helping him gain a new life.

"What a naive fool. He treated me like his most loyal dog, but he forgot that my family was murdered by the very hands of his Ning family!"

Hearing this, monstrous waves were already surging in Dongfang Shuye's heart, but his face remained impassive.

He cautiously took a half-step forward and asked from a safe distance, "So, the mastermind who brought you here and murdered your wife and daughter..."

"Exactly!" An Dongshan interrupted, his voice sharp and piercing.

"It was the Ning family! The Ning family killed my entire family, spared my life, and then stepped in to save me so that I would be eternally grateful and work my fingers to the bone for them! How ridiculous!"

Dongfang Shuye raised his hand, calmly interrupting his increasingly agitated emotional state.

"Evidence."

He said only that single word, his gaze as sharp as a blade, piercing straight into An Dongshan's core.

"Prove that this research institute is funded by the Ning family, prove that Ning Yunxin was still alive, and prove everything you've just said."

An Dongshan understood what the young man in front of him needed the evidence for.

He let out a cold laugh, as if mocking the other party's caution, yet also as if mocking himself.

"Of course I have it. Over the years, I..."

Before he could finish, a sudden change occurred!

A researcher who had been squatting behind An Dongshan like a frightened quail suddenly leaped up. A gleaming scalpel had appeared in his hand at some point, and like a venomous snake striking from its hole, he thrust it straight toward An Dongshan's back!

He moved so fast that he left only an afterimage!

However, before the tip of the blade could even touch the fabric, an invisible repulsive force erupted instantly.

"Bang!"

The researcher looked as if he had been struck by an invisible, massive hammer. He flew backward and crashed violently into the instrument cabinet behind him. The sound of shattering glass and twisting metal merged together, triggering a series of alarms.

Dongfang Shuye slowly lowered his raised hand, his cold gaze sweeping across the room.

"Damn, playing dirty!" A squad member beside him cursed in a low voice and immediately raised his gun on high alert.

Taking advantage of the chaos, An Dongshan scrambled down from the high platform, practically rolling and crawling.

But just as he stumbled halfway forward, another researcher, who had been huddled in the corner and seemingly frightened out of his wits, was accidentally jostled by the chaotic crowd and bumped right into An Dongshan.

The man pulled away the instant they touched, immediately scrambling to the side in a panic.

The entire exchange happened so fast that almost no one noticed.