Chapter 57: Unstoppable Force
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An Lan felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
Like a fish washed onto the reef, unable to breathe under the scorching sun. When all moisture had left the body, suddenly being rolled back by a wave into the vast ocean, finally… coming back to life.
An Lan subconsciously tugged at Gu Liyu’s collar, his fingers pinching the thin fabric. Gu Liyu lowered his eyes, gently touched An Lan’s head with his own nose, then turned around, carrying him out.
The captain received messages from other team members and informed Gu Liyu, “Xu Xingran and Xiao Chen have been found. They’ve lost a lot of blood and have been sent to the ambulance. They’ve already been taken to the hospital. Another ambulance is waiting outside the factory; we’ll take you away from here immediately!”
Gu Liyu furrowed his brow, “What about K? Have you found K here?”
The captain shook his head, “We’ve searched the entire factory. We don’t know K’s true identity, not even his appearance. Just now, Xu Xingran woke up, and he said K never showed his face in the videos, and even his voice was processed. We can only take everyone here back for strict interrogation to see if we can get useful information!”
Gu Liyu, carrying An Lan, walked quickly while saying, “K is not here.”
“How do you know?” the captain asked.
“Because if I were K, I would never give anyone a chance to see my face.”
The captain paused and half-jokingly said, “If you were K, I don’t know if I would have a chance to catch you.”
“Of course you would,” Gu Liyu replied.
“Do you have that much confidence in my intelligence?” the captain asked with a smile.
“It’s not confidence in your intelligence. It’s confidence that… he will definitely pursue relentlessly to catch me.”
“Who?” the captain became more curious.
But Gu Liyu didn’t answer; instead, he lowered his eyes and looked at An Lan in his arms.
“What about Dr. Cheng?” Gu Liyu asked.
The captain immediately confirmed, “Don’t worry, Dr. Cheng is under tight guard by the special forces. We’ll interrogate him when we get back. This expert in pheromones in the province has hidden very deeply.”
What really exposed Dr. Cheng was his loud shout in the emergency room that the binding agent had been stolen. Because neither the hospital nor the Alpha Management Committee had ever mentioned that the delivered medicine was a “binding agent,” only “Eden” had heard about it from Xu Xingran.
In fact, there was no such thing as a “binding agent.”
Just as they were about to turn the corner, the overhead speakers suddenly emitted a sharp, piercing sound.
The special forces members who came to rescue were mostly alphas and were highly sensitive to sound waves. This kind of sonic attack instantly deprived them of their defense capabilities, and they had to put down their weapons and cover their ears.
The captain lowered his head, feeling like his brain was about to explode, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
Gu Liyu could barely hold onto An Lan, and he sat down against the wall. His first reaction was to cover An Lan’s ears.
“Turn off the broadcast!” Gu Liyu shouted sternly.
At this moment, the captain couldn’t hear anything. His ears were filled with a deafening buzzing sound, and even his ability to think was deprived.
Gu Liyu protected An Lan in his arms, covering one of his ears with one hand and, with the other, pulled out the captain’s gun, biting off the safety with his teeth. He fired several shots at the broadcast on the wall. The nearest broadcast finally stopped, but those on both sides of the corridor continued to buzz.
The team members finally began to regain their senses a bit.
“We hacked into the system here before… Looks like K has regained control…”
Fortunately, the door had been blown open long ago. Otherwise, if K closed the door again, they would have become sitting ducks.
The unconscious An Lan was shaken by the high-frequency sound waves, feeling a headache. It was as if a force had pulled him out of the peaceful seawater, and when separated, nerves were torn apart in pieces, and the valve of his heart was cut open by blades. He suddenly opened his eyes, unable to come to his senses for a long time.
He could hear someone talking in his ears, but it seemed like it was from another world, beyond a wall, indistinguishable and incomprehensible.
He struggled to sit up, trying to pull at Gu Liyu’s collar to sit up, but the strength in his body seemed not his own. It flowed in his veins, collided between his cells, but he couldn’t control it.
Gu Liyu felt a slight force on his chest, lowered his head, and saw An Lan, who, despite having his eyes open, was clearly absent-minded.
“We’re leaving immediately.”
This voice was very close to An Lan, easily penetrating all obstacles and entering An Lan’s mind.
Chaotic thoughts surged from all directions, like a return.
Gu Liyu lifted An Lan again, walking quickly.
Just as they were about to turn the corner, a gun suddenly pressed against Gu Liyu’s forehead without warning.
Instantly, everyone stopped.
The captain immediately raised his gun, pointing it at the person in front.
This young man was the one who had disguised himself as An Lan earlier, taking away the “binding agent” from the hospital.
“I’ve always felt that a gun is more useful than pheromones.” The young man spoke.
Gu Liyu’s gaze chilled, and he was about to lower his body when the young man, as if he had known what he was thinking, also lowered his center of gravity. The muzzle was still pressed against Gu Liyu’s temple.
“Be honest, or your brain fluid might flow onto his face.” The young man smiled.
“Are you K?” Gu Liyu asked.
“K is just a title; anyone can be K.”
The young man seemed to answer the question with ease, but at the fastest speed, he injected some kind of syringe into Gu Liyu’s back.
“D*mn it!” The captain was shocked. He raised his gun again, taking a step forward, but he couldn’t attack because this guy was too cunning. He hid behind Gu Liyu.
Gu Liyu, holding An Lan, had his temple pressed by the gun, and his back was injected with some kind of drug. However, he didn’t even sway.
“The sonic attack just now was a distraction, aimed at weakening the judgment of my brain.” Gu Liyu said.
The young man smiled, “Yes, the senses of high-quality alphas are too terrifying. I can feel your presence wherever I hide. Only by reducing your sensing ability to the lowest can I have a chance to win unexpectedly.”
“What do you really want?” Gu Liyu asked.
Other team members held their guns, slowly closing the encirclement. The person behind Gu Liyu clearly saw it but didn’t stop them. Instead, he allowed himself to be surrounded.
He approached Gu Liyu, whispering, “This kind of drug is enough to make an alpha as fast-headed as an elephant fall immediately. Yet, you can still stand steadily. Truly admirable.”
“What do you really want?” Gu Liyu asked again.
Not even his voice trembled.
“A bunch of juniors like you conspiring against our ‘Eden.’ Do you really think this situation will end well?” The young man’s gun tapped against Gu Liyu’s temple. His nonchalant attitude, seemingly ready to fire at any moment, made everyone approaching tense.
“Let go of Gu Liyu, you have no chance to escape,” the captain coldly spoke.
“Do you take me for a fool? If I let him go, I have a chance to escape? If I release him, without even a human shield, wouldn’t I be waiting to get shot?” In this situation, he continued to smile.
“Gu Liyu, do you want to use pheromones to suppress me? But… now you are just like a beta, unable to release pheromones.”
“He can’t release them, and neither can we,” the captain said coldly.
Most of the people he brought were alphas, and they released pheromones together.
But the other party remained unaffected, just coldly smiling.
“Are you kidding me? With your level of pheromones, you still want to suppress me?”
As soon as the words fell, a tremendous force in the air hit them. It was the intense smell after a massive explosion, overwhelming all pheromones, directly attacking the brains of these team members. They endured immense pressure, and the hands holding the guns trembled.
This was an unexpected turn of events. There was such a high-level alpha in “Eden”!
The space slowly twisted, forming a vortex, and everyone’s perception and consciousness fell into the center of that vortex.
An Lan took a deep breath, feeling a sensation as if his body had been broken and crushed thousands of times, squeezed into a black hole.
“Don’t be afraid,” Gu Liyu whispered softly in An Lan’s ear.
But An Lan didn’t get any comfort because he couldn’t smell that clear and transparent scent. He stretched his neck, pressed against Gu Liyu’s neck, sniffed forcefully, but couldn’t smell anything.
“Xu Xingran is really a first-class actor. He was so worried about An Lan, risking danger for him, making me think that An Lan’s first exposure to alpha pheromones was from him. But now, it seems—it should be from you?” The young man held Gu Liyu’s neck, signaling him to carry An Lan and follow.
“I can go with you, but An Lan stays,” Gu Liyu said.
“You can leave An Lan, but I will blow his cute little head off right in front of you,” the young man replied.
No room for negotiation or discussion.
Gu Liyu and An Lan together were the best template Eden needed.
An Lan’s grip tightened; he still couldn’t smell anything, not even a hint.
The vast and boundless sea in An Lan’s heart intertwined with the gentle colors of the sky. The waves rose and fell, picking up the soft light from the sky, and the heartbeat in his heart surged back and forth.
When Gu Liyu took another step while holding An Lan, the tears hanging at the corners of An Lan’s eyes fell.
At that moment, An Lan saw the gun pressed against Gu Liyu’s forehead and the young man behind him, whose figure was similar to his own.
His heart felt like it was pierced by a needle, and all the blood in his body turned cold.
Memories flashed back, and An Lan suddenly remembered his situation—he was taken away by the organization that created Eve’s apple. Before losing consciousness, even Xiao Chen was captured by this organization… Later, they injected him with some kind of drug…
If the current Gu Liyu was not an illusion, it meant that even Gu Liyu had fallen into their hands.
An Lan was about to struggle when the hand on him suddenly tightened. This was a signal from Gu Liyu, and An Lan turned his face, hiding his expression in Gu Liyu’s arms.
However, the pheromones released by the other party were truly too powerful. The ceiling above seemed to be cracking and falling down. An Lan endured the discomfort caused by the opponent’s pheromones with all his might.
“You’re very confident. Apart from me, no one can suppress you with pheromones right?” Gu Liyu’s cold voice sounded.
Even though he was currently under someone’s control, Gu Liyu showed no signs of panic.
“Originally, Xu Xingran and Xiao Chen could achieve that. But Xu Xingran lost too much blood, and he had released too many pheromones before, in a state of exhaustion.”
Gu Liyu asked again, “What about Xiao Chen?”
“I know you’re hoping that your partners can save you. For alpha samples like you, of course, the more blood the better.”
“So Xiao Chen is also in a state of heavy blood loss.”
An Lan understood. Gu Liyu said these things not to chat with the other person but to let An Lan know the current situation.
Gu Liyu cannot release pheromones. Xu Xingran and Xiao Chen, due to excessive blood loss, are already on their last legs. Even if they release pheromones, they cannot suppress this alpha.
“You’re too arrogant, just like a target,” Gu Liyu said.
“Then I look forward to which gun will blow my head off.”
An Lan’s heart trembled. Gu Liyu’s statement, “just like a target,” wasn’t meant for the other person; it was meant for An Lan himself. Gu Liyu was hinting for An Lan to release pheromones to suppress this alpha!
But could he do it?
“A hunter doesn’t necessarily need a torrent of pheromones; he just needs to use his pheromones at the right place in one go. One bullet is enough to take down his opponent,” Gu Liyu said.
An Lan leaned against him. Every word Gu Liyu spoke resonated with his chest, and his voice, along with the rhythmic heartbeat, entered An Lan’s brain through his auditory nerves. The blood in his resting veins seemed to brew a tank, eager to break free from the body’s constraints. An Lan closed his eyes, experiencing Gu Liyu’s breath and heartbeat, feeling the powerful and unwavering pulsations in his veins until everything merged into one.
A black SUV stopped at the factory gate, and Gu Liyu was about to carry An Lan out.
A faint, subtle fragrance of bamboo wafted in the air. Suddenly, this gentle scent became resilient. Countless bamboo blades erupted, cutting through the air against the wind, piercing the alpha standing behind Gu Liyu.
The unexpected onslaught of pheromones surpassed his expectations. This force penetrated deep into his brain, causing neural pain to the point of numbness. The refreshing scent transformed into gentle blades, vigorously tearing through, dispelling the darkness like the radiant sunlight illuminating the mountains, rivers, and lakes.
“Ugh…”
The figure of Gu Liyu in front of him wavered. Such a targeted pheromone attack could only be from Gu Liyu.
Even though he had drugged Gu Liyu, why could he still release pheromones? Why!
“Uhh…”
Countless sharpened bamboo shoots seemed to pierce through his brain. Apart from pain, he lost all other senses. Even the sensation of the trigger under his fingers became less tangible. His wrist lost strength, and the muzzle slipped down.
An Lan’s powerful outbreak of pheromones continued, and he clutched Gu Liyu’s collar, wanting to burrow into his arms, get close to his heart, and reach the place closest to his thoughts.
The bamboo fragrance in the air seemed to heat up. Crackling sounds exploded in the opponent’s mind like fireworks. Bamboo threads bounced up, constantly cutting. This pain was more unbearable than torture.
The momentum of these pheromones grew stronger. The sky seemed to collapse, and countless blades fell directly from the clouds, piercing his skin, his blood. His brain couldn’t control his muscles anymore; the gun in his hand felt like a thousand pounds!
In that moment, Gu Liyu grabbed the back of An Lan’s head, and they both fell to the side. The alpha completely lost his barrier.
SWAT team members rushed forward, restraining him with a collar to prevent the release of pheromones. They also handcuffed his hands.
An Lan still frowned, releasing his pheromones forcefully. Gu Liyu gently rubbed his hair, whispering in his ear, “It’s enough, An Lan. Your prey has fallen; you can stop now.”
But An Lan was still immersed in it. For him, if he failed, not only would he return to the hands of “Eden,” but Gu Liyu would also be unable to return.
The gun pointing at Gu Liyu’s head brought an unprecedented panic to An Lan.
Anything that put him in danger had only one thought in An Lan’s mind—destroy.
“An Lan, stop… Releasing pheromones like this will damage your alpha nerves…”
Gu Liyu sat against the wall, putting An Lan on his lap, cradling his head, hoping he could look at him.
But An Lan’s gaze had no focus. His intense sense of crisis made him continue to release the remaining pheromones madly.
Gu Liyu’s brows furrowed. In the next second, he turned his face and fiercely kissed him.
His kiss was forceful, full of destructive power, breaking An Lan’s focused nerves, bringing him back to the warm seawater.
“Mmm…” An Lan closed his eyes. From initial resistance to unconscious response, he grabbed Gu Liyu’s shoulders and responded to the kiss.
His strength was formidable. Due to the injected drug, Gu Liyu couldn’t resist An Lan, allowing him to press him against the wall, exploring and claiming the world between their lips and teeth uncontrollably.
Gu Liyu gently patted An Lan’s back, comforting him, because the only part of him that still carried pheromones was right there.
An Lan, desperately trying to obtain it, the cool seawater flowed through the elegant curve, returning to his world once again.
As An Lan relaxed bit by bit, finally giving up resistance, he fell asleep.
In the moment he fell backward, Gu Liyu grabbed the back of his head and lifted him up.
The black SUV waiting outside quickly left, closely followed by the police. Finally, they intercepted it at the toll station on the highway.
Members from various police departments arrived at the factory to collect evidence. Gu Liyu had arranged for someone to infiltrate the system of this underground research institute in advance, copying many files before they were destroyed. Many staff members were taken out of the institute and interrogated.
To prevent further leaks in the investigation, the police requested that no media report any leaks. The details of this case were classified.
Xu Xingran, Xiao Chen, and An Lan were all taken to the hospital and placed under police protection.
An Lan slept for a very long time. When he woke up, he felt a sense of a great dream spanning thousands of years.
In the previous research institute, other scents were isolated and eliminated to let him experience the purest scent of pheromones.
But now, he smelled the scent of disinfectant in the hospital and… the fragrance of the shampoo Gu Liyu often used.
Turning his head, he saw someone leaning on his bedside, sleeping soundly.
His even breathing gave An Lan a reassuring feeling, like when he was very, very small, lying in his room imagining all sorts of monsters. However, when the gentle light at the bedside turned on, he was no longer afraid of anything.
Gu Liyu rested his head on his right arm, the other arm curved and spread out on one side.
A hidden secret quietly surged into An Lan’s heart. Holding his breath, he slowly turned to the side. At this moment, Gu Liyu wasn’t wearing the long-sleeved school uniform jacket but a short-sleeved T-shirt.
An Lan carefully moved the arm that wasn’t pressed by him, stretching it bit by bit. That’s when he noticed several small needle marks around the arm joints.
Some had already healed, while others were still red dots.
An Lan’s eyes instantly reddened, and his heart felt scalded by hot water.
He had heard that the alpha who had bitten him went to the Alpha Management Committee to donate a large amount of blood for him. The purpose was to purify Aplus’s pheromones, a crucial substance for An Lan’s differentiation.
This alpha was Gu Liyu.
As a high-quality alpha, the healing of such small wounds was very quick. However, the traces of blood donation on Gu Liyu’s arm were still there, indicating that he might be donating blood every day.
An Lan didn’t wake him up; he just laid back, turned his face, and looked at him. He reached out and gently held his fingers.
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