Chapter 94 (^^)
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Repeated many times, he finally assembled it within one minute.
“I did it!” An Lan exclaimed loudly.
His back was covered in sweat, and his heart was beating hard. It had been so long; he didn’t know how Xiao Chen was doing.
Coach Lin looked up and glanced at him, saying, “Xiao Chen is still alive.”
“Let me see him.” An Lan looked seriously at Coach Lin; his hands were still shaking.
Coach Lin generously handed him the phone. An Lan opened it and found that the video was not live, just a recording.
“This….What’s going on?”
“Just to make you understand that the decision you make not only concerns yourself but also others you care about. I really don’t know Xiao Chen’s current situation, but if you want to see him again, you have to follow the rules of the game here.”
Coach Lin’s voice sounded gentle but carried a certain indifference.
This indifference, An Lan had seen in many people. It was indifference towards life, a worship of the survival of the fittest.
“We’ll stop here for today. There’s much more for you to learn.” Coach Lin smiled.
The same smile, but An Lan felt a chilling sensation in his blood and bones.
What “Eden” wanted him to learn was definitely not what he wanted to master.
In the room where An Lan slept, there was no one else, only him. He dared not imagine what kind of people had lived here before, what kind of training they had undergone, and whether they had survived. But what Coach Lin wanted to teach him, he really didn’t want to learn.
He had no sleepiness at all, and without a phone or network, he didn’t even know how to spend such a long night.
Pressing against the pillow, An Lan, like a pancake, closed his eyes, and endless nightmares unfolded. The scene replaying in his mind was the night when Liang Hao unhesitatingly shot the companion’s car, and the explosion made An Lan break into a cold sweat as he sat up.
In such a situation, he couldn’t sleep at all. He could only sit up, calming his emotions against the pillow.
As his breathing gradually steadied, and all the chaos and conflicting emotions temporarily left, An Lan faintly smelled an odor, very faint, as if it were his own illusion.
Is it because I miss him too much?
An Lan turned around, searching around. His heart was beating fast, and a glimmer of insight flashed. Perhaps, this was the signal left by Gu Liyu.
This was his scent, absolutely his scent. An Lan was confident that he hadn’t made a mistake.
He lowered his head, constantly sniffing. Even though he hadn’t smelled it before, why could he smell it now?
Lifting the blanket, he went inch by inch, completely unable to find what he wanted. He covered himself with the blanket, unable to smell Gu Liyu’s pheromones at all.
Is it because I miss him so much that I’m having hallucinations?
Suffocating under the blanket, An Lan sweated all over. He lifted the blanket, and the cool air rushed in.
Gu Liyu! Gu Liyu! Gu Liyu! Where the h*ll are you!
Tomorrow, I’ll become the second Liang Hao, blow up your head!
An Lan picked up the pillow. This pillow was probably uniformly provided here, with a white pillowcase, and even the core was not particularly special. An Lan felt like a neurotic patient who had fallen into a paranoid state, searching for a certain scent. Once his mind was disturbed, he had to smell that scent to calm down.
He disassembled the pillowcase, buried his face in it, and sniffed hard. His heartbeat suddenly rose. He found a black short hair in the pillowcase.
The feeling of excitement was indescribable, like walking in the desert for a long time, under the scorching sun, the air was so dry that it was hard to breathe, and finally, rain began to fall.
An Lan’s eyes were hot. He put the pillowcase back on, carefully making sure not to let the hair fall out.
It belonged to Gu Liyu, An Lan was sure Gu Liyu was definitely here. The message conveyed by this strand of hair was to calm An Lan’s emotions, learn whatever Coach Lin taught, and Gu Liyu would not let him cross the bottom line.
Only Gu Liyu knew how sensitive An Lan was to his pheromones.
If the people from “Eden” wanted to make An Lan misunderstand that Gu Liyu was here, they wouldn’t just use a strand of hair hidden in the pillow. Because who could guarantee that An Lan would find this hair?
But Gu Liyu had absolute confidence. In this closed room, An Lan could search for his scent, so it could only be the information left by Gu Liyu.
An Lan didn’t know what Gu Liyu’s plan was, but at this moment, he felt much more at ease.
Hugging the pillow, An Lan closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The next day when he woke up, An Lan was taken by Jiao Yun to Coach Lin. Passing by Liang Hao, Liang Hao was smoking in the corridor with a disdainful look. His eyes crossed An Lan’s neck.
An Lan felt like he was about to be killed by the other party.
Starting from this day, An Lan underwent extremely rigorous training. Various shooting postures, physical training for arm stability, and even lying motionless under the scorching sun for a whole day.
His originally fair skin gradually turned wheat-colored, and even the lines of his shoulders and arms became tight and filled with tension.
Two weeks later, An Lan came out of the shower, a towel hanging around his neck, drops of water dripping from the tips of his hair. He was wearing the white T-shirt and camouflage pants provided here. Jiao Yun, who was in charge of watching him, whistled when she saw him.
“I heard that the Gu family’s pheromones flow in your body?” Jiao Yun reached out and pinched An Lan’s bicep. “No wonder you learn everything so quickly, and your physical fitness is different.”
An Lan immediately dodged away from the other party.
“What’s wrong? Gu Liyu isn’t here, touching won’t get you marked.” Jiao Yun deliberately made An Lan look bad.
An Lan did not reply to her, lowered his head, and walked towards his room. Jiao Yun followed behind him with her hands in her pockets.
During his stay here, almost every day, someone came to draw blood from An Lan and check the concentration of his pheromones. He was the best example of differentiation promoted by external pheromones. Coach Lin’s evaluation suggested that An Lan’s learning ability and potential as an alpha might be far stronger than Liang Hao.
Liang Hao came from the opposite direction, a disdainful expression in his eyes. He suddenly raised the hand holding the towel, and in that moment, An Lan’s muscles tensed. Besides the towel, Liang Hao also held a dagger!
The cold and sharp blade touched An Lan’s skin, and the crisis awareness made An Lan’s reaction unprecedentedly quick. However, Liang Hao took another step forward, and his target was still An Lan’s throat.
Jiao Yun urgently intervened, grabbing Liang Hao’s wrist and forcefully pushing him away.
“Hey, you’ve violated the rules.” Jiao Yun said coldly.
“What’s the difference between you and me? Today it’s me, and tomorrow it will be you.” Liang Hao gritted his teeth, staring at Jiao Yun.
“Tsk, I’m not like you guys. You’re the mighty alphas, while I’m just an omega without even glands.” Jiao Yun released Liang Hao and walked away with An Lan.
Liang Hao’s sudden attack left An Lan with lingering fear. His steps felt somewhat floating, and his back was covered in cold sweat.
He had almost died just now.
“Why was Liang Hao so eager to kill me?” An Lan asked.
“Because the test is about to begin. He’s in the ‘experimental group,’ not the ‘control group.’ He’s the prey, and you’re the hunter,” Jiao Yun replied.
“What test?”
Jiao Yun turned around, met An Lan’s puzzled expression, and raised her hand to mimic aiming.
“Bang—”
An Lan was shaken. He realized that the so-called test was a life-and-death showdown between him and Liang Hao.
“I’m not Liang Hao’s opponent at all…”
“Liang Hao wasn’t originally a professional killer either. After studying for two weeks, he took down the entire ‘control group’ on his first attempt. Don’t be overly confident in yourself.” Jiao Yun chuckled and continued walking.
An Lan, however, stopped.
“I know my question is naive, but I still want to ask… What does human life mean?”
“Before you ask this question…” Jiao Yun turned around, looking seriously at An Lan, “first, save your own life.”
So, what Liang Hao did was just for survival.
Another week passed, and An Lan’s shooting became more accurate, with targets at increasing distances.
Coach Lin lay beside An Lan, hidden in the jungle. The air was hot and stuffy, and An Lan kept sweating.
Coach Lin glanced at An Lan’s expression from the corner of his eye and smiled, “You finally look like an alpha.”
This statement made An Lan feel uncomfortable.
“An Lan, remember, let go of all the compassion that makes you weak. A true alpha is the most powerful hunter; it has always been you capturing others, not others taking you down.”
An Lan pretended Coach Lin didn’t exist, pulled the trigger, and shot down a wild rabbit.
That night, An Lan had a restless sleep, constantly having nightmares. In the dream, the lively and jumping rabbits in the woods turned into a person. An Lan shot him, and the person looked at An Lan with despair, blood staining the world red.
A thunderclap woke An Lan suddenly from the nightmare.
He panted heavily, drenched in sweat, suddenly realizing someone was standing by his bed. He turned around abruptly and saw Coach Lin.
“Coach… Coach Lin… Why are you here?”
“Not alert enough. If I were Liang Hao, your head would no longer be on your neck,” Coach Lin said.
In the dimly lit room, Coach Lin’s figure seemed ghostly.
A sense of danger surged up, and An Lan subconsciously clenched his fist.
“You have three minutes, put on your clothes, grab your gun, and assemble outside.”
An Lan paused. Outside, there was thunder and lightning, and the rain was heavy. What kind of practice was there in the middle of the night?
An Lan quickly put on his clothes, took a gun from the arsenal, and went outside.
Rain tore the white illumination lights into slanting lines, and their clothes were soon soaked.
Apart from An Lan, Liang Hao also stood in the rain, standing tall. Rainwater fell on his hat, forming fine water pillars.
Several people wearing camouflage suits and headgear stood beside them.
One of them walked over and attached a signaling device to An Lan and Liang Hao.
“Today is your first test. Each person has only one bullet. Good luck,” Coach Lin said.
An Lan’s heart sank suddenly.
This is the so-called test?
Liang Hao’s lips curled high. For him, whether it was hiding himself or marksmanship, the most important thing was that he regarded An Lan as prey, and An Lan had not crossed the bottom line of human nature.
“Before the test begins, the examiner will take you to a designated location. After that, it’s a matter of life and death,” Coach Lin looked at An Lan, “Don’t be soft-hearted, thinking that surviving for the day is enough. When you are soft-hearted, your opponent will never have the slightest sympathy for you.”
After saying that, An Lan was pulled onto an off-road vehicle and driven into a forest in the pouring rain.
The driver didn’t say much, just pulled An Lan down by the back collar.
An Lan, who hadn’t stood firm, almost twisted his own foot.
He only had one bullet and had to follow what Coach Lin had taught him to conceal himself.
His heartbeat mixed with the sound of rain, and his body felt heavy. An Lan, in a state of distress, thought about what to do. If he tried to find a place to hide, Liang Hao, with his personality, would definitely look for him.
For example, the dark cave in front of him. Liang Hao was good at understanding the psychology of prey. He would definitely guess that An Lan was hiding inside. At that time, An Lan would have no way out. Could he really shoot Liang Hao with a single bullet?
At this moment, a figure darted out of the cave, moving extremely fast. What was this?
Before An Lan could think, he was knocked down by the person. He subconsciously tried to pull out the dagger on his leg, but the other party pressed him down, and a cold voice penetrated the damp rain into An Lan’s ears.
“It’s me.”
At that moment, An Lan’s heart felt like it was lifted from the mud. He looked at the other person incredulously.
The person was dressed like the others who brought him here, wearing a headgear that hid the face. However, those eyes were extremely familiar to An Lan.
“Why did you come so late…” An Lan hugged the person tightly, pounding his back with his fist.
“Hush… hush… I’m here to take your place.” Gu Liyu’s voice sounded.
“Take my place for what?” An Lan asked.
“Of course, it’s to complete the test.”
The ambergris in the rain gave An Lan a feeling of unparalleled peace and excitement.
“Complete the test? You’re not here to take me away but to complete a test? What’s going on?”
“We need to turn Liang Hao against ‘Eden,'” Gu Liyu said, taking the gun from An Lan’s back and leading him to a rocky area. The terrain here was elevated, and with the rock clusters as cover, it was indeed a good place for an ambush.
An Lan followed behind Gu Liyu, recalling what he had just said, and seemed to understand something.
He gently tugged Gu Liyu and asked, “What about Coach Lin? Is he a good person or…”
“He is our real target,” Gu Liyu replied.
At that moment, all the clues in An Lan’s mind connected, and he finally understood what was going on.
“Are you the only one here?”
“Of course not. I’m only responsible for hitting Liang Hao. The rest is for the adults to handle.”
While saying this, Gu Liyu took out a small compact mirror from his pocket, placed it on another side of the stone, took off An Lan’s hat and placed it behind the mirror, supported by two stones. Then, he took An Lan to the other side of the rock cluster.
As the lightning flashed, the small mirror placed between the stones sparkled.
An Lan didn’t say a word, crouching beside Gu Liyu. “Will you kill him?”
“Of course not.” Gu Liyu had adjusted his posture, lifted his hand, and pressed An Lan’s head down.
“Will he fall for it?”
“He will. Because he looks down on you and doesn’t think you’re capable of such tricks.” Gu Liyu replied.
Hearing this, An Lan felt relieved.
The rain lessened, and the thunder and lightning moved away, meaning both Gu Liyu and Liang Hao now had clearer visibility.
Suddenly, An Lan felt all the muscles in Gu Liyu’s body tense. He gritted his teeth, and his tightly clenched jawline showed powerful determination.
An Lan knew that Gu Liyu had spotted Liang Hao.
Taking a deep breath, An Lan dared not even breathe, afraid of disturbing Gu Liyu.
The rain became drizzly, and the sky faintly revealed the moonlight. From An Lan’s angle, he could see a section of Gu Liyu’s neck.
The outside world seemed unrelated to An Lan, including Liang Hao’s killing intent.
At some point, Gu Liyu suddenly pulled the trigger. The sound of the bullet being fired was familiar to An Lan, who had heard it many times during practice. However, this time, everything seemed clear and merged with Gu Liyu’s heartbeat.
An Lan stood still, unmoving.
Two seconds later, Gu Liyu quickly retracted the gun, “Don’t move here.”
“Okay,” An Lan nodded.
Gu Liyu went to retrieve the small mirror and An Lan’s hat. He pointed in a direction and said to An Lan, “Hide over there. ‘Eden’ will come to find you. Remember, you need to look very scared because you think you killed Liang Hao.”
Gu Liyu’s voice was icy, not despairing but awakening for An Lan.
“…Did Liang Hao really die?” An Lan asked.
“Of course not.”
With that, Gu Liyu grabbed An Lan’s face, pressed him against himself, and kissed him forcefully.
This kiss had no trace of tenderness; instead, it was rigid, as if confirming something.
“Go, trust us.”
“Okay.” An Lan, with the gun, headed towards the place Gu Liyu had indicated.
At this moment, the communication device in Coach Lin’s ear received a message: “Liang Hao has been hit. Repeat, Liang Hao has been hit.”
Coach Lin’s mouth slowly curled up, “Not bad, Liang Hao got hit before dawn? Is he dead?”
“No, he was hit in the shoulder.”
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