Chapter 415 - 414: Uncontrollable Feelings

Jiang Qingli’s breath caught in her throat when she realized Ye Linyuan was using his own body to shield her from the bullets.

She quickly tried to explain, "Don’t worry about me, I can—"

Before she could finish, Ye Linyuan covered her mouth.

"Shut up."

Ye Linyuan’s brow furrowed as he spoke his first words to her since they’d met.

Jiang Qingli: "..."

030: [?Oh, so we’re playing it cool now, are we?]

The stick-figure 030 rolled up its non-existent sleeves and started "punching and kicking" at Ye Linyuan in mid-air.

Just as it threw a couple of moves, Ye Linyuan suddenly lifted his gaze.

froze in terror.

But it quickly realized Ye Linyuan wasn’t looking at it, but at the surrounding robots.

Jiang Qingli also poked her head out from his suffocating embrace to assess the situation.

They were now backed against the glass pod that had been half-shattered earlier, with most of the bullets hitting the thick glass cover.

But it clearly wouldn’t last much longer.

The robots had finished a volley and were now reloading.

Once reloaded, they immediately started firing in their direction again.

Jiang Qingli counted silently for a moment, then leaned close to Ye Linyuan and whispered in his ear, "The reloading interval is thirty-seven seconds."

As the girl drew near, Ye Linyuan unconsciously leaned toward her.

From his perspective, the curve of her lips as they moved was perfectly clear.

’The lips his fingers had just touched... They’d taste softer than flower petals—’

Ye Linyuan snapped back to his senses.

His brow furrowed even tighter.

He looked at the girl with a trace of wariness.

But when a bullet grazed the glass and shot toward her ankle, Ye Linyuan instinctively blocked it with his snake tail.

Seeing the worry in the girl’s eyes, Ye Linyuan suddenly felt a sense of frustration.

He didn’t like seeing that expression on her face.

It made him feel useless.

"Don’t move."

Ye Linyuan let go of her, placing her behind a section of undamaged glass.

Jiang Qingli grabbed his fingers and asked, "Is thirty-seven seconds enough? There are still two men by the door."

The two men by the door had apparently realized what Ye Linyuan was planning and were slowly approaching with their weapons raised.

Jiang Qingli tried to stand in front of him but was held back by a hand on her shoulder.

The young man suddenly raised an eyebrow.

As if displeased by her question, yet also wanting to prove his strength to her.

"Count."

As soon as he spoke, the hail of bullets stopped.

The next second, Ye Linyuan vanished from before Jiang Qingli’s eyes.

A black mist swept through the room like an unnatural storm.

Jiang Qingli couldn’t see what was happening; she could only hear the agonized screams of the males and the sound of machinery being crushed.

When her vision cleared, the scene before her had been completely transformed.

The two males lay collapsed on the floor, unconscious, surrounded by the wreckage of robots.

Ye Linyuan’s snake tail had transformed into a pair of legs, and he was walking slowly toward Jiang Qingli.

He stood before Jiang Qingli, looking down at her. "How many seconds?"

The last syllable rose slightly, full of proud confidence.

Jiang Qingli looked down.

Ye Linyuan thought she was scared and softened his tone. "How many seconds?"

Jiang Qingli’s voice was a little muffled. "...Thirty-seven seconds."

The way she avoided his gaze made Ye Linyuan instinctively feel that sense of frustration again.

He said, his tone firm, "Look at me."

Jiang Qingli: "...Are you sure?"

Ye Linyuan: "If you have something to say, just say it."

Jiang Qingli finally raised her head, glanced between his legs, and then bit her lip, looking troubled. "You’re... you’re not wearing anything."

In his snake form, everything below his waist was covered in scales, and *that thing* would be retracted beneath them.

But now...

Ye Linyuan froze, the tips of his ears burning hot.

He transformed back into his beast form and rushed out. When he returned, he was wearing a clean researcher’s uniform.

Jiang Qingli was still sitting where she was and looked in his direction at the sound.

This time, Ye Linyuan suddenly noticed that besides her reddened ears, the girl’s eyes held the mischievous glint of a successful prank.

’Like a little fo... no, it shouldn’t be a fox.’

The association had barely formed before Ye Linyuan dismissed it.

’For some reason, I feel like I’m supposed to hate foxes.’

"What are you laughing at?" Ye Linyuan averted his gaze and spoke coldly.

Jiang Qingli said, "Nothing. Should we go find Lü Xin now?"

"She’s already been captured."

Ye Linyuan locked the door behind him and walked over to the other experimental pods, releasing the occupants one by one.

"Who captured her?" Jiang Qingli asked, watching his actions and starting to help him open the others. "Was it Jing—I mean, a really handsome guy with white hair?"

Hearing those last few words, Ye Linyuan’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

"I don’t know," Ye Linyuan said. "I only heard a voice."

030, who had just done a lap outside, reported: [Baili Jing and his people are in the hallway over there, interrogating Lü Xin about you. They’ll probably be here soon.]

The few males in the glass pods had all been released.

Four who looked older struggled to their feet. A younger one tried to transform his tail into legs but was stopped by Ye Linyuan before he could.

"Let’s go."

The youngest one was immediately helped up by the person next to him.

One of them asked Ye Linyuan, "Y-01, where are we going?"

Before Ye Linyuan could answer, Jiang Qingli grabbed his hand. "I’m going too."

’They don’t have a mark between them, and Ye Linyuan is still injured. If I don’t follow him, he might just disappear in the next second.’

Ye Linyuan stiffened and pulled his hand back. "This has nothing to do with you."

"I don’t care, I’m going!"

Jiang Qingli jumped up, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, clinging to him like a koala.

Ye Linyuan instinctively steadied the girl, supporting her with one hand, as practiced as if he had done it countless times before.

It took him a few seconds to realize what he was doing. He frowned. "Get down."

"You tell me to get down, but you won’t let go, will you?" Jiang Qingli shook her head smugly.

But afraid he might actually let go, she hugged him even tighter.

The girl’s warmth felt extremely unfamiliar to Ye Linyuan.

And yet, it was as if he craved it, wanting to hold her closer.

But as he considered pulling her closer, strange images flashed through his mind, and it was as if countless voices were whispering in his ear: *Females are the most disgusting creatures. Females will only use them and throw them away. You can’t trust females...*

A splitting pain tore through his mind.

Ye Linyuan pressed on the girl’s waist, setting her down on a clean tabletop before leaving without a backward glance.

He moved so quickly that the other males paused for a second before realizing they had to follow.

Jiang Qingli called out to the youngest one and asked which way they were going.

He didn’t dare to speak, only pointing discreetly in one direction before hurrying away.

Jiang Qingli couldn’t keep up with the Beastmen’s speed, so she turned and headed in another direction.

-

「The sky was already growing light.」

There were no guards at the entrance, and the few Beastmen slipped silently into the forest outside the research institute.

The young boy glanced up at Ye Linyuan beside him.

’For some reason, it feels like Y-01’s walking speed has slowed down.’

’This slowness doesn’t seem to be from his injuries. It’s like... he’s waiting for someone...’

’Is it that female from before?’

’Well, that female saw all of Y-01, so he’ll definitely have to marry her now...’

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly met Ye Linyuan’s cold, slitted pupils. The boy flinched and didn’t dare move.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind them. "Hey!"

’It’s her.’

’I know I shouldn’t look back.’

But Ye Linyuan still stopped and looked behind him.

’Just one glance.’

But once he looked, he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

Somehow, Jiang Qingli had made her way to the roof of the second floor.

She waved at Ye Linyuan and raised her voice. "Ye Linyuan! You have to catch me!"

As she spoke, she stood up and walked to the edge of the roof.

The young boy’s pupils trembled. "Sh-she’s just a human... She’ll die..."

A companion beside him glanced at Ye Linyuan.

The latter was perfectly still.

The companion couldn’t help but mutter, "Is this female insane? There’s no way Y-01 will go."

Before he had even finished speaking, Jiang Qingli actually jumped!

The companion’s eyes widened.

He was about to move, but a cloud of black mist was faster—

Just millimeters from the ground, Ye Linyuan caught her in his arms.