MLV Ch 14

Jiang Ye asked, “What exactly happened to my mom in 2005?”

Jin Feize pulled a photocopied document from his bag and handed it to him. Jiang Ye lowered his head to flip through it; the cover bore a “Top Secret” stamp. The file was an investigation record from the Special Biological Research Institute regarding a disappearance case in western Yunnan, dated May 16, 2005, with the lead investigator listed as Jin Ruohai.

As he read, Jin Feize explained, “In 2005, your mother, as an invited scholar, participated in an archaeological project. Near Taosui Village in western Yunnan, some unusual artifacts were unearthed. The Western Yunnan Cultural Relics Bureau’s Archaeological Research Center dispatched a team to excavate the site, and your mother was invited to study the lacquer paintings discovered on-site. She went missing on the second day after arriving.

On the third day, a search and rescue team from western Yunnan conducted a blanket search for your mother. It wasn’t until the eighth day that the team found her. When they located her, she was mentally unstable, convinced that a military unit was stationed around the site and had ventured deep into the mountains. Her descriptions were incredibly detailed; she even named the specific unit and mentioned a person called Jiang Ran. According to her, the unit was the Border Defense 607th Infantry Regiment, and the person she knew was a professor at the Capital University’s Special Biological Research Institute. The investigation confirmed that there was indeed a unit in western Yunnan matching the designation she described, stationed about a hundred li northwest of the mountain village. But Capital University had no record of anyone named ‘Jiang Ran.’ The psychiatrist diagnosed your mother with anxiety disorder, concluding that the army and Jiang Ran were hallucinations born from her getting lost in the jungle under extreme psychological stress. Later, at the hospital, they detected LSD in her bloodstream. The police suspected that your mother had ingested LSD, and combined with her anxiety disorder, it produced such vivid hallucinations.”

Jiang Ye asked, “What was the Special Biological Research Institute’s conclusion?”

“Have you heard of this theory?” Jin Feize began slowly, “Scientists at the Special Biological Research Institute believe that in the multiverse, there are countless layered and superimposed spaces, squeezed together like the segments of an orange, coexisting simultaneously. These other spaces are vastly different from our world and extremely dangerous. Where segments overlap, spaces also have overlapping regions, which the Institute calls ‘forbidden zones.'”

Jiang Ye’s heart sank. 

“You mean my mom entered a forbidden zone?”

“Exactly,” Jin Feize continued.

“And there’s something even more interesting. After your mother returned from there, she developed a severe mental illness.”

Jiang Ye continued reading; the file included his mother’s psychological treatment records and the psychiatrist’s diagnosis, which stated: “The patient exhibits at least two distinctly different personality identities. The primary personality is Jiang Ruochu, an archaeological scholar with keen insight and analytical abilities. The secondary personality calls itself Alpha, proficient in combat and firearms, with a fondness for smoking and drinking, and mild violent tendencies. The two personalities cannot share memories but are aware of each other’s existence.”

Jiang Ye was utterly shocked. He had only known that his mom suffered from insomnia; he never imagined her mental illness was this severe.

Jin Feize curved his eyes in a smile. 

“These files are all classified; I went to great lengths to get them for you. Remember to destroy them after you’re done.”

Jiang Ye said, “How did you know about this? Who exactly are you? The investigator on this report is Jin Ruohai—you both have the surname Jin. What’s your relationship?”

“He’s my father, the dean of Capital University’s Special Biological Research Institute, Shen Duo’s mentor and direct superior. But these materials weren’t from him—he despises me and won’t even see me. I got them from my grandfather. He’s the patriarch of the Jin family and a kindly old man who dotes on his grandson.”

Jiang Ye recalled the study materials in Jin Feize’s bookcase, inscribed with his grandfather’s name as the giver.

For a moment, Jiang Ye didn’t know what to say.

Jin Feize’s tone grew excited, as if he were eagerly anticipating something.

“Jiang Ye, I hate your mother, but I like you. Once your mom dies, I want to cut off your head and preserve it as a specimen to keep by my bedside. What do you think?”

Jiang Ye: “…”

This guy had a bizarre, unhinged energy about him. He didn’t even know what that black water was, yet he’d dared to inject it into Jiang Ye. He clearly knew the headless corpses were hiding on this freighter, but not only did he not call the police—he’d lured Jiang Ye here instead. Jiang Ye even suspected he hadn’t reported it because he wanted to kill these monsters himself.

Killing, for him, was a form of amusement.

Jiang Ye said indifferently, “You’d better leave quickly.”

He pulled out his phone, preparing to call the police. With all these bodies here, someone had to come handle it.

Jin Feize tilted his head and glanced at him. 

“You’re planning to take the blame again, say all these bodies are your doing?”

Jiang Ye didn’t respond, which was as good as admitting it. Jin Feize might be a nutcase, but he’d helped him a lot too—dealing with the fallout from Jin Feize’s recklessness could be his way of repaying the favor. Of course, if Jin Feize ever committed murder and got caught, Jiang Ye wouldn’t get involved.

Jin Feize laughed. 

“You really do still like me.”

“Think too much,” Jiang Ye’s tone suddenly turned icy. 

“I’ve already broken up with you.”

“What to do, then?” Jin Feize put on a troubled expression. 

“The others are either ugly as sin or dumb as rocks. I don’t want to replace my lover.”

“I suggest you stay single.”

Jiang Ye turned to leave when his phone suddenly received a WeChat message from “Witch Who Loves Candy,” who had sent a video. He opened it, and his pupils shrank to pinpricks.

The progress bar slid silently forward. In the video, Jin Feize held a groggy Jiang Ye in his arms, kissing his lips like he was licking a piece of candy. And not only did Jiang Ye not push Jin Feize away—he was responding to the kisses. Jiang Ye heard Jin Feize murmur softly, “Jiang Ye, you’re so sweet. I really want to cut off your head and keep it, so I can kiss you every day.”

That must have been why he’d heard Jin Feize’s voice in his hallucination.

Jiang Ye couldn’t bear to watch; he skipped ahead. The video played to the part where Jin Feize had pulled down Jiang Ye’s pants and was repeatedly bringing him to release with his hand. Jiang Ye fast-forwarded frantically, watching himself climax in Jin Feize’s palm.

No wonder he’d felt so drained and lightheaded earlier. Jiang Ye gripped his phone, veins bulging on the back of his hand. The recording infuriated him, but he clung to his rationality. He quickly realized that Jin Feize’s method of violation matched exactly the interaction sequences from the study materials’ videos: first kissing, then biting the neck, finally handjob. He was imitating what he’d seen in the films. Jiang Ye might even feel grateful—perhaps Jin Feize hadn’t watched the videos to the end, sparing him what came next.

“I helped you come four times; it took five hours, and my hand got calluses.” Jin Feize pulled out a tube of hand cream and leisurely applied it to his hands, complaining, “So tiring.”

The hand cream Jin Feize used was cherry blossom-scented, with an intensely sweet fragrance.

“So, still breaking up?” he asked.

Jiang Ye knew full well this was a threat.

If he refused, this video might appear on the school forum tomorrow.

Jiang Ye said in a low voice, “Jin Feize, you’re truly pathetic.”

Jin Feize tilted his head. 

“Pathetic?”

“Your grandfather really looks out for you, doesn’t he?” Jiang Ye said coldly. 

“He wants you to be a normal person, to do the things normal people do. He makes you go jogging in the mornings, make friends—he’s trying to guide you into ordinary life. But does he know you slaughter pigs at home to vent your murderous urges? Does he know you can’t control yourself and dismember bodies? You can’t change your nature; you can only pretend. But the ‘normal’ you pretend to be isn’t actually normal.”

Jin Feize didn’t care about his words at all. 

“Classmate Jiang Ye, you understand me so well.”

“No,” Jiang Ye said. 

“I despise you.”

“How heartbreaking. You hate me, but I like you.” Jin Feize pulled a small pink gift box from his bag and stuffed it into Jiang Ye’s arms. 

“Boyfriend, a little gift for you—open it at home.”

He gave a soft smile and turned to leave.

Jiang Ye was in a foul mood and had no interest in Jin Feize’s gift; he tossed it into his bag. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away the footprints along the path Jin Feize had taken. Then he took out a lighter and burned the files Jin Feize had given him, letting the ashes scatter into the sea breeze. He returned to the refrigerated hold, found the chainsaw Jin Feize had used for his rampage, wiped off the fingerprints, and gripped it to recut those excessively neat limbs into a more chaotic mess.

Half an hour later, the police arrived at the scene. Shen Duo emerged from the hold filled with corpses, grabbed Jiang Ye by the collar, and took him to the Shenzhen Police Bureau. Nearby, a policeman marveled, “Over thirty bodies, hacked up in a total mess—gruesome beyond words. This has to be the worst major case our city has seen in decades.”

An investigator from the Special Biological Research Institute approached, a stack of nondisclosure agreements under his arm, going from officer to officer for signatures. Shen Duo pulled one out and held it under Jiang Ye’s nose. Jiang Ye realized that all cases involving headless corpses had been classified, and the headless corpses themselves had been taken over entirely by Shen Duo’s team.

“The freighter only had you on it? No one else came with you?” Shen Duo sized him up.

“There was.” Jiang Ye said.

“Who?” Shen Duo raised an eyebrow.

“The bodyguard you assigned me.”

Shen Duo scrutinized him, but Jiang Ye didn’t flinch, meeting his gaze steadily.

“Dismembering anomalous creatures isn’t illegal, and everything related to them is top national secret—no one outside will know what you did. But Jiang Ye, your methods were far too brutal. I have to apply for a mental evaluation for you, get a psychiatrist to intervene. You might even end up in a psych ward sipping tea.” Shen Duo leaned down, eye to eye with him. 

“Think it over—getting locked in a mental hospital isn’t fun. Are you really going to take the fall for someone else?”

“I’m not taking the fall for anyone,” Jiang Ye said evenly. 

“Teacher Shen, one person does the deed, one person bears the consequences.”

The kid was unexpectedly stubborn; Shen Duo had only meant to scare him a little, but he wouldn’t budge. Shen Duo sighed, straightened the boy’s collar, and spotted a hickey on his neck. Shen Duo respected privacy and pretended not to notice, continuing, “Why did you come here?”

“I saw a headless corpse that had attacked me before,” Jiang Ye lied without batting an eye. 

“I followed it here.”

“Why didn’t you tell me right away?”

“It moved too fast; I didn’t have time. After following it onto the freighter, I got spotted.”

“The chainsaw wasn’t from the freighter—you carry a chainsaw on you?”

Jiang Ye paused, then said, “For self-defense.”

The two stared at each other in silence.

Shen Duo patted his shoulder. 

“I get that you’re worried about your mom going missing. But here’s some advice: this matter is way beyond your capabilities now. Focus on your studies and nothing else. Adults’ problems are for adults to solve.”

He nodded coolly.

Shen Duo knew the boy was treating his words like hot air. Kids these days were too rebellious; impossible to manage.

Shen Duo added, “We just found your stepfather’s body. We’ll take the corpse back for processing before we can release it to you and your sister for burial. Wait for the notification, then come claim it.”

Jiang Ye listened absentmindedly, his mind on his mother’s situation. This Alpha personality seemed never to have appeared in front of him. He racked his brain, recalling a period when Li Yian had been listless, getting drunk at home every day. Li Miaomiao had secretly told Jiang Ye that her dad had smelled cigarette smoke on their mom’s discarded clothes and suspected infidelity. Such suspicions insulted Jiang Ruochu’s personality; Jiang Ye was unhappy but didn’t want to meddle in their affairs. But one evening after self-study, he’d run into a drunken Li Yian on his way home. He hadn’t been able to hold back, walking up to Li Yian and saying, “If you have something to say, ask her directly. She doesn’t like weak men.”

Li Yian had looked at Jiang Ye and burst into tears. Jiang Ye handed him a tissue and went upstairs. After that day, Li Yian had returned to normal. Thinking back now, that smoking figure must have been Alpha—Li Yian must have known about Alpha’s existence then. His mother had told Li Yian but not her own son.

She didn’t know what grade he was in or which class; he didn’t know what she’d endured. They hadn’t truly entered each other’s worlds—like strangers under the same roof. Jiang Ye lowered his dark lashes, his face expressionless as he wondered: Were they really mother and son?

Shen Duo glanced at his bag and lifted his chin. 

“Mind if I check your bag?”

The bag held the gift box from Jin Feize; Jiang Ye wasn’t keen on letting Shen Duo see it, fearing whatever bizarre thing Jin Feize might have sent. The guy liked dismembering bodies—who knew if the box contained a severed finger or ear? Unboxing that at the station could land him straight in detention.

“To be honest, Jiang Ye, you’re a scheming one; I don’t trust you.” Shen Duo took the bag with an air of inevitability. 

“Sorry, for your own safety, I need to check your belongings.”

Jiang Ye hesitated but didn’t resist.

Jin Feize was reckless, but he’d never actually harmed him—surely he wouldn’t put anything weird in the box?

Shen Duo opened the bag and pulled out the small pink gift box. He untied the ribbon and flipped open the lid. Both men froze at the sight.

Inside was a pair of worn black stockings.

Shen Duo’s smile froze on his face. 

“Who gave you this?”

“…” Jiang Ye said through gritted teeth, “My girlfriend.”

They stared at each other, falling into silence once more.

Finally, Shen Duo coughed.

“I don’t oppose young love, but remember to use protection.”

Jiang Ye: “…”

Shen Duo left, and Jiang Ye stuffed the stocking box back into his bag, heading to the bathroom. Standing at the urinal as he unzipped, he suddenly caught the cherry blossom scent of Jin Feize’s hand cream, and goosebumps erupted all over him. He instinctively turned around, half-expecting Jin Feize to be lurking in the police station toilet, peeping at him.

A nearby officer zipping up glared at him menacingly. 

“What? Where are you looking?”

“Sorry.” He turned back.

Jin Feize wasn’t here—so where was that scent coming from?

In the next instant, he realized the truth.

His face turned ashen. He yanked off wads of toilet paper, soaked them with water, and retreated into a stall.