"Please! Save me! I'm willing to surrender to the Phantom! I'll give you everything! I just want to live!"
Qin Xuezhong was still in a daze when Liu Ting's boss suddenly burst into tears.
A burly man, tears and snot streaming down his face.
Xiao Qin frowned.
It seemed like getting information wouldn't be too difficult, but this man's appearance was a bit hard to bear.
"Stop crying, just wait," she said, calming him down. Then she messaged Yu Zhezhong, "What's going on?"
"Hold on, I'll be there soon," he replied.
No sooner had the message sent than the office door opened again, and Yu Zhezhong slipped in, looking somewhat shaken.
"Sorry," he panted, "someone downstairs mistook me for... a new hire."
Qin Xuezhong stifled a laugh.
Given Yu Zhezhong's physique and looks, it was easy to see why he would outshine anyone in the club.
Upon hearing Yu Zhezhong's words, Liu Ting's boss's expression changed, his voice rising a notch, "Who was it? I'll go kill him!"
The theatricality of this statement was a bit much; both Qin Xuezhong and Yu Zhezhong turned to him with raised eyebrows.
The boss fell silent, instead looking back and forth at the two with pleading eyes.
Qin Xuezhong asked Yu Zhezhong, "So, why is this guy in such a state?"
Yu Zhezhong replied, "He has some sort of self-destruct device inside him, and we already sent a signal scrambler to him, so it shouldn't activate for now. It's just for us to ask a few questions; if necessary later, we can send someone to protect him."
Seeming to worry that Qin Xuezhong might not agree, Yu Zhezhong added, "The customers at Liu Ting are generally decent and could become a good intelligence source."
The boss nodded eagerly, like a chick pecking at rice. "Yes, yes! I'm willing! I'm willing to dedicate myself to the Phantom's cause!"
Qin Xuezhong gently extended a hand, stopping the excited boss.
He immediately shut his mouth.
"Calm down, stand up, and first tell me what issues you have."
Seeing Qin Xuezhong's composed demeanor, the boss's emotions stabilized a bit.
He quickly stood up, obediently like a schoolboy in front of her.
Yu Zhezhong stood by like a bodyguard, positioned between her and the door—ready to block any danger at a moment's notice.
Only Qin Xuezhong herself sat comfortably on the sofa, exuding an air of authority.
"I..." The boss took a deep breath, fidgeting a bit before finally speaking. "I have a uterus inside me."
Qin Xuezhong and Yu Zhezhong: **???**
Yu Zhezhong was the first to react. "Did your backers implant it into you?"
The boss nodded gloomily, continuing, "Inside the uterus, there's a mutated organism, a leftover from the military's past bioweapon research. Usually, it doesn't have any effect, but if I try to betray or attempt to remove it, it will activate and eat my organs and brain…"
At this point, he anxiously added, "Your signal scrambler should be fine, right? I'm really scared."
Yu Zhezhong waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about that; our Phantom is best known for our security. You should know that any device in our hands is absolutely safe."
After saying this, he cautiously glanced at Qin Xuezhong.
Inwardly chuckling, Qin Xuezhong discreetly accessed the boss's chip with her consciousness, double-checking the situation.
Then she subtly messaged Yu Zhezhong, "Don't worry."
Maybe it was just her imagination, but she felt that after receiving her message, Yu Zhezhong stood a bit straighter.
The boss noticed the interaction between them, looking uncertainly at Qin Xuezhong. Upon seeing her calm expression, he felt somewhat reassured and continued.
"You all know that I'm not just the boss of Liu Ting, but also an intermediary. This client was connected to me by chance five years ago. The first commission was simple: to dispose of a corpse."
"What corpse?" Yu Zhezhong asked.
The boss shook his head. "I don't know. It was in a body bag, and I never looked at it. The less I know, the longer I'll live."
He went on, "As you know, many people now have modifications from bones to organs, and ordinary incinerators or chemical methods can't destroy them. However, I invested in a waste disposal facility with a friend that refines rare metals and can easily destroy corpses there."
Hearing this, Qin Xuezhong frowned slightly.
The boss, skilled in reading expressions, immediately caught on to her subtle displeasure.
He knelt down again.
"Boss! I know there must be innocent people who have been disposed of in my hands, but... I never thought much about it back then. Evil begets evil, and I truly understand now. Please... don't be angry. You can do anything you want to me; I'll donate all my money to charity! Just spare my life!"
"Alright," Qin Xuezhong waved her hand. "Get up and sit down to talk."
"Yes! Yes! Thank you!"
The boss wiped his sweat, trembling as he sat on the edge of the sofa and continued, "I originally guessed they were a killer organization or some illegal lab because I received several corpses every week. It went on like this for two or three months until one day, they suddenly kidnapped me!"
At this point, the boss displayed a look of lingering fear.
Qin Xuezhong and Yu Zhezhong exchanged glances—looks like the main story was about to unfold.
"I was unconscious the whole time, and when I woke up, I was already lying in a hospital bed. The room... was very strange, like an ancient castle."
"There was a doctor and a masked person dressed in ancient clothing next to me. Before I could even speak, the doctor made me sit up."
"At that moment, I saw that directly opposite my room was a large glass pane, revealing a white room where a person looked very panicked."
"Then, the masked person clapped his hands. I watched as the person in that room clutched his stomach and collapsed to the floor."
The expression of fear began to surface on the boss's face, as if he was recalling an unforgettable scene.
He continued, "I first saw something moving in that person's stomach, then his skin started to ooze blood, and suddenly, a very sharp spike emerged from his abdomen, splitting him open…"
The boss hesitated, struggling with whether to continue.
At that moment, Yu Zhezhong suddenly interjected, "It had a row of spikes on its back, like a monkey, with metallic-tipped claws, and a cord hanging from its belly?"
The moment those words were spoken, the boss's expression shifted instantly.
From initial fear to sheer terror.
"Y-you... how do you know?!" he stammered, unconsciously shrinking back.
Yu Zhezhong ignored him, turning to Qin Xuezhong instead. "The Federation's biological weapon program from thirty years ago implanted a fertilized egg containing synthetic genes into an artificial womb to create monsters that could execute commands. The records should have been sealed, but I didn't expect someone to have transformed it like this."
"Is it dangerous?" Qin Xuezhong asked.
Yu Zhezhong shook his head. "Not really; it's basically a failed experiment. As long as it's exposed to air, it will die within an hour. According to the boss, it will likely only consume the host's internal organs as a control measure."
Qin Xuezhong nodded.
Only then did Yu Zhezhong ask the boss, "Are you experiencing a large appetite now?"
"Yes!" The boss's eyes lit up. "I have to eat as much as three or four people's portions a day. You... you know about this? Can you help me resolve it?"
"It's simple. Under a signal-blocking condition, we can perform surgery to remove the entire uterus."
Upon hearing this, the boss seemed ready to say something excitedly.
Yu Zhezhong stopped him. "Finish your story first."
"Yes!" The boss seemed to gather himself a bit. "After I saw that person die, the masked man told me that I had also been implanted with a uterus, and inside it was such a creature…"
"If I dared to entertain any thoughts of betrayal or engage in any misconduct, or revealed any related information... that creature would eat me from the inside out, just like that…"
Qin Xuezhong waved for the boss to come closer.
The boss obediently complied.
She gently connected to his chip, directly accessing his nervous system.
—This was a new feature she discovered in her conscious void ability, which allowed her to not only read thoughts and memories but also perceive the positions and states of all nerves within a body.
Originally, she thought this function was somewhat useless, but today it turned out to be quite handy.
Qin Xuezhong clearly saw that, aside from the nerves of the body itself and the modified areas, there was a circular cluster of nerves around the boss's abdomen, encapsulating a small creature that was slowly floating.
This case began with a pregnant woman and now revealed a man who had a uterus implanted in him.
It was clear that there was a connection between the two.
She emerged from the conscious void and nodded to Yu Zhezhong, indicating she had seen it.
The boss, on the other hand, seemed to feel nothing, only looking at Qin Xuezhong's demeanor, as if confirming his own body.
He dared not speak, only watching Qin Xuezhong with hopeful eyes.
She said, "There's nothing wrong for now; keep talking."
The boss quickly nodded. "Afterward, they drugged me again and sent me back. After I returned, the client continued to commission me. I figured, since I might die, I might as well understand why I was dying."
"When the next batch of goods arrived, I secretly opened one."
He paused for a moment.
"They were all women's corpses, and... their bellies looked very strange…"
This time, Qin Xuezhong continued, "They were all pregnant."
The boss nodded silently.
This situation was beyond his comprehension, and he had no further comments.
Qin Xuezhong asked, "How many corpses have you disposed of so far?"
The boss took a deep breath before slowly replying.
"Close to 2,000."