NFM Chapter 101

The sudden turn of events left all three of them stunned.

Even though they had already experienced the madness and unpredictability of the man before them back in the studio, when he pulled out a gun, Adam and Eva couldn’t help but let out a scream. Facing the dark muzzle of the gun, it wasn’t hard for them to connect the numerous corpses that had fallen by his hand with their own fate.

“You…” Adam suddenly realized what this man was about to do next.

…He was going to kill the three of them, the deadweights, and then leave!

Uncontrollable fear spread from the depths of his heart, yet despair, like rooted thorns, wrapped around his ankles, leaving him frozen in place—he had seen this man cut people down like melons, and wield methods he couldn’t comprehend and didn’t want to recall. Where could he possibly escape to in front of such a man?

Adam closed his eyes in despair. At the same time, he heard Lin Huai’s voice: “You now have two choices.”

“One, take a bullet from me, get injured, and lie on the ground. Then, as hostages I’ve taken, escape from the museum, tearfully dissect my atrocities to the media, and continue your perfect yet dull lives—”

“I, I know what you’re afraid of!” the red-haired girl said vehemently, “I won’t betray you, and I’m already prepared…”

“—Let me finish,” Lin Huai smiled. “I’m not some soul mentor who’s going to lead you around for long, fighting for the future you want.”

“…But I’m tired of this life,” the red-haired girl said slowly. “No matter what, I don’t want to go back…”

Behind her, Eva wore the same expression. Adam, however, hesitated and took a step back: “I…”

His choice was already clear. Lin Huai chuckled softly and said, “Please.”

Under his direction, the blond young man stumbled away, not even daring to glance back. Only after Adam’s figure had completely disappeared into the darkness did Lin Huai turn to the two girls who had stayed: “So, for you, there’s a second option. First, I have to say Adam is a smart man. A smart man knows how to seek advantage and avoid harm, to escape with his life. But for you, there’s only one fate—”

“Death,” his thin lips uttered the sharp words. “What gave you the illusion that I’d keep two deadweights around?”

With that, he raised the gun and pulled the trigger, aiming at the foreheads of the two girls. Eva screamed and fell to the ground, while the red-haired girl stared straight at the muzzle before collapsing.

“Ta-da,” Lin Huai held the empty gun, spreading his hands in a magician’s gesture. “Just kidding.”

He reached out with his left hand, pulled the red-haired girl’s body up from the ground, and shoved the gun into her hand. With his other hand, he dragged Eva, who had rolled to the side: “This is an empty gun.”

“This…”

“You…!”

Facing their mixed expressions of shock, anger, and relief, Lin Huai shrugged, wearing a somewhat mischievous smile: “You looked too serious, so I thought I’d play a little joke… Alright, now I’m making an announcement!”

He raised both their hands, as if officiating a wedding: “I hereby declare that from this moment on, No. 91 and Eva are dead, and the new you…”

He let go of their hands, stepped forward, and bowed to them: “Have been reborn.”

“Let’s go,” he said, pushing open the door to the corridor. “Let’s find some weapons and head to the control room—”

“What are we going to the control room for?” the red-haired girl asked.

“To activate the museum’s protective shield. It can only be turned on from inside,” Lin Huai said. “And then, it’s our turn to broadcast to the world.”

Adam ran down the long corridor until he had passed five hallways, and the voices of Lin Huai and the others had completely faded. Only then did he have the energy to wipe the cold sweat from his brow and look back.

“It’s useless…” he murmured.

As an eyewitness to the scene, he understood Lin Huai’s power better than anyone—but what good was power alone?

Could he kill everyone in the museum? Could he kill everyone in the world? Even if the people in the greenhouse would temporarily fear him because of his strength, how could he alone stand against the entire world?

Moreover, there were more practical issues… After the momentary rebellion, how would future order be maintained? Even if the greenhouse’s elites were now under duress and willing to sign agreements to provide freedom and better living conditions for potential criminals… who could say this wasn’t just a repeat of the massive rebellion a hundred years ago?

Too much, too much to consider… And for Adam, whether he was locked in a cage or entered the greenhouse as one of the top four in the voting event to become a new citizen, it was all the same.

…Just moving from one cage to another. He thought, rather than gambling on an unseen future, it’d be better to…

Thinking this far, he even felt some resentment toward Lin Huai, who had caused all this. If it weren’t for his interference, things wouldn’t have reached this irreparable point, and he could have lived as a new citizen in the greenhouse world, not like this…

The sound of guards’ footsteps approached. Adam, as if seeing saviors, ran toward them, shouting: “I’m Adam, I’m here!”

“…A potential criminal!”

“…Orders are to shoot on sight.”

“Whoosh” sounds of bullets flew toward him. Adam couldn’t dodge in time, and one arm was pierced through. He didn’t have time to think why they were shooting at him, clutching his arm and shouting through the pain: “Didn’t you hear me? I said I’m…”

Halfway through, he sobered up.

…Yes, these people had orders to kill him, to kill potential criminals, and it had nothing to do with who he was. The guards’ orders were to clear the area, surround the museum’s studio, bury the once-glorious scandal, and cover it up with other news!

Moreover, potential criminals like them had no value as hostages! The guards didn’t believe that these fleeing potential criminals had any value as hostages against the maniacal Lin Huai inside the studio!

Adam, after all, was the best among the potential criminals chosen by Dr. Lucille for his intelligence, physical ability, and charm. He quickly figured out the situation and understood the only thing he should do—run.

But he didn’t have time to run. The guards had followed his blood trail and found him trapped in a dead end. One guard seemed to say something into his walkie-talkie, while another raised his gun.

“Ah…”

Adam leaned against the wall, smiling in despair.

At that moment, he suddenly thought… If only he hadn’t left, but followed Lin Huai, how much better it would have been.

At least he would have died as a human, not as a trapped beast.

But now, it was too late to change anything.

He closed his eyes.

Warm blood splattered on his face, but it wasn’t from his wound. He opened his eyes in confusion, only to see two headless corpses slowly falling before him.

“Ah—”

Appearing with the corpses was a red-robed boy. His demeanor was extremely cold, carrying a strange and sinister aura, with half his face covered in dark curse marks.

The boy’s body seemed to have faint, colorless threads, controlled by a girl with chestnut hair and a sunflower on her head.

After killing the two, the boy didn’t even glance at him before returning to the girl. Under his cold gaze, the girl just smiled lightly: “Hungry?”

The boy nodded.

The girl then cut her wrist, letting the red-robed Fierce Ghost suck her blood. She looked up at Adam: “Where are the other three?”

“The other… three?”

“Seems like there’s a cleanup order here, but don’t worry, my other companions will handle it,” the girl smiled. “You know where Lin Huai is, don’t you?”

“I…”

“Take me to him,” the girl said.

“Who… who are you?”

Adam felt his brain couldn’t keep up. His years of scientific education left him deeply confused by everything before him.

“You can think of me as his teammate for now,” the girl said, the earring on her ear flashing a red light. “My surname is Xia.”

“Achoo.” Walking down the corridor, Lin Huai’s nose suddenly itched. “Who’s talking about me behind my back? Could it be Xia Yuhe from Daming Lake…”

Chu Tianshu’s voice came from the broadcast: “Want me to turn up the central air conditioning?”

“No, thanks.”

The two girls followed behind him in silence. After his grand display, Lin Huai realized calling them “girls” wasn’t quite right, so he turned back: “What are your names?”

Eva hesitated: “…Eva.”

“I mean, your real name.”

Eva shook her head: “I don’t remember. It’s been… a long time.”

“…I see,” Lin Huai said.

Eva stared at Lin Huai’s back for a long time, then bit her lip.

“As you said, the old me is dead,” she said. “I want… to give myself a new name.”

“Oh?”

“If possible, I’d like you to name me,” she said. “You gave me a second life.”

She spoke earnestly, but Lin Huai rubbed his arm.

“…Brother Chu, you better turn up the AC after all,” he muttered. Then he turned to Eva: “Since it’s your second life, you should learn to decide for yourself, to name yourself.”

“…But you saved my life,” Eva insisted.

“I’m not good at naming things,” Lin Huai smiled. “Are you sure you want me to do it?”

Eva nodded.

“…Alright then,” she heard the young man say. “The old Eva is dead. Now, you… I’ll call you Niohuru Eva.”

Eva: …?