Li Jiayu said crossly: "Why did you track me?"
You Rui quickly explained: "Some time ago, you broke up with me out of nowhere—I naturally had to find out why. And of course, more importantly, I was worried about your safety."
Li Jiayu rubbed her temples, her expression bitter and helpless: "You weren't suspecting I had fallen for someone else, were you?"
"No, no. I know we've already broken up. But how could I let a teacher walk into danger and just look the other way?"
You Rui smiled awkwardly, then said gravely: "Rest assured, now that I'm here, this bastard won't harm a single hair on your head!"
With the pitch-black muzzle aimed at him, Lin Binbin remained completely unruffled, merely sneering in disdain: "A gun, is it? You think this thing alone can stop me? You're welcome to try."
"Oh?"
You Rui flicked the safety off his gun. "Seems you don't understand at all. Wanna really taste what a bullet feels like? I suggest you surrender now and come back to the Criminal Investigation Department with me!"
Criminal Investigation Department?
In the shadows, Bai Jie's gaze toward You Rui instantly became intrigued. He thought to himself that Li Jiayu's lover had quite the background.
Lin Binbin's heart tightened: Drawing a third party into this was one thing—but it turned out this man was from the Criminal Investigation Department. Things just got troublesome.
"You Rui!"
Li Jiayu suddenly shouted: "Put down the gun and leave this place immediately. I'll be fine. Please, I'm begging you, alright?"
Then she turned sternly toward Lin Binbin: "Let him go and I'll satisfy all your demands."
You Rui looked at Li Jiayu in confusion: "Why? He was just about to kill you! And besides, how could I let you stay alone with this thug?"
Thug?
Hearing this, Lin Binbin instantly felt mildly insulted.
Li Jiayu's jade face grew darker and darker, the panic in her eyes increasingly thick, as if something terrible were about to happen.
"Leave, quickly, You Rui."
"Just go—it's too dangerous here. Consider this me begging you. Being close to me, you... you'll die..." Her voice revealed urgency, nearly pleading.
"No. I'll always be by your side." You Rui kept his eyes straight ahead, resolute. "Jiayu, don't worry. The two of us will both leave here safely."
"You Rui... you... shouldn't have come here." Li Jiayu murmured under her breath, finally lowering her eyelids to conceal the pain and tears in her eyes.
"Hah!"
Lin Binbin suddenly sneered, because he could no longer bear to watch or listen. "Mister You, is it? I'm afraid you still don't realize the danger of this Professor Li!"
"She is the one who caused over a dozen teachers and students at Xingchuan University to undergo bizarre mutations—destroying their lives utterly in the process, and costing several human lives as well!"
"As a public servant of the Criminal Investigation Department, instead of thinking about the teachers and students, are you trying to protect this sinner?!"
"Bastard! What nonsense are you spouting!"
You Rui's eyes immediately flared with fury. He roared: "You think I'd believe such insane drivel?"
"Don't believe it?"
Lin Binbin suddenly pointed at You Rui's face: "Just touch your own face and see!"
Hearing this, You Rui's pupils contracted slightly, but he still said coldly: "Hah, who are you trying to bluff? I am an Inspector of the Criminal Investigation Department. I've been through countless murder scenes. You think a couple of words can—"
Before he could finish, You Rui felt an itch on his face, and an instant chill crawled up his spine.
He slowly raised his other hand, trembling slightly as he touched his own face...
"Go... I told you to go... why wouldn't you leave?"
"Clearly, if you hadn't come looking for me, nothing would have happened to you..."
At that moment, Li Jiayu's tearful voice came from behind him.
Fuzzy, very smooth. You Rui felt a layer of fine, soft fur...
His body instantly stiffened, like a thousand-year-old weathered stone statue, losing the ability to think.
Bai Jie sighed inwardly. The mutation—it had finally manifested on You Rui.
An irreversible mutation.
The air was very quiet. Only Li Jiayu's sobs could be heard.
She covered her own face, not daring to look at the man standing before her—the man who had wanted to protect her, yet whom she had ultimately doomed.
"It's fine."
After a few seconds, You Rui's voice finally sounded. But clearly, his voice carried hoarseness and abnormality, like a worn-out bellows.
Yet even so, he still attempted to comfort the woman behind him in a gentle voice:
"This has nothing to do with you. It must be because I've been staying at the school too long, so I was affected."
He said with a smile: "Let's go. We'll leave this place together and head back to the Criminal Investigation Department. The government will definitely have a solution."
"You know, given my position in the Criminal Investigation Department, I'll certainly receive priority treatment resources. I'm sure I'll recover. Don't be afraid of me either—I won't lose control and attack you."
You Rui slowly retreated. The hand not holding the gun grabbed Li Jiayu's delicate hand, holding it tightly.
But he never once turned his face toward her—whether to keep aiming at Lin Binbin, or to keep his beloved from seeing his grotesque appearance.
"I didn't say you could leave."
Lin Binbin shook his head. Though somewhat cruel, he had no choice but to say this.
The next second, he appeared directly beside You Rui, drawing in his abdomen, crouching to gather momentum, then—like a coiling dragon and serpent—his fist blasted forth with a long howl.
A crisp crack.
The gun in You Rui's hand had no time to turn before it was smashed to pieces by a mere flesh-and-blood fist. Metal fragments scattered everywhere.
"Impossible!"
Panic surfaced in You Rui's eyes. His arm had gone numb from the massive concussive force, but he still forced his body to move—shielding himself before Li Jiayu.
"Stop!"
Li Jiayu's anguished cry echoed through the factory.
Lin Binbin's offensive did not relent. His left hand concealed the dagger behind his back. His right hand formed a palm and pushed forward directly.
Pop!
A palm print half an inch deep was etched into You Rui's chest. Under the drive of that immense force, You Rui's feet left the ground, his body flying backward into Li Jiayu's embrace.
Both figures staggered back several meters before the momentum halted.
This was the result of Lin Binbin holding back—after all, his Vitality had already reached 25, far surpassing that of any ordinary mortal.
He merely wished to disable You Rui first, then deal with Li Jiayu.
But in this single second, Lin Binbin did not continue his attack. Because he sensed a sinister aura that even he instinctively dreaded.
"It's over... it's over..." Li Jiayu murmured in a daze.
Her tear-streaked face was crisscrossed with despair. Waves of wicked aura emanated from her body, making even Lin Binbin furrow his brows.
She held the man in her arms tightly. "Why were you so foolish? Didn't I tell you to leave?"
Perhaps because of close contact with Li Jiayu, suffering the near-range contamination of her wicked aura, You Rui's mutation suddenly intensified.
In the woman's arms, You Rui's face had already completely transformed into that of a werewolf—pointed mouth, black nose, fur-covered face. Even his hands had sprouted sharp claws.
Li Jiayu sobbed quietly, seemingly knowing the outcome could no longer be reversed. She held You Rui tightly, one fair hand gently brushing over the wound on his chest.
"I-It's fine... I don't regret it. It has nothing to do with you."
You Rui's voice was a mere thread, hoarse as he consoled her. "Take the gun I gave you... and run quickly..."
Li Jiayu's eyes rimmed even redder. She traced You Rui's features with her hand, but could no longer recover the contours and texture of the past.
Li Jiayu lowered her head and whispered close to You Rui's ear: "Don't worry. I won't let you live on as a monster."
As intimate as a lover's private whisper. As solemn as a vow.
You Rui's aura grew even weaker. His life force was draining from his body at a rapid pace.
In contrast, the wicked aura emanating from Li Jiayu grew ever more magnificent. In Lin Binbin's perception, it nearly congealed into a tangible substance.
Very quickly, You Rui's breath ceased. He lay rigidly in Li Jiayu's arms, utterly motionless—yet his expression seemed merely as if he had entered a dream.
Lin Binbin stared blankly at all of this. He did not understand. His palm strike just moments ago could not possibly have taken the life of any mortal.
Ding!
Abruptly, a system notification chimed by Bai Jie's ear:
[Weak spirit essence reaction detected. Intensity continuing to increase.]