Chapter 134: Showing Fangs

Mo Niannian finally managed to get the smartphone she had been yearning for.

Under Jiang Hu's strict supervision, she was even allowed a brief moment of internet access.

She was moved to tears. It had been far too hard; she had truly suffered to get this far.

To secure this phone, she had practically signed a series of unequal treaties with Jiang Hu, who had also set a strict time limit. The moment time was up, the internet would be cut off immediately, and the phone had to be handed back.

Even a high school head teacher wasn't as overbearing as him.

For the sake of playing games, Mo Niannian had no choice but to agree.

She logged into her gaming account and enjoyed a thoroughly satisfying match.

"Niannian, time is up."

Jiang Hu appeared silently behind Mo Niannian, his gold-rimmed glasses gleaming with a cold light, his expression entirely unreadable.

With a tragic and indignant look on her face, Mo Niannian handed the phone over to Jiang Hu.

In all her years, she had never felt so wronged and stifled.

She hadn't cherished the tender, sweet, affectionate Jiang Hu who used to listen to her every word when he was right in front of her, and now she regretted it bitterly.

As she logged out of the game, Mo Niannian caught a glimpse of a message flashing past too quickly to register, though she didn't pay it any mind.

[Older Brother]: Niannian? Is that you? Where did you go?

[Older Brother]: Is this really you? Where on earth are you? We've been searching for you like crazy.

[Older Brother]: Niannian, answer me!

Her messages sank like stones in the ocean, without a single response.

The man on the other end felt tears welling up in his eyes from sheer anxiety.

For a fleeting second, he wondered if it was just his imagination.

Niannian had vanished for a very long time. He had searched every possible place, even reported it to the police, but found not a single trace. Niannian had simply evaporated into thin air.

During these past days, endless despair had almost drowned him, leaving him unable to distinguish reality from illusion.

He repeatedly clicked on Mo Niannian's avatar, opened her profile, and checked her last online status.

Last online: one minute ago.

The man laughed through his tears, clutching his phone and sobbing aloud.

He had finally found a trace of Niannian.

*

Mo Niannian had managed to squeeze out a short break to catch some fresh air, thanks to Jiang Hu.

Jiang Hu watched her like a hawk, refusing to let her leave the laboratory. At first, Mo Niannian thought she was just being overly nervous, but she soon realized that the dogmatic Jiang Hu genuinely intended to keep her locked away.

She had acted submissively and obediently, constantly lowering Jiang Hu's guard, just to earn this rare opportunity to step outside alone today.

Of course, it wasn't that she wanted to run away; it was just that Jiang Hu's surveillance was so suffocatingly tight that she felt unaccustomed and ill at ease.

Besides, there were some things she needed to sort out properly.

At first, pretending to like Jiang Hu was just a survival strategy, but now, she seemed to be gradually getting used to the pampering and intimacy between them.

Sometimes, she couldn't even tell whether she was merely acting or...

Things were slipping further and further out of her control.

It was utterly vexing.

Mo Niannian let out a deep sigh. Forget it, she would just focus on completing the mission first.

Jiang Hu's malice value had reached its saturation point and had remained completely stagnant for a while now, leaving Mo Niannian unable to pinpoint the root of the issue.

She sat down on a rock, plucked a blade of grass, and swung it back and forth in utter boredom, her mind drifting blankly as she lost herself in thought.

"Niannian! You're really here?! Niannian, do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you?"

A man suddenly appeared within Mo Niannian's field of vision.

The man looked distraught and agitated, his eye rims red, and his entire body trembling slightly as if he could barely contain himself.

Mo Niannian almost blurted out, "Who are you?"

The man before her was achingly familiar; the vast majority of the original host's memories were filled with him.

Mo Niannian stammered, "...Brother, what are you doing here?"

Mo Ran retorted, "You actually have the nerve to ask me that? Mo Niannian, did you not even think to give me a heads-up before leaving? Do you know how many places I've been to just searching for you during this time?"

Consumed by a mix of anger, fury, and unspeakable excitement, he said, "Come on, you're coming back with me right now."

He grabbed Mo Niannian's wrist and began dragging her down the mountain.

Nervously glancing around to ensure Jiang Hu was nowhere in sight and that there were no surveillance cameras, Mo Niannian finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Brother! Brother, listen to me explain!"

Mo Niannian pulled her hand free from Mo Ran's grip. "Brother, I can't go back with you right now; I still have unfinished business."

Trembling with rage, Mo Ran demanded, "What kind of business could possibly cause you to disappear for months? Not answering calls, not replying to WeChat messages, vanishing into thin air? Do you have any idea how we've survived these past few months?"

With a remorseful look, Mo Niannian said, "I'm so sorry, but I really can't go back with you."

If she returned with Mo Ran, wouldn't Jiang Hu's malice value skyrocket in a matter of seconds and lead him to destroy everyone?

Selfish as it might sound, she had come here entirely for Jiang Hu's sake.

She simply couldn't manage to take care of everyone at once.

With this thought, Mo Niannian felt even more apologetic toward Mo Ran. "Brother, you don't need to worry about me. Go back first, and after a while, I'll give you a proper explanation."

Once Jiang Hu's malice value dropped in the near future, she would find a time to bring him back and clear everything up.

She could simply make up an excuse that she had to maintain absolute secrecy due to her research work.

Having lost his reason to blind anger, Mo Ran declared, "No matter what you say today, you are coming back with me."

No one could ever accept this situation; Mo Niannian's disappearance had been far too bizarre, lacking any reasonable explanation.

He had gone to great lengths to track her location down to this vicinity based on the coordinates of her last game login.

He had spent three grueling days searching here before finally managing to find her.

This time, regardless of what Mo Niannian said, he was determined to take her back.

Unwilling to use physical force against Mo Ran, Mo Niannian sidestepped him. "Brother... I truly am sorry. After some time passes, I promise I will explain everything to you."

With that, Mo Niannian vanished from Mo Ran's sight in a few swift movements, shaking him off completely.

"Niannian! Niannian! Get back here right now, Mo Niannian!" Mo Ran shouted at the top of his lungs, searching frantically along the path where she had disappeared, but found nothing.

He grew increasingly suspicious that Mo Niannian had been brainwashed by some pyramid scheme, and he resolved that he had to stop her.

Shaking off Mo Ran, a heart-pounding Mo Niannian hurried back to the laboratory.

The laboratory's location was relatively concealed, and the spot where she had encountered Mo Ran was a safe distance away, meaning it was temporarily secure.

However, the fact that Mo Ran had managed to track her down meant this place wouldn't remain safe for long.

Furthermore, Mo Ran's appearance exposed the fact that her hypnosis act was a sham; no one could predict what Jiang Hu might do next.

Treading on thin ice, Mo Niannian returned to the laboratory.

Jiang Hu was waiting for her at the entrance. The moment he caught sight of Mo Niannian, his eyes lit up slightly. Adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, he walked toward her.

"Niannian is such a good girl, coming back so quickly."

Before Jiang Hu finished speaking, a strange scent caught in his nostrils.

It was very faint, almost imperceptible unless one paid close attention.

Yet, Jiang Hu smelled it—his overwhelmingly familiar scent had been tainted by an unfamiliar trace.

His eyes darkened menacingly, resembling a wild beast whose territory had been violated, slowly baring its fangs.