Chapter 2516: Non-human: Xiao Chen loses memory after 07

Leaving the hospital, Zhou Chengjun's complexion wasn't great.

It wasn't because of his leg injury; the private doctor repeatedly assured him it was only a minor contusion, and a few days of rest would fix it.

Rather, he had used all his connections to investigate, yet found not a single business rival suspected of having tried to harm him.

This feeling of being out of control made the tycoon very displeased.

He sat with a stern face in the car back to the hotel, unconsciously tapping his fingers on his knee.

Suddenly, as if recalling something, he took out his phone, opened Liang Yanze's chat window, and swiftly transferred a substantial sum.

Note: bonus.

While checking his upcoming schedule on a beach chair at the new hotel, Liang Yanze heard the notification, glanced at his phone, and the transfer from his boss left him stunned for a moment.

Of course, as a well-trained, professionally composed chief assistant, Liang Yanze would never actually send a question mark to his boss.

He thought briefly, then replied cautiously.

Liang Yanze: "Director Zhou, may I ask what expense this sum is for? I need to register it."

As soon as the message was sent, Zhou Chengjun's reply popped up, his tone as overbearing as ever.

Director Zhou: "It's not an expense; it's for you."

Director Zhou: "I've always felt that after returning home, Xītang has been too cold toward me; this hospitalization made me realize how much he worries about me. Speaking of which, I owe it to you for not blocking that chandelier back then."

Liang Yanze: "……"

"I don't really understand the tycoon's train of thought."

"Moreover, he hasn't gone so far as to feel responsible for helping Zhou Chengjun block the chandelier."

Zhou Chengjun seemed to find his words increasingly reasonable, adding another point with a confident tone.

Director Zhou: "Xiao Liang, you are indeed a very competent assistant."

Liang Yanze fell silent for a few seconds, then tapped out a standard reply on the screen.

Liang Yanze: "Okay, Director Zhou. Thank you, Director Zhou."

Then, without changing expression, he recorded that unexpected income and added a meticulous note: special event bonus.

Reason: did not block disaster for his superior.

After handling this little interlude, he put his phone aside, continued reviewing the documents that were mostly processed, and finally compiled them to send to Zhou Chengjun for review.

Having finished all that, he finally relaxed a little, leaning back against the soft chairback, his gaze drifting toward the azure sea ahead.

Under the sunlight, the sea water sparkled, and within that glittering expanse was a black mist, blurred and distorted, that only he could see.

The black mist drifted to and fro above the sea surface like a child who had found a new toy.

Liang Yanze watched silently; repeated probing and observation had already convinced him that this eerie monster was visible only to him.

The black mist, having had its fun, sensed his gaze, immediately abandoned its water‑play, and gleefully drifted toward him.

Jin Chen flopped onto his wife's chest with a slap.

The hazy mist wrapped around him like a cold sheer veil.

Jin Chen especially liked to cling to the side of Liang Yanze's neck, where the skin is thinnest and the sound of the pulsing blood vessels is very pleasing to him.

Liang Yanze involuntarily tilted his head back, trying to avoid the excessive closeness.

The icy sensation made his skin break out in tiny granules; he endured it, pressing his lips together, his breath grew slightly heavier, he unconsciously clenched his fist, filling the gaps between his fingers with fine, warm grit, then slowly released it.

Liang Yanze struggled to adjust his breathing, trying to ignore the strange feeling of being intimately entwined.

After a moment of silence, he spoke, his voice a bit lower than usual.

"That day… why did you attack Director Zhou?"

Jin Chen prepared to explain.

"—Because Ling Gun Gun said they are the start of the story's rupture, and I'm really annoyed that they're delaying me from following you."

Before he could speak, Ling Gun Gun interrupted him.

【No, Host, you can't talk about mission‑related matters! You can't reveal the world plot or the system's existence.】

Ling Gun Gun was so anxious that its data fluttered wildly.

The big truth on Jin Chen's tip of the tongue was swallowed back hard.

The embodiment of the Abyssal Marsh is accustomed to straightforwardness; this need to conceal made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

【The Abyssal Marsh……does not tell lies.】

Jin Chen, feeling a bit glum, declared his setting to Ling Gun Gun.

Ling Gun Gun: 【???】

"How does the Pixiu Lord not know there's still this awful setting?"

【Then just be vague about it; in any case, you must not reveal the mission or the system.】 Ling Gun Gun flusteredly offered the suggestion.

Jin Chen digested the suggestion, reorganized his wording, and answered Liang Yanze: "I just wanted to do that."

"That doesn't count as lying."

"After reading the original plot, I really wanted to punish the one who made my wife's future so miserable—Zhou Chengjun."

Liang Yanze felt somewhat surprised by this willful answer.

But after a moment's reflection, he realized trying to understand the monster through human logic and morality was futile.

Perhaps, to the monster, whom to strike and why needs no complex reason.

Likewise, if before the monster departs on its own he cannot gain more initiative or find a way to restrain it, then sooner or later it might, for some trivial reason, do something even more excessive to him.

Thinking this, Liang Yanze's gaze grew imperceptibly colder.

This is a very deep human emotion, which the Abyssal Marsh cannot perceive.

Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Jin Chen shifted a little, letting more mist spread behind Liang Yanze, gently supporting his lower back.

A sudden pride welled up: "Honey, you can lean on me; my embrace is mighty."

Liang Yanzhe: "……"

He imagined himself reclining mid-air on a beach chair, and realizing he might be seen by distant tourists or hotel staff, he promptly declined.

"Thank you, no need."

The Abyssal Marsh is quite changeable.

Being bluntly refused, Jin Chen felt a bit unhappy.

The mist coiling around Liang Yanzhe's wrist tightened slightly, like a cold, slippery tentacle, encircling his fingers, its tip even simulating the sensation of tiny teeth grinding.

A stinging itch and faint pain came from his fingertips.

Liang Yanzhe lowered his gaze, watching the fingers being coiled and nibbled by the tentacles; his fingertips curled slightly, his tone remaining calm.

"I said last night, within three days you must not drink my blood again."

This was the first verbal agreement he tried to reach with that monster after the bloodletting.

But Jin Chen is not human; human promises have limited binding force on him.

He just wanted to follow his own desires, so he selectively turned a deaf ear.

Jin Chen continued to rub that finger, the sensation feeling like it was being ground between his teeth.

As expected, the monster cannot be communicated with by ordinary reasoning.

Liang Yanzhe's eyes darkened slightly.

The faint, continual stabbing sensation made a shudder silently spread from his fingertips, bringing a mixed feeling of slight pain and a scalp‑tingling pleasure.

Liang Yanzhe, accustomed to restraining and composure, slightly relaxed his brow and eyes for an instant; the eyes behind his lenses drooped, concealing the trembling pupils.

But he controlled it extremely well; even the nearby Abyssal Marsh, subtly linked to his senses, went unnoticed.