Chapter 228: Going to Greet the New Member

The bloodstained odor of the Guo Family Manor took three days to completely dissipate.

They replaced it with the world's most expensive Persian carpet, and the shattered crystal chandelier was overnight air‑freighted from Italy with a new one, yet Guo Zixuan still felt that the air carried an indelible sweet, cloying iron‑rust smell.

He is now the legitimate master of the Guo Family.

All the elite of Ning'an City shiver subconsciously at the mention of his name.

But Guo Zixuan knows clearly that he is merely a puppet on strings pushed onto the stage by that man.

His real "master" is currently staying with his sister in a heavily guarded manor on the outskirts of the city.

That manor is the true power core of the Guo Family now.

It has been turned into an impregnable fortress. The perimeter consists of three layers of high‑voltage electric netting, the interior is staffed with armed security posting a guard every three steps, and a 24‑hour, blind‑spot‑free surveillance system that triggers an alarm at the slightest bird's wing.

At the heart of the manor is a sunroom built entirely of bullet‑proof glass and special steel, whose air‑purification system filters 99.99% of dust and pathogens.

When Chen Shao is absent, he lets his sister stay there, fearing any mishap for her.

Chen Shao removes his coat, walks into the kitchen, and begins preparing afternoon tea for his sister.

Guo Zixuan stands respectfully outside the door, even lightening his breath; he watches the man deftly whip cream and pipe decorations, his movements as gentle as a pastry master's.

Who could have imagined that those very hands, just three days ago, with a single distant grip, had crushed a washing machine into a heap of scrap metal.

"Come in."

Chen Shao doesn't even turn his head.

Guo Zixuan startles, quickly pushes the door open, and hands over a File.

"Sir, the thing you requested… has already been taken care of."

"Mm."

Chen Shao takes the File, doesn't even glance at it, and casually tosses it onto the nearby table.

He carries the finished delicate pastry and pushes open the bedroom door.

"Yao Yao, food's ready."

In that instant, all his coldness and hostility vanish, leaving only a brother's boundless tenderness toward his sister.

Guo Zixuan lowers his head, daring not to look further.

Only after Chen Shao emerges from the room, regaining his cold, domineering demeanor, does Guo Zixuan dare to speak.

"Sir, the Guo Family's Intelligence network is now fully open to you. This is the Highest Authorization key, which can access most of the world's encrypted information repositories."

Chen Shao nods, walks to a computer wired with complex circuitry, and sits down.

The screen shows no flashy graphical interface, only continuously scrolling green code, like a bottomless waterfall.

He glances at the data, then taps the keyboard with his fingers.

Guo Zixuan stands nearby, daring not even to breathe.

He sees the code stream halt, and a blood‑red skull login screen pops up, bearing the word "Babel Tower" in ancient Hebrew.

It is the world's premier dark‑web Intelligence trading platform, rumored to sell even the Federation's highest secrets.

Chen Shao inputs a long string of complex keys, the interface switches, and countless encrypted documents surge forth like a tide.

He ignores the priceless arms deals and politician black‑mail, and directly types in a few keywords.

【Supernatural】, 【Rule Murder】, 【Weird】.

On the screen, a file marked "Highly Confidential" pops up.

Most of its contents are blacked out or garbled, leaving only scattered words and a blurry image.

【Hongzhi Xingwei Jiaozheng Zhongxin】...... 【Collective Death】...... 【Rule‑type Pollution】......

The picture is a screenshot from a surveillance camera, the image distorted and blurry, barely showing a school‑uniformed boy standing amid a mess of corpses.

The strangest part is that the boy's mouth is crudely stitched together with thick black lines, forming a grotesque cross.

Guo Zixuan merely glances, yet feels a chill surge from the soles of his feet straight up to the Heavenly Spirit Cover.

Chen Shao, however, enlarges the picture with keen interest.

He watches the stitched‑mouth boy, and the crimson vortex in his left eye seems to spin a bit faster.

"Interesting."

He murmurs to himself.

He continues digging deep within the database; the elevated permissions let him glimpse more concealed truths.

Soon, another document of even higher encryption level is forcibly cracked open by him.

The document's code name is 【Symbiosis‑Entity – Lin Fan】.

【Target: Lin Fan, male, 18, former Jiang Hai City No. 7 Middle School student.】

【Event Record: Huang Mao, Zhang Shao, Wang Shao...... and many other murder‑case associates, all died in extremely cruel ways...... Ninth Division task force intervened and failed, agent Mo Zixuan perished......】

【Current Status: whereabouts unknown, wandering together with Symbiosis‑Weird.】

At the end of the document, a candid photo of Lin Fan is attached.

The boy in the photo has delicate brows and eyes, with a clean gaze.

But beside the photo, there is a blurry side‑profile taken by the Ninth Division with a high‑magnification telephoto lens.

The boy stands in the rain; his left eye remains humanly resolute, while his right eye is an abyssal deep blue, filled with emotions not of this world.

Guo Zixuan looks at the photo and feels his scalp tingle.

So… such monsters are not just one!

"Heh."

Chen Shao leans back in his chair and lets out a low chuckle.

He closes the document, stands, and walks to a massive floor‑to‑ceiling window.

Outside the window is a beautiful garden meticulously crafted for Chen Yao.

But at this moment, the reflection on the glass showed another scene constructed in Chen Shao's eyes.

It was an invisible net that spanned the entire world.

One end of the net is the Federal Weird Investigation Bureau, an official agency; they are hunters, wielding authority, attempting to preserve the old world's order.

The other end of the net is those wild, uncontrollable Weird, which are pure calamities, the source of chaos.

And in the middle of this net, several special beings struggle.

Chen Shao exhaled, extended a finger, and lightly drew a circle on the cold glass.

In the first circle, he wrote "Demon Eye", representing himself.

He wrote "Symbiosis", representing the boy named Lin Fan.

He wrote "Silent One", representing the Xu An whose mouth was sewn shut.

In the second circle, he wrote "Investigation Bureau".

In the third circle, he wrote "Weird".

"Monsters...... Madmen...... New Humans......"

Chen Shao stared at those circles, his gaze growing ever deeper.

The authorities want to either contain or eliminate all these "aberrations".

And those wild Weird could bring destruction at any moment.

Relying on oneself alone, trying to create an absolutely safe Eden Garden for Yao Yao in this crevice is too difficult.

Indeed, the best way to oppose the hunters is not to hide.

But rather... to become a stronger hunter, even to become a rulemaker.

"Indeed, we must gather these scattered 'kindred'."

His finger tapped on "Symbiosis" and "Silent One".

Lin Fan... like a wild horse untethered, unpredictable and hard to control.

But Xu An is different.

Chen Shao retrieved all data on the Hongzhi Correction Center, including the family background of the youth Xu An.

His parents are alive, and his family is affluent.

Yet he personally sent his own son into a human hell, adding the note "Intensify the effort".

How ironic.

A cold curve lifted at Chen Shao's mouth corner.

For a boy who has just seized power and is filled with extreme hatred, his next target is written clearly on his face.

Where will he go?

What will he do?

The answer is self‑evident.

Chen Shao turned and looked at Guo Zixuan, who had been standing behind him, unable to draw a breath.

"Prepare the car."

Guo Zixuan immediately bowed, "Yes, sir."

"No, not just the car."

Chen Shao walked up to him, reached out and gently straightened his crooked tie; the motion was light, yet Guo Zixuan's body froze instantly.

He could smell a faint scent of disinfectant on Chen Shao, and... an indescribable pressure emanating from a higher tier of life.

Chen Shao issued the order in a calm tone that was chilling.

"Prepare the private jet."

"We are going to fetch a..."

He paused, a thought‑provoking smile appearing on his face.

"Our 'new member'."