Chapter Twenty-Three: The Troupe

"Xiao Sheng, I’ve landed us another huge gig."

Cui Yi’s voice crackled through the phone, brimming with excitement. "In over a month, at the International Trade Center, there’s an incredibly lavish wedding that’s hired our MS company. The daily pay for full-time staff is five thousand! Plus, there’s a gift bag for everyone, with contents worth over four thousand."

"Staff get gift bags too?" Li Sheng was somewhat surprised. "And why over a month away? Usually, weddings with such high budgets are planned half a year or a year in advance, aren't they?"

"Because the bride is from the mainland and the groom is a Malaysian Chinese. Both families are incredibly wealthy and refuse to be outdone by the other, so they decided to just host a banquet in both places. That’s why the timeline is a bit tight. The wedding is expected to cost tens of millions; the gift bag that everyone gets is just a tiny fraction of the total."

As Cui Yi spoke, he realized Li Sheng’s tone wasn't as enthusiastic as last time, and he asked suspiciously, "What’s wrong? Is something on your mind?"

"No." Li Sheng shook his head. "I was just wondering if there are any jobs with a low barrier to entry that pay well and fast."

"Haha, all the ways to make a lot of money quickly are written in the criminal code." Cui Yi laughed. "A mentor once told me that in modern society, there are only four paths to making a fortune legally. Have connections and inside tracks. Be smart enough. Be fast enough. Be ruthless and vicious enough."

As a young striver who had been battered by the harsh realities of society, Cui Yi had his own philosophy of life.

After repeatedly stressing that Li Sheng should take the opportunity to apply for a full-time position at MS (full-timers earned significantly more than dispatched laborers), he hung up the phone without waiting for a reply.

*I haven't even said whether I'm going or not.*

Li Sheng put his phone down helplessly. Of course, there was no reason to turn down a job with a five-thousand-dollar daily wage and a gift bag.

Thump!

His heart gave a violent jolt. The sensation of "Genetic Craving" struck again. Li Sheng’s expression turned slightly grave, though he wasn't overly panicked.

He had already made thorough preparations and immediately pulled a thumb-thick paper tube from his pocket.

Inside the tube were wood shavings, and buried deep within them was a female cricket.

Male crickets have sound-producing organs on their forewings, consisting of a scraper, a friction vein, and a mirror. By lifting their wings and rubbing them together, they vibrate the mirror to produce sound.

Female crickets, however, lack forewings and these extra organs; they do not chirp. Thus, Li Sheng kept them as a contingency option to satisfy his "Genetic Craving" in special circumstances.

It was too late to bike home now. Li Sheng ducked into a restroom stall, dumped the cricket onto his palm, and began to absorb its genes.

*Buzz-buzz.*

A WeChat message popped up from Yuan Zhixue. Last time, she had stood in for Li Sheng as the school newspaper’s photographer to interview and photograph Xue Luomeng, and she was very satisfied with the result. She requested that Li Sheng ask for leave again next time—she wanted to take the long way around, using the next interview subject, Xue Lingyu, to get closer to his younger sister, Xue Luomeng.

*...Sister, are you actually a lesbian?*

*Rainbow, woman, hand.gif*

Li Sheng wanted to reply, but the drastic transformation of his body left him unable to make any move.

In the cramped stall, dense, ant-like bristles began to sprout from his arms. A mantis-like bone blade protruded involuntarily, and the muscles in his thighs swelled and spasmed, completely beyond his control.

*What’s happening? The previous times were quite smooth. Why isn't it working this time...*

Li Sheng was certain he hadn't missed a step in the process. He fought against the excruciating pain of the muscle spasms, screaming silently as he stripped off his clothes and pants to prevent them from tearing.

At the same time, he had to exert all his will to suppress the urge to smash the entire stall to pieces.

Boom!

That familiar, dull sound echoed from high above once more. The lights in the restroom flickered, dimming and brightening.

Someone, or something, had opened the Shadow Realm.

————

Thirty minutes ago, Inpatient Department, single-occupancy room.

A middle-aged man slowly pushed open the door, his gaze filled with sorrow as he looked at his eight- or nine-year-old son, who was wrapped in bandages from head to toe.

Judging by the patient card on the nightstand, the little boy’s name was Cai Zixuan. The middle-aged man was his father, Cai Yongyuan.

"Zixuan? Are you awake? If you are, look at Dad. Dad knows he was wrong."

Cai Yongyuan’s eyes were filled with grief and misery as he sat beside his son.

"It’s all Dad’s fault. I was a degenerate gambler, and I drove your mother away."

His left hand gently gripped his son’s right wrist, while his right hand quietly reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe filled with a transparent liquid.

"Dad didn't care about the family. I spent every night out gambling, leaving you to cook for yourself."

He flicked the needle with one hand to expel the air.

"When Dad drank, I yelled at you and hit you, blaming everything on you until you couldn't take it anymore and jumped from the building."

He gently pulled the IV needle from his son’s hand and wiped away the excess liquid with a tissue.

"The doctor said you’d wake up sooner or later. When you wake up, Dad will turn over a new leaf, and we’ll live a good life together."

Holding the syringe, he slowly inserted it into the needle hole on his son’s hand.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Cai Zixuan, who had fallen from the seventh floor and remained in a coma for days, seemed to open his eyes slightly, gazing at his father with a weak look.

Cai Yongyuan broke into a cold sweat out of instinct, but immediately after, he realized what was happening and forced an ugly smile onto his face.

"Son, Dad will always love you."

He kissed the boy’s forehead lightly while his finger pressed the plunger all the way down.

With the deed done, Cai Yongyuan withdrew the syringe. After tidying everything up, he slipped out of the room like an ordinary, exhausted father whose son was critically ill, and went to the window at the end of the corridor to let the night breeze hit his face.

Inside the single-occupancy room, the transparent liquid known as cationic detergent had already flowed through Cai Zixuan’s entire body via his bloodstream.

So-called cationic detergent is a positively charged surfactant, also known as an invert soap. It is not suitable for washing clothes but is ideal as a fabric softener, antibacterial agent, emulsifier, or antistatic agent.

When absorbed by the human body through the mouth or skin, it interferes with the function of tissue cells, causing nausea, vomiting, collapse, respiratory paralysis, and even death. Emergency rescue and immediate induced vomiting are mandatory.

But if administered via intravenous injection... then, it is incurable. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to detect using standard forensic methods.

"..."

Cai Zixuan lay on the bed, a single tear flowing from the corner of his slightly open eye.

Time ticked by, and an intense, agonizing pain swept through his entire body, but he couldn't even manage a whimper.

*Zzzzt. Zzzzt.*

Above the hospital bed, a black fissure suddenly tore open. A strange clown mask peeked out, tilting its head to gaze at Cai Zixuan, and whispered with a laugh, "Do you want to live?"

Cai Zixuan blinked hard.

"Even if it comes at a terrible price? Your emotions, your humanity, your... soul."

He blinked again, silently.

"Then, the contract is sealed."

The clown reached a hand out from the fissure and smeared black grease across the boy’s face, tracing the outline of a manic, grinning expression.

"Cry, scream, kill. The [Troupe] shall witness your rebirth and welcome your arrival."

With the whisper, the clown withdrew its hand, and the fissure vanished along with it.