Chapter 311: A Dark Obsession

Held at gunpoint by heavily armed police officers, the crowd barely dared to breathe.

The pressure felt even greater than facing a monster.

After all, when facing monsters they could at least shout or brandish a knife. But in the world after the Red Moon, confronting the police like that was suicide. One wrong look and they might shoot you down as a madman…

Gao Ting froze for a moment before quickly shouting, “How is that possible? This is a misunderstanding!”

“What misunderstanding? The person accusing you is right here. Tell it to him!”

The old police chief holding the megaphone clearly wasn’t buying it. With a cold, stern face, he ordered, “Arrest them all!”

A group of officers immediately raised their guns, slowly closing in, handcuffs ready.

The old drivers instantly panicked. They were just truckers; they never imagined they’d actually be handcuffed.

Besides, what was this about the Dadi Group accusing their boss of theft?

Were they just picking on them?

They were angry and anxious but also terrified.

…

Lu Xin frowned slightly and glanced at Li Gang. “Looks like official business. Isn’t this your cue?”

“I…”

Li Gang cursed inwardly. *Just my luck.*

According to his original plan, given the importance of Lu Xin’s discovery and the uncertain loyalties, he really hadn’t wanted to engage with Central City officials so soon. But now the police were here. If they took the convoy members away, it would undoubtedly cause unnecessary trouble. Left with no choice, he had to steel himself, step forward, and shout, “Wait!”

As all eyes turned to him, though momentarily blinded by the flashlight beams, he remained calm and announced loudly, “I’m personnel from Qinggang’s Central City office. I’m reaching into my pocket now for my ID. Don’t shoot.”

While speaking, he slowly reached into his inner pocket, pulled out his ID, and held it high.

“Qinggang?”

The officers were clearly surprised to encounter someone with this status. “How did Qinggang get involved in this?”

As one of the Alliance’s twelve High-wall Cities, Qinggang’s influence was undeniable.

Its office personnel enjoyed privileged citizen status and certain special administrative immunities within Central City.

For ordinary officers like them from Satellite City Seven, these were people they absolutely didn’t want to provoke if they could avoid it.

Seeing him reveal his identity, their attitude immediately became more serious.

“Officers, this convoy is connected to a case we at Qinggang are investigating. I came here specifically for this investigation. Therefore, I request to invoke the Qinggang Office’s special protection clause to temporarily halt their arrest until we can discuss this further…”

“I can meet with the Satellite City’s Administration Hall Director and give him a more detailed report!”

…

Li Gang shouted his words loudly, making sure everyone present could hear.

The old police chief’s expression soured further. He hesitated, glancing back at Zhao Hui.

Zhao Hui’s eyes were cold; he just gave a dismissive sneer.

The old police chief immediately understood and raised the megaphone again. “Sir, even if you are from the Qinggang Office, you cannot interfere with our official duties. You can address any issues with our superiors later. Right now, we need to investigate the theft of confidential materials from the Dadi Group. We are taking these people in. To avoid unnecessary conflict, please step back!”

With that, he abruptly ordered the other officers, “Handcuff them all! If anyone resists, lethal force is authorized!”

At these words, Li Gang’s face turned extremely grim.

The old drivers panicked even more, their limbs feeling weak.

Lu Xin frowned slightly, glancing contemptuously at Li Gang. *Looks like this guy isn’t as capable as he claimed.*

However, the current situation gave him a headache too. Although he clearly felt the police’s actions were wrong, he was a law-abiding citizen. He’d lived honestly his whole life and had never even considered opposing the police…

Amidst this tense atmosphere, Gao Ting suddenly took two steps forward and shouted, “Zhao Hui, what do you want?”

*Clack, clack…*

A group of police officers swiveled their muzzles, aiming at her.

But Gao Ting faced the numerous dark muzzles without a hint of fear on her face. Instead, she glared straight into the flashlight beams, as if trying to see Zhao Hui directly behind the line of police.

Her expression hardened. “You’re supposed to be a man, aren’t you? Even if you can’t get it up, you still have the equipment…”

“Using these kinds of tactics against us truckers… have you no shame?”

…

Her words caused complex expressions to appear on everyone’s faces.

Some were astonished by the woman’s sheer audacity to speak so harshly at a time like this.

Others noticed the particular phrasing in her words, their faces showing the excited micro-expressions of onlookers enjoying gossip.

Behind the line of police, Zhao Hui’s face visibly darkened.

He suddenly said, “Let her come over. I’ll talk to her!”

Hearing this tone, which sounded like a direct order, the old police chief felt slightly uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he slowly stepped aside and announced through the megaphone, “You can come forward first and explain… The rest stay put. Don’t move.”

Hearing this, Gao Ting immediately strode forward, lowering her raised hands.

All eyes followed her figure.

But once she passed through the line of police, the crowd’s view was blocked by the flashlight beams.

Lu Xin, still obediently holding his hands up, nodded slightly to his side.

His excited Sister immediately skipped happily after Gao Ting.

…

Behind the police line, Gao Ting walked up to Zhao Hui, looking straight at him. “What exactly do you want?”

Zhao Hui didn’t answer, just glanced sideways slightly.

Manager Wang at the side immediately understood and quickly trotted about ten meters away.

Then Zhao Hui’s eyes slowly shifted towards the line of police. The old police chief and two officers who had been watching Gao Ting closely as she approached, wary of any sudden moves, also turned away, giving the two some space to talk.

Zhao Hui’s gaze landed on Gao Ting’s face, his expression somewhat sinister. “What do I want? Don’t you know?”

Gao Ting bit her lip. “I’ve already agreed to all your demands. Why… can’t you just let me go?”

“Agreed to all my demands?”

Zhao Hui snapped his head up, staring at Gao Ting’s face, his facial muscles twitching, eyes flashing with a frenzied emotion. “Is *this* agreeing to my demands? This body—I had my eye on it first! I already told you, it’s mine… I even fucking performed such extensive modifications on you beforehand, but you want to turn it into filthy trash! You’re disgusting me…”

As he spoke, his emotions spiraled further out of control, and he suddenly grabbed Gao Ting by the collar.

Gritting his teeth, he stared fixedly into her eyes. “You should have died this time. I didn’t expect you to be so lucky, to actually escape alive. But do you really think hooking up with some Ability User who popped out of nowhere means you can get rid of me?”

“Heh… you have no idea…”

“This so-called Ability User? In front of Central City? In front of *me*? He’s nothing!”

…

“You…”

Held tightly by him, Gao Ting heard his words, and hatred instantly flooded her mind.

She had wanted to know if the incident at White Tower Town was truly related to Zhao Hui, and now he had just admitted it.

Thinking of the deaths of her twenty-odd brothers, she felt like a volcano was about to erupt inside her.

However, her remaining reason forced her to hold back, asking only her final question: “Why?”

“Just because I defiled my own body, you hate me this much?”

“Just because I didn’t want to be your personal plaything, you had to try and kill our entire convoy?”

…

“Plaything?”

Zhao Hui gave a cold laugh. “You think too highly of yourself.”

“If I wanted a plaything, what kind couldn’t I find in this High-wall City?”

As he spoke, his eyes turned bloodshot, as if some abnormal madness was surging within him. He took a deep sniff of Gao Ting’s scent and gritted his teeth. “I wasn’t interested in you because I wanted to play with you…”

“I’m interested in your *body*! I want to make it mine!”

“What you’re defiling is *my* body! The body I planned to transfer into!”

…

*Zap!*

Instantly, a flash like lightning shot through Gao Ting’s mind.

Her pupils contracted sharply. She stared fixedly at Zhao Hui’s face as shock, fear, and disgust flashed across it in succession.

*So that’s what it was?*

She suddenly understood many things: why Zhao Hui used so many strange instruments whenever he ‘played’ with her; why he always stared obsessively at her body, muttering “Mine,” “Mine”; why she would always pass out for long periods; and even the strange physical changes she’d felt since he targeted her—the increases in strength and speed.

She should have noticed these abnormalities sooner, but shame had overwhelmed her, causing her to overlook many details.

Most of all, she could never have imagined that Zhao Hui, a man, actually wanted her body…

“Come with me obediently!”

By now, Zhao Hui had calmed down. He released Gao Ting’s collar, his face cold and filled with disgust. “Since you don’t want to live anyway, just come with me obediently and give me your body. Otherwise, the moment shots are fired, all your people will die!”

“Including that Ability User. If he dares to resist, Central City won’t let him off. Both the Undercover Units and the Action Team will be deployed!”

“He’ll die an even more miserable death then…”

“Understand?”

He lowered his head, his greedy eyes sweeping over Gao Ting’s tall figure, slender waist, and long legs.

“In front of me, you have absolutely no choice!”

“From the moment I set my sights on you, this body was already mine…”

…

Gao Ting’s body trembled, torn between two starkly different emotions.

On one hand, uncontrollable rage made her want to take this disgusting monster down with her.

On the other, deep fear left her limbs feeling almost powerless.

She couldn’t make a choice.