Chapter 592: My Good Brother!

    The researcher took in the rapid changes of Jin Jiuchi’s mood from excitement, anticipation, to shock, bewilderment before settling on a depressed glum like a wilting mushroom.

    A trace of pity flickered across his eyes.

    The doctor had informed them beforehand that the Second Young Master might display odd or extreme behaviors upon waking up, which should be the lingering influence of the siren’s ability. But still, confirming it with his own eyes still made him feel regretful from the depths of his heart.

    Such a bright, sharp, and ambitious general, how could he end up becoming so... foolish?

    Oh well, as soon as the person was still alive, there would always be chances of recovery!

    With this mindset, the researcher’s eyes became kinder and more patient, treating the other person like he was mentally deficient. "How about we go to the medical lab for a check-up first? You can also get your arm reinstated along the way, Second Young Master." It wasn’t until the end that he added, with a hint of caution and suggestion in his tone. "Master and the Eldest Young Master are also here. They have been waiting for you to wake up."

    Jin Jiuchi paused. The Master of the Land and the Eldest Young Master, aka his cheap father and older brother?

    He suddenly recalled the threat of the novice tutorial and let out a snort. Hmph, so what if he didn’t go to the temple? See, the temple had taken the initiative to come to him!

    Alas, no matter how restless he was to find Shen Nianzu, Jin Jiuchi recognized that this meeting was something he could never afford to skip. He had a hunch that if he dared to refuse and make a scene now, they would simply knock him out and carry him to the medical lab, and then the final outcome would turn out the same.

    Rather than blindly running all over the place, why not follow along and see what these people wanted from him first? He should gather information while searching for his Nian’er. He reckoned Shen Nianzu must have wanted him to do the same.

    His Nian’er was so brilliant and powerful, he should be able to hold his ground until they reunited later.

    Letting out a rough exhale, Jin Jiuchi resigned to his fate and muttered glumly, "Lead the way, then."

    "Yes, Second Young Master!"

    Feeling elated, the researcher courteously invited him into the elevator, and Jin Jiuchi watched wide-eyed like a country bumpkin as the other person scanned his iris on the sensor panel.

    "To the medical lab," he said to the empty air.

    Following a soft ’ding’, a mechanical female voice responded,

    "Identity confirmed: Mr. Ao. We will now be heading to the medical lab on the 14th underground floor."

    As soon as the elevator capsule began its descent, the annoying floating screen in front of Jin Jiuchi vanished, leaving his eyesight clean and unobstructed once more. Only then did he notice that beneath the hem of Ao’s sleeves revealed a pair of bionic hands. Jin Jiuchi couldn’t resist giving them a few more glances.

    "How much is your degree of mechanization?" he questioned, breaking the silence between them.

    Although Ao had no idea why the Second Young Master was asking this out of nowhere, he still dutifully answered, "I’ve only transformed both of my hands to make them more stable when handling delicate experiments, so the degree is not high, less than 5%."

    Jin Jiuchi was caught off guard. Both hands amounted to less than 5%?

    Hold on, how much was his degree of mechanization again?

    As if to answer him, the floating screen popped up once more. Jin Jiuchi glanced at it once and twice before he confirmed there was no decimal in between the numbers. Holy shiiit, his own degree of mechanization was 37%— that’s thirteen more to fifty! In other words, he was just one step away from becoming half-human and half-robot!

    How... freaking cool!

    Jin Jiuchi was so excited that his imaginary tail was wagging like a helicopter.

    But why hadn’t he noticed anything other than his currently missing right arm?

    Jin Jiuchi almost blurted out the question to the other person, but reason held him back in the nick of time. That was close! He was the Second Young Master now, not Jin Jiuchi, so how could he possibly not know the state of his own body? If he had carelessly asked such a question, it might have backfired and made the other person suspicious of him instead!

    How genius of you, Jin Jiuchi!

    Alas, unable to fulfill his own curiosity made Jin Jiuchi’s heart itch endlessly. He regretted it now; he should have checked himself in the mirror first before leaving the room! Maybe he could have struck a cool pose or two!

    Fortunately, before Jin Jiuchi could resort to taking off his clothes right there and then, the elevator came to a gentle stop. "You have arrived on the 14th underground floor," the mechanical female voice announced.

    "Let’s go, Second Young Master," Ao said as the glass doors slid open, leading the way across the spacious hallway.

    Jin Jiuchi trailed behind him, unable to stop himself from looking around, mentally ’ooh’-ing and ’aah’-ing.

    Both sides of the hallway were lined with research labs, with only a strip of horizontal glass panel giving a glimpse into the work taking place inside. As Jin Jiuchi passed by the raw materials room, his eyes were drawn to the sight of countless bionic parts submerged in massive jars filled with unidentified liquid, their metallic surfaces gleaming under the sterile white lights.

    Further down was the sensitivity testing room, where a mechanically transformed person stood shirtless, his body connected to various sensors. With each movement he made under the researchers’ instructions, a stream of data surged across the towering supercomputer screens which filled the entire wall, processing at an astonishing speed.

    At long last, they reached the medical lab.

    Once again, Ao used his iris to open the door.

    Jin Jiuchi was quite tempted to try and see if he could do the same, but he held himself back considering he knew nothing of his identity’s temperament or usual behavior. He was so well-behaved that he felt a little distressed on his own behalf. Since when did he become so good at holding himself back from doing whatever he wanted?

    He was no longer the same ol’ Jin Jiuchi, boohoo!

    If only Nian’er was here, he would have seized the chance to ask for rewards!

    Just as Jin Jiuchi found himself missing his jade doll again, he heard Ao greeted in a respectful tone, maybe with a hint of fear. "Master, Eldest Young Master, the Second Young Master is here."

    Jin Jiuchi shifted his gaze to the front, only to spot two men sitting opposite each other. The two exuded equally imposing and solemn aura, making the ordinary waiting area appear more like a conference table for shareholders meeting. It was obvious that Ao was more reverent toward the older one whose hair was streaked with gray. But Jin Jiuchi found his attention solely drawn to the younger one, and his eyes lit up like a cluster of stars were colliding within.

    Unable to restrain his joy, he hopped over and gave the other person a one-arm hug. "Brother... my good brother!" he exclaimed, so excited that he was practically buzzing on his feet. "You’re here! Oh, how I missed you so much!"

    The Eldest Young Master, aka Noir, stepped back in disgust, wholeheartedly reluctant to acknowledge this cheap brother of his.

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    A/N: the two of them become real brothers in this Cycle HAHAHA now this is what I call ’forced proximity’ trope!