FT DR Chapter 71: Vanishing Act

Chapter 71: Vanishing Act

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Wu Chenghe took a long time to gather his strength and climb up from the ground after Hannibal left. The situation was worse than he had anticipated; he had never known there were devices specifically designed to interfere with consciousness clouds. Slowly leaning against the wall, Wu Chenghe made his way to the bathroom to wash away the stains on his body. His consciousness cloud kept stirring up countless tiny whirlpools, causing slight ringing in his ears, and his eyes couldn’t see clearly due to the vertical pupils.

He gently wiped the cracked chrysalis off his ear. The originally transparent chrysalis slowly turned a faint orange, with a slender crack on the side, surrounded by a shallow gray-black, as if life were draining away. He tried to summon the quantum beast with his consciousness but received no response; there was no movement at all in the chrysalis.

This situation either meant death was imminent or transformation was underway. Wu Chenghe felt no signs of impending death, so he reassured himself it must be the latter. He propped the cracked chrysalis back onto his ear, turned off the water, and wrapped himself in a bathrobe as he walked to the study.

His vision was slightly distorted, and it took Wu Chenghe some effort to find the “Medical Dictionary” from the bookshelf. These books were all brought here by Hannibal from the dormitories of Aston Medical College, probably to keep him entertained and distracted.

Opening the dictionary, he found a hole dug in the middle section of the pages, with a small thermos tucked inside. The thermos contained the inhibitor he had sneaked out of the St. Martin Research Center. Worried about its safety in the dormitory, he had bought a thick dictionary, dug a hole, and hidden it inside. Thankfully, Hannibal hadn’t inspected the book carefully when he brought it over.

If the quantum beast was about to metamorphose, it meant he was about to reach adulthood and could sense compatibility. This situation was extremely dangerous for him—what if he and Hannibal were highly compatible? With his level of control, he probably wouldn’t be able to shield himself completely.

Wu Chenghe opened the thermos, located his jugular vein, and injected one of the syringes. He didn’t know if he could withstand Hannibal’s attacks next time, but he couldn’t give up.

His consciousness was in turmoil, his body weak. Wu Chenghe forced himself to drink some sugar-salt water and used the methods taught by Mu to calm his consciousness cloud. Then, he returned to the disturbing room that sent shivers down his spine.

The room was a mess, with several dried vomit patches on the floor that Hannibal hadn’t cleaned up before leaving, which Wu Chenghe accidentally stepped on. He extended his sense of smell, following the scent until he stood in front of a smooth wall.

The scent disappeared from here; Hannibal had left from here. Wu Chenghe extended his touch, carefully feeling the wall with his hands several times until he finally found a thin crack.

“Beep—” a light sound, and suddenly a holographic panel flashed on the wall, prompting an iris scan. Wu Chenghe scanned with his eyes, but it didn’t work.

At that moment, Wu Chenghe cursed himself. Why hadn’t he learned a trick or two from Jin Xuan in the past year?

Time flew by quickly. After about three or four hours, Wu Chenghe felt his consciousness cloud had recovered slightly, and his body wasn’t as weak after replenishing with sugar-salt water. So, he changed into clothes suitable for fighting in the bedroom and searched the kitchen and bathroom for a few small items that could potentially be used as weapons.

Hannibal had already torn his face, and wouldn’t give him much buffer time. Wu Chenghe once again opened the access panel, re-scanned with his normal pupils, trying his luck.

He hadn’t held much hope, but right after scanning the wall, a “drip” sound was heard, followed by a small door flashing open.

Wu Chenghe was astonished and took several steps back, unable to believe he had managed to open the door.

No miracle happened because he saw Hannibal standing outside the door.

Their eyes met, and Wu Chenghe ran as fast as he could. Hannibal didn’t rush to chase him; seeing the access panel open, a hint of surprise flashed across his face. He closed the door, then casually asked, “Feeling better?”

Wu Chenghe couldn’t bear his peculiar concern and only gave him a sarcastic smirk. 

Hannibal didn’t seem to mind, walking around the swimming pool towards him, speaking gently, “Don’t hide from me. You know it’s useless. You’re not my match. Resisting further will only bring you more suffering.”

Wu Chenghe stepped back slowly, nearing the interference room, unable to help shivering, and quickened his pace to run away. Hannibal caught the fear on his face, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. “Don’t be afraid. As long as you behave, I won’t lock you up again. It’s painful, isn’t it? Even the most elite sentinel spies of the military can’t withstand this interference; over an hour can trigger mania syndrome, leading to complete self-destruction. But your resilience surprises me. I thought you wouldn’t recover until tomorrow.”

Wu Chenghe said in a low but fierce tone, “I suggest you stop immediately, get out, or else, without the interference room, I can make you self-destruct in mania!”

“Ha!” It was the first time Hannibal had experienced such a dominant side of his son, feeling an unusual sensuality in seeing this arrogant and brave expression on his handsome face, even feeling a slight tightening in his abdomen(arousal).

“You look adorable like this, Charlie,” he smiled. “But you’re a smart kid; you should know you can’t do that.”

Wu Chenghe’s brain quickly worked, saying, “It’s illegal to conceal a guide. As long as you don’t kill me, I’ll have a chance to surrender to the Federation. By then, you’ll be ruined!”

Fearlessly, Hannibal replied, “No guide would betray their sentinel. Submission will make you rely on me, obey me, and you’ll never be able to betray me!” He took two slow steps forward, as if enjoying the sight of his fear, and continued, “But you reminded me, Charlie. You’re too strong. For safety’s sake, I won’t let you out for a few years. This place is your world. When you completely submit, I’ll consider taking you out to meet people. Oh, everyone knows I have a weak eldest son who needs long-term care. I’ll have them send flowers to your bedside, wishing you a speedy recovery.”

Wu Chenghe was immune to all his shameless, despicable, and cruel remarks. His expression didn’t even change, and he coldly retorted, “Is that so? Aren’t you afraid of death? Let’s see. I’ve heard that the lives of sentinel and guide are bound. I wonder if you’re an exception.”

Raising an eyebrow, Hannibal said, “Are you threatening me with your life? How brave. But I doubt it. You’re only eighteen. Are you willing to die? Is it so hard to accept Daddy? Think about how much I loved you, how much I spoiled you. What else do you have to hesitate about? With me, your future is below one person and above ten thousand. The entire Voyager Army, the entire Federation, will be your world!”

Below one person, above ten thousand? Wu Chenghe shivered; Hannibal’s ambition was laid bare at this moment. There were no lofty ideals of loyalty to the Federation or responsibility to humanity in his heart; there was only the arrogant ambition to divide humanity and rule the Federation!

“You maniac!” Wu Chenghe exclaimed. At this moment, he even felt somewhat fortunate that Hannibal had targeted him. If sacrificing his life could destroy this devil and save the unity of the Federation, he would rather bear the mark and perish with him! If it meant going to hell, then let’s go together!

“Do you still want to perish with me?” Hannibal’s sinister gaze carried a chilling smile. “Then why run? Come to Daddy’s side. I’ll give you this chance. Do you want me to teach you how?”

Wu Chenghe watched his tall figure approach, his black-and-chestnut eagle hovering in the high-dimensional space, not daring to approach after the last failure, only emitting a provocative snarl from afar, as if urging its master to act immediately.

As Hannibal stood in front of Wu Chenghe, he reached out to stroke his hair. His rough palm slid over Wu Chenghe’s sweaty forehead, lingered on his slightly swollen right cheek for a moment, and touched his lips. Applying more pressure with his fingers, he gradually made those pale lips unnaturally reddened, murmuring, “Are you really that determined? Do you want me to die? Then let’s try it…”

As he spoke, he slowly lowered his head, kissing Wu Chenghe’s lips and licking his teeth, trying to pry them open. Wu Chenghe clenched his teeth tightly, refusing to let him in. After struggling for a while, Hannibal gave up, gripping his jaw with one hand and tearing open his collar with the other, making a crisp “rip” sound.

Wu Chenghe trembled, but didn’t flinch. Under his coercion, he reluctantly lifted his chin, revealing his fair neck. The small Adam’s apple of the young man moved inconspicuously, showing strong inner fear and conflict.

Hannibal emitted a barely detectable chuckle from his throat. His lips kissed Wu Chenghe’s Adam’s apple, just about to lick his saliva onto it to create a temporary mark. Suddenly, a flash of silver appeared before his eyes, and he felt a sharp pain on his face. Then, crimson blood spurted out!

“Ah!” Hannibal screamed, covering his face and stepping back frantically. He found a nearly ten-centimeter-long wound from his left inner eye corner to his right cheek, blood covering his face, even causing his vision to blur slightly.

“You!” Hannibal was furious, wiping the blood off his face. He saw his slender son standing against the wall, biting a small blade in his mouth, the blood staining half of his face, only revealing a pair of dark eyes, calm and composed.

What was that? A blade taken from a razor? Or the steel teeth from a juicer? Hannibal looked at the crimson blood stains in his palm, hardly believing that he had been disfigured by his sheep-like son!

Wu Chenghe spat out the blade from his mouth and wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand. With his pale cheeks, crimson lips, and faint pink bloodstains, there was a chilling beauty about him.

“You’re asking for death!” Hannibal was completely enraged and lunged at Wu Chenghe. Without waiting for him to get close, Wu Chenghe extended his mental tendrils and fiercely attacked Hannibal’s consciousness!

“Ka-!” The black-and-chestnut eagle screeched, causing Wu Chenghe’s ears to numb. His mental strength hadn’t fully recovered, and although he managed to launch the tendrils, it was quite strenuous. Hindered by the black-and-chestnut eagle, the force was immediately weakened by half. By the time it reached Hannibal’s powerful mental defenses, it was already weak, hardly having any effect.

There was a brief tremor in the high-dimensional space, and Wu Chenghe felt a sharp pain in his chest, almost spitting out blood. He collapsed to his knees, and Hannibal, his face covered in blood like a demon crawling out of hell, rushed at him. With a kick to his chest, Wu Chenghe was sent flying nearly five meters, only to hit the wall before falling to the ground.

Wu Chenghe grunted, curling up and clutching his chest in pain. Hannibal, bloodied, approached him and grabbed one of his legs, dragging him to the interference room without hesitation. He tossed him inside, locked the door, and used his personal terminal to connect to the house’s control system, setting the interference waves to maximum.

Three minutes later, he opened the door. Wu Chenghe was completely limp on the ground, no longer showing his previous stubbornness and defiance. His body twitched, and from his throat came small, dying-animal-like whimpers, “It hurts… Help…”

A small orange oval-shaped cocoon, about the size of a thumb, dropped beside his ear. Hannibal’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he picked it up. It was the guide’s cocoon!

“Ka-!” The black-and-chestnut eagle let out an excited screech, swooping down to try to pick up the cocoon. But just as its sharp beak clasped onto it, the cocoon burst open with a bang, turning into tiny fragments that scattered in all directions, turning transparent.

A faint orange shadow flashed among the fragments like a tiny phantom, disappearing before the black-and-chestnut eagle could capture it.

The eagle flew up anxiously, frantically searching around but unable to find its target. It landed on Hannibal’s shoulder, screeching angrily.

“Don’t worry, he’s already matured.” Hannibal’s eyes sparkled with excitement, overflowing with unrestrained excitement. He lifted Wu Chenghe, who was barely conscious, and carried him to the bedroom. “Once the marking is complete and bonding is established, you’ll be able to catch it.”

“Ka-!” The black-and-chestnut eagle impatiently flew into the bedroom, landing at the head of the bed. Hannibal placed his semi-conscious son on the bed. Wu Chenghe’s limbs twitched, his pupils turning into thin lines, his face even paler than the bedsheets.

“Are you still planning to kill me? Still want to perish with me?” Hannibal pressed down on his wrists with one hand, easily suppressing his weak struggles. “Do you know how I deal with disobedient children? No one in this world can resist me!”

Due to dizziness and intense pain, a hazy sheen covered Wu Chenghe’s vertical pupils. He breathed rapidly and disorderly, weakly but fiercely declaring, “Fine, Hannibal. If you’re not afraid of death, come on, let’s give it a try!” With the cocoon completely shattered, he realized he had fully matured. His body was undergoing some dangerous changes, his joints aching, his senses heightened, feeling somewhat like during estrus, but more intense.

Hannibal was close to him, allowing him to clearly experience what “compatibility” meant—it was a subtle intuition, innate and irresistible. Hannibal’s compatibility with him was slightly higher than Marlow’s but much lower than Jin Xuan’s. However, his consciousness was too chaotic to accurately assess the specific value. Fortunately, the inhibitor injected several hours ago had effectively shielded him from Hannibal’s compatibility. Although his body was restless, he didn’t emit any pheromones.

Hannibal noticed something unusual and leaned in to sniff at his cheek, frowning. “What did you take? Are you suppressing your pheromones?” 

Wu Chenghe remained silent. By not triggering the bonding heat, he could maintain his rationality as much as possible, not allowing his mind to be clouded by sexual desire—he had already prepared to burn the bridges behind him.

“Damn it…” Hannibal was furious and hesitated whether to mark him immediately or first find a way to clear the suppressant from his body. Just then, there was a “buzz” sound behind him—

“Who?!” Hannibal’s voice turned sharp. 

A cold barrel of a gun pressed against the back of his head, the gun chamber slowly charging with energy, emitting a faint buzzing sound. A familiar female voice spoke slowly and deliberately, “Let… him… go!”

Hannibal’s expression changed instantly, and the muscles on his face twitched unnaturally.

Lilith’s face was as white as snow, her lips trembling slightly, but her hand holding the gun remained steady. She knew that Hannibal had a secret detention room in the military area for holding some special prisoners. Because of the words of the NTU advisor, she had suspicions, so she approached with a skeptical attitude. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to find out that her husband wasn’t hiding a guide, but his own biological son.

“Don’t get excited,” Hannibal quickly regained his composure, raising his hands and speaking calmly to his wife. “Put down the gun, let’s talk outside.”

Lilith’s mind went blank. The past few minutes had been too shocking, leaving her unsure of what to do. After a long pause, she hoarsely agreed, “Okay.”

The wounds on Hannibal’s face had already begun to heal, but large patches of dried blood remained. Ignoring his wife’s gun, he walked straight into the kitchen, cleaning his wounds at the sink and then wiping away the water on his face with a clean towel.

“Why?!” Lilith couldn’t bear the terrifying truth, let alone accept her husband’s calm demeanor. “Hannibal, have you gone mad? He’s your son!”

Hannibal remained silent, drinking a glass of cold water to extinguish the fire burning within him.

“Why?!” Lilith’s voice trembled. “I thought you just wanted to find a guide, why him? He can’t extend your life. Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love with your own son…” She suddenly realized something, her eyes widening in shock. “No! He’s a guide!”

Lilith turned abruptly. Hannibal, moving quickly, grabbed her wrist and forced her to sit on a stool by the bar counter. He spoke slowly and deliberately, “Lilith, we both need a guide.”

Lilith looked into his cold eyes, unable to hold back her tears. “My God, Hannibal, he’s your son!”

“Hush,” Hannibal pressed a finger to her lips, speaking softly. “Lilith, our lives are just beginning. We shouldn’t fall from the peak of glory. I promise you, I will find you a guide too. Now, don’t worry about what happened, let’s pretend nothing happened. We’re still husband and wife, okay?”

Lilith was speechless, her mouth agape. Eighteen years—she had been with this man for eighteen years, only to realize at this moment that he was terrifyingly unfamiliar. Was he still the same Hannibal who had once given up a guide for her? Or had he never intended to give up anything for her, because in his world, there was no law, no morality, no familial bond, no human ethics—let alone love?

“You can’t do this…” Lilith choked on her pain. “Hannibal, isn’t the most basic bottom line of marriage mutual loyalty? Are you really giving me a guide? Are you asking me to betray love, to betray our family? How am I supposed to face Marlow, our son?!”

Mentioning Marlow, Lilith couldn’t hold back her tears, and there was a momentary burst of emotion on Hannibal’s face as well.

“Listen to me,” after a while, Lilith held back her tears and gradually regained her composure. She grabbed Hannibal’s arm, her grip almost crushing his muscles, and said firmly, “You stop right now. We’ll send Charlie to the guide school. I’ll pretend nothing happened. Hannibal, for the sake of our eighteen years of marriage, for Marlow, I forgive you this time, but it’s the last time.”

Hannibal’s pupils contracted, and Lilith’s face showed a fierce and resolute expression. “If you insist on marking your own son, fine, but it has to be after we divorce. Marlow’s custody will be mine, and I’ll leave the First Army, taking the Mulan Fleet back to my father. If you think you can deceive everyone, then go ahead and live with your son. But I can’t guarantee I won’t reveal your secret!”

“What do you mean?” Hannibal’s voice turned cold. “Are you threatening me, Lilith? Are you trying to break up this family?”

“The one trying to break up this family is you!” Lilith said flatly. “I’m trying to save our marriage and our family, Hannibal. Death is inevitable for humans, even if you have a guide, does that mean you’ll never die? By possessing your own son like this, are you abandoning your humanity? Listen to me, hand him over!”

“You…” Hannibal was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed, and he dashed out of the kitchen toward the bedroom. Lilith, also a sentinel, though shaken, maintained some degree of alertness and followed suit.

The bed in the bedroom was empty, Wu Chenghe had vanished into thin air.

Hannibal turned and quickly opened the doors around the hall, finding them all empty, no one inside.

Suddenly, he realized something, running to the door leading to the outside, he activated the holographic panel and scanned his eyes. The system turned blood-red, sounding an alarm. “Identity mismatch, system locked, please confirm again in ten seconds.” But every time the countdown reached “1”, it would jump back to “9” and start over, in an endless loop.

The first face that came to Hannibal’s mind was the annoying face of Jin Xuan. Only a hacker of his level could possibly infiltrate the management system of the Imperial Guards.

But how did he find his way here? Hannibal opened his personal terminal to call Yuna, but then saw an incoming request from her and immediately answered, “Yuna, have someone open the door to the detention center. The system has been hacked, and I’m trapped.”

“Commander! Something’s happened!” Yuna quickly said, “There was an explosion at the Military Commission Building. The southern sector suffered minor damage, and the Imperial Guards are evacuating the area. Please come to the scene immediately!”

Hannibal paused for a moment, then asked coldly, “Are there any casualties?”

“No, when the AI system of the building was hacked, everyone in the southern sector received orders to gather in the northern sector,” Yuna said, “Only a secretary was trapped in the restroom, but she’s been rescued.”

“I’m on my way.” Hannibal said, “Have someone open the door, split the Imperial Guards into two groups, with Ivanov leading one. Surround the detention center within a ten-kilometer radius. The entire outer ring of the military area is on high alert, search for any suspicious individuals, including those from NTU and the Second and Third Army. If found, execute them on the spot.”

Yuna hesitated for a moment before saying, “Yes!”

Hannibal hung up and turned back to Lilith. “My mind is a mess right now. Let me deal with the explosion incident first, and then we’ll talk.” 

Lilith silently nodded her head, not looking at him.

 

 

 

 

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