Why Are the Psychos Obsessed with a Mere NPC?
Chapter 11: It Takes a Crazier Man to Beat a Madman

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: It Takes a Crazier Man to Beat a Madman

The jacket was small and felt weightless in his hand. It was the color of moonlight, with its cuffs and lapels trimmed in a narrow, pale gold.

It wasn’t an intimate article of clothing, yet the scent clinging to it was anything but faint. The hand holding the jacket could almost feel it lingering.

"Thanks."

Pei Yin’s fingers tightened, and he looked away.

He slung the jacket over his shoulder and walked out of the villa, his mind elsewhere.

The villas assigned to their group were all close together. The others had been delayed by some business and hadn’t enrolled yet.

School had been in session for two weeks, and this was his third time visiting Ling Yanzhi. He didn’t think his visits were as frequent as Sheng Yue’s.

But he hadn’t expected Sheng Yue to be waiting for him outside.

Pei Yin walked toward him. "I thought you’d left."

A smile spread across his face, but then he heard Sheng Yue turn and warn, "Don’t touch her."

"Jian Yu?" Pei Yin’s steps faltered slightly, but the smile didn’t leave his lips. "How would I dare touch her before that guy, Ling Yanzhi, gets tired of her?"

He rubbed his neck, which still ached from Red Snake’s bite.

’What a pain.’

"I guess I should be grateful he didn’t have Red Snake poison me to death."

Sensing his own poor attitude, Sheng Yue averted his gaze.

He hinted obscurely, "All these years, our families have poured so much money into the research institutes, but we haven’t seen them produce anything useful."

Pei Yin wasn’t stupid; he understood the implication.

His smile vanished. "Don’t tell me you’ve taken a liking to her too?"

He grinned, deliberately provoking him. "What’s one more to wait for? Once Ling Yanzhi gets tired of her, I’ll just send her over to you."

Pei Yin watched Sheng Yue’s reaction, testing him with a nonchalant air. "And once you two have had your fun, it won’t be too late to hand her over to me for research."

He had no real intention of sending Jian Yu to an Alliance research institute. The people at the Alliance liked to hoard their secrets; they’d probably have her secretly played to death within a few days of her arrival.

Useless, the lot of them. Always demanding money. The Alliance funded them, their families funded them, but he sure as hell wasn’t about to serve them too.

"For your sakes, I can keep others from touching her." Pei Yin’s lips curled as he stared unblinkingly at the other’s expression. "I’ll do it myself."

"You’re not that kind of person. There’s no need to talk about yourself like that." Sheng Yue’s eyes seemed to hold back his anger, but in the next moment, his lips flattened into a neutral line, showing no emotion.

Pei Yin scoffed. "But I am that kind of person. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Don’t think so highly of my character."

"You won’t." Sheng Yue tilted his head, his expression unreadable. "But I still have to remind you not to take it too far. Your 3S and my 3S are because that’s the highest we can reach. Ling Yanzhi’s 3S is because the machine’s maximum threshold is only 3S."

Sheng Yue’s face was calm. "I’d advise you not to test his limits."

A flash of blue light streaked past, and the mecha vanished into the air.

"Hmph." Pei Yin lowered his gaze, Jian Yu’s innocent, pure little face appearing in his mind.

He still remembered how, when he’d scared her by saying he’d send her to the research institute, her long, butterfly-wing lashes had trembled helplessly.

Pale, frail, pitiful.

"Can’t blame them, I guess." Pei Yin shrugged, assuming his brothers had all fallen for her.

And he had more than just two brothers.

’What’s the fun in keeping it from them? When you find something fun, how can you not share?’

Opening his Star Brain, Pei Yin paused over the group chat for a few seconds.

’Only a bigger madman can suppress a little one.’

’The only one who could defeat Ling Yanzhi was Xi Yu. The others would just have to wait.’

’If they all turned against him, he could forget about ever tying Jian Yu down in his own research institute.’

After thinking it over, Pei Yin sent Xi Yu a four-word message: Jian Yu. Come at once.

"HISSS." Sensing that Sheng Yue and the other man had left, Red Snake slowly arched its body.

Jian Yu was instantly so scared she didn’t dare blink.

Just then, a finger reached out from the side and poked the little snake’s head. "Lie down."

The snake, which had been full of menacing energy, obediently lay down on Jian Yu’s lap.

Following the finger with her gaze, Jian Yu’s eyes met Ling Yanzhi’s weary, drooping eyelids.

They were faintly red, giving off a kind of broken beauty.

But the moment he lifted his gaze, his entire aura changed.

Ling Yanzhi’s arm rested lightly on her waist. "You need to get used to it."

He leaned down and kissed Jian Yu’s lower lip. "Don’t be afraid. It’s very well-behaved."

Her position made it impossible to escape, so Jian Yu could only face it. "Yes, well-behaved."

Red Snake twisted its body, shaking its head and showing off its fangs in a menacing dance.

It seemed completely unaware of how terrifying it was.

Jian Yu squeezed her eyes shut.

’I should be content. Even if my role is about to be written out, at least I’ve bagged one of the F7. The boast I made to the System can be considered fulfilled.’

’Compared to Xi Yu’s... eight black tentacles, this little snake at least only has one tail.’

’That’s right, that’s right.’ Jian Yu nodded, as if encouraging herself to believe it.

"What’s its name?" Jian Yu knew that Ling Yanzhi was too lazy to come up with a proper name, so he just casually called it: Red Snake.

But right now, as someone from a backwater planet, she wasn’t supposed to know that, so she had to feign ignorance.

"Red Snake." Ling Yanzhi had his Soul Beast perform a few little tricks.

Changing size, directional location, scent identification.

"The difference between it and other Soul Beasts is, I guess, that it can create clones."

One, two, three...

’What a nasty ability.’ Jian Yu had already witnessed it back in the school infirmary.

They were densely packed. In just a moment of distraction, another one appeared on her leg.

"Very... very impressive." She quickly changed the subject. "I heard that high-Level Soul Beasts can talk."

"Mm." Ling Yanzhi lifted his gaze, his face emotionless. "It doesn’t like to talk."

Among their group, the most talkative one was Sheng Yue’s Soul Beast, the complete opposite of its master.

Red Snake’s voice was childish, and it felt that detracted from its intimidating presence, so it rarely communicated privately even with Ling Yanzhi.

Ting Ying’s voice was rather sharp, and Pei Yin found it noisy.

Ling Yanzhi didn’t pursue that train of thought. "I’ll have someone send over more clothes. You can shower when we get back."

"?" Jian Yu pursed her lips.

’Does that mean he’s ready to... indulge?’

’Isn’t this a little too fast?’

Glancing down again and again, Jian Yu’s fingers reached out to touch Ling Yanzhi’s abdomen.

’Nice to touch.’

’He’s got some capital.’

Jian Yu had been skilled at reading people since she was a child. From the looks of it, Ling Yanzhi had a very high tolerance for her.

"Don’t provoke me." Ling Yanzhi grabbed her hand.

Jian Yu’s lashes lowered as she blinked.

Her face was utterly bewitching. She had the kind of look where she could be stabbing someone with needles like Nanny Rong, and onlookers would still believe she was the innocent one.

If she was at fault, it must be because someone had threatened her into it.

"I’m not being harsh with you," Ling Yanzhi explained in a lazy voice after staring at her for a long moment.

He casually pulled open his collar, revealing a wide expanse of his chest. Then, he rolled the cuffs of his white shirt up his arms, exposing the sleek, powerful lines of his muscles.

"If you want to look, then look. It’s all yours." Ling Yanzhi leaned back, the corners of his eyes tilting up as he struck a pose that invited ravishment.

Jian Yu stared blankly down at him.

The tips of Ling Yanzhi’s ears turned red. He took her hand, placed it on his shoulder, and swept her up into his arms.

Her body was suddenly airborne. Jian Yu’s thoughts returned to her, and she heard Ling Yanzhi say, "Too small."

’I’m only eighteen. I am a little small.’

Ling Yanzhi twisted the knife. "And your constitution is weak."

’The appearance of an eighteen-year-old, the body of a fifty-year-old.’

Jian Yu shattered.

’He can look, but he can’t eat.’

Ling Yanzhi carried Jian Yu to the mecha and sat her inside. "Are you afraid of heights like this?"

"It’s okay." Jian Yu shook her head. "Where are we going?"

"The hospital."

「Imperial City First Hospital.」

Jian Yu didn’t want to be carried, but Ling Yanzhi was over 190 centimeters tall—all legs, it seemed—and she really couldn’t keep up.

"I told you I’d carry you." Ling Yanzhi stopped walking. He sounded disdainful, but his expression was smug, with a hint of secret delight.

Now that Jian Yu knew he wasn’t as terrifying as he was written in the plot, the heart that had been in her throat had long since settled back into place.

She wanted to retort, but in her peripheral vision, she caught sight of Xu Jianjuan walking out from around a corner.

’The female lead is here to see a doctor too?’

Xu Jianjuan was holding a few boxes of medicine, and her retreating figure looked hurried and dejected.

Jian Yu didn’t turn back until she was out of sight.

Sitting on Ling Yanzhi’s arm, she asked, "What kind of illnesses do they treat over there?"

"Psychological counseling," Ling Yanzhi answered without even looking.

His family owned the hospital, and he had personally handled the Star Network’s security and defense systems.

Jian Yu frowned. ’I don’t remember the female lead having any psychological problems.’