Jealousy

Si Jinyan glanced at the Aberrant Form Liasuo had thrown down, then turned and pulled Chi Li, who had just fought Liasuo, into his arms. He rubbed Chi Li's cheek tenderly. "Does it hurt?"

The panic and anger that had been building in Chi Li's heart ever since Bo Lang and the others disappeared had finally found an outlet just now.

He was not injured, and the gloom in his heart had eased somewhat. He placed his palm over Si Jinyan's hand at his cheek and patted it lightly. "I'm fine."

Si Jinyan released soothing pheromones and checked Chi Li over once more, unwilling to take any chances. After confirming there were no wounds, he said, "Let's go back first."

Si Jinyan assigned two people to stay behind.

On the way back, Chi Li replayed his fight with Liasuo in his mind—

It was not as though he had never encountered opponents stronger than himself. But when he fought Liasuo, the explosive strength of his muscles, his lightning-fast speed, and an indescribable sense of oppression had struck Chi Li as strange.

Thinking back on it now, the reason it had felt wrong—the strangeness and that faint sense of familiarity—was because he had felt the same way when fighting Si Jinyan.

Back then, Si Jinyan's suppressive presence had been even stronger. It was a kind of power beyond his understanding, or rather, physical abilities no human should possess.

Chi Li immediately voiced his thoughts.

Before Si Jinyan could speak, Geng Ji said, "You mean you suspect that blond-haired man is also an Aberrant Form created through genetic injection and modification, like Si Jinyan?"

Geng Ji shook his head. "Impossible. So far, none of the Aberrant Forms we've discovered have been anything like humans... Let alone retaining a human appearance, they do