I'm Really Capable!

The air in the corridor seemed to freeze.

On one side stood Lin Hui, Axe Gun in hand and one foot planted on a Predator's corpse. On the other loomed a tier-4 Zombie Tyrant, towering like a small mountain.

The sheer visual impact of their standoff stretched the tension to its breaking point.

Tap...

Tap...

Tap...

Suddenly, light footsteps rang out.

The mysterious, eerie silver-haired girl slowly emerged from the operating room and stood behind the Tyrant.

She leisurely removed the transparent raincoat stained with black blood, revealing the white dress beneath.

After casually tossing the raincoat aside, the silver-haired girl raised her head, her gray gaze falling on the dead [Predator] Mutants.

"How crude."

"Those were incredibly precious research specimens..."

Lin Hui narrowed his eyes. His left hand slipped quietly into his pocket and closed around an eyeball radiating an eerie aura-the [Eye of Scapegoating].

His mind raced.

If he went all out and used the [Eye of Scapegoating] to redirect aggro, he was fairly confident he could kill the eerie girl before him.

The problem was that Liu Xi was in her hands.

I can't risk hurting the hostage!

At that critical moment, the silver-haired girl broke the silence first.

"You're here to save this woman, aren't you?"

She glanced at Liu Xi, who was held in the Tyrant's hand. Her tone was as casual as if she were discussing some insignificant object. "If so, there's no need to fight. I never intended to hurt her."

Lin Hui's gaze shifted slightly, but he kept his Axe Gun raised. "You didn't intend to hurt her? Then why did you grab her?"

"I was just performing surgery here."

The silver-haired girl said calmly:

"To keep anyone from interrupting the surgery, I released highly concentrated anesthetic gas into the corridor and ventilation ducts.

That woman barged in on her own, inhaled too much, and passed out... I dragged her back because I didn't want the [Predators] outside to eat her."

At that, she turned her head and fixed her gray eyes on Lin Hui. A feverish gleam suddenly flared in her formerly indifferent gaze.

Lin Hui knew that gleam well.

It was the look Su Qingqian got when she saw high-grade materials, or a hungry wolf when it spotted meat.

"Compared to her... I'm much more curious about you."

The silver-haired girl stepped forward, ignoring the weapon in Lin Hui's hands as she leaned closer to examine him.

"That drug was so concentrated, yet it barely affected you..."

She licked her lips, her voice trembling slightly with excitement,

"Your Constitution has definitely surpassed human limits... and even that of most Mutants."

"You're simply... the perfect research specimen."

Her stare made Lin Hui's skin crawl. He discreetly stepped back half a pace and said coldly:

"If this is a misunderstanding, have her let my companion go."

He pointed at the Tyrant. "And how can you control that thing?"

"Oh, this?"

The silver-haired girl glanced at the Tyrant behind her, a hint of pride flashing in her eyes. "This is my creation, [Tyrant No. 1]. You just remove the viral control center in the brain, implant a special parasite, then combine that with my drugs... It took me several days of research to get it working."

As she spoke, she turned back to Lin Hui, her eyes shining. "Um... could you let me study you? I promise I mean no harm! I'd only take a tiny bit of blood, or slice off a sample to examine the muscle fibers..."

The corner of Lin Hui's mouth twitched.

Slice off a sample? And she calls that a tiny bit?

This woman was a human player-and a mad scientist.

"Not a chance."

Lin Hui refused without hesitation, his gaze sharpening again. "Give me back my companion. Otherwise..."

"What if I don't?" The silver-haired girl tilted her head, seemingly testing his limits. "If I don't, will you fight me?"

"Try me." Lin Hui tightened his grip on the Axe Gun.

"How boring."

The silver-haired girl pouted, deflating like a punctured balloon. "You have no spirit of self-sacrifice for science at all."

She snapped her fingers.

"Roar."

The tier-4 Tyrant gave a low growl, obediently bent down, and gently laid the unconscious Liu Xi on the floor before Lin Hui.

The silver-haired girl even took a small bottle from her pocket and tossed it to him.

"That's the antidote. Just wave it under her nose."

Lin Hui caught the bottle and, after a brief hesitation, waved it beneath Liu Xi's nose.

"Cough, cough..."

A few seconds later, Liu Xi broke into a violent fit of coughing. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

The instant she regained consciousness, she instinctively reached for her gun, only to realize she was lying on the cold floor.

"You're awake?"

A familiar voice sounded above her.

Liu Xi looked up, meeting Lin Hui's calm eyes.

"Boss? I..."

She tried to stand, but her limbs felt weak and limp from the lingering effects of the anesthetic gas.

Her body tilted, and she was about to fall.

Lin Hui sighed, slipped an arm around her waist, and scooped her securely into a bridal carry.

"Don't move around. The drug hasn't worn off yet."

Suddenly lifted off the floor, Liu Xi flushed bright red.

As a formerly aloof CEO and now an icy, beautiful sniper, when had anyone ever carried her like this?

Feeling the warmth of Lin Hui's broad chest and his strong heartbeat, Liu Xi found herself even dizzier than she had been under the effects of the gas.

She instinctively buried her face in his chest, not daring to look at anyone.

"We're leaving."

Holding Liu Xi, Lin Hui cast a wary glance at the silver-haired girl, then turned to leave.

Now that he had confirmed she was merely a nonhostile science fanatic, he had no desire to linger.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Footsteps sounded behind him.

Lin Hui looked back and found the silver-haired girl eagerly tagging along.

"Why are you following me?"

"My surgery's finished," Bai Ling said matter-of-factly. "I need to go back to my bus and rest. Oh, right, my name's Bai Ling. What's yours?"

A few minutes later.

The three of them emerged from the hospital building.

Under the moonlight, the black Lv.4 Heavy-Duty RV parked in the open lot gleamed with a cold, imposing metallic sheen.

"Boss!" Inside the RV, Su Qingqian, who had been worrying about Lin Hui the whole time, finally felt her heart settle when she saw him.

Behind Lin Hui, Bai Ling froze the instant she spotted the RV.

Then.

"Wow!!!"

She excitedly rushed over, practically plastering herself against the RV's armor plating. She rubbed her cheek against the cold metal, looking utterly intoxicated.

"This armor thickness! This material! It's the perfect mobile fortress!"

"If I used this to hold Zombies and Mutants, I could fit at least a few hundred inside! And there'd still be room for a huge laboratory!"

"It's so much better than my crappy bus!"

Listening to her outrageous remarks, Lin Hui couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from twitching twice.

You want to stuff Zombies into my five-star apocalypse RV? How did you even come up with that?

Still, he now understood why a level-1 bus was parked outside the entrance.

"That's your vehicle?" Lin Hui pointed at the battered bus nearby.

"Yep." Bai Ling gave it a disdainful glance. "It's where I keep my 'test subjects.' Normally, I use them for experiments. When there's trouble, I let them out to serve as bodyguards."

A chill ran through Lin Hui.

No wonder she dares to roam around in a level-1 bus. Who would mess with a freak driving a bus full of monsters?

"Um..."

Bai Ling turned around, pressed her palms together, and looked at Lin Hui expectantly, her big eyes blinking:

"Could you let me into your RV too? I want to live in a big house."

"No!"

Lin Hui refused flatly.

Is she kidding?

Let a mad scientist who might slice up Zombies at any moment-and even wants to slice me up-into the RV?

That would be inviting a wolf into the house!

"Why not?" She pointed at Liu Xi in Lin Hui's arms, then at Su Qingqian, who had just stepped out of the RV. "Then why are they allowed?"

"Oh, I get it. They're your mating partners?"

"Pfft-"

Su Qingqian, who had just taken a sip of water to calm her nerves, sprayed it straight out.

Liu Xi was so mortified that she wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground. She buried her face even deeper in his chest.

Lin Hui's face darkened. "...Shut your mouth. They're my employees!"

"Then I'll be your employee too!" Bai Ling immediately seized the opportunity, patting her chest as she promised, "I'm really capable!"

Happy New Year's Day to all our readers! May every year bring you joy, and remember to treat yourselves well in the new year~