Thrive in Catastrophe Chapter 73

Xiao's vigilance peaked as he stared at the man in front of him. His gut was telling him that there was something distinctly different about this man, far different from any man he had ever seen.

But what was that difference?

He smiled and looked over Xiao, staring intently at him, as though a.s.sessing something. He reached his hand out and stroked his dark hair, sweeping his knuckles along the silky strands. The light gesture brings a torrent of trembles to Xiao Yan's heart, like the feeling of hundreds of wings flapping inside his chest.

"You are pure Asian. There are less than one tenth of humans that share such a bloodline. After all two hundred years of living and reproducing in such a small s.p.a.ce dilutes the blood lines."

As the man pressed closer, Xiao Yan did not retreat, but the air emanating from him was heavy with oppression.

"I really wanted to have a child like you."

At this statement, Xiao was finally able to guess the ident.i.ty of the man.

"You are Jane Wallace's father!"

"Yes. But I am not only his father, I am also his creator. It has been a long time, and these children have helped me through these dark and lonely years. They have taken to calling me father for so long that I don't even recall my own name. Hm...Let me think...Ah...it is Valentin Sheen."

Xiao Yan recalls the connection of the Surge organization and their promises of immortality using the comet virus.

"How long have you lived?"

"I am two hundred and seventy-two years old."

Xiao Yan stands shocked at the number.

"..." He stares deeply into the man's eyes, they do not waver in the slightest. It seems his claim is true.

"The comet virus enables the zombies to recover by absorbing heat to energize the body. Think about it. It has been more than two hundred years, and they are still moving about. Isn't this a hint to the humans about the next level of creation? I used the virus to continuously regenerate my damaged organs and extend the longevity of my life. The problem is that there is one crucial part of the body that I cannot repair."

"Brain."

It was well understood that the zombies relied on instinct. They were not capable of any higher level cognition, due to the atrophy of their brain matter.

"You are quite smart. I need someone with such rare intellect to help me with this dilemma."

The man tapped his finger against Xiao's temple and chuckled.

"Don't be so nervous. I will give you time to seriously weigh the matter. Will you return to your underground city or live free like Jane? I heard that Heine Burton survived due to your role in the development of the X-2 virus. He will be the first Special Forces fighter to break the shackles of his decade expiration date--Another layer added to his mythical status. But from the way I see it, this miraculous myth belongs to you, not to him."

Xiao Yan licked at his dried lips, but couldn't speak.

"You are special, child."

Valentin's hand stroked his cheek and then his fingers dragged through his hair. The gesture was overly familiar, but Xiao knows that his words and actions are directed towards the value of his brain, not himself.

"Even if I collect your genetic material there is no guarantee that he will completely have your mind."

The man stood and left the room. Casey, who was leaning against the wall along the corridor, straightened. His brows drew together and he attempted to mask his unease.

"father."

"Try to mine his brain for information, but don't hurt him."

"Understood, father."

"Do you know the safest way to do this?" Valentin looked over at Casey with affection.

"I will do it when he falls asleep, father."

As the sun sets, the tendrils of light dim until the room is enveloped in darkness. The port window darkens to an impossible pitch until it resembles a black hole.

Xiao lowered the curtains, despite the s.p.a.ciousness of the room, it looks gloomy and depressing.

The scent of food wafted through the air as Jane brought a plate with him into the room. Seeing no trace of Xiao Yan, he sighed faintly to himself and looked around the corner to find him leaning against the wall.

"There is no suns.h.i.+ne here...no beach. You feel trapped."

Jane leans in close to Xiao Yan.

"You don't care about how I feel, so don't pretend to understand."

Jane flicked Xiao Yan's forehead. "I promise you that freedom will come. Be it for you or me." Jane cryptic words fall like lead in the air.

Jane sat down and balanced the plate on his knee. He grabbed a spoonful of food and brought it toward Xiao's mouth. "Taste this. It is the porridge that I especially picked out. The taste is quite different from the s.h.i.+re. You should try new things while you are here. Look at everything with a different perspective, new eyes. Then think on them with your clever little brain."

Xiao Yan did not react.

Jane sighed helplessly. "I don't mind forcing this into your mouth."

Xiao opened his mouth. He has already accepted so many kisses from Jane. Why fight this? He needs to eat.

In his current state he couldn't even taste the food, after only a few bites he is overtaken with nausea.

Jane does not force him to eat any more and grabs ahold of the plate as he stands. Xiao Yan sits stoically in place. He doesn't move, an odd stillness grips him and he looks as though he could blend into the sculptures adorning the wall.

As time pa.s.ses, Jerry, who had been observing him via surveillance, can't help but complain.

"Ah! This guy doesn't intend to sleep at all. I want to knock him out!"

Just as Jerry went to input his code, Casey stilled his hand.

"He hasn't even eaten anything yet. Do you really want to use it on him again? If anything happens, I can't spare you.

Jerry leaned back stunned, and then opened a snack package before speaking again.

"Who is entering his mind to extract the information?"

"I am." Casey grinned.

Finally after Jerry finished eating, Xiao Yan slowly drifted off and fell asleep.

Jerry patted his full stomach and pressed the b.u.t.ton. Instantly Xiao Yan's room is filled with a sweetly scented aerosol.

"What did you release?"

A cold and dangerous voice penetrated Jerry's ears, and his spine stiffened in terror.

"Ah, n-noth...just an anesthetic. It works to stabilize his brain, keep him calm. Otherwise...well we can't have him waking up once we connect him to the terminal."

Jane's face relaxed slightly at Jerry's stuttered explanation.

"If his appet.i.te doesn't recover by tomorrow, I will match your rations to his consumption."

Jane turned and walked away. Jerry watched his retreating back as a cold sweat drenched his skin.

Casey sighed and looked at Jerry with a helpless expression. "Whether it concerns us or Jane, Xiao Yan is extremely important."

Jerry exhaled in frustration. "I know that!"

Jane entered Xiao's room and lifted him from the ground to gently place him in the bed.

"I will observe from here. If anything aberrant happens I will immediately interrupt the link."

Jane's eyes flash severely and his tone indicates his careful regard for Xiao Yan. It is a side to Jane that none of them had seen before.

"I know! I won't allow him to be hurt!"

Casey finished the neuronal calibration and began to enter Xiao's subconscious.

He first penetrated his surface thinking and then deeply and easily broke through his mental troposphere. He pushed past his static thoughts, ideas and memories.

When it comes to his study of X-2 Casey spares no effort. He moves about, exceedingly careful.

"Casey, how is the situation?"

"He developed the final serum based on Heine Burton's blood samples. His final manipulations of the virus were based off of the comet virus, but I can't locate the specifics of his research."

Casey glimpses Xiao's memories of his training sessions with Heine. He looks on with shock. Perhaps Xiao's memory has polished the reality to a more glistening depiction, but Casey has never seen such a version of Heine Burton. He only knows him as a hard emotionless and impenetrably cold man. Casey looks on at the flashes of gentle gestures Heine makes toward Xiao, his finger grazes his cheek, his diligence when instructing Xiao Yan...all is known by Casey. This warmth is shocking. Casey has never known anything to shake the glacial coldness of Heine Burton, he is a force that cannot be shaken. Be it the heavens or the earth, that man will remain unmoved. As he shuffled through more bundles of information what he saw caused his jaw to drop.

"My G.o.d!"

"Casey! What happened?"

Casey lips tightened into a complicated expression, "Jane it is better that you do not know..."

"Then I will break the link."

"Don't...Um...that is...Heine Burton has been very....this...that.."

"What is this, that?"

"As he listened to the chilly voice in his ear, Casey could practically feel the murderous tilt of Jane's lips.

"I will break the link for you."

"No! Don't! It... Heine...he has kissed Xiao Yan...very...hard. It is quite an erotic scene...The memory is deep and vivid....Hehe.." Casey humor collided with his nervousness and produces a hysterical note to his laughter.

"If you are not finding anything where you are then I suggest that you move into his subconscious."

"Roger that." Casey is instantly serious.

He really wants to see more of such scenes, but he has a pretty good picture of their dalliances. Besides, even though Jane's voice sounds calm, Casey recognizes the terrible atmosphere seeping through it.

As he left the troposphere and edged in closer to his subconscious, his body encountered a blue calm body of water.

He slowly dove into the water, when he reached his hands out he was surprised to feel nothing but empty s.p.a.ce.

He drifted down from the water logged sky until his toes softly connected with the fine sand below.

Casey patted his chest and looked around.

"What do you see, Casey?"

"His subconscious is calm. Too calm. There is not a hint of aggression."

Casey walked along the sand and looked up at the suspended water. This world had no clear boundaries and was a direct reflection of Xiao Yan himself. Normally a person's subconscious is dark, but this place was dazzlingly and brilliantly bright. Casey knelt to pick a piece of gravel from the ground and carefully looked at it. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was a memory fragment. There was a picture of Xiao's father adjusting his collar before leaving the him, and his father's hologram explaining to him the strange creatures that lived in the sea.

As Casey continued forward, he saw a figure sitting on the sand and looking up at the sky.

"I have found his manifested self, inside his consciousness."

"Hm."

A thick voice sounded in his ear as Velentin suddenly appeared behind Casey and laid a heavy palm upon his shoulder. He briefly looked up to smile and then glanced at Jane, mouthing to him: Don't worry.

At Valentin's encouragement, Casey pressed forward toward the figure ahead. He must be very careful to not arouse a violent mental resistance.

The closer he gets, the more Casey senses that something is wrong.

The figure has golden brown hair and strong features, his body is packed with power. The difference between this figure and Xiao Yan is too wide a gap.

Casey drew in a sharp breath and stumbled back.

"No... impossible... this is impossible!"

The man who was seated begins to slowly stand and his face settles into cruel and cold lines. The power radiating from him swathed the air with a terrible danger.

The man moved closer and closer to him, the pressure of his presence was crus.h.i.+ng his mind.

The man reached a hand over and pressed it on top of Casey head, the deep shadow of death soaked him and wrapped tightly around Casey.

Suddenly Casey's vitals began to fluctuate wildly on the display. His heartbeat was erratic and his thoughts were in disarray.

"Alert. Terminate terminal connection!"

Jerry was monitoring his vitals and went to cut the link, suddenly Valentin stopped him.

"Let's wait. See what happens."

Looking down at Xiao's expression, Jane's face settled into a deep frown. He looked up at the data flitting along the display. His heartbeat was normal, breathing regular, and there were no fluctuations in his body temperature.

There is no sign that he is resisting at all, so why is Casey's data so erratic?

Casey opened his mouth and gasped uncontrollably, his shoulders trembled and his thoughts knotted together. He understood at that moment, he was caught inside Xiao Yan's subconscious.

"Jerry. Disconnect Now! Jerry!"

In the next instant, Heine savagely twisted his neck.

His neural readings drop to zero.

Jerry looked at Valentine, "Father... Casey was killed in Xiao Yan's brain..."

Valentin didn't even bother to glance at it. "A guy who can develop the x-2 virus, of course his thinking is complicated."

Casey remains at the terminal, his eyes were closed as his lashes trembled. His expression was still twisted in horror and his breath was lodged in his chest, unable to expel in relief.

"Calm down. Child listen to me, no one killed you. You can breathe. Your body will always listen to your mind."

His tone is flat and soothing, Casey allows his body to sink through the blue grey world.

Suddenly his breath pushed out from his diaphragm and his body temperature regulated.

"Tell me, what did you get from Xiao Yan's brain?"

Valentin grabs a hold of Casey's palm and gently kneads the tense muscles in his arm.

"I extracted some of the e-2 research information. That guy really has a lot of ideas...but I couldn't find Heine Burton's blood sample. That was when I entered his subconscious."

Casey trailed off and his throat spasmed violently, the hue of his eyes seemed to crack open and shatter.

"Did you locate the target information in his subconscious?"

Valentin's fingers rubbed Casey's forehead, soothing his emotions and encouraging him to go on.

"What I saw was Heine Burton! That guy was in Xiao Yan's brain! He must have invaded the terminal! He has found us! He broke my neck! Maybe the s.h.i.+re is already here! Oh G.o.d! They have sent the Special Forces! We must leave now!!"

Casey's eyes flashed. He stood up as he yelled hysterically, his limbs flailing frantically.

"Hey! Look at me! You are fine. You are alive. Heine Burton cannot invade this terminal. No one has found us."

"No I saw Heine Burton. It had to be him. I know his movements and techniques very well."

Tears of terror filled his eyes and rolled down Casey's cheeks.

Valentin looked calmly over at the sleeping Xiao Yan. His stoic behavior and Casey hysteria collided into polarized extremes.

"What the h.e.l.l is this all about?"

Jane removed the connector from Xiao Yan and narrowed his eyes. Casey said that he met Heine Burton after entering his subconscious. If Heine had really invaded the terminal he would have stopped you before you ever reached that far. The subconscious is a very complex area of the mind, and Casey said that Xiao's was calm void of any defenses."

Valentin scratched his chin, his face finally breaking away from its indifferent lines. "Since he had no defense, he used Heine Burton to attack and defend this part of his mind. He manifested his presence there."

Casey vigorously shook his head. "Impossible. I looked right at him. At his eyes! His technique... the force of his momentum. It was all the same as Heine Burton's "

Casey's voice pitched up in anxiety at Jane and Valentin's doubts.

"We don't doubt your account Casey. Xiao Yan...he must have an extraordinary trust and connection with Heine Burton, burning every bit of information about him deeply and clearly into the most sacred parts of his mind. The more details he memorizes, the more real the apparition."

Jane's eyes darken dangerously as his fingers slide over Xiao's hair. His lips pull up in a wry smile. "He looks at Heine as his guardian. So he has him protect his thoughts."

Jane's words finally pierce through Casey's hysteria. He exhaled deeply and his body began to look worn out and limp.

"Well no matter what it was. I don't want to go into that guys mind anymore. Next time someone else can. If anybody is to take on Heine Burton it should be Jane."

Jane gently flicked Xiao's nose.

"I hope that if you go into his subconscious again you will see me instead of Heine Burton."

The next day Xiao woke to find he was lying on the bed. He looked around the luxurious room and felt warmth surround him.

Suddenly a gentle kiss landed on his cheek.

"Good Morning."

"...what did you do to me?"

I was sitting in the corner of the room, now I am lying in the bed...?

Xiao's alertness rises sharply, threatening to boil his blood.

Jane pried open one of Xiao's clenched fists before kissing each of his fingers.

"Xiao Yan, let's run away."

"Has your brain short circuited?"

Jane's body moved over Xiao to lay beside him.

"I mean leave with me. Forget Valentin, forget the s.h.i.+re. Let's go and live our own life."

"...Is this a new negotiation tactic?"

Jane's lips gently rubbed against Xiao Yan. He did not deepen the gesture, but his kiss was wet and messy.

Xiao pushed Jane away from his, his eyes aflame with vigilance.

"I thought that you liked chaste kisses like that."

"It is always the same with you."

Jerry, who was monitoring the room, looked over at Valentin.

"Jane... What the h.e.l.l is he thinking?"

Valentin unexpectedly smiles. "Isn't this obvious? Our dear Jane is taken with this smart young Asian man and he is trying to lure him."

"Aren't you worried? What if he really leaves with him?"

"Let them. No matter where he goes, Jane will eventually return to me. He is, after all, my child."

Xiao did not eat this day either.

There is no terminal, no source of entertainment. Xiao Yan is so bored he wants to smash his head against the wall.

Jane walked in the room. "I am taking you for a walk. You are too sluggish."

I am sluggish?
You try being locked in this place. This dark and depressing room at the bottom of the sea! Just wait there are a number of men ready to take your head!

Still, Xiao Yan followed Jane outside. The more information he can gather on this submarine base, the more likely he can escape. Even as he thinks this, he knows it is nothing but a desperate fantasy.

"You realize that your every move is monitored so don't look at me so coldly."

Xiao Yan said nothing, instead he carefully observed his surroundings. They are under the water. If he wants to leave it is no longer an aircraft that he needs but a submarine. Where would he go though? How would he get there? Since he is on a submarine that means there is also a weapons system. Even if he found another vessel, he would be nothing more than debris with one torpedo.

As all of these thoughts flash through his head, he grieved for his future. It was looking quite dismal.

"I need your help."

Janes voice pierced through his self pity, his tone was low and heading toward them were Jerry and two of his subordinates.

"Hey, Boss..."

Jerry's eyes are complicated, as though he were attempting to say something completely different.

Jane just winked at him as his body language adopted its usual languid and seductive charm.

Jerry let out a deliberate cough and his face reddened in embarra.s.sment. "Hey I have told you many times don't look at me like that, it stresses me out."

"Don't strain your brain thinking about it." Jane smiled and patted Jerry's shoulder.

It appears that Jane was prepared to run in to Jerry, or at least those that were surrounding him.

After they left, Xiao finally spoke.

"I don't think I have the means to help you."

"Didn't Heine Burton personally train you? Don't come to such a conclusion so easily."

Jane moved around to the face Xiao Yan. His fingers hooked beneath his chin and tilted his face upward. His lazy half-mast eyes were sharp and vigilant.

Xiao thoughts scramble, he knows that the help Jane requires will not be an easy task.

"You should ask Casey for help. Anything I can do, Casey can do it."

Not to mention that Casey is also infected with the x virus. At the moment, his physical strength is several times that of Xiao Yan, he could easily to crush Xiao Yan's skull.

"Everyone here calls Valentin father, do you know why?"

"He nurtured you."

"So he is our G.o.d."

"and?"

"For humans, G.o.d must exist in the spiritual world. He is not a G.o.d."

His lips lift in a sneer and his previous affectionate tone toward Valentin disintegrated. How could he forget? Jane is the best at hiding his true intentions. No matter how difficult Heine may be , his mind is far less difficult to understand than Jane's.

"Is this another trap to gain my trust?"

"It would be more accurate to say that this is a trap for Valentin. Do you knowwhy so many of his 'children' refer to me as 'Boss'?"