Chapter 40: Good News and Bad News

Chu Ning pressed his hands to his head, his face contorted with visible distress. The muscles along his jaw twitched uncontrollably, and a guttural sound escaped his lips. He bit down fiercely, breaking the skin, letting his blood flow freely in hopes of jolting himself awake.

He turned urgently to Tan Ya, who hovered anxiously nearby. “Make sure you protect yourself. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, I understand! What’s wrong with you?” Tan Ya steadied Chu Ning, alarmed by the blood staining his lips and the fierce expression contorting his features, as if he were locked in a struggle with something unseen.

“I have one piece of good news, and one piece of bad news. Which do you want first?” Chu Ning forced a smile, not waiting for Tan Ya’s answer. He spoke quickly, as though desperate to leave nothing unsaid.

“The good news is that the Chu Ning you’ve been hoping for is about to return!”

Tan Ya’s cheeks flushed as she heard this, delight blossoming quietly in her heart. At the very least, the other Chu Ning wouldn’t threaten to devour her at every turn; she could finally relax.

Chu Ning saw the change in her expression, and though he’d expected it, a subtle disappointment lingered in his heart. With a hint of malicious glee, he revealed the bad news, eager to witness Tan Ya’s reaction for himself.

But alas, his time was running out.

“What’s the bad news? Hurry up and tell me!” Tan Ya clung to Chu Ning, who was slipping into unconsciousness. She hated nothing more than conversations left unfinished; it left her nerves frayed, desperate for the rest.

The good news didn’t matter much—what was destined to happen would happen. But not knowing the bad news left her uneasy, unable to brace herself for what was coming.

“What’s happening?” she cried.

Chu Ning blinked groggily awake, seeing Tan Ya standing before him. He reached for her arm, determined to understand what had transpired. He wondered when Tan Ya had changed into that red dress, and what the other Chu Ning had done while inhabiting his body—had anything happened that would betray him?

He glanced at Tan Ya’s new clothes, then down at his own, which were still relatively intact. Relief washed over him—thank goodness!

Feeling a supporting hand behind him, Chu Ning turned and froze, comparing the person at his side with the one in front. Aside from a slight difference in attire, they were identical.

Before he could question what was going on, the black chains binding Tan Ya’s corpse shrank, transforming back into black mist that seeped into the body.

Chu Ning watched the strange scene with intense curiosity, settling himself to wait for the corpse to complete its transformation, anticipation simmering beneath his calm.

“Hurry and restrain her! Don’t let her break free, or disaster will follow.” Tan Ya now understood the bad news—the return of Chu Ning meant the corpse was losing control. She gritted her teeth, pondering a solution.

A raspy growl echoed through the room.

The corpse lunged forward, baring sharp fangs aimed for Chu Ning’s throat, long fingers stabbing toward his clavicle.

“Be careful—ugh!” Tan Ya couldn’t bear to watch. The scene unfolding was beyond words, almost unbearably cruel.

Chu Ning instinctively pushed the corpse away as if it were a mere chick, sending it crashing into the wall behind.

But the corpse was relentless, charging again and again. Chu Ning calmly deflected her each time, turning to ask Tan Ya, “What’s going on? Your sister is a bit too enthusiastic, don’t you think? I’m hardly that easy—she insists on throwing herself at me.”

His movements grew ever more practiced, occasionally throwing in a clumsy tai chi move—left hand clouds, right hand clouds—making the corpse sway like a tiny boat tossed by turbulent waves.

“Hey! Stop playing with my corpse!” Tan Ya muttered, utterly despondent. She felt miserable; if circumstances allowed, she would have defected long ago, cheering her corpse on and teaching Chu Ning a lesson.

“The body before you is mine. For some reason, it mutated, so could you please subdue her? She’s actually quite dangerous—better safe than sorry.”

Tan Ya’s expression was uneasy. She doubted her corpse posed much threat—it was being toyed with so easily, powerless to resist.

The thought was humiliating. Was she doomed to be weak forever, destined for a lifetime of defeat?

Chu Ning, bored with the game, tossed the corpse aside and said, “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

He didn’t believe a word of Tan Ya’s explanation. He wasn’t foolish enough to trust someone whose mind was obviously unsettled. His own theory seemed plausible—the corpse must be Tan Ya’s elder sister.

As for the mobile corpse, Chu Ning’s experience suggested someone had secretly modified it. The glaringly mechanical left hand was proof enough.

He had heard of corpse mutations, but even the wildest tales couldn’t account for high-tech enhancements. The saying went: the poor rely on mutation, the rich on technology—words he held close to his heart.

Chu Ning was convinced Tan Ya’s sister’s corpse had been tampered with by some evil scientist, transforming it into a soulless killing machine. Otherwise, where did the mechanical hand come from? A mutated corpse with advanced technology was utterly absurd.

He prepared to find some tools to deal with robots. Disassembling a Gundam by hand was within his abilities, though it would be tough on his hands. To preserve them, he decided to play to humanity’s strength and use proper tools.

“Damn it, he just ran off!” Tan Ya watched Chu Ning vanish, her face grave as she stared at her own corpse. The task of stalling it now fell entirely to her.

She never imagined she’d one day fight her own flesh. Today, Tan Ya would slay monsters and demons!

She lowered her stance into a defensive posture, running through the upcoming battle in her mind. How should she attack? Stay steady and adapt, strike first, or unleash her ultimate skill?

In truth, she overthought. The corpse repeated the same set of movements—roles reversed, Tan Ya was easily thrown aside by her own body. At this point, she had no choice but to use her ultimate move in hopes of salvaging the situation.

“Chu Ning, help me! I can’t hold out much longer, hurry up!” Tan Ya shouted at the top of her lungs, placing blind faith in Chu Ning’s strength.