The Scum Shou’s Survival Guide

When Ye Ming was done, he sat and waited quietly in the room.

Not long after, he heard the door opening.
He seemed surprised when he looked up and saw Cossen and Brody walking in together.
He immediately stood up and said respectfully, with his eyes lowered, “You’re back.”

 

 

Cossen stood by the door with his back to the light, which made the contours of his face look even starker.
Terrible, terrible emotions seemed to be brewing in his dark red eyes.

Ye Ming instinctively sensed that something was wrong.
Cossen’s expression was completely calm, but Ye Ming couldn’t help but feel that Cossen was different now than before he left.
That sliver of tenderness had disappeared, and he’d gone back to being bone-chillingly cold…Could it be that Cossen had found him out as soon as he’d sent the data? 

Cossen gazed at the young man in front of him, who didn’t seem to be acting at all unusual.
If it weren’t for the fact that he’d installed a hidden alarm program on his communications device a long time ago, who would’ve known his stuff had been combed through?

 

He’d wanted to trust him again, but it was too bad that in the end, a traitor was a traitor; a monster was a monster…

This person didn’t deserve his trust at all.

Cossen pursed his lips into a straight line and lifted his strong jaw slightly.
He spoke slowly and coldly.
“Are you very surprised that I’ve returned?”

 

Ye Ming stared blankly back at Cossen’s eyes.
At that moment, as he listened to his dangerous tone, he suddenly realized that Cossen truly might have found him out.

Indeed…he’d only returned to Cossen’s side for such a short time.
For someone as cautious as Cossen, how could he not have become exponentially more careful after being betrayed? Perhaps he’d been on guard against Ye Ming all along, and his trust was not all genuine.

Realizing this, Ye Ming suddenly felt more at ease and less guilty, even.
If this were the case, Cossen would definitely be able to determine Roy’s identity very soon.
Ye Ming had essentially already achieved his goal.
Now, all he had to do was to expose his own identity and be killed.

He would rather die by Cossen’s hand than be recaptured by Xicks and forced to sink back into that endless darkness and despair. 

Ye Ming slowly broke out into a grin.
At that moment, his expression was totally unfettered and genuine.
His smile came from the bottom of his heart, and his eyes were glittering.
It was as if he’d been freed of a heavy burden.

He said softly, “I am a bit surprised.”

And then, while Cossen was distracted, he suddenly pulled out a special alloy dagger from his waist.
It gleamed as it flew through the air and rushed toward Cossen, sharp and chilling!

Cossen was stunned by Ye Ming’s fleeting smile, as if he were seeing Harvey turning around and beaming at him under the sunlight…but in the next second, the one smiling at him, the one he loved, pitilessly pulled out a dagger to take his life! 

The illusion was shattered in the blink of an eye, reverting back to cruel reality.

Cossen looked into those two eyes.
In those purple eyes, there was no longer any warmth, nor any shy innocence.
There was only ruthless, deep-rooted apathy and cruel bloodthirst.
And the immense strength the young man suddenly displayed far surpassed grade C.
It had to belong to someone of at least grade S!

Right now, he was no longer holding back at all!

Cossen closed his eyes, pained.
He stepped to the side, and the dagger brushed past his chin, leaving behind a shallow cut.
Immediately after, he grabbed hold of both of Ye Ming’s hands and punched him forcefully in the abdomen, sending him flying! 

The immense force sent Ye Ming straight through the wall and into the next room.
Ye Ming’s dagger had missed, so he knew that he could no longer pose any threat to Cossen.
Ye Ming decided his performance was now sufficient.
He didn’t actually want to take Cossen’s life, anyway.
Any other infected would be committing suicide by now.

A smile flitted through his eyes.
He grabbed the dagger, about to stab his own throat with it! Except then he saw Cossen charging in like a cheetah, hot on his heels, his terrifying power causing the floor to shake as he landed.
He quickly swung his hand out and knocked the dagger out of Ye Ming’s grasp!

 

Ye Ming hadn’t had the chance to react when he felt a cold sensation on his neck, as if something had pierced it.
He turned his head.
The last thing he saw was Cossen inserting a syringe into his neck.

Cossen injected all of the anaesthetic into Ye Ming’s body.
When he saw him fall unconscious, he bent his knees and stood up again, looking quietly at the young man on the ground.
There was an unconcealable pained, despairing look in his eyes. 

By the time Brody entered, the fight was already over.
He glared hatefully at Ye Ming lying on the ground.
“I just knew he wasn’t worth trusting! You shouldn’t have been softhearted to him at all.”

Cossen’s hands clenched into tight fists, the veins on the back of his hands pulsing.
Word by word, he uttered, “It will never happen again.”

This was the last time I’ll ever be softhearted to you, the person I used to love so deeply…The truth has proven that trying to trust you was the single most foolish thing I’ve ever done in my life.

……………… 

Ye Ming’s eyelashes fluttered.
Slowly, he opened his eyes and found himself lying on a cold metal bed.
His hands and feet were fasted separately by two thick, solid metal cuffs.
His neck and waist were also secured in metal cuffs, and he couldn’t move an inch of his body at all.

He wasn’t unfamiliar with these circumstances.
Previously, when he was Harvey, he’d participated in military interrogations of other infected.
In the past, he stood outside and watched as other people interrogated the other infected, whereas now, it was his turn.

Every one of those hybrid monsters were very fierce, and they became even more savage and strong especially after revealing their true alien forms.
So for these infected, the military had developed special interrogation tools to secure them firmly in place and keep them from suddenly struggling free and attacking people.

This metal bed was made from the hardest alloy and would not be dented even when subjected to extremely high temperatures or when struck by weapons.
No infected could break free from it. 

[Ye Ming: That was so close.
Thank goodness my suicide attempt wasn’t successful.]

[888: …]

[Ye Ming: Now, it’s a race against the grim reaper! Please don’t let Cossen set me free from this world before Roy gets found out and confesses!]

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection.
If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

[888: …] 

Tf Zlcu jaafwqafv ab rageuuif jujlcra tlr ybcvr, yea jr fzqfmafv, tf mbeivc’a yevuf.

Aera atfc, tf tfjgv atf atewqlcu bo wlilajgs ybbar jujlcra atf oibbg.
Pc atf rlifcmf, atfs rffwfv ab yf agfjvlcu bc tlr tfjga.
Lf aegcfv tlr tfjv rilutais ab atf rlvf jcv rjk Jbrrfc kjixlcu lcrlvf.

Cossen was wearing a neatly ironed black uniform, and his grave expression was like a mask of ice—unreadable.
His dark red eyes gazed at him as he leaned forward.
Slowly, he said, “You know what you’re facing, right?”

Ye Ming looked at him equally coldly and said nothing. 

Cossen’s gaze grew darker still, and his thin lips pursed slightly.
He spat, “I hope you’re willing to talk so I won’t have to treat you like that.”

Suddenly Ye Ming’s lips curled up faintly into a smile.
He said, “I’m going to kill you and offer you to Xicks daren as a gift.”

 

Cossen stared at him and didn’t speak for a while.
Deep in his eyes, it was like a dry, deathly still desert.

He thought, So this is the only thing you have to say to me. 

So what I’d thought was the love between us, the beautiful memories, were all fake.
When you tear apart your disguise and reveal your fangs, the only thing you really want to do is kill me.

Cossen had expected to feel hurt and upset, but perhaps he was not actually all that upset.

Because for the past three years, he’d been constantly immersed in this kind of pain.
This infected that Xicks had created—he’d betrayed him ruthlessly and caused such an awful tragedy.
He’d wanted to kill him from the start.

Now, when he finally heard these words straight from this person’s mouth, Cossen wasn’t taken by surprise at all.
His pain had been fermenting and had finally become a feeling of numbness, fused with the rest of him and no longer able to create any ripples in his heart. 

Slowly, Cossen straightened and looked indifferently down at Ye Ming.
Then he turned around and left,

The sound of his footsteps grew farther and farther away.

Ye Ming felt silence settle around him, but soon after, he heard another set of footsteps approaching.
But he could tell from the sound that it was someone else this time, not Cossen.

……………… 

Cossen stood outside of the interrogation room and looked in through the one-way glass.

Brody was also there, looking in with a cold, hateful gaze.

It had already been three hours.
Although they were separated only by the window, none of the sounds within travelled outside.
But just by watching, they could tell what sort of torment this person was suffering.

Brody, however, didn’t feel any distress, only hatred.
He said, “Even at this point, he won’t say a word.
I think we should up the intensity.
Maybe ordinary torture is useless against such a rarely seen high-level infected.” 

Cossen didn’t respond.
His gaze was practically locked on that person, and all he could see was bright red.

It was useless.
This person wouldn’t say anything…As of yet, humans have never succeeded in forcing an infected to talk.
Doing all of this was pointless.
He should just bring him relief—this was the last kindness he could offer him.
But…how could he be thinking of that? Was he still being softhearted?

Harvey was the most high-level infected humans had discovered so far.
He used to have very high status and was very valued by Xicks.
He was completely different from those low-level infected.
He had to know something…

He might even know where Xicks was. 

This was huge.
This concerned the survival of the human race.

Cossen shouldn’t be softhearted toward him by fluke.
As long as there was the slightest chance of making progress, he could not let go of this rare captive.
This was the proper, rational decision that a leader ought to make.

 

As for where the stolen data had ended up, Cossen was not at all worried.
That was bait he’d deliberately put out, and it wouldn’t actually leak any sensitive information.
In addition, he’d already embedded a hidden program in it which would allow him to trace the data’s location.

The only reason they hadn’t been able to trace it right away was because Ye Ming had deliberately erased his tracks and set up reverse tracing before sending it.
Despite that, it was only a matter of time before they uncovered the traitor. 

The more important reason for torturing Ye Ming was that they hoped to squeeze more information out of him.

About Xicks, for instance.

Cossen’s eyes were red as blood.
That damned monster, that demon! It was the one that controlled everything, that had caused innumerable disasters.
The only way to put an end to everything, to ensure that no tragedy would occur again, was to kill it.

Cossen clenched his fists.
Suddenly, he turned and entered the interrogation room. 

When the soldier inside saw Cossen enter, he paused his actions and stood deferentially to the side.

Cossen studied the young man in front of him.
His short black hair was scattered messily across his forehead, his purple eyes pained.
He was covered in blood from head to foot.
His skin was torn open, exposing red flesh, and his bones had been broken inch by inch…

Ye Ming struggled to look at Cossen as he approached.
Coldly, he said, “Kill me if you can.
I, ah, I won’t…tell you…anything.”

Cossen had interrogated many infected before, and every one of them had been very fierce and unwilling to give in.
Even still, Ye Ming had the greatest willpower out of all of the ones he’d interrogated.
Even drenched in blood and tortured so terribly, his eyes still remained bright, stubborn, and proud. 

Most infected would have reverted to their true forms by the time the intensity of their torture reached one third of Ye Ming’s, unable to bear the pain.
Then their consciousness would collapse into frenzied chaos, their self-defense mechanisms causing them to lose coherent thought and turning them into the most primitive of beasts, to the point that humans could not extract any information from their mouths.

Yet even up until now, Ye Ming maintained a completely human appearance and even his own consciousness, instead of becoming a beast without an intellect.

But truthfully, this was not something good.
All that being too strong meant was that he would have to go through even worse pain…because the infected that had become feral beasts would be killed, while those who were clear-headed were still worth interrogating.

Cossen gently pressed a button next to the metal bed, and the bed slowly inclined to a sixty degree angle.
Ye Ming was now half upright and could see himself in the mirror. 

Cossen’s voice was low and hoarse.
“Do you know which infected are hidden in the human military? Do you know where Xicks’s body is hidden?”

Ye Ming’s face was twisted in pain, but his mouth still split into a cold grin.
“I.
Don’t.
Know.
Even if I did know, I.
Wouldn’t.
Tell you.”

Cossen stared intently at him for a moment.
Then he turned around and said, “Come on in.”

Having received his permission, a man in a white coat walked inside.
His long black hair was secured behind him with a hair tie.
He had dark green eyes and handsome features; only, his eyes were quite deep-set, which made him seem a little bit wicked. 

“Doctor Sliderly, you say you have a way to make him talk?” Cossen asked lightly.

Doctor Sliderly smiled and replied, “There’s only a possibility.
I dare not guarantee success, but I think it’s worth a shot.”

 

Cossen nodded minutely.
“Then try it.”

Sliderly’s eyes glimmered with excitement.
He walked up to Ye Ming and circled around him twice, as if sizing up a valuable treasure.
He exclaimed, “This is truly the most special, unique infected I’ve ever seen.
He’s so perfect…Those low-level infected are merely a bunch of ugly monsters, you see.
They can’t withstand such torture and always revert to their true forms quickly.
And their consciousness is so weak they’re barely worth studying.” 

Sliderly turned toward Cossen and said excitedly, “I think he’s different from the low-level infected in that the human part of him and the alien beast part of him are better integrated.
In addition, he originally must have been a very powerful human with a near-perfect gene sequence.
That’s how he was always able to pass our tests.
I’m already raring to have a look at what he really looks like.”

Ye Ming looked at him coldly, his eyes fierce.

Sliderly smiled at him and said, “Don’t look at me like that.
I’m helping you.”

He opened up the metal case he’d brought with him and took out a syringe.
He smiled at Ye Ming.
“These past years, I’ve been dedicated to studying the infected.
I’m very interested in the theories behind their creation…The government once funneled a lot of money into funding our research into how they’re created, so I developed a separation serum to try to strip away the alien beast parts from an infected’s body.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work…This separation serum only forced them to revert back to their true forms even quicker.
It couldn’t turn them back into humans.
The project kept running into failures and accidents, so the government finally discontinued the project, believing that there was no point in treating the infected.
It’s truly a shame…” 

The corners of Sliderly’s quirked up, and his green eyes flashed slyly.
“To tell the truth…I don’t think this separation serum can cure you.
After all, it was useless on low-level infected, so what use would it have on such a perfectly hybridized high-level infected like you? But while I was treating those infected, I discovered that this separation serum has a side effect—the pain it causes as it tries to split you apart far surpasses any torture.
The great majority of the infected whom we used the separation serum on were unable to take it and died from the pain.”

“Since you’re different from the rest of them, I was worried that its effects wouldn’t be strong enough, so I’ve strengthened the drug.” Sliderly smiled at Ye Ming.
“If it does work, then congratulations.
You’ll turn back into a human.
If it doesn’t, at most you’ll just die from the pain.
It’s not like we have any other way to force you to talk anyway.”

Ye Ming burst into laughter.
“Then why don’t you try it already?”

Sliderly shrugged.
“Because you’re far too different from those low-level infected.
I can’t help but want to say a few extra words to you.
Don’t worry, I’ll give it to you now.
You definitely won’t forget this feeling.” 

Then he took out a syringe and inserted it into Ye Ming’s vein, injecting all of the separation serum into him.

The drug took quick effect.
Very soon, Ye Ming felt as if every one of his cells were ablaze.

He’d suffered three years of Xicks’s torture, as well as the terrible ordeal of his cosmetic change.
There was no punishment that could hurt him more.
But the moment this drug had entered his body, he seemed to once again experience the soul-deep fear and pain that Xicks had subjected him to, and he opened his mouth in a hoarse, mournful cry.

Cossen stood to the side, his fists clenched tightly.
He looked at the young man secured to the metal bed.
His body had begun convulsing, and his eyes were shut tight as he struggled desperately, blood running down his body.
The veins beneath his skin protruded visibly, then receded.
His muscles were bunched up from the acute pain. 

He’d seen things many times more horrific than this, but no matter how cold and resolute his heart was, he found himself nearly unable to keep watching as the one he used to love so deeply be tortured this way…In the end, however, he didn’t escape like a coward.
Instead, he forced himself to stand there and watch it all without even blinking.

He told himself, You personally punished the one you love.
For the sake of humanity, you’ve sacrificed the one you love.

He told himself, Don’t forget the price you’ve paid.

So even if it costs you your life, even up until your last breath, you have to kill Xicks, expel the alien beasts, and protect humanity.
Otherwise…what was the point of your sacrifice? 

Sliderly watched Ye Ming excitedly, mumbling to himself, “I’m very curious.
Exactly what kind of alien beast are you mixed with? Humans have thus far recorded a total of 13,425 different kinds, out of which 128 are S-grade or above.
I bet you’re mixed with an alien beast of at least S-grade…”

A short several minutes passed, but in the span of these few minutes, everyone watched Ye Ming without even blinking, until his struggling finally ceased, and he became calm again.
He lay there motionless…but his form was still human.

 

Sliderly’s brows wrinkled.
“Impossible.
Why hasn’t he changed form? Why does he still look human?”

At those words, Cossen suddenly grabbed him by the collar, his voice carrying a stifled tremor.
“What’s the meaning of this? Is he not an infected?” 

Sliderly waved his hands continuously.
“That’s not possible.
If he weren’t an infected, this separation serum would have no effect on him at all.
Wait, look at him—”

Cossen looked over his shoulder and saw Ye Ming slowly opening his eyes.

His left eye was violet gemstone, just like before, but his right eye had become a gold color, with vertical slit pupils.
Because of these two eyes, one gold and one violet, his previously ordinary features now seemed exotically alluring, beautiful, bewitching.

Cossen’s gaze landed on those eyes and was utterly enraptured.
For a while, he couldn’t speak. 

Sliderly sucked in a breath, gasping in surprise.
He looked at Ye Ming’s golden eye and took out his little notebook to jot down notes.
“What kind of alien beast is this? There are very few species of alien beast with golden eyes.
Furthermore, only one of his eyes changed, so it’s very difficult to make a precise judgement…A river dragon? A fierce sky beast? Or perhaps…well, no matter what, this is the most perfect infected I’ve ever seen.
He’s maintained a nearly perfect human form, but at the same time, he has the strength of an alien beast…Truly an inconceivable masterpiece…Compared to those defective goods, this is the true embodiment of complete synthesis.”

Ye Ming had thought he’d die in the midst of that pain, but he’d survived, just as he’d survived three years of Xicks’s torment.
Death was a luxury.

He opened his eyes and saw himself in the mirror in front of him.
In that moment, his heart stuttered in horror.

He had a suspicion… 

Through that golden eye, he seemed to be able to see Xicks…His eye was exactly the same as Xicks’s.

Ye Ming closed his eyes, pained.

[Ye Ming: I’m a tiiiiiny bit surprised.]

[888: Surprised about what?] 

[Ye Ming: I always knew I was very special.
You can see with a glance that I’m protagonist material.
Just from the way Xicks treasures me so much, I could sense that I’m definitely not a normal person! Didn’t you see how it treats Roy and the other infected as cannon fodder? Despite how disobedient and difficult to tame I am, it patiently shut me up for three years and then kindly set me free, which definitely doesn’t line up with the way it’s always done things…But still, I never thought it would’ve used part of itself to create this body.
Suddenly I’m a bit curious about Harvey’s original body ^_^]

[888: …Yeah, you are pretty special.]

[Ye Ming: Ge, you know Harvey’s original identity, don’t you?]

[888: Currently, I have insufficient data to accurately ascertain that.] 

[Ye Ming: Ah, never mind that for now.
Speaking of, I thought of a super fitting slogan for that separation serum!]

[888: What?]

 

[Ye Ming: “Oi! Monster! Quickly reveal your true form to me, Lao Sun!”]

[888: …] He wanted to send him to the western paradise!!! 

After a long while, Sliderly stopped his notetaking and furrowed his brow in mild distress.
He mumbled to himself, “Even this is ineffective? Then the other drugs must be even less effective…”

Cossen suddenly said, “Enough.”

Sliderly asked, “You don’t plan on continuing to interrogate him?”

Cossen gazed at him coldly and slowly said, “Didn’t you say this was the worst punishment for an infected? Can you come up with some other more effective way to interrogate him?” 

Sliderly scoffed.

Cossen said, “All of you, leave.”

Doctor Sliderly left reluctantly.
The soldiers also quickly turned around and left deferentially.
Very soon, only Ye Ming and Cossen remained.

Cossen walked up to Ye Ming.
He wanted badly to reach out a hand and gently touch this person, but after a long moment of hesitation, he didn’t move in the end. 

As things stood, any softheartedness, hesitation, or wavering was already pointless.

Cossen placed his right hand behind his back and looked up at the mirror.
In the mirror were him and Ye Ming.
The two of them looked like a picture within a picture frame.
It was just a pity that Ye Ming was covered in blood and looked too pitiful to be at all beautiful.

Cossen masked the pain in his eyes and turned around.
Calmly, he said, “Truthfully, I don’t hate the infected that much.
Rather than hate, perhaps it’s more fitting to describe it as helplessness, as well as despair at my own powerlessness.”

Ye Ming’s eyelashes quivered.
Hearing these words, he couldn’t help but open his eyes, and so he was drawn into Cossen’s serene, bottomless eyes, their eyes gazing back at one another. 

Cossen stared at him and said, “They used to be humans too.
Before Xicks transformed them, they could very well have been our family, friends, acquaintances…They were once one of us.
They were once our loved ones…As long as there’s any shred of hope that they can be saved, I don’t want to let it go.”

“But it’s useless.
The cruel facts told me that they were already no longer one of us.
If they still possessed the slightest trace of human nature…then they would not be able to kill their family or to betray their compatriots…” Cossen’s tone was cold as ice and firm as steel.
“The bloodthirsty nature of alien beasts pervades them, takes control of their bodies, and hurts those they used to love…If their consciousness truly did still exist in some corner deep inside of them, imprisoned there and being forced to watch it all, they must certainly be in pain and despair.”

“So killing them is the only relief we can offer them.”

Ye Ming stared at Cossen, dazed.
His eyes were sad and melancholy.
He could understand just about everything Cossen had said…and could even empathize with him.
It was because his human heart stubbornly persisted that he felt anguished and blamed himself for the tragedy he’d caused. 

That he felt pain and despair over his past powerlessness.

Then, my lover, can you finally bring me relief?

 

Cossen looked into Ye Ming’s eyes.
The person in front of him had an eye that belonged to a beast, yet the emotions within it seemed to belong to a human—sad and delicate, making his heart ache tenderly.

Cossen closed his eyes.
“I once fell in love with an infected.
He looked exactly like a human being, and we fought side by side, risking our lives to protect humanity.
He was the…person I loved the most, and he was the person I wanted to protect the most.
But one day, he left, just like that…What he took away with him that day was not only my love, but also Fort Frederick’s secrets and the hope of countless humans…” 

Cossen’s tone was heavy and stifling.
Each word he spoke seemed to sap immense amounts of his strength.
“I’ve always thought that if sometime later in life, we had the chance to meet again, right before I had to kill him, I would treat him as a human and only a human, and ask him one final question.”

Ye Ming’s lip quivered.
All of a sudden, he really wanted to voice all of his inner thoughts.
But what was the point in saying all of those things now? And would Cossen believe him? The mistakes had already been made.
Rather than continue to cause Cossen to be torn and hurt, it would be better to just die silently like this.
After all, he was no longer a human anymore…

Cossen suddenly took a step forward, gazing at Ye Ming with the saddest, most wistful look in his eyes.
He lowered his head and said something against his ear…and those words caused Ye Ming’s pupils to constrict and his throat to choke up from disbelief.

He’d heard Cossen softly say to him, “I’ve always wanted to ask you: when you watched as countless people die because of you…did you ever feel anguish or remorse? Harvey.”