Chapter Seventeen: The Strange Paralysis

Naturally, Wu You had no idea these two had misunderstood, but even if he knew, he wouldn’t have bothered to explain. In a certain sense, though, Garuru truly deserved to be called a monster.

Xiang Biao and Wang Dong instinctively took two steps back.

Then realizing something, Xiang Biao steadied himself and stepped forward again. “Young Master Wu, you may laugh, but Dongzi and I are here to pledge our allegiance to you.”

“Pledge your allegiance?” Wu You gestured for him to continue.

“Yes. I know Liu Weiliang of the Shengtian Group is planning to take action against your family soon. I came specifically to warn you,” Xiang Biao said, getting straight to the point.

Wu You realized what this was about.

“I already know about that. Is there anything else?”

“What? You know he’s planning to target Wu Jianguo in the ICU?” Xiang Biao was clearly surprised, a hint of disappointment in his heart.

Wu You suddenly shot up from his chair, staring at Xiang Biao, making both Xiang Biao and Wang Dong shudder.

“What did you say?!”

He had been careless—truly careless. Ever since gaining the Bio-Alchemy System, he’d become somewhat complacent. After receiving Liu Weiliang’s call, Wu You had dismissed him as nothing more than a petty clown.

But he had overestimated his own social experience and underestimated Liu Weiliang’s depravity. He’d always assumed that, like last time, the man would target him directly, never considering that Liu Weiliang would go after Wu Jianguo in the ICU.

A cold sweat broke out on his back, making his T-shirt cling tightly to his skin. He looked seriously at Xiang Biao and Wang Dong.

If not for these two coming to warn him, he might still be naively waiting at home for Shengtian to make trouble.

Wang Dong and Xiang Biao watched Wu You clench his fists in anger and then, after a moment, exhale in relief, and their hearts pounded under his gaze.

“Thank you,” Wu You said sincerely, catching them off guard and filling them with delight.

“If you hadn’t warned me, Liu Weiliang might have succeeded. You said you wanted to pledge your allegiance, didn’t you?”

Wu You smiled at the two of them.

“Don’t involve yourselves in shady dealings anymore. Coincidentally, I’ll be needing people soon. You can follow me from now on.”

“Whatever Shengtian paid you, I’ll pay you three times as much. But likewise, if I ever find out you’ve betrayed me—” Wu You’s face darkened again, and behind him Garuru turned its head to fix them with a chilling stare.

“I promise you, you won’t even have the luxury of regret.”

They were still frightened, but overwhelming joy had already filled their hearts. At last, they had bet on the right horse.

“Do you know when Liu Weiliang plans to make his move?”

“It should be in two days,” Xiang Biao replied hastily. “He called me just now, wanted me to find people to act in two days, so I came straight to you, Young Master Wu.”

“Good. You know where Liu Weiliang lives, don’t you? Give me the address.”

“Yes, we do. We’ll tell you.”

...

At 7 p.m., in Xingyue Residences, a luxury complex in District S of Qiantang City.

Liu Weiliang had just returned from dinner. Although he was nearly fifty, he had neither son nor daughter. After divorcing his ex-wife, he’d never remarried.

Partly, he still had feelings for his ex-wife; partly, he wanted the freedom to indulge himself, avoiding another failed marriage.

With no woman at home, he always ate out when he had no social engagements. The college student he kept was never someone he dined with.

Since this afternoon, Liu Weiliang had felt uneasy, as if something was about to happen. He chalked it up to nerves over Fan Zhengxing and Fan Tiantian’s impending arrival.

The restlessness killed his mood, so he didn’t go to his mistress’s place, but went straight home instead.

He changed into slippers at the door, and as he hung up his suit jacket, the wooden coat rack suddenly toppled, striking the mirrored wall of the cloakroom.

Startled, Liu Weiliang turned just in time to see his fractured reflection in the shattered glass, as if he’d been sliced apart.

He muttered a curse at his bad luck, but paid it no mind and walked into the living room.

As he left the entryway, a hideous, monstrous insect crawled out from beneath the fallen coat rack.

The television in the living room was on, and Liu Weiliang flipped through the channels one by one.

He had no idea that a nightmare creature was gliding silently through the air toward him.

The ghost leech mosquito made no sound as it flew, drifting toward the back of Liu Weiliang’s neck. Its suction-cup legs latched onto his exposed skin.

Throughout the process, Liu Weiliang felt nothing.

Using observation mode and mental commands, Wu You had guided the ghost leech mosquito into Liu Weiliang’s house. Then he released direct control, issuing only the final order:

Paralyze Liu Weiliang completely, then return.

Wu You was not a cold-blooded killer, but he would not let Liu Weiliang off lightly. With the ghost leech mosquito metering its venom precisely, Wu You trusted it would follow his command.

Since you dared to leave Wu Jianguo nearly a vegetable, I’ll make you a conscious paralytic.

And if the dose is too much—well, that’s just your bad luck.

But whether total paralysis or death is the worse fate—it’s hard to say.

...

A slender, razor-sharp proboscis aimed for the thick hair at the back of Liu Weiliang’s head. The ghost leech mosquito’s compound eyes reflected its deadly weapon.

With a silent pierce, the needle-like appendage slid through the skull at the back of Liu Weiliang’s head, as easily as a hot knife through butter.

The terrifying part was, Liu Weiliang kept watching TV, completely unaware, feeling neither pain nor sensation.

...

Five minutes later, as he watched the Qiantang news, Liu Weiliang began to feel a strange heaviness in his legs, which gradually refused to obey his will. Trying to massage them only made things worse.

A few minutes more, and his left hand and the left side of his chest turned numb. Even touching them with his right hand brought no feeling.

Now, Liu Weiliang was truly panicked. He quickly dialed 120 for emergency services.

By the time the paramedics arrived thirty-five minutes later, Liu Weiliang was slumped on the sofa, paralyzed except for the ability to move his neck slightly.

“Help! Help! Zhou… meng…” Liu Weiliang realized in terror that his tongue was beginning to go numb as well.

Ten minutes later, the front door was forced open from outside, and Liu Weiliang—able only to move his eyes and mouth—saw white-coated medics and security guards rush in.

...

An hour later, outside the emergency room of Qiantang Central Hospital.

Doctors from surgery, neurology, neurosurgery, and internal medicine stood helplessly in the corridor.

They could find no cause. No food poisoning, no external or internal injuries, bloodwork normal, X-rays normal, skeleton and nervous system intact, MRI scans inconclusive, no hereditary or serious medical history. Apart from slightly high cholesterol, the patient was in excellent health.

Yet he had completely lost control of his body, as if struck by catastrophic paralysis—no better off than Stephen Hawking.

Liu Weiliang’s case was classified as a medical enigma.

But if anyone were to shave Liu Weiliang’s head and examine it closely, they would find, on the scalp at the back of his head, a tiny red dot, no thicker than a hair.