Controlled Experiment Chapter 0

Prologue

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"I'm really sorry, it's my first time killing someone, I don't have much experience."

That wasn't Du Yusheng's first time seeing him, but it was certainly the last.

"Have I caused you any trouble? Let me apologise here and now, it's truly because I'm inexperienced."

He sounded sincere.

"If there's a next time, I promise I'll do it better than this."

And very honest too.

"... I actually took this attempt seriously, and I was really careful, but still made a mistake. Perhaps my initial plan wasn't designed well enough."

He knew how to reflect on his mistakes.

"Would you mind telling me where I went wrong? That way, I can avoid it next time and make sure there's not a single flaw, would that be alright?"

And yet, he liked killing people.

It was late at night, and the room had no light, illuminated only by the streetlamp outside the window. The man was tied to an office chair, and though the rope wasn't tight, he made no attempt to struggle. He sat quietly, hands placed on his knees like a well-mannered gentleman. The corners of his mouth were slightly lifted in a gentle, almost courteous smile. Du Yusheng leaned against the window, watching him. The streetlight outside cast his shadow long, and he lit a cigarette, placing it at the corner of his mouth. Compared to the man in front of him, Du Yusheng felt like he resembled a suspect even more.

"I have one more question to ask you."

Du Yusheng slowly exhaled a smoke ring, then bent down, tracing a circle around the man's eye with his fingertip.

"Please, go ahead. I'll tell you everything I know."

"The note that mentioned the 'controlled experiment'," Du Yusheng paused, gazing at the man's expression under the dim light from outside. "... did you feed it to him?"

The man smiled but didn't answer immediately.

It was as if he was testing Du Yusheng's patience.

Earlier that day, Du Yusheng carefully selected a three-piece suit and polished a pair of leather shoes just to meet Li Yao. Now, the owner of those shoes was using them to stomp heavily on the old wooden floor below.

"Was it you who fed it to him?" Du Yusheng, trying to hold back his temper, asked again, "What exactly do those two words mean?"

The corners of the man's mouth rose slightly.

"It wasn't."

"So it was someone else?"

"Perhaps."

The man shook his head, looking genuinely troubled.

"I'm truly sorry, I only killed one person. As for the rest, I really don't know. Perhaps you'd be better off asking something else?"

Du Yusheng narrowed his eyes at the man but said nothing.

After a long silence, the man smiled again.

"I suddenly remembered something I'd like to ask of you, I wonder if you'd be willing to help me."

Du Yusheng raised his chin slightly.

"... Would you mind passing on a message to Li Yao?"

"Tell him I'll be waiting for him down there."

The man's eyes were full of smiles, yet there wasn't a trace of happiness on his face.

Li Yao?

This devilishly handsome man had two things in life no one was allowed to touch.

First, his parents.

Second, Li Yao.

Du Yusheng raised his eyebrows, flashing a lopsided, mischievous grin.

"If Li Yao really is a scumbag, I'll personally send him to hell, no need for you to worry about that."

The man bound to the chair let out a soft, meaningful chuckle.

The transparent lenses of his glasses caught the light, obscuring his face, but Du Yusheng knew, he was smiling.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: May 10, 2025 by Angel

Edited: May 14, 2025 by Angel