Chapter 284 - Clone?
Hao Xuan couldn't find the appropriate words to tell him what happened. As far as he knew, Third, Fifth and Seventh had been captains in the Red Legion the longest, even before First came along.
They all trained together and fought together in the camps and on the battlefields, finally being able to pass the tests and become captains simultaneously. So naturally, they were very close to one another.
"Third brother...Fifth sister...she.."
"Oh, hahaha the news got out already huh? How did you find out? Was it Seventh?" his hearty laugh rang in Hao Xuan's ears like thunder. He was completely baffled by Third's reply.
'Why was he laughing? He knows already?'
"Third brother...you.."
How does one go about asking something like this?
Third froze mid laughter upon hearing Hao Xuan's somber tone.
"Ah, I'm sorry Ninth Brother, I didn't think about you guys. It all just happened so quickly, I didn't have time to tell anyone really," he sounded quite apologetic.
".....?"
The more Hao Xuan listened, the more confused he got. Finally having had enough, he spoke up in a rather solemn tone.
"Third brother, what exactly is going on?"
Third cleared his throat.
"Ah, well, as you might have known, I and your Fifth sister had been going out for quite a while now, although we tried our best to keep it a secret until we were both ready to tell you guys. Anyways, to my complete surprise, a few days ago she asked me to marry her, and I said yes."
When he reached the last sentence, even though he was trying to be his usual calm self, Hao Xuan could hear the excitement in his voice, but that's not what he was focused on.
"A few....days ago? When?"
"Day before yesterday."
"!!!"
Hao Xuan shot up from his seat. His heart began pounding, like it was going to come up through his throat.
"How is that....possible??" he muttered to himself but Third still heard him clearly.
"Oi oi, I might not look much to you guys but I can be quite charming when the need arises. Why is so hard to believe that she asked me? Is it because she's too pretty for me? Well, I don't blame you there, hahaha."
Hao Xuan's heartbeat increased. Maybe he was wrong, maybe it wasn't her!
He quickly waved his hand and a rotting corpse appeared on the floor, wrapped up in a robe.
He bent down and looked at her features carefully, but could find nothing missing. It was 100% her, his Fifth sister. That red hair, the calluses on her hands, the numerous healed scars, there was no mistaking it.
'But how?'
The corpse laying in front of him was at least 4-5 days old.
"Oi~, you still there?"
THird shouted from the other side when there was no response. Hao Xuan quickly woke up from his daze.
"Y-Yes! Third brother, can you tell me how exactly she proposed to you? Like what changed?"
"Ah, I had the same thoughts as well. About a week and a half ago your fifth sister was chosen by the higher-ups to be the recipient of a new physique scripture that was compatible with her body. It took her a few days but she finally managed to cultivate this new physique."
"After coming back she said she got a new perspective on life and didn't want to continue our relationship like this. That's when she asked me to marry her. Well, you don't have to take my word for it, come over tomorrow to my place, you can ask her yourself, haha."
"!? She's with you now??"
"Of course. She's in the kitchen right now making some food. You want me to call her?"
"N-NO! No, I'll come visit in the morning!"
*Click*
Hao Xuan's heart was racing. Many thoughts fleeted in and out of his mind as the picture was finally becoming clearer.
"Those Bastards!" he punched the bed in anger, breaking it cleanly in half.
"How deep have they infiltrated?"
It all made sense now. No one reported her missing because there was a perfectly valid excuse given by someone in the military.
No, she was taken in by the military, taken to that place and tortured for days until somehow they managed to make a copy of her or a clone or something and at which point she was killed off, discarded like some trash.
"Those motherfuckers!"
*Beep*Beep*Beep*
The watch vibrated and Baracus's urgent voice came from it.
"Your blood pressure is 600/480. Even with your two hearts and their newfound strength, you could go into cardiac arrest if it continues to rise like this. You need to calm down!"
For a mortal human, 120/80 was the normal blood pressure, with 180/120 considered to be extremely serious.
But Hao Xuan had long surpassed those boundaries and even with his current blood pressure of 600/480 he wasn't feeling anything strange, only angry, extremely angry.
"CALM DOWN?! You want me to calm down?! Those things killed Fifth sister and took her place! Right now there is someone using her face and identity while her..."
His voice cracked and broke off at this point as he looked at the corpse at his feet.
"How dare that 'thing' stand where she stood. How f*cking dare it!"
*Beep*Beep*Beep*
"740/510!"
The veins on his clenched fists bulged to 3-4 times their size, threatening to burst open.
*Knock*Knock*
"Is everything okay?" Xu Qing's shaky voice came from outside the door. As soon as she heard the shouting she came running over.
It was like there was a blindfold in front of his eyes that just melted away with her voice. His heartbeat started to slow down and he regained his senses.
With a wave of his hand Fifth's corpse vanished again. He stood up and cleared his throat.
"E-Everything's fine, I was just talking to myself. Don't worry about it, go to sleep."
He didn't want to open the door and want her to see him in his current condition. He was drenched in sweat and his entire body was burning up.
"Okay, let me know if you need anything," Xu Qing said before walking away.
He took off these clothes as well and took another shower to calm himself down.
"What do I do now...?" Hao Xuan whispered to himself while sitting on the bed with his head between his hands.
"There is something you should know..."
While he was engrossed in his own thoughts, Baracus hesitantly spoke up.
"What now?"
"Your blood, there is something wrong with it."
"Can you be more specific?"
"Well, your DNA, it... it's changing..."
"DNA? You mean the very basis of my physical being, that which literally makes me who I am is somehow changing? How?"
"I don't know, but it is. Just now I did a full-body scan on you and your blood type has changed to a degree. Your DNA is not completely human anymore either."
For the next few minutes, the room fell silent.
"That's great, just perfect. Everything is just.....great...."