Chapter 55: The Burning Starry Sky, Section 9

Silence, prolonged silence. The cabin was so quiet that one could hear a needle falling to the ground. The two sat facing each other, like two stone statues.
Why would I be willing to die for you?
It wasn’t a simple question. Grizzly Bear knew Black Hair definitely didn’t mean that. If it had to be explained, it should be understood as… why are you here?
Frowning slightly, Grizzly Bear remained silent for a moment before finally speaking, his voice a bit hoarse.
“You don’t want to know.”
“Oh?” Black Hair’s eyes narrowed slightly. “How do you know? Grizzly Bear, after all this time, won’t you even answer such a simple question?”
“It’s not a matter of whether I want to answer or not.” Grizzly Bear shook his head, looking intently into Black Hair’s eyes.
“I’m doing this for your own good. You won’t want to know the answer.”
“That’s my business,” Black Hair shrugged indifferently, showing no signs of nervousness. “Just answer me. If you still care about what happened before.”
What happened before?
Grizzly Bear fell silent. He looked up at the sky, a hint of longing in his gaze. After a long while, he slowly spoke.
“It’s a very long story. Black Hair, actually, I didn’t die for you back then. It was for a mission. Do you remember where we went that time?”
“I remember. An overseas base in the United States. Not highly classified,” Black Hair replied readily.
“You’re wrong,” Grizzly Bear shook his head. “That was just the surface. Part of the mission you were assigned involved only that. But I knew there was a pipeline leading straight to the seabed beneath that base. There was another base there—a base with a classification of 3S.”
“There was such a thing?” Black Hair frowned. “How come I didn’t know?”
“Of course you wouldn’t know,” Grizzly Bear smiled slightly. “But I did. And since part of my mission required me to enter that base, I had to disappear from your sight. And you’re too sharp. Under those circumstances, the best way was to make you think I was dead.”
“So you volunteered to hold back the enemy in front of me?” Black Hair thought for a moment, his expression shifting slightly. “What about the others? I remember there were several brothers with you who also held back the enemy back then.”

“Others?” Hearing this question, Grizzly Bear suddenly laughed. “Black Hair. Are you stupid? I’ve already said I had to disappear from people’s sight. Do I still need to explain what happens to them?”
“You killed them all?” Black Hair was stunned, then his expression changed abruptly. A freezing, murderous aura burst forth, almost tangible in an instant. The water glass between them emitted a shrill crushing sound before shattering with a bang.
“You’re too emotional?” Grizzly Bear frowned at the scattered shards on the table. “That’s not like you. In my memory, you’re never one to get emotional easily. That time you slapped me was the only time.”
“…” Black Hair didn’t reply, but his gaze remained fixed on Grizzly Bear. After a long while, he suddenly smiled faintly. In an instant, the icy murderous aura vanished without a trace, and the room returned to its normal temperature. If it weren’t for the broken water glass on the table, it would have seemed like nothing had happened.
“I was wrong. I should have realized you didn’t have the guts. Though you are one of my most capable subordinates, compared to those brothers, you’re not good enough.” Black Hair spoke slowly, his expression calm, as if discussing something unimportant.
But as he spoke, Grizzly Bear’s face twitched involuntarily, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes. He opened his mouth, his voice seeming to come from between his teeth.
“You still look down on me.”
“Of course. But did I say anything wrong?” Grizzly Bear raised his eyebrows, responding nonchalantly.
“No.” Grizzly Bear gritted his teeth fiercely. “You’re right. I really didn’t dare touch them. But…”
His tone shifted, and a cruel smile appeared on his cold face. “Even if they’re alive, they’d suffer more than if they were dead. Black Hair, you don’t know, do you? That base below is actually an American genetic research facility. By leaving your brothers there, aren’t you just giving them materials? Haha, I have to say, they’re really strong. Those old men in charge of genetic research are full of praise for them.”
“…” Hearing Grizzly Bear’s manic laughter, Black Hair remained silent but closed his eyes in pain. In that moment, he felt as though his heart was being torn apart.
Sure enough, that mission was the beginning of all the disasters. It was also the source of his suffering. That base… damn that cursed base. How could he not have known there were secrets below? Why didn’t the general who gave him the mission tell him?!

At that moment, Grizzly Bear glanced at Black Hair with an interested look and said with a smile, “Strange, right? Why didn’t the person who gave you the task tell you? It’s actually simple. You know, dragons have nine sons, and each is different. Not everyone in this world is as foolish as you. What money can a general who’s about to retire earn? If he obeys, he’ll naturally have plenty of expenses covered. A small island in the Pacific is hardly a trivial gift.” “Just for this?” Black Hair suddenly raised his head, his eyes turning blood-red in an instant. “Just for this, he betrayed us!?” “Nonsense. How much do you think you’re worth? A gang of thugs, a force hated everywhere they go. It’s already good that he could get such a price for you. Even without this, you would have been discarded sooner or later. A knife is still a knife—too sharp one can hurt its owner,” Grizzly Bear said disdainfully. But seeing Black Hair’s pained expression, he didn’t show any triumph. Instead, a hint of pain flashed in his eyes as well. In fact, this was the helplessness of being warriors. No matter how excellent a warrior might be, in the hands of those in power, what’s the difference from a knife? They’re used when needed, but once the knife offends too many people, the first to be discarded is likely its original owner. After all, Black Hair was a thug. Even if he brought back more technology for Huaguo, in many people’s eyes, he was still someone who had to be gotten rid of. That was the truth—cruel, but an unavoidable one. He, Grizzly Bear, had simply seen this earlier and tried to secure some benefits for himself. Unlike Black Hair, he wasn’t willing to be just a knife. What was wrong with that? No one was at fault. In fact, even Black Hair wouldn’t think Grizzly Bear had done wrong. Everyone had their own aspirations; he couldn’t force himself to be like Grizzly Bear. Shaking his head, Black Hair closed his eyes in pain. When he opened them again, the glaring redness was gone, replaced by depth—depth like an endless starry sky. “What happened after that? Did they all die?”

“Mm.” The grizzly bear nodded. Silence reigned. “They’re all dead. The Phoenix’s muscle fibers were even specially extracted for seed collection. In those old men’s words, the Phoenix’s muscles were very flexible—the best material for foundations. The poor Phoenix had escaped death many times in her life, but this time she never woke up again. Watching her get dissected bit by bit was truly heart-wrenching for me.”
“You were there when she died!?” The black-haired man sensed the meaning behind the grizzly bear’s words and was stunned.
“That’s right. I was right there,” the grizzly bear replied cheerfully. “Not only that, after those brothers, I became part of another batch of test subjects. Weren’t you always curious about my mission? It’s actually quite simple—I’m meant to replace the ones in power behind the scenes to test whether the results of genetic modification are ideal. And the best way to do that is to make me the first person to be modified.”
“You!?” Hearing this, the black-haired man was shocked. Could the grizzly bear in front of him also be a genetic warrior? Created by humans for killing, just like him?
“Hehe, that’s right. It’s me!” As if knowing what the black-haired man was thinking, the grizzly bear suddenly burst into wild laughter. While laughing, he slowly stood up and spread his arms!!
“Can you believe it? So many resources spent, so many lives sacrificed. And the final result was tested on me! Black-haired man, many of the genes from those dead brothers were used on me—Phoenix, Hyena, Idiot, Fireball… none of them were left out. Though they’re dead, it’s as if they’re still alive within me!!”
“I slept for countless years to complete the fusion. When I woke up, I found the training nest floating alone in space. Can you imagine my pain? If it weren’t for Emperor Moore, I would have died long ago. But I never expected to meet you here… and even become your enemy.”
“…” The black-haired man remained silent, but his brows furrowed. As an experienced warrior, he sensed a subtle change in the environment of the cabin and immediately became alert.
Sure enough, the grizzly bear’s next words were filled with a murderous intent.
“Since escape is impossible, since change is out of the question… then, Black-haired man, let’s use the primitive method to settle this. In the name of Black-haired Beauty, let’s fight to the death!”

“Swish!” Almost the moment the Grizzly Bear spoke, his appearance suddenly changed. His neatly fitted military uniform was torn apart by his bulging muscles. Two huge wings appeared behind him. At the same time, two spear-like objects suddenly protruded from his arms, resembling long, sharp swords with a cold glint. In just an instant, the Grizzly Bear had transformed into a demon-like creature!!
What?! The black-haired man was shocked. A terrifying killing intent rushed towards him, leaving him with no choice but to retreat quickly while shouting,
“Yazi!!”