I've never been curious about secrets unless they directly impacted me, and this so-called Crystal Black Scorpion seemed entirely unrelated to me, aside from genuinely terrifying me. So, without even lifting my head, I retorted, "Secrets? What secrets? Do they have anything to do with me?" My attitude was completely uncooperative, and as I spoke, I casually toyed with my handgun, aiming to prevent any rash movements—otherwise, my gun had eyes.

Perhaps my killing intent was a bit too strong; both Zhuoma Yangjin and the little Japanese man fell silent, ceasing to bother me.

After a moment, someone squatted down in front of me. It was Yamamoto. He spoke halting, stiff Mandarin: "Luo... Jun. Your... hostility towards us... without reason..."

To heck with you little Japanese, do I need a parade to welcome you? I thought to myself. Then I looked up, brazenly scrutinizing him from head to toe: a short, square face, a small mustache, thick eyebrows, and eyes so deep their emotion was unreadable; dressed in an earth-toned uniform, with leather boots... As I watched, I mentally assessed him: ordinary features, but those eyes were too profound—clearly not a good person. Still, those leather boots looked quite well-made...

No one could stand being examined that thoroughly. Yamamoto became visibly uncomfortable. He fidgeted, yet tried hard to project sincerity: "Luo Jun... I will tell you first... the secret of the Crystal Black Scorpion... to show... my sincerity... You... do not have hostility towards us... We, cooperate greatly."

His strange, halting, and disjointed Chinese grated on my nerves. I looked up at Zhuoma Yangjin and said, "If he has something to say, tell me directly."

Zhuoma Yangjin translated my words back to Yamamoto, and the two whispered again.

Then, Zhuoma Yangjin informed me that the Crystal Black Scorpion was a parasite capable of invading the human brain, gradually consuming it, and turning the host into a thoughtless, puppet-like shell controlled by the creature. While terrifying, this organism held astonishing scientific research value; its secretions could potentially treat strokes and halt the spread of cancer cells. However, the most crucial point was that only a live Crystal Black Scorpion was useful.

Finally, Zhuoma Yangjin added one more sentence: "This is a blessing for all mankind, not just for Japan's benefit."

It seemed that if I refused to cooperate with them, I would be disregarding the suffering of all humankind.

"Enough," I said, putting away my gun. I looked sternly at both Zhuoma Yangjin and Yamamoto, enunciating every word, "I have seen the live Crystal Black Scorpion, and the so-called hosts."

Both of them couldn't help but show joy, eagerly awaiting my next words. The thought that the only living Crystal Black Scorpion known to exist—the one that caused the Japanese such deep heartache—had been blown into pieces by my own bullet made me inwardly ecstatic. I fought hard to suppress the urge to burst out laughing, instead forcing my face into an expression of sorrow, looking toward the faceless corpse I had mutilated with feigned regret. I said, "That... was it."

Without looking, I knew their expressions must have been grim. I quickly put on a show of agony, clutching my head with both hands to cover my face, all while secretly chuckling with delight. I didn't care about any medical value; this thing was so horrific, who knew what tortures it might inflict if used as medicine? Besides, why should I just blindly believe whatever that little Japanese man told me?

...

Despite my inner glee, I remained puzzled as to why they kept pressing me about whether I had seen other live Crystal Black Scorpions. Judging by their tone, there seemed to be many more of these harmful things around. Even if this creature possessed medicinal properties, it appeared to only grow after invading a human brain—wasn't saving people with such an evil thing tantamount to harming others? Moreover, their uniforms struck me as familiar, yet I couldn't place where I had seen them before.

I pondered deeply for a long time, unable to connect the dots.

Just as I was growing frustrated, that damned Japanese man had to butt in again, asking, "Luo Jun... if we take away the corpse of the Crystal Black Scorpion host, would you object?" Of course, his original phrasing wasn't so smooth.

Take the corpse? I thought I must have misheard. Weren't only the live scorpions useful? That body had already been blown to pieces—head shattered, neck broken. They actually wanted to take such a disgusting thing back to Japan? A whirlwind of thoughts spun through my mind, failing to provide a logical explanation. Thus, the little Japanese man must be plotting something sinister.

"This... although I know you urgently need it for research purposes," I began, looking very sincerely at Yamamoto, "you also know that we Chinese have always valued proper burial rites—rén sǐ rù tǔ wéi ān (a person at rest belongs in the earth). He was a Chinese soldier, wearing the same uniform as me in life. By all rights and reason, I cannot stand by and watch my comrade be denied peace in his afterlife, left wandering a foreign land."

After I finished, Zhuoma Yangjin translated my words, then spoke earnestly to Yamamoto as well.

A moment later, Yamamoto shook his head sadly, having Zhuoma Yangjin relay that he respected our customs and my decision.

After another pause, Yamamoto asked through Yangjin, "Could you, considering we traveled thousands of miles to remote Tibet, consider the countless cancer patients urgently awaiting treatment, and for the sake of innumerable lives, please allow us to retrieve the Crystal Black Scorpion from the body?"

Such grand, eloquent justifications—I truly didn't know how to refuse. My silence served as tacit consent. The group immediately lit up with joy, exchanging hushed cheers, and then flocked around the faceless corpse, completely unbothered by the strong stench of putrid grease emanating from it.

What baffled me even more was that they pulled out what looked like pre-prepared, sharp, scalpel-like instruments and slowly, carefully began slicing into the ruined scalp of the corpse and peeling back the skin on its back... seemingly attempting to extract an intact Crystal Black Scorpion. I felt a wave of nausea and quickly turned away, unwilling to watch.

Despite being disgusted by the Japanese methods, I had a nagging feeling that something was amiss, and I kept turning back to observe their actions. Based on the look of elation they had just shown, the situation wasn't as simple as they claimed. Moreover... moreover... I finally remembered where I had seen people dressed exactly like them before: the faceless corpse that was devoured by insects downstairs—wasn't it wearing the same uniform as them?!

If they were indeed affiliated with that devoured faceless man, it meant they had been here before, and at least one of their team members had a direct confrontation with the so-called Crystal Black Scorpion. Yet, the way they had questioned me earlier suggested they were completely unaware that one of their comrades had been infected and died... It seemed this whole affair was far more complicated than mere medical research.