Becoming The White Moonlight’s Human Weapon After My Death

Chapter 16: Protagonist No. 2 Is Online1


“That’s right, it’s me.” Shao Dongmi glanced at the cards, he’d finally lost this time.

The enthusiasm Mu Lin had been radiating to play cards with just now reached its freezing point in an instant. He bowed his head and grabbed the box of cards, took the cards out of Shao Dongmi’s hands, randomly stuffed them into the box, and threw it into the cupboard, “It’s a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. I wasn’t feeling too well, so I was just resting here, I reported it to Command Centre. We’ll chat next time then, next time. Bye-bye, bye bye bye bye!”

He escaped before he even finished speaking. The money and lighter were left on the table, simply forgotten.

“W-wait? Bro?? Hey——” Shao Dongmi couldn’t stop him at all, and Mu Lin vanished without a trace.

I didn’t have time to ask about anything, my clues! He just left!

He had no choice but to pick up the things Mu Lin left behind. He would return them the next time they met, and ask about that restaurant in passing… was it a restaurant?

Speaking about restaurants, Shao Dongmi was feeling hungry. He hadn’t eaten anything apart from the breakfast the plane provided, and it was almost nightfall now.

Shao Dongmi felt his way to the cafeteria. Today he’d experienced Augustus’ decline, there seemed to be no convenience stores or dining halls in this place, so the Tribunal’s cafeteria would probably be his only food source in the future. Any food would do in this chaotic, combat zone-like place. Fortunately he wasn’t a picky eater, he thought.

Shao Dongmi made ample preparations in his heart before going to the cafeteria.

But the physical sensation could only be described as leaving him completely shook2.


The cafeteria was completely deserted, probably because the others were busy with the search and rescue and hadn’t returned. The tables were ordinary desks of different styles, as if they had been randomly picked up and gathered together.

The food arranged behind the glass cover was already completely cold and had an unsightly appearance. There was only a bit of pale fried rice, pale pasta, pale stewed potatoes, and yellow pickled radishes.

Shao Dongmi’s idea of fried rice included green onions, eggs, ham sausages and bean sprouts, but there were really only rice grains on the one in front of him, and it was cold. The pasta was the same, with the barest shadow of mincemeat sauce and condiments, and only thin grey noodles.

Carbs, carbs, carbs, and a pickled dish, that was it. What kind of magical recipe arrangement was this??

It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m not picky. I can eat it even if it’s just white rice with soy sauce, at worst, I’ll just drink it like congee with some boiled water. Shao Dongmi closed his eyes and spoke to himself. He put a bit from every dish in a bowl, poured himself a cup of water, and sat down in a spot by the window. In his mind, he had already grasped the difficulties he would have in making his own food in the future.

Afterwards, he was shocked to find that the taste was a whole different level of awful compared to the rotten external appearance of the food.

The solidified, cold oil was like dregs of poor quality candle wax, the texture of the food was like chewing cardboard, the kind that falls apart like crazy. The worst thing was that all of the food, including the water, had a faint and indescribably strange sour taste, and he couldn’t tell if it was a chemical taste or a bad taste or some sort of rank, gamey smell.

Shao Dongmi was stupefied.

The taste of eating his homework back when he was in school was better than this!!

Shao Dongmi forced himself to finish eating the bowl as if in punishment, with each mouthful more painful than the last, and after he finished eating, he had a hideous look on his face. He was done for, it was over, it seemed to be a problem with the water quality and the soil, so his own cooking would be just as bad.

Now Shao Dongmi firmly understood why Yan Chenli had said that “it still had to be the sweetness of Yinjiang’s apples”. He didn’t have a single doubt that eating tree bark from Yingjiang’s trees would taste better than this, at the very least it wouldn’t have this kind of pervasive strange odour.


Shao Dongmi was tortured by that lingering dinner death for a long time, and a few Adjudicators had already returned to their stations. The sparse crowd walked through the building, and Shao Dongmi tearfully put his empty bowl down and went out the door to wait for Yan Chenli.

Shao Dongmi crossed his arms and leaned against the stone pillar on the doorway of the lounge and, after standing in the chilly autumn wind for a bit, a type of realisation suddenly arose in him. He thought back about himself from two days ago, he’d just been given a few words of concern from Gong Xiaolu and Xi Yue, eaten roasted sausages and beer-fried pork ribs, taken a beautifully hot shower, and slept in a soft and neat large bed, and he still had the gall to “toss and turn, unable to fall asleep”. He really couldn’t tell good from bad huh.


“Let go, let go!! You fucker, aahhhh——!!!”

A loud shout made Shao Dongmi jump, and the people around him simultaneously turned their heads to look at the origin of the sudden commotion.

It was the armoured car that had just parked at the entrance of the courtyard, inside of which a young man wearing the Adjudicator’s long uniform was dragging another person across the ground. The man with the uniform had his sleeves rolled up, and his uniform was dyed with blood and dust. He used a bloody hand to push aside the messy hair on his forehead, revealing a bloodstained, handsome yet ice-cold face.

The person being dragged by the Adjudicator seemed to be a man of similar age, he cursed and struggled as he was dragged across the ground. He had also been drenched in blood, and his clothes were so severely torn one could see the cold glint of a metal spine through them. Shao Dongmi took another careful look and confirmed that it was indeed an Executioner.

“Oh my, it seems like it refused to work properly again today and got sorted out.”

“It’s still very stubborn, that guy’s previous Executioners didn’t even last two months.”

“I really don’t understand, wouldn’t it be better to switch to a different weapon if it doesn’t work?”

“In any case, we can just wait to use it. It’s easier to use the ones that have been polished up.”

The Adjudicators standing off to the side looked like they were watching a play, chatting like it didn’t affect them at all, seeming like they were long since used to things like this.

Shao Dongmi looked at the wailing Executioner and felt a little uncomfortable, he also looked at the people around him, who seemed to be acting normal, and was distracted for a moment.


That Adjudicator dragged the Executioner into the lounge, and the Executioner, who had been flailing his arms and struggling, finally managed to cling onto a step and wouldn’t let go. The Adjudicator vigorously dragged a few times but did not manage to tear the other off, so the two were deadlocked for a few seconds.

Shao Dongmi was now closer to them, so he could clearly see the ghastly injuries on the Executioner’s body. The Executioner was pressed into the ground, a painful and hoarse cry emerging from his throat.

With a cold face, the Adjudicator pulled out a knife from his waistband and sliced the blade across his hands without the slightest hesitation. The Executioner let out an ear-piercing shriek, and the bystanders watching couldn’t help but look away. Only the Adjudicator’s face remained unchanged as he sliced off several of the other’s fingers, picked the severed digits up, and stuffed them into the Executioner’s mouth, threatening him in a low voice, “Hold onto them, don’t lose them.”

Shao Dongmi felt a sudden anger in his chest and couldn’t hold back any more, so he grabbed that Adjudicator and tore him away, “Hey!! What are you doing?!!”

He still didn’t understand the rules in the Tribunal, but just thinking about Chen Xing or Shen Lu being abused3 like this by someone made him feel like he was about to explode.

The Adjudicator lifted his eyes and shot him a cold glance, “I’m just polishing my weapon, what’s it to you?”

Shao Dongmi was stunned.

Because he suddenly discovered that the Adjudicator in front of him seemed a little familiar.

He composed himself, “Whatever you say, they’re still our partners. Why are you insulting him? What did he do?”

“Can you still call this filthy thing a partner? That’s disgusting, it’s not even worthy of being treated like a dog.” That person pushed Shao Dongmi’s hand away, “You’re new, right? You still dared to come to Augustus without knowing how anything works, is the person in charge of you just there for show?”

Shao Dongmi’s resentment towards him immediately reached a whole new level.

You can insult me all you want, but why are you bringing my Captain Yan into this?

“Then this senior will teach you some common sense, make sure to remember.”

The Adjudicator stepped on the Executioner’s face with his black leather shoes and slowly applied pressure, and that face twisted in pain as it was pressed into the ground, “Don’t think that they’re really the same as you just because they also have a primate face.”

He coldly looked down at the human weapon under his feet, not even trying to hide the disgust and contempt in his eyes, “The only ones that get turned into Executioners are incorrigible scum.”

Shao Dongmi immediately wanted to refute him, but he still coudn’t stop himself from asking, “Why do you say that?”

The Adjudicator bent down, grabbed the Executioner by the hair, and forced him to lift his head, “Why? I also want to ask that. Why did this guy proudly show off after killing three people and throwing a three-year-old child down a twenty-storey elevator shaft, just for a measly forty-five yuan?”


The Executioner’s face was deathly pale due to blood loss and lack of oxygen, the Mental Pressure on his neck had already reached 55, and the bright yellow numbers blinked urgently, warning that this Executioner was in a risky state.

His expression was muddled, but still struggled to focus and resist, cursing, “…You fucker… you better have the guts to scrap me today… otherwise daddy’s4 going to personally let you experience… what it’s like to be chopped up and fed to a dog… go to fucking hell, Chen Zhi!!”


Shao Dongmi suddenly looked up. He remembered.

He remembered the name Chen Zhi. He was that fierce-looking older brother from back when he used to sneak into Chen Xing’s hospital room to see him when they were kids.


“Hey, you’re Chen Xing’s brother…” Shao Dongmi opened his mouth, but Chen Zhi immediately interrupted him with an ugly face.

“Shut up.” His face sunk eerily, and his eyes seemed to drip blood, “I’m not anyone’s brother. I’ve never had a damn brother.”

Chen Zhi glared ruthlessly at Shao Dongmi, turned around, and hurried away dragging the Executioner who was on the verge of collapse from the pain, leaving behind two chilling trails of blood.


The bystanders quickly dispersed, but the Executioner’s wails could still be faintly heard in the distance.

Shao Dongmi was left in place, stunned.

Although Chen Zhi had always had a fiercely villainous face, he had always loved Chen Xing very, very much. When the Chen family was willing to sacrifice everything they had to pay his medical expenses, his older brother said he wouldn’t even hesitate to borrow money from a loan-shark.

Did Chen Zhi know that his precious younger brother had been turned into one of those human weapons he called “worse than dogs”?

Or maybe the actual situation was even worse.

Could it be that Chen Xing actually had a lot to do with why Chen Zhi hated Executioners so much???

Shao Dongmi didn’t dare to think about it, nor did he dare to ask. Bringing this question to Chen Xing would surely make him collapse, and bringing it to Chen Zhi would probably be no better.


Shao Dongmi stood at the doorway with a stupefied face and a short-circuited brain until Yan Chenli came back to his post to pick him up.

“What are you standing around for? Are you hurt?” Yan Chenli was carrying that black square bag he hadn’t had time to put down yet as he circled Shao Dongmi, while Shen Lu stopped and waited one metre behind him.

“Ah! Captain!! Captain Yan!!!” Shao Dongmi came back to his senses and quickly grabbed Yan Chenli’s shirt at the waist, “Is this how much information I should have on my first day at work? I feel like my brain is about to explode!!! Shit, what did I just go through??!!”

He just felt like his thinking was chaotic and his head was floating, so he wanted to grab onto something that felt real.

“It’s alright, don’t worry, slow down.” Yan Chenli’s wine-red shirt was pulled out from where it was neatly tucked into his belt and crumpled, but he good-naturedly patted Shao Dongmi’s head, “It’s the same as before. I’m still your direct superior, so just report work matters directly to me. Let’s go, I’ll take you to sort out the room you’ll be staying in, we can walk and talk.”

Shao Dongmi nodded while holding onto the corner of Yan Chenli’s shirt, looking like a lost duckling trying to find its flock, still a little frightened and confused, just wanting to follow a little closer.

At any given time, Yan Chenli could always make him feel at ease. Yan Chenli was always steady and determined, always had a clear path to follow, always keenly observed every detail and arranged every single person with the highest efficiency. One would always be faced with the unimaginably dark corners of police work, but whenever Shao Dongmi fell into confusion and doubt, Yan Chenli could always pull him out and bring him back to the right direction.

He had never imagined that he would one day stand on the opposite side of Yan Chenli.

Shao Dongmi knew Yan Chenli’s interrogation and investigation skills were excellent, he was very familiar with them, and he wasn’t sure that he could seamlessly hide these matters from Yan Chenli.

Yan Chenli would soon discover that Shao Dongmi listened to a suspect’s suggestion and hid important clues from his superiors.

What was that if not betrayal?


Shao Dongmi took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the shirt a little, “Captain. If one day you find out that I hid something from you, what… what would you think?”

Shao Dongmi nervously stretched his neck while waiting for the reply, as if waiting for the knife to fall, but Yan Chenli replied with a sentence as light as a feather, “Wouldn’t that be normal? That’s not a crime.”

He seemed sure, but then immediately shook his head, “No, it’s not that kind. Is it… something related to work? That’s not right either. In any case, it’s not just simply a matter of personal privacy.”

At that point, Yan Chenli had taken Shao Dongmi to the second floor while Shen Lu followed from the very back as if he didn’t exist. There weren’t many people in the hallway, and the glow of the setting sun cut out neat squares on the ground. Yan Chenli slowed down and turned his head to look at him earnestly.

“I know Dongmi has always believed in me.” Yan Chenli pondered while speaking slowly and sincerely, “Dongmi wouldn’t lie to me unless there was no other choice. If you were forced to make that decision, then you must have been very tormented. But you must remember, Dongmi, that I didn’t choose you because of our personal relationship, and that’s not why you followed me either. It was because we have the same goal, and walk on the same path. As long as you don’t stray from it, we will never be at odds. I’ll wait for the day you can tell me.”

Shao Dongmi looked up at him as a dark glint surged in his eyes.

Yan Chenli’s smile got even calmer, “If we were still in Yinjiang, I wouldn’t be saying this. I would advise you to be honest about everything, after all, I was really the one in charge. Within the framework of our former society, justice and just outcomes could be achieved at the same time. Unfortunately, Augustus is not the same. This place has completely new rules, and the vast majority of the time we can’t balance both morality and results. From now on, every decision you make will require a great price, and any action will be criticised. You will be forced to make many decisions… many hard decisions that won’t have a right answer.”

“Believe in your own judgement, and give it your all.”

Shao Dongmi lowered his head and thought for a bit, “I think that, too. But… but, what if I’m wrong?”

“If you’re wrong, just do your utmost to make up for it. Don’t doubt the things you haven’t done yet, and don’t regret what you’ve already done.” Yan Chenli smiled gently with an open attitude. His voice seemed to have a magic power that could steady people as he said,

“So long as you don’t turn your back on the truth, you won’t be turning your back on me.”


Shao Dongmi sniffled, and nodded vigorously.

It was still the same as when they were at the Criminal Investigation Bureau, now matter how down he felt when encountering things at work, Yan Chenli would always patiently talk him through it until he was able to thoroughly move on.


Shao Dongmi gathered himself and reported the day’s experience as completely as possible, but omitted that very last call from Kevin Lomax and the sealed engraved envelope.

Shao Dongmi’s room was not yet ready, so Yan Chenli took him to his own room first while he put his luggage down and listened to the report. Shen Lu entered the room last and closed the door, isolating them from the noise of the people outside.

Yan Chenli’s room was very tidy, decorated mostly in brown with books and handcrafted leather notebooks arranged on the desk. He poured three glasses of water, handed one to each person, and thought for a while after listening to everything:

“The relationship between the back alley residents and the local Augustus police is very strained. To them, the Tribunal is the same as the police, so conflict was inevitable if you intruded in their area.”

Shao Dongmi grabbed the cup and took a sip, “Yeah, they all charged forward like they didn’t care about their lives, like they had a very deep hatred.”

Yan Chenli propped his chin up and thought deeply for a while without saying a word.


Taking advantage of the time while he was thinking, Shao Dongmi looked around the room. It looked very nice, much more decent than that small, shabby brick place the Captain had in front of the Criminal Investigation Bureau. But how come there were so many books and notebooks? What a scary study-freak. There were also several flower pots in front of the window, had Captain Yan started growing flowers? And a brown bear almost as tall as a person was arranged at the head of the bed, looking so soft it made his hands itch with a desire to squish it.


“Come on, let’s go investigate that man you brought back.” Yan Chenli knocked lightly on the table, getting up and putting the drinking glass back in the sink.

Usually Yan Chenli had already come to a preliminary conclusion around this time, so Shao Dongmi immediately moved close, “Captain, do you have an idea?”

Yan Chenli waved his hand, “Nothing fixed yet, now’s not the time to make irresponsible remarks.”

He also usually wouldn’t be able to get a single word out of him around this time.

Yan Chenli always said that assumptions made from preconceived notions would skew the investigation, so he would not make a conclusion without definite evidence. This caused there to be some confusion during the first half of the process when Shao Dongmi handled cases with him.


Yan Chenli walked in front, about to open the door as he said, “Oh, right, how many definite casualties during this conflict?”

“Cough.” Shao Dongmi coughed guiltily, “There were fifty-one deaths in the opposing side.”

After that he saw Yan Chenli, who was about to grab the doorknob to open the door, stumble and grab onto empty air, almost falling head-first into the door frame.

 

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1 The four protagonists listed on the novel page are: Apple, Carbohydrate, Tulip, Standard Loan. From this we can truly see who the real stars of the story are lmao. ⤴

2 I couldn’t find a way to concisely tl this but the og is “shocking his mother for a whole year” which comes from a bad machine translation of a ship in World of Warships. The ship was ‘Le Terrible’ in French and it ended up as ‘shock my mother’, with the battlepass it featured on translated as ‘shock my mother for a whole year’. Obviously the internet ran with it and now it is slang for something that is so shocking it not only shocks you but also your mother. ⤴

3 Word censored in the raws. Sentence translates to something more like “being dragged □□ like this” so I just modified it a tad. ⤴

4 Using the term ‘老子 laozi’ which is an arrogant way to refer to oneself that roughly translates to ‘I, your father’. I usually skip translating it literally but in this occasion I felt it would be fitting haha. ⤴