VESSEL - Extinction Countdown 988: Dragon Among Roses

Old kang house, mud walls, kerosene lamp.

Ye Shisan jolted awake.

His grandfather, spine bowed with age, gently placed a bowl of herbal broth on the table.

“Grandpa… Grandpa!”

“Shisan, I’m old. You’ll have to brew this yourself from now on… Never stop this medicine until you’re ten, or else…”

His words cut short as his back erupted. A slimy gray-white spinal cord burst forth, pulsing like a living thing.

Ye Shisan truly awaken.

Opening his eyes, Ye Shisan beheld a sweeping floor-to-ceiling window framing a radiant sea-sky horizon, sunlight dancing across the azure expanse. He lay naked on an enormous plush bed.

Beside it crouched a woman—a beautiful red-haired girl.

You Long’er.

She stirred at the bed’s rustle. “Three days and nights. You sure can sleep, Ye Shisan!”

“What? Three days?”

Ye Shisan gasped, vaulting from the bed to find his clothes, freshly washed and neatly folded, on a sofa.

You Long’er spun around, shrieking, “Jerk… pervert!”

Realizing he was bare, Ye Shisan scrambled into his underwear, rummaging through his suit pockets for the pills the hospital insisted he take daily.

He searched frantically—but they were gone!

Ye Shisan felt like his head was on the verge of exploding, panic surging. A lapse could spell disaster.“Looking for this?” You Long’er dangled a pillbox, smirking slyly.

Ye Shisan lunged. “Give it to me!”

She nimbly dodged, hopping onto the bed. “Pipotiazine, for schizophrenia. No prescription, no way to get it. Where’d you get this?”

“None of your business!”

He grabbed again, yet missing.

You Long’er pouted, tugged her bandeau top, slipped the pillbox inside and thrusting her chest. “Go on, take it!”

“You…!”

Ye Shisan wanted to curse, but no words came. You Long’er’s beauty overwhelmed, the bloom of eighteen.

Her allure wasn’t just youth—it mixed a gangster’s grit with tender charm, fierce yet soft.

Ye Shisan lowered his gaze, avoiding her pale neck and chest. The beast inside. He feared losing control.

You Long’er giggled, triumphant. “Ye Shisan, I had you checked out. You’re mental, right?”

He snorted. “So what? You got a problem with that?”

She didn’t answer, leaning softly against him, her red hair wafting a heady scent. “My family called me a little lunatic as a kid. Even now, many call me mad. Maybe I’m mental too—wouldn’t we make a fine pair?”

Ye Shisan, untouched by a woman in over twenty years, let alone someone as enchanting and captivating as the eighteen-year-old You Long'er. Yet, his body's instinctive reaction was to step away. “Miss You, don’t mess with me. I’m rested. Where’s Mr. Lin? I’m going home.”

“Lin left long ago. If you weren’t out cold, he wouldn’t have left you here… On top of that, I’m not messing around. Or do you think I’m not pretty enough?”

Ye Shisan sensed her seriousness. “We’re worlds apart. Besides, don’t you have graver matters to tend to?”

You Long’er’s brow furrowed. She rose, walking to the window, gazing at the sea. “You’re right. The murder of my father and brother, the usurper’s betrayal—I’ll avenge them. But not yet.”

Ye Shisan gaped. “Murdered? That old man’s dead?”

You Long’er’s voice burned with rage: “A stray bullet struck him—discovered two hours later, too late to save.”

Ye Shisan, bewildered, protested: “Stray bullet? Don’t fool me. I performed the surgery per Lin’s instructions—flawlessly! You handle your revenge. I have my own life. Leave me alone.”

With a coy laugh, You Long’er teased: “Hmph, Ye Shisan, you think after that night, you can just go back to your life?”

“That night? What night?” His mind reeled. Waking naked in bed, with You Long’er beside him—No way! She’s Dragon Gate’s cherished heiress!

You Long’er, amused by his flustered expression, giggled: “Lin was right—you remember nothing. So… you gonna take responsibility?”

She leaned closer naturally, prompting Ye Shisan to hastily shift to another place. “Hold it! Explain, or I’m leaving!”

Yu Long'er chuckled and painted the story with vivid exaggerations, dramatically claiming Ye Shisan had ravaged her that night, with a cruelty that defied humanity and surpassed even beasts.

Ye Shisan was utterly dazed.

His grandfather’s words echoed: “Shisan, never skip your medicine. Or once you turn ten, that thing will have taken root.”