The Crimson Sunset and the Shadow of the Organization

“Mr. Shi, please come inside.”

As autumn deepened, the sun set earlier each day. The sky, wrapped in the dying rays, was dyed crimson, and a golden twilight blanketed the world.

Ji Shichu’s assistant stood at the door to open it for Shi Ji. It was the same man from their first meeting; his gentle, downturned eyes met Shi Ji’s, and as he pushed the slightly ajar door open, he bowed respectfully.

Shi Ji nodded slightly in acknowledgment and stepped inside. Li Chen followed closely behind. As he passed the assistant, he swept a shallow glance over the man before quickly retracting his gaze to catch up with Shi Ji.

The room was exceptionally spacious. This hotel was currently under the Ji family’s name. Upon entering, Shi Ji immediately saw Ji Shichu sitting at a tea table. An attendant beside him was holding a teapot, and tendrils of steam rose from the cup at his elbow.

“Mr. Shi is as punctual as ever.” Ji Shichu’s gaze landed on Shi Ji, but in the next heartbeat, he silently bypassed him to look at the youth following behind.

Li Chen keenly captured his gaze. His misty-blue eyes met Ji Shichu’s without the slightest hint of politeness, filled with wariness and threat.

Ah. It seems I’m being disliked.

Ji Shichu smiled faintly, his deep red pupils hiding indecipherable emotions. He broke eye contact and looked back at Shi Ji, raising a hand to politely gesture toward the redwood chair opposite him. “There’s still some time before dinner. Mr. Shi, please have some tea first.”

Shi Ji knit his brows slightly as he looked at him. A faint scent of incense lingered at the tip of his nose. Though filled with doubt, he cooperated, pulling out the chair to sit. Li Chen, lips pursed, stood firmly by his side.

Just as he sat, the attendant moved to pour tea for him. At that moment, Li Chen suddenly raised his hand, interrupting the attendant’s movement.

Li Chen took the teapot from the attendant, inspected it with meticulous detail, and only then poured the water into the cup. This “trust no one” attitude made Ji Shichu chuckle. He raised his cup to his lips and took a sip, the smile on his face deepening.

“It seems Mr. Shi’s assistant doesn’t trust me much,” Ji Shichu spoke candidly. He glanced up at Li Chen with a half-smile. “I wonder when I offended Mr. Shi’s assistant so deeply?”

Shi Ji peeked at Li Chen and instinctively became protective.

“Mr. Ji must have misunderstood,” he said. “My brother experienced some family upheavals when he was young. He’s been hyper-vigilant ever since and trusts no one except me.”

To prove his own trust in Ji Shichu, Shi Ji picked up the cup and took a sip.

The rich aroma of tea exploded in his mouth, leaving a lingering, slightly bitter aftertaste. Ji Shichu lowered his gaze, his fingers tapping the armrest of his redwood chair. His face was expressionless, making it impossible to guess his next move.

“So that’s how it is,” Ji Shichu replied slowly after a pause. He toyed with his tea cup, which was crafted from natural emerald, his thumb stroking its smooth surface.

Shi Ji remained silent. All three people in the room fell quiet, and an inexplicable tension began to spread through the air.

“Since Mr. Ji asked me here, why not speak plainly about what you wish to discuss?” Shi Ji broke the silence. “Last time, Mr. Ji asked me how I learned to beat around the bush. Why are you the one playing charades this time?”

Ji Shichu’s lashes flickered. He thought for a moment, then lifted his eyes to meet Shi Ji’s.

In the next second, he waved his hand. The attendants in the room immediately put down their things, bowed slightly to Ji Shichu, and exited one by one.

Once the three of them were alone, Ji Shichu spoke: “Is Mr. Shi’s health better?”

“As you can see,” Shi Ji arched an eyebrow. “Extremely well.”

Ji Shichu nodded.

“I wanted to meet Mr. Shi alone because I truly have something of great importance to discuss.”

“Previously, you mentioned you were interested in artificially cultivated Top-tier Omegas. After thinking it over seriously… I wonder if Mr. Shi would be willing to cooperate with me?” Ji Shichu’s ruby-like eyes turned toward him, holding a rare gravity.

Shi Ji’s brow furrowed tighter. He didn’t quite understand what Ji Shichu meant.

Sensing the confusion, Ji Shichu explained: “Mr. Shi, you know the Ji family has been in business for hundreds of years. We have auction houses all over the world. We’ve seen every kind of rare treasure, but a Top-tier Omega… that was a first.”

“You are well aware of the rarity of Top-tier Omegas. Even with artificial cultivation, their existence rate has only increased by 0.3% in recent years. While the number is small, it is indeed a monumental contribution.”

Ji Shichu set down his cup.

“It is a high-level technology.”

He leaned back.

“Mr. Shi, I must admit: that Top-tier Omega at the last auction was personally handed to me by the Organization.”

“Their requirement was for me to do everything possible to highlight the Alpha-like advantages of that Omega to spark curiosity and attention, making more inferior Omegas in the world want to undergo the procedure.”

“To be blunt, they want to use me to find more experimental subjects. The people who attend Ji family auctions are always high-status individuals with networks far beyond what a small laboratory can reach.”

Shi Ji was somewhat surprised. Last time he had probed, Ji Shichu was tight-lipped. Why was he suddenly confessing?

“That Top-tier Omega was the only one to ever re-integrate into society,” Ji Shichu said, his words growing more cryptic.

Shi Ji grew more confused. This information didn’t exist in the original plot. Ji Shichu’s words were tearing down and rebuilding his understanding of this world.

“As for the reason…” Ji Shichu noted Shi Ji’s grim expression. “I know words alone won’t make you understand. However, look at this…”

As he spoke, he pulled out a laptop and opened it. On the screen was a paused video.

The footage was in black and white. From the awkward angle, it looked like a clandestine recording. The setting appeared to be the interior of a laboratory.

Even though the image wasn’t very clear, Shi Ji could see cluttered experimental equipment and various petri dishes. These dishes were made of glass, but unlike normal ones, they were incredibly large—big enough to fit a 190cm tall adult male.

The video was eerie. Ji Shichu clicked play.

The black and white screen flickered with a few streaks of static. Then, a loud bang echoed from the speakers, making Shi Ji’s heart thud in his chest.

The camera zoomed in, focusing directly on one glass culture tank. Inside the hazy tank, Shi Ji could vaguely see a blurred human figure moving. The shadow flickered by too fast to see clearly.

Shi Ji instinctively leaned forward. At the exact moment he got close to the screen, a hand slammed violently against the glass!

He gasped, staring intently at the video.

The timer in the corner jumped rapidly. Ji Shichu pressed fast-forward. After watching for a bit longer, Shi Ji confirmed there was indeed a person trapped inside.

The person appeared extremely violent, incessantly pounding the transparent glass. The glass looked fragile but was actually exceptionally reinforced; no matter how the person kicked or struck, they only left shallow marks on the surface.

As the video progressed, the person’s emotions became visibly more unstable. They even began to ram the glass with their head, each strike heavier than the last, until blood from their forehead smeared across the smooth surface.

The person seemed unable to feel pain, repeatedly slamming into the glass while letting out low growls like a wild beast. Dark red blood slid down the walls. The sight of the vivid, striking blood deeply unnerved Shi Ji.

The video ended there. It was only a few minutes long, but for Shi Ji, it felt like he had been watching for a century.

For some reason, this fragmented video filled him with an immense sense of sorrow. He could almost feel that person’s despair and agony. This intense empathy left him dazed for a long while.

Ji Shichu, on the other hand, was composed. One could only guess how many times he had watched this on loop to remain so calm.

Snap. Ji Shichu closed the laptop. He looked at Shi Ji’s pale face. “This experiment is fundamentally inhuman. It’s equivalent to forcibly overwriting a normal person’s genes with another’s. Most artificially cultivated Top-tier Omegas cannot adapt, leading to radical personality shifts, uncontrollable emotions, and even anti-social tendencies.”

“Simply put, while Top-tier Omegas are extremely powerful, they carry massive side effects. These ‘modified’ ones are even more terrifying,” Ji Shichu’s voice dropped low. “They are a pack of irrational beasts. Once they lose control, the consequences are catastrophic.”

“So for many years, the Organization has only announced its cultivated Omegas to the public. But the so-called ‘successful’ subjects, even after the experiment, are forced to stay in the lab because they can’t control themselves.”

“That Top-tier Omega at last month’s auction…”

“Rather than saying he re-integrated into society, it’s more accurate to say he’s the only one in decades to ever walk out of that lab.”

Hearing this, Shi Ji found it even more unbelievable.

Forced experiments, genes modified at will, a closed culture tank meant for one person. Shi Ji couldn’t find the words to describe this heartless display of human cruelty. They were just lab rats in a damp, dark corner, their broken bodies forced to watch the murderers who turned them into this receive flowers, praise, and the highest respect.

It was too absurd. It was truly too absurd.

Shi Ji instinctively clenched his fists, his fingers trembling. Ji Shichu watched him and continued: “Mr. Shi is a smart man. You should be able to guess what I want to do.”

“I want to rescue them and expose the lab’s activities,” Ji Shichu stated his request directly. “The reason I came to you specifically is because Mr. Shi’s parents… were once members of this Organization.”

This sentence was like a bolt of lightning striking Shi Ji’s head. His spine went numb.

This was another setting that didn’t exist in the original story. Because the original character didn’t appear often, his parents were rarely mentioned. Shi Ji only knew their work was mysterious—how could he have known they were part of the Organization?!

The blood in his body felt frozen. He felt numb, and his face grew paler.

Seeing his shock, Ji Shichu asked in confusion, “Could it be that Mr. Shi was unaware?”

Then he realized. “Of course… the Organization’s first requirement is absolute secrecy. I only heard of it by chance from my father.” Ji Shichu paused as if remembering something. He turned his head and added, “Mr. Shi, don’t you think…”

“That car accident several decades ago was a bit too ‘accidental’?”

Shi Ji swallowed hard. “Was it not just an accident?”

Ji Shichu shook his head. “What I mean is, the circumstances were too bizarre. In my view, it was almost certainly a man-made crash.”

Noticing Shi Ji’s increasingly distressed expression, Ji Shichu said apologetically, “I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to bring up such a painful memory.”

“It’s fine,” Shi Ji replied. He just hadn’t expected the original character’s parents to be linked to this group.

“However, I suspect your parents likely didn’t participate in this specific research,” Ji Shichu said. “I suggest you focus your attention on…”

He suddenly stopped. His face went cold as he turned to stare at the door. His gaze was sharp, and the atmosphere in the room turned rigid.

Finally, Ji Shichu dipped his finger into his tea and wrote two words on the table:

The Organization.