The helicopter soared over the city, gradually heading towards the outskirts.
Tong Yang and Ye Huai sat side by side in the back. Unlike the excitement of the others, they wore headphones, eyes closed, resting.
"It feels completely different from being on a plane!"
"Right? I should get a helicopter license someday. Must be way more convenient than a car."
Tang Shuyan sat in the pilot's seat, sleeves rolled up, wearing headphones. She probably heard them and said, "It's not that simple. You need prior approval to take off."
"That sounds troublesome, but having your own to play with would still be nice."
After flying for several dozen minutes, the helicopter entered the airspace above a jungle.
Tong Yang opened her eyes and glanced down. The lush, verdant forest resembled a vast green sea. A cold wind seeped in from somewhere, carrying the scent of damp earth.
"Are we almost there?" Xu Junyue asked.
Tang Shuyan didn't respond, likely not hearing.
"A tiger!" Chu Shiyu exclaimed in awe.
"Where?"
"There!"
Following the direction of her finger, they saw a yellow beast moving through the dense woods, occasionally visible through gaps in the trees against the sky.
"It seems to be hunting."
No sooner had the words been spoken than a young deer appeared ahead in the woods, walking unsuspectingly across the grass.
As the predator drew closer, rustling leaves gave it away. The deer pricked up its ears, alert, and tried to flee, but the pouncing beast had already sunk its teeth into its neck, violently shaking its body to widen the wound.
In moments, the deer met its end in the tiger's jaws.
"We should have brought that bow. Hunting here would probably be great fun."
"CEO Ye, from this height, could you hit the tiger?"
Ye Huai lowered her gaze to the jungle and said, "The distance is too great, wind speed too strong. Hitting it is impossible, and even if you could, the arrow would lack killing force."
Tong Yang shot her a glance. "Did you study your physics properly?"
"Ugh! Boss, really!" Xu Junyue waved a hand. "Don't always bring up studying. It ruins the vibe between us sisters. People might think you're some kind of goody-two-shoes."
Tong Yang retorted, "Aren't I?"
"Have you no shame?"
"I have a face."
Xu Junyue pouted and changed the subject. "What do you think, did CEO Ye's final arrow hit its mark or not?"
Chu Shiyu said, "It probably did, right?"
Tong Yang said, "Even if it hit, it wouldn't be fatal. She must have taken the gene serum."
"More than that, I'm actually more curious about that man."
"The one with the weapon hidden in his throat?"
"Mhm."
Xu Junyue made a disgusted face. "Wouldn't the weapon be covered in his saliva? Getting wounded by that would be so gross."
Chu Shiyu shuddered. "Stop it!"
Over ten minutes later, Tang Shuyan piloted the helicopter into a gradual descent, landing beside a wide, open lake.
Everyone disembarked one after another, looking around.
"Where exactly is the research institute?"
"It's not at the bottom of the lake, is it? That's how they always write it in TV shows."
Tang Shuyan took off her headphones, jumped down from the helicopter, closed the cabin door, and said lazily, "We're already here."
Hearing this, everyone looked surprised.
"Really?"
Chu Shiyu walked to the lake's edge, dipped her hand in the water, and said, "It's not an illusion."
"The research institute doesn't even have a proper base?"
Tong Yang looked around. Besides grass and trees, winter birds occasionally flitting through the branches, the sound of wind rustling leaves, faint insect chirps, and even the palpable moisture in the air, she saw no structures.
She looked up at the sky. Clouds drifted, sunlight was lazy. Everything seemed normal.
Just then, Ye Huai said, "This likely isn't a real forest."
"Why?"
Ye Huai pressed her lips together. "The air isn't naturally generated, though the difference is slight."
Hearing this, the others instinctively sniffed the air.
"I can't tell."
"Me neither."
Tong Yang didn't speak. Those not highly sensitive to air wouldn't notice.
She walked to the lake, bent down, and looked at the water's surface. The clear lake reflected her face. She plucked a golden hair—not her own, so no heartache—and tossed it onto the lake.
The water rippled slightly, but the hair strand floated on the surface, unmoving.
"It's fake," Tong Yang stated decisively.
"Fake?" Chu Shiyu was astonished. "I touched it. It felt like water."
"Simulated tactile sensation, combined with psychological suggestion. Theoretically, it's possible."
Chu Shiyu looked at her still-damp fingertip and gave it a light lick. "It's dry."
"I don't believe this!"
Xu Junyue strode to the lake, bent over, and took a sip of the lake water. She frowned and spat it out.
"I clearly felt water in my mouth, but I couldn't swallow it."
Tang Shuyan leaned against a rock and said, seemingly to no one in particular, "They've figured it out. Satisfied?"
"Sorry, sorry. It's the institute's first time having guests. I couldn't resist showing off a little."
A man's voice rang out from the void.
The surrounding scene faded like color draining away, gradually turning gray.
Once all color was gone, they saw they were in a gray space. Strange substances seemed to float around them. The room's exact dimensions were unclear. Where the lake and woods had been was now hidden in gray shadows.
A door stood open to Tang Shuyan's right. A middle-aged man in a white lab coat and round glasses stood there.
He wasn't tall, had a large potbelly, and was balding.
"Hello, children. I am Nick, master of the Playroom. You may affectionately call me Uncle Nick."
"A foreigner?"
Tang Shuyan turned and hooked an arm around his shoulder, laughing. "No, his real name is Zhu Xiaochang."
Nick's smile froze. "I'd prefer you call me Uncle Nick..."
"Brother Xiaochang, what was all that stuff just now? Holograms? It felt so real!" Xu Junyue said excitedly.
Nick's mouth twitched. "If you don't mind, you can call me Uncle."
"Uncle Xiaochang, can you explain it to us?"
Nick: "..."
"You all seem less useless than I imagined," Tong Yang said.
Nick: "..."
Finally, he said to Tang Shuyan with profound distress, "I shouldn't have had any expectations for your friends!"
Tang Shuyan said, surprised, "Uncle Xiaochang, what do you mean? I'm much more considerate than they are."
"Dr. Nick, was that holographic projection?" Ye Huai asked.
Compared to the previous few, hearing Ye Huai's perfectly normal form of address, Nick couldn't help but show a gratified smile. He explained, "You could call it holographic projection. To be more precise, you could call them 'Good Kids Who Love to Learn.' They are a special type of particle that likes to study things around them, randomly arranging and combining to mimic their appearance, texture, sound, and even scent."
"Can they mimic me?"
Nick said, "It's possible, but it would require a period of learning, plus my manual debugging, to achieve."
"Wow! So it could imitate me going to school?"
"Kid, what are you thinking? Ultimately, it's still a special kind of holographic projection, not a clone. And these children bear a very heavy responsibility."
Tong Yang asked, "What can they do?"
Nick crossed his arms, his tone proud. "They are carrying out a very great mission that can only be performed once and is absolutely suicidal! As for what the mission is, of course I can't tell you now."
Tong Yang nodded and asked, "How were they created?"
"If you're asking about that, I'll have to have a good, long chat with you. These children represent the painstaking efforts and hard work of several generations of researchers!"
Tang Shuyan interrupted, "In short, it was extremely difficult. Let's go."
Tong Yang was quite interested, but it seemed the story wouldn't be short. "Forget it, I'll listen next time there's a chance."
The others followed behind Tang Shuyan, leaving what Nick called the "toy room" one after another.
"You kids, why aren't you more studious at all!" Nick said, exasperated.
Exiting the toy room, they arrived in a rather ordinary-looking corridor.
It lacked the imagined hyper-modern, cyberpunk feel. Instead, it was like one of those long, dark corridors in an old hospital. The walls on both sides were yellowed and peeling, many tiles were cracked, and the overhead lights flickered, seemingly on the verge of burning out at any moment.
"The institute's conditions aren't great, huh? I thought it would be like in a sci-fi movie," Xu Junyue remarked.
Chu Shiyu nodded in agreement. "Even hospitals in the old city district aren't this dilapidated."
Tang Shuyan, very familiar with the place, led them right into another corridor.
"You thought this place would be like the Central Science Research Institute?"
Passing by a closed door, there was even a yellow talisman pasted on it.
"Are there ghosts here?"
Tang Shuyan said, "It's said there's a cursed corpse inside. Anyone who comes into contact with it meets an untimely death, including the researchers here."
Tong Yang froze, instinctively taking another look.
She used to be a staunch materialist, but now she believed the world was vast and full of wonders.
After all, parallel worlds existed, and there was that gene medicine. Even if her lousy parents crawled out of their graves one day to settle scores with her, Tong Yang wouldn't find it strange.
"Really?"
"Could such miraculous things truly exist in the world?"
Tang Shuyan shrugged. "Not sure. There have always been many things science can't explain. That's why Bureau 749 exists. As far as I know, this room has been here for decades. The talisman paper is replaced periodically, and no researcher has entered since."
"It's that amazing?"
"These things are indeed hard to explain. People in all walks of life believe in them."
"This one seems to hold a murder weapon used by a serial killer. It was initially kept at a police station, but major cases kept happening during that time. Suspecting it was related, they sent it here."
"This one contains a statue of a Confucian scholar. It was originally in a middle school. Ever since it was moved in here, incidents kept happening at the school—student suicides, car accidents, murders. Seven students died within half a year."
"This one holds a section of bone. After the corpse was cremated, this section just wouldn't burn. They tried every method imaginable; it's impervious to fire and water."
"This one..."
Passing by each room, Tang Shuyan recounted the contents as if listing family treasures.
The others listened, captivated, not expecting such bizarre and fascinating stories.
"If that's the case, funding here should be quite sufficient. Why not renovate?" Tang Shuyan explained, "Part of the reason is there's too much stuff, and it's a hassle to move it all. Another part is that Bureau 749 is unknown, always lurking beneath the calm surface. If they wanted to renovate, they'd have to do it themselves."
"So, apart from the instruments and labs, most things here are leftovers from the past."
Tong Yang said, "Tang Shuyan, for an external personnel, don't you know a bit too much?"
Tang Shuyan paused slightly in his steps. "No official position, not within the system—that makes me external personnel, doesn't it?"
Tong Yang nodded cheerfully. "You have a point."
"Most importantly, people here can't easily leave the base without approval from higher-ups. They haven't seen their families for at least several years," Tang Shuyan sighed. "I can't do that. I have a family business to inherit."
"And also, the food the cooks make here is super, super bad."
Tang Shuyan used "super" twice in a row, which gave an idea of how bad it was.
Along the way, they didn't run into any other institute members.
Tong Yang asked, "Are there many people at the base?"
Tang Shuyan said, "More researchers, over fifty."
Tong Yang couldn't help but be surprised. "Besides research members, there are others?"
"Of course. Some 'bloody incidents' can't be handled by the researchers themselves, right?"
"There are only eight of them. They're the executors, call themselves 'Spiders.'"
"Spiders?"
"Couldn't they have chosen a cuter name?"
"The name 'Spiders' is related to a villainous organization from an anime they often watch. The members are like a spider's legs, obeying the commands of the brain."
Tong Yang thought for a moment and said, "Shouldn't there be nine members, then?"
Eight legs plus one brain.
Tang Shuyan said helplessly, "Logically, yes. But they believe no one is qualified to be the spider's brain. So, the members mostly operate alone."
"Also, that villainous organization had thirteen members."
Tang Shuyan stopped before a closed large door, turning to the group. "Fortunately, most of the executors aren't at the base."
Chu Shiyu asked, "Didn't you say they can't leave the base casually? Are they all on missions?"
"Not exactly. They don't follow orders. You can imagine, they're not exactly easy to get along with..."
Before he could finish, the door in front of them opened, and a voice drifted out from behind it. "Who are you saying isn't easy to get along with?"
Tang Shuyan's expression stiffened. "Oh no."
The others were confused, but his expression had turned rather grim.
The next moment, a pair of slender, seemingly boneless arms reached out from inside the door, wrapping around Tang Shuyan's neck. A figure clad in a cyan cheongsam pressed into his embrace. With a fragrant, soft jade in his arms, Tang Shuyan's face looked anything but pleased.
"What are you doing here?" Tang Shuyan asked through gritted teeth.
The woman, with her curvaceous body nestled against him, had hair like a waterfall cascading over her shoulders and skin fairer than snow.
She lifted her luminous face. A striking crimson beauty mark graced the corner of her eye. Her gaze tender as water, she narrowed her eyes, raised a finger to lift Tang Shuyan's chin, and said softly, "Yanyan, long time no see."
The woman was very beautiful, her eyes lazy and hazy, like a cat just waking from sleep.
With a single, effortless glance, she seemed to hold a myriad of affections, looking at anyone as if with deep, tender feelings.
"Let go..."
Tang Shuyan, his face dark, tried to push her away. But before he could exert much force, the woman, catching sight of the others behind him out of the corner of her eye, suddenly brightened.
"This gentleman..." She actively pushed Tang Shuyan aside and moved towards Ye Huai with unsteady steps, as if she might fall at any moment, making one want to reach out and support her.
When she arrived before Ye Huai, he lowered his gaze and said, "Sorry, I'm underage."
The woman paused, her fingers lightly brushing past his shoulder. "Then I'll wait for you to come of age."
After saying this, she looked at Tong Yang beside her, stumbled, and fell into her arms.
Instantly, a subtle fragrance wafted over. Tong Yang calmly reached out to support her waist.
"Little sister, I'm really dizzy. Let me lean on you steadily for a while, alright?"
Seeing Tong Yang didn't resist, the woman lifted her head, her gaze still tender and affectionate, her breath sweet. "Little sister, you are so beautiful. How could I not be moved seeing you?"
Tong Yang's fingers stroked the woman's clothing—smooth fabric, exquisite workmanship, undoubtedly very expensive.
"She's also underage."
A voice came from the side at that moment.
The woman's figure stiffened slightly. She sighed regretfully and adjusted Tong Yang's jacket. "What a pity, born at the wrong time."
"This little sister here must be of age, right?" The woman decisively shifted her target to the next one.
Chu Shiyu said, "I haven't..."
"She's an adult," Tong Yang stated.
Chu Shiyu shot her a glare. Was this person still holding a grudge over something from August?
"Little sister, I have this problem where my legs go weak at the sight of a beauty. You must help me cure it properly."
She hugged Chu Shiyu, rubbing her cheek against her shoulder.
"I... I like boys," Chu Shiyu said, her face flushed red.
Even through the clothes, she could still feel the warmth of the woman's body.
"Am I not better looking than those smelly men?"
Chu Shiyu's cheeks were burning red. "I'll tell you when I start liking girls, okay?"
The woman narrowed her eyes mischievously. "Alright, it's a deal."
Then, she looked at Xu Junyue.
Xu Junyue spread her arms wide, opening her embrace. "Okay, my turn now, right?"
The woman let out a "pfft" and turned to throw herself into her arms.
"Although I don't have someone I like, I might like men. Sister, you can be my backup plan for now!"
"Hmph, in your dreams!"
The woman broke free from her embrace, swept her hair back, and turned around with a cool air. "Come in."
With that, she swayed her slender waist and walked into the room.
Tang Shuyan followed with a look of annoyance, the others close behind.
The room's style was vastly different from the old corridor they had come through. The walls were spotless, spacious, and bright. On one side was a password door emitting a red light.
However, in the center of the room, a white sofa and coffee table were arranged. Facing them was a huge display screen playing an unknown anime.
In front of the sofa, seven or eight people were sitting scattered about.
"Welcome to the 749 Bureau research base. I am Tang Li."
She looked at the group behind her and said, "They are the 749 Bureau's operatives, abbreviated as 'Spiders'."
The group sitting on the sofa, men and women, all faced the screen with their backs to the newcomers, never turning around.
Tang Shuyan frowned. "Why are you all back?"
Tang Li said, "We heard a big shot was coming. As the hosts, we naturally couldn't be negligent."
Tang Li tucked her hair behind her ear, the earlier tenderness gone, replaced by a lazy and indifferent look in her eyes.
"Unfortunately, it seems we shouldn't have come back. It doesn't look like anyone important."
"Xiao Li, don't bully a bunch of kids. Look at them, frozen stiff, easily held in your palm. How pitiful."
The speaker was lying on the sofa, a boy who looked about thirteen or fourteen.
After speaking, he turned his head and smiled at Tong Yang, revealing two sharp canine teeth.
"Sister, do you know how many chances Xiao Li just had to kill you all?" The boy propped his chin with one hand, his legs swinging back and forth in the air.
Tong Yang's expression remained unchanged. "Opportunity isn't held in just one person's hands."
Tong Yang raised her hand, revealing the half-exposed blade hidden in her sleeve, and said with a slight smile, "Do you know how many chances we just had to kill her?"
After going through so much, how could anyone come to an unfamiliar place completely unprepared?
"You have two weapons on you," a bespectacled girl turned her head to look at Tong Yang's group.
Her gaze swept over Tong Yang and landed on Chu Shiyu.
"You have three."
Then her gaze shifted to Xu Junyue.
"You have two. A watermelon knife and a kitchen knife."
Xu Junyue shook her head. "Wrong."
"I have a small knife in the back of my underpants too."
"You keep a knife in your underpants?" Chu Shiyu said incredulously.
Xu Junyue said, "Yeah, what if we run into a special situation where they search us for weapons? They can't make me take off my underpants too, right?"
She looked around at everyone's expressions. "Don't believe me?"
"I'll show you."
With that, she lifted her shirt with one hand and began unbuckling her belt.
Tong Yang said helplessly, "That's enough."
"Oh." Xu Junyue actually listened to her and buckled her belt back.
The bespectacled girl's face turned pale. She expressionlessly turned her head back.
"A spider is an insect. Even without a brain, it can still crawl forward, though eventually, being unable to eat will lead to its death. However, an ignorant and foolish brain will only lead it to ruin faster."
"We don't need one."
The man sitting in the middle of the sofa spoke with an air of complacency. On the screen, a black spider had its head cut off, but its legs were still twitching.
"Is this the legendary chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur)?" Xu Junyue exclaimed in amazement. "Don't you feel embarrassed saying things like that? Do you really think you're spiders?"
Chu Shiyu sighed. "I thought everyone in the 749 Bureau was as steady as Dr. Luo."
Tong Yang lowered her eyes, realizing something.
The 749 Bureau operatives appearing here, acting and speaking mysteriously towards them, was probably related to her.
Perhaps someone had recommended her to become one of them, to become the brain of the Spiders?
So, they felt threatened and came to protest in front of her?
"I have no intention of joining you, much less making you serve me. After all, even children know you can't judge a book by its cover." Tong Yang's eyes swept over them, her gaze contemptuous. "You're not even worthy of being my claws."
The room fell into a deathly silence.
Tang Shuyan watched the usually arrogant group being put in their place and couldn't help but let a smile touch his lips. "If I'd known you were coming back, I should have warned you. Tong Yang is someone even more arrogant than you all."
"Let's go." Tong Yang gave him a push.
Tang Shuyan looked at Tang Li, his gaze meaningful. "Tong Yang may not need your help, but you will definitely need hers."
The group passed through the room and arrived at the password door.
Tang Shuyan pressed his thumb against it. Identity verification successful. The red light on the password door turned blue, and it slid open to both sides.
Ahead was a corridor with a strong futuristic feel. They walked in, and the password door slowly closed behind them.
"She's so arrogant..."
A sigh drifted in through the closing door crack.
Tang Shuyan said, "They should have received the message."
Tong Yang's expression was cold. "What lunatics. I never said I wanted to join them."
"They're not bad people, just a bit arrogant about their talents," Tang Shuyan remarked with a sigh. "It's good to use you to grind down their sharp edges, to let them know there's always someone better out there."
Tong Yang said impatiently, "Just don't let them bother me, otherwise..."
Sometimes she really felt like killing them off one by one.
At that moment, Dr. Luo emerged from another door and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Tong Yang and the others.
"I heard you arrived half an hour ago. I was wondering why you hadn't come over."
Tang Shuyan asked, "Did those guys come back?"
Dr. Luo was taken aback. "You met them?"
"Yeah. You know what they're like. They probably heard some rumors somewhere and came over to sneer and mock us."
Hearing this, Dr. Luo frowned and said to Tong Yang, "Don't take their words to heart. Their talk is no different from farting."
Tong Yang said, "Let's go see Yan Qing first."
"Alright, follow me."
Dr. Luo led them into the room, through a long corridor, and up to an iron door.
After a successful fingerprint scan, the heavy iron door automatically swung open. Inside was a massive computer setup, with several researchers dressed similarly to Dr. Luo sitting in front of instruments, operating something. They looked serious and completely focused.
"Follow me," Dr. Luo said, walking ahead.
The group passed beneath the computer equipment, looking up at the impressive machine with expressions of awe.
This place finally looked like a real research base.
Passing by a space capsule-like chamber, Tong Yang saw the boy's body. His head had been reattached to his torso, and he lay quietly inside.
Noticing her gaze, Dr. Luo said, "His body no longer has research value. You can take him to the Public Security Bureau on your way back."
"Okay."
Entering a passageway lined with transparent glass on both sides, Tong Yang saw many human tissues connected to instruments, and even some human fibers floating in the air. Several sections of the glass were covered with black cloth, obscuring what was inside.
Finally, Dr. Luo stopped them outside one of the glass panels.
A girl in a white dress was leaning against the headboard watching TV. She looked no different from the last time, her complexion even rosier.
Seeing Tong Yang and the others approach, her eyes lit up. She climbed down from the bed and walked towards them barefoot.
Dr. Luo tapped lightly on the glass a few times. Before one could clearly see his movements, the glass slowly descended, retracting into a seam in the floor.
"Sister Tong Yang!"
She called out naturally and smoothly, as if Yan Qing had somehow accidentally been captured here.
"Can you still control the circulation of the magnetic field energy?" Tong Yang got straight to the point.
The Yan Qing from the parallel world didn't answer immediately. Instead, she said, "I want to see Xixi first."
Tong Yang frowned. "Why?"
"I heard her body has mostly healed. I want to go see her first."
Hearing this, Tong Yang turned to Dr. Luo. "Where is Liang Xi?"
Dr. Luo said, "Just a bit further ahead."
"Can you take her to see?"
"Sure."
The parallel world Yan Qing happily ran to her side. "Let's go then."
Tong Yang said, "Dr. Luo, please lead the way."
"No problem."
"Long time no see, Qingqing." Xu Junyue stepped forward, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Have you been listening to your brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts these past few days? Tell me about it."
The parallel world Yan Qing couldn't push her away and answered obediently, "I've been listening well. I haven't caused any trouble for everyone."
"That's good. Keep it up," Xu Junyue said.
Chu Shiyu laughed. "Listening to you, one would think you sent your kid off to school."
"Don't say that. Experiencing what it's like to be a mom once in a while isn't bad."
They stopped before another glass panel. Inside, they saw Liang Xi, wearing a similar dress, sitting on the edge of the bed reading a book.
"Xixi!"
The parallel world Yan Qing called out excitedly.
The glass wall completely blocked the sound. Liang Xi couldn't hear her and didn't look up.
Liang Xi's body appeared no different from before.
Tong Yang asked, "Is her body completely repaired?"
Dr. Luo shook his head. "Complete healing is basically impossible. We inserted several steel pins into her body. As long as she doesn't engage in strenuous activity, there shouldn't be any issues."
"Xixi! Xixi!"
Liang Xi was reading intently and still didn't look up.
Dr. Luo said, "She likes reading. We prepared some books popular with girls her age. She's been very cooperative during experiments."
"Sister Tong Yang, Xixi can't hear. Can I go in?"
Tong Yang shot her a sharp look. "Don't push your luck."
The girl pouted. "Fine, I won't go in. No need to be so fierce."
Tong Yang ignored her. "You've seen her. Let's go back."
"But..."
The girl wanted to say more, but seeing Tong Yang's piercing gaze, she silently swallowed her words.
Back in "Yan Qing's" room, Tong Yang sat at the table.
"Can you tell me now?" Tong Yang looked up at her.
"Yan Qing" stood before Tong Yang like a student being lectured by a teacher, head bowed, appearing soft and obedient.
"I can, it's just..." the girl hesitated.
"Just what?" Tong Yang asked patiently.
The girl wavered. "You know, besides me, there are other things that can control the magnetic field energy circulation. If a machine is already controlling it, then I can't."
"Try first."
The girl cautiously glanced up at her. "Did something happen?"
Tong Yang stated frankly, "Because you were captured, the parallel world has already taken action against us, risking exposure, and they used a defective version of the gene serum."
"Defective gene serum? Sister Tong Yang, how do you know about that?" The girl's expression turned strange. "Only a very few people in the Main World know about this, and there's a gag order. Meng Xiao couldn't have told you about this, right?"
Tong Yang's expression faltered slightly. Since only a handful knew, what reason did "Yan Qing" have for knowing?
"Sister Tong Yang, besides Meng Xiao, are you in contact with other people from the Main World? Who? Someone from the upper echelons, right? Who else would know besides them?"
Tong Yang said, "It's you."
"You're from the Main World, you were injected with the gene serum, and we captured you. Besides you, who else could it be?" Tong Yang said with a faint, knowing smile.
"Me?" The girl looked bewildered. "I never told you."
"You didn't tell me when you were conscious. How do you know you didn't tell me at some other time?"
The girl shook her head. "I couldn't have told you about the defective version. Otherwise, how could you not know..."
"Not know what?" Tong Yang asked calmly. "How do you know whether I truly don't know, or if I'm deliberately tricking you?"
The girl was baffled by her ambiguous attitude and tentatively asked, "You know?"
Tong Yang only smiled without answering. "Let's not talk about that. First, try to see if you can control the cycle time of the magnetic field energy."
"Oh..." The girl looked at her with a mix of belief and doubt, still seemingly pondering Tong Yang's words.
The method to control the cycle time of the magnetic field energy was somewhat easier than Tong Yang had imagined, requiring only complete concentration.
"Yan Qing" lay flat on the bed, hands folded over her abdomen, and gently closed her eyes.
To avoid disturbing her, the others returned to the corridor and closed the glass wall of the room.
"Is there something we don't know about the defective products?" Chu Shiyu asked.
Tong Yang looked through the glass at the girl on the bed. "Yes, I'll find a way to get it out of her."
"Dr. Luo, that corpse might be problematic. Let's store it separately for now."
Dr. Luo nodded. "Alright."
She made a phone call, instructing the researchers to store the male corpse separately.
Ten minutes passed, and "Yan Qing" on the bed showed no movement. It seemed things wouldn't go too smoothly.
A few more minutes later, "Yan Qing's" eyelashes finally fluttered, trembling twice before she slowly opened her eyes.
Dr. Luo lowered the glass wall. Tong Yang walked to the bedside, watching as "Yan Qing" sat up.
"How did it go?" Tong Yang asked.
The girl shook her head. "It's no use. The energy cycle time has already been preset."
"When?"
"What time is it now?"
Ye Huai said, "Eleven twenty-five."
The girl muttered, "Then there's still over four hours."
In a little over four hours, a new round of magnetic field energy cycles would begin, and the five people from the parallel world would enter the parallel world again. Who knew what would happen then.
"In over four hours, you try again," Tong Yang said.
The girl pouted. "It's useless. The intervals between energy cycles have all been preset."
"After equal intervals, the energy cycle automatically refreshes?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "So strange. Why would the Main World do this?"
"What's the interval duration?"
"Eighteen hours."
Eighteen hours... twice the time of the cell death in the corpse?
Could there be a connection between these two?
Those things that entered the real world last night at nine, after killing two people, didn't attack anyone else again.
"I see." Tong Yang was puzzled inwardly but showed nothing on her face.
"Let's return to the previous topic, Yan Qing. I already know about that matter concerning the defective products."
The girl looked nervous. "You really know?"
"There's no need for me to lie to you. The corpse injected with the defective product has been dealt with, although it was somewhat troublesome."
"Aren't you angry?"
"Does anger always have to be shown?"
The girl pressed her lips together, looking very confused. "When did I tell you? I don't remember at all."
Tong Yang pointed at Tang Shuyan behind her. "He can hypnotize. He erased that part of your memory."
The girl looked up at him. Tang Shuyan smiled with narrowed eyes. "You were very cute answering every question. Next time, I'll be gentler with you."
"Yan Qing" shrank her neck, almost believing Tong Yang's explanation. That strangely dressed man clearly didn't look like a good person.
"Sister Tong Yang, I didn't expect them to use defective products. It's not beneficial for the Main World. You can already neutralize the virus from the defective products now."
Tong Yang said without changing her expression, "Is that so? Although we can neutralize it, it's not easy."
"But if you neutralize the virus, you'll know how to kill people injected with the Gene Serum!"
Tong Yang's heart jolted. She turned her head and glanced at Dr. Luo, who understood and quietly left the room.
The girl leaned against the headboard, muttering, "We're in a cooperative relationship now. Even if you know how to kill people injected with the Gene Serum, you can't kill me."
"I haven't asked you yet, how did you know?" Tong Yang said.
She wondered if it was related to the parallel world's apprehension.
The girl rolled her eyes. "I am a Time Anchor, after all. Is it strange that I know this?"
Tong Yang narrowed her eyes. "Tell the truth."
"Hehe." She chuckled foolishly. "I overheard it when I was stealing the Gene Serum."
As expected.
Tong Yang frowned. Could this be the reason the parallel world resorted to such extreme measures?
She felt it wasn't that simple.
"Were you discovered?"
"Of course I was discovered stealing the Gene Serum. But probably not for eavesdropping."
Ye Huai asked, "Why is your ID card S-class?"
No one expected him to speak up suddenly, and everyone's gaze turned to him in unison.
"I saw your parents' ID cards in the study. They were B-class."
Tong Yang glanced at Ye Huai. He hadn't mentioned this before.
"I'm a Time Anchor. My status is different from my parents'."
Tong Yang asked, "What does an S-class ID card represent in the parallel world? And how did you get into the place where the Gene Serum is stored?"
"It's just the highest-level ID card. I already told you, people from the Main World don't dare harm me. And even without the ID card, they wouldn't dare harm me either."
The girl lifted her chin proudly and said, "Not just in District One, I can do whatever I want throughout the entire Main World. As long as I know where the Gene Serum is stored, Meng Xiao helps me distract the Enforcers, and I can use my ID card to get in. Even if I'm discovered later, I can just rewind time with the Gene Serum! They can't catch me."
Tong Yang's eyes grew profound. The parallel world seemed to have given her too much authority. If she were just a replaceable Time Anchor, there would be no need to give her the highest-level ID card, inviting unnecessary trouble.
Was the ID card related to the secrets about her?
The parallel world probably didn't know that "Yan Qing" was already aware of the defective products; otherwise, they wouldn't have delivered the defective products to them.
Once they cracked the virus from the defective products, they could uncover the secret of the Gene Serum. Then, those injected with the Gene Serum would no longer be a threat.
Although, even without knowing how to kill them, Tong Yang could make their lives a living hell.
Ye Huai pressed his lips together and said, "I've seen the ID card of Ye Tianlin from the parallel world."
"He's also S-class."!
