Eating Melons Until I Saw News of My Own Death Chapter 72

"This is Mr. Du."

Tang Li stood in the room, making the introductions.

Mr. Du was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a characteristically square jaw, thick eyebrows, and large eyes.

Tong Yang's group and the enforcers from Bureau 749 sat on opposite sides of the room, like two distinctly separate streams of water.

"This is Tong Yang."

Tong Yang leaned back in her chair, her expression neutral, her right arm only capable of slight movements.

Xu Junyue sat ramrod straight, glaring across at the "Spider" members opposite her.

Mr. Du's gaze swept over them. "You don't seem to get along."

Xu Junyue said, "Just say what you have to say, spare us the small talk."

"Show some respect in front of Mr. Du!"

"I won't. What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm not a dog, I don't eat shit."

"Oh? So you're not a dog? Then what was all that barking about earlier?"

Mr. Du chuckled. "Your relationship is indeed poor. A pity."

"Tong Yang, I had hoped to invite you to join Bureau 749."

Tong Yang's face showed disgust. "I won't collude with you people."

Mr. Du said, "Let's leave it at that, then. Let's get down to business."

"Dr. Luo and the virology experts are developing an antidote, but we can't just sit idle."

"I assume everyone here is now aware of the situation with the parallel world. Tong Yang, as a temporal anchor point, you bear a tremendous responsibility. If you die, the final barrier disappears, and they will enter our reality unimpeded. Therefore, no matter what, we will not let you succumb to the poison."

Tong Yang asked, "What's your solution? Concrete actions are more credible than lofty words."

Mr. Du said, "We have acquired two doses of high-quality gene serum."

Hearing this, Tong Yang and her companions couldn't hide their surprise.

"How did you get them?"

"That stuff isn't easy to find."

Tong Yang's expression turned serious. Obtaining the high-quality gene serum was no simple feat; even they had only managed it by leveraging several time loops. Yet Bureau 749 had somehow quietly secured two doses.

Mr. Du explained, "While you were confronting the parallel world, 'Spider' successfully infiltrated it."

Xu Junyue looked at the people across from her with extreme distrust. "Them?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said. Is it hard to understand?"

"You..."

"Enough." Mr. Du frowned at the speaker, who immediately fell silent.

"They succeeded in infiltrating the parallel world, thanks in part to the information and experience you provided. Furthermore, during the process, we discovered that others from our reality had entered the parallel world even before you. It was with their help that we successfully retrieved the gene serum."

Mr. Du continued, "The high-quality gene serum has been brought back to the research institute by 'Spider.' You can receive the injection now if you wish. Given the inevitable dangers ahead, it's good to be prepared. Your survival is of paramount importance to the entire real world."

Tong Yang fell into thought. She hadn't expected Bureau 749 to be somewhat more capable than she imagined. She had thought they were just a bunch of arrogant show-offs, but they seemed to have some real skill. To successfully retrieve two doses of gene serum and escape from a parallel world riddled with surveillance and alarms was something even Tong Yang wasn't entirely confident she could pull off.

"Who guided you in?" Tong Yang asked.

To actively enter the parallel world, one would need guidance from someone already connected to it.

Mr. Du said, "Meng Ting."

Tong Yang nodded. "So it was her."

"I don't want the gene serum injection," Tong Yang stated firmly. "At least, it's not necessary yet."

"Besides, even those injected with gene serum can be killed. Once the virus is fully understood, a method will be found."

Mr. Du asked, "You're unwilling to receive the gene serum?"

"Correct. Not unless it's absolutely the last resort."

Tong Yang didn't consider the gene serum to be a good thing. It would be best if Dr. Luo and the virologists could develop an antidote before she succumbed. If they couldn't, she could use time loops to relay each research finding to Dr. Luo ahead of time. If even that failed, then taking the gene serum wouldn't be too late.

In any case, having the high-quality gene serum gave them another layer of security.

Mr. Du nodded. "Then we'll wait for the results from Dr. Luo and his team. We can administer the gene serum when all other options are exhausted."

"No problem."

Mr. Du's proposed solution undoubtedly gave them a sense of relief. After all, that stuff could bring someone back from the dead; there would always be time for an injection later.

"Are you satisfied with my solution?" Mr. Du inquired.

Tong Yang said, "It's acceptable."

"She really is arrogant..."

Tong Yang then shifted her tone: "However, without your proposed solution, I originally had no intention of cooperating with them."

"Them" naturally referred to the Bureau 749 law enforcers—Spider.

"Oho! So now we're worthy of being your lackeys?"

Tong Yang pressed her lips together. "To be honest, no."

"But, you all seem quite eager to be of use to me, so I'll reluctantly oblige you."

"Who's eager to be used by you!"

"Nonsense!"

"Cooperating with you is our boss showing you respect! Don't be ungrateful!"

Mr. Du and Tang Li exchanged a glance, looking at the tense atmosphere between the two groups and seriously doubting whether they could work together.

"By the way, I never work for free," Tong Yang said meaningfully.

Mr. Du understood her implication and nodded. "Don't worry, the bonus will be the same as theirs."

"And the others?" Tong Yang asked.

She couldn't let Chu Shiyu and the others work for nothing.

"Everyone present will be treated equally."

"Fine."

"No problem."

Mr. Du said, "Next, let's discuss the plan for resolving this incident."

Tang Li spoke up, "We've already understood the cause of the incident, but the parallel world's objective remains unclear."

"Tong Yang, the parallel world knows your coordinates, and even those injected with gene serum can be killed. I'm quite concerned about the safety of the parallel world's temporal anchor point."

Tong Yang didn't deny it. "She is not irreplaceable. To protect the secret of the coordinates, the parallel world might send someone to eliminate her."

"Exactly. Your presence here could pose a danger to the researchers and to 'Yan Qing'."

Chu Shiyu said, "But Tong Yang can't leave here either. If she succumbs to the poison elsewhere, what if the antidote is developed but can't reach her in time?"

Tang Li frowned. "You have a point, little sister."

Tong Yang said, "One magnetic energy cycle only allows five individuals to enter our reality. They have other objectives and probably won't focus all their efforts on me and 'Yan Qing'. The threat isn't that significant."

Tang Li thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. It's best to be cautious. Let Nick keep an eye on whether any outsiders appear at the research institute."

"Alright, I'll give him a call."

"Currently, aside from the two people who were killed not long ago showing the same condition, everything else is normal."

Tang Li said, "We plan to infiltrate the parallel world again, to try and stop them, figure out their goal. We might even find a way to develop a cure for the virus."

Tong Yang said, "That's possible, but the risk is quite high. You could encounter danger at any moment."

"Don't worry, we have ways to escape. The situation in the real world needs to be resolved. These four corpses were lucky not to appear in public areas and attract attention. We might not be so fortunate next time."

Mr. Du said, "Such incidents could continue to happen at any time."

Ye Huai, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "If you're entering the parallel world, you could investigate matters related to Ye Tianlin and the magnetic field energy. It might help with obtaining coordinates."

Tang Li looked at him in surprise. "Ye Tianlin in the parallel world?"

"Yes."

"The S-class identity card of Yan Qing from the parallel world is still in my possession."

Tang ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍Li exclaimed in amazement, "An S-class identity card? That grants access anywhere in the parallel world."

"It's in my backpack. I can rent it to you if needed."

Tang Li: "?"

"Rent?"

Tong Yang said with a straight face, "Ten thousand an hour."

"You profiteer! That's so expensive!"

Xu Junyue said, "How is that profiteering? This is an S-class identity card, the highest status in the parallel world!"

"Deal." Tang Li agreed without hesitation.

These people from "Spider" weren't just capable; their family backgrounds were excellent too, so a small sum like this naturally meant nothing to them.

"Here, the clock starts now."

Tang Li took the identity card and said, "We'll set off immediately. As for the real world side..."

Tong Yang lifted her eyes, her gaze profound. "I've been thinking about a question."

"What is it?"

"Does the contagious virus spread through contact with the body of someone injected with the defective product, or contact with their corpse? It's quite a coincidence that the several corpses, after being injected with the defective product, had no chance to contact others while alive, only making contact after death."

"However, the onset times weren't uniform. I was the first to contact a corpse, so logically, I should have had symptoms earlier than the others. But the time interval wasn't long."

At this point, Tang Shuyan said, "There was almost no interval. Within minutes of the virus activating in your body, the others showed the same condition."

"That doesn't make sense. If the times of contact with the virus were different, the onset times couldn't possibly be the same." Tong Yang said gravely.

Ye Huai said, "There is one common point."

The two looked at each other, and Tong Yang had a sudden insight. "The only common point is that we all experienced the onset exactly nine hours after the death of the cells in the corpses."

Hearing this, everyone was stunned in unison.

Tong Yang continued, "Assuming the corpse is the carrier of the virus, and anyone who came into contact with it during that period would experience onset nine hours after all its cells died. Then, the virus truly activates only as the cells in its body die. In that case, what purpose does the death of the body serve?"

The expressions of everyone present grew increasingly grave, as if realizing the severity of the issue.

Tong Yang's face was no less tense than anyone else's. She went on, "Let's assume further that the death of the body serves no purpose."

"Then, as long as there is physical contact with someone injected with the defective product, whether they are alive or dead, the virus is transmitted, with onset occurring nine hours after the death of their cells. Can you imagine how many people could be infected?"

Tong Yang's words sent a chill down everyone's spine.

If her speculation held true, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Tong Yang's next words struck each of them like a thunderbolt.

"The magnetic field energy cycle interval is eighteen hours. Yet, aside from killing two people in the first hour, the people from the parallel world took no other action."

"So, what were they doing during the remaining seventeen hours?"

"If the previous assumption is correct, and the virus spreads through mere physical contact with someone injected with the gene serum, with an indefinite incubation period and no physical abnormalities until onset nine hours post cellular death... If during those seventeen hours, they injected others with the defective product but didn't kill them immediately, can you imagine the speed and scope of the virus's spread?"

Everyone's faces grew increasingly grim.

Tong Yang's speculation made sense. They only killed two people per cycle to attract the real world's attention, focusing all efforts on the corpses and the virus, while in reality, the pathogen had already intricately and completely infiltrated the real world.

One day, when those injected with the defective product begin to die off, eighteen hours later, with all their cells dead, a massive outbreak would occur. The consequences were unthinkable.

The real world would face an unbearable blow.

"But, they could choose not to kill anyone, just inject us with the defective product. That way, we wouldn't discover it for a long time, and by the time we did, it would be too late."

"Because they can't wait any longer." Tong Yang's face was dark. "Yan Qing from the parallel world was captured, the foreign black market was cleaned up, Dr. Wu betrayed the parallel world, high-quality gene serums were stolen one after another... We already know about the existence of the parallel world. They can no longer infiltrate the real world silently as before."

"Creating trouble for us diverts our attention. By the time we develop an antidote, countless people will already be infected, and the Earth will be in chaos. Then, by killing me, gaining control over the real world would be effortless for them."

Ye Huai said, "Once news of the virus leaks, and they start trading the inferior gene serum on a large scale, it would be easily within their grasp."

Tang Li cursed, "That's too vicious. We simply cannot grasp the scope of the virus's spread."

"Are they that insane? They seemed pretty similar to our world."

Xu Junyue rolled her eyes. "What are you talking about? They are utterly insane, completely different from the real world."

Tang Li, however, said, "After we entered the parallel world, what we saw was almost identical to the real world."

"The places you went were probably areas inhabited by the upper echelons of the parallel world." Ye Huai said.

Mr. Du's expression was solemn. "If their goal is as Tong Yang speculates, then it's terrible. We cannot identify who has been injected with the defective product. Even if we develop an antidote, it would be far from solving the problem."

"Tong Yang, how confident are you in this speculation?"

Tong Yang lowered her eyelids and sighed. "One hundred percent."

"There's no better explanation for why they only kill two people per cycle, yet the interval is eighteen hours."

"This time, their goal isn't murder."

Twenty hours had already passed since the first cycle. The scope of the virus's spread was already beyond control.

The room was filled with a deathly silence. They could find no reason to refute Tong Yang's words, and in their hearts, they acknowledged her deduction. Yet, the price was one no one could bear.

With such a large-scale viral transmission, even if an antidote were developed, how could it be distributed and administered in a short time?

— It couldn't be solved.

A massive viral spread, where you wouldn't even know who was infected before symptoms appeared—how could that be solved?

A pall of despair settled over everyone. Faced with such a formidable enemy, they were almost completely helpless.

Even Tong Yang couldn't think of a way to turn the tide.

The parallel world was terrifyingly powerful, like a sky city the size of Earth falling towards them. How could they possibly stop it?

Even with the existence of the time anchors, they had still pushed the real world to this brink. If Tong Yang died, what chance of resistance would the real world have left?

"We can't let things deteriorate further. Tang Li, take a few people and infiltrate the parallel world. No matter what you have to do, you must find a solution." Mr. Du appeared relatively composed, his emotions not showing on his face.

Tang Li nodded solemnly. "Understood."

Ye Huai asked, "I can help you debug the equipment, connect to the parallel world's satellite signals, block surveillance—make it easier for you to communicate."

Tang Li was surprised. "How?"

"Just need a device that has connected to the parallel world's satellite signals before."

"Then I'll go get one."

"No need." Tang Shuyan took a tablet computer out of the cloth bag she carried with her. "Will this work?"

This tablet had connected to the parallel world's satellite signals before.

Ye Huai said, "It will."

Tang Li laughed. "You're really something, little guy. Thanks. This big sister can wait for you to grow up, I'm not joking."

Ye Huai hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's not free."

Tang Li: "?"

He turned to look at Tong Yang and asked, "How much do you think is appropriate?"

Tong Yang said, "A hundred thousand."

"Okay, a hundred thousand per device."

Tang Li was speechless. "Doing business with you two would definitely bankrupt a person."

"If you accept, hand over the devices."

Having a means of communication in the parallel world would make things much easier.

Tang Li called a few companions forward and handed their phones to Ye Huai.

"Give the payment to Tong Yang."

Tong Yang, taking the initiative, opened her own payment interface and placed it beside him.

Soon, several hundred thousand was transferred to her account.

To avoid last-minute needs, the remaining members of "Spider()" also paid to have their devices debugged.

"Alright, they'll connect automatically once you're in the parallel world, allowing calls with the real world."

"That fast?"

"Mm."

Ye Huai returned to Tong Yang's side. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her slide into her notes app and subtract eight hundred thousand from the debt listed after his name. He still owed over nine million.

Tang Li didn't waste any time. She left the room with three others, preparing to head for the parallel world.

Mr. Du said, "As for the real world side, I will contact the military to investigate people who might have been injected with the defective product. You don't need to worry about those matters. What you need to do is find the people who have infiltrated the parallel world and eliminate them."

"Finding them will be too difficult," said the little boy with the tiger-tooth gap.

"There must be anomalies to discover. No matter how hard, it must be done."

There were sixteen hours left until the next magnetic field energy cycle.

"The next energy cycle is around 9:30 tomorrow morning. Besides dealing with those already in the real world, we need to prepare for what comes next."

Everyone fell into dead silence again.

Trying to prepare for people from the parallel world who could appear anywhere was like searching for specific stones in the ocean—an impossible task.

They were almost at their wits' end.

"I might be able to do it," Tong Yang suddenly spoke.

Everyone's gaze converged on her simultaneously.

"How? You're not in a good state now. We can help you," Chu Shiyu said.

Tong Yang shook her head. "This is something only I can do."

She intended to use the gossip group. Even though the group members couldn't possibly know the details of this matter, and there would certainly be no future news reports about it, she felt there was an opportunity to exploit.

"I'm not sure if it will succeed, but I have a few prerequisites."

Mr. Du said, "Go ahead."

"First, I need a separate room. You cannot monitor or investigate me in any way. Second, all information related to this matter must be told to Police Officer Lin, down to the smallest detail. Third, don't ask me how I know. Just do as I say."

Mr. Du agreed without the slightest hesitation. "Agreed."

"Take me to a separate room."

"Alright."

Tong Yang was taken to a separate room, with only Chu Shiyu left to look after her.

"Tong Yang, what are you planning to do?" Chu Shiyu asked.

"Have a chat with people from the future."

Tong Yang called Police Officer Lin.

"Tong Yang? Are you alright?"

"Police Officer Lin, will you change your phone number?"

"Why are you suddenly asking that? Why would I change my number for no reason?" Police Officer Lin asked, puzzled.

Tong Yang said, "Two years from now, I'll have a friend contact you. Please tell her the locations where the defective product was found."

"What? What are you talking about?"

Tong Yang sighed. "I will contact your future self to resolve this matter."

"However, the butterfly effect is a terrifying thing. Please don't reveal too much to us about other future events. Thank you."

Police Officer Lin said gravely, "Tong Yang, are you serious?"

"I am utterly serious. In October 2026, I will have a friend contact you. Please believe her."

Police Officer Lin paused for a few seconds. "Since you can contact people in the future, why not try contacting yourself?"

Tong Yang said, "There are too many variables with me."

Besides, she hadn't existed in the original future.

Police Officer Lin pondered and said, "Can you give me your friend's phone number in advance?"

"Okay."

Tong Yang copied Hu Er Gou's phone number from the gossip group and sent it to Police Officer Lin.

Police Officer Lin said, "I've saved your friend's number. If I don't receive her call in October 2026, I'll call her myself."

"Okay."

After hanging up, Tong Yang entered the gossip group chat.

Studying Is for Making Money: [@Hu Er Gou I've already sent your phone number to her]

[I got it!]

[Ahhhh I'm so excited!]

[Video call! I want to commemorate this thrilling moment!]

Hu Er Gou initiated a group video call. Tong Yang and the other group members joined one after another.

Chu Shiyu sat beside her, looking at the blank screen of Tong Yang's phone, somewhat confused, but didn't ask anything.

"I'll connect on my computer and call Police Officer Lin right away!"

"Sis Tong, how are you? You look really pale."

Tong Yang said, "I've been poisoned."

"Ah???"

"Poisoned? What happened?"

"I'll explain later. Call Police Officer Lin first."

"Okay, I'm calling right now!"

The vine-like pattern on Tong Yang's right hand had already spread to her wrist. More distressing than the speed of its spread was the complete loss of strength in her entire arm; she couldn't even lift it. She didn't know if it was due to the virus's influence, but she felt utterly weak, dizzy, and muddle-headed.

On the screen, Hu Er'gou dialed Police Officer Lin's number.

The call went through, a few rings sounded, but it went to voicemail without being answered.

"Why isn't she picking up?" Hu Er'gou muttered.

"Call again," Tong Yang said.

Hu Er'gou put the phone on speaker and dialed once more.

The second call also went unanswered.

Immediately followed by a third, still with no answer.

"Tong-jie, no one's answering."

"What should we do?"

"Can we call someone else?"

Tong Yang's heart felt heavy. Was this approach not working?

If they called someone else...

"Tong-jie, she's calling back!" Hu Er'gou exclaimed in surprise, holding up the phone to show the incoming call on the screen.

"Hurry up and answer it, before she hangs up!"

"Quick, quick, quick!"

"A conversation across time! Even though only we can hear Tong-jie's voice!"

"Hello, is this Police Officer Lin?" Hu Er'gou answered the phone and asked.

"Hello."

The familiar voice came through the screen, causing Tong Yang to momentarily lose her focus.

After two years, Police Officer Lin's voice sounded very calm, slightly different from how she sounded in 2024.

"You're Tong Yang's friend, right?" Police Officer Lin asked.

"Yes, I'm Tong Yang's friend. She can hear our conversation right now."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line before the voice spoke again. "Is that so."

"Can I say a few words to her?"

Hu Er'gou said, "Due to certain reasons, you can't hear what she says. So, whatever you want to say to her, just say it. I'll relay her words for you."

Police Officer Lin didn't ask further and simply replied, "Okay."

"Tong Yang, on November 30th, 2024, at 9:44 AM, we discovered a defective product in the old city district of Yao City. It was your junior high school homeroom teacher, Pan Yu."

Tong Yang, holding a pen in her left hand, wrote down the information on paper. "What else?"

Hu Er'gou asked, "Police Officer Lin, what else?"

"Within less than five minutes, a defective product also appeared in a coastal city."

"What were the specific locations?"

Hu Er'gou repeated her words: "Police Officer Lin, what were the specific locations?"

"Teacher's Dormitory of Yao City Old District Third Middle School, and No. 132, Gravel Road, Second Ring Road, Hai City."

"Any more?"

"Police Officer Lin, any more?"

Police Officer Lin let out a bitter laugh. "There are many more. It's happening almost every day."

"Tong Yang, we still haven't been able to develop an antidote."

Tong Yang pressed her lips together. "Then tell me the locations where defective products were discovered after that."

Hu Er'gou repeated her words.

Police Officer Lin sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you."

"Tong Yang, I remember you said not to tell you things unrelated to you. However, I think you need to know this. The you in 2026 has betrayed the real world."

Tong Yang was stunned, murmuring, "What?"

"Tong-jie betrayed the real world? How is that possible!"

"Why would that happen? There's no news about it online at all..."

"No way? Tong-jie has done so much for the real world; she couldn't possibly betray it!"

"Everyone, don't panic. The future is constantly changing. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding."

"Tong Yang, I don't know if you have some unspeakable hardship. We never got another chance to meet. If you are still in 2024 right now, make a good choice and change all of this."

"The real world won't be able to hold on for many more years."

Tong Yang clenched the pen in her hand and said firmly, "Tell her to give me all the times and locations where defective products appeared."

Hu Er'gou stammered, "Okay, okay..."

Tong-jie betrayed the real world? How could that be!

Tong Yang wasn't left-handed, but her left-handed writing was still legible. In a short while, the paper was densely covered with information. Besides the defective product discovered tomorrow at 9:44 AM in Yao City's old district, there were also locations where defective products were discovered later on, happening all over the world.

After finishing one sheet, Tong Yang handed it to Chu Shiyu, instructing her to give it to Mr. Du so they could prepare in advance.

By the time Chu Shiyu returned to the room, Tong Yang had already fallen asleep with her head on the desk.

"Tong Yang?"

Chu Shiyu walked over to her and, seeing her pale face and closed eyes, couldn't help but frown. She quickly called the others in.

A moment later, they handed all the information Tong Yang had written down to Mr. Du and settled her onto the bed.

Tang Shuyan rolled up her sleeve, placed his fingers on her wrist to check her pulse, and frowned. "Insufficient cardiac blood supply. She's fainted. Let her rest properly."

Looking at Tong Yang lying on the bed, her face even paler than Ye Huai's, everyone's expressions were complex.

"Her condition isn't optimistic. I'm afraid she won't last three days. It would be better to administer the high-quality genetic serum sooner rather than later," Tang Shuyan said with a sigh.

"The boss doesn't want that stuff injected."

Chu Shiyu hesitated. "Maybe Tong Yang's emotional state isn't great? Just now, she seemed to learn something, and her face turned very grim."

Ye Huai stood by the bed, looking at Tong Yang with her eyes closed, frowning slightly as if deep in thought.

"The likelihood of developing an antidote for the defective product virus in a short time is very small. Tong Yang and the others won't last that long."

"Would the parallel world have it?"

Ye Huai nodded. "The parallel world definitely would. If we could obtain the virus antidote, we could not only save them but also analyze its components."

Xu Junyue abruptly stood up. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go now!"

"Anyway, Tong Yang has already compiled the information. There shouldn't be a problem. We'll just go to the parallel world and steal the antidote!"

Chu Shiyu said, "Then let's go."

"I have no objections," Tang Shuyan shrugged.

"Contact the 749 Bureau enforcement officers. They've been to the areas where the upper echelons of the parallel world live," Ye Huai said.

"I'll go with you."

Tong Yang, lying on the bed, slowly opened her eyes. They were clear and alert, as if she had a precise understanding of her own body's condition.

"Tong Yang, in this state, you should rest properly," Chu Shiyu said disapprovingly.

Tong Yang sat up. "My body is fine. Insufficient cardiac blood supply just means I need more exercise."

Tang Shuyan said with a faint, wry smile, "Exercise accelerates blood circulation, allowing the virus to invade your internal organs faster?"

Tong Yang pushed back the covers. "I don't want to lie here. I want to wipe out all those things. If it comes to it, bring the genetic serum. Inject me with it when I can't hold on any longer."

"Alright then, let's go!" Xu Junyue said eagerly.

"No." Ye Huai's tone was uncharacteristically firm. "Even if we bring the genetic serum, you still cannot go to the parallel world."

Tong Yang pressed her lips into a tight line, saying nothing.

She knew perfectly well she couldn't go. She was just extremely frustrated.

Those idiotic things actually developed such a disgusting virus, even more repulsive than their very existence.

In her current physical state, forget entering the parallel world, she probably couldn't even walk more than a few steps.

Yet she knew that by 2026, they still hadn't managed to develop an antidote. How could someone already poisoned wait that long?

Knowing this, Tong Yang had absolutely no desire to inject that damned gene serum.

"You don't need to go to the parallel world either; those 'Spider' people will naturally go looking," Tong Yang said, her expression having returned to calm as she leaned against the headboard.

Xu Junyue blinked. "Boss, so you were just venting earlier?"

Tong Yang shot her a look. "Can't I?"

"I've never seen it before. I thought you were the type who could stay perfectly composed even if Mount Tai collapsed before your eyes."

Tong Yang pressed her lips together, saying nothing.

The current situation was more irritating than Mount Tai collapsing.

There was no way an ordinary method could develop the gene serum within two years. And in the end, she had even betrayed the real world? It was utterly inconceivable.

Tong Yang couldn't think of anything that could become a reason for her to betray the real world.

Forget it, thinking about this was useless. She felt she wouldn't do it, so she definitely wouldn't.

If that situation really did occur, there must have been a justifiable reason.

"Have they set off?" Tong Yang asked.

"Yes, Mr. Du has already rushed ahead."

"That's good."

Tong Yang asked them to bring her phone over.

She had passed out directly during the video call with the gossip group members.

Her left hand could still move. She scrolled through the group messages; they were asking about her condition.

Tong Yang replied with "I'm fine" and exited the group chat.

Immediately after, she dialed that old fox, Wu Pingxue.

"Miss Tong."

"You know how to develop an antidote for the defective virus, right?" Tong Yang spoke rapidly.

Wu Pingxue chuckled. "Naturally, I do."

Tong Yang cursed inwardly. This old fox indeed knew.

"What are your conditions?"

He hadn't mentioned it all this time, naturally because Tong Yang hadn't met his conditions.

Wu Pingxue said, "Miss Tong, don't be impatient."

"It's understandable you're feeling irritable now. The defective virus affects one's emotions."

"Cut the nonsense. I'm like this normally too."

Wu Pingxue's tone remained unhurried: "Miss Tong, rest assured. As a partner, I naturally wouldn't abandon you."

"So, there are no conditions?"

"There are still conditions."

"Speak."

Wu Pingxue said, "After this matter is concluded, I hope you will suspend your studies and work by my side until our cooperation ends."

Tong Yang narrowed her eyes, not refusing outright. "Why?"

"Simply put, I need you to work for me, to gain experience along the way, before confronting the parallel world."

"You think I can learn things from you?"

"Perhaps you can learn a great deal."

Tong Yang couldn't help but frown. "What exactly are you trying to do?"

Wu Pingxue laughed. "Don't you already know? I want to completely destroy the parallel world's social system."

"Me working by your side is a necessary condition?"

"Correct."

"Why didn't you say so from the beginning?"

"If I had told you from the start, would you have agreed?"

Tong Yang was blunt. "No."

"I thought as much."

Wu Pingxue continued, "You still have time to consider. I'll wait for your answer."

Tong Yang paused, then asked, "Is there a salary?"

"Naturally."

"I'll tell you after I've thought it over."

With that, she hung up the phone.

"Dr. Wu wants you to work by his side?" Chu Shiyu asked.

Tong Yang said, "Yes. He definitely has ulterior motives."

"What do you think?" Ye Huai asked.

"He knows how to develop the virus antidote. I have no choice," Tong Yang said calmly, having clearly made her decision in an instant. "Besides, judging by his tone, he seems confident he can resolve this matter."

This old fox was hiding a lot of things, and she wanted to dig them out too.

"What about school?"

Tong Yang said, "I won't neglect my studies. I can keep up without attending lectures. I'll just go back to take the exams when the time comes."

Tong Yang paused. Police Officer Lin and the people from Department 749 didn't know she had a cooperation with Dr. Wu. Could this be the reason why Police Officer Lin in the future felt she had betrayed the real world?

It was a plausible enough reason.

Having made her decision, Tong Yang didn't waste any more time and called Wu Pingxue back.

"You've decided?"

"Yes."

Wu Pingxue said, "Good. Come over. I have a few doses of the antidote on hand."

Tong Yang made an audacious demand. "I want all of them."

Wu Pingxue laughed. "No problem."

"Roughly how long does it take to recover after using the antidote?"

"About two hours."

"Fine. I'll come find you."

"Same place as this morning."

"Okay."