Chapter 70

They rested at the underground base until dark, and everyone had a satisfying sleep.

When Shan Ming woke up, he found House interrogating Kafar. Kafar had a dejected look, completely devoid of the arrogance and authority he had shown the day before. Tang Tingzhi stood beside them, deep in thought, listening attentively.

Shan Ming walked over and glanced at House. “I have a few questions for him.”

House nodded.

Shan Ming crouched down, locked eyes with Kafar, and asked, “Do you know where Nessis is?”

Kafar paused for a moment, shook his head, and as if afraid that Shan Ming wouldn’t believe him, he said, “If I knew, I would definitely tell you. We’re sworn enemies. The situation was too chaotic back then, I have no idea where he went. However, many people entered the Western Sahara region, to seek refuge from the Independence camp.”

“Why did you seek refuge from them instead of the government?”

“The government’s methods of handling things have many limitations that we cannot predict or control. For example, what many of us fear the most is the government using official channels to send us back to our country. If that happens, the media will expose us extensively, and both my family and I will be finished. That’s why we are paying to mitigate the risks, hoping to find a way back to our country from Western Sahara. Nessis is a prominent figure in Morocco, and he cannot afford the consequences of being exposed. So I believe he has also entered Western Sahara, but I don’t know exactly where.”

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Fbyd Ykdt pyo vbyv bl zssjle iwkvl bsdlpv, pllkdt ds pktdp sq elnlrvksd. Tl dseele yrrashkdtzu yde nsdvkdwle bkp iwlpvksdkdt, “Ebyv ycswv vbyv Nyoaldnl Sseeu?”

Iyqya’p lmralppksd vwadle ekpeykdqwz. “Sseeu kp dsvbkdt xsal vbyd y ryod. Llppkp xydkrwzyvle bkx yde xyel y zsv sq xsdlu sqq bkx. Mbl Sseeu qyxkzu’p bkla kp ycswv vs cl elnkele, cwv dscseu byp bktb bsrlp qsa Nyoaldnl. Tkp casvbla, Wyckyd Sseeu, kp vbl sdl nyryczl sq nsdvaszzkdt vbl ldvkal qyxkzu. Fs yqvla xyjkdt y qsavwdl sqq Nyoaldnl, Llppkp oyp nsdpkelakdt ycydesdkdt bkx. Ekvb vbkp wdlmrlnvle vwad sq lhldvp, R esd’v jdso obyv qyvl yoykvp Sseeu. Tl nswze cl okvb Llppkp, sa bl xktbv’hl clld jkzzle clnywpl bl’p dso ellxle wplzlpp.”

Fbyd Ykdt dseele yde vwadle vs Tswpl. “R byhl ds xsal iwlpvksdp, cwv R oswze zkjl vs jdso vbl swvnsxl sq uswa kdvlaastyvksd.”

Tswpl aykple yd lulcaso yde pyke, “Ebu pbswze ol vlzz usw?”

Gv vbyv xsxldv, Fbld Ubydtgl oyzjle shla. Mbkp pvwddkdt, qkqvlld-ulya-sze uswvb lxydyvle yd yol-kdprkakdt ralpldnl, “Jlnywpl bl’p xu qyvbla?”

Tswpl pbssj bkp blye yde zlv swv y pktb, “Fbyd, usw’al ps kdnalekczu zwnju vbyv R ldhu usw. Mbl nbydnlp sq qkdekdt…,” bl alxlxclale vbyv Iyqya oyp ralpldv yde nbydtle bkp osaekdt, “qkdekdt bkx kd vbl qsalpv kp yp zkjlzu yp pvwxczkdt wrsd vbl Xdl Skdt¹ulr, zsae sq vbl akdt alqlaldnl sd vbl pvallvp. Jsvb sdl-sq-y-jkde, kxxldplzu rsolaqwz, yde…”

“Gde sclu vblka xypvla’p lhlau nsxxyde,” Mydt Mkdtgbk yeele, tkhkdt Fbld Ubydtgl y xlydkdtqwz tzydnl.

Mbl qyvbla yde psd ryka olal wdyqqlnvle cu vblka pyanypvkn alxyajp. Fbyd Ykdt vssj rakel kd byhkdt pwnb y qsaxkeyczl psd, “Xchkswpzu, obu lzpl oswze R aykpl bkx?”

Shen Changze pulled Shan Ming to sit down and stated matter-of-factly, “You guys ask, we’ll listen.”

Tang Tingzhi said, “So you’ve decided to help me?”

Shen Changze shook his head. “I’ll decide after hearing the details,” he said as he proceeded to remove the splint from Shan Ming’s arm and began massaging it with the medication. The swelling had subsided, making the arm look less terrifying than before.

House paid no further attention to them and began bombarding Kafar with a series of questions. From their conversation, Shan Ming could gather that the incident was related to a certain “academic exchange” between China and the United States, and undoubtedly, the exchange involved something related to Dragon Blood. However, an accident occurred during the experiment, resulting in the laboratory being destroyed and a young Chinese scientist going missing. The priceless 10 milliliters of “experimental substance” vanished without a trace.

As Shan Ming listened, a thought crossed his mind. If they were so tense over just 10 milliliters of Dragon Blood, then wouldn’t capturing Shen Changze and extracting his blood be just like pouring gold into an iron furnace?

This incident took place last year, and both countries have been investigating it. As the leak occurred in the United States, the two countries have been blaming each other for the 10 milliliters of Dragon Blood. China claimed that the poor security measures in the US are to blame and hold them fully responsible, while the US suspects China of being untrustworthy and harboring ulterior motives. They have been engaged in verbal wars for over a year. It was only at the beginning of this year that they received information indicating that the fighters in the underground Moroccan arena known as “Cloud Summit” exhibited similar behavioral characteristics to the subjects who had been exposed to Dragon Blood extract. As a result, they deployed various resources and traced their way here.

As the information was initially obtained by the United States, they chose not to notify China in order to maximize their control over the experimental substance. They took action on their own without informing China, and it was only recently that China received the news and started deploying personnel and resources. Tang Tingzhi and his group managed to arrive before that, although it constituted a serious violation of discipline. Nevertheless, it could be seen as a commendable contribution.

House then proceeded to interrogate Kafar about the source of the drug he obtained. Kafar confessed to a black market intermediary. At that time, the drug was in high demand on the black market, with a price of fifty thousand dollars per milliliter. Even though it was so expensive, they still flocked to it because injecting this drug gave them an edge in competition, enabling them to earn tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Tang Tingzhi said quietly, “Fifty thousand dollars for one milliliter of the extract, and ten milliliters of pure Dragon Blood… It could yield… How much money must he have made… Why would he need so much money?”

House sneered coldly, “You Chinese people have done quite a number of things.”

Tang Tingzhi didn’t pay attention to House’s provocation. “If he needs that much money, he must have a purpose.”

House clenched his fist. “We’ll find out once we capture him.”

Shen Changze asked Tang Tingzhi, “Do you know that person?”

Tang Tingzhi replied nonchalantly, “From a genetic standpoint, he is my younger brother.”

Single Ming frowned and said, “What do you mean? Are you a robot?” He had long suspected that Tang Tingzhi, with his lack of human emotions, was not a normal human being.

Tang Tingzhi spoke as if he were discussing someone else’s affairs, casually saying, “It’s not that complicated. I’m a normal person. Just part of a Genius Project, which you should have heard of. They extract the highest recorded IQ from the national reserve gene pool and use it to conceive children through artificial insemination. When they discovered my IQ reached 220 at the age of four, they deemed the method successful, and that’s how Tang Jingzhi came to be. Currently… besides him, I probably have around three other siblings. They’ve likely conceived many more, but typically only about one-eighth of them inherit the genius-level IQ from their parents. Perhaps there will be more in the future, but so far only Tang Jingzhi and I have ventured into the field of biology.”

Shen Changze narrowed his eyes and coldly said, “Do you always engage in these experiments that violate human ethics?”

House responded, “You’re falsely accusing him of this. A nation, in its pursuit of development and strength, can engage in many clandestine activities. The Genius Project was proposed since the time of Hitler. If he hadn’t been defeated, Germany today might have had a significant number of products from this project, making substantial contributions to the nation’s future. Many countries are emulating this approach to ensure they have sufficient talent to support national development.”

Shen Changze looked quite disdained, perhaps because he himself was a coveted subject of experimentation.

Shan Ming asked, “Since he’s your younger brother, have you not noticed any suspicious intentions from him in your daily interactions?”

Tang Tingzhi shook his head and replied calmly, “We have little interaction outside of work. He has always harbored a dislike for me since childhood. He’s competitive and finds joy in achieving better research results than me. Therefore, I never know what he’s thinking.”

Shan Ming snorted coldly and said, “This, I can imagine. With your robotic appearance, anyone would dislike being around you.”

Tang Tingzhi nodded and said quietly, “Is that so…”

House was going to continue interrogating Kafar, but at that moment, Ayer walked over and asked, “What are you guys talking about?”

Shan Ming turned around and replied, “They’re interrogating him about the leak.”

Ayer frowned and asked, “Then what are you doing here? You’re already familiar enough to listen to his national secrets?”

Shan Ming replied, “Course not. I was just inquiring about Nessis and Roddy, but it seems he doesn’t know either.”

Ayer glanced at him skeptically and pulled him up, saying, “Pack your things, we should head back to Cloud Summit.”

The group made their way back to Cloud Summit following the same route. After crossing the security line between the Moroccan government and Western Sahara, there was still an eight to nine-hour drive remaining to reach Cloud Summit. House separated from them, taking Kafar with him. They didn’t plan to return to the United States immediately and decided to stay here to continue the investigation. However, there was no longer a need to travel with the Peregrine Falcons.

Tang Tingzhi wanted to join House in the investigation, but House didn’t want him. So, Tang Tingzhi decided to accompany the Peregrine Falcons instead. Ayer felt that Tang Tingzhi no longer had much value and wasn’t sure about him following them. Furthermore, Ayer didn’t know what thoughts lay beneath Tang Tingzhi’s expressionless face. He wanted to drive him away. However, Tang Tingzhi naturally got into the car and sat beside Hawk, inspecting his wound. Through silent actions, he declined Ayer’s dismissal.

Tiger Shark said, “Let him come along, at least take him back to Cloud Summit. Just treat it as a gesture of gratitude for saving Hawk.”

Ayer whispered, “I always feel like he has some ulterior motive for getting close to us. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“Then you keep an eye on him,” Tiger Shark said, pushing Ayer into the car Tang Tingzhi was in.

Ayer sat next to Tang Tingzhi, squinting his eyes as he stared at him, hoping to catch a glimpse of any conspiracy on his face. However, that face remained remarkably calm, so calm that it made Ayer feel drowsy just by looking at it.

With everyone each in their own thoughts, they returned to Cloud Summit.

They had thought that the mission was successfully completed and the journey would come to an end. However, upon returning to Cloud Summit, they discovered that Jobb and Pelle were missing.