124 The Mystery of the End Times Part 1
Qian Ge gritted his teeth, staring at Cheng Tianbi without saying a word.
Cheng Tianbi had not even moved his hand when a gust of wind swept by, slicing the other half of his intact wing.
Qian Ge winced in pain, “Don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me!”
“Answer the question.”
“I amā¦ I am from the Erjiangmen of Jiujian Prefecture. Our boss sent me here.”
Cheng Tianbi coldly said, “This is your last chance. If you don’t tell the truth, I will kill you.” Having experienced torture himself and inflicting it on others, as long as the other person had not received similar training or was particularly skilled in lying and deception, he could usually tell when someone was lying under torture. Although he wasn’t as precise as Zhuang Yao, who could even detect the slightest movement of the opponent’s hair, he was more than capable of dealing with ordinary people.
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The group then turned their gaze to the seafood store owner, Mr. Sun. He looked terrified, “I don’t know anything.”
Cheng Tianbi said coldly, “You know him. Who is he?”
“He is from the Erjiangmen of Jiujian Prefecture.”
“Are you sure?”
Mr. Sun nodded desperately, “Yes, I’m sure. Everyone on this street knows him. The Erjiangmen is responsible for logistics in Jiujian Prefecture, and Qian Ge always handled the purchasing here.”
Xiao Wang added, “I’ve heard of it too. The Erjiangmen is indeed in charge of all the logistical matters for Jiujian Prefecture, similar to the administrative department of a company. Their combat strength is the weakest. Why would they send people from the Erjiangmen to capture someone?”
Others were also puzzled. What was going on here?
Could the people from Jiujian Prefecture be so foolish as to believe that with just a few people, they could snatch someone from a naturally evolved individual with enhanced abilities?
At this moment, Xiao Wang made a serious call, his expression stern, informing the other party that they were under attack and requesting personnel from the Academy of Science to come and pick them up.
After hanging up the phone, Xiao Wang said, “This morning, when I was about to take you all out, I specifically consulted Professor Cong about whether we should bring bodyguards. Professor Cong thought that since Cheng Tianbi is with us, and we are still within the city, we wouldn’t need bodyguards. But now, it seems we must have them.”
Cong Xia smiled wryly, “I really didn’t expect trouble to find us on the first day out. It seems they must have been tailing us for quite some time.”
“Most likely.”
Cheng Tianbi asked, “Xiao Wang, is there something here that can shield the energy fluctuations of mutants?”
Xiao Wang nodded, “Yes, there is. It’s been widely available for a long time, and it’s not expensive.”
Cong Xia said, “Indeed, after arriving in Beijing, we noticed that many mutants we encountered couldn’t sense energy fluctuations. What is that thing? Let’s get a set for ourselves.”
“It’s a metal patch that you stick on your body, and that’s it. I don’t understand the principle, but when we get back to the Academy of Science, I’ll have Professor Cong prepare a set for you.”
After a few minutes, a solar-powered police car arrived. It had a pickup truck-like appearance, and several officers in police uniforms got off and surrounded the seafood store, clearing the bodies and questioning witnesses.
After another ten minutes, the guards who were supposed to pick them up arrived in their vehicle, a solar-electric hybrid with more horsepower. They still bought the fish from Mr. Sun and attached the trailer to the back of their vehicle before heading off to the pet salon.
When they returned to the pet salon, it was already afternoon. Abu finally lifted its head, but it looked listless and refused to move. With its bald body and a dejected expression, it looked pitiful.
Zhuang Yao said, “Abu will wait until it’s dark before we leave.”
Cong Xia was surprised, “Why?”
“Of course, it’s because Abu doesn’t want to be seen,” LiĆŗ FÄngyĒ sympathetically patted Abu, “I understand you. If I had a bad haircut, I wouldn’t let anyone see me either.”
Abu smelled the fish and looked longingly at the guard’s vehicle.
Cong Xia smiled and pointed to the large fish, “Abu, do you want to eat fish? If you do, let’s go home.”
Abu meowed, seeming hesitant.
Zhuang Yao said, “Let him eat here.”
Aqing crouched down, holding his chin, and said, “Guests, if you eat here, you’ll dirty my place, and there will be a smell. I’ll have to charge extra, say 200.”
Xiao Wang widened his eyes, “We’re just borrowing your place to eat a fish…”
Aqing rolled his eyes and stood up, “Don’t I still need to use water, electricity, and labor to clean up?”
Cong Xia said, “It’s okay, we’ll pay.”
Aqing smiled, “I have a super-large pot. Do you want to rent it? It’s only 20, and the boning knife is just 5.”
Cong Xia chuckled, “Sure, we’ll take both.”
Xiao Wang said, “You don’t need to spend this unnecessary money.”
Cong Xia smiled and remained silent.
As energy, which served as equivalent currency, was the one thing they had in abundance, he could now circulate the Five Elements energy internally. Although he didn’t know how much the military paid for energy, for them, directly absorbing it from the puppet jade and converting it was as easy as taking candy from a baby. So, this new form of currency was as cheap to them as paper.
To comfort Abu, they all worked together to prepare the fish on the spot. Most of it was sliced into sashimi, some was grilled, and a portion was stewed into soup. Abu perked up once it got to eat the fish, no longer holding its head down but standing up again.
While Abu focused on the fish, they weren’t idle either. They set up a hotpot with fish meat on the side, and Aqing brought some of the salon staff to join in their impromptu picnic. They even provided some ingredients for free.
The group, along with the cat, enjoyed a feast at the open washing square of the pet beauty salon.
At times, they felt nostalgic for the days when they camped in the wilderness, sitting around a campfire, enjoying hotpot. Now that their basic needs were satisfied, it made them feel somewhat unreal.
As the evening approached, they ate and chatted about life in Beijing, gaining new knowledge along the way. Far away, two owls stood side by side on a rooftop, tilting their necks 90 degrees, their amber eyes fixedly staring at them.
After a while, one of them spoke, “Are they eating hotpot?”
“Of course, it’s hotpot.”
“Do they even have the leisure to enjoy hotpot?”
“How should I know? Why don’t you go and ask them.”
“Don’t be joking around. Didn’t you see how terrifying Cheng Tianbi is? He didn’t even move his fingers, but cut the person. If I were to approach them, I’d end up as their hotpot ingredients.”
“Since we’ve been following them since they left, I’ve noticed at least three waves of people tracking them. They’re either careless or new here, not understanding anything.”
“I think the most likely reason is that they still don’t know this place. Besides, everyone is tracking them from a distance of two to three hundred meters. No one can detect that.”
“This job is really tiring.”
“Stop complaining. We can only return to report after they return to the Academy of Science.”
After it got dark, there were fewer people on the street. Abu had eaten and drunk its fill, and its mood had calmed down somewhat. Finally, it was willing to follow them back to the Academy of Science.
Xiao Wang arranged for Abu to stay in an antique-style pavilion at the Academy of Science. The pavilion was spacious and relatively high, and they laid down some cotton, making it a comfortable nest for Abu.
After settling Abu, the group headed towards Zone Three.
On the way, Cheng Tianbi communicated with Zhuang Yao about what happened today, while the others walked behind.
Cong Xia was also deep in thought, pondering what questions to ask his second uncle when they met. Suddenly, an arm draped over his shoulder.
Startled, Cong Xia turned his head to find Liu Fengyu’s handsome face right before his eyes, wearing a teasing smile. Cong Xia realized that somehow, they had fallen to the back of the group.
Cong Xia asked, “Fengyu ge, what’s up?”
Liu Fengyu smirked, lowering his voice and leaning closer to his ear, “Did you two sleep together last night?”
Cong Xia blushed, feeling a bit guilty as he glanced at the people walking in front.
Liu Fengyu shook Cong Xia’s shoulder and winked at him, “Why are you pretending with me? You didn’t waste my efforts, did you?”
Cong Xia thought about last night’s events, feeling more excited than nervous. For a nearly twenty-seven-year-old virgin, yesterday should be a day worth celebrating. He managed to hold back his laughter and made a victorious scissor gesture towards Liu Fengyu.
Liu Fengyu burst into laughter suddenly and patted his back hard, “Well done, Xia. Congratulations.”
The sudden burst of laughter startled the others, and they turned their heads. Liu Fengyu said, “What are you all looking at? Keep walking.”
Cheng Tianbi cast a deep gaze at Cong Xia, his profound eyes reminding Cong Xia of the intense emotions he saw in Cheng Tianbi’s eyes while he was immersed in desire last night. That gaze made him feel dry-mouthed and his heart raced slightly.
Liu Fengyu whistled cheerfully, seemingly in a good mood. Xiao Wang led them to a cafƩ in Zone Three, where they were to wait for Cong Zhenzhong.
After a while, Cong Zhenzhong arrived with a young man. The man had fair skin and rosy lips, his facial features incredibly delicate. He was as beautiful as a classical beauty who stepped out of a painting. He wore a green military uniform, with a white lab coat on top, but despite his good looks, he exuded a cold, robotic vibe.
Cong Zhenzhong introduced, “This is Colonel Tang Tingzhi, the head of Zone Six at the National Academy of Sciences.”
Everyone had heard of him. Tang Tingzhi was another evolved brain user, responsible for the dragonblood human experiments before the apocalypse. Like Cong Zhenzhong and Zhuang Yao, he was originally a world-renowned scientist.
Tang Tingzhi seemed to have no intention of speaking, but just scrutinized each one of them carefully, making them feel uneasy.
Cong Zhenzhong seemed used to it and said, “Follow us, let’s have a good chat.” He paused and then turned to Cong Xia, “Xia, can you trust your friends? Are they reliable?” Evidently, Cong Zhenzhong wasn’t very trusting of the other three besides Cong Xia, Cheng Tianbi, and Zhuang Yao.
Cong Xia said, “Uncle, they are all trustworthy, and they know that I need to share a big secret with you. I think they should be involved.”
Cong Zhenzhong nodded, “Then let’s all come.”
Suddenly, Tang Tingzhi stepped forward and stood in front of Zhuang Yao, “Zhuang Yao, hello.”
Zhuang Yao looked up at him, “Colonel, it’s been a long time.”
“Four years, three months, and seven days. When you invited me to participate in the B26 experiment, you promised to pay me 41 days’ worth of salary, but you left without fulfilling it. You owe me a total of 26,850 yuan, which, converted to the new RMB, comes to 167 yuan. Please give it to me.”
Zhuang Yao blinked, and the others remained silent.
Tang Tingzhi continued with the same emotionless tone as a robot, “I got married, and my partner is a big spender.”
Cong Zhenzhong sighed, “Colonel, he will pay.”
Zhuang Yao grumbled, “I’ll give it to you in a moment, in cash.”
Tang Tingzhi nodded and stepped aside.
Liu Fengyu muttered disappointedly, “Married? That’s the type I like.”
Tang Yanqiu looked at him in surprise.
Liu Fengyu glanced at him, “What’s with the surprise? There’s nothing to be amazed about. My charm transcends gender.”
Tang Yanqiu turned his face away, his expression somewhat stiff.
Liu Fengyu grinned playfully, “Don’t fall in love with me, okay?”
Tang Yanqiu whispered, “Stop fooling around; let’s focus on business now.”
Liu Fengyu’s face carried a hint of an ambiguous smile.
They followed Cong Zhenzhong into a massive laboratory. The lab extensively used toughened glass, with glass curtain walls and glass floors, making the entire three floors look transparent, evoking a sense of futuristic fantasy. Dozens of researchers were busy inside.
Cong Zhenzhong introduced, “This is a comprehensive laboratory, mainly studying species evolution and Cambrian energy. It’s a shared facility for all six zones.”
“Cambrian energy?”
“Yes, the energy released after earthquakes, distinct from the Five Elements energy, also known as the energy released by puppet jades.”
Zhuang Yao nodded, “We call it attributeless or non-attributed energy.”
“The term ‘non-attributed energy’ is also accurate. Compared to the Five Elements energy that constitutes all things in the world, Cambrian energy has no place on Earth. This energy completely disrupts the ecological balance, leading to rapid species evolution at a rate at least a million times faster than that of the Cambrian period.”
Cong Zhenzhong said, “This way.”
They arrived outside a spherical laboratory. The lab used a special glass that made it impossible to see inside from the outside. Just by looking at the diameter of the sphere, they could imagine how vast the space inside was.
Cong Zhenzhong and Tang Tingzhi simultaneously performed iris scans on a black LCD panel. The door to the spherical laboratory opened, and they entered one by one before the door closed behind them.
*************
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