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"This can hardly be considered a rumor anymore. Privately informing Wu Jiqing that Su Weishang was lingering near the 80th district dam the night before the enemy attack and engaging in some strange behavior—we weren't wrong about that." Jing Xia shrugged helplessly and continued, "He was indeed searching for something near the dam the entire night before."
With a crisp "click," Qi Yang shut the heavy, sturdy door of the safe. The thick, pungent smell of blood in the room immediately lessened, allowing Jing Xia to catch his breath.
Qi Yang's fingers tapped lightly on the metal safe, producing a rhythmic sound. "It's just a pity that the people I sent to monitor him never discovered what he was looking for. I have a hunch that if we could figure it out, we might gain more insight into his personal dimensional space."
Jing Xia's expression froze for a moment before he masked it with a faint smile. "What kind of hunch is that? A woman's sixth sense?"
Directly sensing the unusually teasing tone in the young man's words, Qi Yang immediately felt something was off.
Narrowing his sharp eyes, Qi Yang scrutinized Jing Xia for a long while. Before he could speak, Ji Chuancheng suddenly interrupted his thoughts: "Intentionally letting a few evolvers overhear your conversation with Wu Jiqing, while it achieved the desired effect, was still a bit risky."
The sudden flash of insight in his mind was interrupted. Qi Yang turned to Ji Chuancheng and denied, "I don't think it was that risky. At the very least, those evolvers wouldn't reveal the institute, so Su Weishang would never know..."
Seeing Qi Yang's attention diverted, Jing Xia finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He subtly grasped the small, trembling black ball, feeling its fur brush against his palm through a thin layer of fabric. The warm temperature made it impossible for him to associate this little creature with the mutated beasts that slaughtered humans.
Jing Xia slowly lowered his gaze and looked at Ji Chuancheng. The latter was also looking at him with a gentle expression, as if understanding what he wanted to say.
He absolutely could not let Qi Yang know that Chirpy had once swallowed that small green stone, nor could he let Qi Yang know that the reason Su Weishang went to the 80th district to search for something at night was because Chirpy had gone there with him that day and swallowed a pale green gemstone.
Too many clues and pieces of evidence had made it clear to Jing Xia that Chirpy definitely knew about Su Weishang's dimensional space.
Perhaps from the very first time they met Su Weishang, Chirpy had been hinting at it.
Wanting to pounce and scratch, harboring great hostility and deliberately knocking out the green jade hidden on Su Weishang.
These were all hints it had given him, but unfortunately, Jing Xia had never noticed.
The secrets hidden within Chirpy weighed heavily on Jing Xia. He hadn't found the opportunity to explain it to Ji Chuancheng yet, partly because he was afraid of how the others might react.
Ji Chuancheng had always maintained an indifferent attitude towards the small black ball—neither liking nor disliking it. But after all, it was a mutated beast, and one that could have a significant impact on mutation research.
In such a critical matter, Jing Xia couldn't quite gauge Ji Chuancheng's thoughts. He could only secretly resolve: If Ji Chuancheng also insisted on sending Chirpy to the institute for research, then... he would absolutely not allow it to happen.
"The main reason for coming here today was to discuss Su Weishang's actions after leaving the institute. Although he has made some moves in response to this situation, the people I sent out will influence him, so there's no need to worry about the outcome." Qi Yang sneered, "If it weren't for his character flaws, I might even have developed a bit of admiration for someone so cunning. To deceive others to such an extent, I wonder if he's even deceived himself."
Hearing this, Jing Xia asked in surprise, "What did he do?"
"In Number 3 report, it states that during a mission, he deliberately injured himself to gain sympathy from Wu Jiqing and the other team members. Unfortunately, the person I planted in their team privately informed the others that Su Weishang had deliberately exposed a flaw to be attacked by the mutated beasts." As he spoke, Qi Yang sighed with emotion, "To go to such lengths, it's really..."
"Pretty desperate," Jing Xia unconsciously completed his sentence.
"Pfft, exactly. Truly worthy of being Xiao Xiazi's younger brother. If he were a mutated beast, I would definitely make him into a specimen and hang him in front of my bed, then admire him every night before falling asleep." Pausing for a moment, Qi Yang lowered his voice and let out a low chuckle from his throat, "Just like this thing. When the experiment is over, I'll definitely treat it... very well."
"Bang—"
As if something had hit the safe, the black metal box shook violently on the table. Jing Xia's mind suddenly flashed with the image of a wound deep enough to expose bone, rotten and blackened. Just as his heart tightened, he suddenly remembered the three assistants Qi Yang had mentioned who had died.
Lowering his head, he saw a twisted, ugly scar on Qi Yang's right wrist, like a centipede crawling across his skin.
Jing Xia was stunned and instinctively asked, "Is this the scar from when that mutated beast nearly bit off your hand...?"
Hearing this, Qi Yang glanced down at his right hand. His gaze softened as it fell on the unsightly scar, and he gently hummed in affirmation, "Yes, this is it. It almost bit my hand off completely. If it had really been crippled, you wouldn't be seeing this disgusting thing today."
Ji Chuancheng frowned slightly, "Since you already had Qin Chu reattach your hand, why didn't you remove the scar as well?"
Qi Yang shook his hand casually, "Rarely do I encounter something that can make me suffer such a loss. This scar will serve as a warning. After all, I was overconfident, and three innocent people lost their lives because of it. Such things..." His tone gradually grew heavier, "Such things will never happen again."
As if in response to his words, a muffled roar came from the safe, filled with fear and trembling at the end.
The already scarce pity in Jing Xia's heart completely vanished. He sighed softly and decided not to say anything more.
After chatting with Jing Xia and Ji Chuancheng for a while longer, Qi Yang picked up the heavy safe and left. Jing Xia watched his thin back as his brows tightly furrowed and felt heavy-hearted and unsure of what to say.
"Humans and mutated beasts are almost impossible to unify peacefully."
A deep, magnetic voice sounded in Jing Xia's ear. He reflexively turned his head and saw Ji Chuancheng's handsome, profound face but still expressionless while silently watching Qi Yang's retreating figure.
"Even within the mutated beasts, there are inevitable conflicts. It's just that humans are currently their greatest enemy, so they temporarily unite to attack humans together." Pausing for a moment, as if sighing deeply, Ji Chuancheng continued, "Humans are the same."
His voice was extremely soft, but to Jing Xia's ears, it felt like a sudden explosion, completely snapping him out of the confusion and helplessness he had felt over the past few days. After a long while, Jing Xia said, "Ah Chuan, about Chirpy... there's something I've been hiding from you."
"Hmm, I know." The reply came quickly.
Jing Xia was slightly stunned, then he suddenly understood as a helpless smile bloom between his brows, "As expected, I knew I couldn't hide it from you."
"What do you want to do?"
"I want... to protect it. Just like you said, even among humans, there are friends and enemies. I think, even though we're not the same species..." His tone gradually became firm, and his clear, beautiful eyes shone with a dazzling light at this moment, "Chirpy is our friend."
A silent, approving gaze fell on the young man's handsome, delicate face. Ji Chuancheng quietly looked at him without speaking, but the softness in his eyes hinted at his pleased mood.
After a long silence, Ji Chuancheng suddenly spoke, "Let's continue what we were doing earlier."
"!"
...............
Carrying the heavy, nearly 50-pound special metal safe, Qi Yang easily swung the handle and completely ignored the collision sounds coming from inside.
After the apocalypse, even those who hadn't evolved had their physical abilities greatly improved, let alone someone like Qi Yang, who was from the Forbidden Zone troops and inherently a cut above ordinary people.
As if handling a plastic bag, he carried the seemingly extremely heavy box downstairs. Just as he reached a corner, the bright, dazzling sunlight shone through the stairwell window illuminating his face, making his already pale, sickly skin appear almost translucent.
"Bang—"
After a loud collision, even Qi Yang felt his wrist tremble. The black box heavily hit the wall at the corner of the stairs, and a muffled groan came from inside, as if it could no longer endure the immense pain and was beginning to howl.
With a slight smile, Qi Yang simply sat down on the stairs. He placed the black safe on the steps and entered the password to open it.
Suddenly exposed to sunlight, the blood-covered mutated beast immediately struggled to escape, but as soon as it took a step out of the box, it saw that handsome, delicate face.
Who is wearing a pair of reflective silver-rimmed glasses and with a pleased smile on his lips, but anyone could see the hidden killing intent and coldness beneath that smile.
"Did it hurt?"
As if recalling something terrifying, the mutated beast immediately shrank back into the corner of the box while trembling and not daring to make a sound.
Letting out a low sigh through his nose, Qi Yang simply reached in and pulled the mutated beast out. He roughly grabbed its right arm, which had been severed and reattached, causing it to whimper in pain, and held it up in front of him.
"Where does it hurt?"
"Zizi... Zizi zizi zizi..."
As if he could really understand, Qi Yang listened attentively with a smile for a long while.
He reached out to touch the mutated beast's head and the latter immediately shrank back in fear to avoid that slender, pale hand.
His fingers paused awkwardly in the air for a moment before Qi Yang's eyes gradually turned cold. Looking at the thing's trembling and fearful eyes, he snorted, "Sorry, I can't understand you."
As soon as he finished speaking, he roughly threw the mutated beast back into the box.
Its body collided with the box wall, producing a loud crash. The thing grimaced in pain, and the recently healed wound on its chest tore open again before the blood gushed out, but because it was blending into the black box, it was hard to notice.
Qi Yang coldly watched the trembling mutated beast before his gaze finally settling on the bleeding wound on its chest. After a slight hesitation, Qi Yang pursed his thin lips and took out a small white bottle from his pocket then removed the cap before reaching into the box.
"Zizi..."
The mutated beast immediately shrank back in fear, but since it was already pressed against the box wall, it had nowhere to retreat.
Qi Yang snorted with a mocking smile on his lips.
"I wouldn't let you die so easily. Today's cut was indeed a bit deep that it even sliced through your heart, liver, and stomach and it's already a miracle you've survived this long. How could I let you die from blood loss?"
As he spoke, Qi Yang gently shook out some light blue powder and sprinkled it on the wound that exposed the mutated beast's bone.
The mutated beast trembled violently as if convulsing, but it never dared to resist Qi Yang's actions.
The bleeding wound slowly began to heal at an astonishing speed.
Qi Yang put away the small bottle and was slightly stunned by what he saw then deepened the smile on his lips. "Your recovery speed is becoming more and more impressive every day. It seems like you're trying to tell me through your actions—that what I just did was unnecessary?" By the end, his voice was as cold as ice, and the smile on his face completely disappeared.
Seeing Qi Yang's merciless, cold eyes, the thing immediately trembled and began to "zizi zizi zizi" incessantly. That familiar expression and that familiar gaze, all reminded it—
What kind of pain and torment it would have to endure next.
But this time, to its disappointment, Qi Yang only looked at it deeply for a long while, then sneered "I can't understand you" before "bang" shutting the safe door again and picking up the box to continue downstairs.
This sudden "mercy" left the mutated beast in the box stunned for a long while, as if it hadn't expected... this person to let it off so easily.
Whether intentionally or not, Qi Yang gradually reduced the force with which he swung the box, and the occasional collisions no longer posed any threat to the mutated beast with its powerful self-healing abilities.
It curled up on the bottom of the box, softly "zizi" as if trying to say something, but just as the human had said, it was impossible for him to understand.
"Zizi... Zizi zizi zizi..."
"Z... Z... Zizi... Zizi... Zizi .."
The faint sounds were completely muffled by the box's excellent soundproofing.
Qi Yang walked up to a door and began entering the lock code.
"Zizi.... Zizi zizi zizi..."
"Z... Ziya... Zizi... Zizi zizi.."
With a faint click, a bright, glaring light seeped through the small crack and illuminating the inside of the box.
Suddenly trembling, the mutated beast looked up at the gradually opening box door, still "zizizi," but its sounds were drowned out by the noise of the machines in the room.
Due to its numerous wounds, it couldn't make much noise, and even its movements... were extremely difficult.
Seeing that the thing was unusually docile, Qi Yang raised an eyebrow and glanced inside curiously. As he lowered his head, he suddenly saw a black shadow rush towards him. His eyes widened, and his body stiffened.
"Zizizi....zizizi...zizi....zizizizi..."
"Bang—"
The sound of the energy cannon echoed loudly throughout the laboratory and accurately hit the mutated beast's head. Bright red blood instantly splattered onto Qi Yang's face, causing the stiff smile on his lips to gradually brighten.
He glanced at the mutated beast convulsing on the metal bed as if it were nothing, then looked up at the person who had fired the shot and said, "One more centimeter, and that would have hit my head." He seemed to be smiling, but his smile was extremely cold, "It seems that Captain Qin is in the laboratory?"
The assistant who had fired the shot trembled, "Report... report to Major Qi, Captain Qin is not here."
"Oh?" Qi Yang's voice suddenly drew out, and he smiled, "So Qin Chu isn't here?" He then frowned as if in distress, "As an assistant, you have no combat experience, but you should know that when dealing with this thing, you aim for its ugly body, not its disgusting head, right? If that had hit my head, where do you think Captain Qin would have come from to treat me?"
Not receiving an answer, Qi Yang, as expected, raised his eyes and said, "You are only allowed to fire your weapons when it attacks you, not when it escapes the box. Did I give you permission to fire?"
The entire laboratory was extremely quiet, so quiet that the assistant was sweating profusely. He trembled and wanted to speak but found his throat blocked, not daring to say a word.