Chapter 12 – “It’s forcing me to come out.”

Ji Song’s arrival brought a completely new look to the Ning City Research Department.

To many researchers, Ji Song’s presence was almost akin to that of a supreme deity, and many among the younger generation had only decided to dedicate themselves to scientific research after being inspired by his deeds.

That day, what should have been a proper welcoming ceremony briefly turned into a large-scale idol and fan meeting.

Throughout the entire process of Ji Song coming and going, Ying Xize accompanied him almost the whole time, which naturally reminded their colleagues of the rumors that had circulated back when Ying Xize first joined the Research Department.

After all, Ying Xize had been placed into a major position at a very young age, directly becoming the youngest researcher in the Ning City Research Department. They could still vaguely recall the gossip that had spread in private back then. It was said that this young Researcher Ying had a powerful figure backing him, someone who bypassed the leadership of the provincial research institutes to secure his post, leaving the higher-ups unable to utter even a single word of refusal.

Although all the rumors had long since vanished after Ying Xize proved his capabilities, recalling them again in this moment, everyone suddenly realized the truth.

So all of it was true after all?

And the so-called powerful figure backing Ying Xize was Ji Song?!

Chen Sining, the leader of Team E, stood nearby holding a thermos. Hearing the increasingly ridiculous speculation among the team members, he finally couldn’t hold back. “Hey, hey, hey, don’t go guessing too wildly! How could Ying Xize possibly be Director Ji’s illegitimate son? We’re all intellectuals here. Even if we gossip, we should at least respect basic age logic, right?”

“That’s true, Director Ji is old enough to be Researcher Ying’s grandfather.” Intern Wen Ren scratched his head and looked over at their team leader. “Team Leader Chen, hearing you say that… do you know something?”

All the surrounding gazes turned toward him simultaneously, causing Chen Sining to pause his drinking motion abruptly. He nearly choked on his water.

Facing the curious eyes of the team members, he gave a soft cough and said, “It’s not something that can’t be talked about. It’s just that back then, Researcher Ying didn’t seem to want to bring it up, so I kept quiet. Let’s put it this way, the reason Director Ji took Researcher Ying in was mainly because of his mother. Ms. Feng was originally a key member of the Lanjing research team, but unfortunately, she died in a research accident more than ten years ago. At that time, although Researcher Ying was still young, he was already a widely known genius. Director Ji probably wanted to protect such talent, and along with his sorrow for Ms. Feng, his proud student, he brought him under his wing.”

“Ms. Feng…” Yu Qingyi’s tone gradually turned to shock. “Could it be Ms. Feng Yao?”

Chen Sining smiled, which was taken as confirmation.

The surroundings fell silent all at once.

The name Feng Yao was one that most people in the scientific research circle had heard of.

It was this great woman who, together with Director Ji Song, proposed the concept of weapons against aliens, providing a very clear direction for the research and development that followed.

Unfortunately, just as the final research results were about to be completed, a serious experimental incident occurred, and she died in the accident.

Later on, the researchers continued their research based on the materials she had left behind, and gradually achieved the brilliant results they have today.

No one could have imagined that the relative of the person they had long admired had been right by their side all along!

Seeing that the whole group was visibly agitated, Chen Sining’s mouth twitched hard. “Just keep it to yourselves. Don’t go spreading this around. You don’t need me to remind you what kind of temper Researcher Ying has, right?”

Everyone nodded repeatedly and, in perfect sync, made a zipping-their-lips gesture. “Don’t worry, Team Leader, we know how to handle it!”

　　-

Ying Xize had never intended to deliberately conceal his background, or rather, he had never cared about these trivial matters at all.

Now that Ji Song had come to Ning City, the relationship between him and his mother was bound to be brought up sooner or later.

As the ‘incident escape’ in the Delong Business District was properly handled, the tentacle samples mentioned by Ji Song were also delivered to the isolation storage room in the experimental building for preservation.

From then on, Ying Xize almost lived in the laboratory alongside Ji Song. His main task was to conduct activity analysis and processing on these new samples.

Since it was inconvenient to involve more people, all the subsequent related work was carried out personally by the two of them.

There were too many variables in high-density alienized cell masses, which required a series of complex and highly branched formula calculations, and considering Ji Song’s declining physical strength due to old age, Ying Xize took the initiative to handle the majority of the work to speed things up.

He had been eating and sleeping in the laboratory for several days straight. If it had been anyone else, they likely would have already been overwhelmed and exhausted, but from the moment Ying Xize stepped through the door to the moment he left, even the rhythm of his steady pace had not changed in the slightest.

Ji Song heard the noise in the early morning of the fifth day after entering the labortary. During this period, he was only able to nap for about two hours a day, which was still a lot more rest than what Ying Xize got, but for an elderly person, such a schedule was indeed far from ideal.

In contrast to Ying Xize’s calm and composed appearance, Ji Song already had clear dark circles under his eyes. But when he saw the tranquil look on Ying Xize’s face, he immediately understood, and his spirit jolted awake. “Are the results out?”

Ying Xize nodded and handed over the data report in his hand.

Seeing Ji Song’s expression grow increasingly grim as he flipped through the report, he directly stated the final conclusion, “Compared to three years ago, its cell activity has increased by 300%.”

Others might not grasp the significance of that number, but Ji Song understood it perfectly.

When he reached the final column of the report, his hands, which had remained steady through years of operating precision experimental equipment, inevitably began to tremble. “It’s evolving too fast.”

“Three full years, it didn’t hide for nothing.” Ying Xize glanced down at the time. “I’ve already cleaned up the lab, and all the remaining samples have been disinfected. I should go get some sleep. Teacher, you should return to your residence and rest, too.”

Compared to Ji Song’s tense attitude, Ying Xize’s reaction from start to finish remained calm, as if he had simply completed a routine experiment.

He slowly removed his protective gloves, revealing fingers that appeared somewhat pale under the dim light. Just as he was about to turn around, he heard Ji Song speak, “Xize.”

Ying Xize turned back and gave him an inquiring look.

Ji Song simply stared at him. In his usually composed and resolute eyes, there surged emotions that Ying Xize couldn’t make sense of.

It seemed like it took him a long time to find the words, and then he asked softly, “Will you always stand on the side of humans?”

Ying Xize frowned slightly.

To be honest, he had never seriously considered this question, and before now, it had never even occurred to him that he would need to.

Things too far in the future were always full of variables.

The pause lasted only a moment. Ying Xize gave a faint smile to his respected teacher.

“Probably, I guess.”

　　-

When Ying Xize arrived at the staff break room of the Research Department, the sky outside had only begun to brighten.

But that didn’t stop him from falling asleep the moment he lay down.

Back in the Delong Business District, when he forcibly used his spiritual power to knock Su Fengzhou unconscious, the lingering sensation of that moment remained vivid.

For a Guide, forcefully invading the spiritual realm of a Sentinel was indeed not a good thing.

In addition, after several nearly sleepless days, Ying Xize felt a deep, bone-level exhaustion once he finally emerged from the tense experimental state.

After thinking about it, if Su Fengzhou hadn’t chased him that day, he might have been able to get rid of that alien, but he probably wouldn’t have done it as cleanly. In the end, there was still a high chance the wound would have been infected through contact.

In that situation, when he comes back, he will have to go through the process of ‘devouring’ again.

Quantitative change leads to qualitative change.

Ying Xize wasn’t quite sure how far he could go, but he definitely didn’t enjoy pain, and he didn’t like the tough process of ‘devouring’.

It seemed he ought to thank this persistent leader of the Seventh Squad.

So, as a gesture of repayment, he chose to give the other a long, peaceful sleep.

One couldn’t help but sigh. Given how often Su Fengzhou had stayed up all night, the fact that he hadn’t dropped dead from overwork was, in a way, a remarkable accomplishment in the human medicinal field.

The moment his head touched the pillow, Ying Xize, half-asleep, thought this rather carelessly.

It was a good sleep.

Of course, if the abrupt ringing hadn’t sounded, Ying Xize probably could have slept a little longer.

When Xiang Jiayan knocked on the door and walked in, Ying Xize was already fully dressed, neat and proper. “What’s going on?”

“We received a video from Chen Mountain Cave, and the director asked us to gather and watch it.”

Ying Xize looked up. “A video?”

Xiang Jiayan hesitated, then said after a brief pause, “You’ll understand once you go take a look.”

When Ying Xize arrived, all the staff members of the Research Department on duty that day had already gathered in the conference room.

Ji Song had clearly just been woken up as well. Several consecutive days of high-intensity work made the elderly man appear as though he had aged more than ten years in an instant.

The expressions of everyone on the scene were extremely solemn.

Once nearly all the staff had arrived, the door of the conference room quietly closed.

The staff member in charge of the projection gave the director a questioning look, and only after receiving a nod did he begin playing the video footage that had newly arrived a few minutes earlier.

As soon as the video began, a shocking scene of a bloody mouth devouring an entire human head immediately triggered a wave of exclamations.

Then the view suddenly enlarged, and one could feel the person filming was fleeing in a desperate sprint.

Strange sounds echoed all around, to the point that it became impossible to distinguish whether it was the howling wind or the snarling roars of a monster.

Throughout the entire recording, the clearest and most constant sound was the chewing that surrounded everything.

Crack—! Crack—!

It was like chewing on soft, cooked cartilage, but this time, there was an extra bit of surprising crunch.

As for the greatest pleasure this process brought to those monsters, it undoubtedly came from the dying struggle that only living beings could offer.

Crack—! Crack—!

It was a sound full of despair, like a signal creeping up from the depths of hell.

Every sound was like a cold hammer pounding against the hearts of everyone in the conference room.

Amid the constantly shaking footage, they could only barely make out a few human-shaped figures being torn apart bit by bit in the distance.

Even though it was through the lens of a distant camera, everyone still felt as if a thick, nauseating stench of blood was filling their nostrils.

The videographer’s voice came through in broken fragments.

“R… Report to headquarters, S0012 Squad… has been completely wiped out…”

“Coordinates at Chen Mountain Cave 411, 9968… I repeat, S0012 Squad has been completely wiped out…”

“Cause of failure… A25 series weapons… damage… failed…”

The final word was swallowed up by a sharp, piercing scream.

With a sudden jolt, the entire video feed went completely dark.

The last shot everyone saw was the face of a monster, bristling with hideous fangs.

Inside the soft flesh, everything was wet and sticky with blood flowing from people.

All humans were their prizes from the battle.

Even after the video ended, the entire on-site scene remained immersed in a deathly silence.

A25 was the highest-precision Type A weapon developed through the combined efforts of research institutes across various regions. It had only been officially deployed in combat against cave creatures for barely three years.

But now, they were being told that the weapon’s damage was ineffective.

This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to all the scientific researchers.

The director of the Ning City Research Department naturally understood the feelings of his comrades.

He first looked toward Ji Song for confirmation, and after receiving his response, he placed the microphone in front of himself. “Everyone has seen the specific situation. It’s fair to say it’s quite severe.”

“I’ve just contacted the Outpost Division at Chen Mountain Cave. They’re hoping we can arrange support as soon as possible to better carry out sample collection, so that we can immediately engage in the development of new weapons.”

“Time is short, and the mission is critical. We will proceed with a voluntary sign-up system. After the meeting, anyone interested in going to Chen Mountain Cave may register with Researcher Zhang.”

“I repeat, this task is undoubtedly very dangerous. Please consider it carefully.”

The meeting had ended, yet no one in the room moved for a long time.

The footage in the video had been far too shocking.

When confronted directly, it was strong enough to break the last barrier in the fragile human mind.

And even so, within half an hour, volunteers still began to show up one after another in the office.

Most of these were veteran researchers who had worked in the Research Department for over a decade. Having long devoted themselves to their scientific careers without starting families, they could be considered unburdened.

Even if they were to die in this operation, they wouldn’t leave behind too many attachments.

Ji Song stood at the doorway, saluting every volunteer who came in.

His back, which had been a little bent, straightened up when he saw Ying Xize appear in front of him.

Ji Song’s breath caught slightly. He reached out, grabbed Ying Xize, and pulled him out into the corridor.

He stared intently at the young man he had supported all along the way. His brows were tightly furrowed. “What are you going to Chen Mountain Cave for?”

“Teacher, can’t you see it yet?”

Ying Xize calmly met Ji Song’s eyes, the corner of his lips curling into a cold and distant arc. “It’s forcing me to come out.”

Amid the shocking footage earlier, he had sharply caught sight of the writhing soft flesh on the monsters’ bodies.

The tentacles writhing to regenerate at the monsters’ wounds were undoubtedly a clear signal, as if they couldn’t wait to coil around him and drag him down into the abyss.

Zero already possessed an exceptionally strong regenerative ability, and now its cell activity had increased by 300%.

Although no one knew exactly what it wanted to do, with it pulling strings from behind the scenes, the failure of the A25-series weapons no longer came as a surprise.

“Three years.”

Ying Xize lowered his gaze. “Since it’s not afraid of death, it’s time for us to meet.”