Chapter 16 – What exactly happened ten years ago?

The patrol car door swung open with a loud bang.

“Researcher Ying, wake up, we’ve already arriv—” Su Fengzhou’s words came to an abrupt halt as he leaned in and peeked inside. “What’s going on? Had a nightmare?”

Ying Xize remained in the posture of having suddenly sat up, his eyes locked directly with the man’s gaze.

Yet at that very moment, his expression was clearly unfocused. His lips were slightly parted, shoulders rising and falling gently with each breath. At his already pale temples, faint traces of sweat still lingered.

As the car door opened, the overhead light also automatically turned on.

Shining down from above, it only made Ying Xize’s face appear even more sickly white.

But in just a brief moment, he seemed to come back to himself through Su Fengzhou’s words.

He lowered his eyelids slightly and withdrew his gaze, only then realizing there was a jacket covering him. “…Yours?”

Su Fengzhou could tell that Ying Xize’s state just now was definitely off. Rather than saying he had a bad dream, judging by the reaction, it clearly looked more like he was trapped in a nightmare.

He raised an eyebrow and responded nonchalantly, “Escorting delicate and frail research experts like you back—if I didn’t take good care of you and you caught a cold, that’s a charge I couldn’t afford.”

Ying Xize did not respond.

He got out of the car, originally intending to return the jacket in his hand to Su Fengzhou, but as he lowered his gaze for a glance, his eyes paused.

Seeing that Ying Xize suddenly seemed stuck, Su Fengzhou leaned over in confusion for a look, only to find that whatever Ying Xize had dreamed of during the ride, he had truly broken out in a cold sweat, so much so that even the edge of the jacket covering him was faintly damp.

This made him glance again at the man’s somewhat bloodless lips and offer a random line of comfort. “It’s fine, I’m not a clean freak.”

Ying Xize did not accept his kindness: “I am.”

Su Fengzhou: “……”

Ying Xize happened to see Xiang Jiayan quickly walking up and casually tossed the jacket into his assistant’s hands.

The words were directed at Su Fengzhou. “Thanks for today. I’ll return the jacket after washing it.”

Su Fengzhou had originally reached out to take it, but paused for a moment before withdrawing his hand. “No need to thank me too much, just treat me to a meal when you’re free.”

Ying Xize had already walked off with Xiang Jiayan.

At this time, all the squads that carried out the training mission today had already returned.

The open area that was previously packed with people was now completely empty.

Xiang Jiayan had somehow ended up with a jacket of Su Fengzhou’s in his hands, and it wasn’t convenient to ask too much. He followed Ying Xize all the way back to the room before speaking in concern, “You’re not in a good state. Did something bad happen?”

“Nothing.”

Ying Xize clearly didn’t want to elaborate on the details. He glanced at the time, which was already approaching midnight, hesitated slightly, but ultimately still opened his laptop.

After a while, as the video call connected, Ji Song’s figure appeared on the screen.

The failure of the A25-series weapons had indeed brought great pressure to the Research Department. From the brightly lit background, it was clear that this elderly scientific expert was still working diligently at his post.

Ji Song was clearly paying close attention to the situation at Chen Mountain Cave. The moment he saw Ying Xize’s poor complexion, his brows furrowed deeply. “You already started the training mission today? Why are you contacting me at this hour? Did you discover something new?”

Ying Xize said nothing.

He took the syringe from his pocket and placed it in front of the camera.

Ji Song clearly didn’t react at first, but after just a moment of confusion, his expression instantly turned grim.

Then he leaned his whole body forward, seemingly trying to get a clearer look that way.

“This is… the syringe from back then? Where did you find it? No, wait… Do you see him today? He gave this to you?”

At this moment, Ying Xize had already regained complete composure and answered methodically, “He gave it to me. But I didn’t see him, only went to a place under his guidance.”

“So it really was with him all along… No wonder we never found it at the on-site back then, he had been hiding it this whole time.”

“It’s not a provocation.” Ying Xize slowly closed his eyes, but the curve of his lips lacked warmth. “He just wants to declare a sovereignty that doesn’t exist.”

The one who dragged him into the abyss was him.

The one who intended to make him completely fall was also him.

No matter how carefully he moved step by step, the only thing he missed was Ying Xize.

It seemed like the same road, but everyone made different choices.

It was destined that they would part ways sooner or later.

When he opened his eyes again, Ying Xize’s smile toward Ji Song had slightly returned the warmth that all humans possess. “Teacher, I’ll have Assistant Xiang send this to you tomorrow.”

　　-

“Ugh, no, boss, why are you messing around in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?”

Today, it was Shen Wenyan’s turn for duty. He had planned to play some mobile games and wait for the shift change on this relatively calm night, but as soon as Su Fengzhou came out of the cave, he called him over, leaving him completely confused. “What’s going on? Did you break up? What do you need, brother? A comfort or a hug?”

“Idiot!” Su Fengzhou picked up the notebook on the table and threw it into Shen Wenyan’s arms, trying to recall the serial number. “SE77780, check which batch of medical injection syringes this is from.”

Shen Wenyan was used to fighting alongside Su Fengzhou through tough times, complaining verbally but instinctively following the orders with his body.

He almost reflexively powered on the device, and only after the interface loaded did he remember to ask, “Medical injection syringes? Why are you suddenly looking into this? Did you actually find something new on this trip, and now you and Researcher Ying have developed such a good relationship that you’re helping each other with work?”

“It has nothing to do with him, I’m checking it myself.”

Su Fengzhou didn’t know why, but from time to time, the image of Ying Xize’s pale face kept appearing in his mind.

Don’t be fooled by his tall, slender figure; when picked up horizontally, he felt so light it was almost absurd. If it weren’t for knowing from the start that he was a pampered research expert, Su Fengzhou would seriously suspect that he had been abused into malnutrition.

Although there was no evidence, intuition told Su Fengzhou that Ying Xize’s abnormal reaction today was likely related to the syringe in his pocket. Moreover, the traces left on it, no matter how you looked at them, seemed to resemble dried alien blood.

Without saying more to Shen Wenyan, Su Fengzhou simultaneously turned on the desktop computer on the table, logged into the internal information system, and entered Ying Xize’s name in the search bar.

Soon, a series of internal files, which he had already gone through countless times before, popped up.

Su Fengzhou quickly clicked on the relevant information from the Central Research Department.

He began to look at it.

“Found it!” Half an hour later, Shen Wenyan handed the notebook back to Su Fengzhou, saying, “Boss, this should be the batch of medical syringes you were looking for. It’s from ten years ago.””

At this point, he clicked his tongue softly, “Coincidentally, this batch was sent to the Central Research Department. And, after the major research accident that year, syringes of the same model were never produced again. All the research institutes nationwide switched to using the current, commonly used latest model.”

“Ten years ago, the research institute, the research accident…”

Su Fengzhou’s gaze lingered on the computer screen as his fingertip gently rubbed the corner of his lips. Suddenly, he thought of something and quickly clicked the mouse.

The photo of the main project leader from that year appeared on the computer screen.

A young and beautiful woman.

With careful observation of her sharp and capable features, one could see a familiar shadow.

Feng Yao, the first lead research expert of the Central Research Department, was also Ying Xize’s mother, clearly recorded in his relationship data.

She was confirmed to have perished in the research accident ten years ago.

Why did the batch of syringes from ten years ago suddenly appear in Ying Xize’s hands? If it is indeed the same batch sent to the research institute back then, why would it be tainted with alien blood? If Ying Xize’s abnormal state today is truly because of this syringe, is there a connection to the research accident from ten years ago?

All the invisible threads seemed to point neatly and uniformly toward one place, but the intricate connections still left a sense of confusion.

So, what exactly happened at the Central Research Department ten years ago?

“Boss… Boss?”

Su Fengzhou snapped back to his senses at Shen Wenyan’s voice. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn’t realized he was holding his head with both hands. He lifted his gaze. “What’s the matter?”

“If you’re really curious about the research accident from back then, you can call Rong Yun and the others to help look into it,” Shen Wenyan said cautiously, observing Su Fengzhou’s expression. He tentatively added, “It’s getting late, and you’ve finally adjusted your condition after getting some good sleep these past few days. Don’t ruin all your progress. I feel like you’re getting a bit too excited right now. How about calling it a day and getting some rest?”

Su Fengzhou furrowed his brows. “Where do you see that I’m excited?”

Shen Wenyan looked at the faintly reddened corners of Su Fengzhou’s eyes and weakly pointed to the side. “Aren’t you… excited?”

Su Fengzhou furrowed his brows and followed Shen Wenyan’s gesture. All the words he wanted to rebut got stuck in his throat.

The black wolf, which had somehow appeared, was sitting properly by the wall. After meeting Su Fengzhou’s gaze, it howled at its owner with a ‘woo,’ its tail wagging joyfully behind it.

Su Fengzhou: “….”

In situations where a Sentinel’s emotions fluctuate too much, it is indeed possible for them to lose control of their spiritual form.

But in this non-combat, ordinary situation, the fact that he couldn’t control his spiritual form and let it escape from the spiritual realm was something that had never happened before.

But this doesn’t make sense.

How is it that the state he’s been steadily adjusting to every day is actually making his mental state more unstable?