Chapter 39 Part 2

The Fan parents were asked to wait elsewhere. Lin Juan, Zhuang Yufeng, and Zhu Yueming entered the ward together.

Zhu Yueming stood by the bed and activated his supernatural ability.

His pupils turned pale purple, his hair drifting without wind. Half a minute later, the purple faded from his eyes.

Fan Xiwen was in a coma, so the memory read went smoothly.

“I saw two fragments.”

In the first fragment, on a pitch-black night, Fan Xiwen walked alone through the woods and encountered a lost man. She gave him directions, only to suddenly pass out.

The man carried the unconscious girl behind a large tree, pulled a box from his pocket, took something out, and fed it into the girl’s mouth.

The second fragment was at the hospital.

The girl with the bulging belly came to the hospital accompanied by her family. A doctor wearing a mask personally received her and pushed her into the operating room. That doctor’s eyebrows and eyes matched those of the lost man exactly!

“Although he wore a mask, I’m certain the two men’s eyebrows and eyes were the same. They’re very likely the same person.”

“So Miss Fan wasn’t actually assaulted. She was just knocked out with drugs and fed something unknown, and her belly swelled up?” Lin Juan pondered. “What was cut out of her?”

“There were no wounds on Miss Fan’s abdomen.” The full-body examination, including the abdominal ultrasound, left Zhuang Yufeng completely certain—Fan Xiwen bore no surgical scars.

What exactly had been inside Fan Xiwen’s belly?

Who was that man?

Was he the same person from Qiu Lishu’s memories?

Zhu Yueming returned to the Anomalous Affairs Bureau and used the 【Eye of Recollection】 to review Qiu Lishu’s memories. His conclusion: the two women had seen the same man.

That meant someone had targeted the mountain village where Fan Xiwen and Qiu Lishu lived from the very start. The quota substitution incident had likely been orchestrated behind the scenes all along.

But what was their goal?

One question after another swirled through everyone’s minds, like a tangled ball of yarn with no loose end to grab.

They lacked a breakthrough.

Soon, the investigators brought back a new clue. Deep in the mountains, they had discovered an abandoned laboratory.

The laboratory lay in ruins, abandoned for over a decade. All materials inside had been removed, leaving only immovable equipment behind.

Records from the past fifty years turned up nothing related to the lab.

This meant its existence had never been reported. The laboratory had been built illegally.

The higher-ups dispatched personnel immediately.

Lin Juan learned the news from Director Liu.

“We suspect this laboratory is connected to weird phenomena. Even in its abandoned state, traces of pollution lingered inside after entry.”

From the moment the laboratory was discovered, the Anomalous Affairs Bureau sent teams to test pollution values among the villagers living nearby.

Over a dozen years had passed. The mountains’ young people had all left for work elsewhere, leaving behind only elderly folks and babbling toddlers.

Every one of them carried pollution traces, the result of long-term exposure.

Zhuang Yufeng was dispatched for support.

On the third day after the main force arrived, they suddenly lost all contact.

Director Liu’s expression turned grave. “Big Mouth Mountain is now under level one alert.”

Lin Juan borrowed the 【Eye of Recollection】 from the Anomalous Affairs Bureau that same day. He learned the news from Director Liu’s mouth.

“The situation at Big Mouth Mountain isn’t looking good. We’ve sent three squads, and they’ve all gone dark. Mr. Lin, I’d like to ask you to step in and head there yourself.”

“Sure. When do we leave?” Lin Juan had always gotten along well with the Anomalous Affairs Bureau. Strictly speaking, the Big Mouth Mountain matter involved him too, so he agreed without hesitation.

“Six o’clock tomorrow morning.”

Uncertain how long the trip would last, Lin Juan returned home afterward and simply packed a few changes of clothes.

“Xiao Juan’s heading out?” Lu Yanzhou came back from outside and saw Lin Juan packing his luggage. His heart sank slightly.

“Yeah, I’m going to Big Mouth Mountain.” Lin Juan realized he hadn’t mentioned it to Lu Yanzhou yet and explained, “Something came up over there. Director Liu asked me to help out.”

“How long?” Lu Yanzhou walked over to assist.

“Not sure. Depends on when it’s resolved.” With nothing to hide from Lu Yanzhou, Lin Juan shared everything he knew.

Three elite squads—including the Vanguard Squad led by Sheng Tianzong—had all vanished. The risk was clearly high. Lu Yanzhou worried, but he had no grounds to tell Lin Juan not to go.

He had no standing.

Irritation stirred in Lu Yanzhou’s heart.

His marriage to Lin Juan was an unusual one. It had been a hasty union performed while he lay comatose, tricking his father into it for good fortune. No proper wedding ceremony. Lin Juan had saved his life. What right did he have to demand Lin Juan bend to his wishes?

Even if he had the right, he didn’t want to use it.

Lin Juan was destined to be an eagle soaring high. As long as he didn’t fly beyond sight, that was enough.

Lu Yanzhou wouldn’t try to turn an eagle into a caged bird.

That would be harm, not love.

Lu Yanzhou fell silent for a long time. Lin Juan zipped up his suitcase, walked up to him, and tilted his head slightly. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Worried about me?”

Lu Yanzhou lowered his gaze and met Lin Juan’s earnest eyes.

Lin Juan’s eyes were beautiful. The outer corners tilted up slightly, carrying a hint of smile even when he wasn’t grinning. His long lashes curled like fluttering butterflies.

When he looked at someone intently, it held a unique depth of affection.

They stood very close—so close that Lu Yanzhou had the fleeting illusion a slight dip of his head would let him kiss those beautiful eyes.

Lu Yanzhou’s breath caught.

“Yeah.” His voice came out husky, indescribably so. “Be careful.”

“No need to worry about me.” Lin Juan clapped his shoulder like a bro. “Don’t you know my strength? Anything weird that faces me ends up the one getting hurt.”

To make sure he could rise early, Lin Juan shut off his phone ahead of time and lay down.

Accustomed to late nights, he couldn’t drift off so soon.

After his third roll-over, a low male voice sounded by his ear. “Can’t sleep?”

“A little.” Lin Juan glanced at the time—10:23. “Forget it. I’ll scroll a bit more.”

If he couldn’t sleep anyway, might as well browse his phone.

Lu Yanzhou leaned against the headboard, handling Foundation business. The foundation, established in cooperation with the nation, was the first charitable fund under Lin Juan’s name. Lu Yanzhou took it to heart and managed it in his spare time.

Lin Juan scooted closer for a look, then felt his eyes glaze over from the dense text.

“Does Xiao Juan have a good name in mind?” Lu Yanzhou asked suddenly.

“Hm?” Lin Juan blinked, confused. “What name?”

“For the foundation.”

Lin Juan shook his head. “Nah. You pick one. You’re the one putting in all the work.”

“No rush. Xiao Juan can think on it slowly.”

They chatted for a while, and before he knew it, Lin Juan fell asleep.

The next morning, Lin Juan boarded the charter flight to Big Mouth Mountain.

After uncovering that Qiu Lishu and her son had caused Lu Yanzhou’s coma, Lin Juan stopped shadowing him to and from work like before. With the immediate threats neutralized, no one else could easily strike at Lu Yanzhou.

Three hours later, the plane touched down.

With three squads lost in succession, the arriving ability users didn’t charge in recklessly. They waited on the outskirts.

Lin Juan had gotten the full briefing en route. After landing, he gazed out at the endless mountain range. Stirred by the sight, he suddenly recalled the days living in the mountains with his master.

“Mr. Lin.” An ability user approached with climbing gear.

Lin Juan took it.

A familiar face was among the group: Su Xingchen, the mission leader this time.

At high noon under the blazing sun, they entered the mountains.

The abandoned laboratory lay carved into the mountainside, covering a vast area. The closer they drew, the higher the pollution readings climbed on the detector.

The path felt unnaturally quiet.

“Something’s wrong here,” Lin Juan said. “Mountains are never this silent. You always hear insects chirping or birds calling, but we’ve hiked this far without a single sound.”

The only noise was their footsteps.

A little farther on, a white building came into view.

At first, it appeared dilapidated and mottled. But the nearer they got, the newer it looked. By the time they reached the entrance, a massive, fully operational laboratory stood before them.

Lin Juan exchanged a glance with Su Xingchen. No warnings needed—everyone knew the situation was off.

“Clothes…”

They had all worn standard combat uniforms when entering the mountains. Now, every outfit had changed, Lin Juan’s included.

The white lab coats stood out glaringly, yet blended perfectly into the massive facility.

An illusion?

“Xiao Lin, there’s an issue with the data from this experiment. Come check it out.”

The sudden voice snapped Lin Juan back. He scanned his surroundings. The ability users who had entered with him were gone. He no longer stood outside the lab—he was inside.

Mirror-polished floors gleamed. Walls of unknown material reflected the lights. The space was completely sealed…

“Xiao Lin!”

The reprimanding shout drew Lin Juan’s instinctive gaze.

It was an elderly woman in a white lab coat, notebook and pen in hand, glaring at him displeased.

“Coming.” Unsure of the situation, Lin Juan chose to play along and observe.

“Sister Zhang, I told you—this kid’s got a pretty face but he’s the biggest slacker. Don’t let him fool you.”

A voice dripping malice rang out. Lin Juan turned toward it.

A young man with his face covered in freckles. Malice gleamed openly in his eyes.

Lin Juan looked away, uninterested.

So she was Sister Zhang, the one who’d called him.

He strode over. “Sister Zhang.”

She thrust the notebook at him. “You’ve been handling Experimental Subject D-03. D-03 failed and got scrapped. Go log data on B-114.”

Lin Juan took the notebook silently and surveyed the area.

Transparent glass tanks lined the space—some nearly as tall as a room, others just arm-length. Each held bizarre, malformed creatures.

Suddenly, Lin Juan’s gaze sharpened. A familiar eyeball caught his eye.

The tank was labeled B-023.

Lin Juan committed the designation to memory.

He approached the B-114 tank—a man-high transparent container. Inside coiled a massive snake as thick as a barrel, its body riddled with tumors on the verge of sloughing off.

Outside.

Two hours after Lin Juan and the others entered, their signals cut out again.

No contact possible.

Director Liu’s brows furrowed deeply upon hearing the news.

This shouldn’t have happened. With Mr. Lin there, they couldn’t have vanished without a peep.

“Hold position outside. Keep watch and report anything immediately.”

“Yes!”

Lin Juan settled into the role of lab recorder.

Luckily, his position was low-level. He just trailed Sister Zhang to log data and feed specimens—no real risk of blowing his cover.

No outside communication worked here.

Lin Juan tried multiple times. Messages looped endlessly before popping up with a glaring exclamation mark.

Pointless. Lin Juan stopped wasting effort and pondered his predicament.

Days dragged on, and even Lin Juan began feeling restless.

He couldn’t stay trapped forever.

He had to find the flaw and shatter this illusion.

Yes—Lin Juan had confirmed it. He was trapped in an illusion. Only there would wrecked objects snap back to pristine like a system patching a glitch, leaving no trace.

After mapping the massive laboratory, Lin Juan resolved to search for the other ability users at night.

Deep into the night, he slipped out of his dorm.

Exploiting glitches, he evaded patrols and headed for his target.

He was in Experiment Zone One. He’d visited Zones Two and Three with Sister Zhang during the day—no sign of ability users. That left Four and Five.

Lin Juan opted for Experiment Zone Four first.

Zone Four lay farthest west. Lin Juan deftly dodged security patrols, sneaking his way there.

Unlike Zones One through Three, Zone Four was much smaller, with fewer tanks. Each was roughly coffin-sized, standing upright.

Lin Juan stopped before one.

Inside floated a creature with a humanoid upper body and fish tail below—a human-fish monster.

Up close, the suture scars across its waist and abdomen stood out clearly.

A man-made monstrosity!

Lin Juan leaned in closer. Suddenly, he sensed something and looked up.

The human-fish monster’s sealed eyes snapped open. A greedy, salivating gaze fixed on him without restraint.