Chapter 85
Xing Nuo’s light-colored kindergarten uniform was now stained with soot from the explosion, the sleeves torn.
His face was covered in grime, and as his brother carried him, tears streamed down his cheeks, leaving clean streaks against the dirt.
He looked even more comical than a little kitten.
Shen Yan, stifling a laugh, wiped away Xing Nuo’s tears with a tissue, which immediately turned black.
He took Xing Nuo’s hands, which were only making his face dirtier as he rubbed his eyes.
“Stop rubbing. Big Brother will give you a bath later.”
Xing Nuo nodded vigorously, resting his dirty face against his brother’s shoulder, his voice hoarse and teary.
“Xiao Qi okay? And Big Sister…hair burned…”
Shen Yan hummed, glancing at the female player, who was being led away by the manager, his voice calm and reassuring.
“They’re both fine. After your bath and after you’ve eaten, don’t worry about anything else. Big Brother is here.”
Xing Nuo, who believed his brother and dad were the most powerful people in the world, nodded trustingly.
Shen Yan carried the exhausted Xing Nuo to the only office building in the amusement park.
He took the elevator to his office and ran a warm bath for Xing Nuo.
The little one was so dirty that the bathwater immediately turned black.
Xing Nuo, embarrassed, blinked, tilted his head, and giggled, covering his mouth.
Shen Yan gently scratched his nose, a smile playing on his lips.
“Still laughing? Look how dirty you are.”
It took three changes of bathwater before Xing Nuo was finally clean.
A towel wrapped around his wet curls, he swung his little legs, nibbled on a piece of chestnut cake, and was carried by his brother to the adjacent room for a nap.
Having just experienced an explosion, Shen Yan thought the little one wouldn’t be able to sleep, but Xing Nuo was already fast asleep by the time he tucked him into bed.
Shen Yan left a small, warm yellow nightlight on, bent down, and kissed Xing Nuo’s forehead.
“Sleep tight.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, suppressing his affection and pride, and left the room.
The Doctor and the manager entered quietly and reported to Shen Yan.
“Mr. Shen, the black-haired child is badly injured, but his self-healing ability is strong. He’ll survive.”
The manager, not wanting to be outdone by the Doctor, quickly added:
“I took the female player and created an opportunity for her and her teammate to escape. They should have cleared the dungeon by now.”
Shen Yan nodded, his sharp features highlighted by the light, his gray eyes cold.
“I’ll send those three children back to the real world when they wake up.”
The Doctor nodded eagerly, rubbing his hands together, then hesitated and asked:
“Mr. Shen, should I continue researching the potion?”
A potion that could enhance human abilities, making them as strong as monsters.
The Doctor had been working on this potion for the past two years, funded by Shen Yan.
The research was almost complete. All that remained was to eliminate the side effects.
Shen Yan pondered this, twirling his pen, thinking about Xing Nuo’s recent dungeon adventures.
Seeing the little one, covered in soot but still determined, dragging his injured friend from the lab, he had felt a surge of pride.
His little brother, facing countless dungeons and terrifying monsters, had still managed to find him.
Many high-level players might not have been as brave and resourceful.
Shen Yan closed his eyes and put his pen down.
“No. The potion is too dangerous. The side effects are too severe.”
Enhancing human abilities with a potion came at a steep price.
“My little brother is strong enough.”
Six-year-old Xing Nuo’s courage had impressed him.
Perhaps he didn’t need the potion. Perhaps Xing Nuo could become the strongest on his own.
Shen Yan, suppressing his pride, looked at the Doctor.
“How did Xing Nuo end up in your lab?”
The Doctor, swallowing nervously, recounted what had happened—
After Xing Nuo fell asleep, the little bee prop Xin-jie had released started buzzing, indicating an approaching monster.
Lu Qi quickly put away the tent and let Xing Nuo lean against him.
The three of them held their breath, watching as the Doctor, in his white lab coat, walked past the door.
“That a doctor?” Xing Nuo mumbled, peeking through the crack in the door, rubbing his eyes.
Xin-jie, having encountered the mad Doctor in another dungeon before, knowing how dangerous he was, took a step back, her voice low.
“He’s not. He’s a scientist!”
Her face grim, she whispered: “He probably created the potion your friends drank!”
Xing Nuo’s eyes widened, and he clenched his fists, huffing.
“He big bad man!”
Xin-jie pulled the two children away from the door, afraid of being discovered.
They watched as the Doctor walked away, then, just as Xin-jie was about to relax, she saw him looking at them through the window at the end of the hallway.
Xing Nuo’s heart jumped, and he patted his chest.
“Bad man coming!”
The Doctor chuckled, looking at the two human children, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
“What luck! Two new test subjects!”
He needed human children for his new experimental potion, as instructed by Shen Yan.
He grinned sinisterly and entered through the window.
The oppressive aura of a high-level monster made Xin-jie freeze, unable to move.
The Doctor grabbed the two children, dangling them slightly, then, after glancing at Lu Qi, scoffed.
“A fake human. How boring.”
He dropped Lu Qi on the floor and, carrying the struggling Xing Nuo, walked towards the lab.
Lu Qi, losing his last shoe, ran after the Doctor, his eyes fierce, and headbutted him.
Just as they reached the lab entrance, the Doctor, startled by the sudden impact, dropped Xing Nuo.
Xin-jie, who had followed them, caught Xing Nuo and placed him behind her.
“Run!”
The Doctor, enraged by their defiance, grinned sinisterly.
“Since you’re here, you’re not leaving!”
He laughed maniacally and pressed a red button on the wall.
The next moment, Xing Nuo, running, slammed into a cold, silver wall, and Xin-jie fell to the floor.
In that brief moment of disorientation, the concrete floor beneath their feet turned into the lab’s cold, white tiles.
The lab door closed behind them.
Trapped, they ran deeper into the lab, away from the approaching Doctor.
Lu Qi, holding Xing Nuo’s hand tightly, his bare feet pounding against the floor, stumbled and fell.
Xing Nuo also tripped, covering his head.
The Doctor’s angry voice echoed behind them:
“Get back here! Those are my experimental potions! If you damage them, you’ll never leave this place alive!”
Xing Nuo, reaching the inner lab, looked up and saw shelves filled with various chemicals and potions.
Ignoring the Doctor’s threats, they hid behind the equipment.
Xing Nuo touched a metal shelf.
“What’s all this?”
He looked at the test tubes and beakers, his little head filled with questions.
Lu Qi’s eyes, still flickering with blue light, replied:
“Those test tubes…contain potions…to change human bodies.”
Xing Nuo immediately understood.
This was what made Yiyi and the others so strong!
“So many potions…what if Yiyi and the others…dwink more?”
He thought of his friends, who didn’t want to go back to kindergarten with him, and glared at the potions.
“Unless we destroy these potions…your friends…might stay in amusement park forever.”
Xin-jie, panting, looking at the countless potions, shook her head.
This mad scientist was probably conducting some kind of experiment. He wouldn’t let Xing Nuo’s friends go easily.
Xing Nuo gasped softly, his eyes hardening, his fists clenching.
“How we…destroy potions?”
Lu Qi’s ears twitched, and he was about to speak when the Doctor lunged at them.
“Little ones! Don’t run! See these potions? The Doctor can make you stronger!”
Xin-jie’s heart sank. She looked at the wall behind them, their escape route blocked, her eyes filled with despair.
We’ll have to blow up this lab. There’s no other way out.
Lu Qi, seeing Xing Nuo captured again, yelled and headbutted the Doctor.
