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Liu Feibao picked up his cell phone impatiently. Seeing the name of one of his employees made him hesitate.

He knew very well that these employees wouldn’t call him directly unless it was something important.

Moreover, this employee was one of the people he had instructed to investigate the two cars yesterday.

“What’s going on?” Liu Feibao answered the phone and asked bluntly.

“Brother Bao, I’ve heard something. There were two brothers causing trouble for those people earlier today… you know, the ones you told me to check on yesterday, the ones driving those Speedto and Corolla cars. And these two brothers have been telling everyone that they’re doing it to avenge you.”

“What?!” Liu Feibao, suddenly fully awake, sat up from the bed. He couldn’t help but grip his phone tightly, raising his voice, “Which two brothers? Didn’t I tell you not to provoke those people, that it would be better not to find their information than to let them know?”

The employee on the other end whispered, “Brother Bao, it’s not our guys, it’s two kids who used to work at the auto repair shop, from Chongyun Village. They said they knew that those outsiders had wronged you, so they went to mess with those people, to vent for you.”

“I’ll vent your $%@&#!…” Liu Feibao was so angry that he cursed into the phone.

He already had strict instructions from Boss Qi. He was also a bit apprehensive about the origin of the bald guy. Let alone taking revenge or venting, even while seeking information, he had to avoid being discovered. Moreover, he doesn’t have any grievances now.

And those two guys are doing this in his name. If Boss Qi finds out, their cooperation this time would probably be over. Not only that, but he might also have to bear the brunt of Boss Qi’s fury and tactics afterwards.

What worries him more is the mysterious bald man with glasses whose origin he still doesn’t understand.

Yesterday’s fender bender shouldn’t be considered serious. Both cars were minimally damaged, and Liu’s side even compensated between two and three thousand yuan, a sum definitely exceeding the cost of car repairs. The main conflict was probably verbal. Boss Qi made some inappropriate remarks to a girl on the other side, and he himself boasted a bit, but nothing was too harsh, it shouldn’t have led to a grudge.

But if people went to provoke those people in his name today, then it would signify to them that Liu Feibao is a petty and vengeful man who is still dwelling on yesterday’s events and plotting revenge.

What will their reaction be?

For someone whom even Boss Qi fears, someone whose information Qin Dong didn’t dare to reveal, what measures would they take if they decided to deal with him?

Honestly, Liu Feibao was pretty curious.

But he didn’t want to verify it himself at all. He knew his personal capability, courage, wealth, and connections are all several notches below Qi Haoguo’s. If Qi Haoguo was that scared, he would absolutely be worse off.

After cursing for a while, he realized it wasn’t the employee’s fault, so he took a deep breath and asked, “What’s the situation exactly? How much money did they demand? Did they call the police? Were there any physical altercations? Did anyone get hurt?” All he could do now was pray that things hadn’t gotten too serious.

“I’m not quite sure what exactly happened, I didn’t hear of any detailed incident, but it appears no one reported to the police. It was said that the deputy village chief of their village intervened. I knew you instructed yesterday not to provoke these people, so I quickly called you as soon as I heard the news.”

Liu Feibao sighed in relief, “Go find these two brothers and bring them to me. Hmm, take them directly to room 888 of the ‘Lanhuang Shijia’.”

After hanging up, he called his driver and instructed him to come and drive. After chauffeuring Qi Haoguo around Jianzhou City today, he had no wish to get behind the wheel again.

Thinking of the eight-armed statue described by the Master Woodcarver in Jianzhou City and the young man who ran the model studio for Qi Haoguo, Liu Feibao felt a chill in his heart.

The behavior of Qi Haoguo was drastically different from the Boss Qi he used to know. The drastic changes in his behavior and various unusual actions even led Liu to think, “Could Boss Qi have been possessed or had his body taken over?”

After such changes, Qi Haoguo hastily sought someone to make a wooden statue with such a bizarre image, which puzzled and spooked him even more.

He felt that Qi Haoguo’s sudden desire to create this eight-armed wood carving was likely related to yesterday’s experiences.

Usually, when people describe an image they want to create to someone else, they would usually base it on an existing image like from a movie, TV show, or mythical figure.

But Qi Haoguo, from head to toe, described every organ, every part, the condition of the skin, and every detail, as if he had witnessed it with his own eyes.

Witnessed with his own eyes?

This thought made Liu Feibao even more uneasy and frightened.

When brothers Liu Zhengyi and Liu Gaoshang were found by Liu Feibao’s men, they were in Sha County Snack eating dry mixed noodles.

When they heard the tough-looking young man say that “Brother Bao” wanted to see them and would take them to “Lanhuang Shijia,” the two brothers exchanged excited glances and got on the GL8 without any hesitation.

As soon as the two of them sat in the back seat, they saw two equally tough-looking young men get into the car and sit in the third row.

The brothers smiled friendly at them, but received no response, only cold expressions in return.

Liu Gaoshang, the younger brother, whispered nervously, “They don’t seem to be in a good mood.”

His older brother, Liu Zhengyi, brushed it off, whispering back, “Don’t worry, they’re always like this.”

While their morning ploy to swindle Xiang Kun and his crew was viewed as a total failure, downright humiliating even.

When they returned to town, Liu Zhengyi was still boastful to old friends about it, pretending it was a victorious way for them to “help” their boss, Liu Feibao, blow off some steam.

Anyway, the incident took place on a small road in Chongyun Village. Other than the people in the two cars, Liu Caifu was the only person who witnessed it.

Liu Zhengyi and his younger brother never expected their actions would prompt Boss Liu to arrange a meeting with them before dinner time, merely a few hours afterward.

Well, at least they had achieved their initial goal.

About ten minutes later, they arrived at “Lanhuang Shijia”, their car was parked in the underground parking, guided by a muscular young man, the brothers took an elevator straight to the third floor, where they were led to the VIP suite No.888.

Everyone knew that “Lanhuang Shijia” was a nightclub run by Liu Feibao, the best in Tong Shi town. The fact that Boss Liu wanted to meet here demonstrated his positive regard for them.

As the pair tried to contain their excitement, they followed the lean young man into the suite VIP888 and found the heavyset, bespectacled Liu Feibao, and a tall man standing by the mini bar. No one else was there.

This muscular man brought them in, greeted Liu Feibao, then exited, closing the door behind.

“Take a seat,” Liu Feibao motioned towards the chairs across from him and said calmly.

The two brothers carefully sat down. The tall man behind the bar then poured each a glass of whiskey.

Liu Feibao raised his glass for a toast, the brothers accordingly drained their glasses in one gulp. Liu Gaoshang was sent into a coughing fit by the spirits.

“Do you know me?” Liu Feibao set down his cup after a small sip and asked nonchalantly.

The brothers nodded like pecking chicks.

“Do you know why you’re here?” Liu Feibao continued to ask, but he didn’t wait for their answers, “Tell me what happened this morning.”

They both understood what he was referring to. Liu Zhengyi immediately painted a vivid picture of how they intercepted Xiang Kun, describing how they had scared him and his crew to death in the middle of the road.

In his story, “that bespectacled bald guy” was scared half to death, constantly pleading for mercy, while the others were too scared to leave the car. It was only the interruption by Director Liu of Chongyun Village that they couldn’t extort money from them.

Liu Feibao sighed, took off his gold-rimmed glasses, and the tall man immediately brought over a cleaning cloth.

While polishing his glasses, Liu Feibao told them, “This is my driver, Xiao Hou. He’s been with me for just over a year. I had a driver before him, who had been with me for over ten years but I let him go. Do you know why?”

Confused, the brothers shook their heads.

“Because he was a liar.” Liu Feibao spoke slowly, deliberately. He then carefully put his glasses back on and looked sharply at the two contrasting brothers on the other end of the table. His face suddenly twisted, cheek flesh trembling, he said ominously, “Now, tell me what really happened. You only get one chance.”

Having seen “the bespectacled bald guy” with his own eyes yesterday afternoon, Liu Feibao knew that Xiang Kun couldn’t easily be frightened by these two clowns. Even his tall driver, Xiao Hou, couldn’t intimidate Xiang Kun, who pushed him back again and again, let alone these two. Their words can’t deceive him.

Seeing Liu Feibao’s sudden change of face, the two brothers were gobsmacked. Liu Zhengyi was opening his mouth to say something, but Liu Feibao slammed on the table to stop him. Then he pointed at Liu Gaoshang, “Your turn! Tell the truth!”

Frightened by the looming Xiao Hou, Liu Gaoshang immediately blurted out the real story of them trying to pull a scam in Chongyun Village that morning.

After listening to his story, Liu Feibao breathed a sigh of relief. At least as it seemed, it was just two fools who disgrace themselves, they didn’t even hit the car. There shouldn’t be any major repercussions for Xiang Kun and his friends.

“Did you mention my name in front of them?” Liu Feibao asked again.

“No.” Liu Zhengyi immediately replied, he had begun to sense that something was off with Boss Liu’s attitude. But meanwhile, Liu Gaoshang had blurted out, “My brother mentioned it, just casually.”

The brothers looked at each other, Liu Zhengyi’s face a mask of anger, filled with the frustration of working with someone incapable. Liu Gaoshang, meanwhile, was just utterly confused and innocent.

Liu Feibao took off his glasses again, sighing and rubbing his face in frustration.

Finally, he put his glasses back on, looked at them both, and asked, “Do you want to work with me?”

Both of course nodded in agreement.

“Why?”

“You’re known to be loyal to your friends, and everyone in Tongshi town knows you’re good at business.” Liu Zhengyi eagerly replied with flattery.

“So what can you do for me?” Liu Feibao asked again.

“We can fix motorcycles…”

Liu Gaoshang managed to mutter before he was abruptly interrupted by his brother. “Brother Bao, just tell us what you need. We didn’t get much education and we ain’t that smart but we’re strong and we’re not afraid to get our hands dirty. Plus, we both got some martial arts training when we were younger. We can take on a few guys no problem…”

“Hang on, you think you’re gonna be my muscle? Have you mistaken me for some kind of mob boss from a movie? I’m just trying to run a legitimate business here! It’s not the dark ages anymore, you guys still thinking about getting into fights? Are you planning to follow me to seize some territory? Claim some turf? The type of ‘big brother’ you’re looking for are all behind bars now, go find them there!” Liu Feibao frowned at them.

Hearing Liu Feibao’s scolding, even though they knew he was raging and his anger levels were high, the Liu brothers couldn’t help but want to laugh. They had to bite their lips to suppress their laughter and nod earnestly.

Liu Feibao wanted to bash their heads together, but he knew it was pointless.

After ranting for a while, he exhaled deeply. “You mentioned earlier that the two cars belonged to some folks who were invited by the vice-director of Chongyun Village? What was his name?”

Upon hearing that the vice-director’s name was Liu Caifu, Liu Feibao made a phone call, asked around for Liu Caifu’s number and dialed it.

“Hello, how can I help?” came Liu Caifu’s courteous voice over the phone.

“Brother Caifu? It’s me, Liu Feibao, Liu Xiaobao from Tong Shi Town.” Liu Feibao said enthusiastically.

“Liu Feibao? I don’t know a … oh, it’s you! How did you get my number?”

Liu Feibao’s smile drooped a bit in the booth, but he kept his cheerful tone. “Brother Caifu, I got your number from Brother Chu, that’s right, that Brother Chu. Oh, nothing too important, I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while, just never had the opportunity. I was wondering if you might be free now, we could have a drink… Oh? Don’t hang up. I do have something to discuss. You should know Mr. Xiang Kun, right? Yesterday, my driver wasn’t careful and rear-ended his friend’s car. Initially, we settled the matter privately and everything seemed fine. But then these two young guys rashly went and offended Mr. Xiang and his friend today without my knowledge. I’d like to discuss the details with you face-to-face. I also plan to invite Brother Chu. How about we get together for supper?”

After a long round of coaxing, he finally managed to get Liu Caifu to agree to a meet-up, and Liu Feibao breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn’t consider contacting Xiang Kun directly even though he knew their hotel room number and the phone number they had registered with the hotel.

But he also knew that such a reckless approach wouldn’t win him any favours, and would most likely make things worse. So, he decided to approach Liu Caifu, a local, first to gauge the situation and build some rapport to defuse any potential conflicts.

Liu Feibao looked at the two brothers slumped on the sofa and his expression cooled. “You’ve heard it all, right? What happened today has caused me a lot of trouble. Later, when we meet Director Liu, I’ll tell you what to say.” He could deny that these two had anything to do with him, that he had no knowledge of what happened, but that would be futile. People wouldn’t care.

The brothers looked blankly at Liu Feibao, his face changing as quick as a Sichuan Opera face-changing performer. They wondered what kind of connections this bespectacled bald man must have to make Brother Bao grovel to Liu Caifu.

Earlier today, in the meeting room of a private research center, in a high tech park based in An Tie Town of Bao Wang City, a dignified man in his late forties, wearing glasses and a black turtleneck was pacing back and forth with a furrowed brow, looking quite agitated.

“Dr. Yang, you’re going to make us dizzy from all your pacing. Why not take a break and have something to eat? You barely touched your lunch.” A young researcher suggested.

The authoritative man, referred to as “Dr. Yang,” ignored the young researcher and instead turned to Dr. Fang Pingfang, who was quietly enjoying her seafood ramen. “Dr. Fang, has ‘Mr. Liang’ responded yet?”

Fang Pingfang slurped up a mouthful of noodles and swallowed before wiping her mouth and looking up to respond: “Not yet.”

“Could you prompt him again?” Dr. Yang asked with a frown. “We can’t just stay idle waiting for his reply, can we?”

This was the second-floor meeting room. Researchers who usually worked on the D1 and D2 underground levels had now mostly gathered here, waiting for further instructions on their upcoming assignments.

They were informed in the morning that the D1 and D2 levels would be temporarily sealed off, with no one allowed to enter. This command was given by Dr. Fang Pingfang, who had just joined the research center a few days prior.

In the secret department of “Divine Technology”, the nominal manager was not always the one who had the final say. Many things were determined not by the administrative level within the company, but by their “security clearance level” within the secret department.

The higher the security clearance level, the more issues they could directly access and the more communication they could have with the direct manager of the department, “Mr. Liang”.

Dr. Fang Pingfang was one of the researchers with the highest temporary security clearance level in the research center, on par with Dr. Yang.

Seeing the eyes of the other twenty or so researchers in the meeting room on her, Fang Pingfang said to Dr. Yang, “I’ve already sent a priority contact request to ‘Mr. Liang’. If he sees it, I believe he will contact us as soon as possible. If you can’t stand waiting, you can contact him yourself. You have his number too.”

Unable to help himself, Dr. Yang raised his voice. “I certainly would if I could! But you won’t even tell me what’s going on down there. Even if I did make contact, it would be useless! What happened last night when you were the only one in the lab? What danger has surfaced that needs the entire D1 and D2 levels to be closed? ”

“I can think of some potential safety risks, but those aren’t problems we can solve just by shutting down the underground levels. We need to go in and deal with it ourselves. But obviously, the issue you’re talking about isn’t what I’m thinking it might be.”

“We have a few experiments at critical stages that can’t be delayed. We need a decision soon on whether to move them, and how to handle follow-ups.”

After patiently listening to him, Fang Pingfang pushed away her nearly finished bowl of seafood ramen and addressed everyone in the room. “Everyone, you can go home and rest but keep your phones on. We may need to call you back at any time.”

The researchers in the conference room had initially pricked up their ears, eager to hear Dr. Fang Pingfang’s explanation for Dr. Yang’s queries. However, upon hearing Dr. Fang side-step the question, they were all greatly disappointed.

As for the real purpose of this secretive department set up by the company, everyone had their own speculations, but those were merely speculations. The massive operation conducted today, which included the sealing of D1 and D2, required Mr. Liang’s personal instructions. Evidently, Dr. Fang must have made a significant discovery in the laboratory last night.

As Dr. Yang watched the other researchers leave one by one and the door to the conference room close, she returned her gaze to Dr. Fang Pingfang. Her eyes held a hint of expectation as she asked, “Is it the object you brought back from the ‘Ninth Laboratory’ this time?”

More than 70% of the researchers in the research center, including Dr. Yang and Dr. Fang, had contact with the items that Dr. Fang and Team Leader Li had escorted all the way from the Qinling Uninhabited Area. After all, various tests and experiments on those items often required their participation.

Over the past few days, they hadn’t found anything particularly unusual about the items they’d brought back. However, it was clear from Mr. Liang’s repeated personal directives, and the fact that Dr. Fang chose to stay here voluntarily, that these items indeed held some special significance.

The object that Dr. Fang focused on the most and invested a lot of time on was the rough, grotesque rabbit wood carving in the “Ninth Laboratory.”

In response to Dr. Yang’s question, Dr. Fang simply nodded. She then opened the laptop beside her. After carrying out a series of identity validations, she opened up a surveillance video.

The surveillance video was from the previous night’s rest area in the “Ninth Laboratory,” focusing specifically on the table where water was poured for tea.

The surveillance footage from the main labs required a very high level of security clearance. Including Dr. Fang and Dr. Yang, only a total of four people within the whole research center in An Tie Town had the authority to view them. Most of the security personnel were not permitted access.

As Dr. Yang observed the tense expression on Dr. Fang’s face as she squeezed and burst a disposable paper cup in her hand in the video, she questioned in surprise, “What did you see?” She hadn’t seen anything abnormal in the surveillance footage.

Dr. Fang replied, “Hallucinations.”

“What kind of hallucinations?” asked Dr. Yang.

Dr. Fang closed her laptop again and said, “According to the terms of my contract, I have to discuss the specific details with Mr. Liang first. He will then decide whether to include you. All I can tell you right now is that the wood carving can make people hallucinate. It’s very dangerous.”

If anyone else had said this, Dr. Yang’s first reaction would have been to question the individual’s mental and emotional state rather than attributing it to an external factor. However, as it was Dr. Fang making the statement, she understood that the doctor must have ample reason to arrive at this conclusion.

Dr. Yang adjusted her glasses, nodded, and, this time, didn’t ask any further questions. She accepted Dr. Fang’s justification for the temporary closure of D1 and D2.

She knew that Dr. Fang had not revealed everything. The “danger” of the wood carving certainly wasn’t as simple as causing hallucinations.

While Dr. Fang was showing Dr. Yang the surveillance footage from the Ninth Laboratory, Zhang Yaozu, the captain of the 3rd security team who had just woken up from a nap in the break room to start his shift, was sitting in the surveillance room on the first floor. He was looking at the real-time surveillance footage from the entrances and passageways of D1 and D2, thinking about what had happened the night before.

Every time he thought about Dr. Fang’s behavior from the previous night, the suddenly dimmed lights in the corridor, and the temporary closure of D1 and D2, he felt a strange sense of unreality.

He was friends with Team Leader Li, who had brought back those items from the Qinling Uninhabited Area. They had privately discussed Dr. Fang once. Team Leader Li had praised her highly, regarding her as a courageous and shrewd woman.

Because of this, upon seeing Dr. Fang emerging from the “Ninth Laboratory” the previous night, her face pale and beaded with cold sweat and an evident expression of panic and terror, he was even more convinced that something significant had happened in the “Ninth Laboratory.”

Zhang Yaozu, who was not particularly well-educated, found it difficult to guess exactly what had transpired.

During his off-duty hours, he enjoyed watching movies. However, because he didn’t like reading subtitles, he didn’t watch many foreign films. The current situation with D1 and D2 reminded him of a foreign film he had watched a long time ago, one of the rare films he had watched all the way through despite the subtitles—Resident Evil 1.

Could it be that the reason Dr. Fang decided to temporarily seal off D1 and D2 was that a crisis similar to that in the movie had occurred in the “Ninth Laboratory”? Was she afraid that more people would be affected, or that the news would leak out and cause panic?

Messing with his tired eyes from staring at the monitor for too long, Zhang Yaozu found that he did not feel much fear when imagining what might have happened in the underground lab. Instead, he felt a slight thrill of excitement and anticipation.

After enduring years of mundanity, people inevitably yearned for some excitement, no matter how dangerous or idiotic it might be.

In the Qinling Uninhabited Area, nearly a thousand kilometers away.

Near the location where Team Leader Li, Dr. Fang, and their exploration team had first discovered the cliff cave, a drone was steadily operating in the high altitude, while many more drones hovered lower above the trees.

However, there wasn’t a single human figure present in the forest below. It appeared as though the drones were venturing deep into the uninhabited area on their own.

Suddenly, some weeds parted as if they had a life of their own, creating the rustling sound of friction with each other.

In the next instant, a half-transparent human figure appeared amidst the foliage, seemingly glowing in the night.

Several seconds later, a “man” appeared, completely encased in a peculiar metallic material covered with spider-web-like patterns.

He looked up at the sky. After a few moments, a drone the size of a dinner plate flew over to him. When he reached out to catch it, the drone automatically turned off its propulsion.

A small screen on the drone displayed some information. Having looked at it for a while, he lightly tapped his ear.

“Dr. Fang, it’s me.” A voice rang out, sounding like it was strained through a broken vocal cord.