Chapter Seventy-Six: Genetic Fusion

"Second Sister, it was my carelessness," Ye Qiu gently stroked Xiao Yuru's back, his face full of guilt. This time, he had truly been too reckless. Shi Yuantu lived in such a deserted, abandoned scenic area—no matter how one looked at it, he wasn't a normal person. Failing to observe his surroundings immediately was already his gravest mistake.

Over the past few years, he had relied too much on Yunyan's intelligence, and his own vigilance and abilities had gradually diminished. The smarter Yunyan became, the more dependent he was. This realization sent a cold sweat down Ye Qiu's forehead.

"You rotten leaf, where did you disappear to just now?" After a while, Xiao Yuru finally calmed down, pretending nothing had happened.

"I found a secret laboratory built by Shi Yuantu and Qian Mingxun on the first floor, but was discovered by Shi Yuantu and nearly ended up in the basement," Ye Qiu said, without mentioning anything about the Shengji Society. From Shi Yuantu's words, it was clear this Shengji Society was immensely powerful, and that so-called Gladiator Hall seemed to harbor countless scientific madmen. These people could even establish secret labs in China, indicating their resources and strength were not to be underestimated.

Xiao Yuru knew this was not necessarily a good thing.

"These madmen—how did they build such a secret laboratory?" Xiao Yuru shivered, her eyes still showing traces of fear.

To divert her attention, Ye Qiu quickly changed the subject, "By the way, Second Sister, where's Shi Ping? How did Qian Mingxun end up dead?"

"Not long after you left, Shi Yuantu also went out. Just as I was about to approach Shi Ping, he suddenly attacked Qian Mingxun," Xiao Yuru said, her hair standing on end again, recalling the scene that still made her entire body cold.

"You wouldn't believe it—Shi Ping actually pierced Qian Mingxun's chest with his tongue." Her cheeks, which had just regained some color, now paled again. "If it weren't for the loud noise downstairs that scared him off, I might have fallen victim to him as well."

Ye Qiu patted her hand and turned to look at Qian Mingxun's lifeless body. His chest was mangled, blood everywhere, and besides the fresh blood, a green liquid oozed from the gaping wound—thick and reeking of rotting flesh.

"Second Sister, it's not safe to linger here. We should leave now." Xiao Yuru nodded, glancing anxiously at Qian Mingxun's dry, bloodless corpse. "But what about this place?" she asked vaguely.

"I'll have Xue Yishou handle it."

"Is that possible?"

"No problem. His business has connections everywhere—finding a cleaner is nothing."

"A cleaner?" Xiao Yuru looked at Ye Qiu in confusion, "Would a cleaner be able to do this?"

Even as a medical student, she couldn't help but feel afraid. A regular cleaner would probably collapse just from the sight.

"Not the kind you're thinking of—one specialized in handling these situations."

Half-convinced, Xiao Yuru followed Ye Qiu out of the house. In just a few words, Xue Yishou indicated he understood.

On their way back, a cargo truck passed by and flashed its hazard lights three times in succession.

Xue Yishou turned around, "Mr. Ye, the cleaner has arrived."

Ye Qiu nodded slightly. Yunyan had already copied all the data inside, and he had destroyed the basement; only surface cleaning was needed.

Still uneasy, Ye Qiu thought for a moment and said, "Xue Yishou, who is the developer of this scenic area? Find them for me—I want to buy it."

Buying just one unfinished villa would draw too much attention. If so, he might as well buy the whole area—under the name of the Ye Liu Group.

Once the group's AI development was complete, this place could be transformed into a futuristic scenic area. Nowadays, people visit natural sites, amusement parks, even zoos. But a scenic area of the future world has yet to exist.

Ye Qiu believed that once it launched, the attraction would be a huge hit, and even real estate development could follow.

"Mr. Ye, do you intend to develop this place?" Xue Yishou wasn't supposed to ask, but couldn't resist his curiosity.

When Ye Qiu didn't reply, Xue Yishou hurriedly added, "The area is contracted by two developers: one is Shi Yuantu, the other is Liu Changjie."

"Shi Yuantu is dead—the one we just cleaned up."

"Ah." Even Xue Yishou, who was used to storms and turbulence, widened his eyes at that.

"Mr. Ye, this—"

"Don't ask about things you shouldn't know. Just arrange a meeting with Liu Changjie."

"I understand," Xue Yishou nodded repeatedly. Shi Yuantu might not have ranked among the top one hundred in Linhai's rich list, but somewhere between one hundred and two hundred was certain. Who would have expected him to die so quietly in an unfinished scenic area?

Xue Yishou wisely shut his mouth. The more you know, the more dangerous it becomes.

He escorted Ye Qiu and Xiao Yuru back to the eldest sister. With a quick promise to arrange a meeting with Liu Changjie, he hurriedly made his escape.

He had to run. He feared Ye Qiu might silence him next.

"Where have you two been? Why are you only just getting back? You didn't answer your phones."

Liu Yiran sat on the living room sofa, arms folded, staring coldly at them—especially as she saw a startled Xiao Yuru cling close to Ye Qiu, her eyebrows arching even higher.

"Well, we..." Xiao Yuru couldn't think of a good excuse, so she pushed Ye Qiu forward, "Big Sister, you ask him where we've been."

As she spoke, Xiao Yuru pulled out her phone and waved it in front of Liu Yiran, "Big Sister, it's not that I ignored your call—the phone was out of service."

"Fine, I'll let you slide," Liu Yiran said coldly, turning her gaze to Ye Qiu, "Let's see how you explain yourself."

"How could I be making things up?" Ye Qiu protested. "It's a harmless lie—no, that's not right. Anyway, I was accompanying Second Sister for a patient consultation. The signal there was bad."

"Just that?"

"What else would you expect?"

Liu Yiran watched them suspiciously.

"Keep staring if you like. I'm going to take a shower—I'm exhausted," Xiao Yuru said.

"Big Sister, I'm heading to my room too," Ye Qiu followed her lead and slipped away.

Liu Yiran's brows knitted tightly. Neither answered their phones, both returned from outside acting mysteriously, and the first thing they did upon entering was to shower.

Liu Yiran's face darkened.

Second Sister, are you trying to pull a fast one?

Ye Qiu was oblivious to Liu Yiran's suspicions. He had another reason for retreating to his room besides avoiding her interrogation—Shi Ping had escaped.

Though this creature appeared human, it was anything but. It was a product of technology, but cold-blooded—one only had to see its attack on Qian Mingxun to realize.

He couldn't let it roam free.

"Yunyan, how's the data analysis on Shi Ping?"

"Master, according to the laboratory's stored data, Shi Ping is a fusion of Komodo dragon and human genes. Not a rearrangement of gene sequences, but a mixture. Such creations only result in genetic chaos."

"So Shi Yuantu and Qian Mingxun's research is at the lowest level of genetic engineering."