Chapter 137

Chapter 137

"Was busy just now," Xie Lingyuan declared righteously. "What's the matter?"

"Of course, there's a matter. Do you think I called because I missed you?" Xue Hongyi tried to calm his rage, "Let Wu Yin answer."

He had thought Xie Lingyuan would make some trouble as usual, but unexpectedly, the latter passed the call to Wu Yin readily, cracking a joke he couldn't understand: "Red from the Rainbow Squad is looking for you."

Xue Hongyi: "?"

Wu Yin's voice came through the radio: "What's up?"

Xue Hongyi was straightforward: "These past few days, I've sent my men in four groups to secretly approach the two coastal ports of the northern camp, finding none of the experimental boats you described. Moreover, the rebels are guarding the ports very strictly, costing me a squad in the process.

As for the boatman, his whereabouts are even more elusive. He does exist, but like a phantom, known in the former government forces yet seen by almost none.

However, this morning, while patrolling the sea on Golden—my mutated golden-winged bird—I stumbled upon two integrated experimental survey ships near a small island about 30 nautical miles from Port No. 2, matching your description."

"Got any photos?" Wu Yin asked.

"Yes, but it's not very clear." Saying this, Xue Hongyi sent the aerially captured photos to Xie Lingyuan, "I didn't dare to get too close for fear of startling them. After observing from a distance and noting the coordinates, I returned."

Xie Lingyuan received the photos and clicked his tongue: "Blurry enough. What can you make out from this?"

Hearing his complaint, Xue Hongyi immediately retorted: "I was just being modest. Which of the photos I sent isn't clear? It's almost like capturing the hair on the people inside the cabin!"

In the midst of their bickering, Wu Yin took the opportunity to bring over Gui You, who was parasitizing the baby's body, and had Xie Lingyuan project Xue Hongyi's photos on the ground.

With just one glance, Gui You loudly declared, "This is it! This is the ship!"

Wu Yin and Xie Lingyuan exchanged a knowing look. Now that the target was confirmed, the next question was how to sneak onto these two experimental ships... Wu Yin looked up and quietly asked Xue Hongyi, "Is there a way to secretly capture a high-ranking member of the rebels, someone with the authority to inspect the ships?"

This woke Xue Hongyi up. He still remembered the provocatively smiling face of Xia Yangyan, who had been parasitized by Wu Yin under his grandfather Marshal Xue Yue's command, a memory both absurd and sinister that made him shudder every time, "You plan to use your ability? To control their actions."

"Yes."

Suppressing his excitement, Xue Hongyi pondered seriously: "Capturing alive, doing it secretly, and targeting a high-ranking official with the authority to inspect the experimental ships... It's challenging."

"The most crucial part is getting on the ship; everything else is just a bonus," Wu Yin lowered the requirements, "You don't necessarily have to capture them yourselves. You just need to find a suitable target and ensure that I can get close to them."

With the conditions thus relaxed, Xue Hongyi immediately responded, "There will be a negotiation meeting between the former government forces and the rebels at the northern camp in three days. Both sides will send important representatives for peace talks... How about this, I talk to the government forces to let you attend, and I'll come to pick you up on Golden. How does that sound?"

"Deal," Wu Yin agreed without hesitation, "Can you get the list of delegates and their current positions and connections within the rebel forces?"

"I'll handle it," Xue Hongyi agreed readily but then paused for two seconds before coughing lightly and saying in a way that was too obvious to conceal, "The security at the negotiation is very strict, I can only take you in... But don't worry, I'm a mutant, my abilities are no less than any Z series robot, I'll ensure your safety."

Xie Lingyuan, seeing through the red-haired fox's scheme, was about to protest but was pressed down by Wu Yin, who gave him a calming look and replied to Xue Hongyi, "Okay."

Overjoyed, Xue Hongyi stood up in front of three or four subordinates, pacing back and forth in the office with a smile he couldn't suppress, "...Little Tiger, what happens to your original body after you use your ability? Does it lose consciousness, like when you were asleep in the southern camp for two months?"

"Yes," Wu Yin answered truthfully. There was no longer a need to hide these minor details from Xue Hongyi, "My bio-body is quite special. It doesn't need attention for one to two weeks, but if my consciousness is separated for more than half a month, it needs life support like a princess, with nutrition and hydration."

"Got it, I'll note it down and cover for you," Xue Hongyi said with an inexplicably excited tone, "I'll take good care of your body until you return."

"Xue Hongyi," Xie Lingyuan said with a sinister tone, "Don't think I don't know your plans, you—"

"See you in three days." With those words, Xue Hongyi decisively ended the call.

Xie Linyuan: "..."

Xie Linyuan flashed a dangerous smile, first blacklisting Xue Hongyi's contact in the Mechanical War God system, then turning to look at Wu Yin, who was crouched on the ground analyzing the structure of the two experimental ships with Gui You in his arms, "Xiao Hu...?"

Wu Yin looked up, meeting his gaze innocently.

"Don't play dumb," Xie Linyuan said irritably, "You're really going to leave your body in his care?"

"Of course not," Wu Yin immediately denied, "Who knows what he would do to my synthetic body? In terms of being twisted, he's definitely on par with you."

Being called twisted actually seemed to soothe Xie Linyuan, a true-to-life freak. He asked, "Then what's your plan?"

……

Three days later.

Xue Hongyi got up early, landing on the roof of Professor Xie's dilapidated factory as dawn broke, following the address Wu Yin had given him the day before.

Whether it was to attend the negotiation meeting or to meet someone specific, he had dressed sharply in a suit and overcoat, striding into the lab with an air of purpose.

Wu Zhe, under Geng Wu's supervision, was groggily washing up on the concrete outside the factory;

Xie Linyuan yawned, ignoring Xue Hongyi's presence as if he hadn't seen him.

Only Professor Xie courteously greeted him, but it was just a brief acknowledgment before he went back to his own tasks.

Since learning that the disaster pollution was likely linked to Xie Yicheng, Professor Xie had been unable to shake off the concern, consumed with thoughts of parasitic experiments and disaster pollution, especially with Wu Yin, Geng Wu, and Gui You constantly in his sight, aging him by more than a decade in just a few days.

Though the disaster pollution was probably caused by the Ferryman, its roots were inseparable from Xie Yicheng, and as his father, Professor Xie seemed eager to do something for this chaotic world, to atone for the mistakes his son made out of selfish desires.

Having once discussed the details and steps of parasitic experiments with his son, and even modified some of the content, Professor Xie spent these three days drawing and noting down in his notebook, trying to recall the parasitic experiment details he had once reviewed.

Over the three days, the notebook had become quite comprehensive. Yesterday, Geng Wu, having taken control of Wu Zhe's body again, went through the notebook page by page, amazed, "Professor Xie, your memory is impressive. These are things from over a decade ago and very complex, yet you've managed to recall so much of it."

Professor Xie shook his head, "Some are from memory, and some are my spontaneous deductions; they can't be regarded as rigorous data. But this is the best I can do. To refine it further, the original documents are indispensable."

He looked up, his determined gaze sweeping over the others present: "But if I could obtain the documents from the Ferryman, including his experiment logs on replicating the 'nucleus', I might be able to deduce the true origin of the disaster pollution. This could lead to the development of a specific antidote and preventative vaccines. With vaccines available, what reason would the immune have to start wars?"

Most of those who heard his impassioned speech had little reaction. Wu Yin had no concrete concept of saving the world or stopping wars. Xie Linyuan, shrouded in darkness, harbored biases against the northern camp. Gui You simply closed his eyes and feigned death, showing a very low level of consciousness.

The only one who resonated with Professor Xie turned out to be Gengwu, who, with a youthful face, nodded thoughtfully, "You're right, Professor Xie."

After affirming the professor's ideology, Gengwu turned to Wu Yin: "I'll leave this task to you, Wu Yin."

Wu Yin, discontented, "How can responsibilities just be passed down like this?"

……

Xue Hongyi wandered around the lab without finding Wu Xiaohu, who he had been eagerly looking for. Confused, he returned to the entrance and saw Xie Linyuan sitting on a small stool eating breakfast.

Normally, the sight of Xie Linyuan would make him want to throw a punch, but today, for some reason, Xue Hongyi found him not at all objectionable and even uncontrollably kept glancing at him, observing his every move.

Finally, after a conversation that was going nowhere with His Highness, Xue Hongyi couldn't help but approach Xie Linyuan and awkwardly asked, "Where's Wu Xiaohu? I came to pick him up."

Xie Linyuan put down the half-peeled sweet potato, looked up, and met Xue Hongyi's gaze.

In that moment, Xue Hongyi took a half step back, feeling a chill down his spine.

Because the 'Xie Linyuan' in front of him had a left eye and right eye showing completely different expressions, as if two halves of faces from different people were cut and forcibly pasted together, eerie and sinister.

"I am Wu Xiaohu," Xie Linyuan teased, raising his left eyebrow. Terrifyingly, his right eye remained calm, its focus still on the sweet potato in his hand.

"You, your ability... not only can you replace the consciousness of the possessed, but also share a body with others?" Xue Hongyi quickly grasped the current situation.

Wu Zhe, after washing his face, returned to the laboratory, appearing ready to listen. Then he loudly relayed, "Brother Wu Yin, Brother Geng Wu said he still finds it very strange that your ability not only can parasitize but also coexist because, logically, a 'nucleus' should only have one ability."