Chapter 105: The Plot Thickens

Chapter 105: The Plot Thickens

The rain was pouring heavily, and somewhere outside, a car alarm blared again.

Zhou Yun brought a plate of melon seeds, peanuts, and dried fruits to the table for them, then opened the fridge and took out a watermelon, placing it on the table. "Please make yourselves at home. I'll go upstairs to organize and print the documents."

Guo Bingqiang nodded, watching Zhou Yun's tall figure head upstairs, with Comet trotted obediently behind him.

Soon, a figure appeared in the corner by the door, a man who seemed to have materialized out of nowhere.

Seeing this bizarre scene, Guo Bingqiang and Xiao Zhang didn't bat an eye. Guo Bingqiang made a gesture to inquire about the situation.

The man spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum, yet it was clearly transmitted through the helmet's built-in microphone to the team members: "Tan Lang reporting: I've checked the two floors upstairs, the backyard vegetable garden, and various spots in the neighborhood. There's definitely no one else here." He glanced upstairs: "Should we go up to monitor?"

Guo Bingqiang shook his head, whispering through the built-in mic: "The dog is a mutated dog. Getting too close might alert it. Guard the backyard. Peripheral team members, keep an eye on our dog as well. Don't let anyone escape. All action teams, report your current status."

Soon, someone from the periphery responded on the channel: "Received. Main gate in position, no anomalies so far."

"Back gate team in position, no anomalies."

"Lakeside team in position, no anomalies."

"Backyard team in position, no anomalies."

"Rooftop team still climbing. The mutated plants are too dense, blocking the path. Requesting a Fire Psychic team member to assist in clearing a safe passage." The last team member sounded winded, clearly struggling with the climb to the 30th floor.

Guo Bingqiang said, "Back gate team, Li Huo, go and assist."

The back gate team replied, "Li Huo received."

Xiao Gao, who had left earlier, reported: "Cong Feng reporting: I've informed Pojun to hold their position for now. Pojun replied that they have surrounded the Nanshan Herb Garden and are on standby. They're asking if the previous action standards have changed."

Guo Bingqiang said, "Tell Pojun not to alert the enemy. With planes coming and going these past few days, there might indeed be people from the Gong family and Jing Nan Base inside. It's safest if they can hand the people over to us. Have them wait for Tan Lang to deliver the message. If they can hand them over immediately, take them. If it's a trap, Tan Lang will escape using earth escape technique, and the surrounding team members will act immediately. The standards remain unchanged—except for Yao Huan, no one else is to be kept alive, including the experimental subjects."

The team member "Xiao Zhang" beside him stood up and walked to the window, facing away from the room as if looking outside, but whispered through the helmet: "Qi Sha, can we really trust this person?"

Guo Bingqiang said, "Let's see the documents he provides first."

Xiao Zhang whispered, "Just one person. Could this be a trap? It feels like a waste of resources."

Guo Bingqiang said, "The General has instructed us to focus on Danlin this time."

He didn't elaborate. Before departure, General Ye had specifically called him in to emphasize: "The herb garden is probably a decoy. What Guan Yuanfeng truly cares about must be in Danlin."

"Those in Cangshan are just experimental subjects. It's good if we can get them, but it's not essential. As long as we obtain the technology, we can create countless experimental subjects."

"Dong Jun is most likely Zhou Yun, a disciple of Yao Huan. Based on the intelligence team's investigation and interview data, he's a typical research-oriented personality—academically proficient, dislikes socializing, and is relatively naive, with little suspicion of others. He's also Guan Yuanfeng's neighbor, so we can win him over. Whether he's Dong Jun or not, he's definitely a core technical personnel. We need to bring him back alive."

Xiao Zhang whispered, "Someone so important, and they left such a defenseless person in charge?"

Guo Bingqiang said, "Don't underestimate him. He has water psychic powers. If he hadn't mistaken us for Guan's people, you wouldn't have gotten anything useful. Could you understand this kind of data if you weren't a professional?"

Xiao Zhang whispered, "Then why didn't we bring an expert this time... What if he deceives us? We wouldn't understand."

Guo Bingqiang said, "The people at the Psychic Research Institute are too foolish; they only cause trouble. Just take him away. We have plenty of ways to make him talk. If he resists, break his legs first to restrict his movement."

After about an hour, Zhou Yun finally came downstairs and handed him a document folder: "Just finished printing. I've also written the letter. Find someone to deliver it."

He walked to the window and glanced outside: "The rain has lightened up. Haven't your people arrived yet?" Comet followed him and lay down beside a potted plant.

Guo Bingqiang casually brushed it off, "The rain is heavy; it’ll take time to get here. No rush." As he spoke, he opened the document bag and saw a thick stack of papers inside. The first page was a table of contents, listing a series of thesis titles.

"Exploring New Alkaloid Components from Mutated Poppies"

"Comparison of the Effects of Alkaloids from Mutated Poppies and Non-Mutated Variants on the Central Nervous System"

"Research on the Pharmacological Effects and Clinical Applications of Extracts from Mutated Poppies"

"Pharmacological Mechanisms and Safety Evaluation of Analgesic Components in Extracts from Mutated Poppies"

...

The thick stack of papers was still warm, fresh off the printer. Inside, there were several photos of mutated poppies, their vibrant colors and large, bowl-sized flowers. There were also numerous photos of human experiments, various tables, clinical application reports, and more. At the top, a disc was clipped with a binder clip.

Opening the letter, it simply read: "Brother Mu, as per Team Guan's instructions, please shackle the Cangshan test subjects and inject them with chlorpromazine and glucose solution to induce sleep. The specific dosage can be arranged by Dr. Qi. Then transport them to Yunding Mountain Villa without alerting the Gong family. Please ensure the messenger is well received."

Zhou Yun, watching him read, frowned slightly. "Happy now? Even Team Guan trusts me more than this. If you're not convinced, wait for Team Guan to come himself."

Guo Bingqiang smiled, "I'm just worried that the people below might mess things up and waste a trip. Xiao Zhang, take this letter to Nanshan Herb Garden and deliver it promptly."

Xiao Zhang, standing opposite him, responded, "Yes," took the letter, tucked it into his chest, and left the villa.

Zhou Yun noticed the tea had gone cold, and the watermelon remained untouched. He said, "Why the formality? The watermelon’s still whole."

Glancing at the clock, he said, "It’s noon. I’ll whip up some noodles."

Guo Bingqiang said, "No need to bother; we’ll leave right after we get the person."

Zhou Yun nodded, said nothing, and went straight into the kitchen to start boiling noodles and frying eggs.

The open window let in the brighter sky, no longer as gloomy as it was in the morning. The wind had also died down, and the damp air carried the scent of flowers into the room, freshening the air.

Qi Sha saw Zhou Yun in the kitchen making noodles, the rich aroma of the broth a rare luxury in these bleak times. The dog was still... where was the dog?

He jolted awake and shot to his feet.

Zhou Yun turned to look at him, "What's wrong?"

Qi Sha, noticing the silence in his earpiece, suddenly remembered he had requested progress reports every half hour.

And the rooftop team—why hadn’t they checked in?

Qi Sha looked at Zhou Yun, "I just noticed the dog is missing."

Zhou Yun smiled. "The rain’s let up; maybe it went for a stroll."

The dog went out? He hadn’t noticed. And why hadn’t the villa’s surveillance team reported it?

Qi Sha glared at Zhou Yun, a sinister look in his eyes as wind swirled around him. His hand waved, and a powerful force drove countless wind blades directly towards Zhou Yun's lower body!

The air crackled with sharp, piercing noises, but Zhou Yun, who had been standing in the kitchen, simply waved his hand, and a massive ice wall appeared in front of him.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!" The sharp whistling was interrupted, the dense wind blades striking the ice, sending shards flying!

Zhou Yun chuckled. "Why so hostile? I told you we’re having breakfast. Low blood sugar makes people cranky."

Qi Sha stared at Zhou Yun, a cold dread settling in his chest. He was already at the fourth level of power, and no one in the team could withstand his wind blades.

Yet this seemingly frail researcher had effortlessly summoned an ice wall that easily deflected his wind blades!

He pressed the button on his earpiece: "All teams, move!"

But there was only silence from the earpiece. After a while, a panting, fragmented voice came through: "The rooftop team is still climbing... haven't reached the rooftop yet."

He snapped: "It's been an hour! Are you climbing Mount Tai?"

The rooftop team sounded surprised: "What? Has it been that long?"

Lihuo's voice sounded panicked: "It must be a ghost wall! Why are we still on the fifteenth floor?"

Qisha's eyes locked with Zhou Yun's, who was smiling across the room, and he shouted sharply: "Get out of the building! Call Tan Lang and Pojun for backup now!"

The air around him boiled and churned, suddenly giving rise to clouds and mist. In the midst of the white haze, Qisha's figure vanished into the crystalline fog.

Zhou Yun was slightly surprised. Summoning fog with water psychic powers... interesting. It seemed there was still much for him to learn about water-based abilities.

While thinking, he stepped out of the room, noticing that the light drizzle outside had turned into a heavy downpour.

The opponent was clearly a master of both water and wind elements, and a fourth-tier one at that. Going outside would obviously give him more room to maneuver.

This suited Zhou Yun just fine: "We spent a lot on the interior decoration. Can't let the house get wrecked."

High-tier psychic battles were devastatingly destructive. It was best to keep the battlefield far away.

Yunding Mountain Villa was his and Guan's home. It wouldn't be easy to clean up if it got damaged.