1908

1908 They Wanted Min Yu

Huo Yao did not look very happy hearing this.

She did not like such drugs. Also, she knew the Shangguan clan possessed a lot of medical research data.

Although Fan Shun was not from the Shangguan clan, he worked with Sheng Ying. This meant Sheng Ying might have already given him the research data about DNA modification to him.

She connected the dots between Rocco’s intel along with Min Yu’s disappearance and something dawned on her. Fan Shun never intended on talking to her about conducting research together. Instead, he was after Min Yu.

He had used Eldest Uncle and Aunt Tong as a decoy to lure her out. On the surface, it appeared as though it had nothing to do with Min Yu but Fan Shun already knew Min Yu would come with her.

When she placed all her attention on Shangguan Hou, he would get what he wanted.

“Yaoyao, we can’t let that sort of medicine appear in the world. It will bring chaos.” Shangguan Tong’s voice could be heard yet again. She knew very well that it did not belong in the era. The moment it surfaced, it would bring unthinkable disaster.

“I know.” Huo Yao inhaled deeply. She suppressed her thoughts, took out her phone, and called Zhuo Yun who was hiding nearby.

Before long, the call got through. “Miss Huo, are you done?”

Huo Yao looked up coldly. “Did anything unusual happen outside earlier?”

After Huo Yao and Min Yu entered the villa, Zhuo Yun quickly put the estate under surveillance. Since she wanted to know, he quickly replied, “I caught a few paid assassins. Other than that, there was nothing. What’s wrong?”

Hearing this, Huo Yao knew that there must be some other exit. Otherwise, Zhuo Yun would have seen them.

“Fan Shun is after Min Yu. He took Min Yu amid the chaos earlier,” said Huo Yao holding her phone.

“What?” Zhuo Yun instantly looked anxious. “But we didn’t see Fan Shun and the others leaving.”

“He had already made plans and we were misled.”

Huo Yao could not wrap her mind around this. What did Fan Shun want with Min Yu? Fan Shun had gone through all the trouble to take Min Yu. He did not even care about Min Yu’s identity and the powers he represented.

His blatant actions seemed strange.

Zhuo Yun clenched his fists tightly, hearing this from the other end of the line. He quickly said, “I will send men to track down Fan Shun. I’m sure they couldn’t have gone far in such a short length of time.”

Even though the situation in the region of unrest was complicated, it was only that big. He was sure they could find him doing a carpet search!

“Uh huh,” acknowledged Huo Yao softly. Just as she was about to hang up the phone, she lowered her eyes and glanced at the button on her coat. She paused briefly, remembered something, and said, “I recall you have a special communication device?”

“Uh huh.” Zhuo Yun promptly knew what she was talking about. “Let me bring you one.”

“Okay.” Huo Yao hung up the phone. She turned to look at Aunt Tong who looked worried. She said, “Don’t worry. It doesn’t look that bad yet.”

Shangguan Tong smiled sadly as she shook her head. She spoke in an apologetic tone, “If I had destroyed the data sooner, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Huo Yao went quiet for half a minute before she raised her head. “I forgot to mention something. My master isn’t dead.”

Shangguan Tong was stunned. “Is he still alive?”

“Uh huh.” A look of irony swept through Huo Yao’s eyes. “He established Mirage Base.”

“Isn’t King the founder of Mirage Base…” Shangguan Tong stopped mid-sentence and caught onto something. She narrowed her eyes hastily. “Do you mean King is your master?”

“Uh huh.”

Shangguan Tong looked like she was struck by something. She took a step back and shook her head in disbelief. “I remember that he activated time travel to save you and paid with his life for it. How could he be alive?”

“He was just using me as an experiment to test if it could really be done.”

Huo Yao was no longer emotional. Sheng Ying was dead and the Shangguan clan was no more. Perhaps she no longer had a reason to feel emotional.

Shangguan Tong’s head buzzed and she was unable to accept the truth. She looked at Huo Yao. “Then is he….”

“He’s dead.” Huo Yao squeezed her hands. Her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible. “Wei and the elders have died as well.”

Shangguan Tong staggered by a single step. If Huo Jinfeng did not help support her as he stood by her side, she would have already fallen to the ground. After some time, her lips trembled as she gathered every bit of strength to say, “Are they all dead?”

Huo Yao choked. Then, she nodded and acknowledged softly.

“Ahhh.” Shangguan Tong moaned. She could no longer suppress herself and blood appeared in her mouth. She hastily spat it out.

“Tong, are you okay? You’re scaring me.” Huo Jinfeng felt startled looking at the blood on the ground. His hands trembled in fear as he supported Shangguan Tong.

Huo Yao quickly walked over and reached her hand out to take Aunt Tong’s pulse. After she was done, she frowned.

“Yaoyao, is she…” Huo Jinfeng’s eyes looked red. He raised his head and noticed something wrong with the expression on his niece’s face, so he instantly felt worried.

Shangguan Tong held Huo Yao’s hand. Huo Yao raised her head and glanced at her before she finally said, “She’s fine. She just needs to spend some time recuperating.”

Huo Jinfeng failed to notice their inconspicuous interaction. Perhaps he had already seen it but did not take it to heart. He embraced Shangguan Tong tightly in his arms. “I don’t ask for much. I just want you… to be okay.”

Shangguan Tong felt a twinge in her heart. She could not even bring herself to say that her destiny could not be changed.

“We’ll be just fine,” Huo Yao clenched her fists slightly, lowered her eyes, and spoke softly.

They slumped into a long silence until Zhuo Yun strode in quickly from outside interrupting the depressing atmosphere.

“Miss Huo, this is the communication device.” Zhuo Yun handed a button to Huo Yao. “I just tried it. I can’t reach the boss using it.”

Huo Yao took the communication device. She took out her phone and changed it to computer mode. The virtual keyboard and virtual screen popped up in mid-air.

She typed gently in mid-air swiftly. A long chain of codes popped up on the virtual screen as she started hacking into the communication device.

After roughly half a minute, the contents of the virtual screen changed and a GPS map could be seen.

Huo Yao pointed at the GPS map containing the moving red dot. “Send men to the defense building. They are probably heading there.”

“Okay.” Zhuo Yun nodded and took out his phone immediately.

Five top-of-the-line fighter planes were flying in stealth mode in the sky. The moment the order was given, they would assemble and go into combat.

Huo Yao put away her phone, and turned her head to look at Eldest Uncle and Aunt Tong as she said, “I will get them to send you back to the Huo estate first.”

Huo Jinfeng was worried about Shangguan Tong, but he was equally concerned about his niece. “Then what about you?”

Huo Yao pursed her lips. Her eyes looked unusually cold as she said, “I’m good. Don’t worry, Eldest Uncle. I just need to take care of this, but it won’t take long. I’ll be done soon.”

Huo Jinfeng sighed softly. He could tell how much Min Yu meant to her. He said, “Take care. If anything happens, don’t force yourself.”

“Nothing is going to happen,” Huo Yao narrowed her eyes and spoke deeply in a cold tone.

Min Yu was a good fighter. If Fan Shun wanted to forcibly take Min Yu during the chaos, there was a degree of difficulty.

If she was not mistaken, Min Yu might have deliberately allowed them to take him away.

Huo Yao gathered her thoughts, wasted no time, and quickly strode out.

“Yu,” said Shangguan Tong suddenly.

Huo Yao halted and turned around standing against the light. Something looked different about her face and even her features softened.

“I remembered that your master used to do research about implanting consciousness. The memories of a dying man can be compressed into a chip and implanted into a healthy subject. After combining both sets of memories, the subject might succeed in possessing both of them.”

“In theory, this kind of technology is no different from rebirth.” Shangguan Tong paused and said, “After his death, the research data also disappeared. We never suspected that his death was a lie, so…”

“He’s already dead,” said Huo Yao. “I’ve already destroyed everything about the Shangguan clan.”

Sometime later, after Huo Yao had already left, Shangguan Tong finally felt a sense of relief. “… Okay then.”

**

Meanwhile, on the other end.

At the defense building of the region of unrest.

Fan Shun took the lift to the building’s basement. As he walked inside, one metal door automatically opened after another until he stopped in the laboratory right at the end.

Fan Shun reached his hand out to press a button. Before long, the laboratory door opened. Two professors dressed in white protective gear came into sight. They nodded slightly to Fan Shun. “You’re here.”

Fan Shun raised his hand. He veered sideways so that his subordinates could push the unconscious Min Yu into the laboratory. After saying a few words to his men, he also entered the laboratory.

“Is everything ready?” Fan Shun asked the professor beside him as he took off his coat.

“Yes. Everything is ready, but we can’t guarantee any success. The risks entailed are very high. The moment we fail, you will…” The professor looked at Fan Shun solemnly hoping to convince Fan Shun out of this.

Fan Shun glanced at the man lying on the laboratory bed. He shook his head. “There’s no time.”

He had gone so far in order to bring Min Yu here. If he did not do it now, he would never have the chance again.

Moreover, considering his physical condition, he could not afford to wait anymore.

Seeing Fan Shun’s determination for the surgery to happen, the professor sighed softly. “Okay then. We will do our best to make this work.”

“Uh huh.” Fan Shun had already taken off his clothes. Some parts of his skin were already starting to turn dark and rot. At close scrutiny, his entire body was already this way.

If anyone from the Biochemistry field was around, they could probably tell that this was the result of long-term exposure to radiation.

Fan Shun seemed accustomed to this. He lay down on the other laboratory table looking at the ceiling overhead with his blue eyes. He said, “If the surgery fails, go to locker 32 and use the solution inside.”

Hearing this, the professor’s eyes constricted. “This is unethical.”

1908 They Wanted Min Yu

Huo Yao did not look very happy hearing this.

She did not like such drugs. Also, she knew the Shangguan clan possessed a lot of medical research data.

Although Fan Shun was not from the Shangguan clan, he worked with Sheng Ying. This meant Sheng Ying might have already given him the research data about DNA modification to him.

She connected the dots between Rocco’s intel along with Min Yu’s disappearance and something dawned on her. Fan Shun never intended on talking to her about conducting research together. Instead, he was after Min Yu.

He had used Eldest Uncle and Aunt Tong as a decoy to lure her out. On the surface, it appeared as though it had nothing to do with Min Yu but Fan Shun already knew Min Yu would come with her.

When she placed all her attention on Shangguan Hou, he would get what he wanted.

“Yaoyao, we can’t let that sort of medicine appear in the world. It will bring chaos.” Shangguan Tong’s voice could be heard yet again. She knew very well that it did not belong in the era. The moment it surfaced, it would bring unthinkable disaster.

“I know.” Huo Yao inhaled deeply. She suppressed her thoughts, took out her phone, and called Zhuo Yun who was hiding nearby.

Before long, the call got through. “Miss Huo, are you done?”

Huo Yao looked up coldly. “Did anything unusual happen outside earlier?”

After Huo Yao and Min Yu entered the villa, Zhuo Yun quickly put the estate under surveillance. Since she wanted to know, he quickly replied, “I caught a few paid assassins. Other than that, there was nothing. What’s wrong?”

Hearing this, Huo Yao knew that there must be some other exit. Otherwise, Zhuo Yun would have seen them.

“Fan Shun is after Min Yu. He took Min Yu amid the chaos earlier,” said Huo Yao holding her phone.

“What?” Zhuo Yun instantly looked anxious. “But we didn’t see Fan Shun and the others leaving.”

“He had already made plans and we were misled.”

Huo Yao could not wrap her mind around this. What did Fan Shun want with Min Yu? Fan Shun had gone through all the trouble to take Min Yu. He did not even care about Min Yu’s identity and the powers he represented.

His blatant actions seemed strange.

Zhuo Yun clenched his fists tightly, hearing this from the other end of the line. He quickly said, “I will send men to track down Fan Shun. I’m sure they couldn’t have gone far in such a short length of time.”

Even though the situation in the region of unrest was complicated, it was only that big. He was sure they could find him doing a carpet search!

“Uh huh,” acknowledged Huo Yao softly. Just as she was about to hang up the phone, she lowered her eyes and glanced at the button on her coat. She paused briefly, remembered something, and said, “I recall you have a special communication device?”

“Uh huh.” Zhuo Yun promptly knew what she was talking about. “Let me bring you one.”

“Okay.” Huo Yao hung up the phone. She turned to look at Aunt Tong who looked worried. She said, “Don’t worry. It doesn’t look that bad yet.”

Shangguan Tong smiled sadly as she shook her head. She spoke in an apologetic tone, “If I had destroyed the data sooner, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Huo Yao went quiet for half a minute before she raised her head. “I forgot to mention something. My master isn’t dead.”

Shangguan Tong was stunned. “Is he still alive?”

“Uh huh.” A look of irony swept through Huo Yao’s eyes. “He established Mirage Base.”

“Isn’t King the founder of Mirage Base…” Shangguan Tong stopped mid-sentence and caught onto something. She narrowed her eyes hastily. “Do you mean King is your master?”

“Uh huh.”

Shangguan Tong looked like she was struck by something. She took a step back and shook her head in disbelief. “I remember that he activated time travel to save you and paid with his life for it. How could he be alive?”

“He was just using me as an experiment to test if it could really be done.”

Huo Yao was no longer emotional. Sheng Ying was dead and the Shangguan clan was no more. Perhaps she no longer had a reason to feel emotional.

Shangguan Tong’s head buzzed and she was unable to accept the truth. She looked at Huo Yao. “Then is he….”

“He’s dead.” Huo Yao squeezed her hands. Her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible. “Wei and the elders have died as well.”

Shangguan Tong staggered by a single step. If Huo Jinfeng did not help support her as he stood by her side, she would have already fallen to the ground. After some time, her lips trembled as she gathered every bit of strength to say, “Are they all dead?”

Huo Yao choked. Then, she nodded and acknowledged softly.

“Ahhh.” Shangguan Tong moaned. She could no longer suppress herself and blood appeared in her mouth. She hastily spat it out.

“Tong, are you okay? You’re scaring me.” Huo Jinfeng felt startled looking at the blood on the ground. His hands trembled in fear as he supported Shangguan Tong.

Huo Yao quickly walked over and reached her hand out to take Aunt Tong’s pulse. After she was done, she frowned.

“Yaoyao, is she…” Huo Jinfeng’s eyes looked red. He raised his head and noticed something wrong with the expression on his niece’s face, so he instantly felt worried.

Shangguan Tong held Huo Yao’s hand. Huo Yao raised her head and glanced at her before she finally said, “She’s fine. She just needs to spend some time recuperating.”

Huo Jinfeng failed to notice their inconspicuous interaction. Perhaps he had already seen it but did not take it to heart. He embraced Shangguan Tong tightly in his arms. “I don’t ask for much. I just want you… to be okay.”

Shangguan Tong felt a twinge in her heart. She could not even bring herself to say that her destiny could not be changed.

“We’ll be just fine,” Huo Yao clenched her fists slightly, lowered her eyes, and spoke softly.

They slumped into a long silence until Zhuo Yun strode in quickly from outside interrupting the depressing atmosphere.

“Miss Huo, this is the communication device.” Zhuo Yun handed a button to Huo Yao. “I just tried it. I can’t reach the boss using it.”

Huo Yao took the communication device. She took out her phone and changed it to computer mode. The virtual keyboard and virtual screen popped up in mid-air.

She typed gently in mid-air swiftly. A long chain of codes popped up on the virtual screen as she started hacking into the communication device.

After roughly half a minute, the contents of the virtual screen changed and a GPS map could be seen.

Huo Yao pointed at the GPS map containing the moving red dot. “Send men to the defense building. They are probably heading there.”

“Okay.” Zhuo Yun nodded and took out his phone immediately.

Five top-of-the-line fighter planes were flying in stealth mode in the sky. The moment the order was given, they would assemble and go into combat.

Huo Yao put away her phone, and turned her head to look at Eldest Uncle and Aunt Tong as she said, “I will get them to send you back to the Huo estate first.”

Huo Jinfeng was worried about Shangguan Tong, but he was equally concerned about his niece. “Then what about you?”

Huo Yao pursed her lips. Her eyes looked unusually cold as she said, “I’m good. Don’t worry, Eldest Uncle. I just need to take care of this, but it won’t take long. I’ll be done soon.”

Huo Jinfeng sighed softly. He could tell how much Min Yu meant to her. He said, “Take care. If anything happens, don’t force yourself.”

“Nothing is going to happen,” Huo Yao narrowed her eyes and spoke deeply in a cold tone.

Min Yu was a good fighter. If Fan Shun wanted to forcibly take Min Yu during the chaos, there was a degree of difficulty.

If she was not mistaken, Min Yu might have deliberately allowed them to take him away.

Huo Yao gathered her thoughts, wasted no time, and quickly strode out.

“Yu,” said Shangguan Tong suddenly.

Huo Yao halted and turned around standing against the light. Something looked different about her face and even her features softened.

“I remembered that your master used to do research about implanting consciousness. The memories of a dying man can be compressed into a chip and implanted into a healthy subject. After combining both sets of memories, the subject might succeed in possessing both of them.”

“In theory, this kind of technology is no different from rebirth.” Shangguan Tong paused and said, “After his death, the research data also disappeared. We never suspected that his death was a lie, so…”

“He’s already dead,” said Huo Yao. “I’ve already destroyed everything about the Shangguan clan.”

Sometime later, after Huo Yao had already left, Shangguan Tong finally felt a sense of relief. “… Okay then.”

**

Meanwhile, on the other end.

At the defense building of the region of unrest.

Fan Shun took the lift to the building’s basement. As he walked inside, one metal door automatically opened after another until he stopped in the laboratory right at the end.

Fan Shun reached his hand out to press a button. Before long, the laboratory door opened. Two professors dressed in white protective gear came into sight. They nodded slightly to Fan Shun. “You’re here.”

Fan Shun raised his hand. He veered sideways so that his subordinates could push the unconscious Min Yu into the laboratory. After saying a few words to his men, he also entered the laboratory.

“Is everything ready?” Fan Shun asked the professor beside him as he took off his coat.

“Yes. Everything is ready, but we can’t guarantee any success. The risks entailed are very high. The moment we fail, you will…” The professor looked at Fan Shun solemnly hoping to convince Fan Shun out of this.

Fan Shun glanced at the man lying on the laboratory bed. He shook his head. “There’s no time.”

He had gone so far in order to bring Min Yu here. If he did not do it now, he would never have the chance again.

Moreover, considering his physical condition, he could not afford to wait anymore.

Seeing Fan Shun’s determination for the surgery to happen, the professor sighed softly. “Okay then. We will do our best to make this work.”

“Uh huh.” Fan Shun had already taken off his clothes. Some parts of his skin were already starting to turn dark and rot. At close scrutiny, his entire body was already this way.

If anyone from the Biochemistry field was around, they could probably tell that this was the result of long-term exposure to radiation.

Fan Shun seemed accustomed to this. He lay down on the other laboratory table looking at the ceiling overhead with his blue eyes. He said, “If the surgery fails, go to locker 32 and use the solution inside.”

Hearing this, the professor’s eyes constricted. “This is unethical.”