Chapter 1153: Experimental

The air was thick with silence.

Professor Ye stared intently at him, his grip on the man's collar tightening, veins bulging in his hand.

"Does Sun Zhongliang know what you're doing?"

"Director Sun is, of course, aware," the supervisor said, slowly prying Professor Ye's hand off him. "But his opinion can no longer change anything... Professor Ye, to be frank, due to certain classified reasons, the international situation is extremely tense right now. Those above have given a strict order: a solution must be found within a short timeframe."

"Solve the problem? What problem is so significant that even Sun Zhongliang isn't qualified to intervene?"

"I cannot tell you that yet," the supervisor paused for a moment. "However, if you've been observant, Professor Ye, you should have noticed some anomalies in the past couple of days... There are changes happening that we don't understand."

Two hands from behind grasped Professor Ye's shoulders, pressing him back into his wheelchair. An old man's strength was no match for a younger person's; he was utterly unable to resist, unable to move a muscle.

"I will not help you experiment on my student," Professor Ye rasped.

"Professor Ye, whether you intervene or not, we will continue our research on Dr. Chu... If one day isn't enough, we'll spend ten, a hundred... until we achieve results. It makes no difference to us, but for Dr. Chu, it won't be a pleasant experience."

The supervisor leaned down and gently patted Professor Ye's shoulder, his voice completely calm:

"You wouldn't be helping us experiment on Dr. Chu... You'd be using your life's knowledge to save your own student, do you understand?"

Professor Ye's hands on the wheelchair clenched tightly.

He slowly turned his head to look through the glass. Several figures in hazmat suits moved about the laboratory, while countless instruments and needles converged on the slender young man. A pair of complex, pale blue eyes gazed back from afar...

In a daze, Professor Ye seemed to see the innocent young man again, wearing a brown sweater and black-framed glasses, earnestly discussing with him below the university lecture hall – sincere, vibrant, and full of infinite possibilities.

Professor Ye's cracked lips trembled slightly. He slowly averted his gaze, silently turned his wheelchair, and moved away from the observation room.

The old man's retreating back was like that of a leader sheep wandering far from its flock, stumbling yet resolute.

"...Prepare an independent laboratory for me."

"We're entering the city up ahead."

The sedan sped down the elevated highway at 180 mph. Chen Ling calmly gripped the steering wheel, glanced at the road sign above, and spoke slowly.

The setting sun gradually dipped below the city skyline. Perhaps due to the overcast sky and smog, even dusk appeared dim and chaotic. Beneath the heavy clouds, neon lights flickered silently in the concrete jungle.

After crossing two cities and traveling for over four hours, Lu Xun and the other two showed no signs of drowsiness. Their bodies were taut, hands gripping the armrests tightly, feeling their entire bodies stiff with tension.

"...Director Chen, now that we're entering the city, can we please not drive so fast?" Lu Xun's lips were pale. "It'll be trouble if the traffic police spot us and pull us over..."

"They won't see us," Yang Xiao interjected before Chen Ling could explain. "I've already deactivated all the road surveillance cameras along the route."

Lu Xun: ...

Lu Xun's expression was incredibly strange. He glanced at Yang Xiao through the rearview mirror, his gaze seemingly saying, "I remember you weren't like this before."

"But Director Chen truly lives up to his name; to be able to find this place without navigation is impressive," Lu Xun sighed. "For someone like me, without navigation, I'm lost."

"I just drove aimlessly," Chen Ling said, glancing at the note beside the steering wheel. "We were able to get here because that's how the script was written."

At 6:55 PM, Chen Ling and the others exited the elevated highway and entered Minshan District.

—Weaving Fate.

As Chen Ling's rank continued to rise, the effects of Weaving Fate grew stronger. While still challenging to use in direct combat, it was perfectly viable for everyday assistance.

Even after entering the city, Chen Ling showed no signs of slowing down. While the current speed would be unmanageable for most, it was nothing to him... He watched the city slowly descend into gloom, his gaze incredibly solemn.

To ordinary people, a satellite going offline might just mean temporary signal issues. But Chen Ling knew well that this signified civilization's regression had reached a critical point, to the extent that even ordinary people were sensing something was amiss...

Chen Ling knew that the Great Cataclysm was broadly divided into three stages: first, a world war ignited after nations realized their advanced weapons were gradually failing; second, the calamitous impact brought by the convergence of the Gray Realm after the war; and third, the establishment of nine major bases amidst the chaos to preserve the embers of civilization.

And now, the precursors of the Great Cataclysm had already emerged.

"Dr. Lu, have you located the laboratory?"

"I can, yes..." Lu Xun said, his grip on the armrest tight and his voice somewhat stiff. "But before that, could you pull over for a moment?"

Chen Ling paused, then expertly turned the wheel and parked by the roadside.

The moment the car came to a stop, three figures practically burst out, rushing to the edge of a green tree by the roadside, where they began to retch violently.

"..." Chen Ling was somewhat speechless. "It's only been a little over four hours. Is it really that dramatic?"

"Who drives at 180 mph for the entire journey, and for over four hours straight... Ugh..."

Chen Ling: ...

Among the three, Su Zhiwei, having studied martial arts since childhood, had the mildest reaction. Lu Xun and Yang Xiao, however, took a full five minutes to recover before they could move back towards the car.

"Do you see that blocked mountain road ahead?"

Lu Xun pointed to a road stretching deep into the mountain.

"Keep going down this road, and you'll find a tunnel. The laboratory is located deep within it... However, there are a considerable number of checkpoints along the way. I only managed to get out by using a Starline connection then. It won't be easy to force our way in."

Yang Xiao glanced towards the mountain in the dim light of night and walked directly to a nearby streetlamp.

As he pressed his palm against the streetlamp's surface, its light flickered faintly, as if an electric current had already surged through the area's circuitry, penetrating deep into the mountain...

He closed his eyes, sensing for a moment.

"There's definitely a massive power-consuming cluster down there... However, I can't find an entry point for their closed-circuit surveillance. It seems they've shut down all the monitors."

"Would a laboratory typically not have surveillance?" Su Zhiwei frowned deeply.

"Of course not."

Chen Ling, in his large red opera robe, stood beneath the flickering streetlights, his eyes fixed quietly on the mountain.

"It appears someone anticipated our arrival, even predicting Dr. Yang's abilities, which is why they specifically cut the surveillance power... Not only that, but it's likely 'White Hands' with divine abilities are also ambushed near the laboratory. The new master of this laboratory... is not simple at all."