Chapter 1405: Experiment, and the Red King

The sudden sound startled Xiaotao. She could barely make out Xiaobai's silhouette in the darkness and couldn't help but punch him.

"What are you doing! You scared me to death!"

Xiaobai grimaced in pain in the dark, but still asked anxiously:

"Xiaotao, how was your intel gathering? Are the Calamities really going to invade? Is there any news about King Chen Ling?"

Xiaobai was terrified the moment he learned of the Calamities' attack on the South Sea Realm and repeatedly urged Xiaotao to return. However, Xiaotao wanted to gather more intelligence. They ultimately decided to split up: Xiaobai would return promptly to deliver the news, while Xiaotao would continue to scout outside.

"'I've gathered most of it,' Xiaotao nodded. 'The South Sea Realm's defenses seem very strong, making it difficult for the Calamities from the Forbidden Sea to break through. However, there's still no news about Lord Chen Ling...'"

"'It must be absolute chaos outside, right? Is King Chen Ling in danger?' Xiaobai's eyes were filled with worry."

"If he returned to the Ghost Mocking Abyss, he should be fine..."

Xiaotao wasn't sure herself.

All Calamity territories have now mobilized, yet there's still no news from Chen Ling, which is quite concerning.

The two returned to the factory, where the Integration Faction's children were still chattering and arguing. However, they ultimately decided against approaching the checkpoint guards, opting instead to wait for Teacher Ye's return before making any decisions.

"Teacher Ye is back!"

Someone shouted, and the children immediately swarmed around him.

"Teacher Ye! We've discussed it, and we want to go to the front lines too!"

"We can't let the people of the South Sea Realm look down on us forever; our Integration Faction is also very powerful!"

"Yes, Teacher Ye, please let us go..."

"The Calamities from the Forbidden Sea killed Niannian, we want to avenge them!"

Eager voices rose from the crowd. Teacher Ye lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over the children with a complex expression.

"'Nonsense!' Teacher Ye chastised in a low voice. 'What are children doing on a battlefield? Go back and take your nap! Old Wolf, Zhao Yi... the rest of you, come with me.'"

Teacher Ye's rebuke extinguished the children's enthusiasm and desire for battle. Though somewhat reluctant and aggrieved, they still listened to him, exchanging helpless whispers as they walked towards their respective dormitory rooms.

The factory workers' dorms were all eight-person rooms, cramped and messy, completely incomparable to the Mother Tree's double rooms. Yet, the children had no complaints. They climbed the creaking metal ladders to their upper bunks and lay down quietly.

Once the children had all returned to their rooms, only Teacher Ye, Zhao Yi, Old Wolf, and a few others remained at the factory entrance.

"The South Sea Realm won't let us participate in the battle?" Old Wolf seemed to have guessed the situation.

"Mmm..."

Teacher Ye briefly explained what had happened at the meeting, and after listening, everyone fell silent.

"'What are these people thinking? Not using so many high-level combatants like us? Isn't that a complete waste?' Zhao Yi couldn't help but complain."

There were quite a few experts in the Integration Faction who had reached the 'Slaying Malevolence' stage. Furthermore, Old Wolf and his companions were peak Rank Seven combatants, exceptionally skilled at dealing with Calamities. In any other realm, they would have been treated as invaluable assets, but the South Sea Realm consistently refused to utilize them, which was truly incomprehensible.

"'I can understand their concerns, as integrators themselves fuse with Calamities,' Teacher Ye paused. 'However, the results of the genetic simulation and domestication experiment are about to be released... At that point, I will prove it to them.'"

"'It's quite boring being cooped up here all the time,' Zhao Yi stretched. 'I really want to go out and fight...'"

"There will be a chance."

After a brief chat, Teacher Ye walked directly towards the factory's underground warehouse.

Just then, as if something occurred to him, he suddenly said to Zhao Yi:

"Zhao Yi, if you're bored, come and help me."

"'Huh?' Zhao Yi was startled, unsure why Teacher Ye suddenly made this request, but he nodded without much hesitation. 'No problem.'"

Zhao Yi followed Teacher Ye through the dusty staircase. A laboratory filled with equipment came into view. On the central test bench, several unconscious minor Calamities were submerged. Bubbles rose from the mysterious liquid, and streams of fresh blood were continuously extracted through plastic tubes.

This was Zhao Yi's first time in Teacher Ye's new laboratory, and his eyes were full of curiosity.

Teacher Ye put on a lab protective suit, picked up one of the test tubes, and after carefully observing the precipitation effect, reset the timer nearby.

"'Teacher Ye, what do you need me to do?' Zhao Yi scratched his head. 'I know nothing about chemistry or experiments.'"

"Just help me clean some of the used test tubes and containers."

Teacher Ye said without turning his head, as he slowly poured the test tube's contents into a solvent on the other side.

"'I can do that!' Zhao Yi's eyes lit up, and he picked up several pieces of lab equipment and began to clean them."

Two figures busied themselves beneath the factory.

In the dormitories above ground, the children lay in their beds, deeply asleep.

Ancient Xidao Treasury.

Ning Ruyu stood before the ancestral hall, looking at the figure in theatrical robes standing before the dimly lit spirit tablets, hesitating to speak...

The dim yellow sunset gradually sank into the lands of the Ancient Xidao Treasury. The lingering light of the setting sun passed through the old hall door, illuminating the youth's back. The hem of his theatrical robes fluttered gently in the breeze, and his sigh drifted softly.

"'So, he still doesn't intend to come back and see me...'"

"'Master, if you wish to see Junior Brother, you only need to say so directly,' Ning Ruyu said carefully. 'I can sense that Junior Brother actually wants to see you too... He's just waiting for you to make the first move.'"

"'Indeed... After all, I am the one who wronged him,' Red King nodded slightly."

Ning Ruyu's eyes lit up:

"Then you..."

"'Things have come to this; seeing or not seeing is no longer important,' Red King flicked his sleeve. 'He is very smart, I can guess what he would want to ask... Since that's the case, it's better not to meet.'"

Ning Ruyu's voice died in his throat.

He looked at the back of the youth in theatrical robes and shook his head with a bitter, helpless expression.

Red King's thoughts were not something his disciples could easily change. Although Ning Ruyu truly wanted Junior Brother to return to the Ancient Xidao Treasury, it seemed Red King's focus wasn't on that matter at all.

"'Ruyu, what time is it now?' Red King suddenly asked."

Ning Ruyu was taken aback, seemingly not understanding why Red King suddenly asked this. After conjuring a clock out of thin air, he replied:

"Six twenty."

"Oh."

Red King waved his hand, "Go about your business."

"'Yes,' Ning Ruyu bowed respectfully, and his figure flickered before disappearing without a trace."

Once Ning Ruyu had left, the ancestral hall returned to its dead silence.

The youth in theatrical robes slightly tilted his head, looking towards a shadow within the ancestral hall:

"Are all the arrangements for what comes next complete?"