Chapter 120: Distraction

If he reached the point where he had no other choice, he would rather destroy the entire laboratory than allow himself to fall into the institute’s hands.

The door opened fully, and several guards rushed inside. "Someone has infiltrated the laboratory! Find him!"

Ji Henghua clenched his fist and instinctively reached for the grenade. Then a voice suddenly came from the opposite side of the room.

"I’m here, you bastards!"

Ji Henghua froze. His eyes widened in surprise.

Ye Jun suddenly ran past the cages, deliberately drawing the guards’ attention toward himself.

He made sure not to come anywhere near Ji Henghua’s position. But as he passed, he briefly glanced toward him.

His lips moved silently. ’Find my brother.’

Then he ran. The guards immediately chased after him. Soon, the laboratory fell silent again.

Ji Henghua slowly collapsed against one of the cages and took several deep breaths.

Only after his heartbeat calmed down did he force himself back to his feet.

He continued searching quickly and more desperately. Perhaps Ye Jun really was clever. He managed to keep the guards occupied for nearly two hours.

Ji Henghua used every second of that time. He checked every name.

But he couldn’t find Ye Sha or his own brother.

When he finally reached the last cage, despair settled heavily in his chest. ’He’s not here.’

For a moment, Ji Henghua couldn’t breathe. Had he followed the wrong lead? Had his brother never been brought here?

Before he could dwell on it, the laboratory door opened again. Footsteps echoed through the room.

"Search carefully."

A guard’s voice sounded from outside. "That other rat was desperate enough to lure us away. There must be another one hiding here."

Ji Henghua’s entire body went cold. They were coming back. He immediately took out the smoke grenade.

He pulled the pin and rushed toward the door.

The guards heard his footsteps.

"What was that?"

"He’s over there!"

They immediately charged in his direction.

The next second, however, a smoke grenade was thrown in their direction.

The guards couldn’t even see who had thrown it. Within moments, thick smoke filled the entire thousand-square-foot laboratory.

The smoke grenade was far more effective than Ji Henghua had expected. ’I’ll have to buy more of these once I get out.’

He took out his last smoke grenade and threw it as well before quickly rushing toward the stairs.

However, he had underestimated the guards. The next second, a hand shot through the smoke and grabbed his collar, violently dragging him to the floor.

Ji Henghua struggled and tried to fight back, but the guard was too strong.

A punch landed directly on his face. He coughed and collapsed onto the ground. As he lay there, a knife appeared above him.

Through the smoke, he could see the faint glint of the blade. Ji Henghua slowly closed his eyes.

’If only I were more capable...’

For some reason, countless thoughts flooded his mind.

He wondered if his brother would be able to escape.

He thought about the little black cat that had kept appearing whenever he was anxious.

Then, strangely enough, he thought about his wife.

She had never given him much affection, and perhaps she wouldn’t even be particularly sad if she learned that he had died.

Still, he wondered if she would at least remember his name. He wanted someone to remember him. At least one person in this world.

Before the blade could pierce his skin...

"Meow!"

A cat’s cry suddenly echoed through the smoke. A strange sensation swept through Ji Henghua’s body.

His stomach churned violently, and before he could understand what was happening, his body crashed onto fresh earth. He opened his eyes with difficulty.

The little black cat was lying on top of him. It looked dizzy, its eyes barely open. Then it collapsed against his chest.

Ji Henghua stared at it in stunned silence. He slowly looked around. They were near the place where the cat had been hiding.

’What happened?’

He tried to sit up, but nausea immediately overwhelmed him.

He vomited, though there was almost nothing in his stomach after going several days without proper food.

Then he caught the faint smell of blood.

Ji Henghua’s expression changed. He turned toward the scent and froze.

Not far away, Ye Jun was lying on the ground. His body was covered in injuries, and several of his limbs had been severed.

Yet the wounds were rapidly regenerating. Ji Henghua stared at him.

’Regeneration.’

So that was his ability. Ji Henghua subconsciously raised his hand, but stopped halfway.

Then his gaze shifted toward the black cat. A possibility slowly formed in his mind. ’She didn’t die.’

The guards had never said anything about disposing of the cat’s body or checking its corpse.

They had simply assumed that it had been killed.

And earlier, they had even joked about their boss possibly taking the form of a cat.

’Could it be... teleportation?’

Perhaps the cat had teleported away at the critical moment and somehow brought him with her. Relief suddenly flooded Ji Henghua’s heart.

His eyes became slightly moist. But he quickly suppressed his emotions. There was no time to cry.

He turned toward Ye Jun and raised his hand.

A faint yellow healing light emerged from his palm and enveloped Ye Jun’s body.

Ye Jun’s eyes slowly opened. Confusion appeared in them first, followed by immediate alertness.

He looked around and instinctively tightened his grip on the dagger in his hand.

But the moment he saw Ji Henghua, his grip loosened. "Ji Henghua?"

He quickly grabbed Ji Henghua’s arm. "You’re here. So... how did it go? Did you find my brother?"

Hope filled his eyes. Ji Henghua lowered his gaze and shook his head.

Ye Jun’s hand slowly trembled before falling limply to his side. Neither of them spoke.

This had been their final lead to finding their brothers. And yet, once again, it had ended in disappointment.

Neither of them knew how much longer their brothers could hold on. What if they finally found them only to discover that they were already dead?