Chapter 411 - 410: Ye Linyuan’s Past

The safe had a very complex combination lock.

"You only get one chance with this kind of lock. Get it wrong, and an alarm will go off."

Baili Jing hadn’t even finished speaking when he saw Jiang Qingli raise her hand, give the lock a twist, and it clicked right open.

Feeling her Beast Husband’s astonished gaze on her, Jiang Qingli glanced at the stick figure 030 standing beside her with its hands on its hips, then cleared her throat. "This lock is just too old. It was a piece of cake."

Baili Jing smiled gently. "It seems even luck is on my darling’s side."

agreed wholeheartedly. [’You’ve got a silver tongue and a good eye, kid. That’s your greatest strength. If we’re voting for the primary husband, I’d cast my vote for you.’]

Inside the safe was a stack of documents.

Jiang Qingli picked them up and flipped through them, discovering they were a pile of files.

In the moonlight, the ID photos on the file covers—all of people with black hair and golden eyes—gave her a strong sense of déjà vu.

Jiang Qingli recognized them. These were the documents from Fang Chi’s memory that she hadn’t had time to see clearly.

Compared to the documents Fang Chi had found, which were so damaged even the ID photos were blurry, these organized files were much clearer and more complete. They were arranged in descending order by number—

Y-799: [Male, A Level Wind Ability, confirmed deceased during Wood Element attack test. Total survival time: two years and one day.]

Y-523: [Female, no Superpower potential, showed signs of rejection on November 3rd, has been disposed of. Total survival time: three years and five days.]

Y-212: [Male, A Level Water and Fire Abilities, confirmed deceased during Wind Element attack test on July 3rd. Total survival time: three years and twenty-one days.]

Y-09: [Male...]

...

The numbers started at 799, but this stack of files only contained a few dozen scattered reports.

The numbers in between were missing. She didn’t know if those subjects were never "born" or if they had been confirmed dead before the experiments could even begin.

The dates were all from twenty years ago. Jiang Qingli guessed this was related to the experiments Baili Jing had mentioned.

None of the previous test subjects had lived past the age of four.

Jiang Qingli scanned through them quickly and soon reached the very first file.

Number Y-01.

[Number: Y-01

Gender: Male

Superpower: Unknown black mist (suspected to be a bug)

Notes: Mentally stable, above-average intelligence, no current physical defects. However, subject remains in a state of partial Beastification and cannot fully take human form. Requires observation to determine if this is due to objective factors.]

In the file, there was a full-body color ID photo.

A small boy, about four or five years old, had a pale, beautiful face, but his expression was sinister, belying his age. He had jet-black hair so long it trailed on the floor. Beneath his bangs, his golden pupils glowed like magnificent, cold flames.

His file was the thickest.

’Based on her experience from reading the previous files, Y-01 must have undergone the most experimental tests...’

Her fingers trembled as she turned the page.

Even though she had prepared herself, Jiang Qingli still froze when she saw what was written.

Nearly ten pages, densely packed with text, all detailing the contents of the experiments—

[9.11, Feeding training. Subject can consume cooked food, raw food (including its own kind), and rotten food... Exhibits severe food-guarding behavior. No adverse reactions.]

[9.22-9.30, Fasting training. Without food or water, subject can survive for a maximum of seven days. Room for improvement.]

[10.3, Earth Element attack test. 3cm of tail severed, multiple fractures throughout the body, multiple internal organs damaged, three perforations to the heart, countless flesh wounds. After being returned to its nest, all wounds confirmed healed in twenty hours and thirty minutes. Y-01’s endurance is stronger than we imagined. The attack can be intensified tomorrow.]

[10.4, Wood + Fire Element attack test. 15cm of tail severed, right ear damaged. Subject was hung upside down by vines for three hours, resulting in over 50% blood loss. Consciousness confirmed regained after seventy-eight hours and twenty-five minutes. Wounds confirmed healed after one hundred thirty hours and five minutes... This is not Y-01’s limit. Recommend intensifying the attack test next time.]

[10.17, Lightning + Fire + Water Element attack test...]

[11.12, Asphyxiation test...]

[11.24, Healing test...]

Almost every two weeks, another inhuman torture was inflicted upon him.

The record-keeper used cold, cruel words and numbers to document every ounce of Y-01’s suffering and his struggle for survival.

The frail snake-boy crawled back from the brink of death again and again, only to be forced to undergo so-called "tests" time after time. The real-time photos attached to the reports were too gruesome to look at...

Jiang Qingli only made it halfway through before her fingers started shaking, and she snapped the file shut.

The moonlight spilling in beside her felt silent and cold.

Jiang Qingli stared at the photo and heard her own voice ask softly, "This... this isn’t Ye Linyuan, is it?"

The moment she asked, she already knew the answer.

This was, indeed, Ye Linyuan.

But... Jiang Qingli truly couldn’t imagine the amount of pain these experiments must have caused.

Warm fingers wrapped around the girl’s cold ones.

Baili Jing patted her back with his other hand and said slowly, "Darling, I know I might not be the right person to say this, but it’s all in the past. He won’t have to go through that pain ever again."

Jiang Qingli nodded.

They silently searched the remaining rooms and found a few more documents, which were mostly data from twenty years ago.

Just as they were about to leave, Jiang Qingli suddenly heard 030 say, [’I think I hear something underground... There might be another level below.’]

Jiang Qingli told Baili Jing about it, and he immediately opened a hole in the floor, revealing a basement corridor on the other side.

The basement was dimly lit and empty. It seemed deserted.

Baili Jing suggested that he go down and investigate first while Jiang Qingli stayed up here. If there was any danger, she should leave immediately.

was displeased. [’Is this guy looking down on my weapons? It’d be faster for the two of us to go down and have him support us with his Space Ability if anything happens, wouldn’t it?’]

It took some effort for Jiang Qingli to convince Baili Jing.

She pulled out two micro-communicators, and they each put one on to stay in contact.

-

The underground space was vast, with passages leading in every direction.

blocked the surveillance signals and swaggered ahead to scout the path.

After passing several empty data rooms and laboratories, which Jiang Qingli documented with photos, she reached the end of the corridor.

The door was tightly shut, but she felt a strong urge to open it.

She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The room was as bright as day, and she instinctively raised a hand to shield her eyes.

Peeking through her fingers, Jiang Qingli saw the scene inside and froze—

In the center of the spacious room stood a massive glass vessel.

The top and bottom of the vessel were connected to the ceiling and floor. Countless tubes, both thick and thin, extended from it, linking to the Snake Beastman at its center.

The Snake Beastman was turned sideways to the door. His eyes were tightly shut, his ink-black hair floated in the liquid, and below his pale skin was a nearly two-meter-long, jet-black snake tail, currently held in place by restraints, forcing him upright.

His face was obscured by his hair, so Jiang Qingli couldn’t see it clearly, but for some reason, her heart began to pound violently.

She pressed a hand to her chest, her gaze falling on his.

There was no mark.

Jiang Qingli let out a breath, but she still couldn’t relax.

It felt as if a thin steel wire was wrapped around her heart, squeezing it so tightly she couldn’t breathe.

didn’t dare to speak, glancing worriedly at Jiang Qingli’s profile.

The girl bit her lip, took a deep breath, and cautiously stepped forward.

As she got closer, Jiang Qingli moved to face the Snake Beastman, and her pupils trembled—

Through the gaps in his ink-black hair, the tattoo on his waist was glaringly conspicuous.

It was the doodle she had drawn on Ye Linyuan with a fountain pen that night.