Chapter 413 - 412: Confronting the Mastermind

Jiang Qingli looked at her, her expression calm. "It hasn’t been that long. Didn’t we just see each other this morning?"

"You don’t seem surprised at all."

Lü Xin was still wearing the standard white uniform of the detention center, but the look in her eyes as they landed on Jiang Qingli was completely different from before.

"I was actually quite shocked when I saw you just now... I didn’t expect you to be so fast." Lü Xin joked casually, "Could this be Mind Sensing?"

"It was Fang Chi, wasn’t it?" Lü Xin said slowly after a dozen seconds or so. "After all, the first thing we did when we caught Ye Linyuan was remove his marker. One has to be cautious about things like that."

She glanced around at the test subjects in the room as if admiring her own creations. Only when her gaze fell on Ye Linyuan did a hint of disgust surface in her eyes.

Jiang Qingli’s heart tightened. "Where’s Fang Chi?" she asked.

"In the next room, getting a chip installed," Lü Xin said. "I originally wanted to wait until his intelligence recovered, but the client is in a hurry."

Jiang Qingli was now certain that the owner of this laboratory was Lü Xin.

’Thinking back on it now, there were clues.’

’Lü Xin was there the day Sheng Langhuai attacked. Wang Yu had said the redhead’s boss was from the military district, and Fang Chi, despite being in the military district, had feigned ignorance, probably because he suspected something...’

’But who is this client she mentioned?’

BANG!

The loud noise shattered her train of thought.

The glass container nearest to Lü Xin was forcefully rammed by the beast-like creature inside. The teenage boy’s eyes burned like fire as he bared his teeth, making no attempt to hide his anger and fear.

Lü Xin waved her hand, and two males immediately stepped out from behind her. They walked to the test subject and pressed a button on the container’s exterior.

The restraints tightened, flipping him upside down. Tiny sparks of electricity flashed continuously in the water. He opened his mouth to howl in agony, but his mouth and nose were gagged.

Seeing this, all the other test subjects, except for Ye Linyuan, had clear expressions of anger.

Lü Xin’s gaze swept over them one by one, finally landing coldly on Ye Linyuan with a look of reproach.

Jiang Qingli didn’t understand the situation, but she had a bad feeling that Lü Xin was about to use Ye Linyuan to make a point. Her grip on her weapon tightened, and she asked nonchalantly, "What kind of chip are you installing in Fang Chi?"

"A control chip." Lü Xin’s tone was light and careless, as if it was nothing worth hiding. "They’re very useful. For example, a few days ago, Ye Linyuan killed more than ten test subjects, but was ultimately brought down by the chip."

Jiang Qingli said, "You seem to hate Ye Linyuan. Isn’t he your lab’s most perfect creation?"

"He was my mother’s, not mine," Lü Xin corrected.

She glanced down at her watch. "Twenty years ago, my mother used gene technology for the first time to create Ye Linyuan. Unfortunately, those incompetent commoners insisted it was some kind of moral violation and had the technology shut down."

"But I, for one, think this technology still has a lot of room for improvement. For example, cultivating them directly from embryos is too expensive. It’s better to just modify males who already have Superpowers. Take a look at the one next to you. He was originally only A Level, but now he’s S Level."

"Of course, this isn’t entirely for my own benefit," Lü Xin said, lifting her chin. "Once this technology matures, these males can be brilliant on the battlefield."

Jiang Qingli found it hard to agree. "I’m afraid they can’t even be called human anymore."

"Males are an inferior sex by nature," Lü Xin said, unconcerned. "So what if we use them?"

"Is Qin Yu one of your clients? Your views are quite similar," Jiang Qingli said. "You don’t usually like to interact with males. You even avoid them when they try to talk to you."

"You’re very observant," Lü Xin remarked. "Qingli, you’re different from the many other females I’ve met. Even though our views differ, I really admire you. Your abilities, your personality, your useless attention to detail and kindness... it’s all very cute."

"So don’t you worry. Once I create a more perfect specimen, the first thing I’ll do is make a handsome one for you, to warm your bed."

Jiang Qingli: "..."

Her lips twitched. "Am I supposed to say thank you?"

"No need." Lü Xin smiled, a little bashfully. "It’s I who should be thanking you, Qingli."

Jiang Qingli asked, "For what?"

"Just the other day, I was complaining about how this batch of males was substandard, and then you delivered Baili Jing to me."

Lü Xin stroked her chin and mused,

"I was wondering before how a failed product like Baili Chengyan could awaken an S-Level Superpower. It was only when my people fought him just now that I realized it’s because the blood donor’s innate talent is just too high."

"If I had known earlier, I would have had Baili Qing send Baili Jing over for experiments—"

The moment the words left her mouth, Jiang Qingli moved.

No one saw her move clearly. By the time they reacted, the girl had already grabbed the other woman’s collar, tackled her to the ground, and pressed the weapon from her waist against her back.

Lü Xin wasn’t surprised. Instead, she nodded in approval. "Clean and decisive. I told you, you have good genes."

Jiang Qingli pressed the weapon to her temple and said coldly, "Let us out."

"Why?" Lü Xin retorted. "There’s no downside for you in this. You’re a female. Why would I ever hurt you?"

"I don’t believe you." Jiang Qingli stared into her eyes. "I’ve seen records of female test subjects in the archives. Just because you aren’t doing it now doesn’t mean you won’t in the future."

"Also, the male who tried to assassinate me in the Third District was one of your test subjects, wasn’t he?"

"That was the client’s request." Lü Xin sighed, her gaze a chilling mix of admiration. "But your genes really are excellent. It would be a shame not to use them."

Jiang Qingli raised her hand, about to act, when she suddenly heard a strange, shrill sound.

As if she were being controlled, her movements froze.

She could see the scene before her, but it was as if she had lost connection with her own body. Her fingers wouldn’t move.

The beast-like creatures in the glass containers fell completely silent in an instant. Even the look in Ye Linyuan’s eyes became somewhat docile.

Lü Xin easily pushed Jiang Qingli off of her.

Looking at the dazed and confused girl, Lü Xin said calmly, "You see? This could have been resolved peacefully. Why did you have to force me to use this move? The preparations are a hassle. I’ve practically revealed all my secrets to you..."

She pulled up a screen to record Ye Linyuan’s reaction to seeing Jiang Qingli being controlled. After confirming that the removal of the marker had nullified its effects, she ordered some of the males beside her to split off and continue cornering Baili Jing.

After three minutes of the Spiritual Attack, Lü Xin pressed the pause button.

The surrounding snake-like creatures were on the verge of death. Only Ye Linyuan watched them coldly from behind the glass wall.

The girl collapsed to the floor.

"Look at them, how much they’re suffering." Lü Xin caressed Jiang Qingli’s cheek and sighed. "For the sake of us both being females, I promise I’ll prepare a warm place for you to live. It won’t be like it is for these animals..."

The girl’s lips moved.

Lü Xin didn’t approach rashly. Instead, she took a cautious step back and asked, "What did you say?"

Jiang Qingli lifted her head and said, enunciating every word: "In. Your. Dreams."

Using all her strength, she threw the object in her hand backward—

After a loud crash, a crack appeared on the glass wall.

Everyone froze, staring blankly at the glass container, as if they had forgotten how to move.

CRACK.

The next second, a dense web of cracks erupted across the glass.

CRACK, CRACK, CRACK...

Accompanied by countless shattering sounds, the smooth, transparent, thick glass wall became frosted over with a network of innumerable cracks.

Lü Xin retreated behind the crowd, about to flee, but then she saw the cracks stop spreading.

Lü Xin stopped in her tracks, a vicious glint in her eyes.

But before she could speak, Ye Linyuan suddenly curled his lips into a smile, and his heavy snake tail slammed forcefully against the scarred surface of the glass!

The glass container exploded in an instant!