Chapter 63: Underground Research Institute

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Underground Research Institute

The Next Day

On the agreed-upon day, Xiang Yi brought Shi Tie with him through the narrow sewage tunnel.

They made it to the abandoned district without a hitch, returning to the same spot where he’d met Ning Ye before.

Of course, he didn’t just stroll straight into the building. Instead, he sent Shi Tie — bundled up from head to toe — ahead to scout things out first.

Meanwhile, Xiang Yi positioned himself high up in a nearby building and kept watch for a while, confirming that no trace of human presence had been left anywhere in the area over the past few days.

It wasn’t long before Ning Ye stepped out of the building on her own, glancing around in search of Xiang Yi.

When he appeared in front of her, she skipped the pleasantries and led him through the surrounding derelict buildings until they reached one that looked completely unremarkable from the outside.

The building had a basement, and tucked in the corner of that basement was a door that looked like nothing special.

Xiang Yi had half-expected to find another hidden passage like the ones in the sewer system.

But when the door swung open, what greeted him was an elevator.

Ning Ye stepped in first, pulled out a keycard, swiped it against the control panel, and the panel lit up immediately.

She glanced back at Xiang Yi, who was still hovering in the doorway, clearly reluctant to step into such an enclosed and potentially dangerous space, and let out a sigh. "Want to take the stairs instead?"

"That’d be great, actually."

Ning Ye gave him a look of mild exasperation.

Sure, a healthy level of caution around strangers and unfamiliar places was reasonable — but she was pretty convinced Xiang Yi had full-blown persecution complex.

She pulled the elevator door shut again and took him to the basement of the adjacent building, where a hidden door led into a passage that matched exactly what Xiang Yi had been expecting all along.

They descended through the passage — roughly five floors’ worth of depth — and passed through another door that required a keycard, and Xiang Yi found himself stepping into what looked like a research facility.

The classic kind: stark white throughout, divided into three distinct zones.

The middle was the main hall, which was where Xiang Yi had just entered.

The area to the left was considerably smaller, furnished with a few desks and some equipment that looked like it could be moved around as needed.

The equipment looked remarkably advanced, and there was a certain structural resemblance to the Mind Pulse Generator.

On the opposite side of the facility were three containment doors, each fitted with glass made from some kind of special material that allowed a clear view into the rooms beyond.

The rooms themselves looked like plain white spaces, but Xiang Yi had already figured out what they were for.

Containing Abnormalities.

Xiang Yi walked over to the equipment and reached out to touch one of the panels to check its functions.

Ning Ye suddenly slapped the back of his hand. "Don’t just go touching things — this stuff is expensive."

He ignored her and reached out again anyway.

Ning Ye hesitated, then thought better of trying to stop him.

[Edge Company — Spiritual Fluctuation Measurement and Monitoring Device]

[Energy Core: Edge Company Universal Stable Power Supply for Small Devices]

[Measurement Module: Edge Company Low-Grade Spiritual Energy Band Oscilloscope]

[Monitoring Module: Edge Company Low-Grade Spiritual Fluctuation Resonance Trigger]

[Spirit Source Module: Edge Company Low-Grade Spiritual Fluctuation Generator]

[Structural Type: Edge Company Low-Grade Spiritual Energy Survey Device Universal Frame]

The readout immediately grabbed Xiang Yi’s attention.

So it was a Spiritual Device after all — and the manufacturer was Edge Company, a name he already knew. Several of the key terms listed were more than a little intriguing.

Still, he hadn’t forgotten what he was here for. He withdrew his hand and, as if nothing had happened, turned to Ning Ye. "I didn’t expect to find a research facility out here."

"It’s not really a research facility — more like a small lab I put together with a few people."

Ning Ye visibly relaxed, looking like she was back on home turf, and explained, "Studying Abnormalities sounds simple enough on paper — just don’t be afraid to die — but there’s no way the city would ever allow live Abnormalities to be brought in so easily."

"Unless you have special clearance, or you’re genuinely capable of fully containing an Abnormality, most research setups like this are hidden somewhere outside the city. Like mine."

Xiang Yi nodded. That made sense. Abnormalities were extraordinarily dangerous no matter how you looked at it — if he were in a position of government authority, he’d never allow something like that to be studied freely within city limits either.

But Abnormality research wasn’t something that could simply be abandoned. So the only option was to encourage anyone with an interest in it to build their facilities outside the city.

As for security outside the city... well, that was a separate matter.

"How come there’s no one else here?"

Ning Ye answered like it was obvious. "Because I’m the only researcher."

"Just you?" Xiang Yi asked, a little surprised. "So you do the work and everyone else provides the funding?"

"That’s right."

"Why would anyone invest that much in you?"

"Because I’m capable, obviously."

Xiang Yi took a careful look at Ning Ye — the same woman who, just a few days ago, had looked like she was about to jump out of her skin the entire time they were meeting.

She did seem more at home here in the lab, that much was true. But it still didn’t answer the one thing that had been bothering him.

"Why would you bring someone you’ve only met twice to a place like this? Aren’t you worried I’d trash everything?"

"Because I get the feeling you’re a good person."

"...?"

Xiang Yi was certain that wasn’t the only reason Ning Ye had felt comfortable bringing him here.

Whoever was backing her clearly had some real capability — setting up a facility like this in an abandoned district would have cost no small amount of resources.

Either they had the means to protect Ning Ye, or they had the means to retaliate if he stepped out of line.

There was no other explanation for why they’d put her here like this.

He’d better tread carefully.

His intentions were cooperative, sure — but it never hurt to keep his guard up.

"So why did you bring me here?"

Ning Ye spread her arms and gestured around the room. "To give you some confidence in me. To show you I’m not just talking out of nowhere."

"Fair enough. You’ve made your point."

With this equipment as a foundation, it at least looked like she had everything she needed to begin studying an Abnormality right away.

"Glad to hear it." Ning Ye smiled faintly, and her expression turned more serious. "Then before we move forward with our first collaboration, there’s something I need to tell you."

"I saw your bounty posting in the Dark Zone."

"My bounty? Let me see."

Ning Ye picked up her terminal, pulled up a file, and turned the screen toward Xiang Yi.

A close-up photo of his own face stared back at him.

There was a name printed beside it, but it wasn’t his — not that the name really mattered anyway.

The posting included a brief profile on Xiang Yi.

It described him as a Level 1 Spiritual Ability User whose abilities involved high-precision Mechanical Creations.

Conduct: dangerous. Had allegedly used an Abnormality to cause hundreds of casualties.

Bounty: two million Federation Coins.

"Lu Qi’s taking quite a cut on this one."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Just remembered something that made me happy."

Xiang Yi waved it off, letting the offhand remark pass.

"So what makes you think that person is me?"