A few days later, Lin Hao contacted Ning Yu again in the familiar way.
When Ning Yu arrived at Lin Hao's office once more, she noticed that the files on his desk had significantly decreased. She had a vague suspicion about what was going on.
"Has your management system already been implemented?"
Ning Yu suddenly appeared behind Lin Hao, who was typing something on his laptop.
Hearing this familiar voice, Lin Hao turned around and adjusted his glasses:
"Yes, I finally have some free time to continue researching the serum."
"Since you called me here, there must be new progress, right?"
Ning Yu approached slowly and saw that he was already operating his laptop, running commands.
Numerous characters and charts were moving and flashing, which Ning Yu couldn't understand. But soon, an audio player popped up.
"Experiment number UT-3771, prosthetic degree 39%, failure."
The audio played a man's report, as if he was inputting information into a system using voice commands.
"This is already the umpteenth test subject this month."
The man muttered to himself. Ning Yu recognized this voice; it was the same man named William from the previous recording they had decrypted.
"Lacy, do you think I'm on the right path?"
William's voice sounded discouraged, as if he was questioning himself.
"Of course, Lord William. I am the best proof of your path."
The recording then played the familiar voice of the girl, Lacy, comforting William.
"Warning: Anomaly detected in Laboratory A13. Laboratory doors severely damaged."
A mechanical alert sounded in the recording, suggesting something unexpected had occurred.
"Damn it, this problem again."
William, already in a bad mood, couldn't help but complain.
"I'll handle it for you, you take a break."
Lacy seemed to stop William from doing something.
After that, the recording was filled with metallic noises, the sound of something exploding, and a familiar howl.
Ning Yu immediately recognized the sound; it was all too familiar. It was the howl of a zombie, a common sight in the post-apocalyptic world.
After listening to the recording, Ning Yu looked at Lin Hao and said:
"It seems the origin of the T-virus you're looking for is related to this William."
She was now convinced that this disaster was man-made, not a natural calamity.
Lin Hao didn't immediately respond to Ning Yu but spoke in a tone that was neither affirmative nor negative:
"Don't be too hasty. The serum you brought back has provided some additional information."
He input several incomprehensible commands, and another recording played.
"What are you talking about?"
The recording played William's angry voice.
"William, don't be hasty. Listen to me..."
Then came the voice of an unfamiliar man, calm and gentle, in stark contrast to William's attitude.
But before he could finish, he was interrupted.
"I'll say it again, I have no interest in your so-called rituals, origin, or magic."
William used several terms, though they were somewhat unclear, indicating his rejection of the stranger.
"William, our goals are not in conflict; we just need to adjust our methods slightly..."
The stranger seemed unruffled by William's attitude.
"If it weren't for the fact that you are your teacher's son and a long-time friend of mine, I would have kicked you out already. Do you understand?"
William clearly didn't want to talk much.
"Please don't interfere with me again."
He said decisively.
"William... don't you want to know the truth of this world? Don't you want to understand the ultimate principle? Once you reach that point, all problems..."
The stranger seemed intent on persuading William.
"I ask you, if it's really as you say, why hasn't anyone who went there returned?"
William remained unmoved.
"I have no interest in your vague claims. Stop with that nonsense."
"Lacy, show him out."
He seemed to have lost all patience and issued an order to leave.
"Yes, Lord William."
Lacy immediately responded.
The recording ended there. Ning Yu was left puzzled, looking at Lin Hao with a questioning gaze:
"Did you get any information from this?"
From the recording, Ning Yu only gathered that there was someone who disagreed with William, trying to persuade him about something.
But she heard a very familiar term: "origin."
When Ning Yu first awakened her origin ability, she had read this word from the lips of the Moon Princess but had no idea what it meant.
"I thought you might know. Magic? Rituals? Origin? What are these?"
Lin Hao waved his hand, indicating he was a rationalist and had no clue about such mystical topics.
Ning Yu had many inexplicable abilities, so Lin Hao had assumed she might know something.
"I don't know either, but I feel like things are getting more complicated."
Ning Yu narrowed her eyes, sorting through the clues in her mind.
"Alright, if there's any further progress, I'll contact you again."
Lin Hao saved the files and seemed to get back to work.
"Yes, I'll try to find more serum."
Ning Yu responded.
...
Back at her apartment, Ning Yu sat on the sofa, still pondering the information she had just heard.
"What are you thinking about, Little Yu? You look worried..."
Shen Yiyue, having finished preparing the vegetables in the kitchen and taken off her apron, came over and sat next to Ning Yu.
"Hmm? You've already prepared the vegetables?"
Ning Yu didn't directly answer the question, planning to discuss it with Shen Yiyue later.
"Yes!"
Shen Yiyue nodded, then leaned against Ning Yu for their usual snuggle.
"By the way, Little Yu, when will we train next time?"
Hearing her question, Ning Yu turned suspiciously looked at Shen Yiyue, noticing that she wasn't looking at her but seemed focused on something else.
"Why do you seem so eager for training lately? You used to be lazy and didn't want to go..."
She gave Shen Yiyue a suspicious look, finding that she still wasn't looking at her.
"No, last time Little Yu said she wanted to get stronger, so I want to get stronger too, to protect Little Yu~"
Shen Yiyue finally turned her head, smiling at Ning Yu as she explained.
"Really?"
Ning Yu asked.
"Of course~~"
Shen Yiyue nodded seriously, then glanced around, noticing Shen Qianqian was still in the room.
She quickly leaned in and kissed Ning Yu on the lips, then playfully said:
"Recharged!"
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
