Chapter 102 Spring Beast Tide - 4 Tang Bufan's Investigation...

Tang Bufan investigated the background of that doctor Jiang and found that he was once a human from the underground city, from a family of doctors, and belonged to the New Business Alliance.

Age 37, graduated from East District Underground City Huali University.

Huali University... Tang Bufan sat in front of his computer, deep in thought, about to continue his search, when there was a knock on his door.

"Mrs. Tang, are you awake? I've come to collect the laundry."

Tang Bufan closed the page, tiptoed back into the house from the small study, sat on the sofa, and picked up a book from the side.

"Enter."

He Yun came in, carrying a broom and mop. Tang Bufan put down his book and got up from the sofa: "Let me help you."

"No! Please sit down!" He Yun quickly stopped him, walked over to Tang Bufan and pressed him back down on the sofa: "You're still in heat, you should rest well. Besides, cleaning is my job, Mrs. Tang, don't worry about me feeling tired."

Previously, Tang Bufan had wiped the table and swept the floor after finishing his meal, which greatly surprised He Yun. Tang Bufan took it for granted, but He Yun was afraid of being scolded by the housekeeper.

"If Mrs. Tang returns to the Western Federation with Mr. Louis in the future, please don't do this again." He Yun and Tang Bufan are quite familiar with each other now, so while sweeping the floor, He Yun whispered to him, "Mr. Louis's house also has many servants, and most of them are sub-beastmen. It's not easy for sub-beastmen to have a suitable job. In this society, it's hard for us to find a job with such a safe, comfortable and high-paying environment."

"Oh!" Tang Bufan pulled his feet up onto the sofa to make it easier for him to sweep the floor. He was quite moved by He Yun's words and began to reflect on himself.

He didn't realize that his kindness might cause sub-orcs like He Yun to lose their jobs.

Thinking that Pei Zhishu had several sub-beastman assistants, Tang Bufan asked him, "Can't you work at the Cloud Top Building?"

“Those people over there are all elites; they all have university degrees,” He Yun said enviously. “My brother and I only finished high school.”

“It’s already pretty good to finish high school,” Tang Bufan comforted him. “Many people outside haven’t even had a single day of schooling.”

He Yun, who was sweeping the floor, looked up at him and smiled: "Compared to the outside world, we who live in the inner city are definitely much happier."

Just then, a faint sound came from next door as something fell to the ground, seemingly a mop. Because of their keen hearing, both of them caught the sound amidst the cacophony of birdsong.

It was He Xing who was cleaning Lu Yi's room.

He Yun glanced at the next room with concern, then turned to look at Tang Bufan. The handsome man, dressed in a moon-white silk nightgown, had his legs tucked into the sofa and was reading a book, completely oblivious to the commotion next door.

He Yun tightened his grip on the broom, his gaze sweeping over the expensive, smooth solid wood floor. He then gritted his teeth, looked up, and asked Tang Bufan, "Doesn't Madam Tang care?"

"What do you mean?" Tang Bufan turned a page of the book in his hand.

He Yun bit her lip gently, her expression conflicted: "My brother... he... he..."

"He likes Lu Yi?" Tang Bufan smiled slightly: "I know."

He Yun was stunned, while Tang Bufan looked at him calmly: "Although high-level beastmen can only have one wife under the law, they can have lovers in private. No one is ashamed of being their lover. After all, people laugh at poverty but not at prostitution. It has always been like this since ancient times. Your brother probably had such thoughts."

Looking at the composed Tang Bufan, He Yun was bewildered: "Mrs. Tang... supports this?"

"No." Tang Bufan lowered his eyes gently, his gaze returning to the book in his hands: "I don't care because Lu Yi likes me."

He Yun stood there holding a broom, staring blankly at Tang Bufan. The man had long eyelashes, fair skin, and lips as red as if he had applied rouge. His long black hair fell over his moon-white silk pajamas, and he was bathed in the orange light of the lamp, like a sparkling diamond.

There was no jealousy, no doubt, no blame, and even his expression was peaceful. It was an absolute confidence in himself and an absolute trust in his lover... He Yun suddenly smiled with relief, feeling at ease. The thing he was afraid of would never happen.

"Besides, I think it's a good thing to strive to improve yourself for someone you like." Tang Bufan continued, looking at his book, "Isn't your brother learning English on his own? His feelings for Lu Yi are positive, but you..."

"Me?" He Yun was nervous.

Tang Bufan looked at him seriously: "Want to study together? I think you two brothers are both quite smart. If you study hard, you might be able to work at the Cloud Top Building in the future."

"Um... no need for studying..." He Yun was sweating profusely and quickly lowered his head to continue cleaning.

"I can teach you two!" Tang Bufan became interested: "Anyway, it's so boring during the beast tide, it's good to find something to do."

"Really, it's not necessary..." He Yun was both amused and exasperated. He had never been a fan of studying, and he was already 25 years old.

Seeing that he was really unwilling, Tang Bufan felt a little sorry. He Yun, seeing his boredom, picked up a broom and thought for a moment before suggesting, "Mrs. Tang, would you like to go for a walk at Lanyue Lake?"

"Lanyue Lake?" Tang Bufan turned his head to look at the tightly closed window, where he could hear terrifying bird cries and the tinkling of silver nets outside. "Isn't it covered in bird droppings outside?"

“A covered bridge has been built there, leading to the center of the lake. There’s a large pavilion in the center, and Mr. Pei goes there for a walk every year around this time,” He Yun explained, enthusiastically telling Tang Bufan, “Because it’s surrounded by lake water, you can’t see any disgusting bird droppings. There are also water surface cleaning devices that automatically collect bird feathers. It’s one of the few places where you can walk around and get some fresh air during the beast tide.”

Tang Bufan's eyes brightened slightly, not because of the scenery, but because of Pei Zhishu... who happened to want to see him.

"Okay!" Tang Bufan readily got up, put on his slippers, walked to the wardrobe, and said to He Yun, "I'll leave as soon as I've changed my clothes!"

He Yun was also surprised that Tang Bufan would leave so suddenly. However, he was quite bored and had been cooped up in the house for several days. So, while Tang Bufan was changing clothes in the bathroom, he quickly mopped the floor and then set off with Tang Bufan.

Wan Yiming sat under the eaves guarding the courtyard, holding a large cleaver. Although the entire garden was covered by silver netting, there were bound to be some small gaps that allowed birds to sneak in. 90% of the servants were sub-beastmen, so he had to take on the responsibility of protecting them.

"Hey, going out in this weather?" Wan Yiming asked the two, and he was also getting to know Tang Bufan and He Yun better.

"Let's go to Lanyue Lake." Tang Bufan opened his umbrella and asked him with a smile, "Are you coming?"

“Ang Shouyuan is here.” Wan Yiming smiled憨厚ly.

“Me.” Tang Bufan corrected his speech impediment.

It's not that "Ang" is bad, but Guo Wen likes cultured people, and the servants in this garden are all refined and cultured. Tang Bufan is afraid that Wan Yiming, who comes from a village, will be ridiculed.

Wan Yiming perked up and quickly corrected himself in a loud voice: "Me!"

“Yes, ‘I’ can soften my voice.” Tang Bufan gave him his approval, and he and He Yun left under the umbrella.

Lanyue Lake was quite far from Qingzhu Xiaoxuan. The two of them walked with difficulty, each holding an umbrella. The ground, walls, tiles, and trees were covered with sticky blood and excrement, and the air was foul-smelling. Birds would occasionally try to swoop down on the two of them, but they were all blocked by the silver net.

He Yun regretted walking for a while and loudly asked Tang Bufan if he wanted to go back amidst the birdsong. Tang Bufan was not afraid of the environment and was only thinking about trying his luck to see if he could meet Pei Zhishu.

Along one stretch of road, they encountered a group of orc servants, while dozens of birds fluttered about in a chaotic manner. It turned out that a corner of a silver net in this area had fallen off, revealing a hole, and the orc servants were repairing it and catching the birds that had flown in, including some birds of prey with sharp claws.

"Madam! Danger! Let's go back!" The middle-aged orc, who seemed to be the leader, called over a subordinate, wanting to send Tang Bufan and He Yun back.

"You guys are busy! You guys are busy!" Tang Bufan had to respond with a loud voice because it was too noisy around him.

Seeing that Tang Bufan had no intention of returning, the leader had no choice but to have his men escort them all the way to Lanyue Lake.

When they arrived at the lush green lake, a man in a suit was sitting in a large pavilion in the middle of the lake, with his youngest son and dog squatting beside him. Tang Bufan smiled as he held up an umbrella, thinking that he was really lucky.

Two servants were with Pei Zhishu. They bowed and said something to Pei Zhishu, and only then did Pei Zhishu realize that Tang Bufan had arrived.

As the two approached, Pei Zhishu spoke calmly, rebuking He Yun: "How could you bring Madam Tang out during the beast tide?"

He Yun lowered her head uneasily, and Tang Bufan quickly said, "I insisted that he bring me here. It's too stuffy in the room, I can't stand it."

Pei Zhishu noticed that Tang Bufan's complexion was rosy and his lips were even redder than usual, so he asked him, "Is Madam Tang's heat over?"

"That's about it, it's been five days." Tang Bufan raised his hand and touched his neck, which was still very hot. Of course, his body was still sore and sluggish, but for someone with a five-year history of poisoning, this discomfort was nothing.

Tang Bufan's pain tolerance is far greater than that of others.

Pei Zhishu invited Tang Bufan to sit down. A servant poured Tang Bufan hot tea. Tang Bufan felt there were too many people around, so he thought for a moment, then smiled and asked Pei Zhishu, "I would like to ask Mr. Pei some questions about the First Lady."

Pei Zhishu was slightly taken aback and turned to look at Tang Bufan, but Tang Bufan only smiled, his handsome face revealing no flaw. Pei Zhishu's eyes darkened, and he began to instruct the surrounding servants:

"You may all leave."

The servants then left, taking Pei Zhishu's youngest son and dog with them, leaving only Pei Zhishu and Tang Bufan in the spacious lakeside pavilion.

The sound of pattering rain filled the air, but what fell from the sky was not rain, but blood and bird droppings. The sky was dark and covered with flocks of birds, the light as dim as after sunset, and in the blurry distance, several large red lanterns swayed, seemingly creaking and groaning.

Tang Bufan is no longer surprised by this apocalyptic scene, but to people in the 21st century, it looks no different from a ghost movie.

Just like the dark, rainy ruins where he first arrived, he thought it was hell and was so scared that he could only hug Chen Fei and cry.

"How much does Mr. Pei know about medicine?" Tang Bufan turned to look at Pei Zhishu beside him.

Pei Zhishu seemed somewhat puzzled, but still replied calmly, "Not much. Didn't Madam Tang come to ask me about the First Lady?"

"No rush, we can talk about it later." Tang Bufan smiled slightly, looking at Pei Zhishu across the stone table, his slender fingers picking up the celadon teacup: "The doctor Jiang you sent took advantage of my high fever and unconsciousness to draw my blood and prescribed me a drug, a gene-harmonizing fluid. Do you know its effects?"

Pei Zhishu frowned slightly: "...I'm not quite sure."

"Gene harmonizing solution, used to treat adverse reactions to certain medications in patients with gene mutations." Tang Bufan shook the warm teacup in his hand, not in a hurry to drink.

“...There are many people with genetic mutations in this era.” Pei Zhishu’s expression remained unchanged.

“That’s true.” Tang Bufan agreed with him, but his gaze deepened slightly: “But how did Dr. Jiang, who treated me for the first time, determine that my genes are subtly different from others?”

The two looked at each other. A cool breeze blew across the mountaintop in March, ruffling a few strands of their black hair. Looking at Tang Bufan staring at him, Pei Zhishu sighed softly.

"I didn't expect Jiang Shan to make such a mistake," Pei Zhishu said softly.

"He probably didn't expect me to look at the names of the medications on the IV bag, nor did he expect me to check their effects." Tang Bufan stared directly at Pei Zhishu: "So... Mr. Pei knew all about me from the beginning?"

“You should thank me. Without my cooperation, your acting skills in the interrogation room alone wouldn’t have been enough,” Pei Zhishu said, pouring tea into his cup. “When you answered the first question, A77 judged that you were confused. Obviously, you yourself didn’t know whether you belonged to the Rebooters. Although you did cleverly use indirect answers to the second question to deceive the lie detector mechanism.”

"..." Tang Bufan listened with a pounding heart, his smile fading and replaced by a solemn expression: "You... are a Rebooter?"

"Caw! Caw!" A giant eagle, as big as a person, snatched a gray sparrow that had been resting on a silver net in its beak, and several drops of blood and feathers fell onto the lake surface.

Pei Zhishu lowered his eyes, calmly took a sip of fragrant tea from his teacup, and finally said slowly, "I am not."

Tang Bufan frowned and gripped the teacup in his hand tightly: "If not, how do you know my identity?"

Pei Zhishu looked at him calmly, his dark eyes as deep as a black pool: "Because quite a few people in the East District Underground City know about you, not just the Rebooters."

After he finished speaking, he picked up the teapot and filled his cup with tea: "You should have already checked my information. My Pei family belongs to the New Business Alliance, and the New Business Alliance is a neutral faction."

Tang Bufan frowned and stared at him, but the man opposite him was calm and did not seem to be lying.

New Business Alliance... Tang Bufan calmed himself down. He had indeed been looking up information on his computer before coming here, starting yesterday after Dr. Jiang left.

"Fang Yue..." Tang Bufan slowly began, then asked Pei Zhishu, "She knows me too, doesn't she?"

Pei Zhishu, who was drinking tea, glanced at Tang Bufan. Instead of answering, he asked, "Because she is the current chairperson of the New Business Alliance? So you suspect her?"

"No, because she's the same age as Dr. Jiang, they were classmates in junior and senior high school, and she's also your senior in university. All three of you attend Huali University in the East District Underground City," Tang Bufan said in a deep voice.

"After you married Guo Shen, not only did the Pei family grow stronger day by day, but the New Business Alliance also expanded. Later, Fang Yue came to power, and the New Business Alliance began to compete with the peacekeeping faction for control of the underground city. She was below, and you were above. Together, you finalized the plan for the new human base."

Pei Zhishu listened quietly, then smiled and said, "It seems you have indeed done a lot of research. Your speculations are all correct, except that we are the Rebooters, but we are not."

Tang Bufan frowned, and seeing his solemn expression, Pei Zhishu finally revealed the truth: "We know about you because we used to cooperate with Zero. The Rebooters wanted to bring humanity out of the underground city, and so did our New Merchant Alliance. We were aligned on this goal, so we cooperated. However, we later discovered that Zero was leading the Rebooters to become more and more extreme, so we broke with him."

Pei Zhishu then lowered his head and sipped his tea: "Our new merchant alliance doesn't have that much hostility towards orcs. We'll need their help to build the new human base later."

Tang Bufan stared intently at his face. He frowned, thought for a moment, and then asked, "What about the Academy of Sciences?"

Among the three major forces in the underground city—the Peacekeepers, the New Business Alliance, and the Academy of Sciences—Tang Bufan felt that the Academy of Sciences was not innocent either.

When he and Lu Yi first guessed, they felt that the Academy of Sciences and the Rebooters were the closest, as both had a large amount of cutting-edge science.

Pei Zhishu hesitated for a moment while holding his teacup before vaguely revealing, "I can only say that there has been cooperation, but I am not a member of the Academy of Sciences and do not know too much about the inside story."

"..." Tang Bufan understood after hearing this. The Asian earthquake happened near the underground city in the East District. Wasn't that clear enough? His transmigration was a joint effort by the Academy of Sciences and the Rebooters.

"In the end, the peacekeeping faction that issued the arrest warrant for me is actually the most irrelevant." Tang Bufan felt ironic. Seeing Pei Zhishu calmly drinking tea, he couldn't help but ask with concern, "You've been married into the Guo family for so long, haven't Guo Wen and Guo Shen had any suspicions at all?"

"What are you doubting?" Pei Zhishu said dismissively, "It's not me who's fighting, nor is it the New Business Alliance. Our Pei family are clean and honest businessmen."

Tang Bufan was speechless for a moment. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that Guo Wen really couldn't trace it back to Pei Zhishu. Even though the New Business Alliance and the Restarters had cooperated, Fang Yue was still above them, as she was the chairman of the New Business Alliance.

Wow, how cunning. Tang Bufan thought to himself as he looked at Pei Zhishu, and finally tilted his head back and drank the cold tea in his hand.

Looking at Tang Bufan, who was deep in thought, Pei Zhishu thought for a moment, then suddenly opened his suit jacket, pulled out a gun from his waistband, and placed it on the stone table.

Tang Bufan was taken aback and looked at him, puzzled.

“I thought it was really cool when I saw you draw your gun that day, so I asked the butler for one too.” Pei Zhishu said with some regret, “But I can’t drive it. I was raised for a marriage alliance. I can play the piano, do business, and manage people, but when it comes to shooting a gun… no one has ever taught me.”

Tang Bufan's heart stirred, and he was about to comfort him when Pei Zhishu stopped him first: "There's no need to pity me. I'm doing better than 99% of the people in this world."

Tang Bufan looked at the impeccably dressed, handsome, and aristocratic man, and fell silent. Indeed.

Pei Zhishu pushed the gun towards Tang Bufan again: "This is a laser gun, powered by nuclear energy, capable of firing over a hundred million bullets. It's yours."

Tang Bufan looked down at the gun, then looked up at him with a complicated expression: "Why did you help me?"

“The situation is out of control now, and I hope you can stop Zero.” Pei Zhishu looked at him and said, “I know you’re looking for him, and Miss Fang Yue and I are looking for him too.”

"Stop him from annihilating the orcs?" Tang Bufan asked.

"Half of it is."

"And who is the other half?"

"The experiments involving you."

Tang Bufan was slightly taken aback, then quickly straightened his face and said, "Explain in detail."

"The experiment is very complex and has many side effects," Pei Zhishu said succinctly. "We cannot allow another Asian earthquake to happen."

Tang Bufan understood that the underground city in the eastern district was already severely damaged and could not withstand a second major earthquake, while the new human base was still nowhere to be seen.

"But how am I supposed to find him?" Tang Bufan asked. "You and Miss Fang Yue have worked with him before, but neither of you knows his location."

Pei Zhishu stared intently at him: "Are you willing to be the bait?"

Tang Bufan was taken aback, and after exchanging a glance with Pei Zhishu, he understood what was going on.

Six months ago, Tang Bufan would have agreed without hesitation, but now...

Tang Bufan lowered his eyes, his mind filled with mixed emotions, thinking of Lu Yi, his lovely Lu Yi...

“I won’t force you, but you are the most likely person to contact Zero.” Pei Zhishu looked at Tang Bufan: “If you are prepared for this, then come find me.”

Tang Bufan fell into a deep silence, while outside the pavilion, blood and feathers continued to fall, and the sky grew increasingly dark.

Pei Zhishu raised his wrist to check the time; it was already close to evening. He then said to Tang Bufan, "Let's go back; it's getting late."

Tang Bufan nodded, stood up from the stone bench, and then suddenly remembered Dr. Jiang, so he confessed to Pei Zhishu:

"That gene-harmonizing fluid can actually be used to treat the discomfort symptoms caused by human mutations, not just gene mutations. I'm not sure why Dr. Jiang prescribed it to me. I came here today to try my luck and see if I could scam you. Don't blame him."

Pei Zhishu was taken aback, recalling Tang Bufan's first question to him:

How much does Mr. Pei know about medicine?

"..." Pei Zhishu's face flushed red and then turned pale.

Tang Bufan picked up the nuclear pistol on the table, lifted his robe, and tucked it into the back of his trousers.

"Thank you for the gun." Tang Bufan smiled apologetically at him, and assured him, "I will also keep your new business alliance's affairs a secret."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Pei Zhishu sat in the pavilion watching Tang Bufan's back. The man's long robe fluttered in the wind, looking very elegant, which was out of place with the hellish scene outside the covered bridge.

Pei Zhishu smiled with relief and lowered his head to drink his tea again.