Ruan Chen's lips curled into a cool smile as she asked, "What did Fu Lin say? What was his reason?"

“Talent is rare. Let’s give him a life sentence and let him continue to contribute while he’s in prison,” Nan Jing scoffed, completely unconcerned. “A man like Duan Jingfu will always find a way to take advantage of any loopholes as long as he’s alive.”

Nan Jing nudged the bok choy towards Ruan Chen, watching her reluctantly crunch on the crisp stems, and continued, "Duan Jingfu is still negotiating with his superiors. He wants a laboratory, complete freedom, and an assistant. He's compiled a whole list of reagents and instruments."

Ruan Chen took a sip of pear soup before swallowing the food in her mouth and asked, "What's his price? I remember the Martial Arts Research Institute has regulations that her research results are not private; they should all be backed up in the institute's central control system."

Nan Jing tapped his head. "He said it was something from his head. You should know that in recent years, countries around the world have been conducting research on time, such as the old-fashioned time travel and time branching, but there has been little progress in the last few hundred years."

“Technological screening,” Ruan Chen said, “has been slowing down the progress of human civilization and is also a check on the laws of the universe.”

"Everyone is anxious. Old Duan... Duan Jingfu, we don't know if he really knows something, or if he has done some research or if it's just a publicity stunt. He says he has made a major breakthrough in this area, and if we agree to his conditions, he will tell us everything he knows unconditionally."

Ruan Chen seemed thoughtful. "Then he needs to produce some solid evidence before he can negotiate terms. Did he say anything?"

Nan Jing said, "He really did say that. It was a prophecy—at 3:15 this afternoon, a volcano in the Southwest Islands will erupt with a strong earthquake. Judging by the time, it's almost the time he mentioned."

Ruan Chen understood how Duan Jingfu wanted to use his advantages to negotiate terms.

Regarding his research on time, even if Duan Jingfu had truly discovered something, he wouldn't easily hand it over. However, he was clever and came up with the idea of ​​using two timelines.

Although the timeline is divided into a main timeline and a sub-timeline, the key moments that have a significant impact on the course of time usually remain unchanged, especially natural disasters that are beyond human control.

If Duan Jingfu can make good use of this point, the Chinese leadership might actually spare his life.

"I'm finished eating." Ruan Chen put down her chopsticks. "Nan Suo, is there anything else you want to say?"

When Nan Jing was talking to her, his eyes kept darting around, clearly he had something he wanted to say but was holding back, weighing in his mind how to bring it up.

"Why don't you ask Fu Jianzhi and see what the Fu family is thinking? Keeping someone like Duan Jingfu around will only cause trouble sooner or later." Nan Jing knew that Ruan Chen was not happy to hear Fu Jianzhi's name, but she still said it anyway.

"On the surface, the Fu family appears to be just ordinary businessmen, but they are not only the only bloodline recognized by Zhanlu, but their family also has close ties with the higher-ups of the research institute and holds several patents for the core components of heavy weapons. In this matter, when the Fu family speaks up, the higher-ups will always have to think twice."

-------------------------------------

Ruan Chen originally planned to go directly to the Fu family's old house after finishing the data in the afternoon.

Although she didn't know if Fu Jianzhi was home, she was certain that as long as she appeared at the Fu family home, no matter where Fu Jianzhi was or what he was doing, he would definitely rush back.

But after thinking it over, Ruan Chen didn't go.

She knocked on Nan Jing's office door, placed a stack of documents on his desk, and casually said to him, "Director Nan, don't you have Fu Jianzhi's contact information? Would it be convenient to call him over and tell him I want to see him?"

Her tone was very polite. Ruan Chen has always been like this. Even with people she knows well, she is careful not to overstep her bounds.

"So polite?" Nan Jing didn't seem to mind, and even said, "Why are you always so formal?"

Ruan Chen thought to herself that it's always good to be careful with your words and actions.

Furthermore, after the incidents involving Duan Jingfu and Fu Jianzhi, Ruan Chen's trust in everyone around her dropped to its lowest point.

Nan Jing called Fu Jianzhi in front of Ruan Chen, but couldn't get through after two attempts.

Ruan Chen operated his phone for a moment and then gave a landline number. "Nan Suo, he should be at the library of the Martial Arts Research Institute right now. The signal there isn't very good. Please call this landline."

As expected, the call went through, and Fu Jianzhi answered.

"Although he had contact with Duan Jingfu before and learned some things from him, the Fu family's child doesn't have any bad intentions. I think he listens to you too—he's been calling you 'sister' all these years."

When Ruan Chen heard Nan Jing mention their past, she felt a surge of emotions that she couldn't suppress.

That emotion wasn't pure anger at being betrayed, but rather mixed with some bitterness and self-deprecation.

She was lost in thought, from that year when she carefully opened that snakeskin bag on the street to every day she spent with Fu Jianzhi.

Although she, Ruan Yu'er, and Ruan Luo were related by blood, they had different paths and not many things in common. Ruan Chen had genuinely thought that having a younger brother like Fu Jianzhi would be quite nice.

Despite not being related by blood, they are kindred spirits. Fu Jianzhi knows many of her little quirks, and he knows what Ruan Chen wants just by raising his hand.

In retrospect, this inexplicable closeness was actually the result of a meticulously planned... conspiracy.

At this moment, Ruan Chen stood on the street of Meicheng. It was late at night, and the rain was getting heavier. She looked down and saw that she was holding a hollow steel pipe in her hand. Blood had soaked into her palm, and it was warm and sticky.

Ruan Chen felt a bit cold and turned to seek shelter from the rain and cold under the corridor of a roadside shop. Just then, a car stopped in front of her, and a burlap sack was thrown down, wriggling on the ground.

Ruan Chen squinted and used a stick to pry open the snakeskin bag, revealing a beautifully sculpted little boy inside.

His moist lips parted, and he called out, "Sister."

The little boy was very delicate and cute. He reached out to ask Ruan Chen for a hug, but Ruan Chen resisted and took a step back.

She instinctively felt disgust and aversion.

The boy pressed closer, and Ruan Chen had hallucinations flashing before her eyes. Sometimes it was a delicate little boy in front of her, and sometimes it was a mature and tall man, both of whom seemed to be reaching out to Ruan Chen.

A voice inside Ruan Chen said, "Push him away."

"Don't go near him."

"It's all a scam."

Ruan Chen's head began to ache, and dark clouds gathered in the sky above, brewing a storm.

"Ruan Chen! Ruan Chen, control yourself! Control your emotions, don't let your negative emotions lead you astray!" She suddenly felt a pain in her shoulder; someone was gripping her shoulder tightly with great force.