Chapter 142 The Other Side of the White Moonlight

Gure's office is less of a research lab and more like a magician's study.

The office lights were off. Only a few candles floated in the air under the influence of the antigravity meter, their flickering light casting a mysterious glow over the room.

An astrolabe on a brass stand slowly rotates in the center of the room, reflecting ancient constellations onto the four walls of the office.

Besides the optical computer expansion terminal, there was also a glass hourglass that was constantly flipping automatically on the desk.

A constantly rotating silver sphere floats in a glass box next to the hourglass.

Ning Shuyin felt like she had seen this silver sphere somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place it.

Her gaze swept around. Countless intricate metal mechanisms she couldn't understand were operating on the shelves.

One of the mechanisms is pushing a small water droplet from the lowest point to the highest. After reaching the highest point, the droplet will fall and be pushed up again by the mechanism.

The floor-to-ceiling wooden bookshelves on all sides are filled with all kinds of paper books.

She even spotted a book on the spine of a book in the corner of the bookshelf that read "Three Hundred Tang Poems".

Ning Shuyin's eyes widened in surprise, eager to look at his bookshelf and see what other clues lay inside.

But when he realized that his primary task was right in front of him, he could only grit his teeth and temporarily put aside the idea of ​​delving into those matters.

She began searching for the box of "gifts" in the dim candlelight.

That box was very big; it would be conspicuous no matter where it was placed.

However, under the shelves, under the desks, next to the filing cabinets, in the rest area...

She searched everywhere that might have held the large box, but to no avail.

"Strange, the logistics information clearly shows that it has been delivered..." Ning Shuyin's heart sank, and an ominous premonition surged into her mind. "Could it have already been taken by Gu Lei? No!"

She began to feel anxious.

Suddenly, a clear sound of footsteps, accompanied by increasingly clear voices, came from the corridor outside the office.

"Gure, I told you, this is my only chance!"

"Don't try to persuade me, I won't agree."

Ning Shuyin recognized them immediately. One of them was Gu Lei's voice, and the other was actually Luo Lan's voice.

Why is he looking for Gu Lei so late?

That's not the key point; the key point is that she has to hide immediately.

She looked around, searching for a place to hide. Under the table, behind the curtains, inside the filing cabinet—all seemed easy places to spot her.

As she looked around, she noticed a door in the corner of the office. Without thinking twice, she opened the wooden door and slipped inside.

The originally dark space was illuminated by motion-sensor lights that automatically turned on after she entered.

A piece of cloth brushed against her face.

This was a fairly spacious dressing room, with a row of plain-colored scholar's robes hanging in the air.

Ning Shuyin immediately pulled a robe over her shoulder to cover herself. She held her breath and waited for the two men to leave.

A "beep" sounded.

It was Gu Lei who opened the office access control.

Gure and Loran walked in one after the other, the atmosphere between them tense.

“Life has its natural laws, Loren. To bring the dead back to life is a taboo among taboos, and as a doctor, you should know this better than I do.”

Gu Lei's voice was as gentle and calm as ever. But upon closer listening, his tone was actually firm and unyielding.

Lorraine's short silver hair shimmered with golden light in the flickering candlelight.

"Laws? Those are just excuses the weak make for their inability to surpass them."

Loran's usually cool, spring-like voice became excited at this moment: "Her genetic sequence is completely preserved in my database. With the help of the Void Droplet, I am 70 percent confident that I can reshape her life form."

Ning Shuyin was secretly surprised.

It turns out that the Void Droplets that Loran desperately searched for in the K99 ruins were meant to revive the dead.

“Let me correct you,” Gu Lei said, his tone uncompromising: “A 70% success rate brings a 100% human tragedy.”

"What you've created is merely a vessel imbued with her memories and copied with her appearance, a soulless imitation. This is cruel to both her and to you."

"I don't care!" A dull thud rang out, like a fist slamming into a table or cabinet.

The door to the dressing room where Ning Shuyin was hiding trembled slightly.

She could imagine how excited Lorraine must be at that moment.

"I accepted that you retracted the paper, which prevented me from conducting my key experiments. I can understand that it was your pride and your unwillingness to tarnish your academic achievements."

“But now, I don’t need your achievements anymore, so why are you still objecting…” Loran’s voice trembled as he tried to suppress his anger.

Gure remained unmoved, his tone cold to the point of cruelty: "I will not tolerate anything that goes against the laws of nature. Loran, stop now, don't let your love become a desecration."

"you!"

After Loran's angry shout, there was a sound of movement and the rustling of clothes.

Ning Shuyin's heart leaped into her throat—had they made their move?

Her hand pressed against the door of the walk-in closet. If things really got that bad, she would have to go out and save the day.

With a physique like Gu Lei's, how could he possibly defeat an SSS-level powerhouse like Loran?

But the anticipated bigger conflict didn't materialize. The outer office suddenly fell silent.

Ning Shuyin heard Luo Lan's heavy breathing, as if she had used up all her strength, but was wrestling with an invisible force.

“...How is that possible?” Loran’s voice was extremely hoarse.

Ning Shuyin could sense the change in the energy field in the office even through the door.

A powerful pressure, like a giant wave in the deep sea, spread out, and some of it even seeped through the crack in the door into the dressing room.

Ning Shuyin staggered from the impact, her back hitting the back panel of the wardrobe with a soft thud.

She quickly regained her balance.

“Loran, you can’t hurt me here,” Gure said calmly.

Loran let out a dissatisfied groan as she panted.

Neither of the two people outside seemed to have noticed what was happening to her. Ning Shuyin breathed a sigh of relief.

"You've been hiding your superpowers?" Loran's cold voice rang out.

“No, I’m still just an ordinary person,” Gu Lei said calmly.

Gu Lei's voice sounded like the world itself conveying its will: "You can't hurt me, simply because the rules here don't allow it. Just like you can't turn back time, you shouldn't bring the dead back."

It turns out that the oppressive aura just now came from Gu Lei.

A sharp, metallic sound rang out as Luo Lan dropped something. Ning Shuyin guessed that Luo Lan had probably broken something.

“Gure, don’t think I can’t touch you. Every rule has its price. And I’m never stingy with my money—for example, the price of silencing you forever.”

Ning Shuyin leaned against the dressing room, feeling a chill run down her spine as she listened.

In the original novel, Loran and Gure were mortal enemies.

It's unclear whether Loran's obsessive pursuit of Su Qianqian stemmed from his long-standing feud with Gu Lei, or whether his affection for Su Qianqian deepened the hatred between the two men.

But this thread of hatred led him to repeatedly set traps to kill Gure.

Not long ago, after returning from the K99 ruins, Luo Lan, Situ Linchen, and Gu Lei shared a room in Su Qianqian's apartment.

Although the atmosphere was delicate at that time, Loran did not show much hostility towards Gure.

She secretly believed that, thanks to the effect of her being the little butterfly, the line of hatred had been erased.

But she was still naive; the power of the plot remained strong.

As for Gu Lei, she finally got a glimpse of his true colors today.

His stubbornness and ruthlessness in the face of Loran can be protected by some mysterious "rule".

As expected, to become the common enemy of the four villains, and even to repeatedly humiliate them, he was by no means a weak scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken.

Just as Ning Shuyin was lost in thought.

"Farewell," Gu Lei's voice rang out. The outer door slammed shut with a resounding bang.

In the vast research room, only the sound of breathing remained.

Loran's breathing was still unsteady, and after a long while it turned into a short, self-deprecating laugh.

Footsteps sounded.

Ning Shuyin thought he was about to leave, but the footsteps were becoming clearer and closer to her.

Before she could fully react, the door to the walk-in closet was slammed to the ground by a force.