Chapter 140 Chapter 140
Thus, a massive campaign to "catch the traitor" began.
No one knew that this incident itself was just a coincidence. The doctor was very cautious in his daily actions and had not been targeted by the authorities yet. There were really not many spies planted in the institute.
But this did not prevent things from escalating. After all, where there are people, there will be struggles, and there are not many good people willing to participate in evil experiments. So in the end, this group of people eliminated dissidents and fought fiercely among themselves, and they actually found more than a dozen "traitors."
The doctor didn't care whether it was true or not. Based on the principle of "it is better to miss a thousand than to let go of one", he waved his hand and pulled everyone out.
They were truly crushed to dust, even their mental energy was extracted alive and used as experimental materials. The "insiders" twitched and screamed in pain. The scene made everyone in the institute shudder.
The doctor said coldly, "See? This is what happens when you become a rat."
There was dead silence below.
And in the crowd, some people, who dared not look up, secretly gritted their teeth and clenched their fists.
Late that night, someone inside the institute tossed and turned, staring with bloodshot eyes until dawn. The next day, local security officials unexpectedly encountered a tightly wrapped "informant" who had "fallen into the trap."
"Please destroy this research institute! I will help you continue to collect evidence of the doctor's crimes!"
The informant gnashed his teeth and said, "Why should we surrender? Because that guy doesn't treat us as human beings at all. In his eyes, we are nothing more than living experimental materials!"
"Catch the traitor? Haha! That's nonsense! He just used it as an excuse to recruit people for experiments, and the others took advantage of it to exclude each other and fight for power—Awen and Aqiang are their victims!!"
"Yes, they were all my friends, but they were all killed as traitors. But I know, I know very well, they are not traitors at all."
"A Qiang was just a cleaner at the institute. He hadn't even been to school for a few years. He was labeled a traitor and executed simply because he accidentally entered Lab 03 and broke a tube of reagent..."
Security personnel: “……!”
Oh my goodness, a shocking case has come to my doorstep!
The young man who surrendered himself to the police was also a "cleaner". Although he did not know much about the research content of the institute, they were responsible for the daily work of "destroying corpses and covering up traces".
As he recounted his experiences in recent years, the extremely dark side of the institute slowly revealed itself to everyone.
The young man was just an external member and had never been exposed to the core secrets of the institute, but the scene he described still made everyone's scalp tingle. Just imagining that scene was like being in hell on earth.
The security guards immediately reported the matter to their superiors, and the responsible leader also showed great attention after learning about it. He demanded that the security department must take over the research institute in the shortest time and with the least loss, and expose all the hidden crimes therein.
A vigorous "hunting" operation has begun.
During this process, many things were revealed, such as the secret relationship between the institute and the poachers, and their close ties with Qingzhou Technology... The whole incident involved many people, some of whom were even high-ranking officials within the system.
These people held power and secretly provided Dr. Z with a lot of conveniences, but fortunately, good prevailed over evil in the end. These people were defeated one by one by the security department, and the entire chain of relationships was uprooted.
When the news reached Dr. Z's ears, he was hurriedly escaping from the third exposed safe house, and was rushing to other hiding places with his assistant carrying an iron suitcase.
The wanted order had been issued, and they were completely unable to follow the normal route. They could only crawl in the sewer on their knees, crouching down. Their usually neat suit pants were completely soaked by the foul-smelling sewage.
The last assistant followed him, silently following him down the sewer. After climbing for more than ten minutes, the assistant suddenly screamed: "Ah!"
The doctor was startled and turned around in horror: "What's wrong!"
Were they discovered?
The assistant's face turned pale, and he pointed a trembling finger in one direction: "Old, rat!"
PhD:"……"
Veins bulged on the doctor's forehead, and his temples throbbed with pain.
He really wanted to call for someone to drag this idiot out, but there was no other way. He was now so poor that he only had this assistant by his side. If he killed him again, he would have to carry the box himself, and if he ran into the security guard again, there would be no one to help block the wooden warehouse.
The doctor barely suppressed his anger and resentment as he continued crawling through the dark, damp pipe. The assistant behind him crawled for a while before suddenly muttering thoughtfully, "Doctor, why do we feel like rats too?"
PhD:"……!"
Fuck you!
The doctor's heart was in turmoil. Anger and unwillingness were like a burning fire, burning his chest and causing it to hurt so much.
Thinking back to his blunt words in the research institute when they caught the traitor not long ago, it seemed extremely ironic for a moment.
“…Damn it!”
The doctor finally couldn't help it and started cursing.
He feels so depressed!
The key point is that this incident happened too suddenly. The materials were replaced inexplicably, the traitor was found inexplicably, and the security officer came to the door inexplicably. Then, the monkeys scatter when the tree falls, and everyone pushes down the wall when it falls. Years of hard work collapsed in an instant.
His research was clearly nearing completion and he was about to produce a breakthrough in the new century, but at this moment everything was ruined!
"Don't let me know who's behind this!"
The doctor's ears were ringing with the squeaking of mice, and he gritted his teeth and thought: "Otherwise, I will never let him go even if I become a ghost in this life!"
…
Xia Muqing was completely unaware of and unaffected by the anger of a certain doctor who was forced to "dance" with mice.
During this period, she was excitedly looking for sparring partners everywhere. She even invited Cheng Zizhuo to play a few games with her, and posted on the Yanda forum to challenge senior students.
But even so, Xia Muqing found fewer and fewer opportunities to fight.
There was no other way. There were no students in Yanda University who could compete with her. She only played guided matches in club activities on weekdays. It was okay once or twice, but it would be too boring to do it every day.
Not only Xia Muqing, but the Gale Dogs also missed the feeling of fighting with all their strength.
One day, the little golden dragon was snoring in his sleep, and the content of his sleep talk was: [Erosion Mountain Ape... bring the horses over...]
Xia Muqing was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when she heard this.
This bored the little guy so much that he started to miss the Dark Beast King.
Fortunately, a few days later, Xia Muqing suddenly received a call. Guan Yun's hearty laughter came from the other side: "I'm in Yandu. Are you free tonight? Let's go to the training ground?"
Xia Muqing sat up from her bed in the dormitory with a somersault.
"Appointment, appointment, appointment, it must be made!" She agreed repeatedly while waving at the mysterious beasts. "Where are you now? Send me your location."
After a simple meal, Guan Yun, who was obsessed with fighting, couldn't wait to drag Xia Muqing to the training ground.
She had been thinking about the Gilded Sky Dragon for a long time, but unfortunately, she had not found a suitable opportunity to challenge it in order to clean up the mess in District 7. Now she couldn't miss it no matter what.
But after the battle, the result was undeniable - the little golden dragon won cleanly and beautifully.
Even without the Yin-Yang Butterfly's energy blessing, its profound strength was much stronger than the Light Realm Frog. Coupled with its disordered characteristics and the special pressure of the dragon-type profound beast, the Light Realm Frog was beaten and ran away with its head in its hands.
Light Realm Frog: "...Quack."
aggrieved.jpg
Aside from this duel, the other Mystical Beasts weren't idle either. Xia Muqing and Guan Yun each possessed more than one Mystical Beast, so they set up a small arena in the training grounds, allowing them to freely form 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 combinations... After a round of sparring, both sides benefited greatly.
However, during the battle, Xia Muqing keenly felt that something was wrong with the Yin-Yang Butterfly.
During the battle, as an auxiliary, it would often lose its focus. There was even one time when it was almost knocked over by Guan Yun's mysterious beast because of this.
"Xiao Zi?"
Xia Muqing was worried: "Is he too tired? Or is it the negative energy that's causing trouble again?"
Liang Yi Butterfly's eyes shrank a little, and she lowered her head and whispered, "Yeah."
It’s okay, it was my fault just now. I won’t be distracted next time.
Xia Muqing: “……?”
…
“Ouch!”
Master, master, I think Xiao Zi’s behavior has been really weird lately!
After the competition, Xia Muqing took advantage of the time when the Yin-Yang Butterfly was resting to secretly discuss with the Gale Dog and the Little Golden Dragon.
The two mysterious beasts cared about the Yin-Yang Butterfly as much as she did, and had been secretly observing its situation for a long time. Now they rushed to report the situation to Xia Muqing: "Awoo, awoo."
Master, Xiao Zi has been in a bad mood recently. He often stares out the window, looking at his reflection on the glass, wondering what he is thinking.
Little Golden Dragon: "Ah."
Yes, yes, it doesn't even like to play on the swing anymore. It either looks out the window or curled up in the cradle without moving. I am not interested in watching anime with it - even though they used to watch anime together and dream up beautiful dreams together.
Xia Muqing rubbed her chin in distress. "You seem listless... Maybe it's because of the blow from the failed evolution last time?"
The two mysterious beasts thought for a moment and nodded repeatedly.
I can't think of any other reason, so this is the only one.
Xia Muqing's eyes wandered, and she turned to find Guan Yun and lowered her voice: "Sister Yun, can I ask you a question? Has your profound beast ever failed during its second-level evolution?"
Guan Yun: “……?”
A big question mark slowly popped up on my forehead.
"...What else?" She was a little confused. "Isn't failure normal?"
"Among my contracted profound beasts, except for the Light Realm Frog, which only failed once, the others have all charged forward several times."
An idea flashed through Guan Yun's mind, and he took a deep breath: "No way, your mysterious beasts can't all succeed at once, right?"
Xia Muqing laughed. "No, that's not true. Only Xiaofeng and Xiaojin succeeded in their first attempt. Xiaozi just failed once—so she's not in a good state right now. She's probably been hit hard."
"I believe it will succeed in its attempt to evolve to the second stage next month. It's just that it's in a bad mood right now. Could you please ask the Light Realm Frog or another mysterious beast to comfort it?"
"Just tell it that temporary failure is not shameful, and that it can still succeed next time."
Guan Yun: “…”
Guan Yun had a complicated expression, and his face was filled with indescribable emotions.
According to statistics from the Beastmaster Association, the average failure rate for a Xuan Beast's first second-stage evolution is as high as 86%, and the injury rate after a failure is 30%. The Gale Dog and the Koi Fish both successfully evolved in one go, and the Yin-Yang Butterfly escaped injury even after a failure. How well-trained must they be to achieve this level of success?
I have to admit that Guan Yun was a little jealous.
She had never envied anyone before, because she believed that she could achieve it through hard work - but this guy Xia Muqing was too outrageous!
It started when the Koi Fish passed the challenge and became the Gilded Sky Dragon. Every day it refreshed her worldview, making her want to shout: This is too unfair! She can't do it!
However, even though he was in turmoil, Guan Yun still asked his own mysterious beast, the Light Realm Frog, to find the Yin-Yang Butterfly.
A butterfly and a frog stood aside, quacking and chatting for a long time. When they came back, the Time Realm Frog held its head high and made a "V" sign to Guan Yun and Xia Muqing: "Quack."
All done.
The Yin-Yang Butterfly was in very good condition. It didn't realize how obsessed the other party was with the failure of the attack. Were the two beastmasters too nervous?
Xia Muqing was a little surprised. Just then, a Yin-Yang butterfly fluttered its wings and flew over. It landed on her shoulder with ease. Its soft wings brushed against her ear, and she heard a soft, "Yaaa."
It's really okay, master, don't worry.
…
That night, it was late and quiet.
The room was very quiet. Apart from the faint snoring of the little golden dragon, the only sound was the rustling of the wind as it passed over the terrace and scraped against the screen windows.
On the small cradle at the corner of the table, the wings of the Yin-Yang butterfly trembled slightly, and it suddenly fell into a difficult dream.
The observations of Gale Dog and Little Golden Dragon were correct. It was indeed distressed during this period, but the source of its distress was not the failure of the attack - it was not that fragile yet.
What really bothers Liangyi Butterfly is the dream that comes almost every night.
There was a mist in the dream, hazy, distant, and elusive. But the Yin-Yang Butterfly knew what was hidden there. It focused its attention and met those scarlet eyes.
"Aiya!"
Don’t bother me anymore!
My master has already reserved the Soul-Splitting Grass. By next month at the latest, I'll be able to completely expel you when you evolve to the second stage. Don't even think about influencing anything. This body is ultimately mine!
The wronged butterfly in the dream was silent, and its eyes were clear and empty, as if there was nothing.
It just stared at the Yin-Yang Butterfly quietly, without any fluctuations in its thoughts. It didn't look like a living being at all, but rather like a collection of some kind of energy, a simple condensation of form.
To be honest, the Yin-Yang Butterfly would feel in a trance that the unconscious fog was its true body.
Looking at the calm Ghost Butterfly, Liangyi Butterfly frowned.
"Eh?"
Why on earth do you come into my dreams and mess with me every day?
It's obviously very consuming, isn't it? As long as I don't absorb negative emotions, your strength won't be replenished. If I continue to abuse it like this, it will eventually be used up. By then, I won't need the Soul-Splitting Grass anymore and can directly expel you.
This is also the reason why the Yin-Yang Butterfly did not let Xia Muqing worry. Although it was frightened when it entered the dream for the first time, it soon discovered that the Ghost Butterfly was seeking its own death.
That energy was indeed stubborn. If it hadn't retreated, the Yin-Yang Butterfly would have had no way of eradicating it without external force. But now it was squandering its power, using it to construct this dream that couldn't harm the Yin-Yang Butterfly at all. It was a suicidal attack—and one that was completely ineffective against the enemy.
The more the Liangyi Butterfly thought about it, the more confused it became, and it was so worried that it wanted to pull out its own tentacles.
It doesn't understand, what's the point of this?
And soon, the dream changed again.
The fog slowly dissipated, revealing the massive Mountain Erosion Ape and the Prison Suppression Chain. Upon seeing the two, Liangyi Butterfly covered her head in pain, "Ahhh!"
Ahhhh again!
It never ends! I have the same dream every night, I've almost memorized it!
The power of the Ghost Butterfly was constantly declining, and the Mountain-Eroding Ape and the Prison-Suppressing Chains it transformed into were also gradually distorted. Only the ferocious look on its face remained the same, which made the Yin-Yang Butterfly feel disgusted when it saw it.
However, it didn't need to take action - the Yin-Yang Butterfly had already memorized the process of the dream - the Ghost Butterfly flew towards the two dark beast kings, and several blood threads spewed out of its mouth, tightly wrapping around the forearm of the Erosion Ape and the shell of the Prison Lock.
The muscles of the Mountain Erosion Ape were harder than stone, and the outer shell of the Prison Lock was covered with rusty iron chains, but the blood thread did not encounter any obstruction when it fell. It easily passed through the blockade and quickly took root in the bodies of the two mysterious beasts.
"throat--!"
The two dark beast kings screamed miserably and struggled in pain.
The Yin-Yang Butterfly watched coldly. It knew what the Ghost Butterfly had done to them. It was none other than the new skill it had recently mastered, "Soul Pulling".
However, the other party's focus of comprehension is completely different from its own. The Yin-Yang Butterfly transforms dreams to stimulate the inner heart of the mysterious beast, while the Ghost Butterfly ignores physical defense and directly breaks through the opponent's soul core.
Then……
Liangyi Butterfly watched as the struggles of the Eclipse Mountain Ape and the Prison Suppression Chain gradually weakened until they lost consciousness.
But this is not the end. It was as if there was an invisible hand in the air, pulling them to stand up like puppets, with empty eyes, standing quietly not far away.
The two puppet beasts that had lost their souls stared at the Yin-Yang Butterfly.
Their eyes were as empty as those of the Ghost Butterflies, and their stiff faces were dull and creepy. Even the Yin-Yang Butterflies couldn't help shivering after seeing them too many times.
"Eh?"
What are you going to do?
No one responded to Liang Yi Butterfly's question. In the mist, the two dark beast kings slowly turned around and walked stiffly into the depths of the darkness.
The Yin-Yang butterfly's vigilance relaxed slightly. As usual, the dream should have ended here. It still didn't feel any threat, and its body showed no signs of injury, but what on earth was this...
Suddenly, a flash of lightning appeared in Liangyi Butterfly's mind.
It was stunned for a moment, then asked in disbelief, "Eh?"
Could it be that you want to teach me another way to use "Soul Pulling"?
But then Liang Yi Butterfly denied this idea: "Yeah."
No, no, it’s not that it doesn’t know how to use “魂引魂” in another way, it just doesn’t want to use it.
Forcibly breaking through the opponent's soul core and turning the opponent into an unconscious walking corpse - why would it do such an evil thing?
Although... well, Liangyi Butterfly glanced at the darkness in the distance again.
I have to admit that the Ghost Butterfly's ability is really strong.
If it was this guy who had faced the Mountain Erosion Ape and the Prison Suppression Chain, then they wouldn't have been able to cause any trouble. The Master and the Wind Luo Lord wouldn't have been in such a difficult battle, and they wouldn't have had to wait for the Gilded Sky Dragon's rescue...
Hey, wait!
It was as if thunder suddenly exploded in the ears. The Liangyi Butterfly trembled all over and stared in surprise at the ghost butterfly that was gradually disappearing in front of it.
Until the dream ended, it suddenly woke up from the cradle, and the doubt and disbelief were like a heavy dark cloud, still hovering in its heart.
If I accept its power, I will become stronger and can protect my master and companions from fierce enemies, rather than just serving as a support...
Is this what the Ghost Butterfly wants to tell it?
…
Time passed day by day as Liangyi Butterfly was entangled and distressed.
Soon, it was time to register for the trials.
At this stage, the official is no longer hiding the truth. The existence of the Alien Secret Realm is basically public, and the official website homepage also clearly states that the top five players in the selection competition will be qualified to go to the secret realm and have the opportunity to obtain the cubs of the divine beast.
Almost all beastmasters couldn't help but feel excited when they saw this news.
That’s a cub of a divine beast!
If it is trained well, it will most likely become a divine beast. Who knows if it will be the next gilded sky dragon?
Inspired by this news, a large number of beastmasters flocked to the registration points, and the online website crashed several times within a day.
The competition is an individual competition. Although the threshold is set as "need to hold an adventurer qualification certificate" and the age must be under 35 years old, there are still many beastmasters who meet these conditions across the country. After all, the population base is there.
Xia Muqing was not worried about the large number of contestants, as she was very confident in her own abilities.
But others may not think so.
A few days after the competition started warming up, a live broadcast suddenly appeared on the Internet. The boy in the video had dyed red hair and arrogantly "declared war" on Xia Muqing.
"Gilded Sky Dragon? What a joke."
The red-haired man crossed his arms, his nose turned upwards: "Just that little thing on her shoulder, do you think it's worthy of being called a dragon-type profound beast?"
"Today I must vindicate our Xu family and the dragon-type profound beasts—come out, Leviathanmon!"
The boy suddenly opened his arms, and the whistling wind blew the hem of his windbreaker.
Behind him, a huge black shadow quietly appeared - a hideous head, a long tail covered with barbs, and huge, twisted fleshy wings like a vampire bat. When it opened its eyes, a pair of dark green pupils stared at the camera.
That inorganic, cold look, as if looking at an inanimate object, made the netizens outside the screen shiver.
[Fuck, that's awesome! This giant looks ridiculously strong!]
[But it's so ugly... Is this a replica of a dragon from Western mythology? Honestly, I prefer the ones from Eastern mythology, which are elegant and noble. This one looks like a giant demon.]
[But I'm strong! Look at those claws, those nails, one claw for each kid, okay? The gilded sky dragon that Xiao Xia uses as a divine beast is adorable, but it's too small, probably not even big enough to fill my teeth.]
[When it looked at me, I felt a chill down my spine...]
Looking at the barrage of comments, the boy's lips curled up.
"See? This is a true giant dragon, the most powerful profound beast our family has cultivated after more than ten years of research! That guy who claims to be 'the first dragon-type profound beast in history' is just a clown trying to attract attention!"
"I'm talking about you, Xia Muqing—" He pointed at the screen, "If you don't believe me, do you dare to fight in the selection competition and see who is the true Dragon Tamer?"
The picture froze at this moment, and behind the boy, Leviathan stood expressionlessly, the shadow behind him moving slightly under the light and the sound of the wind.
[A clash of Eastern and Western dragons? Love it!]
[When did the Xu family cultivate this giant? Why is there no news at all?]
[Who knows? It was probably bred not long ago, and they were looking for a suitable time to reveal it, but they didn't expect that Xiao Xia, the beast user, got there first, right?]
[Who cares? I just know something exciting is coming! The national trials are coming soon!!]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
