Ruan Chen kept resting her chin on her hand, gazing out the window with an indifferent and uncaring expression, until Professor Wei called her name, at which point she lazily showed a little concern about the matter.
Wu An originally wanted to tell the professor at the Martial Arts Research Institute about her experiences and fears from the previous night, but for some reason, she glanced at Ruan Chen before she could speak.
It seems that only in this way can I feel at ease.
Ruan Chen didn't meet her gaze, but spoke before her, her tone revealing drowsiness, "I heard screams. I thought it was the boys playing around, so I put on earplugs and an eye mask to sleep. But when I woke up in the morning, our dorm window was broken, and even the curtains were torn."
Ruan Chen looked really sleepy. She yawned and then said, "No wonder I couldn't sleep soundly last night and woke up several times because I was cold."
Wu An reacted quickly. Although she didn't know why Ruan Chen lied, after what happened that night, Ruan Chen had become her pillar of support. She covered up the lie for Ruan Chen almost without thinking.
"My phone rang in the middle of the night and I fell to the ground. Then the monster you're talking about smashed the window and stole my phone."
Everyone looked puzzled. Ruan Chen was the first to speak, asking, "Then why weren't you scared and didn't you wake me up?"
Wu An rubbed his sleepy eyes as well. "We probably went to bed after midnight last night, right? I usually go to bed around 10 p.m., but I went to bed too late last night. When the monster snatched my phone in the middle of the night, I thought I was still dreaming, so I just turned over and went back to sleep."
She patted her chest, still shaken, and said, "When I woke up this morning, I couldn't find my phone, and then I discovered that the window was broken. That's when I realized that what happened in the middle of the night was real. To be honest, I'm not really scared yet; it feels like a dream."
After listening to Ruan Chen and the other person's description, Professor Wei seemed unsuspecting and smiled, "Those things are security-type bionic robots developed by our Martial Arts Research Institute. Last night, there was a bug in the program, and a few of the little guys ran out and wandered around, but they're fine now."
At this point, he turned on the large screen, clicked on the projector, and a set of pictures of androids appeared, which indeed bore some resemblance to those strange humanoid figures from last night.
Apart from Ruan Chen and Wu An, none of the others had directly encountered those monsters, so they immediately accepted the explanation.
Professor Wei reminded everyone, "These robots are still in the confidential research and development stage, and we hope that students will cooperate with the confidentiality regulations."
"Don't worry, Professor."
"We all know we won't talk nonsense."
"No problem, Professor Wei."
A group of students nodded in agreement without any doubt.
"Alright, let's go have breakfast," Professor Wei said with a warm smile, tidying up the documents in his hands. "Ruan Chen, Wu An, come here for a moment."
Ruan Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, but quickly returned to their clear and bright state as she followed Professor Wei.
Wu An followed behind Ruan Chen, gently tugging at her sleeve, his voice soft, "Ruan Chen, why do I feel like the pictures Professor Wei showed us are different from the ones we saw last night? Why didn't you tell him...?"
Before she could finish her question, Professor Wei stopped, turned around, and smiled at the two of them, saying gently, "Alright, you young ladies can talk about your private matters when you get back. How about we go take care of some business now?"
His tone was very kind, and his eyes showed the affection of an elder for a younger person.
But Ruan Chen felt a chill run down her spine.
The Professor Wei she saw in the underground laboratory was not like this at all. When he talked about letting Duan Jingfu deal with him, his eyes were full of disgust and a desire for her to die as soon as possible.
Wu An was still somewhat afraid of the professor. Hearing Professor Wei urging her, she quickened her pace, but this time she was pulled back by Ruan Chen.
Ruan Chen held her hand tightly, deliberately squeezing it, but her face still showed a relaxed and happy expression. She affectionately linked arms with Wu An and quickened her pace to catch up with Professor Wei.
Wu An sensed that Ruan Chen had subtly slipped something into her pocket during that brief moment.
After stuffing it in, Ruan Chen let go of Wu An's hand, ran to Professor Wei, looked up and asked obediently, "Professor, what are we going to do? I'm so hungry."
When Professor Wei saw Ruan Chen following, he turned around and continued walking forward, putting his arm around Ruan Chen's shoulder. "I'll take you to the lab to see a project we're developing. Old Duan said you have talent and wants you to get involved."
He glanced back at Wu An, who was a few steps behind, and said, "I think Wu An is also talented. Yesterday, she had the highest compatibility with the AI. Let her come and take a look."
Ruan Chen nodded, looking a little confused, and then quickly asked, "Professor Wei, is this project also in the confidential stage, which is why only the two of us are allowed to come and see it?"
"So clever."
Wu An, who was a few steps behind, probably already guessed what Ruan Chen had given her.
She pressed the hard, long thing through her pocket, feeling its coolness through the fabric.
The three of them walked to a hidden door.
Ruan Chen recognized at a glance that this hidden door was exactly the same color, shape and size as the hidden door he had seen underground yesterday.
Duan Jingfu stood in front of the door.
Seeing the three approaching, he kindly stepped forward and took Wu An's hand.
If there were an observer, they would find the current situation a bit strange: two students and two professors, with the professors controlling the students as if they were prey.
The hidden door slowly opened, and Ruan Chen, looking at Duan Jingfu's expression, said, "Professor, this door is the same as the door to the database I saw yesterday. Could it also be a database?"
Duan Jingfu was unusually cold to Ruan Chen today, giving a perfunctory "hmm," and said, "Professor Wei will take you to see the data. I'll bring Wu An. You need to cooperate with Professor Wei, understand?"
Ruan Chen seemed oblivious to everything, and continued to joke with Duan Jingfu as usual, "I know, mentor, when have I ever been disobedient? Haven't I always done whatever you told me to do?"
Duan Jingfu's eyes flickered, but in the end he only sighed softly and remained silent.
Ruan Chen did it on purpose.
After entering through the hidden door, there is a corridor that can be seen from one end to the other. At the end of the corridor is a corner, and on both sides of the corridor are densely packed small rooms.
"Old Duan, I'll take Ruan Chen to Database Number One, and you take Wu An to Database Number Three."
Duan Jingfu looked at Ruan Chen, who was curiously looking around the corridor.
Duan Jingfu wondered if the mental network he encountered in the middle of the night was really her. If it wasn't her... But even if it wasn't her, he had crossed two timelines and schemed against Fu Jianzhi, all for the sake of sending Ruan Chen into the petri dish to become a weapon that belonged only to him.
Moreover, in this timeline, she hasn't yet gained Chi Xiao's approval, and Fu Jianzhi is still developing; there's no better opportunity than this.
Gate 3 and Gate 1 opened, and Ruan Chen saw a glass jar identical to the one in the underground laboratory, with a pale red liquid undulating slightly inside.
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