Fifty Feathers
Accompanied by a feeling of weightlessness, the elevator reached the top floor. The moment the elevator door opened, the professor's figure appeared in everyone's sight.
The moment their eyes fell on the professor, they all subconsciously looked at Ye Linghan.
Everyone was amazed at how there could be two people in the world who were not blood relatives but looked so similar.
Judging from their appearance alone, the old man and the young man were somewhat similar. When everyone thought back to Ye Linghan's usual demeanor, they found it even more incredible.
Even Ye Linghan himself was stunned where he stood, narrowing his eyes. If he hadn't known that his parents were dead, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to think that the man in front of him was his father.
But having lived long enough to see the world, the professor's reaction was not very dramatic. It was hard to tell whether he was truly calm and composed, or if he was hiding his emotions deep in his heart and not willing to show them.
Ye Linghan subconsciously wanted to rub the ring between his fingers. This was a habit he developed when thinking.
But the empty touch distracted him, and he remembered that when he was in the bathroom, he always bumped into the tiles when he was holding the wall, so he took it off and put it on the sink, forgetting to take it with him.
Because he touched nothing, Ye Linghan rubbed the mark between his fingers a little embarrassedly.
"Hello, Professor Qu."
Su Mo spoke first, his tone full of respect, and then he turned sideways to introduce everyone, "This is Professor Qu."
Then he looked at Professor Qu and said, "They are my teammates. We came to visit you together."
"Hello."
"Hello, Professor Qu."
The others spoke up and greeted politely.
"Hello, please follow me." Professor Qu nodded slightly, with a hint of kindness in his majestic face.
He turned around and led a few people to the room where he worked. The floor was illuminated by pure white incandescent lights, bright and clean. The transparent glass doors and windows of each laboratory compartment were wiped clean without a trace of dust.
"These experimental subjects are very precious, right? Who takes care of them?" Ye Linghan spoke casually, talking to people in the most ordinary way, making people unconsciously let down their guard against him.
Professor Qu smiled slightly, "It's Zhao Tang's senior sister, Jiang Wanru, who is helping me take care of things, but she hasn't been here for a long time." As he spoke, he glanced at Zhao Tang who was following beside him.
Then his gaze returned to Ye Linghan, without any emotion, "I guess she should be considered your senior sister, right?"
Was he blaming himself for arresting Jiang Wanru? Ye Linghan was speechless for a moment.
Or maybe it's just a simple statement of fact.
He couldn't quite guess what the professor was thinking, but he had to answer.
"Yes." Ye Linghan didn't dare to say more and answered respectfully.
Too much talk will lead to mistakes. Their mission is to investigate and they cannot be tricked.
"Please sit down." After entering the room, Professor Qu raised his hand and pointed to the sofa to the side, motioning for everyone to sit down. Then, on behalf of the professor, Zhao Tang poured them the tea he had prepared in advance.
Even though his right-hand man was arrested, he was still able to act as if nothing had happened. This shows that he has a psychological quality that has been honed through many trials and tribulations.
Ye Linghan actually admired the professor in front of him a little, and at the same time he was secretly observing his expression and behavior intentionally or unintentionally, because a lot of information can often be analyzed through micro-expressions and some subconscious movements.
After they sat down, they looked at each other, and Su Mo went straight to the point and asked questions. Yao Qingluan also took notes as usual.
When looking at Qu Yaoguang's face, Su Mo always felt as if he was talking to Ye Linghan decades later, and was a little dazed for a moment.
"Professor Qu, what kind of person do you think Jiang Wanru is?"
Some questions are just routine inquiries and have no special meaning.
"She is very careful and has a tenacity. I admire her very much." I don't know if she prepared in advance, knowing that Su Mo would ask this question, or if she answered from the heart, but Professor Qu's evaluation of her came out without any preparation.
"Since when has she been with you?"
This time, Qu Yaoguang didn't answer quickly. Instead, he thought for a moment and said, "I don't remember the exact year, but she has been with me since she graduated."
"About a few decades." He took a sip of tea and said leisurely.
Su Mo flipped through the information in his hand. "Did you know that Jiang Wanru was born into a vampire family?"
After he said this, he carefully observed Qu Yaoguang's reaction, but the latter did not change at all, his expression was still so calm that it was impossible to guess what he would say next.
"I know, is there any problem with this?" Qu Yaoguang shrugged with a surprised expression, as if he didn't understand why Su Mo asked this.
"Aren't you afraid?" Su Mo asked.
Because when ordinary people know that there is a vampire lurking around them, their first reaction must be fear, but he did not show any fear, but remained calm as always.
Instead, Qu Yaoguang was puzzled and asked back, "Why should I be afraid?" After saying that, he couldn't help but chuckle, then raised his eyebrows and took a sip of the tea in front of him.
"Leading the vampires to research their banned drugs seems extremely risky. Why did you choose Jiang Wanru?"
Su Mo didn't understand what the person in front of him was thinking. There were so many outstanding students, but he chose Jiang Wanru.
Qu Yaoguang raised an eyebrow, seemingly disagreeing with Su Mo's words. He folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, his body naturally relaxed. "If everything goes according to your common sense process, then what's the difference between us and machines?"
Su Mo was silent for a moment after hearing this. What Qu Yaoguang said was undeniable. After all, it was when all the unreasonable things were combined together that the world became interesting.
Seeing the other party lost in thought, Qu Yaoguang continued, "Besides, there are good and bad humans, and the same is true for vampires. Since Wanru is a good person, why should I be afraid of her? And the reason I chose her is very simple. Among the first batch of students, she is the most outstanding. As a teacher, choosing an outstanding student doesn't seem to be illegal."
Although Su Mo agreed with this point, he wanted to make sure that his thoughts would not be confused by the other party, so he avoided continuing the same topic and chose to change the question.
"Since you think so highly of her, why aren't you worried at all that she's in custody now?"
Qu Yaoguang chuckled, "You're worried, but it's useless. If she's innocent, then you'll let her out. But if she's really guilty, then I'll wait for her to come out."
He said it with such certainty, which was enough to prove his preference for Jiang Wanru.
I have to say, if Qu Yaoguang was 20 years younger, he would have charmed many of his peers. Of course, he is still the same now, but he looks a little bit unethical due to his age.
"Wait for her to come out?" Ye Linghan caught these words keenly, because no matter how to explain it, it seemed very different in this situation.
"What is your relationship?"
Qu Yaoguang was stunned for a moment, "Why do you ask?"
"Professor Qu, please cooperate with our investigation." Su Mo said.
Qu Yaoguang suppressed his emotions and could only answer, "It's just an ordinary relationship between superiors and subordinates and also master and apprentice."
He leaned forward and took another sip of the tea in the cup in front of him, then stretched himself back in his chair and said calmly, "Any questions?"
The room fell into silence.
Su Mo remained silent. Under normal circumstances, as a junior, he would have been respectful to Qu Yaoguang, but when it came to serious matters, he couldn't inject too much emotion into it.
Ye Linghan saw Su Mo's concerns, patted him on the back gently, played the role of the bad guy, and got to the point after a few simple polite words.
"Where were you on the 20th of last month?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Qu Yaoguang, even Zhao Tang beside him became secretly nervous. Professor Qu held a very high position in his heart and was also his teacher, so he couldn't help but worry.
However, Qu Yaoguang didn't take it seriously. He maintained his inner composure and said calmly, "Zhao Tang, where is the report you gave me before I left?"
Zhao Tang couldn't help but feel a little nervous when his name was suddenly called in such a solemn atmosphere. "Yes, at my workstation."
"Go and get him."
"Yes, Professor."
Zhao Tang left under everyone's gaze, as if he was deliberately sent away by the professor.
"Why not let him participate?" Ye Linghan asked.
Qu Yaoguang chuckled: "He's just an ordinary person, do you really want him to get involved?"
Ye Linghan remained silent. What he said made sense. He still had Yin Chen as his backer, but Zhao Tang didn't. Everything he had was the result of his own hard work.
"But..." He looked at Qu Yaoguang, "How can you be sure that you can stay out of this?"
Since he considered Zhao Tang, why wouldn't he leave a way out for himself?
"Because not all vampires are bad. You should know this better than me."
He looked at the person in front of him with a smile.
Ye Linghan remained noncommittal, after all, there were ready-made examples around him.
Suddenly realizing the topic had strayed off topic, Ye Linghan brought it back to the point, "Since Tangtang isn't here, could you please explain the whereabouts of number 20?"
Qu Yaoguang smiled. "Of course." He placed his hands on the table in front of him, interlacing his fingers. "Although you have begun investigating, the information is still too far behind."
As if realizing that some major discovery was about to happen, Yao Qingluan suddenly stopped writing, and Su Mo and Ye Linghan beside her also looked at each other.
They really didn't understand many of the vampire clan's rules, and their numbers and capabilities were limited. Even with Yin Chen around, he might not be fully aware of the quarrels between the minions. Moreover, Yin Chen didn't have complete power at the moment, and was only the most likely candidate to be chosen as the next clan leader. Therefore, he couldn't interfere too much in many things.
Looking at the current situation, it seems that Professor Qu's case will be a good breakthrough point, and perhaps a careful questioning will lead to important discoveries.
Qu Yaoguang said slowly: "On the 20th of every month, some of the vampire dignitaries will organize a masked dance."
Dance? Ye Linghan pondered, this was something he had never heard Yin Chen mention before.
Qu Yaoguang continued, "It's called a dance party, but in reality it's an underground auction. Anything black or white can be auctioned, there are no restrictions."
At this moment, there was a knock on the door, accompanied by Zhao Tang's voice, "Professor, can I come in?"
"Enter."
The conversation was forced to stop.
Zhao Tang walked in and placed the document on the table in front of Qu Yaoguang. "Professor, this is the last test report."
After all, he was young and had not experienced much, so there was still a hint of clarity in Zhao Tang's eyes.
Qu Yaoguang nodded with a faint smile on his face, "Okay, put it here first, and then help your senior sister Jiang sort out her unfinished work."
"Okay." Although Zhao Tang didn't understand why the professor repeatedly asked him to distance himself from this matter, he still obeyed and turned to leave.
After Zhao Tang left, Qu Yaoguang handed over the report in his hand. Su Mo stood up and took it, then brought it to Ye Linghan and Yao Qingluan. The three of them gathered together to look at it, and they all looked directly at the results column at the same time.
As expected, the emergence of CLY-20 was not accidental, but a long-planned one.
"If I'm not mistaken, it was you who asked Zhao Tang for help, right?" Qu Yaoguang said, looking at Ye Linghan.
When several people heard what he said, they all looked up. Ye Linghan met his gaze and realized that he was talking about him. He nodded without denying it, "Yes, I gave it to him."
"So you all know more or less about this potion, right?"
"What do you think?" Su Mo did not directly answer Qu Yaoguang's question.
"You don't have to be so wary of me. Maybe we are from the same kind of people." Qu Yaoguang felt helpless and amused when he saw the little guys being wary of him.
After all, I am over 50 years old, so it is reasonable for me to say that I no longer have the energy to do anything harmful to others.
But Ye Linghan and the others were not so easily fooled. Even though they appeared to have let down their guard on the surface, everyone was still on guard in their hearts.
"The vampires have been suppressed and silent for hundreds of years. As far as I know, the emergence of CLY-20 is the result of someone secretly manipulating the revitalization of the vampires." Qu Yaoguang said in a deep voice.
Could it be Yin Chen?
As soon as these words were spoken, except for Ye Linghan, the first person that came to everyone else's mind was him, and their eyes all turned to Ye Linghan at the same time.
When it comes to revitalizing the blood clan, it seems that there is no other person who can be associated with him except the candidate for the next clan leader. But what is his motivation for wanting to revitalize the blood clan? He has everything: money, power, and love. There is absolutely no reason to wade into this muddy water again.
Ye Linghan guessed everyone's thoughts and shrugged, "You don't have to look at me. I trust him unconditionally."
As for why, it was all due to their contact over the years, and he knew that Yin Chen would not do these things, and he would not do them behind others' backs to benefit himself. Furthermore, he believed in his intuition.
"It's definitely not the person you think." Qu Yaoguang observed the expressions of the others and guessed something, so he spoke, "But as for who is behind this, I don't know either. But you're lucky. For some reason, there's a dance party on the 28th of this month. If you're interested, you can go and take a look."
"It is said that the forbidden book of the vampires will reappear in that place, and if I am not mistaken, everyone should be rushing to get that book."
Several people looked at each other, secretly delighted in their hearts, because the truth seemed to be getting closer and closer.
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