Chapter 70
Xie Xubai's breath hitched, and he subconsciously focused his gaze on the direction.
When older people mention that you resemble someone else, it's almost always someone from their parents' generation.
It seemed to confirm his guess.
Director Li smiled nostalgically and said, "That was a friend of mine who was always by Fu Zong's side. They were so close that they practically shared a bed."
How could Xie Xubai not have some thoughts about this?
After all, he had once boldly guessed that Fu Zong was actually his long-lost father.
However, due to the passage of time and the limitations of rules on cognition, memories become confused, making it impossible to recognize the other party.
Director Li has worked with Fu Zong for a long time, and may have even seen Fu Zong and Ms. Xie Yuchun dating, or even getting married and having children.
For Xie Xubai, who wanted to trace back to the past, this was nothing short of a bombshell.
Xie Xubai was anxious and wanted to ask more questions.
The next second, meeting Director Li's probing gaze, he instinctively felt that something was not right, and stopped in his tracks.
The response can happen in an instant.
Xie Xubai looked shocked, like a normal person who had just heard a shocking piece of news without warning. He didn't bother to investigate what the other person said next; all his attention was focused on the first sentence.
"What did you say? Researching monsters? Could it be that this hospital is secretly—"
boom!
A bolt of lightning ripped through the night, illuminating half the sky as bright as day.
Just then, the midnight bells rang out, their deep, heavy tones slowly echoing through the sky.
Thump! Thump! Thump—!
As the lights in the buildings, including the outpatient department and other buildings, were turned off one after another, the hustle and bustle of the daytime seemed to be swallowed by darkness, and the entire hospital was instantly shrouded in a dim and gloomy atmosphere.
Xie Xubai abruptly shut his mouth after the thunder sounded, tensing up and looking around warily.
Director Li stared intently at him.
The young man's resume stated that both his parents were alive.
If that information is false, and it is indeed as Fu Zong said, Xie Xubai lost his mother at a young age and had a strained adoptive father-son relationship with the other party many years ago. His selfish bias and emphasis would make the young man unable to help but care about his last sentence.
Director Li's ability to reach his current position is due to his deeply ingrained paranoia.
Having dealt with Fu Zong so many times, he knew that the other party liked to speak in a half-truthful way, so he naturally had the idea of testing Xie Xubai.
He was also cunning and shrewd.
Fortunately, Xie Xubai reacted very quickly.
Without any prior knowledge of the phone call or argument between Fu Zong and Director Li, he escaped unscathed entirely thanks to his instinctive caution and keen observation.
Director Li sized him up for a while, thinking to himself that Fu Zong's remarks were indeed a smokescreen to incite trouble. He felt a little relieved and glanced at the sky: "The weather tonight is a bit strange."
The tense atmosphere in the air dissipated immediately.
Seeing that Director Li had regained his kind and amiable demeanor, Xie Xubai gained a deeper understanding of how much the old man hated Fu Zong.
Fortunately, he didn't pick up on the second topic first.
The shadow that was over Xie Xubai's head moved, its edges extending outwards.
In no time, it grew to about the size of a small rain shelter, big enough to block out the blinding lightning.
Xie Xubai said thank you, his thoughts racing.
He couldn't help but feel a little regretful, guessing that Director Li most likely didn't know his mother.
Director Li also spoke up, answering his earlier question: "You guessed right, this hospital was originally established as a secret research base, where many inhumane experiments were secretly conducted. The so-called field hospital is just a facade."
Xie Xubai pretended to gasp, but unexpectedly, Director Li blurted out, "Aren't there any problems with you telling me this so openly?"
"What problem could there be?"
Director Li's expression was cold and stern, his gaze sweeping over the pristine white walls of the building, a hint of mockery in his eyes.
"Look at these traces of renovation, layered upon each other. Can you still find any trace of the past?"
"Not to mention that a huge explosion once occurred here, after which all the evidence that could expose Fu Zong's crimes was buried in hell."
Director Li's eyes were gloomy: "Fu Zong himself isn't afraid of others mentioning it, so are you and I supposed to cover for him?"
Indeed, the renovation of the First Hospital was comprehensive and thorough.
The complex, including the renovated and expanded building, features standard modern decorations that are simple and clear, with innovative and diverse designs, and is surrounded by green belts, making it impossible to tell that it is an old building from decades ago.
Director Li's short statement was enough for Xie Xubai to extract a lot of information.
What horrified him most was that the alienation of the world had actually occurred more than twenty years ago!
It's hard to imagine the immense impact this would have had on human society at that time.
However, there are many inconsistencies in Director Li's explanation.
"You mean this hospital was built by the hospital director himself? What about the former director?"
When the former dean was mentioned, Director Li's expression softened considerably, revealing a palpable sense of respect.
As he uttered Fu Zong's name, his eyes instantly darkened: "He built it all by himself? Does he even deserve the title!"
"He was simply inexperienced and unable to command respect at the time, which is why he pushed the former dean into the limelight, shielding him from many open and covert attacks, while he himself retreated behind the scenes, waiting for the right moment to oust the former dean and take over for himself!"
Through his narration, Xie Xubai roughly understood.
This means that the clinic mentioned in the hospital's introduction was actually a temporary shelter.
This shelter is privately owned, meaning it was a family business that the former director voluntarily relinquished.
At that time, monsters roamed the area, and many unscrupulous people took advantage of the chaos to loot and plunder, causing the region to descend into utter chaos. People fought each other for resources to survive.
Only the former dean stepped forward to take charge, uniting everyone to resist the alienation, allowing ordinary people, powerless to even kill a chicken, to eke out a living.
It was during this period that Fu Zong conceived his evil intentions.
He saw the immense potential that alienation brought to the human body; if it could be transformed into controllable biotechnology, the resulting wealth and power would be immeasurable!
But at that time, people were filled with grief and fear over the destruction of their homes, and their first reaction upon seeing the monster was to shout for its destruction.
As fellow human beings, it's one thing if Fu Zong doesn't try to suppress the alienation.
Anyone who dares to openly research how to turn people into monsters during this period will surely become a public enemy and be riddled with bullets.
Therefore, he urgently needed a cover to conceal his research.
The small-scale shelter, along with the former director's renowned reputation and virtuous public image, are just ready-made pretexts, aren't they?
It sounds reasonable and infuriates those who hear it, but upon closer examination, it is riddled with doubts.
When Director Li was speaking, his emotions inevitably took on a personal tone, sometimes becoming excited and sometimes depressed.
Xie Xubai felt as if he were listening to an older generation recounting stories of the past. As an outsider, he couldn't help but question the authenticity of the stories, and from time to time, he felt a strong sense of disconnect.
But he didn't show it at all. He listened attentively, carefully discerning the reasonable and unreasonable parts of Director Li's words, keeping the outcome in mind.
They would also follow up with affirmation: "The former dean was a truly great person to be able to withstand the pressure under those circumstances."
The admiration in Xie Xubai's words was absolutely genuine.
No matter the circumstances, anyone who has the courage and determination to protect the people in times of crisis deserves respect.
Director Li looked at him for a long time, his brows easing more and more: "You really look like that friend of mine... that person was also the former dean's right-hand man."
Yes, Director Li's initial tone was misleading in order to test Xie Xubai.
But he did have a friend who was very similar in temperament to Xie Xubai.
This is why he felt a good impression of Xie Xubai upon their first meeting.
If Xie Xubai hadn't been only in his twenties, he would have almost suspected that the two were the same person.
Xie Xubai was surprised that Director Li actually had such a friend, or was he being completely bluffed?
He then asked, "This friend you mentioned is both a close subordinate of the former dean and someone he knows well. So, when the dean wanted to harm the former dean, he didn't try to stop him?"
Director Li's eyes darkened, and he sighed softly, "How could I not try to stop it? It's just... sigh."
He stopped abruptly, seemingly having touched on a painful topic and unwilling to discuss it further.
Therefore, Xie Xubai did not dare to ask any further questions.
In fact, Xie Xubai desperately wanted to know the source of the alienation, which was very likely the key to restoring the world to normalcy.
None of the truths had a greater impact on him than this one.
But Director Li couldn't explain it clearly.
Rather than saying the old man was completely unaware of the origins of alienation, it's more accurate to say that an invisible force of rules intervened.
Whenever the conversation reached a crucial point, Director Li would suddenly freeze, then abruptly shift to another topic without any apparent understanding.
Even if Xie Xubai wanted to come back, it would be useless; he would simply skip over it again.
Asking too many times might arouse suspicion.
No matter how eager Xie Xubai was, he could only remain silent.
Thunder roared high in the sky, and the wind howled, causing the shadows of the trees to sway wildly under the strain.
Before they knew it, the two arrived at their destination: the Special Treatment and Monitoring Area of the First Hospital's Mutant Monster Branch.
Given the destructive power of an S-class patient, which is enough to wipe out a city, they definitely cannot be kept with other patients.
Therefore, Fu Zong ordered the creation of this special area, which was strictly guarded and outsiders were prohibited from approaching.
Xie Xubai had been to this place during the day, but had not had the opportunity to enter.
After all, as a newly hired director, he had no authority other than admitting patients, and he couldn't even pass the first security check.
As a respected elder statesman who has made outstanding contributions to the hospital, Director Li naturally has the authority to enter.
The problem was that every time he tried to approach the patient, Fu Zong would suddenly appear as if he were riding on wheels of fire, and with a forced smile, ask him to leave.
This time, Director Li wanted to use a feint attack with Xie Xubai.
He had asked other directors for help, but Fu Zong had indiscriminately "invited" him out each time.
The problem is that those directors are too low-level and not strong enough; they are defeated as soon as they meet.
It wasn't until Xie Xubai appeared that Director Li finally saw a glimmer of hope in uncovering the truth.
Defense personnel patrolled the perimeter of the surveillance area.
Compared to the security guards Xie Xubai had seen before, these men were not armed or fully equipped; they were simply wearing a training uniform.
The patrol's pace was somewhat careless, like a group of cats taking a lazy stroll after dinner, walking and stopping intermittently, leaving many clues.
But the moment Xie Xubai and his companion crossed the dividing line, all the members of the defense department suddenly stopped.
Like a combat weapon that precisely locates the enemy.
Whether those people were lying in trees to relax, hanging from buildings and swaying, or walking on the road to patrol, they all turned around at this moment without prior arrangement.
Countless fierce gazes, filled with icy coldness, pierced through their hearts.
Director Li was about to speak.
Suddenly, the static that had been flickering on the old television screen after the image of a Taoist priest went out vanished in a flash.
An indescribable chill ran through Xie Xubai, like needles pricking his skin, and the hairs on his back stood on end.
He glanced back and saw a masked head close to the back of his neck, sniffing lightly with an ambiguous twitch of its nose.
Author's Note:
I recommend a similar infinite flow novel (reader's pentagram) ↓ It's already started; those interested can check it out and add it to their favorites!
Little Fool [Infinite Flow]
Author: Herbal Stone Hemp
Synopsis: The landlord's foolish son unfortunately entered the infinite world. Apart from a pretty little face, he had nothing.
But fate always seems to have a special fondness for the silly little beauty.
The pretty girl reached out and grabbed the man who had accidentally slept with her and seemed quite capable, and said very seriously, "You have to take responsibility for me."
And so, he successfully completed the first world.
In order to survive, the little beauty found the man again and lied with a puffed-out face: "I'm pregnant with your child, you have to take responsibility."
A lie told a thousand times will become the truth.
The young beauty had only spoken a few hundred words when she actually conceived a child.
And the child she was carrying...
It doesn't seem like a human.
——
R, the third-ranked big shot in the Infinite World, was framed and forced to accept the situation, because even the system determined that the other party was disabled, and he, who committed the crime, had to atone for it!
He pleaded guilty.
The little guy is obedient, sweet-talking, and doesn't cause trouble; he's very lovable.
That's right, he noticed that the little guy seemed to be getting smarter and his belly was getting rounder.
Until one day.
The other person was born in the instance.
She gave birth to a perfectly round ball.
R looked at the ball, then at the virtual spherical system floating beside him, and began to wonder what the little guy really was.
[Note: This contains minor spoilers. The protagonist isn't actually mentally challenged, or even human; he's a defunct artificial intelligence!]
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