Chapter 75: Hidden Dangers

Chapter Seventy-Five

“Miss Mei, please wait!” As Mei and her companions were about to leave, Ling Feng suddenly called out to stop them.

“Is there something else, big brother?” Mei turned back, puzzled as to why he wouldn’t let her go.

“There are some matters I’d like to discuss privately with you, Miss Mei. Would you mind waiting a moment?” Ling Feng adjusted his glasses, his tone exceedingly polite as he made his request.

“Can you tell us what it’s about first? If it concerns this mission, I don’t think there’s much to discuss,” Mo Chen interjected.

“It’s regarding Miss Mei’s abilities. I wonder if you have any interest?” Ling Feng folded his hands before him, one finger lightly touching his spectacles, the reflected light obscuring any hint of his expression.

Mo Chen raised his eyebrows at that but said nothing.

Ever since Mei entered the Moonlight Base without hiding the nature of her powers, they had anticipated someone would approach her about it. He supposed it was only a matter of time—so, here it was.

“Then we’ll wait for you in the next room, big brother!” Mei said, and the three of them left together.

Ye Jingnan ordered the adjacent room to be opened for them to rest and wait, while he went to attend to other matters.

“Little Mei, what do you think Ling Feng will say?” Mo Chen lounged on the sofa, asking lazily.

“What else could it be? I suspect someone has noticed there’s something else inside the crystal stones from the zombies, but they can’t separate these things themselves. Coincidentally, my abilities are likely to counteract such things, so they’re just probing!” Mei habitually took out her long-haired plush cushion, hugging it to her chest and burying half her face in its soft fur.

Lately, she especially liked immersing herself in the long, fluffy fur—not for warmth, but because the sensation was soothing and brought her comfort. With these furry cushions during the day and Mo Chen’s company at night, her emotions had become increasingly stable, and her mental energy hadn’t surged restlessly for quite some time. She reckoned she’d be fine before long.

Mo Chen and Ye Jingxuan were long accustomed to her new habits. Ye Jingxuan reached out to tousle Mei’s hair, finding her nestled in the pile of fur particularly adorable. More than once, he’d thought he should collect more furry things for her when he had the chance.

“That ability-enhancing potion looks quite impressive. Are you sure your Ye family doesn’t want it?” Mo Chen, seeing Ye Jingxuan’s gesture, felt slightly annoyed and deliberately brought it up.

“No need! If they work hard, their ability levels will rise soon enough. This kind of externally boosted power is nothing but an empty show,” Ye Jingxuan had no interest whatsoever in the potion offered by the Longsheng Base.

The Ye family’s training from childhood had taught him never to rely too much on external force; nothing was more reliable than one’s own strength. Naturally, Ye Jingnan, who underwent the same training, understood this principle, which was why he’d abandoned the mission. Besides, everyone in the Ye family capable of awakening abilities had already done so with Mei’s help, so the awakening potion held no appeal for them.

“That potion is refined from crystal stones. The energy inside is roughly equivalent to a level-four crystal stone. The stones you have aren’t that high-level, but absorb enough and it’s not far off. Besides, those potions contain death energy; consume too much and the result is the same as directly absorbing the crystal’s energy!” Mei, seeing Ye Jingxuan uninterested in the potion, still felt compelled to warn him.

“So those who often drink these potions will end up as zombies!” Mo Chen raised his brows, his tone tinged with schadenfreude.

“Not zombies—I told you, they become corpses, walking corpses!” Mei corrected him, annoyed.

She’d explained many times, yet everyone persisted in thinking that the death energy in the crystals would turn people into zombies. Honestly, corpses and zombies are not the same!

“Alright, alright—corpses it is!” Seeing Mei bristle, Mo Chen quickly changed his wording to appease her.

“But what’s the difference between a corpse and a zombie? Aren’t they both animated dead?” Mo Chen, after soothing her, couldn’t help but ask.

Ye Jingxuan was equally puzzled. He’d always thought absorbing zombie crystal energy would turn someone into a zombie, yet Mei insisted they’d become corpses instead, which made him curious. If Mo Chen hadn’t asked, he would have.

“Of course there’s a difference! Death energy only erodes the vital energy in the body, causing the organs to gradually lose vitality and stiffen, ending with a moving corpse. Corpses don’t eat human flesh; they only absorb the vital energy from living people or animals. Those drained by corpses simply become dried husks, not corpses themselves. Got it?” Mei explained.

“So how are zombies formed?” After her explanation, both men wondered about the origins of zombies, now understanding the distinction.

“How should I know?” Mei rolled her eyes at them, hardly in the mood—she wasn’t omniscient.

The two men, chastised, one rubbed his nose, the other turned away, yet both silently mused that apparently, there were things she didn’t know.

Mei, sensing their thoughts, glared at them more fiercely, but neither received her anger; instead, they found her puffed-up expression so endearing they couldn’t resist pinching her cheeks and laughing.

They hadn’t waited long before Ling Feng knocked and entered. He came alone—his two aides didn’t join him.

“I heard Miss Mei is an orphan. Can you tell me which orphanage you grew up in?” Ling Feng sat down but didn’t address the main issue, instead asking about her childhood.

“Does this have any bearing on the mission?” Mei feigned confusion.

“When you arrived at the Moonlight Base, we extracted your genetic information. We compared it to the citizen database, but found no match for either of you. You and Mr. Mo Chen seem to have appeared out of nowhere. I’m curious—where did you come from?” Ling Feng folded his hands beneath his chin, observing Mei and Mo Chen.

“If you can’t find us, is that our fault? If you don’t trust us, what’s the point of negotiating?” Mo Chen raised his brows at Ling Feng, his lazy tone edged with provocation.

Ling Feng smiled slightly at that, replying unhurriedly, “Given the current situation, it’s not so much that I don’t trust you, but that you don’t trust me. According to our investigation, Miss Mei appeared in the city two years ago under the alias Liu Xiaoye, age seventeen, renting apartment 309 in Building B, Wanyu Jiayuan on Changxing Street, skilled in computers, making a living by writing programs online.

Mr. Mo Chen likewise appeared two years ago in the international mercenary scene, renowned for mechanical modification as ‘Black Eagle,’ carrying out missions in various countries.

At first glance, aside from both emerging two years ago, there seems no connection—one specializes in computers, the other in mechanics, nothing in common. Yet our investigation shows traces of artificial modification in both your genes. So I boldly speculate you’re from some laboratory. Am I right?”

Such thorough investigation!

Mei blinked, admiring his skill.

In this post-apocalyptic world with disrupted information, for him to uncover so much about her and Mo Chen after leaving the lab was impressive indeed.

“So? What’s your point, big brother?” Mei still didn’t understand his motive in sharing all this.

“Your awakened abilities must have been influenced by modified genes, right? Your light element, Mr. Mo Chen’s thunder and spatial abilities—these are rare and exceptional. But have you ever considered that the effects of your modified genes might not all be beneficial?” Ling Feng continued, scrutinizing their expressions.

Mei seemed unfazed—she knew little about genetics, and much was beyond her grasp. Although she had the memories of this world, the cultural differences were vast; most of the time, she knew what was happening but not why. She didn’t believe her genes had any issues, and even if they did, she was confident her own energy could repair them. Thus, Ling Feng’s words had no impact on her.

Mo Chen and Ye Jingxuan showed no overt reaction, but the gravity in their eyes and their brief exchange revealed they took Ling Feng’s words seriously.

Ling Feng noticed their subtle responses and felt assured.

“I know you have no interest in the reward we offered. If I changed it to helping resolve any potential physical risks you might have, would you be interested?” Ling Feng offered what he believed would tempt them.

To his surprise, it was Mei, who had previously shown indifference, who refused him first.

“If big brother intends to use that as a reward, then I’m sorry—I still refuse.” Mei’s rejection was clear and decisive; she had no interest in his proposition.

Mo Chen and Ye Jingxuan said nothing, apparently leaving the decision to Mei, letting her speak for them.

“May I ask your reason for refusing?” Ling Feng inquired calmly. Twice rejected, he showed no sign of agitation.

“Big brother, you seem very eager for us to participate in this mission,” Mei replied instead of answering directly.

“That’s right,” Ling Feng nodded, but only acknowledged it, offering no further explanation.

“So it’s true our abilities would be crucial to this mission, isn’t it?” Mei pressed.

Ling Feng remained silent, simply watching her, waiting for what she would say next.

“The mission is difficult, and our abilities are essential. How could you think we’d agree just because of a few words? Besides, I don’t trust you or the Longsheng Base behind you. The reward you promise seems considerate, but in truth it’s just so you can study us more conveniently, isn’t it? You just want to use us as test subjects.”

Mei spoke each word clearly, her expression gradually growing colder. The innocence in her face vanished, replaced by a faint murderous intent.