Lu Xun's Request
"You've met Dr. Chu before." Yang Xiao added from the side, "He also went on this exploration, he's the one who was always following beside Old Lu and didn't talk much..."
Through Yang Xiao's description, Chen Ling finally remembered the existence of this person. This Dr. Chu's presence was indeed not high. He should be the type who disliked socializing just like Yang Xiao. If he hadn't already come into contact with the Lord of the Aurora previously, he probably wouldn't have paid much attention to Yang Xiao either... This Dr. Chu had always followed beside Lu Xun, including when they were scattered by the Calamity, those few of them had walked together, so Chen Ling didn't have much impression of him.
"Dr. Chu was also treated as an experimental subject along with you?" Chen Ling asked.
"No, Dr. Chu is different from me." Lu Xun shook his head. "He was the one responsible for conducting the experiments on me, or rather, my experimental data was basically all processed by him..."
"You are the experimental subject, and he is the experimenter?" Chen Ling was incredibly surprised. "This Dr. Chu, what field does he research in?"
"Cell biology."
Chen Ling's brows furrowed tightly, falling into deep thought.
"Of course, it wasn't Dr. Chu's original intention for things to turn out like this." Lu Xun took the initiative to explain for Dr. Chu,
It was he who secretly gave me a reminder about the internal changes within Bureau 749. Me being able to escape this time is also thanks to his help."
"But he was also a member of the Exploration Team, and he also came into contact with the Red Star Fragment... The people from Bureau 749 didn't conduct experiments on him as well?" Chen Ling asked in return.
"When the unknown component was detected from my body for the first time, Bureau 749 also immediately conducted sampling and analysis on Dr. Chu." Lu Xun paused for a moment. "However, everything was normal with Dr. Chu's biological samples."
"Everything was normal... How could this be possible?" Yang Xiao murmured to himself.
Whether it was himself, Su Zhiwei, or Lu Xun... Everyone who participated in that exploration had all sorts of mutations occur on their bodies. Dr. Chu shouldn't be an exception either.
"However, it's also fortunate that Dr. Chu's samples were normal. This made the people of Bureau 749 feel that not everyone who came into contact with the Red Star Fragment underwent mutation, but that individual mutation only occurred on me, Lu Xun... It's exactly because of this that they didn't immediately go and capture you guys." Lu Xun's tone was very relieved.
"Do they really dare to capture people so brazenly?" Yang Xiao frowned deeply.
"Bureau 749 naturally couldn't do this kind of thing... However, those guys who transferred me out of the bureau can be considered to cover the sky with one hand in this Shanghai." Lu Xun's expression was very serious,
"They have no official background, so they have no way to mobilize 'White Hand'. They can only rely on their own connections to contact some 'Black Hand'... Before I came over, they were still searching the whole city to catch me."
Speaking of this, Chen Ling suddenly thought of the windbreaker man he screwed over halfway, his expression somewhat subtle.
That man's body also had the aura of the Divine Pathways. Coupled with the content discussed on the phone at that time, he could basically be confirmed as one of the "Black Hand" capturing Lu Xun. Calculating the time, he should also be dawdling into Shanghai right about now.
"So, you finding me this time is because you want me to help you escape Shanghai?"
"... No." Lu Xun shook his head. "If I wanted to escape, I would have already left Shanghai by now. There would be no need to run in circles with them here."
"Then you want..."
"The development of human civilization requires some people to make sacrifices, and also requires the courage to face mysteries head-on. There's no problem with them wanting to obtain more information about the Red Star from my body, and I am also willing to cooperate... It's just that, I don't want people to research me for their own selfish interests."
Lu Xun's voice was very calm. He sat in the open-air cafe, the city's neon lights flashing behind him, like a sky full of stars.
Chen Ling froze for a moment before understanding his meaning:
"You're saying, you're willing to continue cooperating with the experiments, but you don't want to hand yourself over to that group of separatists?"
"Mhm, I want to have another talk with the higher-ups of Bureau 749. But right now, this group of people won't let me come into contact with Bureau 749... Otherwise, everything they have done will be exposed."
Lu Xun paused for a moment. "Besides this, looking for you this time... is also because I want to ask you to Act as a Safety Net for us."
"Act as a Safety Net? What do you mean?"
"Although Bureau 749 won't force us to conduct Human Experimentation, I'm worried the secret of the Red Star is too tempting. Besides me, there will be other organizations targeting the others, such as Yang Xiao, Su Zhiwei, Wu Tongyuan...
I'm fine, but scientific researchers like Wu Tongyuan and Yang Xiao are usually engrossed in research. The slightest carelessness and they will be used or forcibly kidnapped by others. Therefore, I hope someone can secretly protect their safety.
I saw your strength in Shennongjia. This time, the personnel of the rescue team also saw you stepping on the clouds against a sky full of red flowers with their own eyes at the top of the mountain, like a miracle... Although I don't know why you infiltrated the Exploration Team, at least you will maintain goodwill towards us.
You are the only 'Black Hand' I know, and also the only existence who won't harbor evil intentions towards us. After I enter Bureau 749, if I have this big hand of yours sheltering them behind their backs, I can also feel at ease..."
Hearing this, Chen Ling finally understood.
Lu Xun didn't find him this time for his own sake, but for the other several Nine Monarchs... He hoped that if anyone encountered an accident, he could lend a helping hand.
The convener of the Nine Monarchs, requesting him to secretly shelter the Nine Monarchs...
Chen Ling felt fate was very wonderful. The current Lu Xun didn't know at all what the nine of them meant in later generations. But in this era, their wings weren't fully grown yet, and they indeed didn't have the power to protect themselves...
This request was undoubtedly consistent with Chen Ling's own wishes. He also hoped to have an opportunity to contact the Nine Monarchs and establish various connections with them... Although he still hadn't matched the era's secret signal with Su Zhiwei, based on current clues, Chen Ling felt this place definitely had a close connection with the future era.
"Several among you won't need my shelter at all..." Chen Ling slowly spoke.
Lu Xun froze, thinking Chen Ling was about to refuse, and immediately wanted to say something more. But the second half of Chen Ling's sentence immediately sounded:
"However, I can help with the safety of the others."
Lu Xun breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then regarding your remuneration..."
"Dr. Lu, regarding the matter of remuneration, we can chat about it later."
Chen Ling suddenly interrupted Lu Xun's words. His figure stood up from his seat, his eyes slightly narrowing as he looked towards the distant night sky...
"Right now... we seem to have trouble."
Buzz buzz buzz—
Lu Xun and Yang Xiao both froze at the same time and turned their heads to look. Only to see a helicopter cutting across the sky under the pitch-black night, speeding rapidly towards here!