Chapter 393: Fault Lines of Betrayal

Have you interrogated Hao Ren? Why did he do this?

Du Qiu never imagined that Hao Ren would turn against him—he had always let his guard down for this disciple.

He knew that after the incident with Watanabe Minghui, Hao Ren had been deeply wounded, his personality transformed.

Thus, Du Qiu was always mindful of Hao Ren’s feelings, often inviting him to the lab for a chat.

At first he tried to counsel him, and later, as Hao Ren delved into biotechnology, they gradually found common ground.

Their frequent discussions were also driven by Hao Ren’s breakthrough in consciousness enhancement research.

He never expected Hao Ren to suddenly turn on him.

Ning Shuangshuang said, “He’s been preliminarily interrogated, but he remained completely silent.”

Du Qiu asked, “What tricks did Hao Ren pull? Why was I able to wake up on my own?”

Ning Shuangshuang replied, “He attached a small canister of another gas to the oxygen tube of the hibernation pod. Tests revealed it’s a long-acting anesthetic.”

“Hmm? A long-acting anesthetic? How long until it kills me?”

Rein Leinar interjected, “Du, Hao Ren’s setup is quite clever. The dose of anesthetic gas entering the oxygen line is just right—it’ll keep you sedated, not kill you.”

Du Qiu was taken aback. “So, you’re saying Hao Ren never intended to kill me?”

Liu Yaofeng shouted, “But prolonged sedation can still be lethal!”

Clearly, he was furious with Hao Ren’s actions, deeming them nothing short of murder.

“Alright, I’m feeling pretty good now. Everyone, go about your own business—it’s barely our first arrival at the Lishi-1 system, and beginnings are always tough.”

After sending everyone away, Du Qiu said to Ning Shuangshuang, “Shuangshuang, take me to see Hao Ren.”

At that moment, Dream Technology’s formidable fleet had already passed the Kuiper Belt, with the vanguard stationed near the fourth planet, conducting a comprehensive scan.

The Lishi-1 system has a total of seven planets, but only two are terrestrial: the fourth and the seventh.

The fourth planet lies within the system’s habitable zone. Much like Mars, it boasts a thin atmosphere and moderate temperatures.

However, unlike Mars, its surface is covered in black soil and its poles lack any ice caps.

In other words, this planet has no water.

The seventh planet is different—it’s cloaked in a thick shell of solid ice, serving as the system’s water reservoir.

Though Du Qiu had been unconscious these past two days, Dream Technology’s management had made their decision: the fleet would dock at the fourth planet.

They planned to harvest ice and water from the seventh planet, maybe even dig massive pits on the fourth and dump the ice directly to form lakes and potentially transform its ecosystem.

This marked an initial attempt at planetary terraforming.

The main fleet was still 40 astronomical units from the fourth planet; at their current speed, it would take about 55 hours to arrive.

While in normal flight, transport shuttles could travel between the warships.

Du Qiu and Ning Shuangshuang boarded a dedicated shuttle that took them to a prison ship.

Although society under Dream Technology never lacked food or clothing, certain crimes still persisted.

It reaffirmed that as long as human desire exists, even the most advanced society cannot be free of criminals.

Hence, Dream Technology had built a prison ship specifically for incarcerating various criminals, currently holding 3.78 million inmates.

Inside a sealed chamber, Du Qiu met Hao Ren.

Donned in a prison uniform with unfocused eyes, Hao Ren showed no surprise upon seeing Du Qiu.

“Why did you do this?”

Upon hearing Du Qiu’s question, Hao Ren’s gaze sharpened as he stared at his face.

“You’re really lucky!”

Du Qiu was taken aback. It wasn’t luck—it was that Hao Ren hadn’t really gone all out. If that canister contained poison, he’d be dead by now.

Then he noticed that Hao Ren’s eyes drifted to other parts of the room, deliberately avoiding him.

After a moment of silence, Du Qiu said, “You’ve really disappointed me!”

“I’m disappointed too!”

“It seems you’re set on a dark path. My only option now is to give you euthanasia. Your execution will begin shortly.”

After speaking, Du Qiu got up and left.

Hao Ren watched as Du Qiu departed, a slight smirk forming on his lips.

Not even twenty minutes later, the door opened and two robotic prison guards came to escort Hao Ren out to an execution chamber.

Hao Ren was led inside and strapped into a semi-reclining chair.

Soon, an attached mechanical arm held a syringe and plunged it into Hao Ren’s arm.

Hao Ren’s eyes, once wide open, slowly closed.

Behind a wall in the room, Du Qiu and Ning Shuangshuang watched through a one-way glass as Hao Ren went completely still.

“How did you know that he had been implanted with a bio-control chip?”

Ning Shuangshuang couldn’t help but ask. She had seen Du Qiu’s conversation with Hao Ren on the monitor and couldn’t determine how he knew.

At that moment, from the other side of the one-way glass, a head cover descended over Hao Ren, completely encasing his head.

In less than three minutes, the head cover lifted, and Du Qiu saw a green light illuminate on its exterior.

He exhaled deeply and replied to Ning Shuangshuang, “Honestly, I never believed Hao Ren would harm me; he had no motive.”

When I first saw him, I asked why he did it, and he deflected by saying, “I’m really lucky.”

You have to understand—if he had used poison gas, I’d be dead. My survival isn’t luck; it’s his mercy.

If he went to such lengths, why spare me? And why wouldn’t he answer my question, instead choosing to say I’m lucky?

Listening to Du Qiu’s retort, Ning Shuangshuang immediately understood and replied, “So you decided to play along, opting for euthanasia so that he ends up here, injected with a simulated death serum.”

Du Qiu added, “Exactly. The bio-control chip in his brain, even if only blocking signals, might have a self-destruct circuit pre-installed. In that case, Hao Ren would be doomed.”

With this execution, the controller likely wouldn’t suspect it’s a ruse for a while. By the time they realize and try to trigger the chip’s self-destruct sequence…

By then, I’ll have enough time to remove the chip and block its signals.

Ning Shuangshuang furrowed her brows and said, “Now, Hao Ren should be fine. The one controlling him is likely Watanabe Minghui—who managed to infiltrate Dream Technology.”

She even acquired a bio-control chip and implanted it into Hao Ren’s brain.

Du Qiu said, “I suspect Watanabe Minghui infiltrated the Biological Research Institute, and back then, she likely used some form of biological coercion that drastically altered Hao Ren’s personality, pushing him to fully embrace biotechnology.”

Ning Shuangshuang nodded. “Perhaps while studying and researching at the Biological Research Institute, Hao Ren was tampered with again by Watanabe Minghui.”

“I’ll soon investigate everyone’s records at the Biological Research Institute. I’m sure we can find her.”

“No need. I’ve already arranged for Star Ocean to locate her. My only concern now is that she may have used bio-control chips to control more than just Hao Ren.”

Ning Shuangshuang looked at Du Qiu in shock, “Do you mean that Watanabe Minghui already has a gang?”

Du Qiu nodded solemnly, “It could be a huge operation. After all, the Biological Research Institute has performed genetic modifications on everyone, and Watanabe Minghui is responsible for at least ten million people.”

However, on one hand, she’s limited by the number of bio-control chips, and on the other, only a select few among those ten million are deemed worthy of implantation.

Now, Star Ocean has traced and singled out those in key positions among the ten million under her control.