Chapter 240: Secrets Unveiled After the Uprising

The water boiled in the kettle, steam pouring from the spout as the bubbling grew louder. For Tang Huai, an Evolver, every sound seemed amplified in his ears. Eyes wide, he could hardly believe what he was hearing.

Tang Heng’s voice trembled. “Dad…”

Tang Zhengbo nodded slightly. “In their desperate search for survival, the lab subjects locked beneath ground joined forces with a handful of researchers who still clung to their conscience. Together, they fought through layer after layer of security and broke free onto the surface, then blew the underground lab to bits.”

This was earth-shattering news, and yet they’d never heard a whisper of it. Tang Huai stared in shock while Tang Heng quietly asked, “Was it never announced—was that The Base’s decision, or were higher-ups involved?”

Tang Zhengbo replied, “The order came from above. When word got out, both the chief and vice chief of Hui One Base were removed. The researchers involved in the project were arrested, and even the director was replaced. The leaders of that underground breakout were Deng Yufeng from the Blazing Fire Unit and Xie Yu from Azure Dragon—your cousin was right there helping as well.”

Tang Huai’s eyes went round. “People as powerful as Huo Fenghuang and Xie Yu—and they dared to arrest them?!”

“I don’t know how they ended up involved,” Tang Zhengbo said, “but when I saw Deng Yufeng, her skin was ghostly pale, and her nerves and blood vessels had turned a deep purple-black.”

Tang Zhengbo paused for a long while before continuing. “The high-level Evolvers held up better, but for the regular test subjects and ordinary people, most of them could barely survive on their own. They were given free recovery treatments, but even so, we lost Afeng.”

What the lab’s escapees suffered in year six of the calamity was even more terrifying and hopeless than the disaster itself.

Words failed Tang Zhengbo. He rifled through a drawer overflowing with tea leaves before realizing he’d been smoke-free for ten years now.

No wonder Dad had seemed so off-kilter after returning from Hui One Base. Tang Huai buried his head in his hands, fighting the urge to curse. The pain was almost unbearable.

Tang Heng, eyes red, poured his father another cup. “Dad, what role did Zhang San and Li Si play in all of this?”

Tang Zhengbo took a sip of hot tea before answering. “Zhang San was one of the whistleblowers who exposed the underground lab’s crimes, and he’s now in charge of the recovery program. Yang Jin and Luo Pei coordinated with Xie Yu, orchestrating the escape. Not long after I arrived at Hui One, Yang Jin approached me and we teamed up to help. As for Li Si, she was with the research institute at the time, but I can’t say for sure if she was involved.”

“A while later, Deng Yufeng publicly announced she’d discovered an uncontaminated spring and moved her squad to Blazing Fire Mountain, taking control of the source. To seize such a rare resource, she must’ve struck a deal with Hui One Base or higher authorities. Afterwards, Deng Yufeng kept expanding her strength through the spring water, even recruiting experts to Blazing Fire Mountain to cultivate high-vitality plants—Li Si was one of those she lured over.”

“Before leaving the research institute, Zhang San and Li Si were from different departments, but they definitely knew one another.” Tang Zhengbo speculated, “Judging by their conversations now, Li Si must have crossed Zhang San at some point.”

Tang Heng nodded. “Sounds right. Zhang San may be petty, but he doesn’t hold grudges against the wrong people. If he refused a deal with Territory Two but still trades with us, he definitely isn’t blaming Li Si because of Deng Yufeng either.”

“Wait, that doesn’t add up!” The more Tang Huai thought about it, the more off it seemed. “By your account, Azure Dragon Unit contributed as much as Huo Fenghuang in that incident. Why would the stingy Yang Jin let Huo Fenghuang grab all the benefits and then slink away from Hui One? And if Zhang San blew the whistle, he helped Huo Fenghuang—so why would she send Li Si to mess with him?”

Tang Zhengbo didn’t scold his son for being loud, answering patiently instead. “I don’t know all the details, and I’m not sure how they split things up. But the Azure Dragon Unit didn’t come to Hui San Base for the reasons people say—they were invited by the General to counter the Sufeng Squad’s monopoly. After that incident, Deng Yufeng invited Zhang San to join the Blazing Fire Unit multiple times, but he always refused. Sending Li Si was just another attempt to win him over.”

The most common rumor about Azure Dragon Unit leaving Hui One for Hui San was that Huo Fenghuang had a crush on Yang Jin, but Yang Jin didn’t feel the same and led his team to flee.

Tang Heng asked, “Dad, why did Zhang San leave the institute to farm out here?”

“I never got hold of any inside info. The most common excuse is that he hated the institute’s food—but that can’t be the real reason.”

The Tang brothers…

That’s such a Zhang San thing to do.

Tang Zhengbo went on, “Though there are strict government bans, some people will still risk it for massive profits and run secret labs underground. Zhang San swapped his termite mushrooms but didn’t want any mycelium soil, so the issue wasn’t with the mushrooms. He’s not the meddling type—if he stepped in, there must’ve been a reason. You two stay on the territory. I’ll go talk to Luo Pei and have him take me to Territory Seven. With Zhang San’s personality, he wouldn’t meet us if we showed up out of the blue.”

For once, Tang Huai met his father with a rare stubbornness. “I’m the one who snuck mushrooms with Ah Heng behind your back. You don’t need to get involved or bother Luo Pei. Just rest—I’ll go find Xia Qing.”

Tang Zhengbo didn’t get it. “Why go to Xia Qing?”

Tang Huai replied, “I’ll have her take me to see Zhang San. She’s more useful than Luo Pei for this.”

His son was thirty already, wanting to handle it on his own, and Tang Zhengbo didn’t interfere. “Don’t go making a scene, you hear me? Take it easy.”

After telling two bodyguards to follow, Tang Zhengbo watched his youngest son lingering.

Tang Heng’s voice was hoarse. “Dad, before our cousin died she must have told you who got her caught, right? It was Tang Sufeng, wasn’t it?”

When his father stayed silent, Tang Heng pressed on. “Does my sister know?”

Tang Zhengbo gave a slight nod, then warned his youngest, “Don’t tell your brother. Bury your feelings deep—act like nothing happened. Xu Pin can sense murderous intent in those around him.”

Tang Huai ran straight to the north barrier of Territory Three, crouched and listened for a while. Then he grabbed a fist-sized rock and hurled it at a big tree in the buffer forest with all his might.

“Bang!”

Xia Qing, carrying a chicken cage, immediately ducked behind a pile of Xiang Grass, aiming her gun at the north buffer forest. She heard the thud against the tree, spotting it trembling in the orange light of sunset.

What’s going on…?

When Xia Qing turned, the Alpha Wolf was gone. She told Boss Sheep and the last two wolves, “Boss, Number Two, Broken-Back—head home, I’m going to pick some veggies.”

Xia Qing walked north, set the chicken cage behind the farm shed, and entered the buffer forest with her gun.

“Bang!” On his tenth throw, Tang Huai finally heard Xia Qing’s footsteps approaching. Grumbling, he muttered, “Took her forever—I wasted all that running for nothing—ah!”

A startled cry burst from Tang Huai as he stumbled backward and landed hard on the ground.

The sudden appearance of the Evolved Wolf made both bodyguards jump. Guns out, they quickly shielded Tang Huai.

“Xia—Xia Qing, can you hurry up, damn it!” One look at that Evolved Wolf and Tang Huai was stammering with fear.