Chapter 83: Replication Experiment 7
For the first time in his life, the pork stall owner was part of a thrilling scene straight out of a cop movie. His lips turned white with fear, and he stood by the roadside, not daring to move. This was a deserted rural road; sometimes, not even a single car would pass by all day. At this moment, only the Order Maintenance Department’s drone hovered high above the vehicles, emitting a buzzing sound.
Yi Ke opened the trunk of his car and pulled out a miniature explosion-proof detection robot with a high-definition camera on top. It looked like an eight-legged crab. It quickly crawled to the van, hooked its sharp front claws onto the rear bumper, and completed the vehicle inspection in less than five minutes. The data was transmitted back remotely. The technical team reported over the phone, “Captain Zhuang, there are no explosives or tracking devices on the vehicle.”
“Is this your own car?” Zhuang Ningyu asked.
“Yes, yes, it’s my car, but I’m not the only one who uses it,” the pork stall owner stammered, explaining, “There are about ten small vans of various sizes parked in our market. The keys are just left in the cars. Usually, the drivers just use whichever one is available for deliveries.”
If that was the case, Zhuang Ningyu felt the possibility of the car being tampered with was indeed not high. After all, the pork stall owner had only agreed to look for the dog; there was no guarantee he would actually find it. Unless the other party went to the trouble of installing bombs in every vegetable vendor’s car beforehand—which was clearly too costly.
“My dear, you fly slowly…” A cheerful, festive ringtone suddenly rang out. The pork stall owner fumbled to take out his phone. The caller ID started with 00; it was another virtual number. Zhuang Ningyu said, “Answer it. Don’t be nervous. Just say you stopped to find a bathroom.”
“Oh… okay, okay.” The pork stall owner swallowed dryly and fumbled with the screen several times, unable to swipe the green button. Zhuang Ningyu gripped his shoulder with one hand, squeezing it hard, and encouraged him with a firm gaze, “It’s okay, we’ll protect you.”
Although he wasn’t wearing a uniform, his posture was straight and tall. Standing in the warm spring sun, he still exuded an air of reliable righteousness. The pork stall owner took a deep breath. For some reason, his brain short-circuited, and he also childishly raised his hand to press back on the other’s shoulder. As a result, his sense of security really did increase, and he finally had the courage to answer the phone, saying gruffly, “Hello?”
The person on the other end immediately asked, “Where are you?”
“Xiaohuai Road,” the pork stall owner said, looking at the road sign and answering truthfully.
“Why does your voice not sound like you’re in the car?” The other party was indeed suspicious. “Don’t tell me you took the money and ran. Are you a scammer?”
“How could that be? I just got out to take a piss,” the pork stall owner jogged in place for a few steps to make his breathing a little heavier. “Don’t worry, I’m on my way.”
The other party urged him a few more times and then hung up.
Zhuang Ningyu tossed his car keys to Xiao Zhang, telling him to take the pork stall owner and the two dogs back to the team first. He then pulled open the driver’s side door of the van. Yi Ke sat next to him and buckled his seatbelt.
The two drove towards Shiliu Mountain.
The Invisible Giant had once successfully replicated a rule zone in Shiliu Mountain, but after Ni Ruiling’s arrest, this coordinate point had become an experimental site for the Order Maintenance Department. It was guarded day and night by a large group of people from the research group and the police. It was impossible for the Invisible Giant to use it a second time. Yi Ke looked at the satellite map. From the mountain entrance to He Miao Village, the entire road was rugged and winding, with deep forests everywhere. Zhuang Ningyu glanced at him staring at the map and asked, “What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking why the other party wasn’t willing to complete a ‘peaceful handover’ with the pork stall owner first, and then deal with U-Shield themselves. That would clearly be the most convenient way.”
“Indeed, under normal circumstances, that would be the most convenient,” Zhuang Ningyu said. “But what if they wanted to get rid of not only U-Shield, but also the pork stall owner?”
Yi Ke was puzzled by this. The pork stall owner had only had contact with the dog-seeker twice, once at the market, and the other time today, a phone call after finding the dog. For two such ordinary communications, what reason was there to be silenced? Moreover, the other party had used a virtual account the entire time and had barely exposed anything.
Zhuang Ningyu looked ahead. “So, the owner must know a secret.”
Yi Ke’s brow twitched. “A secret?”
In the investigation team, the pork stall owner was shaking his head blankly. “What secret? I don’t know anything.”
Zhong Pinghe sat opposite him. “Tell me about your phone call again.”
Looking at the old leader who was surrounded by everyone and seemed to have a high status, the pork stall owner didn’t dare to be careless. He held his teacup with both hands and, after a long and fearful recollection, began to repeat his story carefully. “This morning, I sent a message telling the other party the dog was found. He asked me to send him a photo, so I did. After I sent the photo, he immediately called me. I asked him where to meet. He had just said the three words ‘the dog is now’ when the signal cut out. I waited for a minute, and when he didn’t call back, I called him back. It probably rang seven or eight times before he picked up. He asked me where the dog was. I said it was playing with my friend’s dog. He then told me to immediately deliver the dog to He Miao Village. I said it was too far. He said if I could deliver it within four hours, he would add another four thousand. I told him to give me the money first. He said he would pay me in cash after I got to He Miao Village. I said no. He then asked for my account number and told me to wait, saying he would transfer it in about half an hour. Half an hour later, I received the money, so I called him again to reconfirm the delivery address, which was He Miao Village. He also asked me what car I was driving and for the license plate number.”
This was the entire content of their communication. After hanging up, the owner had gone to the park to pick up the dog.
Zhong Pinghe thought for a moment and asked, “When you first spoke with him, before the signal cut out, did you hear any ‘extra sounds,’ for example, music, a bell, or a third person’s voice?”
The pork stall owner was stunned by the question and nodded. “Yes, there was music. It sounded a bit like the music for calisthenics… it was played through a loudspeaker, with a female announcer’s voice and a hollow echo. But I really couldn’t tell if it was calisthenics or not; the other party hung up too quickly. Sir, you’re amazing, how did you even know that?”
The other investigation team members in the room also thought the old leader was amazing. “The reason the other party hung up was because an environmental sound that would expose his identity or location suddenly played.” This association, although not complex, was something no one had reacted to during the questioning. They had all been misled by the pork stall owner’s “bad signal” explanation.
In the van, Yi Ke gave a thumbs-up. “As expected of my wife’s grandpa!”
Zhuang Ningyu turned the steering wheel, and the van continued to speed along the mountain road. No matter what “music like calisthenics” was, since the pork stall owner had heard it, he had transformed from an ordinary person who found a dog into a theoretical “insider.”
To ensure his own safety to the greatest extent, the insider needed to be eliminated.
After Shiliu Mountain became a rule experiment zone, civilian drones were banned from flying. Now, the only drones in the sky were the latest ones issued by the Order Maintenance Department a couple of days ago—scout-type drones that could be almost completely silent and had a stealth coating. The benefits of having the state’s backing were unimaginable for illegal organizations. They could easily get a full view of the entire mountain. A colleague from the technical team reported to Zhuang Ningyu, “Captain Zhuang, currently, the closest vehicle to you on this road and traveling in the same direction is a black Jeep. I’ve uploaded the coordinates.”
“How many people are in the car?” Zhuang Ningyu asked.
“From what we can see, a total of two, including the driver,” the technician said. “Their speed is about 110.”
The small, dilapidated van Zhuang Ningyu was driving was no different from an antique. It rattled as it moved, with a top speed of 80. The technician continued, “Under normal circumstances, the Jeep will catch up to you in fifteen minutes.”
Of course, it was still uncertain whether the Jeep was definitely problematic. The traffic police had checked, and at least its license plate and model matched, and it was currently registered to a car rental company.
The van continued to drive for a while, and the technician’s voice came through the earpiece again. “Captain Zhuang, they’ve accelerated.”
The drone transmitted the footage to Zhuang Ningyu’s phone in real time. The black Jeep was indeed clearly speeding up. The technical team’s detection results showed that there were no new rule zones on this road that they could use. So, the other party was most likely planning a head-on confrontation.
“Captain Zhuang, Xiao Yi, our drones are ready,” the technician reminded them.
Zhuang Ningyu said, “Okay.”
Yi Ke gripped the handle tightly. At this time, the Jeep had already passed a mountain bend and was now within their visible range.
As the distance between the two cars shortened, the sound of the engines grew louder, echoing through the empty mountains. The rear window of the van was covered with a sun-blocking film and various colorful sticker advertisements, effectively blocking the view. The other party couldn’t see who was in the car, but the correct license plate number, combined with the continuous “werwer” dog barks coming from the car, was enough to confirm that this was the target vehicle. The passenger side window of the Jeep lowered, and a man stuck half his body out with a gun in his hand. However, before he could aim, a burning sensation came from the back of his hand!
The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. Threads of blood, sealed by the high temperature, seeped out. Like a slow-motion shot in a movie, the gun and the severed finger fell to the ground with a “clang.” And all of this happened in just a few seconds. The man belatedly cried out in pain and fell back into his seat. The driver glanced over and cursed, “Fuck!” The next moment, a bullet shot out from the van. With a “crash,” the Jeep’s windshield was pierced, and spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread out. Black smoke billowed from the center console. But the driver didn’t brake. Instead, he floored the gas pedal. The modified, hard body of the car, like a cannonball, sped towards the van in front! Zhuang Ningyu glanced in the rearview mirror and said, “Hold on tight!”
Just as the two cars were about to collide, the van swerved sharply, changing direction and charging down the steep slope! The tires left deep black marks on the asphalt road. The sparse trees of spring “thwacked” against the windshield. The smell of pine needles and rotting wood poured in from the cracked glass. The brakes and a thick tree trunk prevented the vehicle from falling further. Above, the Jeep, due to its excessive speed, was sent into a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree spin by the steering wheel. The driver slammed on the brakes as hard as he could, coming to a stop just at the edge of the cliff. He reached for the gun beside him with one hand. However, before he could open the door, five drones were already hovering around the vehicle.
Zhuang Ningyu unbuckled his seatbelt and casually turned off the sound system that was continuously emitting high-decibel “wer” sounds. He and Yi Ke got out of the car from either side. On the mountain road, the driver was following the drone’s instructions, dragging his accomplice out of the vehicle, raising his hands high, and squatting on the ground. Yi Ke walked forward with handcuffs. The cold metal had just touched the driver’s wrist, not yet locked, when the other party suddenly erupted, rolling down the steep slope!
Gunshots rang out. Two drones fell to the ground. The driver’s marksmanship was extremely accurate. Even while running at high speed and with the interference of branches, he could still hit his target with one shot. Zhuang Ningyu was about to give chase, but Yi Ke had already rushed past him, too fast to be stopped. A throbbing pain shot through his temple. He said to the technical team, “Support Xiao Yi. The other party should be an S-class.”
And the driver’s unlucky accomplice with the severed finger was now lying face down on the asphalt road, completely unable to move—he had also tried to run, but before he could even take a step, Zhuang Ningyu had kicked him in the back. He had coughed up blood on the spot and now felt as if half a mountain was pressing down on him. No matter how much he struggled, the only parts he could move were his two hands propped up on either side, fluttering for a long time like a futile grasshopper.
“Stay still!” Zhuang Ningyu reprimanded.
The accomplice panted heavily. Compared to his burning fingers and the suffocating feeling of his internal organs being squeezed out of his abdominal cavity, he found the psychological humiliation harder to accept. As an A-level evolver, this was the first time he had been kicked down and unable to get up by one person. The man laboriously turned his head, his gaze falling flat on the other board shoe beside him. It was clean, snow-white, spotless, and the way the shoelaces were tied looked quite exquisite and complex.
—Yi Ke had done it. He had recently become obsessed with the game of buying clothes for his wife and then helping his wife put them on, from inside to out, piece by piece, and also giving him a kiss along the way. Even the shoelaces had to be personally designed. But the man lying on the ground obviously wouldn’t know this. He only knew that Zhuang Ningyu’s public persona was not a fake package, but was as real as could be—he was both good-looking and a good fighter.
In the bushes, the driver was shot through the calf by a bullet, but he only staggered a bit, his running speed unaffected. Hearing the footsteps behind him getting closer, a sinister glint appeared in his eyes. He suddenly turned and fired his gun. The bullet shot out at high speed but was pierced in mid-air by another bullet. Yi Ke continuously pulled the trigger. The driver clutched his bleeding thigh and staggered to the side, half of his body plunging off the cliff. He was then pulled back by Yi Ke with one hand. “Bang,” his spine slammed hard against a tree.
The driver gritted his teeth and lunged at Yi Ke. His instantaneous explosive force was enough to shatter a brown bear’s skull, but he ultimately lost to Yi Ke’s reaction speed. His fist didn’t hit the target but went through the trunk of an ancient tree that was as thick as a person’s embrace. Yi Ke took the opportunity to grab his hair and slam his head against the tree trunk. Blood immediately gushed from his mouth and nose. The driver became even more enraged and continued to fight him like a demon. A dagger scraped past his ear. As Yi Ke dodged, he shattered his ribs with an elbow strike. The veins on the driver’s neck bulged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Xiao Yi, withdraw!” the drone shouted. “Leave it to us.”
Yi Ke didn’t listen. He pressed down on the driver, punching him again and again until the other man could no longer stand up. Only then did he panting pull out the handcuffs from behind him.
Police cars sped up the mountain road.
…
Yi Ke was taken to a medical vehicle by Zhuang Ningyu. He wasn’t seriously injured, mostly just superficial wounds. A nurse was busy preparing medicine on the side. Zhuang Ningyu couldn’t help but say, “According to the regulations—”
Not according to the regulations. Yi Ke puckered his lips nonchalantly. Kisses, kisses, wifey kisses.
The words died in his throat. In front of a car full of medical staff, Zhuang Ningyu pressed a hand to his temple. Forget it, I can’t lose face like this.
Before the medical vehicle reached the hospital, the investigation team had already found out the identities of the two people in the Jeep. Both worked at the Jincheng Xinyīn Biological Research Center.
At the same time, outside the office building where the Xinyīn Biological Research Center was located, a wisp of white mist rapidly rose from the road surface. It wasn’t obvious at first, but soon, the glass walls were covered with a spiderweb-like mist, which then, like the forked tongue of a poisonous snake, drilled into pipes, air conditioning units, and the gaps between tiles… continuously growing, continuously spreading. The building, wrapped in the rules, presented an unreal, illusory sense. In just ten minutes, this office building had completely turned into a damp, viscous cocoon.
The crowd cried out in alarm, “A rule zone!”
The Order Maintenance Department set up a cordon at the scene.
“Is anyone trapped?” Zhuang Ningyu asked.
“From the looks of it, even if there are, there shouldn’t be many,” Zhong Mu was at the scene and said over the phone. “It was the weekend, and besides, before the rule zone completely closed, about twenty employees who were working overtime were thrown out by an invisible force. This time, the rule zone doesn’t seem to want to be disturbed by outsiders. However, Xinyīn’s person in charge, Shi Cheng, is currently out of contact. We suspect he’s in the rule zone.”
After questioning a few employees, the investigation team confirmed that the “music similar to calisthenics” that the pork stall owner had heard on the phone was the “exercise music” that Xinyīn Medical played every morning, titled “Healthy Xinyīn People,” specially written by a musician to get employees to briefly leave their desks for a five-minute workout.
“The two employees were just arrested, and the rule zone appeared,” Yi Ke said, leaning against the head of the bed, thoughtfully asking, “Another replica?”
“It’s possible,” Zhuang Ningyu said, leaning in to observe his face. “It’s swollen. Does it hurt?”
There was no one else in the hospital room. Yi Ke immediately dragged out his tone. “It hurts.”
“Serves you right,” Zhuang Ningyu said, slapping his head. “Who told you to chase after him?”
According to the regulations, or rather, according to the evolution matching level, it should have been Zhuang Ningyu who chased him. But there was no way Yi Ke would let that happen. He forcefully pulled him into his arms for a kiss and then said righteously, “The rough work is all for the husband to do!”
Zhuang Ningyu: “What if—”
Yi Ke didn’t let him speak, holding his soft, moist lips and licking them again and again, murmuring coaxingly, “I’m evolving, I’m evolving.”
The perfunctory tone was palpable. Zhuang Ningyu was so angry he bit him. His sharp teeth pierced the already swollen and bruised wound on his lip, and a rusty taste instantly spread in his mouth. But Yi Ke seemed to have been injected with a stimulant by this slight pain. His arms suddenly tightened, pressing him into his embrace, his fingers digging in, almost sinking into his thin shoulders.
Zhuang Ningyu was caught off guard and couldn’t break free for a moment. He could only “pat, pat” his face. “Calm down, this is a hospital room!”
Yi Ke reluctantly loosened his grip, a trace of blood still on his lips. He wiped it away with his hand, but new beads of blood quickly seeped out. Zhuang Ningyu wanted to get a tissue to help him dab it, but Yi Ke pulled his wrist up, his lips pressing against the delicate white skin on the inside. The bloodstain bloomed like a rose on the cuff of his shirt. Zhuang Ningyu took a deep breath, his heart calm. Whatever, it was your clothes, and the dry cleaner’s card is also yours.
Yi Ke chuckled, then turned the ring on his middle finger with his index finger and thumb, as if confirming his possession, before leaning back against the headboard, satisfied.
Zhuang Ningyu tossed him a tissue and continued to flip through the information on the newly appeared rule zone at Xinyīn Medical. The Order Maintenance Department had not yet found any entrance.
Information about Shi Cheng was also uploaded. Male, forty-two years old, from Jincheng, a technical talent, or as the industry lauded him, a technical genius, nicknamed “The Editor”—not of movies, but of genes.
“Previously, there was no discovery of his connection to any overseas organizations or the Fu family,” Zhuang Ningyu said. “If it weren’t for U-Shield’s escape this time, who knows how much longer he would have remained hidden.”
The man who had exchanged cash with Yin Xiaoya outside Jincheng University was also found. He was also a Xinyīn employee, one of Shi Cheng’s drivers. The search for U-Shield had been arranged by him from start to finish. Because of the sudden exercise music that morning, he had been forced to change his plan from finding the dog to killing, and as a result, he had earned himself an additional charge of attempted murder.
“Pulling up the radish brings out the mud,” a member of the investigation team said, feeling deeply that U-Shield had performed a great service. So he bought it hair ties and a new dress at his own expense. It didn’t matter if the dog needed it; the person definitely did.
The hospital had originally wanted Yi Ke to stay for a couple more days, but he really couldn’t lie still. So after his wounds were treated and he had been observed for an hour, Zhuang Ningyu led him out of the hospital. The two went directly to the rule zone. The car was parked outside the cordon. Ye Jiaoyue was surprised. “Hey, why are you guys here?”
Yi Ke wore black sunglasses and a black mask, exuding the air of a superstar. Zhuang Ningyu had originally wanted him to go home first, but had been severely rejected. Yi Ke said righteously, “What if I go home and you run into the rule zone alone again? No way!”
Zhuang Ningyu had wanted to explain that he wasn’t that dedicated to his work, and besides, this time the rule zone hadn’t even shown an entrance yet. It wasn’t like he could just go in if he wanted to. But seeing the other’s look of being on high alert and not open to negotiation, he found it quite cute. So he cursed with a smile, tacitly allowing him to follow, and before getting out of the car, he didn’t forget to take out sunglasses and a mask from the glove compartment to carefully dress up this bruised and swollen, cool, handsome guy.
“Ningyu,” Huang Huihuang was also at the scene. He pointed with his chin at the huge “cocoon” before them. “We’ve tried, but we just can’t get in. Who knows if the research group will be able to figure something out when they get here.”
Zhuang Ningyu lifted the cordon and ducked under it. The damp, sticky white mist climbed onto his fingertips. The next moment, the “cocoon shell” suddenly split open, and two tentacle-like “vines” quickly wrapped around his waist and pulled him forward—swallowing him whole.
The rule zone closed again.
The scene was silent.
Everyone was stunned.
A second later, the first to react, Yi Ke, his face pale, rushed forward a few steps. With a “bang,” his raised hand only hit the hard glass curtain wall.
Zhuang Ningyu had, for the umpteenth time, entered a rule zone alone.
