“Alright. Where are you? We can find a place and talk about your newest discovery,” Lu Siya said.
“There’s no time. I’m on my way to Spirit Creation Creatures. I suspect that the person has already taken action,” Meng Chao said while gasping for breath. “Originally, that person might not have taken action so quickly. There is a high chance that he would have waited for the storm of the case caused by the murderous pets in Blessed Paradise to pass before he silently caused Xie Xiaolei to disappear or die in an accident before the next time Xie Xiaolei went to Drizzle Studios to work with them. This would minimize all suspicions on him.
“But now, Xie Xiaolei knows everything, and he will definitely go back to the company to investigate things. He will also become suspicious of that person.
“I think that the person must be monitoring Xie Xiaolei’s actions at all times. Once he discovers traces of suspicious behavior, he will immediately strike first to gain an advantage. That’s why I cannot contact Xie Xiaolei right now.
“I have to hurry to Spirit Creation Creatures and stop this person from harming Xie Xiaolei. If Xie Xiaolei really dies, then I cannot give him the time to destroy or move Xie Xiaolei’s corpse.”
“Then, what do you want me to do, call the cops?” Lu Siya asked. “I can contact the police at Nine Sands University City through Sky Pillar Corporation and have them send a squad of elites to Spirit Creation Creatures. But I don’t have concrete evidence, and no one reported a case. They won’t have the right to perform a complete investigation.
“At the end of the day, you’re just suspecting that Xie Xiaolei might end up being killed. Him turning off his phone isn’t a major matter. Adults like him are only considered to have gone missing once you lose contact with them for more than forty-eight hours. It’s only then that an investigation can be performed. And before they find any traces of blood, murder weapons, or a suspect with a clear motive to kill him, they won’t upgrade the case from a missing person to intentional murder.”
“That’s why I didn’t contact the police,” Meng Chao said. “It’s not just for the reasons that I told you. More importantly, I highly suspect that we’re about to face an incredibly dangerous criminal. Let’s not talk about his or its intelligence for now. He or it has at least the fighting strength of the White Spirit, and normal police officers won’t be able to handle him or it. They’ll just end up dead for no reason.
“I hope that you can report this to the abnormal beast research department immediately and have them send real elites; otherwise, even if we end up exposing the true culprit, there’s a high possibility that he or it will create collateral damage or flee!”
Lu Siya was silent for a few seconds.
“Meng Chao, I’m truly impressed. You managed to come up with a magnificent theory based on small clues that can’t even be considered questionable points.
“But even if I was willing to share this achievement with my colleagues from the abnormal beast research department, where is the proof?
“Up till now, we haven’t found a single proof that shows that this matter is related to abnormal beasts!
“Even if Jin Yongqiang, who is the criminal and victim of the case of the murderous pets in Blessed Paradise, was really killed by a third person, it’s out of question that this person has fighting strength that is equivalent to that of the White Spirit, right?”
Meng Chao said nothing.
He ignored the pedestrians’ gazes while he ran at full speed of a two-star superhuman and raced against the clock toward Nine Sands University City.
“Fine! Alright! Got it!” Lu Siya said in a troubled manner. “I don’t know what sort of spell I’m under. Why am I willing to do something so insane with you? Even if I’ve already been deceived by you once, it’s as if that’s not enough, I just have to trust you again.
“How about this? I’ll go with you to Spirit Creation Creatures. That’s enough, right? If we work together, even a Hell Beast can be subjugated.”
“No,” Meng Chao stated firmly. “Either bring the elites from the abnormal beast research department over or don’t come. If my instincts are right, this abnormal beast that has been lurking in Spirit Creation Creatures is not something that can be killed with just me, a two-star superhuman, and you, who is an amateur Heaven Realm superhuman who has only just become a fighter. If you come here alone, I’m just going to end up causing your death.”
“You…” Lu Siya said angrily. “You have to give me some proof!”
Meng Chao’s head stung.
It was as if there was a super Giant Sandworm raging around in his sulci.
The progress of the Mystery of Supernatural Entities was already 9%.
“Trust me.” He gritted his teeth and said, “Trust me just like how you did when we escaped from the underground!”
Lu Siya fell silent again.
“I can trust you and ask for help from the abnormal beast research department,” she said seriously, “but you must understand that we can only do this once. After all, we’re forcing the abnormal beast research department to spend a lot of resources and mobilize their elites on our word alone.
“It’d be great if we could gain something out of this, and I would have the chance to climb higher up the ranks in the department, which also means that I would be able to help you get more clues about the White Spirit.
“But if we end up gathering a lot of forces yet end up with nothing, or if Xie Xiaolei shows up in perfect shape, which proves that all that you said is just your paranoia and I was stupid enough to believe it, I’ll end up as a joke in the abnormal beast research department and will never be able to come into contact with the core, the top-secret cases, and top-secret information.”
“I know. I promise you that there is definitely something wrong with Spirit Creation Creatures! Trust me!” Meng Chao shouted.
“Alright. Give me an hour. I’ll get a group of people over. We’ll meet up near Spirit Creation Creatures,” Lu Siya said.
“There’s no time. I’ll go into Spirit Creation Creatures first to take a look. I can’t give the person time to move or destroy the corpse,” Meng Chao said. “I trust that you will have a way to locate or track my phone. Remember this, that person is very dangerous. You can’t be careless!”
“Hey, Meng Chao, don’t do anything stupid. Hey!” Lu Siya said the last word louder.
But Meng Chao had already hung up.
He was now at the entrance of Spirit Creation Creatures.
Spirit Creation Creatures was much more deserted compared to other times.
Usually, the building was lit up, but today, fewer than a third of the lights were turned on.
The Giant Sandworms, which were supposed to be in the hatching pond, now lurked under the mud. They were not as active as usual.
Since Meng Chao had visited Spirit Creation Creatures a lot recently, he was a rather familiar face to the security guards and some of the technicians working at the front desk.
The security guard who was in the watch room was familiar with him. When he saw Meng Chao gasping for breath and drenched in sweat, he found it strange, but he did not stop him.
At the front desk, Meng Chao found that half of the employees who were in charge of reception were gone. Fortunately, the receptionist on duty knew him, so she stood up and said, “Mr. Meng, what?”
“I’m here for President Xie. It’s for something urgent. Is he in the company?” Meng Chao went straight to the point.
That employee hesitated for a moment and said, “You don’t have an appointment? I can call him.”
She called Xie Xiaolei twice, but the line was busy. She switched to another channel and spoke to the person on the other side softly before saying, “I’m sorry, Mr. Meng, President Xie is not in today.”
“Okay.” Meng Chao looked around. “Is there something going on with the company today? I feel like there’re fewer people here compared to other days.”
The receptionist thought about it and said, “Everyone has been really busy over this period of time, and they’ve been really tense. Things have finally settled over the past few days, so the company decided to let us take turns taking leave.”
“Is that so?” Meng Chao appeared contemplative. “So, you haven’t seen President Xie today at all, right?”
She hesitated, not knowing whether she should answer.
But Meng Chao was able to get the answer from her expression.
“Then, is Director Gao around?” Meng Chao asked. “Is it possible for me to meet Director Gao?”
She called the extension leading to the lab.
After exchanging a few words softly, she stood up and said, “Director Gao is in the lab. Please follow me.”
Two-thirds of the researchers were also gone from the lab, which made the place look a little empty and eerie.
Through a transparent window, Meng Chao could see an incredibly large Giant Sandworm lying horizontally in the indoor hatching pond.
It was larger than the creature Meng Chao had seen under Trash Site 4. It was also much uglier. Not only was its mouth full of rings of sharp and tough teeth, there were also four long slits around its mouth. In other words, its mouth could open up to the max, like that of Slit-mouthed Anacondas or other man-eating flowers, so they could eat the largest prey possible. The worm’s aggressiveness instantly increased by several levels because of this.
Aside from that, it also had bumpy tumors or osteomas growing all around its body, which made it look like it had a layer of bumpy metal armor on its body. Rows of fine and dense spikes grew between the metal armor, which increased its grip and agility. Of course, the moment it rubbed its body lightly against its prey, a large part of its flesh and blood would also be yanked off.
This creature was very different compared to normal Giant Sandworms.
Instead, it resembled the Supernatural Entity Meng Chao had seen in his nightmare, and in a daze, he thought he saw the Supernatural Entity underground.
It was clear that he had already obtained his answer, but when he saw the creature, he still could not help but sigh.
Fortunately, this creature had not been fully modified.
There were a large number of cables and nutrition tubes connected to its body to inject super growth hormones, gene medicine, and strengthening nutrients into its body.
It also received dual stimulation from spirit energy and bioelectricity so that its neural network would form even faster and reach an unprecedentedly complicated degree.
A few of the researchers busied themselves around it while it stayed in the hatching pond. It did not appear to be any different from the normal Giant Sandworms that were in the outdoor hatching pond.
Meng Chao saw Gao Ye in a lab that oversaw the entire sunken hatching pond from above. He was the creator of Spirit Creation Creatures, the second-in-command of the company, and also the technical director of the lab.
He was an amazing person who had a unique way of doing things. He remained curled up in his wheelchair like an incomplete prawn and appeared to be even more haggard compared to the last time Meng Chao had seen him. Even his skin showed signs of dullness and dryness.
There had never been a lot of flesh on his face, but now, he looked like a living skeleton with only skin over his bones.
But his only eye continued sparkling intensely. His life burned fiercely, as if it was using his flesh as fuel to push him to fulfill his great cause.
At that moment, there was a huge superbrain above his head. It was like a complicated and strange helmet. There were a lot of wires connected to it, and it was connected to the huge terminal calculator in the lab. The wires were also connected to the numerous monitors and modification equipment in the sunken hatching pond.
He looked like he was part human and part machine. It seemed like he was a prisoner of machines, which he hated.