Zhao Linong was momentarily stunned before moving her fingertips to reply: “Hmm.”
Since she had confirmed that the other person was not Wei Li, there was no need to continue the conversation. She ended it with a polite acknowledgment, carefully avoiding any embarrassment for Wei Li, and turned her attention to organizing her observation data.
Meanwhile, Ye Changming checked Wei Li’s computer and confirmed that the relevant videos had been deleted. Just as he was about to return the items, he received another message.
After reading the content, he subconsciously frowned.
The two simple words, “Hmm,” carried a strong sense of sarcasm, seemingly unprovoking and provocative.
Ye Changming: “…”
“Cousin,” Wei Li whispered guiltily beside him, “I was wrong.”
On the way back, Tian Qixiao was sorting through the videos recorded by the drone, while Wei Li, bored, filmed a video herself.
No one on the team spoke to her, as they were all busy with their tasks. Feeling idle, Wei Li wanted to share her recent experiences with Zhao Linong, but Ye Changming caught her in the act.
Retrieving the camera just in time, Ye Changming pretended not to notice and handed the laptop back to Wei Li: “No next time.”
“Okay! Thanks, cousin!” Wei Li quickly caught the laptop with both hands, nodding rapidly.
The word “cousin” made Ye Changming feel oddly mocked. A strange expression flashed across his face but disappeared so quickly that Wei Li wondered if she had imagined it.
…
Since Yan Shengbian had temporarily applied to the central base to monitor the city, the focus of the group’s mission shifted.
Yan Shengbian repeatedly reviewed all the videos and photos, trying to find a connection between the dragon claw locusts and the termites. It wasn’t enough to rely on mere conjecture; all conclusions needed to be thoroughly verified.
Because of this, Yan Shengbian requested to revisit the giant pit in the feeding city to track down traces and uncover the reason behind it.
If he were to go, the central base needed to ensure his safety, so the Alien Killer Zero Team continued to handle the task.
As for Wei Li, she was promptly sent back to the central base. That night, she packed her belongings and boarded the train to the Ninth Agricultural Base.
Coincidentally, only a few days remained before school started. When she arrived at the Ninth Agricultural Base, she went straight to the chicken coop without setting down her suitcase.
Hearing the chickens clucking, Wei Li’s face lit up with a smile as fresh as a spring breeze. She spread her arms and took a deep breath. It was that familiar, pungent smell!
“Senior sister?” Zhao Linong had just finished adjusting the automatic water dispenser and was exiting the chicken shed. Seeing the odd scene before her, she found it hard to describe her feelings.
Wei Li opened her eyes, coughed a few times, and casually said, “Good morning, junior sister.”
“I’ve already refilled the feed and water in the chicken shed,” Zhao Linong said. After a brief hesitation, she asked, “Have you watched the video from that day?”
She had a vague feeling that something was wrong but couldn’t see it.
“I’ve finished watching it.” Wei Li rolled her eyes. Her cousin hadn’t allowed her to post the video, but he didn’t forbid her from talking about it. Besides, it was just gossip. She pulled Zhao Linong aside and said, “The A-level mutated dragon claw locust tree was eaten by those mutated termites. I heard the tree used to be massive, but this time, there was hardly anything left to see.”
Zhao Linong remarked, “I remember that A-level mutated plants have incredibly strong regenerative abilities.”
Because of this, the central base only needed to visit the site once a year, which was enough to harvest a year’s worth of feed, with some surplus remaining.
Zhao Linong then asked, “Did the mutant termites eat the dragon claw locust, or did they mutate after eating the locust?”
Wei Li was momentarily taken aback by the question. After thinking for a while, she replied, “It should be the termites that mutated first. If they mutated after eating the plant, then all the livestock at our base would have mutated a long time ago.”
She added, “Dean Zhou researched this project early on. The mutant plants in the city are safe and non-toxic as feed, and they don’t increase the mutation rate of livestock.”
Zhao Linong fell silent, recalling how a helicopter had taken off from the top of the Ninth Agricultural Base’s round building early that morning. It couldn’t have been a student—only the leadership would have flown in it.
She wondered if it had been Dean Zhou.
…
Zhou Qianli boarded the helicopter and rushed to the central base. Though he was the dean of the Ninth Agricultural Base and had made significant contributions to the animal husbandry industry, to some officials, he was on par with “Yan Shengbian” in terms of revolutionary achievements in animal husbandry.
However, in the eyes of the Central Base, especially the Agricultural Research Institute, Zhou Qianli was still just an ordinary researcher, even though he was the head of the Ninth Agricultural Research Base.
As a result, he went largely unnoticed by the researchers he passed on his way in. A simple nod in greeting was already considered friendly in the busy research environment.
“Dean Zhou.” Luo Fanxue had just exited the lab when she saw a familiar face. She stepped forward and asked, “Why are you here?”
Animal husbandry researchers were considered peripheral figures at the Central Agricultural Research Institute, and Zhou Qianli usually conducted his work at the Ninth Agricultural Base.
“Team Leader Yan asked me to come.” Zhou Qianli, who had a good impression of Luo Fanxue after a previous lecture, responded with a hint of helplessness, “I’m not sure what it’s about yet.”
Just as Luo Fanxue was about to step aside, the light-brain device on her wrist lit up. She tapped it and saw a message from Yan Shengbian, asking her to meet in the upstairs conference room.
“Looks like we’re going together, Dean Zhou,” Luo Fanxue said, raising her wrist with a smile. The silver-white glow from the device shimmered under the building’s lights, revealing an intricate, hexagonal snowflake pattern on her ring.
They both took the elevator up and entered the conference room, where Yan Shengbian and Ye Changming were seated alongside seven other researchers.
As Zhou Qianli scanned the room and recognized the researchers present, he had a hunch that this was no small matter. The individuals gathered were some of the most influential in the entire building.
When Yan Shengbian saw him enter, he stood up and pulled out a chair for him, saying, “Dean Zhou, please have a seat.”
The other researchers, seated on both sides of the long table, were engrossed in their data. Some nodded at Zhou Qianli, while others only greeted Luo Fanxue, who had entered after him.
“Team Leader Yan, has something important happened this time?” Zhou Qianli asked after sitting down.
Yan Shengbian nodded. “I’ll be heading to Shicheng soon. I’ve called everyone here urgently because we need to discuss something important.”
Luo Fanxue, seated closest to the door, heard the first part of his statement and instinctively glanced across the table at Ye Changming.
Although she was known as the most talented and promising researcher at the Central Institute of Agricultural Sciences, her status was still far beneath Yan Shengbian’s. So, whenever they both needed protection, Ye Changming, as the captain of the Alien Killing Team Zero, would inevitably be assigned to Yan Shengbian’s side.
The first time she went out on an important mission, the Alien Killing Team Zero had not been originally assigned. However, due to a last-minute change, the Alien Killing Team Zero was dispatched when they became available.
Now that Team Leader Yan was going to Shicheng again, it was likely the Alien Killing Team Zero would accompany him.
“An A-level mutant plant disappeared in Shicheng,” Yan Shengbian said, glancing at Zhou Qianli before showing the video and photos. “Mutated termites appeared in the area where it disappeared, but the cause is still unclear.”
“I’ve never seen groups of mutant animals, let alone insects,” Zhou Qianli frowned, having spent his life researching livestock.
So far, animal mutations had only been observed in individuals, with occasional pairs, but never in groups.
“Is it possible that something is wrong with the mutated plants? Could they be causing mutations when eaten by animals?” a prominent researcher speculated.
Zhou Qianli immediately refuted this: “Impossible! At least… we’ve conducted experiments before, and the mutated plants in Feeding City have shown no impact on the mutation rate of animals.”
“The reason remains uncertain,” Yan Shengbian raised his hand to signal for calm. “I hope Dean Zhou will accompany me to Feeding City to re-establish the baseline.”
“Of course, I’ll go,” Zhou Qianli agreed without hesitation.
Yan Shengbian wasn’t surprised by his response. He turned to the other researchers and said, “I suspect there may be new changes with the A-level mutated plants. That’s why I’ve applied to the central base to delay outward expansion. We need to re-test, monitor, and collect samples in various locations first.”
For two generations, the Alien Killer Team had been traveling across different regions. Their standard practice was to first eliminate harmful mutated plants, after which the army would follow to build signal towers, shelters, and establish bases for researchers to collect samples.
However, of all the researchers in the conference room, only Luo Fanxue had gone out for fieldwork in the past decade. The rest had remained inside the institute.
They relied on promoted researchers to collect samples for them.
“I’ll arrange for someone to collect the samples,” said Li Zhenzhang, seated on Yan Shengbian’s right.
But Yan Shengbian shook his head slowly, his expression calm but his tone firm: “I want the researchers in this room to go out and collect samples themselves.”
Li Zhenzhang was taken aback, glancing around the room before frowning. “… Sampling is a simple task. It can be handled by others.”
The other researchers quickly echoed his sentiment: “Indeed, we have other research projects to focus on. Sampling is something even a planting officer can handle.”
“You can bring a planting officer along with you,” Yan Shengbian nodded.
The researchers exchanged uneasy glances.
“That’s really not feasible,” Li Zhenzhang insisted, sounding exasperated. “The Central Institute of Agricultural Sciences depends on people like us. If we all leave, the institute will be thrown into chaos.”
The gentle smile on Yan Shengbian’s face faded completely. “It wasn’t chaotic back then, and it won’t be chaotic now.”
Li Zhenzhang’s face reddened, his expression hardening: “Team Leader Yan, I am the dean of this institute.”
Yan Shengbian looked up at him and replied calmly, “If you don’t want to be the dean, I can take over.”
With Yan Shengbian’s status, he could easily assume the role of dean if he desired, though his focus remained on research. That’s why people still referred to him as the original team leader. His title was a matter of his own choosing.
“Pfft,” an elegant woman with a bright red shawl draped over her arm, seated beside Ye Changming, couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Shan Yun!” Li Zhenzhang’s face turned beet red. He had never expected Yan Shengbian, known for his calm demeanor, to say such a thing.
“Team Leader, I’m willing to go,” Luo Fanxue raised her hand and said seriously. “Only by going out can we observe the mutated plants up close. This is the job of researchers. Besides… we have the protection of the guard team, so we’ll be safe.”
Shan Yun, with her head resting gracefully on one hand, added nonchalantly, “If the young girl dares to go, then there’s no reason for me not to.”
With both a member of the Luo family and a member of the Shan family volunteering, the rest of the researchers had no choice but to agree, even if reluctantly.
This meeting, it seemed, was more of a notification than a discussion.
Once the decision was made, several researchers left the room, their faces displaying displeasure.
Unlike the others dressed in white coats, Shan Yun was dressed like a lady ready for a formal event. She gracefully turned her chair toward Ye Changming and asked, “Did Wei Li cause you any trouble?”
Ye Changming, who had initially stood up to accompany Yan Shengbian to Shicheng, suddenly recalled Zhao Linong’s nonchalant reply to the sarcastic “Hmm.”
With an expressionless face, he replied, “No.”
Shan Yun watched her nephew leave, tilting her head thoughtfully. She began to admire her daughter—how had she managed to provoke Changming into showing any irritation at all?
