novelraw Chapter 1262: Cooperation
Chapter 1262: Cooperation
Nan Xiaonan agreed, and “Tang Tianlin” seemed to have anticipated this all along—he just didn’t expect her to agree so cleanly.
The alternative explanation he had prepared ended up being unnecessary… but with this, the things he wanted to achieve had taken another small step forward.
Since they had agreed to cooperate, “Tang Tianlin” suggested that she leave her current job as soon as possible—after all, being a forensic doctor was only something she had taken up out of necessity to avoid the mysterious organization… just like when he was still Qin Zheng.
“Tang Tianlin” had no intention of revealing his true identity to her for the time being—perhaps he had once considered it, but now his thoughts had changed.
The reason was what had happened a few nights ago in the underground lab of Auston Pharmaceuticals—he had already confirmed that she was the person from that night. But in his memory, Nan Xiaonan did not possess such terrifying combat ability.
Even if she had trained over the past few years, it was still unbelievable—researchers had almost no time for physical training, let alone achieving the level of taking on twenty to thirty blood-soaked mercenaries alone.
He couldn’t help recalling the project Nan Xiaonan had been in charge of in the lab years ago—she had always been researching how to fuse Perfect Human cells with external cells.
Connecting this with her extraordinary performance a few days ago, a bold guess formed in “Tang Tianlin’s” mind—could it be that Nan Xiaonan, during these hidden years, had secretly developed a fusion method for Perfect Human cells, and even used herself as a test subject… which allowed her to gain such terrifying combat ability in just a few years?
This assumption didn’t appear out of thin air. It was because he understood the terrifying potential of Perfect Human cells… They were like a massive treasury, but one that could never be opened. Even obtaining a tiny bit from that treasury could lead to a tremendous technological breakthrough.
If Nan Xiaonan had really completed the cell fusion, would she eventually evolve into another Perfect Human…? What about her cells? Had her genes also changed?“I suddenly feel something bad from your eyes.”
Nan Xiaonan’s voice sounded beside him out of nowhere… He was slightly startled: besides extreme physical enhancement, had her senses also increased?
“Tang Tianlin” slowly said, “It’s not good, indeed. I received news that the person who saved House during the attack by the mysterious organization—this time they plan to rescue House again. Needless to say, House is using the Perfect Human cells he’d hidden as payment.”
Nan Xiaonan frowned, resisting the urge to hypnotize this guy again, and instead sneered, “So that’s why you came to me at this time… looks like you’re in trouble and want me to help you, right? When did you find out?”
“Tang Tianlin” said calmly, “I was ‘created’ by you people, after all. During that period, I observed you carefully, and I’m very familiar with your voice and physical traits… Besides, you didn’t intentionally hide yourself at the time, you didn’t even disguise your voice.”
Who knew you people had so many tricks… she grumbled silently. If she had known there were acquaintances involved, she wouldn’t have been so casual—actually, she hadn’t bothered being cautious for a very, very long time.
In the words of this sub-world: being used to solving everything with basic attacks for too long makes you lazy to use your brain.
Still, someone had already warned her… that Mr. Luo. Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have the mood to chat with Tang Tianlin right now.
Of course, part of it was also her interest in Perfect Humans and Perfect Human cells.
But logically speaking, “Nan Xiaonan” shouldn’t be able to show that level of combat ability, right? She narrowed her eyes and asked with a smile, “Aren’t you curious how I killed so many guards?”
“Tang Tianlin” shook his head and slowly stood up. “Is that strange…?”
As he spoke, he slowly rolled up his sleeve until it reached his elbow. Then he clenched his fist and exhaled.
—Whsssh!
Suddenly, from his elbow down to his fist, the muscles swelled and veins bulged. His skin turned metallic gray, faintly shining like metal. That half of his arm actually grew to more than twice its size!
He loosened his fingers and casually pinched the corner of the coffee table—crushing the hard wooden board as if it were nothing.
Only then did the mutated arm slowly return to normal, though the recovery was much slower than the transformation.
Nan Xiaonan pondered and frowned. “Perfect Human cells?”
“Just a type of induced mutation,” “Tang Tianlin” replied calmly. “Or rather—did you think that aside from cloning, House made no progress in all these years? You and I… both have secrets. I won’t ask yours. Take that as my sincerity.”
She remained silent for a moment before asking, “When will those people come to save House?”
“Very soon. Could be tonight, or tomorrow.”
She nodded. “Wait outside. I’ll change clothes.”
……
……
Night fell.
The car window slowly moved down, then up… opened and closed repeatedly. About ten minutes passed like this.
Zhong Luochen’s fingers never left the switch. The car was parked by the roadside, not far from the pottery studio.
Cheng Yun stood beside him quietly—every few days, Second Young Master would have his driver bring him here, just to sit and watch the studio where that Miss Ink worked.
It was rare to catch a glimpse of her. Sometimes she didn’t appear at all—and usually, he came here when he was in a bad mood.
Cheng Yun had been following Zhong Luochen long enough to read his moods quite well.
“Cheng Yun, have you heard the phrase ‘wishful thinking’?”
Zhong Luochen suddenly spoke. The window was halfway down. Cheng Yun, momentarily distracted, couldn’t tell whether he meant to open it or close it.
“Of course,” Cheng Yun said, carefully guessing his Young Master’s mood. “But wishful thinking isn’t absolute.”
“Oh?” Zhong Luochen turned his head.
Cheng Yun said, “Take me, for example. Five years ago, having wealth, a mansion, a luxury car—that was wishful thinking. But now that I have them, it’s no longer wishful thinking. So wishful thinking isn’t absolute, because there must be a bridge that leads toward achieving it.”
Zhong Luochen smiled faintly. “You’re saying I’m the bridge for you?”
Cheng Yun hurriedly waved his hands. “No, no! Second Young Master, you’re the land on the other side of that bridge! If my bridge never reaches you, then everything would be wishful thinking.”
Zhong Luochen chuckled softly, then suddenly asked, “Wei Xiaobao and Heshen—who do you prefer?”
Cheng Yun thought for a moment. “Kids choose. Adults want both!”
“Greedy,” Zhong Luochen said with a shake of his head. The window finally rose. As it clicked shut, he told the driver, “Let’s go… I’ll check on Master 24’s progress.”
A new batch of experimental subjects had been moved into the basement of the company building and handed over to 24… There were more than a dozen this time. Hopefully, there would be some progress.
……
As the car drove away, on the second floor of the pottery studio not far away, Miss Ink—Heishui—glanced casually in its direction before lowering her gaze again.
The clay turned slowly on the wheel, gradually taking shape under her hands. It was a human figure—but she did not craft its face. Many of the finished clay dolls on the shelves had no faces.
“Still… can’t remember.”
……
……
Late at night.
Outside the courtyard of Auston Pharmaceuticals’ private hospital.
Four men wearing white masks and hoods, dressed in full combat gear, vaulted over the wall with ease… Their equipment was so advanced it was no worse than that of a national special operations unit.
The four communicated through hand signals as they infiltrated the hospital step by step—their operation had already been planned in detail.
A total of ten people were deployed for this mission. Four were responsible for the rescue, two waited outside the hospital to provide extraction support, and the remaining four were stationed at a designated location preparing the escape tools and handling deployment and intelligence work.
“Still pretty easy.”
As they advanced, apart from knocking out a few hospital security guards, the four rescuers did not encounter any danger.
“Don’t let your guard down. This is someone Mr. Wally wants.”
“Yeah, yeah—you’re about to become Mr. Wally’s loyal dog.”
Their banter never stopped… They were simply lunatic mercenaries, not real soldiers. Quick and battle-hardened, yes—but with zero discipline and certainly no sense of honor.
They had long identified the location where House was being kept under supervision. When the four rescuers arrived, they finally saw a hint of actual defensive strength.
Three men in black suits—two white, one black.
The rescuers waited in the shadows, observing the three bodyguards’ movements.
“Beltani security personnel… finally something with a bit of challenge.”
“Action plan No. 3, okay?”
“Go!”
One rescuer rolled a smoke grenade across the floor… The three Beltani guards at the door instantly went on alert!
Within seconds, thick smoke filled the corridor. Four shadows rushed into the fog. Two gunshots rang out, followed by several muffled grunts.
Moments later, the monitoring room door was kicked open. Two rescuers walked in uninjured. But the other two lay collapsed on the ground—one of them with his neck snapped.
Even with a four-to-three advantage and the element of surprise, the rescuers still lost two men. Naturally, the three guards had already paid with their lives.
“Shit… Beltani, I’ll remember you!”
“Cut the crap. Grab the target and move!”
As he spoke, the rescuer quickly approached the hospital bed, while the other contacted the support team outside.
The man by the bed kicked aside the monitoring equipment and stepped forward—only for the supposedly unconscious patient to suddenly sit up and smash a fist into his chest.
Like being hit by a speeding motorcycle, his sternum shattered instantly and his strong body was sent flying!
The sudden transformation shocked the last rescuer. “A trap!?”
He reacted at lightning speed and raised his gun, but he never expected the man who leapt from the bed to grab the entire hospital bed and hurl it directly at him!
How could he dodge?
The room wasn’t large, and the attack came too suddenly. He couldn’t avoid it. His body crashed into the airborne bed and he was flung to the ground, vision flashing.
Before he could even wonder about the terrifying strength, his instinct was to contact the two supporters outside.
But the moment he grabbed the communicator, his wrist was stomped down… and the man kicked the device away!
“Who are you?!” he asked in terror.
In the dim light, he could barely make out a young man… strangely, the right sleeve of his hospital gown was completely torn apart.
The young man said nothing. He simply jabbed a syringe into the man’s neck… injecting something.
“What did you inject into me?!” he asked, panic rising.
The young man crouched down, grabbed his hair, and said calmly, “A virus that will rot all the organs in your body. The pain before the rotting starts will make you want to kill yourself… Trust me. You’re dealing with a pharmaceutical company.”
His mask had fallen off by now, revealing his horrified expression. “Y-You… what do you want me to do?”
The young man smiled faintly. “How about making a deal?”
The mercenary widened his eyes. He didn’t even hesitate—mercenaries had no code, only survival. “What do you want me to do?”
He didn’t even ask the price… because in this situation, he wasn’t in a position to bargain.
……
Outside the hospital, inside a van—though its interior looked nothing like its simple exterior.
Static crackled through the communication equipment in the back. A thin woman yawned and picked up the communicator.
She glanced once at the strange-faced corpse slumped in the front seat before turning on the communicator.
Her voice was lazy. “My side’s done… What about yours?”
It was Tang Tianlin’s voice that replied.
She smirked. “Probably a little earlier than you. If they don’t show up, remember to spread the news.”
“Then let’s begin the next phase.”
(End of Chapter)