Chapter 124: Brother, Where Are You
Chapter 124: Chapter 124: Brother, Where Are You
Jia Xu’s brows lifted and fell, his eyes filled with doubt.
’Am I really that charming? Enough for a child to cross mountains and wade through rivers, going through hell and high water just to find me?’
"Alright, you can stick with me for now."
Jia Xu found the child’s appearance here too bizarre. ’What kind of kid can cross an ocean, climb a snow-capped mountain, and even fall into a crevasse?’
He didn’t fully believe Gu Zhao’s story. ’He’s no fool, after all.’
’I’ll keep her around and see what’s what.’
"Brother! You’re so handsome and charming! If I keep following you, will I grow up to be this good-looking too?" The moment he agreed, Gu Zhao latched onto his thigh and started gushing.
"Ahem, don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re speaking such pleasant truths. If I find out you’re lying, you’ll be the first person I dissect!" Jia Xu looked at Gu Zhao with a serious, even threatening expression, but the corner of his mouth, which he struggled to keep down, betrayed how much he was enjoying her flattery.
Pinching her own thigh, Gu Zhao forced out another wave of compliments. "I would never lie to my handsome big brother! I’ll be your standard-bearer! I dare anyone to make an enemy of you!"
Jia Xu’s gaze toward Gu Zhao softened. "You’re... not bad at all."
Gu Zhao beamed on the outside, but inwardly, she was gagging.
Jia Xu seemed to have bought Gu Zhao’s story completely. He led her through two corridors and into a rather ornate hall.
"In a moment, don’t say a single word. Otherwise, I’ll feed you to the bears."
He led Gu Zhao inside.
Several other people were seated there—men and women, all wearing the same white lab coats.
"Haven’t seen this kid before. Is she your new test subject?" one of the white-coats asked, eyeing her curiously.
The curiosity wasn’t about Gu Zhao herself, but about any physical abnormalities she might have.
Seeing no such abnormalities, the person frowned.
"No, she’s my new little sister. I found her," Jia Xu said nonchalantly, as if finding a child was as unremarkable as picking up a stray cat or dog.
’Finding a sister? Here?!’
’Is he out of his mind?’
"You’ve really got a screw loose," the person scoffed, then paid them no more mind.
’It’s not like the kid can leave this place anyway,’ the person thought. ’He’ll probably get bored in a few days and use her for an experiment then.’
Everyone simply assumed Gu Zhao was a "new arrival" who had managed to sneak out of the black room.
Besides, this wasn’t the first bizarre thing Jia Xu had done.
"Alright, let’s just get this month’s regular meeting started," someone said impatiently. "I still have experiments to run. I don’t have time to waste on this."
The others murmured in agreement. Only a young man sitting at the far end of the table remained silent, radiating a cold aura that screamed, ’Stay the hell away from me.’
Seeing his face made Gu Zhao start to sulk.
The man wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and had a pale complexion. The white shirt under his lab coat was buttoned up tight to his throat. With his eyes half-lidded, he looked completely uninterested in his surroundings, like some delicate, sickly beauty cultivated in a laboratory.
’Why is it always the bad guys who get the handsome faces?! What a complete waste!’
The man seemed to sense Gu Zhao’s stare. He glanced up, his eyes holding a flicker of pity, before looking down again.
No one paid Gu Zhao any mind, and they began to speak freely, utterly confident that she would never leave this place alive to repeat what she heard.
Gu Zhao started to doze off as they spoke. ’It’s all technical jargon! I can’t understand a single word!’
’They’re doing this on purpose, bullying me because I’m just a kid!’
"We have to get 03769 back! We’ve poured half our life’s work into him!"
"I told you we shouldn’t have let him leave! You just had to send him over to that other group for study! Are you happy now?"
"Stop being a Monday-morning quarterback! You agreed to it back then, too! Besides, if the boss can really threaten those two into cooperating with the research, we’ll be that much closer to genetic immortality!" The man in the white coat was flush with excitement.
"Hah. As if they’re so easily threatened. Their son is right here, and they still refuse, don’t they?" someone sneered, casting a disdainful glance toward the delicate, sickly beauty.
"’Their son,’ ha! He’s useless for research. I say we should just chop off one of his arms and mail it to them."
As the group argued heatedly, Gu Zhao continued to doze off.
She was only woken by Jia Xu after they had finished arguing and the meeting was adjourned.
"You’re really something else. No wonder you dared to climb a snow-capped mountain by yourself to find your brother."
Gu Zhao grinned. "That’s because I have you here, big brother!"
"You’re so amazing! I feel super safe with you!"
Jia Xu’s lips curved into a smile, his ego thoroughly stroked once again.
’I never thought a kid could be this interesting.’
Just as Gu Zhao was laying on the charm, someone came running over in a panic. "Boss! 07865 is having an abnormal reaction!"
Jia Xu’s expression immediately turned grim. He shoved Gu Zhao at someone else and took off running.
Jia Xu burst into a room where a little girl was strapped to a restraint bed. Her face was covered in a layer of fish-like scales.
Her eyes were bloodshot as she thrashed and struggled.
Two people were standing by the bed. Upon seeing Jia Xu, they reported with regret, "Boss, it’s another failure. She’s no longer conscious."
’Another vial of extracted genes wasted.’
"And we’re running out of animals. We need more, and rarer, species!"
...
Meanwhile, Gu Zhao was led to a room. It wasn’t luxurious, but it was well-appointed with all the necessities.
Lying on the large bed, she started to worry about Gu Xulin, but she had been sleep-deprived for so long that she was out the moment she touched the mattress.
「In a room that looked like a prison cell.」
Gu Xulin’s face was etched with worry. "I wonder how Gu Zhao is doing... Has she eaten? Has she been crying her eyes out?"
"She doesn’t think I’m already a goner, does she...?"
The more Gu Xulin thought, the more aggrieved he felt. "That heartless little thing... She hasn’t already gone home to plan my funeral, has she?"
The others looked on, exasperated.
"Brother Lin, I’m sure Zhaozhao is looking for us," Zhong Siqi said, his eyes filled with exasperation.
Zhong Mingrui agreed. "Big King would never abandon her followers!"
"Exactly! Big King has probably already summoned her animal army and is preparing to attack this place!" Song Yi was filled with excitement and absolute faith in Big King.
Gu Jiao and Song Zhe were just as excited.
Gu Zhen was filled with despair. ’I was just on a variety show, wasn’t I? How did I end up in a prison cell?’
’The shocks I’ve had today are more than I’ve experienced in a whole year!’
"You guys don’t get it. Gu Xiao Zhao is just looking for an excuse for a feast," Gu Xulin sighed. He recalled how, before all this, Gu Zhao had been upset about getting hauled into the police station because it meant she missed her own birthday feast.
"..."
"Brother Gu, have some chocolate." Zhong Mingrui pulled several chocolate bars from his pocket, and even a pear.
’This should shut Brother Gu’s mouth. How dare he doubt Big King!’
The others: ??
’Where did you hide all that?!’
Their backpacks were gone, and their vile captors wouldn’t even give them food.
They were planning to starve Gu Xulin until he sold himself out!
Zhong Mingrui’s heart ached as he gave everyone a piece of chocolate, but he did it anyway.
Holding the chocolate only made Gu Xulin more worried. "Is Gu Zhao going hungry right now...? That silly girl is probably gnawing on a raw fish somewhere..."
"Raw fish would be okay, I guess... Please, just don’t let my sister be so hungry she has to eat shit."
Gu Xulin clasped his hands together in prayer.
"I’ll have braised pork ribs, mapo tofu, sweet-and-sour mandarin fish, and chicken stewed with mushrooms. For the soup, a tomato and beef brisket soup. Let’s just keep it simple with four dishes and one soup," Gu Zhao said with a yawn, looking at the person who had opened the door to wake her and ask what she wanted to eat.
The person was silent for two seconds, then nodded. "Understood."
’She’s the boss’s new favorite. I’ll endure it!’
Gu Zhao yawned again and flopped back onto the bed. "Oh, brother... what mouse hole are you hiding in now?"