Chapter 277: This Plan Won’t Work
Chapter 277: Chapter 277: This Plan Won’t Work
Qi Zhixian agreed and carried his tools over to the coffee table. "Please, come over here."
Fu Cheng walked over slowly, with Shen Lu right by his side.
He glanced at Shen Lu’s hand in her pocket and discreetly took a deep breath.
"Please hold out one of your hands." Qi Zhixian quickly donned a pair of disposable medical gloves, dipped a cotton swab in iodophor, and prepared to perform a quick, precise blood draw.
He was an expert at this task; he could probably draw the blood in record time with his eyes closed.
It couldn’t be helped. As a researcher, sample collection had to be fast, clean, and precise.
He usually drew blood from mutant beasts that couldn’t understand human language; drawing blood from people was a fairly rare occurrence for him.
The only arm Fu Cheng could use for the blood draw was his left. Shen Lu rolled up his sleeve for him, exposing his arm.
The veins on the man’s arm were prominent. Qi Zhixian effortlessly found a suitable spot. After swabbing it with iodophor, he slid the needle in, and blood began to flow through the thin tube into a vial.
Seeing this, a smile touched Gong Tianhua’s lips, and he took a relieved sip of water.
Just then, the internal line suddenly rang. Gong Tianhua picked up the receiver, and his expression darkened slightly as he listened.
"All right, I understand. I’m on my way now. Keep the situation under control."
After hanging up, Gong Tianhua stood. "I have something to attend to. After the blood draw, Little Qi will show you to the lounge. We’ll discuss everything else when I return."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and left.
Meanwhile, Qi Zhixian had just finished collecting seven vials of blood and withdrew the needle.
"You’ll need to apply pressure for five minutes," Qi Zhixian said, looking at Shen Lu.
"Okay," Shen Lu replied. A yellow-green hammer suddenly materialized in her hand.
Qi Zhixian: ?
The next second, the hammer struck Qi Zhixian on the head.
She had barely used any force, but Qi Zhixian’s eyes rolled back, and he passed out cold.
As he fell, he knocked over the tray. CRASH! Everything on it scattered across the floor.
Fortunately, everything was made of shatterproof material. Aside from the uncapped bottle of iodophor that spilled, nothing was damaged.
"Tsk, this plan won’t work in the long run," Shen Lu tutted. She stomped hard on the vials, crushing them all and spilling the drawn blood across the floor.
Fu Cheng: "..."
Fu Cheng: "Wasn’t that a bit pointless?"
’When Qi Zhixian wakes up, he can just draw my blood again. This only treats the symptom, not the root cause.’
"I can’t worry about that right now." Shen Lu went over to Gong Tianhua’s desk and began to search it carefully.
’There has to be a stray hair from Gong Tianhua here somewhere,’ she thought. ’I have to hurry. The stun effect from the Memory Disappearance Hammer doesn’t last long—only four or five minutes.’
But after searching every conceivable spot, she couldn’t find a single strand of Gong Tianhua’s hair.
"Dammit, is this guy a total neat freak? Or is he just bald and wearing a wig?"
Shen Lu couldn’t stop herself from cursing, nearly knocking over Gong Tianhua’s teacup in her frustration.
As she steadied the cup, Shen Lu had a sudden flash of inspiration.
’Didn’t Gong Tianhua just take a sip of tea? The cup must have his saliva on it. That means the cup can work as a medium!’
’Hahaha, I really am just your average, everyday genius.’
Without a second thought, Shen Lu used the Possession Card. Her vision went black, and she felt her soul being yanked by something. The next moment, she opened her eyes to find her perspective was higher than before, and an unfamiliar voice was speaking in her ear.
"Director Gong, this is the mutant beast, 213. It was already in its growth phase when it was delivered a while back. Today, we were just drawing a blood sample according to schedule when it suddenly went berserk for no apparent reason. It injured the staff member who went in to perform the procedure."
"Did you get the blood sample?"
"No. The moment the needle went in, 213 went berserk."
A door in front of them slid open, revealing a mutant beast roaring inside a special containment cage. Its barbed tail whipped back and forth, BANGING against the bars. It looked as if it could break free at any moment and tear out the throats of the assembled researchers.
Shen Lu focused. ’The Possession Card has activated. I can see and hear everything Gong Tianhua does.’
Meanwhile, Fu Cheng held the unconscious Shen Lu, his face etched with anxiety.
He gently patted her cheek and called her name, but she didn’t react at all.
’What in the world is going on?’
Fu Cheng clenched his jaw, holding Shen Lu tightly as he backed up to where Qi Zhixian lay unconscious.
’Until I understand the situation, the only thing I can do is wait and see.’
’In any case, there are no cameras in Gong Tianhua’s office, and Qi Zhixian is out cold. As long as no one comes in, there shouldn’t be a problem.’
Qi Zhixian groaned and clutched his forehead, starting to wake up. Seeing this, Fu Cheng delivered a sharp chop to the side of his neck, and Qi Zhixian slumped back into unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, Shen Lu had followed Gong Tianhua into a research lab that required an iris scan, fingerprint identification, and voice verification to enter.
As soon as Gong Tianhua entered, people immediately greeted him.
Someone handed him a data file. "Director Gong, this is all the data on 213. For the first few days after its arrival, its rate of evolution was very fast, but it stabilized later on. Based on our past observations, it should be relatively stable by now. We weren’t expecting it to lash out and injure someone like this."
Gong Tianhua skimmed through the report. "Administer a sedative to 213 for now. We’ll postpone the sample collection."
"But we’re waiting on the serum from 213," a cold female voice cut in. Through Gong Tianhua’s eyes, Shen Lu saw a woman in her thirties with her hair pulled back immaculately and a cold look in her eyes.
"The new batch of nutrient liquid has been delayed for long enough. If we can’t get 213’s serum today, then perhaps Vice Director Gong can prepare it himself."
Gong Tianhua’s eyes narrowed. ’This Ding Min... Everyone else makes a point of dropping the ’Vice’ and calling me Director Gong, but she insists on calling me ’Vice Director’ every single time. If she weren’t so damn good at her research, I would have kicked someone so tactless out long ago.’
"Professor Ding, please don’t be anxious. We have to prioritize," Gong Tianhua said in a mild tone. "213 is in no condition for a blood draw right now. I’m not delaying this on purpose."
"Fine, have it your way," Ding Min said, taking off her white lab coat. "I’m tired. I’ll take a month off before I resume my work."
"Professor Ding, you can’t go!" her teammate, Yang Yu, pleaded urgently. "If you leave, our group’s work will grind to a halt."
"What are you talking about? You still have Vice Director Gong, don’t you?" A mocking light glinted in Ding Min’s eyes. "He’s an expert on nutrient liquids. After all, the highest-grade product on the market, Nutrient Liquid No. 8, is the result of *Vice Director Gong’s* research."
"But..." Yang Yu tried to say more, but Ding Min had already shoved the lab coat into her hands and walked away without a backward glance.
Gong Tianhua watched her leave, his expression turning frosty.
By the time he turned back to the others, his expression was once again mild and pleasant.
"Yang Yu, bring me the latest progress report. Professor Ding is right, she does deserve a rest. From now on, your group will report directly to me."
’Putting on airs? Throwing a tantrum?’
’Fine. I’ll let you have your little act.’
’As for the credit for the new nutrient liquid... apologies, but it looks like history is about to repeat itself. So what if I, Gong Tianhua, steal your work one more time?’