Chapter 502: The Bald Guide
Chapter 502: The Bald Guide
Fang Cheng parked the sports car before the research institute wearing Tony Kent’s face, then walked straight in without hesitation.
The staff handling security checks and disinfection didn’t dare stop him.
As a key backer, Tony Kent ruled this base like a petty tyrant – no rules could bind him, free to do as he wished.
Inside the institute, an obsequious manager hurried over. “Mr. Tony!”
“I need Dr. X. Where is he?”
“In his office.”
“We’ve got important business. No disturbances.”
After shooing away the sycophants, Fang Cheng marched to Dr. X’s office. This wasn’t carelessness on their part – Tony had always acted this way. They’d grown accustomed to it. Had he suddenly followed protocol, that would’ve seemed stranger.
Fang Cheng shoved the office door open without knocking. “Watching videos in broad daylight, Doctor? Not very proper of you.”
Dr. X was indeed viewing footage – security recordings brought by the bald guide. Even if he’d been watching something indecent, his sixty-year-old body couldn’t have acted on it.
The researcher didn’t glance up from his screen. Fang Cheng waited, surveying the stark office containing only essential furniture – a brutal contrast to Tony’s lavish workspace. Clearly, Dr. X valued function over comfort.
Finally closing the video, Dr. X addressed Fang Cheng: “Perfect timing. I need more samples from mother’s body. Negotiate with Benjamin Walker – he’s refusing my requests.”
Fang Cheng kept his face neutral while inwardly rejoicing. Mother’s body remained with the Gates of Heaven’s cult leader.
Channeling Tony’s mannerisms, he smirked. “Give me a convincing reason. Lord Walker’s not easily persuaded.”
Dr. X scowled. “My monster origin research shows progress. Isn’t that sufficient?”
“What progress?”
“You never read my reports?” Dr. X adjusted his glasses irritably.
“Too busy.”
The scientist sighed. “Simplified version: Earth’s creatures share no genetic links with the monsters. Our environment doesn’t support their evolution. But they strongly resemble mother…”
Fang Cheng cut through the lecture. “Bottom line.”
Reluctantly concise, Dr. X declared: “Earth’s monsters all originate from mother. And mother isn’t terrestrial – she’s extraterrestrial.”
A beat. Fang Cheng blinked. “You’re saying mother’s an alien?”
“Let’s put it this way.”
“What’s the evidence?”
Fang Cheng asked like an inquisitive elementary school boy: “If these monsters and Mother came from the universe, why do some look exactly like beings from human myths and legends?”
He truly wanted answers, as this concerned him directly, yet the two evil gods had remained tight-lipped.
Dr. X sighed. He’d just been explaining evidence earlier, but this guy hadn’t listened, only to demand it now.
“Ever heard of the observer effect? The act of observation alters the observed phenomenon.”
“You’re saying…”
Fang Cheng pondered before his eyes widened. “These monsters take forms from myths because we expect them to look that way?”
Dr. X nodded. “Essentially. Human brains reject what they can’t comprehend, so we substitute familiar imagery. But regardless of appearances, these remain alien beings incompatible with humanity.”
Fang Cheng couldn’t fathom the monsters’ true forms.
“Does this prove Mother and the monsters are extraterrestrial, doctor?”
“That alone isn’t conclusive.”
Dr. X flashed a grin. “But our cutting-edge tech derives from alien spaceship fragments. If Mother arrived via that ship, everything clicks into place.”
Fang Cheng’s mind reeled. Since when were alien spaceships involved?
He bit back his questions. Dr. X’s tone suggested Tony Kent already knew this secret – asking would blow his cover.
Staring at Dr. X’s Mediterranean haircut, Fang Cheng fought the urge to use his Read Thoughts skill. He couldn’t risk exposure yet.
Dr. X continued: “Current advanced tech comes from those fragments, and monsters originate from Mother. Fujiwara Hirotetsu, Area 11’s father of science, told you artificial superpowers also stem from Mother, yes? Earth’s transformation traces back entirely to her.”
If Mother birthed all monsters, how could something so powerful die here, leaving only corpse fragments?
Unwilling to end the conversation, Fang Cheng feigned nostalgia. “Pity that spaceship got destroyed.”
Taking the bait, Dr. X replied, “Its destruction helped us – we’d need fifty more years to breach an intact hatch. Now various governments hunt its power source. Rebuilding a human spaceship becomes possible.”
Another message received: alien power source sought globally. Sounded like those ads claiming “Everyone uses XX”.
Dr. X dropped another bombshell: “Thankfully, we’ve secured the engine – a head start over others.”
Spaceship engine… Fang Cheng instantly thought of the completed Ark outside. Was it using alien propulsion? That explained launching such massive structures – beyond current human tech.
Dr. X checked his watch, wincing at twenty wasted minutes.
“What do you want from me?”
“I’m here to collect the remaining ten doses of Divine medicine.”
From the conversation between the bald man and Tony Kent, Fang Cheng learned the wealthy backers were finalizing the distribution list for Divine medicine soon.
To prevent embezzlement, all Divine medicine remained stored at the research institute under Dr. X’s supervision.
Facing the scarce Divine medicine, Dr. X remained clear-headed. “You need them now?”
“Exactly. The list is confirmed. We’ll administer them tomorrow.”
Fang Cheng feigned casualness while battling inner nervousness – one verification call from Dr. X would expose his impersonation.
If necessary, he’d have to take action against this old man.
Fortunately Dr. X showed no interest in needless checks. “Good. Take them quickly before more calls interrupt my work.”
Fang Cheng smiled. “Your dedication deserves recognition. I’ll propose a salary increase at the shareholders’ meeting.”
After Dr. X’s phone summons, the institute head arrived with four metal password cases. Each was opened before Fang Cheng.
The first case held ten Divine medicine vials in refrigerated units. Three other cases contained thirty Superman medicine doses of varying types.
Divine medicine required prior injections of three Superman variants to boost physical tolerance. All were perfect versions without side effects.
“Mr. Tony, let me carry these,” the beaming institute head offered post-inspection.
Fang Cheng accepted before bidding Dr. X farewell.
“Don’t forget to negotiate with Benjamin Walker for me,” Dr. X reminded.
Fang Cheng nodded. His next destination was indeed Benjamin Walker’s office.
Outside, the obsequious institute head personally loaded the cases into the sports car. Fang Cheng drove off with his priceless cargo as the man waved farewell.
Returning to Tony Kent’s office fifteen minutes later, Fang Cheng dismissed the secretary hinting at exercise plans. He locked the door, stashed all cases in his shadow, then activated Shadow Leap targeting a guard’s shadow kilometers away.
Instantaneously teleporting through shadows, he chain-leaped between distant guards’ silhouettes. Within minutes, he slipped into the shadow of the bald man he’d left barely thirty minutes prior.
Unaware of his unwitting role as pathfinder, the bald man descended towards basement level one – precisely where new superior Benjamin Walker awaited.