As soon as the voice appeared, Lenny, who had been standing quietly on the side, suddenly straightened up, his expression turning serious. After hearing those two words, he spoke, “No voice changer was used.”
Ye Shanshan was carefully examining the dense characters that appeared on the screen. When strung together, they felt extremely familiar to him. He was certain that they were the same type of character codes he had seen before in the laboratory on Misius Island, with only a few minor gaps.
However, these character codes should have long disappeared along with Misius Island—unless Durant had already obtained the data before the explosion.
Ye Shanshan quickly scanned through the long string of data and, upon hearing Lenny’s words, nodded in agreement. “It’s indeed Durant himself. His voice is the same as in his past audio-visual recordings.”
After speaking, he glanced at Lenny, just in time to meet the other’s gaze.
At that moment, the voice reappeared, carrying an uncontrollable excitement—almost to the point of madness.
“Do you see those test subjects? They are my gift to you! Look at them—their forms are beautiful, their expressions so peaceful! Those liquids and the sealed culture vessels can completely isolate them from any external contact. Isn’t that wonderful?”
The static interference in the transmission fluctuated, making the signal unstable, but it was still clear enough to detect the sudden shift in the speaker’s tone—he had become enraged.
“There are so many filthy intruders on the island! Filth! They should all be eliminated! All of them—brought here by you!”
It sounded as if he had slammed a table forcefully. A dull thud came through the transmission, followed by a few alarm sounds from the broadcasting device. Muttering something under his breath, Durant quickly shut down the voice transmission, and in an instant, silence returned to the cave.
Gong Yue estimated the time. “Chris and the others should have already taken action.” Before entering the forest, they had prepared multiple contingency plans—now, the people waiting on the surface should be making their move.
Holding Ye Shanshan’s cold, sweat-dampened hand, Gong Yue’s voice remained as steady as ever, though there was a clear trace of concern for Ye Shanshan’s condition. In response, Ye Shanshan lightly traced his fingertip across Gong Yue’s palm, signaling that he was fine.
Sliding his hand free from Gong Yue’s grasp, he adjusted the wristband on his arm and looked at Lenny with a faint smile. “Can I know who you are?”
Lenny noticed the subtle movement of Gong Yue’s hand gripping his gun but remained in the same posture as before, not answering.
Realizing that Ye Shanshan was staring at him intently, he finally responded after about half a minute, as if compromising. “I mean no harm to you. We can cooperate—because we share the same goal.”
“No. In this situation, we will not cooperate with someone whose identity is unknown.” With that, Gong Yue directly raised his gun and aimed it at Lenny, pulling back the safety latch—a clear message.
Lenny glanced at the muzzle pointed at him, pressing his lips together but still saying nothing.
Ye Shanshan, carefully observing his subtle expressions, slowed his speech. “I’ve seen you before.”
“Impossible!” Lenny immediately denied it, his gaze instinctively flickering toward Gong Yue before he shut his mouth again.
“But I have seen you,” Ye Shanshan insisted, this time giving a detailed description. “It was in a stack of photographs. You were wearing a basketball jersey, your hair damp with sweat. I remember the number on your jersey was nine, and the colors were blue and white.”
Noticing the slight change in Lenny’s expression, Ye Shanshan pressed on. “You remember now, don’t you?”
Lenny scrutinized Ye Shanshan for a long time before finally speaking. “How did you see those photos?”
“Because you sent them to Gong Youli.”
The name “Gong Youli” seemed to break through some invisible barrier. Lenny locked his gaze onto Ye Shanshan. At first, his eyes were filled with confusion, but then, as if realizing something, his expression shifted to shock and sudden understanding. He turned to Gong Yue, quickly piecing together what was going on.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and when he finally spoke, his voice was dry. “You are—” He didn’t finish the sentence, but it was obvious that he had realized who Ye Shanshan truly was.
At the same time, both Ye Shanshan and Gong Yue confirmed that Lenny knew about the God Creation Project—or perhaps, even more than that.
Silence fell between them. With a swift motion, Gong Yue lowered his gun and put it away.
“I am,” Ye Shanshan confirmed without hesitation. “So now, we need to determine—you, or the people behind you, what is your goal?”
Lenny toyed with a golden bullet between his fingers, as if struggling to find the right words. After a long pause, he finally spoke.
“If you’ve seen my photos at her place, then you must know some things… She… Youli was eighteen years older than me.”
He seemed at a loss for how to continue, shifting his weight onto his right foot. He opened his mouth several times but couldn’t produce a sound.
Ye Shanshan filled in the silence. “She was very happy when she received your photos.”
Taking a deep breath, Lenny rubbed the corner of his mouth, his tone becoming noticeably lighter.
“She was always so easily satisfied… I… I was an orphan, abandoned on the roadside just a few months after I was born. Youli was the one who picked me up. She wasn’t even eighteen yet—already in university, working on her doctorate. She was incredible.”
For the first time, the usual gloom in Lenny’s expression brightened, his voice softening.
“The orphanage director didn’t want to take me in, but Youli insisted. So later, my formula and diapers—everything—she paid for them herself. Even my first day at kindergarten, it was Youli who took me there. When I got into fights, she was the one who came to pick me up. On the way back, she’d tell me, ‘If someone bullies you, fight back. But don’t cry.’”
Perhaps these memories had been buried in his heart for too long. As he spoke, he seemed to be recalling them vividly, a faint smile appearing in his eyes.
“She always told me to call her ‘Jie.’ Later, when she got married, she still sent money to my account every month. Even when I was sixteen—after she disappeared—like clockwork, there was always money coming in, as if it were my allowance. And every single time, her message was the same: ‘Eat well, don’t be picky, or you won’t grow tall.’ Really, no creativity at all.”
His gaze finally settled on Gong Yue’s face, his voice barely above a whisper. “But then… I couldn’t find her anymore.”
It was as if he was searching for traces of Gong Youli in Gong Yue’s face.
“So, why are you here?” Ye Shanshan asked. He didn’t doubt Lenny’s words—he remembered that Gong Youli trusted Lenny and had briefly mentioned him while looking at those photos.
Lenny instinctively touched the gun in his hand, hesitated for a few seconds, and then said, “I have an employer.” He didn’t reveal much about himself and instead changed the subject.
“I’m not sure if you’re aware, but before the explosion, Misius Island had about five major investors behind it. They were brought together by the leader of a secret organization through a drug that could alter human physiology and the so-called God Creation Project. Because of the financial and power networks involved, a large number of scientists were gathered on Misius Island. That drug, the one that could change a person’s body structure, was the Alpha Agent Durant had been researching all along. Of course, it was still incomplete. Durant had always remained behind the scenes, so Youli probably didn’t know that her mentor was also involved.”
He continued, “Then, Misius Island suddenly exploded. All the researchers, scientists, those five investors, and even the leader of that secret organization didn’t make it out—they all died on the island. That secret organization also split into four factions after its leader’s death. My employer is one of them. Because of this, Durant was hunted down by several factions for a time.”
After listening to him, Ye Shanshan frowned slightly.
Leaning against the rocky wall, Lenny’s posture relaxed a bit. “It’s not just me—many others are also looking for him. When Misius Island turned to ashes, nothing was left behind. Durant was the only survivor. At first, he knew how to protect himself, and later, he became very good at running—constantly hiding, extremely cunning. This time, I followed you all here under the identity of ‘Lenny.’”
He looked at Gong Yue and Ye Shanshan, his expression serious. “My advice this time—whether through another explosion or any other means—is that Durant must die here. Only by cutting off all hope will people stop obsessing over the God Creation Project. After all, the project itself is pure fantasy. It wouldn’t have gained much traction in the first place, but as long as Durant is alive, he fuels endless hope, making people believe that this dream can actually come true.”
Softening his tone slightly, he turned to Ye Shanshan. “When did you recognize me?”
“When we entered the cave, I wasn’t entirely sure. Your build has changed a little since back then, but you have a very distinct birthmark behind your ear.” Ye Shanshan touched the back of his own right ear. “When I saw it, I knew I wasn’t mistaken.”
That was why, when he realized Lenny wanted to separate them from the others, he chose to trust him.
Lenny nodded, a slight smile appearing on his lips. “I’m the only one who followed you here this time. But as far as I know, word has already spread that Durant is nearby. We need to move quickly.”
Straightening up, he spoke with clear intent. “Right now, all eyes are on Durant. As long as he dies, everything will be over.”
The three of them left the specimen display room and entered a long corridor. Cold metal panels lined the walls, stretching endlessly into the distance. Each step they took echoed heavily, the low-frequency vibrations spreading far, making the sound unsettling to the ears.
After passing through the corridor, they reached a massive, curved platform. Standing at its edge, they looked down and saw that the area below had been completely hollowed out. Countless machines and devices emitted a dim blue glow, standing out starkly in the underground darkness.
Lenny tossed the bullet in his hand into the air and caught it effortlessly. Then, pointing to a corner, he said, “The rat is over there.” His sharp gaze softened slightly when he looked at Ye Shanshan. “It’s up to you now.”
