A crack in the closed door meng xiao stands behind it looking out.
“What’s the connection between the time anchor point entering the main world and us?” Meng Xiao fell silent for a moment before speaking.
Outside the door, two figures shrouded in darkness stood.
“Please step aside.” The man’s voice was calm and authoritative, his tall frame blocking the door, ready to break in at any moment.
“Give me a reason; there’s a no-entry order here.” Meng Xiao gripped a dagger in one hand, confronting them.
The man peered through the crack in the door, his eyes dark and intense, saying, “Step aside, or we will handle you on the grounds of obstructing official duties.”
Meng Xiao pressed her lips together, and after a few seconds of silence, she stepped aside and opened the door, saying, “Please be quiet; my sister is resting.”
The two men entered the room, dressed in black uniforms, their polished shoes scraping against the floor, making a sound reminiscent of a heartbeat.
They held weapons in their hands, and a strange belt hung from their waists, with a miniature camera installed in the middle, likely the same kind as a law enforcement recording device.
Standing in the room, they looked around; the hall was empty, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Then, the two men strode to the bedside, pulling back the heavy curtains to reveal a woman half-reclining on the bed, nearly in a deep sleep.
“What do you want to do to my sister?” Meng Xiao stood in front of the bed, watching them warily.
“The instructor has ordered us to take Meng Ting to District One immediately for gene drug injection.”
“Wasn’t the transaction supposed to start on September 5th? Why now…”
“Step aside.”
“Creak—”
Suddenly, the window rattled back and forth in the wind.
Meng Xiao looked shocked at the two men behind her and warned, “Be careful!”
Both men turned at the same time, and a watermelon knife came crashing down towards them.
“Thud!” The sharp blade sank into one man’s shoulder, blood splattering everywhere.
The man was drenched in blood but remained remarkably calm, saying, “The mission has been obstructed; requesting backup.”
“Buzz—”
The belt strapped to his waist, where the miniature camera was installed, suddenly began to spin rapidly.
Immediately after, the man drew a handgun from his waist and pulled the trigger, but a gray stick struck his wrist hard, causing the gun to fall to the ground.
At the same time, a figure silently approached the other man from behind, gripping his chin and exposing his vulnerable neck, a dagger swiftly slicing through flesh.
“Who are you?” Meng Xiao raised her dagger nervously. “How dare you attack law enforcement officers?”
The woman with pink hair hoisted the bloodied watermelon knife onto her shoulder, proudly declaring, “I am your great-aunt!”
“Stop talking nonsense; hurry up and kill the woman on the bed. Just to be safe, kill her and take the body back to the real world.”
“Understood!”
“Stop! What are you doing? You can’t harm my sister! She’s a person needed in District One!”
The pink-haired woman sneered, “Needed in District One? We’re here to kill her.”
“Do it!”
“Stop! The law enforcement officers have already notified District One! They will definitely send someone else over; you can’t harm my sister!”
“Hurry! Do it!”
“Sister!”
“Is she dead? Let’s go! The plan succeeded; we’re heading back now!”
“Go!”
Five or six people hurriedly carried the blood-soaked woman out of the room.
“Give my sister back to me!” Meng Xiao, with an injured arm, pressed on the bleeding wound and chased after them.
A few minutes later, the group rushed into an abandoned building.
“Cough, cough…”
After the intense exercise, Ye Huai leaned against the wall, covering his mouth as he coughed lightly.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Xu Junyue laid the unconscious Meng Ting on the ground and turned back to ask, “This place should be safe, right?”
To make it realistic, Meng Xiao had taken a solid stab to her arm and nodded, “Yeah, the law enforcement recording device has transmitted the footage to District One.”
Tong Yang closed the dilapidated door and walked over to the group.
Before the law enforcement officers arrived, they learned that the men had surveillance cameras on them connected to the command base of District One, so they decided to put on a show and take Meng Ting away first.
If she was taken into District One, getting her out would be as difficult as climbing to the sky.
To avoid suspicion about Meng Xiao’s identity, they staged this act in front of the surveillance cameras.
After all, Tong Yang’s entry into the parallel world had already been discovered.
“What do we do now? Didn’t that person seek backup before he died?” Chu Shiyu asked.
Tang Shuyan put away her baton, casually saying, “Since we’ve been discovered, how likely is it that we can sneak into the safe zone to steal quality gene drugs, Tong Yang?”
“Zero percent,” Tong Yang replied.
“What, what should we do then?” Yan Qing asked, trembling.
Earlier, Xu Junyue and Tong Yang’s swift actions had scared the child enough; she clung to Chu Shiyu, refusing to leave her side.
Tong Yang asked, “Meng Xiao, will I be detected immediately if I enter the parallel world?”
Meng Xiao furrowed her brows and shook her head, “No, we can only detect your location in the Shadow World.”
Tong Yang nodded, “Then someone must have snitched.”
“Snitched?” Xu Junyue exclaimed in surprise, “Who?”
Tong Yang indicated he didn’t know and continued asking, “How long does it take to get from District One to here?”
Meng Xiao said, “District One is the farthest from here; even with transportation, it takes at least half an hour.”
“We entered the parallel world less than half an hour ago, and District One already knew.”
Chu Shiyu hesitated, “Is there a traitor in the real world…?”
Xu Junyue walked up to Meng Xiao with a questioning look, saying, “You don’t want us to take Meng Ting back to the real world, do you? Are you trying to stage this yourself?”
Meng Xiao glanced at her and said, “I have no reason to do that; besides, I hope you can get the quality gene drugs to cure my sister.”
“Tong Yang, do you think she’s trustworthy?”
Xu Junyue pondered for a long time, unable to make up her mind.
Tong Yang said, “It’s not her; taking Meng Ting into District One early wouldn’t benefit her.”
“So now we have to rush to take Meng Ting back?”
Tong Yang fell silent. Before they arrived, District One had received the news, but it shouldn’t have been long, and it seemed they weren’t clear about their true intentions or their specific location, nor did they know that they had reached an agreement with Meng Xiao.
So, they took Meng Ting away instead of directly confronting Meng Xiao.
Thus, the snitch couldn’t be Officer Lin or anyone from Bureau 749, and it definitely couldn’t be those who knew the whole story; could it be the Meng family?
But why? This wouldn’t benefit them; whether Tong Yang and the others succeeded or not, the Meng family wouldn’t incur any losses. A competent businessman would choose to wait and see in such a situation.
So, the snitch must be someone who only had a vague understanding of their mission.
Who could it be? It wasn’t hard to guess.
Someone who knew they had entered the parallel world but didn’t know their specific plan.
At the same time, it was also possible that they knew their plan but had no opportunity to leak it to District One.
The indications were too obvious for this person.
A cold wind blew in through the window, creating an eerie atmosphere.
“Why did you all suddenly stop talking? What should we do?” Yan Qing asked nervously, clutching Chu Shiyu’s arm.
“Be quiet; I’m thinking,” Xu Junyue said with a serious expression.
“Qingqing, come here.” Tong Yang waved her over.
Yan Qing looked puzzled, “Tong Yang, what is it?”
“I want to tell you something. Did you hear what I said before we came in?” Tong Yang asked.
Yan Qing replied, “What? I was worried about being discovered, so I waited until you all closed your eyes before coming out of the bathroom; I didn’t hear what you said.”
Tong Yang nodded, “Then that’s right.”
So she knew nothing.
“Huh? What?”
Tong Yang remained silent, giving a slight nod to Chu Shiyu.
Yan Qing was still confused when suddenly her shoulder hurt, and the arm she was holding onto Chu Shiyu was pierced by a sharp dagger.
“Ah! That hurts…”
Xu Junyue walked up behind her and kicked her at the back of her knee, forcing her to kneel on the ground, the watermelon knife pressed against her neck.
Yan Qing was stunned, “W-What are you doing?”
Except for Ye Huai, who was resting against the wall, everyone else gathered around her.
“Traitor!”
“You are the traitor!”
“What? What are you talking about? Knife! Put the knife down…”
Tong Yang crossed her arms and walked up to her, revealing a look of disgust as she said, “I never called you Qingqing.”
Xu Junyue rubbed her shoulder, “Stop shouting; it’s disgusting.”
“Huh?” Yan Qing looked incredulous, “Are you insulting me?”
Xu Junyue shot her a glance, “Use your brain; do you think we would let you go back like this?”
“Why not? I already agreed to let my dad give you the gene drugs!”
Chu Shiyu couldn’t help but exclaim, “I didn’t expect the parallel world to have such a fresh, unused brain.”
“Yan Qing” slowly turned her gaze to her, asking, “Are you insulting me too?”
Chu Shiyu smiled, “Little sister, what do you think?”
“I thought you were the best among them!”
Chu Shiyu looked at her with a pitying expression, then asked Tong Yang, “What should we do?”
Letting her go back was definitely not an option, and judging by her demeanor, even in the parallel world, she was likely spoiled and didn’t understand how cruel reality could be.
The instructor of District One was her father, and he had injected her with quality gene drugs, indicating that he must have more than one quality gene drug in his possession. If they used “Yan Qing” to threaten him, it would be too risky for them on the territory of the parallel world. At that point, not only would they not be able to obtain the gene drugs, but they might not even survive to return to the real world.
After all, in the case of actively entering the parallel world, their actions wouldn’t be restricted.
It would be best to obtain the quality gene drugs without anyone noticing and return to the real world without raising any alarms.
Tong Yang asked, “Does your dad only know that we entered the parallel world?”
“He probably also knows that you want to disrupt the transaction…”
In that case, things would be easier.
“We’ll head back to the parallel world first,” Tong Yang said.
“District One doesn’t know our true intentions; they think we completed the mission by killing Meng Ting, so we need to create a false impression of leaving while also taking Meng Ting and ‘Yan Qing’ back.”
“Meng Xiao, your identity hasn’t been exposed yet; stay behind to convey this message to District One.”
Meng Xiao said solemnly, “I understand.”
“I won’t! I won’t leave with you! Let me go! I won’t tell my dad! If it comes to it, I can help you steal the gene drugs, okay?”
Tong Yang said, “Don’t say such foolish things.”
“I won’t go to the Shadow World! Let me go! Anyway, you can’t do anything to me if I don’t listen…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Tong Yang pushed Xu Junyue aside and choked her from behind.
“Then you’ll need to take a little nap.”
“Hey! No! Wait! Tong Yang! Let’s discuss this…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Tong Yang tightened her grip, choking her, and within twenty seconds, she completely passed out.
“Carry her.” Tong Yang tossed her to Tang Shuyan, then looked at Meng Xiao, “We’re heading back now. Since we took Meng Ting away, the transaction can’t proceed. We’ll temporarily stabilize the Meng family; you figure out a way to cover for yourself. Once you’re ready, we’ll come back in again, and you won’t have to worry about the rest.”
Meng Xiao was taken aback, “Have you thought of a solution?”
“Yeah.”
Xu Junyue asked, “What solution?”
Tong Yang replied, “We’ll talk about it when we get back; let’s go.”
Ye Huai stood up from the corner and walked over to them, looking quite pale after what had just happened.
Five minutes later, they returned to the real world.
Carrying the unconscious “Yan Qing,” they exited the mall, having spent less than an hour in the parallel world.
Officer Wan, who was waiting outside, saw them come out and immediately rushed over in surprise.
“How did you come out?”
“Are you hurt?”
“Did you get the gene drugs?”
“No, we were discovered as soon as we entered,” Tang Shuyan shrugged.
Officer Wan frowned, “The plan failed? What about Officer Lin…”
“No, the chances of the plan succeeding are already fifty percent,” Tong Yang interrupted him.
“What?” Officer Wan was taken aback.
Not only was Officer Wan confused, but even Chu Shiyu and the others, who had gone to the parallel world with her, looked bewildered.
“Officer Wan, can I borrow your phone?”
“What for?”
Though puzzled, he still took out his phone and handed it to Tong Yang.
Using the surrounding streetlights, Tong Yang took a photo of Meng Ting, who had come back to the real world, then returned the phone to Officer Wan, saying, “Please send this photo to Officer Lin and tell her we’ve brought Meng Ting from the parallel world back, so she can stabilize the Meng family.”
“This…”
“Just do as I say.”
“Alright.”
“Now can you tell us what you plan to do?” Tang Shuyan asked.
Tong Yang said, “I want to infiltrate District One directly.”
“Threatening the instructor of District One with Yan Qing?”
Tong Yang shook her head, “If the initiative is in District One’s hands in the parallel world, and since Yan Qing has injected quality gene drugs, her wounds healed completely in just a few minutes. Using her to threaten District One might not be as effective as we imagine.”
Xu Junyue nodded, “If her dad is insane enough to drop a missile, she might recover, but we won’t.”
Chu Shiyu suggested, “Let her lead us into District One?”
“No, once we get to the parallel world, she could find an opportunity to escape at any time.”
“What should we do then?”
“We need to be able to infiltrate District One while also ensuring we have leverage in hand…”
Ye Huai said, “We can’t recognize people from the parallel world, and District One might not be able to distinguish us either.”
Tong Yang’s expression grew complex as she said, “Let the real-world Yan Qing impersonate her and lead us into District One. That’s the best plan. If we aren’t recognized, we can happily obtain the quality gene drugs; if we are recognized, we have the parallel world ‘Yan Qing’ as leverage here. Even if we can’t get the quality gene drugs, it won’t be hard for us to retreat safely. At that time, we can use her to negotiate with District One.”
“But Yan Qing is just an ordinary student; bringing her into this isn’t a good idea.”
Officer Wan, confused, pointed at the unconscious “Yan Qing,” exclaiming, “She’s from the parallel world?”
“Right? Can’t you tell the difference?” Xu Junyue said.
Ye Huai leaned against the wall, breathing lightly, “Bringing her into this isn’t a good idea, but it’s the simplest, lowest-risk method that still leaves us a way out.”
“However, it requires a premise: the parallel world Yan Qing must hold a significant position in her parents’ hearts,” Chu Shiyu said.
Tong Yang looked at the unconscious “Yan Qing” on the ground, pondering for a moment before saying, “I’m not worried about that. The fact that she was raised to be this foolish in the parallel world shows that the instructor of District One never let her come into contact with any danger.”
“What do you plan to do?” Ye Huai asked, looking at her.
Tong Yang took out her phone and said to them, “You all wake her up and ask her what communication tools she uses. Be a bit rough; she responds better to toughness than softness.”
“I’ll call Yan Qing.”
Yan Qing was a night owl, often staying up late to binge-watch shows and play games, so she might not have gone to sleep at this hour.
Tong Yang walked aside and called Yan Qing.
As expected, after a few rings, the call was picked up.
“Tong Yang? Are you looking for me?”
Tong Yang asked, “Aren’t you asleep yet?”
“I’m watching a show! What’s up?”
Tong Yang paused for a few seconds and asked, “Do you think parallel worlds exist?”
Yan Qing firmly replied, “They do! You’re just trying to trick me! Parallel worlds definitely exist! Isn’t Meng Xiao one? I’m about to turn sixteen; do you still think I’m an idiot?”
“If there was an opportunity to enter a parallel world right now, would you be willing?”
“I would! Of course, I would! Tong Yang, are you going to the parallel world? Take me with you! Take me with you!” Yan Qing’s voice was filled with excitement, as if she wanted to fly to Tong Yang’s side immediately. “When are we going? I want to go!”
Tong Yang frowned and said, “Have you seen zombie movies? The parallel world is just like a zombie movie, very dangerous, and you could die at any moment. Can you handle that?”
Yan Qing’s voice became a bit weaker as she asked, “Tong Yang, if it’s that dangerous, why do you want to go?”
“Because something has happened, and if I don’t go, the real world will become very dangerous.”
“Wow! Can we save the world? Then I want to go!”
Tong Yang said helplessly, “It’s not that great. Think carefully; it really is dangerous over there.”
Yan Qing asked, “Tong Yang, didn’t you say you didn’t want me to know about the parallel world?”
“Yeah, but now I need your help.”
There was silence on the phone for a few seconds, and Yan Qing let out a deep breath. Soon, there were rustling sounds, as if she was getting out of bed.
“Where are you? I’m coming to find you now!” Yan Qing’s tone still couldn’t hide her excitement.
“Have you thought it through? You might die, and it’s very scary. But no matter what, I will make sure you come back alive.”
“I trust you! Hurry, hurry, hurry! Where are you?”
The mall was not far from Half Moon Manor, so Tong Yang told her to wait at the entrance of the community while she went to pick her up.
Seeing her hang up, everyone turned their gaze to Tong Yang, asking, “What did she say?”
Tong Yang nodded, “I’m going to pick her up.”
“Okay, we’ll wake her up.”
Tong Yang headed to Half Moon Manor and saw Yan Qing peeking out.
She was carrying a white crossbody bag, casually dressed in a set of leisurewear, with her hair tied in a high ponytail. When she saw Tong Yang walking towards her, she waved her hand vigorously.
“Tong Yang!”
Tong Yang said, “Come out.”
Residents of Half Moon Manor had to swipe their cards to enter and exit, and Yan Qing walked out.
“Where are your parents?”
“They’re not home; Aunt Liu is asleep, but I left her a note. Anyway, I don’t have class tomorrow.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
Tong Yang led her to the mall.
“Are you scared?” Tong Yang asked.
Yan Qing nodded at first, then shook her head, saying, “A little, but not much.”
“But I’m really curious and want to help you!”
Tong Yang shot her a sideways glance, “Be mentally prepared; I’ll let you meet the parallel world version of you first.”
“The parallel world version of me?”
“Yeah.”
The two returned to the mall, where “Yan Qing” had already been woken up.
“This is the only phone; there are no other contact methods! Really!”
“You have to believe me! We’re just like you; most of us also communicate through phones…”
“Yan Qing” was cornered by Xu Junyue, who was blocking her with a watermelon knife, looking like she was about to cry.
“I don’t believe you,” Xu Junyue said firmly.
“You searched me from head to toe; I have nothing left!”
“Then tell me, how did you enter the real world?”
“I can’t say… Wait! You, put the knife down! I can’t tell you this, or I’ll definitely die!”
Xu Junyue raised the watermelon knife, eager to try, saying, “You can’t tell me this? You act like you know a lot, but you don’t know anything when asked?”
“Yan Qing” squatted in the corner, covering her head and shrinking back, “That’s because… that’s because…”
“Tong Yang! Save me!”
Seeing Tong Yang and the others walking side by side, “Yan Qing” immediately looked like she had seen a savior.
“Huh? You’re back?”
Xu Junyue turned to look, and “Yan Qing” took the opportunity to slip past her.
“Tong Yang…”
Suddenly, seeing the shocked expression on the real Yan Qing next to Tong Yang, her voice froze.
The two Yan Qings stared at each other in surprise, unable to speak.
The others also shifted their gazes between the two.
“They look exactly the same.”
“I can’t tell them apart at all.”
“Don’t say we can’t; I bet even her parents wouldn’t recognize her.”
“Yan Qing” had traveled back and forth between the two worlds, aiming to meet Liang Xi, and had never encountered her other self before. Now, she realized that even the moles on their bodies were identical.
Yan Qing stared in disbelief, “You’re the parallel world version of me?”
“You’re the Shadow World version of me?”
“Wow! You look so much like me!”
“You look so much like me too!”
Tong Yang’s gaze shifted between the two, only able to judge which world they came from by their clothing. Perhaps Yan Qing could fool her parents in the parallel world and obtain the quality gene drugs from them.
At that time, they could switch them without anyone noticing and return to their respective worlds.
“Tell me what you know,” Tong Yang said.
“Yan Qing” wrinkled her nose and said, “I don’t know much; my parents usually don’t let me get involved in these things.”
“Then let me ask a simple question: how can we get the quality gene drugs?”
“Yan Qing” furrowed her brows, seeming to find it a bit difficult. After hesitating for a long time, she didn’t speak.
Xu Junyue paused her knife-sharpening motion, stepping a couple of paces closer to her.
“In my dad’s safe!” She looked at Xu Junyue in fear and suddenly shouted.
Xu Junyue showed a regretful expression, returning to the wall to sharpen her knife, the sound of metal scraping against the wall sharp and piercing. “Yan Qing” felt as if she was sharpening her own bones.
“Where is the safe?”
“Yan Qing” shrank her neck, hiding behind Tong Yang, as if she felt safer with her than with Xu Junyue.
Seeing this, Xu Junyue shook her head disdainfully, not knowing who was safer.
“I, I…”
She stammered and hesitated.
Tong Yang’s patience was wearing thin. Even though they had brought Meng Ting back to the real world and stopped the cooperation between the parallel world and the Meng family, they still didn’t know how things were going with Officer Lin and whether the negotiations with the Meng family were going smoothly. It was better to get the quality gene drugs as soon as possible.
“I won’t tell you, but… ah!”
“Yan Qing” finished her first sentence, and Tong Yang, as if performing a magic trick, pulled out a dagger and expressionlessly stabbed it towards her eye. The movement was so quick that “Yan Qing” didn’t even have time to blink, the tip of the knife almost hovering over her eyeball.
Her breath stopped, her body froze in place, and she was drenched in cold sweat, not daring to move.
“…I can take you there.”
She reflexively completed the sentence she hadn’t had the chance to say.
Yan Qing was startled by her sudden action and quickly reacted, gleefully saying, “I advise you not to beat around the bush; just answer whatever Tong Yang asks.”
“Where is the safe?” Tong Yang’s expression was neutral, her hand holding the knife showing no signs of trembling.
“Yan Qing” swallowed hard, originally wanting to negotiate with Tong Yang, but now, let alone negotiating, she felt that the woman with the watermelon knife might be even gentler than Tong Yang.
“In my dad’s study.”
Tong Yang put the dagger away and asked, “What’s the password for the safe?”
“I don’t know…”
Tong Yang shot her a cold glance.
“I swear! I really don’t know! My dad only has one quality gene drug left, and I never asked for the password; I don’t need that thing!”
Seeing her panicking to the point of tears, it seemed she wasn’t lying.
But without the password for the safe, they would have to let her dad open it personally to get the gene drugs.
Tong Yang pondered other solutions, her expression inscrutable.
“Yan Qing” was probably scared, thinking she was brewing some bad idea, weakly saying, “You can also open it with a key.”
“Where’s the key?”
“My dad carries it with him all the time.”
Tong Yang frowned. To get the key, Yan Qing would have to come into close contact with her parallel world dad, which was too risky for them.
“I, I can help you get the key,” she said cautiously.
If she could return to her dad’s side, she certainly wouldn’t help these terrifying people get any safe keys; she would immediately have her dad capture them instead, making them stop scaring her!
Tong Yang looked at her with a half-smile, “Your little thoughts are all written on your face.”
“No, no! I didn’t think of anything!”
Tong Yang said, “Give up; I won’t let you return to the parallel world until I get the quality gene drugs.”
“Yan Qing” pouted, her eyes turning red, muttering, “You’re all bad people; I didn’t do anything wrong; I just came to find Liang Xi to play.”
“You did something wrong.” Tong Yang’s gaze turned cold. “Crossing the boundary between worlds recklessly and entering our world is your mistake.”
“Yan Qing” was taken aback, slowly lowering her head as tears began to fall one by one.
“Where is your home?”
“Yan Qing” turned her head away, mumbling, “My home has surveillance everywhere. If you want to go directly to my house from the Shadow World, you might as well give up; you’ll be discovered immediately.”
“How can we enter your house openly?”
“Yan Qing” looked back at Tong Yang, sniffing, and quietly complained, “Why are you so fierce?”
She pointed to her backpack, “I have an identity card that allows me to enter and exit any place in District One freely, and as long as I have it, no one dares to hurt me.”
“This?” Chu Shiyu took out a golden identity card from the backpack.
“That’s it! The front has a raised red button; as long as you press it, my parents will know I’m in danger, and they’ll come to rescue me.”
Tong Yang took the identity card, feeling its weight; it should have a positioning function.
“Why didn’t you press it?” Tong Yang asked.
“Yan Qing” lowered her head, mumbling, “I didn’t have the chance! Besides, my parents don’t know I sneaked out; they usually don’t let me go out.”
“Isn’t there surveillance at your house?”
“The surveillance is to prevent intrusions, not to monitor me specifically.”
Tong Yang looked at the golden identity card, thinking it might come in handy, and put it in her own backpack.
“I’ll give you an hour to draw the locations of District One and your home, and tell her everything you know.”
“Yan Qing” widened her eyes, “You want her to replace me?”
“Yeah, until we get the quality gene drugs. Before that, you’ll have to stay here. If we encounter any accidents, you won’t escape either. Even if your body can recover, we can make your life worse than death. So, you wouldn’t want to play any tricks and deliberately give us false information, right?”
Tong Yang tapped her face with the knife blade, smiling, “Be obedient, and after we succeed, I’ll let you go back.”
“Yan Qing” shrank back in fear, asking, “Will you really let me go back?”
If she could safely return home, wasn’t that worth one quality gene drug? What was more important than her life? Even if her body could recover, the pain was still real.
Tong Yang’s expression was indifferent, “If you listen, I won’t hurt you.”
“Okay…”
She had Officer Wan bring paper and a pen, which Tong Yang handed to her, then stepped back to watch the two.
Yan Qing didn’t seem scared; instead, she appeared somewhat excited, which made Tong Yang feel a bit more at ease.
She was feeling a bit tired, leaning against the wall to sit down.
Ye Huai stood next to her, sipping hot water from a thermos while taking out two black pills and swallowing them with the hot water.
“Are you okay?” Tong Yang asked.
Ye Huai nodded, pursing his lips, “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“The air over there isn’t too good, right?”
“I brought two bottles of oxygen, just in case.”
“Oh.”
Tong Yang propped up one leg, resting her elbow on her knee, and supported her chin, thoughtfully watching Yan Qing and “Yan Qing.”
Two similar-looking young girls, both innocent and naive, shared many personality traits, and unlike others, they didn’t exhibit mutual wariness or hostility. One spoke, and the other listened, creating an eerily harmonious scene.
To be honest, Tong Yang hadn’t expected to find a “Yan Qing” who was normal amidst the chaos and bloodshed of the parallel world.
Meng Xiao was about the same age as her and had long since grown accustomed to the harshness of reality; she probably didn’t even know how much blood of her kind she had on her hands.
“Tong Yang, Officer Lin has negotiated with the Meng family and can give us a few days. By midnight on September 6th, we need to have the gene drugs in hand.”
Tong Yang nodded slightly, asking, “Does the Meng family have any conditions?”
“Officer Lin said they just want to cure Meng Ting’s illness; it doesn’t matter who they trade with, but they can prioritize us.”
“Okay.” Tong Yang replied, not saying anything further.
It was now the early morning of September 4th, with nearly three days left. If things went smoothly, they might even obtain the quality gene drugs today.
“If things go well, will you let her go back?” Ye Huai asked.
“Yeah.”
“She has high research value; perhaps it could yield some results for Bureau 749.”
Tong Yang said, “Sometimes, it’s best to know when to stop. If we don’t end this matter, the ongoing danger will surround Yan Qing, which is like inviting disaster.”
“Even so, District One might not let you go.”
“They never intended to let me go.”
Ye Huai said, “Is it because you’re the time anchor point?”
Tong Yang shot him a glance, “Yeah.”
After a pause of a few seconds, Ye Huai asked, “Is everything for self-preservation?”
“Yes, is that strange?”
Ye Huai looked down at the reflection on his thermos, his expression indifferent, “What if it could be transferred?”
“What?” Tong Yang was taken aback.
Ye Huai said, “The anchor point can be reset, so they won’t be fixated on you anymore.”
Tong Yang shook her head, “I don’t know.”
If the anchor point could be transferred, shouldn’t she be the most suitable candidate?
Tong Yang didn’t think too much about it and closed her eyes to rest.
She didn’t know how much time had passed when the two people nearby stopped talking.
Chu Shiyu, who had been understanding the situation with Yan Qing, walked over to them.
“Tong Yang, we’re ready.”
