Chapter 465: Unqualified Genes |
Guan Tong waited at the entrance of Base No. 2 for nearly half an hour before Zhang Minglu finally came out, a faint smile still lingering on his face.
"Looks like you two had a good talk," Guan Tong said.
"Heh, indeed!" Zhang Minglu replied with satisfaction. "As Suroma's former official chief Ascendant, Adam knows a lot of valuable, important intel. Of course, in exchange, Beixing will provide him with whatever help we can offer."
Guan Tong raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Is Beixing going to help him rescue his family?"
Zhang Minglu's expression froze, and he awkwardly shook his head. "That's definitely out of the question. According to him, his wife and child are both critical—especially that child, the super genius. Bruce will undoubtedly have them under the tightest security possible. Their location will be top-secret, and even Beixing's intelligence department can't dig that up. Besides..."
Zhang Minglu let out a sigh. "Ah, besides, there's no way the Beixing government would demand their extradition from Suroma over this. Worse, if Suroma's officials find out Adam is here, they could demand we send him back under the extradition agreement. If we refuse, relations will sour immediately, and some close collaborations might take a hit... Don't forget, Suroma is this year's chair of the Human Consortium. If things get too ugly, it'll be very disadvantageous for us."
"Extradition agreement?" Guan Tong frowned. "Adam isn't a criminal, is he?"
"Whether a Suroman is a criminal or not isn't for Beixing to decide—it's defined by Suroma's authorities. You know the current situation. Humanity has to stay united; we can't afford internal conflict. So Adam's identity needs to stay at the previous secrecy level, to avoid giving Suroma any leverage."
Guan Tong nodded, understanding that this was the only option for now.
"His body... I remember when Silver Fox's arm was cut off by Lucifer back then, she recovered fully, didn't she? That healer..."
"Different situation," Zhang Minglu said. "Silver Fox's severed arm was still intact. For her recovery, we reattached the arm and used abilities to aid nerve reconnection. But Adam's missing body parts—you didn't bring them back."
"..."
Guan Tong thought to himself, "They were blown to dust. How was I supposed to bring them back?"
That made sense. One was reattaching a severed limb; the other was regrowing one from scratch. The difficulty levels weren't even on the same scale.
Just then, Guan Tong suddenly remembered someone—Jiang Ming, the grandson of Big Sister Jiang Lanying, whom he'd fought before.
Back then, at Yongzhou Base, Guan Tong had used Shadow to sever Jiang Ming's legs. At the last second, Jiang Ming had used a teleportation-type item to escape with his life, but his legs were left behind. Later, when they met again in battle, Jiang Ming's legs had already fully recovered.
"I do recall a healer who could regenerate lost limbs—though it might've been an item they used," Guan Tong said.
"Oh? A Beixing native?"
"Probably. And that person is very likely one of Big Sister's underlings."
When Zhang Minglu heard Guan Tong mention "Big Sister," the corner of his mouth twitched. "Her people were all rounded up after the Falling Blossoms Operation. We didn't find anyone with that kind of ability among them."
"Rounded up?" Guan Tong's tone carried a hint of displeasure.
"...Almost all of them," Zhang Minglu said awkwardly.
If they'd truly been completely wiped out, the incident with Wei Huo and Han Qiu conspiring to kill Suzuki wouldn't have happened.
"If that person really is her subordinate and escaped your investigation, they must be deeply hidden. Finding them won't be easy."
"Yeah. If it comes to that, we'll fit him with a prosthetic for now," Zhang Minglu said. "Prosthetic tech is very advanced these days. With medication, we can keep rejection reactions to a minimum. It won't be as flexible as a real limb, but it's better than nothing."
Then he suddenly brought up another person. "Guan Tong, do you know 'Scarface'?"
"That new alpha wolf of the Three Beasts Army? I watched the livestream, so of course I know him. By the way, the Human Consortium got shaken down for millions of Ascension Coins. They must be planning to get them back."
"Of course," Zhang Minglu informed him. "Actually, on the morning the rule ended, the Human Consortium raided the Three Beasts Army's headquarters. But all they caught were small fry—no sign of Scarface. According to his subordinates, Scarface took the Ascension Coins and quietly slipped away from the base. Suspected to have used a teleportation-type item to make his escape."
Guan Tong found it amusing. "Looks like this Scarface is pretty clever. He knew the Human Consortium would come after him eventually, so he bailed early. But was it worth it? Without the Three Beasts Army, unless he finds a new patron or starts his own organization, his future development is bound to decline."
The biggest feature of the alpha wolf system was that a lone wolf dies, but a pack survives. Without the pack and flock to support him, the alpha's resources would dwindle, and his overall strength would rapidly decline compared to other top-tier Ascendants who relied only on themselves.
"Scarface is indeed smart. I think he actually bought into that 'individual awakening' theory the Dialoguer was pushing. He figured the pack was useless, so he ditched them and ran off with the cash. Right now, every nation considers him a dangerous man. Think about it—if he's bold enough to extort the Human Consortium, what bad thing wouldn't he dare do? Suroma, in particular, has put a hefty bounty on his head."
Guan Tong wasn't surprised. Scarface had, in front of a global audience, wolf-shifted and bitten off a Suroman officer's head in one bite. If Suroma didn't react, that would be far more unbelievable.
Now that they couldn't find Scarface, Suroma was taking out its anger on the Three Beasts Army's members. Word was that Scarface's direct subordinates had been brutally interrogated, and many others had been executed by firing squad... By the way, Adam must have told you about 'genetic stacking,' right? What do you think? Any thoughts?"
Zhang Minglu's topic jump was so abrupt that Guan Tong didn't catch on right away.
"What thoughts?"
"Heh, come on. Thoughts about kids, obviously."
"..."
Zhang Minglu chuckled. "I was just asking. Look at Adam and his wife—they got lucky and had a super genius baby. If you found a suitable partner with a high base Mind Power upper limit, maybe you could..."
"My genes probably aren't qualified," Guan Tong interrupted.
"You're not qualified? How is that possible? You're the world's number one Ascendant! Your genes are even better than Adam's!"
Zhang Minglu thought Guan Tong was being modest, but his expression suggested otherwise. And based on what he knew about Guan Tong, the kid rarely showed humility. He usually accepted praise without question.
Actually, Guan Tong wasn't lying.
His initial Mind Power was 96 points, rated as merely ordinary.
According to Adam, the minimum requirement for entering Eden Island was 100 points, with a rating of "Excellent" for Ascendants to pass. In other words, if Guan Tong were a Suroman, he wouldn't have qualified to set foot on the island at all.
Guan Tong knew very well that his current strength had nothing to do with his base Mind Power. It all came down to the Wordless Book's powerful versatility and the lucky encounters he'd stumbled into.
"Even if I were qualified, I wouldn't consider that kind of issue anytime soon," Guan Tong said seriously. "I personally don't agree with bringing a new life into a world like this. This era is far too dangerous. And the more of a super genius a newborn is, the more they'll become a target for others. Their situation would be several times more dangerous than an ordinary child's."
"Hmm... That's true, I guess. But as someone who deals with Ascendants every day, I'd love to have a super genius baby to train up myself."
"Then go find someone else."
"You think I haven't tried? They all say the same thing you do—that they'll only consider having kids after surviving all the Doomsday Rules." Zhang Minglu shook his head. "Forget it. I'll just give up on that dream. I'm heading back to the main base. Contact me if anything comes up."
...
When Guan Tong returned to the shelter, he thought over Adam's reply once more.
In response to his invitation, Adam had only expressed his gratitude and interest, but said that until he rescued his wife and child, he had no mind for anything else—including exploring the unknown.
Guan Tong understood. If he were in Adam's shoes, he probably wouldn't do anything else either, except focus all his efforts on the rescue.
That was precisely why he wanted to avoid such a situation at all costs.
Don't wait for disaster to strike before fixing things. Nip danger in the bud before it sprouts. That was what it meant to have a sense of risk.
So now, what were the dangers sprouting in his own life?
Guan Tong sat down at the shelter's doorway after returning, pondering this question with a flicker in his eyes.
"The Prophet, leader of the parasitized forms, and Han Qiu, the remnants of Big Sister's old faction. These two are currently the most hostile toward me. They'll stop at nothing, and given the chance, they'll definitely try to kill me... So I need to strike first. I can't drag my feet and let them find an opening against me."
"But right now, both of their whereabouts are a mystery. The Prophet broke through the defensive line and vanished after escaping Black Flag Country. Han Qiu slipped away from the Countermeasures Research Office without leaving a single trace."
Finding people with no leads...
Guan Tong thought, "Am I going to have to go see her again?"
"Her" naturally referred to the Moon Key.
Last time, she had predicted Wei Huo's appearance in Yunhua City. Though there was no exact time, Wei Huo did show up. After several days of lying low, Guan Tong had successfully caught her and obtained crucial intel about the mastermind behind the scenes, Han Qiu.
So, could he do it again? Go to the Moon Key and ask her to predict the whereabouts of the Prophet or Han Qiu? But these two were definitely far stronger than Wei Huo. Predicting their locations probably wouldn't be easy... Regardless, it was worth a try.
I remember that when we parted ways last time, the Moon Key told me she was leaving New Covenant City and heading to the Algan Grasslands to join some tribe that worshiped a natural lifestyle. She said if I wanted to find her, I should look there...
Guan Tong considered for a moment and decided to wait until the twentieth Doomsday Rule was announced.
This interval period was short—only seven days. Setting out now would be a bit rushed. He'd rather wait for the new rule to be released, make sure he could pass it smoothly, and then go find the Moon Key to commission a prophecy.