Chapter 108: A Show of Authority

Chapter 108

After a long standoff, Ling Feng finally made a concession.

"Fine, you may accompany her inside, but there is one condition: once inside, no one is permitted to leave until the treatment is concluded. Is that acceptable?" Ling Feng said, adjusting his glasses.

"No problem!" Mo Chen was determined to stay by Mei's side regardless of the circumstances, so he agreed immediately without a second thought.

Ye Jingxuan agreed just a step behind him.

"Aren't you going back to Changyang? That Situ Huang has been spreading rumors of your death, intending to exploit the situation. Aren't you worried the Ye family might fall into his trap?" Mo Chen asked, looking at Ye Jingxuan.

"The Ye family won't fall," Ye Jingxuan stated with absolute certainty.

Not to mention that the Ye family was no longer what it once was, their 200 ability users were enough to keep them invincible against the other three families. More importantly, he was merely the heir to the family head, not the head himself. With his father inside and Ye Jingnan outside, his presence was not strictly necessary.

"I'll go too. Although I can't be of much help, I can help stabilize Mei'er's mental energy!" An Ziyou stepped forward at this moment.

Considering the unique nature of his ability, Mei might actually need him, so Mo Chen raised no objections.

"I'll go too. I can't do much, but I can at least run errands!"

"Mei'er is a girl, after all. There are some things I can handle much more conveniently than you men!"

Lin Shaojie and Qu Wenyuan also expressed their desire to join.

"Suit yourselves."

Mo Chen glanced at the two of them. Although he claimed it was none of his business, he was touched. At the same time, he felt a deeper sense of recognition toward them.

The matter was decided.

When Mei woke from her slumber, Mo Chen and Ye Jingxuan had already prepared a wheelchair lined with thick, soft blankets. They lifted her onto it before pushing her toward the vehicle sent by the research institute.

The vehicle was an ambulance, common before the apocalypse; it was spacious enough to accommodate all of them.

Ling Feng accompanied them to the institute. After all, the matter concerned the contract binding him, so he had to keep a close watch.

The institute was located in a remote part of the base. It was heavily guarded, surrounded by electric fences, surveillance cameras, and various sensors to prevent unauthorized entry.

After getting out of the car, Mei immediately felt over a dozen mental probes locking onto her and the others. She swept a gaze over the hidden figures without revealing any emotion, raised an eyebrow, and remained silent.

Mo Chen, Ye Jingxuan, and An Ziyou, who possessed higher mental energy, also sensed these probes. They glanced toward the hidden ability users with varying degrees of intention. The others showed no particular reaction, but Mo Chen looked at Ling Feng with a smirk, while the latter remained as calm as ever.

Lin Shaojie and Qu Wenyuan, whose mental energy was not as high, only felt the sensation of being watched without knowing where the observers were. They felt incredibly uncomfortable and kept glancing around.

Upon arriving at the Human Research Department, they were greeted by two middle-aged researchers.

"You must be Mei. Please follow us; we will conduct a comprehensive physical examination immediately!" Perhaps researchers lacked social graces, as they skipped all pleasantries and went straight to the point.

One of them reached for the wheelchair, but Mo Chen blocked him.

"Where is the examination? I will accompany her."

The researcher paused, as if only then noticing the others, and looked at the five people beside the wheelchair. "That is fine, but only one person may enter. The rest must wait outside. Too many people will interfere with our work!"

Mo Chen nodded in agreement, and the others raised no objection.

The examination process was complex, with various instruments scanning her body from head to toe, inside and out.

The scanning was fine; apart from being a nuisance, it didn't bother Mei. However, when it came to drawing blood, she encountered trouble.

Because her skin had become thin, the veins in her arm were clearly visible, saving the researchers the trouble of searching for them. But as soon as the researcher grabbed her arm, before a needle was even inserted, her skin began to ooze blood, and her arm showed signs of deformation. It sent a chill down Mo Chen's spine and terrified the researcher.

Seeing that the arm was bleeding too profusely to inject the needle, the researcher had no choice but to ask for her other arm.

Mei frowned without a word, but Mo Chen was displeased.

"Do you even know how to draw blood? If not, get someone who does. We came here for treatment, not to be your practice dummies." Mo Chen spoke rudely while pulling gauze from his storage space to bandage Mei.

"I—I've drawn blood from others before! Besides, this isn't my responsibility!" Under the pressure of Mo Chen's presence, the researcher's legs trembled, yet he retorted defiantly.

"I don't care how many people you've bled before. Mei'er is not one of your test subjects that you can toss around as you please. If you cannot heal her and instead cause her condition to worsen, I will make you experience exactly what it feels like to be a test subject! I mean what I say. Don't count on those hidden ability users to save you; I don't think much of them at all!" Mo Chen glared at all the researchers with murderous intent.

Fearing they didn't believe him, Mo Chen unleashed the full pressure of a Level 6 lightning-ability user. In an instant, the researchers—who were either ordinary people or low-level ability users—collapsed to the floor, looking at Mo Chen in terror.

Simultaneously, alarms blared throughout the institute, and the doors were kicked open. Ye Jingxuan and the others rushed in first. Seeing Mo Chen's aura, they immediately surrounded him and Mei, their abilities flickering as they prepared for battle. Behind them, security guards led by Ling Feng arrived, weapons aimed at Mo Chen and his group.

The two sides stood at daggers drawn, the atmosphere tense; the slightest movement would spark a conflict.

"What is happening here?" Ling Feng ignored the tension and asked calmly, adjusting his glasses.

"Major Ling, I believe we made it very clear: we are here for medical treatment, not to be your experimental materials! Surely you haven't forgotten?" Mo Chen said with a smirk upon hearing him speak.

"Of course not! According to our agreement, you help me complete my mission, and Longsheng will find a way to treat the hidden dangers in your bodies!" Ling Feng repeated the terms, indicating he hadn't forgotten.

"Yet the people here clearly don't think so. Or perhaps you didn't make it clear to them?"

Hearing this, the others understood what had happened and glared angrily at the researchers. Ye Jingxuan, in particular, having witnessed the environment in which Mei had been raised, now despised the word "experiment" above all else. Hearing Mo Chen, his own energy pressure erupted, rising steadily until it matched Mo Chen's.

His ability had actually leveled up under this pressure!

The combined power of two Level 6 ability users was not to be underestimated. The researchers were the first to take the hit and promptly fainted. Ling Feng and the security guards were forced to activate their own abilities just to remain standing.

Other staff in the institute, even those not in the room, were affected to varying degrees, causing many unfinished experiments to be destroyed. This chaos naturally drew more people rushing toward them with weapons.

"That's enough of a lesson. If you scare them too much, who will dare to treat me?"

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Mei spoke lazily.

At her words, Mo Chen and Ye Jingxuan immediately retracted their aura.

"Major Ling, since you know our background, you should know how much Ah Chen and I detest being used for experiments. Regardless of whether you explained it to them or not, if their attitude remains like this in the future, I cannot guarantee what might happen!" Mei yawned, speaking in a languid tone.

Although today's events hadn't crossed her threshold of tolerance, since Mo Chen and the others had stepped up for her, she naturally had to back them up.

However, her current appearance lacked any real sense of intimidation.

Ling Feng remained silent, looking at her with a pale face, his gaze filled with assessment and scrutiny.

"What? Seeing me in this state, do you think I'm no longer dangerous?" Mei asked with a sudden smile as the man remained silent.

Ling Feng did not respond, clearly tacitly agreeing.

The main reason he had agreed to provide treatment to her and Mo Chen was her extraordinary combat prowess and the value of her light-based ability. He had hoped to keep them in Longsheng and use them, or at least extract benefits.

But now, in her current state, she appeared to have no combat value. Her remaining worth was outweighed by the potential danger she posed. She was like a fuse; one careless move could cause everyone around her to explode.

Keeping such a person at the base clearly brought more harm than good.

Seeing him acknowledge her words, Mei’s smile vanished, and her eyes turned sharp. Simultaneously, a powerful surge of energy emanated from her, covering the entire sky above the institute. It didn't stop there, expanding until it enveloped the entire base!

"Major Ling, I know you don't care about your own life, so that contract doesn't hold much power over you. But I wonder, do you also not care about the lives of everyone in the Longsheng base?"

Although she was sitting in a wheelchair, the pressure she exerted was immense. Everyone present felt it deeply: their lives were now hanging by a thread, controlled by her every whim.