Chapter Sixty-One: Negative Consequences

Chapter Sixty-One

After such an incident, it was naturally impossible for Mei to continue staying in her old room. Uncle Yu quickly had another room prepared for her to rest.

Mei sat propped up on the bed, rubbing her forehead in frustration. The appearance of that man had stirred up relentless waves of hatred and fear, memories of her own death at his hands constantly tormenting her nerves. In order to integrate more memories, scenes from her last moments kept flashing through her mind, forcing her to relive the process from dying to death again and again.

Though she had experienced much in another world, death itself was a first, leaving her deeply unsettled. The emotions she had felt at the brink of death were far too complex, and even with her strong mental fortitude, she found the experience overwhelmingly unpleasant.

Outside her room, Ye Jingxuan and the others had gathered in Mo Chen's quarters, demanding an explanation.

"Who is that doctor? Why did he try to kill Mei?" Ye Jingxuan asked directly, wasting no words.

"You heard it yourself, didn’t you? They consider Little Mei a failed experiment, so they sent someone to eliminate and reclaim her. Actually, I’m the same. They’ve tried to get rid of me a few times too, but I managed to slip away each time," Mo Chen replied with his usual languid tone, yet his face betrayed not the slightest hint of emotion.

He half-reclined on the bed, eyes fixed on a spot on the ceiling, arms folded across his chest, unwilling to let slip even a trace of feeling.

"They used you for human experiments?" An Ziyou asked hoarsely, his voice tinged with shock.

"Why is that so strange? Human experimentation exists in every country; the outside world just isn’t aware of it," Mo Chen said calmly.

His words were placid, but the others could not muster the same composure. Ye Jingxuan in particular had seen firsthand the cruelty of human experiments. If not for tonight’s events, he would never have imagined his Mei had endured such horrors.

No wonder she never wanted to talk about her past—how could she possibly bear to recall such a cruel, painful, and dark history? No wonder she’d said that no one had cared if she was hurt or in pain; no wonder she knew so much about specialized subjects but lacked basic everyday knowledge; no wonder Mo Chen’s face had looked so unpleasant when Qu Wenyuan had raised her questions. After all those experiments, how could anyone remain normal?

Moreover...

Remembering that she had been injected with a gene-chain disruption agent, Ye Jingxuan felt his heart clench. Could there be hidden dangers in her body?

The others, though they hadn’t witnessed the brutality of human experiments, had at least heard of some notorious cases in history. Even just pictures and written reports from laboratories were enough to make them understand the horror of such trials and the tragic fate of those subjected to them.

They had never imagined that someone by their side had lived through such things. Their feelings grew impossibly tangled.

Lacking firsthand experience, they could not truly empathize with Mei and Mo Chen’s suffering. Yet as friends and companions, they were shocked, angry, and worried on their behalf. Having received so much help from the two of them, they now felt a desperate urge to do something for them, however small, if only to show their own goodwill and solidarity.

Only now did Qu Wenyuan understand why there was always an impenetrable air around Mei and Mo Chen, and finally realized how irreplaceable Mei was in Mo Chen’s heart. No one else could possibly comprehend what those experiences had done to him.

She racked her brain for details from the book, but though many labs and human experiments had been mentioned, both within the country and abroad, she had no idea which one Mei and Mo Chen had come from—the book hadn’t specified. In fact, most of the content about this period had only been touched on briefly to highlight the protagonists’ accomplishments, so she had nothing useful to offer.

"Mei’s body won’t have any problems, will it?" An Ziyou, who knew little about genetics, asked worriedly, recalling Mei’s altered genes.

"I don’t know. My specialty is mechanical modification, not genetics," Mo Chen shook his head.

Whether gene alteration was good or bad, he wasn’t sure. His concern for Mei’s health was no less than anyone else’s.

"Is there anyone you know who’s an expert in this area? What about Mei herself—does she know?" An Ziyou pressed on.

"Her strengths are in computers and mental powers. As for genetics, among our group, probably only Number Three is any good at it," Mo Chen said after some thought.

"Number Three? No name?" Qu Wenyuan asked. If she had a name, perhaps she could recall where that person was, but with only a code number, she was at a loss. No one in the book was referred to by a code!

"Name? Who would give us test subjects names?" Mo Chen’s lips twisted in self-mockery.

He spoke the truth, but his words made the others feel even worse.

"Where is Number Three?" Ye Jingxuan asked.

No name was fine, as long as they knew where to find this person.

"I don’t know. Of those who escaped, apart from Mei, I have no idea where any of the others are."

After escaping, everyone had scattered and lost contact. The only reason he knew where Mei was, was because he’d once accidentally been assigned to investigate her. The others had all hidden themselves well; he had no way of knowing where they were.

That made things difficult! With no name and unknown whereabouts, where were they supposed to find this Number Three? Ye Jingxuan turned expectantly to Qu Wenyuan, hoping she, as a “prophet,” might know something.

But Qu Wenyuan racked her brains and couldn’t recall any character in the book who excelled at genetics. Meeting Ye Jingxuan’s gaze, she could only shake her head helplessly.

With no immediate solution, they could only set the problem aside for now—but all kept it in mind, resolving to pay attention to any information on this front in the future.

Sleep eluded many that night, and when Mei rose groggily in the morning, she found that everyone else seemed equally worn out.

"Didn’t you all sleep well?" Mei asked in confusion.

She wasn’t the only one attacked, and the threat had already been dealt with. So why did everyone seem preoccupied, as if something had happened without her knowledge?

"We’re fine, but what about you? Didn’t sleep well?" Mo Chen asked with concern, taking in her haggard, listless look.

"Mm. Every time I close my eyes I keep thinking of unpleasant things—sleep was just miserable," Mei replied, her voice sounding a little aggrieved and pitiable.

Mo Chen guessed she’d been triggered by the man from last night, haunted again by memories of her near-death. He drew her into his arms, gently patting her back in comfort. "It’s all over now. Nothing like that will happen to you again."

"Mm," Mei answered softly. Whether or not he could keep that promise, at least in this moment, held in his arms, she felt safe.

As her emotions calmed, drowsiness crept in again, and Mei, leaning against Mo Chen, unwittingly fell asleep.

Feeling the steady rhythm of her breathing, Mo Chen looked down to see she was already asleep. He picked her up and carried her back to her room.

No sooner had he left than Mei woke up again. She closed her eyes, opened them, then closed them once more. With a sigh, she sat up, ran a hand through her hair, and got out of bed.

Downstairs, Ye Jingxuan, Mo Chen, and the others were discussing supplies. Seeing her come down, everyone froze for a moment.

"Still can’t sleep?" Mo Chen asked, frowning.

"Huh? Oh, well, there’s still work to do today, isn’t there? I’ll sleep after it’s all done," Mei replied vaguely.

The last time her emotions had been this turbulent, she’d lost the ability to sleep, and only listening to An Ziyou’s voice had calmed her enough. This time, things were even worse. Although being in Mo Chen’s arms had soothed her, as soon as he left, the unease returned.

The memory integration was almost complete; fragments of memories kept surfacing, causing wild fluctuations in her mental strength and leaving her emotions hypersensitive. Even feelings she’d previously ignored now rose to the surface. To make matters worse, the fragment of the Source of Darkness she carried—though not yet absorbed—still resided in her spiritual world, greatly amplifying her negative emotions. She was unable to suppress the chaos within.

She should have listened to Dilo’s advice and started with the Source of Light or the Source of Life. That way, even if her emotions were affected, they wouldn’t all be negative.

But the Source of Light and Source of Life weren’t things one could find just by wishing, were they?

Mei slumped dejectedly onto the sofa, her listless appearance making the others ache with sympathy.

"If you’re not feeling well, just rest here on the sofa. There’s no rush. When you’re better, we can get back to work," Ye Jingxuan said gently, unable to bear seeing her like this.

"It’s fine. My mental state is just a bit unstable. I’ll recover in a while. It’s nothing serious. You all go ahead—where do you plan to sort the supplies?" Mei waved a weak hand, signaling them not to worry and to continue their discussion.

Seeing she was unwilling to rest, Ye Jingxuan sped things up, returning to the previous topic. "The meat products are still in the spatial storage for now; there’s no cold storage at home, so we can’t keep them long. Today, we’ll sort out everything brought back from the port, decide what to keep and what to turn in for tasks. It’s best to finish the tasks quickly, to avoid any complications."

"Alright, where should we do the sorting?" someone asked.

"The underground training hall—it’s spacious enough," came the reply.

The six of them headed to the underground training hall together.

It was the usual morning training time, and today was no exception. Since he needed help moving things, Ye Jingxuan hadn’t dismissed anyone. Everyone present was well-tested and completely trustworthy; he had no fear of leaks. Uncle Yu was there too—as the butler, he needed to be fully informed to manage future arrangements. Ye Jingnan, having heard about today’s supply sorting, had skipped work just to join in the fun.

Ye Jingxuan, An Ziyou, Qu Wenyuan, and Lin Shaojie took turns emptying their spatial storage. Their spaces weren’t large, so each had brought back less, making it easier to sort. Still, when all four had emptied their stores, the piles formed a small mountain.

Sacks of rice and flour brought delight to the Ye family members present; with these supplies, they wouldn’t need to worry about hunger for a while.

When they saw the crates of premium cigarettes, alcohol, and tea, Ye Jingnan grew excited as well. He hadn’t smelled tobacco or tasted alcohol in ages—he’d been craving them so much he’d nearly gone mad.

Uncle Yu grinned from ear to ear at the sight of tea leaves. He and Ye Shitian both loved tea, but the household’s supply had long run out. Now, finally, they could indulge again.

Everyone thought these supplies were already plentiful—until Mo Chen emptied his own storage, revealing far more than all four of them combined.

Smiles froze on everyone’s faces.

No wonder Ye Jingxuan had said the harvest was considerable—he hadn’t been exaggerating in the slightest!