MCL CH118

Chapter 118: Still say it’s not a face-to-face ultimate move!…

Upon arriving at the Central Research Institute, Lin Xi saw the figure waiting there from afar.

Lin Xi was not surprised that Shen Nanyang would come to pick him up personally. After all, in every aspect, today’s invitation was like a Hongmen Banquet. When he decided to accept the invitation, he had already made all the preparations.

“Director Lin, I’m glad you were willing to take the time to come over amidst your busy schedule.” After meeting, Shen Nanyang’s attitude was as polite as ever. He led Lin Xi inside. “After you two left last time, I’ve been keeping an eye on No. 2245’s condition. Currently, all her indicators are relatively stable. Her family member is very grateful to you and insists on thanking you in person.”

Shen Nanyang extended his hand and pointed to a figure in the distance. “He’s been waiting for you there for a long time.”

Not far away, a small figure stood among a group of staff members, looking very conspicuous.

As Shen Nanyang spoke, the little boy waiting there also noticed Lin Xi’s arrival. Before the two could get close, he had already run over quickly. “Big brother, you’re here!”

“Mhm, I’m here.” Lin Xi’s face had instantly changed to a very gentle smile. After the boy got close, he naturally ruffled his hair. “How is it? I didn’t lie to you last time, did I? Is your mom okay now?”

“Mhm, she’s fine for now.” When the little boy smiled, two canine teeth showed. The use of “for now” was unexpectedly precise. “Anyway, thank you. If there’s a chance, I will definitely work like an ox and horse to repay you!”

Lin Xi coughed lightly. “Did you learn your idioms from a certain contaminant?”

[???]

The little boy: “Huh?”

“Nothing,” Lin Xi smiled. “Anyway, I’ve received your thanks. Go back and stay with your mom. Professor Shen and I still have things to do. I’ll come find you to play next time I have a chance.”

“Okay.” The little boy looked at Lin Xi, then at Shen Nanyang beside him, bowed politely, and turned to leave.

Watching the small figure being led away by the staff, Lin Xi smiled and teased, “Professor Shen, you clearly look like such a modest and gentle gentleman, like warm jade. Why are you always so disliked by children? Look at this kid, he’s like a mouse seeing a cat when he sees you.”

Shen Nanyang was noncommittal. “Perhaps I remind him of his school teachers.”

Lin Xi thought for a moment and nodded. “Indeed. When I think of my teachers now, I still get scared.”

“This way, please.” Shen Nanyang led Lin Xi inside, asking as if it were just a casual question, “I haven’t heard Director Lin talk about the past. Speaking of past teachers, may I ask where you studied?”

Lin Xi replied smoothly, “No need to ask. The schools I went to were all third-rate. Even if I told you, a great scholar like Professor Shen would definitely not have heard of them.”

This was not the first time Lin Xi had come to Shen Nanyang’s office. He seemed somewhat familiar with the place, and upon entering, he very naturally found a place to sit down.

Shen Nanyang was not annoyed by Lin Xi’s ‘make yourself at home’ attitude. He casually tapped the control panel a couple of times, brought up a lab report, and projected it directly in front of Lin Xi.

Lin Xi glanced at it. “This is?”

Shen Nanyang pushed the control knob to Lin Xi, his gaze calmly fixed on him. “Didn’t you want to know the content of the project we’re working on? Here is all the information you want to know.”

“I am a little curious, but for you to just show this to an outsider like me, isn’t that a bit against the rules?” Though he said that, Lin Xi had already taken it without any reservation and began to read through it at a rapid pace.

A certain contaminant couldn’t help but speak up in his mind: […With how eager you look, you’re really not afraid of him finding out at all.]

“Finding out?” Lin Xi sneered disdainfully in his heart and replied, “I was originally planning to put on an act, but looking at Shen Nanyang’s attitude now, there’s obviously no need to pretend anymore.”

[Huh? What do you mean? He knows your identity now?]

“He might just be speculating now, but before I leave here today, he will definitely turn his speculation into a conclusion.”

Lin Xi’s tone was light and unhurried, as if he were just answering what he planned to have for dinner today.

[Alright, not bad. Breaking off with humanity sooner is good for you, for me, and for everyone.]

[Oh~ It might just not be so good for that Yan Xingzhou of yours, hehe.]

Lin Xi didn’t respond to the unfunny cold joke in his mind.

His gaze fell on the document in front of him, and the smile in his eyes faded bit by bit.

Shen Nanyang did not rush him, but rather than patiently waiting, his posture was more like he was conducting an examination.

Finally, Lin Xi finished reading the entire 30-plus page electronic document.

The moment he looked up and met Shen Nanyang’s eyes, all the depth in his own eyes vanished as if it were an illusion, instantly turning into a look of amazement. “This is too shocking, Professor Shen. Is this the only way out for humanity that you mentioned? Using the radiation of contaminants as a genetic catalyst to induce the awakening of supernatural abilities in humans. Just announcing this theory alone would be enough to shock the world!”

“Shock the world, or be condemned by the entire academic community?” A slight smile touched Shen Nanyang’s lips. “The practice of using humans as test subjects was banned hundreds of years ago. Even if there are still ongoing projects in laboratories around the world, most of them are carried out under the guise of ‘treating mutative diseases.’ This society is like this. On one hand, it promotes the heroic image of ability users, but on the other hand, due to morality, it doesn’t dare to openly seek opportunities for ordinary humans to escape their predicament. And I just don’t mind putting everything I’m doing formally on the table.”

He lightly touched a button in front of him, and the content on the screen jumped directly to a chart. “You should be able to understand the data above. From this report, you can see that we are very close to the final success. Actually, at the very beginning, I also doubted the feasibility of this idea. After all, countless ‘pre-simulations’ resulted in failure.”

At this point, Shen Nanyang paused subtly and met Lin Xi’s gaze steadily. “Do you know what made me no longer waver?”

Lin Xi could tell that Shen Nanyang’s current build-up was just to get to the main point later. He still played along and asked, “What was it?”

Shen Nanyang: “It was that Super S-rank rift incident from back then.”

Lin Xi raised an eyebrow, not surprised at all. “Oh, I know about that. It was because of that Super S-rank rift that appeared in N City back then that the Executor of that time died in the line of duty during the cleanup process. Our United Administration’s strength was also severely damaged as a result, leading to a severe shortage of manpower even now. Even a newcomer like me has to step up to fill the position of Director of the Third Administration.”

Shen Nanyang was clearly not affected by Lin Xi’s rambling nonsense. Instead, he glanced at him. “But what if Executor Lin’s death back then wasn’t an accident?”

[Holy shit!]

A certain contaminant, in excessive shock, couldn’t help but curse. [Isn’t this basically him getting in your face and unleashing his ultimate move?!]

Whether it was a face-to-face ultimate move or not, Shen Nanyang’s attitude, which was far more direct than imagined, did make Lin Xi feel a rare sense of surprise.

This time, the curious expression on his face was no longer a pretense. He met Shen Nanyang’s gaze without any avoidance and slowly blinked. “From what Professor Shen is saying, there’s actually an inside story to this matter? That can’t be, right? The reports about this incident were all over the internet and offline back then. Although there were several versions, the claims were all more or less the same. According to everyone’s speculation, the most widely circulated theory should be the loss of control of his ability during the process of cleaning up the Super S-rank rift, no?”

“The main reason was indeed the loss of control of his ability, but the reason for this loss of control was not necessarily because of the contamination radiation from the Super S-rank rift.”

As Shen Nanyang spoke, he poured a glass of water and handed it to Lin Xi.

Lin Xi reached out to take it. “Thanks.”

“Director Lin may not know, but back then, before Executor Lin lost control of his ability, he happened to have had a glass of water.”

Shen Nanyang’s gaze lowered. As it passed, Lin Xi’s action of bringing the water to his lips just happened to pause silently. After a subtle, brief pause, he continued, “And that glass of water was delivered by someone on my orders.”

A very subtle, deathly silence fell over the office.

[It was him! It was him! It was him!]

[Listen to that! He admitted it right to your face!]

[Still say it’s not a face-to-face ultimate move? This is too fucking arrogant!!!]

After a few seconds of pause, Lin Xi was heard to laugh softly. “Professor Shen, the amount of information in these words is a bit too much. According to what you’re saying, it couldn’t be that you tampered with it and intentionally caused the Executor to lose control of his ability, right?”

“Why couldn’t it be?”

There was still not much fluctuation in Shen Nanyang’s tone, but the depths of his eyes, as he looked at Lin Xi, were faintly filled with a strong emotion rarely seen in him. “But compared to that glass of water back then, the one in your hand has been improved many times. Even if a brief phenomenon of ability loss of control occurs, I can quickly suppress it for you.”

Lin Xi’s eyebrows raised slightly, a half-smile on his face. “When you were treating President Yan, did you also use this?”

“Just a potion to assist with the treatment.”

As Shen Nanyang replied, his gaze on Lin Xi did not waver for a second. As he spoke the next words, the end of his voice was drawn out with extreme subtlety. “So, are you interested in trying? Or perhaps…”

His following words were cut short by Lin Xi’s action.

Without even waiting for the words to fall, Lin Xi had, right in front of him, tilted his head back and downed the water in the glass in one go.

Support me on Ko-fi