"Minister, Minister..." The voice grew louder as it approached, and when Qin Xiao turned around, Yang Peng had already stopped not far from him, his face full of urgency:
"Could there be some misunderstanding regarding the Silver Grey Beast incident? How could you detain your own people? Those brothers just went through a life-and-death crisis, and now they are being arrested, it’s bound to chill their hearts."
Not much time had passed since the incident at the scene, yet the headquarters was already aware, and many people in the lobby of the first floor had stopped and were stealthily looking this way.
"Yang Peng?" Qin Xiao frowned slightly, "I have reliable information about this matter."
"Where did this information come from?" Yang Peng pressed further.
"Are you questioning me?" Qin Xiao’s expression turned cold, "Do I need to report my actions to you?"
"Do you have any idea what would happen if an employee of the Interstellar Alliance really died on Silver Grey Star? The livelihoods of tens of millions of people in Silver Grey City rest on my shoulders, not yours!"
"No one gets off easy if we don’t get to the bottom of this!" He shouted harshly, scanning his surroundings; the first floor lobby was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and no one dared to make eye contact with him.
"Moreover, you’d better be speaking up for your colleagues, and not because of your relationship with Li Ming!" Qin Xiao stared at Yang Peng, his words a veiled accusation.
Yang Peng’s righteous speech suddenly took on a different flavor.
"You’ve been with the city guards for many years, sincere and earnest, think about it carefully." Qin Xiao’s tone softened, he patted Yang Peng on the shoulder, and left.
Yang Peng stood there, his complexion changing, and eventually, he quickly left the city guard building.
"No matter where you are, don’t show your face, Wang Zhiheng and the others have been detained, something is not right about this situation, it reeks of strangeness inside and out."
Yang Peng’s voice was calm as he spoke to Li Ming.
"Let’s wait for things to settle down a bit, then see the situation before deciding."
"I understand, don’t worry," Li Ming replied, but Yang Peng emphasized, "I’m not joking this time, last time you said you understood, what happened then?"
"I don’t know what the situation is this time, Qin Xiao is one of the most powerful people in Silver Grey City..."
Yang Peng’s voice was faint, as if he was exhausted.
"Uncle Yang, this too shall pass." Li Ming remained composed, after ending the communication, Li Ming looked at the tall buildings in front of him—the Silver City Hotel, just past noon, the heat was oppressive.
Professor Wu was staying here.
Floors above the sixteenth were under martial law, the elevator programs had been altered, and it was impossible to go up.
Li Ming pressed the elevator screen several times to no avail, glanced at the surveillance camera in the corner, and suddenly elbowed, breaking through the elevator’s control panel.
With a bang, the elevator stopped, its lights flickering uncertainly.
He took out another smart device of his, pulled out a data cable, connected it to the control panel, and data streams refreshed.
Quickly, the elevator started moving again, heading straight for the top floor.
When the elevator doors opened, a fully armed security team was already waiting outside, with submachine guns aimed at the elevator doors.
The moment the elevator doors opened, there was a flicker of surprise in their eyes, as they saw nothing but empty space.
But their fingers had already subconsciously pulled the trigger, the gun muzzles spat out flames, and a stream of metal surged out.
The next instant, a figure soared towards the metal stream, striking with an unstoppable force, hitting them hard.
The riot shields in front of them flew off like toys, the men crashed into the walls on both sides and then fell to the floor, their faces pained.
"Be careful!" someone shouted.
They struggled to rise from the ground, attempting to stop him, only to see him raising his hands high, blue arcs of electricity blossoming in his palms, and then slamming down on the floor.
Electric arcs erupted, crackling along the metal corridor and then crisscrossing violently.
In an instant, everyone’s bodies convulsed in the narrow hallway.
"Sorry about this, folks." Li Ming got up, and at the moment he pushed open the door at the end of the hallway, a shudder swept over him.
"Professor Wu!" He shouted, as a gust of wind hit him, his hair flying, and a fist as big as a sandbag inexplicably stopped in front of his face.
It was Fang Biao, Professor Wu’s personal bodyguard, a Grade D Life Form.
"You?" Fang Biao was surprised, Li Ming had canceled his Mimicry as he opened the door, revealing his true appearance before him.
"Hey, why are you guys fighting amongst yourselves?" Fang Biao grinned, "Those guys outside really are good for nothing."
"Professor Wu." Li Ming called again, Fang Biao withdrew his fist, stepped aside, and there was Professor Wu standing behind him.
"Li Ming, right..." Professor Wu adjusted his glasses, holding a physical book, "You made such a big fuss coming to see me, it must be something important, right?"
"Professor Wu, the situation is urgent," Li Ming began his prelude, recounting the general matter once, omitting many details, only those that had occurred on the surface.
"Hmm," Professor Wu was already seated on the sofa, caressing the leather armrest, deep in thought, "So that’s how it is. But this doesn’t sound like a serious matter, Minister Qin’s desire to uncover the truth is good for everyone."
"Since you aren’t the instigator of the beast tide, why be panic-stricken?"
Li Ming shook his head, "No, Minister Qin is secretly colluding with Star Creation Company. This matter won’t end so simply."
Coming to see Professor Wu, he needed a plausible reason, and reporting corruption was an impeccable one.
"Young friend..." Professor Wu smiled, undisturbed, casually saying, "It’s not a big deal. Rest assured, there will be a fair outcome."
Standard official perfunctory.
Fang Biao leisurely said, "Compared to that, I think the disturbance you caused by barging in should be of greater concern."
Someone knocked at the door with a trembling voice, "Professor Wu? We’ve already notified the higher-ups..."
"It’s fine, tell your leaders not to bother." Fang Biao said impatiently.
Li Ming’s expression flickered as if he had made some kind of resolution, clenching his teeth, "Professor Wu, the previous test didn’t fully assess my potential."
"Ha..." Fang Biao laughed, seeing through Li Ming’s intention, "Professor, it seems he wants to prove his worth."
He shook his head, trying to make the young man see reality:
"You were rated ’Excellent’ last time, even possessing a Level 4 potential wouldn’t catch the professor’s eye."
Ordinary, Good, Excellent, these were the most basic three ratings. Li Ming had estimated before that there should be a threshold of 50% development rate.
Li Ming remained silent, just looking at Professor Wu, who waved his hand, "Fang Biao, bring over the new tester."
Fang Biao went to the inner room, carried out a new tester, and placed it on the ground.
Li Ming was about to step forward when he heard Professor Wu’s indifferent voice, "You don’t understand what I’m looking for. If you can’t meet my requirements, this won’t end simply."
Fang Biao gloated; did he really think Professor Wu was a kind, benevolent teacher?
"I understand, but I can’t just watch my colleagues be harmed!" Li Ming’s expression was resolute as he stepped forward and placed his hand on the tester.
Fang Biao, who had been standing with his arms folded against the wall, was stunned and straightened up.
"How did it become Level 6?" Fang Biao was secretly astonished, yet he shook his head.
This level was extremely rare, and even the capital’s Institute of Science and Technology seldom had one each year.
But in the past few years, there had been people with Level 6 potential, and Professor Wu had never shown interest.
However, suddenly, the testing device on the floor emitted a harsh buzzing sound, humming--humming--in a repeating cycle.
Huh? Fang Biao was bewildered, what was this? Was the device having a bug with such an effect?
As he wondered and looked towards that unforgettable scene,
Professor Wu, who had been sitting on the sofa and whose expression barely changed even upon seeing the Level 6 rating, suddenly stood up.
His face was a complex mix of disbelief, joy, shock, and even astonishment.
Fang Biao didn’t understand.
"You..." Professor Wu quickly stepped towards Li Ming, took his hand, and pressed it back down again.
The buzzing sounded again, back and forth a couple of times.
Fang Biao finally understood; Professor Wu seemed to be verifying something.
"Professor?" he couldn’t help but speak out, truly curious.
But before he could say the next words, he froze in place as he saw Professor Wu staring at him with an extremely chilling gaze filled with murderous intent.
He felt as if he were enveloped in sub-zero temperatures, his entire body ice-cold, fear and trepidation intertwining.
But in the next moment, the sensation vanished, and he caught his breath, looking at the calm Professor Wu, unsure if it had been an illusion, but not daring to ask any further.
Professor Wu smiled faintly, "You go out first; I have something to discuss with Li Ming."
Fang Biao hastily nodded, suppressing the horror in his heart, and after exiting the room and closing the door behind him, he plopped down onto the floor.
The people waiting outside were startled by his appearance and all turned to look at him. Fang Biao couldn’t help but curse, "What are you looking at!"