Chapter 23: Power Supply (Thanks to Alliance Hierarch Fei Ningjing Wuyi Zhiyuan)
PS: Thanks to the book friend "Tranquility Leads to Far-Reaching Brothers" for the reward, the first Alliance Hierarch of the book, let's commemorate it.
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When Lin Rui and Wang Sen had left the school, it was nearly 10 pm, and they had nearly missed the last urban rail train.
"Rui Brother, I really owe you big time this time," Wang Sen said emotionally, sitting next to Lin Rui. Today's experience felt like a dream to him. He had simply followed Lin Rui around and not only joined the university martial arts club with excellent benefits, obtaining a high salary of nearly seventy thousand federation dollars a month, but he had also gotten a body with exceptionally good initial talent.
"I'll treat you to a fancy dinner later, don't worry, not the cafeteria kind, it must be upscale, three stars or above!"
Inviting someone to eat in the cafeteria was something he, Wang Sen, would never do.
Lin Rui gave a nonchalant smile, "That sounds good. I would also like to try what high-end restaurants taste like. Can I bring my sister along?"
He was reading a message that Lin Xi had sent him not long ago.
Summer's Shallow Thoughts (Lin Xi): Brother, I'm already home. There's a police car at the door, and two officers along with someone who claims to be a junior major of the Federal Security Agency have been waiting at our door. They say it's for routine questioning for Colonel Xue's case, to take a statement.
Summer's Shallow Thoughts (Lin Xi): It's so strange, this junior major investigator asked about our family's relationship with the Xue family in great detail, over and over, it didn't seem like routine questioning at all.
Lin Rui's heart sank when he saw this message.
Could it be that the violent crime he committed at the Xue family had been discovered? Did Xue Bogao fail to clean up the scene properly, leaving traces behind?
However, Lin Rui's psychological qualities were truly strong, as he swiftly calmed down, showing no change of expression on his face.
He immediately thought of the surveillance equipment in the Xue family's basement.
The police and the Federal Security Agency personnel must have discovered Xue Bogao was monitoring his family and wanted to investigate exactly what was going on.
Lin Rui himself was also very curious as to why Xue Bogao would do such a thing?
Lin Rui speculated that Colonel Xue might not have truly retired and must have other official identities.
Considering the professions of Lin Rui's parents and the situation at home, the family he had transmigrated into was not simple at all and might be hiding a significant secret.
Moreover, Lin Rui had already found out the identities of those two individuals.
Last night, he had found the source of the tattoo online; it belonged to a gang called 'Blood Lizard Gang.'
It was said that this gang dealt in neurotoxins, black market prosthetics, and human trafficking, boasting two thousand members and over a hundred prosthetic-wearing martial artists.
Not only were they very powerful, but their influence also spanned a wide area, nearly covering the entire eastern suburbs of the ninth city. Almost every block in the eastern suburbs had the touch of 'Blood Lizard Gang'.
What kind of relationship could Colonel Xue have with the Blood Lizard Gang?
Lin Rui quickly opened the residential community owner's group chat.
He saw photos taken by several owners as they passed by Xue Bogao's villa.
The villa was once again surrounded by a dozen police cars and a few armored vehicles with the Federal Security Bureau's insignia.
The owners' chat group was discussing this matter, and many were puzzled.
Lin Rui also noticed a message from an owner: "What's going on? Why are there police rummaging through my yard and pulling out a really long wire from underground? Is this related to Colonel Xue and his family's death?"
Lin Rui's brow raised.
That must be the wiring from Xue Bogao's closed-circuit cameras; it seemed that the Federal Security Bureau personnel weren't planning to use these surveillance devices.
He closed the owners' group chat and replied to Lin Xi's message.
Gu Ying Tiandao (Lin Rui): Don't worry, just answer whatever they ask you.
Gu Ying Tiandao (Lin Rui): Lin Xi, you're so bold! Coming home at ten o'clock at night, haven't I told you? You're not allowed to work late at night anymore, and until the police find that murderer, you need to stay at home and be obedient. Are you taking your brother's words for the wind?
Lin Xi's response was still defiant.
Summer's Waning Thoughts (Lin Xi): I know what I'm doing. I've been working at Sister Qing's place, and it's the last few days now. I have to see it through to the end. Brother, just take care of yourself.
Lin Rui couldn't help but shake his head; he had discovered this in the few days since he had arrived.
This sister of his was very tenacious and proud, and in Lin Xi's eyes, her brother didn't carry much weight.
That evening, when Lin Rui returned home, the federal major detective and police officers that Lin Xi had mentioned had already left.
This eased Lin Rui's mind a bit; it seemed the police hadn't suspected him.
Lin Xi had actually prepared some late-night snacks for him. But, when she noticed Lin Rui had returned, she pulled a face at him, sticking out her tongue, then ran back to her room and 'clack' shut the door behind her.
Lin Rui was helpless. He casually picked up a piece of roujiamo from the table and bit into it.
After a busy day, he was indeed a bit hungry, especially since he had fought with someone in the afternoon; that had taken a toll on his energy.
"Hmm?"
Lin Rui suddenly furrowed his brow, looking at the half-eaten roujiamo in his hand.
The roujiamo Lin Xi had made this time was incredibly delicious, and Lin Rui felt his taste buds explode.
It was nothing like the roujiamo he had eaten six days ago.
Had this girl secretly changed places with someone else? How could she have improved so much in just a few days?
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What Lin Rui didn't know was that, just as he was on his way home, at Mingde University Affiliated Hospital's research building behind it, lights on various floors suddenly flickered.
Si Malin, who was reviewing student papers, received a call from the Logistics and General Services Department.
A moment later, Si Malin raised his eyebrows and said, "An overload caused a power trip, so emergency backup circuits were activated, and backup power was started? Are you sure it's my lab?"
"Yes! According to our findings, the source seems to be in Professor Si Malin's lab. Starting from five minutes ago, your lab's power consumption suddenly increased, repeatedly exceeding the power limit of the cables. May I ask if Professor Si Malin knows what might have caused this?"
"Hold on a moment!" Si Malin noticed the lights were still flickering, so he immediately donned his white lab coat and strode into his laboratory.
His gaze turned to the two vertical culture tanks on the left side of the lab.
The culture tanks were fully transparent, revealing two embryonic entities being cultivated within.
They were still in the shape of infants, with eyes tightly closed, limbs curled up, resembling fetuses in the womb.
Si Malin's attention was fixed on the culture tank to the left, primarily because he saw two red indicator lights lit up on the outside of this tank.
"It's Lin Rui's entity—"
Si Malin walked over quickly and pulled up the data interface.
"The temperature of the culture solution is abnormally high, genetic fragments are undergoing unknown mutations, and there's an abnormal electricity consumption."
Si Malin's pupils dilated slightly, a hint of excitement in his eyes as he leaned in to observe: "It's interesting, this entity seems to consume several dozen joules of electricity for every cell it creates."
Si Malin knew these changes must be due to the drop of blood Lin Rui had provided.
And so, he called the Logistics and General Services Department back: "I'm sorry, the experiment I'm conducting has undergone some unexpected changes that I hadn't anticipated. I need to apply for the use of our building's DS30 ectopic modulation chamber, and we also need higher power cables, as soon as possible! Over the next three days, we might consume a large amount of electricity, so I hope your department ensures an uninterrupted power supply to my lab. This will determine the success or failure of my experiment. Yes! It would be best if you could pull two more backup circuits."
He looked at the entity in the culture tank, thinking that this kid named Lin Rui was becoming more and more interesting.