A few more days passed.
“It’s incredible.”
“Really? He greeted you too?”
“Yes. I thought I was getting lucky to see an experimental subject greet me.”
When Tang Xiao got up early to do experiments, he heard other researchers whispering in surprise.
The focus of the conversation was naturally 428.
Since the beginning of the experiment, all of them could clearly perceive the change in the other party day by day.
Especially in terms of intelligence. Although 428 had transformed into a human initially, it was obvious from some of his daily behaviors that his thinking was still the same as when he was an experimental subject. He spent all day huddled in the corner of the laboratory. Even when he was put into a straitjacket, it would often be torn when he was wearing it.
But these days, something was clearly different.
The most significant change in the body was that the straitjacket on the other party’s body had become neater. No one paid attention to it at first. They only thought that it was someone responsible for taking care of 428 who helped him dress neatly. But one day, a researcher was staring at 428 as he attacked a sent-in experimental rabbit, and then 428 spoke.
“What’s your name?” He asked.
The researcher froze on the spot, then subconsciously and stupidly replied, “My name is Sam.”
“Hello, Sam.” He said again.
The researcher named Sam responded, and then stayed in place for two more seconds, streaming and pressing the alert button.
“It’s like the rabbit you’re dissecting suddenly speaks up and tells you to be gentle.”
The researcher said in a trance to the arriving security personnel.
Lodge took this incident as an anecdote and told it to Tang Xiao during breakfast in the cafeteria. However, Tang Xiao didn’t laugh, the chopsticks in his hand stirred the porridge in the bowl. His eyes were focused on the void, not knowing what he was thinking about.
“Tang? Tang?”
Lodge called out strangely a few times before he could manage to regain Tang Xiao’s senses. “Sorry, what did you just say?”
“Are you okay? Have you stayed up too late recently?” Lodge frowned slightly, with worry in his eyes.
Since Tang Xiao began to frequent night shifts, Lodge had been very worried about his health. He followed Tang Xiao around like a housekeeper 24 hours a day. Whenever he saw any sign, he became increasingly worried, fearing that Tang Xiao would die sooner.
Tang Xiao laughed dryly and made up an excuse. “It’s okay. I was just wondering why the person who discovered it at the beginning reacted so strongly.”
“It’s also normal. Although the Third Eys may seem like a group of mad scientists to most outsiders, not all of us have done human experiments. In fact, a lot of people had some discomfort when 428 hatched. Mushrooms are fine, but most people probably won’t be able to bring themselves to kill a creature who looks just like us.”
Lodge explained. “Of course, the higher-ups won’t stop the experiment just for this reason.”
“Hey, hurry up and eat. We have a meeting later.”
“That’s right. I almost forgot about this.” Lodge suddenly took out a thermos from his bag and handed it to Tang Xiao with a mysterious look on his face. “I heard there is a culture of medicinal diet in the Alliance, which is very useful for health preservation. You stayed up a lot lately. Give it a try.”
Tang Xiao opened the thermos and saw that it was red dates and wolfberry tea.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Tang Xiao waited for Lodge to finish the last few bites of steamed buns. At this time, he heard the news broadcast on the TV in the restaurant.
“Due to the frequent mushroom activity in recent years, the diseases have become the most prevalent condition, with 10% more people dying from spore infections this year compared to last year…”
Tang Xiao couldn’t help but turn his head to look at the news. Lodge had finished his meal. Seeing Tang Xiao’s concern about the content of the news, he also looked over. “The situation is really getting worse every year… We have to hurry up. Otherwise, when the beast tide comes next spring, another wave of disease outbreaks will occur.”
The beast tide was an annual outbreak of mosquito plague. It usually appeared in the spring when the flowers were blooming. It was said to be a beast tide, but it was actually the alien beasts controlled by the mushrooms to attack human cities. Every time it came, there would be numerous casualties. Smaller shelters would be destroyed by the impact of the beast tide.
Whenever the beast tide was over, the reproduction of the mushrooms became another problem. This period was also the time when mushroom diseases occurred most frequently.
Tang Xiao nodded thoughtfully and left the cafeteria with Lodge.
They had a research group meeting today. The well-known Level 1 scientists had already arrived. After Tang Xiao and Lodge came, they found the meeting room that had been booked in advance and went in to open the meeting.
Upon entering the door, Yu Ming had already sorted out the recent experimental materials and handed them to Tang Xiao. “It’s all here. Let’s read and discuss.”
Tang Xiao took it and nodded in satisfaction.
“So let’s start with me…” Andy Hador began to describe the experiments they had done in the past few days.
Tang Xiao also experienced the group meeting before and found nothing wrong now. However, during the process, Lodge could not help but frequently turn his head and look at the three people with surprise.
Lodge had been prepared to be the bad guy if someone had picked a fight with him, but he didn’t expect them to be so obedient at the first meeting.
In fact, these three people didn’t want to do this, but they couldn’t find any obvious mistakes made by Tang Xiao during this period. The current experimental results were vaguely in line with the direction set by Tang Xiao at the beginning. In other words, they made a very smooth start.
To be honest, the three of them were already a bit numb.
People who could enter the Third Eye had high IQs, but in the field of scientific research, IQ was only one of the most inconspicuous thresholds. It could be said that no one present had a low IQ.
So why did some people stay at Level 1 or 2 for 10 years? Obviously, it was that 1% of inspiration.
It was also called scientific research talent. It was the ability to discover and solve problems.
The existence of this thing was as obvious as the blood dripping on the white shirt. During this period, they had vaguely felt that Tang Xiao was a person with this kind of talent. This kind of person was destined to succeed and could not be stopped. Did they want to compete with such a person?
If they could compete, the three of them wouldn’t have stayed at Level 1 for so long…
Tang Xiao listened to a section of the current report and felt that there was nothing wrong with the current progress. He nodded with satisfaction. “Okay. We will continue with the current plan. Thanks for your hard work during this period. Lodge, please take notes of the next group.”
“Okay.” There was no need for Tang Xiao to say more. Lodge had already taken notes on his own. Of course, he was not using paper and pen. His bracelet had a built-in recording function.
Tang Xiao thought for a while and then added. “My experience in doing the project is far less than all of you here. If anything goes wrong along the way, I hope that all the scientists will stop by and teach me. I will be more than happy.”
If Tang Xiao had said this at the beginning, Yu Ming and the other would probably be quite happy with his concession, but now…
“Don’t worry. We can just communicate with each other.” A stiff smile appeared on Yu Ming’s face, and the other nodded. “Yes. You have done a good job so far.”
“Doing the project is not complicated. The more you do it, the more proficient you will become.”
“We haven’t done a lot of work on the topic. Let’s make progress together.”
Seeing the harmonious atmosphere in the group, Tang Xiao nodded in satisfaction.
‘Dr. Feng is right. The atmosphere in Xiao Bai’s research group is much better than in Bader’s laboratory.’
Everyone here was talented and well-spoken. He liked it here very much.
After the group meeting ended, Tang Xiao couldn’t help but say to Lodge, “Everyone is very friendly and united. The atmosphere in our research group is really great.”
Lodge: …
It was almost noon after the group meeting. Tang Xiao and Lodge finished their lunch together in the cafeteria. Just after they left the cafeteria, they saw a familiar figure.
“Babbitt?” Lodge was startled when he saw him, and subconsciously stood in front of Tang Xiao.
It couldn’t be blamed on Lodge for reacting so violently. Babbit really looked a bit scary now.
They hadn’t seen each other for only a few weeks, but the other party looked like a different person. His face was sunken, his beard looked like it hadn’t been shaved for a while, and his eyes were bloodshot.
“Tang Xiao…” Babbitt spoke hoarsely, staring at Tang Xiao, and said, “I want to talk to you. Just the two of us.”
“If you want to say something, just say it directly.” Tang Xiao frowned.
Babbitt said nothing, but said, “There are too many people around.”
It was the lunch rush hour. Many researchers were coming and going in front of the cafeteria. Seeing Tang Xiao and the other stand still, they couldn’t help but take a few more glances.
It was really not a good place to talk about things.
“Then go to the cafe next door,” Lodge suggested.
In fact, Babbitt was still not satisfied with this place. He knew that Tang Xiao would not accommodate him, so he silently followed them. The three of them found the corner table in the cafe.
Once seated, Babbitt couldn’t help but look at Lodge again. “I hope it’s just the two of us talking.”
“He’s not an outsider. If you think about it, I don’t necessarily have to talk to you,” Tang Xiao said lightly.
After Babbitt found him, Tang Xiao actually guessed what he wanted to say, but he had no intention of letting Babbitt go. Naturally, he didn’t need to give him any face.
Babbitt was helpless, but now the situation was stronger than others. He endured the humiliation and bowed to Tang Xiao. “I’m sorry. I shouldn't have treated you like before. Can you please cancel that report?”
He was talking about the investigation that Xiao Bai had initiated after asking Tang Xiao to go to the inspection center earlier about the case of bullying in the laboratory.
This kind of thing happened every year in the past, but it was difficult to prove it. The bullies were all veterans of the organization, so even if a newcomer reported it, there were often no consequences.
But the person who started it was Xiao Bai.
This was worthy of the inspection office’s serious attention. Coupled with Feng Shuyun’s push, Babbitt’s life was really tough these days.
Tang Xiao wasn't the only one bullied by him. Other newcomers to the organization faced the same treatment. But since they couldn't reach the top, they had no option but to endure their losses. Now, an opportunity for revenge has arisen. All of them are actively providing clues. The inspection office has discovered a significant number of individuals involved. There were one or two cases of maiming or even suspicion of murder.
So, things got serious.
The worst-case scenario could be a prison sentence or even expulsion from the Third Eye.
Babbitt had been in a complete panic for the past few days. When he was finally released on temporary bail from the detention center, he came to Tang Xiao without stopping to try to gain his forgiveness.
Tang Xiao nodded his head after hearing this. “Is that all you have to say?”
Babbitt quickly added. “As long as you are willing to withdraw the report, I can compensate you! Points or anything else, just ask and I’ll try my best to do it!”
“Not interested.” Tang Xiao stood up. “If that’s all you came to me to say, then we can leave.”
He said the last words to Lodge, who stood up in cooperation.
Babbitt gritted his teeth. “Tang Xiao! Don’t push me towards Bader. I’ll tell you the truth, it’s Bader who bailed me out. You should know what he’s thinking. I don’t want to be the sacrificial lamb between you two. You can help me to talk to Xiao Bai. I can help you deal with Bader as long as you cancel the investigation.”
“It’s true. I have evidence that can prove his academic fraud.” Babbitt’s voice was extremely low when he said the last sentence. His bloodshot eyes stared at Tang Xiao.
Tang Xiao’s answer was also very straightforward.
He stood up and then pulled Lodge out of his seat to walk out of the cafe.
Lodge couldn't help but look back. Babbitt stood in the same spot, maintaining the same posture. It seemed as if he hadn't considered that Tang Xiao had completely ignored his trump card.
“Is this really a good idea?” Lodge couldn’t help but ask. “If what he says is true, Bader may cause trouble for you later, and Babbitt will also be a problem… He’s clearly pushed to the brink. That’s the most dangerous state to be in.”
Who knew what this man could do?
Tang Xiao: “I did it because I don’t want to play with them anymore. I participate in this experiment for the sake of scientific research, not to waste time and effort on scheming with them. Thinking about it, if I let him go, won’t Babbitt make trouble again later? Even if we do get our hands on the evidence of Bader’s alleged academic fraud, how do you know if it’s real or not? What if he’s intentionally leading us on?”
Lodge fell into a deep thought. Tang Xiao helplessly shook his head. “You see. If you continue to tangle with this kind of people, you will only end up being dragged down to the same level as them. They will use their experience to entangle us.”
“That’s why I only have one trick for people like that.”
Tang Xiao said that and then used his bracelet to message Feng Shuyun under Lodge’s eyes. He told the other party everything that had happened today.
Lodge: … Tell–tell the guardian??
Soon, Tang Xiao received a reply from Feng Shuyun, which was concise and domineering.
[You don’t need to pay attention to him. Just stay in the laboratory as much as possible these days and conduct experiments with peace of mind.]
Tang Xiao put away the bracelet comfortably and told Lodge that the matter had been resolved.
It felt so good to have a backer. He didn’t have to think about anything.
However, there would be a day when he couldn’t rely on his backer. Only by becoming his own backer could he completely stop worrying about these bad things.
‘Still have to climb up ah.’
It was a game. Why should they make the game so realistic in such details?
“Tang, are you okay?” Lodge and Tang Xiao walked all the way to the laboratory. Seeing Tang Xiao’s slightly void expression, he couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”
“Oh, thank you.” Tang Xiao said softly, “We have to make results quickly.”
There was no better way to talk than results and the thesis. Why did Babbitt and Bader dare not offend Xiao Bai and Feng Shuyun? It was because they were the big advocates among the biggest advocates, the kind that couldn’t be picked off.
Lodge nodded solemnly.
When it was almost time to get off work, everyone around him began to clock out and rush to the cafeteria to eat. Tang Xiao turned a blind eye and continued to do his own thing in his position, and so did Lodge.
Yu Ming saw this scene, and his packing movements slowed down.
“What’s wrong?” Zhan Yuchen asked strangely, “Didn’t you say you were going to eat spicy hotpot after work today?”
“En…” Yu Ming glanced at Tang Xiao again and gritted his teeth. “You go first. I still want to do another test for a while.”
Zhan Yuchen:???
Andy Hador:??
“Geniuses work so much harder than us, so how can we mortals catch up if we don’t work a little harder?” Yu Ming said with a wry smile. He took his things and went into the observation room again.
This…
Zhan Yuchen and Andy Hador looked at each other.
Zhan Yuchen: “What should we do?”
Andy curled his lips and said, “Let them be crazy. I won’t get involved. It’s none of my business.”
Zhan Yuchen lowered his head and looked at his notebook. He slowly took out the instruments he had just packed away.
“Even you…”
“No. I’ll just stay and take a look, scouting for the enemy.”
Ten minutes later.
“You guys don’t want to leave?”
Andy: “Scouting the enemy.”
‘If you don’t leave, will he have the nerve to leave?!’
#On how competition occurs#
During the night shift, Tang Xiao was surprised to find that the number of people had increased…
“You guys…?”
Yu Ming scratched his head. “I still have an experiment to finish.”
Zhan Yuchen: “I’ll wait for him.”
Andy Hador: “...” Doesn’t want to talk.
The real night shift worker: There are so many people ah. Can I just leave?
Tang Xiao felt a little funny and a little touched, but in the end he still drove these people back. They were different from him. Staying up late with such high intensity would really affect their bodies… ‘Well, NPC’s body is supposed to collapse too, right?’
Including Lodge, Tang Xiao also let him go back to take a good rest. After all, the project was not something that could be completed quickly by working overtime unexpectedly. This was a long-term project that required persistence. There was no need to be so busy.
……
Babbitt gasped and slammed the chair in his hands on the floor. By the time he came to his senses, the room was a mess.
The bracelet lit up with a page of text messages he had previously sent to Bader. He was suddenly taken away by the inspection office, and then fell into an investigation that had left him in a state of panic. It was Bader who pulled him out.
Babbitt was not stupid. He knew that he was just a pawn used by Bader to make trouble for Tang Xiao. Bader would probably throw him away after using him, but he had no other choice.
Tang Xiao entered Xiao Bai’s project team, which caught him off guard. He originally thought it would take at least a decade for him to develop. Who would have thought that Xiao Bai directly submitted an investigation application to the inspection office on his behalf?
His connections were definitely useless in front of Xiao Bai. Even those who heard that both Xiao Bai and Feng Shuyun were urging the incident to advance directly blocked his number.
Babbitt was lost in thought in the messy room, and his bracelet beeped again.
He opened it and saw a message from the prosecutor’s office, informing him that a new witness had been found and that the trial was expected to begin shortly.
Babbitt hung up his head in pain. After a while, he reopened Bader’s contact page and asked him to meet offline. He left early and waited at the place for about five minutes before he finally saw Bader’s shadow.
“Dr. Bader…”
“Hmm. Failed?”
"Tang Xiao didn't fall for it. He didn’t believe me.”
“You can’t even do this.” Bader was very irritated.
Yes, it was Bader’s idea to let Babbitt go to Tang Xiao and bow his head. Of course, he was not so kind. He just planned to use the so-called fake evidence to ‘give Tang Xiao a hand’. Who would have thought that the other party couldn’t be fooled at all?
“Then, there’s nothing we can do. He won’t let go of the report. The inspection office probably won’t let you go easily.”
“Dr. Bader, you have to help me!” Babbit’s eyes turned red. “I have worked in your laboratory for so many years. I have worked hard without credit…”
“Okay, okay. I’m not saying I won’t help you.” Bader waved his hand impatiently and handed a box to Babbitt. “I can’t control the inspection office, but I can let you take other ways to leave the Third Eye, free from the prison. I will also give you a sum of money. You can go to the Alliance or other small bases for a peaceful life, but the premise is that you have to hand over this to Tang Xiao. Make sure he takes it.”
“What is this?” Babbitt asked hesitantly.
“Magic mushroom’s spore,” Bader said.
Babbitt’s hand shook, almost knocking the box over. Bader glanced at him and said, “Be gentle! It’s a specially made box.”
“Magic–magic mushroom’s spore, isn’t it…” Babbitt stumbled over his words. “Isn’t it created by the Huigui sect?”
Magic mushroom’s spore was a type of psychedelic mushroom, also known as happy mushroom in this world. Unlike the psychedelic mushroom, which produced hallucinations when eaten, this magic mushroom was even more powerful. As long as someone inhaled the spore, it would lurk in the brain nerves, gradually affecting the emotions of the person and releasing the excess dopamine and making people have hallucinations and rely on illusions.
In the later stage, the mushroom would destroy the brain nerves until it took over the host’s brain and broke out of the shell.
This mushroom was easy to remove, but many people didn't want to get rid of it. They actively sought it out. When the magic mushroom was lost, it damaged the brain's ability to secrete dopamine. Some patients even became depressed after removing the mushroom.
“That has nothing to do with you. You also know this. There are no signs of parasitism during the magic mushroom's early stage, and its incubation time is very long. It’s enough for you to leave the Third Eye.” Bader said, “It’s up to you to choose.”
“But you should also know that I’m the one who can help you now.”
Babbitt opened his mouth, unable to speak for a moment.
Finally, he silently accepted the box from Bader.
They did not know that the pipes above their heads, the floor beneath the ground, and the secretive growth of mycelium had already keenly captured the keyword ‘Tang Xiao.’
In the laboratory, 428 opened his eyes.
After coming back, Babbitt irritably smashed all the things left in the room that could be smashed before finally feeling good. He requested a room service from his bracelet, picked up a change of clothes, and went into the bathroom. He put the box on the bedside table.
After a moment’s thought, he felt uncomfortable. Fearing that the cleaners might accidentally touch the box, he put the box on the top shelf in the bathroom before began to shower.
The warm water fell from the showerhead to the ground, revealing a strange mark in the stream, like a hairline, or something thicker.
It climbed along the wall and slipped into the box silently.
Two or three seconds later, the box quietly opened a gap.
There was an interlude of heavy objects falling to the floor in the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, Babbitt’s room service staff arrived. He saw the room number and opened the door cautiously with a crumpled expression. “Dr. Babbitt?”
The only sound in the room was the sound of water in the bathroom. The staff breathed a sigh of relief, took out his tools, and started to clean up the mess.
Almost 40 minutes passed, during which the sound of water in the bathroom kept flowing. The staff didn’t pay attention to it at first, just thinking that Babbitt was in a bad mood and wanted to take a bath for a while longer.
But the sound of water continued until the cleaning task was over.
A strange feeling suddenly rose in the staff’s mind.
Gathering up the courage, he asked, “Dr. Babbitt? The cleaning is over, I’m leaving now.”
No one answered.
As the staff walked to the bathroom, he asked again, “Dr. Babbitt? Are you still there? Do you need help?”
No one answered.
The staff member boldly pushed open the bathroom door and his pupils shrank.
Babbitt fell on the bathroom floor, his face turned purple and blood soaked the back of his head. A stream of warm water rushed down from the showerhead, flushing a steady stream of blood down the drain.
‘He’s dead.’
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