Forbidden Zone of the Human Race

Wang Jiayan was irritated to discover that he must have been affected by Xiang Ning as well. He was highly unwilling to believe it, but couldn’t help but admit it. Xiang Ning’s words were magnetic, convincing him to try it out. If it failed, he would have a reason to criticize Xiang Ning so the kid would know his place. He was a kid who hadn’t graduated high school yet, but still solved problems quicker than they did. They were all researchers at the forefront of their industries, they would lose their dignity if this continued, alright? They weren’t narrow-minded, it was just that they felt like their years of experience were useless compared to one high school student’s instincts. Anyone would be irritated.

Xiang Ning felt like it was time for him to leave. Every person here was a master of research; if he insulted them, there would be great hostility. Perhaps he could no longer rush along the progress for the dimensional ring. While the crowd doublechecked the numbers, he quietly slipped away.

The room next door was Dong Qianyi’s private workspace, containing equipment more advanced than the rest of the equipment in the research facility. When he entered, he didn’t see Dong Qianyi, only Alia observing something under the microscope. He did not disturb her, merely quietly waited for a while. To be honest, she looked attractive when she was focused intently on her work, especially in her big-sister style.

After a while, she looked up, wrote a few conclusions in her notebook, and took her glasses off. The way she flipped her hair was poetic.

“About the question you asked me yesterday, the beast horde we predicted finally appeared.” Alia passed him the notebook.

“I see you’ve been working hard on it.” Xiang Ning skimmed through the notebook. It was the same as he had predicted.

“Yeah, the beasts have started mutating. When they were first caught, they were only mentally controlled, becoming extremely violent, but now they’re evolving and have ascended a few stars.” Alia’s brows were furrowed. She had never seen anything like this in her life in the wilderness.

“Does this mean that all of this is related to that Octoviolet Silversnake?” asked Xiang Ning.

Alia nodded, then tapped a few times on the touchscreen before her. A hologram levitated. It was a complex diagram of a cell. She walked over and pointed at a set of data analyzed from the DNA of a beast. “Look, life on earth slowly evolved from single-celled organisms, that’s why we all share a certain degree of similarity in our genes. But after some observation, I found genetic expressions in these beasts that should never even appear on earth.”

Xiang Ning had already predicted that that was the case. Dong Qianyi and Alia had previously discussed the possibility, this evidence was merely a confirmation of their suspicions.

“So does it—”

“Hmm, it doesn’t infect humans. As for why there’s so many infected beasts, I’m not sure, but the infection probably spread between beasts traveling together,” guessed Alia.

Xiang Ning heaved a sigh of relief. That was good. This was like a virus, and he wouldn’t dare join the frontlines if they did not have proper protection.

“Xiang Ning!” a deep voice rang, sending a shiver down Xiang Ning’s back.

“From today onwards, do not step into my research facility before finishing your studies! Do you understand?” Dong Qianyi’s face was red. What the hell? He was just back from his holiday and this kid had driven all his researchers to depression.

“What happened?” Alia froze; she had never seen Dong Qianyi angry.

Dong Qianyi angrily glared at Xiang Ning. “This kid is driving my researchers insane, they all look like they’ve lost their souls!” If his calculations made logical sense, it wouldn’t matter if they were wrong, but Xiang Ning’s suggestions were dangerously scrambling their views of the world.

Old Jin had told him that Xiang Ning was talented and used the knowledge he had well, providing a lot of inspiration for him to solve the problems. However, what happened next also frustrated Dong Qianyi when he heard Old Jin’s explanation. Even he would have been plunged into an existential crisis.

Alia was not sure whether to laugh or cry. Xiang Ning’s ‘feelings’ were just too accurate.…

“No, Master, I can explain. I’m just telling them how I feel. Old Jin was the one who told me to be bold with my ideas.”

Dong Qianyi’s face twitched and Alia covered her mouth, holding back laughter.

Fury Points +22

Xiang Ning didn’t know what to do. If he couldn’t clearly explain himself, how would he work in the lab in the future? How would he help accelerate the production of the dimensional ring?

“Master, please don’t be mad, I’m telling the truth. It’s just a strange feeling I have.” Xiang Ning was still struggling to give an explanation.

“Yeah, yeah. If you can’t explain yourself, don’t show your face here until you finish reading all the books I gave you!” Dong Qianyi was smiling.

But Xiang Ning saw his Fury Points increasing. He had to shut up or his mentor would kick him out.

“Although I have these ‘instincts’, I mustn’t waste my talents so I’ll go study now, goodbye Master.” Xiang Ning carried a stack of books half his height on quantum theory and space into another room.

Dong Qianyi rubbed his forehead.

“Alright, don’t you act all serious when you’re the one who benefited from it. You know how many problems they solved,” chuckled Alia.

Dong Qianyi coughed, then said, “Let’s not talk about him. Tell me about your findings from the beasts.”

…...

It might look like business as usual in Marsh City but a huge number of martial artists had already left for the front lines. They were all heading two hundred kilometers away. There, countless beasts awaited. It was infinite danger, accompanied by infinite opportunities.

Hanwu Academy, Headmaster’s Office.

Wu Rui stood before Li Bu, his expression sincere. “Please approve my request to head for Fortress Three, Sir!”

Li Bu slowly tapped his index finger on the table out of habit. “To be fair, even if you didn’t make a request, you’ll all be sent to the front lines in three months’ time anyway. You needn’t be so impatient.”

Wu Rui shook his head when he heard the headmaster. “Sir, I’m painfully aware of the gap between Xiang Ning and I. It’ll be difficult for me to grow if I remain in school. I want to be stronger than him!”

“But are you aware of the brutal reality of war?” Li Bu solemnly asked. Wu Rui was only a tier two, four-star martial artist. While he met the minimum requirement to fight, at that level he would only be cannon fodder.

“My parents both died on the front lines.” Wu Rui glared as Li Bu closed his eyes and sighed.

“Fine, I approve your request.”