Chapter 55: The Mutants Outside
A flicker of annoyance crossed Lin Zizhen’s heart—at his level, there were few people left who dared speak to him with such a tone. What’s more, according to the intel, Xu Zhi had originally just been a child who hadn’t even studied much!
But after all his years in politics, Lin Zizhen had long since mastered the art of restraint. Though displeased by Xu Zhi’s blunt words, he showed nothing but humility.
This girl was currently the key to a major breakthrough. The only reason he got this assignment—aside from his own qualifications—was due to power struggles within his family. He couldn’t risk showing dissatisfaction over a few harsh words.
Besides, there were countless eyes watching every second of his interaction with her. One misstep and someone would seize the opportunity to have him replaced.
“Of course. We’ll do our best to meet your needs,” Lin Zizhen replied sincerely.
What he submitted to wasn’t Xu Zhi herself, but the benefits she could bring. That was fine—Xu Zhi didn’t care about the reason, only the results. As long as these people gave her what she wanted, that was enough.
The conversation quickly ended, and the two of them proceeded as if nothing had happened into the uniquely black building.
Perhaps a command had been issued ahead of time, because the guards at the door didn’t stop them. Soon after they entered, a middle-aged man in a lab coat came to greet them.
He introduced himself as one of the researchers in the building and asked Xu Zhi what she wanted to see.
Xu Zhi didn’t stand on ceremony. She stated plainly that she wanted to see the aberration held there.
So, the man and Lin Zizhen led her to an elevator that required biometric authentication. When the elevator doors opened, Xu Zhi realized that despite the building’s modest height, there were nearly 20 underground floors.
She didn’t hide her surprise. Lin Zizhen, ever observant, explained, “Many operations are safer and more discreet underground.”
He continued explaining various things, but Xu Zhi only listened half-heartedly. She wasn’t actually concerned with the reasons—it was just her first time seeing something like this.
The elevator reached the -17th floor, where, according to the researcher, three mutants were being held.
Xu Zhi was curious about how mutants outside the city compared. On the way to the holding cells, she asked, “How did you manage to capture them?”
“That’s thanks to the operations team,” the researcher replied with a chuckle. “When we encounter a mutant, the priority is usually to eliminate it. But sometimes, when a team member’s abilities happen to counter the mutant’s, we can take it down with minimal threat, though it still comes at a cost.”
He was vague, likely unwilling to give away too many specifics—which was understandable.
“Do they ever try to escape?” Xu Zhi asked what sounded like an obvious question.
“Of course,” the researcher laughed again. “That’s why we need to monitor them closely. So far, we haven’t found any drugs that affect them reliably. That’s a huge hassle, so we mostly rely on supernatural abilities or physical restraints.”
Xu Zhi soon saw what he meant by “physical restraints.”
When the researcher unlocked a door with his ID badge, they entered a containment room. Inside was a mutant locked in a transparent cell. Its limbs had been severed, its entire body strapped down with over a dozen restraints. An iron chain was secured around its neck, and its abdomen had been sliced open. Despite all this, the mutant still struggled violently.
Xu Zhi frowned. “You can still run experiments like this?”
The researcher nodded. “When needed, we have ways to calm it down.”
Whatever those methods were, he clearly wasn’t going to share them.
Xu Zhi examined the mutant carefully. It seemed ordinary—similar to the ones she’d seen in news reports. Frenzied, deformed, utterly mindless.
It resembled the mutants she’d encountered in downtown Cloud City, but… wasn’t quite the same.
At the very least, this one didn’t give her any sense of threat. It seemed like just another monster any average familiar could easily defeat.
She didn’t feel the need to be on guard.
Maybe that was just because it no longer had teeth or claws—but either way, Xu Zhi had a strong sense that there was a difference between mutants outside and those inside Cloud City.
At the very least, the ones outside weren’t nearly as terrifying.
If that’s the case, then the outside world really is… peaceful.
She glanced at the other two mutants in containment and found none of them gave her any sense of danger. That was disappointing.
“Don’t you have any questions, Miss Xu?” the researcher asked curiously.
Xu Zhi shook her head. “No point. Let’s go. I’ve seen enough—we should get down to business.”
Her words hinted that the mutants inside and outside the city were different, but the others didn’t understand the deeper meaning. They simply assumed she meant that the containment and research methods used outside the city wouldn’t work inside.
“Let’s find a place to sit down and talk,” Lin Zizhen suggested. The researcher quickly followed up, “How about my office?”
Xu Zhi glanced at him and nodded indifferently.
The office was on the same floor. After she and Lin Zizhen entered, the researcher tactfully left. A few minutes later, someone entered carrying a box.
Xu Zhi figured the box likely contained the attribute cores she’d requested.
“Miss Xu, due to changes in the trade terms, your request has gone from unspecified attribute cores to ones with designated attributes. We weren’t able to gather that many of the specific types on such short notice. Would you be willing to negotiate on the quantity?”
Lin Zizhen wasn’t lying. The core stockpile in a single city like Jincheng wasn’t large, and cores of specific attributes were even rarer. They simply couldn’t afford to hand over 1,000 on such short notice.
However, the real issue was that negotiations with Xu Zhi weren’t just Jincheng’s business. In fact, many other cities’ special affairs departments had already shared resources with Jincheng just to participate. Under pressure from the capital, Jincheng no longer had full control over the negotiations with Xu Zhi.
Still, since she had unilaterally changed the terms of the trade, they didn’t want to offer the same quantity as before.
Xu Zhi understood. She had suddenly altered the agreement, which wasn’t entirely fair. If she wanted cooperation, she had to give a little too.
“Eight hundred, then,” she said.
Lin Zizhen’s eye twitched. There were eight core attributes. A thousand unspecified cores turned into 800 of specific ones? That was…
Still, when he looked at Xu Zhi’s casual expression, he said nothing and waited for a response through his earpiece.
“Accept it. Eight hundred it is.”
A slightly aged voice came through the earpiece.
Lin Zizhen’s expression steadied. He turned to Xu Zhi and nodded. “No problem.”
Thank you 🦅
I think in center is an egg and they are protecting it. Kind of like her familiars protect her