The chairman of the Samseng conglomerate, after speaking, eyed Bai Ye with caution, forcing a calm demeanor while his heart pounded. Life or death hinged on this moment.
“Your laboratory?” Bai Ye nodded slightly, acknowledging that the experiments on mutated warriors indeed held more appeal for him than the wealth of their colossal conglomerate.
Seeming to guess Bai Ye’s thoughts, Chairman Li of Samseng spoke urgently again. “Although the official authorities will eventually take complete control of our conglomerate and find our laboratories, and then Han Zaiyin and others will open them to you.”
“But…” Chairman Li carefully observed Bai Ye’s expression. Seeing he was listening, he dared not delay and continued, “You likely won’t be staying in Korea for long. Even if you send personnel from Great Xia to Korea and they enter the laboratory, the sovereignty of the laboratory will remain with the Korean authorities. Personnel from Great Xia will inevitably have to defer to Korea.”
“But if you give me a chance, I can help you secure the laboratory and maintain its sovereignty. In this way, with the laboratory in your hands, it naturally falls under the control of Great Xia!”
“As for my loyalty, someone as wise as you should be able to see that I have no other choice but to be loyal to you.”
Having spoken, Chairman Li’s fate hung in the balance. This was his greatest, and last, value. The surrounding mutated guards also waited with trepidation, knowing their lives were intertwined with Chairman Li’s.
Bai Ye nodded slightly and casually extinguished the flames on his hand.
“Fine,” he stood up and said, “Take me to see the laboratory.”
Chairman Li of Samseng was surprised that Bai Ye agreed so readily, without much deliberation. Relieved to have escaped death, his face was filled with ecstatic joy.
Although he had lost his ancestral business and immense power, at least his life was spared, which was far better than the other two conglomerates.
At least, he still had a chance to rise again, while the other two, with the demise of their leaders, and being eyed by the authorities, were destined to decline or even perish. And he, not to mention, had hitched himself to Bai Ye’s powerful influence, at least placing himself at the forefront. The Samseng family could at least be preserved…
“Good! Excellent, I will take you immediately.”
“Quick, prepare the car!” Chairman Li of Samseng waved his hand. The guards pressed against the wall, stunned for a moment, then nodded ecstatically and rushed out of the door.
“Mr. Bai, please. Our main laboratory is located on Oeyu Island, off the coast of Incheon District.”
Oeyu Island is situated in the eastern Yellow Sea, off the western coast of Korea. The entire island was leased by Samseng and became private property.
Led by Chairman Li of Samseng, they traveled in a convoy of luxury cars to Yeongjong Grand Island, then boarded a large luxury cruise ship, finally landing on Oeyu Island in the middle of the night.
Oeyu Island is a mountainous island, and the Samseng Group’s laboratory was situated within the heart of the mountain. Only a few villas dotted the jungle outside the mountain island. From the outside, it resembled a private tourist resort, with no indication of the earth-shattering secrets hidden beneath the mountain.
Coupled with the Samseng conglomerate’s overwhelming influence, the Korean authorities remained unaware that their country harbored secrets such as mutated warriors and Demon-Breaking weapons.
The entrance to the laboratory was located within a villa, accessible by elevator. Almost the entire mountain had been hollowed out, and the laboratory's space was significantly larger than the secret underground facilities beneath R-nation’s shrines.
Within the laboratory, there were tens of thousands of scientists, all brought from around the world by the Samseng Group. A myriad of experimental instruments created a dazzling spectacle.
Chairman Li of Samseng summoned the head of the scientific team, a bald European, who then led them on a tour of the various laboratories.
The experimental subjects included white mice, monkeys, and apes…
The primary material for the experiments was a transparent crystal with a faint light blue hue, which they referred to as "Magic Crystals."
The entire laboratory’s inventory of Magic Crystals amounted to approximately 0.3 cubic meters, nearly 50 kilograms. These Magic Crystals were all transported from the Western Alliance.
Bai Ye picked up a piece and discovered it contained numerous impurities, such as carbon dioxide and chlorine gas, similar to Blue Star, as well as many elements not covered in the nine-year compulsory education curriculum.
Compared to what he had refined from Demon-Breaking bullets and daggers previously, these contained significantly more impurities, sparking his curiosity.
The chief scientist explained that these Magic Crystals were purchased from the Western Alliance. Despite paying a hefty price, the major conglomerates had only managed to acquire defective products.
These defective Magic Crystals contained many unknown impurity elements. It proved difficult to effectively separate these unknown elements using the currently controlled ion separation speeds and electrode separation technologies.
These inferior Magic Crystals were the reason behind the grotesquely disfigured appearance of the Korean mutated police officers, who resembled monsters.
The chief scientist explained to Bai Ye that within the Magic Crystals was a peculiar and powerful substance, existing between liquid and gas, which could influence biological constitutions.
However, strangely, all organisms in the experiments were unable to directly absorb this peculiar substance.
In the physical modification experiments, they developed an alternative absorption method. When releasing the peculiar substance from the Magic Crystals, they utilized gamma radiation. As the experimental subjects underwent mutation, they simultaneously absorbed this energy through radiation.
This was the key technology for creating modified warriors. It involved many profound and hair-pulling scientific theories, such as all-particle separation and matter-antimatter annihilation…
“Sir, do you understand my simple explanation?” The chief scientist, after showing Bai Ye around until dawn, still appeared enthusiastic. Bai Ye's consistently inscrutable expression led him to believe he had found a kindred spirit.
However, Bai Ye was genuinely overwhelmed, yet he nodded with an air of cool indifference. Perhaps if they abandoned sorcery and focused on these studies, they might achieve some results. But in doing so, they would be losing sight of the primary objective.
“Mr. Bai, are there any adjustments needed for the laboratory here?” Chairman Li of Samseng, who had accompanied them throughout, maintained a smiling demeanor, showing no disrespect.
At times, his heart was in his mouth, filled with worry, as some experiments defied morality.
Bai Ye’s expression remained calm as he replied, “Great Xia will send a research team. You can follow their arrangements then.”
“Yes!”
“I’ll leave this to you. Don’t worry about Han Zaiyin.”
“Yes, yes!” Chairman Li nodded excitedly, the stone in his heart finally feeling lifted.
“Thank you for sparing my life, Mr. Bai. Rest assured, as long as I am here, I will never let any problems arise with the laboratory…” Chairman Li of Samseng expressed his sincerity profusely, but Bai Ye’s figure suddenly vanished from the laboratory.
In the night sky over downtown Seoul, Bai Ye’s silhouette appeared. Gazing at the dazzling urban nightscape, his gaze slowly shifted towards Great Xia, across the sea.
“It seems that Old Song and those old foxes have many things they haven’t told us!”
Bai Ye murmured softly, then vanished into the night sky once more.
Two days passed.
Han Zaiyin and Han Xiuhui were unable to contact Bai Ye and were unsure if he had left Korea. However, diplomatic teams from Great Xia began arriving in Korea for visits.
A tripartite alliance between Great Xia, R-nation, and Korea was taking shape…
“Why has Brother Ye been missing for so many days again?”
“Tossing and turning, thinking of Brother Ye, day N…”
“Ahhh! What are these current TV shows and variety programs playing? Not masculine, not feminine, can’t they have some virility?”
“I can’t take it anymore! Let’s start a riot!!!”
“Could it be that Korea has no internet? Why is Bai Ye-chan completely silent?”
“Exactly! And Princess Houying has also been missing for many days. It’s really strange!”
“Could it be… they…”
“Cough, cough! Be serious, say what you have to say!!”
…
Where did this kid go? Could he have gone to the Western Alliance? In Modu, Old Song was also puzzled, unable to contact Bai Ye for a long time.
“But given this kid’s personality, if he went to the West, there should be some commotion!”
“I don’t know what the situation is in the Woojiaohai Mountain range. There have been thunderstorms every day recently… Without his orders, it’s difficult to send soldiers in to check… Alas!”
Old Song muttered while sipping hot tea, then picked up the phone to call Bai Ye.
Ring~
Ring~
…
After a long ringing, no one answered. This was not the first time he had called. If it were any other brat acting like this, with Old Song’s temper, he would probably send a few special forces to capture the person.
“Hello?”
Just as he was about to hang up, Bai Ye’s voice suddenly came through.
Old Song’s eyebrows shot up. “Good boy! Where have you been these past few days that you can’t be reached? I thought you were dead!”
“Oh? Oh! I’m in R-sea pursuing the Sea Devourer! I don’t know where this damn thing has run off to now…”
In R-sea, Bai Ye’s figure floated in the air, answering the phone while his spatial perception scanned the surroundings, conducting a thorough search.
Over the past few days, he had searched the entire R-nation, but still found no trace of the Sea Devourer. Bai Ye suspected that this fellow definitely knew he was being targeted and had gone into hiding.
Perhaps it had transformed and blended into the crowd? Bai Ye suspected.
“Your ranch must have encountered some trouble.”
“What trouble?” Bai Ye’s brow furrowed.
“It’s been struck by lightning every day recently. Aren’t you coming back to see?”
Old Song’s words stunned Bai Ye.
Could it be that Gou Dan and the others caused some trouble? Or was there an anomaly in the spatial rift? Or… Lydia???
Bai Ye’s gaze flickered. “Alright! I’ll be back immediately.”