Xu An looked at the title, frowned, and clicked on it with her intelligent terminal. What greeted her was a shriveled corpse, looking like its essence and blood had been drained.
She wasn't sure if she should compliment the artificial intelligence's lifelike functions; the corpse's photo was too realistic. Suppressing her discomfort, she opened the content.
The post was somewhat like an exposé, clearly a firsthand account from the poster. The entire text was narrated in the first person.
There were quite a few typos and grammatical errors, but these issues, paradoxically, added to the post's authenticity.
It included many accompanying pictures, each with a text explanation.
Xu An read very quickly, almost skimming through, but in the fleeting photos, a familiar face flashed by.
"He Ci?" Xu An's brow furrowed tightly. He Ci's appearance prompted Xu An to reread the post from beginning to end.
The pictures showed several men and women in white lab coats and masks inspecting a greenhouse. In the soil were planted vine-like plants that Xu An had never seen before.
The plants were grotesquely shaped, like tentacles, clinging to bones. Although the image was static, Xu An still felt a chill.
The plants seemed to be gnawing on the bones of some unknown animal, and the tentacles appeared to be wriggling continuously.
Xu An looked, then abruptly closed the post, feeling a deep sense of dread and her skin crawling.
Xu Yan, who had just finished her work in the kitchen, saw Xu An's actions and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
"Mom, where does He Ci work?"
"Why are you asking this suddenly?"
"Don't ask me that yet, tell me what research institute he works at."
"I remember it's something like the Academy of Agricultural Sciences."
Xu An's mind flashed back to what He Ci had told her about their new research on a novel crop. But these pictures hardly looked like agricultural produce.
It wasn't even clear who was the food.
"Did something happen?" Xu Yan asked, seeing her daughter's solemn expression.
"It seems something has happened at He Ci's research institute. That trial planting of new crops they were working on has now resulted in a death."
"Ah! How could that happen? Isn't it just planting crops? How could it result in a death?"
"The lighthouse is now all saying that the research institute is secretly conducting human experiments behind the people's backs. On the surface, they are recruiting workers and solving the people's livelihood problems, but in reality, they are deliberately luring people in with the goal of reducing the lighthouse population."
"That's too far-fetched..." Xu Yan looked speechless. In the old society, there were indeed online media that would stir up trouble and pressure public opinion.
She hadn't expected that such things would still exist on the lighthouse.
"Is there any evidence for what they're saying?"
Xu An nodded and told her mother about the exposé post.
"The online discussions are now fiercely contested, and this will affect the lighthouse authorities' control and credibility," Xu An said.
"So, do you also think there's something wrong with this experimental field?"
"Yes, those plants are too strange." Xu An then described the appearance of the plants in the photos to her mother.
"If what you say is true, then this experimental field is indeed very strange, but I don't think it's really some deadly monster." Xu Yan continued her analysis, "Do you remember that He Ci previously asked if we would also come to work at the experimental field?"
"I remember. Not only before, but I just met He Ci downstairs, and he kept inviting me to work there. If it were really something dangerous, he wouldn't have invited us over repeatedly." Xu An nodded and recounted her encounter with He Ci downstairs.
"Then that's right, that boy He Ci isn't that bad at heart."
Regarding Xu Yan's evaluation of He Ci, Xu An couldn't agree more. She wasn't angry about He Ci being mesmerized by Zhou Haimi.
Everyone appreciates beauty.
Xu An herself also liked looking at beautiful girls.
"Then, if the problem isn't with the laboratory, could it be that someone is framing them?" Xu An voiced her doubts.
"We don't have any evidence now, so it's not good to speculate randomly. But the appearance of this death is indeed suspicious. Has the official side responded?"
"They issued a statement saying they would thoroughly investigate, but it didn't have much effect."
"Indeed, people are living precariously now. Everyone has finally managed to reach the lighthouse, and if it's not safe here, people will surely feel uneasy. It's understandable."
Xu An felt that her mother's words made a lot of sense. She had intended to call He Ci to ask, but then realized she didn't have his contact information.
Just as she was about to ask Xu Yan for it, her mother shook her head, stopping her.
"Don't call He Ci to ask now. If I guessed correctly, he should call us. From what you've said, he should be unaware of all this, which is why he came to find you. He'll be swamped with matters if he goes back now, so let's wait for him to call."
Although Xu An verbally agreed, she held out little hope that He Ci would actually call.
It wasn't until evening, close to bedtime, that there was a knock on Xu An's door.
Xu Yan pushed the door open and came in, "Are you asleep? He Ci's call is here, do you want to answer it?"
Upon hearing it was He Ci, Xu An's previously drowsy mind instantly became clear. She reached out and took the communicator.
On the other end of the line, a weary voice came through, "Hello, is this Xu An?"
"Mm."
"Do you believe me? I would never harm you." He Ci's voice was tinged with indescribable grievance and sadness.
Xu An didn't know how to comfort him. Her decisive refusal earlier stemmed from her not fully trusting He Ci, and now she couldn't utter any eloquent words.
"So, what exactly are those plants?" Xu An dodged He Ci's question and asked what she wanted to know.
"I don't know either. A colleague brought it out from a swamp beneath the lighthouse."
"That thing isn't a crop, is it?" Xu An finally asked.
After seeing the plant in the photo, Xu An knew that it absolutely couldn't be a crop.
He Ci remained silent. If she couldn't faintly hear his male breathing, Xu An would have thought He Ci had hung up.
"You don't need to apologize to me. Whether I believe you or not, it's not that important. If you can't say it, I'll hang up first..." Before Xu An could finish the word "hang up."
From the other end of the phone, He Ci's low, hoarse voice rang out.