Underground Building, 349th floor.

Unlike most floors, there were still scattered streetlights on even after nine o'clock in the evening, providing some illumination, though it was rather dim to avoid disturbing residents.

After Jiang Baimian entered her home at No. 12, Zone C, she found that her parents had not yet returned, so she went to the study first and used her father's computer and account to browse the recent major and minor news.

Aside from the matter of the Natural Church, there was nothing worth paying attention to... and there was no follow-up investigation into the "Sacrifice of Life" cult... Was it kept secret, not posted online? Or was Old Jiang's authority not enough? Jiang Baimian rotated the mouse wheel and scrolled down the page, sensing three faint electrical signals approaching outside the door.

Three? Jiang Baimian stood up in doubt and walked out of the study.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw her father, Jiang Wenfeng, and her mother, Xue Sumei.

In addition, there was a middle-aged man she didn't recognize.

The other party's hair was black and thick, but slightly messy, suggesting that he didn't pay much attention to his appearance.

He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose and had a scholarly air.

"Dad, Mom." After Jiang Baimian greeted them, she turned her gaze to the stranger.

Jiang Wenfeng, whose black hair was mixed with some silver strands, understood his daughter's meaning and explained with a smile:

"Call him Uncle Mei."

"Hello, Uncle Mei." In front of her elders, Jiang Baimian was always well-behaved.

The middle-aged man surnamed Mei nodded with a smile:

"You must be Mianmian, right?"

I don't like being called by my nickname... Jiang Baimian tried her best to maintain her smile and replied with an "Mm."

"She's grown up so well, probably at D7 level already?" The middle-aged man surnamed Mei glanced at Jiang Wenfeng and Xue Sumei as he spoke. "If my child wasn't so young, only in their teens, I'd really want to have your Mianmian as my daughter-in-law."

Jiang Baimian had heard this kind of praise many times and was no longer embarrassed.

As Xue Sumei was about to say a few polite words, the middle-aged man surnamed Mei suddenly let out a long burp, as if a lot of gas was churning up in his stomach.

"Hehe, old stomach problem, old stomach problem." He then explained with a wry smile.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the middle-aged man surnamed Mei waved goodbye to the Jiang family and walked towards the other end of Zone C.

Jiang Baimian watched his back disappear around the corner and asked curiously:

"Dad, how come I've never met this Uncle Mei?"

"It would be strange if you had met him. He was recently promoted to M1, the deputy director of the Hongmeng Research Institute." Jiang Wenfeng said as he walked into the living room.

M represents management, and M1 is the lowest level, including deputy heads of various departments and heads of important research projects.

Xi Yu, the deputy minister of the Security Department, and Jiang Baimian's father, Jiang Wenfeng, were in this rank.

"Oh, oh, he just moved here." Jiang Baimian suddenly understood.

To avoid being nagged by Xue Sumei, she turned to ask:

"Where did you guys go? Why are you so late?"

Jiang Wenfeng, who was over half a century old, glanced at his youngest daughter:

"Not only are your ears not working well, but your memory seems to be getting worse too.

"Have you forgotten that today is Old Huang's birthday? We take you to his house every year at this time."

Jiang Baimian was stunned for a moment and exclaimed, "Oops!"

"My days are all mixed up."

Old Huang's full name was Huang Renhui, and he was a member of the "Pangu Biology" board of directors, chief scientist, and M3-level management.

Hearing this, Xue Sumei immediately glared at Jiang Baimian:

"Look at you, always so muddleheaded, how can you be a good leader of the Old World Ruins Investigation Team? Aren't you afraid of harming your team members? It would be better for you to transfer to a position within the company. You're not getting any younger..."

Jiang Baimian felt the veins in her forehead twitch and looked at Jiang Wenfeng with pleading eyes, calling out softly:

"Dad..."

"Ah, what did you say? I didn't hear you?" Jiang Wenfeng raised his hand and touched his ear.

He imitated Jiang Baimian's usual behavior perfectly.

Jiang Baimian was both amused and annoyed, and her mind raced, opening her mouth to ask:

"Did that Uncle Mei also go to Old Huang's house as a guest?

"Where's his wife?"

She knew that this topic was the type that her mother would be interested in.

As expected, Xue Sumei fell for it and glanced out the window:

"I heard she passed away before the new year. It's a pity she didn't get to see Mei Shou'an promoted to M1..."

"What kind of research does Uncle Mei do?" Jiang Baimian turned the topic to the direction her father would chat about.

Jiang Wenfeng sat down on the reclining chair by the window and said with a smile:

"Actually, you've met him a few times when you were little, but it's been too long, so you definitely don't remember.

"He used to study plant science, but later, he somehow switched to researching the mysteries of the human body. He's mainly responsible for this area at the Hongmeng Research Institute.

"When you flip through various reports, documents, and news, anything that starts with C followed by a number is more or less related to him."

"No wonder he knows my nickname..." Jiang Baimian suddenly understood.

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly froze.

She remembered something:

Shang Jianyao's experimental project as a volunteer was called "C-14"!

Researching the mysteries of the human body... "C-14"... Shang Jianyao became an Awakened... Uncle Mei was recently promoted to M1 management... Jiang Baimian combined these pieces of information and revealed a thoughtful expression.

"What are you thinking about?" Jiang Wenfeng glanced at her and asked.

"Ah, what did you say?" Jiang Baimian habitually touched her ear canal.

Jiang Wenfeng repeated himself impatiently.

"I was wondering if I've ever seen any projects starting with C." Jiang Baimian replied, half truthfully.

Jiang Wenfeng sighed:

"Your ears, ah, you should find some time to get an implanted cochlear implant.

"If you're really scared, go see a psychologist for treatment first."

Xue Sumei followed up with nagging about this matter.

Jiang Baimian forced a smile and dealt with her parents, finally getting through this ordeal with her EQ and eloquence.

...

The next day, Jiang Baimian got up on time, washed up, and took the elevator to the 647th floor.

She didn't relax just because she was on vacation; anyway, she had nothing to do at home.

After changing into her well-fitting combat suit and grabbing a clean towel, Jiang Baimian turned into the training room her team usually used.

As soon as she walked in, she saw Shang Jianyao practicing handstands.

Handstands...

"What's the use of practicing this?" Jiang Baimian asked with a slightly complex expression.

If it was purely for balance, there were many better methods.

Shang Jianyao lowered his legs, used the strength of his abdomen, and stood up directly.

He said seriously:

"I'm preparing for the day I encounter Awakened of the same type.

"When my hands can't make any moves, I still have my feet."

Although Jiang Baimian felt that there was an indescribable strangeness to it, she had to admit that Shang Jianyao's logic was self-consistent.

She said carefully:

"A better way would be to get some chip-assisted weapons.

"Like some of Genava's modules."

Shang Jianyao's eyes lit up:

"That's right! If I transformed one of my hands into a mechanical one, I wouldn't be afraid of losing the use of both hands."

Jiang Baimian intuitively felt that this topic would develop in a very dangerous direction and quickly asked about another matter:

"Didn't you say you were about to break through the third island?"

She had confirmed that there were no surveillance cameras or hidden listening devices in the training room.

"I've already broken through it." Shang Jianyao gave the answer in a tone as if he was talking about what he had for breakfast.

"What changed?" Jiang Baimian asked in surprise.

Shang Jianyao roughly described his experimental results and concluded:

"The specific values still need to wait for the test subject, Little Red, to arrive before they can be finalized, but they should all be within the range I mentioned."

"Why do you always bully Little Red?" Jiang Baimian chuckled. "Come on, I'll volunteer."

"There need to be multiple." Shang Jianyao emphasized.

At this moment, Long Yuehong, who had changed into his training clothes, walked in and asked with a smile:

"What are you guys talking about so happily?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian turn their gaze towards him at the same time.

"You, what are you going to do?" Long Yuehong took a step back in fright and almost bumped into Bai Chen, who was about to enter.

After a while, the "Old Task Force" team activity ended, and Jiang Baimian nodded slightly:

"It's still about a 50% increase."

The exact range of "Reasoning Clown" was nine meters.

"I wonder what Shang Jianyao's next island will be like..." Long Yuehong muttered to himself curiously.

Shang Jianyao thought seriously for a moment and said:

"I think those islands should be the ones who are afraid."

"You're really confident!" Jiang Baimian laughed. "Come on, get your bodies moving and prepare to train!"

This did not include Bai Chen; the fracture in her shoulder had not completely healed, and she came to the training room mainly to maintain her physical condition.

Towards the end of the training, Jiang Baimian remembered Uncle Mei, whom she had met last night, and looked at Shang Jianyao:

"Do you remember who was in charge of the 'C-14' project you participated in?

"Have you met Mei Shou'an?"

Shang Jianyao recalled and said:

"When I went in, there was just a bed, and a nurse wearing a mask injected me with anesthesia, and then I fell asleep and entered the 'Hall of Stars'.

"When I woke up, I was questioned and examined by different researchers, but I don't know who Mei Shou'an is."

Why didn't you say so earlier? Jiang Baimian immediately described Mei Shou'an's appearance.

At this time, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen were both looking at Shang Jianyao, waiting for his answer.

They were quite interested in the research project that Shang Jianyao had participated in back then.

Shang Jianyao quickly said in a certain tone:

"I just went through my memories last night, and there's no such person."

"Okay." Jiang Baimian stopped asking.

The four then separated and went to the small bathhouse.

After cleaning themselves and changing their clothes, they first gathered in the corridor and then returned to Room 14 together.

At the door, Jiang Baimian casually checked the mailbox and found a letter inside.

She took it out and saw that the recipient was Shang Jianyao.

"Yours." Jiang Baimian entered the room and threw the letter to Shang Jianyao.

She didn't find it too strange because the "Old Task Force" was Shang Jianyao's "work unit," and it was normal for letters to be sent here.

Shang Jianyao quickly opened it, glanced at it, and said calmly:

"The 'C-14' project wants me to do a test, which is part of the follow-up observation within half a year."

Half a year ago, he was on the surface, so the letter arrived as soon as he came back.

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