Chapter 270: Conspiracy
“Calm down,” Lu Xiao glanced at the bloodstains and told those behind him, “Check the scene. We’ll go ask the Zhuang family.”
“Yes, yes, go to the Zhuang family,” Qi Lin said. Since Lu Xiao’s son was involved, Qi Lin looked at Lu Xiao’s grim expression but quickly organized people, calming his own panic, and followed him swiftly toward the Zhuang family.
Not far away, when the group’s villa stopped, the Zhuang family members saw them.
Third Master Zhuang looked from his study and glanced over. Beside him, Zhuang Chengzheng asked, “Lu Xiao has many men under him. Will this drag us down?”
“What business is it of ours?” Third Master Zhuang smiled. “These are Chengye’s soldiers. Besides, we didn’t do anything. It’s all that kid Mingxu making enemies and ruining himself.”
Lu Xiao brought Qi Lin directly into the Zhuang family yard. In the courtyard, Xia Xue and Song You were playing with toys—one holding a doll, the other studying an electric car. When they saw people coming in, they loudly called to those inside.
Xia Xiaorong was the first to come out. “Young Master Lu.”
“I’m here to see Young Master Zhuang,” Lu Xiao said, referring to Zhuang Chengye, his direct superior.
“Eldest uncle and the others are out. Only the old master is at home,” Xia Xiaorong said.
“Then I’ll see the old master.”
“Wait a moment,” Xia Xiaorong let them in and went to get the old master. Soon after, she sent Lu Xiao to the study.
“Old Master Zhuang,” Lu Xiao greeted.
Before he could ask, the old master spoke first, “I know what you want to ask. Last night, the Hunter’s Guild brought a group of ability users to attack the villa. Our people who rushed over have gone missing. There’s blood everywhere in the hall. Chengye is now interrogating those ability users.”
“This is the garbage test result. It contains components,” the old master handed Lu Xiao a paper, briefly explaining the conflict between Zhuang Mingxu and Li Ji. “We are already investigating.”
“All… missing?” Lu Xiao’s aura tightened, speaking slowly and clearly. “Where is Mingxu?”
“Mingxu is missing too. We’re sending people to look for him.”
“Where are the detainees held? I want to join the interrogation.”
“That’s Chengye’s responsibility. Wait for him to return and he’ll tell you.”
“Alright, sorry to bother you.” Lu Xiao finished speaking and turned to leave. Qi Lin followed behind, stunned for a moment. He waited until they were outside the villa before refusing to accept it.
“When I left, they were fine. The squad leader said he’d wait for us. His abilities are strong, he definitely would be okay…”
“He… he must be lying. Young Master Lu, what do you think? Surely he is.”
“Check it out first.” The paper in his hand was crumpled tightly by Lu Xiao. He said solemnly, striding back into the villa. Compared to Qi Lin’s confusion, he showed an abnormal calmness—yet looking closely, the calm hid a storm of anger.
“Cong Qing, report the situation,” Lu Xiao ordered as soon as he entered the villa.
“Lord Xiao,” a serious-looking man said, “We have checked thoroughly. All the bloodstains are human blood. We can’t confirm yet if it’s from one or multiple people. Judging from the bleeding, the victims didn’t struggle. There is no sign of disorder in any room, but…”
“A backpack is missing and appears to have been rummaged through,” Cong Qing led Lu Xiao upstairs.
The Zhuang Chengye’s men only took some clearly needed items for inspection. The incident was huge and involved two factions. Many were watching. The scene wasn’t badly damaged.
Cong Qing took him into a room. “Every room has an emergency backpack. I checked, and all are the same except this one missing one or two. The items were tossed into the wardrobe. It looks like whoever left was in a big hurry.”
“This is standard equipment for everyone in the team. It contains emergency food, water, and some survival supplies. It’s a must-have when going out,” Qi Lin explained as he examined the room. “This is Li Zhuang and Xu Yi’s room. It should belong to Li Zhuang.”
“The marks on this bed suggest someone was lying here not long ago,” Cong Qing led the two of them to the middle of the room. “A child was lying here. Compared to the other rooms, the wrinkles in the sheets show someone had been sleeping here recently. There are no signs they got up by themselves, so they were likely carried away. There are also signs of someone hiding in the kitchen. I found hair there.”
He took out a few soft strands. “Looks like a child’s.”
The three went downstairs into the kitchen. The signs of someone having hidden in a cupboard were obvious. In a dust-covered spot, there was a clean area. Cong Qing reached out to touch the accumulated dust. “This type of dust is also found on the supplies thrown out from the first room.”
“I suspect something happened in the villa. Someone discovered it, took the child and hid in the cupboard, then later went to grab supplies and escaped with them,” Cong Qing concluded. Before anyone could speak, he added, “There are signs someone climbed over the back courtyard wall—there are the same traces of this dust on it.”
“That was Xu Yi’s bed,” Qi Lin murmured. Thinking of Xu Yi’s arm being cut off by Lu Weiyi, he shuddered.
Lu Xiao said nothing, handing a slip of paper to Cong Qing and repeating what Elder Zhuang had told him. “What’s the chance that everyone in this villa was silenced without alerting anyone?”
“Zero,” Cong Qing replied. There are patrols every thirty minutes. With so many ability users involved, it’s impossible no one encountered them. “The others have gone out to gather more information. We’ll report back as soon as there’s news.”
Lu Xiao nodded and pulled over a chair to sit in the courtyard.
The large tree in front of him was oddly out of place. He asked Qi Lin, “Was this tree here when you left?”
“No,” Qi Lin stepped forward and cautiously poked at it. A very fine strand of thread wrapped around his hand and pushed it. He recoiled in surprise, “General Lu! It’s alive!”
Lu Xiao stood and conjured a fireball, throwing it at the tree. Just as it was about to hit, the fireball bounced back. Lu Xiao dodged quickly and it hit the ground.
The fine thread that had wrapped around Qi Lin’s fingers retracted and vanished.
“This seems like… a mutated plant,” Lu Xiao said uncertainly.
“It is a mutated plant. Meng Huan already sensed it earlier, and it’s not low-level,” Cong Qing confirmed. Then he asked Qi Lin, “Who in your team has mutated plant abilities?”
“Gu Qingji,” Qi Lin replied, then hesitated. “The squad leader might have too… I’m not sure. I’m in Team 2 and didn’t interact with him much.”
As Qi Lin spoke, he seemed to recall something and turned to look at the tree. He carefully reached out and touched it again. A green branch gently nudged his hand. That sensation…
“This…” he was astonished. He placed his whole palm on it. Remembering how Zhuang Mingxu used to tickle the plant, the green branch immediately pushed his entire arm away. Qi Lin could now feel it clearly. His face lit up with joy. “This belongs to the squad leader. I’ve felt this before.”
After being rescued countless times by Lu Weiyi from drowning, that memory was unforgettable.
Lu Xiao frowned slightly and reached out to touch it. Cong Qing tried to stop him, but Lu Xiao waved him off.
“Be gentle, don’t hurt it. It’s really clever,” Qi Lin warned.
As Lu Xiao approached, he too felt it. Looking closely, he identified a strand of green that merged into the leaves above.
“This is Xiao Yi’s mutated plant…” Lu Xiao sat back down and murmured thoughtfully. Then he said to Cong Qing, “Go find the base’s wood-type ability user who has mutated plant control. I want to ask him something.”
*
Laboratory
Dean had regained his strength.
Just as he tried to sneak out, he was caught by someone delivering food, which alarmed the doctors on that floor. They quickly sent him back to his room.
He had only been sitting for a while when Zhuang Mingxu returned alone.
“Feeling better?” Zhuang Mingxu asked.
Dean didn’t answer.
Zhuang Mingxu glanced at the food on the table, rang the bell, and ordered another portion.
He had already searched all five underground levels. Aside from various labs, there were corresponding offices and testing rooms, but he still hadn’t found where the surveillance room was. Only the third floor remained unexplored.
They had all lost their powers. Even if he found the calming injection, judging from Dean’s recovery, it would take at least seven or eight hours to work, which was practically useless.
The only option would be to kill every guard in the facility to even have a chance at escape. But…
They had no reinforcements.
He didn’t know how Lu Weiyi was doing now.
Zhuang Mingxu lowered his head, thinking of ways to expose what was happening here and possibly gain support from another faction.
But even if another faction took over, they might still end up as experimental subjects.
They were given an injection every twelve hours. Based on the last dose, the next one should come around midnight.
Zhuang Mingxu fiddled with the access card in his pocket, deciding to scout around again after eating.
Another meal was delivered. As Zhuang Mingxu opened the lunchbox, he whispered, “I saw Antonio. He’s fine. Don’t react!”
Dean, who had been excited, immediately composed himself and acted like he hadn’t heard anything.
“I’ll go check the place tonight. Don’t move around.”
“Eat. You’re still useful.” Zhuang Mingxu shoved the meal toward him coldly. “If you’ve got strength, hurry up and heal me. Don’t make me think you’re useless.”
Dean didn’t know which personality to trust, but eating was the right call. Saving strength was crucial.
He dumped both dishes onto his rice and started eating furiously, like venting his frustration.
Now that his condition had normalized, the broken-down shell he’d been was gone. He seemed to regain his fighting spirit. Zhuang Mingxu was visibly relieved.
After the meal, Zhuang Mingxu looked at Dean. “Time to work.”
He patted his leg. Dean glared at him but reached out and channeled some energy to relieve his day-long fatigue and weakness.
“That’s it,” Dean pulled back onto his chair.
Zhuang Mingxu patted his leg and tossed the lunchboxes to the doorway. “You’d better not wander off. If they cut out an organ, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Dean silently lowered his head and said nothing.
The door was still open and hadn’t been closed yet when a piercing, blood-curdling scream suddenly came from outside. Dean shuddered and looked at Zhuang Mingxu in terror.
Zhuang Mingxu hesitated for a moment before returning to the room. “Get on the bed and sleep.”
Dean climbed onto the bed and wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, trembling as he listened to the screams outside.
Zhuang Mingxu massaged his leg for a while, then lay down on the bed, looking like he was about to nap. He lowered his voice and said, “Those who’ve been injected with the ability-enhancing serum get it twice a day. Once you’re no longer useful, you’ll be sent over there too.”
