Chapter 114: Life-and-Death Marathon (5)

Chapter 114 - Life-and-Death Marathon (5)

◎ Vincent.Z ◎

Gao Xiangyang asserted firmly, "He could never be Zhuang Qingyan!"

"Dr. Gao, if you speak any louder, you'll summon all the zombies back," Yin Xiao teased lightly.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Gao Xiangyang realized his reaction was excessive and quickly apologized, lowering his voice.

"Shall we talk inside the car? It's not safe down here," Yin Xiao suggested proactively.

"No need," Song Ke rejected instantly.

Yin Xiao chuckled, didn't say more, waved to the sky, and a hovercar approached slowly. With a single hand support, he leaped into the car.

Song Ke stared at Gao Xiangyang, slowly speaking, "Why can't he be Zhuang Qingyan?"

Gao Xiangyang sighed, "Do you know Vincent.Z?"

Song Ke shook her head confidently, "Don't know."

Gao Xiangyang pressed further, "What about Dr. Zhuang?"

Song Ke continued shaking her head, "Don't know."

Gao Xiangyang hesitated for a moment, "...The Qinglan Institute, you've heard of it, right?"

This time, Song Ke nodded, "I know." It was from Zhuang Qingyan.

Gao Xiangnan breathed a sigh of relief, "Vincent, also known as Dr. Zhuang, is a godfather-level biological scientist of the Alliance. He's the soul behind genetic engineering, and the initial purpose of the Qinglan Institute was to gather the entire Alliance's scientific force to support his research to the fullest."

"Vincent led the gene splicing and DNA recombination project, breaking the boundaries of inherent biological species. It truly achieved the transfer of genetic information across species, marking the greatest scientific achievement since the New Era (the first year of the New Calendar) worldwide!" Dr. Gao became more excited as he spoke, his eyes reflecting a certain fervor, "My lifelong dream is to join the team under his personal guidance!"

Song Ke silently opened the terminal and searched for this Vincent.Z. The results showed up in thousands of pages, overwhelming compared to Gao Xiangyang's honorary titles. Song Ke roughly scanned through Vincent's biography, encountering dense blocks of professional descriptions that made her eyes sparkle and breathing difficult, almost causing her to feel dizzy.

Amidst the haze, she only remembered "the greatest scientist of the New Era" and "the godfather of Qinglan."

Yin Xiao emerged from the hovercar and, from a distance, tossed two things towards Song Ke. "Keep going."

Song Ke received them in her hands and glanced down. They were special energy drinks supplied exclusively to awakeners in the Northern Base. Unopened, the bottles had codes on them, seemingly not regular items available in the market.

She glanced up at Yin Xiao, who made a drinking gesture. Song Ke handed one bottle to Xu Xing, held onto the remaining one, but didn't drink it.

"What's the relationship between Vincent and Zhuang Qingyan?" she persistently asked Gao Xiangyang.

"Of course, there's a... relation—!" Gao Xiangyang involuntarily raised his voice, got a glance from Yin Xiao, and lowered it, "...relationship."

"Vincent once held a lecture in Askar. I was incredibly lucky to get selected to attend. I remember it vividly. During the Q&A session, someone asked him if he deliberately maintained a mysterious persona online because everyone referred to him as Vincent or Dr. Zhuang, not knowing his real name."

"Vincent said no, that there were no public images of him to avoid unnecessary trouble. As for his real name, it actually came from an ancient writing tool of an old civilization, signifying perseverance and determination. Because the pronunciation in the common language was awkward, everyone got used to calling him Vincent."

"After answering, Vincent even displayed on the screen the name he wrote with his own hands, which was... 'Zhuang Qingyan.'"

"Oh, so Zhuang Qingyan is Vincent?" Song Ke naturally assumed that someone who knew so much must be some kind of scientific luminary.

Gao Xiangyang shook his head gravely, "No, I attended that lecture when I was thirteen."

Song Ke widened her eyes slightly, "?"

"Twenty years have passed, how could a person remain unchanged, or even appear younger and healthier?" Gao Xiangyang murmured to himself. "Even if the appearance is identical, your friend couldn't possibly be Zhuang Qingyan!"

Perhaps due to long seclusion in the laboratory, Vincent rarely appeared in public, and although his face was strikingly similar, he didn't look too well. His hair was disheveled, his skin pale, and he had prominent dark circles under his eyes, appearing extremely fatigued.

"Did your friend use Vincent's genetic information for facial reconstruction?" Gao Xiangyang suddenly speculated, speaking faster. "Facial changes aside, how could he dare to use Vincent's real name? Shameful, absolutely shameful!"

"Is it illegal?" Song Ke asked expressionlessly.

"N-no, it's not illegal..." Gao Xiangyang's eyes held condemnation. "But it's unethical! Even if one idolizes Vincent, they should use some common sense! Even if his appearance is the same as Vincent's, the biological information cannot be altered; he can never become Zhuang Qingyan!"

"Okay," Song Ke responded dryly.

Gao Xiangyang felt indignant and passionately said, "You should advise him to change back to his original appearance; I can offer help..."

"We're leaving," Song Ke automatically ignored his ramblings, grabbing Xu Xing's hand, heading towards the entrance of Luojia.

"Wait," Yin Xiao positioned himself in front of her. "What's your name?"

Just hearing the word "name" gave Song Ke a headache. Without looking back, she passed by him. "None of your business."

"Please, try to talk some sense into him!" Gao Xiangyang continued shouting from behind.

...

Song Ke and Xu Xing sat side by side on a park bench, sipping their drinks. Xu Xing delicately sipped through a straw, legs swinging gently, while Song Ke tore open the cap and guzzled down half the bottle, feeling refreshed, even a tad more energetic.

Song Ke didn't believe Zhuang Qingyan was the kind of person Gao Xiangyang described—someone who went through extreme lengths of idolizing Vincent and underwent surgery to resemble him. From the beginning, Zhuang Qingyan claimed to be a researcher at Qinglan Institute, showing genuine familiarity with it. If he were masquerading as Vincent for work, wouldn't it be easy to get caught?

Then there was his work ID, verified by Wu Juemin as "authentic" with "high permissions." Would Azure Phoenix's people make such an error? At least it meant Zhuang Qingyan's credentials were genuine. How could he possess his ID if he wasn't truly "Zhuang Qingyan"?

Moreover, even if Vincent didn't often appear in public, he was someone whose information spanned thousands of pages online. There would be people who knew him, recognized his face. Why would Zhuang Qingyan choose to look like Vincent instead of altering his appearance to be more ordinary?

And the most crucial question remained: why would he modify his own genetic information?

Lost in these thoughts, Song Ke's mind drifted. If Zhuang Qingyan wasn't "Zhuang Qingyan," then who was he really?

She sighed heavily, troubled, covering her face. Zhuang Qingyan had claimed he wouldn't lie if she asked, but did she really want to ask?

"Zhuang Qingyan is a huge liar," Xu Xing piped up, seizing the chance to complain while sipping his drink.

"Xiao Xing, he's our... teammate," Song Ke replied, ruffling Xu Xing's hair, her disagreement apparent.

"He's always lying, never telling sister about his abilities, always bullying me secretly. I said he's a wanted criminal, and he threatened me."

"You can't just casually accuse others of being..." Song Ke's words halted abruptly.

Wanted.

In her mind, a flash of light occurred momentarily, gathering all the scattered clues into a tangled mess, unraveling the threads of the mystery right before her eyes.

Why would someone change their appearance? Unless they had a reason they couldn't avoid, like being a wanted criminal.

At the Qinglan Research Institute, the key, the anomaly when Zhuang Qingyan met Xie Ningyu...

The answer was on the verge of emerging.

"Xiao Xing, can you go back on your own?" Song Ke turned and asked.

"Yes, I can." Xu Xing nodded obediently.

After Xu Xing walked away, Song Ke messaged someone, "Where are you?"

The other person quickly replied with a location.

At the entrance of a high-end materials store, Lu Xiaoyu was sorting out scattered materials, attempting to evenly distribute them among each robotic arm.

Song Ke squatted beside him, "Later, are you going back to the hospital?"

Lu Xiaoyu nodded, "Yes."

Having stayed outside for nearly a day, they knew that according to Fang Zhixu's estimation, the surgery was expected to take about eight hours and should be ending soon.

Song Ke casually asked, "How do you know Zhuang Qingyan?"

"When we were in school, I unfortunately ended up taking most of the same courses as him," Lu Xiaoyu replied.

"What school? Ah-something Askar, the First Military Academy?"

"Askar? No." Lu Xiaoyu glanced at Song Ke. Askar's First Military Academy was in District B9 and consistently ranked in the top three within the Alliance. Song Ke knowing about that place surprised him a bit. "We were in Liuboni."

"Liuboni in District A4."

Lu Xiaoyu didn't delve into further details, such as Liuboni being the most heavily monopolized knowledge center in the entire Alliance. The city consisted mainly of vast academic institutions, divided into different disciplinary factions, and only accepted "gene-selects" for admission, advocating a so-called "elite-style education."

"When you knew each other, was he already called Zhuang Qingyan?" Song Ke suddenly asked.

"Yeah," Lu Xiaoyu paused for less than a second, barely detectable.

"Oh," Song Ke nodded, "then why didn't you recognize him in the Death Prison?"

"It's been almost ten years since we last met. We've both undergone significant changes. It's not surprising that we didn't recognize each other."

"Has he changed a lot?"

Lu Xiaoyu looked serious. "Yeah, quite a lot. After all, I just lost my legs, but he gave up a portion of his intelligence."

Song Ke couldn't help but chuckle. These two always took jabs at each other whenever they got the chance, quite the pair.

"Is the Lu family on good terms with the Xie family?" Song Ke inquired.

This time, Lu Xiaoyu remained silent for a good three or four seconds. "Which Xie family?"

Song Ke blinked. "The Xie family from North County (District B6)."

"We've met, Lu Xinglan. He, like you, hails from Erjia (District B8) and is quite familiar with Xie Ningyu."

"Who's Lu Xinglan? I don't know him," Lu Xiaoyu said calmly. "I never waste my memory on people significantly weaker than me."

"Do you remember people from the Xie family then?"

Lu Xiaoyu's icy eyes flickered, fixed on Song Ke. For a moment, it seemed as if that name was about to slip from his lips.

Lu Xiaoyu: "No..."

Suddenly, Song Ke hoisted up a whole bag of materials from the ground and placed it on the only mechanical arm on his right side. "It's getting late. Let's head back."

Then, without paying attention, she tinkered with the terminal and walked away on her own.

Lu Xiaoyu: "..."

He swayed on the spot for a moment, barely maintaining balance, muttering to the air, "I didn't say anything."

...

Outside the operating room, members of V587 patiently awaited the outcome.

Lin Youyou casually scrolled through her terminal. "In two more days, we'll be heading back to Ferrara. The finals are about to begin, and this time Ilya himself is hosting. They even arranged a pre-game rally, quite a show."

No one responded to her. Lin Youyou looked up and noticed that her companions seemed lost in thought.

"Song Ke'er, what are you thinking?"

"N-nothing," Song Ke stuttered.

Lin Youyou put away her terminal and scanned the faces of Song Ke, Xu Xing, and Lu Xiaoyu one by one, suspicion written on her face. "Why do I feel like something's off with you three since you came back?"

"Not at all," Song Ke blinked rapidly.

Lin Youyou wanted to inquire further, but the lights outside the operating room went out.

Song Ke immediately stood up. "He's coming out."

Fang Zhixu, wearing a mask, slowly emerged, weariness evident in his eyes, a sign of excessive use of his abilities.

As he spotted Song Ke and the others, a hint of relief crossed his face. He removed his mask and smiled, "Let me say something every patient's family loves to hear: the surgery was a success."

"With a month or two of rest, he'll be able to stand up again."

...

After half a year, Zhuang Qingyan woke up once again from the endless cold fog, thankfully this time, able to sense his right leg clearly.

Song Ke hugged her knees, chin resting on her arm, quietly watching him. The hospital room was empty except for the two of them.

"Song Keke," Zhuang Qingyan whispered.

"Yeah," Song Ke didn't change her position but acknowledged him.

Zhuang Qingyan slowly lifted his hand. The effects of anesthesia hadn't completely worn off, making it a bit difficult for him to exert force. Nonetheless, he managed to control his hand. His slender fingers paused near Song Ke's cheek, lightly pressing where he remembered her dimple to be. "Who made you angry again?"

"You said last time that we should talk," Song Ke countered without answering.

"No rush, let's talk in a couple of days," Zhuang Qingyan thought. He wanted to find a better moment.

"Okay."

Song Ke spread her hand towards him. "Show me your identification."

Zhuang Qingyan was somewhat surprised but retrieved it from his space and handed it over.

Song Ke took the work ID, featuring the Qinglan Institute's logo, a blue background with a large headshot. She scrutinized the man in the photo carefully, then glanced up at Zhuang Qingyan. No wonder she felt he looked better in person than in the picture when they first met.

"Zhuang Qingyan," Song Ke called out to the headshot photo.

"What's wrong?" replied Zhuang Qingyan on the hospital bed.

Impostor. Song Ke thought to herself.