Major Discovery

Behind him, Chang Ye and Number 88 followed cautiously...

Finally, they entered the terrain he was familiar with.

Following the footprints, two days had passed. Through mountain torrents and disturbances by wild beasts in the forest, could he track down Number 325?

At least, they themselves couldn't track him.

However, after following Lin Xiaosu for seven or eight hundred meters, their eyes lit up. A footprint appeared on the wet ground, and the trace of this footprint was left by specialized shoes.

These shoes were exclusive to Qianlong.

"Between these two, who do you think is the truly talented one?" A voice from Number 88 reached Chang Ye.

"Why can't they both be talented?" Chang Ye replied.

"That's true! Xinyue's unique skills rarely get a chance to be displayed. She's always struggled in areas she's not good at. To achieve what she has in those areas is indeed a sign of genius!"

"That's not the key point. The key is that she still has one chance to activate her special ability, a patent exclusive to second-generation gene persons. Some say second-generation gene persons are the most likely to 'Awaken'!"

Awakening!

Even when spoken by them, these two words still carried an infinite sense of mystery...

"Second-generation gene persons... that's truly a profound topic," Number 88 said. "As a Grandmaster of Medicine, what's your take on second-generation gene persons?"

"Our ancestors once said that fortune and misfortune are intertwined! It's probably the most accurate assessment for second-generation gene persons..." Chang Ye's gaze suddenly lifted, fixing on Lin Xiaosu above.

Number 88 also raised his gaze. "Did you find something?"

With a swish, the two of them appeared beside Lin Xiaosu simultaneously.

Seen from the side, Lin Xiaosu's face showed an expression of lingering fear...

Lin Xiaosu took a deep breath and pointed to a solitary cliff ahead. "There, that should be where he sent the photo from."

Number 88 let out a sigh of relief. "It's alright, just go up that cliff. You won't fall."

He understood that Lin Xiaosu's lingering fear was because the solitary cliff was extremely dangerous, and as an ordinary person, he was afraid of heights.

However, he could never have imagined that Lin Xiaosu had "seen" a truly thrilling scene.

When Number 325 passed through here, a white snake slithered out from the grass with incredible speed. Number 325's reaction was also astonishingly quick; he spun his foot and took three steps forward.

However, he still didn't completely evade the white snake's attack. The white snake brushed past his leg, and in that instant, the scales on the snake's body suddenly flared open, like a sharp sword, actually tearing a gap in the Dragon Scale Armor.

As Number 325's sharp eyes stared at the grass below, the white snake had already burrowed into the ground.

He probably hadn't seen it clearly.

But when he saw the Dragon Scale Armor on his body torn open, he was greatly shocked.

This was the "major discovery" he mentioned!

There was a strange creature in the mountains capable of tearing Dragon Scale Armor.

But he hadn't seen clearly what it was.

Lin Xiaosu had seen it clearly; it was a white snake. This white snake looked exactly like an ordinary snake, only completely different when it attacked.

Its speed, how many times faster than ordinary snakes?

Its scales could even tear Dragon Scale Armor.

How tough was Dragon Scale Armor? Even the pseudo-Dragon Scale Armor Lin Xiaosu wore couldn't be easily torn by mountain beasts.

Lin Xiaosu's lingering fear was because he suddenly realized that even though he was wearing powerful equipment, and even though there were three Qianlong experts beside him, if he encountered a surprise attack from this snake, he would still be doomed...

Even these three Qianlong experts were in great danger.

Lin Xiaosu ascended the solitary cliff, and Number 88 followed. He took out his communicator and looked at it. Number 88 nodded gently. "Indeed, there's a faint signal here. Number 325 sent the photo from here."

"The next step is to track his descent. When you were coming up the mountain just now, did you see any signs of his descent?" Chang Ye asked Lin Xiaosu.

"No, he didn't retrace his steps when descending."

"If he didn't retrace his steps, then it can only be there..." Chang Ye pointed to the location where Lin Xiaosu had discovered the white snake. There was a mountain ridge there, leading to another range of mountains.

Lin Xiaosu nodded and returned to the area where the white snake had appeared. He saw Number 325 again. Number 325 made the same movement as him, even more pronounced.

He deliberately walked into the dense grass...

This was using himself as bait to attract unknown hunters to attack.

And in his hand, he held a dragon scale dagger, his mind highly focused.

In modern society, on the eve of the gene era, magical genes were yearned for by all countries. Encountering a mysterious creature capable of tearing Dragon Scale Armor, he considered it a "major discovery." Therefore, he risked danger by attracting hunters in the dense grass to attack. Yes, at this moment, he was using himself as bait; wouldn't the attacker be the hunter?

Of course, as a Qianlong Gold Medalist, he himself was also a hunter!

Let's see whose methods were superior.

Time ticked by, second by second...

Lin Xiaosu seemed to have entered the role he was "observing"...

Unconsciously holding his breath and concentrating...

Number 88 and Chang Ye exchanged a glance, not understanding, but they keenly sensed that Lin Xiaosu had discovered some new mystery.

What is it?

They looked in the direction of his gaze, but could see nothing.

Within Lin Xiaosu's "line of sight," he finally saw the full picture...

It was so shocking...

As Number 325 stepped forward, a white snake emerged from the ground, moving with lightning speed. From its posture, it didn't look like a living creature at all, but rather like an arrow.

It shot towards Number 325's abdomen.

Number 325's reaction speed was astonishingly fast.

He abruptly reached out, his hand, clad in a special glove emitting a faint green light, firmly grasped the white snake.

The white snake's tail flicked violently, like a sharp sword, sweeping across Number 325's chest. The Dragon Scale Armor on his chest was split in two, and blood splattered.

However, Number 325's expression was as calm as still water, his grip on the wildly struggling snake unwavering.

The snake's struggle was also unprecedentedly strong. A mere two-foot-long snake in his hands felt like a giant alligator. Number 325's face was contorted with ferocity, veins bulging, clearly giving his all.

The snake continued to use its tail as a sword, tearing his Dragon Scale Armor to shreds, piece by piece, and cutting into his flesh.

For the first time in his life, Lin Xiaosu witnessed such a fierce and brutal life-or-death struggle, and his heart tightened with each passing moment.

As time went on, the white snake finally went limp and hung down.

It seemed like Number 325 would ultimately succeed in obtaining the exotic white snake.

But then, a completely new turn of events unfolded...

From a cave behind Number 325, two people suddenly rushed out, two individuals dressed like hunters...

As they moved together, their speed was incredibly fast...

A flash of cold light appeared in their hands, and Number 325's eyes widened abruptly. A sharp dagger was precisely plunged into his chest. If his Dragon Scale Armor had still been intact, perhaps this thrust wouldn't have been enough to pierce it, but his armor had already been torn apart by the white snake.

If Number 325 hadn't been locked in a life-or-death battle with the white snake, he theoretically could have avoided this fatal blow. However, the unprecedented battle he had just endured had left him utterly exhausted.

Here, on Laoshan, he had met his end in the most unbelievable way.

He was dead.

The spoils he had fought so hard to obtain became someone else's. The two assailants quickly cleaned up the scene, covering the bloodstains. Soon, the grass returned to its original state, which was precisely why they couldn't discern that a bloody battle had taken place here with just a glance.

Lin Xiaosu moved his foot, brushing aside the grass on the ground.

Chang Ye's gaze sharpened, and he was greatly alarmed.

Number 88 also saw the bloodstains on the ground.

He bent down, extending a silver needle from his glove towards the bloodstain. The light in his glasses flickered as his database performed a comparison. Even though there was no signal here, his glasses had a special function: storage. They stored Number 325's gene information. Through data comparison, he quickly reached a conclusion: "It's him!"

"He's injured. How did he get injured?" Chang Ye's expression was very grim.

With a swish, a figure, seemingly real yet ethereal, rose from below. It was Xinyue.

In a short time, she had ascended two mountain peaks. Gazing into the distance, she still hadn't found the target she was looking for, so she had to catch up with the main group.

As she rejoined them, her heart sank: "C! You brat, you again..."

Her voice abruptly cut off because she saw Chang Ye's grim expression.

Xinyue's voice softened: "Sister Chang Ye, what's wrong?"

Chang Ye didn't answer her, shifting her gaze to Lin Xiaosu: "A Qianlong is injured. This is no minor matter. We need to hurry..."

Lin Xiaosu walked towards that mountain cave.

Chang Ye's figure flickered, and she appeared beside him, on high alert.

As she had said, a Qianlong being injured was no minor matter.

Under normal circumstances, a fully equipped Qianlong would not get injured. Once injured, it signified the emergence of a great crisis.

Lin Xiaosu locked onto the cave, suspecting there might be danger inside.

Fearing she might disturb any clues, she didn't walk ahead of Lin Xiaosu, but she also had to ensure she could rescue him immediately if a crisis occurred.

The cave was very dark, as if no one had ever entered it. However, if one observed carefully, traces of human activity could still be found.

A light appeared ahead. The four of them passed through the connecting cave, and in front of them was a cliff.

Below the cliff was a pool of water.

"Are the tracks gone?" Chang Ye let out a soft sigh. She had been holding her breath the entire time and only now exhaled.

Lin Xiaosu nodded slightly: "They went down from here. Let's take a look!"

He pointed to a rock. The edge of this rock was broken; it was a fresh break, indicating someone had gone down from here.

"Go!" Number 88's toes touched the ground, and the clothes on his body spread out like a parachute. He leaped from a height of dozens of meters.

Xinyue spun her body, her movements changing and shifting in mid-air. She descended more than ten meters out of nowhere and landed on a tree. With a swing and a push, she stood steadily on a branch.

Chang Ye reached out and grabbed Lin Xiaosu's belt: "I'll take you down!"

Lin Xiaosu felt the wind rushing past his ears, and Chang Ye's clothes fluttered.

Her clothes were different from Number 88's as well. Number 88 wore a standard, form-fitting uniform, the Qianlong uniform.

But she, the clothes she wore resembled ordinary thermal underwear, the kind commonly seen outdoors. However, when she spread her arms, the thermal underwear became like a paraglider. The clothes she wore were clearly also Dragon Scale Armor, but it had returned to its original simplicity, transforming Dragon Scale Armor into everyday clothing.

Lin Xiaosu had always been a bit confused about her exact position within Qianlong.

Number 88 arranged the operations, and she cooperated. It seemed her ranking wasn't as high as Number 88's, which was normal. Qianlong had tens of thousands of official members, and ranking 88th was already a very high position.

However, when Number 88 spoke to her, their tone was exceptionally gentle. Chang Ye rarely spoke, but when they did, Number 88 directly obeyed.

From this perspective, Chang Ye's status seemed even higher than Number 88's.

Now, another confirmation had emerged: Chang Ye's Dragon Scale Armor was more advanced than Number 88's.

What could her identity be?

These were Lin Xiaosu's thoughts as he slid down from the air.