Private Containment

To say he didn't want it would be hypocritical. This bow tie meant an undying body.

Although the change in appearance was rather ridiculous, it could save his life at a critical moment.

At that moment, Bai Ge could only watch helplessly as the researcher went to take away the black bow tie.

"An undying body... If I wanted to give myself this trait, I wonder how long I'd have to accumulate energy..."

"I'm afraid even if I drained the entire nation's electrical power, it still wouldn't be enough..."

Bai Ge looked at Dr. Xiao Wang. At that moment, Dr. Xiao Wang ordered, "Seal up the bow tie and send it to the capital overnight..."

A researcher stepped forward to take away the bow tie, and Liang Wei did not resist at all.

Once they had the bow tie, everyone was delighted. Some even cheered.

Only Bai Ge knew that trying to research technology from a contained object was as difficult as reaching the heavens.

He knew very well that this item actually had no research value for the nation.

To make use of it, they would either have to equip agents with it or use it for extremely dangerous work, sending people to places existing technology could not reach.

For example, outer space, the Earth's core, or close-range observation of a nuclear explosion...

But the nation could not possibly make use of it in such ways in the short term. Under normal circumstances, they would do everything they could to research and analyze it, and only turn to using it after discovering that it was truly useless.

The process from research to abandonment could take who knew how many years.

"If I want to obtain it, my only chance is to steal it on the way. Once it reaches the capital, I'll have even less of a chance."

Just as Bai Ge was thinking this, Liang Wei suddenly convulsed.

His body turned blackened, and his flesh quickly wrinkled into a lump. Immediately afterward, it tore apart into chunks before beginning to dissolve on its own.

In just two seconds, Liang Wei had turned into a puddle of pus, bubbling disgustingly on the floor.

Even that puddle of pus gradually evaporated.

A foul smell filled the air.

"What happened?" Dr. Xiao Wang cried out in shock.

Everyone present stood dumbfounded. Liang Wei had suddenly died, and his death had been horrifying.

Luo Wendi covered his mouth and rushed aside to vomit, his face deathly pale.

Bai Ge was the first to react. He calmly rushed forward and shouted, "Don't move!"

He was speaking to the researcher holding the bow tie. That researcher had also been frightened and did not dare move a muscle as he gripped the bow tie.

He had just been the one to remove the bow tie from Liang Wei's neck, and Liang Wei had immediately ended up like this.

Bai Ge pulled a handkerchief from his clothes, covered his mouth and nose, and went over to examine the remains.

"He was probably dissolved by strong acid... Dissolved from a distance..."

Dr. Xiao Wang's eyes widened. "How could that happen? There's no strong acid here. How could he be dissolved from a distance? Could it be..."

"Earlier... he was soaked in a pool of strong acid. The chemical reactions that should have happened then were delayed until now..." Bai Ge analyzed calmly.

Everyone was shocked. The effects could be delayed?

Bai Ge said, "So he never had an undying body at all. The damage from your previous experiments on him actually existed. Electrocution, burning, high pressure, dissolution... Those injuries were ineffective while he was in Shadow Person form, but when he turned back into a human... No, after the bow tie was removed, they were all returned to him..."

"In other words, in that instant just now, his fragile human body simultaneously experienced the pain of burning, electrocution, suffocation, explosions, corrosion, and so on... Even though there was no strong acid here at all, strong acid and the chemical effects it should have had on his body were somehow produced out of thin air."

That night, these doctors from the scientific field experienced one incredible event after another.

Everyone looked at the black bow tie. This tiny object was worth two hundred yuan, yet it had displayed phenomena capable of shaking the existing scientific system.

Again and again, everyone had gradually become numb to it. They did not offer any rebuttal to Bai Ge's deductions.

"Will Dr. Ma be in danger?" Dr. Xiao Wang asked. Dr. Ma was the one currently holding the bow tie.

Bai Ge looked at him and said, "It's simple to verify. Have Dr. Ma turn into a Shadow Person and prick his hand with a needle."

"What? Turn into a Shadow Person? What if things aren't as you say? That's too dangerous." Dr. Xiao Wang objected.

On the surface, it did indeed seem rather dangerous.

After all, Liang Wei was the only person who had ever turned into a Shadow Person, and he had already evaporated...

However, Bai Ge's words did make sense. After hesitating for a moment, Dr. Ma was just preparing to sacrifice himself for science and give it a try.

Bai Ge suddenly said, "I'll do it. Dr. Ma is one of the nation's top talents. How could we let him do something so dangerous?"

"This bow tie is too bizarre. Anything is possible. Being able to personally experience something like this and contribute to the nation is my honor."

As he spoke, he directly snatched the black bow tie from Dr. Ma's hand.

The people nearby immediately tried to stop him. "Don't!"

But Bai Ge had already decisively put it on his collar.

He was wearing a T-shirt, so it looked somewhat improper, but that was not the point.

At that moment, everyone stared at him. With a single thought from Bai Ge, his body transformed into a humanoid Shadow Person.

Based solely on appearance, he was exactly the same as the Shadow Person Liang Wei had become. Even their build and facial shape were identical.

Anyone who became a Shadow Person was probably like this.

After the transformation, the bow tie merged into the shadow. It could neither be seen nor touched.

Of course, his clothes were still on him. In other words, to become a complete Shadow Person, he would have to strip naked.

Bai Ge said, "It feels about the same as usual. I can sense myself breathing and my heart beating, but none of it manifests outwardly. There's no heartbeat or sound of breathing... I should be fine without breathing, but prolonged suffocation would be extremely uncomfortable."

He kept describing his sensations, adopting the air of a volunteer.

Everyone recorded his words carefully until Bai Ge picked up a small knife and stabbed it into his own arm.

The tip of the knife failed to pierce the surface, but Bai Ge still felt the pain.

"There's pain. It only lasts an instant, and it's very slight. Normal pain isn't like this. It's probably weakened by ninety percent."

This level of pain only let Bai Ge know, Oh, I got stabbed by a knife. Nothing more.

Next, Bai Ge turned back into his original form and reached out to remove the bow tie.

Bai Ge calmly wiped the bow tie against his cheek, taking it off his head from below with his slender fingers pressed together, perfectly blocking the bow tie from view.

The process was too fast. No one noticed that he had switched it in that instant.

As he sent the black bow tie into his imagination space, he brought out an identical bow tie that he had prepared beforehand.

He gently held out the fake bow tie to Dr. Ma with a natural expression.

The moment Dr. Ma took it, Bai Ge deliberately let out a pained groan and raised his arm. "The wound has appeared. It's a knife wound. My guess was correct."

Everyone's attention shifted to Bai Ge's hand. Sure enough, a new wound had appeared on it.

"Ahhh!" Just as everyone's attention was focused on Bai Ge, Dr. Ma suddenly cried out.

The bow tie in Dr. Ma's hand was like a handful of sand. It crumbled into powder the moment he squeezed it.

As he cried out, the air he expelled from his mouth blew it away.

"Whoosh!"

The black bow tie had turned to dust...

The powder it had become floated in the air, creating an exceedingly bizarre visual effect.

Everyone stared in stunned silence, dazed and bewildered.

Dr. Ma said in a low voice, "I didn't do it on purpose. How did it..."

Bai Ge hurriedly said, "This should be another abnormal phenomenon. Ordinary objects couldn't possibly crumble so completely and evenly... Shouldn't we collect the powder immediately? After being broken down, it might actually be more convenient for us to research."

After hearing Bai Ge's reminder, everyone came to their senses.

Dr. Xiao Wang immediately shouted, "Quick! Don't scatter it. Be careful and collect all the powder!"

The researchers got busy, while Bai Ge tactfully stepped aside.

The one that had crumbled was, of course, the bow tie created in his imagination space. He had even deliberately not used any real-world material, causing the bow tie to be extremely fragile once it appeared in reality.

The more fragile it was, the better. Now that it had turned to dust, no one would know he had switched it.

Everyone would simply attribute it to an abnormality... This bow tie itself was already filled with abnormalities.

He watched as the researchers carefully collected all the powder, sealed it up, and placed it in a safe. Then they loaded it into an armored vehicle...

They planned to transport this pile of dregs to the capital overnight.

Bai Ge was also rather curious about what could be researched from matter that completely transcended the boundaries of reality.

But he would leave that exploration to the nation.

After secretly taking the contained object, the Chinese Academy of Sciences was still extremely grateful to Bai Ge.

In recognition of Bai Ge's outstanding contribution during the incident, the higher-ups planned to secretly reward him with the title of honorary citizen, along with a cash reward.

Of course, he also signed a "Confidentiality Agreement for Classified Matters."

He did not only sign it with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. A copy was also filed with the National Security Bureau. In other words, his name had already been entered into the national security archives...

After all, Bai Ge had played an indispensable role throughout the entire incident. Yet he was still an outsider to the system. Asking him to sign only a confidentiality agreement was already a considerable sign of respect.

"An honorary citizen title that won't be made public, an affiliation with the provincial Chinese Academy of Sciences, and them directly paying my social insurance and housing fund every month... Not bad..."

Bai Ge shook his head and smiled wryly. He had slept at the Chinese Academy of Sciences that night. The following noon, he and Luo Wendi finally left the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Luo Wendi took the initiative to say, "I'll take you back to Xiangfan."

Bai Ge thought about it and agreed.

Not long afterward, one of Luo Wendi's burly drivers arrived in a Bentley.

Bai Ge and Luo Wendi sat in the back as they returned to Xiangfan City.

He closed his eyes to rest. After the two remained silent for a while, Luo Wendi suddenly handed Bai Ge a check and said, "Here's one hundred thousand. I said I wouldn't look for you again, but I didn't expect to do so anyway. Consider this additional compensation."

Bai Ge opened his eyes, and his heart lit up at the sight of the money.

This guy seems to need something from me?

This seemed like an overly obvious attempt to win him over. Clearly, after what had happened the previous night, Bai Ge had changed in Luo Wendi's eyes from an insignificant nobody into someone capable.

"Just tell me what you want." Bai Ge spoke.

Luo Wendi smiled. "I heard you're a cleaner?"

Being a cleaner was actually a profession.

This profession was quite rare in the country because it was not exactly legal.

When Bai Ge saw Luo Wendi bring it up, he knew that Luo Wendi had investigated him as well.

"Is there something you need?"

Luo Wendi smiled. "I asked Chen Song. You seem to be quite capable?"

"I'm not particularly capable. To be honest, I'm thinking of quitting."

Bai Ge actually liked his profession, but now that he had the imagination space, he did have some thoughts of quitting.

As he understood more about the nature of the imagination space, he discovered that he had too many ways to make money. There was no need to continue his old line of work.

As for selling flowers, he would not do that again either. This time, he had produced Danmu. Even if he made the next unusual flower seem more ordinary, repeatedly "finding" such things would still attract attention.

There were plenty of ways to make money. His most pressing task was to obtain enough energy as quickly as possible.

Luo Wendi, however, said, "You really don't want to do it anymore? I understand people like you very well. To be honest, you're not very professional."

"Hm?" Bai Ge felt slightly displeased.

For people in his line of work, being called unprofessional was the greatest taboo.

Luo Wendi said, "Perhaps you care a great deal about your credibility, but you place too much trust in verbal agreements. With someone like Chen Song, I easily learned everything about you from him. If something happened to him, he would sell you out without hesitation."

Bai Ge said, "I know. But he won't have any evidence."

"You're speaking too confidently. From what I've observed, you're actually not very meticulous. Since you don't want to be involved with Danmu's matter, you shouldn't have left your fingerprints on the flowerpot."

As he spoke, Luo Wendi took a flowerpot out of the luxury car's cabinet and held it in his arms.

This was the flowerpot from Chen Song's home. Bai Ge's fingerprints were on it.

Luo Wendi took out the photograph Bai Ge had sent and pointed at the flowerpot. "For a cleaner, leaving fingerprints is a major taboo."

Unexpectedly, Bai Ge said calmly, "Who says those are my fingerprints?"

Luo Wendi was stunned. "I saw you touch the flowerpot myself. And you held the photograph with your bare hands. How could you not have left fingerprints?"

Bai Ge shook his head. "Look more carefully."

Seeing Bai Ge's utterly confident expression, Luo Wendi could not help feeling suspicious.

He immediately used adhesive strips to lift the fingerprints. Soon, dozens of fingerprint samples were laid out before them.

There were only four sets of fingerprints on the flowerpot: Bai Ge's, Chen Song's, his own, and his father-in-law's.

The photograph also contained Bai Ge's fingerprints.

Luo Wendi had originally needed to screen them, but when he clearly saw Bai Ge's fingerprints, he was instantly stunned. He realized there was no need to screen them after all.

"What? Why do the fingerprints have writing in them?"

Bai Ge's fingerprints were extremely strange. Their patterns were bizarre and seemed to faintly form Chinese characters.

It was the character "Six."

P.S.: Don't be impatient. If you're really eager, let the chapters pile up for a while. The protagonist is about to become stronger.