Shockwaves Through the Center

Grace Tower, top-floor department head office.

Bai Qiulin draped one leg over the armrest of his swivel chair, looking bored as he cleaned his ear with a cotton swab swiped from the desk.

He had been waiting here for a full twenty minutes; the department head, face dark and expression exceptionally ugly, had only just finished a teleconference with the Grace Tower central headquarters and returned to his office.

"I put you in full charge, and this is the mess you've made!"

The department head angrily slammed a stack of files in front of Bai Qiulin. Among the scattered papers, one could vaguely make out many references to "Patent No. 626."

"I want to hear it now—what exactly have you been doing all this time!"

Bai Qiulin tossed the cotton swab aside and recalled his recent activities with a nonchalant air.

"As soon as I arrived in Yuguang, I consulted a learned Bishop Twilight to refine my understanding of the Twilight Doctrine. Then, I discussed criminal investigation techniques with a deputy police chief who looked like he had a dark cloud hanging over his head. Later, finding Yuguang dull, I returned to Yaoguang. I found a decent Western restaurant on Ziguang Street; the food was secondary, but the girl playing the piano was quite beautiful. I put in two days of effort, and last night, I finally moved her to tears with a ruby necklace. We watched a movie, spent a wonderful night at the Hashier Hotel, and I was moved to tears by her reciprocation as well. Tsk, tsk, tsk."

He clicked his tongue in appreciation, as if still savoring the intoxicating romance of the previous night.

"Bang!"

The department head's fist slammed hard against the solid wood desk, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Bai Qiulin.

"So you didn't manage Feng Zi or that bio-man at all! Do you have any idea what kind of trouble they've stirred up? They killed Bishop Twilight!"

"No matter how glorious Feng Zi was in the past, she's a cripple now! Bishop Twilight was a biologist who had mastered the knowledge of organ fusion, a Tier 1 biologist who had consumed the genetic results of ten thousand people and the limbs of hundreds! And he was killed by that bio-man! The Police Department has already issued a report and notified The Council, claiming that the bio-man has mastered physics! Physics!"

He roared, spittle flying everywhere as he vented the fury born from his own panic.

"A bio-man, granted a key, that would be one thing—but he has now mastered physics, and he escaped from our Grace experimental field! Once The Council learned of this, they didn't even notify me; they reported it directly to the Central Scientific Management Tribunal!"

"The Tribunal and the Twilight Grand Diocese have officially issued a notice to headquarters. They are sending people to Sun City to escort that forbidden bio-man to the Extreme Research Control Pavilion! Headquarters just contacted me, ordering me to resolve this before the Tribunal and the Twilight people arrive in Sun City! Otherwise, they'll send everyone involved, myself included, to the Fortress Field to work as miners!"

"And now you tell me you've been chasing women for the past few days! You were actually chasing women!"

The department head was truly terrified.

He hadn't expected Bai Qiulin to handle this perfectly, but he never imagined the bio-man could cause such a massive catastrophe.

Being granted a key was a taboo, but as long as he kept a lid on it internally, it wouldn't spread—after all, it was just a key.

But if that key had truly opened the door to science and turned him into a scientist, the matter could no longer be covered up!

According to common knowledge, even a genius like the crippled girl Feng Zi had spent years truly touching upon the substantive rules of nature.

And how much time had passed since the bio-man was granted the key?

A week at most, and he had already intervened in the rules of physics!

Not only that, he had used such power to kill a Bishop Twilight who had been immersed in biology for half a lifetime!

This made the situation terrifying.

Patent No. 626 had displayed an astonishing growth rate, and bio-men were inherently uncontrollable, especially on a psychological level!

Once the matter reached the central authorities, the entire central scientific research institute, the Twilight Grand Diocese, the Scientific Management Tribunal, and Grace headquarters were in an uproar!

It was said that the story had already hit the covers of major scientific weeklies this morning. The internal scientific research departments of Grace were in chaos because the matter involved Feng Zi, who was practically the designated successor to control the Grace scientific department.

The news that Li Wei had been granted the key by Feng Zi had not yet leaked. A high-ranking figure at Grace headquarters had already warned the department head to keep his mouth shut; under no circumstances could this taboo matter be linked to Feng Zi.

Li Wei had to be dealt with before the people from other organizations arrived in Sun City, or the entire Grace Sun City branch could expect to be "dealt with."

The department head was trembling with fear, yet Bai Qiulin was still telling him about his romantic escapades!

Hearing the reprimands and curses, Bai Qiulin's expression remained unchanged; he simply looked at the department head with interest.

"By the way, if we really want to trace the source of this... I checked the bio-man's files. He seems to be a legacy the previous Sun City branch manager snatched from Speaker Feng, right? You were just an executor of this experiment. Even though the previous manager was transferred to the West District, you continued to maintain the experiment for him. If headquarters is looking for someone to blame, shouldn't they be looking for that transferred manager? Are you so afraid because you know something?"

His question left the department head silent for a moment, but under that lazy yet inexplicably piercing gaze, the department head met his eyes with a look of disgust.

"What does that have to do with you! I haven't even settled your own debts yet, and you have the nerve to ask me! You are no longer responsible for Feng Zi and that bio-man; I will intervene personally, and I will report your professional attitude to headquarters!"

To this, Bai Qiulin simply said, "You don't have the authority. My power was granted to me by the manager; he is the actual controller of the Sun City branch."

"I will report your actions of the last seven days to the manager immediately!"

"Suit yourself. But I'll bet you that the manager won't even look at your report before throwing it away. Since he arrived in Sun City, he's been obsessed with running for the local council. You haven't even met him once, have you?"

This naked mockery, which was also the unvarnished truth, caused the department head to completely explode!

"Why is a Grace branch manager so obsessed with entering the local council! He's been in Sun City for half a year and hasn't managed a single company affair! And he dumped such a critical matter on a piece of trash like you! Are you people who were sent down here all mentally ill? I'm going to report you to headquarters! I'm going to report all of you!!"

"I'll be sure to tell the manager first that you called him mentally ill. He's petty, so be careful he doesn't make your life miserable if he finds out."

Bai Qiulin offered a friendly reminder with a smile, then turned and left the office.

He left behind only the department head, who had nowhere to vent his rage, roaring as he overturned everything in the room that could be overturned.