A Grand Spectacle That Drew Global Attention

Although the young man looked somewhat familiar, Old He didn't think much of it, because he was quite certain he had never seen or recognized him before—he trusted his memory quite a bit. Perhaps it was because he resembled someone he knew that he had this feeling, which was quite normal.

Old He's attention is still focused on his conversation with Chu Xiuwen. He can deduce from their previous chat that Chu Xiuwen knows that Qi Haoguo to Tongshi Town and Chongyun Village to invest, which explains the significant changes that have occurred in just one year.

Although Old He knew from Mr. Liang's introduction that Xiang Kun was a "Mutated Creature," he did not have information on Xiang Kun's specific mutated characteristics. However, while investigating and reviewing Xiang Kun's social information, interpersonal relationships, and past experiences, he learned from the information left by Mr. Liang and Fang Pingfang's investigation team in the "Shenxing Technology" database that Xiang Kun was related to many special events, the most famous of which was the illusion of the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant in Montamira.

This naturally piqued Old He's curiosity greatly. Whether for public or private reasons, he wanted to understand how Xiang Kun created that kind of collective illusion and produced such a magical aftereffect, how he could directly distort people's values.

He had encountered people who had been influenced by hypnotic abilities from human "Mutated Creature." The effect of such hypnosis could be described as "blinding" or "confusing." Unless the target died, they would eventually regain consciousness, and bystanders could more or less discern their state and cognition.

However, the effect of Xiang Kun's group illusion is more like a kind of "awakening" ability, which awakens people from various obsessions and desires, and directly affects people's spirit and thoughts from the cognitive level.

Based on Old He's previous conversation with Qi Haoguo, at least, this "President Qi's" change of perception was systematic, self-consistent, and something he could share with others. He didn't seem like someone who was being misled or hypnotized without realizing it; rather, he seemed to have achieved "enlightenment."

Because of his concerns about the "Ultimate Predator" and the restrictions imposed by the relevant regulations at the time, Old He did not directly ask Xiang Kun and Lu Qinliang. Although the technological research restrictions and the danger of knowing about the "Ultimate Predator" have been lifted, he has temporarily lost contact with Xiang Kun and Lu Qinliang. After Xiang Kun last communicated with him and informed him that the "Ultimate Predator" had been "de-threatened," there has been no news from them since.

Moreover, the "Non-Research Center" has always been primarily responsible for the threat posed by "Mutated Creature" to the country, society, and people, and for the safety supervision of related research, without directly interfering with the research content. Therefore, he was not in a position to bring up these issues.

"Xiao Chu, what do you think of Mr. Xiang's Research Base? Or, how much do you know about that Research Base?" Old He asked.

"Wait a minute, Old He, you've got it backwards. I should be asking you that question. Haven't you been going to the Research Base every day lately? I haven't even been inside since it was built. If you want to know what I think of the 'Youlong Restaurant,' I can talk about it for hours, but as for that Research Base and labs, I really know nothing about them," Chu Xiuwen laughed. "But I do know that it's some kind of Internet-based intelligent aquaculture research center that Mr. Xiang and Dr. Xia are working on. The concept is very advanced, anyway, it's a great thing. If it really works out, it will definitely be a great thing for Chongyun Village. Even if it doesn't work out, the infrastructure investment that Mr. Xiang brought will have already benefited the village a lot. As for the rest... not to mention anything else, the house you and Dr. Fang. Fang live in, if it were before, how could you rent it for so much money? In fact, no one would even rent it."

"Actually, we're quite puzzled too. We don't know why Mr. Xiang insisted on choosing Chongyun Village. I heard..." When Old He asked that question, he already guessed Chu Xiuwen's answer and was preparing to guide the conversation according to his plan when the young man next to him suddenly interrupted abruptly.

"Hey buddy, judging from your accent, you're not a local, are you?"

Old He glanced back, making sure the young man was speaking to him, and simply replied, "No." He didn't say another word, clearly indicating he didn't want to talk any further.

But just as Old He was about to continue his previous conversation with Chu Xiuwen, the young man asked again, "So, are you here for tourism or for work?"

Old He frowned slightly, then turned back to carefully examine the young man sitting next to him.

He has ordinary facial features and a dark complexion, but he has a broad frame and a well-developed back. He exudes confidence in his every move, suggesting that he is a well-educated and worldly person. Logically, he shouldn't be so tactless and rude.

Did he come to this tea shop with a purpose?

Was he coming for me?

Old He, alert and alert, considered several possibilities and made some guesses. So, seemingly casually, he replied, "Young man, you like tea?"

"I'm fine, but I know an older brother who really likes tea, so I came to bring him some," the young man said with a smile.

"Are you here for tourism or business?" Old He directly "boosted" the question back.

The young man, however, didn't seem to mind, saying casually, "I'm here to see someone, haha, but you could also say I'm on a business trip."

Have you found the person you're looking for?

"Found it," the young man laughed. "Of course I found it."

Just then, a girl in her early twenties ran to the entrance of the tea shop, poked her head in, and said to Chu Xiuwen, "Brother Chu, Brother Huo needs to talk to you. He wants you to come to the shop for a moment."

Chu Xiuwen glanced at the sign and saw that it was an employee from the milk tea shop he co-owned with Xia Tianhuo. He stood up to greet the shop owner and then said to Old He, "My friend and I opened a milk tea shop up ahead. If you have time later, you can come over and sit for a bit. Or maybe we can have a meal together sometime and have a good chat."

After Chu Xiuwen left, the tea shop owner received several WeChat. She glanced at them, made a brief phone call, and then said somewhat apologetically to Old He and the young man, "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but a regular customer on the pedestrian street needs some tea, and all my staff are unavailable. I have to go there myself. It's not far from here; I'll be back in five minutes..."

"Go ahead, go ahead, boss lady, we'll watch the shop for you, don't worry," the young man said with a smile before Old He could even speak.

The female shop owner thanked her, packed a bag of tea, and hurried out.

Watching the female boss's graceful figure disappear, Old He felt a little strange and became more wary of the young man beside him, hesitating whether he should also get up and leave.

"Come, come, try this rock tea. The proprietress said it's very good, costing four or five thousand yuan per pound." The young man seemed very relaxed and casual, getting up and sitting in the proprietress's original spot, picking up the boiled water to brew it.

Seeing the young man's clumsy movements, Old He finally couldn't hold back any longer and told him to put down the kettle so he could take over, "You've never brewed tea before, have you?"

The young man laughed and said, "Yes, I've actually never drunk tea before."

"Don't you have an older brother who loves tea? You're always with people who love tea, how could you have never drunk tea?" Old He said while brewing tea.

"Hehe, I actually rarely see that guy. I can count the number of times we've met on two hands."

"It seems you two aren't very familiar with each other."

"He's one of the people I know best." The young man shook his head, sighed with a hint of melancholy, and then said casually, "Old He, are you trying to find out about Xiang Kun from Chu Xiuwen? What do you want to know? I can tell you."

Old He was taken aback by these words, becoming even more vigilant, and looked the young man over again.

It's normal for the young man to have overheard his conversation with Chu Xiuwen, know his name as "Old He," and understand that they were discussing "Xiang Kun." Chu Xiuwen is somewhat well-known in Tongshi Town, so it wouldn't be difficult for him to know the name. But what did this young man mean by saying those things to him while they were alone in the teahouse?

Does this young man know about research on "Mutated Creature"?

What is his purpose?

"What do you think I want to know?"

"You want to know what abilities Xiang Kun, how he creates illusions like the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant, and how those illusions affect people?"

Upon hearing the young man's words, Old He was utterly shocked, nearly jumping out of his seat. He stared at him wide-eyed. "Who exactly are you?!"

Very few people would know this information, and he knew everyone's identity and appearance; the young man in front of him was clearly not one of them.

The young man shook his head helplessly, picked up the cup of tea that Old He had brewed, poured the entire cup of boiling tea into his mouth, squinted his eyes and held it for a few seconds, then swallowed, smacking his lips. "So this is what tea tastes like? It doesn't taste as good as cola... Or are other teas better? Old He, how does this compare to the Longjing tea you usually drink?"

Old He paused for two seconds, then looked more closely at the young man in front of him, and said uncertainly, "Ah... Liang?"

"Long Time No See, Old He." The young man smiled, revealing a set of white teeth.

Old He froze again, his thoughts still somewhat muddled. "How... how... what you look like now... your voice..."

The young man raised his right hand, his fingers flicking deftly. A layer of special, textured, metallic skin rapidly spread from his forearm down, covering his hand. Then, the hand disappeared, leaving only his sleeve swaying. Judging from the support of the sleeve cuff, his arm was clearly still there.

"Xiang Kun helped me reshape my body. Not only do I now have a human appearance, but I can still use my 'Biological Component,' and my abilities have become more versatile and powerful. I can even use some abilities I didn't have before... Doesn't it feel like a miracle?"

Old He then understood why the young man looked somewhat familiar. He had seen Mr. Liang a few times when he was doing research under the Academician Shen, and his appearance and features were somewhat similar to those of that teenager back then.

Mr. Liang said with some emotion, "This is what I would normally look like at 25 if I hadn't 'mutated.' Of course, I'm actually older than 25, but it takes longer to look like a middle-aged or elderly person than a young one, and I couldn't wait, so I used this look. I originally thought that you, Old He, would recognize me... Old He, do you think my dad would recognize me now when I get home?"

"Of course..." Old He wanted to say, "Of course I can recognize him, that's your dad," but then he suddenly remembered that after being taken away by Academician Shen, Lu Cheng'an had never seen his son again. Although the two of them had many contacts later, they had never met face to face again. In comparison, he was more familiar with Lu Qinliang's appearance before he completely abandoned his human form than Lu Cheng'an.

"Why don't you go see him later? I'm sure your dad will be very happy," Old He said with a smile, changing the subject. "By the way, what are you doing here at this time? Where's Xiang Kun?"

I'm here.

A lazy voice rang out from not far away, startling Old He. He subconsciously turned around and saw Xiang Kun sitting at a table against the wall—but that had been in his line of sight the whole time, and he hadn't seen Xiang Kun enter the store at all!

Old He, who had some understanding of Mr. Liang's abilities, immediately realized: Xiang Kun could become invisible!

Xiang Kun laughed at Mr. Liang, "Brother Liang, you're cheating! You bet me that Old He would recognize you within 10 sentences, but you just revealed my name directly, and Old He still didn't recognize me. He only succeeded by using the code word 'Longjing tea.' You're cheating!"

Mr. Liang smiled wryly, "I thought Old He had seen what I looked like before and would recognize me at a glance. I admit defeat. 'Shenxing Technology's' drone and communication transmission technology patents, and your 'Universe Technology's' patents, can all be used commercially. Just give me a token amount of money."

Just moments ago, Old He was unsure whether the young man was friend or foe, or what his intentions were. Now that he saw the two of them joking with him, his tense heart immediately relaxed. He poured himself a cup of hot tea, took a small sip, and said, "It's good that you two are back. From now on, the establishment of the research and investigation team, project initiation, personnel allocation, and training will be handled by you two. By the way, Mr. Xiang. Xiang, although Ms. Xia is very capable, we need to re-establish the entire research system and related institutions for 'Mutated Creature.' It's not enough for her to handle it all by herself. Shouldn't you send a few more people from your technical team? I can arrange positions for them at the 'Non-Research Center' for easier coordination in the future?"

Xiang Kun knew that Lao Xia's incredibly capable performance convinced Old He that she must have a technical team supporting her, so he smiled and said, "It's alright, she can handle it. Leave the research to Xia Libing. As for us... we have other things to consider."

As he spoke, Xiang Kun's expression turned serious. "Old He, have you been paying attention to the recent abnormal weather around the world?"

"You mean... those unusual weather events might indicate a serious problem?" Old He asked, frowning.

Mr. Liang said, "'The Ultimate Predator' was not completely killed."

"But didn't Xiang Kun say that it no longer has the ability to affect other creatures? Wasn't that ability, that function, already 'disabled' by you?" Old He asked curiously.

"Yes, he can't directly control the life and death of all living beings, but he's prepared to fight to the death, using another indirect method." Xiang Kun sighed as he spoke, paused slightly, and then said, "But don't worry too much, I'll handle this. It's just that this time, it's likely to become a globally watched spectacle."

I participated in a Qidian (a Chinese online literature platform) event where a 7200-word bonus chapter is available after the last chapter in the table of contents. It's a bonus for full subscribers, and you can read it directly by opening the page. Currently, it seems to be only available on the mobile app, not on the web version, and unfortunately, I can't post comments on it.