You People from the Tang Sect Aren't Exactly Clean Either

When Zang Xin walked out of the Soul Guidance train station, the early morning fog had yet to disperse.

He pulled his collar tighter, hailed a taxi, and gave the driver the address of the East Suburban Industrial Zone.

The driver gave him another look through the rearview mirror. Zang Xin clearly looked troubled, but the driver didn't dare ask any questions and simply stepped on the accelerator.

Zang Xin leaned against the back seat and closed his eyes. His mind kept returning to that communication call from yesterday morning.

He had just finished steeping a pot of tea in his study when his Soul Guidance Communicator rang.

He lowered his head and glanced at the screen. Seeing Ling Zichen's name, he pressed the answer button.

He had been pleased that this girl, who had never been good at expressing herself since childhood, had finally taken the initiative to contact him. Before he could say anything, a lively voice came from the other end.

"Old Zang! I've got something to tell you!"

Zang Xin carried his teacup back to his chair, the corners of his mouth habitually curving upward. "What's got you so happy this early in the morning? Did your experiment make a breakthrough?"

"I'm even happier than if the experiment had made a breakthrough! I changed jobs!"

Zang Xin's hand, which was holding the teacup, paused.

He set the cup aside, and his tone changed abruptly. "Wait, changed jobs? Don't joke around with me. Where could you possibly go?"

"I went to work for Mo Yuan. Oh, you know, the youngest Level-9 Soul Engineer you mentioned before. He wrote a paper related to my research field, and his approach was spot-on. I modified my experimental parameters according to his plan, and the efficiency immediately increased by thirty percent!" Ling Zichen spoke as rapidly as a string of firecrackers. "He also said they have even more advanced technology there. I think it's perfect for me, so I agreed to go over."

Zang Xin was dumbfounded. Why had this rare communication from her brought such "good news"?

"Wait, Zichen... You're a young woman, and you're changing jobs to go somewhere unfamiliar. Isn't that a little unsafe?" Zang Xin earnestly tried to dissuade her.

"Oh, Old Zang, don't worry. It might not be safe for one person to go alone, but I'm not going alone!" Ling Zichen's tone suddenly became a little smug.

Zang Xin immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Sure enough, Ling Zichen added, "Director Li and the others all think the environment there is better, so they came with me!"

"Smack—crack—"

He lowered his head and looked at the tea that had splashed out, then reached for a cloth and wiped the tabletop. His tone sank. "So how many people from your laboratory left in total?"

"Fourteen, of course. Everyone left!"

Zang Xin closed his eyes.

I don't dare open them. Hopefully this is just an illusion...

"Old Zang? Old Zang, why aren't you saying anything? You're not angry, are you?"

"...No." Zang Xin opened his eyes. "I'm happy that you found a good place to go. How could I... how could I possibly be... angry?"

"Great! Then I'm hanging up!" The call was cleanly cut off.

Zang Xin sat in his study and looked silently at the bright sky outside the window. He finished the last sip of tea in his cup, then stood up and booked a ticket.

He could have flown there. After all, the flying speed of a Limit Douluo was no slower than a Soul Guidance train. But considering that this matter was rather embarrassing, and that he didn't want to make his arrival overly conspicuous, he silently chose to take the Soul Guidance train.

Besides, he still hadn't figured out what kind of situation he would face after arriving.

By the time he pulled himself out of his memories, the taxi had stopped beneath the gray-white building in the East Suburban Industrial Zone.

Zang Xin paid the fare, got out, and looked up at the building.

The exterior walls weren't new, but they were clean. There was no dust on the window frames, and the ground by the entrance had been washed.

When he pushed open the main door and walked in, he made no effort to lighten his footsteps. The sound of his soles striking the concrete floor echoed unusually clearly through the empty hallway.

Strange. Extremely strange!

Was there really no security at all? Had the other party known he was coming?

Zang Xin went all the way up to the fourth floor.

The corridor was quiet, but he could hear the hum of machinery and the occasional sound of conversation.

Following the sounds, he reached the door at the end of the corridor. He pushed it open without much force, but the impact of the doorframe against the wall rang out distinctly throughout the floor.

The voices in the room abruptly stopped.

The first face Zang Xin saw was Ling Zichen's.

She stood before a workbench, a carving knife in her hand and its tip still suspended in midair, as though she had been interrupted in the middle of a task.

The instant she saw him, a trace of guilt flashed across her face. Then she returned to normal and waved at him. "Old Zang, what brings you here?"

Zang Xin fell silent. Zang Xin said nothing...

His gaze passed over Ling Zichen and swept across the entire laboratory.

There were people at more than a dozen workbenches. Some had their heads lowered over documents, while others were assembling devices.

The faint scent of rare metals permeated the air.

Several of the faces belonged to people Zang Xin knew.

Director Li in particular was one of the Tang Sect's old-timers.

Old Li raised his head from the blueprint and met Zang Xin's gaze without the slightest panic. "Um, Sect Master, what brings you here?"

Zang Xin looked at several other familiar faces. They also silently lowered their heads, clearly ashamed but showing no sign of regret.

What is this, some new brainwashing technique? Why are none of you reacting at all when your old superior is standing right in front of you?

Zang Xin's expression stiffened, and then he silently pulled the door shut from the outside.

Forget it. Just pretend I never came...

Ling Zichen froze for a beat, then immediately put down her carving knife and chased after him.

By the time she reached the corridor, Zang Xin had already walked seven or eight steps away. She hurried after him. "Old Zang, I—"

"I'm going to find him." Zang Xin didn't turn around. His voice was flat. "You stay here and behave yourself."

"No! You're a dignified Limit Douluo. What if you hurt him?"

Hiss—

There's no saving her...

Zang Xin's heart gave a painful twitch. He stiffly forced out a sentence. "Don't worry. I know where to draw the line."

Ling Zichen opened her mouth, but ultimately stopped.

She watched Zang Xin's back disappear around the stairwell, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.

Mo Yuan was sorting blueprints in a temporary office on the second floor of the main factory building.

Suddenly, a mental-power alarm device beside him rang, indicating that someone was scanning the area with mental power.

"Is he here this quickly?" Mo Yuan sighed. The only person who could have rushed over to find him at this hour was Zang Xin.

Still, when soldiers came, he would use generals to block them, and when water came, he would use earth to hold it back. He would simply respond to change with constancy.

Sure enough, less than half a minute later, there was a knock at the door.

Mo Yuan raised his head. "Come in."

The door opened, and a handsome middle-aged man in a dark-gray long robe stood in the doorway.

The moment he entered, Zang Xin's eyes locked firmly onto Mo Yuan. He didn't even glance at the surroundings.

If looks could kill, Mo Yuan would have been hacked to pieces by now.

Mo Yuan set down his pen and leaned back in his chair without standing.

"Lord Zang Xin? Or should I call you Passionate Excellency?" His tone was unhurried. "For the record, I'm male and attracted to women, so could you stop staring at me?"

Zang Xin completely lost his composure.

"You've gone too far!"

"Too far? I wasn't aware. They're merely researchers from Xuan Shi Tang Sect Company. Isn't it perfectly normal for them to change jobs and go to another laboratory?"

"I raised that girl for more than a decade and watched her grow up!" he said. "I watched every step she took, from a junior researcher to the core of the laboratory. The equipment she used, the people she led, and the subjects she researched were all provided by the Tang Sect. You lured away both her and the entire laboratory with a single piece of paper. Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

Mo Yuan did not avoid his gaze. "Lord Zang, let me confirm one thing first. Is Xuan Shi Tang Sect Company an independent legal entity registered in Mingdu?"

Zang Xin's brow moved slightly. "Yes."

"Do its employees have independent employment contracts and the freedom to choose?"

"...Yes."

"Then it can't be considered an internal branch of the Tang Sect, can it?"

Zang Xin was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Xuan Shi Tang Sect Company indeed isn't a department directly governed by the Tang Sect. You exploited that loophole."

"I won't deny it," Mo Yuan said. "But the reason Ling Zichen left had nothing to do with where she came from. It had to do with where she could do what she wanted. After all, the technology here is far more advanced than yours, isn't it?"

"Heh..." Zang Xin raised his eyes, his heavy gaze settling on Mo Yuan's face once more. "That's some excellent sophistry. But now that I've come, you have to give me an explanation one way or another. Or should I say, how do you plan to convince me?"

He knew very well that, judging from the group's current attitude, it was impossible to make them return. All he could do was see whether he could secure some benefits.

"Oh? Convince Your Excellency? But if I remember correctly, the Tang Sect isn't exactly made up of good people either, is it? Shall I help you recall some of the classified information I saw in the Tang Sect's internal database?"

Mo Yuan smiled and squeezed out a few words.

"For example... military, arms—"