"These are the Honey Shadows we caught today."
As he spoke, the man stepped into the room, his broad back blocking the person inside from view. He seemed thoroughly familiar with the handover procedure and made no effort to conceal it.
The researcher inside, wearing a white lab coat, a mask, and rectangular glasses, glanced back. He reached out to shut the door, then withdrew his hand and asked the Dreamcatcher instead:
"How many are there?"
Hearing that familiar voice, Li Xian silently widened his eyes and looked over in disbelief.
Inside, Lin Shiming took the four bags and received the man's answer:
"Five."
Li Xian clenched his hands. Even in his shock, he remembered to remove the hair clip from his head so he wouldn't waste the item's duration.
Both men inside now had their backs to him. Li Xian quietly sharpened his focus, determined not to miss a single detail.
The table inside held an assortment of intricate precision instruments. Li Xian stared at them for a long time but couldn't work out their exact purpose. The only things he recognized were the flasks and test tubes on the other side.
Lin Shiming set the bags on the table, put on a pair of gloves, and took a pair of tweezers from a box before opening one of the cloth bags.
He swiftly pinched off a small piece of Honey Shadow from inside, pulled the bag shut, dropped the Honey Shadow into a flask, and twisted a wooden stopper into its mouth. The entire sequence flowed seamlessly, taking no more than three seconds.
The burly man was clearly used to the sight and showed no surprise. He simply watched in silence as Lin Shiming repeated the action five times.
After taking the samples, Lin Shiming removed his gloves,