The plane landed on the tarmac of Third Sanctuary. Bennett straightened his collar, adjusted his hat, and stepped off the plane. He looked around and saw a peaceful scene. There had been no riots yet. A group of men in black stood in the tarmac passageway. Huang Yu, the current head of Third Sanctuary, and his men were waiting there early in the morning.
"You can just give me a call if you need anything; there's no need for you to come in person," Huang Yu said respectfully.
Bennett waved his hand, indicating for Huang Yu to lead the way. "I need to see a few people. It's urgent. Have you notified them?"
"I conveyed your request for a meeting as instructed, and they are waiting for you in the conference room."
The group arrived at the core area of Sanctuary, turned through the complex and winding corridors, and arrived at the conference room. Bennett had his bodyguards stand guard outside, and he and Huang Yu stepped into the conference room. There were three women in the room, Hila, Aurora, and One Leaf Green. They all turned their heads and focused their eyes on Bennett.
"Your Mightiness."
Hila remained expressionless and nodded slightly. Aurora hadn't been squeezed dry, Hila hadn't gone to extremes. Although she remained aloof, she didn't hesitate to show some respect for someone like Bennett.
"Enough with the small talk. I still have two experiments to do today. What did you call us here for?" One Leaf Green asked bluntly.
Bennett's expression turned serious. He took out several reports on the riots and distributed them to the three men. He said in a Black Phantom, and you also know about his calamity prophecies. I want to know your opinions."
Because Hila and the other two were people Han Xiao had entrusted to take care of, Bennett did not restrict their freedom. Before Han Xiao left, Hila kept saying that she would travel the world after Aurora recovered. However, Han Xiao disappeared for more than two years, Aurora had long since recovered her health, but Hila did not leave and stayed in the Sanctuary.
Bennett, of course, wouldn't send them away.
Aurora's ability allows her to sense life, and the enormous life form she initially detected disappeared a few days later. However, Aurora remembered the life form's "scent," which is one of the functions of her ability: recording life waves, like a unique barcode, which she can easily identify.
Although the enormous life form was only a fleeting phenomenon, she discovered that some creatures carried the scent of that enormous life form. This scent was spreading, and more and more living things were tainted by it, whether they were plants or animals.
Aurora spoke timidly, slowly describing the images she had perceived, Bennett's expression grew increasingly grave.
If this really is a virus, then at least hundreds of millions of people worldwide have been infected... No, if you add in ferocious wild animals and a vast amount of plants, the number of infections is extremely terrifying!
Aurora glanced at the group, hesitated for a moment, then mustered her courage, pointed at Huang Yu, and whispered, "He smells like that too."
Huang Yu's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly touched his body, "I... I don't feel anything!"
Bennett gripped Huang Yu's shoulder tightly, his fingers probing deep into Huang Yu's body, scanning him several times before releasing his grip. Bennett said in a low voice, "I can't sense anything unusual either. What kind of virus is this? Although I don't know the mechanism, it seems only Aurora can identify who's infected."
Everyone looked at Aurora. Aurora trembled, her big, blinking eyes filled with nervousness and anticipation. She stammered, "I... can I help?"
Bennett wanted to give a kind smile, but the situation was urgent, and he couldn't manage one, so he could only nod with a stern face.
Aurora seemed extremely happy. Having been taken care of all this time, she had long hoped to do something to repay those who had helped her.
One Leaf Green flipped through the report, showing no surprise but rather excitement. "I was right! My intuition was correct! My year-long research wasn't in vain!"
Upon hearing this, the people present immediately looked over, their expressions surprised.
"What do you mean by that?" Bennett asked.
"Come with me."
One Leaf Green stood up abruptly and walked outside impatiently, leaving the others no choice but to follow.
After passing through the heavily guarded area, the group arrived at One Leaf Green's laboratory area. It was deserted; even the guards dared not stay there, fearing that inhaling some strange chemical fumes would lead to adverse consequences such as coma, neurological disorders, hemiplegia, and loss of fertility.
One Leaf Green led the group to an open-air greenhouse, which was a plant nursery. One Leaf Green's special ability was to control plants, and most of the raw materials for her potions were various plants that she grew herself. However, there was only one plant in this nursery, which was shaped like a fan-shaped green leaf growing out of the soil. With such a normal appearance, ordinary people would not have given it a second glance if they saw it in the wild.
"This is Ridean Fan Leaf. It has a harsh growing environment and is very difficult to cultivate artificially. It is an endangered plant with a very small number remaining. However, its scarcity does not mean it has high value. In fact, the Ridean Fan Leaf has no medicinal function. Its only use is to grind it into a paste, cook it, and eat it... if you are a herbivore. In short, this plant has almost no value for cultivation."
One Leaf Green's brief introduction left everyone completely confused.
"But you've still cultivated so many. What's your purpose in bringing us to see this?" Bennett asked.
At this moment, Aurora stretched out her finger and curiously touched a fan-shaped leaf. Suddenly, her eyes widened in surprise, and she exclaimed, "None of these plants have been contaminated with that scent!"
Bennett was startled, then realized something, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"You're right. A year ago, I noticed some plants giving me a sense of being watched, which caught my attention. I searched extensively and discovered that this plant is the only one that doesn't give me that sense of being watched. I don't know the specific reason for the sense of being watched, but I know that Ridean Fan Leaf is immune to it, so I started cultivating it. Ridean Fan Leaf is extremely difficult to grow, and its seeds are rare. These fan leaves in front of you are all of them." One Leaf Green confirmed everyone's guess.
Have any clinical trials been conducted?
"I've only experimented on plants. By extracting the juice from the Ridean Fan Leaf and adding some auxiliary materials, I created a potion that can make other plants lose their sense of being seen for a period of time, thus inhibiting their ability to see."
"Great, we don't have time to waste. We don't know if the riots will still break out. I'll have someone send over some of the quarantined rioters later, and you can test the drug on them to see if it works."
Bennett was decisive. At this point, he didn't care about the side effects of the potion. He was very glad that One Leaf Green had taken precautions in advance, which was much better than the Six Nations that were currently at a loss.
"Alright, but there's something I need to tell you first. Because the number of Ridean Fan Leaf is so small, the potion production is very limited. Also, you can't collect too much sap at once, otherwise the fan leaves will wither and die, and it won't be usable for long. Cultivating each one is very difficult."
One Leaf Green shrugged.
In the previous storyline, One Leaf Green only escaped from Death Knell Island after the Mutation Disaster had fully erupted. After a long period of research, she finally developed a formula for an inhibitor. But now, Han Xiao brought her out of Death Knell Island much earlier, giving her the freedom to conduct her research. This time, due to Han Xiao's changes to the storyline, she developed an inhibitor when the Mutation Disaster was only just beginning to emerge, a huge improvement.
Inhibitors cannot eradicate the Mutation Disaster; they can only temporarily suppress it. However, this is an extremely rare and crucial means of combating it. In the previous life, the Six Nations, overwhelmed with problems, fought tooth and nail for One Leaf Green, desperate to obtain the formula for the inhibitor.
Now, One Leaf Green is in the Third Sanctuary, under Bennett's protection. Whether this will lead to the Sanctuary being coveted by the Six Nations remains to be seen. However, Han Xiao, who is far away, exchanged One Leaf Green for a long-term plan, making the Third Sanctuary the first place to develop an inhibitor, which would attract players to flock to the Sanctuary —he foresaw this step long ago.
Aurora was rescued by him and didn't turn into a monster. Her ability to identify infected people was also a crucial factor in changing the plot. Because the Mutation Virus was extremely insidious, everyone became suspicious after the disaster broke out, worried that their companions would turn into enemies at any time, and there was no longer any trust. Aurora, at least, could prevent this situation in the Third Sanctuary... In fact, many people would come to the Sanctuary voluntarily, seeking this sense of security.
Influenced by Han Xiao, Bennett and the others were able to react in advance. Long ago, Master Han had begun to lay the groundwork for version 2.0, and the effects were gradually becoming apparent.
As the group left the nursery and walked along the road, Hila suddenly asked, "If this is the disaster he predicted... will he return as he promised?"
The group paused. Everyone here had a close relationship with Han Xiao, and their expressions would become complicated whenever Black Phantom was mentioned.
"Maybe..." Bennett sighed.
Black Phantom said he went to interstellar space to find a solution to the disaster, but two years passed without any news. They had no idea what Han Xiao had encountered in interstellar space. Interstellar space was very mysterious to them; it was another, higher, and more distant world, or you could say a "real" world, which both intrigued and deterred them.
Every time I look up at the starry sky, I think of Han Xiao, who is right there, but I can't contact him.
By now, Bennett had given up hope.
Even Hila felt the chances were slim. She took out the key Han Xiao had left her, held it in her hand, lowered her eyelids, and concealed the light in her eyes.
He might... never come back.
Han Xiao, far away in interstellar space, did not deliberately observe the situation on Planet Aquamarine. He already knew the evolutionary stages of the Mutation Disaster and there was no need to witness it firsthand. Time is money, and wasting time is wasting money, which is absolutely unacceptable!
In version 2.0, players will return some time after the Mutation Disaster has fully erupted. He calculated that the Mutation Disaster will only begin to emerge about one or two months before the version's release, after which the virus will break out of its incubation period, the phenomenon will begin to spread, and eventually evolve into a disaster.
This is a crucial juncture for players entering interstellar space. Life only offers a few such opportunities; seizing them can lead to great success. Han Xiao proceeded with his preparations step by step, single-mindedly focused.
As Han Xiao crossed off one preparation item after another on his schedule
The date was drawing ever closer.