Free Web NovelChapter 373: Chapter 280: Bizarre Mutant Beast Carcass
Last night, this Jade Token activated on its own. It trembled slightly, moving a short distance, which is why it looks a little crooked now.
This was only noticeable because Zhao Tianfu was a bit obsessive-compulsive about arranging things, insisting that everything be placed perfectly neat and tidy.
That was the only reason he was able to spot the change in the Jade Token’s position. Anyone else would have missed such a subtle alteration.
...
A change in the Jade Token’s position could mean someone entered the lab while Zhao Tianfu was away and moved it.
Besides Zhao Tianfu, who could come and go as he pleased, only the director of the Spiritual Energy Research Institute had the top-level clearance to enter his personal lab.
However, if the director of the Spiritual Energy Research Institute wanted to enter his lab while he was away, he would either give him a heads-up beforehand or inform him afterward.
But as of now, Zhao Tianfu had received no notice from the director, either before or after the fact. Therefore, he could be almost certain that no one had entered his lab.
Since no one had come in, it was impossible for anyone to have moved the Jade Token. That left only one possibility.
The Jade Token had activated on its own after he left work. But there was another issue. When this Jade Token activated, it was capable of controlling the weather, causing sudden downpours over large parts of the city. Yet, it hadn’t rained last night.
Zhao Tianfu frowned, staring at the displaced Jade Token under the glass cover, his mind racing through various possibilities.
After some thought, he couldn’t reach a clear conclusion.
His brow furrowed, Zhao Tianfu raised a hand to rub the spot between his eyebrows. He muttered to himself, ’No, I have to get to the bottom of this immediately...’
If this Jade Token were still the unremarkable artifact it had seemed to be at first, Zhao Tianfu wouldn’t have bothered investigating even if he found it had been moved.
But ever since the Jade Token had displayed its extraordinary power that one time, he definitely couldn’t afford to ignore a situation like this...
Fortunately, every lab in the Spiritual Energy Research Institute was equipped with security cameras. To find out what happened after he left yesterday, the head of the lab could apply to review the recorded video footage.
The application process just took some time. Even though Zhao Tianfu was one of the few senior researchers at the Spiritual Energy Research Institute, he still had to register with the security department staff and wait for a while before he could access the recorded footage.
Determined to get to the bottom of it and figure out what had caused the Jade Token to move, Zhao Tianfu pulled his phone from his pocket and called the head of the security department.
"Hello, Old Liu? It’s me."
"Old Zhao, what’s up?"
"I’d like to review the security footage from my lab, from eleven o’clock last night to six this morning."
"Sure thing. I’ll log the request. In about ten minutes, I’ll send the footage you requested to your work email."
"Alright, thanks."
After hanging up with the head of the security department, Zhao Tianfu’s gaze returned to the Jade Token under the glass cover.
He stared at the Jade Token for over a minute, then turned away, took his white lab coat from the coat rack, and put it on. Then, he brewed himself a cup of tea.
Ten minutes later, as Zhao Tianfu sat at his desk drinking tea, a pop-up appeared in the bottom-right corner of his computer screen, notifying him that he had received a new email.
He moved the mouse and clicked on the notification. It was the security footage from the head of the security department.
After opening the video, Zhao Tianfu hit fast-forward, quickly playing through the footage from after he had left work yesterday.
Soon, in the pitch-black laboratory on the screen, a faint golden glow suddenly appeared shortly after midnight.
On the screen, Zhao Tianfu could clearly see that the source of the faint golden glow was the Jade Token under the glass cover.
’So the Jade Token really did activate on its own. But the disturbance it caused this time was minor! It didn’t affect the weather or cause a sudden downpour over Rongcheng.’
Staring intently at the Jade Token glowing faintly on the screen, Zhao Tianfu instinctively leaned closer to his computer monitor.
The security footage showed the Jade Token, which had activated itself in the early hours of the morning, remaining active for half an hour before it finally quieted down.
After that, it showed no signs of activity right up until he arrived for work.
After watching the video, Zhao Tianfu got up and walked over to the glass cover. He lifted it and took the Jade Token in his hand.
"You’re a real troublemaker, aren’t you? Activating yourself again behind my back."
"Seal," Zhao Tianfu muttered, looking at the Jade Token in his hand.
The moment he spoke, a faint golden Spiritual Light emerged from his right hand, which was holding the Jade Token.
This faint golden Spiritual Light transformed into golden threads that wrapped around the Jade Token, layer by layer. A few seconds later, the faint golden Spiritual Light vanished.
To prevent the Jade Token from activating on its own again, Zhao Tianfu used his Superpower to restrain it. Just as he finished, there was a knock on the lab door.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...
Hearing the knock, Zhao Tianfu placed the Jade Token back under the glass cover, then walked to the lab entrance and opened the door.
At the door stood a man, quite a bit older than Zhao Tianfu but still only a mid-level researcher. He said to Zhao Tianfu,
"Zhao Tianfu, I just got word that the Superpower Administration Bureau sent over a rather unusual Mutant Beast corpse. Let’s go take a look together!"
"An unusual Mutant Beast corpse? What’s so unusual about it?" Zhao Tianfu asked, perplexed.
After all, he had dissected many Mutant Beasts. What others might call a strange corpse could be perfectly unremarkable in his eyes.
"I heard it was a Second Rank Initial Stage Mutant Beast. Yesterday, it crossed the boundary and attacked the South District Prison, and the Prison Director killed it on the spot.
Later, the Prison Director called in Investigators from the Superpower Administration Bureau to take the Mutant Beast’s corpse away for investigation.
After the Investigators brought the Mutant Beast back to the bureau, the plan was to send it over to us during the day for research.
But this morning, when the Superpower Administration Bureau arranged for Investigators to transport the corpse, they discovered that the dead Mutant Beast had sprouted numerous red mushrooms all over its body..." Zhao Tianfu’s colleague explained.
"You’re saying red mushrooms grew on the Mutant Beast’s corpse?"
"Yes, red mushrooms. Tsk... for red mushrooms to sprout on a Mutant Beast’s corpse in just one night, in a matter of hours... that’s a situation we’ve never encountered before."
After hearing his colleague’s account, Zhao Tianfu was immediately filled with a keen interest in the Mutant Beast corpse. He followed his colleague to the place where the corpse was being stored.
When the two of them arrived at the storage area, many other researchers were already there.
Evidently, these researchers from the Spiritual Energy Research Institute were all very interested in the newly arrived Mutant Beast corpse covered in red mushrooms.
You could tell at a glance from the way their eyes lit up as they stared at the Mutant Beast corpse on the platform.
The director of the Spiritual Energy Research Institute looked at the assembled researchers. He cleared his throat, signaling for the murmuring crowd to quiet down, then addressed them.
"I know you’re all very interested in this Mutant Beast corpse, as well as the red mushrooms that have grown on it...
Therefore, I’ve decided that each of you may take one mushroom back to your own lab for research.
As for the Mutant Beast’s corpse, it will be studied by a senior researcher. We will decide which senior researcher gets the honor by drawing lots."
...
