Directly asking Lu Xi was undoubtedly the quickest way. The female protagonist was in this research base, and if the information from 1314 was accurate, Lu Xi, who appeared instead of Daniel, should know something.
Cultivators have a very accurate sixth sense, and Li Shu had always been wary of the potential bad outcome, so he hadn’t directly asked. The atmosphere now was just right, making it a good opportunity.
After some time together, Li Shu found that Lu Xi was actually quite easy to get along with, except for occasionally being overly domineering, such as not letting him to get close to other experimental subjects or allowing the children he brought along to get too close to him. However, Lu Xi himself liked to stick close to Li Shu.
Yi Ziqi and the others had already witnessed the merman’s terrifying possessiveness towards the professor. After receiving the blood sample, they left as quickly as possible, leaving the two alone.
They were also very curious about the merman. They wanted to observe the merman up close, but the merman’s aura was too intimidating for them to handle. No matter how much they wanted, they could only think about it.
Li Shu dragged a chair over and sat down. He looked at the merman who was lazily resting his arm on the edge of the petri dish, gritted his teeth and made a decision. He just didn’t know if it was right or wrong.
“Lu Xi, besides you, have any other merfolk been discovered by humans?” He asked cautiously, his tone mostly probing. He couldn’t directly ask about Daniel; as a human who had never come into contact with sirens, he shouldn’t know the name of a siren he had never met.
“Why, am I not enough for you?” Lu Xi narrowed his eyes, his scarlet pupils meeting Li Shu’s. An invisible storm brewed in his eyes. If Li Shu’s answer didn’t satisfy him, he couldn’t guarantee what he might do.
Sirens had a strong possessiveness over what they considered theirs, and this feeling was even more evident when it came to their partners. They absolutely did not allow their partners to have any other sirens, or rather, any other creature, in their eyes.
Being stared at by those beast-like eyes, Li Shu curled his fingers nervously. Sometimes he really felt like Lu Xi was a large pet he raised, but this pet had higher intelligence, stronger possessiveness, and some behaviors that were really…
Lu Xi liked to be close to Li Shu, as if infatuated with the temperature of human skin. Whenever he had the chance, Lu Xi liked to stick to him and press against his skin. Sirens generally had lower body temperatures than humans, and the temperature on their tails was even cooler. Lu Xi liked to wrap his tail around Li Shu’s legs. If it weren’t for Lu Xi’s tail being able to keep itself dry, Li Shu wouldn’t know how many pairs of pants he would have to change in a day.
As long as the boundaries weren’t crossed, Lu Xi was really easy to talk to. If asked to draw blood, he would draw blood; if asked to pluck scales, he would pluck scales, like indulging a mischievous child. Li Shu often thought that if Lu Xi had his own child, he would definitely be a good father. When thinking like this, he completely forgot the information 1314 had recently provided about sirens. This race wasn’t so “kind-hearted” towards their young.
After spending so much time together, Li Shu was very sensitive to Lu Xi’s emotions. He knew that Lu Xi was angry, and the reason was the question he had just asked.
He calmed down and tried to adjust his tone: “How could I? I already have Lu Xi, how could I be so insatiable? I’m just very worried. Lu Xi is so powerful but he was brought to the base. What if others are in danger?”
Successfully pacified, the merman flicked his tail: “You don’t have to worry so much. They are all very smart and won’t easily approach places where humans are active.”
Otherwise, with so many years passing and technology becoming increasingly advanced, how could the existence of another intelligent species not be detected? Before the scientific expedition discovered Lu Xi, humans in this world had always thought merfolk were creatures of legend. No one had imagined that the two lived under the same sky.
Li Shu was not disheartened: “If anyone needs help, they can come to me. My family has some influence in the human world.”
“If anyone got caught, they can only blame themselves,” Lu Xi faced Li Shu, his gaze probing. “Why did you suddenly ask such a question today? Or, did you see another siren?”
“No,” Li Shu quickly interrupted, feeling that their conversation was heading in an increasingly strange direction. “I was just curious. You know, I’m always very interested in new things.”
“If there’s a chance, I can take you to meet other sirens.” Lu Xi’s response was ambiguous, and it was unclear whether he believed Li Shu’s explanation or not.
Li Shu didn’t continue on this topic and switched to another question: “Have you felt uncomfortable anywhere in the past few days?”
The first phase of the experiment was already underway. Of course, Li Shu wouldn’t be so heartless as to conduct experiments directly on Lu Xi, but he had taken quite a bit of “material” from him during this period.
“These little injuries are nothing to me.” Lu Xi shook his head. The healing ability of sirens was very strong, no matter how severe the injury is, it could heal in a short time, let alone some small cuts made by Li Shu’s scalpel.
“Didn’t you see it with your own eyes before?” Recalling Li Shu’s anxious appearance that day, Lu Xi’s mood instantly improved.
Li Shu, who had been closely observing Lu Xi’s state, lowered his eyes. He had finally shifted Lu Xi’s focus.
While Li Shu’s research was progressing smoothly, a big storm was brewing in the base, with the merman centered in the storm.
Few people in the base knew Li Shu’s true identity. Most thought he was just like them, a researcher hired by the Li family with a high salary. Due to their recognition of Li Shu’s abilities, they had no objections to his preferential treatment. So, when the merman first entered the base, they immediately handed over the responsibility to Li Shu without any opposition.
However, that didn’t mean they had no opinions. That was a merfolk, the only one of its kind in the world. If they could study the merman, they could achieve great accomplishments. Unlike now, so many days had passed, and Li Shu hadn’t produced any results.
What was even more outrageous was that since that incident, Li Shu had prohibited others from conducting unauthorized research on the merman. He said he didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but everyone knew the real reason.
Some had already become dissatisfied with Li Shu because of this. Under the instigation of certain individuals, this dissatisfaction festered in the shadows until it could no longer be suppressed.
Yes, they weren’t much worse than Li Shu. Why should he monopolize the merman? Just because he couldn’t produce results didn’t mean others couldn’t. If he couldn’t do it, he shouldn’t hog the resources.
That day, Li Shu had just left the lab, followed by Qin Le’an. Qin Le’an looked excited and was whispering something.
They were stopped.
The walls of the base were all the same color, with a metallic sheen. The silver-white buildings gave a sense of ultra-modern technology. At first, Li Shu wasn’t used to it, but after so many days, he had grown accustomed to seeing this color everywhere.
In the corridor, Li Shu encountered two other researchers.
Rather than calling it a coincidence, it was more like it was orchestrated. The primary activity area for researchers wasn’t in this part of the base. In all the days he’d been there, he had met very few people on this path, let alone two at once like now.
The two men didn’t seem inclined to make way. The base’s corridors weren’t too wide, and the two of them standing side by side could completely block the way.
Qin Le’an closed her mouth and looked at Li Shu with some worry. She recognized these two men; they were “veterans” of the base and had always been in Director Jiang’s faction. They had previously bullied newcomers quite a bit.
“Professor,” Qin Le’an whispered, “they are Director Jiang’s people.”
She spoke softly, but given how close they were, the men on the other side heard her right away.
“Oh, the little girl knows quite a lot,” the chubby man said with a smile. He had a kind face and spoke in a friendly tone, which could make people lower their guard.
In contrast, the other man looked fierce, with a square face that exuded an intimidating aura. If a newcomer with a weak heart stood in front of him, they’d be terrified.
“Please step aside,” Li Shu ignored the chubby researcher’s words and led Qin Le’an forward. The two men blocking their way didn’t budge, so Li Shu had to remind them.
“Boy, aren’t you a bit too arrogant?” the two men still didn’t move, forcing Li Shu to stop.
“Oh?”
The word was light and the ending tone was raised, which always gave off an indescribable sense of contempt. The chubby researcher had never been spoken to like this and he almost lost his composure.
“Do you know who you’re standing in front of?”
Li Shu glanced at their name tags and said indifferently, “Researcher Qian, Researcher Fang.”
The chubby researcher, surnamed Qian, had never encountered such a soft nail. What was this response? What was with this Li Shu? Didn’t his assistant just remind him? Was he really clueless or was he doing it on purpose?
This was on purpose!
Researcher Fang’s thick eyebrows twitched, clearly not expecting Li Shu to have this attitude. He scowled, “Professor Li, don’t be perfunctory. I don’t believe you don’t understand our intentions. If you were a bit smarter, you’d obediently hand over the merman. Just because you can’t produce results doesn’t mean you should waste resources.”
Li Shu casually handed the documents to Qin Le’an: “Whether it’s wasting resources or not, I don’t think it’s your place to say. The authority is in my hands now. How I handle it is my business. You and those behind you don’t need to worry.”
“You…” Researcher Fang was speechless.
“Li Shu, do you really want to offend us?” Researcher Qian squinted, a ruthless glint in his eye.
“If you think so, then yes. Can we leave now?” Li Shu adjusted his glasses.
“Of course,” Researcher Qian stepped aside and said through gritted teeth, “I hope you won’t regret what you said.”
“I have no…” Li Shu suddenly stopped mid-sentence and looked ahead in disbelief.
Qin Le’an also widened her eyes. The two researchers were confused and turned around curiously.
The moment they met those crimson eyes, they felt a chill spread from the depths of their hearts. Their brains screamed danger, but their bodies couldn’t move at all.
