Chapter 207 - 141: He Jie is Captured, Inviting Ling Shuyan (Part 2)
Chapter 207: Chapter 141: He Jie is Captured, Inviting Ling Shuyan (Part 2)
Ding Chenghai slurped down the last of his noodles, set down the bowl, and let out a long sigh. Then, with a grave expression, he revealed a shocking piece of news in a low voice:
"Something’s happened to He Jie."
Lin Feng’s expression flickered, and he grew even more confused.
He Jie was a student of his mother, He Yiwen, and also the object of Ding Chenghai’s dogged pursuit. That was how the two men had met.
But the problem was that He Jie had taken up his mother’s research direction and was pursuing advanced studies in the Northwest Region, which was currently located in a safe zone far behind the front lines.
’How could she have gotten into trouble?!’
Ding Chenghai took out a cigarette. Knowing Lin Feng didn’t smoke, he lit one just for himself.
"I had someone look into it."
"Two days ago, she was suddenly taken from her lab by investigators from the higher-ups."
"The reason given was suspicion of being a Zerg Race spy."
Lin Feng’s brow furrowed, and he stated firmly,
"That’s impossible! The Zerg Race’s parasitic hosts can’t stray too far from the Mother Empress. Once severed from the Mother Empress’s Spirit connection, they’d likely lose control."
"Besides, the Zerg Race has no reason to parasitize and control an ordinary theoretical researcher."
Ding Chenghai nodded. That was what he had been racking his brain over, unable to make sense of it. But after making numerous inquiries and using his old connections, he had finally found the basis for their suspicions:
"Remember that Zerg Race data file released by the Research Institute headquarters over a month ago, the day after the invasion?"
"That information helped us a great deal, especially in the Early Stage of the war. It prevented massive losses."
"But the source of that data was actually an anonymous post on an internet forum, published around noon on the day of the outbreak. Many people saw it by chance, and it shot to the top of the trending topics. Later, after the Research Institute dissected Zerg corpses and cross-referenced the analysis, they discovered the information was a perfect match. They used it as a template and sent the updated file out to the entire country."
"The original file on the internet vanished after the coastal region where the forum’s servers were located was overrun."
"But once the situation temporarily stabilized, they performed a technical recovery and traced the signal’s origin. It came from the Research Institute at Northwest University, exactly where He Jie was located."
"Taking advantage of the recent purge of Zerg Race spies, the investigators found browser and posting records for that forum in He Jie’s lab..."
At this, Ding Chenghai sighed again.
Lin Feng swallowed hard, and his heart dropped.
For some reason, he had a strong premonition that the Zerg Race data He Jie possessed must have come from his mother, He Yiwen.
’Perhaps her disappearance is related to this, too.’
’Could it be that the Zerg Race arrived on Blue Star long ago? Were they just lying dormant in the depths of the ocean, quietly building up their forces, and then He Jie stumbled upon some clues...’
’My mom was in the physics department, and her research was related to the Cosmos and celestial bodies. She often went to astronomical observatories to get the latest observation records. Sometimes, to get the most accurate data, she would even venture deep into the cloudless plateaus and deserts.’
’Some human scientists might have detected the Alien Zerg Race invasion long ago and even made contact with them.’
’If He Jie inherited He Yiwen’s research, it would all make sense.’
At this thought, Lin Feng sighed as well.
He knew that if something happened to He Jie, Ding Fatty would be absolutely unable to sit still; he would definitely go back to mount a rescue.
Although the man always looked disheveled, he was a top-tier talent when it came to weapons. The Tiger-toothed Chainsaw Sword was a classic example of his genius, a masterpiece he had created in just a few days.
Most of a genius like him’s connections were in military-industrial corporations. In this apocalypse, with production at full capacity, the factories providing logistics were just as important as soldiers on the front lines. Naturally, those connections held significant power and status.
If Ding Chenghai went back personally, even if he couldn’t prove He Jie’s innocence right away, he could at least ensure she was spared physical abuse.
For reasons of both sentiment and logic, Lin Feng couldn’t force him to stay.
Sensing Lin Feng’s inner conflict, Ding Chenghai tossed away the half-smoked cigarette in his hand, stood up, and ground out the butt with the toe of his shoe. He then said reassuringly,
"Don’t worry. You want to stay here and fight the Zerg Race invasion, and I support that a hundred percent. I’ll help you contact the team members who are willing to remain. They were originally assigned to the Thirteenth Division as accompanying researchers anyway."
"Now that the Thirteenth Division is preparing to withdraw and all the materials have been supplied, they’ll definitely be willing to work for you."
Lin Feng nodded. As long as he had four or five people who could build a complete Tiger-toothed Chainsaw Sword, they could then teach the other logistics personnel. With that, a basic production line could begin to take shape.
As for the external materials, like tungsten steel, he could ask Hu Fei for help. There was no immediate rush. It might even be possible to use Tiger-toothed Giant Mandibles as the base material to forge the entire weapon.
After all, Lin Feng was short on everything *except* Biological Materials from the Zerg Race.
Beyond new weapons, the most important part of Lin Feng’s plan was the biological modification project.
Genetic Warriors were the foundation of his Legion.
With this in mind, Lin Feng continued,
"The weapons aspect is easy enough to solve. I need technical support in another Realm."
Ding Chenghai raised an eyebrow. He quickly guessed what Lin Feng was asking for and shook his head.
"Impossible. Biological modification technology isn’t like what we do in the workshop, where all you need is a machine tool to stamp and polish parts. It requires fully-equipped sterile laboratories, operating rooms, all sorts of sterilization equipment, and cryogenic storage units..."
"Weapons research is grunt work for us rough-and-tumble types, but their work is incredibly precise. Back at the biological research institute, I almost fainted from confusion just trying to correlate the Physique data for the Genetic Warriors."
"You’ll be exhausted from constant travel on the front lines, setting up camp in one place after another. Where would you ever find all that equipment?"