Chapter 217: The Curtain Falls, Another Round Won!

Deeply aware that they were powerless to salvage the situation, Black Wizard and General Nick finally gave up after watching the video Huo An released through the Light Brain. Now, they only hoped Xiong Yu wouldn’t be discovered. That way, there might still be a turning point in the future.

“Xiong Yu is the trump card I planted in the Tianyao Star Protection Zone. If it weren’t for this incident… I wouldn’t have used him.” General Nick gave Black Wizard a meaningful look. He was clearly dissatisfied with him deep down, but out of respect for their leader, he held his tongue.

Ever since the Rebel Army’s stronghold on Sky Shining Star was completely wiped out, the protection zone had undergone another wave of purges under Huo An’s leadership. If Black Wizard hadn’t sounded so confident at the time, General Nick wouldn’t have exposed Xiong Yu’s existence at such a critical moment.

“As long as Xiong Yu doesn’t expose his identity as a Beastman and quietly lives in the protection zone in his Beast Form, there won’t be any problems,” Black Wizard retorted. Hearing the underlying complaint in General Nick’s previous words, he shot the military commander a cold, sidelong glance. He had known for a long time that Nick looked down on him. If it weren’t for the Rebel Army leader’s orders and the sake of his own research, he wouldn’t even deign to associate with Nick!

“Enough. What’s done is done,” General Nick said, his mood terrible. “We can only leave it at this. I’ll instruct him to hide himself well.” He had thought victory was within his grasp, but Liang He and the others had repeatedly ruined his plans. In the end, he still lost.

If only the leader hadn’t repeatedly demanded that they recruit Liang He, strictly forbidding them from killing her even if she refused to cooperate. Otherwise, General Nick would have preferred to have Xiong Yu approach her directly in his Beast Form. He could have taken the opportunity to eliminate her once and for all. However, this was just wishful thinking. Putting it into practice definitely wouldn’t be that smooth. After all, Beastmen could sense each other. If Huo An noticed beforehand, the losses would outweigh the gains.

Unaware that General Nick had ever considered having her assassinated, Liang He had barely finished her livestream when Xu Yi dragged her to the Sixth Service Area to look for Lan Zhuo.

Confused, Liang He had instructed her fluffy companions to be good and stay at home, asking Silver Feather and the others to look after them before following Xu Yi onto the hovercraft. It wasn’t until she was safely seated that she finally had the time to ask for the reason. “Haven’t the animals woken up? Why is Lan Zhuo looking for me?”

“The animals that weren’t injected with the Antidote have indeed mostly woken up,” Xu Yi replied. “Lan Zhuo wants to ask you to consult your friend. He wants to know if this cure can be given to the animals that have already mutated into Fierce Beasts.”

In Lan Zhuo’s opinion, this batch of animals that had turned into Fierce Beasts underwent a different mutation process compared to the previous Fierce Beast Army. There might still be room to turn things around, but he didn’t dare to try it lightly, so he wanted to double-check.

Hearing this, Liang He thought carefully and felt it wasn’t entirely impossible. “They only mutated into Fierce Beasts because the new Antidote reacted with the toxins in their bodies. It really is different from before.”

Although Liang He had never formally researched Fierce Beasts, she had dealt with the Fierce Beast Army before. Also, because she had proposed the theory of using traditional Chinese medicine to prevent the Fierce Beast virus and even cure the Fierce Beasts, she had learned a lot of theoretical knowledge from the experts and professors of the Animal Research Institute back on Greenfield Star.

“Exactly! That’s why Lan Zhuo was thinking that we shouldn’t give up easily if there’s even a chance to save them,” Xu Yi said.

If they really threw those animals that had turned into Fierce Beasts onto the Fierce Beast Planet, only endless darkness would await them. Perhaps one day, an Antidote capable of curing the Fierce Beast virus would be developed. But until then, it was far more likely that they would simply be eroded by the toxins and left to die a slow, agonizing death.

“Aren’t Fierce Beasts relentless and immortal?” Liang He asked. She had assumed they would live normally until the natural end of their lifespans.

“You wish,” Xu Yi retorted. “How could such an unnatural existence not come with a price? If that were the case, the Rebel Army would be the first to conduct human experiments. They would create a batch of fearless death squads to fight alongside the Fierce Beast Army… Tsk, it’s too terrifying to even imagine the consequences.”

“…Right.” Liang He felt inexplicably guilty at Xu Yi’s answer. Such existences weren’t actually nonexistent…

“Alright, we’re here!” Xu Yi announced.

Failing to notice Liang He’s unusual mood, he led her straight to the medical room as soon as they arrived at the Sixth Service Area. Upon entering, they found that apart from Lan Zhuo, Huo An was also there.

“Huh? Why are you here too? Don’t you need to be busy looking for you-know-who?” Xu Yi asked, referring to Xiong Yu.

“Kerry has already taken people to look for him,” Huo An replied. “I heard from Lan Zhuo that he wanted to discuss giving medicine to the Fierce Beasts with Liang He, so I came to listen in.”

He said he came to listen, but Huo An was actually there to back Liang He up, just in case Lan Zhuo tried to force her into doing something she didn’t want to do for the sake of his research. If Liang He got upset and simply washed her hands of the whole affair, Huo An wouldn’t even have a place to cry about it.

Lan Zhuo, who was completely oblivious to all this, didn’t notice a thing. Instead, his eyes lit up the moment he saw Liang He, and he stared at her intently. “Liang He, could you please contact your friend?”

Lan Zhuo truly admired and desperately wanted to converse with someone whose single-handed efforts rivaled the entire Animal Research Institute, and who had dodged the traps set by the Rebel Army to successfully develop a cure. He was already a fanatic when it came to research. Now that he had discovered a new mentor to learn from, how could he possibly hold back?!

“I can. I already communicated with him on the way here,” Liang He said.

Out of respect, Liang He had messaged Chou the Pharmacist while on the hovercraft, right after learning about Lan Zhuo’s idea. Although Chou the Pharmacist didn’t want to show his face in public, he didn’t mind private exchanges. Not to mention, with Liang He acting as a guarantor, he had even fewer objections.

“That’s wonderful! I have so many questions I want to ask!” Lan Zhuo exclaimed. Having been rejected by Liang He several times before, he had been terrified that this would be another false hope. Upon hearing Liang He’s agreement, he excitedly grabbed the small notebook he had prepared in advance and looked at her eagerly.

Seeing this, Liang He naturally didn’t want to waste any more time. She directly initiated an audio call with Chou the Pharmacist.

“Liang He.” Chou the Pharmacist wasn’t a man of many words; he simply greeted her.

“Lan Zhuo has some professional questions he wants to ask you. I’ll give him your contact information so you can communicate directly. Is that okay?” Liang He asked. She was well aware of her role as a middleman, but she had no intention of acting as a third wheel forever. It would be much more convenient to just let them communicate on their own.

“Okay.” Chou the Pharmacist nodded over the call, then suddenly remembered this wasn’t a video chat, so he replied aloud.

“Alright, then remember to accept his contact request in a bit,” Liang He added.

After they reached an agreement, Liang He gave Chou the Pharmacist’s contact information to Lan Zhuo, leaving them to chat at their own pace. Meanwhile, she followed Xu Yi and Huo An to check on the animals that had just woken up.

“Fortunately, time was tight back then, and the Antidote was delivered in batches. The remaining one-third of the animals, whose conditions were relatively stable, weren’t injected with it. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have survived long enough to receive the cure.”

Looking at the animals lying weakly on the ground, entirely devoid of their usual lively and joyous demeanor, Liang He pressed her lips tightly together as indignation rose in her heart once again. “Have you still not caught the person who poisoned them?” she asked.

“We already have a lead,” Huo An replied.

Regarding the fact that Xiong Yu was a black Bear Beastman, Huo An felt that this might be a good opportunity to confess the truth to Liang He. Just as he was pondering how to phrase it, a sudden cry rang out from outside the door.