Chapter 409

The laboratory of the Mutation Department in the Dome still had its lights on.

Fang Zhiyan sat in the corner of the laboratory, and the screen in front of him displayed a set of data still running, the curve fluctuating slightly, indicating everything was normal.

He leaned back in the chair, his fingers tapping intermittently on the armrest, when his communicator suddenly lit up, and a name popped up on the screen—Han Huan.

Fang Zhiyan glanced at it but didn't answer immediately, instead waiting for it to ring a while before picking up.

"When did you get back?" Han Huan's voice came through the communicator, his relaxed tone more like a casual question between friends: "Did I disturb your work? I heard you finally brought back that sample you've been wanting to study…"

Fang Zhiyan merely grunted an "uh" and didn't respond.

Although the Mutation Department holds a rather special position in the Dome, isn't the one with the most subordinates actually the head of the Field Operations Department?

As long as it doesn't interfere with his experiments, Fang Zhiyan usually doesn't vie with other department heads for the so-called real power in the Dome, but that doesn't stop others from placing him in the position they most need to watch.

"Just have something I want to confirm with you."

From Han Huan's end came the sound of rustling papers: "This afternoon the Field Operations Department handled an emergency; just a short while ago I noticed someone had accessed the relevant files."

"And the access rights used were those of the Deputy Head of the Mutation Department."

Fang Zhiyan's fingers paused on the armrest; he had thought it was about the sample, but it turned out to be a problem from Ying Duo's side.

Should I say his student really can't sit still for a moment?

"I checked the Mutation Department's roster," Han Huan said, unaware of what Fang Zhiyan was thinking, and continued, "The deputy head slot has remained vacant, so I wanted to ask whether the system had a glitch; if so, we'll launch an investigation right away."

Fang Zhiyan watched the line still running on the screen: "It's not a glitch."

"Oh?"

"It's my newly accepted student," Fang Zhiyan said offhandedly, "I gave him deputy deputy head access so he could look up materials, but I hadn't gotten around to filing the report."

The other end of the communicator fell silent for two seconds.

"Your new student," Han Huan said, pausing oddly here, "being able to directly view the Field Operations Department's mission files—that's quite a permission to grant."

Fang Zhiyan didn't take the bait.

"He's young and doesn't know the rules; maybe he just clicked something at random—I'll talk to him later."

His fingers tapped the armrest again: "Did this incident blow up big? Even you, the head of the Field Operations Department, got personally involved."

Han Huan merely gave a light chuckle: "I'm just asking on his behalf; the one really concerned about this is Xie Jingnian, but he's busy handling it, so he had me come inquire about the situation."

In fact, Xie Jingnian simply didn't want to communicate with Fang Zhiyan, so he went straight to Han Huan—after all, the matter involves his precious daughter, so it's no wonder he takes it so seriously.

Han Huan didn't seem to press him further about granting Ying Duo access, and besides, back then he had taken Xing Ke from under his command and promoted him to head of the Weapon R&D Department without even asking his opinion.

After hanging up with Fang Zhiyan, Han Huan immediately informed Xie Jingnian of the whole story.

As long as he could confirm Fang Zhiyan had nothing to do with this incident, Xie Jingnian had already breathed a sigh of relief.

But……

"Fang Zhiyan's new student?"

Xie Jingnian looked at the message Han Huan had sent back and immediately furrowed his brows.

Those who earn Fang Zhiyan's approval are usually not exactly normal, and yet Jingyan happens to be at the core of this incident.

We must absolutely not let that child be targeted by the Mutation Department.

Xie Jingnian knows exactly what kind of lunatics make up the Mutation Department; earlier, a child whose task merely had some contact with the Mutation Department was outright taken by them, and now he doesn't even know whether that child is alive or dead.

Xie Jingnian immediately called Xie Jingyan.

"Beep—beep—beep—"

No one answered the phone, so Xie Jingnian had to hang up and dial Xiao Huiyu's mobile number instead.

Although he didn't want to disturb the patient's rest, this was his only recourse.

"You mean the captain?"

Xiao Huiyu's face was pallid, his whole body limp and powerless as he lay on the bed.

Medical staff rushed back and forth, busy everywhere, and only with difficulty did they manage to stabilize her condition somewhat.

Xie Jingyan was comparatively fortunate; although he'd been exposed to her blood, he showed no symptoms, and after a check confirmed he was fine he was also placed in isolation outside.

Xiao Huiyu forced himself to tell Xie Jingnian about Jingyan's condition, but Xie Jingnian only furrowed his brows tighter.

"You mean she was checked at the hospital, found not to be poisoned, and then placed in isolation outside?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

Xiao Huiyu asked cautiously, also noticing that Xie Jingnian's tone was off.

Problem? That's huge!

Although Xie Jingnian no longer associates with Xie Jingyan on the surface, he actually hasn't lessened his attention to her at all.

No parent would fail to understand their own child, and Xie Jingyan is certainly not an honest personality.

Toxins basically have no effect on Xie Jingyan, and she never easily abandons an injured companion.

So, where is Xie Jingyan now?

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Xie Jingyan was buying peach-wood swords.

"Um, miss, do you really want all of them?"

The carpenter looked hesitantly at the peach-wood swords lined up before him, and spoke somewhat hesitantly.

He is not a Special Ability Practitioner, just an ordinary carpenter making a living by crafting wooden ornaments.

These peach-wood swords are made imitating the Old World era; supposedly they have the effect of warding off evil and ensuring safety, come in various sizes, and occasionally a few mercenaries think they're decent and buy them back for peace of mind.

The larger ones, being too awkward as weapons, are mostly just taken out for display.

When this young lady arrived, she immediately asked if there was anything that could kill ghosts; the carpenter could only tell her the fragmented information he had heard about peach-wood swords.

Xie Jingyan then immediately declared she wanted to buy all the peach-wood swords, and also demanded that he turn all the remaining materials into those large swords.

"Of course." Xie Jingyan furrowed her brows slightly impatiently, wearing sunglasses and a mask, covering herself thoroughly, and simply continued to urge him on.

"I can add more money, but all peach wood swords must be finished processing within half an hour."

Upon hearing this, the carpenter didn't even have time to consider how suspicious Xie Jingyan's attire was, and immediately went to shout for a bunch of brothers who could do woodwork, vowing to complete this big order for Xie Jingyan.

Xie Jingyan looked at those peach wood swords, mass-produced and carved into shape, casually picked up one and weighed it a bit.

Recalling how his sword had just passed straight through that Ying Guang Lu ghostly apparition, he thought that switching to a specialized sword this time should allow him to hit it.