Chapter 145: We Have Beasts Above Us!

"Next is the research institute's zone; no electronic devices are allowed inside, and the visit may take most of the day. If either of you has matters to attend to, now would be the time."

Amid casual chat and empty promises, Lin Ying and Chen Zhi arrived at the entrance of the Dongxiang Spirit Beast Research Institute.

This area was a military restricted zone; no map displayed its existence, and even approaching it triggered signal shielding—except for the internal network.

Before entering the sentry perimeter, Director Yang explained the situation to the two: if they had any matters to settle, they should handle them beforehand to avoid mishaps.

Of course.

Director Yang said this Teyi, and though it sounded like a considerate reminder, his gaze never left Lin Ying.

We're in life sciences here.

Your great-grandfather's willing to fund the Longevity Club—why not invest a few billion dollars into us too?

Many of our research teams are starving, begging for funds so desperately they'd sell their own underwear to pawnshops.

Lin Ying, leveraging her influence and wealth, donated funds Wuchang to the Dongxiang Institute.

But how could Director Yang not want to latch onto the Lin family's purse strings, day after day spinning pies to coax donations from Old Lin's household?

All core technologies and related data are stored in three newly established universities; what's displayed here at the institute is only what's permitted for public viewing.

If we can trick them into investing...

Of course, it's not exactly deception, since the Qi revival won't be hidden forever.

When information about spirit beasts becomes public, these investors will receive their share.

It's like crowdfunding: some research is too difficult to yield results, or too low-priority; if the institute wants to proceed, it must legally raise funds on its own.

If done well, next year we might even secure larger budget allocations.

Funders only hold usage rights to the outcomes; the technology and knowledge belong to the institute and the state.

Calling it deception? Honestly, it's not wrong.

Lin Ying pulled out her phone and sent a text to her great-grandfather overseas.

It said nothing substantial—only that she had now connected with the regular military.

This director's completely obsessed with money; three out of every five words are begging me to donate, even hinting—overtly and covertly—that they've mastered longevity tech.

Chen Zhi also called home to report her itinerary and arrangements.

Once everything was settled, they surrendered their electronic devices and passed through the metal detector.

Director Yang and the accompanying researchers surrounded Lin Ying, leading her into the institute.

"Stop!"

Director Yang glanced toward the gate; as armed sentries stared back, he quickly shouted a single word.

"Dip."

The sentry replied with one word; a small side door beside the main gate slowly opened, and the group entered the institute, arriving directly at a disinfection chamber.

And a strange "tick-tock" sound echoed constantly beside their ears.

The rhythmic "tick-tock" persisted, stirring unease in their minds.

Lin Ying frowned slightly; she'd already been suffering from mental fatigue and exhaustion, and now the noise stirred her once-still inner calm.

"What's that Skinny Dog Gully Boar up to? Why's it making such lewd noises?"

Hearing the "tick-tock," Director Yang frowned and whispered to a nearby researcher, telling him to go deal with that promiscuous boar and stop it from wandering around.

"Understood."

The researcher nodded and hurried out of the disinfection chamber to notify the boar's caretaker.

Exiting the disinfection chamber, they expected a shaded garden path—but instead found only chaos, and a giant boar with a tuft of blue hair on its head.

The "tick-tock" sound came from the boar's rear end.

Where its male pride once stood, two metal orbs, the size of lanterns, now hung.

As the Skinny Dog Gully Boar wrecked the garden, the two metal spheres swung and clanged against each other.

Director Yang looked embarrassed. "This boar, codenamed Skinny Dog Gully, lost—uh—certain functions due to an accident, and has been in a depressive state ever since."

"Now... it seems to really like its two stainless steel lanterns."

As he spoke, Director Yang frantically signaled to the researchers and caretakers, urging them to calm that damn boar before it scared off their golden patron.

The researchers and caretakers rushed forward, gripping the boar's curved, scimitar-like tusks.

The Skinny Dog Gully Boar resisted at first, but after the caretaker whispered something in its ear, it reluctantly stopped its destruction, plopped down on its haunches, and glared sullenly at Director Yang's group.

I lost mine originally—now that I've grown these back, can't I show off my metal lanterns?

"!"

Director Yang shot it a furious glare, then gestured politely to lead Lin Ying into the institute.

Besides the Skinny Dog Gully Boar, Lin Ying and Chen Zhi spotted other spirit beasts along the way.

Including the giant crocodile couple: Han Yu Crocodile and Bay Crocodile.

These two normally violent crocodiles now floated like salted fish on the artificial pond, ignoring even the oddly colored water otters dragging logs to build dams.

"Isn't that the Han Yu Crocodile from Changle River?"

Chen Zhi stared at the crocodiles, then at Director Yang ahead, and asked: "How many tons of sleeping pills did you dump in that pond? As far as I know, they weren't like this before."

"Some applications of spirit beast traits: once they recognize who the true lord of the territory is, their defiance vanishes completely—far more effective than castration."

Director Yang smiled, gave them this explanation, almost outright saying their superiors were mighty beasts.

A dominant spirit beast has the pride of a dominant spirit beast.

But once its defiance is shattered, it returns to normal demeanor—within the dominion of that dominant beast, all other life, strong or weak, is equal.

Faced with equals, spirit beasts won't act unless their own lives are threatened, lest they disturb the rest of the dominant elder.

Spirit beasts may be beasts, but they're not stupid.

No one wants to be idly picked up and beaten senseless by a dominant beast a thousand times stronger.

They have no masochistic tendencies. Right now, food and drink are guaranteed; sure, the neighbors are a bit too many, and the idiot next door likes to shit on their doorstep—but it's not the end of the world.

Under Director Yang's lead, the group arrived at the first research project room of the Dongxiang Institute.

In a sunken courtyard, five or six bare-chested young men watched a roe deer.

The roe deer sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed, as if asleep.

Then, several staff in sterile suits approached the deer and the youths; under Lin Ying's gaze, the researchers injected them all with a serum.

Immediately after injection, the lights in the sunken courtyard dimmed; light glowed along the bodies of the deer and the youths, and thin filaments, like the white veins of an orange, emerged across their skin.

Director Yang turned to Lin Ying and said:

"This is the meridian system. I used to scoff at traditional Chinese medicine—but once human technology let us clearly see the meridians inside the body, my face swelled up."

"This is the method our ancestors developed—without modern tech or contrast agents—through some kind of mystical insight."

(End of Chapter)