Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

Artificial structures encased half the star, continuously harnessing its energy. All the Interstellar Alliance’s energy supply originated from here. For the alliance, such a sight was commonplace. These structures had been built by the Murong Group.

A boyish-looking person arrived alone at the Murong Group headquarters. His special identity granted him unrestricted access, and he made his way directly to the Murong Family Head’s office. Although the Murong Family Head was over sixty, he appeared as youthful as a man in his thirties.

At the young boy’s visit, the Murong Family Head rose to his feet with keen interest, personally receiving his business partner. “What brings the Supreme Society’s Chairman to my doorstep today?”

The boy sat unceremoniously in the main seat and snorted coldly. “Test Subject No. 1 is missing. I came here to clear my head.”

The Murong Family Head was stunned. “Test Subject No.1? That's a big deal. Speaking of which, I also have some troubles. I’ve wiped out the Stellar Society that’s been opposing me, but the chip with the most crucial evidence of our illegal stellar mining wasn’t with them.”

Seeing that the Murong Family Head also had his fair share of woes, the young boy’s mood improved considerably. He dropped the two annoying matters and turned his attention to their joint venture.

The young boy rose and gazed up at the star through the window. “How’s the solar mining going? How far are we from the core?”

“Only six thousand kilometers left. We’ll be done in half a month.”

Finally hearing some good news, the boy grew excited. “In half a month, I’ll finally get to see the true appearance of that living being?”

The Murong Family Head wore a peculiar expression. “Are you certain that thing is really a living being? According to my engineers, its energy density is astonishing. It doesn’t match any known energy type. What living being could possess such energy density?”

“It’s definitely a living being!” the young boy declared with conviction. “And it’s intricately connected to the corpse I’ve been studying!”

“If you say so.” The Murong Family Head shrugged. The young boy was the expert in this field; he wouldn’t argue with an expert.

“Anyway, as long as your research results can extend my lifespan, that’s all that matters.”

This was precisely why the Murong Family Head had partnered with the young boy. Although the former’s entire body had been mechanically modified, he still felt that wasn’t enough. His brain’s lifespan determined how long he could live, and he wanted to prolong it.

The Supreme Society’s research happened to include what he needed. As a result, the two organizations formed an alliance—the Murong Family Head would mine the living being within the sun for the young boy, while the young boy would extend the Murong Family Head’s lifespan.

Once the mining was complete, the boy would acquire new research materials and extend the Murong Family Head’s life.

The young boy sat for a while before leaving the Murong Group and returning to the Supreme Society headquarters.

~~~

Following the doctor’s guidance, Lu Yang and the others found his hidden cache of heavy weapons and armed themselves. Although Lu Yang felt that the bulletproof vests weren’t as sturdy as his own clothes, he didn’t want to reject the kind intentions of Lan Hai and the others. The sports car had limited space, so they could only pack the most powerful weapons to take with them.

“We’re close to the headquarters. Time to get out,” Mi Xue’er said.

They parked the car at the edge of the woods. Going any farther would alert the people inside the headquarters. Lan Hai had the car hide itself, while the four of them concealed themselves on both sides of the road.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

According to Mi Xue’er, cargo trucks arrived daily. This was their chance to infiltrate.

After waiting for an hour, a large truck approached from the distance.

Mi Xue’er tailed the truck and extended her sharp nails, carving a circular door into the back of the truck. She motioned for the three to climb in, then sealed the opening with strong adhesive. From the outside, no one would be able to tell that a door had ever been there.

The four hid inside the cargo container, clenching and unclenching their fists while staying alert to every sound outside. Lu Yang showed the least sense of danger; he was still in the mood to chat with the Everlasting Immortal Fairy.

Lu Yang mused, “Mi Xue’er’s ancient bloodline concentration is quite high. Could there still be ancient demon beasts alive in the outer world, with her being one of the descendants?”

“It doesn’t look like it. This looks more like a case of atavism, similar to that boy from the Barbarian Tribe,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy analyzed.

“Her luck is pretty good then.”

“By the way, Xiao Yangzi, you’re quite famous in the Interstellar Alliance now. On the way here, I saw a lot of...you know...about you.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy didn’t know how to describe those things.

“Merchandise.” Lu Yang had seen those, too. His popularity in the Interstellar Alliance surpassed even the salvation squad’s. Merchandise featuring him was being churned out at an absurdly fast pace. It was flying off the shelves, with supply unable to keep up with the demand.

“Oh, merchandise. When this is all over, will you buy some to take back?”

Lu Yang felt a bit embarrassed.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy wrapped her arms around Lu Yang’s neck like a koala and swung back and forth. “Come on, buy some, buy some. How can you travel without getting any souvenirs?”

“I don’t think people buy souvenirs of themselves when they travel...” Lu Yang was too drained to argue. Unable to resist the Everlasting Immortal Fairy, he reluctantly agreed.

The truck carried them through the dense forest and into a dark tunnel, stopping twice along the way. The second time it stopped, Mi Xue’er gestured, signaling they had arrived at the headquarters.

The container was detached from the truck, and the mechanical arms stacked it elsewhere. Wisps of cold air seeped in; they seemed to have been delivered to a cold storage facility.

After waiting a while, Mi Xue’er sensed no danger outside. Just as they were about to move, the container trembled, and all four walls opened simultaneously, revealing the four of them hidden among the cargo.

Only then did they realize they were indeed in a cold storage facility, with the container at its center. Eight Class-A warriors surrounded them, as though they were offerings laid before an altar.

Mi Xue’er’s face darkened instantly. They had been played.

She had never been here before, but the doctor had mentioned the place before. The Supreme Society Chairman had discovered a mysterious corpse and developed genetic technology by studying it. That was the source of her modified genes.

Rhythmic applause echoed as a young boy emerged from the shadows, smirking at the startled group. “Mi Xue’er, did you come here knowing it would be hard to catch you? Is that why you decided to walk into the trap yourself?

"Or have you grown overconfident after dealing with the Reaper and his thirty-plus men? You think you can take me on now?”

“Thirty-plus men?” Mi Xue’er was taken aback. Wasn’t it just the Reaper?

“Are you curious how I found you? The answer is simple. I secretly implanted a tracker inside you. Even your Grandpa Doctor didn’t know about it.” From the young boy’s perspective, Mi Xue’er’s infiltration into the headquarters through the cargo truck was practically an open invitation.

Mi Xue’er aimed her gun at the boy, gnashing her teeth. “So that’s how the Reaper found us.”

Snapping out of his daze, Lan Hai suddenly shouted at the boy, “Zhou Tian?! You’re Zhou Tian, aren’t you?!”

Lu Yang was surprised. “You know him?”

Lan Hai nodded vigorously. “I do. Remember I mentioned a good friend who loves doing experiments and has a lab at home? I even wanted to take Xue’er to his place and borrow his lab to synthesize the anti-gene agent. That’s Zhou Tian!”

“Lan Hai?”

Zhou Tian was equally surprised to see Lan Hai. He had only known that Mi Xue’er had gathered three companions and hadn’t paid attention to who they were.

“So you really are Zhou Tian?! You’re the Chairman of the Supreme Society?!” Lan Hai had thought it was merely a resemblance, but hearing Zhou Tian call out his name confirmed it was the same person he knew.

Neither party had expected to see their good friend here. The atmosphere grew awkward.

Lan Hai was the first to realize something was off. “Wait, if you’re the Supreme Society Chairman, how old are you? Why did you go to the same school as me, constantly showing off and openly telling the teachers that they’d gotten this problem wrong or that there was a mistake in that question?!”

Zhou Tian let out a cold snort. “What a stupid question. Obviously, it’s to stay young at heart.”