Chapter 69: Impossible to Defend
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An Lan and Xiao Chen’s actions were perfectly synchronized. The first step was to unwrap the burger, and the second step was to open their mouths wide and take a bite, causing the sauce inside to spill, smearing the right corner of their mouths.
Gu Liyu was holding fries, and Xu Xingran, with a straw in his cola, burst into laughter.
“You think… what could Little Yun talk to us about… could it be…” Xiao Chen thought of something but didn’t continue.
“What could it be?” An Lan disliked when people only spoke halfway, so he raised his elbow and bumped Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen leaned back to avoid it.
“Their family always wants to choose an invincible alpha for him. Maybe they’ve set their eyes on someone among us!” Xiao Chen said.
“Ah—” An Lan almost sprayed the unfinished burger onto Gu Liyu’s face.
“Don’t spray it, you are also an alpha,” Xiao Chen said seriously.
Xu Xingran pressed his forehead, “That’s true… Ye’s family would probably favor me or Gu Liyu more. But if Little Yun has to choose, Little Yun will definitely pick An Lan.”
An Lan had just taken a sip of cola smoothly, and now it seemed like the cola was about to spray again.
“Little Yun? He would definitely choose me?” An Lan’s soul received a considerable shock.
“Yes, you are handsome, sunny, and you don’t have the chauvinistic inferiority complex of some alphas. Plus, you understand shooting, which completely fits Ye Yun’s aesthetic.” Xiao Chen said.
“Or… I won’t go tonight. I’m quite full now anyway,” An Lan said, and suddenly, the burger in his hand didn’t seem so appetizing.
“Don’t worry.” Gu Liyu across the table suddenly spoke.
“Ah?”
Wait a minute, Gu Liyu, aren’t you known for being “jealous”? How come, when it comes to Ye Yun, you’re not jealous anymore?
“Ye Yun is not the kind of person who would drag good friends into trouble. If he has a problem, he would rather bear it alone.” Gu Liyu said.
Although this relieved An Lan, it also made him worried about what might have happened to Ye Yun.
After finishing KFC, Xu Xingran drove them to Ye Yun’s family club.
The club wasn’t in the city center, and its appearance was low-key. It looked more like a teahouse. Going inside didn’t give a feeling of showing off wealth. The interior decoration was simple, but whether it was the floor tiles or the paintings on the walls, it had a tasteful ambiance, making people feel comfortable.
A waiter led them to a private room at the far end of the club. Opening the door, they saw Ye Yun sitting there, watching TV shows on his phone.
“Little Yun, we’re here,” Xiao Chen shouted.
Ye Yun frowned, “Why do you all smell like burgers, cola, and fries? What’s the meaning of this?”
An Lan lifted his arm and sniffed; they had forgotten that Ye Yun, being a high-quality omega, also had highly developed olfactory nerves.
“We just finished a competition, took a shower, and immediately got hungry,” Xiao Chen laughed, pulled a chair, and sat down.
“Sit.” Ye Yun glanced at Xiao Chen, “I made an effort to ensure you’re well-fed. The head chef prepared three times the amount for each dish.”
Xiao Chen opened his mouth but seemed to be unable to come up with a response.
Xu Xingran’s fist pressed against his lips, obviously suppressing laughter.
The dishes were served faster than they had imagined. In less than five minutes, cold dishes, main courses, and even desserts were all brought in.
The manager nodded to Ye Yun and then exited.
Obviously, this arrangement was made to avoid any disturbance from people coming in to serve dishes later.
Moreover, for the sake of the guests’ privacy, each room in Ye’s club had an anti-eavesdropping device. When this door closed, everything would stay in this room.
“Given that you’re already full, I’ll get straight to the point. Although after hearing what I have to say, you might lose your appetite.” Ye Yun’s gaze fell on the dishes on the table in front.
“I understand. We will cherish your arrangement.” Xu Xingran lifted his chopsticks and leisurely started eating the dishes on the table.
Xiao Chen immediately said, “See, Xu Xingran understands your intentions the best.”
Upon hearing this, An Lan coughed, knowing that Xiao Chen was suggesting that if Ye Yun wanted someone to pretend to be his boyfriend, he should consider Xu Xingran.
“Try this. The roasted squab from our restaurant tastes excellent.” Ye Yun rotated the table, placing the squab in front of them.
An Lan picked up a leg, took a bite, and indeed found it crispy and savory. He regretted listening to Xiao Chen’s nonsense in the beginning. The food here was delicious, but what Ye Yun was about to say had captured his attention.
“Thank you for your hospitality, but Little Yun, you can directly tell us what’s going on.” Xu Xingran rested his chin on his hand, set down his chopsticks, and took a sip of tea.
“The most important industry of our Ye family is a biopharmaceutical company.” Ye Yun looked at everyone present.
Xiao Chen frowned, “Suddenly mentioning your family’s biopharmaceutical company… is it selling fake drugs, infringing, or conducting illegal experiments?”
“This matter… first involves a very important research executive who went missing. Initially, we reported the case and pulled many strings to find this executive. It wasn’t until you exposed the ‘Eden’ organization that the police conducted a thorough investigation, revealing that this executive is likely a member of ‘Eden.'”
Everyone instinctively put down their chopsticks.
But up until now, Dr. Cheng has not been brought to trial, indicating that ‘Eden’ may have uncovered too much.
“Let me guess. The executive in charge of the research project still hasn’t been found, but the core pharmaceutical technology of your company has been utilized by ‘Eden’?” Xu Xingran asked.
“That’s correct.” Ye Yun took a deep breath. He took out an envelope and pulled out some photos. “These are all trade secrets, confidential information that even the Xu family might not be aware of. I chose to tell you because I have a bad feeling about this.”
Xu Xingran took them and paused for a moment, then handed them one by one to Gu Liyu and the others.
On the first photo was a young man. Judging by his physique, he should be an alpha, and he looked familiar, but he was covered in bruises, making it impossible to recognize his original appearance.
“I… I remember now, is his name Zhang Lin?” An Lan asked.
“You know him? I thought no one would remember him.” Ye Yun was a bit surprised.
“We were junior high school classmates. I practiced moving targets, but he practiced Mixed Martial Arts.” An Lan paused, carefully recalling his conversations with Zhang Lin. “Zhang Lin was exceptionally good at Mixed Martial Arts. In the second year of junior high, he began to differentiate. At that time, he hadn’t reached the level of a high-quality alpha, but there were rumors in school that he might reach the level of a high-quality alpha before the age of eighteen.”
“Is he handsome? Otherwise, considering your complete lack of interest in alphas before, how did you notice Zhang Lin, who practiced Mixed Martial Arts?” Xu Xingran raised his eyebrows slightly, although his tone was half-joking, he took this matter seriously.
“But in the third year, he suffered a ligament injury and couldn’t continue practicing Mixed Martial Arts. Later, he transferred to another school. The day he left, I happened to enter the finals of the sixteen-and-under category in the ten-meter moving target. He looked at me with a very envious gaze because that envy… is truly unforgettable.” An Lan breathed out.
“How did he die, and what does it have to do with your biopharmaceutical company?” Gu Liyu asked.
“This research supervisor was in charge of a project involving a drug that stimulates the self-repair of biological tissues. We temporarily named it trinity-nero synthetic enzyme. This enzyme can restore 70% to 80% of the function of damaged ligaments in Zhang Lin.” Ye Yun said.
An Lan and the others were all stunned. There’s actually such a powerful reparative drug in the world?
“D*mn, your Ye family is going to the next level?” Xiao Chen was also stunned.
“Don’t… don’t be surprised yet, listen to me. This synthetic enzyme is not useful for everyone unless you are a high-quality alpha. This enzyme reacts strongly with a high concentration of pheromones, stimulating cell regeneration, but it’s also a form of overuse. To put it simply, if you don’t use this drug, your physical peak can last for ten years, but if you use it, maybe it can only be maintained for two to three years, followed by a rapid decline in physical fitness. So far, this synthetic enzyme is still in the research stage, and testing on the human body is not allowed.” Ye Yun said.
Xu Xingran looked at the photos with his head lowered. “Did Zhang Lin use this drug?”
“Yes, his body contained trinity-nero and… a substance similar to golden apple, but in higher concentration.”
“Isn’t the main component of golden apple aplus for high-quality alphas? Targeting custom omegas…” Xiao Chen couldn’t understand.
“So, if Zhang Lin has not reached the level of a high-quality alpha to this day? To enhance the drug adaptability, he needs a large amount of aplus. But not every alpha can accept aplus from another high-quality alpha. Like An Lan, when you come into contact with Xu Xingran’s aplus, you will experience a high fever and rejection reaction, even releasing a large amount of your own pheromones to resist this invasion.”
“So, in this case, the role of aplus should be to stimulate Zhang Lin to produce a large amount of his own pheromones at a certain moment, then adapt to trinity-nero?” Xu Xingran asked.
“Yes.” Ye Yun tapped his fingers on the table. “So, for the scars on Zhang Lin’s body, we have a speculation. After repairing the ligaments, Zhang Lin started participating in Mixed Martial Arts competitions, but the time trinity-nero played in his body was too short, maybe only a few weeks, or even a few days. He was hit in a vital part during the Mixed Martial Arts competition…” Ye Yun didn’t continue.
“But Zhang Lin didn’t participate in formal Mixed Martial Arts competitions, right? I just searched online, and information about him is only up to two or three years ago.” An Lan frowned. “This so-called ‘Mixed Martial Arts competition’ should be a test project for ‘Eden,’ right?”
Ye Yun nodded. “Recently, the police cracked down on underground boxing matches, tracked one of the dens, and quickly acted when they were handling Zhang Lin’s body. The forensic team conducted a series of tests on Zhang Lin’s body and found unidentified components. Later, they consulted our experts and concluded that this is trinity-nero.”
And this underground boxing match might be the test ground for ‘Eden’ to test Zhang Lin’s recovery. However, it was accidentally exposed by the temporary action of the police.
Everyone in the room fell silent.
They thought that “custom omegas” was already the most effective means for ‘Eden’ to infiltrate the upper-class alpha society. They didn’t expect them to have another trump card.
Gu Liyu, who had been silent, spoke up, “If this is just an isolated case, it doesn’t prove that ‘Eden’ has mastered the technology of trinity-nero.”
“Yes, so the police investigated a large number of cases, focusing on those after the synthesis of trinity-nero. Four cases can be confirmed.”
One was a short-distance runner whose Achilles tendon was injured. He miraculously returned to the arena a year later, won two important championships, and suddenly died in the third match. Although his body had been cremated, his blood samples were still preserved. After chemical verification, it was found to contain trinity-nero and aplus.
Another was a basketball player whose knee was injured and it was declared the end of his sports career. However, he returned to the peak after half a year.
After an important game, he drove home and had a car accident. According to the surveillance video, he completely lost consciousness at the time, slumped over the steering wheel, and crashed into the roadside. The initial forensic result was cardiac arrest leading to sudden death. His body was also cremated, but luckily, before this accident, he participated in the team’s blood donation event. The police retrieved his blood sample and detected similar components again.
The last case was the most special—shooting athlete Liang Hao, who left the arena due to shoulder injuries. Half a year later, he reportedly returned to the original shooting club and had a match with his former teammates. His performance was stable and superb, completely surpassing his teammates. This left a deep impression on his club, and the club owner spent a lot of money wanting to invite him back, but they could no longer contact him.
“Could Liang Hao already be dead?” Xiao Chen asked.
After all, both those who practiced short-distance running and Mixed Martial Arts had died before.
“He’s not dead. When the police raided an ‘Eden’ research base, Liang Hao appeared and successfully covered the escape of the people there. Of course, he was also hit by the police, and blood traces left at the scene… revealed the same drug.”
Gu Liyu looked at Ye Yun and said calmly, “So now the Ye family is in a precarious position. You can’t even shake off the suspicion.”
“What suspicion? Oh… I see…” An Lan realized only after asking, the Ye family is suspected to be a major force behind Eden, maybe even a part of Eden.
“The police won’t announce these findings yet because once they do, it will alert the enemy. I also know Uncle Xu definitely doesn’t want you, Xingran, to get involved in this again, but we are interconnected. If the Ye family falls, the Xu family might be the next target for Eden. And Xiao Chen, your father probably wants to repair the relationship with you now. If possible… ask him to help us. He should be able to persuade the Han family to reveal more information about Eden.”
An Lan looked at Gu Liyu, curious about how Ye Yun would persuade Gu Liyu. It felt like there would be some “earth-shattering news.”
“Gu Liyu, what I’m about to tell you, I hope you stay calm.”
“I know what you’re going to say.” Gu Liyu raised his eyes, looking at Ye Yun steadily. “The source of that aplus is my father. The reason Dr. Cheng kept my father in a frenzied state all these years was to extract a large amount of aplus from him.”
Everyone in the room was stunned, and the whole room fell silent.
An Lan swallowed his saliva, subconsciously holding Gu Liyu’s hand.
Gu Liyu turned his hand over and held An Lan’s hand. His palm was warm, with no hint of cold sweat. He remained calm.
“So, the Gu family should help us, right? We need to join forces with your big brother, Gu Qingchuan, to see if there’s a way to break down the compound of trinity-nero and aplus,” Ye Yun said.
“I will talk to my big brother. But I can’t influence his thoughts.” Gu Liyu replied.
An Lan lowered his head. Perhaps his relationship with these cases was not significant anymore.
“An Lan, you also need to protect yourself,” Ye Yun reminded.
“Huh?”
“Eden knows very well how important you are to Gu Liyu.”
An Lan paused. Enemies lurk in the dark, and they are exposed in the light. He felt impossible to defend.
“Has the police already been secretly protecting An Lan and his family?” Gu Liyu asked.
Ye Yun nodded. “As far as I know, yes.”
Xu Xingran smiled, “Captain Hong really can keep a secret. He hasn’t mentioned a word to our Xu family.”
“Maybe he did mention it, but Uncle Xu doesn’t want you to get involved in danger again,” Ye Yun said.
Xu Xingran closed his eyes, thinking of his father’s graying temples, and exhaled.
“All right, we’re done with business. Let’s eat.” Xiao Chen picked up his chopsticks and started picking dishes.
An Lan was surprised, “I say, can you still eat now?”
“Why can’t I eat?” Xiao Chen shrugged, “If ‘Eden’ comes knocking, I have to fight them on a full stomach, right?”
“Very reasonable.” Xu Xingran nodded and even served himself a bowl of soup.
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