Chapter 128: Heading North (Fourth Update—Eleven Thousand Words; Please Subscribe)

"Screw your mother and your politician's lies!" someone immediately retorted from below, "Alarmist nonsense! Screw your mother and her world-ending—I'll end your mother first!"

The crowd below was agitated, surging against the military blockade.

"Everyone, please stay calm," Xie Hang said from the podium, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Stay calm. If you have concerns, they can be addressed, but do not incite violence or conflict..."

Xie Hang continued to speak, but before he could finish his sentence, a bullet pierced his chest. With a crisp gunshot, he collapsed backward.

"Screw your mother!" Once the first shot was fired, the situation devolved into total chaos. The public abandoned all restraint, and the military’s patience reached its breaking point. A cacophony of gunfire, the sounds of crushing, fighting, weeping, and screaming erupted.

Liu Chang was caught in the middle of the mess. Fortunately, while his physical prowess didn't match the super-beings, he remained superior to the average human. Taking advantage of the surging crowd, he broke free from the fray and charged toward the research compound.

As he leapt through the gate, several guards recognized his familiar face and let him pass, but those who tried to follow him were met with gunfire. Visibility was poor and the crowd was in disarray; most of the wild shots struck their own people, and those who fell were trampled into pulp by the panicked mass.

After rushing into the institute, Liu Chang looked back at the hellish scene.

He made his way through the research park unimpeded, reaching Li Qingshui's sector. He entered the lab and found the calm man in the middle of preparing reagents.

"It's absolute pandemonium out there," Liu Chang said immediately upon seeing Li Qingshui, forgetting to even mention the amphibians.

"It's fine. Let them riot," Li Qingshui sighed. "It was bound to happen. It's beyond control."

"What are we supposed to do? You must have a stockpile of compressed rations. Distribute them to calm the public."

"Useless. Besides, those supplies are only enough to keep the military stable. As for the public... I don't have the time to worry about them," Li Qingshui sighed. "Let them riot. Once they're tired, they'll settle down."

"I don't think they'll settle down," Liu Chang recalled the madness outside.

"If they don't, I'll issue a notice tomorrow: if it doesn't stop, I'll detonate bacterial bombs in the city center. Anyone without the military's medicine will die." Li Qingshui twitched his lips. "I'll see if anyone dares to riot then."

"Damn, that's ruthless," Liu Chang said, startled by Li Qingshui's words.

"Choosing the lesser of two evils. Compared to things like the Devil’s Moss, those unruly crowds are hardly a threat." Li Qingshui set down his reagent. "Tell me, how did it go on your end?"

"No problem. Once you said you'd kill the captives, the ancestor—or the leader, I should say—of the amphibians sent me back," Liu Chang said. "You're quite intimidating."

"Is that so?" Li Qingshui walked over to Liu Chang and looked at his arm. "Look, not only did he send you back, he even included a gift!"

"What gift?" Liu Chang lifted his arm.

"Don't move." Li Qingshui leaned in, eyeing the shimmering slime on Liu Chang's arm. "This."

Li Qingshui collected the slime onto a glass slide. "Amphibian DNA."

"The amphibian leader must have left this on purpose," Li Qingshui said while examining the sample.

"Why leave it on purpose?"

"A gesture of goodwill," Li Qingshui said. "He wants to tell me that even though humans possess genetic technology, and even if the amphibians are stronger and smarter, we can still catch up to their evolutionary pace through gene synthesis or modification. What he’s actually trying to say is..."

"That there is, in fact, a possibility for cooperation between our two sides." Li Qingshui set down the slide and chuckled. "Heh, it seems he places a great deal of importance on reproduction."

"Well, they can't reproduce. No matter how much they struggle, there are only so many of them. Without reproduction, they can't become a major power—unless, like that willow tree, they harbor delusions of ruling the world alone," Liu Chang remarked.

"True. Let's set their affairs aside for now. How about you? Are you hurt?" Li Qingshui looked at him.

"No. But the amphibian said that you let me get captured on purpose. Is that true?" Liu Chang stared into Li Qingshui's eyes. "It doesn't matter, really. Even if you did it on purpose, I don't blame you. After all, if you did, you must have known they wouldn't hurt me, right?"

Li Qingshui was silent under Liu Chang's gaze.

"Actually, I didn't know you would be captured," Li Qingshui replied after a long silence. His gaze dimmed for a moment before returning to normal. "He was bluffing."

"Ha, alright, alright..." Liu Chang looked into Li Qingshui's eyes for a moment and sighed. "There's no point in discussing this, really. Whether it's you or that amphibian, both of you are much smarter than I am. I wouldn't know if I were being bluffed, would I?"

"True. If I wanted to bluff you, you certainly wouldn't know," Li Qingshui sighed.

"What's the next step?" Liu Chang waved his hand, signaling he didn't want to continue that topic. "Finish researching the amphibian genes, then face the attack from the great tree?"

"Yes, that's the plan. Create a batch of pseudo-super-beings, then leave this place," Li Qingshui said. "The Great Willow should be reaching Zhengzhou soon."

"So soon?" Liu Chang was suddenly shocked. "Don't lie to me. Can it really be that fast? Wasn't it still in Wuhan a few days ago?"

"Its growth rate is extremely fast. It shouldn't be long before it reaches Zhengzhou, which is why I said the rioting civilians don't matter—they're all going to die anyway." Li Qingshui sighed again.

"You can't be serious. You should notify the public," Liu Chang urged. "Every extra person we can save is worth it!"

"It's not the right time yet. Even though Zhengzhou is close to Wuhan, there’s still some time. If I announce it now, the city will fall into chaos, and even more people will die."

"Then you need to hurry," Liu Chang shouted. "When do you estimate the Great Willow will extend its branches to Zhengzhou?"

"One to three months, depending on which direction it wants to expand," Li Qingshui said. "Its goal is to cover the world with its foliage. If it heads north, it’ll be here in a month. If it heads south or east, it will be slower. Either way, it won't be long." Li Qingshui took a breath. "So, I want to finish my research before that happens, and then, right before I leave Zhengzhou, I'll inform everyone. What do you think?"