The call that day was a total mess. It sounded like a whole crowd was talking at once. As soon as Jing Shu finished speaking, another voice came through. She immediately recognized it—it was Jun Bao. Compared to the others' excited chatter, his tone was calm, almost detached.
"Later, Song Bin will take you to the Biotech R&D Company to sign the contract. I'll need you to handle something else too. Oh, and although we're still following the previous agreement, there'll be a small change regarding the ownership shares."
Jing Shu raised an eyebrow. What was Jun Bao getting at? He probably didn't even realize it himself. The small lab that had swallowed up countless materials and funds would, in five years, develop new types of food that could feed survivors in the apocalypse. That contribution would be monumental. The taste might be awful, but it had truly saved countless people—including her, in her previous life.
What she hadn't expected was that something she could only dream of in her past life—getting a share in that very lab—was actually falling into her hands this time. Of course, only if she invested.
But she didn't really care about how much she'd get. So when he mentioned changes, she just said calmly, "Alright, no problem."
Jun Bao's voice came again, steady as ever. "Wu City took first place in the competition and will soon receive the incomplete crimson energy. The experiment happens to need a large amount of it, so Wu City's government will take 15% of the shares since they'll be the main supplier of crimson energy.
As for your reward for leading the Medicinal Herb Association to victory, we'll settle that once you're back. Don't worry, you won't be shortchanged."
He then explained why Wu City got 15% while she only got 5%, even though they were both energy suppliers. It wasn't about favoritism, he said. The black energy was easier to extract and could be found in the mountains, while crimson energy was far more precious and complicated. It had countless unstable factors but was hailed as the symbol of a new post-apocalyptic energy. Whether humanity could step into the next era depended on it.
Jing Shu rolled her eyes. Honestly, she had plenty of that crimson energy inside her Cube Space. In fact, she'd once had a large crimson crystal, but it had been absorbed when she upgraded the space. From what she could tell, that energy was likely a product of the fourth-dimensional realm. Beyond that, she didn't know much.
Still, crimson energy really was impressive. It could trigger atavism, like turning an ordinary chicken into a dinosaur-like monster. The only problem was, the success rate was under one percent. To truly understand and harness it, they'd have to pay a heavy price in testing.
Even Hao Yunlai, after using the energy, had suffered side effects. It seemed like... degeneration? Humans were supposed to evolve, yet that crimson energy seemed to reverse it instead.
After hanging up, Jing Shu quietly ate a small meal, frowning as she thought. She suddenly remembered what Minister Zhao said during the medicine trial—that Yunzhou's Medicinal Herb Association had used over a hundred times the proper dosage, and one of the children had suffered extreme side effects. His body started growing hair all over. At the time, she hadn't thought much of it, but now that she recalled... wasn't that also a form of regression?
Just as that thought crossed her mind, a scream tore through the air in the distance, followed by a burst of shouting and chaos.
Jing Shu immediately headed over. The closer she got, the louder it became. Her night vision caught sight of a shadow darting around frantically—and, just her luck, it came crashing straight toward her.
A group of over a dozen people carrying sticks and nets came running from the other direction. Leading them was a bald man covered in blood, gasping as he yelled,
"Throw the net! I don't believe a little brat can break free! Once you catch her, beat her to death if you have to! We'll just report it as an accident later! Damn nuisance, wasting our resources dragging her around!"
Jing Shu frowned. In a flash of lightning, she reached out and grabbed the shadow by the collar, yanking it up effortlessly. With a sidestep, she dodged the incoming net with barbed edges and, in the blink of an eye, was already standing calmly on the other side.
"Grr! Hiss!"
The figure in her grasp struggled wildly, but it was no use. When the child finally lifted her head and glared at Jing Shu, the sight stunned her.
It was a malnourished girl—though her eyes were vacant, like she'd lost all sense of reason.
The test subject from Yunzhou's Medicinal Herb Association? What were the odds? And these people... were they from that association too? Judging from their clothes, none of them looked like pharmacists, more like hired hands.
"She caught her!"
"She really caught her!"
The bald man with blood all over his face approached, his expression twisted. He glanced at Jing Shu and immediately realized she wasn't someone ordinary. Lowering his tone, he said politely, "Thanks for catching her, you've really helped us out. We're from Yunzhou's Medicinal Herb Association logistics team. That girl's an extremely dangerous individual. Look, she's the one who injured me. Could you hand her back to us?"
Jing Shu took a step back. "But I just heard you say you'd kill her. And if that net had landed, she'd be dead or crippled by now."
The bald man forced a laugh. "Ah, that... we didn't have a choice, you see. She's fast, and if she escaped, we'd be held responsible."
"You mean, if she escaped and someone found out what you did, it'd expose you. Easier to kill her yourselves, right? After all, your superiors told you to take good care of her, and inspectors come by regularly."
Her voice was calm, almost pleasant, but the girl in her grip suddenly went stiff.
Jing Shu raised a brow. "Still have some consciousness left, huh?"
The bald man's expression changed. His eyes flicked over her warily, and for the first time, he realized this woman wasn't just anyone. The aura around her—he'd only seen it once before.
Behind him, a few of his men whispered nervously, "Boss, what now?"
"She knows too much. Should we—?"
The bald man shot them a vicious glare. "You idiots couldn't even catch a kid. She caught her with one hand, what does that tell you? If you wanna die, go ahead, but don't drag me down with you."
Then a shiver ran through him as he finally understood who she reminded him of. Last year, two mysterious figures had protected Yunzhou's Medicinal Herb Association from an attack. They'd wiped out an entire team effortlessly.
And this woman... looked exactly like one of them.