22: Chapter 22 Chen Shuyin: Jiang Chen, I want to examine your...body.

The air conditioning in the underground laboratory was blasting, but Jiang Chen was still drenched in sweat.

"One, two, three... lift!"

Accompanied by two heavy grunts and a loud "thud," that dead-weight blonde android was finally thrown onto the operating table.

The specially made alloy surface groaned in pain, as if it were about to fall apart the next second.

Jiang Chen slumped unceremoniously onto a nearby swivel chair, gasping for air, feeling like his waist was about to snap. This wasn't carrying a beauty; it was clearly carrying a humanoid steamroller.

"I say, Academician Chen..."

Jiang Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking at the woman who had already put on her safety goggles and was holding a laser cutter, unable to help but quip, "Your excitement level... why is it like a psychopathic serial killer preparing to dismember a body?"

At this moment, where was any trace of the cold, aloof goddess that Academician Chen Shuyin was usually known for?

Her lab coat wasn't buttoned properly, revealing the delicate collar of her shirt underneath, and a few strands of hair were stuck to the side of her face by sweat. The eyes hidden behind the goggles were frighteningly bright, staring fixedly at the "prey" on the operating table, with a chilling, fanatic smile even hanging at the corners of her mouth.

"You don't understand, this is art."

Academician Chen Shuyin didn't even turn her head, the laser cutter in her hand sizzling as it skillfully sliced through the synthetic skin on the android's arm.

There was no bloody scene.

At the incision, silver-white hydraulic transmission rods and densely packed optical fibers were revealed, the precise mechanical structure refracting a cold, chilling beauty under the shadowless lamp.

"It's too beautiful..."

Academician Chen Shuyin let out a sigh of admiration that was almost a moan, her fingers trembling as she stroked the circuits. "This level of integration, this wiring logic... Compared to it, Earth's current technology is like a primitive man still playing with mud!"

"Jiang Chen, come look at this!"

She waved excitedly. "Its neural conduction fluid is actually liquid metal? No wonder the tactile sensation is so real! Quick, pass me those pliers, I want to get it out!"

Jiang Chen sighed helplessly, resigning himself to being an assistant.

Who would have thought that a dignified national scholar wouldn't sleep in the middle of the night, hiding in a basement to dismantle an "inflatable doll"?

Meanwhile.

The front door of the villa was gently pushed open.

General Qin Weiguo walked in, draped in a military overcoat, moving lightly. He had just received a report from the guard company saying that there had been quite a commotion in Mr. Jiang's villa, and it seemed there was the voice of a strange woman.

The old general felt uneasy, fearing that something might happen to these two young people, so he specifically rushed over to check.

"Where are they?"

General Qin Weiguo looked around; the living room was empty, save for the game interface still lit up on the coffee table.

"Reporting to the Chief, it seems they are in the basement," the guard lowered his voice and pointed to the stairwell. "I just saw Academician Chen go down carrying a box."

"The basement?"

General Qin Weiguo frowned. In the middle of the night, what are a man and a woman doing running to the basement? Doing scientific research?

He waved his hand, signaling the guard to wait upstairs, and walked down the stairs himself.

The basement's soundproofing was excellent, designed to prevent laboratory explosion sounds from disturbing the neighbors. However, the heavy explosion-proof door wasn't closed tightly, leaving a crack that let out a sliver of cold white light.

General Qin Weiguo had just reached the door and was about to knock when the voices from inside suddenly drifted out.

"Hiss... it's too tight."

That was Academician Chen Shuyin's voice, sounding a bit breathless and even carrying a hint of anxiety. "Jiang Chen, why is this thing of yours so hard? I've been at it for a long time and still can't insert it."

General Qin Weiguo's raised hand froze in mid-air, his old face instantly turning the color of pig liver.

Immediately after, Jiang Chen's helpless voice came through:

"You're using your strength the wrong way. Don't force it; this is delicate work, if you break it, it can't be repaired."

"I know! But I really want to see the structure inside..."

Academician Chen Shuyin's voice became slightly distorted from the exertion. "No, it's stuck. Jiang Chen, come over and help me push! Push from behind!"

"Oh my god, take it easy! It's about to leak out!"

"Why are you afraid of it leaking? That's lubricant! Quick, push! A little deeper! It's almost at the bottom!"

General Qin Weiguo, outside the door, was as if struck by lightning, petrified on the spot.

Lubricant?

Push?

A little deeper?

Is... is this content I'm allowed to hear for free?!

These two young people, aren't they playing too wildly? Are scientists these days all this uninhibited?

"Chief?" The guard behind him, seeing General Qin standing frozen at the door, curiously poked his head out. "What's wrong? Did something happen inside? Do you need me to charge in?"

"Charge my ass!"

General Qin Weiguo turned around abruptly and clamped his hand over the guard's mouth, as if afraid of disturbing some flood dragon or fierce beast, pushing and shoving the person back upstairs.

"Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

The old general lowered his voice, speaking at a rapid pace, his face as red as Guan Gong's. "Nothing happened! That is... that is the young people engaging in deep academic exchange!"

"But Chief, I thought I just heard..."

"You heard nothing! That was an auditory hallucination!"

General Qin Weiguo glared, muttering to himself as he walked out: These young people nowadays, their vitality is truly strong. They've only known each other for a few hours? And they've already gone straight to home base?

It seems the "matchmaking mission" entrusted by the old chief has been over-completed.

Inside the underground laboratory.

The two, completely unaware that they had already suffered social death, were staring at a pool of pale blue liquid on the operating table, feeling troubled.

That was the coolant that Academician Chen Shuyin had accidentally spilled while violently dismantling the chest armor earlier.

"I told you to take it easy, but you wouldn't listen."

Jiang Chen held a rag, wiping the table surface with a pained expression. "This is high-grade coolant from the Wasteland; every drop spilled is one less drop. Do you think it's tap water?"

"Alright, alright, don't be so stingy."

Academician Chen Shuyin waved her hand dismissively. By now, she had completely extracted the core chip of the android. She held the chip, which was emitting a faint blue light, as if holding the most precious diamond in the world. The fanaticism in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a deep contemplation.

"Jiang Chen."

She spoke suddenly, her voice returning to its usual coldness, but with an added, unfathomable nuance.

"What's up?" Jiang Chen was still wiping the table and didn't look up.

"The muscle fiber density of this android is fifty times that of a human. The bone strength can withstand sniper fire."

Academician Chen Shuyin took off her gloves and walked slowly to behind Jiang Chen. "And during the carrying process just now, I discovered a very interesting phenomenon."

Jiang Chen's movements paused. He straightened his waist, turned around, and looked at her. "What phenomenon?"

Academician Chen Shuyin approached step by step, her high heels making a crisp "clack-clack" sound on the floor.

She was half a head shorter than Jiang Chen, but at this moment, she slightly tilted her chin up. In those eyes hidden behind her lenses, a dangerous glint called "thirst for knowledge" flashed.

"This machine weighs three hundred jin."

"Just now, to prevent it from self-destructing, you carried it alone from the bedroom to the door, and then dragged it all the way to the basement."

Academician Chen Shuyin pushed up her glasses, and the lenses reflected a cold light. "Although you looked breathless and sweated a lot, according to my calculations, an ordinary college student who lacks long-term exercise might be able to burst out with a momentary surge of strength under a rush of adrenaline."

"However, your heart rate recovered too quickly."

"And, your muscles didn't show the trembling that comes after excessive overexertion."

Jiang Chen's heart skipped a beat. Is this woman's observation skill a bit too sharp?

Ever since he took that genetic serum sent by the Empress last time, his physical fitness had indeed surpassed that of an ordinary person. Although he hadn't reached superman levels yet, he was definitely not comparable to an ordinary college student.

"Um... I exercise frequently."

Jiang Chen retreated half a step with a dry laugh, his lower back hitting the experimental table. "Doing two hundred push-ups in one go is effortless."

"Is that so?"

Academician Chen Shuyin obviously didn't believe this lame excuse.

She suddenly reached out and picked up a thick syringe from the tray next to her that had been used to extract the coolant earlier. Although the needle had been changed, the cold, gleaming tip still looked daunting.

"Mr. Jiang."

Academician Chen Shuyin's mouth curled into a menacingly kind smile, and that look of viewing a lab mouse came online again.

"Since you have so much black technology that is ahead of its time..."

"Then can I reasonably suspect that your own body has also undergone some degree of enhancement or modification?"

She stepped forward, forcing Jiang Chen directly into a dead end, raising the syringe in her hand, her tone so gentle it made one's hair stand on end:

"Don't be nervous."

"I just want to draw a tube of your blood to do a little genetic sequencing."

"Be a good boy, take off your clothes, and let me see your... body secrets."