135: Chapter 135 Deputy Commander of the Dongyun Military Region

It had been only a few days since Tongtong's evolution.

Lin Fan was in the shop giving an Iron-Backed Turtle a checkup when his phone rang.

President Ye Wenyuan's voice came through the receiver.

"Kid, the moon-erosion stone and star-fall sand, there's a lead."

Lin Fan pressed his hand onto the turtle shell, his tone rising slightly.

"Where?"

"The military's Seventh Research Institute has them in stock. But they won't give them away for free."

President Ye Wenyuan paused.

"General Zhao Guoliang, Deputy Commander of the Dongyun Military Region. One of his Armor Spirits had an accident during its evolution, and the military's own Breeder is at a loss. If you can solve it, they agreed to use the moon-erosion stone and star-fall sand as payment."

Lin Fan put down the Iron-Backed Turtle, walked behind the counter, and lowered his voice.

"What kind of Armor Spirit? What accident?"

"We'll talk when we meet."

President Ye Wenyuan's tone carried a rare hint of hesitation.

"Zhao Guoliang came to me before. I took a look, but I wasn't completely certain. If we force a treatment, it's very likely to leave behind significant lasting damage."

He paused, "But you're different. Your methods as a Breeder are always ingenious; perhaps you can find a way that I missed."

Lin Fan was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"Master, are you praising me or setting me up?"

President Ye Wenyuan didn't waste words with him.

"Tomorrow at nine in the morning, wait for me at the entrance of the Association. I'll take you to the military region."

"Alright."

Lin Fan hung up the phone and looked down at Xiao Zhuang on his wrist.

Xiao Zhuang poked its head out, staring at him with vertical pupils, and flicked its tongue.

Lin Fan reached out and stroked its head.

"moon-erosion stone, star-fall sand—both Materials delivered to our doorstep. I have to make this trip."

...

The next morning at nine, Lin Fan appeared at the Association entrance on time.

President Ye Wenyuan was already there, wearing a dark gray work uniform, his hair combed meticulously, holding an unlit cigarette in his hand.

Seeing Lin Fan, he put away the cigarette and looked him up and down.

"Let's go."

The two got into a black military vehicle; the driver was a silent young man, and there was no conversation along the way.

The car drove for about an hour, passed through a checkpoint in the suburbs of Dongyun City, and entered a heavily guarded area.

High walls, barbed wire, guard posts, patrolling soldiers—there was a hidden sentry every few dozen meters.

Lin Fan looked outside through the car window and clicked his tongue.

"The military region is really different; it's much more imposing than the Association."

President Ye Wenyuan didn't respond.

The car stopped in front of a gray building, with two armed soldiers standing at the entrance.

An officer-looking person came up to greet them and saluted.

"President Ye, the General is waiting for you in the laboratory."

He glanced at Lin Fan, "Who is this?"

"My student, Lin Fan," President Ye Wenyuan said.

The officer nodded and led the two into the building.

The corridor was very long, with transparent laboratories on both sides filled with various instruments and petri dishes.

Lin Fan's left eye swept across, and information appeared line by line—Armor Spirit embryo, genetic samples, evolution Materials... He withdrew his gaze and didn't ask any more questions.

The officer stopped in front of a door at the very end and knocked.

"General, President Ye has arrived."

The door opened.

The laboratory was huge, much more spacious than the ones outside.

In the very center was a massive transparent culture tank, inside which a snow-white giant beast was submerged.

The creature was the size of an adult elephant, covered in heavy scales, the edges of which shimmered with a pale golden luster.

Its head hung low, eyes closed, breathing slow and heavy. The most eye-catching part was its back.

A massive wound extended from its shoulder blade all the way to its tailbone, the skin and flesh at the edges of the wound curled outward, revealing the dark red muscle tissue underneath.

The wound hadn't healed; instead, it was slowly festering, and the nutrient solution in the culture tank had been stained a pale pink.

A burly old man stood in front of the culture tank, his back to the door.

He was wearing a military green shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing thick forearms.

Hearing footsteps, he turned around, revealing a square, dignified face, thick black eyebrows, and sharp eyes.

Over sixty, his hair graying, but his waist and back were straight, and his whole body exuded a sense of oppression from having been through many battles.

Zhao Guoliang.

Deputy Commander of the Dongyun Military Region. In his youth, he was a powerful Armor Saint, and though he had now retired to the second line, his Aura was still terrifying.

"President Ye."

He reached out his hand, his voice resonant.

President Ye Wenyuan shook it.

"General Zhao. This is my student, Lin Fan."

Zhao Guoliang's gaze fell on Lin Fan, looking him up and down.

"A student?"

He frowned slightly, obviously not very satisfied with President Ye Wenyuan bringing a student along.

President Ye Wenyuan said unhurriedly.

"For your Armor Spirit, I have no solution, but he might."

Zhao Guoliang's gaze rested on Lin Fan for a moment, then shifted away, looking at the giant beast in the culture tank.

"Take a look first."

Lin Fan walked to the culture tank, his left eye heating up slightly as information appeared in his field of vision.

[Race]: Silver-Armored Dragon Lizard

[Rank]: Rank 68

[Aptitude]: Imperial Spirit Low Grade (Upper Limit: Saint Spirit Low Grade)

[Attribute]: Earth/Metal

[Status]: Evolution failed, Qi in chaos, multiple Meridians ruptured, severe rejection reaction between evolution Materials and the main body.

[Cause of Illness]: Used mismatched Materials during evolution (suspected spinal bone of a certain Metal-attribute Armor Beast), leading to a total collapse of the Qi System.

[Treatment Difficulty]: Extremely high. Conventional methods can only maintain the status quo and cannot cure it. Forced treatment may lead to total collapse.

Lin Fan withdrew his gaze and was silent for a moment. Zhao Guoliang looked at him.

"How is it?"

Lin Fan didn't answer directly but asked a question.

"General, for this Silver-Armored Dragon Lizard's evolution, did you use the spinal bone of another Armor Beast?"

Zhao Guoliang's expression changed. He stared at Lin Fan, his voice deepening.

"How did you know?"

Lin Fan pointed to the wound in the culture tank.

"The way the edges of the wound are festering is not a normal infection; it's a rejection reaction. The Silver-Armored Dragon Lizard has Earth and Metal attributes, but the Qi fluctuations on its back are biased toward pure Metal. You used the spinal bone of a Metal-attribute Armor Beast as an evolution Material, right?"

Zhao Guoliang was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Correct. The military confiscated the spinal bone of a Rank 68 Golden-Armored Tyrannosaurus during an operation. The previous Breeder said it could allow it to reach the Spirit Rank. I agreed."

He paused.

"The result, you've seen it. The evolution failed, and the Silver-Armored Dragon Lizard almost died. The military's own Breeder was at a loss, so I sought out President Ye, and he said he wasn't completely certain."

Lin Fan looked at President Ye Wenyuan.

President Ye Wenyuan nodded.

"I can keep it alive, but the rejection reaction cannot be eradicated. It may never be able to fight again, and it might even affect its lifespan."

Lin Fan turned back, looking at the Silver-Armored Dragon Lizard in the culture tank.

His left eye was still heating up, and more information appeared in his field of vision.

The root of the rejection reaction, the nodes of Qi chaos, the Meridians that could be repaired...

Then he said decisively.

"I can cure it."