325: Silence 1

The two made their way upward, avoiding all possible surveillance and personnel, finally arriving at the second floor from the top.

According to the floor indicators, further up was the CEO's Office and its exclusive area, while this floor was labeled "Special Projects Department" and "Top-level Bio-sample Bank."

The elevator doors opened on this floor, revealing a spacious but deliberately dimmed corridor. At the end was a heavy alloy door requiring multiple forms of authentication. However, just as Lu Jianchuan and Wei Ziqing stepped out of the elevator and were still observing their surroundings, that very door slid open silently to both sides, as if it had been waiting for their arrival for a long time.

The two exchanged a look, their alertness reaching its peak, but without hesitation, they slipped inside.

The area behind the door was not as heavily guarded as they had imagined; instead, it resembled a vast, silent greenhouse laboratory. The air was humid, filled with a thick scent of plants and a faint smell of chemicals. Various advanced cultivation pods, Experimental Tables, and analytical instruments were lined up around them. Most striking were the transparent containers filled with unknown liquids, in which plant samples of various shapes were immersed or being cultivated.

The plants in some containers were exceptionally lush, with thick vines even pushing open the sealed lids or observation windows, spreading out wantonly and winding across the Experimental Tables. Their branches and leaves exhibited an unnatural metallic luster or fluorescent colors.

"Is no one... looking after these things?" Wei Ziqing asked in a low voice, staring at a cluster of thorny vines that had almost completely covered half a workbench.

"Who knows," Lu Jianchuan said, scanning the plants that had clearly "escaped." "It's not like they grew this way on their own in the few minutes since we arrived, right?"

They continued deeper and stopped in front of a specially reinforced transparent cultivation box. Inside was a bizarrely shaped flower; its petals and leaves had a cold, hard steel texture, with edges as sharp as knives. As the two approached, this "iron flower" seemed to sense them, and all its vertical leaves turned toward them in unison, like raised spears, giving off a clear warning but not initiating an attack.

"Interesting. It can perceive the outside world, but it seems to be only passive defense," Lu Jianchuan commented.

Bypassing this area, they finally reached the core of the massive laboratory. Located at the geometric center of the floor, it was meticulously arranged as a giant circular hydroponic System. In the central pool, a giant flower of a size that would take one's breath away was growing!

Its main body vaguely resembled the outline of a lotus, but its scale was magnified dozens of times. The massive petals were layered and emitted a soft, pale golden fluorescence that seemed to breathe. The nutrient solution in the pool was continuously pumped and circulated through special pipes. Thick roots, like giant pythons, not only filled the bottom of the pool but many had even broken through the edges, spreading onto the surrounding metal floor. On these exposed roots, many smaller flowers, also emitting a faint light, were scattered like stars. Visible, extremely fine particles of glowing pollen floated in the air.

"This... should be it, right?" Wei Ziqing gazed at the giant flower at the core of the Sanctuary. Even through his armor, he could feel a sense of biological oppression and a bizarre beauty.

"It looks like it," Lu Jianchuan said in a deep voice, while also warning, "Stay transformed; don't deactivate it. The biological outer layer of our armor can filter the abnormal air to some extent. That pollen has a strong hallucinogenic effect; it'll be trouble if you inhale it directly."

Wei Ziqing nodded, then remembered something and asked, "By the way, Brother Lu, before we came in... did we forget to notify GUPA or the police first?"

Hearing this, Lu Jianchuan's movements paused noticeably, and his expression under the helmet was likely a bit awkward. "...Oh, right. I was so focused on the investigation that I forgot about that." He then shook his head. "Forget it, it's not important now. What we've found is more critical. We'll take samples first; it won't be too late to call for backup afterward."

Lu Jianchuan carefully approached the spreading roots, preparing to take a sample of the small flowers on them.

Just then, Wei Ziqing's voice rang out, filled with confusion. "By the way, why did they spend so much effort secretly cultivating this... this bizarre flower in a place like this? What's the use of researching it?"

Lu Jianchuan didn't stop his movements as he replied, "I'm not sure, which is why we need to take a sample back for analysis. Perhaps..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a middle-aged male voice, laced with a bit of laziness and playfulness, rang out without warning from not far behind them:

"To make money, of course."

Lu Jianchuan and Wei Ziqing turned instantly, their combat instincts flaring up in their armored states.

They saw a middle-aged man in a sophisticated custom suit, his hair meticulously combed, with a refined face but deep eyes. He was casually leaning against a large piece of equipment, watching them with composure, as if admiring two rare little animals that had wandered into his garden.

Lu Jianchuan's pupils constricted as he immediately recognized the man—the founder and majority shareholder of Evergreen Life Technology Group, the CEO, Chen Changqing.

"How can you be here?" Lu Jianchuan's voice came through the armor, carrying a metallic quality.

Chen Changqing smiled slightly and spread his hands. "Why shouldn't I be here? This is my company, my laboratory. Isn't it normal for me to come and see how my future 'Money-making Flower' is developing?"

His gaze swept over the giant, strange flower, revealing a fervor as if he were looking at a peerless treasure, before turning back to Lu Jianchuan and Wei Ziqing. His tone was teasing. "I just didn't expect that I'd also happen to catch two... little thieves who snuck in?"

His gaze lingered for a moment on Lu Jianchuan's iconic silver-white biological armor, a thoughtful light flashing in his eyes as he let out a soft, "Oh?"

"This outfit of yours... looks somewhat familiar. It looks quite like the one that's been popular on TV lately... what was it called? Oh, silver skeleton?"

Lu Jianchuan looked at Chen Changqing's teasing and confident expression and asked back calmly:

"Is that so? Interesting. However, from the time we entered until now, we haven't seen any other security personnel or researchers besides you. You seem very confident facing the two of us alone."

Chen Changqing's smile remained unchanged. He even lifted his left hand with a bit of playfulness; his thumb was pressed against a small black remote control button, similar to a car key but with a distinct signal light.

"Of course I'm confident. See this?" He waved the remote in his hand. "With just a light press, the most elite security squad in the entire building will rush here fully armed within a minute. I suggest you..."

Before he could finish, his thumb had already pressed down hard, a smile of certain victory on his face as he waited for the alarms to blare and the sound of approaching footsteps.

However... one second, two seconds, three seconds... the expected piercing alarm did not sound, and no hurried running could be heard from the corridor outside. The laboratory remained silent, save for the slight gurgling of the circulating nutrient solution and the low hum of the air purification System.

The smile on Chen Changqing's face froze. He looked down at the remote in his hand, then looked up at the two armored figures standing quietly as if waiting for a performance, a flash of bewilderment and disbelief in his eyes.

He pressed the button hard again, once, twice, three times... "Click, click, click..."

The crisp clicking of the button was exceptionally clear in the silent laboratory, even sounding a bit comical. He pressed so hard that his knuckles turned white, but the signal light on the remote didn't react at all, and the outside world remained dead silent.

Beside him, Wei Ziqing watched the other man's repeated, futile attempts to press the button. Although his expression couldn't be seen through the faceplate, his shoulders twitched slightly, clearly trying to hold back a laugh.

The atmosphere in the laboratory suddenly shifted from the tense confrontation just now into an indescribable, deep silence.

(Silence doesn't mean I'm wrong, and breaking up isn't the only outcome~ Voice-input by the author, sung with deep emotion.)

Chen Changqing finally stopped his futile clicking. He gripped the dead remote and slowly lowered his arm. The composure and playfulness on his face had completely vanished, replaced by a cold scrutiny and a trace of imperceptible shock.