418: Chapter 415 My name is Angela.

This mother didn't know how she spent that night.

She sat by the bedside; the sky outside had long since turned dark. The lights in the room were off, and only the light from the building opposite filtered in, cutting a blurry band of light across the floor. She stared at that beam of light for a long time, so long that the light shifted position and then slowly dimmed.

Lying down. Getting up. Lying down. Getting up again.

She went to the child's room. The small bed was still there, the toys were still there, the milk bottle was still there. The cartoon stickers pasted on the wall were still there. She stood at the door, not going in.

The coffin had been taken away.

A piece of the room was empty. That empty space felt heavier than anything else.

She thought about many, many things.

Thinking about the baby's final appearance. Thinking about the water in the bathtub. Thinking about that damn phone call. Thinking about that damn man. Thinking about why she hadn't gone back earlier, why she had let the water run before answering the phone, why... why...

Then there was Li Mo.

That rat. That syringe. That head that grew back.

"If the serum can be successfully developed, perhaps your child can have a chance at resurrection."

She clenched her fists.

Then she thought of another thing: if the serum was successful, what if he didn't inject it into the child?

She remembered what Li Mo had said— "I need some live subjects for experimentation."

She closed her eyes.

Her own body. Her own life. Trading it for the child's life.

What if it could be traded?

What if it couldn't?

What if he was lying to her?

What if he just wanted an experimental subject?

But that rat... that was real. She had seen it with her own eyes.

She didn't know how long she thought. As dawn approached, she finally drifted into a groggy sleep, only to be startled awake by a vibration.

Her phone lit up.

It was a text message. Not WeChat, but the most ordinary kind of SMS, with no profile picture, no contact name, just a string of unfamiliar numbers.

[The research and development of the serum has not yet reached the level of human experimentation. You may still need to wait for a period of time before becoming my human test subject.]

[This message will automatically delete in a few seconds; no need to reply.]

[I have already placed your child in a special hibernation pod. I will ensure his resurrection. Before the serum is completed, he will not have any problems.]

She stared at the screen, reading it line by line.

When she finished the last word, the text message vanished. The screen was clean, as if nothing had ever arrived.

She didn't try to reply.

She just held the phone, sitting by the bed, watching the sky outside slowly brighten.

It was a strange feeling.

The grief was still there. That thing pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe, was still there. But as soon as she thought of that small coffin, thought of that person's words, and thought of the word 'resurrection', that grief would be diluted just a little bit.

Hope. That word popped into her mind.

But at the same time, the fear was also still there. Fear of what she would become, what she would experience. Fear of the unknown.

The three things mixed together, making it impossible to tell which was which.

She lowered her head and buried her face in her palms.

She sat like that for a long time.

On the other side, in the rest area next to the Training Area, Wei Ziqing and Ye Ouyang were sitting face to face with a chess set between them.

Ye Ouyang made a move and looked up at Wei Ziqing.

Wei Ziqing stared at the chessboard, his brow furrowed so deeply it could crush a fly. He held a chess piece in his hand, lifting it and putting it down, putting it down and lifting it again, not letting it fall for a long time.

How is this guy so strong?

He muttered to himself. Ye Ouyang sat opposite him with a calm face, even letting out a slightly bored yawn.

What Wei Ziqing didn't know was that Ye Ouyang played chess every day with White Tiger—that AI robot that could turn Go into a work of art. Moreover, he insisted on having White Tiger set to the highest difficulty, being crushed day after day, until he had somehow forged a set of chess skills through the abuse.

Someone like Wei Ziqing, who only played a couple of games occasionally, was simply no match for him.

After a few more moves, Wei Ziqing's expression became increasingly unsightly. He stared at the board, his eyes flickered for a moment, and then—

His hand jerked.

"Oops!"

The entire chessboard was 'accidentally' overturned by him. The chess pieces clattered all over the floor, with a few rolling into the corner.

"Oh, what a shame!" Wei Ziqing slapped his thigh, his face full of regret, "I was just about to turn the game around!"

Ye Ouyang looked at him with squinted eyes.

That look was very blunt: Do you think I can't tell?

Wei Ziqing felt a bit guilty being stared at like that; he coughed, stood up, and turned to leave.

"I'm going to work out."

Ye Ouyang looked at his back, stunned for a moment, and then also stood up.

"I need to work out too—after all, I'm a Shifter!" He chased after him, "Senior! Handsome Wei! Wait for me!"

Wei Ziqing's footsteps paused; he looked back at him, his mouth twitching.

"Fine, let's go together."

The two pushed open the door to the gym. Inside, all kinds of equipment were available: treadmills, dumbbells, stretching racks, and a few sandbags in the corner. But Wei Ziqing didn't even look at those things; he walked straight to the center of the open space, spread his legs slightly, took a deep breath, and began to slowly raise his hands.

That wasn't ordinary exercise. It was a set of very slow movements, like Tai Chi, but not quite the same. Every movement was very deliberate: the arc of the arms, the twist of the body, the rhythm of the breathing—all coordinated together.

Ye Ouyang stood to the side, looking a bit dazed.

"You're doing..."

"Our family's inherited Cultivation Technique," Wei Ziqing said while practicing. "We're a martial arts family, after all; it's a bit different from running and lifting iron."

Ye Ouyang gave an "oh" and was just about to ask something when the door was pushed open again.

An old man walked in.

He looked to be in his seventies, with graying hair, but his back was very straight and his steps were steady—clearly someone who had trained. He wore an old-fashioned button-up shirt and carried a cloth bag in his hand as he stood at the door looking in.

Wei Ziqing's movements paused, and he was completely stunned.

"Father?"

The old man smiled, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out.

"Oh, just came to see you." He walked in and placed the cloth bag on a nearby chair. "I've taken a small break from the martial arts hall. Mostly, I was worried about you."

He looked Wei Ziqing up and down, his gaze filled with that special kind of fatherly affection and pride.

"I went to see that... Hero Shadow thing. That was you, right?"

Wei Ziqing scratched his head and gave a somewhat embarrassed "mm".

Ye Ouyang's eyes lit up beside him.

"Oh! You're Senior's father?"

The old man turned his head toward him and nodded with a smile.

"Hello, hello. I suppose you must be his partner? Although I didn't see you on TV..."

Ye Ouyang chuckled and puffed out his chest.

"I am Gold Weaver! I gave the name to myself!"

The old man was taken aback for a moment, and then his smile widened.

"Gold Weaver, a good name, a good name."

He turned back to look at Wei Ziqing and patted his shoulder.

"I wasn't wrong; you've done very well. I highly approve of you!"

Wei Ziqing was a bit embarrassed by the patting; just as he was about to say something, the old man suddenly remembered something and gestured in the air.

"Hey, how does that saying go... I remember seeing it in a movie..."

He frowned as he thought, then snapped his fingers.

"With great power comes great responsibility!"

Wei Ziqing was stunned for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

"You're quite trendy, old man!"

"Of course!" The old man lifted his chin, looking a bit proud. "To understand you young people, I've specifically browsed the web. Things like... My name is Angela, Blue-Thin Mushroom... I know them all!"

Wei Ziqing's mouth twitched, and he glanced at Ye Ouyang.

Ye Ouyang blinked and squeezed out a sentence:

"Your internet speed is really fast."