166: Chapter 166: All Three Successful Cases Failed! Tianlong's Game Was Very Big

Li Youwei spoke very directly, without beating around the bush.

"My older brother, Li Mingkun, had severe meridian blockage two years ago. The hospital's conclusion at the time was that it was congenital, had no cure, and could only be maintained with medication."

"Later, people from Tianlong Pharmaceutical approached us, saying there was an experimental drug called vein cleansing agent, and that three patients were willing to cooperate with clinical trials. My brother was one of them."

"He used the first course of treatment and recovered very well; the meridian pathways were opened, and all his vital signs were normal."

"Then, three months later, his condition was even worse than before he took the medicine."

"Tianlong said a second course of treatment was needed. After the second course was finished, he got better, and then worse again. Then came the third course, the fourth course..."

Lin Fan leaned against the bedside table, listening quietly to these words.

"What about now?"

"He is currently on his eighth course," Li Youwei's voice had no fluctuations, but this calmness itself was a statement.

"Once every three months, the price doubles each time. My family's money can barely keep up."

Eighth course.

Two years.

Once every three months, each time more expensive.

This is what they call a "success story."

Lin Fan tapped his fingers on his thigh, not speaking.

"What about the other two cases?"

"The first one lost contact two years ago," Li Youwei said. "I asked around, and it is said that they couldn't afford the follow-up expenses, and then... Then Tianlong said they terminated the cooperation. The specific situation is unclear."

"The second one was right after my brother. Something went wrong when they used the fourth course, and they are now in the intensive care unit. I only found out about this through my connections."

Lin Fan was silent for a few seconds.

Three success stories.

One lost contact.

One in the intensive care unit.

One on the eighth course, trapped in a cycle they couldn't escape.

The success stories Director Gu Qing mentioned at the time had detailed data and significant effects.

They were indeed significant—significant enough to rob someone every three months, with a stable cycle and honest service.

"How did you contact me?"

"You won the National League championship, and your information is all over the internet," Li Youwei's voice paused for a moment. "Besides, you went to the research center of Tianlong Pharmaceutical yesterday and gave Director Gu Qing a vial of blood."

"You are watching Tianlong."

"I've been watching them for a while," her tone had no fluctuations. "My people discovered you when you came to Tianlong."

Lin Fan raised his eyebrows slightly.

This Li Youwei was no ordinary family member.

"Are you an Awakened?"

"Level 3 Martial Master, B-grade talent," she said directly. "Information tracking type, good at collecting data."

No wonder.

A Level 3 Martial Master with a B-grade talent was considered average at this age.

But an information tracking talent was extremely scarce in the intelligence field.

Spending two years watching Tianlong and being able to find this out already spoke volumes.

"Then what do you want to do?" Lin Fan asked directly. "Looking for me, do you want to cooperate?"

"I can't take down Tianlong alone, but I have something in my hands."

"What is it?"

"Evidence proving that Tianlong Pharmaceutical started doing this thirty years ago," Li Youwei's voice lowered a bit. "And this matter might be directly related to the disappearance of your parents."

All sound in the hospital room seemed to disappear for a second.

Lin Fan's hand tightened.

Xia Wanqiu sensed something from his back and quietly moved over from the bedside.

"How do you know about my parents?"

"Because my brother's situation is the same as your sister's," Li Youwei said. "Meridian blockage, congenital, starting to act up at seven or eight years old. And their parents were also missing Awakened."

"I've been investigating for three years," she continued. "There are seventy-three cases of congenital meridian blockage nationwide that I can find."

"Among them, more than sixty had parents who went missing early in the Awakened Era."

"And the last time these parents appeared was concentrated in the same period and the same region."

Lin Fan, "Where?"

"The Northwest Forbidden Zone."

Lin Fan went over these three words in his mind.

The Northwest Forbidden Zone.

In the early days of the Awakened Era, it was an area where a large number of monsters flooded in. A large number of Awakened went to garrison it, then lost contact in batches and never had any news again.

The official statement was that they died in battle and their remains could not be recovered.

But if more than sixty children of missing Awakened all suffered from the same so-called "congenital" disease...

Then this had nothing to do with sacrifice.

"Li Youwei," Lin Fan opened his mouth. "Where are you now?"

"Jiangcheng," she said. "I arrived yesterday, and I want to see you this morning."

Lin Fan turned his head to look at Xia Wanqiu.

Xia Wanqiu was standing close to him; she had basically heard the first half of the conversation and was waiting for his reaction with a serious face.

He moved the phone away from his ear and whispered to Xia Wanqiu.

"Someone has reached out, wanting to meet. The amount of information is huge. Help me judge if it's credible."

Xia Wanqiu, "Is it a woman or a man?"

Lin Fan, "...A woman."

Xia Wanqiu, "How old is she?"

"What kind of strange things are you thinking about?" Lin Fan put the phone back to his ear. "Li Youwei, let's meet at the hospital entrance in an hour. Do you know the way?"

"I do."

"Alright then."

He hung up the phone.

Murong Yan jumped down from the windowsill, walked over to stand beside the two, and looked at Lin Fan's expression.

"Who reached out?"

"The family of the third success case," Lin Fan pocketed his phone. "She has evidence in her hands and says this matter is related to my parents' disappearance."

The hospital room was quiet for three seconds.

Then Murong Yan rolled up her sleeves and made a gesture of warming up her wrists.

"Do you think she is credible?"

"I don't know, but her information matches up," Lin Fan looked down at Lin Yue.

Lin Yue was closing her eyes to take a nap, and her condition was much better than before.

"You guys watch over Lin Yue, I'll go down and meet her."

"Just you yourself?" Xia Wanqiu frowned.

"Just myself," Lin Fan walked out. "Don't worry, even if she brought a whole mercenary group, I can still level up while getting beaten."

Xia Wanqiu, "..."

"Can you be more serious?"

"I am very serious," Lin Fan pushed the door open without looking back. "You guys watch over Lin Yue, send a message if anything happens."

The door closed.

Xia Wanqiu turned around and made eye contact with Murong Yan.

Murong Yan, "He really went."

"He definitely went," Xia Wanqiu sighed and looked down at her phone. "I hope that Li Youwei is not a problem... Wait," she suddenly stopped and looked up. "Do you think the person we're meeting is very pretty?"

Murong Yan was stunned for a moment.

"You're suddenly concerned about this?"

"I'm just asking casually," Xia Wanqiu said without changing her expression, picking up Lin Yue's porridge and handing it over. "Lin Yue, drink some more."

Lin Yue opened one eye, looked at her, didn't speak, took the porridge, and started drinking.

...

At the hospital entrance.

Nine in the morning.

The sunlight slanted through the gaps between the high buildings, hitting the row of stone benches outside the hospital gate.

Lin Fan stood beside the steps at the entrance, hands in his pockets, his eyes scanning the parking space direction.

Then he saw it.

A woman stepped out of a black business car.

She wasn't short, wearing a navy blue trench coat, her waistline was straight, and her hair was tied in a low ponytail.

A few stray hairs were blown in front of her face by the wind; she raised her hand to tuck them behind her ear, but didn't quite manage.

Face.

Her features were very light, not the kind with exaggeratedly large eyes.

But standing there, her aura was very steady.

There was a kind of calmness in her eyebrows and eyes that came from long-term high vigilance.

She walked quickly, her steps steady, without hesitation.

Lin Fan estimated she was about twenty-two or twenty-three, but for people with this kind of gaze, the actual age deviation is often large.

Li Youwei walked to the bottom of the steps, stopped, and looked up at Lin Fan.

"Lin Fan."

"It's me."

She took an envelope containing documents from the inner pocket of her trench coat and handed it over.

"The first thing I brought, look at it first."

Lin Fan took it and opened it.

Inside was a stack of printed documents. The format looked like some kind of internal record, and the unit at the top was "Star Biological Research Institute," with the date marked thirty years ago.

He flipped through a few pages.

The content of the document involved an experiment codenamed "Pulse Locking Project," recording relevant data of a batch of Awakened who were "collected" thirty years ago.

A list was attached at the back.

Lin Fan scanned the list, and his eyes stopped in the middle.

Number forty-seven.

Lin Lie.

Number forty-eight.

Su Shanshan.

Lin Lie.

Su Shanshan.

He turned the document over, covered it with his palm, took a deep breath, and calmed down.

Then he looked up.

"Where did this come from?"

"I spent two years piecing together fragmented data from Tianlong's old archive system," Li Youwei watched his reaction. "Is there anyone you know on the list?"

Lin Fan, "My parents."

Li Youwei didn't show a surprised expression, just nodded slightly.

"I guessed as much," she took a small storage chip out of her trench coat pocket again and held it in her palm.

"There is more here. Thirty years ago, those who participated in this plan were not just Tianlong; there was a bigger organization behind it."

"What is it called?"

"Star Association."

Lin Fan nailed his gaze on that chip, not moving it for half a second.

Just then, behind the two of them, a sudden urgent broadcast came from the hospital building.

"Emergency notice! Room 17, Inpatient Department, 5th floor, patient indicators have plummeted. Please have relevant department doctors arrive immediately!"

Room 17.

That was Lin Yue's room!