Chapter 77 (1/2)

The tense lines on Chen's face loosened up as he recovered from the shock. He was a renowned scholar, after all. He quickly absorbed the information from the test result, and a straight face was soon put back on.

”Welcome, you can join my group as a researcher; mine is the third group, Gemma, in this inst.i.tute, you will meet the rest when you start working in here. I will grant you access to facilities and rooms as soon as possible.” Chen casually glanced over Chang and Jing in his arms ”Are they your family?”

”Yes, they're my family,” Qing Shui affirmed.

”Sounds good, we do offer suites for researchers who work in the inst.i.tute. Therefore, your family can live with you.” Chen made a pause and articulated carefully with his next words. ”Now that you are part of the inst.i.tute, you will be exposed to all sorts of research that we have done; although your encephalon mutation puts you at a position where you can acquire knowledge by just one glance, you are still lacking relevant knowledge. For now, it would be good for you to come to my cla.s.s and run experiments as my research a.s.sistant. You would gain more knowledge as you go further in the field of Biology and Genetics.”

”I'll do as you say,” Qing Shui agreed with a nod.

A burst of sonorous footsteps came from the end of the corridor.

The footsteps belonged to three men: one was in a military uniform and the other two in lab coats.

The one in the middle was middle-aged. His facial features weren't outstanding, and neither was he sharp-eyed. Chang saw him coming from far but didn't pay much attention to his appearance. He was more interested in the epaulet. It signalled that the man was a Lieutenant General.

This was the top power in a secondary city like Zhengzhou.

The lab coats beside him seemed to be in high positions as well; the three walked side by side, and it was hard to tell if either one was superior to the others. What was more jaw-dropping was the fact that one of them was in his twenties, just like Qing Shui.

”Dr. Chen,” the Lieutenant General greeted before he arrived. This man was not haughty. Instead, there was an affable aura surrounding him. Only the epaulet revealed his rank.

Chen forced himself to squeeze out a smile when he saw the person coming, making it obvious that he was acquainted with the Lieutenant General.

”General Zhang.”

”Chen! Haven't seen you for a while. I heard from my subordinate that an EM just arrived. I just came to give my congratulations in person since we don't have many EMs coming from outside of Zhengzhou. What category is he in?”

”Well… He is just an ordinary EM in cognitive and a.n.a.lytic categories, nothing too special for General to concern about.” Chen gently patted Qing Shui's shoulder. ”Here he is, a young man as you see.”

Apparently, Zhang wasn't too impressed by Chen's introduction. He s.h.i.+fted his eyes and stared at Qing Shui. ”A spirited young man! Our inst.i.tute needs fresh blood like you!”

”Thank you for your kind words, General,” Qing Shui answered, bowing.

”Treat us as your friends and family!” Zhang hinted for the young man at his side to come closer. ”Let me introduce you, this is Zhuo Zhao. He is just as young as you are and is the only local in the inst.i.tute who underwent encephalon mutation. This precious gem was the only EM in cognitive category in here before you arrived. I have learned how smart he is during his stay, so you should talk with him more.”

Following Zhang's introduction, the young man was the first to reach out in a friendly manner. ”Nice to meet you, I am Zhuo Zhao, just call me Zhuo please,” he said.

”Nice to meet you too, I am Qing Shui Li,” Qing Shui said, holding out his hand in reply. He smiled, and the two shook their hands. It looked perfectly neutral and normal, but there was an undercurrent of tension as they looked each other in the eyes, judging, evaluating.

Not sensing anything out of the norm, Zhang stepped aside to introduce the other person. ”This is Dr. Xilin Zhang, one of the best scientists in conducting research on Biology and Genetics in China; you will surely learn a lot by having him as your supervisor.”

”Nice meeting you, Dr. Zhang,” Qing Shui greeted him, polite as he always were.

”h.e.l.lo, Qing Shui.”

Dr. Zhang was in his sixties, but despite his wrinkles, his das.h.i.+ng and upward eyebrows made him as charming as a young man. He looked neither soft nor tough and was very charismatic.

General Zhang spoke again once he ensured Dr. Zhang greeted Qing Shui. ”Great, now that we know each other, if you have any questions, you can ask Dr. Zhang. And please, make sure you'll talk to Zhuo more often.”

”General Zhang, are you trying to steal Qing Shui from me?” Chen asked, stepping in to cut off Zhang's chattering. ”Our group found him first, and he will work for me as I found him in the first place. This is the rule that you set before you found Zhuo, or did you forget about that?”

”Hahaha… Look at how nervous you've become.” Instead of feeling intimidated, Zhang simply sidetracked. ”I was only concerned about his welfare as he is a newcomer; I never thought about taking him anywhere. To avoid arousing suspicions, I will be leaving now.”

Zhang's chatter was ceaseless. He patted Qing Shui on the shoulder before leaving. ”Group Alpha will always welcome you to visit and study. Although our five groups share the resources equally, labor is always shared differently within divisions in socialism.”

Zhang seemed to have a mask of being amiable. His facial expressions always made others feel like he was approachable.

After finis.h.i.+ng his speech, he turned around and slowly disappeared down the other end of the corridor with the lab coats.

”How does research relate to socialism? His speech was so weird!” Chang was lost in their conversation.

”He was trying to say his group is superior to others; and he wanted me to consider hopping to their group,” said Qing Shui, expressionlessly.

”Then what is your decision?” Chen asked, looking sideways at Qing Shui's face.