Chapter 624 - Chapter 624: Chapter 624: "Warm Welcome! (1/2)

Chapter 624: Chapter 624: “Warm Welcome!

Zhou Rui had visited this breeding research base owned by Xiang Kun and Xia Libing multiple times before, even during its construction phase, along with Li Shibao and Ye Chong.

However, at that time, the first phase of the project was not yet finished. They wanted to take a look at the construction site, but were stopped by the Liu brothers, Liu Zhengyi and Liu Gaoshang.

This time, once again, they saw the Liu brothers at the entrance, still wearing hard hats and yellow reflective vests, looking like foremen.

Their vehicle stopped outside the large iron gates of the research base. Li Shibao, who was driving, rolled down the window and said to the approaching Liu Zhengyi, “We’re looking for Miss Xia Libing. Is she here?”

Liu Zhengyi didn’t respond. He quickly glanced inside the car, then nodded at his brother, Liu Gaoshang, who was on the other side of the gate.

Getting the hint, Liu Gaoshang pressed the remote control, and the gates slowly began to slide open.

Li Shibao drove their eight-passenger van into the courtyard of the research base. They noticed substantial changes since their last visit. The first phase of the project was almost complete, the main experimental building was not tall, but it was very modern in design.

Areas previously vacant had been excavated for the establishment of the second phase of the project, noticeably expanding the boundaries of the research base.

Mainly, there was not a single individual on the construction site. All construction equipment was quietly stowed away to one side, even the dwellings that seemed to be temporary worker quarters were dead silent. Once they lowered their car windows, they heard nothing beside the tires crunching on the ground, the sound of their car’s engine, and the gates slowly closing behind them. For them, the enormous, eerily quiet research base felt like a portal into another world. There was not even the sound of the wind.

Once the van stopped in front of the building, Zhao Feng, who was inside the vehicle, couldn’t help but turn around and look at Liu Zhengyi and Liu Gaoshang who were still standing by the gate, and frowned, “Aren’t they coming?”

Zhou Rui also looked back at the distant Liu brothers. They were also watching them. Even though he couldn’t clearly see their expressions or read their eyes, he strangely felt that the brothers seemed to be “enjoying the show.” Especially the older one, the stockier Liu Zhengyi, there was something strange about his gaze when they were at the gate. It wasn’t hostile nor friendly, but it felt piercing, as if he knew why they were there and what they were thinking.

“It seems like they were waiting for us. They knew we were coming,” said Ye Chong.

“You know them? Do they also know about our collaboration?” Mijoe asked doubtfully.

“No, I don’t. They were apparently the site supervisors before,” replied Ye Chong.

“So they expect us to go in ourselves?” Wang De’an shook his head, opened the sliding door of the van, and got off first, “Let’s go in anyway. We can discuss it with Miss Xia once we find her. Since Old He asked us to come, there shouldn’t be any danger.”

After the eight of them got out of the vehicle, they entered the main door of the research base building.

The door was a motion-sensing glass door. As they lined up and entered the building, a light suddenly shone from one side of the ground floor lobby, illuminating corridors that led to different small doors on both sides. A voice from the broadcast echoed, “Welcome to ‘Chongyun Village First Gourmet Ingredient Research Base’! I am your guide, Alice! Walk to the right, and I’ll guide you for a tour around our magnificent research base! Walk to the left, and I’ll bring you to meet our base boss!”

The voice sounded like it belonged to a six or seven-year-old girl. Her voice was pleasant enough, but the content caught everyone off guard, including Fang Pingfang.

What’s going on?

‘The First Gourmet Ingredient Research Base’?

‘Magnificent research base’?

‘Base boss’?

Their confused gaze met, and for a moment, they didn’t know how to respond. Wang De’an couldn’t help but ask, “Could this be the prank of Miss Xia’s daughter?”

“According to the information we found, Miss Xia doesn’t have a daughter. Given her track record at work following her graduation from college and post-grad, there’s simply no time for her to have secretly had a child,” Zhou Rui said, frowning.

“Then could this be someone else’s child? Why would they let a child mess around at this time?” Mijoe said, perplexed. He looked back through the glass door at the Liu brothers standing near the gate, “Should we go ask them? Or… does anyone have Miss Xia’s number?”

“I think her number was in the information we gathered,” said Ye Chong as he picked up his tablet to check. However, the screen wouldn’t light up.

“Strange.” Ye Chong borrowed Fang Pingfang’s professional tablet, but it was the same. There was no display, and he couldn’t turn it on.

At this moment, the little girl’s voice chimed again, “This is not a prank! I repeat, it’s not a prank! I am Alice, the manager of the research base. You now have 1 minute to make a choice. Choose to take a tour of the whole base to the right, or meet the boss to the left!”

Fang Pingfang could clearly tell from the little girl’s voice that she was now somewhat irritated and impatient, seemingly because she felt underestimated and disrespected. Fang Pingfang assumed a tentative tone and vaguely asked, “Who is the ‘base boss’ you’re referring to? Is it Miss Xia Libing? Is she near you? My name is Fang Pingfang, and these are my colleagues. Old He asked us to come look for Miss Xia. Could you please let her know?”

“You have 19 seconds left,” the little girl’s voice grew even colder.

Anxious, Zhao Feng suddenly began walking towards the lit corridor on the left. Seeing his movement, others subconsciously followed—after all, the girl’s cold voice had unnerved them. They weren’t sure what could happen if they didn’t make a choice when time’s up.

They hadn’t gone far when they suddenly heard a mechanical whirring sound behind them. Glancing back, they found that an electric outer door outside the glass door had started to come down, and in no time, they were cut off from the outside world.

Next came a bang, and the lights in the corridor they hadn’t chosen to the right were shut off entirely.

“Since you’re so eager to meet ‘the boss’, off you go.” The little girl’s voice echoed again, seemingly a bit miffed by their choice to not take a whole tour of the base.

One by one, the lights behind them went out, while a light suddenly lit up in the small room ahead, so, practically instinctively, Fang Pingfang, Zhou Rui and the rest were “pushed” forward by the light.

After stepping through the small door, they found a wide corridor leading to a massive glass wall, apparently a partition of an experimental zone.

But behind the partition was complete darkness. So they could only see reflections of their side in the glass. This made them want to get closer to see what was behind the glass, yet they also feared the possibility of a terrifying thing being there.

They stood at the door, with the corridor lights in the hall behind them fully turned off. Zhao Feng lowered his voice and asked, “Do you remember what we found before we were asked to stop the investigation?”

Wang De’an immediately responded, “The event of a bird flock attacking a passenger jet… Are you implying… that little girl on the plane wing…”

Zhou Rui also murmured, “That ‘little girl’, she also appeared in Chongyun Village, yes… she is… she is…” For a moment, he wasn’t able to find the right words to describe it.