hsntnovel Chapter 28 A Narrow Escape
Chapter 28 A Narrow Escape
In the real world, at the Seventh Base.
Hahahaha—
Li Fulan suddenly sat up in the hibernation pod, her chest heaving violently, her forehead covered in cold sweat, but she let out a burst of maniacal laughter.
The laughter echoed through the empty medical pod, carrying a sense of relief at surviving a disaster, but also an undeniable lingering fear.
"Holy crap! I actually survived!"
He patted his chest hard and pinched his cheeks to make sure he was really back in the real world before letting out a long breath.
That scene just now was absolutely terrifying.
The moment Tang Hao's voice rang out, he felt as if he were locked in place by an invisible force, like a field mouse being targeted by an eagle, unable to move and only able to wait for death.
If that sleeping pill had taken effect even 0.1 seconds later...
He probably won't even leave a trace.
"Brother Li, are you alright?"
The hatch opened, and Lin An strode in.
The head of the intelligence analysis team was only in his early twenties. He wore black-rimmed glasses and had a rather handsome appearance. At that moment, his face was full of worry.
Several medical staff in white coats followed behind him, pushing various testing equipment.
"It's okay, it's okay, you won't die."
Li Fulan waved her hand, indicating that the medical staff could leave.
He climbed out of the hibernation pod, plopped down on the chair next to him, tilted his head back, stared at the ceiling, and his eyes flashed with a complex light.
"Tang Hao... that old bastard, he truly lives up to his reputation."
He muttered to himself.
"Just that one sound almost scared the soul out of me. If he gets close..."
Li Fulan shuddered, not daring to think any further.
Lin An sat down next to him and handed him a glass of warm water.
"Brother Li, although this operation didn't achieve its objective, your safe return is the best possible outcome."
His voice was quite steady, and it even had a reassuring quality.
"No matter what you plan to do in the future, the country will support you."
Li Fulan took the water glass and gulped down a large mouthful.
"Support me?"
He gave a wry smile.
"I almost ruined the whole mission. With Tang Hao's appearance, all my plans at Notting Academy were exposed. That body is still lying on the clock tower. Even if Tang Hao didn't destroy it directly, Tang San and Yu Xiaogang will definitely investigate later. Then…"
"You don't need to worry about that."
Lin An pushed up his glasses, revealing a reassuring smile.
"While you were retreating, we remotely initiated the 'molting' process for your body. Your facial features and body size have now been altered; even if they find you, they won't recognize you as 'Li Fulan.'"
"Shedding process?"
Li Fulan was stunned for a moment, then realized what was going on.
That was a life-saving black technology prepared by the Seventh Base for transmigrators.
By using nanorobots to rapidly reshape skin and muscle tissue, a person's appearance can be completely changed in a short period of time.
Although the process is quite painful, it can indeed save lives in critical moments.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Li Fulan nodded, finally feeling a little more at ease.
"By the way, those data I uploaded..."
"Well, Mr. Yuan asked me to tell you some good news."
Lin An's eyes lit up.
"The books you scanned from Yu Xiaogang are of unimaginable value."
He pulled a tablet from his pocket and brought up a document.
"Elder Yuan said that the content about martial spirit theory and spirit ring classification was indeed very helpful in understanding the energy system of that world, but what really excited him was something else."
Which part?
"Properties of medicinal materials."
Lin An handed the tablet to Li Fulan.
"A significant portion of Yu Xiaogang's collection of books consists of pharmacological studies on various herbs, minerals, and byproducts of spirit beasts from the Douluo Continent. This part accounts for less than 15% of the total, but Elder Yuan believes that the practical value of this material may be greater than those profound and unfathomable theories of spirit beasts."
Li Fulan took the tablet and quickly scanned the contents on it.
"Dragon Beard Grass... clears heat and detoxifies, mainly used in Douluo Continent to make low-level antidote pills... its medicinal properties are 73% similar to those of honeysuckle on Earth..."
"Azure Blood Ginseng... replenishes qi and nourishes blood; those over a hundred years old can be used to break through bottlenecks... It has 61% similarity in pharmacological properties to Earth's ginseng, but contains an additional unknown component, suspected to be related to soul power..."
"The 'Yin-Yang Fruit,' a specialty product around the Yin-Yang Eye of Ice and Fire... its medicinal effects are not well documented, but based on the description, it may have the effect of harmonizing the Yin and Yang balance in the human body... further research is needed..."
The more Li Fulan looked, the brighter her eyes became.
"If we could find substitutes for these things on Earth, or synthesize them artificially..."
"That's right."
Lin An nodded and said.
"Elder Yuan has assembled a special research team to conduct in-depth analysis of these medicinal materials. He said that if progress goes smoothly, we might be able to replicate some of the 'elixirs' from Douluo Continent on Earth. Although the effects will definitely be reduced without the support of soul power, it should still have a significant effect on improving the physical fitness of ordinary people."
"Very good."
Li Fulan closed the tablet, and a genuine smile finally appeared on her face.
Although the plan to assassinate Tang San failed, the trip wasn't entirely in vain.
At the very least, he brought back some valuable intelligence to the base.
"But Brother Li..."
Lin An hesitated for a moment, but still spoke.
"There's something I need to tell you."
"What's up?"
"Regarding Tang San's situation."
Lin An's expression turned somewhat serious.
"After you retreated, our surveillance was cut off, but based on the last data transmitted back, Yu Xiaogang was likely seriously injured, but not dead. When Tang Hao appeared, his first priority should have been to treat his son and Yu Xiaogang; he didn't pursue you."
"I guessed that."
Li Fulan nodded.
"That old man may be incredibly powerful, but he's fiercely protective of his son. If something happens to his son, he'll definitely protect him first."
"That's the problem."
Lin An frowned.
"Tang Hao's appearance is not in the original story. According to the original story, Tang Hao should have secretly protected Tang San for the first time after Tang San was 32 years old and met Xiao Wu. But now Tang San is only six years old, and Tang Hao has already appeared..."
"You mean, my actions have messed up the plot?"
"It's not just about causing chaos."
Lin An took a deep breath.
"The staff team's analysis suggests that Tang Hao's premature appearance may trigger a series of chain reactions. First, Tang San will learn of his father's existence and strength earlier than in the original story; second, Notting Academy and even the entire Notting City will witness Tang Hao's terrifying power, which will change many people's attitudes towards Tang San; third, and most importantly..."
He looked at Li Fulan with a serious expression.
"Tang Hao now knows someone wants to kill his son. Although your body has 'shed its skin,' given Tang Hao's strength and methods, he's likely to launch an investigation. If he discovers the existence of the Seventh Base..."
"Then we're in big trouble."
Li Fulan picked up the conversation, her face also darkening.
He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples.
"I admit, I acted impulsively this time. I originally planned to take advantage of Tang San's weakness and eliminate him once and for all. I didn't expect that kid to be so tough; the Clear Sky Hammer actually jumped out and took a bullet for him."
"That was indeed unexpected."
Lin An nodded.
"According to the original novel, the Clear Sky Hammer's autonomous protective mechanism should only activate after Tang San awakens his dual martial souls and his soul power reaches a certain level. But this time it activated ahead of schedule, which means..."
"This means that kid's potential is even more monstrous than described in the original work."
Li Fulan gave a cold laugh.
"Twin martial souls, innate full soul power, memories of two lifetimes, Tang Sect hidden weapons, plus a titled Douluo father who could jump out at any moment... tsk tsk, this configuration is practically a max-level cheat."
"So the staff group's opinion is..."
Lin An carefully considered his words.
"In the short term, it is not recommended to take any further hostile actions against Tang San. We should at least wait until Tang Hao's attention is diverted before reassessing the situation."
"I know."
Li Fulan sighed.
"I was too overconfident this time; I almost got myself killed there. I'll have to use a different approach to deal with that kid next time."
He stood up and stretched his stiff neck.
"The advisory group suggests that, at least for now, we should keep a low profile in the Douluo Continent area and avoid contacting Tang San again."
Li Fulan pondered.
"That works too. We can use this time to thoroughly study the information on those medicinal herbs and see if any of them are useful in the real world."
"Speaking of which..."
Lin An's expression relaxed a little.
"Professor Yuan said he'd like to meet you to discuss the medicinal herb information. He's particularly interested in a few herbs and wants to know if you've seen them in person over there."
"Okay, I'll go find him."