Chapter 103: The Sky Changes

"Nothing is impossible. That organism absorbed all the nutrients from countless meters beneath Kaifeng, and it possesses an astonishing ability to plunder human intelligence. Its baseline life index has reached five thousand, and that is just my conservative estimate." For the first time, a flicker of emotion crossed Li Qingshui's face as he spoke of the giant willow tree. "A more accurate estimate would be around six thousand, and it is constantly growing stronger."

"And what about the super-organism this time?" Seeing Li Qingshui's expression, Zhao Zhuo also showed a hint of trepidation.

"This one is fine. The fact that even a small portion of a single reconnaissance battalion managed to return that day proves that this super-organism isn't overly powerful." Li Qingshui smiled. "There are disparities even among super-organisms, just as among humans, where one individual can outmatch a hundred others."

"Then what do you estimate the baseline life index of this super-organism to be?"

"No more than five hundred. As you know, when life intensity rises to another tier, there is a qualitative leap. Just like your synthetic humans—even though their life intensity index is only around thirty, they can easily slaughter three hundred ordinary humans. Therefore, this super-organism cannot be compared to the giant willow tree I once encountered." Li Qingshui spoke with absolute certainty. "It lacks intelligence, and with its massive volume, its bodily structure cannot be too compact. Its surface durability is at most on par with your synthetic humans. With heavy firepower, it can be easily taken down."

"So that means I can obtain the research data on this super-organism?" Hearing this, a look of boundless frenzy flared in Zhao Zhuo's eyes. "Brother Qingshui, what do you think would happen if we spliced the genes of a super-organism into the human body?"

"It would produce super soldiers," Li Qingshui replied, a smile playing on his lips.

"My thoughts exactly." With those words, Zhao Zhuo walked out of the laboratory. "Brother Qingshui, I'll go gather some men. I'll leave the lab to you for now."

"Rest assured," Li Qingshui's final words drifted through the crack in the door just as Zhao Zhuo shut it.

Zhao Zhuo had always been a man of swift and decisive action.

That very afternoon, under his mobilization, the Zhengzhou Military Region initiated a massive operation. Three fully reorganized artillery regiments, carrying heavy weaponry and aided in transport by a hundred synthetic humans, marched in a grand procession toward the banks of the Yellow River.

Late that same night, another series of high-level deaths occurred within the Zhengzhou Military Region. Some were assassinated, some perished from mysterious neurotoxins, and others fell victim to invasive superbacteria.

The turmoil was brief; the situation was brought under control before it could cause any significant ripples.

By noon the following day, a powerful force of an entire regiment surrounded the residential compound where Liu Chang was hiding.

This encirclement was highly peculiar. It seemed the pursuers had long known of the abilities of Liu Chang, the little girl, and He Zhizhi. The regiment had begun tightening their net from far away, leaving the group no time to react and trapping them like rats in a jar.

Standing in the courtyard of the compound, facing the barrels of dozens of machine guns, Liu Chang decisively raised his hands.

"Zhao Zhuo went to a lot of trouble this time. I surrender," Liu Chang called out loudly, hands raised.

"The one leading the team this time isn't Zhao Zhuo—it's me." Just as Liu Chang raised his hands, a familiar voice emerged from the crowd, followed by the approach of a familiar figure clad in a white lab coat.

"Mr. Li?" Seeing this figure, Liu Chang's mood instantly soared from hell to heaven. "Why are you here?"

"A matter of grave importance. I need your vision, the little girl's perception, and this lady's..." Li Qingshui paused, looking at He Zhizhi. "...and this lady's sense of smell."

"You mobilized such a force just to...?" Liu Chang looked astonished.

"Yes, it is time to settle things with Zhao Zhuo once and for all!" Li Qingshui looked up. "I have waited a long time for this day. I have already reorganized Zhengzhou, utilizing my connections to bring the entire situation under control. Now, the only concern left is Zhao Zhuo himself."

"He has taken his team to the banks of the Yellow River. As long as we can ensure he never returns to Zhengzhou, this region will never belong to him again." As he spoke, Li Qingshui pulled a fair-skinned man out from the ranks of the soldiers. "Let me introduce you. This is a talented member of Weapon Group Two, and also a deduction expert. He is the one who led me to you today."

"A pleasure to meet you." Hearing Li Qingshui's introduction, the fair-skinned man was very polite to Liu Chang, offering a friendly hand with a smile.

"Hello," Liu Chang replied, shaking his hand, though a chill ran through him at the thought of the man's abilities. If it had been Zhao Zhuo rather than Li Qingshui who received this man's help today, they would have had absolutely no escape from being captured.

"Zhao Zhuo has long been dictatorial in the military district, monopolizing more than half of the resources of the five research groups. I've been sick of him for a long time, so helping Brother Qingshui is only natural." Reading Liu Chang's thoughts from a single glance, the man quickly smoothed things over. "I'm only here to guide the way. Don't mind me, please go ahead and talk."

With that, the fair-skinned man stepped behind Li Qingshui.

"Since things are settled, I won't waste words."

"I have assembled a regiment of elite soldiers to track down Zhao Zhuo's location," Li Qingshui quietly explained the current situation to Liu Chang. "The giant aquatic monster he went to suppress is no weakling. It should wipe out half of his elite forces, though the ordinary soldiers won't suffer too many casualties, as they are providing long-range fire support."

"I have my own ways of dealing with the soldiers he took with him. What we need to watch out for are the one hundred synthetic soldiers he has with him."

"A hundred?" Hearing this number, Liu Chang felt a throbbing headache coming on.

He knew firsthand exactly what kind of combat capabilities those synthetics possessed. He couldn't even defeat one, let alone a hundred. If those synthetic soldiers gathered in the wild, under the cover of the red mist, they could charge through any encirclement to execute a decapitation strike on the leadership, no matter how great a numerical advantage the opposing army had. There would be absolutely no chance of victory.

"You don't need to worry too much about those synthetics. I have a way to handle them." As Li Qingshui spoke, he brought forward a small squad from the surrounding troops. "The soldiers of this squad have undergone specialized training, and their firearms have been modified by Group Two. They can inflict massive damage on genetically engineered synthetics."

"It's impossible to hit them. No matter how powerful these weapons are, it's useless." Liu Chang looked at the elite squad. "What is the life intensity of this squad?"

"An average of eight." Li Qingshui pointed to the massive firearms in their hands. "Fully automatic, large caliber, capable of tearing through steel with ease."

"No matter how powerful they are, it's all for nothing if they can't hit them. I've fought those monsters. I know how fast those synthetics are. These men are barely stronger than me, and in terms of calculation capacity and vision, they are far inferior. They won't hit those synthetics at all." Liu Chang spoke rapidly to Li Qingshui. "Why don't you just use missiles, a nuclear strike, or some other form of blanket bombardment to blow the entire area Zhao Zhuo is in to smithereens?"

"If only it were that simple," Li Qingshui sighed. "How many people in China hold the nuclear codes? And do you really think a city like Zhengzhou would have nuclear weapons?"

"As for missiles, without radar targeting systems, it is difficult to hit the target accurately. And as for ordinary long-range artillery bombardment, not to mention the immense difficulty, even if we did manage to blanket the area..." Li Qingshui paused. "Under ordinary artillery fire, what do you think are the chances of Zhao Zhuo dying when he is protected by dozens of synthetics?"

"My goal this time is to guarantee Zhao Zhuo's death!" Li Qingshui's eyes narrowed. "If he doesn't die, none of the high-ranking officials in Zhengzhou will ever know peace. With that trump card of synthetics in his hand, if he doesn't die today, I estimate my head will be hanging from the gates of Zhengzhou tomorrow!"

"So, today I will act as bait to lure him into attacking. Knowing his personality, I don't believe he wouldn't want to take my head himself after my betrayal!"

"What preparation do you actually have?" Liu Chang looked at Li Qingshui.

"A bacterial bomb!" Li Qingshui looked at Liu Chang, a gentle yet crazed curve appearing at the corners of his eyes. "A bomb loaded with superbacteria. Once detonated in Zhao Zhuo's area, no ordinary human will survive."

"And even if the synthetics possess immense vitality and manage to survive, I believe their strength will be severely compromised once infected by the bacteria. They won't be able to move so fast anymore. When that time comes, the shooting task for our elite squad will be much easier."

"A superbacteria bomb?" Hearing this term, Liu Chang's heart shuddered. "That's a weapon of mass destruction, and a biological weapon at that."

"We can't worry about that now. If we don't eliminate Zhao Zhuo, he might do even more horrific biological experiments. Just this once, we will eradicate the chief culprit!" Having said this, Li Qingshui patted Liu Chang on the shoulder. "I hope you can help me. With your vision and Xiaojing's hundred-meter detection radius, I don't believe Zhao Zhuo can kill me in a crowd!"

"I..." Feeling the weight of Li Qingshui's hand on his shoulder and looking at the face that was both familiar and strange, Liu Chang nodded dumbly. "I'll try."

"Thank you." Li Qingshui smiled at him, then bent down to pinch Xiaojing's cheek. Afterward, he led his troops away, quietly departing with an aura that was peaceful yet as deep as the ocean.

"Xiaojing, you were right." Watching the silhouette radiating a powerful presence fade into the distance, Liu Chang picked up the little girl and followed the troops ahead. "Mr. Li really has changed."

"Changed?" He Zhizhi asked, staring in the direction Li Qingshui had gone. "What was he like before?"

"Why do I feel like this man is even more terrifying than Zhao Zhuo?" Standing beside Liu Chang, cold sweat broke out on He Zhizhi's forehead. It felt as though merely standing near Li Qingshui exerted a massive psychological pressure on her.