Chapter 122 He's (She's) My Family
"I heard someone broke into the Fire Moth? And it's just a child?" A surge of curiosity shone in Elysia's eyes as she asked.
"Yes, he's quite powerful. Most guards were knocked unconscious before they even noticed him." Dr. Mei nodded, telling Elysia everything.
Normally, clearing out intruders wouldn't have required telling her, but the Fire Moth mobilized most of its forces and still couldn't capture the intruders...
He even defeated a MANTIS Warrior in a direct fight! Although this MANTIS Warrior was only considered average among all MANTIS Warriors, he was still a MANTIS Warrior!
Most importantly, they couldn't find Ling's location.
Compared to an open enemy, a powerful and well-hidden enemy is obviously more troublesome.
Just a child under ten years old, and the entire Fire Moth was put on high alert.
"So powerful!" Elysia's eyes showed a hint of shock.
"Then… I'll go catch him." A smile played on Elysia's lips, a hint of interest in the child emerging.
"Vill-V is already tracking him; it should be sent to your communication device soon," Dr. Mai agreed to Elysia's offer.
If this continues, she might not be able to get any rest tonight.
"Okay, I understand…" Elysia walked outside with a small hint of anticipation on her face.
A short while later, a location appeared on her phone.
"Hmm? Is it there?" A flicker of doubt crossed Elysia's eyes.
…
"Speak! What did you do to Sister Nia!" Ling demanded angrily.
At this moment, Aponia had her body submerged in nutrient solution, connected to numerous tubes, her eyes closed, and was fast asleep.
The researcher he had captured was drenched in sweat, feeling as if a wild beast was watching her.
"She… is… undergoing… a MANTIS warrior surgery…" the researcher stammered.
"Is it dangerous? Can we stop?" Ling asked two questions in quick succession.
The researcher stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.
Ling had a pretty good idea of what was going on, and his anger intensified. He tightened his grip slightly, causing the researcher's face to turn red and her legs to throb.
Suddenly, Ling sensed a huge danger and immediately released the person he was holding, dodging to the side.
The next second, a crystal arrow grazed past Yun Ling's face; if he had dodged a second late, he would have been pierced through the arm.
"Cough...cough cough cough…"
The researcher, now released, coughed violently and fled the scene as if escaping.
"Don't be so rough with a girl. She was following orders," Elysia said, a hint of helplessness appeared in her voice.
When Vill-V sent Ling's location to her, she also explained the whole situation to her.
This was the Ninth Branch Laboratory of the Fire Moth, a place where death row inmates were typically used for human experimentation.
They didn't have the same power as Mobius, so all experimental subjects needed to be reported before human experimentation could begin, resulting in a minimal number of subjects.
However, they hadn't expected them to directly skip the reporting stage this time and conduct a MANTIS warrior experiment on an innocent and beautiful girl.
Ling watched Elysia warily. This person didn't give him the same sharp feeling as Sakura, but she was giving him an even more unfathomable feeling.
Although she seemed relaxed, Ling felt there was absolutely no possibility of defeating her.
"Alright, are you really going to stare at such a beautiful girl with such a terrifying gaze?" Elysia tucked her hair behind her ear, pursed her lips, and smiled.
But Ling still didn't answer, his eyes fixed on Elysia.
"Sigh, so he's a quiet child? Looks like I'll have to take some forceful measures." Elysia said with some distress.
In just a few breaths, Ling was trapped in the pink crystal, unable to move.
"Let's talk, shall we?" Elysia blinked.
Ling knew the situation was dire, and he had no choice but to comply.
Kalpas and Sister Nia were both in their hands, and her strength was worlds apart from theirs; he had absolutely no chance of resistance.
"First of all, on behalf of the Fire Moth, I apologize to you. We, the Fire Moth, will thoroughly investigate the matter of the beautiful Miss Aponia being captured and brought here for MANTIS warrior modifications."
To Ling's surprise, Elysia didn't come forward to interrogate her, but to apologize.
"But I'm sorry, once the MANTIS warrior surgery begins, it cannot be paused. However, I believe Aponia will definitely succeed; it's a beautiful girl's intuition! So you don't need to worry too much," Elysia reassured her.
"What is a MANTIS warrior?"
"Hey, that's an impolite question!" Elysia looked annoyed, with a unique kind of cuteness.
"But since you've finally agreed to speak to me, I'll explain it to you. A MANTIS Warrior is someone who injects processed Honkai Beast ICHOR into a human, granting them power similar to that of a Honkai Beast…"
Elysia briefly explained the MANTIS Warrior program to Ling.
Upon hearing the survival rate was 0%, Ling's gaze hardened again, suspecting Elysia was deceiving him.
"Don't worry, there are currently over thirty MANTIS Warriors of varying power within the Fire Moth. A 0% success rate doesn't truly mean 0%. For example… I'm the second MANTIS Warrior in the Fire Moth."
Elysia's face held a hint of pride.
"And the flame-manipulating warrior you faced not long ago was also a MANTIS Warrior!"
Ling hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded, temporarily accepting Elysia's explanation.
After all, she had no reason to deceive him; she could take his life at any moment.
Elysia released Ling's restraints, allowing him to feel more comfortable.
"What about Kalpas?" Ling asked again.
"Kalpas… Oh! You mean the masked man? Is he your friend?" Elysia recalled the person who had shocked the Fire Moth higher-ups.
He nearly killed Sakura, one of the top MANTIS warriors, with a single blow.
"He's my family," Ling said earnestly.
"…No wonder you're all so strong." Elysia had clearly misunderstood something, assuming Kalpas and Ling were blood relatives.
"Kalpas is currently imprisoned in the Deepest Abyss. I was planning to visit him, but the process is still under review and will take a few days to complete. I'll take you with me then. You can stay here and wait for Aponia's situation in the meantime, how about it?"
"I can't stay here," Ling refused without hesitation.
"Hmm? Why?" Elysia looked puzzled.
"I'm a jinx. I bring misfortune and calamity to those around me. If I'm here, Sister Aponia will definitely die."
…