Chapter 82: Mo Fei’s Message

After reading Mu Qing's diary, Feng Qi became certain of one thing:

Mu Qing had never betrayed humanity. From beginning to end, she fought for the dream they shared, a dream to protect humanity.

However, the diary alone didn't provide enough insight into the reasons behind her slaughter of cities and the killing of civilians. For now, Feng Qi could only pin his hopes on the messages Mo Fei had left in the email inbox. Perhaps they held the answers he sought.

Clicking into the folder labeled "Mo Fei," messages quickly appeared on the screen.

Email Messages · Mo Fei

"Before your execution, I didn't believe a word of what you said. Honestly, the idea of traveling to the future is absurd. A man of science like me could never buy into that nonsense—it's just sci-fi or fantasy fodder, right?"

"Even in the future, time travel would still be impossible. It's not that I underestimate human scientific progress, but time itself is a concept beyond our sensory perception. We perceive time only through relative references: the motion of clock hands, or the input from our visual, auditory, and tactile senses. How could such an abstract thing ever be controlled, let alone traveled through?"

"But then I saw your execution video. Everything unfolded exactly as you predicted—even Mu Qing's arrival. That was when I had no choice but to believe you really had traveled to the future."

"I couldn't watch the execution to the end. It was unbearable—so much so that I forced myself to get drunk just to numb the pain. But the next morning, the news confirmed your death. Damn it, my brother was just gone, just like that."

Feng Qi skimmed over the more emotional and rant-filled parts of the messages, speeding up his reading to focus on critical information.

"I went through recent news reports and checked on the aftermath of Breaking Dawn's members. First, the Xia family brothers were sentenced to death. They were beheaded shortly after you, and to their credit, they stood by you till the end, saying they never regretted following you."

"Jia Yi, the undercover agent, was also executed, though it was handled internally by the Crimson Research Institute. I watched the released footage of his final moments. He was a true man, refusing to say a single bad word about you during the interrogation."

"As for Yan Fu, Yang Xiaoxin, Le Ping'an, Cai Guo, and Xu Hongyun, they were given life sentences. Their roles in Breaking Dawn were limited to supporting the organization's development and not participating in any operations. Their punishment was lenient, and their powerful backers fought hard to shield them."

"The case of Lü Yue was the most severe besides yours, but it was classified. The public was furious about the lack of transparency, but the authorities held their ground, claiming Lü Yue's identity was too sensitive. They only released a statement saying he had been secretly executed."

"I bet you're as confused as I am. You suspected there was a werewolf among your students, but everyone was executed. None of them were whisked away by hidden powers. Could it be your guess about the werewolf was wrong all along? Maybe the person who implanted the chip in you wasn't even part of your organization."

"Let me tell you about something weird. Remember when I mentioned spiritual energy technology? The Institute of Technological Research has been secretly developing it, and they've made significant progress. But for some reason, they haven't disclosed their findings to the public. Maybe it's because the technology isn't mature yet."

"I recently got promoted, and my clearance level increased. Now I'm working on a bizarre research project: creating spiritual nano-bugs. Can you believe that? Is this even possible? Thankfully, my team is only responsible for conceptual planning; the heavy lifting is being handled by the big shots at the research institute."

"Something major happened today. Xu Hongyun, Cai Guo, and Le Ping'an, who were supposed to serve life sentences, were secretly released. They were immediately taken in by their backers. Could these three be the werewolves? Or did their backers pay an enormous price to bail them out?"

"This news hasn't been made public, so the citizens don't know. If they did, there would be chaos. I only found out because Le Ping'an had connections with the Institute of Technological Research. This information is classified even within the institute."

"The research at the institute is getting more ridiculous. They've actually made progress with spiritual nano-bugs. During a chat with some senior researchers, I learned they're trying to create mechanical soldiers capable of self-healing. But the current prototypes are still far from complete."

"One of the directors proposed a new idea: using rune crystals from domain creatures as energy sources for the nano-bugs, combining the two into rune-empowered spiritual nano-mechanical soldiers."

"The old folks at the institute are so imaginative, it's insane. What's crazier is that the proposal was approved. I hope they don't waste too many resources on this. My clearance isn't high enough to access detailed deployment plans, but if you can bring back any insights from the future, it might greatly advance our technology."

"Mu Qing still ended up forming the Dawn Rebel Army, just as you predicted. Everything is unfolding exactly as you said, but I can't find any solid leads on why she betrayed humanity."

"I tried to contact her, but there's no way to reach her. Apparently, she's now forming a research team focused on reviving the rune modification project."

"These past few years, Mu Qing's actions have been utterly insane—almost monstrous. She's been destroying cities and committing mass slaughter."

"This morning, I received shocking news: Mu Qing is dead. Details are scarce, but it's said that the cities united to launch a large-scale operation. She was eventually captured and secretly executed."

"Star City is in grave danger! The Silver Moon domain field from the east is rapidly expanding toward the city. Most of our combat forces have been deployed to support Future City, and there's no way they'll make it back in time. Didn't you say I'd live past 90? At this rate, I feel like I won't even survive today. That's a full thirty years short of what you promised me!"

"Holy crap! A little girl just appeared out of nowhere and single-handedly repelled the Silver Moon domain field's invasion, completely dispersing it. Is she the super-absorbing weapon you once described to me—Suction Cup?"

"She must be Suction Cup. But as for her origins? I really can't find anything. No leads at all."

The messages after that were mostly mundane updates, detailing trivial matters and daily occurrences.

Mo Fei, confined within the Institute of Technological Research, had access to only limited information. As Feng Qi skimmed through the rest of the entries, he found that the remaining updates revolved mostly around the institute's research directions and technological breakthroughs.

Mo Fei repeatedly expressed his hope that Feng Qi could bring back key scientific insights from the future to advance humanity's progress.

Just as Feng Qi thought there was nothing significant left in the emails, one particular message caught his eye.

"The invisible reconnaissance drones have been successfully developed. Recently, I deployed one near the nameless tombstone to observe White-eyed Girl's movements. Guess what I captured? A woman made contact with Suction Cup, and shockingly, Suction Cup didn't resist her. Check out the high-definition image I've attached (Attachment: image.jpg)."

Driven by curiosity, Feng Qi opened the attachment.

The moment he saw the woman in the photo, his pupils contracted sharply.

The woman was none other than Wei Wei, the Director of the Gene Division at the Crimson Research Institute. Decades had passed, yet her appearance hadn't aged a single day.

Instantly, a chain of deductions formed in Feng Qi's mind.

Tapping into keywords like collecting genius bloodlines, rune-modified humans, Mu Qing, genetic research, and cloning geniuses, the threads began to connect.

A chilling hypothesis emerged: Wei Wei may have used Mu Qing's genes to create Suction Cup.

This would explain many mysteries.

Being a genetic clone could account for Suction Cup's physical limitations, such as her inability to age or grow.

It also shed light on Suction Cup's attachment to Feng Qi. She might have inherited fragments of Mu Qing's memories and emotions, resulting in an instinctive affinity toward him.

That would also explain why Suction Cup frequently visited his tombstone to lay flowers—she was acting on Mu Qing's strongest lingering feelings.

If this hypothesis were correct, it might absolve the Crimson Research Institute of some of its perceived sins.

If Suction Cup was indeed a product of their research, her activation might have been a desperate measure. When the Silver Moon domain field threatened to destroy Star City, the institute might have unleashed Suction Cup as a last resort to stave off the invasion.

After the crisis was resolved, Suction Cup likely escaped their control, wandering aimlessly through Star City while maintaining a faint connection to her creator, Wei Wei.

But not everything about the Crimson Research Institute could be explained away.

One glaring anomaly remained: the institute's connection to domain-transcending creatures. To date, historical records showed no instances of peaceful coexistence between humans and domain creatures.

The only point of contention in public discourse revolved around Suction Cup.

Even then, the debates were predicated on the assumption that Suction Cup was, in fact, a domain creature.

Mo Fei's message had given Feng Qi a clearer understanding of Suction Cup's origins.

While it was still speculative, the idea that Suction Cup was a genetic clone of Mu Qing now seemed highly plausible.

Perhaps after Mu Qing's death, her body was delivered to the Crimson Research Institute. There, they might have extracted the rune crystal embedded in her body and transplanted it into a cloned embryo, ultimately creating Suction Cup.

Just as Feng Qi prepared to delve deeper into the database to verify his theories, the narrator's voice echoed in his mind:

"Ding! Death-seeking Little Black is on his way. Pay attention to the time, you fool, or you'll be dead before you know it!"

Hearing the warning, Feng Qi realized he didn't have the luxury of time. He had to leave immediately.

Before departing, he glanced once more at the image of Wei Wei on the screen. His curiosity about her deepened.

Why hadn't Wei Wei aged? Was she friend or foe?

Unfortunately, he had already exhausted his access to character files. Further investigation into Wei Wei would have to wait until his next journey into the future.

Wasting no time, Feng Qi strode toward the metallic corridor.

His top priority now was to escape and retrieve Suction Cup for protection.

The unanswered questions and unresolved mysteries in the emails would have to wait for another time.