Chapter 37: The Imperial Research Institute
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The headquarters of the Twelfth Legion stood on the outskirts of Wind City, in the Second Administrative District.
At the heart of this immense military base towered the Imperial Academy of Sciences.
The empire’s foremost scientists gathered there, conducting research ranging from civilian affairs to military development.
To protect these precious “minds,” the Academy’s security measures were in no way inferior to those of the Sacred Palace.
Though it lay deep within the legion’s base, its perimeter was still guarded by twelve impregnable checkpoints.
Zane was the night-shift guard stationed at the final checkpoint: the main entrance to the Academy.
To be honest, Zane disliked working nights.
It was not because the duty was arduous. Under the three-shift rotation, he only had to stand guard for eight hours.
But deep within the base at night, the silence was terrifying. Only the cold, incandescent light columns silently cut across the ground, casting long shadows.
The purity of that silence oppressed Zane in a way he could not put into words.
He forced himself to straighten his back and swallowed the yawn rising to his throat. His sharp gaze swept across the empty passage ahead.
Then, without warning, the vacant air before him rippled faintly. Three figures appeared from nowhere, as though condensing out of the void.
Zane’s pupils contracted. Almost instinctively, he clenched both fists, and blazing flames burst to life in his palms with a sudden whoosh.
The instant he recognized the newcomers, the flames vanished.
He tensed every muscle, thrust his right foot back, and hammered his right fist against the left side of his chest. His roar merged with that of his companions into a single surging cry:
“Loyalty!”
The shout echoed before the silent entrance of the Academy.
White Jade Capital inclined his head slightly. “You have worked hard. I have come to inspect the facilities. Open the gate.”
“Yes!”
Zane answered before his companions could. In a single stride, he rushed to the control panel beside the right side of the entrance and swiftly pressed the video-communication button.
Beep… beep…
The call was answered after two rings.
A sleepy, unshaven man appeared on the screen. His voice was thick with congestion. “What is it at this hour of the night?”
“The Saint has arrived! Open the gate at once!”
“What?!”
The man on the other end instantly woke up. His gaze sharpened. “We received no notice. I’m activating the highest-level palmprint verification system. Saint, please verify your identity!”
Zane furrowed his brows, just about to reprimand the man for his “insolence.”
“Very well.”
White Jade Capital had already stepped calmly before the screen.
He did not blame the man for his caution.
The value and secrets housed within the Imperial Academy of Sciences were, in certain respects, even more important than those of the Sacred Palace.
Such vigilance was necessary.
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A clear, faintly glowing outline of a palm immediately appeared on the screen.
White Jade Capital calmly placed his right hand over it.
Beep!
A green light came on with a soft chime.
The massive alloy door slid silently to the right, revealing a brightly lit passage within.
…
The main structure of the Academy was a vast, square fortress of metal. Every inch of its interior had been used with maximum efficiency, while a constant lighting system maintained the brightness of perpetual daylight.
There were four floors aboveground and three below. Each floor resembled a precision-engineered honeycomb, divided into six major sectors labeled A through F.
Each major sector was further subdivided into six smaller zones.
At that moment, in Zone D4 on the first underground level, Bentley stood with both hands tucked into the pockets of his white coat, staring through a thick observation window at the demon captured by the Twelfth Legion inside the isolation chamber.
His gaze burned so intensely it seemed capable of piercing the glass.
Oh, how he wanted to cut it open and take a look…
He screamed silently inside.
“How do you think we can study them without being disturbed by the demon species?” he asked.
“First, we must completely isolate ourselves from their language. Second, under no circumstances may our consciousness penetrate their inner world, otherwise…”
The duplicate of Nangong standing beside him abruptly fell silent.
Bentley turned toward him in confusion.
The duplicate disintegrated in an instant, like a sandcastle struck by a hurricane. In the next moment, it transformed into countless particles too fine for the naked eye to discern and dispersed completely into the air.
What happened?
Bentley’s brows drew tightly together.
Ding-ding-ding!
The shrill doorbell interrupted his thoughts.
Without turning his head, he gave a signal with his eyes.
Clara immediately stepped forward and silently opened the laboratory’s heavy metal door.
Tucker stood outside, panting for breath, his hair a tangled bird’s nest. His voice was urgent.
“D-Director! The Saint has arrived! Please, hurry and go receive him!”
“Tsk. What a nuisance.”
Bentley clicked his tongue. The strange black-and-white coating painted across his face made his expression impossible to read.
“Capturing those demons already cost me a great deal of precious time. And now he has come all this way to waste more of my scientific life…”
He muttered under his breath, his words laced with unmistakable impatience.
Tucker shuddered violently and hurriedly wiped the sweat that had instantly appeared on his forehead with the back of his hand.
He stared at the director’s “yin-yang face” in terror, completely unable to tell whether the man was joking or serious.
“If Father finds it troublesome, then find a way to kill the Saint.”
Clara had always been a dutiful daughter, ever ready to relieve her father of his burdens.
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Thud!
Tucker felt his heart stop beating. Cold sweat instantly soaked through the back of his shirt.
He had thought the director’s muttering was already the height of treason.
He had never imagined that the director’s daughter would suggest something so utterly outrageous.
By comparison, the director himself seemed positively conservative!
Even Bentley was startled by the earth-shattering remark. He spun around and glared at his daughter.
Clara’s delicate features, set against skin as smooth and dark as black pearl, possessed an uncanny beauty.
She wore none of the special coating, yet her face betrayed no emotion whatsoever. She was as calm as if she were merely asking whether they preferred coffee or black tea with their afternoon refreshments.
“Clara!”
Bentley’s voice rose sharply, carrying a severity it had never possessed before.
“Do not say such treasonous things again, especially in front of the Saint. Watch your mouth!”
“All right.”
Clara obediently nodded, as though she had merely suggested throwing away a piece of scrap paper.
Bentley drew a deep breath and irritably straightened his wrinkled white coat before striding toward the elevator.
He occasionally complained when the Saint interrupted his research, but rebellion or defiance against the Saint’s will was something he would never even consider.
In that respect, he was fundamentally different from the former legion commander, Jasper.
That madman had actually dared to conduct human experiments in secret behind the Saint’s back.
Though Jasper’s subjects had been limited to himself and friends who had volunteered to help, with no other people involved, imperial law strictly prohibited human experimentation in any form.
Even necessary pharmaceutical research had to undergo rigorous animal testing first. Only after the risks had been confirmed to be extremely low could human trials be conducted under exceptionally strict supervision.
Thus, when Jasper’s affair came to light, those involved were sentenced either to death or to life imprisonment.
Yet during the trial, the former commander of the Second Legion, Li Qingyue, rescued Jasper. His whereabouts had remained unknown ever since.
Bentley did not care in the slightest whether Jasper was alive or dead.
The only thing that continued to vex him was his inability to decipher the encrypted research data Jasper had left behind concerning the restructuring of human genes.
That treasure, capable of overturning everything known about biology, was close enough to touch yet forever beyond his reach.
It was maddening.
The mere thought of it infuriated him. When he reached the elevator, he pressed the button for the lower floors with unnecessary force.
Ding!
The elevator doors opened with a chime.
Bentley was about to step inside when he suddenly froze.
Standing inside the brightly lit elevator car were White Jade Capital, Nangong Rin, and Lucia.
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