Dark Blood Age

Translator: Doggotranslation

Editor: Doggotranslation

The person that was sitting on the most conspicuous spot of the meeting table, was still that senior military officer. He stretched out his hand and patted a very thick pile of the report about Chu Yunsheng’s recent movement, looked around, and said, “we can now discuss freely, according to the information we have gathered, this little guy is certain that the end of the world is coming. He is using all his time to prepare for it. What do you think?”

The gray-haired old man adjusted his glasses, pointed to a much thinner pile of the report that had Song Ying’s information, and said, “I still think that Chu’s problem is much more serious than that of Song’s. If you want to solve the mystery about why the monster retreated at that time, you must and can only start from him.”

The officer nodded and then asked, “professor Sun, what do you think?”

“In my opinion…” Professor Sun hesitated for a second and, said slowly, “is it possible that he was greatly traumatized by the monster in the lab, and it made him have a strange the-end-of-the-world complex. And the series of crazy behavior is also caused by this complex. He and Miss Song are different. He didn’t have any strong background, so his psychological pressure is much bigger. In terms of Miss Song, even if she has the same complex, her family situation can easily make her not think about it.”

Then, he began to speak faster, “but based on the current situation, I think, instead of asking who is the root cause of that incident, we should ask how it happened. That’s the question we should be focusing on right now. Besides, even if Chu has problems, it wouldn’t help us much if we take him back to the lab now, because we don’t have a specific plan, we can’t just lock him up and dissect him on the operating table, right? So instead of wasting an experimental subject that could potentially solve the mystery just like that, you might as well leave it out there and keep watching.”

Professor Sun’s words were not unreasonable. The senior officer also nodded his head without making any comments. He looked at others and asked again, “anyone else had some other opinions? Let’s hear it. Let’s gather our ideas together.”

All the people in the white coat in the lab building were often led by Professor Sun and the gray-haired man. Since those two had already explained their opinions, of course, no one else would dare to say anything.

When the officer was about to lose patience, Zhao Ling, who was next to professor Sun suddenly said, “what if… This is just an assumption. Let’s look at it from another angle. What if the end of the world that Chu is talking about is true?”

She repeatedly emphasized what if to tell other people, that it was just an assumption. However, before she even finished talking, many people looked at her with a surprised expression. From the way they reacted, it seemed like they also had the same thought.

In the face of everyone’s both surprised and dubious look, Zhao Ling added, “I have a friend, who works in the same company that Chu used to work at. After the incident, I looked up Chu’s file and discovered this information. So I immediately went to my friend to enquire some information about him. According to her memory, Chu was determined to resign before he was invited to the laboratory, and he even asked her a strange question. And that question was about the end of the world. Chu’s colleagues also confirmed that before the accident, he had already started to believe the end of the world, and even tried to convince them several times.”

Hearing this, the officer’s brows twitched for a few times, he sat up straight as if he was interested, and said, “carry on. Any conclusions?”

Professor Sun also gave her a look of encouragement, signaling her to speak bravely.

“Okay.” Zhao Ling collected her thoughts and speculated, “I think Chu’s abnormal behavior is an isolated event, and it is not related to the accident or the monster. In other words, he had been acting strangely before the accident. And we, because of the impact of the car accident and the monster, have a preconceived perception to relate two unrelated incidents together, creating an illusion. It made us think that both Chu and Song were acting strangely after the accident, but in fact, it may not be the case. Then, based on this, we can infer that the monster’s reaction should be related to Miss Song, because only after this incident did she have abnormal behavior, so logically speaking, this speculation is more reasonable.”

The senior officer was silent for a moment, then praised her. “your analysis is very good. Let’s do it this way, we will leave Chu to you for the time being, and you will be fully in charge of monitoring Chu’s movement. Try to get in touch with him as often as possible and find out why he thinks the end of the world will happen. This is very important. Professor Sun, you don’t mind that I am borrowing your people for this, do you?”

“Of course, no problem, but…” professor Sun suddenly changed his tone, became very serious and said “General Gao, I have a question. Since the military has invited us to join in the ‘1011 Project’, why hasn’t anyone revealed any useful information to us? I would like to make a point that the cooperation between the military and us should be based on mutual trust, not mutual wariness and concealment. Recently, our research has come to a critical period. If we do not know the exact direction of our research, it will be very detrimental to the development of research work.”

The senior officer responded very quickly and nodded his head immediately. He said calmly, “of course, professor Sun, without a direction, any scientific research would be like headless chickens. But the military has its confidential system, and it is not up to me to change it.”

What he said was pointless, it was obviously a bureaucratic response, Professor Sun was not satisfied, but he also knew that for the military, secrecy was their top priority, and it was impossible and would not be disclosed easily. After all, it was related to the security of a nation, it was not a joke.

However, as the research work progressed, he had to ask an important question, on behalf of many researchers and himself, at a critical time, especially after the monster incident, when speculations were rife among the researchers.

“I only ask one thing.” Professor Sun weighed the questions he had in his mind for a while and eventually, he still asked.

It was not a minor issue, and it was also not a national security issue, but it was a matter of everybody’s life here, and the safety of their families, so he had to ask.

In order to successfully touch on this issue and get the appropriate response, he deliberately put forward a testing question to show the tip of the iceberg first, and then arranged his student to gradually lead the topic to the question he wanted to ask.

Therefore, it could be said that on the surface, the meeting was to discuss the issues of Chu Yunsheng and Song Ying, but it was actually a secret fight between those researchers and the military.

“What would you like to know? Please do not hesitate…” General Gao asked sincerely without looking at them fiercely.

But the more he did so, the more pressure Profesor Sun felt. At his age, he knew very well what to ask and what not to ask, especially when dealing with a powerful department like the military, he had to be careful and conform to the rules. However, he had to ask this question, so he gritted his teeth and said, “the thing that Chu Yunsheng is preparing right now, is it real?!”

In the end, he chose a euphemistic and vague way to ask. It could be understood as “is the thing about Chu Yunsheng preparing for the end of the world real?” but it could also be understood as “is the end of the world real.”

It all depended on how general Gao gave his answer.

General Gao seemed to be stumped for a second, then he laughed and said, “Older Sun, you are our famous scientist, and you also believe this kind of thing? Besides, in regard to this, you’re a scientist and you are the authority on this matter. Even the military also has to listen to you, don’t you think so?”

The response he gave did not have any weakness, and it was very logical. Professor Sun also could not help but feel embarrassed for a second. It was the end of the world or not, it was really not up to the military to decide unless there was an outbreak of nuclear war or the world war. They were the elites in the scientific field, but why would they demand an answer to a scientific question from those soldiers, who only knew how to kill people? It was such an irony.

As if General Gao understood Professor Sun’s embarrassment, he stood up and decided to end the meeting, “professors, why don’t we stop here today and you all need to work out a specific plan as soon as possible. Whether it is Chu or Song, they both are very important to us.”

With that, he packed up his things and left the meeting. Before he disappeared at the door, his face suddenly dropped and his brows were pressed tightly together. However, no one seemed to notice that. General Gao did not think it was funny that those scientific experts were asking a layman about a scientific problem. Instead, it showed that people in the lab began to have doubts and dissatisfactions. This was a very sensitive time, he must find a way to calm them down quickly and remove those unstable factors as soon as possible.

…

When Chu Yunsheng was placing the order for meat products, he received a phone call. He did not recognize the number, so he hesitated for a moment, and then directly hung up.

But not long after he hung up, and shortly after he and the meat seller discussed the price, the phone rang again, it was the same number. The meat seller thought that it was probably an important thing, so he said to Chu Yunsheng, “you can answer the call first, I don’t mind waiting.”

There was a lot of money in Chu Yunsheng’s bag at the moment. Fearing that someone might snatch his bag, he quickly walked into the meat seller’s shop and answered the call, “Hello, who is it?”

A young girl’s soft voice came from the other end of the phone, “is this Chu Yunsheng? I’m Zhao Ling, professor Sun’s student. Do you remember me?”

Although the car accident that day was still like a dream to him, it happened not long ago, naturally, Chu Yunsheng still remembered her. However, he just did not know why she suddenly wanted to contact him. He was really afraid of that girl named Song Ying now, so he asked in confusion, “oh, hello, what do you need from me?”

“I want you to do me a favor.” Zhao Ling from the other end of the phone call paused for a second and said, “someone wants to see you.”

Chu Yunsheng was immediately alarmed, he said in a lower voice, “who?” and then he quickly added, “I may not have the time.”

Hearing his tone, and fearing that he may hang up immediately, Zhao Ling quickly said, “she is Song Ying, I went to see her today, she is in a very bad state, and her mood is also not stable, since the last time she went back, she has locked herself in the room, not willing to see anyone or eat anything willingly. She is extremely weak now. Today, only after I mentioned your name outside her door did she finally let me into her room… ”

‘It was that girl again!’ While listening to the phone, Chu Yunsheng could not help feeling annoyed. There was no way he would see that girl again, so he immediately stopped the conversation and said, “I’m sorry, I really don’t have time, so, goodbye!”

With that, he really hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and as if nothing had happened, he went back to the meat seller again to discuss the price, the quantity and the date of delivery

But he had just said two words, the phone rang again, Chu Yunsheng only took a quick glance, immediately hung up without any hesitation and then blacklisted the number. He had already made up his mind to stay away as far away from those people as possible.

The meat seller laughed and jokingly said, “having an argument with your girlfriend?”

Chu Yunsheng glared at the meat seller and said in an irritated tone, “why are you being so nosy?”

The meat seller just smiled ambiguously. Of course, he would not show any dissatisfaction with Chu Yunsheng’s attitude, Chu Yunsheng was his big customer.

Apart from the human meat, this young man wanted almost all the meat he had. Not only was the quantity very big but he also did not seem to want to spend too much time negotiating about the prices. The only strange thing was that he asked the meat to be delivered within one month. And if it was late for one day, he would not pay for the rest of the money.

However, the deal was too big for him to do it alone. After all, he did not sell all kinds of meat, so he had to find other meat dealers to cooperate with him. Of course, as the middleman, there was also some benefit as well.

While smiling, he gave Chu Yunsheng a special discount, and hastily took the paper to write a simplified version of the contract, signed it, and then happily took over the deposit that Chu Yunsheng gave him.

At this time, Chu Yunsheng’s mobile rang again, but it was not a call this time, it was a message, and it was from the other number.

The meat dealer was counting the money at the moment, so Chu Yunsheng could not leave. After thinking about it for a second, he decided to read the message and find out what exactly she wanted. When facing those powerful people and powerful departments, he was still a little worried.

The message read:

“Chu, Song Ying is in danger now. If you don’t go to see her, I’m afraid that she will kill herself very soon. She told me that she wanted to see you and only you… But don’t worry, I didn’t report this matter to my superior, nor did I report it to Song Ying’s father. I tried to find some excuses, but because her father feared that another accident would happen to her, so he didn’t let Song Ying come out with me. So if you are willing to go, I will drive and pick you up later.”

…..

After reading the message, Chu Yunsheng really could not find any appropriate words to describe his feeling at the moment.

‘What the hell is all this?’

It was she, who caused the accident and dragged him into this mess. After he was finally able to get away safely, although he had resentment, he could only endure it, after all, he was just a commoner. But now she wanted to commit suicide?

‘Is she going to shift the blame onto me? If not, and she is only throwing a temper, it has nothing to do with me. Why the hell was she contacting me!?’

Chu Yunsheng was very angry. He immediately replied, “I’m not going!”

Although he was very angry, his mind was very clear. If he did not go, they would not blame him for whatever happened to that girl, but if he went there, and the girl indeed committed suicide later, there was no way he would be able to prove that he was innocent.

Besides, he did not believe what Song Ying said, that that charming young princess of some high ranking government officials’ family would really commit suicide, unless there was a problem with her head.

“Clap!”

The meat seller suddenly clapped the money, started Chu Yunsheng and then laughed, “young man, thank you for your business. Once it is ready, I’ll call you.”

Chu Yunsheng glared at him, and fearing Zhao Ling was going to call him again, he turned off the mobile, took the contract paper and walked out of the shop. However, when he just stepped outside, the news that was broadcasted on a TV in the opposite shop attracted his attention, the beautiful anchorwoman flipped the paper and spoke with clear pronunciation and mellow voice,

“Let’s take a look at a group of brief messages. Around 1:00 PM this afternoon, a man jumped off a building at the intersection of Wuzhou road and Shanghai’s inner ring road, causing heavy traffic in the area…”

The television then cut to the scene, where the footage had clearly been modified, but blood could still be seen on the ground.

“The man who jumped off the building was a 30 years old man. According to the locals, the man was shouting and crying loudly on the roof before he jumped. Some people speculated that it was probably caused by a broken relationship, while a netizen exposed that the man was a famous lawyer from a big law firm, so there must be some other motives. After people reported it, the police arrived very quickly. The crowd has already been dispersed and the police have already started the investigation. For the specific details, the follow-up reports will be available soon at the station…”

Chu Yunsheng pupils’ instantly contracted, and his heart began to jump rapidly. On the TV, near the puddle of blood, he saw a familiar car. It was the black Audi he once got on. And the occupation of that man was also a lawyer! Was it a coincidence?

No, It must be that tall, rich, and handsome man, it must be that lawyer! Chu Yunsheng’s legs suddenly lost strength. Panic began to grow inside his mind. Was it an accident, or did it really have something to do with him?

His mind was in a mess.

But, why did that tall, rich, and handsome man want to commit suicide? Regarding Song Ying’s case, because no one could find the body, plus his testimony, there should not be any problems.

Was it really related to him? Chu Yunsheng then suddenly remembered the thing that Zhao Ling told him. She said that Song Ying also wanted to commit suicide!

‘They are crazy!’

‘They all have lost their minds!’

Chu Yunsheng hurriedly took out the mobile phone, turned it on, and regardless of how many messages were shown on his phone screen, he simply dialed Zhao Ling’s number while his eyelids were constantly twitching.

The call went through straight away, Chu Yunsheng swallowed his saliva and said, “that woman, did she commit suicide already?”

Zhao Ling from the other end of the phone call, paused for a second, and asked in shock, “who told you? When?”

She probably heard it wrong, thought that someone had informed Chu Yunsheng, that Song Ying had committed suicide already, so she was shocked.

Chu Yunsheng said hurriedly, “that’s not what I mean, I mean she hasn’t committed suicide, has she?”

Over the phone, Zhao Ling finally understood what Chu Yunsheng meant, she let out a sigh of relief and said, “she probably hasn’t. She is probably still waiting for you. But if you are not going there, she might really do it. I am not lying, once you see her, you will know.”

Chu Yunsheng was also relieved. He was really scared of her now. Originally, he thought that the girl was just throwing a tantrum like a little spoiled princess. After all, committing suicide required a great deal of courage. Long-time ago, he had already figured out that those people, who were shouting all day long that they were going to commit suicide, would not kill themselves, but those, who were quiet, not saying anything to anyone, were often likely to do something crazy.

The news about the tall, rich, and handsome man fell off the building, although Chu Yunsheng did not know the real reason, he vaguely felt that it might really be related to him. In terms of why he had that kind of feeling, he also did not know, he just knew that he had a bad feeling about this.

He realized that Zhao Ling did not seem to be lying and that Song Ying girl might actually commit suicide!

In case Song Ying’s father kept his information, and Song Ying actually committed suicide, it would be a game over for him. Even traffic police would be able to lock him up and destroy all his plans, let alone that kind of powerful man.

Moreover, Chu Yunsheng was not really a cold-blooded person. If he could save a life, he would do it, but it must be within his limit. Just like the accident that day, he also tried to search for the cleaner and see if he could help the cleaner. It was only until it affected his own safety, he decided to ask the girl to call the police herself.

After thinking it over, Chu Yunsheng decided to go to the Song family once. No matter what, he must make it clear to them first, that whatever the girl was doing, had nothing to do with him. There were not many days left until Tian Gui was restored, he could not be hindered by this kind of trouble again. Otherwise, it would be very dangerous for him.

“Where are you? I’ll be right there.”

Chu Yunsheng took the phone, ran to the intersection hurriedly, and looked around to see if he could get a taxi.

On the other end of the phone call, Zhao Ling immediately said, “I’ll pick you up. It will be much more convenient if I drive.”

“Okay, it’s also really hard to get a taxi here.” Chu Yunsheng looked around the road, did not see any taxi, so he simply told Zhao Ling his current location.

…

About 20 minutes later, a red mini-cooper appeared in Chu Yunsheng’s sight. Sitting inside the car was Zhao Ling, who was in a blue down vest.

Chu Yunsheng nodded his head to greet her, and then opened the door and got into the car. To be honest, compared to Song Ying’s Lamborghini, he preferred the mini cooper much more. After all, this type of car, which was around 300,000 Chinese Yuan, was something that he, a middle-class citizen could afford.

Of course, it was still a lot of money for Chu Yunsheng. After he sold his flat and gathered everything he had, he only managed to get 500,000 Chinese Yuan. In order to get something that would help him to escape much easier later on, he was currently thinking about whether he should buy a few cheap motorcycles or a car, which could load more supplies.

Zhao Ling looked at the street behind Chu Yunshen, started the car and casually asked Chu Yunsheng, “I heard you are preparing for the end of the world?” Only

Chu Yunsheng just sat down when he heard Zhao Ling’s question. He was startled and instinctively wanted to deny it.

“What’s the matter? Are you surprised?” Zhao Ling smiled softly and said, “I heard your boss, Wen Luo said it. We were alumni at the University of Pennsylvania.”

Just right after Chu Yunsheng figured out how she found it out, he was surprised by what she said again. But he still looked at Zhao Ling’s young and delicate face doubtfully.

“She is two years ahead of me, but I came back before her.” Zhao Ling pointed at the back row seats and said, “I guessed that you haven’t eaten anything yet, so I brought something, you can help yourself, and the water is below your seat.”

Chu Yunsheng was indeed a little hungry, but he did not touch her things. He only left his backpack in the back row seat. Although there was the ancient book in the backpack, keeping the bag in his arms would only attract too much attention. And if he kept it in the back row seat, the bag would not disappear anyway.

“Don’t you want to know what she thinks of you?” Zhao Ling tried to find a topic. Even if she was not assigned to do this, she still wanted to know why Chu Yunsheng was so certain that the end of the world was coming.

She had read Chu Yunsheng’s information, an ordinary staff living on the monthly wages. But he could sell the flat that he bought using the money he saved through years of hardwork, without any hesitation. It could only mean that he was serious about this.

But how could he be so sure?