Chapter Eighty-Four: Yuan Muye

"There are no test subjects, the seal on the facility is poor, and there is no virus strain present. This should be a proper biological laboratory," Natasha said.

"A proper biological laboratory?" Li Daoran replied.

That left them speechless. People misunderstood research institutes far too deeply. In truth, most of them did not even meet the conditions required for viral-level biological research, and as for laboratories capable of working on biological weapons, those were even rarer. Ordinary biological institutes mostly studied legitimate biological traits, and very few ever went so far as the cellular level.

Li Daoran flipped through the research files, and sure enough, they were only records of local flora and fauna.

Not entirely useless, perhaps, but clearly nothing like what he had imagined was hidden here.

As he was still leafing through the materials, Yuan Muye came in. After the students untied him and woke him up, he had learned what was happening and came in to find Li Daoran.

"Hello. I am Yuan Muye." Seeing Li Daoran reading the documents, Yuan Muye did not mention anything about secrecy. In truth, these things were not important enough to warrant it. He introduced himself plainly.

To his surprise, Li Daoran did not even look up, only gave a perfunctory grunt. Yuan Muye was famous in the White Deer Republic, but how would Li Daoran, an outsider, know who he was?

Yuan Muye was a First-Class Academy Fellow of the White Deer Republic, winner of the Best Scientific Contribution Award, a top-level contributor who had received the National Grand Contribution Medal, and a renowned expert in the Sky Net. It could be said that the Sky Net system of the White Deer Republic had been built on his foundations.

When he grew older, he no longer immersed himself in the Sky Net. In his own words, the Sky Net was ultimately an illusory world, and he wanted to enjoy real life more. He developed a strong interest in biology, so he came to this research institute on Milan Star to retire. He still did research, but he had transformed into a biology expert. The world of great men was not something mortals could understand.

In fact, very few people even knew he was here. Every day he lived close to nature, keeping company with animals. He was content enough, until the war began.

When one of the Feili Empire's generals learned that Yuan Muye might be here, the main battlefield had already become a grinding stalemate, and he did not dare send troops in openly. So he dispatched this small team under Okamoto Kazuki to capture him.

Yuan Muye's value to the war hardly needed to be stated. Even now, the Feili Empire controlled only thirty percent of Milan Star's total Sky Net computing power. If they could secure Yuan Muye's help, breaking through to fifty percent quickly would be no problem. The impact on the situation would be no less than that of ten armored regiments.

It was unfortunate that Li Daoran had arrived at exactly the wrong moment, unwittingly helping Milan Star avert a major crisis.

"Where are your teammates?" Yuan Muye had not expected Li Daoran to pay him no mind, so he had no choice but to speak first.

"No teammates. Just me," Li Daoran said lightly.

The most lethal boasting is the kind that looks effortless.

"Young heroes are truly born among the young. Our White Deer Republic has such talent as well, capable of wiping out an enemy unit alone. Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable," Yuan Muye praised him.

"Old man, even if you flatter me like that, I still can't take you with me," Li Daoran said helplessly, looking at that wrinkled face and the exaggeratedly fawning expression.

"Which unit are you from? I’m going to file a complaint. Believe me, not even your superior would dare speak to me like that," Yuan Muye snapped at once.

"I don't have a unit, and I'm not telling you. There, does that annoy you?" Li Daoran said indifferently.

"How dare you speak to Professor Yuan like that!" a voice demanded from the doorway.

The others did not dare approach Li Daoran, but Tian Ye was worried about Yuan Muye's health, so she came over to check on him. The moment she arrived, she heard Li Daoran talking to Yuan Muye like that.

Yuan Muye himself did not seem to mind. After so many years, no one had really dared speak to him like this before. He did not feel anger; if anything, he found it amusing.

Tian Ye strode forward and pointed at Li Daoran. "Do you have any idea how important Professor Yuan is? You may not take us with you, but you must protect him. Otherwise, not only will your commanding officer never let you off the hook, Milan Star itself will be plunged into crisis."

Yuan Muye patted her to calm her down and said, "It's normal that he doesn't know me. I'm hardly some big celebrity. What you said was a bit too much. I'm old; whether I go or stay doesn't really matter. But you young people are the future. If you can leave, then leave."

"Don't try to get emotional with me. I don't buy that," Li Daoran said warily, looking at the two of them as though suspecting a double act.

"You, you... bastard, hooligan, ignorant, shallow!" Tian Ye was so angry she could hardly find the words.

Li Daoran burst out laughing. This woman did not even know how to insult someone properly. Yuan Muye laughed as well; it really was rather interesting.

"Hey, old man, what exactly do you do? You seem to have quite a status," Li Daoran asked. By now there was no need to keep up appearances. The situation was already under his control, and Yuan Muye did not seem like the kind of fool who would try to seize command.

If Yuan Muye had come out demanding that Li Daoran take them somewhere, or stay behind to protect them, Li Daoran could have simply walked away. But now that Yuan Muye was clearly showing a cooperative attitude, he had to think about what came next. Still, he needed to keep up the air of an unrefined brute, or he would be at others' mercy.

"I? Just an ordinary old man. If you're worried I'll hold you back, then take these young people with you instead," Yuan Muye said. The old man was shrewd beyond his years; how could he not understand Li Daoran's intentions? He even suspected that Li Daoran was deliberately pretending not to know him.

"Old Yuan is the founding father of the White Deer Republic's Sky Net. Have you heard of Mech Storm? Old Yuan was the chief developer. If he were captured by the Feili Empire, Milan Star's Sky Net defenses would be like paper before him. The entire Sky Net would be wide open to Old Yuan. Do you even understand that? If you had so much as set foot in school, you wouldn't dare speak to Old Yuan like this," Tian Ye said heatedly. She was young and did not understand the hidden currents beneath the surface. She truly thought Li Daoran had never been to school and did not know how important Yuan Muye was, which was why he dared to act so recklessly.

Yuan Muye's expression changed slightly. Before he could stop Tian Ye, the matter had already been laid bare, and the situation became even more dangerous.

He could only shake his head and say, "It isn't that exaggerated. Even I can't make sense of the Sky Net now. I'm old. Otherwise, how could I have been driven to this godforsaken place and gotten myself caught by a few soldiers? It's only because this old frame of mine is no longer useful."

Tian Ye grew anxious, but Yuan Muye looked at her solemnly and shook his head, signaling her not to speak.

Li Daoran scratched his head. It was not that Yuan Muye's identity had any intimidating power over him. Rather, the knowledge Yuan Muye possessed had already stirred up a storm on Blue Star's side, and the message being sent to Li Daoran was unmistakable: if possible, they almost wished they could drag the man straight back to Blue Star.