Chapter 25: The Kang family had a bit of a mean streak
Lu Qiufeng paused briefly at the door of his own laboratory, muttered a curse under his breath, and then strode towards Kang Shi’s laboratory.
The man leading a group of strong men claimed to be surnamed Kang. From the greasy, styled hair, Lu Qiufeng immediately recognized him as Kang Shi’s older brother, with the same disposition as the Kang Shi he had known before.
Their arrival was forceful, clearly unfriendly.
Lu Qiufeng quickly typed on the terminal, informing the others that people from the Kang family had arrived, and told a few researchers who were unsure how to react, “Go and ask Deputy Director Yang to come over.”
He then stepped forward to block the door to the laboratory.
“Wait a minute. If you’re not part of the laboratory, forcing your way in is illegal. Didn’t you know that?”
Lu Qiufeng stood at the closed laboratory door, casting a cold glance at them.
“Those who don’t know might think the research institute in Fifth District is some public place where anyone can come and go as they please.”
Second Brother Kang, Kang Zai, glanced at Lu Qiufeng’s senior researcher badge and became slightly more polite.
“Researcher Lu, you might have misunderstood. I am Kang Zai, Kang Shi’s second brother.”
“The reason we came today is just because we heard he was ill and were worried about his condition, so we wanted to take him back for treatment.”
“After all, this is a family matter.”
Lu Qiufeng remained unmoved: “I don’t care about your family matters. Entering the research institute without permission is a threat to all of us. If you want to go in, you can contact your brother and have him follow the proper procedures to let you in.”
Kang Zai’s smile faded slightly, turning into a forced, insincere grin.
“I suspect Kang Shi has fallen into a coma, so we were unable to contact him and had to resort to this emergency action.”
“Please move this Researcher Lu aside.”
Two burly bodyguards immediately seized Lu Qiufeng and pushed him aside.
Lu Qiufeng had never been treated like this before. He cursed under his breath and watched with a dark expression as Kang Zai’s people used a key to forcibly open the door to Kang Shi’s laboratory. His face grew even darker.
To resort to such measures to force their way into the laboratory suggested that the situation was far from simple.
A group of people burst into the laboratory, and Lu Qiufeng followed them in.
Su He, looking weary, stood outside in the feeding area, watching them coldly but not intervening.
“Where is he?”
“Over there, in that isolation room!”
The largest isolation room had its door closed, but its contents were visible through the observation window. Yu Yan stood in front of the window.
Kang Zai wanted to send people in to retrieve Kang Shi, but suddenly saw that the isolation box inside had been opened, and the experimental subject inside was emerging.
The subject’s two wings spread suddenly and flew behind Yu Yan.
“That’s the S-grade experimental subject 012 in the laboratory. Mr. Kang Zai should be aware, it carries more than twenty deadly viruses. Even breathing the same air as it could result in infection. Currently, no antiviral medication has been developed,” Su He explained from the side.
Seeing 012, Kang Zai immediately took two steps back. His expression showed that, if not for saving face, he would have almost raised his hand to cover his mouth and nose.
The people he brought also dared not approach any closer, retreating quickly and clearing a large space at the entrance of the isolation room.
“I’m sorry, he somehow managed to escape from the isolation box and has now infected Senior Kang. We’re also in a difficult situation,” Su He said with a straight face.
Lu Qiufeng stood beside Su He, crossing his arms and speaking with a sarcastic tone, “If anyone isn’t afraid of dying, you can push the door open and help us control this experimental subject.”
Kang Zai, having heard of the notorious experimental subject 012, was especially cautious of his own safety. Even if he were given a full protective suit at this moment, he would still be unwilling to approach such a source of infection up close.
He had only heard from the Zhou family that the third brother needed to be taken away and knew that the third brother was ill, but he had not realized that the illness was caused by such a terrifying virus.
If not for the Zhou family’s promises, he would want to quickly distance himself from this dangerous place.
“Third Brother,” Kang Zai forced a smile, “What are you doing? Hiding such a serious illness from the family. Dad is very worried about you and asked me to bring you back.”
Yu Yan coughed twice, “To the Zhou family?”
Realizing that Yu Yan had guessed correctly, Kang Zai tore away his facade of false warmth and spoke with a threatening tone, “We are all from the Kang family, we would never harm you. You should think carefully about this; it is also Dad’s wish.”
Sending a child could earn permission to enter the Central District, secure a supply chain from the Zhou family, and make a lot of money by associating with them—what a profitable deal.
Moreover, Kang Shi might not necessarily die. Even if he had offended the Zhou family’s eldest young master, sending him to the Zhou family would only result in some loss of face. In exchange for so many benefits for the Kang family, what was there to be unwilling about?
Father Kang even saw this as an opportunity for his son. Didn’t the young lady from the Zhou family also show interest in him? Once he went to the Zhou family, there might be more chances for interaction, and their situation would be more secure.
Yu Yan coughed violently, repeatedly waving his hand and clinging to the observation window glass, looking extremely pained.
Seeing his condition, Kang Zai was almost unable to maintain his pretense of a concerned smile and took another step back in disgust.
He deeply regretted not having fully protected himself when he arrived.
Yu Yan leaned against the glass, coughing, and casually tapped the glass with one hand.
Su He, standing by the wall, received the signal and quietly pressed a hidden control button before casually withdrawing her hand.
Suddenly, a fine mist sprayed from the overhead sprinklers, soaking Kang Zai and the others.
“What’s this?”
“Get out of the way!”
Kang Zai’s carefully styled hair was ruined by the water, leaving him looking disheveled. He wiped the water off his face, detecting a strange smell.
Seeing their reaction, Yu Yan covered his face with his arm to hide his smile and looked up, saying, “My laboratory often has various pathogens from experimental subjects, so we automatically spray disinfectant from time to time. Don’t worry, it’s just regular disinfectant.”
“You!” Kang Zai suspected Yu Yan had done this intentionally. His face turned a deep shade of green as he pulled out a handkerchief to continuously wipe his face and hands.
His usually compliant younger brother seemed to have become bolder ever since the Zhou family’s young lady took an interest in him.
“What’s going on here?” Deputy Director Yang arrived at the laboratory door with several researchers.
She was a kind and gentle woman, always speaking in a soothing tone, but without being overly harsh, she exuded an aura of authority that made others hesitant to offend her.
Under her gaze, Kang Zai toned down his arrogance.
“Deputy Director Yang, I’ve already discussed with Director Meng about taking my brother home…”
“Director Meng and I both manage the institute, but this is everyone’s research institute, not just for the two of us to make decisions. I haven’t received any notification from Director Meng. Is it appropriate for you to barge in with a group like this?”
“Yes, I understand it might be somewhat inappropriate, but…”
“How about this, Mr. Kang. You should go back for now. Once I’ve clarified the situation with Director Meng, I’ll inform you. If you need to bring people in next time, we need to follow the proper procedures. You should specify how many people you’re bringing, what they’re here for, and which areas they can access, so as not to disrupt our researchers’ work. Don’t you agree?”
Deputy Director Yang spoke calmly and warmly, leaving no room for rebuttal.
Kang Zai was unwilling, but Deputy Director Yang was clearly intent on protecting her subordinates.
The “proper procedures” were known to be tedious, and waiting for approval could take several days. The Zhou family needed results urgently. Their plan was to come first, take the person, and apologize later if needed.
He hadn’t anticipated things going so poorly.
With water still dripping from his hair, Kang Zai knew he couldn’t take Kang Shi today and had to temporarily give up.
He didn’t believe Kang Shi would really defy the family. With their father and grandfather personally giving orders, Kang Shi would eventually have to comply and go to the Zhou family, no matter how he resisted.
He knew that he had failed in his task today, and his father would likely be disappointed.
“Third Brother, think carefully. Don’t make Dad come personally to fetch you.”
Kang Zai left with his group after throwing his final threat.
Deputy Director Yang walked up to the observation window.
Yu Yan: “…” He hadn’t felt nervous in front of Kang Zai, but now, under the sharp gaze of the older lady, he began to feel uneasy.
Moreover, 012 was still standing behind him.
“Xiao Kang.”
“Yes, Director.” Yu Yan maintained a good attitude but continued to cough violently, looking as though he might cough up his lungs.
Director Yang seemed to ignore the thunderous coughing and advised, “You need to take care of your health. You are all researchers with your own ideas, but the most important thing is to focus on your research. Don’t you think?”
Yu Yan: “Cough, yes, yes.”
Director Yang added, “I won’t say much more. Handle the matters in the laboratory properly, and also pay attention to your health.”
Yu Yan felt as though she glanced at 012 while saying this.
Once Deputy Director Yang had left and the laboratory door was closed, only Lu Qiufeng and Su He remained.
“Yu Yan, what’s going on with your family? Do they know about you and 012, and are they trying to bring you back because they think you’re embarrassing the family and don’t want you to have any more contact with 012?” Lu Qiufeng asked as he approached the observation window.
Yu Yan’s response to Lu Qiufeng’s gloating question was just one sentence, but it made Lu Qiufeng’s anger flare up.
He said: “Xiao Lu, is this from your experience?”
Su He activated the cleaning machine and asked Lu Qiufeng, who was jumping up and down in anger, to move away.
“Be careful not to step in the water on the floor or get it on yourself,” Su He said, keeping her distance.
Lu Qiufeng asked, “Why, isn’t this just disinfectant?”
Su He replied, “It is disinfectant, but with a little something added, as Senior asked me to.”
Lu Qiufeng looked at Yu Yan in surprise and asked, “What did you add? It wouldn’t be the virus from 012, would it?”
Yu Yan responded, “I’m not that insane. It’s just a small amount of bacteria from the dragon snapping turtle. At most, it’ll cause some rashes on their skin.”
He had previously handled the dragon snapping turtle without gloves, and the bacteria had given him similar rashes.
Lu Qiufeng thought of Kang Zai’s terrified reaction to the source of infection earlier and imagined how Kang Zai would react if he suddenly developed rashes upon returning, probably suspecting he had caught some terrible virus.
He would certainly be scared by his own suspicions.
The Kang family had a bit of a mean streak.
“It’s just a joke with my brother,” Yu Yan said with a laugh, feeling suddenly weak and leaning against the glass.
A pair of hands suddenly reached under his arms and lifted him up.
