Chapter 34: Immune to a Hundred Poisons

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Immune to a Hundred Poisons

Zhou Yuan’s lab wasn’t far from Xia Shuran’s dorm building.

It only took Gu Qing a few minutes to walk there.

Zhou Yuan was already waiting downstairs. The moment he saw Gu Qing, he waved.

"Junior, over here!"

"Brother Yuan, why did you come all the way down?"

"The hallways in the lab building are complicated. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to find the entrance."

Zhou Yuan said, adjusting his glasses.

Gu Qing nodded, then asked with some curiosity about what happened during the day:

"By the way, Brother Yuan, what happened after that incident earlier today?"

"It was nothing," Zhou Yuan said, looking relaxed.

"The two men in black just took me into a room and asked some questions about the universal anti-toxin vaccine. They wanted me to hand over the research to them."

"I didn’t dare refuse, so I just handed over all my current research findings."

"They saw how cooperative I was and let me go without any trouble."

Zhou Yuan paused for a moment before adding, "They also gave me a specific warning. They said I should personally stop my research on the so-called universal anti-toxin vaccine. Otherwise, I’ll most likely be attacked again. They said some vicious criminal organization won’t allow me to continue my work."

’A universal anti-toxin vaccine...’

’The mysterious Assassin’s mouse tattoo...’

’A vicious criminal organization...’

’How are these three things connected?’

Gu Qing was lost in thought.

Beside him, Zhou Yuan continued,

"Researching the universal anti-toxin vaccine is my life’s ambition. I’ll never give up, no matter what."

"I’ve already made up my mind."

"Tomorrow, I’m finding a new place to rent. I’ll move somewhere more secluded and continue my research in secret!"

Zhou Yuan’s eyes burned with fanaticism and resolve, as if he had no fear of death.

’He really is the Biochemical Madman, putting his own life on the line for the sake of research...’

With this in mind, Gu Qing said:

"Brother Yuan, I’m really interested in your research on this universal anti-toxin vaccine. How about you count me in? I can help out."

He had zero interest in scientific research.

He just wanted to acquire an Attribute from Zhou Yuan’s [Biochemical Madman] tag.

Zhou Yuan quickly waved his hands in refusal:

"You’d better not, junior. Since those people have their eyes on me, they’re not going to just give up. I can’t get you involved."

He said he was afraid of getting him involved, but the truth was he just thought that Gu Qing, a foreign language major, would only hold him back.

He had only invited Gu Qing to the lab this time out of friendship, merely to satisfy his curiosity.

Gu Qing didn’t know what Zhou Yuan was thinking; all he knew was that he needed to farm Attributes.

So he pressed on,

"Don’t worry, Brother Yuan. I’m a good fighter."

"You saw it yourself earlier today. I took care of that muscular Assassin in just a few moves."

"If you let me join, not only will I not be in any danger, I can even act as your bodyguard."

Hearing this, Zhou Yuan hesitated.

He thought Gu Qing had a point.

He might be a research maniac willing to give his life for his work,

but it was obviously better not to die if he could help it.

Having a junior with ridiculously high combat strength volunteering to join him had only upsides and no downsides.

After a moment of thought, Zhou Yuan said,

"Since you’re so interested, junior, let’s give it a try. If you want to back out later, just let me know anytime."

"No problem."

A smile spread across Gu Qing’s face.

Soon, the two of them walked into the laboratory building.

As they rode the elevator, Zhou Yuan suddenly spoke, his voice full of gratitude.

"By the way, junior, thank you for what you did earlier today. I mean it."

"If it weren’t for you, I’d either be dead or kidnapped by now."

"I’ll never forget that you saved my life."

Zhou Yuan patted his chest earnestly. "If you ever need my help with anything in the future, just ask. I’ll do everything in my power to help."

Gu Qing smiled. "It was nothing, Brother Yuan. You don’t have to be so formal."

Just then, the elevator arrived at their floor.

The two of them stepped out of the elevator and walked to the laboratory door.

Zhou Yuan took out his key card and, with a BEEP, opened the lab door.

The moment he pushed the door open, a faint smell of disinfectant mixed with the aroma of chemical reagents wafted out to greet them.

The mixed odor wasn’t pleasant, but Gu Qing was highly adaptable. He got used to it after just a couple of breaths.

He glanced around the laboratory.

It wasn’t a huge space, but the layout was very orderly.

Rows of lab cabinets lined the walls, filled with neatly arranged reagent bottles and test tubes.

His gaze swept over the bottles and tubes in the cabinets. They held liquids of various colors, some of which even shimmered with a faint glow. It was obvious at a glance that they were highly toxic.

In the center of the room were several lab benches holding standard equipment like microscopes, centrifuges, and petri dishes.

Several large pieces of experimental equipment were also set up in the corners.

The atmosphere was both rigorous and mysterious.

Without giving a tour, Zhou Yuan walked straight to one of the lab benches and stopped.

He picked up a nearby syringe filled with a mysterious blue liquid. As he slowly injected it into a small white mouse on the bench, he said calmly,

"There’s nothing fancy about our biochemical research."

"To put it bluntly, we just inject lab mice with various reagents and observe the effects."

"If the test results are promising, we recruit volunteers for further trials."

"And people like me, who are always experimenting on themselves... well, that’s considered a bit unethical."

"That’s why most people in the lab don’t really like me. They think I’m too crazy."

’I think you’re unbelievably crazy myself...’

Gu Qing complained inwardly.

Just then, the mouse that had been injected with the blue liquid twitched twice and dropped dead on the spot.

Zhou Yuan grabbed another mouse and handed a different syringe to Gu Qing.

"Here, junior. Give it a try."

"I’ll try."

Gu Qing took the mouse in one hand and the syringe in the other.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuan moved to the side and began methodically weighing reagents and mixing solutions.

Once Gu Qing had injected the mouse and it began to react, Zhou Yuan immediately stopped what he was doing, came over to observe, and recorded the data.

Time ticked by.

Before he knew it,

an hour had passed.

As Gu Qing was injecting another mouse, familiar lines of text suddenly popped up before his eyes:

[You have conducted biochemical research with your classmate Zhou Yuan for over an hour]

[Research Skill +1]

[Biochemical Resistance +1]

[Upon accumulating 100 points in Biochemical Resistance, you can obtain the Attribute: Immune to Hundred Poisons]

[Current points obtained: 1]

’Immune to Hundred Poisons?’

’Perfect. This is the exact Attribute I wanted.’

’Muscle Knots boosts physical defense, and Immune to Hundred Poisons boosts biochemical defense. With both combined, my defense will be practically invincible!’

Gu Qing felt a surge of excitement.

He continued experimenting with Zhou Yuan for a little while longer.

Seeing that it was getting late,

Gu Qing put down his equipment and said to Zhou Yuan,

"Brother Yuan, it’s getting late. I should head back to my dorm. I’ll come over tomorrow to help you move."

"It’s already past midnight. Your dorm should be locked by now. I’ve got a folding bed here, why don’t you just crash here for the night? As long as you leave before 8 a.m. tomorrow, it’ll be fine."

"No need."

Gu Qing waved his hand. "As a male college student, I can’t let a little thing like a curfew stop me. I can just climb the drainpipe to the second floor and hop onto my balcony."

"Alright, then. Just be careful not to fall off the pipe."

"Still don’t trust my skills?"

Gu Qing said with a smile, "I’m heading out, Brother Yuan."

...

After leaving the lab, Gu Qing walked back toward his dorm alone.

He walked at a slow pace, pondering the connection between the universal anti-toxin vaccine, the criminal organization, and the strange mouse tattoo.

As he passed the school’s artificial lake, he suddenly saw several rats scurry past up ahead.

The rats were abnormally large, and they were all scurrying in the same direction, SQUEAKING as they went.

Listening to the sounds of the rat swarm, a translucent text message instantly materialized before Gu Qing’s eyes:

[Flesh, eat flesh, eat flesh...]

[Eat, eat, eat...]

[Flesh, fragrant, sweet, eat...]

’Eat flesh?’

’What kind of flesh?’

’Could it be...’

’Human flesh?!’

Gu Qing’s brow furrowed instantly.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he activated Lightning Reflexes and began to follow them silently.

’If I’m lucky,’

’I might just be able to capture that twisted Cannibal Giant alive tonight!’

...