Chapter 107: Table-Flipping Hero

Chapter 107: Chapter 107: Table-Flipping Hero

Meanwhile, the Botany Professor sat between Shi Lingfeng and Samuel, putting up a shield to protect the three of them.

Grandma Shi pursed her lips. She could see it clearly: her granddaughter-in-law had the kind of personality that was willing to risk it all to drag her opponent down.

Xie Jinglan’s face was extremely ugly. She glanced at Xie Jing, who was hugging the Incubation Pod beside the sofa, then turned back to look Gu Weilan dead in the eye. "Are you, the female Gu Weilan, really going to make this scene so ugly?"

At this moment, Gu Weilan finally relaxed her posture. She leaned back against the sofa and crossed her legs. Her dark eyes resembled a pool of stagnant, quiet water, or perhaps a swamp that had swallowed countless lives. Her face was ice-cold, and her tone no longer carried the sweet, submissive innocence from earlier.

"Old hag, you think I’m showing you respect? I only humored you because I did sleep with that son of yours, and I indeed haven’t given him an official status.

"But my respect was merely out of politeness. Yet here you are, pushing your luck—either insulting my upbringing or treating me like a clueless child so you can exploit my patents.

"What a massive family of shameless bastards!

"Exclusive patents? Selling them? HAH—I have my own money and technology. I can even ensure that every Beast Clan willing to pledge allegiance to me gets to use the Cultivation Liquid I personally formulated.

"There are plenty of Beast Clans willing to cooperate with me. Who do you think you are, throwing around the weight of a domineering mother-in-law in my house? Who the hell do you think you are!"

Xie Jinglan’s face twitched with rage. She had always used such tactics to get her way without fail; she never expected to hit a brick wall with an orphan like Gu Weilan.

"How insolent! Even if you don’t care about Xie Jing, my other son, Zhan Heng, is your properly bonded Beast Husband! Aren’t you worried that disrespecting an elder like this will ruin the relationship between you two? Do you even have any regard for Zhan Heng? To speak to me with such utter disrespect!" Xie Jinglan shouted, slamming her hand on the table.

Bitterness flashed through Zhan Heng’s eyes. It turned out his Mother wasn’t oblivious; she simply didn’t care.

Xie Jing’s face had gone so pale that "ugly" couldn’t even begin to describe it. He had always assumed his Mother was just spoiled by his thirty-something fathers, which made her arrogant and ignorant of worldly affairs. Now he realized it wasn’t that she didn’t understand worldly affairs—she just felt he wasn’t worthy of her displaying any tact or empathy.

Deep down, Gu Weilan felt a pang of sympathy for Zhan Heng. No matter what, he was still holding an Incubation Pod and nurturing her cub. But if she showed even a hint of sympathy right now, it would be over. Her opponent was the type of person who would push her luck even without a ladder; if given an inch, she would climb up and take a massive dump on Gu Weilan’s head.

Gu Weilan chuckled lightly. Seeing the smug certainty of victory in Xie Jinglan’s eyes, she bluntly said, "You barged into my home without even asking about Zhan Heng, which proves you don’t care much about him. You want to monopolize my patents without giving anything in return, which proves you don’t care that much about Xie Jing, either.

"If you don’t even care about the cubs that crawled out of your own belly, why should I waste my energy caring on your behalf?

"You didn’t honestly think you could manipulate me just because they’re holding my cubs in their arms, did you?"

As she spoke, Gu Weilan looked at the Incubation Pod in Xie Jing’s arms. The chilling murderous intent and utter apathy in her eyes were witnessed by every Beastman in the room who had eyes to see.

Grandma Shi’s brows twitched slightly.

Just as everyone assumed Gu Weilan was merely putting on a fierce front to force Xie Jinglan to dial back her temper and show that she wasn’t to be trifled with, Gu Weilan spoke again.

"Xie Jing, turn off the Incubation Pod. Pour out the Cultivation Liquid. Wait for the embryo to stop developing, and then dispose of the thing inside. Once you do that, I’ll form a bond with you and perform the Engraving. How about it?"

Xie Jing’s eyes widened in horror. He nearly dropped the Incubation Pod strapped to his chest.

Xie Jinglan’s eyes widened as well. She scrutinized Gu Weilan’s face, searching for any trace of guilt or bluffing. But all she found was a suffocating, overwhelming indifference.

Gu Weilan hadn’t typically displayed the ruthless apathy of the Apocalypse because she wanted to live a more grounded, normal life. But having survived in the Apocalypse for so many years, how could she possibly be a warm-hearted, benevolent saint? Those kinds of people had died a long time ago.

Grandma Shi couldn’t help but look at Shi Lingfeng. Shi Lingfeng stared at Gu Weilan and opened his mouth, only to be stunned by the malicious, freezing chill in her eyes. He could tell that his Female Master was telling the truth! She was actually dead serious.

Shi Lingfeng desperately wanted to look at Zhan Heng, but Gu Weilan was sitting between them. He shifted his gaze to Xie Jing. The man clutched his Incubation Pod tightly, his eyes filled with agonizing struggle.

Zhan Heng remained expressionless. With lowered eyes, he ignored the pleading gaze Xie Jing directed at him. He simply held his own Incubation Pod tighter.

The spacious living room fell so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Even the few Beast Husbands sitting beside Xie Jinglan were dumbfounded. The arrogance they usually carried as High-level Beastmen was completely replaced by sheer terror. After all, to a Beastman, cubs were the absolute most important thing in the world!

The Pharmacy Professor forced a stiff smile, breaking the silence. "Ah ha, ah haha, let’s not talk about that, let’s not talk about that. That’s illegal..."

Everyone thought the topic would end there.

But Gu Weilan stared straight at Xie Jing. Without walking back her words in the slightest, she added an ultimatum. "Xie Jing, I’m only giving you this one chance. Empty all the Cultivation Liquid right now and get rid of the Incubation Pod, and I’ll form a bond with you immediately.

"But if you don’t get rid of it, you will never have this opportunity again."

Just as Xie Jing clutched the Incubation Pod and prepared to turn around, one of the Beast Husbands beside Xie Jinglan grabbed his arm. Frowning slightly, he looked at Gu Weilan. "There’s no need to take things this far."

"Hmph—" Gu Weilan laughed. She looked at Xie Jinglan and the Beast Husband. "I insist he takes it this far. And I’ll tell you exactly why I’m forcing him to do it!

"You think that just because Xie Jing belongs to your family, and because my cub is with your family, I’ll eventually bow down to you, right?

"Heh..."

"I’ve played the manipulation game more times than I can count. These are just my leftovers," Gu Weilan communicated inwardly. "Pomegranate Seed, investigate the Beast Clans of Xie Jinglan’s Beast Husbands for me. If even a single bottle of my Cultivation Liquid is sold to any of their clans, I’ll shut down the entire production line!"

"Got it, Host!" Pomegranate Seed replied, thinking its Host was truly ruthless. While other Beast Clans would be able to nurture premium cubs using the Incubation Pods, the clans behind these specific Beastmen would fail to produce exceptional offspring. Soon enough, their living space and resources would be completely squeezed out by the others.

Gu Weilan spoke aloud again, her voice like ice. "I know that telling him to cut ties with your family right now would be a decent, civilized approach. But why should I leave you with any dignity? Do you deserve it?

"Are we even close? Yet you dare march into my home and shamelessly plot to steal my patents?

"To sever every last connection he has with you, as long as you people are alive, I will never allow Xie Jing to have a cub with me! You want to use a cub to manipulate me? I’ll flip the whole damn table!"

Gu Weilan turned her head to look at the Pharmacy Professor. "Professor, if the Dolphin Clan or the Beast Clans belonging to those men manage to buy any Cultivation Liquid produced under my patent, I will completely terminate my cooperation with the academy for the next upgraded version.

"I know it might be troublesome to achieve the results I want. To make up for it, I am willing to sign a supplementary contract with the academy. For this current version of the Cultivation Liquid, I will not authorize the patent to any other manufacturer for three years.

"Furthermore..."