Have you ever heard of the strange journey where the princess drives the carriage while the prince hides inside?
At this moment, Aisha felt exactly like that. Braving the snow to drive was far from a pleasant task for Aisha, especially since she was driving herself. What was more outrageous was that her "male companion" on the passenger seat didn’t show any embarrassment and didn’t speak throughout the journey.
Before departure, Aisha had said that the person who could answer Zhou Ziang’s questions was also a senior researcher affiliated with Mengshan Company. Unlike other researchers, this one had a quirky personality.
His residence was located at a life science research center two hundred kilometers away from Cornell University. The researcher’s name was Locke.
After about two hours of driving, the snowstorm did not subside; rather, it seemed to grow stronger. The sky was gloomy, and the road was flanked by piles of snow, with trees groaning under the weight of the heavy snow.
Finally, Aisha’s black Maybach stopped in front of an oval, egg-shaped building.
Unlike the snow-covered surroundings at first glance, this dome-shaped building was covered with ancient vines. Even in temperatures barely above Fahrenheit 10 degrees, the vines stubbornly grew, covering every corner of the research center and leaving only a two-meter-tall door at the entrance.
Aisha stopped the car, and seemed satisfied to see Zhou Ziang open the car door for her. When she got out, she quickly took off her coat and draped it over her arm to show off her enticing figure. After all, the entrance to the research center was just a short distance away - she wouldn’t be cold for long.
But Aisha was wrong again. She didn’t receive any warm welcome and could only stand embarrassed at the entrance of the research center.
The vines seemed to come to life; as soon as she got out of the car, they spread and grew rapidly, covering the once clear door.
"It seems we are not welcome," Zhou Ziang said as he peered through the layers of vines and saw a figure gesticulating inside the research center.
Aisha tugged at the vines with her hands. There was no place within Mengshan Company she couldn’t enter. Annoyingly, in this icy and snowy weather, she couldn’t find any "assistant," or else it wouldn’t be Dr. Locke showing off in front of her.
"Aisha, you won’t be able to break through my genetically modified Vine #1," came a cheerful voice from beneath the vines—well, from inside the research center. The voice sounded young, quite different from Dr. Shangsel’s aged tone.
"Do you have a lighter?" Zhou Ziang suddenly asked. Aisha gave him a sidelong glance and pulled a platinum lighter from her wallet. Could it be that he’s in the mood to smoke at a time ?
Zhou Ziang didn’t light up a cigarette; in fact, he hadn’t picked up the modern habit of smoking for leisure. He took a few steps back and walked around the research center, which was larger than he had imagined.
"Hey, don’t go too far. There are deadly things around here, more threatening than in the Amazon Rainforest," Aisha shivered as she put her coat back on, but Zhou Ziang was no longer in sight. Could it be he could fly?
Hanging like a bat ten meters up the research center, Zhou Ziang observed that the center was a nearly seamless spherical structure, but it had two vents at the top, one large and one small, which appeared to be exhaust outlets.
Zhou Ziang had just checked; the roots of the vine were not under the snow-covered ground, so he deduced they must be at the top of the building. Sure enough, growing within that smaller exhaust outlet was the vine itself.
With a light flick of the lighter, the vine shuddered violently, and in an instant, the vines that had spread everywhere disappeared.
Warm air constantly flowed out of the larger vent. The vine feared fire, and even though it had been genetically modified, it couldn’t escape this inherent weakness.
The door to the research center opened, and Professor Rock with a "broccoli" hairstyle rushed out like a whirlwind, babbling incoherently.
After encountering Dr. Shangsel with his white beard, Zhou Ziang fully expected to meet someone of Dr. Shangsel’s age—an old scholar. However, it turned out his assumption was wrong.
Professor Rock was a well-built, energetic young man in his thirties. The door that stood wide open behind him exuded a moist and warm plant aroma, welcoming Zhou Ziang into a whole new world.
Grapevines several meters high hung with tomato-colored grapes, orchid trees bore hanging flowers, pink-colored jasmines; but what shocked Zhou Ziang the most was that his space, like a parched baby seeking nourishment, was eagerly pulling in vast amounts of Spiritual Power.