Ye Shikai anxiously awaited Mona’s reaction. Previously, Mona had mentioned that the awakening fruit was also a sacred artifact of the elf tribe, yielding only three fruits per year and extremely rare. Mona wouldn’t easily agree.
"Right, after the tree breath assists me in breaking through, as a return, I will provide an equivalent alchemy pill." Ye Shikai took out a myriad of boxes from his Storage Ring, all containing precious pills. These were things cultivators dreamt of owning; some were collected by Ye Shikai during his travels, and some were concocted by Zi Yun using herbs. Either way, they were a priceless treasure.
Watching the cultivation pills in front of her, Mona naturally knew the immense value they represented. She also saw how determined Ye Shikai was—the awakening fruit was indeed very important to him. However, thinking of his wife made Mona’s heart feel as though it was being cut by knives.
Two thousand years ago, Mona fell in love with Ye Shikai, and two thousand years later, it remained the same.
"Alright, I can give you the awakening fruit." Mona’s eyes reddened slightly as she stared and spoke faintly.
"Really? I am so grateful." Ye Shikai was incredibly excited. He hadn’t expected Mona to agree, and now he could return to save Su Qingyu.
"Thank you, Mona." Ye Shikai deeply bowed.
"Hold on, I have one condition," suddenly, Mona’s tone changed, her delicate finger raised, indicating a plot twist. However, for Ye Shikai, as long as he could save Su Qingyu, he would agree to any condition.
"Tell me, I will agree," Ye Shikai said resolutely.
"What did you say?" Ye Shikai’s heart skipped a beat, hardly believing his ears.
"I said, I want you to stay," Mona enunciated slowly, she actually wanted Ye Shikai to stay.
"Mona, why should I stay?" Ye Shikai knew what Mona wanted but dared not point it out.
"Our marriage agreement from two thousand years ago," Mona coldly dropped these words, her tone indisputable.
"But that wasn’t me at all, can’t you be more reasonable?"
"I don’t care; blame your bad luck for looking exactly like him from two thousand years ago. There is no room for negotiation about this matter," Mona switched her face, showing a definite look in her eyes that even carried some resentment.
"No, anything else but this," Ye Shikai shook his head vigorously, refusing to agree. If he stayed, how would Su Qingyu feel when she woke up? If not driven crazy by it, then what. And Nightmare, how could they stand by, they would surely launch an attack. The dangers of the rainforest were known to all, and arriving in Mili Forest meant another fierce battle might occur.
"Then we have nothing to talk about," Mona spoke indifferently.
"Mona, hold on. How about this, let me first save my wife, and I’ll definitely come back to thank you and clarify the misunderstanding, how about that?" Ye Shikai proposed.
"No, I’ve said it, only this condition. If you can’t meet it, then there’s nothing to discuss," Mona shook her head again, turning to leave, apparently adamant.
"Hold on," suddenly, Ye Shikai called out to Mona.
"What, do you have something else to say?"
"Tell me about what happened two thousand years ago," Ye Shikai murmured.
....................................
Yanjing, Hua Liu Factory.
Song Tian sat in the command vehicle, this place was where the video in the USB was located. Surveillance cameras had been installed around. According to investigations, this factory had been abandoned two years ago, now with all doors tightly locked and walls covered in dust, evidently very old.
"SWAT team, surround this factory." Song Tian ordered through the radio, and the SWAT team quickly surrounded the factory.
"Sister Ting, it’s been a long time since we last took action."
"Yes, but don’t be careless, the people inside are formidable, everyone stay alert," Zhang Ting warned her teammates.
"Roar." Suddenly, the sound of engines came from the distance as several armored vehicles approached, and dozens of National Security Bureau Armed Personnel advanced.
"Old Song, how’s it going?" Jin Li walked into Song Tian’s command vehicle and asked eagerly.
"Since I received the secret information, I’ve had the factory under surveillance, and now my men have surrounded it, but still no movement," Song Tian responded calmly.
"Let’s not delay. Let’s break in now," Jin Li suggested impatiently.
"Wait, first use the infrared scanner to check the factory’s personnel situation," Song Tian instructed an officer next to him.
"Understood, Director Song."
"Director Song, no human life signs detected inside, the whole factory seems empty," a technician reported.
"What, how can this be?" The technician’s words shocked both Song Tian and Jin Li. Could it be fake? That seemed impossible, as the content in that video couldn’t be fake.
"Notify Zhang Ting, have her lead the team inside," Song Tian immediately commanded.
.................................
"Bang." With the iron gate kicked open, Zhang Ting was the first to rush in with a gun.
"Be careful around," Zhang Ting cautioned loudly, vigilantly scanning the surroundings. But just like the technical department’s report, there was nobody inside. However, there were many bottles on the tables, containing various colored chemicals, seemingly used for chemistry.
"Director Song, there’s no situation inside," Zhang Ting reported through her headset, with the whole factory appearing to be concrete, seemingly abandoned for a long time.
"What, how can this be?" Song Tian muttered in surprise.
"Old Song, could the video have been fabricated?" Jin Li also felt curious; inside that USB was a video showing people moving subtly inside the factory, along with considerable noise, but now there was none.
"What exactly is going on?"
"Sister Ting, look at this," inside the factory, a team member pointed to the bottles on the table, which had gone unnoticed when they first entered. But now, bubbles were slowly rising from the bottom of the bottles, later even emitting white smoke, giving Zhang Ting a bad premonition.
"Everyone, stay away from these bottles," Zhang Ting made a gesture, and suddenly, all the chemicals in the bottles began to boil as if there was a fire underneath.
"Not good, everyone, quickly evacuate the factory."