The whole nation: You're put to survive on a desolate planet, you'll be running an alien b

The air in the underground laboratory seemed to freeze, with only the low hum of the server and the crisp sound of Su Wan's scalpel lightly touching the tray. The mutated heart, taken from the "believer's" chest cavity, was soaking in a pale green culture medium, its faint glow reflecting on the focused faces of the two.

"bite--"

A sudden and sharp electronic ringtone shattered the deathly silence.

A black, encrypted phone placed in the corner of the worktable suddenly vibrated, its red indicator light flashing wildly, glaringly bright in the dim room. This was no ordinary external communication line; it was a dedicated line reserved for a "special department."

Qin Yue's fingers paused slightly on the keyboard, her gaze sweeping over the phone screen before her eyes sharpened: "Caller ID is encrypted, frequency band characteristics... it's the East China Sea branch of Dragon Shield."

Li Haotian was leaning against a metal pillar in the corner, an unlit cigarette between his fingers. Hearing the name, he showed no surprise whatsoever, but simply picked up the phone slowly, pressed the answer button, and casually switched to speakerphone.

"Li Haotian".

A deep, cold, middle-aged male voice came from the other end of the phone, carrying an undeniable air of authority. The voice sounded somewhat distorted due to signal processing, as if echoing through metal pipes.

"It's me." Li Haotian's voice was calm as still water, without any emotional fluctuation. "It's late at night. It seems that Director Chen of Dragon Shield doesn't pay much attention to his work and rest schedule either."

The man addressed as Minister Chen seemed unwilling to engage in such pointless verbal sparring with Li Haotian. He cut straight to the point, his tone instantly turning stern: "At 9:23 PM tonight, we've identified the source of the high-energy reaction at the unfinished building in the west of the city. Li Haotian, you should understand what I mean. According to Article 3 of the 'Regulations on the Management of Supernatural Beings,' no individual or non-official organization may privately undertake dangerous business involving supernatural beings, let alone use unregistered creations for hunting operations."

The other party was clearly well-prepared, even knowing the exact timing.

"So what?" Li Haotian lightly toyed with the lighter in his hand, the metal cap clicking as it opened and closed. "Your people were nearby at the time? Watching those 'believers' go mad, watching that so-called 'idol' reap lives, and then only after I finished doing my job did you make this righteous call?"

"Watch your words." Minister Chen's voice turned colder. "That's a matter of law enforcement procedures. I'm informing you now that your so-called 'private commission' has crossed the line. Dragon Shield officially requests that you immediately cease all such illegal operations and hand over the biological entity under your control, codenamed 'Little Black,' to the agency for risk assessment and disposal."

The pressure in the air suddenly increased.

Inside the lab, Su Wan stopped what she was doing and glanced at Li Haotian with concern. Qin Yue frowned, her finger hovering over the activation button for the defense system on the terminal. Dragon Shield's words were not merely pressure, but a blatant act of "confiscation."

Xiao Hei is an extremely important trump card in Li Haotian's hands. If he hands it over, the so-called "risk assessment" will be like throwing good money after bad. It will most likely be dismantled and studied, and there will be no chance of it ever coming back.

Li Haotian finally brought the cigarette to his lips, but he didn't light it. He simply said through the cigarette butt, "What if I say no?"

"Then you're going against the official institutions." Minister Chen's tone was like a cold machine, leaving no room for negotiation. "Li Haotian, I know your background, and I know what you've been doing in the gray areas these past few years. We turned a blind eye before because what you were doing was still within a controllable range. But this time, you've gone too far."

A brief silence fell between the two ends of the phone, with only the hissing of the static breaking through the wires.

This is a silent game. The Dragon Shield relies on the deterrent power of public authority and its vast resources, while Li Haotian relies on the secrets he holds that the other side cannot ignore.

A moment later, Li Haotian suddenly chuckled. The laughter was soft, yet it carried an unfathomable chill.

"Minister Chen, since we've come this far, let's cut to the chase." Li Haotian straightened up, his languid posture vanishing instantly, replaced by a hunter's sharpness. "You want to take Xiao Hei away, is it really because you're afraid it'll get out of control? Or is it because... you can't handle 'Apocalypse Biotechnology' and need my 'illegal means' to clean up your mess?"

The breathing on the other end of the phone seemed to pause for a moment.

Li Haotian continued, pressing further: "Su Wan just cut open the heart of that 'believer' tonight. The genetic sequence inside has a 95% overlap with that 'sealed' file in your database, right? I know you've been monitoring Apocalypse, and I know you've gathered a lot of clues, but you lack direct evidence, and even more so, you lack 'dirty hands' who can operate in the shadows."

These words were like a scalpel, precisely cutting through the facade of Dragon Shield's outward strength but inner weakness. Official agencies have their own concerns: procedural justice, public pressure, and legal constraints often make them hesitant when facing an organization like Apocalypse, which operates in secrecy and uses ruthless methods.

"What do you want?" Minister Chen's voice was finally no longer so mechanical, but had become more serious.

"I don't want anything, I only want to make a deal." Li Haotian stared at the heart that was beating slightly in the culture medium and said slowly, "I can cooperate with your 'risk assessment,' and I can even have Xiao Hei obey your orders in certain operations. But I have one condition—Dragon Shield must share all internal intelligence about Apocalypse Biology, including the core laboratory data that you have never made public."

"You're extorting me."

"This is a collaboration," Li Haotian corrected. "You want the knife, and I want the whetstone. If you don't provide the information, Xiao Hei will 'disappear' forever, and you'll never find it in the underworld of the East China Sea. And I'd be happy to see how many more of you will have to die before you can capture the higher-ups of Apocalypse without my 'dirty hand'."

Another long, deathly silence followed. Those few dozen seconds seemed to stretch into infinity. Su Wan gripped the scalpel tightly, her palms damp with sweat.

Finally, Minister Chen let out a deep sigh on the other end of the phone, his voice filled with helplessness and resignation.

"...In half an hour, your encrypted terminal will receive a temporary access key." Minister Chen's voice sounded somewhat tired. "Access is limited to level two, allowing you to browse data from the peripheral laboratories. This is the best I can negotiate."

"Deal," Li Haotian answered decisively.

"And Li Haotian," Minister Chen added coldly before hanging up, "Don't think you can ride roughshod over us just because you have this little bit of leverage. If you dare to betray us, the Dragon Shield's purge force will show you what true despair is."

"Same to you."

beep--

The phone hangs up.

The suffocating sense of oppression dissipated as the busy tone faded, and the laboratory returned to silence, but now there was an intriguing undertone in the air.

Li Haotian crumpled the cigarette in his palm and casually tossed it into the nearby trash can. He turned around, looked at Qin Yue who was staring intently at the screen, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"It seems the officials aren't stupid either," he said calmly, his tone devoid of any triumphant joy, only a cold indifference born of worldly wisdom. "They know this water is unfathomable, and they don't want to get their hands dirty, so they're trying to use someone else to do their dirty work. If I survive and help them get rid of Tianqi, they can then jump out and claim all the spoils under the guise of 'illegal possession,' turning all the spoils and gains over to the state."

Qin Yue let out a long sigh of relief, her fingers returning to the keyboard, the data stream on the screen scrolling rapidly once more: "Whether they're trying to use someone else to do their dirty work or to reap the benefits, at least we have the key now. Level two access isn't high, but it's enough for us to piece together the general outline of Apocalypse Bio."

"The data has been transmitted." Qin Yue glanced at the newly popped-up notification box. "That was fast."

Li Haotian walked up to the mutated heart, peering through the glass at the eerie patterns on it, his eyes deep and unfathomable: "Let's begin then. Since they've handed us the knife, we should sharpen it first, lest we miss and make a fool of ourselves."

The rain continued to fall outside the window, its patter like the whispers of the city. In this war without visible smoke, the first undercurrent of conflict between the three forces had temporarily reached a delicate balance. But everyone knew that this was merely the last calm breath before the storm.