Chapter 421: Just an Old Fox

Li Yiyi looked at the smug little old man ahead of her and immediately smiled, replying, “Yes, yes, you’re right. Young people indeed shouldn’t be so impatient and reckless.”

Hearing her response, the old man stopped in his tracks and turned around in surprise, probably not expecting her to be so easily receptive to advice.

“Alright, I’ll leave you here. Go on inside yourself. There are people working inside, and I need to go back to guarding the gate,” he said proudly. “I must tell you, though, even though I’m just a gatekeeper, my job is very important. If I weren’t here keeping watch, what if some stray animal or someone else came in? You see what I mean?”

Li Yiyi smiled and nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right. I won’t bother you anymore, go ahead and do your job. I’ll go in by myself.”

Hearing this, the old man felt pleased, turned around with his hands behind his back, and left.

Li Yiyi stood still for a moment, not going in right away. Instead, she watched his retreating figure and, for some reason, suddenly smiled. Perhaps it was because, despite his age, this old man was rather amusing in his manner of speaking.

After watching him disappear from sight, she finally turned around and walked into the building, which had a garden similar to Su Xi Gardens.

As soon as she reached the door, a warning voice echoed, “Warning: You are now in a shoot-on-sight zone. Please state your name or you will be shot.”

Li Yiyi was startled by the warning, and her perception of this place changed drastically. She hadn’t expected the place to employ such advanced technology.

Just as the warning sounded again, Li Yiyi quickly stated her name, “Li Yiyi, I’m here for the report. I’m from the Chinese Medicine Department of XX Hospital.”

To avoid being shot, she provided as much detail as she could, just in case her life depended on it.

Of course, if things came to a worst-case scenario, she planned to slip into the space supermarket for protection.

Before she could even consider her backup plan, the voice suddenly said, “You may enter.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the large door made from an unknown material opened automatically.

Li Yiyi, now very suspicious that the old man had intentionally brought her here, stepped inside. It seemed he knew about the machinery and had stayed away from it.

When the door fully opened, she gathered her composure and stepped inside.

Although the exterior had looked modern enough, she quickly realized that this place had far more advanced technology than she had expected. As she entered, she was sprayed with disinfectant. Afterward, an announcement instructed her to change into the disinfectant suit hanging on the wall.

Following the instructions, she was allowed to continue deeper into the building.

Inside, the place was divided into many laboratories, with several researchers working inside. Her arrival didn’t attract much attention, and as she took in the surroundings, a voice from behind greeted her warmly, “Hello, you must be Li Yiyi, right?”

She turned around to find a middle-aged woman standing behind her, dressed neatly and looking very much like a strong, capable woman.

“Hello, I am Li Yiyi,” she replied.

The woman smiled slightly, extending her hand. “Hello, I’m Jiang Linglan. Welcome to our research institute.”

Li Yiyi, seeing her extended hand, quickly shook it. “Hello, I’m also glad to be working with you.”

Jiang Linglan let go of her hand with a smile. “Everyone is busy right now. Let me take you to your work area. Later, we’ll have everyone meet you after lunch.”

“Sure, no problem,” Li Yiyi replied.

As they walked toward the labs, Jiang Linglan casually mentioned the nematode discovery, “Li, the nematode you discovered is remarkable. If you hadn’t found it, we would never have imagined it was still here in our country. If it had spread, the consequences would have been unimaginable.”

“So, our main task now is to research these nematodes. I heard that when you were in that village, the villagers recovered after taking the medicine you gave them?”

Li Yiyi nodded and answered, “They were just lucky that the medicine I had was effective against the nematodes in them.”

Jiang Linglan smiled at her response. “Li, you don’t need to be modest. I’ve heard a lot about your abilities. In fact, I’ve wanted to bring you over here for a while, but your director Cheng wouldn’t let you go. Only after I made a few concessions did he agree to let you join us.”

Li Yiyi was taken aback, then smiled awkwardly and said, “I didn’t know about this. If it weren’t for you mentioning it, I wouldn’t have had any idea.”

Jiang Linglan chuckled, “Cheng Wei is a sly fox.”

Li Yiyi just smiled faintly, not responding.

Jiang Linglan noticed her reaction and smiled as well. “Alright, enough chatting. This is the lab where you’ll be working. You can take a look around and see if you need anything. Write a list, and I’ll arrange for it to be provided.”

With that, Jiang Linglan left her alone in the lab.

Li Yiyi, now alone, began surveying the lab. Upon inspection, she realized the equipment here was very advanced. In terms of this era, it was already quite impressive.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly as she spent most of her time studying the equipment.

By lunchtime, with Jiang Linglan’s help, Li Yiyi had met everyone in the lab.

“Ah, so you’re Li Yiyi? I’ve heard of you, especially recently. You’re quite famous,” a surprised voice said.

Li Yiyi turned toward the voice to find a middle-aged man wearing the lab’s uniform, with glasses and a somewhat bookish appearance.