Chapter 131: The Flame Named Hope

“This is a given. Lord Lance is here to save them!” Ji Laili grinned. “Super amazing.”

Shen Yu suddenly felt embarrassed, fidgeting for a moment before saying, “She is a female Omega.”

This guy still cared about that, huh? Ji Laili squinted his eyes playfully and repeated, undeterred, “But she’s not my Little Butterfly. I only like my Little Butterfly.”

“See? You two are nothing alike! Only Shen Senior is the best!”

“You are the best too.” Shen Yu’s eyelashes trembled slightly as he took the initiative. “Do you want to bite me?”

How could he refuse an invitation from his Little Butterfly? Ji Laili glanced at Lauri, who was busy working ahead, then double-checked that they were in a blind spot of the surveillance before leaning in to bite the exposed neck before him.

By the time Lauri finished his work and turned around to call Ji Laili, he saw two Alphas glaring at each other with obvious disdain, one of them sporting a faint red mark on his neck.

Hiss… Lauri sucked in a breath. Just how fierce was this fight?

Leaving a wound on the neck—Little Curly’s attack power was as strong as ever!

Lauri sighed internally. As he called Ji Laili away, Lance’s deathly glare bore into them again, dark and chilling.

But Lauri was no longer afraid. Come on, it wasn’t even directed at him. A man shouldn’t scare himself. Just look at the Little Curly next to him.

Under the weight of that death stare, Lauri patted Ji Laili’s shoulder. “You’re really calm.”

Ji Laili: “?”

“Just working is already tough, and you still have to endure Lance’s death glare. Good thing you have a strong heart.”

Ji Laili paused for a moment before suppressing a laugh. “It’s nothing, bro. You’re the one with a truly strong heart.”

“You just get used to it.” Lauri sighed sourly. Thinking about how Little Curly had insisted on taking a detour to the lab to wait for Lance, he couldn’t help but complain.

“Was it really that unbearable to wait just a little longer?”

Eager to start a fight, huh?

“Yeah, I really couldn’t wait.”

Ji Laili curved his lips into a smile and said cheerfully, “By the way, bro, there was a small issue with the procurement transport earlier. I’ll check on it again.”

Lauri didn’t suspect anything. “Alright.”

Contacting the Federal Military Academy wasn’t difficult for Ji Laili. Lauri had little guard against him—Ji Laili only needed to be cautious around Garna when necessary.

To avoid exposure, he used the coded signals he and Instructor Aiger had agreed upon from the beginning.

A string of symbols was sent out, everything completed right under Lauri’s nose. As Lauri complained about overwork, Ji Laili comforted him while casually deleting the communication.

At the door, he bid Lauri farewell, exchanged a glance full of gunpowder with Lance, and finally disappeared inside.

The moment the door shut, all hostility vanished. Inside, a group of companions had been waiting.

As soon as the door opened, multiple gazes locked onto him. Ji Laili curved his eyes into a smile and gestured an “OK” sign.

“Mission accomplished.”

That afternoon’s experiment involved another round of blood extraction. Despite having gained a new test subject, the researchers remained overly cautious, leading to growing discontent toward Wen Qiushui.

They couldn’t understand what this esteemed figure was trying to achieve—it was simply a waste of time.

As frustration brewed among them, a mocking voice cut through the air.

“Seems like Wen Qiushui doesn’t even know how much her subordinates resent her. What a failure.”

“Lance?!”

The Beta researcher stiffened, feeling guilty yet furious. “What are you doing here?”

“Test subjects should stay where they belong. Just because we haven’t locked you up doesn’t mean you can wander around freely. This place is full of classified information!”

“If something goes wrong, can you take responsibility?!”

“If badmouthing people counts as classified information, then no, I certainly can’t be responsible for your life.”

“You—!” The Beta researcher was livid, glaring at him, yet afraid to make a move.

Lance’s black eyes swept over him, holding the slightest trace of emotion. Even allowing such a weak insect to feel anything because of him was already an act of generosity.

Shen Yu thought to himself—strangling him would be the quickest way to shut him up for good.

The Beta researcher flinched under that cold gaze, an inexplicable fear creeping up his spine. But in the next second, he caught sight of Lance’s mocking expression.

His face turned red, a mix of embarrassment and rage at being toyed with. His fear momentarily forgotten, all he wanted now was to make the man before him pay.

Lance sneered. “A bunch of useless fools. If Wen Qiushui wants to draw blood, let her. Can’t you just switch someone else to do it?”

“Didn’t Garna say last time that the lie-detecting helmet only worked for a minute? Are you telling me that Wen Qiushui is the only researcher among you?”

“It’s because of you idiots that progress is so slow.”

With a smirk, Shen Yu ignored the other fuming researchers. His cold gaze flickered darkly as he observed the Beta researcher deep in thought.

The long, unwavering stare made those black eyes appear even more damp and deep.

But the Beta researcher was already swept up in the emotion Lance had provoked—excited and eager, he burst out, “That’s right, that’s right!”

“If she wants to draw blood, let her! What does that have to do with us? We can work on something else instead. That way, we won’t waste any progress!”

Someone hesitated. “But won’t Lord Wen get angry?”

At a time like this, any rebuttal would only make an emotionally charged person more displeased. The Beta researcher insisted, “She’s not doing anything—upper management will be the ones getting mad.”

“We’re actually doing her a favor.”

The others gradually wavered. The Beta researcher, unwilling to let go of the opportunity, was determined to achieve something.

Lance’s words flashed through his mind. The Beta researcher became excited. “Why don’t we study the lie-detecting helmet? This way, even Wen Qiushui won’t have anything to say!”

“Good idea! That wouldn’t technically violate her orders.”

“Even Wen Qiushui can’t blame us for that.”

“Lord Garna will probably appreciate us even more, right?”

In just a few exchanges, the researchers were successfully lured in by the promise of accomplishment. They were all scientists—why should Wen Qiushui be the only one to stand out?

Couldn’t they do the same?

She was just an Omega, after all.

Garna must have shared their thoughts—that’s why he’d always been at odds with Wen Qiushui.

No longer hesitating, the researchers eagerly pulled out the previously discarded helmet and began dissecting, adjusting, and testing it.

Even the worst researcher in this lab had some level of skill. Fueled by motivation, they actually succeeded.

“One minute and fifteen seconds!”

The Beta researcher held the helmet, face flushed with excitement.

“We did it!”

“I’d love to see that damn Omega’s face now!”

“She’s useless. If she could do this, so can we! That damn Omega was clearly suppressing us before!”

The researchers were overflowing with excitement at their success. And now, it was time for the real test.

The Beta researcher proudly donned the helmet.

“I’ll go first. Let me be the first test subject!”

“You bastard!”

“You guys are too slow, hahaha!”

As they joked around, someone casually asked, “What did you have for breakfast?”

The Beta researcher, adjusting the helmet confidently, answered with ease.

“Iced coffee.”

“Hah, you really love that stuff.”

“Isn’t that guy obsessed with it? Hey, did you have it with test subject meat today or what? Hahaha!”

The Beta researcher was just about to feign anger when his expression suddenly changed. Panic flashed across his face as he looked at them in horror.

“The helmet—something’s wrong! Help me—”

The researchers stared at him in confusion.

Before they could react, the next second—

The red light on the helmet flickered twice.

Beep—beep—

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted.

Scarlet flames burst out like a sky set ablaze, the scorching heatwave surging forward, swallowing most of the agonized screams.

The researchers who weren’t involved in this part of the experiment stood frozen, staring in shock at the helmet that had suddenly exploded.

“What the hell just happened?!”

“Damn it! What did they do?! Why did the helmet explode?!”

“The fire—! The fuel tanks blew up! Ah! My research data! Someone put out the fire!”

The laboratory was instantly thrown into chaos. Flames mercilessly consumed experimental records.

Through the rising red blaze, a pair of pitch-black, cold eyes could be faintly seen—

Silently watching this inevitable disaster unfold.

Suddenly, those eyes shifted slightly, as if sensing something, and looked toward a certain place.

Through the fire, the crimson glow, and the frantic researchers running in panic—

They locked eyes with those behind silver cages.

There, too, burned a fire.

A fire named hope.