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Chapter 176 Initial Cooperation
The childlike girl's babbling gradually subsided, while Lu Zhao continued recording data.

Su Wanqing left the room, took several draft agreements she had just finished writing, and went to the living room. Li Ming was already waiting, looking somewhat tired.

A strange woman appeared beside him; she had short hair, a cool and aloof face, wore military green overalls, and exuded an indescribable self-restraint.

Li Ming said, "This is Han Xue, our team's chief researcher."

Su Wanqing didn't respond, but handed the agreement to the table and said directly, "Let's clarify the details of the cooperation first—we only agree to information exchange, the experimental conditions must be clear, and no one from your team is allowed to get close to the girl. If anyone tries to interfere with our research or decision-making, the cooperation will be terminated immediately."

Li Ming nodded and pushed the document towards Han Xue: "I understand. We don't want to cause any unnecessary trouble either."

Lu Zhao then held the printed data in his hand and whispered to Su Wanqing, "The data can be encrypted in layers, and core projects still need to be isolated from operation."

Su Wanqing wrote a few words and handed them to Lu Zhao. Han Xue stepped forward and asked only one question: "Can we begin data exchange?" Her voice was calm and emotionless.

After exchanging the paper documents, Han Xue took out a metal storage box with a combination lock and handed it to Lu Zhao. The two then went into the study together.

Han Xue opened the box and took out a thick dataset file. Paper analysis charts were piled up on the table, and the top page read: "Gene Activation Sequence Analysis - Apple No. 1 Experiment Data Simplified Version".

Han Xue said to Lu Zhao, "The virus is not just a simple source of infection; it is actually a genetic key. We have analyzed that only some people possess activated genetic segments. The elements in your body are the activation channels."

Lu Zhao flipped through the pages, his brows furrowing deeper with each page. He overlapped the vital signs charts he had collected with Han Xue's pedigree chart and murmured, "These are the latent activation areas... So it matches our hypothesis."

Han Xue pushed over another document, pointing to the detailed data: "Besides Apple No. 1, there are other numbers. The Eden Project arranged a total of seven experimental subjects. These children were initially placed in different closed environments, and the genetic engineering was carried out simultaneously. Apple No. 1 is your girl. Lin Che's related superpower genes were first classified as the Lightbringer Group."

Lu Zhao stopped what he was doing and looked at Han Xue: "What do you mean? Does Lin Che have a direct connection with Apple No. 1?"

Han Xue replied briefly: "Gene control analysis showed a high correlation between the activation modules. Your ability fluctuations are likely due to complementary reactions."

The atmosphere in the meeting room was tense. Lin Che stood at the door without saying a word, only straightening up slightly.

Su Wanqing didn't interrupt. Lu Zhao took notes while importing some of Han Xue's data into the backup terminal and running a comparative analysis using an internal program.

He asked Han Xue, "Is your data complete? How many test subjects have been observed to exhibit supernatural abilities?"

Han Xue shook her head: "We only tracked down four. Apple No. 1 awakened its ability the earliest, and the Lightbringer group is too special. At present, we have only confirmed that Lin Che is a suspect. I have brought all this information with me."

Su Wanqing pushed a stack of agreements back to Liming, repeatedly confirming the terms: "The cooperation can be terminated at any time, and any overstepping of boundaries will be considered a breach of contract. We will record and back up the entire experimental process, and we cannot interfere with or control the conditions."

Li Ming pointed at the contract with his pen, checking each item one by one. He said, "No problem. You can have people watching us, and I'll keep people here too." His tone was calm.

Su Wanqing casually jotted down a line on a piece of paper, handed it to Lu Zhao to keep, and then turned to Lin Che: "Do you have anything to add?"

Lin Che remained standing, calmly stating, "Information exchange should not fall into the network channel. Physical ports should be encrypted once and then completely destroyed."

Su Wanqing nodded.

Time passed second by second, and Han Xue and Lu Zhao lowered their heads and quickly recorded the equations and database files.

Lu Zhao suddenly asked, "Do you have any solutions for catalysts or activators?"

Han Xue pulled a small page from the folder and handed it to Lu Zhao. "The plan is documented. This is the theoretical catalysis process, but it's currently extremely risky. It's only been used in clinical simulations."

Lu Zhao stroked the document, copying down several formulas. "Where did you get your on-site data? The Apple One itself is right here with us; it has never left." Han Xue lowered her head to organize her documents. "We only rely on surviving samples and database tracking, so the data has always been incomplete."

Lu Zhao nodded.

At this moment, Xiao Ran handed him a pen from the side, lowered his eyes, and leaned back on the sofa, pretending nothing was wrong.

While observing the changes in Li Ming and Han Xue's expressions, he pretended to look through the documents on the table.

The exchange was over. Li Ming and Han Xue got up to leave, but Su Wanqing stopped them, confirming one last time: "Only two of you are allowed to enter at a time, and you are not allowed to stay for more than thirty minutes. The control of this place will always belong to us."

Li Ming reached for the agreement and put it in his pocket. Han Xue zipped up her suitcase and packed the remaining documents into it.

After the two left the villa, Xiao Ran turned and went into the inner hall, whispering to Su Wanqing, "I've been keeping an eye on them and left a tracking mark."

Su Wanqing didn't say anything, only instructing Lu Zhao to put away all the data and lock the hard drive in the safe.

Soon after, dusk fell. Xiao Ran went out for a stroll, stealthily making his way to a distance in the shadows. He saw Li Ming and Han Xue walking along a path, eventually turning into the camp where the Scavenger team was stationed.

Xiao Ran peeked out from the corner of the wall and glanced around discreetly. The camp was much larger than he had expected, with tents standing in rows, equipment arranged in an orderly fashion, and two groups of armed soldiers patrolling back and forth on the outer perimeter.

He pulled his mask down, counted the number of people, and silently noted one item in his mind: "More than eight people, about fifteen, all carrying weapons."

Han Xue entered the main tent and spoke in a low voice to a young man with short hair and a stiff expression.

Xiao Ran carefully shifted his position, pressing himself against the edge of the awning to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Han Xue lowered her voice to a whisper: "Subject number seven, has he really awakened? Can you confirm this isn't a misjudgment?"

The young man lowered his voice as well: "It's confirmed. The scanner detected an anomaly yesterday afternoon. The child ran away on his own, and we haven't been able to make contact with him. Headquarters wants us to report immediately, but Li Ming feels that now is not the right time to take action."

Han Xue repeatedly asked, "Where is he?"

The young man replied, "The route is still under investigation. All we know is that there was no direct contact with other test subjects."

Han Xue put away the documents and walked to the door. "Let's prepare reinforcements for tomorrow."

The young man nodded.

Xiao Ran shrank back and hid, memorizing every word of the conversation.

He glanced again at the scavengers who had returned to the camp. Each of them moved with the gait of steel plates, their actions were highly synchronized, and the signs of training were obvious.

He lowered his head and quickly left the cleaners' camp, taking a detour back to the mountain lodge.

At the villa, Lu Zhao was typing code repeatedly on his laptop, while the occasional heavy thud of Lin Che falling to the ground could be heard from the next room.

He checked the data brought by Han Xue again and found that the signal decoding in the virus sequence corresponded perfectly with the "gene key" theory. When he thought of the data waves of periodic vibration in the girl with the child voice, his brows furrowed even more.

Su Wanqing waited in the study for Xiao Ran to return.