A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 475 A Well-Deserved Scientific Genius

Regardless, I still want to thank Shen Li.

Shen Tang looked at him sincerely and said, "Thank you... I'm so glad I had you."

Shen Li's heart softened, and she smiled helplessly, "Why are you thanking me?"

Shen Tang met his deep and alluring gaze, coughed lightly, looked away somewhat embarrassedly, and changed the subject, "Um, have you finished dealing with things on your end?"

The tender warmth melted the ice, but their different identities still left a slight barrier. Shen Li knew she couldn't accept him as readily as before, but he was content now. There was still time; they could take it slow.

Shen Li said, "I personally led the troops to provide assistance, which did encounter some opposition, but Xiao Tang'er, don't worry. Trust your brother Li, I can handle these matters."

Shen Tang noticed that Shen Li was deliberately hiding one of his fox tails, which meant that the news of his advancement to a ten-tailed celestial fox hadn't officially spread yet. He was probably trying to use this information gap to plan something else. Given this cunning fox's shrewdness, she really didn't need to worry about anything. He had brought troops here, and he must have prepared an escape route as well.

Shen Tang looked at Xiao Jin, who had collapsed on the ground, and felt a pang of heartache. She had comforted him and healed his wounds, but for some reason, he had not woken up yet.

"Don't worry." Lu Xiao took her hand and comforted her, "Xiao Jin just went through a fierce battle and is probably exhausted. His vital signs have stabilized and nothing serious will happen. If you are worried, I will take him back to the Imperial Hospital for a check-up."

Shen Tang nodded, "Okay, you take him back first, Yin Zhou and I will go back later."

Lu Xiao then flew away with the unconscious Xiao Jin.

Shen Tang, Xue Yinzhou, and Shen Li led their troops back to the border.

The orcs responsible for the reconnaissance have also investigated the spread of the contaminated area.

Everyone looked melancholy, and sighs were heard everywhere.

"Your Majesty, according to our detection, the contaminated area has expanded by more than 50 hectares within three months! This far exceeds the rate of expansion seen before!"

This data is extremely alarming.

Shen Tang was in shock. She had predicted that the contaminated area would expand significantly, but she hadn't expected it to expand this much.

This is already the speed at which the polluted lands began invading the Beast World continent in the original storyline!
It's even earlier than the original story!
The thing she feared most happened.

Xue Yinzhou looked at Shen Li, a hint of murderous intent in his voice, "You stole the Earth Source Core."

"Oh? You think this is my fault?" Shen Li crossed his arms, a half-smile on his face. "The power of the Earth Source Core has long been weakening. Whether I took it or not, the expansion of the polluted land is an irreversible trend."

Shen Tang was equally puzzled, "Then what was the purpose of taking the Earth Source Core?"

After a moment of contemplation, Shen Li explained in a low voice, "I need to reactivate the Earth Source Core."

Shen Tang asked in surprise, "Activate?"

"Yes, the reason why the Earth Source Core failed is that its power has been leaking out. The former High Priest of the Empire once told me that there is a secret place in Yiyuan that can reunite power, but I am not sure if it will have any effect on the Earth Source Core. I can only wait for time to tell."

Shen Li continued, "The current High Priest has also divined that the polluted lands of the Night Glow Empire were the first to begin spreading. Little Tang'er, the army I brought will stay behind to help guard the border."

Shen Tang opened her mouth, then swallowed the three words and said with sincere gratitude, "I really need you."

“Me too.” Shen Li pulled her into his arms, whispered in her ear, “But I want to hear that sentence even more.”

……

The first thing Shen Tang did upon returning to the city was to contact Wayne.

【I need to talk to you. Are you free lately?】 These scientific researchers tend to have rather eccentric personalities. The more talented they are, the more they need to be flattered. To be frank, Shen Tang and Wayne's relationship is just a purely professional one. They are not in a superior-subordinate relationship. She has to make an appointment in advance if she wants to see him.

Wayne usually spends most of his time in the lab conducting experiments and rarely uses his personal computer, so replying to messages usually takes him a long time. However, this time he replied very quickly.

I'm free tomorrow morning; if Your Majesty is in a hurry, I can go there tonight.

[Fine, I'll just come see you directly.]

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will prepare tea and refreshments and await your arrival."

Shen Tang directly instructed the system to teleport her to Zero Point Laboratory.

lounge.

As the door opened, a man was seen lounging on the sofa, his long legs crossed. He held a coffee cup in one hand and was flipping through a lab report with the other.

The young man had brown hair and green eyes, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He had a handsome and refined face, and his white coat was buttoned up meticulously. His cuffs were rolled up to reveal a wristwatch, and a pen was clipped to his breast pocket.

If I didn't know he was a scientific researcher, I would really think he was a bit of a scoundrel.

"Your Majesty?" Wayne looked over when he heard the door open, a hint of surprise on his face, as if he hadn't expected her to arrive so quickly.

Shen Tang strode over, took out a report from his spatial storage, placed it on the table, and got straight to the point, "We discovered an illegal laboratory in the contaminated area that was developing mutant species. This is a research report we found in the laboratory. The information inside is encrypted. See if you can decipher it."

Wayne took the report, glanced at it casually, and a meaningful smile appeared in his gentle green eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses. "Your Majesty has truly come to the right person. Apart from me, I'm afraid no one in the Empire can help you with this."

He was not being modest at all when he said that.

Shen Tang also believed in his abilities.

Wayne is undoubtedly a scientific genius. He was able to create the berserker potion in just seven days, and then improved it twice in the following year, bringing its effects to almost perfect!
Looking into the young man's deep eyes, which were like a clear pool in a mountain stream, Shen Tang was also filled with curiosity. "There's something I've always been curious about, and I'd like to ask you about it."

The young man smiled gently as before. "Oh? What would Your Majesty like to ask?"

"Your research talent is so high, I wonder who your mentor is? I've looked at your resume before, and it seems that you've never mentioned these things."

Most of the Empire's researchers are trained from top universities and research institutions, and their life experiences are well recorded. However, Wayne is like a maverick who came out of nowhere. His research resume is as thick as a book, but his life experiences are only mentioned in a few words.

It only mentions that he personally led the Zero Point Laboratory, but never mentions his experiences before founding the laboratory, making it all the more mysterious and intriguing.

"If Your Majesty really wants to know..." Wayne pointed to his head and joked, "Self-taught?"

Shen Tang's lips twitched slightly as she changed the subject, "Let's not talk about anything else. How many days would it take you at least to analyze these lab reports?"

After thinking for a moment, Wayne replied, "Three days at the earliest, seven days at the latest."

"Okay, I'll wait for your news."

"Your Majesty, please take care."

The young man sat lazily on the sofa, showing no intention of even getting up to see the person off.

Shen Tang didn't bother with his strange temper. She still had things to take care of in the city, so after handing the things to him, she got up and left.

good night~