Why did you provoke me?

After delivering all the withered branches and strange shapes to Qingyuan's experimental garden, Xiao Wen found the teahouse that Hua Shulang had mentioned.

Xiao Wen sat in the teahouse, wondering why Hua Shulang had invited him to this place. But they had known each other for nearly 10 years, so he still came to keep his appointment.

"Your personality hasn't changed," Hua Shulang's voice rang out. "You always arrive ten minutes early."

"Tell me, why did you meet here? I haven't finished my business yet, unlike you who have so much free time," Xiao Wen asked directly, voicing his doubts.

Hua Shulang sat down opposite Xiao Wen. "There's something I want to tell you, but you can't get angry."

Xiao Wen, holding his teacup, said, "What is it? Tell me."

Hua Shulang picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip. "I tampered with the box you gave to Teacher Qingyuan."

Xiao Wen slammed his hand on the table. "What did you say? I didn't hear you. Say it again."

"I mean, I tampered with one of the boxes containing the withered branches you gave to Teacher Qingyuan." Hua Shulang's voice was completely calm.

"What did you put in there? Is it dangerous?" Xiao Wen had already stood up. "You're just making things worse."

"Don't worry, there's no danger. That kind of alien looks a lot like the withered branch alien, and it's very stable. It's been here with me for six months now, and it's exactly the same. It hasn't changed at all in six months. And it doesn't parasitize."

"If you want to study this alien, you can tell Professor Qingyuan directly. What you're doing has directly damaged my credibility." Xiao Wen ignored Hua Shulang and hurriedly left.

Hua Shulang remained seated, saying, "I'm really looking forward to seeing if you can find the fake." He took a sip of his tea. "This is top-quality Maojian; it would be a shame to waste it."

Xiao Wen returned to Jingchuan Club and found Qingyuan. "Teacher Qing, one of the withered branch aliens I brought back was fake. Someone switched it. Can you find it?"

Qingyuan looked up at him. "What did you say? Switching things? Who has the ability to switch things under your watch?"

"Sigh, don't ask anymore. It's all my fault. I didn't fulfill my responsibilities." Xiao Wen didn't reveal that Hua Shulang was responsible.

Qingyuan nodded. "What happened to the original items in my box? He completely replaced them. Not only did he replace the withered branch with the same one, but he also replaced the contents of the box with the same one."

"Teacher Qing, you found out?" Xiao Wen breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Qing Yuan's words. Thankfully, nothing unexpected had happened.

"Yu Meng took that thing," Qingyuan added.

"How did Teacher Yu know about this?" Xiao Wen's heart tightened. He had made such a big mistake, and he wondered what Yu Meng would think of him.

"Find what's in my box. It was switched right under our noses. You people are really becoming lax these days." Qingyuan shook her head and sighed.

After leaving Qingyuan's laboratory, Xiao Wen stopped looking for Yu Meng, as he was somewhat afraid of her.

Seeing Xiao Wen walk in, Hua Shulang smiled. "I knew you would come back."

"Stop talking nonsense. Where's the box you switched? Get it back to me right now." Xiao Wen sat down in the chair. "I went to see Aunt Qing, and she said she's found the fake."

"Found it?" Hua Shulang frowned. "That shouldn't be the case."

Looking at his expression, Xiao Wen asked, "Are you hiding something from me?"

"If I wanted to keep it from you, I wouldn't be telling you today."

"Then tell me, what exactly happened?" Xiao Wen's tone had already taken on a hint of anger.

"Ever since you mentioned the strangeness of this withered branch alien, I took some people to the Fourth Battlefield. There we met an elderly bone painter, and we did her a small favor. In return, she gave me this. She said she could sense that this alien was very special, but she couldn't be sure. And you always say that Yu Meng is very strong, so I'm just testing it out."

Xiao Wen smiled wryly, "You could have just told me directly, instead of going through all this trouble. That alien is in Yu Meng's hands now, and I haven't dared to go see her."

"So, Aunt Qing noticed the unusual thing about that withered branch immediately," Hua Shulang muttered to himself. "That shouldn't be the case."

Xiao Wen scolded him irritably. "Don't worry about who found it or what the reason was. Now, give me that box Aunt Qing gave me so I can explain myself."

"Are we still good brothers? Don't worry, I didn't touch any of your things, but you have to help me get my things back."

"Stop! You delivered it to her willingly, why should I take it? Besides, that alien is in Yu Meng's hands now, I dare not ask for it back. I was just thinking of giving her something special, and you wasted such an opportunity, it really makes me furious." Xiao Wen looked at Hua Shulang with exasperation.

Hua Shulang snorted, "I found a lot of strange things on the Fourth Battlefield. If you want something special, I still have plenty."

"Let me take a look. If there's one that catches my eye, I'll try to pull some strings with Yu Meng." Xiao Wen didn't treat himself like an outsider at all.

"Taking my things to use your connections, you really are my good brother." Hua Shulang was so angry at Xiao Wen's shamelessness that he laughed.

"What do you know? What Yu Meng gave him is enough to make you invincible on the alien battlefield. You know Liu Wei, right? These past few times we've gone deep into the region, he hasn't been infected by any aliens. From what I've observed, Yu Meng must have given him something."

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Hua Shulang was still a little skeptical.

"Go ask Captain Tian. He's really smug now. Every time they go on a mission, his team has the fewest parasitic aliens, all because Yu Meng gave them a bead the size of a grain of rice."

Hua Shulang looked at Xiao Wen and said, "The information I gathered is that you have a good relationship with Yu Meng, so why won't she give it to you?"

Xiao Wen felt aggrieved when he brought this up. "Remember when I mentioned Yu Meng's rescue mission in the alien battlefield? It was after that that things Yu Meng gave me became useful. But I didn't become a parasitic alien that time."

Hua Shulang couldn't help but laugh. In the end, she laughed until tears streamed down her face. "Your luck is terrible. You've been running around doing all this for them, and you're the one who loses out the most."

Xiao Wen looked at him with a gloomy expression. "Is it that ridiculous?"

"No, really no, why are those darn corners of your mouth turning up like that?" Hua Shulang pushed a cup of tea over, "Have a cup of tea to cool down."

Xiao Wen picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp. "You know, this time I led the team deep into the territory, and not a single alien invaded them. Everyone was completely clean."

Hua Shulang pondered for a moment, then said, "You went to find Liu Wei and have him with you."

Xiao Wen nodded. "Next time, I've decided to act alone and see if it turns out as I think."

Hua Shulang nodded in agreement. "I've met him a few times. He's a man of few words and very tight-lipped; he won't say anything. If he really has the ability, then you must keep him on your team."

"Given his personality, even if other teams try to poach him, he probably won't leave." Xiao Wen was quite confident about this.