You believe that your gun is no match for my fist?

"Gao Zhan!!"

The sound came from a great distance and sounded somewhat indistinct.

"Gao Zhan!!"

Gao Zhan's eyelids twitched.

Light seeped in through the cracks, shining brightly.

The sound continued, each one closer than the last.

"Gao Zhan!!!"

He slowly opened his eyes; above him was a white light.

My gaze shifted from the lamp to the side.

Tang Liu's face was right in front of him, his eyes red and glistening with tears that hadn't been wiped away.

Seeing him open his eyes, the face jerked back, then snapped back, grinning broadly: "You're awake! You're awake! Hahaha!!"

He laughed a little too much, his voice clearly relaxed, as if he had let out a long breath.

This place is spacious and upscale.

The floor was paved with light gray terrazzo, with a brass dividing line embedded in the center.

The walls are made of a single piece of steel plate, with the edges fixed to the frame with rivets, resembling the interior cabins of a ship.

A round shadowless lamp hangs from the ceiling, with a thick cable dangling beside it, running along the corner of the wall to connect to an instrument panel near the window.

The instrument panel was inlaid with seven or eight round dials, the pointers trembling slightly, some indicating temperature, others indicating air pressure.

The one on the far left was marked with a symbol Gao Zhan didn't recognize. The indicator lights on the instrument panel flickered on and off slowly.

The bed he was lying on was also specially made, with an iron-gray metal frame and an adjustable IV stand at the head of the bed.

A glass bottle on the shelf contained a light red liquid, which dripped down the tube and into the needle on the back of his hand.

A brass plaque was affixed to the side of the bed, engraved with a line of Albion text, and below it, a line of smaller text.

Of course I can't understand it.

Of course, the gist is that it refers to products from Imperial Biotechnology Corporation.

There was no smell of disinfectant in the air; instead, there was a very faint herbal or medicinal scent.

On the windowsill sat a yellow jar with fine ventilation holes on the outside, from which tiny wisps of white mist were rising.

A small emblem was affixed to the surface of the can, which was the logo of the Albion Empire Biotechnology Company.

It's exactly the same as the medicine bottles in Tang Liu's warehouse.

Sitting opposite the bed was Mr. Tang, wearing a dark gray long gown and holding a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand.

He didn't speak, but just glanced at him and nodded slightly.

Zhang Zhenwu was also present, standing next to Master Tang.

He crossed his arms, and when he saw the man open his eyes, he laughed: "Damn it, I thought you weren't going to wake up!"

Gao Zhan wasn't surprised to see Tang Liu here, but he was more surprised to see these two.

I looked to the side again. A young woman in a white coat was standing there, holding a writing board in her hand.

He had short, blond hair, deep facial features, and a clean and sharp demeanor.

He doesn't seem like a typical doctor; he's more like a soldier.

When she saw Gao Zhan looking over, she nodded slightly to him.

"It's good that you're awake. You slept for almost two days."

"Really?" Gao Zhan asked. "That's quite a long time."

"Now I have some bad news," the female doctor said.

"Hmm?" Gao Zhan, lying on the bed, frowned.

The female doctor turned a page on her whiteboard, her gaze lingering on the paper for a moment, as if confirming the accuracy of what she was about to say.

Then, she raised her head, looked at Gao Zhan, and spoke calmly.

"Your genetic condition is very unstable, based on our observations over the past few days."

"It seems there's some mechanism in your body that's simultaneously destroying and rebuilding, and at an extremely high frequency."

"Your cells are undergoing massive apoptosis, there are multiple signs of rupture in the blood vessel walls, and the hematopoietic function of your bone marrow is also showing significant abnormal fluctuations."

"Under normal circumstances, you shouldn't be conscious or speaking right now. Or rather, you should be in a deep coma, or even in a state of organ failure."

She closed the writing board, her eyes filled with undisguised curiosity.

"But you didn't. Not only did you wake up, but your vital signs have been stable for the past two days."

"Such injuries, yet such a... stable condition...it's truly mysterious."

"He doesn't seem like someone who has suffered this level of injury at all."

"Is this the martial arts of the Great Qian Dynasty?"

Gao Zhan lay on the bed, listened to her words, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

He didn't respond, but just turned his head to look at the IV tube on the back of his hand.

Then he glanced at the pale red glass bottle on the bedside table.

"Then it's alright," he said.

The female doctor glanced at him but didn't ask any further questions.

He simply opened the writing board again, lowered his head, and wrote a few words.

The female doctor closed the writing board, nodded to everyone, and turned to leave the ward.

The door closed, and the room fell silent. The indicator light on the dashboard flickered on and off against the wall. For a moment, no one spoke.

Master Tang placed the Buddhist prayer beads on his lap, his gaze fixed directly on Gao Zhan's face. Without beating around the bush, he went straight to the point: "Was it made by the Second Master?"

The question was direct, suggesting that he was already quite certain about the matter.

As for why I was already so certain, why did I still ask Gao Zhan? Well...

"Um, I don't know." Upon hearing this, Tang Liu immediately sat up straighter, opened his mouth as if to speak, then glanced at Gao Zhan and stopped.

Gao Zhan remained silent.

He lay in bed, looking at the round shadowless lamp on the ceiling.

After a long while, he shook his head slightly.

"Well, I'm not quite sure, sir."

That's absolutely true. Now that things have come to a head, thinking about it, it really wasn't quite normal.

Tang Liu couldn't hold back any longer. He suddenly stood up, the chair legs scraping sharply on the floor: "It's definitely him! It's absolutely him!"

"The Second Master has long disliked us. He was the one who orchestrated what happened at the docks that day! Zhao Santai is his man, and he also brought that Albion man here!"

"He wants prestige! He wants to win people over. He wants to replace the master!!"

"And we blocked his way that day, causing him to offend the foreigners!! He must be—"

"Sixth Uncle," Gao Zhan said, his voice not loud, but it made Tang Liu stop.

Tang Liu looked at him, as if he wanted to say something more.

But his lips moved, and he ultimately didn't make a sound, then sat back down.

Gao Zhan turned his gaze from the ceiling to the logo of Imperial Biotechnology Company on the opposite wall.

He paused for a moment, his mind still on these things.

Mr. Tang didn't urge him and waited patiently.

After a while, Gao Zhan thought for a moment and then said, "Things...maybe not quite like that."

He didn't explain why, nor did he say what he was thinking.

The room was quiet for a while. Old Master Tang twirled his prayer beads, but didn't ask any further questions. He just hummed in agreement.

To be honest, Gao Zhan now feels that there are many things that are not right about this matter.

He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

However, he always felt that this matter might not really have much to do with the Second Master.

The problem is that the second master is indeed the one with the most reason and the most motive.

Is it really him?