Chapter 00028: Solving the Source
# Solving the Source
Chapter 28
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 28: Solving the Source
Despite having prepared himself mentally, Ding Huan was still disappointed.
However, he was somewhat relieved to know that Qu Yi had people protecting her.
Ding Huan didn’t hold much hope for the man and woman assigned to protect Qu Yi.
If they were truly capable, Qu Yi wouldn’t have been captured by the Gene Alliance in his previous life and subjected to fatal human gene experiments.
Since he couldn’t gain Qu Yi’s trust, Ding Huan decided to tackle the problem at its source.
He now knew who was keeping an eye on Qu Yi—the two men staying at the Youdun High-End Hotel.
Over the next few days, Ding Huan gathered materials for disguises.
He didn’t want things to spiral out of control.
The best solution was to eliminate the uncontrollable factors that posed a threat to Qu Yi.
Even though he knew Qu Yi wouldn’t be taken for experiments until five months later, Ding Huan wasn’t willing to take any chances.
If he hadn’t recently scouted the Youdun High-End Hotel, Ding Huan would have dealt with these two men days ago.
He waited for over a week before finally disguising himself and entering the hotel.
He chose to go during the day when the hotel was bustling with people.
It was safer that way.
At night, with fewer people around, his disguise might draw more attention.
Ding Huan took the elevator to the 11th floor and walked to room 1123. He knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” a lazy voice called from inside.
“Hotel staff, delivering chilled drinks,” Ding Huan replied in a calm, friendly tone.
“Chilled drinks? We didn’t order any…” As the man spoke, the door opened.
Ding Huan stepped inside and closed the door behind him with his foot.
“Who are you?” The man who opened the door immediately backed away, clearly realizing Ding Huan wasn’t hotel staff.
Ding Huan’s disguise was odd—a full beard, a cap, and sunglasses that covered half his face.
“Get out!” The other man pulled out a knife and shouted at Ding Huan to leave, but he had no intention of letting Ding Huan go.
He swung the knife at Ding Huan.
Ding Huan didn’t dodge.
Instead, he stepped forward, grabbed the man’s wrist, and twisted it upward with force.
A crisp *snap* echoed as the wrist broke.
“Ah!” The man let out a piercing scream, dropping the knife and falling to his knees as if bowing to Ding Huan.
Ding Huan flicked the knife up with his foot, catching it mid-air.
He then turned to the other man, who was frozen in shock.
“If either of you makes another sound, I’ll make sure you stay quiet forever,” Ding Huan said coldly.
“Who the hell are you? Do you know who we work for? We’re from the—” The man with the broken wrist, pale with pain, tried to shout.
Before he could finish, Ding Huan swung the knife, and a spray of blood followed as the man’s head was severed from his body.
The man who had opened the door collapsed to the floor, his face ashen.
He had never seen such a brutal scene.
Even though gene-enhanced beasts roamed freely, people like him never set foot on the battlefield.
The harsh realities of survival were for ordinary people, not them.
Ding Huan tapped the man’s face with the knife. “See? I told you I’d make him quiet.”
“I-I don’t know anything…” the man stammered, trembling.
“Answer my questions truthfully. If you lie or refuse to answer, you’ll join him,” Ding Huan said as he sat down on a chair.
Despite Ding Huan’s calm demeanor, the man was terrified.
The room was now stained with blood, and one of his companions was dead.
“What’s your name?”
“Chang Chongjin.”
“Which organization do you belong to? Why are you here?”
“We’re from the Gene Alliance. Our mission is to monitor the Huaxia Martial Arts Gene Testing Building and look for individuals with unique genetic traits.”
“How many have you found?”
“All the information is here.” The man quickly handed over a notebook from the table, not daring to hesitate.
Ding Huan flipped through the notebook.
It listed at least twenty names, including Qu Yi’s.
To his surprise, Qu Yi wasn’t marked as an “alien gene affinity” individual but as a “coupling gene” individual.
Ding Huan had been mistaken earlier—he thought the man had been referring to Qu Yi as the alien gene affinity individual, but it turned out to be someone else.
This was strange.
If Qu Yi was a coupling gene individual, why would she be taken for gene testing experiments?
“Has this data been submitted?” Ding Huan asked, holding up the notebook.
The man shook his head frantically. “No, it’s all handwritten. We’re supposed to hand it over to Boss Quan once the assessment begins.”
“Who’s Boss Quan?”
“He’s the Gene Alliance’s representative sent to recruit talent during the Blue Star Ten Academies assessment.”
Ding Huan sneered. “Recruit talent? More like recruit test subjects or cannon fodder.”
The man’s mouth hung open in shock.
How did Ding Huan know this? Even he and his partner had only vaguely guessed that the people they recorded would likely disappear in the future.
The Gene Alliance’s power came from the constant stream of lives sacrificed for new genetic research.
Every new gene discovered was like a money-printing machine for them.
But even if they suspected this, they never dared to speak of it.
Doing so would mean certain death.
“Tell me, what’s Boss Quan’s real name? Do you have a photo? Where does he live?” Ding Huan asked, though he doubted he’d get much more information.
The man shook his head. “I don’t know. His code name is Boss Quan. Those who’ve met him call him Master Quan. Once the gene assessment begins, we’re supposed to take this data to the Tinghuan Hotel. Someone will contact us there.”
…
An hour later, Ding Huan left the Youdun High-End Hotel and returned to his own place.
The next day, while out for a meal, Ding Huan overheard news about the deaths of two Gene Alliance members.
The Youdun High-End Hotel had been sealed off, and the streets were swarming with officials conducting inspections.
The Gene Alliance’s security personnel were in a frenzy, searching every hotel.
Ding Huan couldn’t help but feel a sense of irony.
Two Gene Alliance members had been killed, and the entire city was in an uproar.
If it had been ordinary people, even two hundred deaths wouldn’t have made the news.
But the Gene Alliance’s influence was immense.
Even when he had killed two members of the Blade Washing Society in Luohe City, the matter had been quietly swept under the rug.
The Blade Washing Society hadn’t dared to act openly against him, resorting to covert methods instead.
This showed just how powerful the Gene Alliance was.
Ding Huan went about his days as usual, training and eating as if nothing had happened.
The Gene Alliance found no leads.
They didn’t even know what the killer looked like.
The person had been disguised and had seemingly vanished from the 11th-floor room, likely escaping through the window.
Anyone capable of such a feat was no ordinary individual.
Puhai, the city hosting the Blue Star Ten Academies assessment, was becoming increasingly crowded as the assessment date approached.
Despite its power, the Gene Alliance was still just an international organization.
Their aggressive search for the killer had already caused discontent among various factions.
Moreover, Puhai was a major city in Huaxia.
With such a significant event underway, the Gene Alliance couldn’t afford to cause widespread panic and instability.
Eventually, they had no choice but to halt their overt investigations.
Ding Huan, however, wasn’t done.
He planned to visit the Tinghuan Hotel once the Blue Star Ten Academies assessment began and track down Boss Quan.
Ideally, he’d eliminate the man.
In his previous life, Qu Yi had likely been taken by this very person and met her end.
For now, though, Ding Huan decided to lay low and let Boss Quan enjoy his arrogance for a few more days.
“Is that you? Ding Huan?”
One morning, as Ding Huan was buying information about the Blue Star Ten Academies assessment at the hotel entrance, someone called out to him.
The assessment was approaching, and new updates were being released daily.
No matter which hotel you stayed at, you could always find the latest information at the entrance.
Ding Huan turned his head slightly and saw Luo Xinwei standing not far away.
“Luo Xinwei?” Ding Huan was slightly puzzled but didn’t think much of it.
To him, Luo Xinwei was no different from a passerby.
“Ding Huan, it really is you! What are you doing here?” Luo Xinwei quickly walked over.
Regardless of everything, she owed a lot to Ding Huan.
Without him, she wouldn’t be where she was today—working as an instructor at Luohe Shangwu University.
“Oh, I’m an instructor now. I’m here with Teacher Geng. He’s brought a few students who are about to take part in the Blue Star Ten Academies assessment. I’m just here to scout things out,” Ding Huan replied casually.
Luo Xinwei looked at Ding Huan in surprise.
She hadn’t expected him to land such a role.
Anything related to the Blue Star Ten Academies assessment was no small matter.
She herself was only doing menial tasks for Luohe Shangwu University’s assessment team.
At least she had made it to Puhai.
“Xinwei, let’s go!” a voice called from a distance.
Luo Xinwei quickly said to Ding Huan, “Good luck, Ding Huan. I’m sure you’ll succeed.”
With that, she hurried off to catch up with her companions.
Ding Huan was baffled.
Succeed at what? He had no idea.
Hmm, something felt off.
Ding Huan felt as if a venomous snake was watching him from behind.
He turned around again, catching a glimpse of a black figure disappearing into the crowd.
It seemed like a woman, staring at him with hatred?
That figure looked familiar.
Who was she?
(End of Chapter)