Chapter 314: Which Wheeze and Cillin, Exactly? Part 2 (1/2)

Shi Tang and Sha Rou’s home was quite big. In fact, everyone who lived in this secluded ruins enjoyed huge living spaces because of one reason: most of the soil at this place contained radioactive elements, toxic substances or both, so anyone who wished to live here must possess the knowledge to neutralize both threats.

Shi Tang and Sha Rou’s home was shielded as a matter of course. Otherwise, they would be dead in less than half a year.

It was a short but wide building that occupied hundreds of square meters of land. At first glance it didn’t look like anything special, but a person of the trade would notice that the machines that were assembled from shoddy materials were pretty functional.

Sha Rou was just giving Shi Tang his medicines when Cillin entered the building. The young man holding a cup and downing the medicines was less than twenty years old, and yet he was as thin as bones, as pale as death, and almost completely bald. His eyes looked horribly sunken, and his nostrils had traces of unwiped blood because he suffered uncontrollable nosebleeds every time his illness worsens. His skin also darkened when his illness worsens, said Sha Rou.

Sha Rou talked to Shi Tang about Cillin, and the latter took his time to gather his thoughts. Although his complexion looked terrible, Cillin could sense a kind of obsession residing in his sunken eyes. If Cillin hadn’t promised that he would take them away from this planet, Shi Tang most likely would’ve rejected his offer.

He didn’t want Sha Rou to risk her life in the cities anymore.

Cillin didn’t press Shi Tan to answer immediately, taking his time to observe the interior of the building. There were plenty of old electrical equipment in the house, and most of them were probably discarded machines that Shi Tang took back home from the garbage yard to sell for money. Unlike Sha Rou, Shi Tang didn’t have the health to venture into the city and make a living.

Suddenly, Cillin’s gaze stopped at an old, modified microcomputer. It was probably wrong to call it a microcomputer because it was five or six times bigger than the standard microcomputer due to a tonne of modification.

In the past, repairing broken electrical equipment was Shi Tang’s only source of income. After Cillin’s “Return” forum appeared, he found a new source of income via answering some of the bounty questions posted in the forums. It also came with the benefit of being able to watch the debates of industrial experts and absorb knowledge from it.

There was also a drawing board with a lot of formulas written on it. Through them Cillin could see that Shi Tang possessed deep understanding in the topic and great computational skills.

“I want to know why you picked me,” Shi Tang said. He wasn’t one of those stubborn and reclusive researchers; he was well accustomed to many worldly affairs.

“You possess the potential.” Cillin pointed at the second formula on the drawing board. “The fact that you are using this formula means that you’re halfway to success.”

Shi Tang paused. “Forgive me for being suspicious, but I just couldn’t believe that someone would offer us such fantastic conditions. We’ve lived here for over a decade, but no one has ever made us an offer like this until now, especially because I’ve never received a proper education in my life, not even primary level education. I don’t think that anyone will acknowledge someone like me.”

It was true that the current academia valued one’s educational credentials very much, so much that they overlooked countless young talent because of it. It was one of the issues Cillin had pointed out with greater criticism than normal during the presentation at San Calombo.

Cillin waited until Shi Tang was done speaking before grabbing a medicine bottle. “Do you know what this medicine is?”

Shi Tang looked at Sha Rou, but Sha Rou looked just as confused as he was. He answered, “I’m not familiar with medicine. Sha Rou’s the one who’s been buying my meds all this time.”

Every once in a while, Sha Rou would travel to the city to stock up on Shi Tang’s medicine, but that was just one of her objectives in the city. Shi Tang had no idea that she was secretly dealing with gangs like Myriad Sea City and Fox Wolf, just as he had no idea that his younger sister had killed over hundreds of people for the past decade.

Cillin knew this because Sha Rou told him to keep it secret earlier. Just when Sha Rou was wondering worriedly that Cillin might break his promise, he continued, “Do you know how much these medicines really worth?”

He pointed at the rest of the medicines on the table. “You can buy a good flying car with them.”

Clack!

Shi Tang’s metal cup hit the floor with a clang as he turned to stare at Sha Rou in shock. Since when were they rich enough to afford such expensive medicines?! However, he immediately realized that his sister was wearing the same expression as him.

“How can this be?” Sha Rou murmured in a daze.

“What I’m trying to say is that someone has been keeping taps on you all this time. These medicines are so-so in terms of effectiveness: not good enough to heal you, but good enough to keep you alive. I probably don’t need to tell you how dangerous the electromagnetic fields, radiations and other hazards you’re exposed to every time you conduct your experiments, not to mention that you barely have any safety measures in place at all.”

Sha Rou and Shi Tang abruptly recalled the day they bought these medicines three years ago. At the time they found the new medicines they bought surprisingly effective compared to the others, and they had stuck to the same medication since. This meant that this mysterious person had been keeping taps on them for three years at minimum, and they had no idea about it until Cillin told them!

Sha Rou jumped to her feet. “Who was it? Was it Fox Wolf? Or was it Myriad Sea City? What do they want with my brother’s research?!”

Even Shi Tang knew how powerful the people of Fox Wolf and Myriad Sea City were. The best way to break ties with them was to not get involved with them in the first place.

“No wonder… no wonder I was able to find those materials… hehehe… it was all a setup from the beginning.” Shi Tang clutched his pain in agony. The reason he literally risked his life to conduct his research was in hopes of escaping the environment and life they were stuck in, but now he was told that he had been living in the hands of those slavers since a long time ago! How could he possibly swallow his fury knowing this!?