Sufficiently resilient spirit... Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao exchanged glances upon hearing this phrase.
It bore some resemblance to one of their previous guesses:
The big boss established "Pangu Biology" with the primary goal of developing genetic technology, all to prepare a perfect body for his descent upon the graylands.
And now it seemed that a perfect body also required a resilient spirit, or it wouldn't be able to withstand the various negative effects when a Ruling God descended, such as "Heartless Disease."
Clap clap clap, Shang Jianyao applauded, praising sincerely:
"Worthy of being a top researcher, your thinking is indeed broad and you notice the slightest details."
Xu Researcher wasn't sure if he was being mocked or if Shang Jianyao genuinely meant what he said.
"He always says what he thinks, without being roundabout," Jiang Baimian helped explain that Shang Jianyao wasn't speaking ironically.
Xu Researcher smiled:
"But such praise..."
He didn't finish, using a shake of his head to express his meaning:
It was too direct, making people feel awkward!
If he didn't feel that he had a good relationship with Shang Jianyao, as a comrade he could entrust his back to, he probably wouldn't have been able to laugh.
When it was time for dinner, the "Old Task Force" members took the opportunity to chat with other members of the research team, and the information they obtained was completely consistent with what Xu Researcher said.
The reason those volunteers remained silent was because they had witnessed how fragile the experimental subjects were under the blizzard, and a strong sense of pessimism had arisen about their own future.
Although they were all participating in this experimental project voluntarily to exchange for different benefits, they were more or less mentally prepared. But no matter what, humans always harbored hope, thinking that with so many volunteers able to return home alive, maybe they could be one of them.
After returning to the room where Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao were staying, Long Yuehong exhaled and said:
"We have asked about the experimental project and the specific procedures clearly, and so far there are no problems."
After speaking, he added:
"The research team has probably told us everything they know."
He meant that there would be no additional gains from getting further entangled with this research team, they were just organizing the corresponding project according to the instructions from above.
Jiang Baimian "hmmed":
"Compared to the experiment itself, Xu Researcher's guess is more valuable."
The "Old Task Force" already knew quite a bit about the experiment regarding the impact of cold environments on human physique and spirit.
"How pitiful..." Shang Jianyao suddenly sighed.
Honest Genava asked:
"Who's pitiful?"
He couldn't immediately figure out who Shang Jianyao was talking about.
Shang Jianyao replied with a face full of pity:
"The perfect body prepared for the big boss to descend upon the graylands."
"How is the body pitiful?" Long Yuehong asked with suspicion.
Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen didn't speak, they probably understood what Shang Jianyao wanted to express.
Shang Jianyao sighed deeply and said to Long Yuehong and Genava:
"It needs to have a perfect body and a resilient spirit, so it cannot be an embryo that will be able to take on the role.
"Think about it, once that body grows up and develops a resilient spirit, it will be a living person with their own joys and sorrows, with the past, with memories, with their own uniqueness, but suddenly one day, someone tells them, your existence is for a Ruling God, and whether you are willing or not, you need to sacrifice yourself to become a vessel for the Ruling God's descent.
"How pitiful."
Long Yuehong was speechless.
Looking at Shang Jianyao, he suddenly felt a bit ashamed of himself.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought of such a possibility, but he refused to empathize with it, subconsciously thinking that as long as it could be exchanged for the safety of "Pangu Biology" and the permanent stability of all the employees in the underground building, then sacrificing a specially cultivated experimental subject was completely acceptable.
And Shang Jianyao obviously didn't think so.
"Indeed pitiful," Honest Genava didn't think there was anything wrong with Shang Jianyao's words.
"Yes," Jiang Baimian echoed, then said, "This is just our speculation for now, there's no need to have any psychological burden because of it."
She then told the team members to go back to their respective rooms to rest, and they would continue to visit the people of Year-End City tomorrow.
After washing up and chatting for a while, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao lay down on their respective beds.
"You can explore other rooms and look for the door to the 'New World'," In order not to let Shang Jianyao get entangled in the topic just now, Jiang Baimian took the initiative to remind him.
Shang Jianyao's attention was indeed diverted. He raised his hand and pinched his temples with great interest, entering deep sleep.
In the "Mind Corridor," he had his hands in his pockets, walking in a random direction while looking around.
He didn't immediately enter those rooms that hadn't been explored before, as if he wanted to choose a destination that looked interesting.
"How about rolling the dice?" Shang Jianyao, who was seeking novelty and curiosity, suggested eagerly.
"No hurry, let's find the ones on the guide first," The calm and rational Shang Jianyao took over the body's dominance and stroked his chin.
Shang Jianyao, who was seeking novelty and curiosity, immediately retorted:
"What's the point of that?"
The calm and rational Shang Jianyao laughed:
"Rooms with guides don't equal boring rooms. Don't you think some of the rooms the company has explored are also very interesting?
"For example, the madhouse in '101'."
"That's right!" Shang Jianyao, who was seeking novelty and curiosity, clenched his right fist and hit his left palm, "The madhouse sounds like it's perfect for us!"
The reckless Shang Jianyao squeezed out a head, shouting:
"There's also '102' representing Zhuang Sheng, '503' belonging to Jiang Xiaoyue, and '205' suspected to be the dreamland of 'Dawn', the Ruling God."
The reason why "Pangu Biology" only said that room "205" was suspected to be the dreamland of a certain Ruling God without pointing out the name "Dawn" was because the "2" at the beginning could be either the Ruling God of February, "Dawn", or "Zhuang Sheng" representing the whole year, but now it has been determined that "102" is the latter.
As soon as the reckless Shang Jianyao finished speaking, the four eyes on the two heads froze at the same time.
Not far ahead in the corridor, on a vermilion door, golden numbers clearly marked a door number:
"205"!
Shang Jianyao was silent, squatted down, and didn't move for a long time.
He kept squatting until his spirit was almost exhausted, and he passively returned to the real world.
During this process, Shang Jianyao kept trying to go over, but was constantly suppressed by Shang Jianyao.
In the room, on the bed, Shang Jianyao opened his eyes and gently sang a song:
"Ten years of cultivation to cross the river in the same boat, a hundred years of cultivation to sleep on the same pillow..." (Note 1)
Jiang Baimian hadn't slept yet, and interrupted:
"What's wrong, did you enter a bizarre room?"
"Not yet," Shang Jianyao yawned.
Jiang Baimian said suspiciously:
"Then why are you singing?"
"I'm lamenting that we're really destined, I ran into room '205'," Shang Jianyao answered truthfully.
"The room suspected to be 'Dawn's' dreamland?" Jiang Baimian suddenly had a feeling that was unexpected, yet reasonable.
She said to herself:
"It's only been a few days since we heard the name 'Dawn' from the person in room '506'..."
"Indeed destined!" Shang Jianyao made a judgment with a determined tone.
Jiang Baimian understood what he meant and nodded with a solemn expression:
"Indeed destined.
"Well, no rush to go in, let's observe a bit more."
Shang Jianyao had the same idea. He would find other rooms to improve his strength first, and then look for the door to the "New World".
"Why haven't you slept yet?" He asked curiously.
Jiang Baimian exhaled:
"I'm thinking about my fear island."
"Any progress?" Shang Jianyao asked with concern.
"No," Jiang Baimian shook her head, "Maybe I need to investigate the company's real situation clearly before I can recognize the reality, let go of the burden, and face it calmly."
She believed that such a realization was the best way to get through that fear island.
Shang Jianyao's spirit was greatly exhausted. He just opened his mouth, but before he could ask any further questions, he fell asleep. Jiang Baimian stared blankly for a while, then closed her eyes as well.
The next day, after the "Old Task Force" had breakfast, they drove the jeep and left Cliff Village once again, heading towards Mountain Gully Town.
But they were greeted by an empty square and streets.
There was a lot of garbage scattered here, not properly cleaned up, and the Year-End City convoy was nowhere to be seen.
After returning in disappointment, the "Old Task Force" received definite news from the village chief:
The people from Year-End City had almost finished their transactions and had received an unknown telegram, so they left Mountain Gully Town at dawn and headed to the Icefield.
"Something happened in Year-End City?" Long Yuehong guessed.
Shang Jianyao proposed eagerly:
"Do you want to follow their tracks in the snow and chase after them?"
"No need for now," Jiang Baimian answered succinctly, "The reason has been said before."
She then looked around:
"We've done everything we need to do here. We'll also leave Cliff Village for the Icefield today. The destination is the city ruins where Shang Jianyao's father last appeared."
No one had any objections.
Note 1: Excerpt from "Du Qing", the ending song of "The Legend of the White Snake", sung by Zuo Hongyuan and Zhang Huiqing