"Whoosh—"
Just as Yu Youwei's face turned extremely ugly, thinking Zhao Shengtian would be splattered with blood on the spot, a white chess piece flew up from the chessboard. Shen Lang flicked it with his finger and it accurately hit Zhao Shengtian's wrist.
"Ah—"
Accompanied by Zhao Shengtian's cry of pain, the chess jar in his hand flew out. But just as it was about to fall, Shen Lang's right hand exerted force, directly sucking it over, and then placing it steadily on the chessboard.
"No… I'm not reconciled… Shen Lang… this game doesn't count, let's play again."
Although not dead, Zhao Shengtian's eyes were red, hysterical. He roared at Shen Lang, "That game just now was because I was careless. Let's play again, play again."
"Zhao Shengtian, you are a true Go prodigy, the most I've ever seen. You possess the madness of Xiang Yu's burning bridges and the meticulous planning of Zhuge Liang. In this world, besides me, your Go skills can rank in the top three."
"However, you have already lost. Since you lost, you should lose gracefully. You want to commit suicide and then hysterically demand a rematch… you lose both the game and your dignity. This is not good."
As he spoke, Shen Lang turned to look at Yu Youwei, who was still in shock and fear, and smiled, "Weiwei, clear the chessboard. Next, we'll have a good chat with Young Master Zhao."
"Yes—"
Yu Youwei, having snapped back to reality, nodded and then asked a nearby guard to follow her and take away the chessboard.
"Zhao Shengtian, do you remember what we said before we started playing chess? Now, you should answer honestly, right?"
After Yu Youwei returned to Shen Lang's side and sat down, Shen Lang looked at Zhao Shengtian and smiled, "Let's chat. Where should we start? Let's start with the bio-soldier plan."
"Shen Lang, I lost, I admit it. Since you want to know, I can tell you."
Zhao Shengtian's eyes had lost all their light, because his proud calculations and courage had been crushed by Shen Lang. Upon hearing Shen Lang's words, Zhao Shengtian said, "I studied in the Western country's MIT for university. During a gathering, I met Sollo."
"Sollo?"
Shen Lang heard this and asked, "Does he have another name, Hyena?"
"Yes, he is one of the illegitimate sons of Death God's Emperor of the Killing Way Association, Hyena. However, Hyena is just a nickname. Sollo is his real name."
Zhao Shengtian slowly spoke, "Sollo's personality is generous and loyal to a fault, and we hit it off immediately. Thus, we not only became best friends but also sworn brothers."
"However, at that time, I only knew he was a member of a certain Western power. I didn't know that the organization he belonged to was called the Killing Way Association, a criminal organization banned by various countries."
"After graduation, I returned to Longdu. With the support of my family, I quickly established a high-tech pharmaceutical company and developed over a dozen best-selling drugs. In just three years, my net worth reached nearly a trillion."
"At that time, among the younger generation in the entire Longdu, except for Qin Zangjing, whose whereabouts were unknown, no one could compete with me. My brilliance was enough to overshadow anyone of the younger generation."
"However, I knew this was not enough, far from enough. What I wanted was to be unrivaled. It didn't matter if it was the Qin family, the Qi family, or the Kong family, or Qi Dingjiang, Kong Wudao, these people shouldn't exist."
Zhao Shengtian's eyes became extremely crazed as he said, "I don't want the five great families to coexist. What I want is for only the Zhao family to decide everything. And I, Zhao Shengtian, will no longer be one of the Five Great Young Masters of Longdu, but the First Young Master of the North, whose words can crush anyone and make anyone lose the courage to resist."
"However, the other four great families, like the Zhao family, have hundreds of years of foundation. If we were to compete in development, even after hundreds of years, it would be impossible to determine a winner. It would be as difficult as reaching the heavens to annex even one of them, let alone all four simultaneously."
"Strength, I need stronger strength. Thus, I had the idea of seeking external help."
"Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps Sollo had already investigated my background. At a wine party in Longdu, I saw Sollo again after several years. He appeared at the party as a foreign investor, and we recognized each other."
"And in our conversation, Sollo did not hide his identity or background at all. He directly revealed his identity as a member of the Killing Way Association and proposed the plan to create bio-soldiers."
"Killing Way Association? Bio-experiment? Both of these terms are taboo. Therefore, my face turned pale with fright at the time, and I explicitly severed ties with Sollo."
Hearing Zhao Shengtian's words, Shen Lang and Yu Youwei were startled and exchanged glances. Neither of them expected Zhao Shengtian's relationship with Hyena to have started like this. However, they also knew there had to be more to the story.
"How did Sollo finally persuade you?"
As Yu Youwei diligently recorded Zhao Shengtian's words, Shen Lang smiled and asked.
"Sollo didn't persuade me. I came to my senses on my own and contacted him."
Zhao Shengtian exhaled a long breath and said, "The Killing Way Association and bio-experiments are indeed taboo. If discovered, it would mean utter destruction. However, high risk often represents high reward. If we could truly mass-produce bio-soldiers, it would greatly expand the family's strength, and being able to contend against four would no longer be a fantasy."
"Therefore, when I met Sollo again, I agreed to his plan and then established the bio-laboratory beneath Paradise Island in Nanling."
"Unfortunately, time was too short. Most of the bio-soldiers hadn't reached perfection yet, and the Death Knight suddenly went out of control. Otherwise, if you had barged into the bio-laboratory back then, your grave grass would be two meters tall by now."
Hearing Zhao Shengtian's words, Shen Lang smiled and said, "Indeed, that is the case. Zhao Shengtian, it seems you are telling the truth."
"I have one last question: was it you alone who participated in the bio-soldier plan, or was the entire Zhao family involved?"
Shen Lang narrowed his eyes and asked.
"Only I was involved. The family members were too timid and didn't dare to participate at all. They also explicitly forbade me from associating with Sollo."
Zhao Shengtian said, "This is everything I have to confess. There is nothing else."
"Good, I understand."
Shen Lang smiled upon hearing this, and then looked at Yu Youwei, saying, "Print out the transcript and have Young Master Zhao sign it."
"Understood!"
Yu Youwei nodded, then quickly printed the transcript and placed it in front of Zhao Shengtian. Seeing this, Zhao Shengtian signed it and pressed his fingerprint without a word.
"Shen Lang, I've told you everything you wanted to know. I've kept my promise, but I tell you, even so, you can't convict me. Within twelve hours, I will be out of here."
After Yu Youwei took the transcript, Zhao Shengtian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his expression ferocious and strange.