Wu Lingyun retracted her thoughts, keeping her own ideas hidden.
Before achieving her goal, she didn't want anyone to know—except Chen Jinzhao. Besides her parents, Chen Jinzhao was the person Wu Lingyun trusted the most.
No one else.
"Cousin, in the days I was missing, what else happened?" she asked.
Seeing that Wu Lingyun's emotions had stabilized, Chen Jinzhao breathed a sigh of relief and patiently replied, "A lot has happened these past few days. I'll tell you slowly."
Wu Lingyun nodded obediently.
Chen Jinzhao recounted all the major and minor events that had occurred, but he omitted the fact that he himself had been severely injured and close to death. Wu Lingyun listened in stunned silence, muttering, "Heaven knows what that person did in my name with my mask. These people are too despicable."
"It's fortunate that Cousin has such impressive skills; otherwise, these people would have succeeded."
When Chen Jinzhao mentioned that Xu Hanchen had personally led troops to raze a Divine Kingdom research facility last night, Wu Lingyun gasped.
Then she said, "I can be sure it wasn't the place I was in. The laboratory I was in had more than two hundred test subjects alone, and it occupied an extremely vast area, enough to accommodate thousands of people living there. However, I don't know what the situation was like outside the laboratory, nor its specific location."
She wondered if she knew the exact location.
After Chen Jinzhao's comforting words, Wu Lingyun's mood finally improved. Chen Jinzhao felt relieved and prepared to leave the ward, allowing Wu Lingyun to rest well.
As he stood up, footsteps sounded from behind him.
Both of them turned towards the ward door in unison and saw Li Qiutao walking in with a worried expression. Chen Jinzhao hesitated for a moment before calling out, "Uncle."
Li Qiutao first patted Chen Jinzhao's shoulder, his eyes examining him with concern.
"I heard you almost didn't make it back this time. You can't be so reckless again. Miracles exist in this world, but they don't happen to you every time. Not only am I worried about you, but your mother and your fiancée are also worried about you. Do you understand?" Li Qiutao said, his tone grave.
Compared to Wu Lingyun, he was more worried about Chen Jinzhao.
Before, he only knew that Wu Lingyun was missing. Upon arriving in Fengtian, he learned how perilous Chen Jinzhao's experiences had been.
Chen Jinzhao felt the concern from Li Qiutao and his heart warmed. He nodded, "Uncle, I understand. It was my carelessness this time. It won't happen again."
Li Qiutao seemed to want to say something but stopped.
It was obvious that Chen Jinzhao had not taken his words to heart.
Chen Jinzhao seized the opportunity and said, "Uncle, you chat with Lingyun for a while."
Li Qiutao realized his daughter was still in the ward and nodded. "Alright, but don't go far. I want to talk to you after I finish talking with Lingyun."
"About the past, and about the future."
Chen Jinzhao was momentarily stunned, then nodded and left the ward.
Only Li Qiutao and Wu Lingyun remained in the ward.
If it were before, she would have teased Li Qiutao about how concerned he was about Chen Jinzhao. Now, she no longer had such playful thoughts.
In other words, she seemed to have grown up.
From their conversation, Wu Lingyun caught an important detail. "Dad, what were you talking to Cousin about just now? What do you mean 'severely injured'?"
"Your cousin didn't tell you?" Li Qiutao asked, surprised.
Wu Lingyun shook her head.
Li Qiutao then said, "Alas, your cousin is like that. He never wants to tell others when he gets hurt. I only found out this morning after rushing to Fengtian. He almost died during this operation; they say his heartbeat even stopped at one point during the resuscitation."
Wu Lingyun's expression changed slightly.
She couldn't imagine how her cousin had managed to pull through.
"Never mind him, let's talk about you first," Li Qiutao said.
Wu Lingyun feigned composure and said, "Dad, I'm actually fine. I just saw something I shouldn't have. After Cousin's comforting talk, I'm much better."
Li Qiutao looked surprised and then mused that his daughter had indeed grown up.
If it were in the past, she would have already run into his arms, crying for comfort.
While the father and daughter were talking, Chen Jinzhao walked to a ventilation shaft on the stairs and lit a cigarette.
Huh?
He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but Chen Jinzhao felt that this cigarette was bland and tasteless.
"Could it be that my life has been too hard lately?" Chen Jinzhao muttered to himself.
Time passed.
Half an hour later, Chen Jinzhao had smoked half a pack of cigarettes when Li Qiutao came up beside him.
Li Qiutao said to him, "You're still young, smoke less."
Chen Jinzhao gave a wry smile. "Does it make any difference to me?"
Li Qiutao was speechless.
He knew a little about Chen Jinzhao's situation and understood his current predicament, which also evoked a trace of sadness.
"You've had too hard a life," Li Qiutao said.
Chen Jinzhao smiled, stubbed out his cigarette, and then said, "Uncle, let's not talk about me for now. Let's talk about the past and the future."
"Lingyun should have told you about the Divine Kingdom research facility, right?"
Li Qiutao nodded with a heavy expression.
Chen Jinzhao turned to look directly into Li Qiutao's eyes and asked word by word, "What I want to know is, Uncle, do you know about the actions of Divine Kingdom Pharmaceutical?"
At this moment.
His gaze became incredibly sharp, as if he could see through all of Li Qiutao's secrets.
If Li Qiutao lied, his eyes would surely flicker.
To Chen Jinzhao's surprise, Li Qiutao spoke frankly, "I've known about the existence of the Divine Kingdom research facility for a long time, and I know some of their plans."
Chen Jinzhao's pupils contracted sharply, his eyes fixed on Li Qiutao.
"Since you knew, why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you stop their actions?" Chen Jinzhao's tone was filled with incomprehension. Li Qiutao clearly had the ability to do so.
Seeing Li Qiutao remain silent, Chen Jinzhao thought of a more terrifying possibility.
"Uncle..."
"You're not involved in this, are you?"
Li Qiutao suddenly smiled. "If I were involved, would you kill me?"
Chen Jinzhao's eyelids twitched violently. It was a difficult choice. After a brief internal struggle, he said sternly, "If you were truly involved, I would ensure you received the punishment you deserve. I would not show leniency just because you are my uncle. I hope you understand."
"It was just a joke. I am not directly involved," Li Qiutao admitted.
"Don't look at me being successful on the outside. In reality, I am only an insignificant figure in the Wu family. A family of the Wu family's caliber no longer cares about so-called wealth. Some are pursuing world domination, and some are pursuing eternal life."
"They want to create a kingdom of gods, and the Wu family wants to be the aloof gods!"