The night was heavy, with no moon tonight and only a few sparse stars hanging at the horizon.
The research institute was brightly lit, everyone's expression extremely serious as they moved among the various instruments.
Charlie An, with one hand receiving an IV and the other directing his subordinates, tirelessly conducted various tests. He sat in a recliner that had been specially brought over, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, fixed on the entire scene.
The thin, tall researcher, whose expression carried excitement but was also unusually restrained, was his main focus.
Charlie An could tell he wanted to stir up trouble, but knowing that Yu Mei and Andrew were coming, he forcibly suppressed his restlessness.
Perhaps it was also because the attention of those behind him was no longer on Chu Ran.
Whatever secrets Chu Ran held, or whatever was special about the deity she invoked, was no longer the focus of the Federation's high-ranking officials.
Everyone wanted to know whether He Yi's belonging had anything to do with the Divine Ruins Key—or even if it was the Divine Ruins Key itself!
No one could remember exactly when the news of the Divine Ruins Key had spread. But after years of seeking without finding, the Divine Ruins Key had become an obsession for the Federation's upper echelons and a faith for the Federation's citizens.
The Divine Ruins Key would allow humanity to enter the burial ground of the fallen gods, where they could find a way to defeat or even exterminate the Zerg, thus achieving true peace and tranquility.
Whether or not they truly believed in this legend, everyone spoke of it with reverence.
The Seventh Sub-Star research institute was brightly lit, while on Central Star, the lights in the high-rises of the Federation government had never gone out.
Charlie Jing quietly watched everyone busily working. Perhaps it wasn't just them—the God Summoning Society and those rats in the shadows were likely all watching the final results of the research institute.
He glanced indifferently at the door, seeing the Special Squad members standing guard like door gods. Their expressions were like wolves spotting prey, tightly watching everyone, afraid of any oversight or concealment.
Ding.
The first test result came out.
It was like a drop of water in a hot oil pan—everyone's attention focused entirely on the output interface.
Huang Feiying strode over quickly, grabbing the researcher by the collar and tossing him aside, his gaze fixed on the display screen.
"No traces of divine power detected."
"Is this result really accurate?" Huang Feiying turned and stared coldly at the thin, tall researcher.
The thin, tall researcher hesitated, momentarily unsure what answer Huang Feiying wanted to hear—yes or no. He had already heard about the humiliation Huang Feiying suffered in the afternoon. If it had been him, he wouldn't want the Divine Ruins Key to actually be He Yi's belonging.
But the Special Squad had come precisely for the Divine Ruins Key. Perhaps to Huang Feiying, it didn't matter who the key belonged to, as long as they obtained it.
"From my perspective..." The thin, tall researcher momentarily regretted rushing so quickly to the front row.
He had heard plenty about Huang Feiying's way of doing things.
What if his answer angered him and he got punched into internal injuries?
"If you're not at ease, you can test it with more instruments. It's not like the Seventh Sub-Star is short of such equipment." Charlie An mocked without restraint.
Detecting whether an item has divine power is the first basic test, so any institution involved in scientific research would have instruments for detecting traces of divine power.
But their institute's instruments were the most precise.
However, if Huang Feiying wasn't satisfied, he wouldn't mind bringing in a few more to make him face reality.
He wasn't a fool like Andeke, and he still had some hope for Huang Feiying's character.
Who the Divine Ruins Key belonged to was the least important issue, because no matter who it belonged to, its ultimate ownership would be the Human Federation, and the credit for finding it would go to the Special Squad.
Huang Feiying wouldn't let Chu Ran off just because the key belonged to her. The moment she knocked him to the ground was enough to make him determined to kill her.
Huang Feiying's gaze was like the cold wind on a thousand-year ice field—just a touch felt like it could strip the flesh from one's bones.
Charlie An received it calmly.
He had already offended the man anyway—what difference did one more offense make?
Huang Feiying glanced at the test result again and said, suppressing his anger, "Continue the tests."
Charlie An curled his lips and quickly sent the test data to his sister.
Given how things had developed, he felt that Chu Ran was likely inseparable from the Divine Ruins Key. This connection might not have been built by Chu Ran herself, but might have existed many, many years ago.
He didn't think he could uncover what the Special Squad had failed to find for so many years, but he believed his sister could.
A wooden box—they had tested it with almost all the instruments in the research institute.
Until the sun slowly rose at the horizon and the first ray of morning light shone through the institute's window, all recommended and feasible tests were completed.
Nothing was wrong.
Although the material of the wooden box was somewhat special, it was already documented, discovered long ago on an unknown planet.
Although no second piece had ever been found, the test results showed it was useless, so it had never attracted much attention.
"Impossible!" Huang Feiying growled, suppressing his anger.
When the Special Squad came to the Seventh Sub-Star, they had never considered that the Chu Family would be linked to the Divine Ruins Key. Whether it was their coldness and ruthlessness, the destruction of talents, or even the presence of God Summoning Society spies in the Chu Family—to the Special Squad, all of it was quite ordinary.
The families on Central Star were even more extreme, but no one had expected to get news of the Divine Ruins Key from here.
After thoroughly investigating the Chu Family, especially the files on He Yi and Chu Ran, Huang Feiying had sensed that there must be an extremely important secret behind it all.
If it had been a few years earlier, he might have laid out a slow plan. But now was different—the God Summoning Society was a step ahead. The Divine Ruins Key must not fall into their hands, so he had chosen to use Chu Ran as bait.
The result was disastrous. They had gained nothing and had been outmaneuvered by Chu Ran, who even leaked the news of the Divine Ruins Key online.
The thin, tall researcher was also unwilling to accept it. He studied the data over and over again, but finally had to admit that this was just a somewhat special piece of wood, unrelated to the Divine Ruins Key.
"Alright, I know you're not satisfied, but the results are what they are. If you want, you can repeat the experiments a few more times, but not now," Charlie An yawned. "I can't hold on anymore. A patient staying up all night with you—if word gets out, the Federation government would have to award us a 'Moving Heaven and Earth' medal."
The Special Squad deputy looked up at this and said calmly, "You could have rested safely in the hospital. No one would tamper with something like the Divine Ruins Key."
"But some people would create trouble," Charlie An said slowly. "Still, I really don't need to stay here anymore, because my replacement has arrived."
The thin, tall researcher's expression changed.
"That's right, Andrew is here. I suggest you hurry up and prepare to welcome him," Charlie An smiled slightly. "Although you have your own backers, as a member of the same family, you shouldn't be so obvious about it."
"Don't slander me. I fully follow the family head's orders!" The thin, tall researcher's face turned dark.
Charlie An nodded out of boredom, waiting for his subordinates to take him back to the hospital.
He never argued with those who talked tough—reality would teach them a lesson.
At the Seventh Sub-Star spaceport, soldiers with stern expressions, hands on their holstered guns, stood on both sides of the starship exit.
Gao Yuan, unable to hide his joy, waited not far away.
Finally, someone had come to clean up the mess—his hair was safe.
A tall man with a cold, sharp demeanor and strong facial features walked slowly out of the starship.
It was Andrew.
Andrew did not immediately step off the starship. Instead, he turned around, extended his hand gently, and waited for the person behind him.
A tall woman with black hair tied back, wearing a gray suit, appeared before everyone. Her features were gentle, like the Jiangnan water towns, but her eyes revealed a determination and sharpness far beyond ordinary people.
Gao Yuan's expression was slightly complex. She had shown no signs of aging over all these years—it seemed Yu Mei was thriving in the Andrew Family.
...Which was a good thing.