I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 448 Car Accident

Auntie was naturally kind-hearted; she wouldn’t easily cast suspicions on someone with malicious intent unless she truly detested them. Even though, in Wang Lan’s eyes, Yu Ruohuai and Chen Youting were practically under a glaring red light of suspicion, she never doubted either of them.

"Aunt, can you tell me how you’ve helped with the research on the Awakening Potion?" Wang Lan asked cautiously.

"How I’ve helped? Well, providing funding, offering labs... Oh yes, and editing telomerase into cellular genes to synthesize telomeres. After all, this requires gene encoding technology."

"Oh?" Wang Lan’s eyes suddenly lit up. "Aunt, you must be the only person in the world who can apply gene encoding technology in practice, right? Even those at our academy who have mastered the gene encoding formula are stuck at the theoretical level."

"That... should be the case, yes? Even if there’s a second person, I’d still be the world’s foremost. Why do you ask?"

"Isn’t that the crux of it?" Wang Lan stood up and started pacing. "Doctor Chen discovered X-gene cells and has the technology to cultivate telomerase from these cells. But he can’t make X-gene cells that can self-replicate and proliferate. It’s like he has a treasure vault, but the key is in your hands, Aunt. He approached you to use your key to open the vault. Now that the vault is open, if he kills you, the treasure will be all his. I imagine... Doctor Chen must have also learned gene encoding from you, right?"

Wang Qi’s expression changed instantly because what Wang Lan had described was exactly what had happened. Doctor Chen had indeed been learning gene encoding technology from Wang Qi. In return for the advanced, cutting-edge cellular biology techniques she learned from him, and out of a sense of exchange and gratitude, she had candidly imparted her knowledge to Doctor Chen.

"It seems I guessed correctly," Wang Lan said. "Wang, arrest Doctor Chen immediately. Whether it’s him or not, detain him first under the pretext of protection."

"Alright, I’ll make the call right now."

Wang Qianfeng left while making the call. Wang Lan sat in the hospital room and began peeling an apple for his aunt. Just then, an irate Zeng Xiaomo pushed open the door and entered the room.

"Zeng, why so angry?" Wang Lan asked, his expression relaxed. Although Wang Lan had rarely worked with Zeng Xiaomo, he had always held her in high regard.

If for no other reason, it was because Zeng Xiaomo had arrived in the nick of time years ago; otherwise, Wang Lan might have died long ago.

"It’s because of those guys outside! They were fobbed off with a few lines by the General Staff and let them pass. Of what use are Tianjian Bureau special agents like that?"

"Fobbed off with a few lines?"

"Yes. Those two from the General Staff showed their credentials and said they were dispatched by the central authorities to investigate Ms. Wang Qi’s stabbing. Faced with the General Staff, our agents just tossed Director Lu’s orders to the back of their minds."

"You can’t entirely blame them. After all, the General Staff is considered ’the authorities’ in everyone’s mind... We didn’t expect the General Staff to intervene before. Now that we know, we just need to disseminate the information properly. You should calm down too. Here, have an apple. The brothers just need a little re-education, that’s all."

"A little re-education? Hmph... I’ve dismissed them all."

"Dismissed?" Wang Lan looked at Zeng Xiaomo in surprise. "Does it have to be so severe? It’s not easy to get into the Tianjian Bureau."

"Zero tolerance for errors is an ironclad rule of the Tianjian Bureau, especially when it comes to protecting Ms. Wang Qi."

"Xiaomo, saying that makes me feel rather awkward," Wang Qi interjected quickly. "Perhaps the punishment shouldn’t be so severe. It was an unintentional lapse on their part."

"Yes, Zeng," Wang Lan added. "I’m sure the brothers won’t let it happen again."

Zeng Xiaomo frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and finally sighed. "Whether they’re dismissed or not isn’t my call. It requires a ruling from the Law Enforcement Department, subsequently signed off by the Director. In any case, I’ve already recorded their negligence."

"By the way, Wang Lan, you have a sharp mind. Do you have any suspects?"

"I have two suspects. Doctor Chen is almost certainly one. He approached my aunt with a clear purpose from the very beginning. The Awakening Potion! A miraculous drug capable of awakening Star Martial Warrior talent in ordinary people.

"Think of the credit! Forget being immortalized in history; he could even be deified. How could Chen Youting not be tempted? The other is Yu Ruohuai. Initially, I suspected the General Staff. Their nature is somewhat special, and Doctor Chen is very likely connected to them. This ’cake’ is too big, and they want it all for themselves. If the Star Martial families were the only ones controlling the Awakening Potion, they could do as they please. At that point, it wouldn’t just be ordinary people siding with them; even those not currently aligned with them might... The Star Martial families have long been dreaming of restoring the old imperial dynasty."

"So, that’s how it is... Then Yu Ruohuai’s visit today..."

"Auntie surviving such severe injuries is a miracle even to us. Naturally, they wouldn’t believe it and would want to confirm it themselves. If Auntie had died, their objective would have been met. If Auntie is still alive, their objective is also met."

"What?"

"It means the Awakening Potion was a success. How else could it be explained, right?"

"Such meticulous planning." A chill ran down Zeng Xiaomo’s spine, and she let out a long sigh.

"So, this matter can no longer be considered minor," Wang Lan said, gently putting away the fruit knife.

RING RING RING—

His phone suddenly rang. Wang Lan pulled it out and answered, "Wang."

"Wang Lan, there’s trouble. Doctor Chen is dead."

"What?" Wang Lan shot to his feet. "What happened? Was he murdered?"

"We can’t be sure yet. He died in a traffic accident. The driver responsible has been detained, but... there seems to be nothing suspicious about the driver."

"Where are they now?"

"At the Tianjian Bureau."

"Alright, I’ll be there immediately." After hanging up, Wang Lan hurried towards the door. He had taken only two steps when he abruptly stopped again and quickly made another call. "Hello, Xinyu? Could you and Xiangwen come to the National Defense Hospital?"

After putting down the phone, Wang Lan sat back in his chair, falling deep into thought.

Auntie was stabbed, and he had practically concluded that Doctor Chen wanted to monopolize the research results. Duan Lingmu’s connection with the General Staff led him to instinctively suspect this was a plot orchestrated by the Star Martial families.

But Doctor Chen’s death introduced an unexpected contradiction to what had seemed like a plausible explanation. Only Auntie and Doctor Chen had access to the Awakening Potion. Less than twenty-four hours had passed between Auntie’s stabbing and Doctor Chen’s fatal car accident.

Was it the Star Martial families? Unlikely. Genetic encoding technology wasn’t something that could be fully understood just from documents. Otherwise, Auntie’s gene-editing formula had been public for two years, yet no one had announced the successful creation of a Gene Potion.

The gene formula remained purely theoretical. The only ones who could turn that theory into reality were Auntie and, now, possibly Doctor Chen.

Therefore, even if they planned to discard him once he’d served his purpose, they should have waited until Doctor Chen had passed on the knowledge of the Awakening Potion. Besides, he believed Doctor Chen wasn’t that foolish. The Awakening Potion was his only trump card; he wouldn’t have revealed everything.

Even with coercion or enticements, there wouldn’t have been enough time, because the Awakening Potion hadn’t truly been perfected before Auntie was attacked. If the situation hadn’t been so critical, Auntie wouldn’t have risked injecting it.

So, the people behind Chen Youting hadn’t obtained the research results yet. Why was Chen Youting killed? Was it because Auntie survived? No, that wasn’t right either. Auntie’s status meant she could never be controlled by the Star Martial families.

If the Star Martial families couldn’t exclusively possess the Awakening Potion, their ambitions had no chance of success. If the state alone controlled it, the Star Martial families would be even more vulnerable.

Imagine, if all 1.4 billion ordinary people in the country fully supported the government, how could the Star Martial families possibly contend with the entire nation? Therefore, no matter how one looked at it, the Star Martial families would absolutely not kill Chen Youting; in fact, they would have to protect him at all costs.

"Wang Lan, what happened?" Zeng Xiaomo finally asked after a long hesitation. His aunt was staring intently at Wang Lan.

"Lan, has something terrible happened?" Wang Qi asked, her voice laced with anxiety. "You just called Xinyu and the others over, didn’t you? Isn’t Xinyu protecting Jiajia? Could something have happened to Jiajia? Oh, dear!"

Wang Lan snapped back to attention. "Auntie, your imagination is running a bit wild! Jiajia is perfectly fine. Honestly, the security detail she has is even stronger than yours here. Don’t worry. I asked Xinyu to come over to relieve me. It’s not that I doubt Zeng’s capabilities, but if the masterminds are indeed the Star Martial families, then I do have some concerns. Xinyu is very powerful; even if a Star Sea Realm expert were to attack, she could hold her own. Jiajia has Xie Sisi with her, and Sisi’s strength is by no means inferior to Xinyu’s."

After his explanation, the worry on Wang Qi’s face dissipated. Although Wang Lan still hadn’t revealed exactly what had happened, it was enough. Wang Lan had subtly implied that it wasn’t convenient to discuss further, so Zeng Xiaomo naturally didn’t press the issue.

Soon, Jiang Xinyu and Xiangwen arrived. Wang Lan personally went to the hospital entrance to escort them in.

"I need to go out and investigate the case, so I’m entrusting Auntie’s safety to you both. Xiangwen, I know about your Heavenly Eye; I need you to keep a close watch on any and every slight disturbance in the surroundings. Inform me immediately if anything unusual occurs. Xinyu, you must be extremely careful. If anyone attacks, don’t try to handle it yourselves; call me directly. I’ve left my coordinates here, so I can rush back to support you instantly."

"Mm, alright, rest assured," Jiang Xinyu nodded obediently. Witnessing this exchange, Wang Qi’s eyes instantly lit up.

Leaving the hospital, Wang Lan leaped into the air and flew directly towards the Tianjian Bureau, hurrying to its interrogation room.

"I swear... It was really an accident... I hadn’t been drinking, nor was I driving fatigued! It was a problem with the car... This was genuinely an accident," a middle-aged man stammered, his voice trembling as he explained.

"My brakes failed! I was honking the horn well in advance! Besides, I had the green light; I didn’t run a red light. It was the other car that ran the red light! According to traffic laws, I’m innocent..."

"This isn’t about traffic laws anymore. This is about murder."

"I..." The middle-aged man looked like he wanted to curse, but after glancing at the black military uniform before him and the insignia on the officer’s shoulder, he swallowed his profanities.

"Wang," Wang Lan said as he pushed open the door and entered. "Is this a case of murder to silence a witness?"

"We can’t be certain yet. Let me show you the surveillance footage," Wang Qianfeng said, turning on the television in front of him. The screen displayed an out-of-control truck, horn blaring frantically as it sped down the road.

Meanwhile, the traffic light on its path was flashing yellow. Suddenly, it turned green, and the truck shot through the intersection the instant its light changed. Simultaneously, a black sedan sped into the intersection just as its own yellow light turned red, colliding head-on with the truck.

Both the truck and the car were moving at high speeds. Instantly, the car was crushed, and the truck tipped onto its side, creating a horrific accident scene.