Qin Siyang felt that his hand injury was almost healed.
But to avoid letting others notice his strong recovery ability, he still pretended to be in pain and didn't remove the bandages.
He insisted on leaving the guesthouse and setting off on his return journey.
Even though Florence tried hard to make him stay, he still decided to leave and returned the phone that Florence had given him.
When Florence saw Qin Siyang return the phone, he fell silent.
He knew that Qin Siyang had already developed a sense of resistance toward him.
Qin Siyang left cleanly and decisively.
He didn't take anything with him.
As for the guesthouse expenses, he figured that the remains of gods he provided should be enough to cover the cost.
Since Florence had sent people to pick him up and helped solve Florence's research problems, it would be reasonable for him to arrange for someone to send Qin Siyang back.
However, since Qin Siyang had already fallen out with Harrison, the chances of him continuing to work with Florence were slim.
So whether or not to send someone to escort Qin Siyang back to Area 14121 was entirely up to Florence.
Fortunately, Florence didn't want to completely sever ties with Qin Siyang, so he arranged for Laudenor and a driver to take him back.
Qin Siyang expressed his gratitude.
On the return trip, Qin Siyang clearly noticed the dejection on Laudenor's face.
He was probably feeling that all his efforts had gone to waste.
Since Qin Siyang had no chance of working with the lab, all the effort Laudenor had put into hosting him these past few days had been in vain.
He had thought that if he built a good relationship with Qin Siyang, his future research would go more smoothly.
But things turned out like this instead.
A huge opportunity slipped away just like that. How could he not feel upset?
Qin Siyang actually had some goodwill toward Laudenor.
At least while hosting him, he had been very thoughtful.
"Laudenor, don't be too upset. I'm just temporarily not working with Professor Harrison and Florence. That doesn't mean there won't be opportunities in the future."
Laudenor felt like Qin Siyang was just comforting him. He smiled helplessly and responded perfunctorily.
Seeing this, Qin Siyang didn't say any more.
It had taken him more than three days to reach District 7.
But the return trip took nearly five days.
Since they weren't in a hurry, Laudenor and the driver didn't push themselves to drive fast. They took breaks when needed, stayed in hotels when necessary, and traveled leisurely.
Qin Siyang wasn't as exhausted as he had been on the way there. He got plenty of rest.
The only issue was that his phone wouldn't stop ringing in the car—there was always someone calling him.
Most of them were university researchers, with a few from the United Government's forging department and pharmaceutical department.
In short, they all wanted to ask him about the Vine Core.
Qin Siyang declined them all one by one, saying that he needed to discuss it with others before deciding on a collaboration plan for the Vine Core.
Finally, after repeatedly rejecting them, his phone quieted down, and he was able to get a few good nights of sleep.
Eating and drinking along the way without having to pay for anything made the trip even more comfortable.
By the time Qin Siyang returned to school, he was in a great mood.
"Old Li, I'm ba—Old Li, what's up with you?"
Qin Siyang had just pushed open the principal's office door when he was stunned by the sight before him.
The office was filled with thick smoke, like a fairyland, except the smell of the smoke was incredibly pungent.
The ashtray on the desk was overflowing with cigarette butts, with many scattered outside, burning several black marks onto the desk surface.
Old Li was slumped in his office chair, his eyes dark with exhaustion, his hair messy, and his face visibly thinner.
"Old Li, what's wrong? Don't tell me you picked up some bad habit?"
"I'm telling you, I have a lifelong hatred for gambling and drugs! You better not be up to anything crazy."
Old Li weakly lifted his eyelids and rolled his eyes at Qin Siyang.
"Quit the nonsense. Why do you think I look like this? It's all because of you, kid."
"Because of me?"
Old Li coughed twice, sounding like he was about to cough up his lungs. Qin Siyang hurried over to pat his back.
Seeing Old Li looking so weak, Qin Siyang became even more curious.
"Old Li, what happened?"
"You brat… Did you tell people that you needed to discuss how to handle the Vine Core?"
"Uh, yeah, what's wrong?"
"From beginning to end, who has been standing on your side besides me? Who else? You saying that is basically telling everyone that they need to discuss it with me, right? So of course, they all called me."
Ding—
As they were speaking, Old Li's phone rang again.
"Hello, Qin Siyang is back. We're discussing it now. I'll get back to you later. Mm, goodbye."
Old Li hung up and stared blankly at his phone screen.
"I have to deal with all these calls one by one. Unlike you, I can't just reject them all outright. These past few days, I haven't slept much."
"Ah… alright, once this is over, I'll give you some Sequence Potions…"
Qin Siyang scratched his head, not expecting that he had caused Old Li so much trouble.
Just then, their door was pushed open.
Old Li and Qin Siyang immediately tensed up.
Who dared to barge in without knocking? Did they have a death wish?
A medium-built man walked in, carrying a suitcase and a cloth bag.
Qin Siyang found him familiar but couldn't recall his name, so he asked, "You are?"
"It's me, Qian Wenzhao. I heard you were back, so I came to deliver the Sequence Potions and money. You haven't claimed your reward for killing the Doom Fate Octopus last time."
"Old Qian?"
Qin Siyang scrutinized the middle-aged man with an ordinary build, unable to believe this was the once slightly chubby Qian Wenzhao.
"You… how did you get so thin?"
Qian Wenzhao set down the items and sat on the sofa, his eyes lifeless, "I heard you got the Vine Core?"
"Uh-huh…"
"Amazing. The United Government's people started asking around. After you gave that speech in the city about 'my benefactor, Section Chief Qian,' they've been calling me nonstop, trying to get me to help coordinate your cooperation with them."
Qian Wenzhao sighed, "Since you never told me about the Vine Core, I had no idea what you were thinking. I could only wait for you to come back and talk.
"But they're all my superiors. I had to entertain each one properly. Every conversation lasted at least ten minutes. I've barely slept these past few days…"
Hearing this, Old Li chuckled, "Then you're definitely worse off than me. At least I could just deal with them casually. You actually had to humor them. No wonder you've lost so much weight."
"They were looking for you, which makes sense—you're Li the 'Insurer.' But I never expected so many of them to come after me. I really… sigh, forget it."
Qian Wenzhao and Old Li hit it off immediately thanks to Qin Siyang, and they spoke without reservations.
The two of them, slumped in exhaustion, looked like they had just finished smoking opium.
"Old Qian, I didn't mean to leave you out. I just didn't think this would come back to bite you…"
"Yeah, I didn't think it would hit me either…"
Qian Wenzhao weakly asked, "Xiao Qin, what's your plan?"
Qin Siyang replied, "Get some rest today. We'll deal with it tomorrow."
"Good. Now that you're back, I finally have an excuse to reject their calls."
"Thanks for all your effort. I'll give you both some Sequence Potions…"
Old Li and Qian Wenzhao sneered at him.
With the Vine Core in hand, all he was giving them was Sequence Potions?
What a stingy bastard.
"You should at least give us a share of the Vine Core."
"Exactly. Just Sequence Potions? Too cheap! Give us some Vine Core too…"
"We're cutting ties."
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