Volume One, Chapter 11: The Origin Laboratory

“Tang Hui, the female college student who voluntarily became a volunteer, you are the prime suspect in this case.”

After Bai Chen finished speaking, the air seemed to freeze momentarily. Both he and Ran Yi silently hoped Tang Hui would offer some explanation to clear her name—perhaps collapse in fear and break down in tears, proving she was incapable of committing the crime...

But Tang Hui remained utterly composed. She only slightly turned her head, gazing at Ran Yi, her shimmering pupils reflecting a profound look.

A faint smile curled on her lips, as if she had been waiting for this moment, and she said, “Xiao Yi, look, she finally made her move.”

Tang Hui was escorted onto the police car by Bai Chen. With her consent, Ran Yi followed suit.

Shen Liang hid in the corner of the principal’s office, only relaxing slightly after the police car completely disappeared from view. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he dialed a number without hesitation.

“She’s been taken away. That kid went with her. Everything is going according to your plan.”

The voice on the other end replied calmly, “Keep a close watch on them. No accidents. This time, I want Xu Yin finished for good!”

Led by Officer Bai Chen, the group arrived at the crime scene.

Professor Hu Chuan’s laboratory, named “Tracing Origins,” was located in the Stone House Building in the northern part of Fanlou City. This office building was constructed at the turn of the century, exuding an air of a bygone era at first glance.

*Ding*—the elevator reached the twenty-first floor. This entire floor belonged to Professor Hu Chuan’s “domain.” The moment the doors opened, a wave of next-generation technological aura greeted them.

“Quite a marvel,” Ran Yi murmured in admiration.

According to staff members, “Tracing Origins” specialized in biotechnology. The exterior of the lab was uniquely designed in a trumpet-shaped structure extending inward, resembling a slender eye. Display cabinets on both sides showcased the lab’s current experimental achievements, its history, and milestones.

The outer walls and floor were made of translucent alloy embedded with dense single-crystal silicon circuits. The laboratory’s steps were supported by special magnetic levitation devices. Cautiously, Ran Yi placed his foot on one step, feeling as if walking on solid ground. At the instant his toe touched the surface, he clearly saw electric currents flowing like neural signals, transmitting data to the lab’s entrance.

“Identity recognition: Ran Yi, 21 years old, male university student.”

Seeing the stunned look on Ran Yi’s face, a lab technician smiled and explained, “This is a newly installed bioelectric identity verification system. Though it looks metallic, it’s extremely sensitive.”

The single-crystal silicon circuits eventually converged at the lab’s entrance—a narrow circular door. Initially concerned that the opening, less than a person’s width, might be too small to pass through, Ran Yi was surprised when, after his identity was verified, the aperture slowly expanded, large enough for five or six people to walk side by side.

“The door is made from symbiotic bacterial bodies intertwined with metal ions, controlled via simulated neural network electrical signals.”

Inside, they entered a narrow corridor just wide enough for one person. On both sides were dozens of research chambers tightly packed like folds—appearing as densely arrayed, interlocking protrusions. When someone passed, entire rooms shifted like doors to carve out a path.

“This is the front-end lab section of ‘Tracing Origins’—Tracing. It employs hundreds of top-tier biotechnology researchers focusing from the outside inward on various fields, including biological composite materials, limb regeneration, artificial organ cultivation, and neuron synthesis. Due to limited space, these movable rooms maximize usable area.”

“Professor Hu Chuan is a pure scientist, devoted his entire life to various research projects,” Bai Chen took over, briefly outlining the police’s background investigation on Hu.

“Unfortunately, he was overly obsessed. Despite numerous opportunities to generate wealth, he poured his funds into a bottomless pit. Moreover, investigations revealed the ‘Tracing Origins’ lab lacks official state recognition. In other words, the source of his research funding remains unclear.”

Passing through another security checkpoint, the group entered a spacious corridor. The walls were replaced with soft, pale pink biological gel panels. Lab personnel explained the gel’s texture resembled aerogel and offered excellent soundproofing.

“This corridor houses storage rooms and various testing facilities on both sides. It marks the boundary between Tracing and Origins. Core researchers in the front-end lab possess keys to the first security door.”

Ran Yi glanced around; display screens adorned the walls, their connected conduits converging at the corridor’s end.

Turning right, the corridor terminated at a protruding semicircular metal wall, glazed in porcelain white. From afar, it resembled the neck of a bottle, with a small hole at its center.

The officers brought in a woman—Ran Yi recognized her as Song Qi, Professor Hu’s assistant from the previous night.

“Officer Bai, you’ve arrived,” Song Qi said, her tone slightly ingratiating and cooperative. She pressed her index finger against the small hole in the metal wall. A crisp unlocking sound rang out as the metal wall slowly opened.

“This is the core area of ‘Tracing Origins’—Origins. Only the most essential members can enter here.”

Unlike the other gleaming rooms, the chamber before Ran Yi was dimly lit, relying on the corridor’s light to barely discern the interior.

It was circular, with a ring of metal instruments and storage units lining the walls. Stepping on the floor, Ran Yi noticed damp patches.

“Is there a leak?” he asked instinctively.

“No. During ‘The Other Shore’ operation, this chamber fills completely with water to isolate it entirely from the outside world,” Song Qi patiently explained the workings of the “Origins” section.

“When ‘The Other Shore’ activates, water begins flowing in through a bottom outlet until the entire Origins lab is submerged. After volunteers awaken, the water drains before ending the process, minimizing observer interference.”

“Didn’t expect Professor Hu to have such a morbid sense of humor at his age,” Bai Chen joked, then asked Song Qi, “Still no lights?”

Song Qi nodded. “The professor mandated no bright lights to avoid interference with lab equipment. There are no lighting fixtures here, but I can fetch some candles if needed…”

“No need,” Bai Chen said, pulling out a flashlight.

The strong beam drove back the darkness, but what lay before Ran Yi was disappointing. Unlike the high-tech vibe outside, this roughly twenty-square-meter room was stark—lime-stained walls soaked with water, floors covered in thin aluminum sheets, and encircled not by advanced equipment but by waterlogged bottles, soggy cardboard boxes, and rusted shelves.

In one corner stood several sealed glass compartments. Bai Chen explained those were the control rooms for Origins but mainly only managed water inflow and outflow.

The only somewhat advanced feature was a pair of antenna-like structures extending inward along the water channel. Each stretched five or six meters, then curved outward to the room’s end, forming two circular sealed pipe chambers.

These pipe chambers measured over four meters in diameter, constructed entirely of aluminum alloy, gleaming silver-white like two white eggs emerging from the earth in the corner.

This, Bai Chen whispered, was the machine Professor Hu called the “Other Shore”—the device for achieving spacetime traversal.