Chapter 43: A Leopard Cannot Change Its Spots

Ever since the treasure hunting expedition organized by Boss Bao disbanded, Meng Yang had secretly returned to his auto repair shop. The moment he appeared, he was spotted by his girlfriend, Zhao Xue, and Meng Yang immediately began eagerly asking her about the racing scene.

Zhao Xue said, "Although Ermao is dead and Young Master Yao is disabled and injured, illegal street racing hasn't stopped at all."

"Has anyone been asking about me and Gu Dajun?" Meng Yang asked with a nervous expression.

"What could possibly happen to you guys? I haven't heard a thing. It's just that Du Bin, who sets up the races, said he hasn't seen you around lately and actually misses you quite a bit," Zhao Xue replied with a serious look.

Meng Yang thought to himself that since Young Master Yao was in that kind of state, he probably didn't have the energy to come after him, so his gambling addiction flared up again. He asked Zhao Xue, "When is the next race set up?"

Zhao Xue said, "I heard there's one tonight. It's between Haizi from Shanguan and an out-of-town driver, and they're both driving the absolute newest models of hover-racers."

Hearing this, Meng Yang felt a surge of excitement and immediately decided to go and participate in their gambling race tonight.

To avoid being recognized, he carefully applied makeup and even put on a mask. He knew that these young people who chased after non-conformity always dressed in bizarre costumes for such events, the weirder the better.

Night fell, and the sky over Kunming was exceptionally clear, with countless stars twinkling like a myriad of alluring eyes. Back at the same spot where Yao Kui and the others had held their race last time, a crowd of wealthy singles and street racing experts had gathered once more.

Despite wearing a mask, Meng Yang was spotted instantly by his old friend Zhou Damian, who knew him all too well from the gambling dens.

Zhou Damian ran over excitedly and shouted, "Brother Monkey, you're finally here! The guys have been missing you like crazy!"

Realizing he couldn't hide, Meng Yang had no choice but to say, "I haven't gone anywhere. Right now, I'm just like a hunchback climbing a mountain—'tight on cash'."

"Oh come on, my brother! If you said the rest of us were broke, people might believe it, but who could ever believe you have no money? Just think of all the cash you made modifying that 'Soul Slicer' for Young Master Yao!" Damian exclaimed with exaggerated yelps.

Meng Yang rushed forward to cover his mouth, saying nervously, "Bro, bro, keep it down. If people find out I'm back, my life will be on the line."

Damian's eyes widened as he pried Meng Yang's hand away and asked in confusion, "It wouldn't be that serious, would it? Who on earth would want to harm you?"

Meng Yang placed a finger to his lips once more and made a shushing gesture, "Hush..."

Damian lowered his voice and asked, "Did that business with Brother Kui implicate you?"

"Sigh, isn't it all because I modified that car for him? I was afraid he'd misunderstand, and I didn't even dare ask him for the money," Meng Yang explained helplessly.

"Don't worry, I don't think Brother Kui is the petty type. Still, this scene has been taken over by him lately," Damian said.

Hearing this, Meng Yang felt a secret jolt of alarm.

"Brother Monkey, we all thought you'd gone off to get married and have kids," Damian said, turning his gaze toward Zhao Xue.

Zhao Xue immediately retorted, "Get lost, stop talking nonsense here. If you want kids, I'll have my mom mix you a batch of biological fertility drugs to guarantee you a houseful of descendants."

"You might joke, but I actually really need that. Forget about me, which of our married buddies doesn't want children? None of us in our circle can do it anymore; even if we want to have kids, we can't!" Damian subconsciously patted his own belly.

"Yeah, you know, it really is strange. The birth rate keeps dropping lower and lower. Do you think people just don't want them, or are they simply incapable? Human genetics are just getting worse and worse by the day," Meng Yang chimed in from the side.

"I think we really need human genetic modification, or humanity is going to be completely finished," Zhao Xue said, seemingly privy to some insider information due to her family background.

"Isn't your mom a biologist? Why don't you get her to brew up some miracle medicine for us?" Damian said half-jokingly.

"No problem at all. As long as we have it, you'll be my very first test subject," Zhao Xue bantered.

At that moment, a sharp whistle blew, signaling the start of the betting. Damian said, "It's starting! Well, Brother Monkey, which one are you betting on today?"

"I don't know any of these guys. Let me watch for a bit first," Meng Yang said cautiously.

"Let me tell you, that guy from out of town is seriously fierce, famous nationwide," Damian said with an excited expression.

"Who is it?" Meng Yang's interest was instantly piqued.

"It's none other than Tian Lingfang, the son of that Shanxi coal baron, known to everyone as 'Edamame'," Damian introduced enthusiastically, gesturing with flying colors.

"How is it him? In that case, I have to bet big on this." Monkey Meng Yang called over Zhao Xue, who was laughing and chatting with others nearby. "Xue'er, it's not convenient for me to go place the bet myself. Help me put this down."

Zhao Xue took a look and saw it was a certificate of deposit for seventy thousand yuan. She asked in astonishment, "Brother Monkey, all-in?"

"Of course, bet it all!" Meng Yang said smugly, thinking to himself that if he hadn't lost so much of the boss's money at the expedition, he could have wagered even more.

Zhao Xue and Damian went off to place the bet, while Meng Yang dared not linger in the crowded areas.

Just as the race was about to begin, Meng Yang suddenly felt a pair of strong hands land on his shoulders. His heart tightened, and when he turned his head, he saw Xiao Biao and Duan Jinhu standing right in front of him.

Meng Yang's heart sank as he realized he was completely finished...

Inside Dinosaur Park, Du Yingxiang walked into Yao Kui's office to remind him about tomorrow's opening ceremony of the Dinosaur Park held in the Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

Yao Kui suddenly remembered what Shen Xingyun had said, something he still hadn't figured out. He asked, "'Star Lord of the East, strictly avoid the West.' What on earth does that actually mean?"

Chen Houyan rolled his eyes and pondered, "I suppose this roughly means we should look for answers within Eastern culture and not blindly seek them from the West. Of course, I can't be entirely certain."

Yao Kui remained noncommittal, thinking that whoever tied the bell must untie it. If he had time during this trip to Chuxiong, he would still need to visit Lijiang and ask Shen Xingyun for a detailed explanation.

At that moment, Duan Jinhu returned from outside, dragging a bound figure behind him. The captive was slight of stature, keeping his head down the entire time without daring to look anyone in the eye.

"Who is this?" Yao Kui asked with a frown.

Duan Jinhu said, "Brother Kui, we've found the person who tried to harm you."

Yao Kui looked closely and flew into an immediate rage. He leaped up in fury and delivered a fierce kick, sending Meng Yang flying.

Meng Yang cried out in agony, "Brother Kui, I've been wronged!"

Yao Kui lashed out with another kick, roaring, "Tell me, how much were you paid to tamper with my car!"

Meng Yang defended himself through sobs, "There was no... Brother Kui, there really wasn't!" Knowing there would be no good outcome if caught, he blurted out, "Brother Kui, you can't blame us for this. It was you who insisted on installing the KC20 kinetic energy canister, which caused the rotor stress to exceed the yield limit, leading to runaway RPMs and a failure of the overspeed protection!"

Yao Kui snarled fiercely, "Still daring to talk back? Beat him!"

Suddenly, a thought struck him as he looked at Meng Yang. This fellow had also been in contact with the KC20 energy canister, so why was he completely fine? He demanded, "I find it strange. If it's a problem with the energy canister, you came into contact with it too—why didn't you contract any strange illness?"

Meng Yang made a miserable face and said, "Brother Kui, we didn't."

Knowing Yao Kui was referring to his affliction, he hurriedly added, "I heard from the doctors that you were poisoned. Fortunately, thank goodness you were thrown clear of the vehicle; staying in there any longer would have cost you your life. Perhaps it was the toxic gas released by that canister that harmed you."

Yao Kui thought that perhaps his illness really had been caused by the substance inside that canister. Damn it, why didn't they install a safety valve? Little did he know that the thieves were purely driven by profit and convenience, completely overlooking the safety kit left to the side.

"Speak! How much were you paid to harm me? Who is the mastermind behind this?" Yao Kui turned back to him, though by now even he found the questions he was asking somewhat laughable.

"There really wasn't any, Brother Kui! Surely you know our brothers aren't those kinds of people!" Meng Yang felt utterly aggrieved.

"Fine, you won't talk, will you? Doctor Chen, what was it you were saying just a moment ago?" Yao Kui vented his pent-up frustration. "Something about refining pills with human blood, oh right, refining elixirs using human blood..."

Duan Jinhu followed up, "That's right. If he won't talk, I say we use him for alchemy."

Knowing that Yao Kui meant what he said, Meng Yang was genuinely terrified. Fortunately, he had just overheard Chen Houyan say upon entering that the older the genetics, the better the alchemy results. He hurriedly yelled, "Brother Kui, Brother Kui! My genetics aren't good, but I can find you the DNA of wildmen!"

"Utter nonsense! Where would there be wildmen? You're clearly just trying to fool this young master," Yao Kui said dismissively.

Duan Jinhu lunged forward abruptly, delivering a vicious punch as he bellowed, "Still daring to spout nonsense!" The blow landed squarely on Meng Yang, wringing a shrill, miserable scream from him as his body collapsed heavily to the floor like a kite with a snapped string.

"There really are, Brother Kui, there really are wildmen! I saw them with my own eyes!" Meng Yang shrieked in absolute terror, pleading tearfully.

Seeing that Meng Yang was on the verge of losing consciousness and barely holding on, Chen Houyan hurried forward to stop Duan Jinhu, saying in a low voice, "Wait." Knowing full well that the chairman was desperate to unmask Meng Yang's puppet master, he continued, "I don't think this kid has the guts to deceive the chairman."

Chen Houyan leaned down, fixing his gaze tightly on Meng Yang as he asked, "Are there really wildmen?"

Clutching his bleeding mouth, Meng Yang's voice grew as faint as a thread: "I'm not lying to you, Brother Kui... It's true. Back then, because we were afraid Brother Kui would hold us accountable, Gu Dajun and I fled to the Tibetan glaciers for an expedition, and we actually ran into wildmen on the road..."

At these words, everyone present wore expressions of utter shock, exchanging stunned glances.

"If you dare to deceive us, I'll take your life right here and now!" Duan Jinhu declared, menacingly raising his fist at Meng Yang once more.