Qi Yuan was silent. The Black Steel Shelter still maintained a strict social order. To him, it was barely good news, but to be targeted by a level 4 researcher was definitely a nightmare. Even if he didn't dare to use all kinds of methods in the open and only did some things in the dark, it was not something he could bear.
A Level 4 researcher would definitely have his own private armed forces. Just by looking at Tan Qiu, when she was still a Level 3 researcher, she could already command Su Li and Hong Cang, two Level 4 researchers. If Feng Qian secretly made a move against him, no one in the entire Steel Chariot would be able to protect him. Even Ling You would not be able to help.
Qi Yuan looked at Su Li and said calmly, "You didn't come here to tell me about this.
"You didn't come here just to tell me this bad news. Tanqiu, do you have any solutions?"
Su Li and Qi Yuan looked at each other and said,
"Feng Qian only stole a small amount of your biological samples, but he didn't find the source of the samples. This matter can't be exposed, so he can't use the laboratory's power to search for it. He can only use his own private resources."
"Tanqiu will use her power to obstruct Feng Qian's investigation, but she can only do it in secret. They are both researchers in the laboratory, so their conflict is not allowed to be exposed."
"According to Tanqiu's judgment, with Feng Qian's strength, she can at most hold him off for three months. After three months, Feng Qian can find you at any time!"
"So Tanqiu has prepared three months for me to escape?" Qi Yuan said self-deprecatingly.
Three months was not a short time. It was enough for him to leave the Black Steel Shelter's range.
But where could he go? The only shelter adjacent to the Black Steel Shelter was Quicksand, but Quicksand was not safe either. Not to mention whether Quicksand Shelter would give Feng Qian face and give him to him, the remaining members of the Xu family were enough to make it difficult for him to move.
If he wanted to go to a shelter further away, he could only pass through the blue or even red areas. For him now, the consequences of doing so would be delivering food to the Zergs.
"There's no point in escaping. With your strength, you can't escape Feng Qian's pursuit!"
Su Li shook his head.
"You don't understand the power of the Mysterious Area. If you don't have an elite of the same tier to cover for you, even if you hide in Quicksand Shelter, he can still find you."
"Although the relationship between the Black Steel Shelter and the Quicksand Shelter isn't harmonious, it's far from the point of falling out. In order to maintain the relationship between the two sides, the Biological and Mechanical Laboratory still cooperates with the Quicksand Shelter. Unless the Black Steel Shelter and the Quicksand Shelter go to war, the Quicksand Shelter will never make an enemy of a Level 4 researcher for you."
"If you want to avoid Feng Qian's pursuit, there is only one way. That is to enter the sanctuary and become a resident."
Qi Yuan's brows furrowed deeply. Using the method of entering the Black Steel Shelter to avoid Feng Qian was, of course, not some sort of trick. In front of an ability user from the Mysterious Domain, psychological warfare was useless. It would only result in him delivering himself to his doorstep.
Entering the Black Steel Shelter and becoming a resident, the most important thing was to change his identity and let the order of the shelter become a means of protection.
However, the Black Steel Shelter had a strict hierarchy. Even if he entered the shelter, he would definitely be at the lowest level of the pyramid.
Feng Qian was already a Level 4 researcher. Although he wasn't at the top of the pyramid, he was definitely at the upper level. Even with the protection of the shelter's order, he might not be able to withstand Feng Qian's pressure.
Therefore, although Su Li's method might not be to deceive him, he was definitely holding back!
Qi Yuan looked into Su Li's eyes.
"What is Feng Qian's identity rating?"
Su Li's face stiffened. He didn't expect Qi Yuan to be so sharp and grasp the key of the matter. However, this kind of thing couldn't be hidden.
"Feng Qian successfully advanced to M6 two years ago."
Hearing this, Qi Yuan said word by word.
"Even if I successfully enter the shelter, my identity rating will only be P1. At most, it won't be higher than P2. How can I withstand the pressure of a Level 4 researcher?"
"Are you sure I won't be placed on Feng Qian's test bench on the day I enter the shelter?"
The corner of Su Li's mouth twitched.
Young people nowadays were all like old foxes. They weren't easy to fool at all.
The pressure from Feng Qian and the temptation of stepping into the shelter … if it were someone else, they would probably have hugged his leg and begged him to help them enter the shelter and become a resident.
This Qi Yuan didn't seem to have much interest in the shelter!
Tan Qiu asked him to come and warn Qi Yuan to let Qi Yuan enter the shelter. Of course, it wasn't just to help Qi Yuan resist the pressure from Feng Qian. The most important thing was that Tan Qiu didn't have any biological materials for Qi Yuan anymore.
Most of the materials she collected last time had been used in the experiment. The rest had been stolen by Feng Qian. Therefore, her ultimate goal was to let Qi Yuan enter her lab. With her authority and Qi Yuan's identity as a resident of the shelter, it was enough to protect Qi Yuan's safety. Even if Feng Qian tracked down Qi Yuan, he wouldn't dare to do anything.
After pondering for a moment, Su Li decided to tell Tan Qiu's idea. After all, Tan Qiu only wanted to collect some biological materials. It wouldn't endanger Qi Yuan's life. However, once it fell into Feng Qian's hands, Qi Yuan would definitely make it into a biological specimen or put it into a biological living incubator.
After listening to Su Li's explanation, Qi Yuan was silent for a long time. He then rubbed his stiff facial muscles and said self-deprecatingly,
"I didn't think that I would become a hot steamed bun in the biological and mechanical laboratory. Everyone wants to take a bite out of me!"
"The choice Tan Qiu gave me was to become her experiment material or Feng Qian's experiment material?"
Su Li was silent for a few seconds and said in a low voice, "No!
Tan Qiu and Feng Qian are different. With Feng Qian's methods, if you fall into his hands, you won't have any chance of survival. If you enter Tan Qiu's lab, at least you can survive. "
"And Tan Qiu has already promised that she only needs some of the most basic biological materials. She won't cause any danger to you!"
Qi Yuan shook his head.
"It doesn't make any difference to me. We're all toys to be played with!"
The room fell into a depressing silence.
Su Li looked at Qi Yuan. It was as if he was looking at himself in the past. At that time, he was overflowing with talent and was high-spirited. He thought that he could live with dignity and did not need to care about other people's faces. He did not need to suffer for others.
Because of this pride, he was assigned to the most dangerous Wilderness Investigation and Exploration Department. He became a member of a Wilderness Exploration team and met the captain at that time — Luo Zhan.
Luo Zhan taught him a lot of things and changed many of his shortcomings. He also tried to change his sharp edge. Unfortunately, before he succeeded, he brought fatal danger to the entire Wilderness Exploration team.
During one of their deployments, the Wilderness Exploration team encountered a group of elite Insect Beasts because of a wrong piece of information. Almost everyone died in the wilderness. Only the captain led him to fight his way out of the encirclement and returned to the Black Steel Shelter.
Luo Zhan clearly knew that this defeat was deliberately set up by someone, but he still chose to remain silent and take all the responsibility alone. He just wanted to fight for compensation for the families of his teammates who died in the battle, so that he would not be held responsible.
Because of this, Luo Zhan, who was expected to be promoted to P5, was stripped of all his duties and exiled to the wilderness. Although Su Li was punished and his rating dropped from P3 to P2, he still stayed in the shelter.
For his teammates who died in the battle, for the living family members, and for himself, Luo Zhan chose to sacrifice himself, even if he knew that it was a conspiracy.
The accident this time was like a merciless blow that completely destroyed his pride.
Su Li still clearly remembered that when Luo Zhan was exiled, he only said one sentence to him: Don't investigate the truth of the matter. It will only bring disaster to the living.
Although he was not reconciled, he did not violate the captain's last instructions. It was not until later that he slowly understood the meaning behind this sentence.
In the eyes of some superiors, he was just a toy in their hands. Toys that did not obey would be cleaned up. That was all.
After a while, Qu Shi said softly, "In the new era, everyone is just a toy in the hands of others. You are the same, I am the same, Su Li is the same, even Tanqiu and Feng Qian are the same."
Qu Shi looked into Qi Yuan's eyes and said, "If you want to avoid being a toy, there is only one way, and that is to make yourself stronger. But before that, you have to live first."
"Only by living can you have the capital to pursue other things!"
In the new era where great power belonged to the individual, powerful strength was the foundation of everything.
Both Su Li and Qu Shanhai understood this because they had been educated in the most practical and violent way.
However, Qi Yuan had not been educated yet!
Qi Yuan looked at Su Li and asked, "In the Black Steel Shelter, what authority can I have to fight against Feng Qian's black hand?"
Su Li looked at Qi Yuan meaningfully. As he expected, Qi Yuan did not give up and wanted to fight against Feng Qian's black hand with his own strength.
Although Feng Qian was a level four researcher, he was not a member of the board of directors. To some extent, as long as Qi Yuan's authority was increased to a certain level, it was indeed possible to fight against Feng Qian's little tricks.
"Feng Qian is a level four researcher, and his authority is M6. If you want Feng Qian to not mess around, you need at least M3 or P3 authority!"
Qi Yuan frowned. He had some basic understanding of the Black Steel Shelter's authority division.
P and M belonged to two completely different promotion sequences. The authority of the P sequence was inclined towards combat, while the M sequence was inclined towards management. Unless there was a stepping stone for promotion, very few people would jump between the two different authority sequences.
For example, Su Li and Hong Cang belonged to the P sequence.
Both sequences had their pros and cons. Although the promotion of both sequences required a certain level of strength, the M sequence was far less stringent than the P sequence.
The promotion of the M sequence was mainly based on experience. If one wanted to be promoted quickly, they had to have enough achievements.
The promotion of the P sequence mainly depended on one's own strength. For example, Su Li and Hong Cang's P4 authority had to be promoted to level four before they had the chance to obtain the P4 authority.
Most of the hunters recruited by the Black Steel Shelter did not have the right to choose. Normally, they would be assigned to the P sequence. Only very few people could choose the promotion route of the M sequence, such as Feng Qian.
This was because Feng Qian had entered the Biological and Mechanical Laboratory. The researchers in the Biological and Mechanical Laboratory were not known for their strength, so they were all promoted through the M sequence.
If he went through the recruitment route of the shelter and stepped into the Black Steel Shelter, he would definitely be assigned to the P sequence. No matter how good his performance in the assessment was, the final ranking would not be higher than P2. It was even possible that he would only be P1.
If he wanted to be promoted to P3, the strength of level three was the foundation. He also needed to accumulate a lot of battle contributions. No matter what, it was impossible for him to be promoted to P3 in a short three months.
Therefore, if he wanted to use the order of the Black Steel Shelter to protect himself and prevent himself from being sabotaged by Feng Qian, he could only go through the M sequence. Under normal circumstances, the promotion of the M sequence was more difficult than the P sequence. However, in a special place, the M sequence could completely achieve a level three jump in a short time.
For example, the Biological and Mechanical Laboratory!
A researcher in the Biological and Mechanical Laboratory, even if he was only a level one researcher, if he could produce a few significant experimental results, there was hope for him to obtain the M3 authority.
"How long until the recruitment of the shelter ends?" Qi Yuan asked.
"Two months. To be precise, it's 58 days!" Su Li said.
"However, the recruitment threshold is level three. With your current strength, it's impossible for you to pass the recruitment test!"
Qi Yuan looked at him.
"Since Tanqiu asked you to come here, she must have a way to solve this problem."
"Of course!" Su Li smiled.
"However, Tanqiu's help is not free. Are you prepared to provide Tanqiu with experimental materials?"
"As long as I can survive, even if I have to sell myself to her!" Qi Yuan said.
Su Li's expression suddenly became unnatural. Previously, for Luo Zhan, he did not hesitate to sell himself to Tanqiu for ten years. Now that he thought about it, he was really too impulsive!
"Since you've already made your decision, I'll tell Tanqiu when I get back. However, I need to remind you that before the deal, you can regret it at any time. Once the deal is established, you must not break your promise to Tanqiu!"
Su Li patted Qi Yuan's shoulder and did not continue to persuade him. He had already said what he needed to say.
Then, Su Li pulled out a neat stack of manuscripts and handed it to Qu Shanhai.
"Old man Qu, Tanqiu knows that you don't want to enter the laboratory, so she asked me to bring you some gifts."
"What are they?"
Qu Shi raised his eyebrows, but he still took the manuscripts from Su Li's hand. As soon as his eyes swept over the first page of the manuscript, Qu Shi's face suddenly changed.
This was not the original manuscript, but a printed manuscript. However, he could tell at a glance that the handwriting on the manuscript was not Tan Qiu's, but Feng Qian's. The contents of the manuscript were very familiar to him. It was the follow-up to the experimental design that Feng Qian had stolen back then.
That was his proudest work. It was also the result of that experiment that allowed Feng Qian to successfully step into the biological and mechanical laboratory.
Qu Shi glanced at the date of the manuscript. For so many years, Feng Qian had not only followed that path all the way down, but also to this extent.
Qu Shi's attention was all attracted by the manuscript. He did not even notice when Su Li left. It was not until a few hours later that Qu Shi finally sighed and put down the manuscript in his hand.