DSMC Chapter 100.2

Yan Jiyun was also considering whether he could seize the remote, but right now he had to rescue Dr. Zhou first.

Behind him, the black panther and Caesar were already on guard, ready to pounce on Uncle Man at any moment.

But Yan Jiyun worried about the timed bomb remote in Uncle Man’s hand and didn’t dare let them rush forward recklessly.

Dr. Zhou was conscious. A timed bomb was also strapped to his chest, its countdown identical to the devices downstairs, and time remaining before detonation was now 13:09.

Uncle Man said to them, “Take one more step closer, and the bomb on Zhou Yiqun’s chest will explode immediately.”

Yan Jiyun had no choice but to stay still. “Fine, we won’t move forward. I don’t understand, why are you doing this?”

Uncle Man looked at the black panther and the others with a hint of envy. “Jiang You, I actually envy you. They all listen to you so obediently. I can only control them with specially made drugs.”

Yan Jiyun remained calm. “I guessed as much. The anesthetic spray in the forest was arranged by you.”

Uncle Man laughed loudly. “So what if it was? What difference does it make if you figured it out? They were all willing.”

Yan Jiyun shook his head. “No, they weren’t willing. A small number were sent to Dr. Zhou’s lab because they had no other choice, but most of the patients were kidnapped by you from outside.”

He deliberately used the word “kidnapped” and watched Uncle Man’s expression.

Uncle Man’s face began to change. “Impressive. You even discovered that.”

Yan Jiyun said, “Dr.  Qiao’s son could have woken up, but someone sent him here directly. That was your doing too, wasn’t it?”

Dr. Zhou, lying on the ground, widened his eyes at Uncle Man, disbelief written all over his face.

Uncle Man “considerately” tore the tape off his mouth. “Yiqun, don’t look at me like that. I had no choice. The quality of the animals in the zoo kept getting worse, and there were fewer and fewer visitors. Your experiment just happened to align perfectly with my needs, so I could only do this. Look, what you need are test subjects, and what I need are animals that can attract customers. Besides, many of them might never wake up again anyway. I’m just recycling waste. What’s wrong with that?”

Zhou Yiqun said angrily, “But from beginning to end I said we needed the consent of the patients’ families! How could you drag innocent people into this? You’re completely insane.”

Uncle Man laughed loudly. “That’s not right. I’m giving them a new life. Don’t young people nowadays always talk about lying flat? They even post online about wanting to be pets, living simple lives of eating, drinking, sleeping, and doing nothing. Look, now they don’t have to wait for another lifetime or reincarnation. Their wishes have already come true. Every day in the zoo they eat and drink without working nine-to-nine, without commuting three hours a day. Relaxed and free. How happy, what a wonderful experience.”

Zhou Yiqun: “But Director, you’re experimenting on people who could return to society normally!”

Uncle Man said earnestly, “Yiqun, you need people for experiments, and I help you find people. Why care whether they’re normal or not? Besides, where would I find so many vegetative patients officially declared never to wake up? I brought you so many people for experiments. Doesn’t that make your data richer and more diverse?”

Zhou Yiqun looked despairing and said angrily, “Among all these people, how many could actually wake up?”

Uncle Man said indifferently, “It doesn’t matter if I tell you now. You’re all going to die anyway. Aside from a few wealthy ones who volunteered to participate in your experiment, the rest aren’t vegetative patients.”

Yan Jiyun: “……”

This meant that not long after the experiment began, Uncle Man had already formed plans targeting the zoo. He saw Dr. Zhou’s experiment and the business opportunities it created, and Dr. Zhou would keep it confidential. To him, it was a perfect arrangement.

No wonder there were only eight unusual animals in the mission. Their “unusual” status came from being genuine vegetative patients who volunteered — or whose families volunteered — to join the experiment. Those marked as “failures” hadn’t disappeared because the experiments failed; Uncle Man, afraid Zhou Yiqun would discover the truth, had placed them in this building and secretly cared for them, hiding the reality.

Because Vice Director He was eager for promotion and frequently investigated Dr. Zhou’s laboratory, the zoo’s secrets gradually leaked. Then Dr. Peng became involved, escalating into internal conflict, and eventually the experiment was exposed.

This was likely the full truth behind the zoo incident.

If things continued unchecked, every animal in the zoo would eventually fall into his hands, and more victims would appear. The zoo’s greatest crisis was “Uncle Man.” Right now he was only searching for injured and unconscious patients, then what next? Knocking people unconscious on the streets and taking them away? Human greed only grows, never satisfied. Everything would become increasingly complicated, and everyone involved would sink deeper until no one could escape the mire.

In the end, people destroy only themselves.

Yan Jiyun watched the countdown on the timed bomb steadily decrease. Only 12 minutes remained.

Uncle Man could see Yan Jiyun’s intention to save Dr. Zhou and slowly backed away until he reached a wall.

“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll press this button!”

Holding the remote in one hand, he pushed against the wall behind him. As he pressed backward, his body rotated along the wall and vanished from their sight.

Yan Jiyun quickly stepped forward and untied the ropes binding Dr. Zhou.

The black panther lifted a paw and pressed lightly on Dr. Zhou’s head. Dr. Zhou immediately grabbed his brother’s paw and said, “Ge, it’s great that you’re okay.”

Yan Jiyun had no time to watch their brotherly reunion. He pushed the rotating door in the wall. But it wouldn’t move.

Great. Locked from the inside. How were they supposed to get through?

Only 11 minutes remained. There’s nowhere near enough time.

He looked at Dr. Zhou. “Dr. Zhou, is there another door here?”

Dr. Zhou shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve hardly been in this building. It’s probably been renovated.”

The place was too empty, not even a chair to smash the door with. His gun was useless; he couldn’t even see where the lock was. His item gun had only six bullets, three already used. Even firing the rest wouldn’t help.

He could have acted earlier, but he was still a novice with firearms and couldn’t guarantee hitting Uncle Man’s hand precisely, so he had abandoned using a gun.

Who would have thought the man was both rational and extremely quick at escaping?

It seemed everything was unfolding exactly according to the other party’s plan.

Yan Jiyun looked at the timed bomb strapped to Dr. Zhou. He wasn’t a professional and didn’t dare tamper with it.

“Dr.  Zhou, stay here. I’ll go catch him.”

Dr. Zhou nodded.

Yan Jiyun turned and ran. The black panther followed without hesitation, exiting through the still-open door.

Dr. Zhou called after them, “Ge, be careful!”

Then he watched one massive animal after another pass by. Seeing how popular Yan Jiyun was, he shed tears of envy.

In the end, the wolf couple chose to stay with him. If they all left, no one would guard the area, and the villain could return and escape via the stairs.

Yan Jiyun knew Uncle Man’s position and ran forward.

Time remained tight. The bombs contained enough explosives to reduce the entire building to rubble. Unless Uncle Man intended to die together with them, he would have to come out.

But through which door? Were there more hidden passages? Yan Jiyun didn’t know.

He could hear every sound in the building; tracking Uncle Man’s direction wasn’t difficult.

Better to wait quietly and observe his movements. See who grew anxious first.

Uncle Man’s footsteps suddenly stopped.

Only a wall separated Yan Jiyun from him. He didn’t smash the door or shout. The nervous one would become Uncle Man.

Of course, if Uncle Man could pause the bomb timer and had no way to escape yet didn’t want to die, he might stall indefinitely. In the end, it wasn’t certain who would win.

This was now a silent psychological battle.

The black panther lightly nudged his leg, confused.

Yan Jiyun whispered, “We can only wait. Lure the rabbit by guarding the stump.”

He began assigning tasks: “There were several doors along the way. Let’s each guard one. Choose which door you’ll watch.”

Aside from Xixi, who lacked independent combat ability, the others quickly found doors to guard.

They stayed close enough that everyone could hear whatever Yan Jiyun said.

Time passed second by second.

Yan Jiyun glanced at the timer in the system interface and counted the bomb’s remaining time.

[6:20]

There was no major movement inside. Uncle Man couldn’t hear anything outside.

Pressing against one door, Yan Jiyun heard Uncle Man’s breathing grow heavier. The man was becoming anxious.

Uncle Man finally moved. He opened a door and slowly approached Yan Jiyun’s direction. He didn’t dare return to his previous location, knowing someone must be guarding outside.

Though the large animals possessed human consciousness, their time in the zoo had made them battle-hardened. Dealing with a normal human wasn’t difficult. Instead, Uncle Man feared facing them alone.

Yan Jiyun also prepared defenses. He hadn’t forgotten the white powder Uncle Man once used. It could temporarily control Orange and the others.

Finally, Uncle Man arrived!

[3:20]

Yan Jiyun and the black panther slipped to the side of the door simultaneously, watching his movements!

Uncle Man opened the door. The black panther didn’t pounce impulsively. He waited for Yan Jiyun’s signal.

In this battle, Yan Jiyun was the commander. He did not act on its own.

Yan Jiyun gripped his gun tightly, waiting for the moment Uncle Man exposed himself.

Uncle Man was cautious, opening only a one- to two-centimeter gap to observe outside.

Yan Jiyun pressed tightly against the wall, avoiding detection.

Fortunately, the hallway lights were off, impairing Uncle Man’s vision. He couldn’t see Yan Jiyun or the black panther clearly.

Yan Jiyun made a downward pressing gesture to the black panther, the universal signal Qi Feng had taught him for teamwork.

The black panther, once a special forces soldier, understood and remained still.

Hearing nothing outside, Uncle Man assumed “Jiang You” and the animals had gone far away.

After observing briefly, he boldly opened the door wider.

The moment his whole body appeared, Yan Jiyun signaled the black panther: ‘Go!’

Before Uncle Man could even look shocked, a massive black shadow slammed him to the ground. Yan Jiyun and the black panther moved simultaneously: the panther tackled Uncle Man while Yan Jiyun lunged for the remote control.

Knocked down, Uncle Man’s elbow was pinned to the ground by Yan Jiyun’s thigh as the remote slipped from his hand.

“Hah!” Uncle Man was so startled he didn’t even react in time to struggle.

Realizing he had lost the advantage, he tried desperately to escape. At that moment, Orange rushed in after hearing the commotion. Larger than the black panther, his left front paw pressed directly onto Uncle Man’s throat!

Pinned by the black panther and crushed at the collarbone by Orange’s massive paw, Uncle Man nearly rolled his eyes and fainted: “……”

If he had known these patients would one day fight back, he would have killed them all earlier!

[2:20]

With the tiger and black panther restraining Uncle Man, Yan Jiyun quickly grabbed the remote. He didn’t press the green pause button immediately but raised it and asked the black panther:

“Soy sauce, which one do I press?”

The black panther froze, not expecting to be asked. It released Uncle Man slightly and stepped forward to place its paw on a button, then lifted it again.

He remembered: he was colorblind¹jaguars and leopards are colorblind…

Uncle Man, still pinned beneath the hundreds-of-jin Orange, forced out three words while glaring, “Don’t… press!”

Two minutes remained before detonation.

Yan Jiyun didn’t trust Uncle Man, but he hesitated.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

The countdown continued decreasing.

Bomb disposal was not his specialty. What the fuck should he do???

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  jaguars and leopards are colorblind