Chapter 175 - What It Means to be Project Hades

Her dark eyes connected with Dr. Tang's clear ones. He then strode towards them with his hands behind him. Tang Liang was behind him, and he was holding two trays. When he saw the half-empty table of the four, he walked up to them. "Please tell me it's okay for us to sit with you guys!"

"Only if you tell me why you're showing up more than you should." Chuan Nayi had a very strange feeling about these two. They were always around even if the staff seemed to be puzzled by their presence as well. "Are you following us around? We're not the only ones undertaking the project. Do you feel better examining people that you had seen before?"

"This..." Tang Liang felt awful. He didn't like getting lectured by anyone, but the eyes of this woman felt like she was on a throne rather than a wheelchair.

Dr. Tang took the liberty to sit down and didn't ask for permission either. He then huffed before patting the table as if telling Tang Liang to sit down. "As expected of Jiang Yanyu's daughter. You're taking after her too much. Is it strange for me to get interested when her daughter is actively participating in a project Breakthrough is covering? Is there any reason for you to be so guarded around me?"

Her frown didn't let up, but she lost interest in chasing them away. They were already sitting down, and she had yet to finish her food. Moreover, Tang Lian left the table again as if hurrying to get something. She just eyed the doctor. "I do. It's Xiaodan. What makes you think that I won't think of my connection with him?"

"...if I am indeed doing this because of Xiaodan, what will you do?" Dr. Tang didn't even flinch when he answered. It was Ruan Jin, Li Feng, and Qiao Shan who reacted loudly. The doctor then huffed again. "I'll let you know. It was his conscious decision to participate. Moreover, he was losing his mind already." His eyes then flashed with concern. "The tests are starting. Who knows when that thing will come out again…?"

"What thing?" Chuan Nayi shuddered discreetly. However, Dr. Tang just eyed her and didn't answer. She then caught a glimpse of Tang Liang in the distance. The orderly placed down a big platter of boiled prawns at the center of the table as if inviting them to eat.

"The prawns will get cold in a few minutes. If you do not like the reward, then I will eat everything myself." Dr. Tang knew that it was just a platter of prawns, but these youngsters were about to find out that such things were already a delicacy in a place where gruel and fruits were the staples. He had prepared it specifically for them, for this conversation.

Chuan Nayi recognized the intention, but she felt worried. It was as if she took a piece, she was letting him make use of her in any way he could—just to study Liu Xiaodan. However, just as she was about to decline, one of the prawns vanished from her sight… like someone unseen had taken a piece and placed it on a small plate next to her.

…

The faint symphony of chopsticks and pouring drinks echoed in the background as the whole family ate in their big dining hall. On the private corner, Mian Tianni stared at Wu Qianqian's sullen face. Even Liu Li couldn't eat properly out of worry. Mian Tianyu was also with them, and he was not safe from the overall mood of the table.

The couple was supposed to head to Cherry Med with Wu Zhong, but their earlier conversation had sent Wu Qianqian to hyperventilation. She couldn't face Liu Xiaodan like that so she couldn't help but feel like a failure in facing whatever she needed to do. Moreover, she wanted to pour out her fears onto someone that would fully understand the kind of power the Qian family had… and how Liu Xiaodan would fit in their plan.

"So I was right. Project Hades wasn't really washed away…" Mian Tianni blinked slowly. She then looked at her favorite niece. "Qianqian, we'll find a way to deal with this. Even if Mr. Li is bedridden, he wouldn't let anything crush his Li family just like that. You should eat for now. You will need your strength back."

"Auntie Ni, what have I brought upon my baby boy? He's not even supposed to be part of this… and yet…" Wu Qianqian covered her mouth and started to whimper again. At this point, they had already established that the host, Liu Xiaodan, might have to lose himself to fully weaponized Project Hades. Moreover, the Qiao family wasn't a stranger to selfishness and ruthlessness.

"Qianqian, your son is as innocent as you in this scenario. The only person to blame is that sc.u.m, Wu Zhong. If he didn't even think of weaponizing ghosts, the Qiao family wouldn't have ideas. Right now, it would take more than a brash move to shut them down." Mian Tianni sighed. "We will find a way… so hush now."

Liu Li could understand things, but he couldn't really wrap his head around a few points. He didn't believe in ghosts, and meeting Guangru was his first encounter with such things. That's why he didn't know about the power shamans held if they had control over these things. More importantly, Project Hades…

When lunch finished, he went to look for Mian Tianyu for some insight. As he was Wu Qianqian's husband, Mian Tianyu welcomed him and spoke with him on the main building's library terrace.

"Funny how you come to me now when you should have done so twenty years ago." Mian Tianyu lit up a cigar and blew on it while enjoying the fresh air from outside. "No matter, you said you wanted to understand things fully?"

"My son… is Project Hades. What does that mean? Are his crazy abilities from that project? How could he be an experiment when he was with us since he was just a tiny fetus?" Liu Li didn't want to lose his cool, but what was happening somewhat infringed on what he heard and read about mediums.

Mian Tianyu shook his head. "Project Hades actually started with Lengleng, Qianqian's mother. She was the one who fell victim to the project. The project doesn't turn an ordinary human into a medium; it turns a medium… into a super medium. 

"You see, strong ghosts are known to devour a lot of humans before. When they possess a human being, there's a chance that they would leave precipitations of that power as blood drops mixing with the medium's blood." He gauged Liu Li's reaction before he continued. "However, everyone doesn't collect the same amount of faded blood or is even bound to receive it. Moreover, over time, these contaminants become poisonous to the body.

"Project Hades deals with this faded blood. Project Hades makes use of a serum that enabled the medium's body to extract the highest amount of faded blood possible… and incorporate those into their own, giving them the ability to wield the ghosts' power as if they were ghosts themselves."