Chapter 217 - The Neptune Trader

Lu Fang was slowly getting back to his routine while keeping tabs on Li Wen's work. He was able to bring himself to the office a few days but just long enough to review all the projects.  He continued to train himself daily, spending at least two hours in the afternoon. Unlike the previous week, however, he allocated time for the twins. 

He was often home before dinner and would play with Brie and Chevre, putting them on their stomachs, watching them crawl and talking to them, encouraging sound responses. 

The man was putting Chevre to sleep on his chest when Li Wen called in the middle of the night. 

"Lu Fang, I think I may have found Andy. I - I'm not entirely sure, but  - all the leads are pointing to a ship- Lu Fang, Andy may be there. She may just be there," Li Wen could not help but cry as she said this. Just the thought of finding her sister was making her anxious. 

Lu Fang closed his eyes as he attentively listened to his sister-in-law. A tear fell down his cheek. He replied saying, "Wen, any possibility is more than enough for me."

The man turned over the twins to their caregiver and went straight to Lu Wei's study. He immediately jumped in a conference call with Yeong and Alfred, ready to hear Li Wen's discovery. 

"It's a cargo ship. If my assumption is correct, it's a cargo ship in disguise. No wonder... No wonder I could not pin it down. It had merely been staying afloat in the English Channel, between France and the UK," reported Li Wen. 

Li Wen started to take notice of the ship when she caught it docking at Molène Island. She might have just ignored it if not for another vessel that anchored on the same day, refueling the said ship. 

Why refuel in Molène Island? Why purposely bring in another vessel to do the job in an inconvenient location? If the reason was merely to get supplies, why dock in such a small island where most of its goods literally came from the main island? What was so interesting about Molène Island to be the docking site of this ship? 

At that time, Li Wen's mind probed internally, making no sense of it all. It was utterly suspicious that she could not let it go.

Alfred's men remained on both Ushant and Molène to observe any unusual behaviors within the residents. His men later confirmed that the other vessel loaded supplies to the massive ship.

By seizing one of its workers, they were able to find out the loaded supplies included food, medicines, oxygen tanks, chemicals used for scientific studies, bladed weapons and firearms. It was not the usual stock a cargo ship would need. It all the more caught Li Wen's attention. 

Unfortunately, the said worker was only responsible for loading the supplies into the ship. They were not allowed to enter and according to him; it was heavily guarded. 

Li Wen traced back the said ship to an unknown corporation, not related to the Dronne family. The smaller vessel, however, was partly owned by one the Dronnes. 

Anges Dronne Duval was married to a businessman, Bertrand Duval, whose family owned the biggest shipping company in the Mediterranean. It was also of no wonder Li Wen could not find a connection between the Dronne family and Project Zero. As it turns out, it was Bertrand's grandfather who was said to have invested in human genetics and genetic engineering was what Project Zero was all about. 

Bertrand's grandfather was not discrete about it during his prime, repeatedly announcing to his acquaintances and to the media that his new investment will bring the human race into a whole new level. His dream was initially a noble one. He wanted to cure those with terminal diseases by changing one's DNA. 

Base on what Li Wen had gathered, Project Zero successfully engineered most of their test subjects. However, the organizers started to use them for their own personal gains. They were about to proceed to the next phase of the project, when the experimented individuals revolted, wanting to have normal lives rather than being made soldiers and assassins. 

Both the parents of Anton and Andrea were part of the experiment. That was where they met. After escaping Project Zero's facility, Yeong's parents went their separate ways only to meet again after Li Wen was born. 

"According to the worker, the ship reloads every two weeks - "

"I can't wait for another two weeks!" Lu Fang interrupted Alfred after learning about this development. "We have to find a way to confirm my wife is inside that ship. The sooner the better."

"You don't have to Lu Fang," they all heard Li Wen said confidently. 

"You know how parents can keep nothing from their children? Well, the captain of the ship has a fifteen-year-old girl who kept posting on her social media account saying she misses her daddy who was a captain of The Neptune Trader. Guess what? It is exactly the name of the ship," narrated Li Wen. 

"I could be wrong though, only that the said captain was previously connected to the Duvals, having commanded most of its vessels across the Mediterranean sea."

"Let's make the captain make an unplanned stop," Lu Fang said with conviction. 

"Exactly what I'm thinking," affirmed Li Wen. 

All four of them discussed the entire night how they were going to infiltrate the ship without being noticed. It was already dawn that they completed the scheme. Lu Fang's party and Yeong would need to fly back to France to put the plan in motion. 

Meanwhile, inside The Neptune Trader, a man received reports of their new test subject. 

"Sir, she is resisting. Her mind is strong and is fighting back the therapy. The other day when the nurses failed to give her regular dose of sedatives, she killed three of the male nurses outright. We  - We had to shoot tranquilizers at her," said a female doctor. 

"I recommend we increase her dosage. Let's keep her down at all times and only minimize the medication during her sessions with the therapist," one other doctor suggested. 

The female doctor frowned hearing this. She could not help but question the decision, "I thought you needed her? If we give more than the expected sedatives, we don't know the side effects of this?"

"Either way, we need her sedated. Increase the dosage and increase her therapy session."