The old man in the lab coat coughed lightly, adjusted his glasses, and spoke in a gentle yet firm tone.

"We and Mr. Xu are indeed not on the same path. I am an old professor at this hospital, specializing in the study of rare diseases. As for Mr. Xu, even up until last month, I had never had any interaction with him."

The square-faced man maintained a serious expression, his gaze revealing an undeniable authority.

"I am the leader of a group at the Kyoto Strange Research Institute. My duty is to investigate and study all abnormal phenomena. As for Mr. Xu, he does have a certain influence in the Capital City, but our work and his activities are not the same."

Moreover, both admitted they have long been dissatisfied with Mr. Xu.

Upon hearing the explanations, Jiang Xiao's doubts gradually dissipated, yet he remained slightly guarded.

He knew that in this complex world, the surface information is often just the tip of the iceberg.

"Heh, since you've long been dissatisfied with him, why didn't you stop Mr. Xu when he did such outrageous things? Why jump out now?"

Well...

The two exchanged a glance, seemingly a bit helpless. Ultimately, the old man was the first to speak and explain.

The old man's eyes revealed a hint of helplessness, and he sighed softly.

"I am just an old professor in the field of medicine. Although the medical staff in the hospital respects me, my influence is limited to that."

"As for Mr. Xu, his methods far exceed mine. He has firearms and a group of fearless followers. I am just an old man without the strength to even truss a chicken. How could I possibly stop him?"

Upon hearing this, the square-faced man's expression grew increasingly complex.

A slight blush crept onto his cheeks, clearly suppressing his inner anger and shame.

He gritted his teeth and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"That bastard, Mr. Xu, drugged me in the night. I accidentally fell into his trap. When I woke up, I found that one of my arms had already been chopped off by him."

Listening to their words, Jiang Xiao furrowed his brows tightly.

He could feel the helplessness and anger in their words, which made his impression of Mr. Xu even worse.

It also made him somewhat believe their words.

The square-faced man continued to speak.

"Moreover, I was carrying several important projects from the research institute, all of which were seized by Mr. Xu. It's not only my personal loss but a huge threat to national security."

Jiang Xiao squinted his eyes; what the square-faced man meant was that all those projects of Mr. Xu were snatched from him?

Seeing Jiang Xiao staring at him, the square-faced man thought he was being doubted, so he immediately lifted his shirt.

There was a deep wound visible down to the bone.

With a pained expression, the square-faced man gritted his teeth, his eyes showing a trace of resolution mixed with helplessness and anger.

"I did try to resist, but Mr. Xu's followers were numerous and powerful. Every time I made a move, they would attack and beat me. After losing the projects, I was even weaker, almost powerless to fight back."

His voice was deep, every word seemed to carry heavy pain.

Those deep wounds were like marks of his failed resistance, every movement making him wince in pain.

The old professor noticed and quickly went forward to support the square-faced man, his eyes full of sympathy and understanding.

"I can attest to the truth of what he says. This leader at the Weird Research Institute did indeed try multiple times to stop Mr. Xu's atrocities. Their conflict was evident to all of us within the institute."

The old professor's words conveyed a sense of helplessness but also undeniable sincerity.

He looked at Jiang Xiao, hoping to see understanding and trust in his eyes.

"No, no, no, no..."

Jiang Xiao shook his head, Mr. Xu was already dead, he didn't care about that, he was concerned about another issue.

"Since Mr. Xu's projects were stolen from you, then could it be that the mysterious box capable of stunning anomalies and the suction cup extracting strange powers were originally yours?"

As soon as Jiang Xiao finished speaking, a look of surprise flashed across the square-faced man's eyes, which then became heavy.

"Yes, those are the outcomes of our research institute, especially the box that stuns anomalies. It's an essential tool for controlling and studying unstable strange phenomena."

"And the suction cup extracting strange powers is our latest experimental product, aimed at extracting energy from strange phenomena for our research and industrial energy."

Niu Jieshi's face twitched.

The small box's effect was so peculiar; he might accidentally fall for it again.

As for this suction cup...

It reflected the wisdom and technology of humans, to actually invent a tool capable of extracting energy from anomalous beings.

However, the square-faced man also mentioned that the suction cup's cost was very high, essentially a money-burning creation, so even nationwide there were only a few, and most were in Capital City.

I see~

Jiang Xiao and Niu Jieshi nodded, it made sense; after all, Capital City, as the stronghold of humanity, would naturally have more means to restrain anomalies.

Unlike b2's Weird Research Institute, which despite having quite a few projects, some were extremely twisted.

For instance, the "Deep Water Bomb" gifted to Jiang Xiao last time.

But without exception, all had severe usage requirements that normal people simply couldn't meet.

By comparison, Capital City's projects were obviously more advanced and effective.

"Is the box's cost high?"

Unable to resist, Niu Jieshi proactively asked.

The square-faced man shook his head, indicating that the blue-glowing box was not manufactured, but rather picked up on a mountain.

According to the description, it was found by an ordinary person, and then handed over to the state.

After research, it was determined to be something strange and was handed over to Kyoto's Weird Research Institute.

Oh?

It's not a project but a strange tool?

Although their functions are similar, the basic underlying meaning is fundamentally different.

Projects are generally things that grant humans various functions or superpowers.

While strange tools usually symbolize evil, ominousness, and anomalies.

Otherwise, why call it a strange tool?

But this blue box is indeed a strange tool capable of restraining anomalous powers.

It is indeed rare.

To be on the safe side, Jiang Xiao coughed, feeling that such an object was likely beyond the square-faced man's control and needed to be handled by him.

So the blue box naturally ended up in Jiang Xiao's hands.

As for the suction cup...

Niu Jieshi didn't care about the cost; while the others were not paying attention, he returned to the room, pulled out the suction cup retracted into the duct, and ripped it to shreds!

Upon hearing the commotion from Niu Jieshi's direction, the muscles on the square-faced man's face started twitching uncontrollably.

Having lost two high-value projects in succession, during future audits, even though he wouldn't die, he's bound to lose a layer of skin...

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