Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 598 - 591: Familiar Strangers

Chapter 598: Chapter 591: Familiar Strangers

"How do you know me?" Baiyue asked, her eyes wide with surprise when she noticed the old man was paying attention to her.

"Of course I recognize you," the old man laughed and lowered his head to ask, "Your father’s diary must have mentioned me, right?"

"You are!" Upon hearing the old man’s words, Baiyue’s eyes widened even more, she almost shouted, "You are Dr. An Liang!"

"Pleased to meet you, Dr. Anatoli’s daughter." An Liang nodded with a grin.

"You’re Dr. An Liang, so that diary was obtained from you, right?" Luo’er asked in astonishment.

"Of course, Dr. Anatoli entrusted me with the diary before he returned to his home country, hoping that when his daughter grew up, she could learn about the love story between him and Aniya through this diary." Dr. An Liang explained.

"Where is my father?" Baiyue asked, her eyes welling with tears as she looked at Dr. An Liang.

"Don’t panic, your father is still in custody, but he’s not in any life-threatening danger." Dr. An Liang waved dismissively.

"Dr. An Liang," Luo’er glanced at the agitated Baiyue and pulled Dr. An Liang to the side. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Is there any way we can get the Russian Federation Government to release him?"

Hearing his words, Dr. An Liang sighed slightly, patted Luo’er on the shoulder, and told him, "Dr. Anatoli is my friend. You think I don’t want to rescue him? The only way to get Russia to release him is through diplomatic channels, and we don’t currently have that kind of influence that can make the state do this for us."

"How exactly was Dr. Anatoli arrested and detained?" Luo’er asked, furrowing his brows.

Dr. An Liang sighed and said, "Frankly speaking, this was my fault. I advised him to send Aniya to Haiya Academy for treatment, hoping that she could successfully give birth to a native sub-species human through our biotechnological techniques. Being Russian, Dr. Anatoli should’ve handed over Aniya to the Russian Federation Government in principle. Somehow, the news leaked and the Russian Federation Government was greatly agitated, demanding us through diplomatic channels to hand over Dr. Anatoli. He was arrested by the Federal Security Bureau the moment he set foot on Russian soil."

"So, what’s he charged with?" Luo’er asked.

"No charges, he hasn’t been tried," Dr. An Liang paused then continued, "Dr. Anatoli has been held like this ever since. I wrote several letters asking them to spare Dr. Anatoli, but they were ignored. In such situations, going through diplomatic channels is really the best option."

As he spoke, Dr. An Liang couldn’t help but look back at Baiyue, who was looking lost, and continue speaking to Luo’er, "Don’t worry too much, the headquarters has decided to abandon the Origin Project. Russia might be the first to receive relevant research on the Origin Project, so they might consider releasing Dr. Anatoli."

"Maybe so," Luo’er nodded, glanced at Baiyue, and sighed, "Anyway, let me thank you on behalf of Baiyue, Dr. An Liang."

"Thank me for what? All I did was what needed to be done," Dr. An Liang said, as he looked Luo’er up and down before adding, "I remember the last time I saw you, you were arguing with your grandfather. I hope you’ve made up. He’s made a lot of sacrifices for you. Don’t be mad at him anymore."

"I’m not mad at him anymore," Luo’er said, lowering his head.

"That’s good, that’s good." Hearing his words, Dr. An Liang patted Luo’er’s shoulder, comforted.

"Dr. An Liang, what do you plan to do now?" Watching as Dr. An Liang was about to leave, Luo’er couldn’t help but pursue and ask.

"Oh, I’m going down to take a look, conduct a spot inspection. We’ll probably be working here for a while," Dr. An Liang turned his head to respond.

"But it’s still not safe down there, the perpetual defense structures haven’t been completely built yet," Luo’er worried.

"No worries, I’m just going for a walk. If there’s any problem, I’ll just come back up!" Dr. An Liang said nonchalantly.

"Alright then, we’ll be responsible for protecting you." Luo’er said.

"Ah, no need for that, we’re just landing for a look." An Liang said, waving his hand dismissively.

Ignoring his comment, Luo’er turned to Murong and instructed him, "Murong, could your squad please ensure the safety of the doctor and the rest?"

"Sure," Murong glanced at An Liang, then gave a warm smile and replied, "As long as you don’t ask us to help you train."

"You all really bear a grudge against training..." Luo’er said, shaking his head helplessly.

The scientists and Murong’s team boarded a transport plane, which took off from the deck and headed towards the ground. Luo’er headed over to Baiyue, who looked upset, and hesitated before saying, "Let’s go, we’re heading down too."

"Luo’er, will my father survive long enough to see me again?" Baiyue asked, startled.

"He will, I promise you!" Luo’er responded with an unwavering conviction.

"Thank you." Baiyue looked up, her eyes filling with gratitude.

"It’s okay, let’s go," Luo’er responded with a smile.

"Umm, may I stay close to you?" Baiyue asked timidly, lowering her head.

"Of course!" Luo’er exclaimed with a hearty laugh.

"Thank you..." Baiyue murmured, reaching out to take his arm while still looking down.

The transport plane returned to the ground carrying everyone. The purification corps soldiers were still in the midst of their intensive training, preparing for their first battle since joining the ranks.

Perhaps because of the arrival of the airboat, the Church Court expedited construction. Not only were local farmers conscripted, but even the knights and their squires from the defense camp were asked to contribute to the labor in order to complete the project more quickly.

After five days of hustle and bustle, the initial work on the fortifications surrounding the camp was completed. Despite the work not being fully finished, it was already sufficient to ward off exotic beasts and corpse demons.

With Li Si’s approval, those on the airboat began transporting large quantities of prefab panels to the ground to construct a temporary epidemic research center. An Liang, whose main focus was biochemical pharmaceuticals, promptly began his research as well.

Among the Earthlings sent to the Otherworld, Dr. An Liang was certainly an anomaly. Whether due to the inhibiting drug or not, he was largely unaffected by magic power erosion. Even if occasionally exposed to radiation, he would fully recover upon returning to Earth. Unlike most of the Earthlings, who suffered some degree of magic power erosion, there was almost no sign of such erosion on An Liang.

The headquarters spared no effort in facilitating this mission. As long as the transport routes to Ilanadale were kept clear, they also conscripted several commercial airboats to transport basic materials and scientific equipment to the epidemic camp. As a result, the availability of commercial airboats in Yazhi City greatly dwindled, causing transport prices to soar.

A week after the arrival of the first airboat, the camp had a solid defense and the epidemic research center was fully functional. A vast number of Earth-based researchers were sent here, at one point exceeding a hundred.

At this point, the Purification Corps relocated as per orders, ready for clearing operations. Thus, keeping the peace in the camp fell to the Temple Knights and the mercenaries brought by headquarters.

After three days of research, An Liang believed that the best way to expedite the process was to bring back some bodies of exotic beasts or corpse demons for dissection and study in order to discover a treatment and prevention plan.

As per Li Si’s orders, the advance team was tasked with supporting the research department’s operations. Thus, with the department’s requests, two advance teams were transported to the location of the Purification Corps to aid in their clearing operations. The goal was to capture bodies of corpse demons or exotic beasts for the research team’s study.

Against this backdrop, the two advance teams, ten members in all, boarded a transport plane and headed for the muster point. Unlike before, this time they all wore fully enclosed one-piece hazmat suits, with various tactical gears attached on top. Given the virus’ unknown nature and lack of treatment options, the utmost caution was required.