CHAPTER 202: CHAPTER 202: WHAT’S THE USE OF MONEY IF LIFE IS LOST

An Yan had also just remembered something. "Because of him, I just used up fourteen Qingling Pills, a total of 1.4 billion! Let him pay me first!"

Tian Zhongren sneered. He was already prepared for death, so how could he possibly give the money to someone else?

An Yan laughed. "You’d better think this through. As long as you give me the money, I promise to give you a quick end! Anyway, it’s already come to this. Think about it, what’s the use of money if you’re dead?"

Tian Zhongren was tempted. Although he was prepared to die, he realized that he could choose how he died.

"How do I know you won’t go back on your word?" Tian Zhongren asked.

An Yan suggested, "Well then, shall we call Professor Song to be a witness?"

Tian Zhongren was speechless. If Professor Song came, wouldn’t he personally strangle him to death?

"You can only trust me! After all, I just need you dead, and I’m not concerned about how you die," An Yan said.

Tian Zhongren fell silent.

An Yan asked curiously, "How much money do you have?"

"Two billion!" Tian Zhongren declared, a hint of barely detectable pride in his tone.

An Yan exclaimed, "Proud of two billion? Don’t you know who you’re dealing with? The CEO of the Li Consortium! You don’t think he’s never seen two billion, do you?"

Tian Zhongren shivered, this time out of anger. He thought he could finally buy himself a quick death, but it turned out the other party didn’t need his money!

"Aside from this two billion, do you have anything else?" An Yan continued. "Like real estate, stocks, funds, antiques... oh, right, and that poison manufacturing technology of yours. Basically, anything that can be converted into money—spill it. Let me see if it’s worth giving you a quick death!"

Tian Zhongren was reluctant to speak.

But Li Tianyao looked at An Yan with displeasure. "Why ask all this? Whatever you want to know, I can find out!"

An Yan grabbed his hand and, leaning close to his ear, lowered her voice, yet ensured Tian Zhongren could still hear. "If we investigate ourselves, wouldn’t that take time and effort? If we can ask, of course, we should ask first. After all, he’s going to die anyway. Whether he’s shot or thrown into the lab, it doesn’t change the outcome."

Li Tianyao asked, "What if he doesn’t talk?"

"Then I’ll give him an injection so that even if he’s reduced to a pile of bones, he can still feel pain. How about that?"

Tian Zhongren was aghast. Previously, he would never have believed it. After all, to make a person continuously feel pain, one must ensure their nervous system remained functional. But now, after witnessing An Yan’s ancient medicine skills, he dared not disbelieve.

Wasn’t the wealth he had painstakingly accumulated meant to make his life enjoyable and comfortable? What use were possessions when his life was forfeit? It would be better to use them to buy a quick end.

"Fine," Tian Zhongren conceded. "I’ll give you all my wealth..."

After he had detailed all his assets and Li Tianyao’s men confirmed the money could be transferred, An Yan asked again, "Don’t you have any real estate, stocks, or anything like that?"

Tian Zhongren hesitated for a moment. "Yes!"

They were just material possessions, after all.

Once he finished detailing all his stocks, An Yan finally nodded with satisfaction. "Seeing how cooperative you are, I’ll give you an injection!"

Tian Zhongren thought this injection would grant him a quick release. Instead, after the needle pierced him, his previously numb shoulder suddenly throbbed with pain again.

"You... you..." he stammered.

"What ’you’?! This injection is for your wife and children back in Z Country! Despicable! On the brink of death, and you wouldn’t even leave them a single cent!" An Yan retorted.

"I... I..."

"You and your organization deserve to die! All those who try to invade others through unjust means are scum!"

Having said her piece, An Yan turned away and instructed, "Ask whatever you want here. If he doesn’t answer, push him into the operating room!"

Tian Zhongren was filled with regret. If only he hadn’t given her the money!

"Oh," An Yan added, "he might not know what happens when one is pushed in there. It’s best to let him see for himself."

"Yes," Lu Feng replied.

Without a hint of hesitation, Lu Feng chopped off Tian Zhongren’s arm and threw it into the operating room!

Lu Feng pressed Tian Zhongren against the glass, forcing him to watch with wide eyes as his severed arm, now coated with poison, began to react... First, the skin rapidly festered and decomposed, then it desiccated and crumbled into dust. In less than a minute, only the bare, white bones of the arm remained!

Although the arm had been severed, he still felt an excruciating, bone-gnawing pain!

He didn’t want to end up like that! He wished the bomb could have blown his head off, or the poison in his tooth could have killed him instantly. But that was no longer possible. The bomb on his shoulder had been removed by Li Tianyao’s men. The tooth hiding the poison had been pulled by this woman!

Just as he found himself in a state where he could neither live nor die as he wished, An Yan had already left the surgical area.

Her mood was somewhat downcast. "Li Tianyao, I can’t use my Divination Technique to find out about the organization behind Tian Zhongren!"

Li Tianyao nodded. "No worries. We can find someone to impersonate Tian Zhongren and give them a taste of their own medicine. If they can plant spies with us, we can naturally plant spies with them too." After saying this, he gently rubbed her head. "Don’t worry. One day, we will make them pay the price, and they will never again dare to covet our land."

An Yan nodded silently. She felt her Divination Technique was quite useless, always failing at critical moments! Sigh!

"Hungry?" Li Tianyao asked.

"Mhm!"

"Let’s go home for dinner."

"Huh?" An Yan was taken aback. "Aren’t you waiting for the interrogation results?"

"Lu Feng can handle it."

"Alright then."

Seeing An Yan emerge, Su Siming and the others immediately surrounded her. "Sis Yan, is that Tian Zhongren really a drug trafficker?" Su Siming asked.

"Yes, he’s responsible for drug production!" An Yan replied.

An Yan misled her classmates using Tian Zhongren’s cover story. After all, things like espionage are better left unknown to ordinary people, unless the higher-ups determine the incident will no longer have repercussions and decide to make it public. That was what Li Tianyao had just told her.

"That’s despicable! He was a professor!" one of them exclaimed.

An Yan said, "That’s why in the field of medicine, if you follow the right path, you heal and save people. But if you take a wrong turn, you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison."

"Don’t worry, Sis Yan, we’ll definitely follow the right path!" Su Siming declared resolutely, holding Liang Chen’s hand with one of his and Mu Enyu’s with the other.

As they were talking, the elevator arrived. Li Tianyao took An Yan’s hand, and they stepped inside.

Su Siming lifted his foot to follow, but Liang Chen held him back. Liang Chen had seen clearly that as soon as Li Tianyao entered, he stood right in the middle—a posture indicating he didn’t want others to join them.

An Yan felt awkward seeing them standing outside the door. Despite the elevator being spacious, once Li Tianyao indicated he didn’t want to share it, no one else dared to enter.

To ease the awkwardness, she said, "Hurry home and get some rest. We’ll be in touch if anything comes up." Then, she looked towards the Dean and instructed, "Don’t worry about the operating room tonight. Keep the surveillance on, and don’t let anyone near it!"

She wanted to see if the viruses would have any other reactions after having corroded an arm.

"Of course, Professor An." The Dean, who used to call An Yan Dr. An, now subconsciously followed Ya Zhuo’s example and addressed her as Professor An.

After the elevator doors closed, Su Siming turned to Ya Zhuo and asked, "Is she really a professor?"

Ya Zhuo nodded. "She really is! Normally, one becomes a professor by advancing through the ranks: from teaching assistant to lecturer, then to associate professor, with each step requiring a certain number of years. However, if someone has outstanding research achievements, they can be promoted directly to professor. Professor An is an example of the latter!"

Everyone present was visibly shocked. This was especially true for Professor Song, who had been about to head to the restroom; upon hearing this, he stopped in his tracks. "May I ask," he inquired, "which of her research achievements is particularly outstanding?"