【Interstellar Contract Magician】Ruyuanke

Chapter 327 [Empire] A Dangerous Gift Waiting to Be Opened

The hovercraft moved steadily across the desolate landscape, the outline of the laboratory receding into the distance. Nightingale navigated the vehicle while calling up the terminal interface and expertly activated the self-destruct sequence. A countdown flashed across the screen, finally stopping at one minute before the display went dark.

"Done." He closed the terminal and leaned back in his chair, his tone as relaxed as if he had just completed a trivial task.

But I didn't sit idle. My eyes were fixed on the "jellyfish monster" tightly wrapped in vines in the back seat, and my thoughts inexplicably drifted in another direction.

"Is this thing valuable?" I asked, my tone a little serious and a little casual.

Nightingale was stunned for a moment, then let out a short laugh: "Why are you asking this? Want to start a side job?"

"A little curious." I shrugged and patted the monster's icy shell. "This kind of experimental creature doesn't seem very common. If I can sell it for a good price, it would be a windfall, right?"

Nightingale tilted her head and thought for a moment, a malicious smile curling up at the corner of her mouth. "Valuable? Of course it's valuable. Something like this, with its energy properties and biological structure, is classified as confidential. If we sell it to the black market or a research institute, we'll definitely make a fortune."

"That sounds good." I raised an eyebrow. "So how much do you think it will sell for?"

"It's hard to say," Nightingale replied in a teasing tone. "Depending on the buyer's needs, the price could be seven or eight figures. Who knows, someone might be willing to pay a fortune to study its structure or transform it into a weapon."

I nodded, a thoughtful glint in my eyes. "So, we unexpectedly found a treasure on this mission."

Nightingale stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned: "Boy, you're not really thinking of making a fortune from this, are you?"

I didn't answer directly. I just stared at the "jellyfish" in silence for a moment, then whispered, "This thing is still alive, and it's not simple. Don't you think it might be of greater use?"

Nightingale's smile gradually faded. He crossed his arms over his chest and said in a serious tone, "It has uses? Of course, but only if you have the life to control it."

His words were like a nail, striking the faintly hot string in my heart.

"It depends on how we use it," I said softly, my eyes still fixed on it. "It could be a danger, or it could be an opportunity. But what I want to know more about is its value—not just in money, but in its own right."

Nightingale stopped laughing. She just stared at me for a while, then shook her head slightly: "You really are a guy who is not afraid of death."

The carriage fell into a brief silence, only the low hum of the engine echoing in our ears. The distant laboratory turned into a ball of blazing fire before disappearing into dust, completely obliterated.

My gaze remained fixed on the frozen monster. It seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep, but I knew its barely visible eyes were still staring at me, as if waiting for something.

The nightingale's voice echoed faintly in the silent carriage, with its usual teasing and a hint of meaningful mockery:

"You're really suited to working for those lunatics in the lab." He glanced at me, a playful smile on his face. "But don't tell me I'll have to take care of this thing in the future."

I was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Are you kidding me? You can't even take care of yourself, and you still want to touch it?"

Nightingale scoffed, leaned back in the driver's seat, shoved his hands in his pockets, and acted as if nothing had happened. "That's good. I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night and find this thing crawling on my face and trying to reason with me."

"Don't worry, it's not interested in you." I patted the icy shell and said half-jokingly, "It's only interested in higher-level prey, like me."

Hearing this, Nightingale showed a half-smile: "Oh, you really dare to add drama to yourself."

"It's just the truth." I shrugged, my gaze returning to the monster. Even though it was frozen like a specimen, I could sense it hadn't given up. Even its struggle wasn't true resistance—it was more like a gathering of strength, waiting for the right moment to turn the tables.

Nightingale saw what I was thinking and her tone became a little more serious: "Are you really going to keep it?"

"Why not?" I whispered, as if asking him, but also as if talking to myself. "This kind of thing, even if it's just dissected and studied, the information you get is absolutely shocking. What's more, it's still alive."

"Aren't you afraid that it will turn against you?" Nightingale raised her eyebrows.

"Of course I'm afraid," I said bluntly, but a faint smile played on the corner of my mouth. "But I'm more curious about what it will become when it turns against me."

Nightingale stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed: "Crazy."

"Same here." I replied.

The carriage fell silent again, with only the sound of the wind blowing in through the cracks in the windows, bringing with it a chilling breath. And the "jellyfish" still lay there quietly, like a dangerous gift waiting to be opened.

I knew in my heart that keeping it would be a huge risk, but at the same time, this unknown also gave me an irrepressible excitement.