Ten days later.

In Billon City, a luxurious mansion about the size of a football field, there was a lot of people, and all kinds of men and women in dresses with exquisite fabrics gathered in the courtyard, talking to each other and chatting about some social topics.

"There were a lot of people here this time. ”

"After all, it was an invitation from the Marquis of Slint. ”

"Do you know the purpose of the meeting?"

While there was still a little time before the official start of the banquet, several ladies and gentlemen in the courtyard were communicating.

"Most of the celebrities in Bylen City are here, so I guess there's something important!"

"Did you hear anything about it?"

"Nope!"

"Let's wait and see, it's almost time anyway. ”

Suddenly, a gentleman swept through the courtyard gate, and seemed to see something, and a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Eh—look, is that one ......?"

Everyone turned their heads in unison, and saw a man of about fifty years old, dressed in a pale scholar's uniform with a long hem, narrow eyes and a gray beard, surrounded by several grim-looking guards in black suits, and walked directly into the house.

Beside him, the old butler of the Slint family was walking politely in front of the gray-bearded old man to lead the way.

"That's the grand butler of the Marquis de Slint's house, who is the one who can let him receive him personally?" A noble lady asked, looking suspiciously at the gray-bearded old man who walked by.

"It's not surprising that you don't know him, because he's not from the upper echelons of Bylen. The gentleman who had noticed the movement at the beginning replied, a look of admiration on his face: "That is one of the most valuable talents of His Majesty today, one of the doctors of the Imperial Institute, and one of the brightest minds in the country. The name I remember seems to be called...... Lukes?"

"Imperial Institute?"

"Doctor?"

After hearing the gentleman's words, the faces of the people around all changed slightly, and their eyes flickered.

As members of the upper echelons of the country, they are now well aware of the weight of the institution of the 'Imperial Institute' in the country, and the status of those who hold the title of 'doctor' in those institutes.

It was a true man who could rise to the top of the kingdom by virtue of his talents, and every man who attained the title of 'Doctor' was a great man who had been rewarded by His Majesty the Emperor and given the title of Earl by virtue of his skill alone, and although it was not hereditary, it was definitely a noble status.

In terms of actual power, perhaps this kind of doctor is still higher than the top nobles who have a long tradition in the capital of God, but his status is also higher than that of the vast majority of the so-called 'celebrities' gathered in this courtyard today.

"Will such a person also come to this banquet, I remember that there are not many 'doctors' in the Empire, and they rarely appear in public, right?" A man looked curiously at the gentleman who had first recognized Lukes' identity.

"I don't know, but I've heard that the Marquis of the Slint family seems to have a personal relationship with this Dr. Lux, and the reason why this Dr. Lux was able to win the appreciation of His Majesty the Emperor in the first place seems to have been recommended by the Marquis...... I used to think it was just a rumor, but now it seems that it may not be false. ”

Not only the others, but the more discerning people in the entire courtyard more or less noticed the arrival of Dr. Lux, and while curious about the reason for the other party's appearance at this banquet and the relationship between the other party and the Marquis of Slint's family, they were also wondering if they should find an opportunity to make friends.

Come to think of it, those are people who don't have many opportunities to meet in person on weekdays, and the technology in the hands of these top research talents is still appreciated by even the emperor, what if they can build a good relationship, maybe they can get some benefits?

Dr. Lukes, who had taken a little time out of his busy life at the institute to attend the banquet, did not care about the eyes of the others, and walked straight into the villa accompanied by several personal guards.

"It's Mr. Lukes, is he here too?"

"Looks like you received an invitation from the head of the house?"

"Even this one has appeared, it seems that the head of the family really attaches great importance to this banquet!"

"Yes, my father also ordered us not to mess up, and even the defense force in the manor has been raised to the highest level. ”

Ignoring the surprise and eyes of the children and grandchildren of the old friends who were receiving guests in the hall on the first floor, Lux walked directly to the second floor of the villa without stopping at all, under the guidance of the butler.

After going up to the third floor, the hustle and bustle downstairs was much further away, and Lux followed the butler's guidance and finally came to the door of the old friend's study that he remembered.

"My lord, I have been waiting for you inside for a long time. The old butler bowed, then turned and raised his hand and knocked rhythmically at the door.

"Come in. Behind the door, Angus's old voice rang out.

Lux nodded, and then one of the cold-faced black-clad guards beside him took the initiative to step forward and unscrew the doorknob, and vigilantly took the lead into the room.

After entering the room, the guard's eyes scanned the environment in the room as quickly as possible, and there was even a glimmer of light in his eyes, apparently he had actually used the spell of the Detection Department.

There was no one else in the room, except an old man and a little black-haired boy sitting around the tea table, each leisurely sipping black tea, and occasionally eating a small bite of dessert on the table.

When the guards came in, the old and the young, both turned their heads at the same time, and noticed that after the detection spell he was performing, the old man did not have any special reaction, and the little boy frowned slightly.

"Excuse me, but it's just an occupational disease, not malicious. The old man saw the little boy's reaction, and explained in a low voice.

The little boy just sighed at this, and then turned back uninterestedly and continued to taste the black tea and snacks in front of him.

The guard knew the old man and understood that the other party was the old friend of the doctor he wanted to protect, the Marquis of the Slint family, and the little boy in front of him was a complete stranger, maybe it was the child of the Marquis's family?

The above thoughts were just casually passed through the guard's mind for a moment and then were suppressed, as a guard, he didn't need to care about these nobles, after a routine inspection of the interior of the room to confirm that there was no abnormality, the guard walked to the side of the door, and let out Dr. Lukes, who was hidden by his body behind him.

Angus raised his hand and greeted Lukes who came over with a smile: "Hey, old man, it's been a long time, and these henchmen of yours are still as cautious as ever." ”

"You know, that's what they do. Lux walked over, sat down unceremoniously on a seat that seemed to have been vacated next to the tea table, picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup.

After raising his hand and waving to signal that the guard who was following him should not be bothered, Lux took a sip of black tea and narrowed his already narrow eyes, allowing the mellow, fragrant scent to spread between his lips and teeth.

It was a few seconds before he opened his eyes, tugging at the corners of his mouth to reveal a somewhat stiff smile.

"Old Immortal, your life is very leisurely, I'm not like you here, there are still many experiments waiting for me to complete in the institute. ”

Angus said happily: "You should relax once in a while, how about these black teas in my collection to your taste?"

"Yes, yes, if you guessed correctly, it was watered with a special psionic fertilizer, right? Tell me, what's the matter with calling me over this time...... Even if you don't say it, I actually have a guess - after seeing him. ”

As he spoke, Lux turned his head to look at the little black-haired boy who had been quietly drinking tea since just now not far from the two of them.

The corners of Lukes' mouth curved, and the smile on his face, which had always looked gloomy, was inexplicable: "I haven't seen you for more than a year, right......?" It seems that even after leaving the institute, you have grown well, No. 213?"

The snake-like gaze fixed firmly on the little boy, but he still looked unremarkable, as if he didn't notice it at all.

"Mi ——!!"

Instead, a fist-sized, snow-white, jelly-like orb creature jumped out of the little boy's sitting lap and jumped in front of the little boy, mimicking an angry kitten-like face and barking at Lux as if it were threatening.

It's a pity that with the current image of this snow-white ball, there is no sense of intimidation at all, but there is an inexplicable cuteness.

"It's ...... Oh, is that the original mutant slime?" Lux looked at the small, snow-white globular creature with interest, not paying the slightest attention to the other party's movements.

"Mi ......!!"

Obviously, the little guy seemed to sense the ill-will of this gloomy human being, and seemed to feel the hidden meaning in the other party's eyes to dissect and study it, which made the little guy suddenly have a cat's anger-like fur reaction, and the entire sphere turned into the shape of a thorn ball, and a very pure and slightly threatening spiritual power fluctuation rose out.

Feeling this fluctuation of spiritual power, the black-clothed guard standing behind Lux suddenly froze in his eyes, and the coercion of this spiritual power also began to fluctuate on his body, staring directly at the little boy and the snow-white creature, with the meaning of making a move if he didn't agree with each other.

Lux didn't stop this, just smiled lightly and watched the creature in front of him rise in momentum, his eyes flashing with inquiring interest.

The atmosphere began to grow solemn unconsciously.

Until a small hand suddenly pressed on the head of the snow-white creature, it suddenly scattered its rising heavy momentum, and once again restored to the image of a seemingly harmless cute pet.

"...... Mi?"

"You can't make trouble now, Xiaobai. ”

Jiang Yan patted Slime Xiaobai's body with one hand and hugged it to his shoulder, and after calming its emotions with a contract message, he put the finished black teacup back on the table with the other hand, and then turned his head to look at Lukes, who was looking at him with eyes like a snake staring at his prey.

After calmly staring at him for two seconds, Jiang Yan said lightly, "It's been a long time, Dr. Lux." Also, stop calling me by that number, you know, I have my own name. ”

"That's really embarrassing, for me, there are a lot of subjects to cultivate, observe, and record in each issue, and I can't remember so many names, so it's better to remember them with numbers. Lux shrugged his shoulders, then changed his words, looked at Jiang Yan with a smile, and said:

"But you're special, it's the first time I've seen an interesting subject like you in my decades of research, so I really have some impressions of your name...... Remember, you still took it yourself, it's called 'Jiang Yan', right?"

"It's good that you remember. ”

Lux looked at Jiang Yan's bland demeanor, observed his complexion with great interest, and then fell on the slime Xiaobai on his shoulder, thinking back to the spiritual reaction of this little guy when he was angry before, and couldn't help laughing: "Interesting...... It seems that you have grown a lot not only in terms of appearance, but also in other aspects this year. Perhaps, I should retract my decision to dispose of your 'waste' in the first place?"

'As an experimental subject, after leaving the training and subsequent adjustment of the research institute, this No. 213's body seems to be healthier than the experimental subject who stayed in the research institute at the same time? In addition, the strength has also changed a lot! The spiritual power fluctuation just now, that mutant slime should have been promoted to the military level! It's only been more than a year...... It's really, really, interesting!'

Thinking of this interesting point, Lux had an urge to recall Jiang Yan to the research institute to study it carefully, and he asked with a smile: "21...... Well, Jiang Yan, are you interested in coming back now? If you are willing, your return is very welcome at my institute!"

Jiang Yan replied without hesitation: "No need, thank you, Doctor, for your 'appreciation', but I think it's good to be like this now." ”

"Ho ......" was rejected so simply that Lukes couldn't help but squint his eyes again, and his gaze looked faintly a bit like a snake catching prey.

The atmosphere became a little cold and stagnant for a while.

"Hahaha......" At this time, Angus's hearty laughter suddenly interrupted the strange atmosphere between the two.

"It seems, old ghost, you are also very satisfied with my newly adopted 'adopted grandson', right? But I'm sorry, he will be my clan from today onwards, and he can't go back to your research institute!"