Chapter Nineteen: Human Experimentation

Under the sharp gaze of her uncle, Jiang Xiaxia lowered her head guiltily, feeling an urge to curse and grumble. Yet no words came out; all she could do was obediently pretend to know nothing, stifling her frustration.

Meanwhile, a few police officers standing nearby heard Jiang Jing’s words and couldn’t help but step forward curiously. “Comrade Jiang, what’s going on? How did this get connected to human traffickers?”

Jiang Jing smiled slightly. “On the road, a few traffickers tried to kidnap children. When they saw my niece, thinking she was cute, they tried to lure her with candy! The child had never seen such good candy before, so she planned to save it for later. But when she met Qian Neng, she probably thought he looked nice and gave him the candy!”

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaxia shrank her head even further.

That candy was clearly given by some official named Zhang, but the sedative was definitely administered by Qian Neng.

“Oh, what a coincidence!” Officer Xiao Liu, having just escorted Lin Hua inside for questioning, overheard Jiang Jing’s words and couldn’t help but remark, “If Comrade Jiang hadn’t shot Qian Neng, who was bleeding heavily, he might have eaten the candy just to keep alert and replenish his strength. Who would’ve thought he’d pass out afterward?”

He wiped his brow, adding, “Luckily he passed out; otherwise, with that bundle of explosives tied to his waist, all of us who approached might have been finished!”

Explosives?

At these words, Jiang Xiaxia suddenly lifted her head, as if a fleeting image flashed through her mind—swift and elusive.

Jiang Hua, startled, stepped forward and gently checked her youngest son’s arm and shoulder. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” Jiang Jing allowed the elderly lady to examine him. “But I didn’t know Qian Neng had explosives strapped to him!”

He gestured to Officer Xiao Liu to disperse the crowd, then led the two generations to a corner.

“Speak!” He placed Jiang Xiaxia’s small arm on the nearby table with firm resolve, his eyes sharp as he stared her down. “Where did that candy come from?”

Jiang Xiaxia, feeling guilty, shrank back. “From the traffickers?”

Seeing her still feigning ignorance, Jiang Jing narrowed his eyes and called her name in a low, stern voice: “Jiang Xiaxia!”

Her head drooped. “Really!”

She then pulled a handkerchief from her pocket.

Jiang Jing squinted, sniffing beneath it, confirming the unmistakable scent of sedatives.

But from the moment Officer Zhang gave her the candy to when Qian Neng offered it, she had never left his or her mother’s sight.

So there was no way she could have gotten the candy laced with sedatives herself.

It was important to note that the sedative was embedded inside the candy’s packaging; if the wrapper itself were drugged, someone like Qian Neng—an undercover agent for many years—would have been suspicious.

Jiang Jing recalled the medicine the child gave him earlier at the hospital.

Wang Lianjun had also said that when the girl arrived, she was already wearing fresh clothes. Even if she hadn’t changed, she was thoroughly checked—there was no way any drugs were hidden on her. Moreover, the medicine vanished after he took it.

Jiang Jing’s gaze toward Jiang Xiaxia held a flicker of fear he hadn’t realized he possessed.

He had no idea what those agents had done to this child to make her so strange.

He could only think back to that year when secret human experiments were conducted domestically—could those agents have subjected this child to similar horrors?

Jiang Xiaxia, unaware of Jiang Jing’s thoughts, felt uneasy under his strange gaze and nervously looked toward Jiang Hua, calling softly, “Nai” (grandmother).

But Jiang Hua did not approach. Though she felt pity for the child being nearly ‘interrogated’ by her youngest son, she knew this was a matter of national security. If the child didn’t explain clearly, and someone else interrogated her, Xiaxia might suffer.

So when the little girl called out, Jiang Hua only looked at her son without responding.

Panic surged within Jiang Xiaxia. Could it be—they had discovered her secret and intended to send her away for dissection?

Her face turned pale as she clutched Jiang Jing’s sleeve tightly. “I’m good. I— I…”

Turning red with emotion, she stammered, “I don’t… want… to be studied!”

Jiang Jing was momentarily stunned, then his eyes softened with pity. “No one wants to study you! No! Your uncle just wants to know if you still have that candy. You can’t give it to anyone else, understand?”

Seeing her son’s expression soften, Jiang Hua stepped forward and embraced the girl.

Once in Jiang Hua’s arms, Jiang Xiaxia let go of Jiang Jing’s sleeve and clung tightly to her grandmother’s collar. “Nai! I’m not bad!”

“That’s right. Our Xiaxia isn’t a bad child; she’s just too young to understand many things,” Jiang Hua soothed warmly. “Don’t blame your uncle; he’s just afraid that before you understand, bad people might take advantage of you!”

Still holding on, Jiang Xiaxia whispered, “I… am… human!”

Jiang Jing’s pupils contracted sharply, then he laughed teasingly, “What? You’re not human? Do you think you’re a little fairy?”

Jiang Hua tapped her son’s arm. “Stop talking nonsense! Now’s not the time. We’re worried you might get caught!”

Jiang Jing clicked his tongue and flicked Jiang Xiaxia’s forehead. “Look at you, such a scaredy-cat! You’re trembling just from a few questions. Where’s that fierce spirit from when we caught the traffickers?”

Jiang Xiaxia said nothing, hiding her face in Jiang Hua’s embrace.

Seeing this, Jiang Jing took out a notepad and quickly scribbled a message to his mother.

Jiang Hua glanced at it, her hand trembling as she held Jiang Xiaxia.

Sensing something was wrong, Jiang Xiaxia lifted her head just as Jiang Jing pocketed the pad, growing even more anxious. “Nai, I’m sleepy!”

Jiang Jing shook his head slightly at Jiang Hua, signaling her not to press further, then arranged for the police to take the girl to the guesthouse.

This time, Jiang Jing did not follow—he still had matters to attend to.

After all, when they went to the shipyard, they expected to alert the enemy but hadn’t anticipated such fierce retaliation.

He needed to follow up with the police on the aftermath.

Once the girl was sent away, he thought for a moment and called his commander’s home.

“Xiao Jiang?” Sister Bai answered, thinking the call was mistaken. “Aren’t you home already? What’s wrong?”

“Not sister-in-law, it’s the commander. The mission he assigned me has had results. I want to report to him immediately!”

Hearing this, Sister Bai hurriedly called down Bai Chu, grumbling, “Little Jiang is on sick leave—sick leave! Don’t you know what that means? And now they’re giving him a mission. What if he’s hurt again?”

She had seen how much her husband cared for Jiang Jing. Before the elder lady arrived, she had even taken care of Xiao Jiang herself.

Such a good child, lying in bed barely able to breathe—it broke her heart.

Bai Chu gave his wife a helpless glance. “You don’t understand work matters.”

Sister Bai snorted and turned away.

After she left, Bai Chu took the phone back. “Xiao Jiang, don’t rush. Your wife is right—you’re not well yet. I’ve sent Wang Lianjun to come find you. With him around, your team’s safety is guaranteed.”

“What? No need for him to come, commander. The spies have been caught. The police and national security are interrogating them now. I just want to ask if we should get involved.”

Bai Chu was speechless.

Wasn’t this exactly what they discussed earlier today? How much time had even passed?