Chapter 94 Suspended Cooperation

Su Wanqing walked to the battle map and tapped lightly on the outline of the chemical plant with her fingertips.

There was a vague sense of anxiety in the air, and she could feel that the rift within the team was quietly widening.

“Pause.” She said to Lin Che, Xiao Ran and Professor Yang who were standing around her, her voice calm but with unquestionable firmness.

"Suspend all risky actions against chemical plants, immediately."

Xiao Ran was the first to react and frowned. "Pause? Wanqing, we have already grasped the target location. They may be conducting further experiments over there. It is not right to retreat now..."

"Nothing." Su Wanqing interrupted him and glanced at everyone.

"It's not about sacrificing more people, nor is it about acting blindly. Our information right now is not clear enough, and the risks of acting are too great. More importantly, we need to re-examine what the role of each of us is in this team and the direction we are heading."

Professor Yang adjusted his glasses and said in a gentle voice: "Su Wanqing is right. Hasty action will only bring greater losses. Zhou Licheng's behavior has gone beyond common sense. There must be a deeper power behind him. We must be cautious."

Lin Che remained silent the entire time, just standing there quietly, her purple hair standing out particularly in the dim light.

His eyes would occasionally fall on Su Wanqing, with an elusive emotion.

"Che, what do you think?" Su Wanqing asked proactively.

Lin Che hesitated for a moment before speaking: “Ye…he said that the chemical plant is very dangerous. There are a large number of infected bodies gathered there, and there are other…abandoned things.”

"Danger?" Xiao Ran sneered. "When have we ever been afraid of danger? Haven't we encountered enough danger along the way?"

"This is different." Su Wanqing shook her head. "This is an unknown danger, and we need to be fully prepared. Che, I need you and Ye to tell me honestly, you know more than us, right?"

Lin Che's body trembled slightly, and there was a hint of struggle in his eyes when he looked at Su Wanqing.

Ye's voice sounded in his mind, with a hint of cold warning: "Don't tell her, don't expose our secret!"

"Ye...what do you have in mind?" Su Wanqing's voice became even more severe.

Lin Che took a deep breath and said slowly: "Ye...he doesn't want to reveal his identity, he is worried..."

"What are you worried about?" Su Wanqing asked.

"He's worried about being used." Lin Che's voice was very light. "He's been used by Zhou Licheng before, and he doesn't want to be a pawn again."

Su Wanqing narrowed her eyes, she realized that Ye’s trust in her was far from enough.

“Ye, listen to me.” Su Wanqing spoke directly to Lin Che, as if she was talking to the air.

"I know you've been through a lot, but I have to tell you that our goal is the same, which is to eliminate the virus and save humanity. If you continue to hide the truth, I will have to take some measures, such as... directly isolating your consciousness so that you can no longer influence Lin Che."

Lin Che's body trembled violently. He covered his head in pain and groaned softly.

The voice of the night became more manic in his mind: "Don't believe her, she wants to control us, she wants to deprive us of our freedom!"

After an intense psychological struggle, Lin Che finally nodded and compromised.

"I...I will say that I will tell you all the information, but...please don't hurt Ye and don't weaken your protection of me."

Su Wanqing breathed a sigh of relief. She knew this was only a temporary compromise, but at least it gave her hope.

"Very good." Su Wanqing said. "Now, I need your cooperation to start the analysis of Professor Yang's temporary logs and resource clues. We need to piece together the entire defense map of the central laboratory as soon as possible. Lu Zhao, you are most familiar with electronic equipment, take charge of this task."

Lu Zhao nodded and said nothing.

Xiao Ran was watching from the side and noticed that Lu Zhao looked a little strange.

He accidentally saw the files left by Lu Zhao on the tablet computer, some records about remote communication and data encryption.

These records indicate that Lu Zhao had privately developed another secret plan to track the target without revealing it to the team.

"Lu Zhao." Xiao Ran walked up to Lu Zhao and asked in a serious tone.

"Is there anything else you are hiding from us?"

Lu Zhao was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't expect Xiao Ran to notice his secret.

He hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "I'm just... making some preparations for emergencies. In case the communication is interrupted, I need a backup plan."

"Backup plan?" Xiao Ran sneered. "You made a plan without telling us. Do you call this dealing with emergencies? This is called betrayal!"

Su Wanqing immediately came over and interrupted the two of them. "Shut up!"

She looked at Lu Zhao sternly. "Lu Zhao, as the technical director of the team, your responsibility is to provide technical support to the team, not to carry out independent actions in secret. You must understand that any independent action may threaten the safety of the team. If you have similar behavior again, I will not hesitate to expel you from the team."

Lu Zhao lowered his head and said nothing. He knew that Su Wanqing's warning was serious.

Su Wanqing looked around at the people with complicated expressions. She knew that although these instructions were a bit tough, they were to ensure the safety of the team.

"Now, let's start over," Su Wanqing announced. "Professor Yang, do your best to analyze the logs. Lu Zhao, hand in your backup plan for the team's review. Che, continue to communicate with Ye and get as much information as possible. Xiao Ran, you are responsible for vigilance and ensure the safety of the team."

In the silent room, everyone began to act according to Su Wanqing's instructions.

Although their hearts are still full of doubts and worries, they all understand that only by unity can they get through this difficult end times.

Lin Che stood aside, feeling Ye's struggle and unwillingness in his mind. He knew that the road ahead was still long and they would face more challenges.

"According to the analyzed distribution map, the specific location of the laboratory is determined to be on the third underground floor of the chemical plant, disguised as an abandoned ventilation duct maintenance area."

Professor Yang adjusted his glasses on his nose and pointed to a hidden entrance on the holographic projection.

"From the logs Zhou Licheng left behind, they transferred key materials, including virus sample mutation culture media and some experimental data, there."

Su Wanqing walked to the projection map and carefully observed the area marked in red.

"The material transfer mission has been prioritized and must be obtained as soon as possible. Those culture media may be the key clues to cracking the virus."

"The main issue now is the laboratory's defense measures." Lu Zhao's voice was flat and calm.

"I analyzed the laboratory's energy supply and monitoring system. Although it is connected to the main system of the chemical plant, it has independent backup power and safety protocols. It is very difficult to bypass the security system, and the automatic defense program there is quite complete."

Xiao Ran folded his arms across his chest, leaning against the wall, his tone slightly impatient.

"Difficult? When have we ever been afraid of difficulty? Why not just blow it up directly?"

Su Wanqing glanced at him. "It makes too much noise. If we alert other infected bodies or Zhou Licheng's people, our situation will be even more dangerous. Moreover, we need to obtain the data as completely as possible. Destruction will only cause us to lose more information."

Lin Che had been standing silently beside Su Wanqing, feeling the whispers of the night in his mind.

Ye seemed to be very familiar with the internal structure of this laboratory and kept providing subtle hints.

"Che, what do you think?" Su Wanqing turned around and asked.

Lin Che hesitated for a moment and said, "Ye said... there is a hidden biometric scanner at the entrance of the material warehouse, and specific permissions are required to pass through. But he is not sure where the permissions come from."

"Where does the authority come from?" Xiao Ran asked in confusion. "Zhou Licheng and his people? Or people inside the laboratory?"

"It's hard to be sure for now." Lin Che shook his head. "Ye only remembers some fragmented images. He said... in that laboratory, there were some... research on living body transformation."

Su Wanqing's expression changed slightly. "Living transformation? What exactly is that?"

“He described some human specimens that were being modified… The techniques used were very cruel and highly consistent with the experimental reports we reviewed earlier.” Lin Che’s voice was low and contained a hint of disgust.

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Silence spread across the room. Su Wanqing took a deep breath and said, "It seems that Zhou Licheng and his men are even crazier than we thought. Xiao Ran, you will be responsible for the frontal feint attack on the material warehouse to attract the defense forces inside the laboratory."

Xiao Ran grinned. "Okay, that's just what I want. Then let me experience the taste of 'madness'."

"Lu Zhao, you are responsible for cracking the laboratory's surveillance system and trying to bypass the biometric scanner."

Su Wanqing continued. "Che, cooperate with Ye and look for a breakthrough from the side. I will personally lead the team into the supply warehouse and bring back the key supplies."

"Captain, I suggest destroying those transformation equipment." Xiao Ran suddenly said.

"The existence of those things is a violation of human morality. Rather than allowing them to continue to function, it is better to destroy them completely."

Su Wanqing shook her head. "This is not a moral issue. Our primary goal is to obtain key information about the virus, not to sabotage it. If we destroy the equipment, we may lose the chance to rescue the victims. Moreover, Zhou Licheng and his team probably have backups. Destroying a laboratory will not stop them from continuing similar experiments. We must take away the supplies first so that we can deal with greater threats."

"I understand." Xiao Ran responded, although there was a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.

Lin Che suddenly spoke, his voice clearer than usual. "Ye said... deep in the specimen room, there is an additional storage device hidden, which contains some undisclosed experimental data."

Su Wanqing's mind moved. "Extra storage equipment? Ye knows the exact location?"

“He only knows the general direction, and we need to search carefully on the scene.” Lin Che replied.

"Okay, Lu Zhao, the mission has been changed. While trying to crack the biometric scanner, pay attention to the specimen room area. If you find any suspicious location, notify me immediately." Su Wanqing issued a new order.

Lu Zhao nodded, his fingers tapping rapidly on the tablet.

"Action!" Su Wanqing gave an order and the team acted quickly.

They did not choose to enter the chemical plant from the main entrance, but went around to the sewage pipe at the back and used the small drilling equipment brought by Lu Zhao to open an entrance to the third underground floor.

The interior of the laboratory was dark and damp, filled with a pungent smell of disinfectant and decay.

Although Lu Zhao tried his best to bypass the laboratory's monitoring system, he eventually triggered the isolation procedure of the high-voltage area.

"Alarm! Alarm! High-voltage area isolation procedure initiated!" A shrill alarm sounded inside the laboratory and red warning lights began flashing.

"Oh no, Lu Zhao, we've been discovered!" Xiao Ran said in a low voice.

"I'm trying to cut off the quarantine process, but the system firewall is too strong."

Lu Zhao said as he operated the tablet computer. "Captain, we must change the evacuation route and take a detour through the ventilation duct."

Su Wanqing frowned, but still nodded. "I'll listen to you. Che, you go search the specimen room first, Xiao Ran and I will cover you."

Lin Che responded and, following Ye’s instructions, quickly moved towards the specimen room.

Su Wanqing and Xiao Ran created some chaos inside the laboratory, attracting the attention of laboratory security personnel.

When they arrived at the warehouse, they found the door locked and equipped with a biometric scanner.

"Lu Zhao, how's the progress?" Su Wanqing asked through the communicator.

"The scanner is difficult to crack. I have tried all possible algorithms but have not been able to bypass them."

Lu Zhao's voice was a little anxious. "I suspect that this scanner is directly linked to the command system of the base's core, which means that we can't completely crack it independently."

"The center of the base?" Su Wanqing's heart trembled. It seemed that this laboratory was far more important than she thought.

At this moment, Ye’s voice suddenly rang in Lin Che’s mind: “The fifth brick on the left wall can be opened.”

Lin Che did not hesitate and immediately walked to the left wall. Following Ye's instructions, he pressed hard on the fifth brick.

With a "click", a hidden entrance appeared on the wall.

Su Wanqing and Xiao Ran rushed over quickly and saw Lin Che opening a passage leading to a small storage room.

"Is this the additional storage device that Ye mentioned?" Su Wanqing asked.

Lin Che nodded and said, “Ye said that there are some unpublished experimental data stored in it, as well as some...important things.”

They carefully entered the storage room and found it filled with densely packed hard drives and data cards.

"This... this is simply a treasure trove of data." Lu Zhao looked at the hard drives, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

"If we can bring this data back, we can completely unlock the secrets of the virus."

At this moment, the alarm inside the laboratory became louder and more security personnel rushed in.

"Time is running out, we must evacuate as soon as possible!" Su Wanqing said.

Lu Zhao quickly put the hard drive and data card into his backpack, while Su Wanqing and Xiao Ran were responsible for covering their retreat.