Chapter 176 Entering the Research Institute

"Believe in our luck. God will always leave a way for us to survive!"

Jin, Tony and the others returned to the yacht as quickly as possible and told their remaining companions about their adventure last night.

Amidst a description full of "incredible" things, the two members who stayed behind followed them on a yacht to the coast where the train landed, and were then fascinated by this magical train.

Knowing that all the consumption on the train required crystal cores, Tony and his companions collected all the crystal cores from everyone on the yacht. They also had a sumptuous dinner on the train as they had hoped.

After their stomachs bulged with food, these guys who were sent by the international rescue organization to patrol the island finally remembered their business.

It was Shark who was rotated back to eat at noon. When they asked, he didn't hide anything and told them directly.

Although they took turns searching in the water without stopping for a moment, the area of ​​the lake bottom was too large. Even though the team members who went into the water had been searching for nearly eight hours, they still found nothing.

This result was also within the expectations of Jin and others.

After all, on such a large island, finding a thumb-sized USB drive is easier than looking for a needle in a haystack. Furthermore, although the researcher, Gis, said he threw the USB drive containing the data into the lake, the research institute was blown up after they left, making it difficult to say whether the USB drive was destroyed in the explosion.

When they first heard that Huaguo would send someone to look for the USB drive, they found it incredible. However, they also knew that Huaguo people loved to do these seemingly meaningless and useless things, and they were also very good at achieving things that seemed impossible to everyone.

Although Jin and others always expressed doubts about their choices, it is undeniable that they also hoped that their actions would succeed.

Jin and his companions were originally reluctant to take on the mission of guarding the island. They had planned to return and report back after the people from the Flower Country arrived. But now, with their bulging stomachs, they thought it would be a good idea to return and report to their superiors before trying to come here to assist these people from the Flower Country.

However, the sharks and others who were listed as the targets of assistance had no idea that they might have a group of active helpers. After eating and resting for a few hours, they took turns diving to the bottom of the lake.

The sun rose in the east and set in the west, and almost in the blink of an eye, it was night again. After the sun set, the temperature on the island dropped significantly, even lower than last night. The cold wind wrapped in ice and snow raged across the island, cutting everyone like a sharp knife.

Although the team members wearing protective clothing could not feel the cold, they only felt the strong force coming from all around their bodies that almost pushed them forward, and they knew how strong the wind was.

However, even in a harsh environment, the search operation did not stop. Under the light of the lights placed around, the team members on the lake were monitoring the situation under the ice in real time, and the search work on the lake bottom was still continuing.

Compared to noon, the area of ​​the lake bottom that had been searched had more than doubled. However, compared to the area of ​​the island that was almost completely submerged, the area that had been searched was only a small area.

The team member who had just come out of the lake was panting and felt a little discouraged looking at the ice surface that seemed to have no end in sight.

"Can we really find that USB drive? It's so small, what if it gets washed into the sea during a rainstorm?"

Although the lake on the island is connected to the ocean only by a tiny crack, and most of the time it is seawater that flows back, and the lake water rarely flows into the ocean, but what if?

Some people also thought, "Could it be swallowed by a fish in the lake and then slipped out through the cracks connecting the lake bottom to the seabed?"

"If the entire island is flooded during a heavy rainstorm, the possibility of the USB drive being washed away to other places by the current is even greater!"

The team members certainly hoped that they could find the USB drive, but with only an approximate location provided by Gis, and with such a long time interval and so many possible accidents, they also felt that the hope of finding it was very slim.

I know what my teammates are talking about: sharks, but this is also a last resort.

Although they and rescue organizations in various countries are constantly looking for wealthy people who may have invested in this research project, the difficulty of finding these people and successfully obtaining relevant information from them is no less than finding a USB flash drive.

Sometimes, they even had clues, but someone always destroyed them before them.

"Let's find it first! At least we have a target, which is better than running around like a headless fly!" Shark sighed, "Believe in our luck, God will always leave a way for us to survive!"

After hearing what he said, the other team members also stopped talking.

It took several days to find it.

A few days later, in the murky lake water under the ice, the search team approached the building that the island residents had never approached before.

The team members initially had no intention of entering the research institute where the pathogen had originated. However, over the past few days, they had searched everywhere near the location mentioned by Giss, but found no trace of the USB drive.

Thinking that the USB flash drive might have flowed back into the research institute with the surging lake water during a rainstorm, Shark and others decided to enter the research institute that had already been destroyed by the explosion and fire to look for it.

Although the institute was half destroyed by the explosion, and the subsequent fire had dyed the original white walls of the facade black, leaving it in a mess, the overall structure of the building was still there.

The small building is about four stories high and is built in the center of the lake. The gate faces east. Behind the building is the mountain to the west of the island. The entire building is built against the mountain.

Judging from the appearance alone, the small building is no different from an ordinary sanatorium or health care center, and may even be too ordinary. However, once you get into the water, you will find that this small building has more than just four floors above the ground.

Compared to the ordinary four-story building on the ground, the underground part submerged in the original lake water was so huge that the team members who saw it were dumbfounded.

The moment you see it, even an ordinary person who knows nothing about it would never believe that this is an ordinary sanatorium.

Although part of the building was destroyed by the explosion, this part did not include the underground research institute. Perhaps the best materials were used in its construction, so that even after the explosion and fire, they can still see the complete picture of this mysterious underground research institute.

The structure was constructed of steel and iron, using countless advanced new materials. Because it was located underwater, it was sealed tightly to prevent water from seeping in. Even the glass was bulletproof, making it virtually impossible to break in. If the upper floors weren't unattended and the entrance hadn't been damaged by the explosion, they might have had trouble even getting in.

Fortunately, they no longer need to worry about this problem.

Although the entrance to the underground research institute could not be found, the upper floors had already been destroyed by the explosion and were full of holes.

The team members floated up two floors and found a hole on the second floor of the building that was blocked by broken stone slabs and rubble, which was large enough for one person to pass through.

The rubble was moved away, and the water flows on both sides of the building began to exchange in an instant. The team members at the entrance of the cave smelled a very strong fishy odor in a trance, and their expressions were startled.

After discussing in a low voice, the four people entered the small building one by one through the cave entrance.

Although the underground part of the institute is tightly sealed, the buildings above are just ordinary ones. Over the years, they have become dilapidated and filled with lake water.

The walls of the small building had collapsed in places, leaving bricks and stones piled up in a chaotic mess. The furniture and ornaments that had been placed throughout the building had long been damaged by the explosion and fire, and the remaining debris had been washed away by the water. The corners of the stairs were the worst hit areas for debris.

Although it looked safe, the team members did not dare to let their guard down. They searched for the USB drive and swam down the stairs to the next level.

According to their previous conjecture, if the USB flash drive entered the small building with the backflow of lake water, it would more likely be in the floors below.

But as they got closer to the underground floor, the four of them smelled an irresistible fishy odor.

Shark and his teammates looked at each other and tacitly slowed down their pace.

The light from overhead shot forward, creating a bright path in the dark corridor. While they were on guard, they turned over the debris piled on the ground.

But even after searching the entire first floor of the building, they still found nothing.

Shark and the team were a little disappointed, but after all the effort they'd made it in, they had no intention of just leaving. After some discussion, the four of them climbed the internal staircase to the underground section—the research institute.

【Author’s words】

Sorry, I'm a few minutes late. I over-edited today's content and deleted some of it, so it's a bit short. I'll try to be longer in the next chapter.

The next chapter will be updated before Thursday evening.

[Dog head holding a rose]