After driving for four days, apart from that swarm of scorpions, their journey was relatively safe.

On the last day, Qi You drove, with Commander Qi in the passenger seat, while Xia Shizhao sat in the back seat holding the little white tiger, lazily watching the yellow sand flashing by outside. He exuded an air of nobility and cynicism, looking every bit the spoiled brat.

However, Commander Qi had doubts about Xia Shizhao's reason that he only wanted to come and see this abandoned residential area.

Because she can accurately avoid danger without needing reminders from others, her survival instincts are much stronger than many in her team, unlike a rich kid who only knows how to eat, drink, have fun, and seek thrills in life.

Could there be something valuable in this abandoned place?

However, this is none of their business. After completing the mission, Xia Shizhao and the others can leave in three days.

Xia Shizhao sat in the back with his eyes squinted, then suddenly sat up straight.

An oasis and a lake appeared ahead, but after a short while the scene shook and disappeared from their sight.

Mirage.

Xia Shizhao regretted his slow reaction; he should have written it down.

After all, the probability of seeing a mirage is not high.

"Aside from the scorpion swarm and the long journey, the trip was quite easy overall, and we even got to see a mirage."

Qi You, who was driving, exclaimed, "What's the difference between this and going on vacation?"

"How many times have you seen each other on the desert planet?"

Qi You thought for a while, "If I had seen it with my own eyes, it would have been about ten years ago. I was still young then, and even in the good conditions of the desert, the possibility of a mirage is not very high."

"I see," Xia Shizhao then looked at Commander Qi, "And you, Commander?"

"This is the second time."

Xia Shizhao nodded knowingly. They really are sisters.

They don't even look alike.

"Have you been working as mercenaries all this time? Isn't it very dangerous?" Xia Shizhao asked, feigning innocence.

"The brothers and sisters who came this time are all quitting after finishing their last job. They've earned enough money for my mother's treatment and won't be doing dangerous work anymore. Then our family can leave Desert Star and start a new life."

Qi You's face was filled with hope and anticipation for the future. She stuck out her tongue, seemingly a little embarrassed. "Living a peaceful and bloodless life has always been my dream."

Commander Qi's expression softened considerably. "After this, I'll retire from the criminal life and live like an ordinary person."

Xia Shizhao nodded, also moved by their joy, "Congratulations! Starting life anew, the whole family can have a good time together."

There wasn't much left to say, so Xia Shizhao scratched his cheek and lay back down. "How much longer until we arrive?"

"It will take about an hour. The abandoned city is quite large, so we need to head east. Since we're going in different directions, we'll have to separate at the entrance. We can meet up at the entrance in three days."

"Does this abandoned city have any laboratories?"

Xia Shizhao asked leisurely.

Commander Qi replied:

There are three laboratories, one in the northwest and two in the southeast.

"Oh, so where is that lab that caused the whole city to relocate?"

"northwest."

"You're going to this laboratory?"

Xia Shizhao asked again.

"Yes, we'll split up and deal with both at the same time; that will be faster."

"Oh, what are you going to the lab for?"

"Destroy it, but the client didn't say why, which is strange."

Qi You, who was driving, blurted out the words, then realized his mistake and looked full of regret.

The client specifically said that the mission couldn't be revealed, but she has such a loose tongue.

Xia Shizhao chatted casually, saying, "Back then, it was quite understandable if the people in this city hated this laboratory."

"Yeah yeah."

Feeling uneasy under the commander's gaze, Qi You tried to laugh it off, but to no avail.

"But I'd like to visit the labs in the Northwest later, could you go to the Southeast first?"

"Hmm, that's fine." Commander Qi thought for a moment. Anyway, there were enough resources, so it wouldn't matter if it was slower.

After Xia Shizhao got the information out of him, he shut his mouth and leaned back in his chair to sleep for a while. When they arrived at their destination, they parted ways.

Out of kindness, she still reminded them: "Team leader, you have to be careful. If something jumps out of the house, you won't have time to run. It's best to check before deciding whether to blow it up."

After finishing his sentence, Xia Shizhao headed straight for the laboratory in the northwest.

On both sides are dilapidated buildings that are about to collapse due to the erosion of time. Some fruit stalls have wooden frames that have cracked due to the dry desert climate. Some signs have fallen and cracked on the ground when a car wheel passes over them. The scene is full of devastation and desolation.

It's hard to imagine that this place was once the most prosperous place on Desert Star.

Xia Shizhao drove very fast, but it still took him an hour to get to the laboratory.

As soon as Xia Shizhao stepped out of the car, the high temperature outside caused him to break out in a light sweat.

The little white tiger refused to leave her backpack, which frustrated Xia Shizhao so much that he had no choice but to take her out.

"Wearing a cotton-padded coat in the summer will make you die of heat."

Holding a flashlight, Xia Shizhao wiped the sweat from his forehead, put the little white tiger in his bag and locked it, turned on the protective cover, and carefully walked inside.

In such dire circumstances, there was no need to worry about rats. Xia Shizhao was mainly afraid of the scorpions and centipedes that suddenly appeared. One or two were fine, but if there was a whole group, he would have to run away.

The moment Xia Shizhao stepped into the laboratory, he pushed open the door and walked into the dark, gloomy room.

I located the power switch and examined the wiring for a while.

It wasn't broken; someone cut it.

Xia Shizhao took something out of his bag and beat the drum for a while, and then the lights in the laboratory turned on.

Xia Shizhao narrowed his eyes slightly.

Is there still electricity here?

With heightened vigilance, Xia Shizhao slowly walked inside.

The doors were all locked.

Xia Shizhao took out his prying tools, but after trying for a long time, he found that he couldn't open the door.

She snorted coldly. If she couldn't open it, could she at least take it apart?

Putting on gloves to protect his knuckles, Xia Shizhao clenched his fists and pounded the security door dozens of times before finally kicking it open. Inside was a monitoring room with dozens of screens, making one's eyes dizzy at first glance.

Because of the power supply, Xia Shizhao could see the surveillance footage clearly. The moment he saw more than a dozen screens, Xia Shizhao's pupils dilated slightly.

She gasped.

It contains things that cannot be described as 'human'.

Some are half-centipede, half-human; some have hands that are like scorpion pincers; and some have rat ears.

Parts of the body are animalized.

There's another screen that's quite gory and terrifying.

Inside were piles of half-bodied animals, some as high as small mountains.

Xia Shizhao leaned closer to the screen and looked at it carefully. There were many cylinders inside, filled with murky green water, and many strange things were wriggling inside.

The recording device flashed red light on his chest, recording every single moment of the scene.

The little white tiger also poked its head out of the bag, staring intently at the horrifying scene on the screen.

With his brows furrowed tightly, Xia Shizhao quickly left the monitoring room, carefully examined the wall, and found the map of the laboratory.

After touring the entire laboratory following the map, Xia Shizhao couldn't find the monitoring room at all. Instead, he found another monitoring room and conspicuously appeared on the monitor.

Xia Shizhao took a deep breath; there was a mechanism at play.

We need to look again.

The little white tiger jumped off the backpack and bit Xia Shizhao's trouser leg, gesturing for Xia Shizhao to follow it.

Xia Shizhao had a terrible headache, so he picked up the little white tiger and said, "Stop fooling around."

"Awoooooo!!!"

The little white tiger was so anxious it was about to speak. Its furry paws pointed in a direction, and Xia Shizhao looked in that direction and saw a luminous pearl, just like all the ones on the way here.

"You want to play?"

As Xia Shizhao was saying this, she reached for the luminous pearl, but couldn't lift it. Then, she had a sudden inspiration and twisted it again.

A secret passage appeared beside them.