Chapter 18 Unexpected Outburst 2
The three men moved carefully through the warehouse, avoiding scattered metal fragments and collapsed shelves.
Outside the door, the howling of zombie dogs was getting closer.
“Why are the zombie dogs chasing us?” Lin Che asked in a low voice, “Shouldn’t they attack randomly?”
"It's not random." Su Wanqing replied calmly, "The research institute can control some zombie dogs and use them to track down the escaped experimental subjects."
"What?" Xiao Ran asked in surprise, "They can control zombies?"
Su Wanqing did not answer, but just concentrated on checking the door leading to the basement.
The lock was rusted, but the door frame was intact. She took out a thin piece of wire and started picking the lock.
"You know too much," Xiao Ran looked at Su Wanqing warily, "A scavenger shouldn't have this kind of information."
"I've said before, I'm no longer a member of the institute." Su Wanqing continued to pick the lock without even looking up, "I'm here to destroy it."
The door lock suddenly made a click and opened. Su Wanqing pushed the door open and saw a staircase leading down to the dark basement.
"Go down," she ordered briefly.
Lin Che hesitated for a moment, but followed. Xiao Ran was the last one to enter and closed the door gently.
The stairs creaked and the air was filled with the smell of mold and some kind of chemical.
The basement was much larger than I had imagined, like an abandoned laboratory.
Faded charts hung on the walls and rusted instruments were piled in the corners.
In the center was a metal operating table with dried blood still on it.
“What is this place?” Lin Che asked nervously, hiding behind Xiao Ran instinctively.
Su Wanqing looked around, her expression becoming more and more serious: "It seems we have found the right place."
"What do you mean?" Xiao Ran asked vigilantly.
"This is a secret outpost of the institute." Su Wanqing walked towards the control panel on the wall. "It is used for field experiments and emergencies."
She pressed a few buttons, and the panel lit up with a faint green light. Emergency lights slowly lit up throughout the basement, revealing more details.
There are not only charts hanging on the walls, but also rows of photos and data.
Su Wanqing walked closer to check, and her eyes turned cold.
“Project Blue Blood,” she whispered, “and Project Spark.”
Lin Che and Xiao Ran walked forward quickly and looked at the information on the wall. The photos showed rows of experimental subjects, each wearing a suppressor and with empty eyes.
Among them, Lin Che recognized his own photo, number 0927.
Next to her was a red-haired girl, numbered 0928, who was X-7.
"Yu!" Xiao Ran pointed at the photo excitedly, "This is my sister!"
Lin Che stared at the photo of X-7, and his heartbeat suddenly quickened. Why did that girl's amber eyes look strangely familiar? "Look at this." Su Wanqing pointed to a chart with two intersecting curves marked as "blue blood activity" and "spark energy".
"What does this mean?" Xiao Ran frowned.
"This shows," Su Wanqing explained, "that the Blue Blood Project and the Spark Project are complementary. One controls power, and the other provides energy."
Lin Che suddenly felt a headache and his temples throbbed violently. He held onto the wall, trying to keep his balance.
Fragments of memories flooded into his mind: the blinding white light of the laboratory, the needle piercing his skin, the pain of the electric current running through his body, and the red-haired girl holding his hand and whispering, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
"Lin Che?" Su Wanqing noticed his abnormality and approached him cautiously, "What's wrong with you?"
“I remember now,” Lin Che muttered to himself, “X-7 Xiao Yu and I once trained together. She can ignite my blood and multiply my abilities.”
Xiao Ran grabbed Lin Che by the collar: "Do you remember her? Where is she now?"
“I don’t know the exact location,” Lin Che shook her head, “but I can sense her direction. Just like... like a magnetic needle pointing north.”
Su Wanqing and Xiao Ran exchanged glances. Lin Che couldn't possibly know this out of thin air, unless his memory was indeed recovering.
"What's the direction?" Su Wanqing asked briefly.
Lin Che closed his eyes and felt the weak pulling force in his body: "Northwest direction, about thirty kilometers away."
Xiao Ran let go of Lin Che, hope flashing in his eyes: "That's the main base of the research institute."
"It's also the most dangerous place." Su Wanqing added, "Without a plan, we can't even get through the gate."
Just then, the lights in the basement suddenly flickered and the alarm pierced the silence.
A line of red words appeared on the electronic screen: "Intrusion detected, activate defense system."
"Damn it, they found this place!" Su Wanqing quickly drew her weapon, "Get ready for battle!"
Xiao Ran's arms glowed red again, and his muscle lines became more obvious: "How many exits are there?"
"It should be the only one who came in." Su Wanqing quickly glanced around, "Unless."
She rushed to a metal cabinet in the corner of the lab and pulled it open.
There was no experimental equipment inside, but a narrow passage leading to darkness.
"Emergency escape route! Quick!"
Just as Lin Che was about to catch up, she heard a loud noise above her head.
A big hole was torn in the ceiling of the basement, and the rainwater that leaked in formed a waterfall.
A huge figure jumped down from the cave entrance and landed heavily on the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.
When the dust settled, the three people saw the person coming clearly - a man covered in black tactical equipment, with a gas mask on his face and metal armor tied on his arms, like a futuristic warrior.
But the most terrifying thing was that there was a pair of huge metal wings extending behind him, with electric light flashing at the tips of the wings.
"Fangs." Su Wanqing took a breath, "The top hunter of the research institute."
Fang slowly raised his head, and the red lens behind the gas mask locked onto Lin Che: "Subject 0927, the arrest warrant has been issued. Those who resist will be executed."
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Xiao Ran rushed forward and punched Fang with a sound of breaking through the air: "Get out of here!"
Fang didn't move at all, and caught Xiao Ran's fist with one hand. His metal wings vibrated, generating a shock wave that sent Xiao Ran flying into the wall.
Xiao Ran struggled to stand up, but a mouthful of blood gushed out, and it was obvious that he had serious internal injuries.
Lin Che stood there, his legs weak. Fang, the most terrifying hunter in the institute, was responsible for dealing with escaped and rebellious test subjects.
No one can escape from him. This is a horror legend known to all experimental subjects.
"Go!" Su Wanqing shouted, and at the same time drew out her Tang sword and rushed towards Fang Ya, "I'll hold him back!"
Lin Che hesitated for a moment, but Xiao Ran had already struggled to get up and grabbed his wrist: "Believe her! Go!"
The two rushed towards the escape passage, hearing the sound of fierce metal collision and Su Wanqing's roar behind them.
The passage was long and narrow, and one could only bend over to move forward. Lin Che's heart was pounding, wondering if Su Wanqing could handle Fangs.
“She’ll be fine.” Xiao Ran seemed to understand Lin Che’s thoughts. “I’ve seen her abilities. She’s very strong.”
At the end of the passage was a rusty iron door. Xiao Ran pushed it open with force, and outside was a dense bush with raindrops dripping from the leaves.
They had moved away from the warehouse and were at the edge of the forest.
"Where are we going?" Lin Che asked, panting.
Xiao Ran looked around and pointed at the vague outline of a building in the distance: "That's the edge of the city. We can find transportation there."
The two stumbled forward, the muddy ground making every step difficult.
Lin Che suddenly stopped and looked back at the warehouse behind him.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Ran asked vigilantly.
“Su Wanqing hasn’t come out yet.” Lin Che said worriedly.
Just as he was hesitating whether to go back, a deafening explosion suddenly came from the direction of the warehouse.
A huge fireball shot up into the sky, lighting up the rainy night sky.
“No!” Lin Che shouted in horror and wanted to rush back.
Xiao Ran grabbed him and said, "Wait! Look over there!"
In the distance, a tiny figure flew out from the center of the explosion, drew an arc in the air, and landed heavily on the grass not far away.
It was Su Wanqing! She immediately turned over after falling to the ground. Although her movements were a little staggering, she was obviously still alive.
“She’s fine!” Lin Che breathed a sigh of relief.
"Where are the fangs?" Xiao Ran looked around vigilantly.
A dark figure slowly walked out of the smoke of the explosion. Fang's tactical equipment was damaged, and one of the metal wings on one side was twisted and deformed, but he still moved forward steadily, and his red lens locked onto the fleeing target.
“Run!” Xiao Ran pulled Lin Che forward and shouted, “Su Wanqing! Over here!”
Su Wanqing heard the shouts and immediately ran towards them. After the three of them met up, they rushed towards the city together.
Lin Che looked back and saw that Fang didn't catch up with her immediately. Instead, he stood there, seemingly waiting for something.
"He's waiting for reinforcements," Su Wanqing explained, her voice hoarse from exhaustion. "I blew up his communications device, but it won't take long."
"How are you?" Lin Che asked worriedly, noticing a deep wound on Su Wanqing's arm.
"It's okay, it's not fatal." She replied briefly, "The most important thing now is to get out of here."
(End of this chapter)
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