Chapter 54: The Pursuers Approach
The van was driving under the dim moonlight, and the four people had their own thoughts.
After arriving at the safe house, Xiao Ran carefully parked the car in a secluded place.
"We're here," he turned off the engine and turned to the back seat, "Let's make sure there's nothing unusual around here."
Lin Che opened the car door and looked around. "It's safe for now."
The four of them got out of the car quickly, with Lu Zhao leading the way to the entrance of the safe house. Su Wanqing followed at the end, looking back from time to time to see if anyone was following them.
After entering the safe house, Lu Zhao immediately inserted the USB drive into the computer. The other three people gathered behind him, holding their breath and waiting for the data to load.
"It will take some time to decrypt," Lu Zhao said, his fingers flying across the keyboard, "some files are encrypted."
Su Wanqing took out the paper documents she brought back from the laboratory and spread them out on the table. "Let's look at these first."
Lin Che picked up a document and said, "This is the preliminary experimental report on the element holder."
Xiao Ran checked their weapons and supplies to make sure everything was ready in case of any emergency.
Lu Zhao suddenly tapped the keyboard, "I'm coming in."
A series of folders appeared on the screen, one of which was labeled "S-0 Experiment Logs".
"What is this?" Su Wanqing asked.
Lu Zhao clicked it and opened it. "It looks like the earliest experimental record."
The document details the process of artificially synthesizing the virus and the results of early tests on animals.
There are also other contents such as launch plan, area selection, population density analysis, etc.
“Oh my god,” Lin Che’s face turned pale after reading it.
Lu Zhao continued to browse the documents. "Here is more about the 'Biological Reset Plan'."
He opened another document that detailed the program's goals: to create a new subspecies of human with greater adaptability and special abilities.
The document mentioned that the virus would cause most people to die or mutate, while a few would gain elemental abilities.
"This is crazy," Su Wanqing said, "They deliberately created the apocalypse just to filter out a few people?"
Xiao Ran stood aside with a gloomy expression, "They treat this as an experiment of survival of the fittest."
Lu Zhao continued to read, "According to these records, the Seven Elements Holders seem to be the most important part of the plan."
He pointed to a text on the screen, "Look here: 'The seven elements of energy merge into one, the inter-dimensional channel opens, and a new era is coming.
'What does this mean?'
Lin Che pondered, "Interdimensional channel, do they want to open a channel to other dimensions?"
"Maybe it's to escape the disaster they created themselves," Xiao Ran said coldly.
Su Wanqing suddenly thought of something, "Xiao Yu! The document mentioned that the virus would cause mutations, and Xiao Yu seemed to be a successful mutant.
Lu Zhao nodded, "It's possible. We have confirmed four of the seven elements: water, fire, gold and spirit.
Lin Che is water, Xiao Ran is fire, I might be gold, and Su Wanqing might be spirit. Add Xiao Yu, and there are still two missing. "
Just as they were discussing, the safe house's alarm system suddenly flashed, and a sharp alarm broke the silence.
Lu Zhao quickly checked the surveillance screen and his expression suddenly changed. "Someone is approaching, fully armed."
On the screen, six men in black combat uniforms were carefully approaching the safe house, holding weapons, their movements professional and coordinated.
"Damn, how did they find this place?" Xiao Ran immediately pulled out the pistol from his waist and checked the ammunition.
Lin Che looked at the door and window. "Maybe we are being followed, or they have the ability to track the USB drive we obtained."
Lu Zhao quickly began to save and back up the data. "We need to evacuate immediately, but we must take the evidence with us."
Su Wanqing nodded and immediately began to store the documents, USB flash drives and other important items into her spatial ability. "Leave it to me."
Xiao Ran checked the back door of the safe house. "There is an emergency exit here, but we need to create some chaos to cover our retreat."
Lu Zhao looked towards the laboratory area. "I can use the chemicals in the laboratory to make a few simple smoke bombs to buy time."
“Let me help you,” Lin Che said, following Lu Zhao into the small laboratory.
Xiao Ran set up a simple trap in the room to delay the pursuers.
Su Wanqing continued to collect important items, making sure not to leave any valuable information behind.
In the laboratory, Lu Zhao quickly mixed several chemicals. "This mixture will produce a lot of smoke when it comes into contact with air. Visibility is almost zero and it will last for about three minutes."
Lin Che helped put the mixture into several small glass containers, "Is that enough?"
"That should be enough," Lu Zhao said, "We need to detonate them at the critical moment."
Lin Che suddenly noticed a small refrigerator under the lab bench. She curiously opened it and found several test tubes marked “original samples” inside.
"Lu Zhao, look at this," he pointed at the test tube.
Lu Zhao frowned, "This may be the original virus sample, or some kind of experimental product."
Lin Che hesitated for a moment and quietly put a test tube into his pocket. "This may help in developing an antidote."
Lu Zhao did not object, but nodded, "Handle it carefully, we don't know what's inside."
The two returned to the main room with smoke bombs, and Xiao Ran had already completed setting up the trap.
"The pursuers are only a hundred meters away from the safe house," he said, looking at the surveillance screen, "We have to act immediately."
"The smoke bombs are ready," Lu Zhao said, "We need a breakout plan."
Xiao Ran pointed to a passage behind the house and said, "There is an emergency passage leading to the underground garage. I just checked and there are several electric cars there. They should still be usable."
Su Wanqing walked towards the entrance of the passage, "I'll lead the way. If you encounter a locked door, my spatial ability can help."
Lu Zhao distributed the smoke bombs to everyone, "Listen to my command, detonate them at the same time, and then retreat according to the plan."
The four of them got ready, and the surveillance screen showed that the pursuers had arrived outside the safe house and were deploying.
"Get ready," Xiao Ran whispered, holding the gun handle, "They are coming in."
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There was a muffled conversation outside, followed by the sound of metal prying against the door lock.
Lu Zhao glanced at the other three and nodded, "Remember, act according to the plan."
The door was kicked open and two men in black rushed in with guns.
"Now!" Lu Zhao shouted.
The four of them activated the smoke bombs at the same time and threw them towards the entrance. After the sound of glass breaking, thick white smoke instantly filled the entire room.
The man in black began to cough, and his vision was completely obscured.
"Let's go!" Xiao Ran shouted.
The four of them quickly retreated to the back passage. Su Wanqing opened the passage door, and everyone entered the dark passage one by one.
There were confused shouts and coughs behind him, and the smoke temporarily stopped the pursuers.
The passage was pitch black. Lin Che turned on the flashlight to illuminate the road ahead.
"This should lead to the underground garage," he said, leading the way.
The passage wound downward, the air became humid and hot. After walking for about two minutes, they arrived in front of a heavy metal door.
"This should be the entrance to the garage," Xiao Ran said, trying to push the door open, but it didn't budge. "It's locked."
Su Wanqing stepped forward, put her hand on the door lock, closed her eyes and concentrated.
A faint blue light emanated from her palm and the door lock made a slight click.
"Okay," she pushed the door gently and it slowly opened.
The four entered the underground garage and found that there were indeed several electric vehicles parked inside.
Xiao Ran immediately walked towards the car that looked in the best condition and checked the battery level.
"There's enough power," he said. "This one will work."
At this moment, footsteps and shouts were heard in the passage. The pursuers had passed through the smoke and discovered their escape route.
“They’re coming!” Lin Che warned.
Xiao Ran quickly started the electric car and said, "Get in!"
The other three people got into the car quickly, Xiao Ran stepped on the accelerator, and the car rushed forward.
Just then, two security guards rushed out from the side door and tried to intercept them.
Without saying a word, Xiao Ran slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car. In the surprised eyes of others, he rushed towards the two security guards at an incredible speed.
After a few quick moves, the two security guards fell to the ground, unconscious.
"I've learned a little Kung Fu," Xiao Ran explained simply and returned to the driver's seat.
Lu Zhao looked at him, with a hint of surprise in his eyes, as if he had a new understanding of Xiao Ran's skills.
The electric car continued to move forward, passed through the exit of the underground garage, and drove into the desolate night.
Xiao Ran skillfully controlled the vehicle, avoiding obstacles on the road and speeding away from the nuclear power plant.
"Have we gotten rid of them?" Su Wanqing looked back and saw only darkness behind her.
"We've gotten rid of it for now," Xiao Ran said, "but not for long. We need to find a place to hide and make new plans."
Lu Zhao looked at the USB flash drive in his hand. "At least we have obtained the key evidence. Now we need to study the information and find out the specific details of the 'Biological Reset Plan', especially where the 'Zero Point' facility is."
“We need to find the other two element holders,” Lin Che said, touching the test tube in his pocket, “Maybe this sample can provide some clues.”
"First, we have to ensure safety," Xiao Ran said as the vehicle continued to move forward in the night. "Give me two days to prepare, and then we will go find the answer."
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