Lu Zhaoming looked up at the drone in the sky. The thing was buzzing, just like the jumbled formulas in his mind when he was taking the advanced mathematics exam.
"This thing, it's probably here to collect debts." Lu Zhaoming pursed his lips, his expression grave.
He lowered his voice and said to Su Li beside him, "Little girl, it looks like our romantic getaway is going to be ruined. This beat-up plane might just be an appetizer. We need to find a place to hide quickly."
On the system interface, the four words "Permission Block" were still lit up, but the progress bar behind them was as slow as an old lady's foot binding cloth.
"The access control function is not yet fully stable and will take time to fix." The system notification sounded at an inopportune moment, and Lu Zhaoming really wanted to stab it.
"Xiao Cui, lead the way!" Lu Zhaoming made a quick decision; he didn't want to play hide-and-seek with these bastards.
"Find a place with complex terrain, preferably one that can confuse them."
Xiao Cui nodded meekly. This little girl has been like a frightened bird ever since Tie Niu died.
However, in crucial moments, we still have to rely on locals like her.
The group crouched low and crawled into an abandoned mine tunnel.
The place was dark and the air was filled with a musty smell; it was practically a natural refuge.
"Access control blocked, activate!" Lu Zhaoming muttered to himself, hoping this thing would work.
However, ideals are often grand, while reality is often harsh.
The drone completely ignored him and continued to hover outside. After a while, it even dropped a few miniature detectors.
"Holy crap, are they serious?!" Lu Zhaoming couldn't help but swear.
Su Li was also somewhat surprised, and a hint of seriousness flashed in her charming eyes.
"They seem to be able to lock onto our scent, which is a bit of a problem."
"Smell?" Lu Zhaoming frowned, thinking quickly.
These bastards are really armed to the teeth with high technology.
He activated the system scan, and the surrounding terrain information instantly flooded into his mind.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and a wicked smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Got it!"
"Xiao Cui, lead the way, go underground!" Lu Zhaoming said firmly, as if he was already confident.
The group followed the mine tunnel downwards. Soon, they arrived at the edge of an underground river.
"Jump in!" Without saying a word, Lu Zhaoming jumped into the water first.
The icy river water instantly soaked through his body, and Lu Zhaoming couldn't help but shiver.
"There's residual radiation in this water!" Su Li exclaimed, her face turning pale.
Lu Zhaoming also felt it; the water had a stinging sensation that made him very uncomfortable.
"This place seems to be more than you think," Lu Zhaoming muttered to himself, narrowing his eyes.
"This should be one of the secret experimental sites before the nuclear war, possibly related to the 'Purification Project'." The system notification sounded again, confirming his guess.
"Purification plan? Doesn't sound like a good thing." Lu Zhaoming curled his lip, becoming even more wary.
Just then, a chilling voice came through the communicator.
"Lu Zhaoming, do you think you can escape? Every step you take is under my surveillance."
It was Green Snake, the scorpion's henchman, his voice carrying a sinister undertone.
"Heh, let's see who has the last laugh!" Lu Zhaoming sneered, retorting without backing down.
"You're being stubborn, aren't you? You'll be crying later!" Green Snake's voice stopped abruptly, clearly angered by Lu Zhaoming's attitude.
The team struggled through the underground river, where the current was rapid and the water temperature was extremely low. Coupled with the effects of radiation, everyone felt very uncomfortable.
After an unknown amount of time, they finally arrived at a hidden cave.
"Phew, finally I can catch my breath." Su Li leaned against the stone wall, panting heavily.
Lu Zhaoming remained vigilant, activating the system's time-delay function to quickly analyze the surrounding terrain.
“The other end of this cave leads to an abandoned factory,” Lu Zhaoming said, pointing to the map on the screen. “We can use that as a springboard to formulate our next plan.”
"Okay!" Everyone nodded in agreement.
However, just as they were preparing to leave, Xiao Cui suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
"My brother's marks! These symbols are the same as the notes my brother left behind!"
Xiao Cui pointed to some strange symbols on the stone wall and said excitedly.
Lu Zhaoming was startled and immediately realized that this might be one of the key locations for human experimentation.
He walked up to the stone wall and carefully observed the symbols, trying to find some clues.
These symbols are crooked and twisted, like some kind of code, or perhaps some kind of warning.
Lu Zhaoming had a vague feeling that he was getting closer to a huge conspiracy.
Before leaving, Lu Zhaoming deliberately left behind a few pieces of damaged equipment, throwing them in a conspicuous place...
Lu Zhaoming grinned, revealing a "you know what I mean" expression.
He pointed to the pieces of equipment he had smashed to pieces on the ground, lowered his voice, and said as if he were dividing the spoils with someone: "This is called the 'empty city strategy,' you know? We have to give that woman the wrong signal, make her think we're still waiting to die in the same place."
Su Li rolled her eyes at him and smiled charmingly: "You're the one with the most tricks up your sleeve."
However, her smile was interrupted by a buzzing noise before it could fully bloom.
In the distance, several drones were flying in aggressively, like a swarm of buzzing flies, which was annoying.
"They're here, the death knell is here!" Lu Zhaoming spat, his expression hardening.
To make matters worse, the system notification also joined in: "High-privilege intrusion detected. Please handle immediately."
"Damn it, here we go again?" Lu Zhaoming cursed inwardly. It was truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly.
He grabbed the Blade of Judgment, and the icy touch instantly calmed him down.
The blade gleamed coldly in the dim mine tunnel, as if it were eager to strike.
"It seems this game is getting more and more interesting..." Lu Zhaoming licked his lips.
Su Li looked at him, her gaze becoming serious, and said softly, "Let's go, I feel like something's not quite right..."
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