Lu Zhaoming squinted at the shadowy Red Wolf troops in the distance, cursing under his breath, "What bad luck!"
These guys are like chewing gum; you can't shake them off.
"Go that way!" he decisively pointed to a dark area ahead.
It was an abandoned industrial area, where towering chimneys cast huge shadows in the setting sun, resembling menacing monsters.
The interior was filled with rusty pipes and dilapidated factory buildings, which looked eerie and terrifying.
"Are you crazy? Going to that kind of godforsaken place?" Su Li couldn't help but roll her eyes, but still followed closely behind Lu Zhaoming.
Although she complained, she knew in her heart that confronting them head-on was definitely not a wise move.
Without saying a word, Liu Yan stood firmly in the middle of the group, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.
Having gone through everything before, he had developed a blind trust in Lu Zhaoming.
Qinglian silently walked to Xiaocao's side and gently comforted her.
The little girl was clearly terrified by the chase; her face was deathly pale, and she was clutching her doll tightly, trembling.
"Don't be afraid, little grass, I'll protect you," Qinglian said softly, releasing her special ability as a green light enveloped the little grass.
While observing the terrain, Lu Zhaoming asked Su Li, "Are you familiar with this place? Is there any shortcut or hiding place?"
Su Li looked around and shook her head: "I'm not familiar with this kind of place either, but... wait, I remember, I've heard people say before that there seems to be an abandoned underground pipeline under this industrial area that leads out of the city."
"Underground pipes?" Lu Zhaoming's eyes lit up. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's find the entrance quickly!"
Just then, Xiaocao, who had been silent all along, suddenly grabbed Lu Zhaoming's wrist.
"Brother, there seems to be something here..." she said, pointing to the doll in her arms, her voice barely audible.
Lu Zhaoming was stunned for a moment before he noticed that Xiaocao was still tightly hugging the tattered rag doll.
He crouched down and examined the doll closely, noticing that the seams were somewhat rough, suggesting that it had been repaired later.
"Is there anything in here?" he asked softly.
Xiao Cao nodded and carefully handed the doll to Lu Zhaoming.
Lu Zhaoming took the doll and felt that it was quite heavy.
He found a rusty dagger and carefully cut open the stitches of the doll.
With a "ripping" sound, the doll was torn open, revealing the cotton stuffing inside.
Lu Zhaoming reached into the cotton and groped around for a while, then suddenly touched something hard.
He took the thing out and found it was a yellowed piece of paper.
The paper strip was made of a peculiar material, feeling like the leather of some kind of animal, and had a strange numerical code written on it in messy handwriting.
"What is this?" Su Li asked curiously as she leaned closer.
Lu Zhaoming frowned, carefully examining the numbers on the slip of paper.
He vaguely felt that the string of numbers was familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.
"I don't know, it looks like a password." He shook his head and handed the note to Su Li.
Su Li took the note and read it over and over again, but she was still completely confused.
"This thing looks quite old; I wonder who left it here." She shrugged and handed the note back to Lu Zhaoming.
Just then, a hoarse voice suddenly rang out from the corner.
"These are... the coordinates of the 'Purification Tower'!"
Lu Zhaoming turned his head sharply and saw an old scavenger in tattered clothes standing not far away, his cloudy eyes gleaming with an unusual light.
The old man looked extremely thin, his face was covered with wrinkles, and his hair was already gray.
He was wearing tattered clothes and smelled bad.
"Who are you?" Lu Zhaoming asked warily.
The old man didn't answer, but stared intently at the note in Lu Zhaoming's hand, his voice trembling as he said, "This really is the coordinate of the 'Purification Tower'... I can't be wrong..."
"Do you know what this means?" Lu Zhaoming asked.
The old man nodded, excitedly saying, "Of course I know! The 'Purification Tower' is a secret base established by those guys in white robes, where they conduct inhumane human experiments! The coordinates on this note likely point to the earliest virus sample they released!"
"Virus sample?" Lu Zhaoming was shocked.
He immediately realized that this note might hold the key to solving the mystery of the plague.
"How do you know all this?" he pressed.
The old man sighed and slowly said, "I used to be one of the white-robed people, but I escaped because I couldn't stand their cruel methods. I know many secrets about them, including the existence of the 'Purification Tower'."
"Can you take us to the 'Purification Tower'?" Lu Zhaoming asked.
The old man hesitated for a moment, then said, "'The Purification Tower' is definitely heavily guarded now, and it's full of dangers inside. Are you sure you want to go?"
"Of course I'm sure!" Lu Zhaoming said without hesitation. "We're willing to pay any price to find a way to cure the plague!"
The old man was silent for a moment, then finally nodded: "Alright, I can take you there. However, I have one condition."
"What are the conditions?" Lu Zhaoming asked.
“If you find a virus sample, you must give me one,” the old man said. “I need it to prove the crimes of the white-coated police and to avenge the innocent victims!”
“No problem!” Lu Zhaoming agreed immediately. “As long as you can help us find virus samples, I can agree to any conditions you set.”
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