by <unknown>
At that moment, Han Xiao realized something. “Wait a minute, how do you know me?”
“My elder sister told me about your story.”
That’s weird, what did Hila mention me for? Han Xiao thought. This little girl seemed to be rather friendly toward him, which was really weird since they should be enemies. He wondered what Hila had told her.
Aurora stood up wobbly, put her hand in Han Xiao’s hand, and said, “Thank you for saving me. Please bring me away.”
Han Xiao was interested. “Aren’t you afraid that I will use you like the Germinal Organization?”
“My older sister said, no matter how dangerous the future is, it will be better than now.” Aurora raised her head. Her innocent face was filled with seriousness.
Seeing that Aurora was so understanding, Han Xiao was relieved. His understanding of Aurora was only limited to the rumors in his previous life. There had been a side mission to investigate the source of the drug that Aurora was made into, and through that, the players came to know about Aurora.
Therefore, he did not know Aurora’s personality, and he did not expect things to go so smoothly.
There would be plenty of opportunities to improve their relationship later on, and now was obviously not a good place and time.
The surveillance cameras of this area were frozen, and it would be found out sooner or later. Thus, time was scarce.
Han Xiao moved the bodies in, took off the white coat and mask from one of them, and gave them to Aurora for disguise. Aurora followed his instructions.
Han Xiao only felt how truly skinny Aurora was when he touched her—it was pitiful. However, Han Xiao did not have any needless emotions. After he disguised her, he turned and yelled at Cyberlos, “Bring us to the underground tunnel, and I promise not to kill you once we’re safe. The Six Nations likes people with your abilities—you should still be able to receive funding for your research over there.”
The escape route was definitely not going to be the main gate now that Aurora was with them. The underground headquarters were connected to many underground tunnels. The tunnels were railway tracks that transported resources and people, and they spread out like a spider’s web.
The plan was to take Cyberlos as a hostage, use his authority, and leave the headquarters from the underground tunnel, hopefully with Cyberlos cooperating willingly. That was why Han Xiao gave him such a promise.
Although Cyberlos did not want to leave the research that he had in the Germinal Organization behind, he also did not want to die. So, Han Xiao’s solution was acceptable, and he even felt relieved.
The Germinal Organization was a sinking ship—to be able to change a side at this time might be a better choice.
As they were going to head out, Han Xiao suddenly stopped. He realized that the small body size of Aurora would attract too much attention even with a disguise. He thought for a moment and took out an empty single shoulder equipment bag. “Get in.”
Aurora did as she was told and climbed into the bag.
As the zip closed, her vision became dark. She could only feel herself being lifted and moved.
“Sister…” Aurora cowered in the bag, closed her hands in front of her chest, and prayed.
…
The three of them quickly passed various levels and headed toward the underground tunnel.
At the same time, the leader, who was listening to the battlefield analysis, suddenly took out his phone.
“The central computer was browsed by Cyberlos. A lot of confidential information was gone through…” The leader narrowed his eyes and raised suspicion. He said to the assistant, “Find Cyberlos’ location and show the surveillance camera footage on my laptop.”
Then, the leader operated his laptop and entered the central computer system through a backdoor command. He looked at the browsing history and immediately noticed that Cyberlos had turned off all the defensive measures. The surveillance camera footage could be seen, too. Cyberlos had entered the central computer room with another person.
The leader’s eyes became sharp and cold. He was immediately able to deduct that Cyberlos was under duress, and this stranger was most likely Zero. He did not step into his traps and snuck in another way.
“Well… don’t think about leaving now that you’re here.” The leader sent out orders immediately. “Send all the nearby Executive Officers to surround Area C-11 and the entrances of underground tunnels 3 to 11. Do it secretly and don’t raise any attention.”
The leader did not turn on the alarm in the headquarters. He wanted to secretly trap Zero to make sure he was dead.
At a lounge in the underground headquarters, a group of Executive Officers played poker out of boredom.
“It’s so damn boring to standby every day. How I wish to go to the battlefield,” someone lamented.
“What’s good about the battlefield? There’s danger everywhere. With these Inhumans and super soldiers, there’s no need for us to put our lives at stake,” someone sneered.
“Super soldiers are a group of monsters that are even more disgusting than the Inhumans. They’re a bunch of half-completed trash,” someone derided. The normal superhumans looked down on those mass-produced soldiers.
At the side, Hila sat on the sofa with an indifferent expression and rested with closed eyes. Her coldness stopped people from approaching, and she did not approach anyone either; she was not part of the lively atmosphere.
All of a sudden, Hila opened her eyes and turned her head in a specific direction. The coldness on her face was gone, replaced by shock and rage in her eyes.
The Life Mark that she had left on Aurora moved!
These Executive Officer suddenly received orders from their superiors, and before it was finished, they heard a loud blast. As they looked up, they saw that the gate was shattered. Hila had already turned into a high-speed, dark-red shadow and disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Chapter 241. Accident? |
“Something’s wrong.”
As they were heading toward the gate of the underground tunnel, Han Xiao frowned, looked around, and said, “The atmosphere doesn’t feel right. There are fewer people along the way. I have a sense for danger. Did you trigger the alarm?”
As he finished speaking, Han Xiao looked at Cyberlos with a piercing look in his eyes.
Cyberlos was shocked and denied it immediately. “No, I definitely didn’t do it. Maybe the leader noticed something abnormal. I don’t have as much authorization as the leader, so him noticing my browsing history really has nothing to do with me.”
Han Xiao tightened his grip on the equipment bag and said in a low voice, “Let’s go quickly.”
At this time, five levels higher, the leader was heading to this direction with a laptop in his hand. The surveillance camera feedback was displayed on the screen. He laughed coldly and said, “So, you have started to suspect it. By the time you reach the underground tunnel, the ambush that I set up will be completed as well. This time, don’t even think about escaping.”
The leader did not think that Han Xiao would dare to infiltrate alone. He even felt that the number of ambushes that he had prepared was overkill. In his mind, Han Xiao’s strength was the same as back in the Dark Crow Valley, similar to the level of Pan Kuang, and there were more than fifty Executive Officers that were stronger than Pan Kuang in the headquarters right now.
There was nowhere to escape.
The last resort of the siege was the leader himself. He hardly met anyone that could match up to his strength. Even the legendary hero Bennett was at most at the same level as he was. The leader had fought Bennett a few decades ago—they were on par.
The leader was also someone who stood at the top of the Planet Aquamarine—only then could he build and support such a big organization.
Seeing that Han Xiao was like an insect that had sunk deeper and deeper into the spider web, the leader seemed to have seen the light of success. However, the next moment, he saw from the surveillance ca
mera a flash of dark red light shooting straight toward Han Xiao.
Hila had almost gone haywire; her red eyes were staring straight at Han Xiao with rage. It was not because she recognized Han Xiao—it was because she felt the Life Mark on Aurora. Her younger sister was hidden and cowered in the equipment bag that this person was carrying.
Seeing this, there was no way Hila could hold back anymore. Her abilities activated in an instant. Her maroon long hair was like snakes, entangled in gray and red smoke that formed an arrow-like shape. Her murderous intent was almost tangible.
“Put her down!”
Her seeing a stranger taking her younger sister away in a bag was like a parent seeing the child being carried away by a stranger; there was no way to stay calm in such a situation. Rage consumed her senses, and she could not think rationally anymore. Furthermore, her younger sister was very special to her; Aurora was almost like her spiritual sustenance, and that made things even worse.
This woman got stronger again. Han Xiao was shocked. He hastily slid to the side and dodged this cone-shaped dark red air arrow by a few centimeters. The air arrow shot through the metal wall. Han Xiao was surprised. Hila’s superhuman abilities could inflict both physical and psychological damage, and this was already so strong despite only being the physical damage. This meant that the main psychological damage would only be stronger. It was probably because she was attacking in a rage state—the damage enhancement could almost match up to his [Flaming Will]
Despite being rather tanky, Han Xiao was not interested in getting hit. He moved to the side and dodged again. With a thought in his mind, Han Xiao destroyed two surveillance cameras with two shots and yelled, “Hila, I’m here to save your younger sister. You’re attacking the wrong person, you stupid woman…”
Before he finished, Hila already crashed toward him and reached out to grab the bag without listening to anything he said. Being speechless, Han Xiao let go of the bag, carried his other equipment bag, activated Electromagnetic Hover-boots and Mini Maneuvering Equipment, then jumped up to the rooftop.
Hila hurriedly placed the bag on the floor, opened the zip, and looked Aurora in her eyes.
“Sister!” Aurora’s voice was filled with surprise.
“Are you ok?” Hila immediately checked over Aurora’s body. Seeing that she was not hurt, Hila was relieved. Then she remembered there was still an enemy present, he stood up in a flash and stood in front of Aurora, her face alert and looking like she was ready to fight any time.
“Sis, you misunderstood.” Aurora struggled to get her head out of the bag and yelled, “That uncle is here to save me.”
“I don’t know him at all.” Hila was still cautious.
“He said he’s uncle Zero.”
Hila was stunned. She could not believe it.
Zero‽
“It’s me.” Han Xiao did not hide anymore. The alarms all across the bases were ringing. He knew that he was exposed. When Hila suddenly appeared, he already knew that things were not pleasant. With how much Hila cared for Aurora, she would definitely go all out straight away.
“How can it be you?” Hila could not believe it. The dark red smoke moved with her emotions.
Why did Zero come to save Aurora? There should be no connection between them.She could not figure out Han Xiao’s motive at all. Furthermore, they should be enemies. Why was the target Aurora? Does he want to threaten me like the Germinal Organization?
With all the guesses in her mind, Hila could not trust Han Xiao subconsciously. No matter what, Hila could not let go of Han Xiao stealing Aurora away secretly.
“I will explain in the future. Your sister is already saved. The truth is right in front of you, and regardless of whether you believe it or not, I’m here to help.”
“You’re now an enemy that the organization is going after.” Hila’s expression was indifferent. Her power gathered in her hands, but she did not engage.
“Do you want your younger sister to continue being controlled by the organization? Right now is the best chance to escape,” Han Xiao said in a low voice. His motive of saving Aurora was for Hila, and Hila was right in front of him now. Naturally, he would not let the chance slip by.
The alarm was ringing loudly. Hila was hesitating despite the fact that she hardly ever hesitated at all. She really wanted to just take Aurora and escape like this, but the alarm in the base was already triggered. She knew the power gathered in the headquarter more than Han Xiao did; there was too little chance to escape, and she did not want Aurora to take the risk.
If only I didn’t attack just now… This thought of regret appeared and disappeared within an instant, but if she had to choose again, she would still attack without hesitation.
At this moment, Aurora pulled on Hila’s shirt.
“Sis, bring me away.”
Hila’s expression tightened. She looked down and saw Aurora’s hopeful face. The words of rejection were stuck in her throat.
How can she put her younger sister back in a situation worse than death?
Thinking of the things that Aurora went through all this time, Hila felt like her heart was being squeezed and rubbed.
At least the most difficult part was already completed. Her younger sister had already left that prison cell, and this was what she had been dreaming of.
At this moment, Hila’s became firm. She touched Aurora’s head gently and thought to herself, If it fails, I will die with you.
Hila raised her head, looked at Han Xiao with mixed feelings, and said, “Follow me.”
She had never expected to fight side by side with Han Xiao.
With more help, there was a bigger chance to escape. Zero had snuck in without anyone noticing, so he could not be too weak.
After she said that, Hila put Aurora into the bag and walked toward another direction with big steps. Han Xiao dragged Cyberlos and followed behind.
Since they had already been exposed, they could not go to the underground tunnel anymore. Hila knew the base, so she must have some other way.
Han Xiao was quite sure that a bloody fight was unavoidable. Luckily, he was prepared in the case that the infiltration failed although he did not intend to allow that to happen.
What he did not know was, although it seemed like Hila had exposed him, she had actually made him dodge the trap indirectly.
…
“Moron! Who told her to engage!” The leader was furious. Han Xiao changed his route, so his plan was disrupted. Han Xiao was now more cautious, and the leader’s siege had not yet fully formed.
As the cameras were destroyed, the leader did not see the conversation between Han Xiao and Hila. He merely thought that they had already started fighting.
“All Executive Officers and soldiers, full engagement. I want Zero to die here,” the leader yelled through the walkie talkie.
At the same time, the players in the headquarters received an urgent mission.
_____________
[Intercept Zero]: Intercept Zero before he escapes the headquarters.
Mission reward: 200,000 experience, Lv.20 Dungeon Crystal – [The Germinal Organization Base Escape Warfare]
_____________
200,000 experience and a Dungeon Crystal‽
The players were extremely motivated.
Chapter 242. The Unmatched Assassin (1) |
Boom boom boom!
The high caliber Berserk Eagles shot hot flames out of the muzzles. The cameras on the way were destroyed one after another. Han Xiao was rapidly counting and calculating. Thirty-eight seconds had passed after the alarm rang. They were moving very fast and had already deviated from their original path, so the enemies should appear soon.
The team composition now was two burdens and two who could fight; it would be too difficult to just rush out recklessly. Han Xiao would not have had a problem on his own, but it was a pain in the ass to protect someone. In his previous life, Han Xiao had never liked missions to protect people as there was not much room to play, and
it would definitely fail if he was reckless.
Suddenly, Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. He looked at Cyberlos hostility.
Now that Hila was here, was there any reason to keep this old man around? They were not going through the underground tunnel, so Cyberlos was of no use anymore.
Cyberlos shivered. “Do—don’t do this. You need my authorization…”
“He’s exposed. His authority is frozen. There’s no point keeping him.” Hila had an indifferent look. Cyberlos was a superior that was in charge of the experiments on her younger sister, so her hatred for him was deep in her bones. She raised her arms and was going to kill Cyberlos.
At this time, a hand grabbed onto her arm. Han Xiao shook his head toward her.
“Don’t kill him. We might need him alive,” Han Xiao said. Then he slapped Cyberlos unconscious. Han Xiao had misled him in many ways, so he could make Cyberlos mislead the leader as well.
Hila swung Hila’s hand away and gave him a stare, but she did not insist on killing Cyberlos.
Han Xiao was not bothered by her attitude. “What’s your plan?”
Hila was not used to Zero being her teammate yet. She kept silent for a while then replied, “I know a hidden path that can help us escape the headquarters, but it is very far, four floors down. We’ll have to break past the interception if we want to go there.”
“Four floors down…” Han Xiao had memorized the map. To go down four floors from here, it would take at least 5 minutes without any interruption, but the enemy would definitely not let them do that.
“Are you sure of this hidden path?”
“That was originally an abandoned hidden path. I discovered it by accident, so it is very discreet.”
Hila kept it short, but she did not say the exact location.
In fact, she hid the truth. This hidden path was a backup that she had secretly prepared. Although she was controlled by the Germinal Organization, she had never given up and hoped that one day she could save Aurora. However, she could not get Aurora out of that prison cell, so she did not take any action. She had never expected that the most difficult part would be completed by Han Xiao. Thus, the hidden path was could finally be of use.