Chapter 1052: The Experiment That Escaped
The experimental base was completely exposed, and the players inside were naturally visible to those outside, including Xu Huo and Chi Minghong, who had taken Lu Huizhi hostage.
At this moment, Xu Huo noticed that among the government player camp confronting the Holy Sword Society, an additional advanced player had appeared—the one who had clearly moved the building.
This person showed no concern about the leaked or destroyed experimental data or the escaped test subjects. Looking down on everything from above, he said, "Anyone who steps outside the energy plant's range will be killed without mercy!"
As his words fell, another wave of government players surrounded the energy plant, numerically overwhelming the Holy Sword Society and beginning to harvest their players in large numbers!
Within just two minutes, the Holy Sword Society was at a disadvantage. Even the B-level player in the red protective suit showed signs of wanting to retreat.
Due to the limitations of spatial items, players had no choice but to forcefully break through the defense line. Xu Huo and Chi Minghong mingled with the Holy Sword Society members to break out.
In the core area of District 002, the number of players that could be mobilized was astonishing. Even without forming a human wall, the players sealing off the energy plant were stationed almost every ten steps.
Xu Huo and the Holy Sword Society members were repelled twice during their breakout attempts, whether from the ground or the air. Moreover, these players were fully equipped, so even using poison gas might not take effect immediately.
"Some people are even crawling through the sewers!" When Xu Huo and Chi Minghong retreated into a building on the edge of the energy plant, they saw government players outside the fence pulling out two people from underground—one large and one small!
The larger one was a young woman, and the smaller one appeared to be a child under ten years old. Both were wearing lab coats.
As soon as they emerged, the child, who had been held by the woman, swiftly reversed a fruit knife and slashed at the player's neck. Unfortunately, his speed meant nothing to the player, who easily knocked the knife away, grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him into the air.
"They're escapees from the lab. How should we handle..." The player holding them with one hand each grinned, asking a companion a few meters away. But before he could finish, his companion's head was severed right before his eyes, and so were both of his hands!
This player quickly vanished from the spot. Meanwhile, Xu Huo, who had used his spiritual realm to move from inside the energy plant to outside, grabbed the child and directly passed through space.
Chi Minghong, following behind him, pulled the woman along. Although she didn't have super evolution to directly avoid damage by passing through space, she had speed items and excellent stamina. Carrying the woman on her back, she swiftly traversed the buildings on both sides of the street, using unpredictable movements to dodge several attacks and put distance between herself and the energy plant.
She quickly caught up with Xu Huo, who had deliberately slowed down. "That was you helping just now, right? Thanks. Without your assistance, I probably wouldn't have gotten out unscathed."
Given Chi Minghong's speed, her escape route happened to fall within the coverage of Xu Huo's spiritual power, allowing her to break free so quickly.
"This is R17, right?" She glanced at the expressionless child under Xu Huo's arm. "Still alive. I thought those psychopaths in District 002 had tortured him to death."
Xu Huo then looked at the woman. Chi Minghong set her down and said, "You should run for your life. Better not stay in Snow City. This damn place—looks bright and open, but it's worse than those unlit areas."
The woman said nervously, "I need to take my child with me..."
"Is this your child?" Chi Minghong pointed at R17. "He's an orphan."
"No, that's not it," the woman denied. "He was kidnapped right after birth. I only recently found out he was being kept by the Government Hall, so I signed up to be a drug tester..."
"Stop with the lies," Xu Huo interrupted her. "Since you have nowhere to go, come with us for now."
The woman agreed without hesitation and even gave the boy a reassuring smile.
As for the boy, test subject number R17, he expressed no opinion. He remained motionless like an emotionless puppet, completely lacking the explosive readiness he had shown when being pulled out from underground.
Putting on the invisibility cloak again, Xu Huo and the others prepared to return to the White Snow Villa.
But when they arrived, the aircraft and the four people inside were gone.
"No signs of a struggle. They probably left on their own," Chi Minghong said. She paused and snorted, "I was looking forward to beating up that Dong family brat."
Getting revenge was out of the question. Chi Minghong, displaying her kind nature, asked the woman where she planned to stay, offering to take her along if she had time.
"Anywhere is fine, as long as it's not Snow City," the woman quickly replied.
Chi Minghong nodded and said to Xu Huo, "I had my eye on an instance earlier and planned to go there anyway. It's not in Snow City, so I'll take her along. What about this kid?"
The woman eagerly interjected, "He's my godson. He can come with me. I can support him!"
Chi Minghong didn't comment. R17 was no longer an ordinary child.
Xu Huo looked at the boy. "Do you want to go with her? Think carefully before you answer."
Their eyes met. Something seemed to be at odds in their equally unreadable gazes. After two seconds, the boy spoke, "I don't know her. I'll go with you."
The woman was deeply disappointed, and Xu Huo was somewhat disappointed too. But then the boy added, "I only thought she was easy to fool, so I wanted her to protect me while I escaped. Now she's useless. You can do whatever you want with her."
The woman seemed to have developed some genuine feelings for him. Though angry, she showed more sadness.
Xu Huo smiled and placed his hand on the boy's head. "The first thing I want to teach you today is not to lie to me. Lying won't change the facts and might backfire."
"You can express your thoughts normally."
The boy showed no change, not even any particular emotion at Xu Huo's touch. He looked up, staring straight at him.
Xu Huo withdrew his hand and turned to the woman. "Live human experiments can't openly recruit drug testers. How did you get into the lab?"
The woman instinctively wanted to make up a story, but meeting his gaze, she was startled into dropping the idea and immediately said, "I was bought!"
Xu Huo nodded. "Do you know a woman named Liao Lian?"
He pointed to the corner of his mouth, casually fabricating a feature. "She has a mole here."
The woman hesitated before saying, "I did meet someone named Liao Lian, but she didn't have a mole on her face. She was a bit older than me. She was in the first batch of drug testers and died ten days ago."
"Damn it!" Chi Minghong couldn't help cursing. "If we'd come a few days earlier, we might have caught her!"
The woman didn't know whether to be sad or happy. She murmured, "She was really unlucky..."
Indeed. Xu Huo and Chi Minghong hadn't gone to the experimental base specifically for her, but it was such a coincidence that she had once been at the New Xiangyang Energy Plant. If she had survived just ten more days, she could have been reunited with her sister.
But there was no "if."
"Someone's coming." Xu Huo turned to look southwest of the woods.
(Chapter End)