Chapter 1346: Irreconcilable Hatred
Dai Song did not refute, but his expression turned angry. He involuntarily tensed his entire body, a gaze of hatred mixed with a trace of humiliation and shame.
"You wouldn't be trying to say that the Ya Clan caused the 023 District massacre, and that they deserved to be caught and used as experimental subjects, would you?" Xu Huo watched him, voicing the hidden thoughts in his heart.
And Dai Song understood that live human experimentation was intolerable to humanity, and at the same time, he couldn't say he could wholeheartedly agree with such methods. But provoked by the words, he suddenly stood up and blurted out, "Don't those people deserve punishment?!"
His voice echoed within the location item, but the enraged Dai Song quickly calmed down after speaking. He said expressionlessly, "I've carried corpses before, but I was young then, and the ones I carried were all children's bodies."
"Have you ever seen a pile of children as high as a small mountain?"
"I have. Before that, I never imagined that fifty children stacked together could be so tall..."
Everyone present fell silent. From his perspective, any means of revenge would not feel satisfying enough.
But at this moment, Xu Huo spoke again, "Did the Spring Bamboo Laboratory conduct live human experiments?"
The others couldn't help but stare at him for a second, but Xu Huo seemed completely oblivious to the heavy atmosphere and asked two more questions, "Since the genetic disease in Twin Cities only targets some people, and experiments on the Ya Clan were useless, what kind of experiments did you conduct on them? How were the bodies disposed of in the end?"
"I don't know." Dai Song sat back down. "The laboratories in Twin Cities were too busy trying to save themselves to have the energy for other experiments. Besides, very few Ya Clan members were sent to Twin Cities. Even if there were... they were quickly transferred to other cities."
"Name two places," Xu Huo said.
Dai Song finally looked at him. "What do you want to do?"
"Come with admiration, leave with admiration." Xu Huo's gaze was calm, showing no ripple from his earlier words.
"Ha!" Dai Song let out a sarcastic laugh. "You sympathize with the Ya Clan because they were used as experimental material?"
His expression changed as he spoke, filled with hatred and ruthlessness. "Those people should be cut into a thousand pieces! They shouldn't have offspring either! Such brutal, cruel genes shouldn't be passed on!"
Xu Huo did not interrupt his emotions, nor did he make any judgment on the grievances in that past. He said, "I'm just curious about what kind of human experiments were actually conducted in District 023. You're so angry—isn't that also because you detest human experimentation?"
"Don't you want to know what your own people are doing? They didn't aid Twin Cities, there was no mutual assistance between your cities—so what exactly are they doing?"
Dai Song's expression showed obvious wavering. Clearly, he also harbored doubts about these things, but due to his weak strength, he couldn't afford to pay attention to so much. However, that's how people are—once they take on responsibility, they can't help but want to take on greater responsibility. Those who live awake are in pain; they cannot become numb, nor can they sit idly by while their people are numb.
"If you want to know, go find out for yourself." He didn't relent, but turned his back and crawled into his sleeping bag, ending the conversation.
"Do you understand human experiments?" Fan Zhigang took over the topic.
"Just curious." Xu Huo didn't elaborate.
Fan Zhigang couldn't guess his intentions, but after a moment, he said, "Cities capable of undertaking human experiments are relatively prosperous. I passed through two large cities on my way here. If you're interested, you can go take a look."
Xu Huo accepted his goodwill and said, "Get some rest while you can."
They were lucky that night. Aside from two disturbances by xenomorphs, they encountered no major danger. However, when they packed up their items and prepared to set off, they discovered that a type of red grass had grown around the location item overnight. Compared to the lush weeds everywhere, it wasn't particularly large or dense, but its color was too striking against the green. Its growth pattern was also strange. Although it surrounded the item, it grew into the picking garden in the shape of a path. Looking out from inside, the area they had passed through yesterday was only about a meter wide, covered by such red grass.
"What strange species is this now?" Qiu Ming poked it with an item. "Does it follow people?"
Xu Huo could see a wider range. These grasses had indeed grown along the path they had taken yesterday.
The others sensed something was wrong and didn't say much before getting into the car and leaving.
As they exited the picking garden, their experience from yesterday repeated itself. Wave after wave of mutant animals and plants attacked, and the frequency was even higher than the day before. Not every attack was large-scale. Occasionally, unknown fruits releasing toxic gases would fall as they walked, or inconspicuous roadside grass and leaves would turn into blades when brushed against. Other times, plant seeds would spray from nowhere, latching onto human skin and quickly taking root—impossible to guard against.
"Once I become an A-rank player, I'm coming back to burn this damn place down!" Qiu Ming gritted his teeth as he peeled off a seed that had sprouted roots, along with a piece of his flesh.
"Just wear a protective suit," Fan Zhigang said, drinking water as he casually rolled up his protective suit sleeves higher.
"It's too hot for me to wear that. I can't do it." Qiu Ming wiped his sweat. "At this rate, I'll be dead from heatstroke before I even get out of the Stairway to Heaven."
"Are you two okay?" He turned back to check on Cao Qinglin and Dr. Duo Er. Since they had identity disguises, he couldn't just show concern for Cao Qinglin, so he handed each of them a portion of supplies.
Now Dr. Duo Er had also moved to the back seat, sitting with Dai Song. Xu Huo had gone outside, staying with Fan Zhigang and the other two.
Fan Zhigang and the others had gained a new understanding of Xu Huo's strength. It wasn't just about his powerful items—his combat style of wielding a blade to kill xenomorphs was something others couldn't imitate. In dangerous situations, he used attacks instead of items to form a tight defensive barrier. Almost no xenomorph could break through his blade. Any that came close died instantly. It was as if he had eyes all over his head—no movement, however slight, could escape him.
But just as they were marveling at this, Xu Huo suddenly stopped and said, "Someone will catch up to us soon. Qiu Ming, you three keep going forward. Fan Zhigang and I will go ahead."
"Someone?" Fan Zhigang's expression changed. "Also clearance players?"
"I'm not sure if they're clearance players, but they're coming for us." Within Xu Huo's spiritual power range, traces of that red grass had been present all along. On one stretch of road, they had slowed down due to attacks, and he could clearly see the red grass growing along the path the car had taken. It hadn't been there before they rested yesterday. It was likely that during the few hours of rest, the red grass had successfully made contact with them and left seeds on their bodies, which was why it had grown so fast today.
(Chapter End)