Chapter 2857: We Have a Connection
The Hundred Forest Society members recklessly used others to test the rules, relying on their numerical advantage. But if the Purple Life Research Institute players tried the same method, it would be difficult. Turning their spearhead against the same hired players would only weaken their overall strength, instead boosting the Hundred Forest Society's arrogance.
If they targeted the Hundred Forest Society, they might face retaliation, making their situation even harder.
"It looks like we can only avoid them," Wang Xin said.
There was nothing new in the building. After making a full circle, Xu Huo began probing areas where spatial power was relatively concentrated. Gaps like the one the sparrow had come out of were rare. He knocked on several spots but only found empty crevices.
Not even a single item.
Soon, they crossed the corridor to the east side building.
The Hundred Forest Society players had been active here earlier, so any items that might have existed were likely already taken.
Xu Huo quickly went to the basement. Like the west side building, this basement also had five floors, mostly filled with small rooms used to hold experimental subjects. Unlike the west side building, the walls here had fewer scratches, as if they had been recently replaced before the place was abandoned.
He stood in an empty office for a moment, then walked to where a desk had once been placed. He bent his fingers and knocked on the floor. Unlike the narrow gaps he had found when discovering items before, this time he opened a new space. The new spatial portal affected most of the room, and he, along with the sparrow and Yue Yan'er standing behind him, fell through!
The silver-armored woman who had been following them at a distance immediately lunged forward. She was fast and managed to jump in just before the spatial portal disappeared.
But unexpectedly, after passing through the floor, they didn't end up in the same place. Xu Huo landed in a room in the basement, while Yue Yan'er and the other two were nowhere to be seen.
The venue was the same, but the Hundred Forest Society members were gone. Only a few scattered players remained on different floors, watching each other warily.
Instead of rushing out, Xu Huo searched the basement again. At the same spot on the floor, he didn't use his finger-sleeve item but instead manipulated spatial rays. After a moment, his hand smoothly reached under the floor and pulled out a small notebook.
Given the development level of this district, it was unusual to see paper in the He Xin Research Institute. But since it appeared and was hidden so carefully, it must contain something that couldn't be recorded in the terminal system.
Xu Huo opened the notebook. The first things he saw were height and weight data, with names replaced by experimental subject numbers. Behind that were records of these subjects' diets and daily activities. From descriptions like "vomiting after eating" and "taciturn and lethargic," most of these subjects were likely human.
His gaze lingered on the page recording height and weight for a moment before he continued flipping.
In short, this was a record made by someone who had stolen experimental data. They were probably not a core member, as the notes didn't involve drug data. Most entries were about the subjects' behavior and what drugs were used that day, though the specific drugs were unknown—only brief numbers were given.
However, the notebook wasn't entirely useless. From the continuously updated subject numbers and dietary changes, some subjects disappeared at night. The recorder didn't know the details but noted some times afterward. From the intermittent yet regular patterns, it was likely the security guards' patrol times.
Combining this, it matched the instance boss's patrol schedule.
Experimental subjects weren't allowed outside at night, but the institute would take them away at night. This fit the instance boss's behavioral logic.
For the experimental subjects living here, this was a closed prison. Walking outside at night meant death if caught, and they dared not speak loudly. Subjects would secretly interact, but this behavior was also risky—making noise or gathering too many people would easily expose them.
Once players entered, they became experimental subjects. The instance boss's role... might not necessarily be the original institute's manager.
Putting the notebook away, Xu Huo left the basement.
Because cleanliness was required, the institute was swept clean inside and out. No player corpses or leftover items were visible.
As he walked out, two nearby players glanced at him.
Xu Huo didn't waste time. He teleported in front of one of them and cut straight to the point, "How long have you been in here?"
This player clearly didn't want to communicate. He threw out two items and immediately flipped out of the building.
With two "ding" sounds, "Green Moss" deflected the items. Xu Huo moved and intercepted the player again through a spatial passage. "I'm just asking you a question. No need to be so tense, right?"
The player didn't waste words, but his eyes hardened. Then the air in the courtyard began to flow rapidly, turning into deadly wind blades. Not only that, Xu Huo was trapped in a corner of the courtyard, surrounded by energy-formed closed walls. The increasingly powerful wind blades slammed against the blockade barrier with loud bangs. Of course, they also hit his defense barrier. While not enough to break through, they did trap him.
Activating "Time-Space Hand," Xu Huo maximized the spatial tangents to shred the blockade barrier. Breaking through the wind blade encirclement, he turned back to look at the player who had already fled into the building. He pressed down with his hand wearing the bone ring, and gravity immediately covered the instance venue. Not only the fleeing player but also the remaining players were suppressed by gravity.
Gravity suppression wasn't lethal. Even if players couldn't struggle free, they could protect themselves. But that didn't mean they were safe. Xu Huo manipulated spatial ray blades, bypassing the courtyard to chase the player into the east side building. Another full encirclement forced the player to jump down from the upper floor again. He asked angrily, "There are so many people here. Why are you only chasing me to kill!"
There were still many players in this layer of space!
"We have a connection?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "I just wanted to ask you a question, but you attacked to kill. Isn't that a bit excessive?"
The other player sneered, "We're all players. Who are you trying to fool? If you want to fight, come on. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
Xu Huo waved the device in his hand, and spatial power immediately pushed the player in front of him. At the same time, a space entity sealed all four directions. Looking at the person who showed shock but still wanted to escape without hesitation, he gently tapped the invisible space entity beside his hand. "I advise you not to force a breakthrough. You might not escape safely from a spatial power explosion."
"This is an A-rank instance. Getting injured means one foot in the grave. You should understand that, right?"