Chapter 61.2 – Duolan Mountain (1)
The competition took place in the auditorium of a nearby university. The next morning, all students were led into the university by their teachers.
Chen Jing was always quiet. Apart from basic communication, he rarely interacted with his classmates. This time, Zhang Xin came with her friend Xiao Mei and they chatted smoothly.
Before the competition began, there was a classic speech segment. Students from several schools sat together in designated seats. There were no specific arrangements on this side; they could choose where to sit.
Chen Jing and Zhang Xin sat together, while another classmate and Xiao Mei sat on the other side, with the four of them sitting in a row.
After sitting down, Zhang Xin asked, "Didn't you see the message Xiao Pang sent you?"
Chen Jing said no.
Electronic devices weren't allowed here, so their phones were left at the hotel. When he checked before leaving, there were no new messages. If Xiao Pang had sent a message, it should have been after he left the hotel.
Zhang Xin glanced around and then said, "When the first round ends around noon, don't leave right away."
Chen Jing nodded.
It seemed that the classmates sitting nearby were surprised that Chen Jing actually knew a girl from another school. They glanced over in surprise.
Xiao Mei was also surprised that Zhang Xin knew someone here and seemed familiar. She curiously glanced at the other person.
Noticing Xiao Mei's gaze, Zhang Xin introduced, "This is my friend."
Xiao Mei nodded.
After the speech, the first round of the competition began and lasted the whole morning, ending at noon.
The hotel was close by, but still a bit of a distance, so teachers and students went directly to the university cafeteria for lunch.
At this point, they weren't grouped by schools anymore; teachers and students walked together as they pleased, and Chen Jing and Zhang Xin successfully met.
Making sure no one else was around, Zhang Xin said, "Xiao Pang's study tour has ended."
On their way back from the neighboring city where they had their study tour, passing through H City, they noticed some commotion on a mountain. There seemed to be something with wings that quickly disappeared. They were in a rush and had left early in the morning, so it wasn't fully bright when they passed the mountain; they could only make out faint shadows and couldn't see clearly.
Xiao Pang was quick to react at that moment, using his phone to pinpoint the location. Unfortunately, the phone died just after pinpointing it. There was no charging spot in their car, so he had to wait until the next toll station to charge it briefly. With the meager battery left, he sent the coordinates, mentioning that after the competition, if they weren't in a rush to head back to A City, they should check out the situation there.
They were definitely planning to go. Finally, they had a lead, but they needed more information. Not a single clue could be overlooked.
With a few days left until the competition ended, they didn't rush into discussing it. Zhang Xin took charge of relaying the message and, after doing so, waved at Xiao Mei nearby and ran over to leave with her.
When they returned to the hotel that evening, Chen Jing saw the messages and the location sent by Xiao Pang.
The location pointed to a road next to a mountain called Duolan Mountain.
During these competition days, Chen Jing occasionally received messages from Jiang Yujin in A City.
It seemed like Jiang Yujin was doing fine these days, occasionally sending photos of meals, always with the same bowls and tabletop, clearly just taking advantage of someone, and enjoying free meals.
The other person even went to the oceanarium alone and, just like the previous messages about lotus flowers, sent a series of fish photos, changing his profile picture to an extremely ugly fish, praising the professionalism of the staff there.
Every time the chat box flashed, Chen Jing tried not to look at that excessively ugly fish.
The five to six days included grading papers and compiling rankings. The part where the students needed to actively participate had actually finished on the fourth day.
They still had to wait for the results to be announced here. Since they were already there, after some discussions among the leading teachers, they decided to take the students out for a day.
The decision-making process for the outing was fair; all teachers and students participated in the discussion. Chen Jing had already decided early on not to join the group activity and to use that time to go to Duolan Mountain.
Zhang Xin also decided not to join, leaving only Xiao Mei to attend the discussion meeting.
The youth nowadays might indeed have some pursuit. Between shopping in the city center and going hiking, the students decisively chose to go hiking.
There weren't many mountains nearby for them to visit, and some required reservations days in advance due to excessive crowds, making them clearly unattainable.
Someone suggested Duolan Mountain: "This mountain is close to us, not particularly high. We can go in the morning and return by noon, just in time for lunch when we come back."
Everyone unanimously agreed to the proposal.
Zhang Xin found out about the plan to visit Duolan Mountain after Xiao Mei had returned to her room.
After sharing the exciting news, noticing the odd expression on the other's face, Xiao Mei asked, "Is there a problem?"
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Xin asked, "Has it already been decided?"
It was evident that the decision had been made. After the dispersal, the teachers immediately began preparing, leaving no room for changes.
Zhang Xin softly acknowledged.
On the day of departure, despite initially deciding not to join the others, Chen Jing and Zhang Xin ended up getting on the same vehicle as the larger group.
For convenience, the teachers had arranged to rent a minibus, and everyone traveled together to the base of the mountain.
The weather forecast predicted a sunny day, with a high chance of witnessing the sunrise, so they set out very early. When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, it was still dark.
As they disembarked, someone checked the time, realizing it was still early enough to make it to the mountaintop for the sunrise.
While others appeared enthusiastic, Chen Jing maintained his usual expressionless demeanor. Zhang Xin wasn't as relaxed internally, but her face mirrored the smiles as she chatted with Xiao Mei, Chen Jing, and the other girl from their group.
After several days of the competition, the four of them bonded well. Chen Jing remained reticent, allowing the other girl to engage in conversation with Zhang Xin and Xiao Mei without feeling constrained.
As Zhang Xin chatted, she glanced toward the dark forest. Without any light in the sky, it was so dark that the trees were barely discernible.
If only we could light a fire. Just by starting a fire, we could see everything clearly.
Walking beside them, Xiao Mei's attention was caught by a massive signboard, and she recited, "Setting fire to the mountain, serving time in jail."
Walking quietly beside them, Chen Jing's lips curved slightly upward, noticed by Zhang Xin, who shot a stern glare at him.
It was the first time in all these days that she had seen him smile. The girl beside them curiously glanced at him a couple of times.
The ascent up the mountain was uneventful, and most people were in good spirits. However, when they reached halfway up the mountain, they discovered that the path was blocked, with a sign indicating the danger of falling rocks. The route needed repairs before it could be opened to the public.
Before Zhang Xin could suggest going elsewhere for the day, someone used their phone flashlight to illuminate a small path, saying, "Looks like we can go this way."
While the path seemed passable, the teachers didn't agree. Walking on such narrow mountain paths might lead to other accidents. Concerned for the students' safety, after some discussion, they decided to turn back.
A sudden "click" sound echoed from the forest, like the snapping of a branch.
There were people in the woods.
The first to react looked over and saw someone wielding a long thorny whip emerge from the darkness, followed by a figure with large bone wings on their back.
Zhang Xin's hand instantly lifted but was subtly held back by Chen Jing.
The dark forest was filled with people holding weapons, their guns aimed at the group standing on the steps.
*
The Special Investigations Unit Headquarters received the report from H City right at noon. Xu Gao, who had slipped out early, was in a usual local restaurant, sharing freshly picked melon with his gossip buddy.
Just as he was getting to the most exciting part, his phone rang, and seeing the note, he had an ominous feeling.
With furrowed brows, he answered the call, and the voice on the other end erupted, "Several middle school students and teachers from A City have gone missing at Duolan Mountain in H City. There's blood at the scene. Get back to the office immediately. Notify the families of the missing persons on your way…"
Jiang Yujin listened in while looking at the message from the high schooler he'd received last night, focusing on the words "Duolan Mountain." He grabbed Xu Gao's hand holding the phone, glanced up slightly, and asked:
"Notify the families about what?"
It might have been a trick of the mind, but Xu Gao felt his usually carefree companion's voice sounded different, giving him an inexplicable sense of oppression.
Chapter 62.1 – Duolan Mountain (2)
Family Member Jiang used his strong persuasive skills to get onto the SIU's vehicle. The team members by his side were trying to reassure him, promising to do their utmost to find his son.
When he stopped playing Xiaoxiaole, he appeared slightly more serious. He casually responded to the reassuring words from the SIU around him. Jiang Yujin then picked up his phone again and sent a message to the high schooler.
No response.
Putting away the phone and raising his head again, Jiang Yujin glanced at the back of the car and said, "There's quite a lot of stuff in your car."
The conversation suddenly shifted from the son to the equipment in the car. The nearby SIU member didn't immediately react, then nodded and began to introduce.
The introduction of the car's contents was much easier than comforting people. They skipped over the parts that couldn't be disclosed. He mentioned there was a place in the back used for holding prisoners. When there were no prisoners, they'd use it to rest. In cases of overnight outdoor missions, it was the best resting spot.
Jiang Yujin curiously asked, "Do you change clothes?"
The other person mentioned there was a spare set, but they usually didn't use it.
Jiang Yujin nodded.
In another car ahead, Hu Li sat in the backseat, quietly listening to the latest news from the H City branch.
In short, there was no progress. There were bloodstains at the scene, but no obvious signs of a fight. The other side speculated two possibilities: either the group encountered an overwhelmingly powerful strange species, against which they couldn't resist, or they encountered equally overwhelming individuals—or even a group, which seemed more likely.
If it was the former, the survival probability of these dozen or so people was slim. If it was the latter, perhaps they were still alive somewhere else.
After hearing the news, Hu Li turned to look at Xu Gao sitting in the backseat and asked, "How come Jiang Yujin is here?"
Xu Gao replied, "He came to share some interesting life stories with me."
He truly hadn't expected that by leaving work a few tens of minutes early, an office colleague would go out on a mission within that short timeframe. This left just him from the fourth unit, and the task of going to H City ended up falling squarely on his shoulders.
'If I had known, I would've left work later in the evening.'
This person made gossip sound like they have a lively life. Without commenting on his statement, Hu Li said, "Keep an eye on him after we get off the car later."
Xu Gao replied, "Didn't we agree that he'd wait in the car earlier?"
They understood the family member's desire to know the progress as soon as possible, and the other person's eloquence was really impressive, so they agreed to take him to H City, but he could only stay in the car.
Hu Li said, "Do you think he can stay put?"
After some thought, Xu Gao nodded understandingly.
It was hard to imagine that the person would actually obediently stay in the car.
The vehicle drove from A City into H City, and the road to Duolan Mountain was clear all the way.
Duolan Mountain was already cordoned off, preventing unrelated personnel from entering. The vehicles stopped outside the marked yellow line, and the members of the SIU quickly disembarked.
Just as Hu Li said, after the team members in black uniform got off the vehicle, the man in a wrinkled shirt also got out of the car and slowly looked up at the mountain in front of him.
Considering this person's character, locking him in the car would be considered restricting his freedom. Instead of letting him roam around, it was better to keep him close.
Hu Li gestured to Xu Gao, who understood his meaning and waved to Jiang Yujin.
From the time they left A City until now, the H City branch had already searched every nook and cranny of the mountain, yet they found no trace of people or strange species, nor did they discover any other clues.
It was like burning a candle at both ends—whether these dozen or so people encountered strange species or were taken by someone else, there were no leads, making it likely to become a cold case.
The H City branch couldn't handle a cold case involving a dozen people and swiftly passed it to the HQ, now referring to it as an "Assisting the HQ in case handling."
Ignoring the branch personnel, the others went to search the surrounding mountains. Hu Li started climbing, while Xu Gao led Jiang Yujin following behind.
Climbing the mountain was indeed climbing—a not very tall mountain with few climbers, hence no cable cars; they relied solely on walking to ascend.
Halfway through, Jiang Yujin somehow found a long stick to use as a hiking pole and attempted to negotiate with Xu Gao nearby, "Can you carry me on your back?"
The gossip-loving companion firmly refused.
It was a sunny day. Finally reaching halfway up the mountain, the sun shone brightly in the sky, causing a slight stinging sensation on their skin.
Hu Li brought out his flashy floral shirt, making his already unserious appearance seem even more unreliable against the backdrop of the vibrant shirt.
They spotted bloodstains on the ground, scattered in small dots, forming a long trail.
Just as mentioned by the branch personnel, there were no obvious signs of a struggle here. It appeared to be an ordinary half-mountain, with nothing particularly distinctive.
Squinting, Hu Li looked up at the mountain and said, "Let's continue going up."
The H City branch's leader wiped the sweat off his forehead and advised, "The upper part is a rockfall zone. Our people have checked; the missing individuals aren't up there."
Rather than searching for the missing individuals, the correct course of action now was to look for traces of strange species or clues regarding an unknown group. That would shed light on where those people might have been taken.
Hu Li continued ascending, climbing over the fenced barrier.
Some people looked half-dead but managed to keep up, albeit trailing slowly behind.
As they ascended, more scattered rocks by the roadside became visible—rocks big enough to fatally injure an adult.
There had been a minor earthquake in the area previously, causing changes in the mountain's structure, resulting in rockfalls. Even now, walking on the path, one could see protruding rocks with faint cracks, seemingly on the verge of breaking apart at any moment.
From the foot to the summit, it was challenging for the branch's personnel to keep up all the way. The leader wiped the sweat with a completely soaked handkerchief and said, "It's quite dangerous here. Let's head down first."
So much time had passed; neither strange species nor the unknown group would likely still be present here. Continuing the search would only be futile.
Jiang Yujin stood under the only shade of a tree, using his phone to fan himself, and casually remarked, "They might not even be here."
Hu Li looked at him.
Xu Gao on the side squeezed with him, using this shady place to spread their imagination, and followed his words: "There's a saying, 'It's darkest under the lamp.' Maybe there's a secret base of some other organization here, where they've taken these people as experimental subjects."
If there were others present, they might praise him for his childlike innocence, suggesting he'd make a good scriptwriter.
Jiang Yujin glanced at him, a slight smirk on his face.
The H City branch leader, tired of being exposed to the sun, said, "The rabbit doesn't eat near its burrow."
If such an organization truly existed, the risk of exposure would be too high. It wouldn't make sense for them to capture people in their own backyard.
Hu Li said, "There's a kind of rabbit called the snow rabbit."
Xu Gao didn't understand but didn't want to reveal his ignorance, so he quietly asked the person next to him, "What does that mean?"
Jiang Yujin explained, "Snow rabbits do eat near their burrows."
He added, patting the person's shoulder. "It means your Vice-Captain agrees with your idea."
A third line of thinking opened up, opened in a strange and bizarre way, sounding as unreliable as Hu Li's floral shirt.
The H City branch leader looked at them with an indescribable expression, clearly doubting the intelligence of the HQ's personnel.
Feeling a bit tired from standing, Jiang Yujin changed his posture, raising and then dropping the tree branch he was using as a hiking pole, making a sound.
Unlike the sound of tapping on solid ground, this sound was odd.
Xu Gao tapped it low and then said as he lifted his head, "It seems like there's something hollow underneath."
Chapter 62.2 – Duolan Mountain (2)
A group of over a dozen students and their teachers had everything confiscated from them and were then taken away. Someone attempted to make a call for help using their wristwatch, but they were noticed by someone holding a whip with spikes.
After a whip strike, the person's arm was covered in blood, hanging limply by their side.
Contrary to their assumptions, they were not led downhill but were taken up the mountain, crossing through the previously perceived dangerous rockfall areas.
Due to previous examples, everyone remained silent and cooperated without a word along the way.
Entering the mountain's entrance felt like arriving at a blend of a factory and a laboratory. Guided through this dim and damp place, they saw piles of skeletal remains on the roadside. Some students were so frightened they nearly screamed, but a teacher quickly covered their mouth, preventing any sound from escaping.
The person with bone wings on their back and the whip-carrying man were chatting, laughing about how no one would expect the branch to be located here.
The one with bone wings was the deputy head of the branch here, while the whip-carrying man was from headquarters, specially visiting to inspect progress. They hadn't expected the entrance to be in that location during their initial visit.
Afterward, the teachers and students were separated. Without reliable adults around, the already nervous students looked even more scared.
After a short distance, Whip Man handed them over to a person in a white coat and left.
In front of them, the person in the white coat began assigning destinations, saying to those around them, "Just two for one lab."
"Tell them to make good use of it; it'll be a long time before we have more test subjects."
The students stared in terror.
If they weren't mistaken, they were the test subjects being referred to.
After the instructions from the person in the white coat, others came forward to organize them into groups. Trembling, Xiao Mei held Zhang Xin's hand, while a female classmate stood beside Chen Jing, the only person she recognized among the remaining students.
They were separated like this. Before leaving, Zhang Xin glanced at Chen Jing, and their eyes briefly met before looking away.
It had been a long time since they were taken captive.
The rooms where the people were detained, yet to be used as test subjects, were very small, lacking beds or chairs. The doors were iron-barred gates, offering no privacy as the interior was visible from the outside.
In Chen Jing's room, directly opposite, there happened to be an electronic clock, at least preventing him from losing track of time in the dim, damp underground.
It was currently 2:30 PM, several hours had passed since they were captured.
There was a temporary silence outside. A female classmate remained crouched in a corner, too afraid to look up at the bars. Chen Jing sat by the barred gate, quietly observing the situation outside.
Judging by the earlier observations, this branch was quite large, probably similar in size to the sub-branches under the F City's dating agency. If it were just him and Zhang Xin, escaping without much effort might be possible. However, there were others here. Ensuring everyone's safety while leaving was currently beyond their capabilities.
Footsteps echoed down the originally silent corridor.
Chen Jing's eyelids flickered. Instantly, he turned his head to survey the surroundings, spotting a few strands of long hair left behind by previous occupants of the room.
Quietly tucking the hair into his sleeve, he noticed a figure passing by outside.
At the sound of footsteps, the classmate who had been crouching in the corner slightly raised her head. Her eyes followed the movement, blinking timidly, unable to speak, silently hoping the footsteps wouldn't stop.
The footsteps halted, and a person in dark red clothing stood at the cell door, producing a key.
Someone had come to take individuals to the laboratory.
Another person passing by outside, upon seeing the one opening the door, reminded them, "Only one person this time for the lab."
The person opening the door acknowledged, and with a click, the cell door opened, causing the person in the corner of the room to startle.
Chen Jing stood up and approached the person in the dark red clothing.
If only one person was required, he was ready to go. The view from the cell was limited, but on the way to the laboratory, one could get a clearer idea of the layout here.
Glancing at him and then at the girl crouching in the corner of the room, the person in dark red clothing walked past him and stood towering over the classmate, saying, "You, come with me."
The girl didn't move, so he reached out and forcibly dragged her away.
Unable to resist the brute force of an adult, the girl's other hand waved in the air, her nails futilely scratching the wall, leaving marks.
Understanding her fate after being taken away, she couldn't hold back her tears anymore, crying out that she didn't want to go, casting a helpless gaze toward Chen Jing, her eyes gradually filled with despair.
— The guards across the way began changing shifts, their figures disappearing behind the wall.
In a split second, Chen Jing acted.
A sharp pain struck the person in dark red clothing in the back. Their body was propelled toward the wall by the force from behind, but just before impact, they halted, their nose barely grazing the wall.
Before he could make a sound, Chen Jing used his hair, now transformed into metallic threads, to choke his neck. A few seconds later, the person in his grasp lost consciousness; the metallic threads deeply pierced their flesh, blood trickling down and dripping onto the floor.
The whole sequence of actions was swift and seamless. Chen Jing turned to the classmate, who was still catching her breath against the wall, and succinctly said, "Let's go."
After observing for several hours, he had roughly understood the shift-change patterns here. Evading the guards on this side wasn't particularly difficult.
The classmate stared at the lifeless body on the ground, her eyes filled with disbelief. Her mind hadn't fully accepted the reality yet, but fortunately, she was proactive, immediately agreeing to leave.
*
The laboratory had already begun to gradually gather people. When it was Xiao Mei's turn to be taken away, Zhang Xin directly set the person on fire until they turned to ashes.
As the flames ignited, Xiao Mei forgot even to scream.
Unfamiliar with the terrain here, Zhang Xin was cautious with each step as she led Xiao Mei out.
In case of any mishap, Zhang Xin could escape, but Xiao Mei would perish.
Someone passed by, and Zhang Xin swiftly guided Xiao Mei into a room, locking the door behind them.
The room was very dark. After groping around, she discovered no surveillance cameras and lit a small flame.
Seeing fire suddenly appear again, Xiao Mei couldn't contain her emotions.
It was a storeroom, housing abandoned documents and experimental equipment. Rifling through a pile of papers, Zhang Xin found a stack of thickly printed pages.
It was a remodeling plan targeting the internal structure of this branch.
The fact that the plan was left here indicated it hadn't been implemented and was deemed worthless, but the other information on it was extremely helpful.
This branch had a total of five laboratories, emphasizing research. Each lab delved into different directions. Due to previous incidents where test subjects escaped and harmed individuals in other labs, the five labs were divided into distinct areas. Besides a passageway that required an employee card to open, there was no other connection between them.
While this method prevented attacks on individuals in other labs, it also heightened potential risks. The rejected plan aimed to break this fragmented scenario but ended up gathering dust here.
The plan included floor plans of the five labs and the locations of the passageways.
Xiao Mei felt like she saw Zhang Xin smile.
Zhang Xin handed over the guard's clothes she had previously taken off to Xiao Mei and said, "Stay here, don't make a sound. If you hear any noise, pretend to be groggy and just woke up."
There were things she didn't need to know or see.
Xiao Mei nodded.
Zhang Xin barged into the control room of this experimental area from the storeroom, pulled down the gate of the passage, and disabled the surveillance cameras.
With the passage closed, this place became completely isolated.
She sustained minor injuries, but nothing severe. After dealing with the guard, she didn't have much time to focus on the semi-human, semi-strange species test subject below. Instead, she rushed towards the laboratory.
The laboratory was completely soundproof, and those inside were unaware of what was happening outside. The person responsible for alarms had already lost consciousness before setting off the alarm, and no one informed those inside to be on alert.
Zhang Xin changed into the guard's clothes and knocked on the glass door of the laboratory.
Inside, they were still waiting for the test subjects and were not currently conducting experiments. While speaking, one of them casually opened the door, continuing the conversation after opening it.
It turned out this laboratory was one of the organization's key labs, heavily reliant on experiments. Due to a lack of strong foundational capabilities, they relied on headquarters to request test subjects from other bases and then send those found from other bases to this one. However, a base was destroyed by the SIU earlier, and information was leaked, causing this operation to halt temporarily.
Without test subjects, they couldn't conduct experiments. Coincidentally, around a dozen people walked right into their hands in the dead of night. Given the urgency of their experiments, they decided to take in these dozen individuals.
Standing quietly to the side, Zhang Xin listened to the entire conversation. When the others finished chatting, they also noticed her presence and asked, "What are you here for?"
Zhang Xin pulled out a knife from her clothes.
There were crucial data in the laboratory that could be damaged if set on fire. She chose the most primitive method to deal with the people inside the lab, leaving one person to input the password.
Placing the knife against the person entering the password's neck, she coldly said, "If you make any sudden moves, you'll die quickly."
The person entering the password's hand trembled, retracting their fingers from pressing any other keys, obediently entering the password.
After obtaining the data and finishing off the last person, a sudden sound of bones colliding abruptly echoed from behind.
*
After noticing the anomaly on the mountain, the SIU members, who were originally searching the surrounding mountains, were quickly called back and swiftly assembled to move up the mountain.
This time, Jiang Yujin couldn't follow along. He was taken down the mountain by someone and entrusted with the responsibility of looking after several SIU vehicles.
He did indeed keep an eye on the vehicles and even specifically checked the spare kits placed behind the cars.
Following the example of others, he put on a helmet with protective goggles and a dual-purpose dustproof and gas mask. He casually removed the black earpiece and tucked it into his pocket before heading up the mountain.
The wind was blowing in the mountains. Clad in a sharp, all-black combat uniform, every movement emitted a distinct rustling sound.
Then the person in the combat uniform tripped over a pebble on the steps and, as is human nature, sought revenge by kicking the pebble back.
Chapter 63.1 – Duolan Mountain (3)
Unlike Zhang Xin, who found the blueprint from the old file pile, Chen Jing's approach to investigating the structure here was more direct.
There was surveillance right in front of the prison cell. The footage of their escape had obviously been seen by the control room personnel. There were no alarms ringing, but footsteps from all directions intensified, and brief conversations echoed around.
These people were searching for the two of them.
Leading the person to hide in the surveillance corner, Chen Jing listened to the movements around him. When he heard the footsteps changing from dense to clear and thin, he casually grabbed the scraps of paper around him and calculated that the other party had probably reached the surveillance corner. Then he took action directly from the darkness.
A person dressed in dark red attempted resistance, but it seemed like sharp metal blades had been placed against his neck after a swift move.
With his life in someone else's hands, he instantly complied.
Everything here was beyond her usual scope of understanding. Danger and bloodshed were blatantly exposed right in front of her eyes.
The classmate who originally lived in the same world and studied in the same school calmly and skillfully threatened people. The female classmate on the side saw this kind of scene for the first time, and her heart beat loudly.
When breaking away from the routine, she realized the world wasn't as peaceful as she had always believed it to be.
With limited resources, Chen Jing only managed to gather rough information from the captive about the general layout here, figuring out the number of experimental areas and floors and locating the control room and the area where the higher-ups were situated.
The branch head wasn't in the current experimental area they were in, but there were personnel from the headquarters present, currently occupying the top-floor office.
Though escapees from the experiments were uncommon, they weren't unheard of. The two of them escaping wouldn't be enough to draw him out of the office.
After explaining everything, the person in dark red assumed the other party would relax his guard, so he threw himself at the girl on the side with his hands and feet, trying to take the hostage, but before he could reach out his hand, a cold feeling went down on his neck.
Quietly laying the fallen person on the ground, Chen Jing said, "Let's head to the top-floor office first."
Already having a shadow of what happened before, thinking that she would be caught again, the female classmate fell to the ground with eyes wide open. After seeing the person in dark red fall, she stood up again with her hands on his hands.
Today, she experienced more in a single day than she had in over a decade. Witnessing someone die in front of her, she had expected fear or screams, but instead, she felt a sense of security—a feeling derived from the calm and rationality of a once ordinary classmate.
Chen Jing began assessing their surroundings.
Their escape had been discovered, the exits outside were sealed, and the passages between experimental areas were closed off. To leave now, they needed substantial leverage.
The most significant presence in this experimental area was the person from headquarters—the man wielding the spiked whip. Finding him required reaching the top-floor office.
With someone in tow, Chen Jing abandoned the quicker path upward and opted for a more cautious approach.
All visible routes posed danger; being caught meant being surrounded by a horde of people armed with firearms. He might evade them, but the person with him might not.
He chose the ventilation ducts. These allowed passage for slender individuals, and unlike the visible pathways, these ducts were intricate, branching into several directions.
Closing his eyes, Chen Jing listened intently to the sounds around him before choosing a direction.
Moving forward in such a narrow space was not as easy as imagined. The classmate following behind was starting to tire, but she gritted her teeth, persisting despite the filth beneath her.
Surviving seemed far more plausible than staying put and being captured for further experimentation.
She couldn't fathom how Chen Jing navigated in this environment, but the reliable impression he had left earlier lingered in her mind. She followed without question; the rest was beyond consideration.
Perhaps they passed laboratories or corridors filled with footsteps, eventually arriving at a quiet spot.
Chen Jing instructed the person following not to proceed and to remain there without making a sound or movement.
In this kind of situation, the girl didn't want to be separated from her classmate and stay in this place alone. But while she didn't want to stay alone, considering the other person's thoughts, she could only nod.
Chen Jing proceeded alone, noticeably accelerating once there was no one by his side.
The ventilation ducts didn't seem to lead directly to the office. He chose an exit and found himself in a room resembling a reception area.
No one was present, and the tea on the table had gone cold. Instantly upon arrival, he demolished the security cameras. After surveying the room, he walked toward a door.
The room was locked. Before he touched the doorknob, the person inside the room noticed and asked, "Who's there?"
It was the voice of the man with the whip.
Without a response, Chen Jing shattered the door directly. A long whip extended from within the room, striking the ground and creating cracks in the tiles.
Before the whip retracted, Chen Jing grabbed the spiked part of the whip. His hand was covered in blood, yet his black pupils remained calm.
Whip Man, who was about to press the button to notify the guards outside, stopped, and a smile appeared on his lips.
…
In another part of the experimental area, sensing movement behind her, Zhang Xin raised her hand before even turning around. With the lab data now in her possession, she no longer needed to hold back. A searing blaze erupted instantly.
The sound of bones colliding persisted. Outside the flames, skeletal wings flapped up and down. The person suspended in mid-air grinned, revealing an unnaturally stretched smile extending beyond the typical human range.
Applying more force, the already scorching flames spread further, surging upward with a loud burst.
The winged figure was engulfed by the flames, its form entirely concealed by the fiery red light.
Instinct warned her that things weren't finished yet. Reacting swiftly, Zhang Xin quickly moved away from her original position.
The moment she left, a skeleton emerged from the flames, reaching out towards her previous location.
—This was indeed a skeleton, no muscles, no skin or blood, just a row of codes on the cranial bone.
This was another experimental subject. The deputy branch head had experimented on himself, and the results seemed quite successful.
Despite the heavy sounds produced by the skeleton's movements, its actual speed was not slow; in fact, it was remarkably fast, able to take off with a single wing beat.
Zhang Xin leaped onto an experimental table, swiftly seeking the next foothold. In the flicker of an eye, an enlarged version of a skull emerged beside her, its finger joints aiming for her throat.
She dodged aside, but she was a fraction too slow. A searing pain shot through her throat. When she looked down at her previous position, several blood streaks appeared, slowly trickling down.
As blood dripped from the finger joints, the skeleton seemed pleased, reveling in utter intoxication, stating, "I'm powerful, right?"
Without the constraints of flesh, the body felt lighter, without vulnerable spots. While others couldn't capture his thoughts, he could sense everything around him through this body.
Zhang Xin observed but couldn't pinpoint where the sounds were coming from.
Surveying her surroundings, she eventually grabbed a small iron hammer. As the figure approached again, she first swept its legs to halt its movement, then aimed the hammer at its leg bone.
The hammer was small, but her strength wasn't. However, the blow didn't seem to affect the leg bone, leaving only a tiny dent, as if caused by an incidental brush with a small blade—insufficient to impede normal movement.
"I told you, I'm powerful."
As she attempted to retract her extended leg, a sharp pain shot through her calf muscles. The skeleton dragged Zhang Xin and threw her out of the lab, crashing against the wall.
Wiping away blood from her mouth, she unleashed flames behind the figure, then ripped off a leg of the transport bed, lunging forward.
The bed leg struck the spine, causing the figure's body to contort. Its bone wings bent forward, slashing fiercely across her arm.
With a final effort, blood gushed from her arm, followed by a wave of numbness as she was kicked into a corner.
The person suspended in mid-air reached for his spine and with a 'click,' the displaced bones realigned.
However, even after realignment, things remained odd. Joints didn't match, and each movement produced a grating friction sound.
Realizing something was off, he looked at the person lying on the ground, his voice suddenly sharp, "What have you done?"
The fallen Zhang Xin slowly rose, blood staining her face, a faint smirk on her lips. She opened her clenched right hand, revealing a bone split into two halves.
When she attacked his spine earlier, she took one of the bones.
With one piece missing, maintaining balance became challenging, and his movements were no longer as fluid as before.
The deputy branch head muttered incessantly, his voice escalating from soft to sharp, while the frequency of his bone wings flapping behind him increased.
Before the bone wings struck again, Zhang Xin rolled aside, evading the attack.
The two continued their frantic, unprotected assaults, scaling all the way from the laboratory to the highest floor.
Cough—
Sliding along the ground before crashing into a corner, Zhang Xin emitted a broken coughing sound, spewing dark red blood clots.
Chapter 63.2 – Duolan Mountain (3)
The deputy branch head slowly approached. One of his wings was halfway broken, bones shattered, but he managed to fly, albeit unsteadily. Missing a bone and the recent injury made his movements eerie, wings flapping behind while his waist bent.
As he advanced, Zhang Xin subtly moved her right hand, igniting crimson flames, albeit not as vigorous as before.
The deputy branch head stepped directly into the blaze; apart from slightly singeing the bones to a charred yellow, he seemed unaffected.
Struggling, Zhang Xin managed to sit up.
A few steps away, the deputy branch head halted, glancing downward to one side, a hand poised by the side of his skull. "I hear the breathing of your friend hiding below," he said.
Zhang Xin's eyes widened slowly.
"She seems worried about you, utterly terrified."
The deputy branch head recalled bringing people in; there were two young girls sticking close together—one was the person in front of him, the other presumably the one hidden below.
The girl's pupils contracted instantly.
The almost extinguished fire flared back to life, but the deputy branch head paid no heed. "Little sister, your flames won't kill me."
Though he was surprised to find a player from the Game among the random people captured on the mountain, it didn't affect him much.
"I'll go help your friend first, to ease her fear," he said.
He stepped away from the dark, dirty corridor, heading downstairs.
"No… Don't—"
Zhang Xin couldn't lift her head, but her bloody hand extended slowly.
The deputy branch head turned, "Hm?"
Zhang Xin struggled to rise from the ground. Her open hand clenched instantly, nails digging into her palm.
In an instant, flames soared into the sky.
The building turned charred, the sound of shattered glass echoing continuously. The golden-red flames swept through the entire upper structure. Caught off guard, the deputy branch head was carried by the surge of flames, propelled out of the corridor and plummeting from the air.
The girl stood up, staggered and walked to the railing step by step. Her face a mixture of grime, dirt, and bloodstains, nearly unrecognizable. In a hoarse voice, she said, "You are not allowed to leave."
This was unbelievable.
The scorching temperature had already caused the air to distort and warp. The deputy branch head quickly realized he couldn't stay in the fire. He dashed out of the sea of flames, but found the intense heat relentlessly pursuing him, with no signs of cooling down.
As he glanced down, he discovered the flames had completely engulfed him, their golden-red flickering light seeping into his bones.
His bones began irreversibly turning charred black, the finer finger bones nearly reduced to nothing by the blaze.
He remained conscious as he faded away, gradually falling.
His senses started to blur, but he remembered sensing the sound of breathing in a room downstairs.
Grabbing her friend, that's how he could gain control…
"Whoosh—"
A burst erupted from below, torrents of rising flames propelling him upwards, denying him any chance of escape.
Within the relentless assault of flames, the deputy branch head first lost sensation, then his body ceased to move. Bones turned charred, fractured, and dispersed into ashes.
He perished in flames he once belittled, thinking they couldn't harm him in the slightest.
Seeing the skeletal remains in the flames dissipate completely, Zhang Xin, leaning against the railing, could no longer hold on. Her eyes closed, her body slowly slid down the railing, the golden-red flames gradually fading away.
As the outside fell silent and the room's temperature gradually dropped, Xiao Mei gritted her teeth and finally decided to open the room's door.
She didn't know what had happened outside, but understood that fire represented Zhang Xin, and its extinction meant something unexpected might have occurred.
Going out might not help, but if she didn't, there would be no chance of a turnaround.
The moment she opened the door, the outside had completely transformed.
Without a moment to spare, Xiao Mei's gaze scanned between the floors until she spotted the person leaning against the railing.
She had lost consciousness, slowly sliding downward.
Below lay a daunting distance of six or seven stories.
"Zhang Xin!!!"
Xiao Mei disregarded everything and sprinted upwards. Bodies lay sprawled on the ground, but this time she wasn't paralyzed by fear. She raced up the stairs at the fastest pace, checking on the person's condition with every floor climbed.
Several floors ascended in succession, pushing her to her physical limits. Despite this, Xiao Mei's steps never faltered. Finally, she reached the top floor.
The building formed a U-shape, and Zhang Xin was on the other side, seemingly close, yet separated by a long stretch of corridor.
After passing a certain point, the person's slow descent suddenly accelerated. In the blink of an eye, most of her body already had fallen out.
Too late.
Xiao Mei was acutely aware that she couldn't cross the remaining half of the corridor in such a short time.
Her previously capable legs suddenly felt heavy, unable to take a step. Her breath seemed to stagnate.
The person leaning against the railing fell.
"Whoosh—"
The bulletproof glass, yet to be shattered by the exploding flames, was kicked open, creating a loud noise. Fragments flew through the air, then crashed to the ground, producing a cacophony against eardrums.
A figure in a black uniform leaped out of the window, landing on the corridor, and without pause, immediately jumped over the railing.
His movements were swift, so swift that there wasn't enough time to discern what he had done until it was realized that he was almost level with the falling person.
Xiao Mei's eyes widened in terror.
From that height, anyone would face certain death.
As the wind rustled his clothes, Jiang Yujin successfully caught the falling person. In midair, he twisted his body, grabbing a metal frame destroyed by flames to slightly reduce the speed before continuing the descent, landing safely on the ground.
Zhang Xin, supported in his arms, seemed to sense something, opening her eyes slightly. All she saw was the black goggles and the uniform, then she closed her eyes again.
Xiao Mei, standing above, had no time to consider whether what she witnessed contradicted her knowledge of physics. Her legs regained strength, and she swiftly descended the stairs.
Handing the person over to Xiao Mei as she reached the bottom, Citizen Jiang, dressed in a uniform, discreetly let out a sigh of relief.
That was a close call.
No matter how one thought about it, it was the fault of the small pebble that obstructed his path.
—Although she had never truly seen it before, Xiao Mei recognized that uniform.
It belonged to the SIU.
Encountering them for the first time, she realized the true nature of the SIU.
Xiao Mei moved slowly with the person in her arms. Jiang Yujin then helped Zhang Xin back onto himself and gestured in a direction.
He headed toward the passage leading to the next experimental area, but the passage was tightly sealed, and the fingerprint scanner extinguished.
Sensing the halt in footsteps, Zhang Xin, who had previously closed her eyes in a haze, managed to open them slightly once more. Struggling to make a sound from her throat, she said, "Electric… central control…"
Jiang Yujin momentarily handed Zhang Xin to Xiao Mei, then kicked the metal door.
With a resounding noise, he swiftly brought the person back.
Zhang Xin: "…"
Zhang Xin closed her eyes.
The SIU member moved quickly, entering the adjacent experimental area.
Unlike the relative silence here, the next room was bustling with shouting mixed with the sound of firearms, assaulting the eardrums.
As they opened the door, they were greeted by a group of armed individuals.
Before the others could react, Jiang Yujin snatched the closest person's dagger from their waist and tossed Zhang Xin to Xiao Mei.
Guns were more valuable to seize, but he opted for the dagger, finding it more practical in the moment.
In a way, it proved to be effective. The gun-wielding individuals couldn't match his speed. He sidestepped bullets, seized one person by the neck, made a swift cut, and then kicked another person off the railing. Using the body of another assailant preparing to attack Xiao Mei as a shield, he intercepted the stray bullets heading her way.
Out of habit, he initially planned to express gratitude to Shield Man who protected the high schoolers with his body. However, he remembered Shield Man was still behind him and instead whispered a quiet "thank you" in his ear.
Regardless of the circumstances, basic courtesy was crucial.
Shield Man spat out a mouthful of blood: "…"
Thank you, my *ss.