Jia Yan concealed himself among the trees.
At this point, the potential enemies he faced turned into humans. Naturally, he dared not attempt any breakthroughs or direct attacks anymore.
So while waiting for an opportunity, he also observed everything meticulous inside the factory, hoping for even the slightest chance!
Out of the three buildings, the office building had undergone thorough repairs due to previous vulnerabilities. Aluminum alloy panels were installed to seal off all possible insect entry points.
As for the two buildings functioning as workshops, they were originally core buildings of a military institution from decades ago, so their defense was relatively tight. Aluminum alloy panels were added to some overlooked areas.
Jia Yan was observing...
"Hmm..." Suddenly, Jia Yan saw something.
"A water pipe!" Jia Yan spotted a straight pipe outside one of the workshop buildings, leading directly into the structure.
This pipe was definitely a later addition, as it was made of PVC, a material only used recently.
Thanks to his enhanced eyesight after mutation, Jia Yan was able to see the pipe.
As for whether it was useful, that remained to be seen after further investigation!
Jia Yan took flight.
"There's a camera here." Jia Yan looked in a certain direction where a camera was installed at a high point.
Although he wasn't afraid of being caught on camera because it would take at least a few minutes for security to arrive, he didn't want his investigation to be disturbed. So, he spread his wings and flew towards the sky.
Perhaps this factory didn't have surveillance of high places to guard against the appearance of mutant flying creatures.
Jia Yan arrived at the side of the pipe. This was already a blind spot in the surveillance. Jia Yan landed quietly.
His large mosquito body settled beside the pipe as he examined it carefully.
Indeed, it was a PVC water pipe, but its diameter was about twenty centimeters, quite thick.
"It should be the main pipeline for industrial wastewater. Let me see if there's any way to enter!"
Jia Yan took flight again, observing the subtle changes on the ground from above.
A drainage manhole cover with holes appeared in Jia Yan's sight!
"This should be connected!" Jia Yan's mind stirred, flying directly above this manhole cover.
The area under the manhole cover was pitch black, and he wasn't sure if there were any pesticides or similar substances down there. After all, such a large oversight wouldn't likely be missed by the people from Dongbei Wild Tiger.
Jia Yan hesitated for a moment, not detecting any unpleasant odors in the air. Then, he steeled himself and crawled into the gap of the manhole cover!
It was just a small challenge, insignificant to Jia Yan who had already made up his mind!
His massive body almost couldn't fit into the hole.
But Jia Yan still struggled to squeeze in!
As expected, under the manhole cover was a sewer, but it was relatively large, at least half a person deep, filled with some kind of industrial waste liquid.
"These are chemical waste liquids. I feel they would cause significant harm to my body. I should try not to fall into them!"
Seeing the dangerous chemical waste liquid, Jia Yan quickly grasped the top of the sewer with all six limbs, then spread his wings and flew in the air to hover!
First, he corrected his inverted body position, then looked around.
With his mosquito's keen infrared sensory perception, he could clearly detect if there were any other life forms nearby.
There were indeed life forms, but they were small things crawling on the top and walls, none of them as huge as the mutant ones.
There was no sign of life in the waste liquid, indicating that it was indeed unsuitable for sustaining life.
Flying along the upper part of the spacious sewer, below was the flowing industrial waste liquid.
After a moment, Jia Yan finally reached the bottom of the PVC pipe!
Above him was an empty space. After looking around, Jia Yan flapped his wings and flew upwards along the pipe space!
He needed to hurry now. Who knew if this pipe was the place where waste was discharged and how often the discharge occurred.
If he happened to be inside when the discharge occurred, it would be disastrous!
Fortunately, Jia Yan's flight speed was not slow. In a few seconds, he flew to the top of the pipe, and if the discharge happened during this time, it would indeed be unlucky.
Ahead in the dark pipe, faint mechanical noises could be heard.
Jia Yan controlled his flight sound and slowly approached the pipe's exit...
He felt nervous because he didn't know what situation he would face. It would be embarrassing if he landed directly in the sight of the workers!
The pipe exit wasn't sealed, so Jia Yan cautiously peered out a bit.
Outside was the roaring of machines!
Countless bright lights illuminated the entire space as bright as day.
This was the front end of a circular conveyor belt, with only one observation port around it. Occasionally, busy workers passed by there.
There were a lot of workers!
Jia Yan quietly approached the observation port. Ahead of this port was a closed machine outlet. Judging by its installation, once opened, a large amount of chemical waste liquid would be discharged.
"Do you think Xiao Li and Lao Chen are really okay? If they are okay, would the factory really be so kind as to arrange for them to be observed in the hospital?"
The voice of workers chatting could be heard.
"Who knows, but I think the factory manager wouldn't deceive us about such matters. After all, the consequences of someone dying are serious. Even if he fooled us for a while, once we leave, his lie will be exposed! Unless he has the courage to kill us all and cover it up. But that's not feasible either. Our families all know we're here. If he dares to do that, he's done for!"
"That's true, but we still need to be careful. Have you noticed? The administrative staff in the factory, including the factory manager himself, don't seem like good people. But at least we have so many people. If he really dares, we'll fight him to the death!"
A huge mosquito quietly listened to their conversation behind the two workers...
These two workers had their backs to the pipe, and the others were relatively far away, blocked by machines, unable to see the scene at the observation port.
No one could have imagined that a mutated giant insect would fly directly into the heart of the factory from the pipe!
The reason was simple. It wasn't that Dongbei Wild Tiger and others hadn't thought of this possibility, but among all the mutant creatures they knew of, apart from the cockroaches discovered two days ago, there hadn't been another flying one!
As for centipedes and millipedes and other arthropods, there was no way for them to enter the pipe filled with waste liquid.
So, no one could have imagined that the Chinese mosquito, which the man with glasses had concluded couldn't survive a second mutation, had actually survived and returned to the factory, seeking another opportunity!
The workers' conversation continued.
The one who raised doubts about Xiao Li and Lao Chen's safety expressed further vigilance, saying, "Don't think about fighting them to the death? We definitely can't afford it! Think about it, this factory is doing who-knows-what drugs in such a desolate place. Whether it's medicine or poison, even drugs, we don
't know. Otherwise, why hide and seek like this!"
"Yeah, if one day the government comes to arrest people, we casual workers are doomed."
"Keep your voice down. A salary of over ten thousand yuan a month, do you think it's easy? Anyway, I'll work for another month or two at most, then quit and go back. As for confidentiality clauses and the like, I'll abide by them. After earning tens of thousands of yuan in a few months, it's enough for us rural folks to live on for a year..."
Jia Yan no longer distracted himself by listening to the workers' conversation because he had already heard the useful information!
He began to survey the factory environment.
This was a space of over two hundred square meters, most of which was occupied by some strange machines.
Seven or eight workers were busy in the space. Two of them moved around, responsible for observing pressure gauges. Several others were at a trough, pouring purple powder into it in proportions.
The two workers in front of him were sitting at the control panel, controlling the start and stop of all task units.
This was the second floor, and a large metal pipe directly connected from the first floor to this workshop, linking to a cylindrical machine in this workshop. This machine looked somewhat old, covered with spots of rust, and even some Japanese characters could be vaguely seen on its surface!
This cylindrical machine had two exits. One penetrated the wall, connecting to the next workshop in another building.
The other exit was the waste discharge outlet, yes, connected to the sewer where Jia Yan was.
At this moment, the cylindrical machine was rumbling continuously, seemingly stirring something inside.
"So this is how it looks inside the factory. It's completely different from the high-tech appearance I imagined! It seems that Dongbei Wild Tiger didn't rely on their own abilities to develop that purple-red 'antimicrobial peptide'!"
To develop a purple-red liquid medicine, it had to be done with very advanced equipment. But here, besides some old machines that looked somewhat presentable, everything else looked makeshift, even low-end.
"How did Dongbei Wild Tiger manage to produce such a liquid? Could it really be relying on these buildings and the equipment and data left behind by some country during wartime?"
Jia Yan couldn't quite understand the rise to power of Dongbei Wild Tiger. This figure seemed somewhat legendary to him. Relying on such equipment to manufacture medicine, it seemed like he had risen to a high position.
"But those things have nothing to do with me. I'm not human anymore. What's the point of envying him? I just need to know if there's a way to get the liquid here..."
Jia Yan coldly surveyed the outside through his compound eyes at the observation port...
Until the two workers sitting on the side pressed a button each, and then, the rumbling of the cylindrical machine suddenly stopped shaking!
Rushing water sounds emerged, and Jia Yan immediately panicked!
"Not good!"
He quickly turned around, and the outlet of the machine opened, a stream of waste liquid containing dangerous chemicals rushing towards him!