Chapter 28: Rescue in Progress
After receiving an affirmative answer from Lilith, Lu Li set aside his doubts and began to concentrate, controlling his transformations and hoping that there were some smart people outside.
Outside the mortuary, the female doctor and Professor Liao were intently watching the parameters on their computer screens. The phone next to them continued to relay reports from the seventh laboratory about the seventh experiment, the bronze tree.
"Dr. Lu was conducting a routine check on the seventh experiment. No unconventional methods were used. Earlier, Dr. Chen also..."
"I don't need your blame-shifting, useless reports," Professor Liao interrupted, suppressing his anger. He coldly demanded, "Tell me, have you figured out why the extradimensional spaces are collapsing one after another? Didn't you say these spaces were stable?"
"Well...we need more time..."
"Useless!" Professor Liao couldn't hold back his rage any longer and shouted.
"Um...Professor Liao," a nurse hesitated before standing up timidly.
"What is it now? Another guard died? Can't you stop bothering me with trivial matters?" Professor Liao was on the verge of breaking down. The failure of the seventh lab's utopia project, despite significant investment, had caused major disturbances. However, it had yielded some benefits, such as the creation of several extradimensional spaces.
But now, with these spaces collapsing for no apparent reason, their investment was all for naught. This was a significant error. If the Confederation of City-States found out, their funding would be severely cut next year. He wondered if this nurse had any sense, bothering him with trivial matters at a time like this.
Of course, they hadn't yet realized the true consequences of the space collapses. After all, without witnessing it firsthand, who could imagine what it entailed?
"It's not about another death, Professor Liao. The two missing life signals have reappeared, and one of them is behaving very strangely," the nurse reported with a trembling voice.
"Let's see," the female doctor said with interest, and Professor Liao, still angry and confused, looked at the nurse's computer. The heartbeat signals were displayed in a unique, repetitive pattern.
"This pattern..." Professor Liao's expression changed. He quickly opened a document on the computer, and as the pattern continued, lines of concise text appeared. The female doctor's face turned pale with fear as she read the messages, glancing toward the mortuary.
The two exchanged a tense look:
"What should we do? Run, or follow his instructions? Can we verify its authenticity?" The female doctor's face was white with fear. If what the message said was true, they had two choices: either flee and await punishment from the Confederation of City-States, becoming scapegoats for this incident and facing eternal infamy, or follow Lu Li's instructions and retrieve the bronze tree, hoping to meet him.
"In situations like this, it's better to believe than to doubt. Given the circumstances, we can't afford to gamble," Professor Liao said, no longer concerned with punishing others. They had two choices: flee and face certain death along with eternal infamy or trust the information relayed by Lu Li, take the bronze tree, and try to save the situation. If they failed, they would still die, but if they succeeded, they would be reprimanded but likely retained for their expertise. Given these options, the choice was clear.
Grabbing the phone, Professor Liao shouted, "Bring the seventh experimental subject to the mortuary entrance immediately. You have ten...no, five minutes, or I'll strip you of your title as chief researcher and reveal your affair with the female graduate student to your wife."
"Professor Liao, this isn't standard procedure..."
"Screw procedure! You have four minutes!" Professor Liao slammed the phone down and yelled at the guards and nurses, "All of you, clear the path to the inside. I don't want anything delaying us, not even for a second!"
"Sound the alarm and you, with the fastest speed, go to retrieve the seventh experiment. Don't worry about your stamina; I'll have people relieve you," he instructed the female doctor, picking up another phone to dial a number.
"Captain Chen, come to the mortuary entrance immediately. The faster, the better," Professor Liao said before hanging up. He had done all he could. Whether they succeeded or not was now up to fate.
Receiving the call, Captain Chen was puzzled but knew better than to ignore Professor Liao, the de facto head of the hospital. He handed his duties to his despised deputy, an envious, shortsighted man with disgusting insect-type abilities, only there due to family connections. He wouldn't even have had the opportunity to acquire a divine power mask without those connections, let alone become deputy captain.
"I have urgent business from above. You handle the recently captured flame type, and lead the team to apprehend those intruders in the hospital. Deal with any issues yourself," Captain Chen said before heading toward the hospital's interior, leaving his deputy glaring venomously at his back.
Once in the hallway, Captain Chen's shoulder blades shifted, and a pair of black wings emerged from his clothes. With a slight flap, he flew to the mortuary entrance at incredible speed, finding only Professor Liao there.
"We have about 25 minutes left!"
"What?" Captain Chen was startled by Professor Liao's words, reflexively asking.
"Inside there, a massive bomb is forming. In 25 minutes, it will blow up most of the city!" Professor Liao pointed at the mortuary. "Your family lives near the hospital, right? I remember you have a lovely daughter."
With a flutter of his wings, Captain Chen was instantly in front of Professor Liao, grabbing his collar and pinning him against the wall. "What have you bastards done?"
"What we've done is irrelevant. What matters now is that we need to bring something inside to a man who might stop the explosion," Professor Liao explained calmly despite being manhandled. "With your speed, you could fly out of the blast radius in 25 minutes if you go all out. But bringing your wife and child along? Impossible. The traffic is jammed due to the highway accident and the mask riot. Even if you warn them, they can't escape without the help of flying types. So, for the sake of your family, give it your all, Captain Chen!"