Chen Xiaolian and his group ran through the corridor. What they found at the end of the corridor resembled something one would find in a military fortress made from concrete.
Before them was a metal door, just like those found within a bank vault. It appeared exceptionally thick and heavy.
Roddy ran forward and utilized his Mechanical Heart skill to open the door’s electronic locks.
Chen Xiaolian who was standing at the side suddenly let out a forced smile. “With this skill of yours… if we could survive through this instance dungeon, we could just go pull a grand heist. Let’s find an opportunity to go to the Federal Reserve’s vault and empty it!”
Roddy rolled his eyes. “Are you seriously thinking about that at a time like this?”
After several beeping sounds, the door of the vault slowly rose up.
The area beyond the door was roughly as big as a basketball court. Warm lighting lamps hung from the walls of the room, exuding a clear illumination.
The floor and walls of the room were spotless.
The three of them walked inside. Suddenly, a voice carried over from their left.
“Don’t, don’t move!”
…
On their left was a middle-aged man wearing long white coloured lab coat. He trembled while standing behind a metal desk. Judging from his appearance, he was around forty years old with thinning hair and a large forehead. He has a very small and short stature and a very typical Japanese face.
What caught Chen Xiaolian’s attention though, was the weapon that this fellow was holding. It was a long weapon that resembled a rifle.
The muzzle of the weapon was flat in shape and possessed an extremely sci-fi design. That was especially true when regarding the rear part of the rifle. At the bottom position, there was a row of flashing lights. He could clearly see that all of the lights on the weapon were lit. It appeared as though some type of energy within it had reached a critical state and could be fired at any moment!
“Do not move! Do not move!” The middle-aged man appeared very nervous.
Chen Xiaolian quickly extended one hand out, gesturing with it. “Do not panic!”
“Do not come over!” The middle-aged man’s head was dripping with sweat. His arm, which held the weapon, trembled. “Who are you people?”
“Do not panic! Relax!” Chen Xiaolian and Roddy looked at each other. “Do not panic.”
“Who are you people? Who are you?” The middle-aged man became increasingly agitated. It appeared that he might break down at any moment.
“We are… police officers,” Chen Xiaolian deliberately stepped forward, pointing toward the full set of Special Assault Team’s attire that he was wearing. “See? We were sent by the Metropolitan Police Headquarters.”
“Metro… Metropolitan Police?” The middle-aged man seemingly eased up for a bit. However, he was still unwilling to put down his weapon and it was still pointed toward them. “You, are you really sent by the Metropolitan Police Department?”
“Put down the weapon you are holding first,” Chen Xiaolian quickly said. “We mean you no harm.”
“No!”
The man’s face suddenly distorted and he raised the rifle up. He stared at Chen Xiaolian, the muzzle of the weapon shaking as he said. “You lie! If you are from the Metropolitan Police Department, why would you have a girl with you?”
Nagase Komi was not wearing the Special Assault Team’s equipment; she was wearing civilian clothes. It appeared that the middle-aged man was not easy to trick. He had quickly found a flaw in Chen Xiaolian’s lie.
“She…” Chen Xiaolian did not reveal any expression of panic. “She is a civilian. She is one of the civilians that we rescued.”
“Nonsense! Why would there be any civilians here?”
“She is one of the survivors we found from above.”
“Could she be a staff member?” The middle-aged man showed hesitation for a while. However, it soon became steady and he retorted. “Impossible! How could our staff member look like that?”
Nagase Komi’s appearance truly did not fit those who would usually be working in this high-tech research institute. Her head was bald, she wore a nose ring and most importantly, she has a flame shaped tattoo on her neck.
“Do not panic!” Chen Xiaolian quickly said. “She is one of the family members of the staff here! Just look! She is just a little girl and not a grown woman. Just look at her carefully! Look, she is just a young little girl. How could she pose any danger? We are not criminals! If we are, why would we bring along a little child as we commit crimes?”
Chen Xiaolian paused for a moment and remained expressionless as he moved forward slightly. He asked. “Do you know Takeuchi Yoko?”
“Takeuchi Yoko?” The middle-aged man pondered the name for a moment. “This name sounds familiar…”
“Right, she is a female staff member from the Administrative Department.”
“Ah, that extremely beautiful one?”
“That is right!” Chen Xiaolian quickly nodded his head and he displayed a relaxed smile on his face. “This is Takeuchi Yoko’s daughter! Her daughter! She came over to find Takeuchi Yoko, only to be involved in an accident. She got trapped in the vicinity. As part of the rescue team, we rescued her…”
The middle-aged man lowered the rifle in his hand a little. However, he then shook his head and nervously said. “Impossible! This is a secret location. Even the family members of our staff would not be able to enter this place!”
“Enough!” Roddy suddenly shouted out while staring at him. “You bastard! What do you think you are doing? We are police officers! Are you thinking of harming police officers? We are the rescue team sent to provide support! Who are you? To be carrying a weapon, are you thinking of going against the police? State your name!”
The loud words from Roddy and the fact that he was wearing the uniform of the Special Assault Team created an oppressive atmosphere, which overwhelmed the middle-aged man with shock. He hesitated and trembled for moments before replying. “I am Fujino Masayoshi, a research assistant here.”
“Mr. Fujino!” Chen Xiaolian quickly shouted out. “Do not be afraid! We are here to help! Please put down the item in your hand!”
“I…” The man appeared hesitant.
At the same time, Chen Xiaolian and Roddy deliberately stood side by side, blocking Fujino Masayoshi’s view of Nagase Komi.
Chen Xiaolian moved one hand to the back and made a few gestures for Nagase Komi.
Nagase Komi understood immediately. She quietly activated her invisibility skill and her body instantly disappeared from the spot.
Fujino Masayoshi’s line of sight was being blocked and he did not see Nagase Komi’s sudden disappearing act. The rifle in his hand was clearly shaking as he hesitated on whether or not he should put it down…
It was then that a force shoved the muzzle of his rifle upward! Fujino Masayoshi panicked and shouted out loudly and a “weng” sound could be heard!
The muzzle of the rifle that he was holding fired out a faint orange coloured beam of light! The colour of this beam of light was very faint, seemingly translucent. The beam of light shot out in a straight line toward the ceiling…
Chen Xiaolian and Roddy did not show any hesitation and they rushed forward from both left and right, leaping past the metal table. Roddy knocked Fujino Masayoshi with a fist and Chen Xiaolian quickly seized the weapon in Fujino Masayoshi’s hands and tossed it aside. At the same time, he pressed his knee on Fujino Masayoshi’s back and firmly pinned Fujino Masayoshi down.
Fujino Masayoshi howled out madly and he struggled frantically. However, Chen Xiaolian and Roddy have had their bodies enhanced up to [B] Class. Before them, Fujino Masayoshi’s struggles were not worth mentioning.
Soon, Chen Xiaolian had both of Fujino Masayoshi’s hands pulled to his back and his head pressed down on the metal table. Chen Xiaolian then produced a pair of handcuffs to handcuff Fujino Masayoshi.
“Do not kill me! Aargh! Do not kill me! I beg you, please do not kill me! Aaaaaaa!”
As Fujino Masayoshi continued to struggle, Nagase Komi who had returned to being visible furiously delivered a slap onto Fujino Masayoshi’s face. “Shut up!”
Roddy raised his head to look up the ceiling. He then abruptly pulled Chen Xiaolian as he sucked in a mouthful of cold air. “Look!”
…
The ceiling that originally had a concrete texture now sported a deep and long gap!
The gully like gap was roughly two meters long. Clearly, it was the handiwork of the beam of light from the miraculous beam weapon held by Fujino Masayoshi earlier.
A gully, half a meter in depth, was created on the surface of the concrete ceiling by the sweeping beam of light.
The rifle had turned out to be so powerful?
“Bloody Hell… what kind of weapon is that? Even when going against a tank, this weapon will be able to cut straight through the tank’s plating!” Roddy stared in shock.
Chen Xiaolian’s face was solemn. He suddenly turned and pointed at the vault door. “Roddy, close the door!”
Roddy answered in affirmation and rushed over to close the vault door. Watching the vault door with a thickness of nearly one meter closing down slowly, the two of them let out a sigh of relief.
With such a powerful defence here, the toad monster on the outside would likely find it difficult to break its way through.
Next, they moved to interrogate the prisoner known as Fujino Masayoshi.
…
The interrogation process for this Fujino Masayoshi was not that difficult. Despite the fellow’s appearance of intelligence, he was very nervous and possessed a surprisingly small amount of courage. He was surprisingly afraid of death.
Roddy merely pulled out a military knife, waved it before Fujino Masayoshi’s face and made a gesture near his neck and Fujino Masayoshi immediately spilled the beans obediently.
His name was Fujino Masayoshi, a 46-year-old from Osaka, hailing from University of Tokyo. He held the position of research assistant within the Mechanical Faction of this research institute. He also held a PhD in Electronic Engineering.
Their current location was an underground research and development centre for the Mechanical Faction. More accurately, it was a warehouse and display area for the research and development of their research prototypes.
This room that was the size of a basketball court was the central warehouse for display and storage of their research prototypes. This place contained part of the research prototypes that were the fruits of the Mechanical Faction’s research.
As for Fujino Masayoshi, even with his qualifications, he was simply a minor figure among the researchers of the Mechanical Faction – although his PhD in Electronic Engineering would make him a person of high status in the eyes of ordinary people, here, he was but a minor figure.
As for what happened to him today, it was hard to say if he was lucky or unlucky.
During the time of the incident, the air filtration system of the research institute detected the intrusive presence of an abnormal virus and instantly made a report to the police. Next, following the level of alarm, it had issued out an emergency evacuation notification to the entire research institute.
Unfortunately, this happened to be the Fujino Masayoshi’s day to take care of this underground warehouse.
The research institute’s level of security was very high. According to regulations, should an accident occur, this central underground area for research and development would instantly be sealed up!
In other words, the people here will have no chance to evacuate or flee! Once there was an accident, anyone staying inside this place would be sealed inside. If they were lucky, the rescue team would save them. If they were unlucky, then… they will die here!
All of this was to ensure that the research results of the research institute were not leaked out.
For Fujino Masayoshi, this was an unfortunate turn of events.
When the incident occurred, the few safety doors were immediately locked down, including the vault door of this concrete room. All of them had automatically locked down! Those inside would be unable to get out at all!
In other words, Fujino Masayoshi was a sacrificial lamb.
According to Fujino Masayoshi, he had attempted to use the intercom to contact the control room above. However, he heard only miserable screams coming through the intercom. There were also sounds of panic. The miserable cries had especially terrified Fujino Masayoshi!
…
“I do not know what happened. I swear to God, I really have no clue what happened,” Fujino Masayoshi broke out in tears. “I was trapped inside here the whole time. I heard through the intercom those miserable screams and the sounds of crying coming from the control room… I am scared, I do not know what to do… there is no equipment here to contact the outside world. That was to ensure that this research institute’s confidential information does not get leaked out. Thus, I was unable to do anything else. I… I could only get my hands on some weapon to protect myself…”
Chen Xiaolian sighed and glanced at Fujino Masayoshi.
Truth be told, he was quite fortunate… if he had ran up, he would probably have died in the upper floor.
At that moment, they suddenly heard a thud coming from the direction of the vault door!
The four people inside the room were able to hear that sound. Fujino Masayoshi’s face twisted and he exclaimed. “What is that sound?”
Chen Xiaolian and Roddy glanced at each other. Chen Xiaolian frowned and said. “It is already here? How fast.”
It appeared that the three security fence doors on the outside corridor were unable to hold the giant toad for long.
Chen Xiaolian picked Fujino Masayoshi up and asked. “How durable is this room?”
“Eh?”
“Answer his question?” Roddy forcefully slapped Fujino Masayoshi’s head.
“Yes! I will answer!” Fujino Masayoshi cried out in distress. “It should be very durable. This room is made with concrete. It is 4.5 meters thick with layers of steel and lead in the middle, ensuring its safety and obstructing any attempts to probe through it using X-ray. It also effectively blocks off any communication signals. The vault door is made of alloy steel. With a thickness of 90 cm, not even bombs can blow it open.
“This… actually, this room was built according to the standard specifications of the highest grade military fortress. The reason is because; this place is a weapons demonstration room. There is also a military fortification used specifically for the demonstration of weapons.”
Weapons demonstration?
Chen Xiaolian and Roddy looked at each other again. This time, they could catch the glint in each other’s eyes.
“Weapons? Just like this rifle that you were holding earlier?” Chen Xiaolian picked up the beam weapon with his hand.
Considering the size of the beam weapon, it was not as heavy as Chen Xiaolian had expected.
“What kind of weapon is this? Energy weapons? You already have this level of technology?”
Although he was not someone from the military, Chen Xiaolian knew that in the current world, all the major countries were researching energy weapons… at present however, all the published data in this field indicated that there were no ground-breaking achievements in this field.
With the present world’s level of technology, energy weapons was something of a distant prospect.
“This… this is an ion beam rifle,” Fujino Masayoshi trembled as he answered. “This is just a research prototype, it is incomplete. Additionally, there is a limit to its usage. Our current level of technology does not permit us to effectively use this item, it…”