Chapter 349 - Unexpected Discovery
The moment Yu Hanjiang acted to sabotage the surveillance, Xiao Lou used the blind spot caused by Yu Hanjiang's destroyed surveillance camera to activate Tao Yuanming's skill. Once Yu Hanjiang was in danger, he decisively opened the transmission and forcibly pulled Yu Hanjiang over.
Yu Hanjiang completed a spatial teleportation in the labyrinth. Thanks to Xiao Lou's help, he moved from the bullet-filled corridor to under a peach tree. Xiao Lou, Old Mo and Ye Qi were also in the Peach Blossom Spring.
The Peach Blossom Spring was an independent space that could exist for three hours. No one could enter without Xiao Lou's permission and this space was absolutely safe. However, it also had shortcomings. It would disappear after three hours. If they hid here for three hours until the Peach Blossom Spring disappeared, they would return to the basement again.
Xiao Lou saw Yu Hanjiang come in and hurried up to him in a worried manner. "Are you okay? I heard gunshots..."
Yu Hanjiang waved his hand. "I'm fine. They had machine guns in their hands but you pulled me away in time."
The two of them were chatting when they saw that Shao Qingge also entered the Peach Blossom Spring. Xiao Lou was taken aback as he looked at Shao Qingge. "Chief Shao, why are you here?"
Yu Hanjiang frowned. "You shouldn't have come in. Didn't I tell you that the exit of the underground labyrinth is blocked? After entering the Peach Blossom Spring, you can only go out from the entrance of the Peach Blossom Spring. The entrance is in the basement and no one can leave the basement until the wall is opened."
Shao Qingge glanced at Ye Qi sleeping beside a tree and walked quickly to Ye Qi's side. "I couldn't feel reassured so I came to see if I could help. I had Liu Qiao, Qu Wanyue and Long Sen stay outside. If it really isn't possible, the three of them can find a way to break the door from the outside." He bent over and gently grasped Ye Qi's hand. "Why hasn't Ye Qi woken up yet?"
"The dose of anesthetic used was probably too much. The dose for children is different from that of adults. Xiao Lou and Old Mo have woken up but the effect of the anesthetic probably hasn't passed for Ye Qi." Yu Hanjiang paused before questioning Shao Qingge, "The four of you abandoned the car and ran?"
"Yes, after receiving your message, I asked everyone to wear invisibility cloaks and run away. I pressed the accelerator and the car should've exploded in the forest." Shao Qingge turned back. "They don't know that the Yu Hanjiang in the car is just an imposter."
"Very good," Yu Hanjiang praised.
"When will Xiao Ye wake up?" Shao Qingge gently touched Ye Qi's head in a worried manner.
"......" Ye Qi woke up in a daze. He heard Shao Qingge's anxious and concerned voice and blinked. "Chief Shao? Where am I?"
"You're awake!" Shao Qingge's eyes brightened and he gently supported Ye Qi to sit up. "We are in the Peach Blossom Spring."
"Oh, no wonder the environment felt so familiar." He rubbed his aching temples and only saw Yu Hanjiang, Xiao Lou, Old Mo and Chief Shao in the Peach Blossom Spring. The others weren't around.
Xiao Lou saw Ye Qi's confusion and quickly explained the current situation.
Yu Hanjiang instructed them, "The four of you should stay in the Peach Blossom Spring. I will destroy the surveillance cameras. The duration of the invisibility cloak is only 30 minutes. Before it expires, I must destroy all the surveillance cameras in the basement so they can't accurately locate us."
"I'm going with Group Leader Yu." Ye Qi was completely awake now. His eyes were as bright as stars and full of seriousness.
"Are you going to add chaos?" Shao Qingge patted Ye Qi's head. "Do you know how to use a gun?"
"I can't use a gun but I have the Bug King card!" Ye Qi raised his head to look at Shao Qingge. "Chief Shao, did you forget? You gave me this card. The bug king transformation can only be used once per instance. Yours has been used but I still have one. After I transform, I will have the physical strength of the bug king and can provide cover for Group Leader Yu."
"......" Shao Qingge heard him utter a lot of great truths and couldn't help being stunned.
"Chief Shao gave me such a powerful card. I want to make a contribution too." Ye Qi smiled.
"Okay." Yu Hanjiang simply nodded. "Ye Qi will come with me."
Shao Qingge's Bug King card had previously been used to heal everyone's injuries then he used Rich and Willful to make a copy and handed it to Ye Qi. It just happened to come in handy now.
Ye Qi received Group Leader Yu's consent and immediately activated the Bug King card. The 7 year old boy's eyes turned blood red and they were as beautiful as crystal clear rubies. Shao Qingge saw the 7 year old Ye Qi with red eyes and couldn't help chuckling. "You are like a little boss."
Ye Qi scratched his head. "I am using this card for the first time and I'm not quite used to it. The world in front of me is also red?"
Shao Qingge earnestly taught Ye Qi what he learnt from his own experience. "In the eyes of the bug king, the same type is white while human beings are red. You have inherited the abilities of the bug king including climbing, jumping and healing. There is a layer of armor under the skin and severed limbs will regenerate immediately. You are only afraid of fire. However, the infection ability isn't inherited. Scratching the opponent won't change them into bugs."
If the infection ability was inherited then the Bug King card could directly infect all the surrounding humans into bugs. Then this instance would become a copy of 9 of Spades and they could easily pass.
Ye Qi nodded. "I understand. I'll climb the walls later to cover Group Leader Yu. I can also lead them away to make it more convenient for Group Leader Yu to destroy the surveillance."
Shao Qingge warned him, "Be careful. It doesn't matter if bullets hit the body. Your armor can't be pierced by bullets. Just don't get caught by fire. Bugs are completely melted by fire, remember?"
Ye Qi nodded vigorously. "Yes, I know."
Yu Hanjiang looked at this little boy whose height only went up to his waist and said in a low voice, "Xiao Ye did a good job this time."
Ye Qi was confused. "What?"
Yu Hanjiang handed him the bug and Ye Qi suddenly realized. "This was released before I fell unconscious. I thought that Group Leader Yu would be able to find the car that kidnapped us and perhaps you would find the card. Then you could follow the bug to find us. The situation was urgent and I didn't have time to use other cards. My consciousness was already blurred and I was afraid I couldn't control other cards, so I might as well leave you some clues."
It was Ye Qi's rational choice at a critical moment that made Yu Hanjiang lock onto their location. If Ye Qi had ran away in a panic at that time while the anesthetic had already taken effect, it was likely he would faint after running for two seconds.
Ye Qi's cleverness made Yu Hanjiang feel very pleased. Now Ye Qi used the second Bug King card and their chances of escaping the labyrinth increased. Yu Hanjiang patted Ye Qi on the shoulder and praised him. "Good job."
Ye Qi wasn't too embarrassed about being praised and smiled. "I followed Group Leader Yu for so long and only learned a bit about investigating."
Yu Hanjiang looked back at Xiao Lou and spoke in a soft voice, "Xiao Lou, continue to stay in the rear. The Peach Blossom Spring is our transit station. Once Xiao Ye or I are in danger, immediately pull us here."
During the time when the Peach Blossom Spring existed, team members could come in and out of it repeatedly. This technique was used as early as 2 of Spades when Xiao Lou faced the zombies alone. No matter where Yu Hanjiang and Ye Qi were in the maze, they could instantly return to the Peach Blossom Spring under Xiao Lou's call. It was just that they would walk out of the Peach Blossom Spring at the entrance which was near the metal wall where Yu Hanjiang had destroyed the surveillance just now.
The repeated teleportations meant Yu Hanjiang and Ye Qi could move freely among the killers and make it impossible for the killers to lock onto their specific locations. They had to destroy all the surveillance in the labyrinth as soon as possible and make full preparations for everyone's escape.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang were connected to each other. If there was a need to be teleported then Xiao Lou could sense it even without Yu Hanjiang saying anything. Just now, he sensed Yu Hanjiang's crisis and forcibly pulled him into the Peach Blossom Spring.
Still, even if there was the Peach Blossom Spring as a safe transit station, the opponent had many dangerous weapons and Yu Hanjiang had the body of a mortal. It wasn't a joke to be shot by a bullet.
Xiao Lou watched Yu Hanjiang with worry. "Pay attention to safety. I will also give this to you."
He handed the Light Feather Coat card to Yu Hanjiang. Thinking about it carefully, this was an S-grade defense card drawn from an early secret room. It could resist a fatal injury when worn on the body. Regardless of whether it was a knife or bullet, as long as it threatened the owner's life then this card would offset the attack. It was equivalent to an extra life.
Yu Hanjiang smiled slightly and he pushed the card back to Xiao Lou. "I don't need it. You keep this card."
Xiao Lou frowned. "No, you must wear it."
Regardless of Yu Hanjiang's objection, Xiao Lou forcibly activated the card and put it on Yu Hanjiang's body. This meant that even if Yu Hanjiang was shot by a bullet, the damage could be offset and Xiao Lou could rescue him in time.
Xiao Lou believed in Yu Hanjiang's marksmanship and actual combat level but... he couldn't afford to gamble. He didn't want to gamble on Yu Hanjiang's life.
This piece of clothing was as light as a feather and there was no sense of awareness when worn on the body. Yu Hanjiang had it forcibly put on him and felt warm. He gently shook Xiao Lou's hand and took Ye Qi to leave the Peach Blossom Spring.
***
In the Peach Blossom Spring, Shao Qingge stood under a tree, his eyes narrowed slightly and his face thoughtful.
Xiao Lou walked up to him. "Chief Shao, did you really come in when I opened the Peach Blossom Spring because you were worried about Xiao Ye?"
At that time, Yu Hanjiang had told Shao Qingge about the danger of the basement and had him stay outside. Shao Qingge might be worried that Ye Qi hadn't woken up but it shouldn't be to the extent of wanting to take a look. After all, he might not be able to help even if he came in. It was because in this secret room, he had a serious heart problem and his strongest card, the Bug King had already been used by him at the beginning.
Shao Qingge's personality meant he wouldn't do such impulsive things.
Shao Qingge smiled slightly at Xiao Lou. "Sure enough, nothing can be concealed from Professor Xiao's eyes."
Xiao Lou was concerned. "What's going on?"
Shao Qingge was silent for a moment. "Just now when I drove the car into the forest, I found there were plum blossoms in a radius of at least one kilometer. Then some childhood memories flashed in my mind."
"As a child, I used to play in the plum blossom forest. The mountains were filled with the fragrance of plum blossoms." The man squinted as he leaned against the tree and spoke. "I was born in Qinghe Village. Yes, this should be my hometown."
Xiao Lou was shocked. "You mean..."
"My mother was weak and infertile. When I was 4 years old, I was adopted by the Shao family from Qinghe Village. In addition, the car I took today is actually my father Shao Zhengyang's car."
A cold light flashed in Shao Qingge's eyes. He didn't want to believe it but he still expressed his speculation. "This car was monitored by those people and they guided me all the way to Qinghe Village. I suspect that a tracker was installed in the car and the only one who knows about this is... my father."
Xiao Lou and Old Mo heard this and exchanged looks.
Chapter 350 - The Truth
Xiao Lou had been wondering how such an ordinary old man like Uncle Zhong could have a relationship with the organ trafficking organization.
He made a lot of money from selling organs over the years and bought a house in the city center for his son. His nephew opened the upscale 'Tianya Club' and bought three apartments to turn into a mansion for him. There were so many big bosses attending his birthday party and this wasn't the treatment that a 'housekeeper' for the rich should have.
Then what if the person standing behind him was the hidden boss? This was the only way to explain all of this...
Uncle Zhong was nominally in charge but he was actually helping Shao Zhengyang handle the internal affairs of the organization. Perhaps he let his nephew He Rong open the 'Tianya Club' to launder money under Shao Zhengyang's instructions. As a predator of the business world, how could Shao Zhengyang be unable to control the housekeeper around him?
In fact, as early as when Uncle Zhong became suspicious, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang should've suspected that Shao Zhengyang was behind him.
However, Shao Zhengyang was Shao Qingge's father and seemed decent by association. The two of them subconsciously thought that Shao Qingge's father had been kept in the dark by Uncle Zhong and didn't doubt him. They didn't expect that now all the signs pointed to the person they had least suspected!
If the big boss was really Shao Zhengyang then did the keepers expect Shao Qingge to personally kill his own father?
Xiao Lou took a deep breath and looked at Shao Qingge. "It is just a suspicion. There is no clear evidence that it is really your father, right?"
Shao Qingge shook his head with a solemn face. "I haven't seen him since I was discharged from the hospital. He said that the company was too busy. Now it seems that he wasn't busy at the company. He was actually trying to clean up the organization step by step." He paused before continuing. "In addition, I asked my mother to learn about Uncle Zhong's situation. Uncle Zhong has followed my father for more than 30 years. With my father's shrewdness, how could he not know what Uncle Zhong was doing? I'm afraid that all of Uncle Zhong's actions were at his behest."
How could a housekeeper dare to come into contact with a dangerous organ trafficking organization if there weren't orders from the boss behind the scenes?
Xiao Lou was puzzled before. Now that he heard Shao Qingge's words, he felt that Shao Zhengyang was very suspicious. Perhaps Shao Zhengyang showed a suspicious point that they hadn't noticed... which clue has been overlooked?
Xiao Lou frowned and thought carefully about the experience of questioning Shao Zhengyang at the hospital.
At that time, Shao Zhengyang came to the hospital to check on his son. Xiao Lou used the excuse of 'I have something to hand over to you' to trick Shao Zhengyang into the duty room to accept Yu Hanjiang's investigation. Yu Hanjiang conducted a routine questioning on Shao Qingge's father.
Shao Zhengyang had said that he bought the kidney for 20 million gold coins. He didn't know where it was purchased from because it was his assistant who handled his matter. Then half a year ago, his assistant resigned and returned to his hometown. They could go find him if they wanted to know the details.
Yu Hanjiang asked him why he dared to use a kidney with an unknown origin and he said that as a father, it wasn't illegal to buy a kidney to save his son, right? If one day they had a child and that child was sick, they would also choose to save him at all cost.
Shao Zhengyang acted too much like an old father eager to treat his son and he provided the police with the clue of Assistant Zhong so Yu Hanjiang's investigation concentrated on the missing assistant who suddenly resigned and returned to his hometown.
Looking at it now, Shao Zhengyang knew that Uncle Zhong would be silenced so he conveniently pushed the blame onto this assistant. The police might go to investigate Uncle Zhong but he would be a dead man before the police could come into contact with him!
No wonder the actions of this mysterious organization had always been one step faster than Yu Hanjiang. From the beginning, the police investigating Uncle Zhong was a trap left by Shao Zhengyang! Moreover, when going over Shao Zhengyang's testimony, Xiao Lou found a slight loophole.
The price of the organ. It cost 20 million gold coins to buy the kidney, which was 200,000 yuan.
Shao Qingge's kidney came from the takeout deliveryman, Wang Wei. Through the investigation of Wang Wei's bank account and consumption records, it was found he suddenly had a large deposit in November last year. He bought a diamond ring worth 100,000 yuan and his mother's surgery and treatment cost was around 80,000. He also stated in the letter that he found a wedding company and wanted to prepare a romantic wedding for his girlfriend.
All of these costs added up to approximately 200,000 yuan. Wang Wei didn't have a lot of savings. He sold his right kidney and got almost 200,000 yuan. The buyer paid 200,000 and the seller got 200,000... what about the intermediary? Could it be that the mysterious organization was a charitable one that just wanted to assist in the sale of organs without charging any intermediary fees?
This was impossible. Generally speaking, the money that the buyer paid to the intermediary, the illegal clinic, should be much higher than the amount the seller received. For example, they paid 300,000 yuan to buy a kidney and the kidney seller got 200,000. The remaining 100,000 would go to the illegal clinic. This was a reasonable distribution and an important source of income for an organ trafficking organization.
Under what circumstances would the organization dispense with the intermediary fee and directly sell the organ at cost price? Only insiders could enjoy this cost price.
Uncle Zhong was an insider and helped buy a kidney for the boss' son so naturally there was no need for an expensive intermediary fee. All of the 200,000 yuan that was paid was handed over to Wang Wei, the seller of the kidney. The members of the organization didn't take any money, including the doctor who removed Wang Wei's kidney.
Shao Zhengyang naturally knew the prices of organs on the black market but a big boss like him didn't care for such a small amount of money. Therefore, when questioned by Yu Hanjiang, he subconsciously told the amount that Uncle Zhong had paid and ignored the intermediary fee...
The organ price loophole was indicating that Shao Zhengyang was actually an insider!
Xiao Lou became more shocked as he thought about it. If it really was Shao Zhengyang then all doubts could be reasonably explained. Why were Uncle Zhong and He Rong killed just as they arrived in Qingshui Town? Why was the organization clear about the movements of the police and even the movements of Shao Qingge's vehicle?
In fact, as early as the hospital when Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou questioned Shao Zhengyang about the organs, the vigilant boss realized this matter might've been exposed and was ready to silence all mouths and destroy the evidence. He wanted to kill all those who knew about him.
In this way, he would still be the powerful Boss Shao who was a respected businessman. Maybe he would start another charity and completely whitewash himself. He would safely live the rest of his life without needing to face prison.
As for Shao Qingge, his son's health wasn't good anyway. His kidney had just been replaced and now it was his heart. This was an unrelated adopted son and his kidney might be evidence of accepting organs of an unknown origin.
If necessary, this adopted son could be an 'abandoned' son.
***
The more Xiao Lou thought about it, the more confused he became. His speculation was passed onto Yu Hanjiang through their connection.
Yu Hanjiang calmly told him, "Xiao Lou, we really didn't pay close enough attention to the price issue. This was my dereliction of duty. Don't worry, the most important thing right now is to leave this basement. We can catch him once we get out."
"Yes, be careful."
Yu Hanjiang suggested, "Chief Shao's mood isn't very good. You can comfort him more."
Xiao Lou glanced back at Shao Qingge. This person's face was indeed ugly after learning the boss they were looking for was actually his father. Xiao Lou walked over and gently pressed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't think too much. This is the arrangement of the keeper."
Shao Qingge clenched his fists and pretended to be calm. "It's fine. Since he ignores our feelings and wants to kill me, I certainly won't be soft-hearted. I just... pity my weak mother. She should be unaware."
Xiao Lou sighed. How would Shao Qingge's mother be able to face all of this?
Old Mo suddenly thought of something and had a complicated expression on his face. "Chief Shao, you might be adopted but there should still be feelings after raising you for so many years. If Shao Zhengyang really wants to kill his son then there might be another possibility. Perhaps he has an illegitimate child?"
"It is possible." Shao Qingge shrugged helplessly. "He never came back during the time I was at home and rarely called my mother. Perhaps he stayed at his mistress' place. If he has an illegitimate son and his adopted son dies, he has justification to leave his assets to his actual son. Besides, I'm a sick and weak adopted son. Perhaps he is already tired of it."
Even wild beasts would look after their young. Even if it was an adopted son, how could he be so cruel? Then on second thought, it wasn't known how much blood Shao Zhengyang had on his hands. It might not be hard for him to kill Shao Qingge.
The three of them didn't speak again. This speculation made them angry and uncomfortable.
At the same time, inside the underground labyrinth. Ye Qi walked around the corner with Yu Hanjiang and simply took off his invisibility cloak.
In the monitoring center, a child suddenly appeared on the screen. The little boy jumped and flew to the ceiling. His hands and feet hooked steadily on the ceiling like there were barbs. His face turned toward the surveillance camera and a smile appeared.
The boy's eyes were as red as blood. When he smiled, there were two tiger's teeth that weren't fully developed. The man watching the surveillance was so scared that he backed away. "Fuck! Where did this kid come from?"
The woman next to him exclaimed, "That is Ye Qi!"
"The boss is right. These people do have special abilities!" He hurriedly called someone. "Brother Rong, what should I do? The group has started to break the surveillance cameras in the basement and a kid is climbing the ceiling. They seem to be invisible and it is really hard for our people to find them!"
"Enable Plan C." A cold voice was heard.
"Understood." The man put down the phone and looked at his companion beside him. "Plan C, hurry!"
The woman pressed the dark green button on the operator's station. Suddenly, a large number of devices similar to sprinklers appeared on the ceilings of all the corridors of the basement. A thick white mist was sprayed from the devices and spread rapidly in the corridors, emitting a strange scent.
Yu Hanjiang was solemn. "It is poison!"
Ye Qi was stunned. The bug king wasn't afraid of anything except fire and poison wasn't effective against him. However, Yu Hanjiang's body wouldn't be able to hold on if affected by poison. Ye Qi hurriedly whispered, "Group Leader Yu, go back. Leave destroying the surveillance cameras to me."
"Xiao Ye, break the surveillance cameras in front of us. We will withdraw first."
Ye Qi heard the instructions and quickly moved along the ceiling, his sharp nails instantly crushing the camera at the end of the corridor! Immediately afterwards, Yu Hanjiang and Ye Qi appeared in the Peach Blossom Spring at the same time.
Yu Hanjiang walked over and patted Shao Qingge on the shoulder to comfort him. He didn't say much and instead turned to Old Mo. "Old Mo, do you have the Special Effects Vaccine card?"
Old Mo wondered, "Special effects vaccine?"
"The reward card for perfectly clearing Zombie Town. We can't be poisoned for a period of time when using it," Yu Hanjiang explained in a low voice.
"I don't have this card." Old Mo touched his head awkwardly. "Zombie Town is 2 of Spades? I didn't dare look for the serum. I only got a B rating so it wasn't a perfect clearance."
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou's vaccine cards were used during the Financial Crisis instance. At that time, they forcibly dropped the zombie virus and infected a group of escaped criminals, turning them into zombies. Then they used the vaccine to fight against the infection and defend the construction site along with the other challengers.
Someone who had a vaccine card in the team... it was probably only Liu Qiao. If he remembered correctly, Xiao Liu had perfectly cleared the previous Spades rooms.
Xiao Lou simply pulled Liu Qiao into the Peach Blossom Spring after hearing about it. Liu Qiao soon appeared under the peach tree and wondered, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Lou opened his mouth. "Xiao Liu, you should have the Special Effects Vaccine card that you got from 2 of Spades, right? If I'm not wrong, there are three doses of vaccine which can keep the injected people from being poisoned for 10 minutes."
"Yes." Liu Qiao nodded, pulled out the card and handed it to Xiao Lou. "The red, yellow and blue tube vaccines are only effective against the zombie virus while the green, purple and black tubes are effective against all toxins."
"Very good." Yu Hanjiang gathered his teammates together and instructed in a low voice. "Time is limited so we need to cooperate. This underground maze is very big and I can't move through it by myself in 10 minutes. Old Mo must help identify the location. It is difficult for Old Mo to avoid the killers with guns. Xiao Liu, turn him to the size of a thumb and place him in my pocket. Both of us will be injected with the toxins vaccine then we will go find the central monitoring room as soon as possible. Liu Qiao, inject yourself with the remaining tube of vaccine. Once we press the button in the monitoring room to open the door, immediately go out and use Li Qingzhao's mark to teleport us over and pull all of us to a safe place."
Then he glanced at Xiao Lou. "Xiao Lou, continue to stay in the Peach Blossom Spring. If we are in danger, immediately pull us back. There is the poisonous fog outside so you can't go out at all without the anti-toxins vaccine. Vaccines are limited and we need two group teleports to leave here. Xiao Liu must use the light footwork card reasonably and find a safe place to mark. Please note that Li Qingzhao's mark only activates the teleportation after five minutes. There is a time delay so the moment you receive my instructions, act immediately. Do you understand?"
Everyone nodded. "We understand."
Shao Qingge walked up to Liu Qiao and whispered, "How are Long Sen and Qu Wanyue?"
Liu Qiao told him, "After we jumped out of the car and escaped, they used the Chameleon card to investigate the area. When I was pulled in by Professor Xiao, Sister Wanyue had just found a clue. She found there were many fuse wires in the ground of this building. The soil was affected by the heavy rain and a few wires were exposed. We suspect that a lot of explosives are buried under this building."
The team gasped after hearing this!
This group of lunatics might want to blow up the whole building directly. Not only would it get rid of Yu Hanjiang's group but the members of the organization who were still in the building couldn't escape either This method of wiping out evidence was really clean and neat!
Yu Hanjiang tensed and urged them, "Hurry and get vaccinated!"
He rolled up his sleeves to reveal his strong arm muscles. Xiao Lou took the needle and injected the purple vaccine in his body. Next, he injected Old Mo with the green tube, while the remaining tube was reserved for Liu Qiao to use when she went out later.
Liu Qiao took out the Thumbelina card to turn Old Mo to the size of a thumb and Yu Hanjiang put the small Old Mo into his pocket. He looked calm and firm. "Let's go. We only have 10 minutes."
Chapter 351 - Final Plan
The outside mechanisms had all been opened. At this time, the basement must be full of poisonous fog. Fortunately, Liu Qiao still had the vaccine card and they got 10 minutes of precious time. Seeing Ye Qi and Yu Hanjiang turn to leave with Old Mo, Xiao Lou hurriedly asked, "Are you going together or separately?"
Yu Hanjiang answered, "We will split up. Xiao Ye will select a place with surveillance to attract the attention of those in the control room. Old Mo and I will find the way to the control room as soon as possible to open the metal door."
Xiao Lou was worried. "Is Xiao Ye familiar with the route of the labyrinth? What if he gets lost?"
Ye Qi didn't have the confidence to navigate the labyrinth alone. He didn't have the Heart has a Tacit Exchange of Romantic Feelings channel to contact Shao Qingge and his phone had been taken. He might've become the bug king and had his physical abilities improved but if the opponent used fire, Ye Qi could be in danger alone.
Xiao Lou wouldn't allow such an 'in case' situation to happen. He looked back at Yu Hanjiang and asked, "Is Xiao Ye's Bug card still in your hand?"
"Yes." Yu Hanjiang took out the card and handed it to Xiao Lou.
A full level Bug card could release three bugs at the same time. Xiao Lou fixed one of them to Yu Hanjiang and handed the corresponding earpiece to Ye Qi. The other bug was placed on Ye Qi and the earpiece given to Yu Hanjiang. In this way, once a person spoke, the other person could hear it through the bug. This was equivalent to establishing the fastest voice channel. The remaining one was handed to Yu Hanjiang so he could eavesdrop on the enemy's movements when necessary.
Ye Qi praised it. "Great, the Bug card can still be used like this!" His Bug card was usually used to eavesdrop on others. Now they both wore one and it became like a dial-free walkie-talkie.
Xiao Lou said, "Go ahead and pay attention to safety. I will wait for your news."
Yu Hanjiang nodded and left the Peach Blossom Spring with their two teammates. The three of them came to the forked road. The area to the left had the surveillance destroyed by Yu Hanjiang previously. He looked up at the dim light on the roof and said in a low voice, "Xiao Ye, turn right and lead the killers away. Old Mo and I are wearing invisibility cloaks and we will find the location of the control room as soon as possible."
"Understood!" Ye Qi heard this and immediately shot forward like the wind.
Ye Qi had the abilities of the bug king and was extremely agile. The height of a 7 year old child also added together to make him very flexible. In the blink of an eye, he climbed along the wall to the forked path and moved to the right according to Yu Hanjiang's instructions. There was surveillance in every corner. Ye Qi looked at the flashing red camera in the corner, jumped to it and reached out his hand to smash it in an instant!
In the central monitoring room, the two people saw the little boy appearing again and looked at each other. The yellow-haired man's voice trembled. "Is this kid not afraid of poison? He actually crawled through the poisonous fog!"
The short-haired woman's expression changed slightly and her voice was cold. "Brother Rong is right. These people really have special abilities." She picked up the walkie-talkie and ordered decisively, "The little boy went to Area C. The people over there, deal with him immediately!"
The woman just finished speaking when a door in the corner of the corridor in front of Ye Qi opened and a tall man walked out. The moment Ye Qi turned the corner, he saw a black gun aimed at him. Before he could react, the man pulled the trigger. There was a bang and Ye Qi's chest was smashed. A bloody hole suddenly appeared!
Ye Qi's heart trembled with fright. If this was a normal situation, this shot would've killed him! However, the chest wound soon healed at a rate obvious to the naked eye, leaving only glaring blood stains on the clothes.
The man who came to hunt him saw that the child was shot but didn't die. He frowned and raised the submachine gun with both hands to fire ferociously at Ye Qi. For a while, there was only the sound of piercing gunshots in the entire corridor. The floor was almost turned into a sieve by the bullets! It was like a rain of bullets.
Ye Qi's senses returned and he hurriedly climbed to the ceiling to avoid the bullets. Still, this was the first time he faced such a dangerous situation. No matter how fast, he couldn't dodge that many bullets. He was hit many times in the blink of an eye and blood flowed from his body. It was just that the bug's magical healing ability meant his actions weren't affected at all and he didn't feel any pain.
The gunshots transmitted from the bug card were deafening and Yu Hanjiang hurriedly said, "Xiao Ye, keep turning left in front of you. I'll meet you!"
Ye Qi crawled along the wall like lightning. After turning left, it happened to be a place where the surveillance and lighting had been destroyed by Yu Hanjiang. He entered a dark corridor and the bug's vision in the dark was improved. Only a human's vision would be affected. Ye Qi was slightly relieved and said, "Group Leader Yu, I'm fine. The injuries have healed."
"Be careful. Go ahead and destroy the lights as well as the surveillance so they can't lock onto you."
"Understood!"
The killer found that the little boy was running away and hurriedly chased after him. He walked around the corner and found there were no lights. The man frowned and walked forward alertly. Then in the darkness, a white blade flashed before his eyes. Before he had time to react, a sharp blade cut his throat!
The man stared in disbelief and fell straight down.
Old Mo was in Yu Hanjiang's pocket. He saw Group Leader Yu simply cut the throat of a person and couldn't help being frightened. Yu Hanjiang calmly put away the knife. He walked forward quickly and asked Old Mo, "What is the route?"
Old Mo took a deep breath. "This labyrinth is twice as big as the one we encountered in Antai Garden. If we repeatedly search through it, we might not be able to find the control room in 10 minutes."
Yu Hanjiang nodded. "What are your thoughts?"
Old Mo thought carefully. "Judging from the route we took just now, this labyrinth is still made up of countless '回' shaped corridors. We were detained in the eastern area and they were all rooms with iron doors. No special rooms were found. The control room should be in the central or western region. Let's try to take shortcuts instead of detours. Go in a straight line to investigate!"
Yu Hanjiang believed in Old Mo's judgment and told Ye Qi, "Xiao Ye, you are now in the northernmost corridor. Go straight ahead. Don't take any forks in the road and observe if there are any abnormalities in the rooms in the corridor. In addition, pay attention to safety."
Ye Qi's clear voice came from the bug. "Okay!"
The three of them divided the path. Ye Qi crawled along the longest passage in the north while Yu Hanjiang and Old Mo went along the south side passage all the way to the west. They didn't turn when encountering a forked road and went forward at the fastest speed.
In the blink of an eye, the three of them arrived at the far west. There was only a wall in front of them and no other path.
Yu Hanjiang followed Old Mo's instructions and went north a certain distance. Then at the fork in the road, he turned and headed east.
This course of action pointed out by Old Mo was equivalent to going one path all the way to the end and then taking another path all the way to the end in the opposite direction. This wouldn't make people dizzy and the speed of investigation would be the fastest.
There were many surveillance cameras in the area where Ye Qi appeared and killers kept coming out. Fortunately, he learned his lesson and destroyed all the lights along the way as well. In the dark, it was difficult for these killers to target him accurately. He swiftly climbed the walls, crushing the cameras and light bulbs on the ceiling.
The surveillance screens in the control room turned black one after another. The killers moved but it was hard for them to find Ye Qi. Seeing the child quickly sabotage a large area of surveillance, the yellow-haired man felt horror. "This child isn't afraid of poison or bullets? He was shot so many times and his entire body is bloody yet he isn't dead. What is his origin...."
The short-haired woman spoke coldly. "It seems the final plan has to be used."
The man asked curiously, "Sister Qing, what is the final plan?"
There were buttons of different colors on the console. The first blue button was to lower the metal wall. The second green button activated the poisonous fog, allowing the corridors to be filled with a highly toxic fog. It wasn't known what the third red button was for.
The woman took a deep breath. "Brother Rong told me to press the red button if the poisonous fog isn't enough to deal with these people. This will start the final plan. I don't know what it is but Brother Rong said it can definitely kill them."
The yellow-haired man exclaimed, "Then why aren't you pressing it? Press it!"
The woman didn't speak. Her slender finger was gently placed on the red button as she frowned thoughtfully.
***
Meanwhile, under Old Mo's guidance, Yu Hanjiang had checked half the area of the labyrinth at the fastest speed. However, most of the labyrinth contained empty rooms. They had been away from the Peach Blossom Spring for five minutes and the vaccine only worked for 10 minutes. If the control room wasn't found before the vaccine ended, they would never be able to go out again.
Yu Hanjiang stared at the seemingly endless corridor in front of him and a sharp light flashed in his eyes. He ordered in a deep voice, "Faster."
His speed had actually reached its limit. In his pocket, Old Mo felt like he was on a plane and felt dizzy. Recognizing the direction in such a situation was a challenge for Old Mo. Just then, Ye Qi's voice entered Yu Hanjiang's ear. "Group Leader Yu, I found a file room full of cabinets!"
Yu Hanjiang told him, "Go in and take a look. If it is useful information then take it away."
Ye Qi responded positively and climbed flexibly down from the wall into the room.
The area of this room was larger than the ordinary rooms. There were three walls of filing cabinets and each cabinet was densely packed with documents. Ye Qi intuitively felt that these documents were related to the organization's organ trafficking so he hurriedly opened one. He saw that the front page had these words written: Informed consent form for a heart transplant.
Sure enough! This was the base camp of the organization. Ye Qi immediately reported it to Yu Hanjiang. "It is likely to contain the patients' information. There are too many of them! I can only use the teleportation card to move them and pass them to Professor Xiao!"
Ye Qi usually used his teleportation card to carry his teammate but in fact, this card didn't have a limit on what to carry. There was only a limit on the weight. He could teleport up to 100 kilograms.
There might be many documents but they were all paper and the total amount didn't exceed 100 kilograms. It was just that it was difficult for Ye Qi to teleport so many file cabinets in the narrow corridors. He thought of a way to bring the file cabinets with the teleportation card. Xiao Lou transferred him back to the Peach Blossom Spring so that he could bring the documents into the Peach Blossom Spring. Then they would be handed over to Shao Qingge who also had a teleportation card.
This reached Xiao Lou's mind through the Heart has a Tacit Exchange of Romantic Feelings connection and he immediately summoned Ye Qi back. The team members discovered that Ye Qi appeared in the Peach Blossom Spring with three file cabinets large enough to crush him. The time was urgent and Ye Qi couldn't explain in detail. He just told Shao Qingge, "This is information I found. I'll leave it to you, Chief Shao!"
Then he disappeared before everyone's eyes and entered the maze again.
However, Shao Qingge clenched his fists. He saw that Ye Qi's body was covered with blood! It wasn't known how many bullets Ye Qi had in his body but his clothes were red with blood and his face was covered with blood drops. His expression showed he didn't feel any pain but Shao Qingge felt a strong heartache.
His body in this secret room originally had a weak heart and the pain in his heart was magnified a hundredfold, making him unable to breath for a while. Xiao Lou was about to look through the files when he found that Shao Qingge's face was extremely pale. He couldn't help asking in concern, "Chief Shao, what's wrong?"
Shao Qingge glanced at Xiao Lou with clenched fists. "The bug king effect only lasts 24 hours. The injuries caused by bullets can be healed but the bullets are still left in Ye Qi's body."
Xiao Lou was stunned. He hadn't expected this but Shao Qingge had used the Bug King card himself and even before obtaining it he had been a bug himself, so he should know the function of this card best. Xiao Lou trembled. "Do you mean that the bug king's healing ability won't remove the bullets in his body? Then Xiao Ye..."
Shao Qingge's expression was very ugly. "At first, I thought the bug queen was immune to bullets and she was only afraid of fire. Now it seems that bullets can be shot into the bug's body without causing pain to the bug and the wound can heal immediately. However, Ye Qi isn't a true bug after all. The transformation only lasts 24 hours. The bullets that have been shot into the body can't be removed. Only the trauma is healed."
Shao Qingge paused before enunciating clearly, "After 24 hours, Ye Qi will turn back into an ordinary person and the bullets left in his body will kill him!"
In other words, they didn't only need to leave the basement covered in explosives in 10 minutes. They also needed to clear this secret room within 24 hours. Xiao Ye had been hit multiple times and had bullets in many places inside his body. Once he changed back to an ordinary person, the consequences would be disastrous!
Xiao Lou thought of the little child covered in blood and felt incomparable regret. "We were careless. We shouldn't have let Xiao Ye take such risks..."
The blue veins on Shao Qingge's hands bulged and his eyes were dark and murky. He spoke in a low and hoarse voice, "Unfortunately, this is the only way. These assassins have machine guns and the invisibility cloak can't block bullets. If Group Leader Yu and Old Mo are shot then they will die on the spot! Ye Qi can lure them away from Group Leader Yu. We can only pray that Group Leader Yu will find the control room as soon as possible."
Otherwise, all the team members would be buried together.