Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 588: Recognition of Strength

"No available connection channel found."

"Multiple low-level teleporters detected."

"No similar energy classes were found."

With the help of the camouflage module, Han Zu reached the deepest part of the fifth underground level without even having to fight. This was the foundation of the entire underground area. It was constructed using numerous synthetic metal supports and a specially prepared concrete concrete. It was extremely solid, reaching the construction level of a nuclear bunker. If we consider its energy defense capabilities alone, this foundation even surpassed the protection level of a nuclear bunker by a considerable margin. This clearly showed that the investors and owners of the underground area had invested considerable financial, material, and energy resources in this area.

However, based on the information Han Zu had gained from the underground system, which he had infiltrated through the contractor's equipment, he learned something that, while notable, was not entirely unexpected. The entire underground area, aside from the underground research institute further down, the five upper floors did not entirely belong to the Feidenan family. Many legitimate researchers, from all over the world, were present there.

However, there was one thing that was a bit strange. In these five floors, Han Zu did not see anyone from the Unlimited Company. He did see some familiar faces, but those personnel and scientists could only be considered to have some connection with the Unlimited Company. They did not know much about the Unlimited Company. Moreover, according to their background checks, the areas of contact these people had with the Unlimited Company were mostly harmless and purely academic.

The Infinite Company is like a giant octopus, its tentacles spread across the globe. Almost any important facility, save for a few secret military bases, can be found with the presence of someone closely associated with the Infinite Company. And yet, none of the people on the fifth floor were there, which was truly odd. Han Zu learned from Christina that the Feidenan family didn't have the strength to compete with the Infinite Company. So, to evade the Infinite Company and establish a secret underground research facility right under their noses was no mean feat, even with the cover of the five upper floors.

Han Zu had never seen anyone else possess the same or similar abilities as Christina, with their nearly unlimited teleportation abilities. If, as she claimed, her abilities came from the underground research facility below, then he definitely needed to go down and investigate how they achieved this. Perhaps the secrets of this underground research facility were the very reason the Feidenan family dared to challenge the Infinite Company.

But entering the underground laboratory below was not easy. First, it was several kilometers away from the five floors above. Second, there was no conventional entrance, and access was only possible through a special teleportation device. Furthermore, after inspection and scanning of the underground laboratory by the contractor's equipment, no special symbols or anything similar were found, so Han Zu could not use energy resonance to teleport silently there.

Using the contractor's equipment to override the underground research institute's permissions was a piece of cake. Han Zu could easily modify the teleportation anchor point and use the contractor's equipment to establish a temporary teleportation channel, teleporting in through the underground research institute's equipment without triggering any alarms. However, even if he could ignore the underground research institute's security system, the personnel within the institute were not blind. The sudden appearance of someone who did not belong to the institute would certainly arouse suspicion. Fortunately, there were other ways. Han Zu could use unconventional physical methods to open up a path to the underground research institute below.

Taking advantage of the guard change time on the fifth floor, Han Zu immediately entered a small biological specimen storage room. The contractor's equipment covered the system and turned off the alarm here. While there was no one around, Han Zu used the contractor's equipment to calculate the distance, control the energy output, and shoot high-energy rays vertically downward. In just one second, a deep pit deep enough for Han Zu to pass through appeared in front of him. About one kilometer of rock was instantly vaporized by the high-energy rays, forming a straight vertical shaft.

Controlling the ventilation system to dissipate the heat and odor generated by the gasification of the rock, Han Zu took a step forward and fell straight down the shaft. Before hitting the bottom of the shaft, Han Zu used his flying ability to hover and began to use his perspective ability to observe the surrounding environment.

At the bottom of the shaft, two meters to the right, is the corner at the end of a corridor in the underground laboratory. This area is rarely visited, but occasionally automated sample carts pass by. These carts are propulsed by electromagnetic levitation, without tracks above the floor or ceiling. This suspended track runs through one-third of the underground laboratory and has more than a dozen stops. The system operating the automated track is equipped with a sophisticated alarm system. If a sample cart fails to stop at a stop, even for a short time, or even if the power is cut off, the alarm will be immediately triggered. The track is also equipped with extensive surveillance equipment and a supporting garrison.

But at another location 200 meters away, a special situation occurred. For some reason, that location was filled with deadly nerve gas. It seemed that an accident had occurred in a laboratory, and personnel on the periphery were currently handling the emergency. However, since this nerve gas cannot be completely isolated from the human body by anti-toxic equipment, the nearest person is still dozens of meters away from this place. They are using special protective plates to prevent the gas from spreading outward, and the effect is quite good. However, because of this, the concentration of the gas in the middle of the area blocked by the protective plate is abnormally high, reaching an invisible level. The gas can only be slowly discharged from this area through specific ventilation holes.

The automated hovering carts carrying biological samples, however, were not affected due to their fully enclosed nature, allowing them to continue passing through the gas-covered area normally. However, for safety reasons, a separate disinfection station was located on the exit side to disinfect the exterior of the carts passing through the gas-covered area. Each time a cart stopped for disinfection, the alarm system on the track would be temporarily deactivated for a few minutes. This presented an opportunity that could be exploited.

The poisonous gas, which would be fatal to ordinary people, was no problem for Han Zu. He found the right opportunity and took advantage of the temporary deactivation of the orbital alarm to reach the center of the dense poisonous gas. Because the highly toxic gas was flammable, Han Zu did not use high-energy rays to directly open a large hole in the wall. Instead, he restrained his speed and strength and dug a piece of the wall with his fingers, successfully entering the underground research institute.

Judging by the size of these automated carts, Han Zu was able to hide them there. Without stopping, he took the biological samples from one of them and threw them into a laboratory in the area covered by the poison gas. When he opened the door, Han Zu discovered that all the researchers inside had died, all from poisoning.

After successfully hiding inside the cart, Han Zu closed its hatch. Using his clairvoyance, he observed the situation outside. Soon, his cart left the toxic area and entered the disinfection station. After disinfection, Han Zu followed the cart and successfully entered other areas of the underground research institute, arriving at one of the cart docks. This place appeared to be a laboratory for preparing reagents using biological samples, but it was currently empty.

"Om~"

There were some automatic robotic arms responsible for transferring the samples. After the hatch was opened, Han Zu flew out of the cart before the robotic arms extended and modified the operating data of the robotic arms, making it think that it had completed the transfer.

Han Zu briefly explored the lab and found some reagents stored in a refrigerator. The contractor's analysis revealed these reagents to be powerful catalysts capable of significantly increasing cell growth in a short period of time. The analysis confirmed that these catalysts were highly effective and, having undergone special treatment, had no side effects. Han Zu even tried a bottle himself, but, as expected, it had no effect on him.

At the lab's terminal, Han Zu found several labs in need of this catalyst. There were about three or four of them, two of which were plant research labs, one was a cell lab, and one had no name, only a number. It was not far from here, only a dozen meters away. Through analysis of the underground research institute's structural diagram using the contractor's equipment, this laboratory, with only a number, was actually across the hallway from the reagent lab.

Using his clairvoyance to peer across, Han Zu saw a laboratory identical to Christina's description: a place where everyone was immobilized and unable to move. Han Zu could see a large number of experimental subjects—people—bound together in small cubicles. There were only a few, just over a hundred of them. Their conditions were similar to Christina's description, lying flat on metal supports, connected to various testing and life-support tubes.

However, unlike Christina's description, most of the people inside were in an unconscious state. Through observation, it was found that some researchers were injecting something into the experimental targets in batches. Judging from the appearance of the container, it should be the powerful catalyst in the laboratory where she was.

The effects of these powerful catalysts on the test subjects were highly pronounced. Some could not withstand the effects of the catalysts, and their bodies underwent drastic changes, either exploding and dying or rapidly awakening from unconsciousness, uttering a painful wail before suddenly dying. According to the contractor's equipment, after being injected with the powerful catalyst, these deceased individuals underwent a transformation in just one minute that would normally take a year to complete.

Although over 20 of the over 100 experimental subjects had already perished in just a few minutes, quite a few survived the catalyst's effects, with two or three subjects managing to survive. Just as their health indicators gradually stabilized, other researchers, dressed differently from those in the lab, appeared. They quickly moved the subjects who had survived the catalyst from their original locations onto medical carts equipped with restraints and swiftly transported them away.

Using a disguise module, Han Zu disguised himself as one of the transporters and followed the others who arrived at the lab. He infiltrated the lab where the catalyst was being injected, pushing another person who had survived the catalyst's effects. He followed the others down the corridor and into an elevator. After exiting the elevator, Han Zu was able to confirm that he had left the previous floor and arrived at a higher level. His final destination was a special room that Christina had not described.

Although this place was also filled with researchers and had many instruments needed for biological research, it looked more like a slaughterhouse than a regular laboratory. And the activities going on inside were indeed not much different from those in a slaughterhouse.

According to Han Zu's observation, those who survived the influence of the catalyst would be immediately placed on a research operating table by the researchers after being sent to this place. After fixing the other party, they would inject a stimulant into the fixed experimental target, which has a similar effect to adrenaline. However, the main function of this drug is to wake up those unconscious guys and keep them awake.

Once the subjects regained consciousness, the researchers would perform live surgery to remove their organs. However, the organs removed were inconsistent, leading Han Zu to suspect they had some kind of standard. After the organs were removed, their bodies, or those still alive, were immediately removed. Although Han Zu hadn't been there to investigate, their fate was likely to be incineration. Whether they were burned alive or dead was of little importance.

The organs removed from them, regardless of type but distinguishing between individual specimens, were placed in a special machine that crushed and pulverized them, thoroughly draining away excess moisture. The remaining parts were then heated, dried, and finally ground into a powder, which was then placed in sealed containers containing other chemicals. These containers were then placed in a multifunctional blender with a temperature-controlled system for thorough mixing. The resulting mixture was then placed in a special storage box for transport to the next laboratory.

Continuing to change shape, Han Zu followed the boxes to the next laboratory, which was more like a packaging assembly line than a laboratory. A fully automated assembly line closed the boxes and sealed them with a high degree of sealing. Once sealed, the boxes were conveyed by the assembly line to the next room. There, the sealed boxes were placed into a protective box for a second sealing. These sealed boxes were then loaded directly onto transport carts by programmed robotic arms and transported directly to various conveyor systems within the underground laboratory for transport out of the facility.

Han Zu didn't rush to find out where the protective boxes had been sent. Instead, he returned and continued exploring another part of the institute. According to Christina, there should be a special laboratory with an observation room here, where she first awakened her teleportation ability. This place did exist, but for some unknown reason, it was sealed off. Han Zu searched for information, but found no description of it in the institute's system.

"Unstable biological signals detected, assessing threat level..."

"Completed, Threat Level: Low."

The general situation of the underground research institute was consistent with what Christina had said. On this matter, she was indeed telling the truth. Just as Han Zu confirmed this and was about to teleport away, the contractor's equipment suddenly detected an unstable life signal. The source of this life signal was the completely sealed special laboratory behind him.

"Since we're here, it's not a bad idea to go and take a look."