Chapter 30: Underground Testing Center

Xi ang Yang scoffed and patted his chest proudly, "I’ve seen all kinds of situations, don’t underestimate me." Lu Ren said nothing, or rather, he didn’t want to talk to Xiang Yang at all; their intentions were no different from the girl he saved earlier. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Xiang Yang said, "The top might have been destroyed." Lu Ren’s face was expressionless, "So, this passage is temporarily unusable?" "Uh, I remember my dad said there’s another emergency exit below, and several delivery passages. This concealed elevator is just for researchers to quickly enter the underground test center after clocking in." Well, these people still have to clock in. Lu Ren exhaled, "Let’s go down and see what it looks like." With the top path destroyed and giant bulls guarding it, Lu Ren could only look for a new way out. Just waiting here until time runs out isn’t necessarily safe either. In unknown territories, he’d rather understand the surrounding environment to find the safest area to wait. Besides, who knows what Xiang Yang is still hiding. Lu Ren will have to slowly strip everything away to find out. After a pause, Lu Ren asked, "Who is your father, and why does he know so much?" Without hiding anymore, Xiang Yang cheerfully replied, "He used to be Dr. Chen Guohua’s assistant, so he knows a lot, including how to shut down the alternate space passage." "How old was he then?" "When he found me, he was already seventy-one." Upon hearing this, Lu Ren couldn’t help but look at Xiang Yang, whose face was calm and grateful. It was apparent that this matter weighed heavily on him, or rather, he was extremely thankful for the nurturing from a father not biologically his own. "Your father probably didn’t want you to come here, did he?" "Yes, when he was severely injured and unable to recover, he repeatedly urged me to live seriously and find the human survival base, rather than loitering in Haizhou City." Repeatedly... Lu Ren’s expression was odd; with Xiang Yang’s temperament, such repetition might instead evoke a desire to try it out. From his back pouch, Xiang Yang pulled out a notebook, "My father was afraid his memory would fade, so he recorded everything here. Over the past three years, I’ve repeatedly looked at it, and it’s still engraved in my mind." Lu Ren’s fingers moved unconsciously, asking as if casually, "Is everything recorded in there?" "Of course not, some particularly crucial things my father said shouldn’t be written in the notebook." Lu Ren lowered his hand, "Alright." "What happened back then?" "The moment the alternate space opened, the contaminating energy quickly spread throughout the test center base. All the researchers, security personnel, and everyone got attacked by this energy, then turned into monsters. My father was there testing the escape device at that time. When the base sounded the contamination alarm, he immediately activated the escape device to dodge the initial wave of contamination energy tide, thus survived." Lu Ren’s face changed slightly upon hearing this. "So, the place we’re going down to is where the contaminating energy is most concentrated?" Xi ang Yang nodded, "Of course, but don’t worry, since you haven’t mutated due to the contaminating energy since birth, it means your body hasn’t been infected by the mutation. So, even if the special energy is dense, you shouldn’t be affected." "Shouldn’t?" Lu Ren’s face darkened further; he couldn’t accept gambling like this. Letting others decide his fate completely shows irresponsibility towards his life. This feeling was unpleasant; improving his strength further was necessary. Even Xi ang Yang was somewhat tense, looking serious, "Rest assured, if you happen to mutate suddenly, I’ll be the first to act." Lu Ren stayed expressionless, "Even if I mutate first, I’ll kill you." Xiang Yang: "You’re ruthless!" "No need to say more to someone dragging me down." "I..." Xiang Yang was left speechless. To be honest, if one is from this world, after realizing Xiang Yang may be the only hope to save it, one might undoubtedly join him without hesitation and even pave the way with one’s life. Unfortunately, Lu Ren wasn’t; he solely wanted to survive for seven days before escaping from this nearly extinct world, but for some reason, he wondered whether destiny or unexpected opportunities brought him here on his journey. Wanting to hide yet ending up here. Initially, he shouldn’t have interacted with Xiang Yang; resentment lay in meeting humans from the Otherworld for the first time, indeed slightly intriguing. He was still too young! After a full three minutes, the sliding elevator slowly paused. Judging by the descending speed, Lu Ren felt the test center was at least a kilometer below ground. "We’ve arrived." Xi ang Yang’s spirit lifted, and he drew his dagger, cautiously observing the soon-to-open elevator doors. Lu Ren also gripped his dual swords tightly, not daring to be careless. Who knows what monsters might lurk in the center opened after decades. As the elevator doors slowly opened, what met Lu Ren’s eyes was a silver-white metal corridor leading directly to a heavy alloy gate, with the ceiling lights still functioning. Apart from a seemingly long black mark dragged across the ground, the metal corridor seemed spotless. This scene was eerily familiar! Are there laser arrays? Lu Ren was surprised, "Is this test center still operational?" Xi ang Yang nodded slightly, "My father told me this test center’s energy source is a cold nuclear power furnace. Even without maintenance, it can run for at least two hundred years, plus there’s a backup energy system—a miniature fusion reactor—that can sustain the entire base at full power for a century. Moreover, the entire test center almost halted. If just maintaining lighting and other power systems, it might last an extremely long time." Lu Ren couldn’t help but ponder if the world’s energy had truly been liberated according to Xiang Yang. Exploration of the stars would certainly have immense motivation. Maybe they’ve given up on this planet entirely. "Where should we go first? Let me see." Stopping, Xiang Yang opened the notebook, flipping through pages while muttering. "The entire experimental base has five levels: the first level is the office area, the second is the scientific project area, the third spans a hundred-kilometer-long high-energy particle acceleration setup, with the alternate space there. The fourth level is the supply depot, and the fifth holds various system power assemblages. Where we need to go isn’t far; it’s the monitoring center on the first level, capable of overseeing the entire test center area if the monitoring system is still operational." Lu Ren couldn’t resist glancing sideways, "Your plans are clear!" Xi ang Yang shyly replied, "My father used to mutter these beside me, gradually forming such a plan." "Borrowed knowledge, I see." "It’s not borrowed knowledge; it’s inheriting my father’s work. Let’s go!" Xi ang Yang replied and was about to walk forward, but Lu Ren pulled him back, looking solemn, "Won’t this corridor be full of traps?" Xi ang Yang rolled his eyes, "You’ve watched too many old movies... though there are security systems." Lu Ren: "..." Should one stay here, fearing getting killed by lasers? She pointed to the seemingly impenetrable alloy door. "If the password is incorrect three times, the alert systems here will activate. But seeing it’s been nearly fifty years since opened, perhaps it’s rusted inside."