With no interest in chatting, the group fell silent again after Luo Wen’an answered Xu Song’s question.
The smell inside the sewer was far from pleasant, but fortunately, the shelter was relatively new and the strange cold weather made it bearable. The eerie cold in the air seemed to freeze everything, and everyone wore at least one mask on their face, looking cautious and careful as they followed Yue Zheng.
Based on the results of Xiao Shu’s exploration the previous day, they had drawn a rough diagram of the underground water pipes in the shelter. Now, that diagram was etched into Xu Song’s mind, and Yue Zheng’s memory is not bad, he has no problem remembering the route to the laboratory if he focused on that part.
At this moment, the twins and Xiao Shu were left at home. After considering the risks of exposing the children to potential dangers in the laboratory, they decided it was best not to take them along. The children were too young, and their mobility was severely limited. While they wouldn’t mind bringing them along for preliminary surveying missions, the current infiltration operation has many potential dangers, so they prioritized the safety of the two children.
The journey through the sewers was long, with various forks in the path. Fortunately, at this time, there were few people who needed to use the toilet…
“This way,” Yue Zheng said as they passed through the main underground passage and found the slanted pipe that led to the laboratory. The shape of this particular pipe was rather peculiar. One end led to the sea, while the other end served as the terminal for the entire shelter’s sewage system. The pipe to the laboratory was connected to it at a slightly deeper location.
The underground world had no starry sky, and even the air felt stagnant. Each person wore at least one mask, and their expressions were tense as they followed Yue Zheng cautiously.
After about half an hour of walking, they finally found the pipe that led directly to the laboratory in a relatively secluded and dark spot.
“Just a little further,” Yue Zheng said, relieved to see that the pipe matched the diagram. He cautiously entered first.
Luo Wen’an and the others couldn’t help but wipe their sweat in excitement. Although they didn’t know if Liu Shishi was inside or not, they could at least see a glimmer of hope before them.
They ascended the slope, their flashlights occasionally illuminating the damp walls. The only sound in the tunnel was the echo of their footsteps. Since the drainage system was newly built and hadn’t attracted any creatures to inhabit it yet, they hadn’t encountered any mutated creatures either.
“Wait!” Yue Zheng’s footsteps suddenly halted, and he raised his hand to signal the others.
“What’s wrong?” The group became tense and stared into the pitch-black darkness ahead, unable to discern anything.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“There’s surveillance equipment.” It wasn’t a camera, of course, even if the shelter had installed surveillance in this location, they wouldn’t want to subject themselves to the nauseating “view” every day.
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However, Han Yue and Liu Xu were somewhat puzzled and suspicious. It was pitch-black here, and they didn’t have any special equipment. How did he know there would be surveillance devices here? Or could it be… there really was an ambush ahead? Did Yue Zheng deliberately lead the two of them here?
Before they could figure out what was going on, Yue Zheng had already roughly identified the object in a relatively safe position. It seemed to be a sonic device, perhaps not intended to prevent theft, but rather to prevent any mutated creatures from infiltrating the underground drainage system and damaging the equipment in the laboratory.
“It’s a sonic device.” At the current distance, they hadn’t reached the range where the device could be detected. Yue Zheng once again appreciated the power of his ability. Ever since he discovered the effect of that crystal, they hadn’t deliberately done anything, but as long as they kept it close, they felt a gradual warmth gathering around their bodies. Now, he clearly felt that his night vision had almost reached the level of a normal person’s daytime vision in terms of range and clarity.
“Sound waves? Can they be damaged from this distance?” Xu Song looked towards the pitch-black darkness ahead. He didn’t know exactly where the equipment was, but he knew it was up ahead.
“Even if we can attack it remotely, I’m afraid the sound of breaking through the air will be recorded and alert them above,” Yue Zheng said, not willing to take the risk. They only had one chance, and they couldn’t afford any mistakes that would interrupt or damage it.
“What if we walk softly?” Luo Wen’an, who was following behind, quickly suggested.
“I remember your fireballs don’t make any sound while flying, right?” Yue Zheng suddenly asked.
“Yeah, it seems so, but I can’t see where that thing is,” Xu Song nodded. The fire he emitted was peculiar. Unlike regular flames that make a burning sound, it only produces a sound upon hitting the target.
“Then, if it burns that thing, will there be any sound?” Su Tanji quickly reminded.
“If the temperature is high enough, it will burn instantly. As long as we successfully hit it with one strike, it won’t cause any immediate issues,” Yue Zheng confirmed. “Come on, I’ll guide you in the right direction.”
Xu Song stood in front of Yue Zheng, following the direction he indicated with his hand, estimating the position of the device.
Having his back pressed against Yue Zheng’s chest, Xu Song felt warm and secure. Any lingering anxiety he had previously disappeared completely.
Raising his hand, a red fireball leaped from his palm. With his intent, the fireball compressed, kneaded, and transformed until it shrank to one-third of its original size.
The red light illuminated their faces, casting a faint red hue.
Han Yue and Liu Xu, who were at the back, also forgot about their doubts and looked at the gentle red fireball with surprise.
Following Yue Zheng’s guidance, the fireball flew from Xu Song’s hand, floating and drifting without making a sound. It concentrated directly on the target according to Xu Song’s intent.
“Crackle!” The device was burned to ashes with a single strike, leaving only a wire with a few sparks.
“Will they notice that the device is disabled?”
“I don’t think so, at least for now,” Yue Zheng shook his head. “If I’m not mistaken, this kind of device only triggers an alarm when it receives sound above a certain decibel level. Sounds below that threshold won’t attract their attention.”
“How many times would they have to come down here to check? It would keep them busy every day,” Su Tanji shrugged his shoulders at the others.
“Let’s continue. If anything seems off, we’ll immediately retreat the same way,” Yue Zheng agreed. That’s why they decided to get rid of the device directly. Yue Zheng speculated that the device was likely installed in the laboratory because the people there had encountered mutant creatures in the sewer before, so they installed it as a precautionary measure.
But this device was different from surveillance cameras. No one would be staring at it 24/7.
Sure enough, at a corner not far ahead, there was another identical device. Xu Song used a small fireball to burn it, turning it into charred remains, with only a few ashes falling into the sewage, slowly making their way toward the sea.
The construction of the sewage pipeline in the laboratory is very strange. It does not lead directly to the main pipeline of the city, but there are several fake passages and even forks. The purpose of the other passages are unknown to them, as Xiao Shu had only observed the pipelines from the outside and doesn’t know what is in those other passages.
Yue Zheng could not help but think those were traps, so they never ventured there and only went through the correct pipelines.
Indeed, there were traps in the diverging paths, and almost all of them were set up in those areas. After all, the pipeline that directly led to the laboratory was meant for sewage disposal. They initially believed that using sound wave monitoring would be enough as a precaution, so they didn’t install any additional measures.
These traps were originally meant to prevent individuals with supernatural abilities from infiltrating stealthily and to deter mutant creatures from entering. But who would have expected that someone would explore the entire sewer system from the outside soil, not even taking a detour through the diverging paths and finding the correct route directly?
Once triggered, these traps would release a large amount of toxic and corrosive substances from the lower rooms of the laboratory directly into the sewer, instantly eliminating any intruding creatures. Yue Zheng and the others, lacking a sense of adventure, inadvertently escaped the danger. Xu Song’s small fireball also benefited from its silent nature and didn’t trigger any of the devices. They were quite fortunate, to say the least.
After a series of twists and turns, they soon arrived directly beneath the laboratory.
“How do we get in? It can’t be that we’ll climb out from their toilet, right…” The smell inside the sewage pipe was already making several people feel dizzy. If they had to climb out from a toilet… let them vomit for a while first.
“No, we won’t.” Yue Zheng shook his head. After confirming that there were no devices near the access point, he was the first to climb in.
Reluctantly, the others followed suit. Han Yue, the only woman in the group, almost burst into tears after walking through the sewer for over an hour when she realized they had to climb up pipes.
Fortunately, when they climbed up, they discovered that this area was relatively flat, unlike the sewer pipes below. On one side was the sewage outlet, while on the other side was a peculiar device containing something inside. From its appearance, it looked like a box that could be tilted at any time to pour its contents into the sewage tank. On the other side of the room, there was a ladder leading upwards.
“What’s this?” The smell here had become much more pleasant, and Liu Xu was now in the mood to ask questions.
“It’s not something good.” Yue Zheng furrowed his brows slightly, his sense of smell has evolved as well. The device was sealed tightly, but he could still detect a scent from it, a scent that resembled a strong acid found only in laboratories or chemical plants.
Looking at the sewage outlet directly in front of the device, he decided it would be better not to voice his guess. Otherwise, no one would dare to leave from here later.
Seeing Liu Xu’s puzzled look, Han Yue pulled on his arm, indicating that it would be better not to ask further questions.
Thank you for the chapter!♥️❤️♥️♥️❤️♥️❤️
Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️
The mission begins ! Thank you for the chapter 💐