CHAPTER 350: CHAPTER 347 [NOT A GOOD IDEA]

Chapter 347: Not a Good Idea

Chen Nuo frowned and glanced at the man. "You mean... mutation?"

"Yes. The two technicians from the Captain’s group suddenly went mad and attacked you, right?"

"Our group..." Luke glanced at the Wizard. Seeing that the Wizard had no objection, he spoke softly, "The technician who went missing from our group also suddenly started screaming and howling like a madman. Only, he didn’t get a chance to act aggressively before the ground collapsed beneath him. After that, he was yelling and screaming down there... No matter how we shouted, he just wouldn’t calm down. In the end, he just disappeared without a trace."

Having said this, Luke slowly continued, "Didn’t you notice? The mutated individuals... they’re all ordinary people."

"And the convoy outside," Chen Nuo frowned. "We have no idea what happened to Vanel’s group. If they were attacked... then logically speaking, those creatures would also be inside the barrier, unable to leave. The attackers... Could it have been their own people who mutated?"

Just then, Nolan’s communicator suddenly emitted a squawk.

Nolan pressed his headset. "Upstairs—"

Before he could finish, an anxious voice came from the communicator, sounding like one of Nolan’s armed men. "Nolan... sir... attack... AH!!!"

The communication was intermittent, the signal apparently poor. It was interspersed with cries of alarm, screams of agony, and the sound of gunshots!

Finally, with a piercing scream of "AH!!!" the communication ended.

The group exchanged glances and simultaneously rushed outside!

When the five of them rushed out, passing the interior experimental area, they saw several technicians staring in terror at something outside from behind the reinforced isolation glass.

Nolan quickly gestured to them. "Carry on with your tasks!! Quick!! Prepare to evacuate!!"

The command center on the ground level was already a mess. The tables in the middle had been overturned, and there were bullet holes in the walls.

By the time Chen Nuo and the others entered the command center, there were already five bodies on the ground: four armed personnel and one technician who had been with the Wizard’s group.

All five of them had died horribly.

Two of them clearly had their faces and throats ripped open, their thermal suits torn apart. The other three were riddled with bullet holes. One of them had his head missing, as if it had been sliced off by some sharp object!

Indeed, Chen Nuo saw a severed head with bulging eyes in a corner, its face hideous and its expression terrifying.

The situation was quickly clarified.

While the five of them had been down below, the lone remaining technician from the Wizard’s group had gone berserk—the first to mutate! He attacked a nearby armed person, killing him on the spot, and was then shot dead in the chaos. During the fight, armed personnel also began to mutate, killing a comrade—the one who had reported to Nolan via communicator. Then, in the battle, the Ability Users killed all the mutators, with one of the mutators having his head chopped off by an Ability User.

After clarifying the situation, Chen Nuo and the others subconsciously glanced at Luke.

The Wizard’s follower seemed a bit pale and shrank back when he was looked at.

The mutated ones were all ordinary people?!

Chen Nuo pondered for a moment. Could it be because... ordinary people’s spiritual power is weaker, more easily controlled, and more prone to madness?

Nolan was giving orders for the aftermath, gathering the remaining four Ability Users to announce the situation.

Chen Nuo, however, walked over to the bodies alone—mainly to check the mutators.

Soon after, he went to the corner, crouched down, and looked closely at the severed head of the mutator. The cut on the neck was neat, but Chen Nuo immediately determined it had not been cut by a knife or an axe. Instead, an Ability User had used air slicing...

Chen Nuo stole a glance at one of the four Ability Users, accurately judging who had made the move. The action had been decisive.

However...

He reached out and gently touched the deceased’s eyelid, not to close his eyes, but to forcibly widen them a little. The rim of the eye was rife with blood vessels, as if severely engorged. So much so that the edges of the eyeball looked like burst blood vessels.

Chen Nuo frowned...

He hesitated for a moment, then released a very faint Spiritual Force Tentacle, penetrating the man’s head...

The brain had many severe hemorrhages. It was as if this person’s brain had been filled with an unbearable force and then burst from the pressure?

Just then, Chen Nuo suddenly felt his Spiritual Force Tentacles sense a very faint fluctuation within the dead mutator’s brain. But when he checked again, there were no more anomalies.

Could it be the nervous response of a dead body?

Not convinced, Chen Nuo used his spiritual power to carefully examine it twice more, but still found nothing.

He stood up and walked back.

No one questioned his actions—checking the dead was normal for an Ability User, and was something many people did after an anomaly or battle.

"We actually checked the eyes earlier and didn’t find anything special—before you guys came out."

Speaking to Chen Nuo was Rebecca, a woman who obviously had some expertise in spiritual power. She slowly said, "This person’s brain seems to have been blown apart. The only thing I can’t understand is that creating a Spiritual Storm could also cause this effect... But they... they seem to have been precisely mentally stimulated until they went mad... and their bodies showed no fear of pain, even their strength increased significantly."

Chen Nuo shook his head and said indifferently, "That’s because after they went mad and mutated, their heart functions had gone into overdrive, and the brain had issued commands that far exceeded their bodies’ limits. It’s just that they couldn’t feel the pain in their bodies. Moreover, if you had the chance to conduct further examinations, you would find that these mutators’ bodies definitely retained a large amount of adrenaline."

Rebecca fell silent.

Kamisou Ichiro stood beside Chen Nuo and slowly said, "Mr. Anderson, do we really need to go down there? To the underground facility that Mr. Nolan mentioned earlier? I don’t think it’s a good idea for everyone to retreat to a place with no way out."

Chen Nuo glanced at this Neon person. "Do you have any ideas?"

"No," Kamisou Ichiro shook his head, "but I think we could try going outside."

"You can go out and try it yourself. I don’t think they’ll refuse someone willing to go out and die for them," Chen Nuo said with a smile.

Kamisou Ichiro fell silent.

At this moment, the total number of people: eight Ability Users, plus Nolan, and the four technicians in the laboratory.

There were thirteen people in total. Thirteen. According to Western concepts, this was not a lucky number.

Everyone retreated into the experimental area. The isolation glass door of the specimen processing area had been opened. The four remaining ordinary people in the team, namely the four technicians, had already processed some specimens and placed them on a trolley.

No one spoke; everyone just quietly followed Nolan deeper inside...

Standing in front of that circular, blast-proof electronic door...

Chen Nuo suddenly felt uneasy. This door in front of him, no matter how you looked at it, felt unsettling... It was as if... it was a mouth ready to devour everyone!

He instinctively glanced at Kamisou Ichiro.

The words that this Neon person had just said...

At this time, everyone retreating to a place without an escape route... Was it really a good idea?

The underground facility did seem quite promising. Thick walls, blast-proof, insulated against extremely low temperatures... It seemed very safe!

But...

If an accident occurred... There would be no way out!

...Well, that was Chen Nuo’s internal commentary.

Once these people entered, it would be like entering a sealed can; if any danger arose, there would be nowhere to run!

Chen Nuo thought to himself and subconsciously slowed his pace. Unknowingly, he ended up at the very back of the group.

Of course, the Captain was always by his side.

"What’s wrong?" The Captain looked at Chen Nuo and asked in a low voice.

Chen Nuo suddenly looked up, stopping in his tracks entirely, and glanced at the Captain. "I... don’t think we should go down."

"Why not?" asked the Captain.

"...Just a feeling."

Chen Nuo took a deep breath, his tone firm. "I’ve decided. I’m not going down!"

The Captain also stopped walking, his expression complicated as he looked at Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo looked at the Captain and said in a low voice, "Trust me."

The Captain felt as if he had eaten a big bowl of Orleans grilled shit!!!

Trust you? I bloody well have no choice but to!

"Captain, what’s the matter?" Nolan, at the front of the group, turned back to look at the two and asked with a frown. "Is there a problem?"

The Captain looked at Chen Nuo, whose expression remained calm.

Alright then... I guess I have no choice but to cling to the bigshot!

The Captain’s expression was grave as he slowly said, "I’ve thought it over, and I’ve decided not to go down."

Everyone looked at the Captain in surprise.

The Captain, with a stiff upper lip, just kept a straight face and said nothing.

"...Why?" Nolan frowned.

"No reason. I just don’t feel like going down," the Captain shook his head. "I don’t think it’s a good idea."

"...And the reason?"

Chen Nuo suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Nolan, we had an agreement before. When feeling one’s life is at risk, Controllers have the right to act according to their own judgment and no longer need to take orders from you. Nor do they need to explain anything to you. I believe my leader has his reasons for making such a decision."

The Captain: "..."

My reason is just to cling to the bigshot! Alright?!

Nolan’s face turned sour.

Suddenly, someone in the group also spoke up softly, "Then... I also won’t go down. I’ve decided to follow the Captain’s actions."

The one who spoke was Kamisou Ichiro.

[Here’s something to make you happy: Keep turning the pages~~]