Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 589: Transaction Details (Part 1)

The completely sealed laboratory had sustained extensive damage. Analysis of the scale and location of the damage suggested someone had used explosives to collapse the laboratory's exit. The reason for this wasn't hard to imagine; it was likely that something had occurred within the lab that they couldn't handle at the time. In other words, an experiment had gone awry.

And the unstable life signal scanned by the contractor's equipment was most likely that thing.

Due to the explosive method used to seal the laboratory, the alarm system and electrical equipment inside had long been damaged. This area was largely uninhabited, so Han Zu, after opening the laboratory door, used high-energy rays to easily penetrate the collapsed areas, creating a passage. Following the passage into the laboratory, he arrived at the observation room.

The interior of the observation room was relatively intact; even the control panels could be used if they could get power and undergo repairs. The surrounding chairs and tables were overturned, as if they had been struck by something. However, judging by their position, the impact was minimal, of course, for Han Zu himself. Under normal circumstances, the long, all-metal conference table and sofa chairs would have been thrown more than ten meters from their original positions, a force comparable to that of a minivan at full speed.

Han Zu tried to power the console, hoping to use the contractor's equipment to check if there was any residual data. Unfortunately, the console's storage device had been removed, so nothing was found. After leaving the console, Han Zu walked around the messy observation room floor and came to the front of the glass wall.

He observed that within the glass wall, every corner and ceiling angle contained a machine of the same size. This was a slightly outdated energy transmission device, capable of delivering large quantities of high-purity, though unstable, energy into the space. According to Christina's description, the discomfort she felt at the time was likely caused by the sudden exposure to this large amount of energy.

However, these energy transmission devices have now been disconnected, and no energy will be emitted from them. Judging by the dust around them, no one has been in this sealed laboratory for a long time.

Continuing along the glass wall, Han Zu found two other exits from the observation room. However, their locations had also collapsed due to the explosion, leaving only debris. Upon closer inspection, he could also see reinforced and sealed concrete and metal protective plates outside the closed laboratory door.

If this were the case, it would contradict Han Zu's assumption. If only one exit had collapsed, it would mean the laboratory blockade was impulsive. But if all exits were sealed, it would mean the blockade was actually planned.

Leaving the glass wall, Han Zu walked to the deepest part of the observation room. Here, he also found an exit. However, the door to this place was open and intact, not blown up. Behind the open door was a dim corridor. Even more strangely, the power system of this place was not damaged, but was remotely locked and shut down.

Entering the corridor, Han Zu could see four or five rooms on either side. Judging from the furnishings inside, they contained several incubators for experimental subjects. These incubators had independent power systems, so they continued to operate automatically. However, the equipment for replenishing the culture medium was broken, and the culture medium inside had become corrupted. Without the nutrient solution to sustain life, the experimental subjects within naturally died.

However, something had changed in a culture chamber near the end of the corridor. The chamber was empty. It hadn't been opened normally, but something had shattered the wall from the inside. After a brief reflection, Han Zu concluded that the biological signal previously detected by the contractor's equipment might be something inside.

At the end of the corridor was a transport elevator, but it was blocked, its suspension completely shut down, and the backup elevator cable severed. It was completely unusable. Using my clairvoyant abilities, I could see that the elevator shaft had also been poured with concrete, completely blocking it. There was nothing left to examine.

Han Zu returned to the observation room and continued searching along the glass wall. Soon, he found a gap in the wall. Judging by the thickness of the glass wall, the person or thing that created the gap must have been quite powerful. However, judging by the dried muscle fragments Han Zu found at the gap, the thing's defense was probably not very good.

The gap wasn't large enough for Han Zu to pass through, so he used high-energy radiation to expand it, successfully entering the space behind the glass wall. The space behind it was roughly the size of a football field. It was quite empty, but through his clairvoyance, he could see numerous modular locations on the floor, walls, and behind the ceiling. These could be manipulated to alter the space's internal structure, creating a large-scale testing ground. Before it was sealed off, this place was likely a dedicated testing ground for testing experimental targets.

By observing the structural diagram of the underground research institute, it can be confirmed that the institute has now expanded into another test area. This makes Han Zu a little curious, because according to common sense, in order to save space, this old test site should be razed to the ground or rebuilt for other uses. And based on the strength of the Feidenan family, it is impossible for them not to have a way to deal with abnormal experimental targets.

After some quick reflection, the most plausible explanation is that, for some reason, the trapped experimental subject still holds some use for them. Perhaps they still possess something the institute still needs, which is why the family members don't want to destroy them outright. However, there's a quirk in this explanation. If this were indeed the case, then the sealed laboratory should have at least one exit, yet all exits are sealed. This remains unexplained, unless there's some secret exit that hasn't been discovered. However, based on the contractor's equipment, this seems unlikely.

To confirm the true situation, they needed to find the exact location of the life signal. This was not easy, as the unstable life signal was constantly moving. Fortunately, however, no matter how it moved, it never left the laboratory.

Han Zu stretched his muscles and observed the locations of the life signals detected by the contractor's equipment. There was no precise pattern, but they generally moved from right to left, roughly counterclockwise, around the laboratory. Han Zu suspected that the movement of the life signals might be some kind of short-range teleportation, or something similar. If that were the case, then if he could predict the next location, or if he could seize the gaps between short-range teleportations, he might be able to capture this thing.

Han Zu covered the entire laboratory with his perception ability, carefully identifying the biological energy fluctuations in the air. After a minute or two, he discovered a good news, that is, there would be a half-second interval between each teleportation of this thing. With his speed, he could definitely seize this opportunity and catch it directly.

Han Zu slightly expanded the bio-force field to prevent himself from smashing the object into dust while flying at full speed. He turned his body towards the approximate direction, cleared his mind, and prepared to take action.

Immediately afterwards, the creature that had been continuously using short-range teleportation paused briefly at the end of its teleportation. Han Zu, channeling his energy, flew over at full speed, extending his fingers. The moment they touched the object, he yanked them back, successfully catching it. After being caught, the creature erupted in a brief burst of energy. Han Zu understood this as a sign that it was about to teleport again. Han Zu wouldn't let it escape. He immediately used his energy conversion ability to absorb 90% of the creature's energy, successfully halting its next teleportation attempt.

Stopping his movement and taking a closer look, Han Zu was puzzled by what he had captured. He grasped a headless body, which, judging by its physical features, appeared to be male. The contractor's equipment indicated it was a human with a mutated body.

His head was missing, but his neck showed no signs of cuts or other damage, as if it had fallen off naturally. The large hole in his neck allowed direct observation of his internal organs. All internal organs and other tissues were gone, leaving only bones and a large amount of fluid. Analysis revealed this fluid to be the same as the culture medium in the incubators he had seen in the corridor earlier, except that the culture medium in this empty shell had somehow remained fresh and hadn't spoiled.

Apart from movement and short-range teleportation, this empty shell filled with culture fluid does not have any other abilities. Moreover, it is very fragile. The remaining bones and skin can remain active only because of the culture fluid inside. Even a simple bump can cause serious damage to this empty shell.

Han Zu scratched his head, bewildered. He tried to search for an echo in the empty shell, and also tried to use his keen sense of energy to analyze what was going on, but nothing worked. Han Zu found no clues. So he let go of the empty shell and watched it disappear from his sight. From what he could sense, the empty shell was still in the sealed laboratory, performing short, aimless teleportation activities.

Han Zu sat on the ground, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and began to think. However, even with his unconventional thinking, he still couldn't figure out what the empty shell was like. But it wasn't like he had no idea at all.

"Flying Head Barbarian? No, there's not even any internal organs or anything like that. Maybe it's a low-level Flying Head Surrender?"

After a long thought, Han Zu could only think of this explanation, one that could even remotely explain the hollow shell. But it was even stranger. Even if it were real, its power wouldn't warrant sealing off an entire lab. After all, even a normal person, if not frightened, could easily deal with it with a stick. It wasn't worth the hassle. Furthermore, neither the Flying Head Barbarian nor the Flying Head Jiang could teleport constantly, nor did they require any nutrient solution to maintain the vitality of their hollow shells.

Han Zu shook his head and prepared to go back. Although he was indeed a little curious, to be honest, there was nothing in this laboratory that particularly interested him, and the research inside was nothing worth his further investigation.

Using the contractor's equipment to locate his base, Han Zu extinguished his cigarette and teleported back. When he emerged from the teleporter, his eyes met with Christina, who was studying it.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing much. I'm just curious how this thing works. Have you been to the lab?"

"I'm not curious about it, but it does confirm what you said. We can indeed continue our conversation."

"Have you been to the space above? You didn't go on a killing spree, did you? That space above isn't Fei..."

"I didn't do anything, I just took a look. I know the research center above is not the Feidenan family's business. It's just a normal research center."

"Okay, so what do you want to talk about next?"

"You said before that you suspected there might be something in your head that could kill you remotely?"

"Yes, it's a nanorobot sequence. These things can destroy me directly from the inside of my head and kill me directly. Why are you asking this? Do you suspect that I might be being followed because of this, or do you think I'm using this method to detect your location?"

"That's not it. Ever since you landed on the island, all your equipment has been forced to shut down. Even if you brought an energy core that could flatten a city, it wouldn't be able to do anything."

"Then why do you ask?"

"Do you want to get them out of your head?"

"Of course! Who wants a remote-controlled bomb in their head?! But these nanorobots are not that easy to destroy. They are completely integrated with my brain..."

"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean I can't do it."

“Can you do that??”

Han Zu's statement stunned Christina. The nanorobot sequence in her head wasn't some trivial matter. Back when she was with the chairman of Infinite City, Christina had asked him about it indirectly. She had also conducted her own research, and even Infinite City didn't have a definitive method to eliminate the nanorobot sequence in the brain without damaging the body's functions. But judging by Han Zu's calm expression, he seemed to have a solution.

"I did guess that your allies might be powerful, but I didn't expect them to possess this level of technology."

"I can indeed remove those nanorobots from your head, but you need to comply with two conditions."

"What conditions?"

"It's simple. First, you must keep your eyes closed until the nanorobots are removed. It's best to block your hearing as well. Second, after they're removed, you need to continue providing more information about the Ferdinand family."

"If you can really do it, providing information is naturally not a problem, but what the hell is your first request? Can't you just use some anesthetic to knock me out?"

"No, you have to stay conscious, but at the same time you can't hear or see anything."

"?"

Han Zu's request made Christina very confused, but looking at his expression, he didn't seem to be joking, so even though she thought Han Zu's request was outrageous, Christina still agreed.