Chapter 535 - 363: Top Secret Terminal

Chapter 535: Chapter 363: Top Secret Terminal

Wu Liangchen stood beside Schiller’s body, breathing a little heavily.

The battle hadn’t lasted long, but the pressure had been immense. Even Wu Liangchen felt a hint of fatigue.

He bent down and quickly searched the body, finding something cold inside Schiller’s inner armor.

He pulled it out and saw that it was an exquisitely crafted personal terminal. Its casing was forged from some kind of alloy with a unique texture. It had no ports, a seamless, single piece that looked extremely high-end.

Wu Liangchen’s eyes lit up. He surmised that this must be Schiller’s personal computer. The fact that it was kept inside his armor, close to his body, clearly meant it was important.

’It might just have the information I’m looking for.’

But now wasn’t the time to investigate. Wu Liangchen put the small computer away and immediately turned and charged toward the passageway.

The moment he set foot in the main hall, the intense sound of gunfire once again flooded his ears. Jian Yi, Alina, Song Ling’Er, and the others were using the ruined walls as cover, locked in a fierce battle with the elite soldiers of the Dome Corporation who had charged in. Although the enemy’s firepower was ferocious and their equipment superb, they were unable to break through the defensive line, pinned down for the moment by Jian Yi’s elusive Swordsmanship and Song Ling’Er’s precise sniping.

Without a word, he blurred into motion and charged into the enemy ranks.

"THUD! THUD! THUD!"

Wherever his fists and feet landed, the sound of snapping bones and tearing tendons was unending. In front of Wu Liangchen, these so-called elite soldiers were no better than paper tigers. In a matter of moments, he had single-handedly wiped out most of the remaining enemies. Jian Yi seized the opportunity to cut down the rest.

The battle was finally over.

The thick, nauseating stench of blood filled the air. Everyone bore injuries to varying degrees. Alina’s face was pale, a clear sign she had overexerted her Spiritual Power. Although the wound on Jian Yi’s left shoulder had stopped bleeding, it still looked gruesome. Song Ling’Er had a graze on her forehead from dodging a stray bullet.

"Is everyone all right?" Wu Liangchen asked, his gaze sweeping over the group, his voice calm and steady.

"Just minor wounds. It’s nothing," Jian Yi said calmly, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"I... I can still hold on," Alina said, leaning against a stone pillar and forcing a smile.

Liangzi poked his head out from behind a thick stone pillar. His face, caked in sweat and grime, looked utterly wretched. "Holy crap, it’s finally over! I nearly kicked the bucket back there."

Wu Liangchen couldn’t help but crack a smile at the sight.

Everyone briefly tended to their wounds and gathered in the side hall where they had found the spring. Master Jie Nian and his silent "iron monk" disciples approached. They bore no obvious injuries, though their robes were covered in dust.

"Schiller is dead, and the elite squad he brought with him has been completely wiped out," Wu Liangchen said, briefly summarizing the situation. "But the Dome Corporation won’t let this go. They’ll be back with a larger-scale search and will be looking for revenge."

Hearing this, everyone’s expression grew grim. Though these ruins were secluded, the entrance had been discovered and forced open by Schiller’s men. It was no longer safe.

"We have to get out of here, fast," Alina said, the first to speak. She knew the Dome Corporation’s methods all too well.

But where could they go?

Just as everyone was at a loss, Master Jie Nian, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke. "My benefactors, while exploring these ruins earlier, I discovered that a passage deep within seems to connect to an ancient, long-abandoned underground riverbed."

"An underground river?" Wu Liangchen’s eyes brightened.

Master Jie Nian nodded. "The channel is ancient and has long since dried up, but its structure is still mostly intact. I just do not know if other mutated creatures have taken up residence within, or if it holds other, unknown dangers."

"Any path is better than no path!" Wu Liangchen declared decisively. "Master Jie Nian, please lead the way."

Following Master Jie Nian’s lead, the group passed through several more dilapidated corridors until, just as he’d said, they found a deep hole in the ground behind a collapsed altar. The entrance was small, only large enough for one person to pass through at a time, crouched over. A cold, damp wind gusted out from within.

Bold and supremely skilled, Wu Liangchen went in first to scout. A moment later, his voice echoed from inside the hole: "It’s safe. Come on down."

The tunnel was a bit more spacious than they had expected, but it was extremely dark. The ground was slick, covered with strange rocks and unknown species of fungi that gave off a faint, rotten smell.

"This godforsaken place... there aren’t any centuries-old monsters down here, are there?" Liangzi muttered, shrinking his neck. He stuck close behind Wu Liangchen, his flashlight beam dancing nervously around.

The words were barely out of his mouth when several pairs of eerie green dots lit up in the darkness ahead, accompanied by a SCRABBLING, crawling sound.

"Watch out!"

Several mutated scorpions the size of hunting hounds shot out from the shadows, charging straight for the group. Their bodies were covered in hard carapaces, and they brandished sharp pincers.

Wu Liangchen raised his hand and flicked several steel balls. With a few WHIZZING sounds, the ferocious mutated scorpions were blasted to pieces. Dark green ichor splattered everywhere, making a SIZZLING sound as it hit the ground.

After dealing with the minor nuisance, the group continued along the ancient riverbed.

The tunnel twisted and turned, with no telling where it led.

After walking for over two hours, they came to a relatively dry, open cavern. The group decided to take a short rest.

Just then, Liangzi started fumbling inside his bulging clothes. After a moment, he pulled out a personal terminal not much bigger than a pack of cigarettes.

"Is that... a micro-communicator?" Alina asked, surprised. "A micro-communicator of that grade would typically have an extremely powerful signal-linking function; it isn’t something you could get through normal channels."