Chapter 141: Your Doom Has Arrived (24)

Third Research Institute.

Ling Qiong looked around at the surrounding buildings. Unlike the tall and modern skyscrapers outside, most of the structures here were low and old.

They resembled the factory complexes from many years ago.

By today's standards, they looked like retirement facilities.

"Right here," Mu Chen said, pointing at the half-open iron gate ahead.

He seemed to have fully recovered, with not a single trace of abnormality on his face.

Perhaps this was just the facial emotion management expected of a male protagonist.

Even when his childhood sweetheart might have murdered the canon female lead, he remained as steady as Mount Tai without changing his expression.

"Are you sure?"

Wasn't this a bit too underwhelming?

"Positive." Mu Chen held a map in his hand and was certain this was the Third Research Institute.

Ling Qiong peered through the window and looked around a bit longer.

Mu Chen said, "There are zombies inside, and the main gate is sealed shut. You can't get in without the password."

Ling Qiong cast a skeptical look at him. "How do you know this so well?"

"We've been here before," Mu Chen did not hide it.

That gate couldn't be blasted open even with cannons.

Furthermore, it would attract a massive horde of zombies.

Therefore, after realizing they couldn't get in, Mu Chen and his group hadn't wasted any more time on it.

Ling Qiong got out of the car and looked around.

Jiang Xunchu followed closely behind, while An Changjing didn't move; as a tool character, there was no need for him to take risks.

"You're planning to go in?" Mu Chen also stepped out of the vehicle.

"Since we're already here," Ling Qiong patted both cheeks with her hands, "we have to go in and take a look."

"You can't get in here..."

"That's because *you* couldn't get in," Ling Qiong smiled slightly. "That doesn't mean we can't."

After all, I am a pay-to-win player!

"What method do you have?" They had tried so many methods and failed to get in, what could she possibly do?

Ling Qiong rolled her dark, glossy eyes twice and seemed to understand something. "Do you want to go in with us?"

Mu Chen was silent for a few seconds before saying, "We need to retrieve some data from inside."

This was undoubtedly an indirect admission that they wanted in.

"Fine, whatever, we need people to fight zombies anyway." With the protagonist halo, fighting zombies should be quite smooth.

Following NPCs could also increase their combat strength, so there was no reason not to use them.

Mu Chen: "..."

...

Mu Chen sent someone off first to find the others and have them rendezvous here. He and another companion would take Ling Qiong and the others inside.

Having been here last time, Mu Chen and his companion cleared out the blocking zombies with practiced ease and reached the impenetrable door.

The door was silver-white with a metallic texture.

Just from the feel of the door, it was clear that trying to break through it with brute force was practically impossible.

Next to the door was a digital keypad with the screen still glowing, proving it was still operational.

"Lianzi didn't manage to crack the password, what can you do?"

Lianzi was an expert in this field from the male protagonist's team. He wasn't here now, presumably because they had split up.

Ling Qiong reached out toward Jiang Xunchu.

Jiang Xunchu seemed to know what she wanted and pulled out the access card.

Ling Qiong pressed the access card against the reader. With a long beep, the metal door slid open to both sides, followed immediately by a pleasant and comforting voice.

"Welcome, Professor Jiang Luyun."

Ling Qiong waved the access card. "This is the method."

Mu Chen: "..."

Jiang Luyun... why did that name sound a bit familiar?

Inside the door was a long corridor with bright lights and clean walls, as if one had stepped past the apocalypse and returned to pre-apocalyptic times.

This place somehow still had electricity.

At the end of the corridor stood three elevators side by side, their doors varying in size and marked with different colors.

From left to right, they were red, yellow, and green.

Mu Chen's companion, Zhou Shun, asked with a puzzled look, "What do these colors mean?"

Jiang Xunchu answered, "They might transport different things, or lead to different zones."

Zhou Shun asked, "Then which one do we choose?"

Mu Chen looked at Ling Qiong. "Which one do you choose?"

Ling Qiong instinctively tugged on Jiang Xunchu's sleeve. "Older brother, you choose."

Jiang Xunchu: "..."

"Green basically represents safety no matter the circumstance, let's go with this one." Jiang Xunchu used the card to swipe for the green elevator.

There were no floor numbers displayed on the elevator's top, bottom, left, or right.

"Be careful."

The four of them stood on opposite sides, staring at the elevator doors.

It took about six seconds for the elevator doors to finally open.

However...

The doors that opened were the red ones.

The moment the elevator doors opened, a stench rushed out, followed immediately by lunging zombies.

"Roar—!"

"Damn it!" Zhou Shun cursed.

Ling Qiong reacted quickly, pulling Jiang Xunchu back toward the green side.

These zombies were wearing standard security uniforms, likely the guards of this facility.

For some reason, they had been locked inside the elevator, giving them quite the "welcome gift."

...

Mu Chen was extremely proficient at dealing with zombies. With Zhou Shun's cooperation, they quickly knocked down the group of zombies.

The elevator doors would only open to the red one; swiping again yielded no response.

Zhou Shun poked his head into the elevator and looked around. "Should we go down?"

The red elevator was filthy and stinking.

It was completely unfit for human habitation.

"Down," Mu Chen concluded. He asked Zhou Shun for a weapon and handed it to Jiang Xunchu. "Take this for self-defense."

Ling Qiong had a weapon, and though she hadn't taken it out, Mu Chen had seen it before.

He had no idea where she kept it...

Ling Qiong's skirt was loose, making the most likely hiding spot tied to her leg.

"I don't know how to use this," Jiang Xunchu shook his head.

Mu Chen: "..."

Not everyone carried a weapon around nowadays, so Mu Chen didn't find it strange that Jiang Xunchu didn't know how to use one.

He took the weapon back. "Watch yourselves, Shunzi and I will take the lead."

...

There were no buttons or card-swiping panels inside the elevator; it seemed this elevator could only transport people to one specific destination.

The pungent odor filled the cramped space.

Ling Qiong held her breath the entire time, her cheeks puffing out from a little bit to more and more bloated.

The descent was two seconds slower than ascending, taking about eight seconds.

"Ding—"

The elevator came to a smooth halt, and the metal doors slowly slid open to both sides.

Mu Chen and Zhou Shun tensed up, terrified that zombies might rush in from outside.

However, the outside was dead silent.

There was nothing there.

Zhou Shun cautiously crept to the elevator entrance to look around, then flashed a thumbs-up signal of safety to the others behind him.

Directly facing the elevator doors was a metal wall.

There was only this single elevator door here.

The green and yellow elevator doors did not connect to this area.

Turning the corner led to a corridor nearly ten meters wide, lined with strange mechanical equipment on both sides.

The style of this corridor was quite different from the one above.

If the corridor above felt like futuristic sci-fi,

then this corridor felt like an industrial wasteland of ruins and steel.

The ground was mottled with bloodstains, and bullet marks scarred the walls.

They walked a distance without encountering any zombies.

Instead, they discovered quite a few meteorite fragments.

"Do you feel anything?"

Jiang Xunchu shook his head. "No."

The meteorite fragments were encased in transparent glass covers, which seemed to still be powered. Whether that was the reason they were isolated remained unknown.

Zhou Shun pointed to the small plaque beneath the glass cover. "Does this mark the landing site?"

"It should be," Mu Chen glanced at it and said, "The location and time of the landing. They brought all the samples here."