Chapter 128 - 109: Phase Two (2)
Their advance team had already scouted Floor B6.
The signs of battle there could be described as apocalyptic.
A massive suspended platform was completely destroyed, three main structural pillars were melted through by intense heat, and on the ground, they had indeed found only a single, hideous monster head.
After an appraisal by relevant experts, it was confirmed that the head belonged to a member of the Celestial Abyss Race known as the "Winged Race."
However, its genetic sequence was mixed with a small number of human fragments.
And according to the testimonies of other survivors from the base, as well as some remaining surveillance footage...
...at the time of the incident, the only people on the entire Floor B6 were the monster known as "the Doctor" and this high school student before them, who still looked a bit naive.
’A high school student killed a member of the Celestial Abyss Race like that?’
It sounded utterly fantastical.
But the current investigation results clearly confirmed this point.
"This... should count as self-defense, right?"
The two investigators fell silent for a moment.
One of them closed the electronic notebook in his hand.
"If your story is true, Student Lin Ye, this isn’t just self-defense."
His voice softened somewhat.
"It’s also a great service."
The two men stood up and opened the door to the interrogation room.
A figure was standing outside the door.
"Chen Meng, right? Are you his teacher?"
the officer who opened the door asked.
"Yes! I am!"
Chen Meng immediately saw Lin Ye sitting inside, and half the weight on his heart was lifted, but even more confusion and worry welled up.
He couldn’t understand at all how Lin Ye had ended up in a place like this.
"Mr. Su, Mr. Chen, I can vouch for him!"
"He’s just an ordinary student in my class! There’s absolutely no way he’s connected to a heinous incident like plotting to open the Celestial Abyss!"
The investigator waved his hand dismissively.
"Mr. Chen Meng, please be patient. The matter is still under investigation, and Student Lin Ye has provided us with crucial information."
"Based on our initial assessment, the Celestial Abyss Rift that opened this time only connects to an unstable secondary plane."
"There was no large-scale invasion of alien creatures, but it still caused extremely severe source energy contamination and the proliferation of Source Crystals."
"The entire Dongjiang Ruins has now been designated a top-level quarantine zone."
"In accordance with the Great Xia Juvenile Protection Act, we will escort you out of here immediately and back to the safe zone. However, Student Lin Ye, we will need your full cooperation with the subsequent investigation."
Lin Ye stood up and looked at the equally travel-worn Chen Meng.
’The countdown on the distress message he had set hadn’t finished, so it couldn’t have been sent.’
"Teacher, how did you get here?"
Chen Meng shot him an irritated glare, strode over, and looked him up and down. After confirming he wasn’t missing any limbs, he lowered his voice and said angrily,
"I was about to ask you the same thing! What’s a student like you doing getting mixed up in a place like this? Don’t you know how chaotic it is out there?!"
The two of them walked out of the interrogation room and joined the crowd of evacuees.
They soon arrived at the underground garage on Floor B4.
A line of armored escort vehicles, fitted with thick, leaded glass, were starting their engines one by one.
Lin Ye and Chen Meng boarded one of them.
The vehicle’s door closed, shutting out the noise from outside.
As the vehicle slowly started to move, Lin Ye repeated the version of the story he had just told the two investigators for his teacher.
Chen Meng’s heart pounded in his chest as he listened, and his expression changed repeatedly.
"So that’s what happened..."
RUMBLE—
The escort vehicle drove through a long tunnel as the garage’s alloy gate slowly rose.
Daylight from outside streamed in.
Lin Ye saw the landscape of the ruined city.
The garage exit was hidden beneath a stretch of wilderness, right next to the Third Central Hospital he was so familiar with.
’He had wandered here countless times before but had never imagined such a huge secret was hidden right beneath his feet.’
The convoy drove onto the dilapidated highway.
Lin Ye’s gaze suddenly froze.
He saw it everywhere in the ruined city.
On the dilapidated buildings, the cracked ground, the dead tree trunks...
...clusters of ethereal blue crystals were sprouting up unnaturally, emitting a strange and beautiful light.
’So this is... Source Crystal proliferation?’
’Whenever a Celestial Abyss Rift appears, these Source Crystals will grow on the surface.’
Lin Ye felt a pang of regret.
’So many Source Crystals that look to be of pretty high quality, just left here like this.’
’According to official procedure, their ultimate fate is just to be collected and then safely destroyed.’
’What a terrible waste!’
’After this incident, these ruins will probably be completely sealed off and then taken over by the government.’
’It’ll be almost impossible for me to get back in here in the future.’
As he thought about this, Lin Ye’s mind drifted to another, deeper question.
’That Doctor operated in the ruins for so long.’
’Building such a massive and intricate underground base, laying complex power lines and life support systems, raising hundreds of test subjects...’
’What kind of terrifying financial and material resources would that require?’
’Could one person, or even a small organization, really accomplish all that?’
’Could it be...’
’...that someone has been secretly supporting him all along?’
’Using these ruins as a perfect, secret laboratory, far from the eyes of mainstream society.’
’And the Doctor, along with all his research, was just one part of this massive plan?’
The convoy left the quarantine zone and merged onto the city’s main thoroughfare.
Outside the window, the bustling traffic was a world apart from the deathly silence and desolation of the ruins.
Back at Dongjiang First Middle School, after confirming Lin Ye was physically unharmed and repeatedly warning him not to run off again, Chen Meng left.