Max Level Return—I'll Protect That Fragile One

Staring at the densely packed experimental glass cages on the square, Xu Xingguang took a shallow breath and made a decision: "Let’s go down and take a look."

"Wait a moment." Huo Wen’an first took out his phone, switched to night vision mode, and captured everything in front of him on camera.

"To be cautious, sync the videos you shot to Zheng Qin and Old Sir Huo." This way, even if they perish here tonight, Huo Canghai, who receives the clues, will surely continue to investigate along this lead with others.

Upon hearing this, Huo Wen’an felt a chill down his spine and gave Xu Xingguang a deep glance.

Even if dying here is inevitable, ensuring the transfer of information would make it a meaningful death. She must have experienced something similar before to come up with this strategy instantly.

"Alright." After transmitting the images to Zheng Qin, Huo Wen’an checked his and Xu Xingguang’s gas masks. Only after ensuring there were no issues did they proceed side by side towards the square below.

Standing on high ground earlier and looking at this experimental square was shocking enough. But when they found themselves surrounded by endless experimental specimens and looked up to meet the grim faces of the dead, the visual shock and stark contrast were suffocating.

Regaining composure, Xu Xingguang adjusted the headlamp and instinctively walked towards the nearest experimental cage. Inside was a beast with a bizarre appearance, resembling both a leopard and a grey wolf.

Before Huo Wen’an could figure out what species this creature was, Xu Xingguang said, "This is a mutant species, a monster created from the mutation of multiple animal genes."

Observing the already dead but undecayed creature, whose fur and muscle tissues had a mummified appearance, Huo Wen’an judged, "This thing was sealed inside and starved to death."

Its belly was so shrunken that only skin remained.

Xu Xingguang suddenly called softly, "Eagle Sparrow."

Boom!

A mighty, towering black steel monster appeared out of thin air next to Xu Xingguang and Huo Wen’an.

Even having met Eagle Sparrow before and fought a battle, Huo Wen’an was still somewhat shocked to see the massive figure of Eagle Sparrow suddenly appear, towering over him twice his height.

Seeing Eagle Sparrow’s eyes emitting an eerie blue light, Huo Wen’an tentatively greeted it, "Eagle Sparrow, hello?"

Eagle Sparrow stood motionless, showing no reaction.

"Pfft." Xu Xingguang chuckled at Huo Wen’an’s action and explained to him, "Eagle Sparrow is an intelligent combat creation made by the interstellar military, only activated and able to communicate through my consciousness control."

"In simple terms, it’s like you and I are communicating."

"I see." Huo Wen’an had thought Eagle Sparrow had its own intelligence.

"However, even though Eagle Sparrow has no life, it has developed a war spirit from accompanying me in countless battles. After I pass away, Eagle Sparrow sealed its battle will, refusing to fight for anyone."

"It has no life, no wisdom, but it possesses a unique combat soul."

Touching Eagle Sparrow’s sturdy arm, Xu Xingguang suddenly said, "Eagle Sparrow, break it."

Eagle Sparrow turned and smashed a bulletproof-grade experimental glass with a punch.

Bang!

The glass shattered all over the ground.

In the underground world, where the air was turbid and oxygen was scarce, the corpse exposed to the air began to show signs of oxidation, albeit slowly, nearly imperceptibly to the naked eye.

Xu Xingguang climbed into the experimental cage to carefully inspect the beast’s body.

When examining the beast’s hind legs, Xu Xingguang discovered something, her expression turned stern as she murmured, "How could this be..."

"What is it?" Huo Wen’an moved to the back of the peculiar creature and saw that beneath the fur Xu Xingguang lifted, there was a human foot!

Huo Wen’an frowned, suppressing the discomfort in his heart, and asked in confusion, "What are they trying to do? Are they trying to use beasts to develop a new human species?"

"It’s still unclear, let’s keep looking."

The two walked further, and whenever they encountered suspicious experimental specimens, Xu Xingguang would order Eagle Sparrow to break the glass for a closer inspection.

Huo Wen’an assisted by taking photos and syncing them to Zheng Qin.

Meanwhile, Zheng Qin, far away on Divine Concealment Island, was shocked by the images sent by Huo Wen’an.

How could such an evil place still exist in this world?

After observing over a hundred experimental bodies, Xu Xingguang suddenly said, "They’re not trying to turn beasts into humans."