It was unclear whether this counted as a backup plan.
Not really—this seemed like the only choice. Maybe there were other options, but facing the current situation, Qiu Shi felt this was the only choice that he, a simple corpse collector with little education and no worldly experience, could make.
Lin Sheng was truly ruthless. Like 249, he could accurately and swiftly find his opponent’s weak spot without hesitation—whether it was the distracting surveillance footage or Qiu Shi himself, who was currently being pressed underfoot, a single bullet away from death.
This was something Zheng Ting, who was already shaken, could not do.
Xing Bi and Bai Zhan would never risk their lives to attack first.
They would choose to talk, to delay time, to look for another opportunity.
But when facing 249, the thing Qiu Shi most refused to give him was time and conversation. Even if a talk was inevitable in the end, he wanted to lock Xing Bi with an unbreakable chain.
When Qiu Shi loosened his grip, he didn’t hesitate. Nor did he give himself time to hesitate.
He just marvelled once again—apparently, the human brain could process so many things at once in such a short time. Thinking this way, humans really were powerful. Yet it seemed some never thought so. They still wished to be stronger, stronger and stronger… immortal and undefeated…
When Xing Bi rushed at him, Lin Sheng finally lifted the foot that had been pressing on Qiu Shi’s chest. The shifting of his crushed ribs caused a stabbing pain so intense that his vision blurred.
Xing Bi grabbed Qiu Shi’s collar, kicked the grenade that had slipped from Qiu Shi’s palm into Lin Sheng’s retreat path, and simultaneously turned to drag Qiu Shi toward the equipment room door.
In Xing Bi’s long bioroid life, he had probably never moved this fast.
Deng Yeye had fallen closer to the door than Qiu Shi. Bai Zhan, running beside him, grabbed her arm on the way.
Zheng Ting had already opened the door and pulled 249’s wheelchair inside the equipment room; the door was beginning to close.
All these actions happened between the door’s opening and closing.
When the grenade exploded behind them, they were still a short distance from the door.
Suddenly, Zheng Ting raised a leg to block the closing door and kicked it open again.
The door swung wide, and Xing Bi threw Qiu Shi inside, dodging the metal shards hidden inside the homemade grenade. The blast’s shockwave then violently accelerated them into the room.
In this situation, neither Xing Bi nor Bai Zhan could afford to be gentle. Qiu Shi and Deng Yeye were both thrown onto the floor of the equipment room.
The door shut behind them with a click and locked in the explosion.
The sound of the explosion was instantly cut off outside the door, while the hum of rows of equipment inside the room was almost inaudible under the backdrop of the blast.
“Ah…” Deng Yeye was half-conscious, roused from unconsciousness by the fall.
Qiu Shi couldn’t make a sound; the pain forced him to breathe heavily with difficulty.
“Damn your ancestors!” Xing Bi lunged beside Qiu Shi, pressing one hand to his neck, then quickly tore open his clothes to check his injuries.
Zheng Ting withdrew his gaze from the door and focused on Xing Bi.
This small shift was noticed by Bai Zhan, who was standing with his gun aimed at Zheng Ting and 249.
“What’s wrong,” Bai Zhan smiled, “Never heard Xing Bi curse before?”
Zheng Ting looked at him: “If you fire here, we’ll all be blown up, including Xu Jie and Ji Sui outside.”
“Doesn’t matter if I’m not the only one dying,” Bai Zhan said, “Don’t want to die? Then don’t make me shoot.”
“They’ll die too,” 249 said, “Your friends.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Bai Zhan said, “My friends just tried to blow us up.”
“Is there a medkit?” Xing Bi asked.
“Yes.” Zheng Ting looked at Bai Zhan.
“Is it urgent?” Bai Zhan asked.
“Won’t die.” Qiu Shi gritted his teeth to say, voice barely audible. When Xing Bi pulled him up, he thought the pain would make him faint, but surprisingly, he stayed awake the whole time.
“Wait for Old Deng to wake up,” Bai Zhan said, “Let her get it.”
“Mm.” Xing Bi nodded, frowning as he stared at Qiu Shi.
There was still Zheng Ting here. Leaving only one wounded bioroid to face Zheng Ting and the unpredictable 249 was unsafe.
Qiu Shi forced a smile at the corner of his mouth.
“Are you crazy!” Xing Bi shouted, “What the hell is wrong with you!”
“Hey,” Bai Zhan stepped closer to Xing Bi, “Don’t curse, don’t curse. He’s doing it for us.”
“Don’t I know that?” Xing Bi turned to look at him, “Does that conflict with me cursing him?”
Bai Zhan swallowed and took two steps back, standing beside Deng Yeye, gently nudging her with his foot. “Big Knife, awake yet?”
“Don’t move.” Xing Bi looked at Qiu Shi.
“Mm.” Qiu Shi responded.
Xing Bi quickly stood and crouched beside Deng Yeye, feeling her through her clothes.
Lin Sheng’s kick had hit her arm. The arm was broken, but her bones were otherwise fine. However, her head had hit the wall and was swollen.
“Ah.” Deng Yeye made a sound.
“Where does it hurt?” Xing Bi waved his finger in front of her, “How many?”
“Which do I answer first?” Deng Yeye asked.
“Whatever.” Xing Bi said.
“My arm and head both hurt,” Deng Yeye struggled to sit up, “What about Qiu Shi?”
“Not dead.” Xing Bi helped her lean against the wall.
“Go get the medkit,” Bai Zhan said, “Can you stand?”
“Can.” Deng Yeye leaned against the wall, trying to stand.
“I’ll get it.” Zheng Ting said, “She can’t carry it if she stands.”
Zheng Ting was also injured. In the earlier fight, Bai Zhan had wounded his shoulder; Zheng Ting had been stabbed in the side.
“I can carry it!” Deng Yeye raised her voice and suddenly stood up, “Don’t move.”
“Turn left, there’s a cold storage room,” Zheng Ting said, “There’s medicine inside, take what you think is suitable.”
Deng Yeye hugged her broken left arm and walked inside.
They were at the entrance of the equipment room, about 40 square meters—a changing area. Beyond it was the large equipment room. From Xing Bi’s view, inside were not just ordinary devices and storage units, but some new machines covered with dust covers that hadn’t been activated.
“Move him further inside.” Xing Bi said.
Bai Zhan looked around, grabbed a whiteboard standing against the wall. “Use this. Can’t move him directly—feels like he’s shattered.”
The whiteboard still had writing—weekly routine check times and signatures of inspectors.
Xing Bi laid the whiteboard flat beside Qiu Shi, and together with Bai Zhan, they dragged him onto it.
“Xing Bi!” Deng Yeye’s voice came from inside, “You come… see this!”
“What?” Xing Bi looked at Zheng Ting and asked. Deng Yeye’s voice was full of shock.
“These are some…” 249 began, “Personal belongings stored here by an old friend of mine.”
“Friend?” Xing Bi backed away with the whiteboard.
The only friend Xing Bi could think of was the person in the video who, at the end, turned off the camera and took away the data box.
That person was human—and long dead.
The interior of the equipment room was larger than Xing Bi had guessed. The huge central space was filled with various machines running, supporting the institute’s current functions. Covered with dust cloths were other equipment, and on the side were several rooms also filled with devices.
Besides the cold storage room they sought for medicine, there were several other rooms. Deng Yeye was standing at the door of one, staring blankly at what was inside.
Xing Bi went over and glanced inside, startled.
For a moment, it felt like he had returned to the warehouse in Yun City.
Although smaller, those dozen or so slowly rotating hibernation pods were extremely familiar to Xing Bi.
At the very back of this small “warehouse,” behind glass doors, was a row of cylindrical brain tanks he had seen in 249’s video.
“This is fu-cking…” Bai Zhan muttered softly, “What kind of hell is this?”
Xing Bi said nothing, pulled out his gun, and turned back to the equipment room door, aiming at 249.
“Don’t kill me.” 249’s voice trembled childishly.
“Don’t shoot. He’s integrated with the institute’s security system,” Zheng Ting slowly stepped out from behind 249, standing in front of him, “If he, or his data, is destroyed, the institute will initiate self-destruction. No one can escape.”
Xing Bi said nothing but tilted his head to look at 249.
There were indeed wires connecting the back of 249’s neck to a box, and several wires extended from the box, connecting somewhere in this room.
“Let’s save your friends first,” 249 whispered, “Inside there’s a medical pod shared by humans and biorois, the latest model at the time… now even newer… might never exist again in the future…”
“Bai Zhan.” Xing Bi called.
Bai Zhan came back to his senses, looked at the two nearby rooms, and found the medical bed.
“No negotiation,” Qiu Shi said quietly as he was placed on the medical bed, “No room for compromise.”
“I know,” Xing Bi looked at him, “I just want to get the people who brought us in out.”
“Mm,” Qiu Shi closed his eyes, “If it can’t be done, then death it is. Learn from Li Feng—be ruthless when you need to be.”
Xing Bi closed the medical pod’s cover.
The treatment time for Qiu Shi was two hours. He stepped out of the room and looked at Zheng Ting. “You put the water in the inspection area, right?”
Zheng Ting said nothing.
“Yes,” 249 said timidly from behind Zheng Ting, “I’m scared.”
“Can you change your tone?” Bai Zhan couldn’t help but speak, “Stop pretending to be harmless.”
“I really am harmless now.” 249 said.
“Five people in the inspection area are nearly dead!” Bai Zhan said, “You still harmless? How many did you kill outside? How many did you turn into infected? You’re a fucking devil!”
“The water in the inspection area,” Xing Bi grabbed the key point, “Drain it.”
“There’s leakage,” 249 said, “Draining will be slow, and it will refill again…”
“Drain it.” Xing Bi said.
“Okay.” 249 replied.
“Where’s the surveillance?” Xing Bi asked again, “Where’s the main control console?”
“Surveillance is on the east wall.” 249 said.
“The console?” Xing Bi stared at his faceless face.
“There is no console,” 249 said, “I don’t need a console. I am the console.”
The conference room at the command center was filled with smoke. Li Feng held a cigarette between his lips. “Is the exhaust fan not turned on? This smoke is suffocating.”
“It’s running at full power,” Colonel Yu replied.
“Everyone stop smoking.” Li Feng stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette and leaned back in his chair. “It’s just the few of us here, yet no one dares to speak up?”
In the meeting room were only Colonel Yu, Minister Liu, Chen Dang, Director Wu, and the others, all silent.
“So they still can’t be contacted?” Li Feng asked.
“Yes,” Chen Dang answered, “the last contact was right before they entered the equipment room.”
“249 is hiding in the equipment room, right?” Li Feng asked.
“Yes,” Chen Dang confirmed.
“Under normal circumstances, we’d storm in, destroy 249’s last storage space, wipe out his data,” Li Feng said, “and then it would all be over, right?”
“Yes. The research institute’s external connections have all been cut off,” Chen Dang said, “but if Zheng Ting is there, there could be complications. And if there are other… variables besides Zheng Ting, the situation becomes even more unpredictable.”
“When will the heavy equipment arrive?” Li Feng asked Colonel Yu.
“It should be in position now,” Colonel Yu said, looking at him, “and the last batch of heavy weapons will arrive in about an hour.”
“Where’s Lin Sheng?” Li Feng frowned.
“He’s almost there,” Chen Dang said, “within two hours at most.”
“So fast?” Li Feng raised an eyebrow.
“He didn’t rest,” Chen Dang explained, “he traveled light without gear or supplies, prioritizing speed. Qi Jian and Jiang Zhuo’s teams will clear obstacles ahead to ensure no interference on his route.”
“That’s pushing hard.” Li Feng looked at the ashtray before him.
“Those inside are the most important people to him in this world,” Chen Dang said.
“If he knew my plan,” Li Feng said, “he’d probably kill me when he comes back, right?”
“Maybe not,” Chen Dang said, “it hasn’t come to that yet.”
“What if it does?” Li Feng asked.
“Isn’t it a bit too early to talk about that?” Colonel Yu said. “Everyone’s opinions haven’t… unified yet.”
“Or rather, you all just won’t speak up,” Li Feng said, staring at him.
“The weapons from Yun City can’t easily destroy such a large underwater structure all at once,” Colonel Yu explained, “it might require multiple attempts… first to destroy the outside, then precise detonations.”
“Hmm.” Li Feng nodded.
“There should be a lot of equipment inside,” Director Wu said, “we—”
“If they manage to handle 249 normally, the equipment will naturally be brought out,” Li Feng interrupted, “what we’re discussing now is if they die.”
Everyone fell silent again.
“The problem now is how to confirm they’re dead,” Chen Dang finally voiced the thought in Li Feng’s mind.
That was the reason for everyone’s silence.
Those people currently unaccounted for inside the institute were, everyone knew, extremely important to Yun City.
Even the usually ruthless Li Feng hesitated to make that judgment; others wouldn’t dare bring it up.
Li Feng was silent for a long moment, cleared his throat, and leaned toward Chen Dang. “Tell Lin Sheng, because we can’t be sure if 249 has any self-preservation mechanisms or other means of escape, we’ll destroy the main part of the research institute with force if necessary.”
“Understood,” Chen Dang replied.
“All equipment and personnel on-site can be mobilized,” Li Feng said, “make sure the personnel losses are minimized as much as possible.”
“Okay.” Chen Dang nodded.
Li Feng ultimately didn’t say the sentence in his heart: “No matter if the people inside evacuate or not.”
“Have you found Lin Sheng?” Xing Bi asked.
“Not yet,” Bo Zhan stood in front of the monitor, searching each surveillance feed for Lin Sheng’s figure. “He’s definitely hiding, he knows where the cameras are.”
“His final goal is still to get into the equipment room,” Qiu Shi said. “Once ready, start.”
The research institute’s medical pods were indeed advanced. Although the wounds couldn’t be healed immediately, no big movements were allowed, the fractured ribs had been accurately fixed, and there were no heavy bandages on the body.
Deng Yeye’s arm had also been set and fixed, and no major problems were found elsewhere.
However, Xing Bi and Bo Zhan’s wounds remained untreated — not just because of time constraints, but also to ensure that not only one bioroid would be fighting alone.
“Where does the self-destruction start?” Xing Bi looked at 249.
“Don’t die,” 249 said, “you’ll die too.”
“Where does it start?” Xing Bi asked. “Zheng Ting?”
“From outside to inside, from top to bottom,” Zheng Ting replied.
Xing Bi picked up a pen and began drawing a map on the whiteboard on the ground. Qiu Shi wasn’t sure how he pieced together the rough structure from the routes they had taken and the surveillance footage, but in the end, he drew it.
“This will be the last destruction site,” Xing Bi said. “The detonation device needs to be controlled from here, but before the real destruction starts, there will likely be large-scale damage.”
“This exit is closer to the tunnel,” Bo Zhan pointed at a line on the map, “if we can find an opportunity here…”
“I still have two grenades,” Deng Yeye said, “but they probably won’t do much to these walls; previous explosions barely damaged the walls.”
“We’ll see then,” Xing Bi said, “don’t think so far ahead now.”
Bo Zhan smiled.
“Once we start,” Xing Bi said, “Lin Sheng will definitely come. Be careful, he knows this place better than us, and also…”
He looked up at Zheng Ting.
Zheng Ting was a variable — it was uncertain whether he would stop or help them.
Xing Bi stood up, looking down at the map on the whiteboard. “Let’s begin.”
“Is it worth it?” 249 suddenly asked. “For humanity, is it worth it? You all know what humanity has done. Is it worth it? Using our stronger, superior lives to buy humanity’s victory, is it worth it?”
“Humanity has no victory,” Xing Bi said.
“The victory belongs to the real world outside,” 249 said, raising his head. Though he had no eyes, he seemed to still feel Xing Bi’s gaze.
“That’s the world humanity wants to monopolize,” Xing Bi said, turning and walking into the room with the stasis pods.
“No… I just want to live…” 249 whispered.
There were seventeen stasis pods in total, a small number compared to Yun City’s warehouse, but every face inside was haunting.
Xing Bi’s expression became indescribably complex when he saw himself inside one of the pods.
“The data hasn’t finished writing yet,” Bo Zhan said, watching the row of blinking lights on the pods. “If delayed any longer, all these bioroids will be activated. I don’t know what that would look like.”
“These bioroids have been here since the base fell,” Zheng Ting stood at the door, “they were transported directly from the base.”
“Do you still believe in them?” Qiu Shi looked at him. “If these were truly them, have you ever thought about why they stayed dormant all this time? The world 249 wants to give you is one where you stay asleep forever.”
Xing Bi opened the first stasis pod.
He raised his gun and shot the neck inside.
Then the second pod.
As he fired, the broadcast from 249’s equipment room echoed with the sound of 249 crying.
Amid the crying, Xing Bi fired the third shot.
When opening the fourth pod, his hand holding the gun trembled slightly. He had spent long, lonely hours in the dark, thinking maybe he would be trapped forever.
Now he was about to personally trap another version of himself in the darkness forever.
“Let me,” Bo Zhan said, reaching out.
Just as his hand was about to touch the gun, Xing Bi pulled the trigger — a gunshot.
Bo Zhan said nothing. He opened the next pod, shot, opened the next, and shot again.
Qiu Shi could hear his breathing growing heavier amid 249’s painful cries.
No one spoke. Only crying and gunshots.
“Pull.” Lin Sheng said.
The steel cable connected to the inspection area’s severely deformed door from the explosion suddenly tightened. Then the door creaked loudly, scraping metal as it opened a crack.
White light spilled through the gap inside.
Outside the tunnel, machines roared as the door continued to be pulled open.
“Xu Jie!” Lin Sheng shouted, “Ji Sui!”
“We’re here, all alive,” came Xu Jie’s voice.
Cheers erupted from behind.
“Medical team, move in,” Lin Sheng pressed his earpiece, “Three stretchers.”
After the door was fully pulled open, the medical team carried three injured soldiers out from the inspection area.
Lin Sheng entered the inspection area.
“How are they?” He quickly scanned Xu Jie and Ji Sui.
“Minor injuries, nothing serious,” Ji Sui said.
Lin Sheng moved further inside. The door leading to the main section remained closed.
“They’ve drained the seawater inside here,” Xu Jie said, “But we’ve tried this door, it won’t open.”
“That means they’re still alive,” Lin Sheng said as he pressed his earpiece again, “Demolition team, move in and blow the door.”
“That might flood the tunnel,” Ji Sui warned.
“Then we’ll swim in,” Lin Sheng said.
“What’s the exact plan?” Xu Jie asked.
“Get in and get them out,” Lin Sheng said, “That’s it.”
