Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1358 - 34 Museum

Chapter 1358: Chapter 34 Museum

"He’s dead," Mu Nianqi noted Tang Zheng’s inquisitive look and shook her head, "I only participated in the preliminary round. As for anything about the Holy Land, security doesn’t know, and likely no one else does, because all who have gone there have died."

"What was up with that guy of Chinese descent just now?" Tang Zheng suddenly realized how weak and pathetic he was. If the leader of Queen Mu’s group and Nuclear Flame were on the same level, then they would have only grown stronger over these past two years. Logically, they should have already gone to the Holy Land by now.

"I don’t know, and I’d advise you to give up. In the Trojan Room, survivors are like a drop of water in the ocean; you can’t possibly hope to understand this world," Mu Nianqi lost interest in talking, pulled out an air-cushion motorcycle, straddled it, and left the prison.

Tang Zheng mounted the Hell Motorcycle, revved the engine, smashed through a wall, and sped across, with the others following.

The people on the bus looked forward with great anticipation, and when they saw Tang Zheng’s squad returning safely, they breathed a sigh of relief. They were indeed lucky; if Nuclear Flame had left in this direction, they would have been dead for sure. These people couldn’t have withstood a single blow from them.

"Meiqin, drive!" Tang Zheng waved his hand and led the way on his motorcycle, ready to attack in case they encountered men in black.

"You’ve caused quite a bit of trouble for yourselves!" The female doctor eyed Mu Nianqi as if she was a perfect specimen for experimentation.

"I warn you, don’t look at me with that kind of gaze!" Queen Mu felt very uncomfortable, as if she had been licked by the wet, slippery tongue of a lizard; that chilling, slimy touch made her want to stand her hair on end.

The men in black, upon receiving the news, rushed to the scene, but the Warhammer team had already left safely, hiding in an apartment.

"What’s the story with the old man they rescued? Where will they go?" Tang Zheng spread a map on the tea table, guessing the movements of the target that Trojan had marked for them.

The female doctor knew Tang Zheng was asking her, but she deliberately remained silent.

"Hey, don’t push your luck," Pang Meiqin was displeased and ready to give the woman a piece of her mind.

"Ten milliliters of fresh blood!" The female doctor pointed at Mu Nianqi, "I want hers."

Queen Mu snorted and looked away, her intentions clear without words; there was nothing to discuss.

"It seems you haven’t quite grasped that you are a prisoner," Lu Fan chirped, jumping next to the female doctor with a dagger in hand, drawing it in front of her, threatening to disfigure her.

"I’ve dissected more alien corpses than all the meat you’ve eaten in your life. Do you think I’m afraid?" The corner of the female doctor’s mouth curled into a mocking smile. If she hadn’t been wary of Tang Zheng’s strength and didn’t want things to get too stiff, she would have captured these unknown troublemakers long ago.

"Found them?" Tang Zheng couldn’t be bothered to interrogate the female doctor, having Shen Qingshuang was enough.

"Almost there. They’ve strengthened the city’s network defenses, but I left a backdoor the first time I infiltrated," Shen Qingshuang said, wearing a pair of plain black-rimmed glasses and rhythmically tapping on the keyboard, a flurry of data flashing across the screen.

"Having a hacker is such a relief. By the way, my computer is infected with a virus. When we get back, take a look at it for me, huh," Lu Fan said annoyed, "Someone dared to use me for botnet activities—they’re asking for trouble." Though she wasn’t short on money for virtual equipment, it was just disgusting. She wanted the responsible party to pay.

"No problem, I’ll give you an antivirus software package I developed myself." Several mechanical spiders crawled out of Shen Qingshuang’s pocket and connected to the laptop’s ports to download data, "I’ve got it."

The LCD monitor was inundated with data, all about the old man’s background.

"An archaeologist, a biologist, he has published papers on the energy source, and is an authority in paleobiology."

The Conquerors had no trouble with their eyesight and eidetic memory, skimming through documents was no issue, but the speed at which they picked out vital information varied because it related to IQ and experience.

The simple-minded Bai Guo wasted a lot of time on useless terms, while Lin Fachan and Lin Jing whispered on the sofa nearby, not worrying about these matters. As long as Tang Zheng was in charge, they felt secure.

"The energy source, a mysterious force that can bestow life upon certain non-sentient objects, giving them a body, even the ability to think," the female doctor didn’t hoard her knowledge and shared all she knew, "Records of the energy source by the committee are mere speculations written on paper, and some even doubt its existence because it’s too mysterious and its state too unstable to preserve."

"Have you seen it?" Mu Nianqi felt the female doctor was hinting at something more.

"No," the female doctor was naturally very interested in such a thing, "It’s said that the energy source can change the existence of a native species, like separating thought from the flesh, transferring it to another medium."

"That’s too far-fetched. Can the energy source really revive a stone?" Ruan Feifei scoffed. Years of test-focused education had shaped her world view, making it hard for her to accept such an idea. Of course, part of it was also her desire to find fault with the female doctor; as a proud woman, she disliked others’ arrogance.

"Yes, if a stone absorbs the energy source, it can awaken. Do you know about the Cybertronians? Those mechanical life forms are what they are because they absorbed the essence of the energy source," the female doctor’s eyes lit up with excitement, "I guess their search for the old man related to the energy source; they must have discovered something. No, we can’t just sit here and wait to die; we’ve got to find them quickly."

Suddenly alert, the female doctor became more proactive than even the Warhammer team, but unfortunately, she wasn’t omnipotent and couldn’t do everything.

Without any leads, Tang Zheng’s group went to the old man’s house, hoping to find something. Sadly, when they arrived, all they saw was a burning house and a residential area almost blown away.

"Too late!" Pang Meiqin sighed beside him, not knowing that they had actually come out ahead—the British team had arrived earlier and entered the Old Man’s room, only to trigger the heavy landmine set by the Bald Man, killing several of them.

The Bald Man knew he would be pursued, so he had prepared various countermeasures to intercept them.

The bus wandered aimlessly along Main Street with Team Warhammer.

"What do we do next?" Sha Ou, having recovered quite a bit, lay in his chair and asked Tang Zheng, trying to make his presence felt.

"Have a cup of coffee!" No one paid attention to Sha Ou; Lu Fan brewed some coffee and handed it to Tang Zheng.

Tang Zheng had a laptop on his knees, soon clicking through the news. Qian Rong wanted to strike up a conversation with Tang Zheng, but sadly there was no chance. The Little Loli watched him like a hawk, shooting menacing glares at any woman who approached.

"These stinky women, Uncle is mine, no one is allowed to take him away." Lu Fan sat next to Tang Zheng, guarding him.

The newbies some resented Tang Zheng’s inattention to duty but didn’t dare criticize him; they indeed wanted to contribute but had no clue how.

Lin Weiguo continued to teach the newbies how to use firearms and techniques for dealing with danger, but unfortunately, few took it in.

The Conquerors didn’t feel Tang Zheng was wasting time—he must be thinking of a strategy. Sure enough, after about fifteen minutes, there was an answer.

"Hmm? Let’s go to this museum!" Tang Zheng saw a piece of news and grew excited, sharing the route with Pang Meiqin.

"What’s going on?" Sha Ou was confused.

"The museum was visited by a thief yesterday. Nothing was stolen, but I find it suspicious," Tang Zheng searched for more information.

"Why?" Sha Ou still didn’t understand.

"Idiot, if the other party is looking for the Firekind, and the Old Man is an archaeologist and paleontologist, then we should be looking for recent news about these areas to see if there is anything unusual," Lu Fan responded quickly. Of course, while this strategy narrowed the search range, it was still akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

The newbies had an epiphany, realizing the Group Leader’s thinking was indeed meticulous.

The museum wasn’t closed for reorganization and continued to display exhibits, but the number of visitors was sparse, giving off a desolate vibe.

"Group Leader, we want to go too!" Qian Rong volunteered proactively; staying on the bus was too boring, and being with Tang Zheng was the only way to build rapport.

With someone leading, the newbies began to plead variously.

"Let’s go together!" Tang Zheng couldn’t be bothered with these matters, pulling out some cash, Qian Rong had already run over very considerately.

"I’ll get the tickets!" Qian Rong was very perceptive.

The museum was large, but most of the items displayed were unfamiliar to Tang Zheng. A woman in a professional outfit approached and led the group on a tour.

"I’m fine on my own, just wander around and be careful," Tang Zheng pulled the female doctor away from the group, Lu Fan naturally acted like a shadow while Pang Meiqin followed without hesitation. Li Xinlan hesitated for a moment and, too shy, didn’t follow.

With Tang Zheng gone, the newbies suddenly felt much less pressure. The Conquerors couldn’t care less about them, so these newbies started to group up and move about. After all, they were adults who didn’t want to be managed but wanted to relax.

Ten minutes later, only eight newbies led by Director Zhang remained behind the female receptionist—some of the newbies, feeling fear and concern, went to cozy up to the Conquerors.

Director Zhang wasn’t listening to the female receptionist at all, fixated on her tightly wrapped buttocks and her calves in black stockings, feeling impulsive. Living on the edge of death had made him increasingly vicious and emotionally unstable.

"Miss, want to make some extra cash?" Director Zhang reached out to touch the female receptionist’s buttocks, spewing flirtatious words.

The receptionist’s face darkened and with a slap, she knocked away Director Zhang’s hand.

"Oh, you’re angry now!" Director Zhang laughed heartily, not caring in the least, and as he moved closer to the receptionist and attempted to speak again, he saw her cheeks bloom like a chrysanthemum, splitting into six petals, as a thick, pointed tongue shot out, aiming straight for Director Zhang’s mouth.

A splat—the tongue crushed his teeth and pierced through, subsequently bursting from the back of his head, splattering fresh blood on his colleague’s face. They, who had been laughing moments ago, were now completely stupefied.

Director Zhang’s face showed horror; emitting unconscious noises from his throat trying to struggle, but the tongue, like a military knife, flicked upwards, bisecting his head into two halves.

The newbies were terrified and about to scream and run away when the female receptionist’s arms extended, the skin and flesh of her arms splitting open, with a dozen tentacles shooting out like crossbow bolts, penetrating directly into their heads. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it and cast your monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)