Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 454: Return to the Laboratory

Chapter 454: Chapter 454: Return to the Laboratory

Dr. Deng certainly responded and said, "Didn’t you bring a mineral detector? Perhaps you can gather some ore on the island to earn a little extra to replenish your potions."

Xu Huo knew he was worried about him getting too injured on the train to take care of him, but he didn’t point it out. Instead, he said, "Why don’t we go back to the laboratory to see if there’s anything to be gained? Maybe the first and second levels underground weren’t flooded."

"Let’s get ashore first," Miao Yu also said, "and we have to be on guard against people from the Beren Clan coming to meet us."

"Didn’t the Kong Siblings try to notify the Beren Clan when they were on the first floor?" Xu Huo asked.

Miao Yu shook her head and didn’t speak absolutely, "I didn’t see it, but whether they had a prior arrangement, I can’t be sure."

"I say, haven’t we forgotten someone?" Chu Yuan suddenly said, "The rubber-suited player who killed Wan Yunrong. He didn’t come down with the Kong Siblings, and now that the copy has ended, he must have left the laboratory as he regained his freedom!"

"Aren’t we in great danger then!" Gan Qing said with an ugly expression.

"Not necessarily," Xu Huo said, "Besides him, Qiu Xiangdong also disappeared after the explosion. If neither of them is dead, perhaps they’ve returned to the laboratory."

Dr. Deng’s face darkened, "The potions must not be found by them."

"I’m a little curious, what kind of potion is the Beren Clan looking for?" asked Miao Yu. "This laboratory has been abandoned for some years now. Could it be that the potions from before are better than the current ones?"

Without changing his expression, Dr. Deng said, "This is the realm only peak talents can reach. Even though various game zones can now engage in trade, some technologies are simply unattainable. The Beren Clan is looking for a very excellent Evolution Potion, a kind that is currently monopolized by Rank-A Wormhole Points, and they deliberately control the outflow, which is why the Beren Clan wants to make a fortune from it."

"Rank-A Wormhole Points." Chu Yuan was more interested in Wormhole Points of other ranks than the Potion, "I was born at a Level-E Wormhole Point and have never been to Wormhole Points of any other rank. There are quite a few Level-E Wormhole Points alone, and each Wormhole Point has many subdivisions. Thinking about it, the game world is really huge."

"It’s not as big as you think," Dr. Deng said, "Some Wormhole Points and game zones are not suitable for human habitation. Even if they are divided, there usually won’t be people going there."

"Those must be the places where random copies are placed," Miao Yu said. "Are there many such places?"

"Countless," said Dr. Deng, bringing the topic back, "Qiu Xiangdong and the others might use a boat if they want to leave."

"You can leave directly with tickets," Gan Qing said. "As long as he has tickets for Sayre Coast Station, he might not even bother with the trip."

"What do we do now?" Miao Yu asked Xu Huo and the others, "Go straight to the laboratory or...?"

"Let’s head to the laboratory," Xu Huo said. "After all, we can leave at any time."

"I’m probably not going to be much help in this condition," said Gan Qing.

Chu Yuan was in a similar state, and Dr. Deng had no combat capability. Only Xu Huo and Miao Yu were in better condition among those present.

"I have no problem," said Miao Yu. "It’s best if you all follow together, so we can look out for each other."

The five of them got ashore and made their way toward the laboratory through the woods.

Without anyone leading the way, their progress was not as smooth as the path they took when they first entered the copy. However, Chu Yuan did discover some pretty good ore along the way, and they all picked some up casually.

"These ores could fetch a nice price even outside," said Dr. Deng. "There are also some mutated plants and animals; if they’re rare, they’re also quite popular."

"But don’t touch things recklessly, some items are poisonous."

Over three hours later, the group returned to the laboratory. The duplication effect was lifted and they were able to enter through the main entrance. There was no sign of Tong Jian on the first floor, so they took the elevator down to the second basement level.

Unexpectedly, only a bit of water had seeped into the second sublevel, and some lights were still on.

"The area underneath the elevator is sealed off automatically," said Miao Yu, after inspecting it. "It must be one of the laboratory’s protective measures. Considering that the Deep Blue Laboratory is built beneath the sea and conducts special research, having such extensive protective measures isn’t surprising."

"Can we go further down from here?" asked Chu Yuan.

"It’s sealed shut," Xu Huo pitched in, after trying to open it. "I guess it won’t be possible to go further down through the lab."

The east and west sides of the first and second basement levels were sealed with metal, and to get across, one would have to go outside and take another route.

The group circled back to another entrance to reenter the lab. The experiment area on the western half was less affected, and the second floor was even dry, with all the lights turned on.

Moving together, they searched the rooms on both the first and second levels once again, but still found nothing. In the end, Xu Huo took a painting from a room.

"What are you going to do with that?" Chu Yuan asked, casually taking one as well.

"To keep it as a souvenir," Xu Huo replied. "And who knows, someone might buy it for a high price just because of its association with the master’s manuscript."

"Makes sense." Chu Yuan stuffed a few more paintings into his luggage.

"They won’t be worth much if you take too many," Dr. Deng interjected. "Scarcity is what drives value."

"Just sell them in different places," Chu Yuan said, unworried.

Having turned up empty-handed after a full search, everyone picked up a few paintings and went back up to the surface level to rest in the lab.

Chu Yuan carried two single beds up from below, lying down on one to rest.

Xu Huo sat on the edge of another, not engaging in any other activity but examining the painting.

The Professor Wu from the Deep Blue Laboratory was very likely the "Dr. Wu" Master Niese referred to, the one who had long before developed the S-Version Drug. It seemed he had intentionally placed the potions at different locations. Estimating from the timeline, Professor Wu should also be quite advanced in age by now.

Of course, it could not be ruled out that he was a player or an Evolver, who had significantly extended his lifespan, or perhaps he himself was one of the earliest experimenters and beneficiaries of the Perfect Evolution Potion.

Such a character should possess underlying logic in everything he was doing. He clearly wouldn’t stay in the Deep Blue Laboratory too long, yet he had painted so many pictures. The theory that he painted obsessively out of grief for his child seemed insufficient; there had to be some other meaning in these paintings.

At first, he tried to find the potions by correlating the perspectives in the paintings with the lab’s internal structure, but the potion was hidden within a wall, and moreover, it was inside a novelty doll.

This suggests that Dr. Wu was perhaps not fixated on concealing the potions and that his state of mind was stable, unlike the gloomy and agitated impression conveyed by the paintings.

The Game Government and the players are in a state of relative opposition. Some players are in harmony with the game, while others despise it. Dr. Wu seemed to lean closer to the latter, as dispersing the Perfect Evolution Potions carried the implication of picking a fight with the game.

Perhaps like Master Niese, his loss of a child was also related to the game, which could explain his current actions. The question was whether he would have left clues at the place where he hid the potions.