First Encounter with the Hydra

Lin Xiaosu alone remained in his original position.

With the gun in his hand and his Heavenly Dao Insightful Eye, he shot down everything unpredictable around him.

This was the only option they had left.

His combat skills were his weak point.

He couldn't even jump over a five-meter wide ditch.

Anytime he moved, his weakness would be exposed, giving the enemy an opening. Therefore, his best tactic was to stay on the hillside, monitor the entire situation, and shoot anyone who showed themselves.

Ten minutes!

For a full ten minutes.

Number 88 let out a long roar and decapitated his long-time opponent with a dagger. He then moved to the front of the cabin in a single step.

Chang Ye pointed a finger into the void. As she pointed, there was no one in front of her, but by the time her finger reached its destination, a figure appeared. This figure swung a blade towards Chang Ye's finger.

Although Chang Ye had pinpointed the enemy's location, her attack seemed to lack any real killing power. However, Chang Ye flicked her fingernail, and a faint wisp of mist flew out.

The formidable enemy then fell.

Poison!

This was her specialty!

Lin Xiaosu saw everything clearly, his heart filled with emotion.

The bamboo forest suddenly shook, and Xinyue rose from the bamboo, flying over the rooftop and landing in front of the cabin, her face beaming with pride. "Instructor, I eliminated seven people! That's seven hundred points, a hundred points each. My total score is secured!"

Her gaze shifted and landed on Lin Xiaosu on the distant hillside. She became even more amused. "Lin Xiaose, you're still in the same spot? Even a turtle would at least crawl to the edge of the ditch..."

Whoosh!

Chang Ye took to the air, shooting towards Lin Xiaosu.

Number 88 turned directly and entered the cabin behind him.

Chang Ye arrived in front of Lin Xiaosu. "Let's go, I'll take you there!"

She reached out and grabbed Lin Xiaosu's hand. The next moment, they crossed a ditch in front of them and arrived before the cabin. Throughout the entire process, Lin Xiaosu felt like his feet weren't touching the ground.

They entered the cabin simultaneously.

From the outside, the cabin looked no different from a rural dwelling. However, it must have been different, because the strongest enemy, an old woman, had been guarding this cabin.

As the two entered the cabin and passed through the front, middle, and back rooms, which looked no different from an old rural house, they noticed the difference. At the back of the house, where it connected to the mountainside, a cabinet was overturned, revealing a door behind it.

The door was already open.

Entering the inner room, the situation was completely different.

Inside, it was clean and tidy, like a modern control room.

A long row of machines flashed with red and green lights.

At the center was a computer, and in front of it lay a middle-aged man, collapsed on the floor. In front of the computer, Xinyue was covered in sweat, her hands moving so fast they were a blur as she flew across the keyboard...

On the computer screen before them, lines of code scrolled up with lightning speed.

Between the lines of code were the intertwined skeletal remains forming a devil's face.

The devil also let out a chilling laugh.

Amidst the laughter, a percentage on the computer screen indicated: 93%, 94%...

It jumped about every five seconds...

"The Hydra's symbol!" Chang Ye's heart leaped. "They're destroying the computer data! Xinyue, quickly..."

Xinyue's speed noticeably increased, but the destruction percentage continued to relentlessly approach 100%.

Number 88's forehead also bulged with veins...

He knew how important the research data inside was. However, the moment they broke into this secret room, the enemy had initiated the self-destruct program.

With only 6% of the time left, that's half a minute!

Could half a minute truly solve this problem?

Leaving the research data from a secret Hydra base to Qianlong?

In a moment, the time reached 96%, and the next second, 97%!

"There's no time! Retreat!" Number 88 ordered sternly.

When the computer's self-destruct program was activated, it wouldn't just destroy the computer's storage. According to Hydra's usual methods, it would destroy the entire base along with it.

Fifteen seconds was only enough time for them to escape with their lives.

Chang Ye's hand shot out, reaching for Lin Xiaosu beside her. It seemed to have become her conditioned reflex; in critical situations, she would protect him first.

However, her hand grasped empty air.

At some unknown moment, Lin Xiaosu had already moved to the left wall.

In a little more than ten seconds, a massive explosion would occur here.

Can't afford to delay any longer!

Chang Ye tapped his toes, crossing ten meters of space...

At the same time, Lin Xiaosu slid across the wall...

Crack!

Another door opened under his hand.

Number 88's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Come!" Lin Xiaosu shouted, and jumped down.

Whoosh!

Three figures jumped down almost simultaneously.

The stone slab above closed.

With a deafening roar, the ground shook. The control room above was completely torn apart, and countless sand and stones poured down, carrying terrifying air currents that swept all four of them up and slammed them against the stone wall behind.

Just as Lin Xiaosu was uncontrollably thrown towards the stone wall.

A figure appeared behind him, grabbed him forcefully, and with a turn, pinned him against the wall.

Lin Xiaosu felt soft jade and warm fragrance in his embrace.

Chang Ye!

Chang Ye had shielded him with her body against the explosion's shockwave!

This impact created a terrifying variable: Lin Xiaosu's lips brushed against her flowing hair.

The moment they touched, Lin Xiaosu felt his lips were no longer his own.

His entire body felt alien.

He had just experienced the unique pleasure of soft jade and warm fragrance, and in the next moment, all his senses left him. The silver fish in his brain seemed to have sunk into a mire, slowly getting lost.

Poison?

She's a Poisonous Person, and she's killing me?

Could it be this ironic?

This was perhaps Lin Xiaosu's last flicker of consciousness...

The next moment, his lips slowly regained sensation. He felt a pill in his mouth, and centered around this pill, his nerves seemed to slowly activate.

Finally, his consciousness, the silver fish, broke free from the mire and returned.

He could move his entire body again.

The surrounding dust slowly dissipated. Chang Ye looked at him with her bright eyes in the darkness, "Are you alright?"

"I don't think I'm injured."

Chang Ye let out a long sigh, "Walk it off. Number 88 and Xinyue should have made some new discoveries."

They walked side-by-side through a natural cave. Light emanated from ahead.

It was the faint glow from Number 88's Qianlong suit. In the dim light, a person was lying on the ground, wearing a diving suit.

"Still have enemies?" Chang Ye's gaze swept around. This was a cave, visible in its entirety. There were many boxes, but they were relatively small, leaving no place for anyone to hide.

"This is probably the last one!" Number 88 pointed at the person on the ground. "When the explosion sounded above, he tried to run, and I stopped him!"

"It was 'us'! 'We' stopped him! Instructor!" Xinyue exclaimed, emphasizing the word "us" as if afraid her contribution would be overlooked.

"This is where they collected various specimens?"

"Yes!" Number 88 replied. "We've opened and checked four boxes. They all contained gene samples. I must admit, Comrade Xiaosu made the biggest contribution!"

There were only a dozen seconds left before the massive explosion. According to standard operating procedures, they should have fled the control room.

Run as far as possible.

If they had really run, the control room would have exploded, burying the specimen room below in a pile of rubble. No one would have ever guessed that there were specimens below with a value comparable to the research data.

But Lin Xiaosu had thought of it.

And in an extremely urgent situation, he had opened the hidden secret door, allowing them to obtain the most valuable targets of this mission.

Xinyue's lips curved upward in the darkness, extremely displeased. She really wanted to highlight herself and belittle Lin Xiaose, but how could she? She actually admired this scoundrel quite a bit, and couldn't bring herself to say insincere words...

Chang Ye said, "This person wanted to run, so he must have been carrying the most important samples. Have you checked his personal belongings?"

"We were just about to check!" Number 88's hand reached for the person's diving suit.

"Wait!" Lin Xiaosu said.

All eyes turned to him.

Lin Xiaosu said, "The most important samples might be very special, so be careful. If there's anything alive, you need to be ready to react."

Of everyone present, only he knew that one of these samples could not be treated with ordinary logic and common sense – that white snake.

He had been tracking that white snake all along.

After the white snake was subdued by Number 325, it was snatched away by these people.

Then, it was sent to this sample room and is now on the person in front of me.

If this white snake were to suddenly attack, even Number 88 would have a tough time.

Even if it couldn't kill Number 88, if it escaped and burrowed into some crevice, it would be a significant loss. It must be known that this white snake was almost obtained at the cost of Number 325's life.

Number 88 gave him a deep look. "Fall back!"

Chang Ye and Lin Xiaosu retreated.

Xinyue was full of indignation. "It's just a specimen, why talk about it so dramatically? I doubt you even have any professional knowledge..."

Despite saying that, she still retreated.

Because the order was given by Number 88.

She could be unrestrained in front of Lin Xiaosu, but if she were to disobey Number 88's orders, she wouldn't dare, even if it meant her life.

This was because her lifeline was firmly held in Number 88's hands.

Number 88 carefully opened the diver's suit on this person. Inside the bag for storing items, there was only one thing: a metal cylinder.

Number 88 held the metal cylinder and opened it slowly, as if disarming a bomb. A white mist emerged. As the mist escaped, the temperature in the cave seemed to drop by a few degrees. Inside was a frozen white snake and a bunch of grapes.

The white snake was motionless, appearing either dead or in hibernation.

Chang Ye lightly touched the white snake, her brow furrowed. "Its scales are incredibly hard, and their structure is extremely special. If all its scales were to unfurl, its crawling speed would be unimaginable."

"That's why we need this specialized sample bottle made of G95 material!" Number 88 placed the snake and the grapes into the bottle and prepared to screw the cap back on.

"Wait a moment!" Chang Ye said. "Don't put this together with the snake."

Number 88 reopened the bottle, took out the bunch of grapes, and screwed the cap back on:

"What is this bunch of grapes?"

"These aren't grapes. These are Green Orchid seeds that Number 325 extracted from the bud of that mutated 'Green Orchid.' They are his spoils of war." Chang Ye reached out and took them. "Bring them back for me to study."

She was a master in plant research.

Within the entire Qianlong team, she was among the top three.

Therefore, plant research was her primary responsibility.

Chang Ye took out a bottle similar in appearance to the first one, but much smaller, and placed the bunch of grapes inside.