Fierce Fighting

Meanwhile.

In the open area inside the Administrative Building, dozens of deathmatchers dressed in all kinds of outfits had gathered. Their positions were clearly divided into opposing sides.

"Brother Hui, you didn't tell us beforehand that there'd be such a huge explosion," Fei Xiao said, sounding somewhat displeased.

The other members of the Ten Blades Team stood behind him. Two of them were injured.

Notably, the leader of the Survey Corps, whom Fei Xiao called Brother Hui, wasn't some burly man. He was an ordinary-looking boy who seemed to be in high school.

Brother Hui surveyed the group with interest, then turned to find a lab worker in a white coat among the people behind him. "Agu, didn't I ask you to notify Brother Xiao and the others?"

"Oh, I forgot."

Agu hurriedly called out to Fei Xiao, "Brother Xiao, I'm sorry!"

"This was our mistake. Please bear with us, Brother Xiao," Duan Jianhui said apologetically, though he didn't seem particularly sorry.

As the leader of the Survey Corps, Duan Jianhui's opinion naturally represented the entire organization.

Faced with the Survey Corps' attitude, Fei Xiao fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled as if he'd let it go. "Just don't let it happen again."

Duan Jianhui was about to say something more when the walkie-talkie in his hand crackled to life at an inopportune moment.

"Brother Hui, looks like the rest of those guys have joined forces. I think they're coming to cause trouble for us."

A few minutes earlier.

Amid the ruins left by the explosion, fully armed soldiers stood on guard, surrounding Lu Bai and the others.

"I'm not sure I believe that."

Zhou Zongming looked the deathmatchers over with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Company Commander Zhou, a group of people really are trying to overthrow this military base. They caused the explosion, too, and they should be over by the Administrative Building right now. Please believe me..."

Xiao Xueyin continued to plead with him earnestly.

Zhou Zongming made no comment. Instead, he turned to Lu Bai. "Did you kill these two?"

"No."

Lu Bai answered quickly, but he might as well have been lying through his teeth.

The two bodies at his feet were still fresh. Anyone could see that their heads had been cut off with a sharp weapon, and Lu Bai was the only one there holding an Eight-Sided Han Sword.

Zhou Zongming's mouth twitched. He took a deep breath, then turned to his deputy. "Take them all along."

He had to admit that Xiao Xueyin's warning hadn't been entirely useless.

At least it had made him abandon the idea of splitting his forces to keep watch over Lu Bai and the others. With things this serious, he couldn't just leave his troops standing around waiting.

So he decided to take them along to the Administrative Building—though, of course, as suspects.

The two buildings weren't far apart in a straight line.

With two armored vehicles leading the way, the troops reached the Administrative Building in less than ten minutes.

At a glance, the building seemed completely still. Not a sound came from within.

The guards' bodies lay scattered haphazardly outside the entrance, and no one had come to clear them away.

"Bring them over."

Seeing this, Zhou Zongming's face turned livid as he sat in the armored vehicle. On some unconscious level, he was beginning to trust Xiao Xueyin's words a little more.

A squad of soldiers had only just brought Lu Bai and the others over when Zhou Zongming asked coldly, "Where are these people you told us about?"

Xiao Xueyin checked the position of the "Node" on the System Panel, carefully considered his words, and replied, "They should still be inside this building..."

Lu Bai paid no attention to their conversation. He looked up at the Administrative Building, studying it thoughtfully.

Since the Survey Corps had managed to blow up the Research Center, there was no reason they couldn't do the same thing again, was there?

The questioning of Xiao Xueyin came to an end. He hadn't offered anything substantial, merely repeating how dangerous that group was.

But whatever dangers might be inside the building, Zhou Zongming had to make a decision.

At his command, the soldiers entered the building one squad at a time.

The lobby on the first floor was in disarray, with various furnishings scattered about.

Their boots crunched over the shards of glass on the floor. The soldiers advanced slowly, carefully watching their surroundings.

"The lobby is clear."

A squad leader spoke into his headset.

"Emergency exit secured."

"Elevators are operational."

Reports continued to come in from the armored vehicle, which barely qualified as a command center.

Zhou Zongming folded his arms and pieced the information together in his mind.

Lu Bai and the others had been placed in an open area beside the armored vehicle, with a squad of soldiers aiming their guns at them at all times.

Liu Yue tilted her head as she looked around. "It's so quiet, it feels wrong."

Administrative Building, sixth floor, Conference Hall.

The deathmatchers from the Survey Corps and Ten Blades had gathered there.

"I can't believe these guys brought the local troops along, too."

Agu displayed footage of the first floor on the Projector, his tone edged with amusement.

Duan Jianhui nodded, then turned to Fei Xiao. "Brother Xiao, leave the stairwells to your people."

"Sure."

Fei Xiao agreed readily.

"The Zhu Brothers will stay hidden in the elevator shaft. If they dare use the elevator, cut the suspension cables."

The brothers, whose waists were wrapped with grappling hooks, answered in unison, "No problem."

"Good. Move out. Let's keep casualties to a minimum."

Duan Jianhui stretched, stood up, and left the Conference Hall. Agu followed behind him.

Second floor, stairwell entrance.

The two Safe passage doors were ajar. Every so often, the faintest sound of a weapon being cocked could be heard.

Under the Incandescent Lamp, a riot shield led the way. Behind it, a squad of soldiers climbed the stairs cautiously, their faces tense and alert.

Crackle—

"We can move in."

A voice came from a walkie-talkie somewhere, and the order instantly set off the fighting.

Rat-tat-tat!

Figures appeared behind the Safe passage doors, spraying the soldiers in the stairwell with automatic rifle fire.

Fortunately, the soldiers hadn't let their guard down, and the riot shield was there to protect them. Otherwise, they would have been wiped out in an instant.

Even so, being hit by a fierce assault in such a narrow space left them with heavy casualties.

One soldier after another fell with a scream. Those who had remained combat-ready after the initial ambush returned fire.

"Requesting support!"

"The gunmen have a large supply of firearms!"

Meanwhile.

At least ten windows facing the open area began firing relentlessly outside, as if they couldn't wait to empty their magazines.

The deathmatchers who'd survived the explosion were all quick to react. They dodged behind the armored vehicles.

The fighting reached a fever pitch almost as soon as it began.

But nearly all the casualties were among Zhou Zongming's troops.

"Damn it! There really are that many of them! What are they trying to do?!"

As the casualty count kept climbing, Zhou Zongming's face grew grim. He turned to his deputy and shouted, "Open fire with the vehicle-mounted machine guns! Take out every firing position in that building!"