Sharp

To completely destroy a complex like Base 51, it would probably have to be leveled.

Otherwise, how could so many buildings be destroyed?

Even if all the living people in the base were killed, Base 51 would still stand there, and it would slowly become lively again when new people arrived.

Not to mention, Zhao Yijiu, as the deducer of the Righteous Path, has always disliked indiscriminately killing innocent people, even those in the instance.

The first option is difficult to implement.

"Then enter the Central Hub?" Luo Jue tilted his head, his eyes bright, as if trying hard to recall something, but gave up after a while. "What does the Central Hub do again? Brother Qishan seemed to have mentioned it when he was gathering information before, but I only heard it once, it sounded familiar, but I didn't remember it at all."

"The central hub is the core of the base." Yu Xing admired Luo Jue's magnanimity. The division of labor between the two members of the Luo family was so clear that even with just the two of them, they were able to maintain an information gap.

He patiently tutored Luo Jue: "Every survivor base has a secret room set aside when it's built, like a base station for the AI, containing the computer itself."

"I've heard that if something happens to the base and it becomes a last resort, the base's controller can issue a top-level distress call through the central system. This means the base is desperate, and no matter what other bases are doing, as long as it doesn't involve their core interests, they must drop what they're doing and provide assistance to the base that has issued the distress call."

"This premise seems quite reasonable. Only after hearing this can I truly feel the bonds between humans in this apocalypse." Luo Jue pouted. "Having been here for so long, I haven't seen any unity among humans at all. They're all acting independently, even allowing the virus controlling Veil to exploit such a huge loophole."

As she spoke, her expression suddenly changed, and she looked at Yu Xing with disbelief. "Wait... how do you know more than I do? Didn't you only enter the instance halfway through?"

Yu Xing patted her head. "People are different. Although you're a bit clumsy, you're still adorable."

Luo Jue: "..." Is this a personal attack?

Yu Xing shrugged. "These are my heartfelt words."

He's been at the base for half a week now, how could he not have gotten any intelligence?

These days, he moves freely within the base. While his female superior, Veil, is preoccupied with affairs, his method of using the power of the curse to isolate himself from the surveillance cameras works every time. He often sneaks into various rooms in the base where files are stored to search for information. In addition, with the various introductions to the local area network on his computer, Yu Xing has long been paying close attention to things that sound like they might be important.

However, this information about the central hub was not something he found out himself; rather, it was relayed to them by Carlos through someone else. The source of the information was the original base research personnel who were taken out with him.

The researcher was rather introverted and had seen many big events, so it took Carlos a lot of effort to pry out the secrets he contained.

That researcher voluntarily stayed at Base 51 during its early stages to oversee its development and construction. He was also one of the earlier researchers at Base 51 and possessed highly advanced scientific research skills.

Many of the mechanized equipment in the base bear his mark, including the earliest infection testing devices.

Initially, he designed all the blueprints related to the vengeful spirit virus. He shared these blueprints with the initial administrators of the base free of charge, protecting the few survivors of Base 51. In his heart, he was very satisfied with this job. It didn't require physical labor, although it required a lot of mental effort, but it was the most suitable way for him to survive in the apocalypse.

The base was built day by day, becoming more and more solid and better guarded. However, due to the scarcity of living people, there was a severe shortage of manpower. Before long, the first administrator died from infection by the vengeful spirit virus.

People elected the strongest person to the position. At that time, humanity knew very little about the virus and was even more defenseless. Whether one lived or died depended entirely on fate. The person elected to the position always died due to various accidents.

The managers of Base 51 changed one after another, and this researcher assisted one manager after another, until the woman Veil appeared and forcefully seized power in just a few days.

The researchers thought this would be the next manager they needed to assist, so they turned a deaf ear to what was going on outside and diligently improved the virus testing equipment, while also designing filter masks for the cleanup team.

However, Veil was very ambitious. She deceived everyone with her smile and gentleness. After gaining their trust, she revealed her ruthless methods, dismantling the original research team and cultivating her own confidants.

Because the blueprints are shared, the base can operate normally even without this researcher. In fact, efficiency has improved when one person's work is divided among several people.

The researchers were abandoned by Veil, or rather... never even thought about it. He witnessed the fate of the rebels; the survivors who were dissatisfied with Veil's management style always disappeared without a trace the next day, while several large black bags would appear in front of the sewage outlet late at night.

At first, he offered loyal advice like a minister misunderstood by the emperor, putting forward some new ideas. However, it was clear that Veil did not want to use him. After discovering that the number of missing persons in the base was increasing, he had no choice but to shut up and blend into the crowd for his own safety.

Later... later, the technology tree at Base 51 went astray.

The originally sophisticated testing instruments were completely altered, unable to quickly analyze viral factors in the human body. Instead, they required cutting open the skin and extracting flesh, making the entire base increasingly bizarre.

The researcher gradually realized something was wrong. He secretly tried to dissuade the survivors in the base, but they seemed to have been brainwashed and none of them listened to him.

He knew full well that what he had made seemed to have been distorted and used for another kind of testing, and that some people were becoming increasingly insane, with thoughts in their minds that were far removed from those of humans.

The researcher protected himself better, never showing up at the interview in Veil again, doing everything he could to minimize his presence, and constantly searching for a way to escape the base.

Unfortunately, his body was too weak. If he left the base, the vengeful spirit virus in the city, as well as the vengeful spirit virus on the way to other bases, could kill him in no time.

He kept waiting for his chance, and while he was waiting... he almost ended up in the incinerator, but luckily Carlos saved him—along with some other innocent people.

Even though it was a life-saving favor, this former researcher at the base wouldn't easily entrust his trust to him. It took him several days, and only after witnessing Carlos save them, who were powerless to fight, countless times, did he finally reveal his identity.

He also revealed the information about the central hub to Carlos. If anything unusual happened at the base, the best way to deal with it was to seek help from the outside through the central hub system. If he weren't alone and powerless, unable to get close to the central hub, he would have wanted to try it long ago.

"I'm dumber than you! Do you even know where the central hub of Base 51 is?" Luo Jue said, hands on her hips, clearly unconvinced.

She knows she's not very bright, and that's enough; no one else can say it out loud.

"According to reliable sources, the central location of this base has been constantly changing." Yu Xing glanced at the dim, eerie torches around him, narrowing his eyes. "Once, a survivor who awakened spatial abilities hid the central location in a separate space. This space is constantly shifting, and its only connection to the base is a door."

"The position of that door can also move?" Luo Jue understood what this meant; she had encountered similar troublesome situations in other Yugi instances before.

"Yeah, it might be opening into a toilet stall one second, then disguised as a dorm room door the next, and then right behind you the following second," Yu Xing said with a smile. "Hey, there seems to be something behind you."

Luo Jue took a deep breath and turned around, only to see a few expressionless faces neither too close nor too far.

"..."

Zhao Yijiu watched Yu Xing tease the little girl, sighed almost imperceptibly, and controlled the surrounding shadows, withdrawing her power.

He could ignore the team that was almost finished with their tests; he narrowed his perception range to cover only his female secretary and her expressionless subordinates, and used shadows to create one net after another.

If these people don't move, fine, but if they try to do anything aggressive, the shadows will teach them a lesson.

Frankly speaking, these so-called people with special abilities are no better than the Struggle Level among the deducers; the desperate level would easily crush them.

It is now almost certain that they will all choose the second task: to find the door connecting to the central space in the base, enter the central space to send a distress signal, and alert all surrounding bases to the anomaly at Base 51.

Only...

The search process will likely not be so easy.

The shadow beneath Zhao Yijiu's feet moved swiftly and rapidly, and almost as soon as it closed, the sound and visual barriers from the expressionless subordinate shattered.

The two people who had used their abilities were deathly pale, seemingly exhausted, and collapsed to the ground.

Their commotion finally attracted the attention of those in the front row, and many people turned around in surprise, their eyes widening in shock.

What did they see?

A somewhat familiar-looking management secretary lay on the ground, while some completely unfamiliar people stood upright like brainless zombies. Two of these "zombies" collapsed one after the other, causing the intense, mentally draining pain to make them faint.

"What's going on?!"

"Aren't these... these two officers?"

An uproar immediately broke out in the testing center.

At the same time, the loudspeaker emitted a sharp buzzing sound, causing everyone's eardrums to suffer.

Commander Veil's stern voice rang out.

"Cleanup team, pursue the two virus avatars impersonating the Base One commander. Immediately!"