It Was Time to Leave This Place

'Boom boom...'

The Underground Research Institute shook repeatedly. Even on the Negative Fourth Floor, the violent tremors could be felt.

Ba Di had fired a seventy-ton-yield missile directly at the white Laboratory Building on the surface, blasting the soldiers surrounding the laboratory into the air.

Along with the mass launch of vehicle-mounted missiles, more than 1,700 people had now been killed on the surface, with over 2,000 injured. Even more had fled the military base. After all, the next wave would be a three-hundred-ton-yield missile bombardment. No one wanted to die.

The explosion outside the Laboratory Building, combined with the C4, sent powerful vibrations through the sturdy Underground Research Institute. Fortunately, the Institute had two layers of metal reinforcement, easily defending against such external tremors. Only the exits might have been blocked.

Ba Di's expression was calm and unmoved as he studied the map of Nevada that had been brought up.

There were nearly 132 military bases in the region. The number was simply insane. Nevada alone had so many military bases.

But considering that the Cold War had not yet ended and the United States and the Soviet Union were competing for global supremacy, perhaps that number was not so great.

After all, the United States currently maintained as many as 5,000 military bases around the world. Strictly speaking, 132 military bases were not much.

Rather, these 132 military bases were most likely faithfully guarding Area 51 under the pretext of the Cold War.

The military base above Ba Di's head could be considered a small, outermost base. Utah and Idaho were not far away.

Ba Di stared at the map with sharp eyes, calmly planning how to escape from this place.

There were simply too many missile silos and military bases in Nevada during this period. Some had been prepared for the Cold War against the Soviet Union, while others were likely meant to guard Area 51.

But for Ba Di, that only made things worse.

Even if he controlled nearly sixteen thousand tons' worth of missiles and blew up this military base, it would not help.

Five hundred kilometers away was an even larger military base. Worst of all, that base possessed the latest fighters: F-15 Eagle Fighters and F-16 Fighting Falcons.

The military base above Ba Di's head only had helicopters.

Even if Ba Di left by helicopter, fighter jets would fly in from five hundred kilometers away within half an hour and strike him with missiles. Ba Di would not mind reenacting one of those movie scenes—leaping through the air onto a fighter jet, smashing open the cockpit, dragging out the pilot, and hurling him away.

But there were too many uncertainties. After all, he could not fly. At an altitude of several thousand meters, there would not be many opportunities.

Ba Di pondered. "Hera, launch the ten-thousand-ton and six-thousand-ton cruise missiles at the military base five hundred kilometers away. Target their airfield and blow up all their fighter jets."

"Master, the moment we launch the first missile, the other military bases will detect that the missiles are out of control. At a distance of five hundred kilometers, there is a ninety percent chance they will be intercepted and detonated in midair," Hera replied.

Ba Di nodded. "It doesn't matter. There isn't much time. Continue bombing this base with the three-hundred-ton missile, then launch the ten-thousand-ton and six-thousand-ton missiles at the base five hundred kilometers away. Launch them from different directions and delay them for a while."

"Yes, Master. In one minute and twenty seconds, the three-hundred-ton missile will explode at the surface military base. The six-thousand-ton and ten-thousand-ton missiles will be launched in two minutes at the fighter jet hangars of the military base five hundred kilometers away," Hera replied.

Ba Di gave a quiet hum. After bringing up his planned route once more and confirming that there were no mistakes, he shut it off, stood up, and stepped away from the screen.

He still had one final task to complete.

Erase the traces he had left behind.

Krypton's genes were far too powerful. Ba Di would not allow humans to use his genes for anything.

Before he had gone up to bask in the sun, Jenny had already successfully created the Gene Serum.

Though he did not know how effective the Gene Serum was, it was better to put an end to anything that used Kryptonian genes.

Ba Di had already ordered Hera to delete every experimental record stored on the computers. By monitoring Dean Bo Li's movements, Ba Di's deductions and Hera's calculations had allowed him to roughly determine where the vial of serum might have been hidden.

The corridor was deep, dark, and bloody. Ba Di returned coldly to the White Room where he had once been imprisoned. He glanced at the one-way mirror. Behind it was still an entirely white environment. The handcuffs and shackles that had once restrained him had long been removed, and this room had been intended for use on genetic test subjects. Unfortunately, there had been no time. Now, it was useless.

He passed through the White Room, the room that had once rendered him unable to move.

In the end, he was still the victor.

A cold smile curved across Ba Di's lips. Nearly everyone connected to the experiments on him was dead. Jenny was someone he had deliberately spared. Slade was dead. Dean Bo Li was dead. The middle-aged woman was dead. There had been many who had viewed him as nothing more than research material, like a frog on a dissecting table. Ba Di remembered every single one of them.

No matter how gentle and cooperative he had once seemed, he remembered the names of every researcher on the Negative Fourth Floor who had studied him. One by one, he had sent them up to meet God.

As for General Vick, Ba Di believed he would die very soon as well.

When he arrived at Jenny's laboratory, a trace of warmth flashed through Ba Di's eyes.

Perhaps Jenny had been the only one here who had sincerely wanted to treat him well.

But if he had not captured Jenny's heart, he would probably still have been a research subject here.

At that thought, the warmth in Ba Di's eyes returned to coldness.

The Gene Serum that had been kept in the laboratory was gone. Dean Bo Li had secretly taken it away.

A misshapen, tumor-covered... white mouse? It was half the size of a cage.

'Slap slap slap slap slap.'

Ba Di frowned slightly as he watched the tumor-covered white mouse frantically slam against the tempered glass, making loud slapping sounds. The cramped space inside the glass enclosure made it appear crazed.

This thing seemed to have mutated?

"Was this a white mouse used to test the Gene Serum?"

Ba Di shook his head slightly and ignored the tumor-covered white mouse. Judging from the result, the Gene Serum had been a complete failure.

Nor would this white mouse yield any extractable Kryptonian genes.

After briefly looking over the laboratory, Ba Di left.

In the stretch of time between Dean Bo Li disappearing from the surveillance footage with the Gene Serum and reappearing, Ba Di found the serum beneath a black plastic bag at the bottom of a discarded trash bin in the testing room.

A violent tremor followed, shaking loose grains of sand from the gaps in the steel composite structure of the Underground Research Institute.

The three-hundred-ton missile had exploded.

Ba Di felt the ground tremble beneath his feet. His heart stirred, and he immediately strode back to the Evolution Room.

"Master, the six-thousand-ton and ten-thousand-ton missiles have been set. Launch will begin shortly," Hera reported.

"Good. Get some rest, Hera."

After saying that, Ba Di pulled out the key, hung it around his neck with a rope, and a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

"It's time to leave this place."