Before Silver Blade's two companions could react, a spinning bullet shot out of the jungle nearby and struck the three grenades hidden beneath the corpse's hand with pinpoint accuracy!
Caught so close to the blast, the two Night Owl agents took damage from multiple grenades in an instant. Blinding flames abruptly swallowed them both.
〔You dealt 60 explosive damage to an enemy!〕x8 〔You killed a Night Owl agent! Gained 1,500 experience.〕x2
The grass rustled as Han Xiao stood up. He was in terrible shape: half his body was charred black, he had just over 50 health left, and he was still bleeding. His stamina was nearly exhausted too. His life was like a candle flickering in the wind, liable to go out at any moment. His vision kept darkening, and waves of exhaustion battered his nerves. He forced himself to stay alert and barely avoided passing out.
Han Xiao had used the corpse of the Night Owl agent he had killed as a meat shield, which was how he had survived the grenade blasts. Enduring the pain, he had draped his own clothes over the corpse and used the three newly acquired grenades to set up a corpse booby trap. Then he had hurried into the grass nearby and held his breath, waiting like a hunter. Only Silver Blade had noticed something was wrong and escaped the trap.
Blood blurred Han Xiao's vision. He was in extremely poor condition, his arms and legs trembling weakly beyond his control, while the last enemy was still in good shape. Han Xiao realized at once that he could not give his enemy a chance to put distance between them!
Silver Blade had just scrambled to his feet when a bloodstained black figure charged right up to him.
"You're courting death!" Enraged, Silver Blade drew a dagger from his waist and stabbed viciously!
A searchlight from the aircraft illuminated the forest. The Black Harrier Helicopter lowered a rope ladder, and Hila climbed down to the ground. Bullet holes and scorch marks from explosions covered the area beneath her feet. Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place.
The test subject squad that had arrived first was collecting the blood scattered around the scene. Number One's face was ashen, and he clenched his fists without a word.
Hila looked at the six corpses laid out in a row before her, her face full of shock.
The Night Owl Third Squad had been wiped out!
Zero had vanished without a trace!
The outcome was simply unbelievable!
Hila was stunned for several minutes.
Corpses could speak. Hila crouched down to examine them: two had been blown to death, one had been shot, and three had been killed in close combat.
Silver Blade's goggles had been smashed, driving the fragments back into his eyeballs. His death had been gruesome. She reached out and pressed his corpse; it felt soft, with more than half his bones shattered. His pelvis and groin in particular had been crushed to pieces. These injuries had clearly been inflicted by a skilled fighter who had beaten him to death at close range. No matter how she looked at it, it did not seem like Zero's work.
She knew Han Xiao's close-combat skills better than anyone. He was only a little stronger than an ordinary person... no, he might not even have been that strong. Fighting was not something one could master overnight. Every one of these agents was a warrior who had trained for over ten years, and the Night Owl squad was elite even among them. Even if Han Xiao had been hiding his strength all along, he could only have trained for six months at most. If the evidence had not been right in front of her, Hila would never have believed it.
"Could he have awakened a special ability too, just like me?"
Hila felt some regret. If she had paid more attention to Han Xiao normally, perhaps she could have noticed the signs earlier.
She happened to be away from the base when Zero escaped, which left Hila frustrated. If she had been there, she was confident she could have captured Zero with absolute certainty. Was this luck, or had Zero deliberately seized the opportunity?
"All the Night Owl squad's equipment is gone, but we found this."
An agent walked over carrying the light power arm. It was covered in blood, and a dagger had been driven between its gears and punctured the engine. It was broken.
"Take it back."
A day later, a large number of Germinal Organization personnel arrived at the base to retrieve the surviving surveillance footage and gather clues. Even the leader came in person.
The leader of the Germinal Organization wore a black trench coat, a black mask, and black gloves. He was covered from head to toe and utterly black all over, as though he had wandered off the set of "Detective XX." Even within the organization, no more than five people knew what he really looked like.
"Where's Zero?" the leader asked curtly.
"We lost him," Number One said through gritted teeth. "If I could just have a little more ti-"
The leader suddenly raised a hand, the gesture conveying impatience and anger. Number One had no choice but to fall silent, disgruntled.
The leader was furious. A few days ago, Zero had still been a useless discard in his eyes. Yet before long, that discard had caused him enormous losses and escaped without a hitch. He had misjudged him.
"A 'failed' test subject killed thirty armed guards, destroyed the experimental data, wiped out an elite Night Owl squad, cost me Lin Weixian, and escaped in the end. Am I listening to a fairy tale?!"
Everyone exchanged glances.
The leader said coldly, "I want to know when Zero began thinking of resisting. Why does he have such fighting ability?"
A researcher hurriedly said, "We examined the surveillance footage saved over the past six months and came up with some theories."
"Speak."
"Zero's behavior changed significantly before and after the experiment. According to the report provided by the team that captured human material, Zero's original name was Xiao Han, the third son of the Ofmera Family's second-in-command."
Everyone was startled. The Ofmera Family was a famous warlord family and a partner of Telius State!
The human material used in the organization's experiments consisted mostly of prisoners and wanderers from the wilderness. How had they captured someone with such a background?!
The leader gave a surprised sound. "The son of Overmela's second-in-command? What happened?"
"According to our investigation, Xiao Han was the most unremarkable of Overmela's second-in-command's sons. He had neither awakened his energy nor possessed outstanding leadership ability, and he had a very weak personality." The researcher leafed through the report. "We found Xiao Han barely clinging to life among the corpses on a battlefield. According to our investigation, he had been accompanying his eldest brother Xiao Hai's team as they escorted a shipment of supplies when they were attacked on the way."
"Go on."
"Xiao Hai was the commander of the team. The attackers' target was not the supplies, but Xiao Hai himself. They meant to intercept and kill him. Xiao Hai is a rising talent in the Overmela Family and, barring any accidents, would inherit the position of Overmela's second-in-command. Based on reports from our informant, we believe the attack was the result of an internal struggle, caused by someone wanting to eliminate the second-in-command's heir."
"Xiao Hai forced Xiao Han to put on his clothes and act as a decoy. They fled in separate directions, and in the end, Xiao Han was hit by a shell while Xiao Hai escaped safely."
The leader frowned. "Our informant knows that much detail?"
"Uh, Xiao Hai made no attempt to hide the details, including what he forced Xiao Han to do. He had nothing to fear."
"Xiao Han's death did not turn his family against Xiao Hai. Overmela's second-in-command's exact words were, 'As long as Xiao Hai is safe, that's enough.' As you know, the Overmela Family values strength. Xiao Han's presence or absence meant little to his family, and his siblings seemed not to care about his death at all... After that, we happened to find Xiao Han before he had quite died."
Whether the original body lived or died was like a tiny ripple; no one cared.
In the Ofmera Family's eyes, trading an inept younger son for the survival of an outstanding heir was an acceptable price. Interests outweighed affection.
Han Xiao had none of these memories. By the time he transmigrated, the original body's memories had been forcibly erased by the Germinal Organization.
The leader sneered. "Weakness is the original sin. Incompetent people don't deserve pity. I want to know what's going on with him now."
The researcher said, "We deduce that the Valkyrie Experiment produced a mutation in Zero, and its effects may be beyond our imagination. He gained not only a mechanical aptitude, but even extraordinary intelligence!
"Zero acted harmless for the six months after the experiment. There's a ninety percent chance it was a disguise. He began planning his escape six months ago!"
Hila could not help interrupting. "You mean the brainwashing had no effect on him?"
"I'm afraid so."
Hila looked chagrined.
The researcher continued, "Consider this: why would human material whose past memories we erased suddenly develop the desire to resist and escape? There is only one possibility: the experiment helped him recover his memories. But according to our investigation, Zero never possessed extraordinary abilities before. His current cunning and craftiness suggest that he not only recovered his memories, but also awakened certain strange personalities. That is the most reasonable explanation."
"Can you guarantee it?" the leader asked coldly.
"No..." The researcher had a bitter taste in his mouth. Who knew what was really going on with Zero? This was only the most reasonable guess.
Number One could not help saying, "Could it have been luck...?"
The leader immediately stared at him as if he were an idiot. If you can repeat Zero's achievements through luck, how about I give you the leader's seat?
"Oh, right, the guards brought back the exoskeleton mechanical arm Zero used." The researcher produced a report and said in amazement, "Although the technology is rather crude, it's very innovative. I estimate that most of Zero's fighting ability came from this machine. The weapons development department would be happy to imitate and improve it. Of course, that would require a large sum of money. The weapons department is asking for funding."
Finally, some good news. The leader's mood improved a little. "Money isn't a problem, as long as they can produce a finished product."
The researcher nodded and returned to the original subject. "Whatever the reason, Zero lay low for six months without letting anything slip. Combined with the mechanical aptitude and fighting ability he displayed, he is undoubtedly a meticulous and extremely lethal individual."
Everyone felt a chill.
"Zero is a unique experimental case with great research value. If we can obtain his body, even if he's dead, we can further refine the experimental data."
While sorting through the old surveillance footage, the researchers had found Zero's six months of deception and such patience chilling. Every researcher felt fear deep in their bones, but at the same time, every one of them developed a fervent desire to study Han Xiao!
Number One noticed the longing in the researchers' eyes, and his face immediately darkened.
The one thing he could not bear was losing to Zero.
From the moment he came into being, Number One had known he was the second test subject and that someone else's code name came before his.
That was why he had always regarded Han Xiao as an imaginary rival. Just when he thought he had finally trampled Han Xiao underfoot, reality had dealt him a crushing blow.
The leader remembered something. "Oh, right. Suspend all experiments until we've identified the hidden risks of the Valkyrie Potion. Put every existing test subject through another round of brainwashing. I don't want another Zero appearing."
Number One's eyes filled with anger. Feeling that his loyalty had been insulted, he said loudly, "I'm willing to lead a team to hunt Zero down!"
The leader glanced at him. He had high hopes for the test subject squad. "Can you do it?" he asked slowly.
"I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" Sensing the importance the leader placed on him, Number One was full of fighting spirit and loudly pledged to carry out the order.
"Good. Bring Zero back to me, dead or alive!"