In his previous life, Han Xiao knew about Cerberus.
A high-ranking researcher at the Germinal, Cerberus is obsessed with research. He's the one who conducted the experiment that turned Aurora into "Aurora," which is why he's known to the players. Cerberus has no principles and can betray any faction without hesitation for his life. To him, only by staying alive can he conduct more experiments; so-called loyalty is utter nonsense in his eyes.
If Han Xiao threatened him, he was very confident that Cerberus would obediently compromise for the sake of his life, provided that no one else found out.
However, there is a small problem: the headquarters is huge, Han Xiao doesn't know where Cerberus is at this moment.
Just then, a player with an ID floating above their head walked past, Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat.
'There are also players in the underground headquarters; you can try using them.'
Ilex was on his way to hand in a daily training mission when a Germinal soldier suddenly appeared and stopped him. The soldier looked fierce but had a friendly smile on his face, like a crocodile grinning... It was just that the unfortunate guy Han Xiao was replacing looked too rugged.
Ilex's anus tightened, and he stammered, "W-what do you want to do?"
Han Xiao chuckled amiably, but it sent a chill down Ilex's spine. He paused, then said, "Young man, I need your help with a small matter." He then set up an unsigned quest and sent it out, requesting that I find out Cerberus's location. In the quest description, he pretended to have an urgent matter to report, making it sound very real. Since players generally don't doubt the description of quests, he didn't suspect anything.
Ilex was astonished. This was the first time he had ever seen a mission come to him so readily, and the reward was substantial. He was immediately tempted. Moreover, finding Cerberus was easy; he could only be in the lab, so there was no difficulty whatsoever.
"Okay, I'll be right back." Ilex went to confirm.
Before long, Han Xiao received news that Cerberus was checking data on the experimental floor.
Han Xiao's eyes flashed, and he issued another task to Ilex, asking him to obtain a floor map of the headquarters. This was something he wouldn't easily get his hands on himself, but the players working at headquarters knew it by heart. Ilex didn't suspect anything; he had the map on him and handed it to Han Xiao.
After carefully reading it, Han Xiao nodded to himself, having come up with his next plan.
The experimental floor occupied a large area. Han Xiao quietly went to the rest station for the experimental staff, briefly blocked the camera in the corner with the Magnetic Chain Split Blade, quickly pried open the locker in the changing room and took out a few white coats and masks, disguising himself as an experimental staff member, and then swaggered to the experimental floor.
At this moment, Cerberus was in a large laboratory, directing the lab coats to debug the functions of a new batch of super soldiers. He himself was browsing data on a computer. Seeing that there were many people around, Han Xiao adjusted his mask, quietly approached Cerberus, and pulled out a simple detector. He quickly scanned Cerberus, and the result was that there were no listening devices. This result was within his expectations. Cerberus spent most of his time at headquarters and did not have a strong sense of security. He also did not have any guards with him.
Han Xiao turned his back to Cerberus, pretending to organize data on the table. With a flick of his finger, a sharp blade slipped discreetly into Cerberus's coat, close to the ground, and pressed against his heart.
Cerberus felt a chill in his chest and quickly reached out to touch it. He felt a thin, metallic object through his clothes and was shocked. He hurriedly tried to pull open his collar to take a look, but at that moment, a low, faint voice came to his ear, which was clearly audible despite the surrounding noise.
"Quiet, don't move, don't shout, or this blade will cut open your heart. Now, pretend nothing happened, obey my orders. Disobey, die. Trigger the alarm, die."
Cerberus looked around, seeing everyone as an enemy, and became like a frightened bird. He whispered, "Don't be impulsive. What do you want me to do?" For the sake of his life, he dared not resist rashly.
"Leave the lab and don't make a sound."
"Okay, okay, don't do anything rash." Cerberus took a few deep breaths and said loudly, "You guys continue the experiment, I have something to do."
After saying that, he strode towards the door. The other researchers didn't suspect anything. Han Xiao paused for a moment and followed behind Cerberus.
The two entered the corridor. Cerberus saw Han Xiao behind him and knew that this was the person who had kidnapped him. He scrutinized him closely and whispered, "What else do you want me to do?"
"Take me to the mainframe. Don't try anything funny. I need your access. If anything goes wrong, I can pierce your heart in a fraction of a second." Han Xiao said succinctly.
"No." Cerberus felt the cold metal against his chest, steadied himself, and led the way. He wasn't a warrior; his life was more important than anything else. He knew he had no choice but to compromise and was unwilling to risk triggering the alarm.
Along the way, they encountered many members of the Germinal. Cerberus acted naturally, nodding in greeting as usual. Han Xiao followed closely behind, and others assumed he was Cerberus's assistant; no one suspected anything.
Walking down an empty corridor, Cerberus carefully examined Han Xiao's face, then suddenly whispered, "You're in disguise, aren't you, Zero?"
Han Xiao was startled. How did he know my identity?
Cerberus continued, "To capture you, the leader laid a trap at headquarters, with countless executives on standby. And you actually managed to sneak in..."
Han Xiao's expression changed slightly, his eyes becoming serious. He sensed something unusual. The leader had actually set up an ambush in advance, meaning he knew all along that Han Xiao would sneak in?!
How is that possible?!
He clearly didn't tell anyone about his actions!
Could it be that the leader has a precognitive ability? And if so, are we now surrounded?
For a moment, Han Xiao was in a state of panic. He quickly calmed himself down and immediately realized something was wrong. If the leader really knew his target, how could he have infiltrated headquarters so easily? This proved that the leader's knowledge was limited, and he didn't even know that Han Xiao could infiltrate by changing his face, which was why he hadn't taken precautions in this regard.
Han Xiao immediately realized the gaps in the Germinal ' deployment, confirming that this was a trap set by Germinal.
Too many questions flooded his mind. Since Cerberus had brought it up himself, Han Xiao knew what he meant. Suppressing the murderous intent in his heart, he said in a deep voice, "Tell me everything you know, and I'll consider letting you live."
Sensing the chilling killing intent, Cerberus's back was drenched in cold sweat, but he forced himself to remain calm and said, "These are all predictions from the Child of Destiny."
The Child of Destiny? Han Xiao frowned; he had no idea that such a person existed within the Germinal.
"The Child of Destiny's ability might be to predict the future, or it might be to decide the future. We don't know for sure. He predicted that you would walk right into his trap..." Cerberus recounted everything from the beginning, including the Child of Destiny's abilities, his predictions about Han Xiao, and the leader's arrangements. He didn't hide anything, saying whatever came to mind to save his own life.
' The Germinal are hiding someone like this.' Han Xiao was secretly shocked. In his previous life, no information about this person had ever been circulated. It seemed that this was the deepest secret hidden by the Germinal. If the Child of Destiny's ability was to influence the future, then wouldn't his idea of saving people be something that had been forced upon him?
Suddenly, a murderous intent arose within him.
One's thoughts are a private domain; if invaded, they will inevitably cross anyone's bottom line.
Many abilities can exert influence on the mind, such as telekinesis, magic, and superpowers. There are even natural phenomena with similar effects in the universe. For example, the Psionic Undercurrent is an aggregation of thoughts, forming a waveband at the spiritual level. It travels through the universe in an invisible form. Wherever it passes, sentient beings can hear the "voice" of the Psionic Undercurrent in their minds, thus being influenced by it.
But upon further reflection, Han Xiao found this conjecture too unbelievable. He had the idea of saving Hela when he met Hila more than a year ago, and he had analyzed the benefits of doing so and the benefits of the Tu Shu. It was all based on self-interest, and it didn't seem like he was being influenced. Moreover, his choice to infiltrate the Germinal headquarters was not only for saving people, but also for other purposes.
The Child of Destiny's abilities must have limitations, at least limited in their effect on him. Yet, they accurately predicted that he would come to the Germinal Headquarters alone. This relieved Han Xiao, but also cast a shadow over his heart.
He finally understood how terrifying it was to have an enemy who seemed to know the future, and he immediately understood the leader's annoyance.
"I've severely damaged the Germinal; the leader probably wants to skin me alive and tear me apart."
From Cerberus, Han Xiao learned that the current headquarters is hiding a large number of executives and troops, waiting to deal with him. At the slightest sign of trouble, they can surround him at any time, putting him in a very precarious situation.
However, Han Xiao also discovered a huge advantage: the leader only knew that he would come, but did not know the exact time or his exact goal.
"Then I still have an advantage. I can't delay any longer. It's best to leave immediately after achieving my goal." Han Xiao felt a chill run down his spine.
The most ideal outcome would be to complete the mission and leave without anyone noticing.
Incidentally, he remembered the phrase "the Child of Destiny".