Aurora looked at the large hand outstretched in front of her, then looked up into Han Xiao's eyes and asked timidly, "Why did you come to save me?"
Han Xiao thought for a moment and said, "Just consider me a kind-hearted person."
"Who are you?" Aurora tilted her head.
"You can call me Zero," Han Xiao said casually.
Aurora's big, watery eyes sparkled with surprise. "So you're Uncle Zero."
Han Xiao raised his eyes, and the title "uncle" suddenly gave him the illusion that he was trying to abduct a little girl.
Cerberus hesitated for a moment, then cautioned, "She's been brainwashed. If you want to save her, you'd better be careful about that."
brainwashing?
He knew about the rumor, but seeing that Aurora didn't seem brainwashed, Han Xiao's eyes flashed, and he said, "Tell me more about it."
Cerberus whispered, "We have several methods of brainwashing: destructive methods to reshape personality, gentler methods to distort and modify thought, and recently we've been researching chips... uh, but there hasn't been much progress."
"Which one am I?" Han Xiao asked with interest.
Cerberus broke out in a cold sweat immediately, and said with a forced smile, "I've seen your file. When we found you, you were already severely injured, disoriented, and showing obvious signs of amnesia. When you became a test subject, because we valued your brain and you were already in a daze, we used a gentle brainwashing method."
This was within Han Xiao's expectations. Lin Weixian had tormented him for a long time with contradictory pictures and sound effects, but since an intelligence level above ten was sufficient to avoid it, it probably wasn't anything destructive. The matter was over, so Han Xiao didn't feel any relief afterward. He remained calm and asked, "What about her?"
"Her sister is a powerful executive with very special abilities. She holds a special position in the organization and has made great contributions. Based on this, Aurora's brainwashing is a gentler method, preserving her original thinking and maintaining a normal personality most of the time. However, once she utters certain sensitive words, her brainwashed personality will take over and she will completely obey orders."
Han Xiao roughly understood. Although Aurora was important, she was already firmly under his control and there was no chance of anything going wrong. However, her older sister Hila was a sharp knife, so he kept Aurora's personality as a means to control Hila. This gentle brainwashing method could be removed if needed, so it wasn't a big problem. Aurora was a weak little girl, and if her brainwashed personality was awakened, Han Xiao could just knock her unconscious with a single slap... although that would turn the abduction of a little girl into the forced abduction of a little girl.
"Wait a minute, how do you know me, little girl?" Han Xiao suddenly came to his senses.
"My sister told you your story."
Why did Hila bring me up for no reason?
Han Xiao muttered to himself, "This little girl seems to have a crush on me. I wonder what Hila said to her. How strange, they're enemies, aren't they?"
Aurora shakily stood up, placed her small hand in Han Xiao's palm, and said, "Thank you for saving me. Please take me with you."
Han Xiao became interested. "Aren't you afraid that I saved you just to use you, like Germinal?"
"My sister said that even a dangerous future is better than a fate worse than death." Aurora looked up, her young face filled with seriousness.
Seeing that Aurora was so cooperative, Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. His understanding of Aurora was limited to a few rumors from his previous life. The reason Aurora became known to the players was because after she was made into a potion, there was a side quest to investigate the origin of the potion, which led to the discovery of Aurora's deeds.
Therefore, he was unsure of Aurora's personality and originally thought he would have to use some persuasion, but it went so smoothly.
There will be plenty of opportunities to connect emotionally later; now is clearly not a good time to chat.
The cameras in this area have been set up to capture the footage, and it's impossible to keep it a secret forever; time is precious.
Han Xiao brought in all the corpses, and took a white coat and mask from one of them to disguise Aurora. Aurora obediently let him do as he pleased.
Touching Aurora's skeletal frame, Han Xiao realized just how thin and frail she was. Her pitiful appearance easily evoked pity, but Han Xiao, being an old hand, didn't have any extra emotions. After maintaining his disguise, he turned to Cerberus and shouted, "Take us through the underground tunnel. Once we're safe, I promise I won't kill you. The Six Nations really like talent like you; you can still get funding for research there."
The evacuation route with Aurora was naturally not through the main gate. The underground headquarters was connected to many underground tunnels, which were underground railways for transporting supplies and personnel, forming a network that stretched out like an open spider web.
The plan was to use Cerberus as a hostage and leverage his authority to leave headquarters through the underground tunnel. To ensure Cerberus's cooperation, Han Xiao gave him a reassuring promise.
Although Cerberus was reluctant to abandon his Germinal research, at least he wouldn't die, which he could accept; in fact, he felt a sense of relief.
The Germinal is a sinking vessel; at this critical juncture, switching decks and siding with the victors might be a better option.
Just as they were about to set off, Han Xiao suddenly stopped, realizing that Aurora's small size was still too conspicuous, even with disguise. An idea struck him, and he took out an empty shoulder bag, saying, "Sorry to make you cramp up, come in."
Aurora obediently did as she was told and climbed into the bag.
As the zipper closed, her vision went completely black; she could only feel herself being lifted up and swayed as she moved.
"Sister..." Aurora curled up in the bag, clasped her hands together in front of her chest, and prayed silently.
The three quickly traversed the various floors, heading towards the underground passage.
At the same time, the leader, who was listening to the battle situation analysis meeting, suddenly took out his mobile phone.
"The mainframe data shows signs of being accessed. The operator is Cerberus, who accessed a large amount of classified information..." The leader's eyes narrowed, suspicion rising. He told his assistant, "Find Cerberus's location and transfer the surveillance footage to my computer."
Immediately, the leader manipulated the computer, entered background commands to access the host system, and checked the operation traces. He immediately discovered Cerberus's various actions of disabling defense measures. The surveillance video also switched over, showing Cerberus and another person entering the host room together.
The leader's eyes turned cold; he immediately deduced that Cerberus was being coerced, and this stranger was very likely Zero. He hadn't fallen into his trap, but had sneaked in using other means.
"But... once you're here, you can't leave."
The leader swiftly issued orders. "Dispatch all standby officers to surround Area C-11 and the entrances to underground tunnels Number Three through eleven. Operate covertly; do not alert the enemy."
To be on the safe side, the leader did not activate the headquarters' alarm system. He wanted to quietly set up a death trap for Zero to ensure that nothing went wrong.
In a lounge at the underground headquarters, a group of familiar executives were playing cards idly.
"I'm so bored being on standby every day. I really want to go to the battlefield," one person said.
"What's so great about the battlefield? It's dangerous everywhere. With those Inhuman and super soldiers as cannon fodder, why would we need to risk our lives?" someone scoffed.
"Super soldiers, hey, a bunch of monsters even more disgusting than Inhuman, all half-finished garbage." Someone said disdainfully; serious superhumans looked down on these mass-produced soldiers.
Beside her, Hila sat on the sofa in the corner, her eyes closed as she rested. Her aloof demeanor kept everyone at arm's length, and she ignored everyone, remaining detached from the lively atmosphere.
Suddenly, Hila opened her eyes, abruptly turned her head to look in one direction, her expression breaking from icy, filled with shock, rage, and astonishment.
The life imprint she left on Aurora has moved!
The executives suddenly received orders from their superiors, but before they could finish listening, a loud bang rang in their ears. They looked up in astonishment to see the door shattered on the ground, Hila had already transformed into a fast-moving dark red shadow, disappearing like a madwoman at the end of the corridor.