The passage was winding; after crouching and walking for a while, the view suddenly opened up ahead.
Before us lay a vast, empty underground tunnel. The exit of this secret passage was located at the top of the tunnel wall, about five meters above the ground.
The air was thick with dust and the smell of mildew; it was abandoned and desolate, with large patches of cobwebs hanging on the walls. The main entrance to this underground tunnel had been locked and had not been used for many years.
Hila jumped down with Aurora in her arms, kicking up a cloud of dust, and Han Xiao also rolled down.
"This is an early underground tunnel. It was abandoned after the headquarters was expanded and has never been maintained. I dug a secret passage through the ventilation ducts to get here. The gates and cameras are gone, and the rails are broken. We have to get out. The exit is a hidden door on the ground at the edge of the headquarters complex. The whole tunnel journey will take about four hours."
Han Xiao glanced back at the cave entrance. "Won't they chase after us?"
"Nobody knows we're here, but we'd better not let our guard down." Hila hoisted Aurora and strode forward.
Han Xiao followed, walking side by side, casually tossing out a few small, trigger-activated landmines. If anyone followed, they could blow up this section of the tunnel.
The three continued onward in silence.
The situation was tense just now, so there wasn't time to investigate many things in depth. Now that she has some free time, more doubts are arising in Hila's mind, and she keeps looking at Han Xiao.
Hila had some questions she wanted to ask, but being used to his aloof personality, she pursed her red lips and remained silent.
Aurora nestled on Hila's back, burying her face in her older sister's dark red hair, inhaling her sister's fragrance. Her expression was one of comfort and peace as she timidly glanced at Han Xiao from the side.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Little brat, why are you staring at me like that?"
Aurora whispered, "Don't you have a name, or are you just called Zero?"
Hila pricked up her ears.
"Han Xiao, that's my name."
"My sister said you've been brainwashed, and she still doesn't know how you escaped."
Han Xiao adopted a charlatan's stance, saying meaningfully, "Everything is preordained."
Hila secretly rolled her eyes.
"My sister said you're only in your twenties, but you look so old."
Han Xiao blushed. "I was disguised, you little brat, you have no sense of propriety."
Turning his gaze away, and seeing Hila remain silent, Han Xiao became interested in teasing her and asked with a smile, "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
Hila patted Aurora and said coldly, "Thanks."
"Your tone is so insincere." Han Xiao casually tossed a few bullets aside. "I came all this way to save your sister, venturing into the lion's den. I don't need to be eternally grateful and offer myself in return, at least be a little more polite."
Hila turned her head, frowned, and asked, "Where did you find out about my sister? What are your intentions?"
Now that the conversation was started, she might as well ask. She didn't believe Han Xiao's motive was purely to save people; he must have some other purpose... She was right, but unfortunately, she couldn't have guessed that Han Xiao's target was her.
"Sounds like torture. I'm your benefactor and teammate now," Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and said teasingly, "When you're asking a question, you have to start with a pleading tone."
Hila hadn't yet adjusted to the change in their identities. After a moment of silence, she realized she still couldn't bring herself to say "please," and stiffly replied, "Tell me."
"What, you suspect that I, like Germinal, might control your sister for your own good?" Han Xiao chuckled. "Maybe I'll give it a try."
Most things that can be said can't be taken seriously. Hila felt a sense of relief and asked expressionlessly, "What exactly do you want?"
I want world peace.
Hila gritted her teeth, having asked Han Xiao for a long time only to find he was talking nonsense and hadn't said anything substantial, so she simply stopped talking.
Aurora asked curiously, "My sister told you your story, she said you're amazing... Are all these stories true?"
Oh my, Hila actually praised me behind my back.
Han Xiao turned to look, but Hila didn't react at all upon hearing his words. She still had a cold expression, staring straight ahead without even glancing at him. However, as the saying goes, silence is the same as consent.
"Of course it's true."
"And after you escaped, what happened to you...?" Aurora was very interested in Han Xiao. During her imprisonment, her sister's limited interactions with her consisted mainly of telling stories to let Aurora know about the outside world, and the story of Zero was the most memorable.
Han Xiao smiled but remained silent.
Hila suspected that Han Xiao had something difficult to say, and her thoughts shifted.
"Although I don't know why Zero... Han Xiao's strength has increased so rapidly, he wasn't that strong when he escaped the base. Having finally gained his freedom, he must have been living in fear and anxiety facing the organization's pursuit. Therefore, he could only hide under an assumed name, like a rat, hiding here and there, avoiding the Germinal eyes and ears of the organization. He never dared to show himself, only spreading intelligence in secret. Perhaps he has been hiding in some secluded place all along, which is why the organization has never been able to find him."
Seeing that Han Xiao stopped talking, Hila became even more convinced that she had guessed correctly. She had worked for Germinal for a long time and knew about the experiences of some traitors. Han Xiao must have had a difficult experience of hiding and running away.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Aurora into a deep sleep. She was weak and exhausted from the sudden change in her condition. Han Xiao and Hila then stopped talking and focused on continuing their journey.
They drove in silence for about three hours until they reached a section of a collapsed tunnel. They couldn't go any further; the hidden exit was right above them.
The two stepped onto the pile of rubble. Hila stretched out a hand and felt around in the wall above his head. He found a recessed mechanism, turned it, and a square crack immediately appeared. Dust fell down, and the crack was pitch black, so they couldn't see what was outside.
"Go up." Hila pushed open the hidden door and jumped up.
The surroundings were pitch black and silent. After adjusting to the darkness, it became clear that this was a large supply warehouse, with rows of containers neatly stacked. The secret passage exit was in a corner of the warehouse, covered in a layer of dust.
"This warehouse stores less important supplies and has a low level of security. Heading south is the edge of the headquarters base complex's security perimeter. As long as we escape the security zone, we'll be safe."
Han Xiao remained noncommittal.
Cerberus had said that the leader had deployed a large number of people to deal with him, with countless troops on standby in positions within a radius of hundreds of miles. Although he had managed to escape from headquarters, he had not yet escaped the encirclement set up by the leader. If what Cerberus said was true, it was still a long way from being completely safe.
Clutching his equipment bag tightly, Han Xiao thought to himself, "My identity will be exposed sooner or later, so I might as well stay here..."
Suddenly, a message popped up on the panel.
[Your triggered grenade killed Germinal Soldier, and you gained 1 experience point.]
"The traps left in the tunnel have detonated, and the Germinal will be here soon," Han Xiao said in a deep voice.
Hila's expression tightened. "We need to speed things up."
It was nighttime, and the darkness was thick. They woke Aurora, put her back in the bag, and the two carefully left the warehouse, avoiding the patrolling soldiers, and headed towards the edge exit.
Units of troops converged on the outskirts of the headquarters' ground base complex, raising the level of alert several notches and becoming fully armed.
A few hours ago, Han Xiao and Hila disappeared at headquarters. The leader immediately issued a top-level mobilization order, and all personnel waiting on the perimeter began to move. He determined that Han Xiao was still in the headquarters area, so he first reinforced the perimeter defenses, not allowing anyone to escape.
The number of people deployed on the perimeter is dozens or even hundreds of times greater than the number of people inside the headquarters. The leader had spared no expense in deploying a standby force stretching for hundreds of miles, just in case, and now it has come in handy.
The original commander of the southern position had been urgently replaced. The highest-ranking officer at the time was named Cordell, a veteran Executor at level 55. In response to Zero's sudden surge in strength, the leader began to deploy even more senior Executors. Cordell was accompanied by more than a dozen Executors, dozens of super soldiers, two to three hundred Inhuman Unit, and several thousand ordinary soldiers.
Amidst the chaos of the battleground, Cordell was receiving orders from his leader.
"Headquarters has located the target's escape route and is conducting a thorough search. The target is very likely heading in your direction. You have full authority to deploy troops. If any suspicious individuals appear around the position, open fire immediately. I authorize you to kill the target directly, and absolutely do not allow him to leave the headquarters area!"
"He's doomed if he dares to come to my position," Cordell said in a deep voice. "What about Hila and her sister?"
"They betrayed the organization, so there's no need to worry about them. If they get in the way, kill them all."
The leader's tone was chilling; Zero was the number one enemy, and he was willing to sacrifice Aurora.