Groups A and B of the guards arrived on the second floor and stared in horror at Balotta's mangled corpse.
"Deputy Chief Balotta was killed?!"
"What happened here?"
"Where did the enemy go?"
"Why isn't anyone answering in the monitoring room?"
"Go ask Dr. Lin Weixian for instructions, now."
"Group C found Dr. Lin Weixian's body!"
"My god..."
All the guards gasped, their faces filled with horror. Had Zero, whom they remembered as utterly incapable of fighting, really done all this?! Zero had thrown the entire base into chaos single-handedly. The leaders who mattered had either left or died, and the guards were stunned to realize that no one was giving orders anymore.
Hadn't that test subject been brainwashed? Could he have been harboring hostile intentions all along, waiting for a chance to act?
At the thought, the guards were stunned to realize that Han Xiao had kept a low profile as a disguise, like a sharp knife hanging over their heads, ready to take their lives at any moment. He was like a killer hidden in the shadows, and they had remained oblivious, ignoring his presence instead.
Everyone broke out in a cold sweat, shaken by the thought.
"Don't panic. There's only one enemy. Conduct a thorough search, and you're free to open fire. Group A, go to the armory. Group B, check the monitoring room. Group C, go to the laboratory and protect the research data. Group D, guard the main gate. Whatever Zero wants to do, if he intends to escape, he'll have to go to the gate. Move!"
At the critical moment, the captain of Group A took command and shouted his orders with a clear head.
The instructions were clear, and the guards immediately sprang into action. The base's sixty armed personnel were organized into four groups, A through D. They normally held different posts, but assembled quickly in an emergency.
However, Han Xiao had multiple plans for dealing with different situations.
"Boom!"
A muffled boom suddenly came from below, and every guard felt the ground shake. The captain of Group A was shocked and demanded, "What happened?!"
The sounds of a fierce gunfight came over the walkie-talkie, mixed with urgent shouts. "Group C has encountered the enemy in the laboratory. I repeat, Group C has encountered the enemy in the laboratory. Damn it, Zero set off a grenade! The laboratory is on fire!"
"Where did he get a grenade?!" Group A's captain was shocked and furious. He and his team were guarding the armory door right now, and no one had come near it.
"Reinforcements, send reinforcements now! Which group is closest?"
"Group B is on the third basement level too. The monitoring room's been wrecked, and we're on our way to the firefight!"
On the third basement level, Han Xiao hid around a corner in the corridor. Ten meters away, thick black smoke was pouring out of the laboratory, where a fierce fire raged. He had bombarded it with three grenades tied together, reducing the Valkyrie research data to ashes. More than a dozen guards from Group C were spraying the corner where he hid with gunfire.
After killing Balotta, Han Xiao had not headed straight for the main gate. Instead, he had gone in the opposite direction, back to the third basement level. He knew the guards would have laid an inescapable net and begun a thorough search from the upper floors. Charging up there recklessly would surely land him in an ambush.
Since his plan to slip away unnoticed would not work, Han Xiao could only change it. The laboratory was on the third basement level, and all the research data was stored there. It could be called the core area of the entire base. Blowing it up could disrupt the enemy's deployment to some extent.
What, you wanted to ask where he got his grenades?
He had assembled and studied practically every piece of equipment in the armory. During that process, it had been no trouble at all to steal a little gunpowder and a few steel balls from the grenades, quietly make new ones, and hide them.
Cutting corners and making knockoffs: a soul talent, you know how it is.
"Seventy-seven pistol rounds left, and five homemade grenades."
Han Xiao checked his equipment. His firepower was limited. He quickly poked his head around the corner for a glance, then immediately pulled back. Bullets swept over at once. If he had been half a second slower, he would have taken two or three hits.
"Twelve guards, three Wright N9 Submachine Guns, and nine Type 73 Wasp Pistols. They have more firepower than I do."
Han Xiao's gaze shifted. A minute had passed since he attacked the laboratory, and Group B would arrive within three minutes. He did not have much time. Ordinarily, he would not have known that, but he had picked up a walkie-talkie from a guard's corpse and learned the enemy's deployment from it.
Everything had happened so suddenly that the guards had yet to realize their walkie-talkies were giving away their movements.
Han Xiao activated a grenade and flung it out. It exploded with a boom, and the guards of Group C scrambled for cover. The gunfire paused.
That was the opening he wanted. His expression grave, Han Xiao held the mechanical arm in front of him and charged out, rapidly closing the distance.
Before the smoke had cleared, Han Xiao burst through it and reached a guard. His mechanical iron fist slammed into the man's abdomen. The guard immediately vomited blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs. The punch took more than half the target's health, instantly destroying his ability to fight.
"Shoot! Shoot, now!"
Gunfire erupted. Han Xiao pushed forward with the guard's body in his grasp. The other enemies showed no mercy and opened fire without hesitation. Blood spurted from the guard's back as he was shot into a lump of mangled flesh.
With the human shield for cover, Han Xiao closed the distance without trouble. Like a tiger among sheep, he sent his mechanical arm roaring. Every punch and kick could break the guards' bones and tendons, and he fought fiercely, killing three of them.
The guards of Group C hurriedly scattered to put distance between them. Han Xiao rolled as he raised the mechanical arm to block. Bullets clanged and ricocheted off the metal as its durability plummeted. He drew his pistol and returned fire, emptying a magazine and shooting three guards dead on the spot.
Just then, a sudden pain struck Han Xiao's arm and thigh.
[Your right arm was hit by a Type 73 Wasp Pistol! You took 17 damage!] [Your left leg was hit by a Wright N9 Submachine Gun! You took 21 damage!] [You were shot! You are now lightly bleeding, losing 1 health per second for 15 seconds. Bandage the wound as soon as possible!] x2
Gunshot damage had a high chance of causing bleeding, which was a major headache early on.
Han Xiao's eyes narrowed slightly. He had been mentally prepared for this. Now he was somewhat grateful for Balotta's torture: it had accustomed him to pain, so his injuries did not hinder his movements. Han Xiao had no time to waste finding cover and trading shots. Gritting his teeth, he pulled a grenade and threw it straight out. The agents hurriedly dropped to the ground, and the gunfire stopped again.
"Boom!" The grenade's explosion sent a sharp pain through Han Xiao's eardrums. With a low growl, he lunged out again.
A minute later, every guard in Group C had died under his Light Power Arm, at the cost of five gunshot wounds. Once the fight ended, he hurriedly bandaged his wounds. He had lost a total of 110 health, more than a third of his total.
After leaving combat, his health would recover at an extremely slow rate.
"Fighting head-on is too costly. If only I had an active skill. Basic Combat and Basic Shooting only provide passive bonuses."
Han Xiao shook his head and took out the walkie-talkie.
"Group C, Group C, respond immediately! What's the situation?"
Han Xiao pinched his voice and said, "Ahem, Group C has suffered heavy casualties. We've trapped the target in the laboratory. The target's been shot. Send reinforcements quickly!" As he spoke, he picked up a submachine gun from the ground and fired a random burst, creating the illusion of a fierce firefight.
"All right, hold on! Group B is on the way!" The person on the other end suspected nothing. The taciturn persona Han Xiao had presented was deeply ingrained in everyone else's minds, and they had not expected him to use a tactic like this.
Han Xiao tied his three remaining grenades together and hung them on the laboratory door. He attached a thin thread to the pins, making a simple booby trap that would detonate as soon as the door was opened. Then he laid a table on its side for cover and quickly searched the surrounding corpses for a large number of magazines. He reloaded the three submachine guns and placed them within reach, fired his pistol at random to maintain the illusion of a firefight, then lay behind cover to wait for the enemy to burst through the door.
Noisy footsteps approached from afar. With a bang, the door was kicked open.
"Boom!"
The violent explosion came as expected. Flames swelled, and the blast sent broken glass, shell casings, and loose stones flying across the floor, accompanied by several screams!
Without a word, Han Xiao picked up a submachine gun in each hand and rushed to the doorway under cover of the dust. He stuck the barrels through the doorway and sprayed the walls on both sides. Smoke filled the air, blocking his view, while the muffled sounds of bullets striking flesh rang out again and again. Only when the magazines were empty did the surroundings fall silent.
The standard way to breach a door was for one person to kick it in while the others hid beside it. Group B had been lucky enough to avoid the first round of grenades, but they could not escape the burst of gunfire that followed.
More than a dozen kill notifications streamed down the panel like a waterfall.
Group B had been almost completely wiped out. Only three guards still clung to life, lying in pools of blood. When they saw Han Xiao emerge from the smoke, their eyes widened, filled with shock and astonishment.
He even knew how to use a booby trap. Was this really the low-profile, dull-witted test subject Zero?!
Han Xiao fired three shots in succession, sending the three men to their graves.
"What was that explosion? What's the situation?!" Group A's captain shouted.
Han Xiao casually picked up a few guns and fired them at random, then said in a feigned panic, "Group B has been ambushed! We're fighting the enemy in the laboratory. Requesting backup, requesting backup!"
"Group A is coming to reinforce you immediately." Greatly alarmed, Group A's captain led his team down to the laboratory on the third basement level. All the way there, he remained uneasy, feeling that he had overlooked something important.
Only upon reaching the third basement level did Group A's captain suddenly realize something. He hurriedly said, "Everyone, listen up! Zero may have infiltrated our communications network. From now on, follow my orders and mine alone!"
His team's expressions changed drastically. Only now did they consider the possibility that Zero had obtained a walkie-talkie.
They had overlooked the vulnerability simply because Han Xiao's former image had been so taciturn.
If Zero had obtained a walkie-talkie, then the request for help from the Group B member just now could also have been fake. From beginning to end, none of the other Group B members had spoken.
An incredible guess surfaced in Group A's captain's mind. Could Zero have wiped out both Groups B and C?
He shuddered.
If that were true, wouldn't it mean that Zero had killed half the base's defensive force single-handedly? He did not want to believe it, but all the clues told him that, however incredible it seemed, this was the truth!
He could almost be certain that the "Group B member" just now had been Zero in disguise, trying to lure Group A into a trap?
Or had Zero merely wanted to draw Group A away so he could reach the main gate and escape the base?
Group A's captain hurriedly said, "Group D, respond. Is anything unusual happening at the main gate?"
"Nothing so far."
Group A's captain breathed a sigh of relief. He absolutely could not let Zero lead him around by the nose. More than half the guards had been killed or wounded, and the situation was out of control. Hoping to eliminate Zero with their remaining manpower was no longer realistic. He had to notify Ms. Hila immediately!
"Group A, listen up! Return to the main gate immediately!"
Group A's captain had made his decision. He would gather everyone to guard the main gate and wait for reinforcements from the organization. It was the safest approach, foolproof.
Whatever Zero wanted to do, as long as he could not escape, he was as good as dead!