324: Top floor

As the night deepened, pedestrians and vehicles on the streets became increasingly sparse. The Evergreen Group building stood in the night like a glowing behemoth.

Wei Ziqing and Lu Jianchuan found a hidden spot again and completed their armor donning in an instant. Without any redundant light effects or movements, the plain white Hero Shadow and the silver-white silver skeleton stood quietly in the shadows.

"Let's go."

Relying on the superior physical capabilities provided by their armor, the two avoided the regular patrol routes of the ground security and chose to climb from a surveillance blind spot on the side of the building—the external maintenance ladder area connected to the ventilation ducts. A height of several stories was no obstacle for them.

After successfully sneaking into an empty logistics passage inside the building, Wei Ziqing lowered his voice and asked, "Brother Lu, entering like this, is there no problem with the surveillance?"

"It's fine," Lu Jianchuan responded in a low voice as well, his pace never faltering. "I contacted 'The Forger' before coming in. He will handle the surveillance System inside this building and clear a 'safe passage' for us. As long as we don't run into any living patrols, the electronic eyes won't find us."

"Oh." Wei Ziqing understood and didn't ask further.

The interior of the building was excessively quiet, with only the low hum of the central air conditioning System. The two moved between the polished corridors and fire escapes like ghosts, efficient and silent.

"This building isn't small; the whole thing is theirs," Wei Ziqing observed his surroundings. "Should we go up or down? Generally speaking, places like secret laboratories like to be built underground, don't they?"

Lu Jianchuan pondered slightly. "According to common sense and... TV drama tropes, it's indeed possible they're underground. However, in a commercial building of this level, the underground section is usually strictly planned. Aside from parking lots and equipment floors, it's very difficult to secretly expand a hidden space, and it's easily discovered. It wouldn't hurt to check the basement levels first."

The two followed the safety stairs down and soon reached the underground parking lot. Many high-end vehicles were parked in the spacious area, with dim lighting and clear zoning. They carefully explored every corner of the parking lot, even checking all doors and passages leading deeper, but the results were disappointing—aside from standard parking areas, power distribution rooms, fire pump rooms, and some storage rooms, they found no hidden entrances or illegal construction marks suspected of leading to a deeper secret area.

"It seems TV dramas aren't entirely right." Wei Ziqing stood in the middle of the empty parking lot, somewhat speechless.

"That's normal," Lu Jianchuan wasn't surprised. "Illegally digging deep under an existing building structure involves a huge amount of work and high risk. For a listed company with a polished surface, it's not the first choice. Let's go; the focus might not be underground, but above."

The two didn't delay any longer, turned to leave the parking lot, re-entered the stairwell, and began to explore the upper floors.

Maintaining their transformed state, Lu Jianchuan and Wei Ziqing continued to explore upward along the stairs and safety passages like two silent shadows. They avoided the few overtime workers and fixed-point security patrols at night, occasionally needing to temporarily duck into empty offices or laboratories to hide.

The rooms inside the building were varied, from ordinary cubicle offices to laboratories equipped with large precision instruments of unknown use. Out of curiosity, Wei Ziqing would lightly tap the back of his hand or knuckles against some seemingly important metal doors or instrument casings as they passed, trying to hear anything unusual. However, the feedback was always a solid, dull thud, with no sign of hidden layers or compartments. As for the electronic access controls and cameras, with "The Forger" providing cover in the background, they didn't need to worry about triggering alarms for now.

Just as they were about to lose their direction and were hesitating whether to check floor by floor, a faint, somewhat familiar female voice drifted out from a room with a door slightly ajar on the floor above.

The two immediately silenced themselves and approached the crack of the door without a sound.

"...Don't you think? They are a purer, more Advanced existence! We humans, bound by desire and so-called civilization, have long lost that... that spirituality of being one with nature!" It was exactly the voice of the woman who had led the argument during the day, but now it was less sharp and more filled with a kind of near-fanatical intoxication.

Another slightly excited male voice chimed in: "Exactly! Especially those in the 'Sanctuary'... ah, just being near them, you can feel the surge of life! We are so lucky to be chosen to look after them..."

The woman's voice became ethereal, accompanied by a silly giggle: "Hehe... yeah, right at the top, the most beautiful... like glowing little stars, or like newborn babies, so pure..."

"Yes, yes, yes!" The male voice also laughed, a hollow and eerie sound. "Hehehe..."

Outside the door, Wei Ziqing and Lu Jianchuan exchanged looks, both seeing gravity in each other's eyes. This tone of voice, the content, and especially that untimely, idiotic laughter were extremely abnormal.

Wei Ziqing lowered his voice, speaking in a breathy tone only the two of them could hear: "This state... is very similar to those people my master mentioned back at the martial arts hall who were controlled by drugs or had taken hallucinogens. They're caught in a hallucination."

Lu Jianchuan's brow furrowed. "It's not impossible for drug use to occur within a cult-like group, but it feels... different. They just mentioned 'plants', 'Sanctuary', and 'at the top'."

At this moment, a faint "hissing" sound, like an inhalation, came from inside the room. Then, the two people's delusional words and idiotic laughter became more pronounced, and their conversation grew increasingly incoherent, as if they were completely immersed in their own world.

Wei Ziqing, bold due to his high skill, signaled Lu Jianchuan with his eyes, gently pushed the door open a bit wider, and slipped inside, with Lu Jianchuan following closely behind.

The room looked like a simple breakroom or storage room, with dim lighting.

The woman from earlier and another young man were slumped in chairs, their eyes unfocused, with intoxicated smiles on their faces, muttering to themselves in the air, completely unresponsive to the two who had quietly entered.

A very faint, weird smell, sweet yet carrying a hint of grassy fishiness, drifted in the air.

Wei Ziqing walked straight to the man and waved his hand quickly in front of his eyes. The other's eyeballs moved sluggishly, as if seeing nothing, still giggling and mumbling "so beautiful... light...".

On the small table next to the man, some fine powder that shimmered with a very faint fluorescence was scattered, and beside it was an open, small metal box that seemed to contain the same substance.

"Look at this." Wei Ziqing pointed at the powder and whispered to Lu Jianchuan. "He seemed to lean in and take a sniff from this box just now, and then he became like this."

Lu Jianchuan leaned in to observe. He didn't touch it with his hands but carefully distinguished the color and scent of the powder, his eyes sharp. "It looks... like some kind of processed pollen. Extremely hallucinogenic, and it takes effect very quickly."

He looked around this unremarkable room: "Here should just be a temporary spot for relaxation or getting 'supplies'. The 'Sanctuary' and the 'top floor' they mentioned are the keys."

"No matter what this damn thing is," Wei Ziqing stood up straight and cast his gaze toward the ceiling, "going up is the right move. Didn't they say it? It's on the top floor."

Lu Jianchuan nodded, took one last look at the two people giggling in their hallucinations, and turned to lead the way. "Let's go. We'll head to the top floor and see what 'beautiful' thing this 'Evergreen Life Technology' is actually raising on the roof."