59: A lone investigator is surrounded, but manages to escape a desperate situation and hides a backup plan.

Chapter Sixty-One: Lone Scout Trapped in Ambush, Survival Against All Odds with a Hidden Ace

Gunshots exploded in the valley. A bullet grazed Chen Hao's ear and slammed into a nearby tree trunk, sending wood chips flying.

He gritted his teeth hard. The layer of decaying leaves beneath his feet was slick and difficult to navigate; every step required his full strength just to stay upright. The sound of footsteps and roars behind him grew closer. The guards of the Serpent Skeleton Research Institute were clearly professionally trained, and the cover from the smoke grenades was rapidly fading.

"Don't let him get away! He has our experimental data!"

"Activate the Hounds! Track his signal!"

A piercing mechanical hum rang out. Chen Hao glanced back and saw three pitch-black Mechanical Hounds charging from the direction of the main building. Their limbs were sharp alloy claws, and crimson scanning lights flickered in their heads. They were incredibly fast, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

"Dammit!" Chen Hao cursed under his breath and performed a sudden slide, ducking behind a thick ancient tree.

The Mechanical Hounds' claws raked violently against the trunk, producing a screeching sound of metal on wood. Three deep gashes, visible to the core, instantly appeared on the trunk.

Chen Hao didn't dare linger; he scrambled up and continued his frantic run. With his perception abilities fully active, he could clearly sense seven guards and three Mechanical Hounds in hot pursuit, while further away, even more guards were moving to surround him from this direction.

He wasn't familiar with the valley's terrain and could only rely on instinct to run toward the energy barrier. As long as he could break through the barrier and dive into the dense forest outside, he would still have a slim chance of survival.

But just then, a rustling sound suddenly came from the woods ahead. Alarm bells rang in Chen Hao's mind. Just as he was about to turn, he saw two dark figures leap down from the trees, their blue-glowing short blades thrusting straight for his throat.

It was the Men in Black from the Serpent Skeleton Research Institute!

Chen Hao jerked his body sideways. A short blade grazed his shoulder, leaving a trail of blood. He backhandedly drew the Bone-Spur Dagger from his waist and engaged the two Men in Black in a struggle.

The Bone-Spur Dagger was crafted from the bone spurs of a Level 2 Mutant and was incredibly sharp, but against the specialized combat suits worn by the Men in Black, it could only barely scratch the surface. Conversely, their blue-glowing short blades could easily tear through his Stealth Combat Suit.

Puchi!

A cold flash passed, and a gash opened on Chen Hao's arm, blood gushing out instantly. He hissed in pain, nearly dropping his dagger. He was forced to retreat awkwardly until his back hit a tree, gasping for breath.

The two Men in Black pressed closer, cold killing intent flickering in their eyes.

"Hand over the camera, and we'll leave your corpse intact," one of them said coldly.

Chen Hao looked at the surrounding guards and Mechanical Hounds, then at the dark figures closing in from a distance, knowing it would be difficult to escape today. His gaze fell on the tactical backpack on his chest, which contained the miniature camera and the chip recording the experimental data—these things must never fall into the hands of the Serpent Skeleton Research Institute.

"You want them? In your dreams!"

A look of resolve flashed in Chen Hao's eyes as he raised his hand, prepared to crush the chip inside the backpack.

But at that moment, an unexpected change occurred.

A sharp whistling sound suddenly pierced the sky. Three streaks of red light tore through the clouds, landing precisely among the surrounding guards and Mechanical Hounds.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions rang out as flames soared into the sky. The shockwave sent the two Men in Black flying. The alloy bodies of the Mechanical Hounds were blasted into fragments, and several guards collapsed on the spot, their screams echoing one after another.

Chen Hao was stunned and looked up at the sky.

He saw three Nightingale Reconnaissance Aircraft from the red alert system hovering in mid-air, the barrels of their heavy machine guns still emitting wisps of smoke.

"Captain Chen, we're late!"

A familiar voice came through the Walkie-Talkie, and Chen Hao's heart instantly settled—it was the reinforcements sent by Lin Zhou!

He didn't have time to think. Taking advantage of the chaos from the explosions, he lunged toward the two fallen Men in Black. He plunged his Bone-Spur Dagger into the throat of one, and before the other could struggle, he knocked him unconscious with a single punch.

"I've got a live one!" Chen Hao shouted into the Walkie-Talkie.

"Copy that! Evacuate immediately! Ground forces are waiting to receive you outside the valley!"

The heavy machine guns of the Nightingale Reconnaissance Aircraft opened fire again, suppressing the guards rushing out from the main building. Chen Hao shouldered the unconscious Man in Black and sprinted toward the energy barrier.

The gap in the energy barrier was still there, intentionally left by the Reconnaissance Squad when they departed earlier. He leaped through the gap and dove headfirst into the dense forest outside.

The sounds of gunfire and explosions behind him continued, but Chen Hao felt the noise growing further and further away.

He ran for an unknown amount of time until he could no longer hear any sound. Only then did he collapse under a tree, gasping for air. The wounds on his shoulder and arm burned with pain, and blood had already stained half of his clothes.

The unconscious Man in Black lay beside him, still out cold. Chen Hao searched him and found a blue-glowing short blade, a communicator, and a black ID tag engraved with the Serpent Skeleton Research Institute's emblem and a serial number: Ω-07.

"Ω..." Chen Hao frowned. This serial number seemed to represent a specific status.

Just then, footsteps approached from a distance. Chen Hao immediately gripped his dagger, looking warily in the direction of the sound.

"Captain Chen!"

It was the members of the Reconnaissance Squad! All five were safe and sound, running toward him.

"Captain, are you alright?" One member saw his wounds and quickly pulled out a first-aid kit.

"I'm fine." Chen Hao waved his hand and pointed at the Man in Black on the ground. "Tie him up and take him back for interrogation. Also, keep this ID tag safe; it might be an important clue."

The members busied themselves tying up the Man in Black and tending to Chen Hao's wounds.

"Captain, you're amazing! You held off so many guards by yourself!"

"Just good luck." Chen Hao smiled and looked toward the valley. "If the Commander hadn't sent reinforcements in time, I would have been finished in there today."

He took out the miniature camera and chip from his tactical backpack, checked them, and confirmed they were undamaged. His heart finally settled completely.

"Let's go, back to Dawn City!"

The six of them headed out of the dense forest with their captive.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled over them, lengthening their shadows.

Deep within the valley at the Serpent Skeleton Research Institute, a man in a white lab coat watched the explosion on the screen, his expression grim.

Behind him stood a masked man, his voice as cold as frost: "Doctor, the experimental data has been leaked, the Ω Squad has suffered heavy losses, and one survivor was captured."

The man addressed as Doctor slowly turned around. He wore a golden mask that revealed only a pair of sinister eyes.

"It doesn't matter." His voice carried a hint of an eerie smile. "The captive... I let them take him on purpose."

The masked man was stunned. "The Doctor means..."

"Inside that captive's body is a miniature tracker and a virus bomb." The Doctor raised his hand, stroking a Mutant larva inside a cultivation tank. "Once they return to Dawn City, we will know exactly where the red alert system's nest is."

He paused, a flash of madness in his eyes. "Furthermore, once the virus bomb detonates, Dawn City will become our greatest experimental field!"

The Scale-Wing Species larva in the cultivation tank seemed to understand his words. It suddenly snapped its crimson eyes open and let out a low hiss.

On the base's large screen, the red dot representing Dawn City was slowly blinking.

A much larger conspiracy was quietly unfolding.