151: Whereabouts exposed

Tap, tap, tap... The guard captain's footsteps gradually approached.

Xie Ning's expression was grave, his mind racing as he thought of a way to respond, but in his nervousness, his hand instinctively rested on his sword hilt.

If he were discovered, or if Subject 187 was found to be a fake, all his plans would go to waste, and his life would even be in danger.

At this moment, the footsteps were only about five meters away; just three more steps forward, and his presence would be revealed.

Tap, tap... Just as the third step was about to be taken, a shout rang out:

"Captain~ Something's wrong!"

Tap.

The sound of the third step was slightly further away. Xie Ning relaxed a little, but he still didn't dare to take a loud breath.

Clearly, the guard captain had turned around.

"What is it?"

"It's—it's bad! That Ice Crystal Snake—no, Subject 0—has woken up again!"

The newcomer was clearly also a guard. He added, "The anesthesia was even less effective this time; it was only unconscious for less than three hours. Its life energy is becoming more immune to the anesthesia!"

The guard captain hurriedly asked, "What's the situation now?"

"It's resisting the energy absorption, and its body is starting to show signs of cracking. Please come take a look!" the guard answered quickly.

"Understood, I'm going now."

With that, the guard captain turned and walked away.

Only then did Xie Ning relax. As he moved his body slightly, a lighter that had somehow slipped to the edge of his pocket suddenly fell. With a "bang," it exploded upon hitting the ground.

"Oh no!"

Xie Ning's expression changed drastically.

Clearly, this lighter belonged to the first guard he had killed. During his sudden dodge earlier, it had somehow moved to the edge of his pocket, and he had been too nervous to notice.

At any other time, it wouldn't have mattered, but at this moment, it was lethal!

Sure enough, as the explosion sounded, the receding footsteps stopped instantly. The next second, a spear pierced through the metal wall, stopping right at a throat.

"M-m-my lord... I didn't do anything."

The one speaking wasn't Xie Ning, but someone from inside the laboratory. Behind him, the door was open.

"Why is it you?" the guard captain questioned.

The man who came out of the lab stammered, "I... I was just... just..."

This lab worker was just an ordinary person. Faced with the guard captain's aggressive Aura and the other guards closing in, his legs were already shaking, his voice trembling, and he was so panicked he couldn't explain anything clearly.

Sensing the temperature at the door, the guard captain suspiciously pushed the lab worker aside and stepped into the lab. Right near the entrance was a large iron furnace emitting waves of heat, making occasional "bang bang" popping sounds. Only then did he relax slightly.

"Be more careful next time! For high-temperature cultivation equipment like this, you need to add an insulation layer and wrap it tightly. Don't let the heat escape."

"U-u-understood..."

The guard captain gave him a look of disdain, and with the guard reporting on Subject 0 urging him, he turned and strode away.

Seeing it was a misunderstanding, the other guards also dispersed to patrol their respective areas.

The terrified lab worker watched the guard captain disappear into the distance before spitting on the ground. "Damn it, if I could beat you, I'd smash this cultivation furnace right into your face!"

"Add an insulation layer while cultivating Yao Beasts? Wrap it tight so heat doesn't escape? Do you think Yao Beasts don't need to breathe?"

After cursing for a bit, the lab worker scratched his head and muttered with a frown:

"Why did it sound like there was an explosion outside the door just now?"

As for Xie Ning, he had already used Fire Evasion to teleport to White Fang's side, into a blind spot of the surveillance cameras. The area before and after had already been cleared, so no guards would pass through.

"Whew~ That was close. I almost got caught." Xie Ning wiped away a heavy sweat. "Although the other side seems to have more urgent matters to attend to, we don't have much time left."

White Fang let out a response.

Subsequently, Xie Ning moved forward again. With Little Mantis performing assassinations along the way, those Bronze and Black Iron Rank guards fell one after another without a sound. When encountering Silver Rank ones, Xie Ning chose to avoid them; after all, if he couldn't achieve an instant kill, the commotion would be bad... Meanwhile, in the experimental base's Control Room.

A Fallen Demon Tamer's expression suddenly changed.

"Is something wrong?" another Gold Rank female guard captain in the Control Room noticed this.

She had a slender figure, wearing sexy armor that only covered the essential parts, and her movements were as enchanting as a cat's. However, her soft words gave the Fallen Demon Tamer quite a scare.

The Fallen Demon Tamer nodded quickly, swiped the screen a few more times, and after some operations, said to her, "I-it is indeed a bit strange. In the past, Subject 187 would always leave immediately after getting the medicine, staying for no more than three minutes. But I just checked the access logs, and the timing is off this time."

"It's been nearly half an hour since it took the medicine, and there's still no record of it leaving."

Hearing this, the female guard captain frowned and said, "Contact Lab 5."

"Yes."

15 seconds later.

"Report! Lab 5 cannot be reached."

At that moment, a clever Fallen Demon Tamer transmitted the footage from Lab 5 onto the screen in front of the female guard captain.

Seeing the fallen lab personnel, the female guard captain's expression turned cold, and she added, "Immediately contact the Area A guards to investigate."

With that, she pressed fast forward and rewind, staring intently at the surveillance footage at 32x speed.

1 minute later.

"Report! The Area A guards cannot be reached—no, wait, I've reached one." The Fallen Demon Tamer held the intercom. "Guard 57, respond if you hear me, respond if you hear me. Please proceed immediately to Lab 5... beep, beep~"

Just then, there was some movement in the surveillance footage. The female guard captain didn't respond to the reporting Fallen Demon Tamer; she carefully watched the figure appearing in the surveillance twice, her face showing murderous intent.

"Where did Withered Deer go?"

The Fallen Demon Tamer replied, "Report! There's abnormal movement from Subject 0. Lord Withered Deer is handling it."

"Sigh, really... at the critical moment, not a single one is useful... Forget it, I'll just treat it as a bit of fun." The female guard captain stood up abruptly, her Gold Rank Aura sweeping through the Control Room. "Send me the location of Guard 57's communicator."

With that, she walked out of the Control Room with a swaying, cat-like gait.

Despite all his calculations, Xie Ning had overlooked the step of leaving the experimental base.

The palm print to enter the base, the palm print to enter Lab 5, and the palm print after the lab personnel gave the medicine—he thought this completed the process of obtaining the medicine. He hadn't expected that there had to be a departure palm print in the lab to complete the visit's closed loop.

Xie Ning stood at a corner, looking at the communicator he had crushed; his expression turned grim.

"Awoo?"

"It seems we need to speed up. From the reaction just now, our infiltration has been completely exposed."

With that, Xie Ning tossed the communicator aside and hurried in one direction with White Fang.