Since he had accepted the mission, surviving by the skin of his teeth several tis—car bombs, being chased, ambushed halfway, attempted assassination by a disguised doctor, and then the constant appearance of three ninjas. Now, a mysterious Westerner showed up, one incident after another, each perilous beyond asure. Luo Zheng reflected on the events of the past few days with a throbbing headache, his brows furrowed tightly.
Lan Xing noticed Luo Zheng's grave expression. Her heart ached inexplicably, making her face flush with heat as she quickly turned away, discarding impractical thoughts. At that mont, Lan Xing understood why her sister, Lan Xue, had recklessly fallen in love and why Song Yun had kept her oath at all costs. "Good n are hard to find," she thought wistfully. "When will my true love appear?"
The night deepened. Luo Zheng glanced at the weary Lan Xing and then at the ti—it was past three in the morning. He suggested, "Why don't you make do on the sofa for a while? I'll keep watch."
"Aren't you tired?" Lan Xing asked curiously.
"I'm okay," replied Luo Zheng. "Didn't I get so sleep this afternoon? I can hold out. Go rest. There might be a tough fight tomorrow. We need to be sharp."
Lan Xing, without any fuss, lay down on the sofa hugging a cushion to her side and rested. Zheng Duo gave Luo Zheng a look, signaling him to rest. Luo Zheng shook his head and said nothing. Everyone had been fighting exhaustion lately and had hardly rested. Now at this critical mont, Luo Zheng didn't dare relax, and Zheng Duo didn't press further but brewed a strong tea to stay alert.
Soon, the earpiece transmitted Lan Xue's respectful voice. There was so noise; she asked Luo Zheng to check it out. Surprised, Luo Zheng grabbed his katana and other weapons, nodded to Zheng Duo, and left the surveillance room. Reaching the lobby, he used his fingerprint, voice, and skull to take the elevator to the third floor and opened the blast-proof door to enter the basent.
Ghost Hand t him with a solemn face. Luo Zheng knew sothing had happened from his look. His eyes narrowed, and he quickened his pace. The two nodded at each other and walked down the hallway to the engine room. Inside, Lan Xue and Elder Lin were discussing sothing. They ca forward to greet Luo Zheng when they saw him.
"What happened?" Luo Zheng nodded to Elder Lin and asked Lan Xue with a serious expression.
"Listen for yourself," responded Lan Xue, handing him a long glass. She pointed to a nearby wall.
Luo Zheng was startled, suddenly realizing sothing. He quickly stepped forward, inverted the glass against the wall, and pressed his ear to the bottom of the glass. The thudding sound from within made Luo Zheng's face change dramatically as he looked at everyone and asked, "Soone is digging a tunnel, and they're not far now, heading straight for the engine room. They obviously know the underground layout. How did they find out?"
No one usually ca to the engine room, and the noise from the machines should have masked the sound of digging. Luo Zheng looked curiously at everyone. Lan Xue explained, "Elder Lin's research had reached a stage that required a system restart. The equipnt in the engine room had been shut down. Coincidentally, I ca around because sothing felt off, and I used the glass you're holding to listen. We just discovered it, not sure, so I called you to confirm. Are you certain soone is digging a tunnel?"
"It's almost certain. But regardless, we can't be negligent. We must investigate imdiately," Luo Zheng insisted. "First, let's get Lan Xing to check the underground pipelines; soone might be digging a tunnel from the nearest sewer to here. You stay on guard; it looks like they want to break through overnight. Be careful."
"You as well," cautioned Lan Xing.
Luo Zheng returned to the surveillance room and quickly woke Lan Xing. Bleary-eyed with surprise, she listened as Luo Zheng briefly explained the situation, imdiately shaking off all drowsiness. She sprang up, rushed to the computer, and began working swiftly. Soon, she displayed the map of the underground pipeline network.
"This spot is the closest." Lan Xing pointed at a location on the computer screen, "The thickness from here to the basent is about fifty ters. If we prepare a few days in advance and have digging equipnt, we can resolve this issue in a day or two. What do you think?"
Luo Zheng imdiately called Lan Xue and reported the suspicious coordinates, and Lan Xue agreed to contact the police. They couldn't leave the Military Research Institute, so the matter of capturing was left to the police.
After hanging up the phone, Luo Zheng pondered deeply. These people tunneling in obviously didn't have confidence in a direct assault and preferred a secret attack. The idea was clever; if not for the good fortune that Elder Lin decided to shut down the equipnt, they probably would have never noticed. Once the tunnel breached, a single grenade could have destroyed all the machinery, nullifying all their research. What a formidable tactic.
"It's fortunate we discovered it early," Lan Xing said with a face full of relief.
"It seems these bastards aren't laying low," Luo Zheng said worriedly, glancing at Zheng Duo.
Suddenly, Lan Xing exclaid in surprise, "Hey, what is that?"
Luo Zheng was startled and imdiately looked at the screen, only to spot several black dots flying towards the office building, appearing like birds, but it was hard to confirm. Quickly, these black dots swiftly flew in through an open window, followed by the appearance of exploding images on the screen. When he looked again, the screen was filled with static.
"What's going on?" Zheng Duo shouted in horror, this sudden turn of events surpassing his understanding, his complexion greatly changing as he looked at Luo Zheng.
Lan Xing also looked at Luo Zheng nervously. Luo Zheng's expression turned frosty as he spoke into the headset, "We are under a remote attack on the office building, it's likely a diversion to cover their tunneling operation. Be careful down there, the enemy has launched a full assault. It seems like they are determined to destroy our research at any cost."
"Understood, be careful yourself. What kind of attack?" Lan Xue asked in a low voice.
"Model planes carrying explosives, shock bombs, tear gas could all be possible. We can't determine it yet," Luo Zheng said coldly. Seeing Zheng Duo panicking, he imdiately commanded, "The enemy has turned this place into a battlefield, using every possible ans. This isn't just espionage, it's combat. So, follow my orders."
"Please give your orders, everyone is waiting," Zheng Duo, influenced by Luo Zheng's composed deanor, quickly regained his composure and responded eagerly.
"Running out of the office building will also get us bombed. Everyone find a place to hide, stay away from the windows, stand by, and rember, no wandering between floors," Luo Zheng said coldly, his gaze turning icy and sharp.
The situation had escalated, with the enemy treating the Military Research Institute as a battlefield employing remote attack tactics. They were ruthless and unscrupulous in their attempt to stop the developnt, these people were despicable and must be stopped. Luo Zheng pulled back the bolt, checked the ammunition, looked at the composed Lan Xing, and asked, "Scared?"
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