Chapter 551 - 548: Secrets
The first and second squads brought back a total of five researchers, all of whom were bruised and battered.
Clearly, they had been given a sound beating during their capture.
As they looked at the five people brought before them, both Lin Xinghai and Yi Hongliang frowned deeply.
Among the five were two Caucasians, but also three ethnic Chinese.
This meant that the majority of the researchers here were likely ethnic Chinese, a fact that made both men’s expressions darken.
"Go on, tell me how you want to die. I can grant that wish right now," Yi Hongliang said coldly, raising his gun and pointing it at the Chinese man whose uniform bore the insignia of a team leader.
"No, no, no! Officer, we were forced into this! After they brought us here, it was either research or die. We had no way to resist. We were just trying to stay alive," the man said, hurriedly raising his hands with a pleading look on his face.
"You were captured? Which shelter were you from? How did they get in to grab you?" Yi Hongliang asked, his gaze flickering.
"Er... I was from Hongfu Shelter. And, well... they didn’t capture me from inside the Shelter. Three years ago, someone from the Hughes Conglomerate contacted me. They said they’d established a research institute and were hiring researchers for a high salary."
"The compensation they offered was extremely generous, and with people from the Hughes Conglomerate vouching for it, I was tempted and accepted. But who would have known that once I got here, I’d lose all my personal freedom?"
"Officer, you have to believe me! I had no idea they were monstrous enough to be researching something like this before I came!" the researcher explained desperately.
"The Hughes Conglomerate... We never should have let them leave our borders so easily back then," Yi Hongliang said coldly.
Hearing this, Lin Xinghai instantly understood the whole story.
It was, in a way, a problem inherited from the past. After the collapse of the Earth Federation came the Great Catastrophe.
Especially in the first few years of the Catastrophe, all of humanity could only hole up and struggle for survival, and all kinds of resources were scarce.
And Hua Country, with its massive population, didn’t have the capacity to help every Shelter. Under those circumstances, they could only turn a blind eye to some of the conglomerates’ activities.
It was just like the Morgan Conglomerate in Star Shield Shelter. Without the energy they provided, Star Shield Shelter never could have supported over a hundred thousand people. A third of the population would have likely starved to death.
It was only under those conditions that the conglomerates were allowed to pull some strings behind the scenes.
However, with the Great Catastrophe having ended a year ago, the various Shelters had organized teams to gather resources outside, gradually overcoming the energy and resource crisis. As a result, they began looking for ways to push these conglomerates out.
If he had been tricked into coming here three years ago, it wouldn’t be surprising. Back then, the major conglomerates could still openly hold important positions in some Shelters.
"Alright. I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself. Tell me, what are the weaknesses of these ’Corpse-men’ they’ve created here? What’s the fastest way to eliminate them?" Yi Hongliang asked.
Yi Hongliang had, of course, reached the same conclusion as Lin Xinghai. Holding the researcher accountable would have to wait; dealing with the immediate situation was the priority.
"The weakness of a Corpse-man is probably its short lifespan. The technology is actually incomplete. It uses the Zombie virus to stimulate human cells, causing them to mutate to achieve this effect, but it consumes a massive amount of Life Force."
"Because of that, these Corpse-men can’t live for more than three months at most. During that time, however, their power increases dramatically."
"They can grow by roughly one major Realm. For example, an Optimized can be directly elevated to the Blood Qi Realm, and someone at the Blood Qi Realm can be elevated to the Body Shaping Realm, and so on."
"I heard that their ultimate goal is to use this method, once the technology is mature, to have experts at the Divine Demon Realm undergo the transformation. They want to break through the limits of humanity and reach an even higher tier," the researcher blurted out, spilling everything he knew.
Lin Xinghai and Yi Hongliang glanced at each other, and both instantly saw the shock in the other’s eyes.
If such technology were ever perfected, it would be terrifying. They would be able to mass-produce Corpse-men at the Blood Qi and Body Shaping Realms.
Especially that last part. If they succeeded and created a Corpse-man that surpassed the Divine Demon Realm, it could single-handedly change the entire landscape of human power.
The Hughes Conglomerate would, in a single leap, become as powerful as a major nation.
"No wonder they were willing to spend so much to build a laboratory like this. So this is what they were researching," Yi Hongliang said, still in shock.
Just then, Lin Xinghai interjected, "I’m guessing this isn’t the only laboratory of its kind. As long as these conglomerates aren’t idiots, they won’t put all their eggs in one basket. They must have similar research facilities in other countries, maybe even in their own homeland. It’s just hard to say whether any of the others have produced results."
Hearing this, Yi Hongliang was horrified. He almost instantly raised his assessment of the Hughes Conglomerate’s threat level by several orders of magnitude.
"You’re right. This has to be reported up the chain. We need to be prepared." Fearing that any delay could bring unforeseen trouble, Yi Hongliang immediately took out his Communication Device and submitted all the information they had gathered, along with Lin Xinghai’s speculation.
Meanwhile, Lin Xinghai turned back to the researcher. "The information you’ve provided is useful, but it doesn’t help us with our immediate situation. Do you have anything else to add?"
As he spoke, Lin Xinghai pointed to a large group of Corpse-men running toward them in the distance. This wave was even bigger than the last, with nearly a hundred of them.
"These Corpse-men are controlled by chips implanted in their brains. It’s like inputting commands."
"Because the chips are in their brains, inputting commands is complicated. With our current tech, we can’t awaken all the Corpse-men at once, so they have to be activated in batches."
"If you can reach the central control room before the next batch of Corpse-men is awakened, you can forcibly interrupt the process. You might even be able to use the special equipment there to modify the commands and make the remaining Corpse-men stop moving."
As he spoke, the researcher, sensing the urgency, cleverly opened his wrist-mounted computer, brought up a map, and showed Lin Xinghai the location of the central control room.
"Excellent!" Having gotten the information he needed, Lin Xinghai shoved him and the other researchers toward the rear.
"Leave one squad here to guard them. The rest of you, with me! We’re fighting our way to the control room!" Lin Xinghai shouted, swapping in a fresh magazine as he faced the charge of over one hundred Corpse-men.