Free Web NovelChapter 119: Chapter 114: Two Worlds and Experimental Results
In the early morning, at the foot of Mingdao Mountain, Yu and another man had set up a temporary camp. They sat staring blankly by the campfire.
Neither had slept a wink. They had lost many companions overnight and had nearly been killed by thugs themselves. A mix of grief and terror made sleep impossible.
The man took out his phone and typed: (Yu, it’s just the two of us now. What are we going to do?)
Yu: (Zhao Yu, we have to keep trying to live, if only for the sake of those who died.)
(...You’re right.) The man named Zhao Yu nodded. (Those thugs’ jeeps are full of supplies. It’s enough to last us a long time.)
After seeing Zhao Yu’s message, Yu thought for a moment before typing back: (I plan on taking the majority of it up the mountain as a gift. You know as well as I do that we wouldn’t have survived without their help.)
Zhao Yu: (That’s true, we should thank them for saving our lives... But that person from yesterday didn’t seem to like being disturbed. Won’t we make him angry by bringing things up there?)
Yu thought it over: (Let’s just take it to the spot we ran to yesterday. Think about it. For them to know we were running up the mountain in the middle of the night, there must be someone on watch. So if we leave the supplies there, they should be able to find them.)
Zhao Yu nodded, but his expression darkened at a sudden thought: (Yu, if we’d had a lookout last night and spotted those thugs earlier, maybe more of us would have escaped...)
Yu fell silent upon reading Zhao Yu’s message, her face filled with guilt.
As the camp’s leader, failing to make such preparations was indeed her dereliction of duty. But she truly never expected so many thugs to commit murder and robbery so brazenly.
Amid her anguish, an idea began to form.
’Ever since this new rule—no, ever since the government announced all major cities were entering a state of wartime management, the cities and the wilderness have become two separate worlds.’
’The cities are strictly managed by the government, with drones patrolling 24/7. People are gradually being moved into shelters, and once everyone is inside, the cities will begin to run like precision instruments, achieving maximum efficiency.’
’Meanwhile, the wilderness, far from the cities, will gradually become a kind of "lawless land." Vicious gangs and violent organizations will emerge, fighting and consuming one another for survival resources.’
’For good-natured people living in the wilderness who dislike conflict, this is undoubtedly a tragedy and a threat.’
’But this is the price of choice. If you choose freedom, you must bear the corresponding consequences. No one will offer you sanctuary; you can only protect yourself.’
Yu recalled how the person on the mountain had cleanly and efficiently eliminated over a dozen thugs the night before, and her heart filled with both envy and awe.
She was envious because if she had possessed that kind of combat power, her camp wouldn’t have suffered such heavy casualties. She was in awe because, as an Ascender herself, she could sense that the person on the mountain was an exceptionally powerful Ascender.
Furthermore, she believed there was more than just one person up there; there had to be a camp. ’Otherwise, if it were just one person, would he stay up all night standing guard?’
But no matter how many people were on the mountain, judging from their attitude yesterday, they weren’t particularly welcoming to outsiders. Thus, Yu had no intention of trying to join them; she simply wanted to repay them for saving her life.
Afterward, she and Zhao Yu took the supplies from the thugs’ jeeps, carrying the bulk of it to the spot where they had stopped running the day before and leaving it there.
Naturally, this scene did not escape the notice of Guan Tong’s Shadow Surveillance Eye.
He saw the two of them carrying the supplies over and leaving them. It was clearly meant for him, so he didn’t hesitate. Once they were finished, he blew his [Corpse Whistle] and had the Living Dead haul all the supplies to his small courtyard.
After the supplies were brought back, he noticed a letter placed on one of the boxes, written by that woman, Yu.
(Hello, friend on the mountain. My name is Yu Hong, and my companion is Zhao Yu. These supplies were all taken from the thugs’ vehicles. Please accept them.
Our previous camp was destroyed by the thugs, and our other companions were killed. We now have nowhere else to go. If you don’t mind, the two of us plan to camp here at the foot of the mountain for now.
We are also extremely grateful for you saving our lives. I was formerly a surgeon, and Zhao Yu was an architectural designer. If there is ever anything we can do to help, we will not hesitate.)
Guan Tong read Yu Hong’s letter and felt she had a good sense of propriety.
Clearly, both Yu Hong and Zhao Yu believed that there wasn’t just one person on the mountain, but an entire camp.
If she and Zhao Yu had brought the supplies as a gesture of goodwill in the hopes of joining the camp, Guan Tong definitely would have refused.
But simply expressing their gratitude and making a request to "camp at the foot of the mountain if you don’t mind" seemed much more reasonable.
The subtext of the letter was an acknowledgment that this mountain was the "territory" of the camp on the summit, and that she and Zhao Yu would not encroach upon it, only camp at its base.
By seemingly not seeking to join, they were, in fact, gaining an alternative form of protection.
From the events of last night, the two of them could tell that the people on the mountain were good. If they had been the same kind of dog-eat-dog thugs, they wouldn’t have just eliminated the bearded man and his crew; the two of them would have met the same fate.
Therefore, they believed that staying near a camp of powerful, good people would certainly be safer than going anywhere else.
Guan Tong had no objections. People were free to camp wherever they chose, and as long as they didn’t bother him, he wouldn’t interfere.
However, the cruelty of yesterday’s thugs also led Guan Tong to a similar line of thinking as Yu Hong.
’With the government focusing its resources on the shelters within the cities, it would probably adopt a "hands-off" approach to managing the areas outside them.’
’Guan Tong’s own power was substantial, so he wasn’t worried about any threats. But weaker groups were not suited for the wilderness and needed to find a larger organization to join as soon as possible. Otherwise, they would end up like Yu Hong’s group—targeted, murdered, and plundered for their supplies by roving gangs of thugs.’
Deep underground, inside a laboratory of the Strategy Research Room.
After extensive preparations, the "Sound Hunter Attack" test was finally about to begin.
A test subject walked into the room. It was empty except for a thick, black metal box with one side open and a mechanical arm hanging from the wall.
The expert who designed the test used a device to convert text into an electronic voice, instructing the subject inside the room.
"Please enter the metal box."
The test subject nodded and stepped into the black box. On cue, the suspended mechanical arm operated, sealing the door tightly shut.
And with that, a completely sealed Small Space was created.
This black metal box looked ordinary, but it was actually made from various alloys. It could block electronic signals, and its physical defenses were so astounding that even an ordinary missile couldn’t damage it.
After the test subject was sealed inside, the mechanical arm began its programmed procedure, placing numerous motion-sensitive bombs around the sealed metal box.
This way, no matter which direction the Sound Hunter approached from, it would trigger a bomb. The bombs had different components; some contained chemical explosives, some metal shrapnel, and others neurotoxin gas—more than ten types in total.
The goal was to test which type of weapon could effectively harm a Sound Hunter.
Once all the bombs were in place, the expert took a deep breath and used the remote mechanical arm to knock on the metal box three times, signaling to the test subject inside: Ready. The test begins.
Hearing the three knocks, the test subject inside the metal box opened his mouth and screamed, "AHHHH!!!!!"
As the test subject began the challenge, a vast array of monitoring devices activated simultaneously.
Since the Sound Hunter was invisible to the naked eye, they deployed every type of biological imaging technology available: fluorescence, contrast imaging, magnetic resonance, electronic, and thermal imaging.
The experts refused to believe that out of all these technologies, not a single one could detect the Sound Hunter.
For a moment, the only sounds were the whirring of the related instruments.
Every observer held their breath. According to previously compiled data from attacks across the country, a Sound Hunter would arrive and attack within approximately three to eight seconds after a sound was made.
To every observer, those few short seconds were an immense torment, feeling as long as several minutes.
One... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight...
Eight seconds passed. Not one of the densely packed bombs around the sealed metal box had detonated.
The observers were aghast. The expert who designed the test immediately initiated the door-opening procedure.
The suspended mechanical arm responded, opening the sealed metal door. Inside, the test subject sat with his head bowed, blood streaming from his neck.
At that moment, every observer’s eyes went wide.
The lead expert, his face ashen, came to a conclusion: (It’s teleportation! The Sound Hunter moves by teleporting directly to the person making the sound!)
The experiment’s observers now all understood one fact: the Sound Hunter moved by teleportation, which meant that eliminating it would be extremely difficult.
There might be only one possibility...
Ten minutes later, the relevant experimental results and conclusions were placed before Gao Liangwei, the head of the Strategy Research Room.
Experimental Results: Test subject deceased. Determined that the Sound Hunter moves via a teleportation-like method.
Hypothesized Elimination Method (Untested): Bind a proximity-triggered bomb to the test subject’s neck. Detonating it at the exact moment the Sound Hunter kills the subject may have a chance of damaging the Sound Hunter.
Experimental Conclusion: To attempt to eliminate a teleporting Sound Hunter, the only currently viable experimental method is a suicide attack. This means the test subject’s death is guaranteed. The decision on whether to proceed with the next experiment rests with the director.
"..."
Gao Liangwei’s brow furrowed as he finished reading the conclusion.
He had always known the Sound Hunter was a difficult problem, but he never imagined it would be this troublesome.
’Attempting to eliminate it requires sacrificing human lives.’
’But who would be the one to die for this test? The previous volunteer might have hesitated if he had known the experiment was a guaranteed death sentence.’
’So, is it really worth sacrificing a life for Sublimation Coins and a potentially droppable, tradeable Communication Secret Scroll? Especially since the attempt might not even succeed, and the authenticity of that post on the Ascender’s Home has yet to be verified... ’
Just as Gao Liangwei was hesitating, a red telephone on his desk began to ring.
He froze for a second. Only a few high-ranking officials were authorized to call this line.
He picked up the receiver and put it to his ear. An electronic voice came through: "Continue the experiment." ƒreewebɳovel.com
Gao Liangwei’s eyes narrowed. The electronic voice from the receiver continued.
"I will provide the test personnel. They will be delivered to the underground base in three hours."
BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...
After the two electronic sentences, the line went dead.
Gao Liangwei held the receiver for a moment before placing it back on the cradle.
He knew that the number of people in the North Star Country qualified to receive the experimental results at the same time as him was in the single digits. And the will of these people was the will of the nation.
Gao Liangwei took a deep breath and relayed the order: (Inform the test expert that the experiment will continue in three hours. Begin preparations for the proximity bomb to be placed on the test subject’s neck.)
