Chapter 760: Mouse Trap
Escaping from the headquarters was at its most critical point right now. Even Ling Mo himself had said that this was the most troublesome moment, but Lan Lan couldn’t see much tension in him.
His steps never halted, his eyes constantly fixed ahead, yet he seemed to know precisely what was happening around him.
During the journey, some people just managed to free up their hands, and Ling Mo would kick from behind and toss Zombies over to them. Wherever he went, chaos followed.
Lan Lan watched from the side and noticed that every Zombie, upon being approached by Ling Mo, would suddenly fall into a daze.
“This is to keep them from being too idle, otherwise they’ll start looking around.” Ling Mo explained.
Lan Lan rolled her eyes hearing this. Just admit you’re being crafty, would you?
Finding a legitimate reason won’t make your image any grander!
Although she didn’t say it out loud, Lan Lan did have some admiration for Ling Mo in her heart.
Just this level of calmness and strategy was enough to make people marvel.
There were people everywhere in this place, and if they weren’t careful, they could get discovered. Once their whereabouts were exposed, she and Old Lan wouldn’t mind, but Ling Mo and Mu Chen would be doomed.
Attempting to take away headquarters’ important task, just this one line was enough to get them killed four or five times over!
But the feeling Ling Mo gave her was not one of indifference, but rather a very specific emotion.
He seemed to be very aware of the dangers, but had to do it for some reasons, and he was willing to do it.
“But what exactly is he interested in? The antibody? The essence of the virus? Or… a method for Zombies to retain humanity?” Lan Lan couldn’t help but wonder.
Inside the carriage, a group of senior management’s faces were almost dark enough to drip water. Some were sweating heavily, their clothes already drenched.
Among them was the Team Leader of the Experimental Group, whose expression was the ugliest. The handkerchief in his hand kept wiping the Sweat off his forehead.
The incident started with the Experimental Group; how could he not be nervous?
And now, the ones charging forward were the Experimental Subjects that they had sent out from the Experimental Group.
As soon as the guard left, he hesitated but eventually spoke up, “These Experimental Subjects were supposed to be handled by the Patrol Team…”
No sooner had he finished speaking than someone pounded the sofa and stood up, “What do you mean by that? Pa.s.sing the buck?”
The Experimental Group Team Leader stiffened his neck and retorted, “I’m telling the truth! Do you think just anyone could bring these Experimental Subjects here? If there wasn’t someone deliberately guiding them, they wouldn’t have made it here so quickly. Besides, with the Barbed Wire surrounding us, how did they even get in?”
The person who had first pounded the sofa snorted coldly and replied, “You’re the ones who developed them, don’t ask me.”
“I’m not s.h.i.+rking responsibility. I just want to say that this incident was premeditated. Not only did someone inside the Experimental Group cooperate, but also the Patrol Team is implicated. Maybe there’s even involvement from other forces in it. Do you think random Survivors would come and do something like this?” said the Experimental Group Team Leader.
At the mention of other forces, everyone unanimously thought of the fall of the Dongming branch.
Given the difficulty of pulling off such an event, the Team Leader’s speculation quickly gained unanimous agreement.
Ordinary Survivors couldn’t pull off something this big; only other forces would have the motive and capability.
And this “other” force specifically pointed to one-the Falcon!
But realizing this made their faces turn ugly. Had the Falcon already reached so deeply into the headquarters?
Some thought even more deeply, wondering if it was because their cooperation with the united camp was imminent, prompting the Falcon to hastily orchestrate this incident?
Conspiracy, it was all dripping with conspiracy!
“We can discuss that later, the question is what do we do now?” someone interjected.
Though the situation was messy, it hadn’t yet caused these senior management members to lose their composure.
The Zombies within the building would eventually be dealt with and the fire was still under control. As for the Experimental Subjects outside, with so many guards and superhumans around, they would soon be taken care of as well.
The question was not how to solve these issues, but how to catch the “Rat
1
” behind it.
Face had already been lost, and they needed to find a way to salvage it.
Capturing the culprit was undoubtedly the best way. Not only could they use their lives to a.s.suage public anxiety, but also slightly restore Niepan’s reputation.
Someone pondered for a moment and said, “Do you think they brought over the Zombies from the perimeter just to cause trouble?”
“Could it be… to provide cover for someone’s escape?”
With that suggestion, everyone present immediately pieced it together.
“It’s been almost two minutes now. Could they have already escaped?” someone calculated and remarked.
The discussion heated up instantly, with people clamoring to find the guards.
But just then, someone noticed that the Big Boss was still sitting there, unmoved, seemingly unperturbed.
“Big Boss?” the Experimental Group Team Leader called out softly.
He was now the most anxious one. No matter who was behind this incident, catching them would greatly reduce the responsibility he had to bear.
Realizing he had overlooked this point made him uncomfortable.
He blamed it on the chaotic situation-it was simply too disorganized!
The Big Boss remained silent for a while before raising a hand and saying, “No rush, I’ve been waiting for them to slip up.”
His words startled everyone again. So, he had antic.i.p.ated this all along?
However, amidst the shocked gazes of the crowd, the Big Boss’s face turned grim.
He clenched his thumb, a flash of fierceness pa.s.sing through his eyes.
To dare to trample on him like this… whether these “Rats” or the hidden mastermind, he vowed to hunt them down one by one!
Unbeknownst to Ling Mo, the main culprit, he had made the Falcon take the heat countless times, from the fall of the Dongming branch to today’s event.
Right now, he was huddled with Lan Lan behind an Off-road Vehicle, vigilantly watching a nearby breach.
They were merely ten meters away from the breach, with no superhumans blocking their path.
After a hail of bullets, seven or eight Experimental Subjects lay near the opening, one of which was still twitching incessantly in a pool of blood.
Feeling the sweat in Lan Lan’s palm, Ling Mo glanced back at her and whispered, “Are you scared?”
“Who’s scared…” Lan Lan replied, putting on a brave face.
Ling Mo couldn’t help but find it amusing. Despite this girl dealing with Zombies every day, she still wasn’t accustomed to such b.l.o.o.d.y scenes.
On the way here, she had mentioned that Old Lan would always send her to the Outer Room whenever he conducted experiments. Due to extreme boredom, she would wander around the outermost “collection rooms” late at night.
While recounting this, she still had a hint of a smile on her face, but Ling Mo caught a tinge of loneliness behind it.
If not for the unbearable boredom, how could a normal girl spend her days playing with those “collections”…
However, when Ling Mo mentioned this, Lan Lan angrily retorted, “What are you talking about! How am I not normal? I just like those Monsters, what are you going to do about it?”
“Do you not like them anymore?” Ling Mo asked.
Lan Lan gave Ling Mo a frustrated look. Pointing at a Canine Zombie writhing in the blood, its entire body riddled with bullet holes like a pincus.h.i.+on, she questioned whether he seriously expected her to like it… He had to be joking!
“Why aren’t we moving yet?” Mu Chen crept over from behind and asked quietly.
Ling Mo’s expression turned serious again. He looked up and gestured with his chin in that direction, “I think there’s something wrong.”
“What kind of problem?” Old Lan also chimed in.
He sounded rather excited, and Mu Chen turned his head in puzzlement. The old madman grinned proudly, “Why are you asking? Anyway, I can’t die.”
“If something goes wrong, I’m grabbing you as a human s.h.i.+eld first,” Mu Chen said, feeling exasperated.
“Look at this-such a big hole, and everyone can see it. So why hasn’t anyone blocked it?” Ling Mo asked.
Lan Lan frowned and said, “Blocking won’t help; the Zombies already got in.”
“Not to block the Zombies, but to block us,” Ling Mo shook his head and said.
The other three were momentarily stunned but soon realized his point.
Exactly! With things getting this chaotic, how could the senior management not suspect foul play?
Even if the breach had only just appeared, with the headquarters’ response capability, someone should have been stationed here by now.
“This is their ‘Rat trap’,” Ling Mo said.
Footnote:
- Rat(老鼠):
In English, the term ‘rat’ is not only used to refer to the animal but is also a metaphor for someone who secretly causes trouble, leaks information, or betrays their organization or group.