Chapter Ninety-One: The Wheelchair-bound Freak
Hei Qi's resentment seemed to form a powerful aura, making Chen Xiao very uncomfortable. Old Tian walked over, patted Hei Qi's shoulder, and said softly, "Hei Qi, I know how you feel, but he..."
“Uncle Tian,” Hei Qi said coldly, “You don’t need to say anything more. Let’s keep things separate. This has nothing to do with you, and besides…” She paused, her voice tinged with bitterness, “Besides, I’m not Hei Qi anymore. Do you think I could still keep my codename in my current state?”
A hint of vulnerability finally appeared in her eyes, but she bit her lip hard and said, "Just call me by my name, Suo Suo."
"Perhaps... you don't need to be so pessimistic. I've heard that the organization has made a breakthrough in the research and development of induction agents..."
“You don’t need to comfort me.” Soso glanced at Lao Tian and said calmly, “I’ve been on the island all along, and I know these things better than you do.”
When this antique steam car started up, the engine sounded like an old asthma sufferer, and the car's power was naturally pitifully small. It drove out of the town and headed towards the center of the island.
The roads along the way were all paved with high-quality cement, and the surrounding South Pacific vegetation was lush. Chen Xiao sat in the car, not daring to speak to Suo Suo, and could only pretend to be calm as he looked around. Suo Suo, on the other hand, stared ahead with a long face as he drove the car.
After about an hour's drive, we arrived at the foot of the volcano in the center of the island. It's an extinct volcano, said to have been inactive for centuries. A winding mountain road has been built at the foot of the mountain; the road is wide enough for two cars to drive side by side.
As Chen Xiao drove along the winding mountain road, he couldn't help but feel uneasy: this woman named Suo Suo had a deep-seated grudge against him, and what if she wanted revenge and wanted to die with him... all he had to do was deliberately turn the steering wheel sharply on the mountain road, and they would all fall off the cliff together...
Fortunately, Soso had no such intention. When the car reached the middle of the volcano, it stopped on a huge platform that was clearly man-made.
"This is entrance number four." Soso stopped the car and jumped out. "Old Tian, this is the most I can take you this far." She then glared at Chen Xiao. "Kid, I'll remember this!"
"Actually..." Chen Xiao hesitated for a moment, then tried to speak slowly and honestly, "I didn't know the situation between us at the time; it was an accident..."
"No need to waste your breath," Soso said coldly.
After saying that, she held out her hand to Lao Tian: "Please pay the fare."
Old Tian gave a wry smile, pulled out a stack of strange banknotes from his pocket, and handed over a five-hundred-yuan note. Suo Suo quickly took it, rummaged through a box under the driver's seat, pulled out a stack of smaller denominations and gave them to Old Tian as change. Finally, she took out something that looked like a magnetic card, strode over to the rocky cliff, and gently pressed it on a protruding rock. The rock quickly moved aside, revealing a metal sensor screen.
She waved the magnetic card in front of her, then leaned closer, pressing her eyes against the metal sensor screen.
Soon, Chen Xiao heard a series of clicking sounds coming from the mountain wall. The rock wall in front of him, which was several hundred meters high, suddenly split open automatically to the left and right! A metal wall was exposed beneath the rock, and after slowly separating, a passage appeared.
"Go on in. My mission is complete." Suo Suo snorted, and after Chen Xiao and Lao Tian got out of the car, she jumped into her own car and drove away without looking back.
"She... seems to hate me a lot." Chen Xiao smiled bitterly and touched his nose.
“Of course.” Old Tian patted Chen Xiao’s head. “I watched this girl grow up. She joined the field team and rose through the ranks to become the leader of Team Seven… Sigh. With her age and the potential of her special ability, she actually had a good chance of becoming a karutae within twenty years. It’s a pity…”
Flower cards… Chen Xiao sighed: “They’re the Jacks and above in playing cards, I guess.” The area is only about three times the size of an elevator lobby in a typical building.
After the two entered, the rock wall behind them quickly closed automatically, and then a circular 360-degree detection light slowly descended from above, emitting a burst of green light that enveloped them.
"Don't be nervous, this is an identity scan, one of the procedures for entering headquarters." Old Tian crossed his arms, looking very relaxed.
After the green light enveloped the two of them, it seemed to have some kind of X-ray-like perspective. Chen Xiao could clearly see that Lao Tian, who was standing next to him, had turned into a transparent skeleton, and something strange, like flowing water, was faintly flowing within the outline of his body...
"Identity confirmed, entry permitted."
He didn't know where the speaker was, but Chen Xiao heard a metallic, synthesized sound. He paused for a moment, then suddenly felt a tremor beneath his feet…
call!!!
This citrus fruit gave him a sudden, sharp pang in his heart! Then, he felt a strong sensation of his body sinking downwards—like riding a high-speed elevator upwards…
Could this pressure chamber be an elevator?
Sure enough, as the elevator rapidly ascended, Chen Xiao saw the surrounding walls flipping around like a Rubik's Cube, until finally all the mountain rocks flipped over, revealing flat, smooth metal walls.
bite!
A crisp bell rang, abruptly halting the upward sensation. But no door opened in front of them…
The door is right beneath your feet!
The ground beneath their feet slowly shifted, revealing a downward-pointing staircase.
"We've arrived." Old Tian walked at the front, smiling. "Welcome to headquarters!"
Walking down the steps, you soon arrive at a spacious area...
To Chen Xiao's surprise, he had assumed that riding such a high-tech elevator would lead him to a place resembling a science fiction movie, but what he saw before him was...
A long corridor, massive black stone walls, a square, quiet path, and round windows... Through the windows, you can see outside...
The sun shines brightly outside the window, and in the distance, you can see valleys, rivers, and rows of medieval European castles!
Um?
We're clearly on an island, aren't we?!
Old Tian, standing to the side, remained calm, as if he was used to it.
But... is this the headquarters?
Why is it so empty? There's not a single person in sight.
Chen Xiao couldn't help but turn his head to look left and right. There were long corridors in front and behind, and the windows on one side offered beautiful views. He couldn't help but take a few steps and try to reach out the window.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that."
A voice rang out from behind at just the right moment.
Chen Xiao suddenly turned around. He saw a man behind him who had appeared out of nowhere. He was sitting in a wheelchair. The wheelchair looked very strange. It was made entirely of metal, and the armrests on both sides were covered with a row of tiny buttons.
The man had white hair, a thin and pale face, and was quite handsome, but his excessive paleness made him look like a vampire from a movie. He appeared to be in his thirties and was sitting in a wheelchair. With his head raised, his eyes, hidden beneath his disheveled hair, were fixed on Chen Xiao like an eagle.