66: Chapter 66 Dr. Hoffman

"Pfft!"

Two streams of spray carrying a pungent disinfectant odor washed over Chu Hong the moment the door opened.

Just as Chu Hong took a step forward.

"Clang, clang, clang…"

As his eyes adjusted to the dark, dazzling white lights suddenly flared on, causing Chu Hong to instinctively make a dodging, defensive movement.

The bright white light illuminated the interior of the laboratory.

Stepping forward and pushing open the second door before him, Chu Hong finally managed to see the general layout of the [Core Laboratory].

Walking through the main entrance, right before him was a massive console, and in front of the console stood a huge piece of bulletproof glass.

Chu Hong stepped forward, and seeing the scene behind the glass, his pupils shrank sharply.

This [Core Laboratory] actually spanned two areas: the second and third underground floors. Through the windows, a massive area filled with various vats could be seen at this moment.

Some vats had already shattered, leaving humanoid skeletons scattered across the ground.

There were also a few sporadic unbroken vats, and who knew how long the people inside had been soaking in that green liquid…

Chu Hong put away the red card in his hand.

Swiping in just now had consumed 1 durability point.

The original 20/20 durability limit had now become 19/20.

"It's a pity that high-value containers in secret realm puzzle rooms don't seem to be directly marked on the map…"

As Chu Hong sized up the layout of the [Core Laboratory], one of his hands quickly began to check which containers could be searched and which were useless "textures".

Searching the coat hanging on the chair… No response.

Searching the briefcase under the console, a black box appeared…

Two white, worthless paper-type collectibles were turned out.

Chu Hong directly ignored them.

When Chu Hong's hand pressed onto the console's screen, a black box appeared once again.

However, this time it didn't directly spin for retrieval.

"Dr. Hoffman, according to laboratory confidentiality regulations, even for you, retrieving core experimental data requires identity verification… Please insert your access card."

Chu Hong was slightly stunned, and immediately afterward, a card slot on the console before him lit up with light.

"More card swiping?"

Chu Hong, who had just been rejoicing that his access card could still be used nineteen more times, could only helplessly pull out the red card once again.

Inserting it into the card slot.

"Beep! Access confirmed! Unlocking experimental database…"

The black box appeared.

Retrieving [Core Laboratory Console Host (High-Value Container)]:…

One single-grid, one two-by-two four-grid, plus another single-grid—three collectible icons began to spin.

Chu Hong couldn't help but look forward to it.

[Ding!]

Golden light suddenly erupted.

Something that looked like a disc appeared before Chu Hong's eyes.

[Item Name]: Dr. Hoffman's Log

[Item Tier]: Golden

[Type]: Information/Intel

[Weight]: 0.2 kg

[Backpack Grid Capacity Required]: 1 × 1

[Item Description]: The research log of Dr. Hoffman, head of the [Core Laboratory] and chief researcher, clearly records the progress of all research projects starting before the outbreak of the cataclysm.

The two-by-two four-grid retrieval icon began to spin.

Golden light shone once again.

[Item Name]: Classified Array Disk

[Item Tier]: Golden

[Type]: Electronic Item

[Weight]: 3.4 kg

[Backpack Grid Capacity Required]: 2 × 2

[Item Description]: A corporate-use compact five-disc high-speed array disk, providing the most stable and efficient transmission and storage of files and video data, while offering users the smartest file categorization.

Chu Hong couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

The drop rate in this card room seemed pretty decent, huh?

The last grid.

The retrieval icon spun. The time it took for this retrieval made Chu Hong's eyes focus even more intently on the black box before him.

[Ding!]

Red light appeared!

Chu Hong's breathing hitched sharply.

[Item Name]: "Hoffman Warhead" Blueprint

[Item Tier]: Red

[Type]: Information/Intel

[Weight]: 0.1 kg

[Backpack Grid Capacity Required]: 1 × 1

[Item Description]: As research into the omega virus deepened, Dr. Hoffman quickly realized the terrifying nature of this virus. To cope with sudden situations and enhance the crisis-response capabilities of the epidemic guard force, he developed suppressive ammunition specifically targeted against virus-infected bodies.

This was a dark golden metallic USB flash drive that looked entirely unremarkable on the outside.

However.

The data contained within immediately prompted Chu Hong to place this USB flash drive into his [source energy space], which only had two slots.

Special ammunition capable of targeting zombies in the [Cliffside Epidemic Hospital] map!

With this, not to mention his efficiency in the [Special Service Department]'s [Investigation] secret realm being fully unleashed, even in the real [Cliffside Epidemic Hospital], his survival probability upon entering it would greatly increase!

After searching the console, Chu Hong pulled the red card out of the card slot.

Seeing that the durability was left with only 18, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his eye.

That damn [Special Service Department] didn't even allow direct purchases of room cards.

The durability of this room card truly decreased with every single use…

Just as Chu Hong was searching every single container in the laboratory one by one, trying his best to confirm the locations of each high-value container.

High-ranking officials of [Huangshan Base City] late at night were frantic and overwhelmed.

City Lord Jiang Xingdong's aged face wore a clear expression of solemnity.

He looked at Lan Yujing, whose injuries had completely recovered after withdrawing from the secret realm, but who now looked pale and dejected, as if she had suffered some huge blow.

He couldn't help frowning slightly.

"Lan girl, now is not the time for self-pity! While the heavy losses of the [Rose Squad] are indeed heartbreaking, don't forget… Once a top-secret-level secret realm fails to be contained and controlled for long, under source energy excitation, within half a year the monsters inside will awaken the world's will. By then, the sacrifices of your team members will truly have been in vain!"

Jiang Xingdong slammed the table.

The loud sound finally brought some focus back into the pupils of Lan Yujing, who had been in a daze, her mind filled with the tragic scenes from the secret realm [Cliffside Epidemic Hospital] tonight.

The head of the [Armed Forces Department] sitting before him wore a solemn expression.

"Commander Lan, please tell us in detail about the situation inside the [Cliffside Epidemic Hospital] secret realm…"

Lan Yujing took a deep breath.

Her pale lips trembled slightly as she described her and her subordinates' first impression the moment they entered that secret realm.

"Dark!"

"It wasn't just the darkness of a normal night; it was a darkness as if walking through black fog in the night… Inside the team, perception-type skills from both the magic side and the esper side were suppressed by a full fifty percent…"

Just a single sentence plunged the atmosphere in the conference room into a heavy, dead silence.

Pairs of tense gazes landed on Lan Yujing and the remaining seven team members beside her.

The [Rose Squad] had a total of three core teams.

[Rose Squad], Bauhinia Squad, and [Black Shadow Team].

However, in just a single night.

Three well-equipped teams entered the [Cliffside Epidemic Hospital] secret realm.

The [Black Shadow Team] was completely wiped out!

The captain of the Bauhinia Squad, who was also Lan Yujing's former deputy and a martial arts qigong-side Energy Gathering Realm tier 5 Pioneer, Yuwen Hui, died in battle.

When the last group withdrew, not a single squad came out at full strength.

A fire support member from the [Rose Squad] led by Lan Yujing was unfortunately killed at the very last moment by a monster whose figure could not be seen, stabbed straight through the heart with a blade.

Meeting their end inside the secret realm during the final second within the extraction point.

Lan Yujing recounted this with a trembling breath.

The hand holding the teacup handed over by Jiang Xingdong trembled continuously as she spoke.

Behind her, member after member hung their heads with ashen complexions.

Jiang Xingdong rubbed his brow with a headache.

"So you're saying you didn't even manage to truly enter the core area?"

He looked at the map before him—crudely drawn, with the building layouts in many areas still in the ambiguous guessing stage, and even with only a single extraction point.

His expression flickered uncertainly.

"The only currently discovered extraction point is the [West District Helipad], but the moment the helicopter is started, it will alert the vast majority of the zombies in the secret realm to attack, and the extraction condition is to hold out for one minute…"

Jiang Xingdong gasped, and right then, on the screen before the conference room.

A video compiled from the recorders of a few individuals was playing on a loop.

Looking at the overwhelming, seemingly endless swarm of zombies in the dark where only pairs of crimson eyes could be seen glowing, everyone's faces in the conference room turned distinctly pale.

The head of the [Armed Forces Department] clenched his fists.

"Blue and purple-tier ammunition can inflict damage on these zombies, but unless they hit vital points like the head and torso, it won't affect their actions at all."

"The current strength estimate for ordinary zombies should be between tier 5 and tier 8 of the Qiyuan Realm, and specific data still needs to be compiled separately. Additionally… the strength of mutant variants has already reached the point of threatening the safety of Energy Gathering Realm Pioneers in a one-on-one fight!"

The head of the [Armed Forces Department] took a deep breath and looked toward City Lord Jiang Xingdong.

"Lord City Lord, this is unquestionably a top-secret-level secret realm. Considering its special environment and monster quantity, it can even be tentatively classified as quasi-hell grade!"