235: Chapter 234 Hidden Dangers! Deep in the Clouds and Dense in the Forest, Murder Lurks; A Trace of Light Leads to a Perilous Journey (3)

Zhao Gang immediately brought over an experimental bench, stood on it cautiously, and stood on tiptoe, carefully removing the circular device, fearing he might accidentally damage it and miss a crucial clue.

The device was small, entirely golden, with a smooth surface and a tiny button at the bottom. It looked extremely exquisite. The "xihe" logo on it was clearly visible, emitting a faint luster, as if it had been treated gently by time, remaining completely intact.

Mu Li gently pressed the button, and the device suddenly emitted a soft golden light, warm and bright, piercing through the dimness of the laboratory and precisely illuminating the fingerprint lock on the encrypted room's door. The light was gentle, yet carried an unquestionable power.

A miraculous thing happened! The screen on the fingerprint lock suddenly lit up, blue light flickering. The originally cold "Verification Failed" prompt instantly changed to "Fingerprint Verification Passed."

Immediately after, the door slowly opened, and a strong smell of experimental reagents rushed out, more pungent than outside. The scene inside the room came into view, simple and solemn, like a secret treasury.

Everyone immediately walked into the room, vigilantly observing the surrounding environment, their energy guns ready at any moment to prevent an ambush.

The room was not large, containing only an experimental bench and a huge safe. On the bench were some experimental equipment and a thick experimental logbook, covered in dust but still intact. The safe was placed in the innermost part of the room, entirely black, with a smooth surface, looking very sturdy. It had a complex combination lock, layered with encryption, clearly the place for storing the most important items. Presumably, the repair plan was hidden inside.

Mu Li walked to the experimental bench, picked up the experimental logbook, and gently opened it. His fingertips traced the neat handwriting, his heart filled with emotion.

The logbook detailed the core experimental content of the second phase of the "xihe" project, as well as the relevant principles for repairing the xuanguang core vulnerabilities, along with Professor Chen's handwritten annotations. Every detail was recorded in great detail, more crucial than any materials found before, providing a solid theoretical foundation for the repair plan.

"This is the theoretical foundation for the repair plan!" Mu Li said excitedly, his tone full of agitation, a glimmer flashing in his eyes. "With this, once we find the specific repair parameters, we can complete the research for the second part of the repair plan. We are one step closer to cracking the xuanguang core vulnerabilities!"

Zhao Gang walked to the safe, carefully observing the combination lock, and tried entering some possible passwords, but none succeeded.

"Engineer Mu, the safe requires a password to open, and the encryption level of this combination lock is very high, completely different from the combination lock at the Xuanguang No. 1 Experimental Base. There are no obvious hints, and it cannot be easily cracked. We tried several possible passwords, and all failed," Zhao Gang said helplessly, his face full of anxiety, his tone carrying a trace of powerlessness, fearing that because they couldn't open the safe, they would miss the repair plan.

Mu Li put down the experimental logbook, walked to the safe, carefully observed the combination lock, and gently traced the surface of the lock with his fingertips, feeling the patterns on it, thinking to himself.

Suddenly, he noticed a string of small numbers engraved on the side of the combination lock: 20160815.

"This date..." Mu Li felt a stir in his heart. Professor Chen's diary flashed instantly through his mind. This was the date Professor Chen started the second phase of the "xihe" project, and also the date he valued most, carrying his hard work and expectations. Presumably, this was the password for the safe, another clue left by Professor Chen.

Mu Li immediately entered the password according to this date, his fingers trembling slightly from excitement. With each number pressed, his heart was filled with anticipation and nervousness.

With a crisp "click," the safe door slowly popped open. Everyone immediately crowded around, their eyes full of anticipation and excitement, holding their breath, their gazes fixed tightly on the inside of the safe, fearing it might be empty, fearing all their efforts had been in vain.

Inside the safe, there was a sealed metal box, exactly the same as the one found at the Xuanguang No. 1 Experimental Base. Its surface was smooth, without any markings, wrapped in a piece of velvet cloth, clearly preserved with great care by Professor Chen, sheltered meticulously.

Mu Li carefully picked up the metal box and opened it gently, his movements soft, as if protecting a rare treasure.

Inside the box was indeed a stack of yellowed experimental materials. The papers were neat, the handwriting clear, without the slightest damage. It detailed the second part of the plan for repairing the Xuanguang Technology core vulnerabilities, including specific technical parameters, repair steps, energy steady-state debugging methods, and Professor Chen's handwritten annotations. Every detail was recorded in great detail, even more crucial and complete than the first part of the plan. This was exactly what they had searched for, risking their lives.

"It's the second part of the repair plan! We found the second part of the repair plan!" Mu Li's heart was filled with excitement, his voice trembling slightly, his eyes slightly red. He quickly organized the experimental materials, put them into the waterproof document bag he carried, and held it tightly in his arms, as if holding the most precious thing in the world, holding the hope of Xuanguang Technology, holding the expectations of everyone.

The hardships and dangers of this period, the ambushes and traps encountered, the injuries and perseverance of the team members, were all rewarded at this moment. They were one step closer to completely repairing the xuanguang core vulnerabilities and shattering the Aurora Alliance's conspiracy. All their efforts had not been in vain.

Just as everyone was overjoyed at finding the second part of the repair plan, gathering around to look through the materials, smiles appearing on their faces after a long time, their tense nerves finally relaxing, the laboratory's alarm system suddenly went off. The piercing siren echoed throughout the underground laboratory, breaking the indoor tranquility and making everyone's hearts tighten. The tension that had just dissipated instantly enveloped them again.

"Warning! Warning! Laboratory under intrusion! Unknown heat source detected! Unknown heat source detected!" The cold electronic prompt repeated incessantly, devoid of emotion, yet carrying a deadly sense of oppression that made one shudder.

Mu Li's expression changed instantly. The joy in his heart was immediately replaced by gravity, his eyes becoming sharp, his tone carrying a trace of anxiety: "Not good! It's the people from the Aurora Alliance chasing us! They must have cracked the base's gate password and found their way here. They are too fast!"

"Engineer Mu, what do we do now? The repair plan has been found, let's evacuate as soon as possible! It will be too late if we delay, they have many people, we are simply no match for them!" Lao Zhou said anxiously. The wound on his arm seeped blood again due to excitement and nervousness, staining the bandage red, but he didn't care at all. His eyes were full of urgency, just wanting Mu Li to take the repair plan and evacuate safely.

Mu Li thought quickly, his brain racing, weighing the pros and cons. Evacuating now, while they could take the repair plan back to the base safely, preserve this hard-won achievement, and get everyone out of danger, would likely result in the Aurora Alliance occupying the Xuanguang No. 2 Experimental Base and taking the experimental materials and equipment here.

These materials and equipment were crucial to the research of Xuanguang Technology, the lifeblood of Professor Chen and countless experimental personnel, and the result of many years of research. They must not fall into the hands of the Aurora Alliance, otherwise their previous efforts would be in vain, Xuanguang Technology would fall into a greater crisis, and the Aurora Alliance's conspiracy would more easily succeed.

"We cannot just evacuate like this!" Mu Li said in a deep voice, his tone very firm, without the slightest hesitation, his eyes carrying unquestionable determination. "Zhao Gang, you take two technical backbone members, take the repair plan and the experimental logbook, evacuate through the backup passage, return to the base immediately, and hand the repair plan to the personnel at the R&D Center. Let them conduct research as soon as possible, integrate the two parts of the plan, and accelerate the progress of repairing the xuanguang core vulnerabilities. There can be no delay! Lao Zhou and I will stay behind to destroy the laboratory's core equipment and materials, prevent the people from the Aurora Alliance from obtaining useful information, buy enough evacuation time for you, and ensure the repair plan is safely sent back to the base!"

"Engineer Mu, no! It's too dangerous! If we go, we go together!" Zhao Gang immediately objected, his tone urgent, his eyes full of firmness and reluctance. "You and Lao Zhou are both injured, staying behind is suicide. We cannot leave you behind, if we evacuate, we evacuate together, if we die, we die together!"

"This is an order!" Mu Li's tone was very firm, his eyes sharp and unquestionable, his voice raised a few notches. "The repair plan concerns the future of Xuanguang Technology, the country's energy security, and even the fate of all humanity. It must be sent back to the base as soon as possible, there can be no mistakes! Staying behind to delay them is our mission, and it's a task we must complete! You must safely bring the repair plan back, you cannot fail our perseverance, you cannot fail Lao Zhou's injury, and you cannot fail Professor Chen's hard work!"

Zhao Gang looked at Mu Li's firm eyes and knew that further persuasion was useless. He knew Mu Li's personality best; once he decided on something, he wouldn't change it easily. Once he set his mind on something, no matter how dangerous, he would see it through to the end. He nodded heavily, his eyes full of firmness and reluctance, tears swirling in his eyes, but he held them back: "Okay! Engineer Mu, you must stay safe! You must come back alive! I will contact the base immediately, have the base send support, and come to meet you as soon as possible. We will never leave you behind!"

"No need!" Mu Li shook his head, his tone calm, his eyes firm. "The base is too far from here, and it will take a long time for support to arrive. By the time support arrives, we might already be in a desperate situation, and it would instead put the support team in danger. We will find a way to evacuate on our own, you don't need to worry about us, go quickly! It will be too late if you delay, the repair plan cannot have any mistakes!"

Zhao Gang no longer hesitated and immediately took the waterproof document bag from the technical backbone, holding it tightly in his arms as if holding his own life. He bowed deeply to Mu Li and Lao Zhou, his voice carrying a trace of choking: "Engineer Mu, Lao Zhou, you must come back safely! We will wait for you at the base. When you return, we will celebrate together, finish the repair of the xuanguang core vulnerabilities together, and shatter the Aurora Alliance's conspiracy together!" After speaking, he immediately led the two technical backbone members and ran quickly towards the backup passage, his steps hurried, not daring to stop for a second. In his heart, there was only one thought: he must bring the repair plan back to the base safely, not fail the expectations of Mu Li and Lao Zhou, and not fail everyone's perseverance.

Mu Li and Lao Zhou immediately began to act without any delay, picking up the Xuanguang Energy Cutters in their hands and cutting and destroying important equipment such as the experimental bench, the main control computer, and the safe. Their movements were swift and ruthless, leaving nothing usable for the Aurora Alliance.

Golden energy beams swept across, equipment was destroyed one after another, and experimental materials were torn apart, scattered all over the floor. The piercing sound of cutting and the alarm intertwined, appearing exceptionally chaotic, yet carrying a kind of resolution.

They knew that for every piece of equipment they destroyed, there was an extra layer of safety, it would mean the Aurora Alliance would obtain less useful information, and it would buy more evacuation time for Zhao Gang and the others. Everything was worth it.

"Engineer Mu, the footsteps outside are getting closer! They are getting clearer! They have reached the laboratory entrance and will be coming in soon!" Lao Zhou said vigilantly, his energy gun already aimed at the laboratory entrance, his eyes firm, ready for battle. Even though injured, even facing a strong enemy, he did not retreat in the slightest, his face full of resolution, ready to perish with the enemy at any moment.

Mu Li glanced at the equipment and materials that were mostly destroyed, nodded, his tone calm, his eyes firm: "Alright! Let's go! We will evacuate from the laboratory's emergency exit. It leads to the forest behind the base. The terrain is complex, and the clouds and mist are thick, which can help us avoid their pursuit. Only then will we have a chance to evacuate on our own and return alive!"

The laboratory's emergency exit was located on the other side of the room, hidden behind a storage cabinet, very concealed. Unless one looked carefully, it would be impossible to find.

Mu Li and Lao Zhou quickly ran to the emergency exit, opened the cabinet door, and a narrow passage appeared before their eyes, pitch black, leading to the forest behind the base. The air was filled with the damp smell of earth.

The two did not hesitate in the slightest and rushed out without hesitation. Outside the door was a dense forest, the clouds and mist even thicker than outside, with visibility less than three meters. The damp water vapor soaked their clothes, the cold biting to the bone, scraping against their faces and bringing a stinging pain, but it did not affect their steps in the slightest. They only wanted to escape from here as soon as possible and shake off the enemy's pursuit.

"Quick! Dive into the forest, use the clouds, mist, and trees as cover, shake off their pursuit as soon as possible, and run down the mountain. We cannot let them catch up to us!" Mu Li said in a low voice while running, diving into the dense forest first. His steps were light, moving quickly among the trees, trying to avoid thick trunks and messy vines as much as possible, not daring to make any unnecessary noise.

Lao Zhou followed closely behind. Although his arm was injured and his movements somewhat inconvenient, with the wound sending waves of piercing pain, he still gritted his teeth and persisted. The energy gun in his hand remained in a standby state, occasionally turning back to fire, slowing down the enemy's pursuit speed and buying time for Mu Li.