185: Arrived at the laboratory.

The truck bumped along the rugged, uneven road for nearly an hour. Outside the window, the scenery gradually transitioned from desolate countryside to a more secluded, densely forested hilly area.

Eventually, the vehicle slowed down, turning onto a gravel fork almost hidden by weeds. After driving for a few more minutes, it stopped in front of a heavy, closed metal gate that blended into the color of the mountainside.

Lying flat on the roof of the truck, Shen Mingyuan's thermal vision outlined a complex structure behind the gate—more than one layer of access control, with winding tunnels leading deep into the mountain. The internal space was significant, with several high-heat sources scattered throughout. The alert level was clearly far higher than that of the transit station in the city.

In all likelihood, this place was the "Main Garden."

Old Zhang, in the driver's cab, rolled down the window and made several gestures toward an inconspicuous camera next to the gate, then whispered a few words into a communicator. A moment later, the metal gate emitted a low hum and slowly slid inward.

The truck drove into a somewhat dim tunnel, with energy-saving lamps on the ceiling providing illumination.

To Shen Mingyuan's surprise, the security check at the entrance appeared exceptionally lax. A guard wearing a uniform similar to the others, but with a sleeker cut and a complex insignia on his chest, poked his head out of the sentry box. He merely shone a flashlight casually at the truck's tarpaulin without even fully lifting it, gave a cursory glance at the edges of the exposed cargo crates, and waved them through.

That attitude wasn't one of negligence, but rather a kind of... arrogance built on the foundation of an absolutely closed environment and extreme confidence in their outer defenses. They didn't believe anyone could follow them here, much less dare to sneak in.

The truck drove a short distance further along the tunnel, finally stopping in front of a relatively spacious unloading platform. The platform connected to several corridors leading deeper inside, and the air was filled with a faint mixture of disinfectant, metal, and some indescribable organic solvent.

The engine cut out. Old Zhang and Raspy Voice jumped down and walked to the rear of the truck, beginning to untie the ropes securing the tarpaulin. At the same time, two people emerged from a nearby corridor, also wearing uniforms with the insignia and carrying tablets and scanning equipment. It seemed they were there to receive and inventory the goods.

“That’s everything. Hurry up and count it; we need to get back once you're done,” Old Zhang said, his tone carrying the relaxation and impatience of completing a task.

“Got it,” one of the receiving personnel replied lazily, gesturing for his companion to prepare the records.

The tailgate was lowered, and the tarpaulin was fully pulled back, revealing the neatly stacked metal boxes and special containers inside. The attention of all four men was focused on the cargo.

Right then, from the shadows at the innermost part of the truck bed, cleverly hidden by several tall crates, a pitch-black figure suddenly "peeled away" like a mural merging into the background!

Shen Mingyuan—in Shadow Form—had already crouched low like a leopard ready to pounce the moment the tarpaulin was pulled back. Now, in the instant when the four men were defenseless and their gazes were drawn to the cargo, he moved!

Pushing his speed to the limit, the distance from the back of the truck bed to the tailgate was nothing but a blurred black afterimage! His hands had already drawn the twin stars. As he leaped from the truck, before his body even touched the ground, his muzzles were already locked onto the targets.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The first round of four shots—black-red plasma beams, precise and swift—targeted the nearest receiving personnel. The beams instantly pierced through his left and right shoulder blades and the outer sides of both thighs. The searing pain and the destruction of muscle and bone meant he only managed half a scream before collapsing backward like a ragdoll.

Without the slightest pause, Shen Mingyuan slid his body to the side to avoid any potential lines of attack, slightly shifting his aim.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The second round of four shots aimed at the other receiving personnel. It similarly neutralized the mobility of his arms and legs, causing him to scream as he lost his balance and fell heavily onto the cold floor.

Shen Mingyuan landed in a stance as solid as a rock. His red goggles turned coldly toward Old Zhang and Raspy Voice, who were already frozen in shock and scrambling to reach for weapons at their waists or an alarm.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Two consecutive rounds of four shots—eight blazing beams with almost no interval between them.

Old Zhang’s arm, which he had just raised, and his advancing left leg; Raspy Voice’s body as he turned to flee and his supporting right leg—all were pierced and torn by the searing energy almost simultaneously.

Extreme agony and unbelievable terror instantly took over their faces as they fell to the ground one after another, leaving only painful twitching and groans.

From the initial burst of action to all four men being incapacitated, the entire process took only a few short seconds. In front of the unloading platform, only four bodies struggling in pools of blood remained, along with Shen Mingyuan, standing like a black god of death with guns drawn, slowly scanning his surroundings.

As the four enemies lay groaning on the ground, the unloading platform was instantly enveloped in the pungent smell of scorched flesh and blood. Shen Mingyuan did not delay for even a second; he stood with his guns ready, his red goggles scanning the area quickly and calmly.

In the corner of the tunnel ceiling, a hemispherical surveillance camera was flashing a faint red light, its lens clearly pointed at this area. There wasn't just one; looking further down the tunnel, similar monitors were placed at regular intervals.

Hiding? Infiltration? From the moment he burst out of the truck and opened fire, those two words had lost their meaning. The gunfire, the screams, the trails of energy beams... all of this must have already appeared on surveillance screens before the eyes of this laboratory's security personnel.

“Fine then,” Shen Mingyuan thought coldly. Since the shadows were no longer an option, he would simply crush his way through in the open. His goal had never changed—find and destroy the core.

His gaze locked onto the heavy airtight door in front of the unloading platform. Next to the door was a touch screen glowing with a faint blue light and a card slot—clearly an identity verification and access control terminal.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward. Hoping to find an access card on the four incapacitated men or forcing a password out of them would be too slow and introduce too many variables. He directly reached out his armor-clad left hand, fingers spread, and pressed it against the touch screen.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the screen—

Crack!

A faint but distinct black-red electric arc suddenly erupted from the armband on his left wrist, instantly coursing along the surface of the armor to his fingertips and making contact with the glowing blue touch screen!

The data stream of the authentication interface, which had been flowing steadily on the screen, suddenly froze. It then began to refresh frantically with garbled code, as the blue glow was rapidly covered and penetrated by an ominous dark red layer.

Shen Mingyuan's pupils constricted slightly. This electric arc... he hadn't triggered it intentionally. It seemed more like an autonomous reaction from the armband, or perhaps the armor itself. What was it? A form of bio-electric interference? Or... some deeper level of interfacing?

He didn't have time to ponder it. Because in the next second—

“Pshhh—!”

The faint sound of hydraulic devices unlocking came from inside the airtight door. Immediately after, the heavy door panels slid smoothly and quickly to both sides along their tracks, revealing a brightly lit, high-tech clean corridor behind them.

The door was open.

It had opened so easily, so abruptly, as if what he had just pressed wasn't a terminal requiring authorization, but merely an ordinary doorbell.

Shen Mingyuan withdrew his hand. The wisp of black-red electricity on his fingertips had vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed. He glanced at the automatically opened doorway, then at the enemies still writhing in pain on the ground, and finally looked up at the camera in the corner that still showed a red dot.

No longer hesitating, he gripped the twin stars tightly and stepped over the threshold, his figure disappearing into the bright, unknown light of the laboratory interior.

[Consciousness Space]

At the exact moment the black-red arc flashed from Shen Mingyuan's fingertips and the airtight door opened, within Han Chengyu's Consciousness Space, the blue data stream fluctuated violently but orderly, like a lake into which a massive boulder had been thrown.

[Detected forced access of a high-value external data node.] [Connection protocol established... bypassing logic locks...] [Intrusion successful. Acquired supreme control authority of the target network System 'Prometheus - Secondary Research Station - Alpha'.]

“Great job, System!” Han Chengyu’s spirits lifted. “What’s inside?”

[Synchronizing data...]

[Primary modules confirmed:]

[1. Full data on the 'Icarus' series of inducing agents (including catalyst-type 7 and its variants).]

[2. Full-cycle archives of the 'Sentry Dogs' project.]

[3. Conceptual data for multiple undisclosed biological weapons.]

[4. Partial encrypted foundational research notes on the evo factor (decryption in progress).]

[5. Real-time footage and logs from all surveillance nodes within the facility.]

“So much!” Han Chengyu felt both excited and chilled as he looked at the refreshing entries. “First, handle the surveillance. Even though Mingyuan doesn't care anymore, it's always better to reduce the trouble.”

[Requesting confirmation: Execute command 'Total Paralysis of Surveillance System'.]

[Execution confirmed.]

[Command sent. All surveillance cameras, recording devices, and alarm linkage modules of the target System... have been forcibly shut down. Visual and data links severed.]

“Excellent.” Han Chengyu’s gaze turned toward the blue light orbs representing classified data. “Now, let’s take a good look at what kind of evils these people calling themselves 'Prometheus' have actually committed.”

[Retrieving the core database directory for you...]