282: Parents don't exist.

Dr. Chen Ruian took advantage of the moment that bloated figure blocked the doorway, quickly slipping back into the depths of the secret room, leaving only cold words echoing in the air: "Well then, goodbye 'heroes'."

He paused, then his voice suddenly rose, carrying a hint of twisted anticipation as he shouted at that massive silver-white back: "Oh, right... I'm counting on you! After all, you're the one who's going to become a 'hero'! So, you'll definitely protect me, right?"

That bloated body shuddered violently, and its murky compound eyes flickered intensely for a few moments, as if the words "hero" and "protect" had triggered some deeply embedded command or obsession.

It let out a muffled low growl. Its massive body was no longer aimless; instead, with a clumsy yet terrifying momentum, it suddenly charged at the nearest Shen Mingyuan!

"What is that?!" Shen Mingyuan quickly moved to the side, avoiding the sudden impact.

"He hid back inside again!" Cynthia immediately looked at the closing door of the secret room.

Just as the silver-white behemoth tried to adjust its direction for another charge, a pale figure swiftly cut in. The bone sword in Wei Ziqing's hand precisely blocked a thick arm swung by the opponent, the blade grinding against the heavy carapace with a piercing screech. His arm sank slightly as he steadily withstood the brute force, then he used the momentum to deflect the energy. With a nimble turn of his body, his other hand was already pressing lightly against the opponent's joint.

"Leave this guy to me," Wei Ziqing said without looking back, his voice calm. "He looks big, but his movement pattern is simple; he's not hard to deal with. I can tie him down." With a flick of his wrist, the bone sword skillfully threw off the opponent's balance. "The three of you go after the doctor. Don't let him actually slip away. Don't worry, I'll use some 'special methods' to quiet him down and then go meet up with you."

Lu Jianchuan didn't hesitate for a second, making a decisive call: "Alright! We're leaving him to you!" His gaze swept toward the secret room door that was about to close completely. "Cynthia, Shen Mingyuan, let's go!"

Before his voice had even faded, he was already like a bolt of silver lightning, taking the lead to rush toward the secret room entrance. Cynthia and Shen Mingyuan followed closely behind. The three of them instantly swept past the bloated giant shadow still entangled with Wei Ziqing, vanishing into the secret room passage that had become dark once more.

Seeing the three of them rush into the secret room, the bloated silver-white body instinctively wanted to turn and give chase, but Wei Ziqing swiftly blocked its path again. The bone sword flashed with a cold light, forcing its charge to a halt.

"Your opponent," Wei Ziqing's voice was calm, the tip of his sword pointing steadily at the other's murky compound eyes, "is me."

The bloated creature let out a muffled but deafening roar and stopped trying to pursue. It locked all its attention on the white-armored swordsman in front of it, its heavy body lunging forward as a battle erupted within the analysis room.

Inside the Secret Room

The secret room passage wasn't a straight path but a metal corridor that extended downward with corners, the light dim. Lu Jianchuan led the way, with Cynthia and Shen Mingyuan close behind. The passage wasn't long; at its end was an even narrower secret room filled with cluttered instruments and storage tanks. A ventilation duct opening had been violently pried open, and cold wind was pouring in from it.

"He ran through here!" Shen Mingyuan glanced at the fresh scuff marks on the edge of the duct.

The three of them didn't hesitate and crawled into the duct one by one. The duct twisted upward, soon leading to a secluded freight passage exit on the perimeter. The night wind hit their faces; in the distance were the shadows of the laboratory complex and the city lights further out.

Just as they rushed out of the passage, they saw Dr. Chen Ruian stumbling along a maintenance path not far away, his white lab coat fluttering in the wind.

"Chase him!" Lu Jianchuan barked. The three of them burst into speed, like three phantoms, closing the distance in an instant.

Dr. Chen Ruian seemed to sense the sound of wind breaking behind him and turned back in panic, his face dripping with sweat, yet he squeezed out a twisted smile: "My, my... you're chasing me quite fast, everyone, her—"

Before he could finish, a cold light flared in Cynthia's eyes. She pushed off with sudden force, her Mechanical Gauntlets at full power. She shot forward like a cannonball, throwing a punch directly at his back, intending to knock him out instantly!

However, Dr. Chen Ruian seemed to have been prepared. A split second before Cynthia's punch could reach him, he suddenly pulled two small glass bottles from his coat and threw them at the ground behind him without even looking!

"Bang! Bang!"

The glass bottles shattered. The moment the different colored liquids made contact, a large amount of thick, greyish-white smoke with a pungent, sweet, and metallic smell erupted, quickly spreading. It not only blocked their vision but also emitted a faint, sizzling corrosive sound.

Alarm bells rang in Cynthia's mind. She forced her body to twist, her toes tapping the ground as she leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the smoke.

Taking advantage of this gap, Dr. Chen Ruian dashed another dozen meters forward and to the side. At the same time, his hand reached into his coat again, this time pulling out a slender test tube.

Inside the test tube, within a dark red viscous liquid, some kind of tiny yet complete flesh tissue seemed to be encased and squirming; there was even a minute eye-like object bobbing in the liquid.

He slammed the test tube onto the ground beside him.

"Crash!"

The test tube shattered. The moment the clump of dark red flesh touched the air, it expanded and stretched violently like a living thing. Amidst a tooth-grinding creaking sound, it transformed in the blink of an eye into a dark red little monster about the size of a wild dog, shaped like a skinned ape with sharp claws, letting out a piercing screech.

But that wasn't all.

Dr. Chen Ruian didn't stop. Like a magician performing a trick, he pulled out two more sealed transparent soft bags filled with a pale green viscous liquid.

He quickly tore open the soft bags and splashed all the liquid inside onto the newly formed little monster.

"It's concentrated nutrient solution!" Lu Jianchuan recognized it at a glance.

The pale green liquid was greedily absorbed by the dark red monster. Its body expanded again like it was being inflated, its bones cracking loudly and its muscles bulging. In an instant, it had transformed into a hideous giant beast nearly the size of a rhinoceros, its body covered in irregular bone plates and dripping mucus, its aura becoming several times more ferocious.

While splashing the nutrient solution, Dr. Chen Ruian had already smeared some powdery substance onto his cuffs and lapels.

The giant beast's crimson eyes swept over the doctor, but it seemed to ignore him. Then, it locked onto the trio of Lu Jianchuan, its hind legs kicking off the ground as it charged forward with a foul wind and a low growl!

Facing the charging hideous beast, Lu Jianchuan didn't retreat but advanced. He stepped aside to dodge the most violent frontal impact, and his right leg, wrapped in the power of his silver armor, swept out like a battle axe, kicking heavily against the beast's relatively fragile ribs!

"Thud!"

In the dull sound of impact, the beast's momentum was abruptly cut off. Its massive body was actually kicked off the ground by this strike, stumbling sideways.

The moment it lost its balance, Shen Mingyuan had already made his move.

His arms were raised level, the twin pistols in his hands spitting fire with incredible stability and rate of fire. The bullets were precisely linked in a line, all pouring into the joints and carapace connections of the beast's neck exposed by its sideways tilt, splashing a series of viscous tissue fluids and carapace fragments!

On the other side, Cynthia didn't even look at the giant beast; her only target was Dr. Chen Ruian. The thrusters of her Mechanical Gauntlets erupted with short bursts of blue flame, allowing her to close the distance with the doctor even faster.

Dr. Chen Ruian stumbled to the edge of this secluded area, only to find that in the shadows of the perimeter, several fully armed GUPA field personnel had already appeared silently, blocking his path.

With blockades ahead and pursuers behind, he stopped abruptly, his breathing heavy.

He looked back, glancing at Lu Jianchuan and Shen Mingyuan who were still fighting the giant beast, then at Cynthia who had caught up to within ten meters in the blink of an eye. A strange expression, a mix of exhaustion and mockery, suddenly appeared on his face.

"Heh... heh... truly... your persistence is touchingly impressive, this Ms. Cynthia." He panted, but his voice was deliberately slowed down, his gaze locking onto Cynthia's eyes, which were burning with rage and determination.

"Why... must you pursue me so relentlessly? Is it because of... those two 'non-existent' parents in your memory?"

Cynthia's charging figure came to a sudden halt, as if struck by an invisible sledgehammer. Even the hum of her Mechanical Gauntlets stalled for a moment. The intense expression on her face froze, turning into a blank look of shock, which was then covered by a deeper surge of alarm and fury.

"What... what did you say?" Her voice cracked slightly from extreme shock and the sudden chill that washed over her. "What do you mean 'non-existent'? My parents exist! They were taken by you people from 'Prometheus'! I will find them! You... what on earth are you talking about?!"

Dr. Chen Ruian looked at her wildly fluctuating eyes, the mocking curve of his lips becoming more pronounced, as if he had seen the reaction he was expecting.