390: Chapter 387 What is Nobility?

Lin Yuan was silent for a moment, then finally looked up.

"Alright," he said, "I'll take you to the place that gave me the armor."

He paused.

"But that place... is a villa. It's not in the city, but in the suburbs. I'll take you there."

Lu Jianchuan nodded, his gaze falling on him.

"Take off your armor first."

Lin Yuan was startled, then let out an "Oh," lowered his head, and fumbled a few times on his body. His hand pressed the side of the breastplate, then pressed the waistband twice—the movements looked very casual, as if he was already used to this set of equipment.

A few soft clicks.

The red armor split open in the middle, then fanned out like petals. Lin Yuan walked out from inside, standing under the dim yellow streetlamp in the alley, wearing ordinary casual clothes, his hair a bit messy, and a hint of post-fatigue relaxation on his face.

The open armor stood behind him, like an empty shell.

Ye Ouyang leaned over to take a look, and was stunned—the inner side of the armor was densely covered with tiny short needles, like the internal organs of some mechanical creature, or the interfaces inside a precision instrument. Under the light, those short needles gleamed with a faint metallic luster, looking somewhat eerie.

"Does it hurt?" Ye Ouyang asked.

Lin Yuan shook his head.

"It doesn't hurt," he said, his tone very normal, "To be honest, I didn't feel anything when I was inside. After putting it on, it's just like... like wearing a thick coat."

Beside him, Lu Jianchuan had already pulled out his phone and sent a message. Ten minutes later, two black SUVs stopped at the alley entrance. The car doors opened, and several Researchers in casual clothes jumped out, followed by a team of fully armed combat personnel.

They surrounded him and began to process the red armor. Someone used a scanner to scan it up and down, someone took photos, and someone carefully lifted it and put it into a specially made metal box.

Lin Yuan stood by, watching the armor he had worn for several days being packed, his expression a bit complex, but he didn't speak.

"Let's go," Lu Jianchuan waved at him, "Get in the car, you lead the way."

Lin Yuan nodded and followed him towards the alley entrance. Ye Ouyang, Shen Mingyuan, and Wei Ziqing also followed.

The two cars started and drove into the night.

Lin Yuan sat in the passenger seat, watching the streetlights flash by outside the window, occasionally giving directions.

"Turn right ahead... yes, then go straight... turn left at the next intersection..."

The car stopped on the side of the road, about two hundred meters from the villa.

In the night, the three-story building stood alone behind a deserted nursery. Its outer walls were greyish-white, the windows were dark, and only the porch light was still on, standing out conspicuously in the darkness.

Lin Yuan unbuckled his seatbelt and looked back at the people in the back seat.

"I'll go in first," he said, "Entering with the armor, they won't suspect anything. Wait for me to open the door."

Lu Jianchuan nodded.

"Be careful."

Lin Yuan pushed open the car door and took out the red armor from the special metal box. He put it on skillfully, his expression unchanged the moment the fine short needles touched his body. With a few clicks, the armor closed, and he transformed back into the Red Armored Hero.

He nodded at the people in the car, then turned and walked towards the villa.

The black SUV turned off its lights and quietly parked by the roadside. The four people looked through the car window as the red figure walked through the nursery path, reached the villa door, and pressed the doorbell.

The door opened.

Lin Yuan stepped inside, and the door closed behind him.

"Go."

Lu Jianchuan pulled open the car door, and the four people quickly got out and crept towards the villa. The nursery was overgrown with weeds, rustling underfoot, but they didn't care.

Just as they reached the entrance, the door was pushed open from the inside.

Lin Yuan stood inside the door, his armor already half-off, revealing half of his face. Behind him, the spacious living room was lit, several chairs were overturned, half-eaten takeout was on the coffee table, and two people in white coats were running frantically towards the stairs.

"Downstairs!" Lin Yuan shouted, "They went to the basement!"

The four people rushed straight in.

Wei Ziqing ran at the front, kicking open the door at the stairwell and rushing down the steps. As he rushed, he couldn't help but mutter:

"Why is it a basement again?"

His voice echoed in the narrow stairwell.

"This basement is almost worn out, isn't it? Why is it always a basement?"

No one had time to answer him.

The moment the five people—Lin Yuan also followed—rushed into the basement, the sight before them made everyone slow their steps.

The space was unexpectedly large.

Or rather, it was empty.

This was a cleared-out basement, covering two hundred square meters, with sufficient ceiling height. The four walls were rough concrete, and exposed pipelines ran overhead. A few simple pieces of equipment—like old computers, a makeshift Experimental Table, and a few folding chairs—were piled in the corner, looking incredibly shabby compared to previous strongholds.

But several people stood in the center.

Two Researchers in white coats, both young, were retreating in terror. One person remained still.

He stood in the very center, facing the five people who had rushed in, unmoving.

Around eighteen years old, with an ordinary face, but eyes much deeper than his peers. His gaze swept over the faces of the five people one by one, finally resting on Lu Jianchuan.

Li Jianguo.

He just stood there, with no intention of running.

In the spacious basement, it was so quiet that the sound of water flowing through the overhead pipes could be heard.

Li Jianguo didn't say much.

He simply turned around and walked towards the inconspicuous equipment in the corner—a metal cabinet, half a person's height, its surface covered with ventilation holes. He reached out and pressed the identification area on the cabinet door, and with a soft click, the cabinet door sprang open.

Inside, dozens of Metal Trilobites were densely packed.

These things were identical to those seen on Zhao Qifeng—palm-sized, with metallic shells, and three segmented tails slightly upturned, like living creatures. They lay motionless in the cabinet, as if hibernating, but the moment the cabinet door opened, the antennae of the topmost few trembled slightly.

Li Jianguo reached out his hand.

The trilobites seemed to receive a signal and began to wriggle, climbing onto his arm one after another. They didn't bite, didn't sting, but simply covered him, their metallic segments interlocking, joining, extending—

Within seconds, Li Jianguo's body was completely covered by a layer of dark silver armor.

The structure of this armor was identical to Zhao Qifeng's corroding abyss, but its color was darker and its patterns denser. The bodies of the trilobites stacked in layers of scale-like structures on the breastplate and shoulder pads, and their tails differentiated into fine spikes, arranged in rows along the spine. The eyepieces were two dark red crystals, now faintly glowing.

He turned around and looked at the five people in front of him.

Lin Yuan stood at the very front, still wearing the red armor. His voice came from behind the mask, with an uncontrollable tremor:

"You... could it be that you really are...?"

Li Jianguo looked at him, not speaking.

"I thought you were willing to help me become a hero..." Lin Yuan's voice grew louder, "I thought you genuinely wanted me to do good deeds!"

Li Jianguo finally spoke, his voice calm without a ripple.

"Yes. We did help you become a hero. Our goal is also to create heroes, to do good deeds for everyone."

Lin Yuan was stunned.

"But—but you really used countless lives to create these armors, didn't you?"

Li Jianguo did not deny it.

"Yes."

Those two words dropped like stones.

"If I didn't do that, how could you have that armor?" Li Jianguo tilted his head, and the armor emitted a slight metallic friction sound, "Logically speaking, as a beneficiary, you shouldn't be on their side. You should be happy to stand with me."

Lin Yuan opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.